The Emperor was really in a good mood these days.
Though the court had been in chaos recently and the entire Ministry of Rites
had been checked over and over again, and even the court was a bit of a
mess, but with his uncle handling it for him, even if this kind of triviality
stirred up the skies, it wouldn't sour his mood.
Therefore, the emperor did not care which officials were arrested from the
Ministry of Rites.
However, his uncle told him that the official had embezzled money from his
birthday banquet, which was a great disrespect to him. Therefore, the
corrupt official must be severely punished.
The Emperor didn't care whether the culprit was severely punished or not.
If anything, in order to compensate him, his uncle stealthily found him two
Yangzhou skinny horses1
, changed their names and disguised them as noble
women, and then stuffed them into his harem.
Women who came out of brothels had a charm that women from noble
families lacked. Hence, the emperor, who got intoxicated in his pleasure
harem2
recently, felt that since his uncle said the culprit would be severely
punished, it must be right. Severe punishment it was.
Then, within two days, an even bigger good news reached his ears.
His consumptive Fifth Brother suddenly had a high fever and couldn't get
up from bed.
The emperor was so happy to hear this that he immediately jumped up from
his pleasure harem and sent an imperial doctor to King Jing's residence to
see if his brother's illness would kill him.
It didn't take long for the imperial doctor to return and report on the
completion of his task.
"His Highness King Jing does not have a fever," the imperial doctor started.
When the imperial doctor came, Pang Shao was accompanying the Emperor
to play a trick-taking card game3
. Upon hearing this, the two's complexions
turned ugly.
"What's wrong with him then?" Pang Shao put down the cards in his hand
and asked in a deep voice.
Then they heard the doctor continue, "Although he's not feverish, he's
bedridden. I've diagnosed His Highness's pulse, and I believe it is a
weakness caused by palpitation and restlessness, plus weakness caused by
excessive drinking and the cold."
Hearing these words, Pang Shao went into deep thought.
The Emperor said discontentedly, "Then why did he report to me that he's
got a fever? He's already so sick, yet he still made an effort to deceive me.
He's got the nerve…"
But then, Pang Shao raised his hand: "Your Majesty."
"Uncle?" The Emperor looked at Pang Shao.
Then he saw Pang Shao's pensive face gradually reveal a hint of a smile.
"If I have not guessed wrongly… the secrets in this matter perhaps call
more for Your Majesty's rejoicing," he said.
"Why?" The emperor was puzzled.
Pang Shao replied, "Does Your Majesty know Ji You?"
The Emperor thought for a long time before he could barely recall the
somewhat familiar name: "Ah, the official who embezzled my money?"
Pang Shao smiled and nodded.
"On the morning when he was detained, King Jing hurriedly went to the
Ministry of Punishment's prison and met him in private," Pang Shao
informed.
The Emperor frowned: "What happened after?"
Pang Shao grinned and looked at him.
"Then, His Highness King Jing braved the rain and got drunk alone. Within
two days, he fell ill. Your Majesty, what do you think this 'palpitation and
restlessness' of his could be due to?"
After thinking for a long time, traces of surprise gradually surfaced on the
Emperor's face.
"Are you saying that…he must have embezzled as well and is afraid that he
will be investigated?"
Pang Shao smiled and nodded, but still he said, "I am only guessing."
The Emperor's eyes almost burst out with excitement.
"Then why don't you go quickly and have someone investigate him?!" He
said, "As a minister, he actually dared to swindle me. Do you think this can
be considered deceiving the king and wanting to rebel?"
The more the Emperor spoke, the more excited he became, as if he could
sentence Jiang Suizhou to death on the spot. Speaking of this, he excitedly
slammed the card in his hand on the couch and said, "Uncle, let me
investigate this matter, alright?"
Pang Shao looked at him.
He knew best how much His Majesty hated his Fifth Royal Brother.
In those years, the late emperor did not have an abundance of children, and
several of his sons died at a young age. Only the fifth born to the late
emperor's beloved imperial concubine was raised on his knee and cared for
in every way, so he didn't suffer at all.
