It rained all night, and the sky only cleared up early the next morning.
Jiang Suizhou had slept peacefully all night.
When he woke up early the next morning, the clouds had already dispersed,
and the sun reflected the blue sky and shone brightly through the window.
Jiang Suizhou's gaze immediately fell on the couch under the window.
He saw that the couch was already empty, and Huo Wujiu was sitting on his
wheelchair beside it, tidying up his robe.
"Do your legs still hurt?" When Jiang Suizhou spoke, his voice was still
raspy from just waking up.
Huo Wujiu looked up at him and said indifferently, "They're fine."
With that, he picked up a white object from the couch and raised his hand to
toss it.
Seeing that the object was flying straight towards him, Jiang Suizhou
nimbly reached out to catch it. But the object was so soft that it passed
straight through his hands and landed softly on his bed.
When Jiang Suizhou looked down, he saw that it was the hand warmer that
Meng Qianshan stuffed in his blanket yesterday.
The hot water inside had long since lost its heat, except for the fluff on the
surface, which carried a faint temperature, like someone's body heat.
Jiang Suizhou looked up and heard Huo Wujiu faintly say, "Many thanks."
—— Oh, he's thanking me for this bed warmer.
The corners of Jiang Suizhou's mouth couldn't help but curl up into a smile.
He said it. This General Huo Wujiu was indeed a remarkable man.
Yesterday, Meng Qianshan clearly gave him so many bed warmers, yet Huo
Wujiu still remembered that he gave him this. He even thanked him for it.
"Don't mention it." Jiang Suizhou's voice was tinged with smiles.
Huo Wujiu merely looked at him indifferently and withdrew his gaze
coldly.
The sun was getting higher, so Jiang Suizhou rolled over and got off the
bed.
Although yesterday was the emperor's birthday banquet and officials of all
ranks were to rest today, the Ministry of Rites could not rest. All the things
prepared for yesterday's banquet needed to be sorted out and sent to the
registry.
Ji You had said that Jiang Suizhou was not well enough to go, but Jiang
Suizhou did not want Ji You to make an exception for him. He would just
drop by to see if there was anything he could do.
While considering all this, he also thought of the books that Ji You lent him
days ago.
The two books of unofficial history were not too thick, so counting the
days, he could now return them to Ji You.
With this in mind, he stood up and intended to ask Meng Qianshan to come
in.
But at this time, the door was opened in a panic.
Jiang Suizhou raised his eyes to see Meng Qianshan hastily stumbling in.
"Your Highness, something has happened, Your Highness!" Meng Qianshan
immediately reported.
Jiang Suizhou frowned: "What's happened?"
Meng Qianshan was gasping for breath when he said, "Something has
happened to the Ministry of Rites! Just now, someone from the court came
to report that Lord Ji You was impeached and taken away by the Ministry of
Justice!"
Jiang Suizhou was stunned.
"On what charge?"
He remembered Ji You's life, and there should not be such a thing.
Although Ji You had no great achievements, his life could be considered
smooth-sailing. After the fall of the Jing Dynasty, the Northern Liang
originally wanted to recruit him, but he refused. After that, he resigned and
returned to his hometown to enjoy the landscape to his heart's content.
How could he be arrested out of the blue?
Just then, Meng Qianshan said, "An official from the Ministry of Justice
said that Lord Ji embezzled the budget on the emperor's birthday banquet,
using second best material and cutting corners. Someone discovered it this
morning!"
This was even more unlikely.
Jiang Suizhou frowned: "Has he already been arrested and taken to the
Ministry of Justice?"
Meng Qianshan immediately nodded.
Jiang Suizhou's face turned serious as he raised his hand and said, "Change
my clothes."
Meng Qianshan was stunned: "Your Highness, you are…"
Jiang Suizhou interrupted, "I'm going to the Ministry of Justice."
Meng Qianshan stomped his feet anxiously when he heard his words: "Why
on earth are you going there?! At present, all the officials in the Ministry of
Rites are in hiding, fearing that the officials and soldiers will come to their
doors. Why are you rushing to go there?"
Jiang Suizhou remained expressionless.
"Cut the crap."
Meng Qianshan did not dare to defy, so he could only step forward to
change Jiang Suizhou's robes.
Jiang Suizhou's gaze turned sullen.
He knew that since the Ministry of Rites was in trouble, after arresting Ji
You, the officials of the Ministry of Rites were bound to be arrested and
interrogated one by one. As a King, taking the initiative to clear himself of
suspicion was nothing unusual and would not attract suspicion elsewhere.
But what he wanted to do, naturally, was not to clear his suspicion.
He wanted to know why Ji You, who had not met with a mishap so far, was
arrested.
Was it because this was an unofficial history, which was different from the
official history? Or because he transmigrated and had contact with Ji You,
which had become a variable in Ji You's life track?
——
The news that Jiang Suizhou was going to the Ministry of Justice had
already spread. When he got off the carriage, the Minister of Justice was
waiting for him outside the door.
When the Minister of Justice saw him get off, he greeted him with a smile
and, seeing that Jiang Suizhou was walking weakly, even reached out to
help him.
