"Although I haven't been deeply involved with you, I also know that you're
not a person who does such things," Jiang Suizhou paused and said in a
deep voice.
Ji You raised his eyes to look at him.
"If the ironclad evidence is there, it doesn't matter if you did it or not," Ji
You said.
After a pause, he continued.
"Your Highness has always been at odds with Pang's party, so I can
certainly guess a thing or two about today's incident," he said. "The people
of Pang's faction have repeatedly tried to befriend me, and I have refused,
so I think they must be unhappy. In recent days, I have had some dealings
with you, so this time, they must be taking precautions."
His tone was calm, and he didn't mean to blame Jiang Suizhou at all.
However, the hands that Jiang Suizhou placed by his sides were clenched
tighter and tighter.
…He had guessed right.
Ji You himself didn't know, but he knew that for Ji You, he was a drop of
calamity from heaven.
The original owner and Ji You did not cross paths. Ji You never wanted to
side with any party or group, plus he had no real power in his hand. Pang
Shao naturally wouldn't pay attention to him. However, because of Jiang
Suizhou who transmigrated and had a few chats with Ji You, Ji You had
some intersections with him. Ji You even took care of Jiang Suizhou because of his poor health. It was only then that Pang Shao was alerted and
thus decided to dispose of Ji You.
Seeing that Jiang Suizhou was silent and did not speak, Ji You froze and
then smiled gently.
"Your Highness, you don't need to blame yourself," Ji You said, "Ever
since I refused to join Pang's faction, I knew that this day would come
sooner or later. I am a lazy person with mediocre natural endowments. I
have been an official for more than ten years, but I have not achieved much.
Now that I've landed myself in this situation, it has nothing to do with you.
It's only because I hold office at court and maintain my dignity alone."
But Jiang Suizhou, who had been silent for a long time, shook his head.
He raised his eyes to Ji You.
In the dimly lit cell, Ji You met a pair of jet black eyes through the wooden
bars.
Those eyes were somewhat white, and coupled with their charm and
exquisite outlines, they were downright flattering. But at this time, there
was something firm and bright glimmering in his eyes.
"The matter has not been thoroughly investigated, so you will not be
immediately convicted."
Ji You heard Jiang Suizhou's lowered voice, which carried a natural
magnetism.
"Your Excellency, rest well in the prison. I swear that you will not suffer
injustice."
——
The day was getting late, and a light drizzle was falling outside.
Meng Qianshan was a little uneasy. He'd been wandering around at the
door of Anyin Hall, repeatedly sending young servants to the door of the house to ask if his master had come back.
This morning, the King asked his company for a trip to the Ministry of
Justice. After he came out of the jail, he looked gloomy and did not say a
word.
When they arrived at Changping Street, a mile away from Qinghe Square,
the King called the carriage to a halt and got off.
"Don't let anyone follow me," the King commanded, "I will return to the
residence after a stroll around by myself."
Meng Qianshan hastily tried to persuade him, but when met with Jiang
Suizhou's cold face, he didn't dare to speak a word.
Meng Qianshan had no other choice and could only help Jiang Suizhou get
out of the carriage, and then send two guards to follow him from afar.
Unexpectedly, the King got off the carriage and never came back.
Seeing that the time was getting late, Meng Qianshan's heart jumped in his
throat.
He hated himself for being too obedient, but this was a habit he ingrained in
him since childhood. He was dull, and the King didn't like him since he was
a child, but he also didn't drive Meng Qianshan away because Meng
Qianshan was sent to him by the previous emperor.
Meng Qianshan grew up being cautious and obedient to the King's orders,
thinking that this could make up for his dumb head. It had never occurred to
him, however, that he would commit an evil deed because of this.
As he turned around for an unknown number of revolutions, he heard the
sound of a wheelchair approaching.
Meng Qianshan looked up and saw that Huo Wujiu had already stopped
before him.
"What's wrong?" He heard Huo Wujiu ask.
Meng Qianshan immediately answered, "Madam, I was too stupid to have
let His Highness go out alone. He hasn't returned yet…"
Huo Wugou raised his eyes and glanced out the door.
The rain was not heavy, but it was drizzling and had not stopped for a long
time.
"You are indeed stupid." Huo Wujiu said.
He spoke in a calm tone, but with an indefinable pressure. Meng Qianshan
got scared. He was unable to say anything, looking cautiously at Huo
Wujiu.
Huo Wugui's gaze shifted from the rain outside the window to Meng
Qianshan's face.
"It's so late, so why didn't you send someone to look for him? What's the
use of circling around here?" His voice was deep and cold.
As if awakening from a dream, Meng Qianshan said repeatedly, "Right,
right! How did I forget?!"
While speaking, he immediately rushed into the rain.
But at that moment, a young servant braved the rain and ran all the way into
Anyin Hall.
"Eunuch Qianshan, His Highness is back!" Before the servant reached the
front of the hall, he reported the news urgently.
Meng Qianshan hurriedly welcomed him to the veranda.
The servant drew closer in a sprint, panting.
"The Highness is back. Although the mansion guard gave him an umbrella,
he was still fairly drenched in the rain," said the servant.
Meng Qianshan asked urgently, "What did His Highness do?"
The servant paused, and his voice weakened. "I don't know where His
Highness went…he drank too much wine," he whispered.
——
Jiang Suizhou didn't expect that his body was not only weak, but also had a
poor drinking capacity.
After he came out of the Ministry of Justice, he felt suffocated in his heart.