On the contrary, although His Majesty was the first son back then, he was
transparent in the eyes of the previous emperor and had never received his
attention. People in the palace had always been snobbish. They bowed to
the high and trampled on the low. When His Majesty was young, Pang Shao
knew how much injustice he had suffered and how much he hated his Fifth
Royal Brother.
Therefore, if he wanted to please His Majesty, there was nothing wrong
with making a move on King Jing.
However, King Jing was also a descendant of the royal family. Although
Pang Shao could torment and insult him, it was not so easy to get him
killed. Now, even if the embezzlement case was found on Jiang Suizhou's
head, and he was indeed found guilty; even if he was found to be corrupt,
he could not be convicted of any capital felony.
That being the case, he'd better hand him over to His Majesty and please
him with a cricket-fighting pleasure.
With that in mind, Pang Shao gently smiled.
"His Majesty, King Jing is noble. I do not dare to overstep my bounds," he
said.
"Since Your Majesty wants to investigate the case, I will immediately
deploy my staff and be at Your Majesty's disposal."
——
Footnote:
1 Thin/Skinny horses – a term from the Yuan Dynasty referring to beautiful
girls bought from poor families. Buyers will then let them study, teach them to sing and dance, to play chess and calligraphy, and then to sell them to
rich men as concubines or brothels to profit from them.
2
Pleasure town/harem – (Wenrou township/gentle township) – a metaphor
for a place of women's charm
3 Madiao – also known as the game of paper tiger
Once rain started in the south of the Yangtze River, it poured incessantly.
Since the day the King went to Madam Gu's courtyard and fell ill and
bedridden, the drizzle outside fell non-stop for a few days without any signs
of sunshine.
Coupled with the atmosphere in Anyin Hall, everything also became
gloomy, which made people feel suffocated.
The victim who bore the brunt the most was Meng Qianshan.
The last time he experienced this kind of pressure was when the King went
to spend the night at Madam Xu's. But this time, it seemed much more
serious than the previous time. Hence, he was alarmed and on eggshells all
day in Anyin Hall but couldn't pinpoint the cause.
Deep inside, he thought he must let His Highness return.
However, His Highness stayed at Madam Gu's place for one day, and
stayed for a second day immediately afterwards.
This was something that had never happened before.
On the third day, His Highness would surely return no matter what
happened, right?
But to his surprise, on the third night, news of His Highness's illness came
from Gu Changyun.
Meng Qianshan was so anxious that he promptly rushed to Gu Changyun's
courtyard. It never occurred to him that King Jing would bar him from entering.
The person who threw him out was Gu Changyun.
Gu Changyun was leaning against the door frame and looking quite
gorgeous and charming clad in red. Seeing Meng Qianshan being stopped at
the door and anxiously pacing in circles, Gu Changyun smiled and said,
"What's the rush? His Highness only drank too much wine these two days
and is somewhat deficient in health. You just have to send the news to the
palace and the Ministry of Rites and ask for a few days' leave for His
Highness. As for the rest…just take care of Madam Huo for His Highness."
"This…" Meng Qianshan looked in anxiously.
Gu Changyun raised his hand and blocked his gaze.
"His Highness has orders not to let you in," he said, "Ah, has it been raining
for the past few days? His Highness ordered you to go back quickly, boil
dilong extract4
in An Yin Hall, and burn some fire. Don't neglect that
cripple."
After speaking, he arrogantly glanced at Meng Qianshan, turned around,
and shut the door.
In the room, Jiang Suizhou was lying on the bed. His breath was uneven,
and his face was a bit white.
"Have you given my orders?" he asked.
Gu Changyun stood at the edge of the bed and nodded.
Jiang Suizhou closed his eyes.
He didn't let Meng Qianshan in, purely because he was afraid the latter
would talk too much and ask something he shouldn't ask.
He initially thought that after these two days, he would go back to Anyin
Hall, but never expected that the effect of the medicine would strike so suddenly and fiercely and make it so that he could not get up, let alone
return to his own courtyard.
Gu Changyun comforted him on the side, "Don't worry, Your Highness.
After the first few days, the effect of this medicine will gradually become
milder. By then, the symptoms that manifest will simply be having a weaker
constitution due to palpitations."
Jiang Suizhou nodded on the bed.
"Tomorrow, when the palace gets the news, they will send someone over,"
he said.