Jiang Suizhou didn't show him any deference and evaded him sideways, as
Meng Qianshan was steadily supporting him.
"I've been waiting for Your Highness for a long time. Your Highness,
please," the Minister of Justice smiled, moved sideways and said.
Jiang Suizhou spoke indifferently: "You and I are of the same rank, so there
is no need to be polite. Besides, I'm here today to be tried."
When the Minister of Justice heard this, he laughed and replied, "What are
you talking about, Your Highness? Our Ministry of Justice is investigating
this case, but because Your Highness had a sickness some days ago, you
had no part in this matter. Even if we want to investigate, we also can not
investigate Your Highness…"
Jiang Suizhou raised his hand to put a stop to his speech.
"There are some things that I have handled." He said indifferently. "Even if
you do not check, I need to personally ask."
Hearing him say this, the Minister of Justice responded repeatedly and
invited him in.
The cause and effect was just an ordinary case of embezzlement. The funds
received by the Ministry of Rites were approved by the Ministry of
Revenue. The total sum and where it was spent were all recorded in the
accounts. However, when sorting the accounts this morning was coming to
an end, someone suddenly found that many of the gold and jade arranged as
banquet furnishings were all substandard. After accounting for all of it,
there was a considerable discrepancy in the numbers.
"Our Ministry of punishment has roughly calculated that Lord Ji has
embezzled at least this number!" The Minister of Justice held up for fingers
at Jiang Suizhou.
"Be frank, and don't speak in riddles with me," Jiang Suizhou said coldly.
The Minister of Justice replied, "At least four thousand taels."
Four thousand taels, though not an enormous amount, was taken from the
emperor's birthday banquet. Embezzling behind the emperor's back, no
matter if it was only four thousands taels, was a major crime for ordinary
officials, with sentences ranging from exile to beheading.
Jiang Suizhou did not say anything.
On the other hand, the Minister of Justice continued chattering, "Your
Highness, there is no need to worry. From now on, even if our Ministry of
Justice goes to your house to investigate, it will only be a routine check.
This matter is mainly about Ji You and has nothing to do with you…"
However, Jiang Suizhou returned lightly, "I need to see Ji You."
The Minister of Justice was stunned, and a bit of reluctance surfaced on his
face.
"This…Ji You is currently being detained…" he faltered.
Jiang Suizhou remained unperturbed.
"There is a batch of raw materials that I took over," he said. "I need to ask
him privately about this matter before I can be at ease."
Hearing these words, the Minister of Justice probably understood.
Ji You was corrupt, but King Jing wasn't a good man either.
King Jing was probably not at all clean about handling His Majesty's
birthday banquet, so he was so anxious and rushed to the Ministry of
Justice. Moreover, he also wanted to interrogate Ji You privately.
However, the Minister of Justice had long received an order from the top
that this matter today must be settled and pinned on Ji You. Well, it
wouldn't be a big deal if His Highness King Jing wanted to pass the blame
to Ji You.
After all, what could His Majesty say even if His Highness King Jing, his
royal relative, embezzled some silver?
With this thought in mind, the Minister of Justice also put his guard down
and reluctantly agreed to take Jiang Suizhou to the Ministry of Justice'
prison.
Most of the criminals held in the cells of the Ministry of Justice were those
who were still under suspicion, still on trial, or were relatively guilty of
minor crimes. Therefore, the security of the Ministry of Justice's prison was
not so strict compared with the Imperial Court's Prison. The environment
was also better. There were even small windows everywhere for light and
ventilation in the cells.
Jiang Suizhou followed the Minister of Justice all the way to the depths of
the prison. After turning a corner, he saw Ji You, who was detained in a cell.
Ji You was sitting alone on a straw-covered bed in his cell. As he had only
just been imprisoned, his clothes were still tidy, and he was in good spirits.
Hearing someone coming, Ji You lifted his head.
Then he saw Jiang Suizhou, who stopped at the door of the cell and raised
his hand to signal the Minister of Justice to go out and wait.
"Err…" The Minister of Justice hesitated.
"Half a stick of an incense," Jiang Suizhou said.
The Minister of Justice hesitated for a moment and nodded: "Then Your
Highness must cut the long story short. I'll be waiting for you at the
entrance of the cell."
The minister thought to himself: after all, Ji You had already been sent to
prison, so His Highness King Jing must have nothing too important to ask
him. Ji You was not a high ranking official and did not have any backing, so
it would not be worthwhile to provoke King Jing over this trivial matter.
The Minister of Justice retired.
Seeing that he was far away, Jiang Suizhou stepped forward: "Lord Ji."
Ji You got up from the bed and walked to the door of the cell, staring at
Jiang Suizhou through the iron bars.
"Your Highness King Jing..?" He was awashed with disbelief.
Jiang Suizhou paused and said unhurriedly, "…I originally wanted to return
your books today."
His words caught Ji You off guard, and then he smiled bitterly.
"Your Highness doesn't need to return them," he said, "Unexpected
situations may happen any time, and people have their own destiny. I guess
my destiny is right here."
Jiang Suizhou felt deeply uncomfortable when he saw Ji You's appearance.