Although he had guessed early in the morning that Ji You's imprisonment
was related to him, guessing the truth and seeing it with his own two eyes
were completely different.
Ji You was a living and breathing being, even an unconventional and
unrestrained, talented master poet. Just because of only a few moments of
goodwill to him, Ji You was implicated and was sent to prison, with his
future uncertain and even his life and death unknown.
And all this was because of Pang Shao.
For Jiang Suizhou, Pang Shao was just a treacherous minister recorded in
history books, but now he was a villain with a butcher's knife in hand,
casting his greedy eyes on his prey and eager to persecute the people around
him at any time.
Jiang Suizhou actually naively thought that he could temporarily
circumvent him and survive these three years.
Jiang Suizhou felt like a boulder was weighing down on his heart, making
him feel out of breath.
He wanted to find a place to vent his frustration, but he had just
transmigrated and didn't even know anyone he could talk to. He just held
on until the carriage drove through Changping Street.
Changping Street was full of merchants and people, coming and going. It
was very lively. The smoke from the restaurants curled up. People passed
by, and the merchants shuttled to and fro, giving the impression of a
peaceful and quiet world that was completely different from the noble and
cold King Jing Mansion.
Jiang Suizhou called the carriage to a stop there and walked away.
At that second, he felt desperate to get away from King Jing's identity, from
this world, and return to the multitude of people to which he originally
belonged.
However, there was nowhere for him to be accepted by the masses.
He walked aimlessly on Changping Street. People came and went around
him, but he seemed to be clearly isolated.
After walking for a while, Jiang Suizhou raised his head and saw a
fluttering wine flag.
He went to the wine shop, asked for some wine, and drank alone until late
at night.
The wine was not strong, but was a common southern apricot wine. It had
its own sweet aroma and wasn't intoxicating. But when Jiang Suizhou got
up, he felt dizzy. His feet felt floaty, and he was already drunk.
He propped himself up on the table and stood firm.
It was fine to be drunk, he said to himself. He had had enough of being
sober day after day since he transmigrated here.
He staggered out of the wine shop and walked step by step back to the royal
residence.
It started raining outside at some point. It wasn't heavy, and he didn't mind
getting wet in the rain. When he reached the door of the royal residence, he
realized afterwards that someone had been holding an umbrella behind him.
When he looked back, he saw a guard who he had never met before. Seeing
him looking at himself, the guard's legs went weak, and he almost dropped
to his knees before him.
Jiang Suizhou frowned and waved his hand sluggishly.
Yes, here he was, just the King of Jing who was feared like a tiger and wolf.
Someone brought a palanquin, but he didn't climb up. He trudged on the
wet stone brick ground all the way back to the Anyin Hall.
He had just entered the courtyard gate when he saw Meng Qianshan,
braving the rain and running all the way towards him.
"Your Highness!" Meng Qianshan was so anxious that his voice trembled.
"Where have you been? You scared me…"
"Didn't you send someone to follow me." Jiang Suizhou's voice sounded a
little dumb.
Meng Qianshan was startled and thought that Jiang Suizhou was going to
blame him.
But before he could speak, Jiang Suizhou raised his hand.
He walked straight up the steps, stopped at the bottom of the porch, and
turned back to say, "Don't mind me, wait outside the door."
Meng Qianshan ventured nothing but responded affirmatively.
Jiang Suizhou lifted his feet and entered the room. He closed the door, took
a few steps forward, and leaned on the side partition.
He then titled his head up, closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths.
When he woke up from this drunken sleep tomorrow, he would need to plan
how to absolve Ji You of his charges.
But right now, he just wanted to be alone for a while.
He closed his eyes and leaned there for a while until he gradually calmed
down in the dizzying punch of the wine, and then slowly opened his eyes.
Then he saw a person sitting in front of him, quietly looking at him.
Jiang Suizhou looked at the man, stunned, and then gave an unguarded,
drunken smile.
"There you are," he said lethargically, "I've forgotten."
Then he saw Huo Wujiu open his mouth and ask, "Why did you drink so
much?"
Jiang Suizhou shook his head with a smile and said, "I didn't drink much.
It's all because I can't hold my liquor."
Huo Wujiu frowned.
Jiang Suizhou was indeed drunk.
His face was flushed, and his gaze was lax. His robe was still wet, and
although the upper half of his body hadn't gotten wet, the hem of his robe
and the legs of his trousers were damp with water.
Huo Wujiu said, "Go change your clothes first."
Jiang Suizhou smiled, raised his hand and rubbed the corner of his
forehead. He uttered an "oh", and then straightened up on the partition.
However, he had been leaning on the partition for too long, and because the
booze had already soaked his mind, he had not much strength. After he took
a step, his feet softened, and he dove straight forward.
Jiang Suizhou later registered that he was falling.
But he was too slow to react, and couldn't promptly, so he fell straight to
the ground.
However, the pain that he had expected did not befall him, and instead, he
fell on a hard warmth.
He opened his eyes drunkenly, and saw Huo Wujiu's handsome face well
within reach. His dark eyes were staring at him quietly from very close by.
Huo Wujiu caught him.
He was lying in Huo Wujiu's arms, and because of how he supported his
body, Huo Wujiu's action at this time was like embracing him into his arms.
Jiang Suizhou was unaware of it.
Looking at Huo Wujiu's face, he paused as if he remembered something
and asked slowly.
"Do your legs still hurt today?"