Gu Changyun nodded and said, "Yes. After the imperial doctor from the
palace diagnoses you, let him administer medicine. You naturally can not be
cured from that, and we can post a notice to seek medical help under that
pretext."
Jiang Suizhou nodded and closed his eyes.
Seeing that he wanted to rest, Gu Changyun sensibly retreated to the outer
room.
However, the atmosphere in Anyin Hall, where boiling of the dilong extract
was in full swing, was one of condensation.
The servants and maids were busy going in and out, trying to finish the
dilong extract for the night and burn some fire to drive away the dampness
in the room. The man who was standing beside Huo Wujiu, Meng
Qianshan, prudently kept his mouth shut and dared not utter a word.
Huo Wujiu was holding a book in his hand, but hesitated to turn the pages.
"Speak if you have anything to say," he coldly said.
Meng Qianshan whispered, "Madam Gu said in the courtyard…that His
Highness is bedridden, so he's going to rest there."
Huo Wujiu did not move.
A moment later, he asked in a light voice, "What kind of illness?"
Meng Qianshan lost his tongue for a moment.
Huo Wujiu waited for a while but didn't hear him make a sound. A moment
later, he raised his eyes, a pair of dark, bottomless eyes, and stared quietly
at Meng Qianshan.
"Speak," he commanded.
Those eyes sent chills down Meng Qianshan's spine. He trembled all over
and hurriedly responded, "He said that His Highness drank too much wine
these two days, and…is deficient in health…So, he got sick."
Huo Wujiu remained motionless. Only his hand, holding the booklet,
sharply clenched tight and crumpled the pages of the book.
Drank too much and was health deficient?
Huo Wujiu gripped the book, and an indescribable irritation flooded his
heart.
Well done…good on that sickly man.
Braving the rain and drinking outside that day weren't enough. He must go
to his concubine's room to drink, and must fool around until he suffers from
"health deficiency" before stopping.
Huo Wujiu never knew that a person could be so hateful.
Jiang Suizhou was unlike the emperor and Pang Shao, who were rotten to
the core but were still people who could not make him lose his calm.
Jiang Suizhou was akin to a cat. He would crawl his way into your heart
and sprinkle joy, making you unable to tear your eyes off him, and then
he'd do something nasty to provoke you again.
They were petty things that people wouldn't take to heart, but because Jiang
Suizhou was the one who did this kind of thing, it inexplicably triggered Huo Wujiu's bottom line. It stirred up his emotions all at once, making him
jittery and anxious.
Huo Wujiu's fingers fiercely crushed the pages of the book under them.
Meng Qianshan, who was standing next to him, felt uncomfortable. Huo
Wujiu's fingers that crushed the book were like a noose around Meng
Qianshan's neck, causing him to gasp for air.
At this moment, even as dumb as he was, Meng Qianshan rough had an
idea what the "Madam" in front of him was thinking.
Huo Wujiu was inwardly seething, or rather, he was jealous.
"…Madam Huo?" A few moments later, Meng Qianshan strenuously called
out in a squeak.
Then he saw his master pause and casually toss aside the book that was
crumpled and torn.
He said, "Withdraw."
Meng Qianshan whispered anxiously, "Are you all right? Please be at ease.
His Highness is really weak. When he drinks and gets exposed to the wind,
it's common for him to…"
Huo Wujiu, who was sitting on his wheelchair, interrupted Meng Qianshan
with a cold snort.
The next moment, Huo Wujiu raised his eyes at Meng Qianshan.
"I'm fine," he said. "I just didn't expect that the rules of your King Jing
Mansion could be this bad."
Meng Qianshan was puzzled.
Then he saw this master looking out the window with a cold expression.
His voice sounded so deep and cold as if it was squeezed out from his teeth.
"This kind of concubine, who pleases and confuses the master, would have
been beheaded if in the Marquis of Dingbei Hou House." Huo Wujiu said
slowly.
—
The author has something to say: #MadamHuoisjealous
Footnote:
4 Dilong extract – literally earthworm powder – a medicinal preparation
based on abdominal extracts from the earthworm species used in traditional
Chinese medicine for a wide variety of disorders, from convulsions and
fevers to rheumatoid arthritis and blood stasis syndromes