"He's exalting me," he said.
Somehow, Jiang Suizhou felt that his laughter was bursting with contempt,
as if…
It was as if his legs were healed and he disdained these people who were
guarding him.
Jiang Suizhou was shocked by his thoughts and hooked his lips. He took it
that he was eager for Huo Wujiu's recovery, so much that he looked at
everything so.
When the sky in the horizon was bright, the honor guards began to move.
Although the Hou Zhu said he was going out hunting, he was actually
making excuses to go sightseeing. Attendants and eunuchs surrounded the
convoy. With the armored honor guards carrying flats, the convoy marched
unhurriedly.
They left Lin'an and traveled all the way north along the official road. After
traveling for a long time, they seemed to have not gone far.
"How long will this journey take?" Near noon, Jiang Suizhou swept the
brocade curtain of the carriage to the side and asked Meng Qianshan
outside.
Meng Qianshan answered, "Your Highness, according to the current
distance, I think it will be nightfall before we reach Tianping Mountain. But
a front guard just sent word that we either not stop for rest for the whole
day or will have to spend the night midway and arrive tomorrow."
Jiang Suizhou raised his eyes to look at the sun hanging high in the sky,
responded and lowered the carriage curtain.
He sighed once he retreated into the carriage.
"What a bother," he complained.
Huo Wujiu glanced at him, "What?"
Jiang Suizhou leaned back. The Prince's carriage was, of course,
comfortable and luxurious. Even Huo Wujiu's wheelchair was more than
enough to fit inside. The seat he was sitting on was also quite spacious and
comfortable, with tea and snacks on the side table.
However, his body was suffering from the rich man's disease.
"Sitting for a long time makes my body unwell." He moved the soft pillow
behind him and sighed.
"It will take another half day," Huo Wujiu said.
"No." Jiang Suizhou said. "I got up early this morning, and the carriage is
shaking so much, giving me a headache."
Huo Wujiu raised his eyes to look at him.
The man in brocade and fancy robe with chiseled eyebrows was sitting
askew in a soft splendor. His brow was wrinkled, resenting his aching body
and headache. He truly was pampered.
For Huo Wujiu, it was normal for him to ride horseback for days on end. If
the situation was severe and he couldn't ride horseback, it was common to
walk in the rain, snow and sand with injuries. How could there be a chance
to resent this and that or the effort?
If it were Huo Wujiu a year ago, and someone said such a thing in front of
him, he would have single-handedly cast him out of the carriage.
But at this moment, he thought to himself, Sure enough.
After two or three hours of journey, it was really inhumane to keep rocking
like this without giving people a chance to breathe.
He raised his hand, took out two soft pillows on his side, plugged them
beside Jiang Suizhou and said, "It's still early. Take a nap for now."
Jiang Suizhou leaned on the soft pillows. He wasn't that sleepy, however, so
he chatted with Huo Wujiu instead, "To be honest, you must be tired from
sitting in a wheelchair all day."
Huo Wujiu had no idea what could be tiring about sitting, but since Jiang
Suizhou said so, Huo Wujiu went along with him and said, "I'm fine."
Jiang Suizhou then said, "The doctor who's been treating you these days is
only capable to this extent. Don't worry, Gu Changyun has been ceaselessly
searching for doctors. Although there are no results for the time being, we
can always find someone who can cure you in a year and a half."
Huo Wujiu was a little curious.
"Why are you so sure?" he asked.
Jiang Suizhou replied, "What?"
Huo Wujiu continued, "About healing me."
He paused, then added unhurriedly, "On that day, Jiang Shunheng watched
my execution with his own eyes. He didn't let them stop until the imperial
doctor and the executioner said that my legs will forever be lame."
He paused and then said, "How can you be sure that they will be cured?"
Jiang Suizhou was momentarily choked.
It was one thing to know about it and another to hear Huo Wujiu describe it
to him.
That was clearly a bloody and deeply agonizing past, but Huo Wujiu
mentioned it so lightly. It was as if he was not the one who endured such punishment that day, or the one who was sitting in a wheelchair now.
Jiang Suizhou did not speak for a while.
Just as Huo Wuju's inquiring gaze fell on him, Jiang Suizhou raised his
eyes to look out the window and spoke gently.
"If this Prince says I can cure you, then I can cure you," he declared.
There was no expression on his face, but Huo Wujiu could gauge the
determination in his eyes.
It was not the determination to win, but the firmness to accomplish
something, even at any cost.
Huo Wujiu couldn't help but clench his hand on his knee.
Jiang Suizhou continued speaking.
"There are countless doctors in the world. Not all of them are in the
Imperial Hospital, and not all treatment methods are found there. What's
more, Jiang Shunheng has done all sorts of evil. Not everything will go his
way," Jiang Suizhou said.
Huo Wujiu stared at him.
He wanted to tell him that in fact, he had already achieved what he had tried
so hard to do long ago.
If he hadn't sacrificed himself and damaged his health to find a doctor for
him, Li Changning and Wei Kai wouldn't have entered the manor so early,
and his legs wouldn't have been cured in advance, without the slightest
disability.
However, he couldn't speak of it for the time being.
Back then, he just thought all this was none of his business. They were not
involved in any way, so there was no need to be frank.
But now, he wanted to establish a relationship with him. It was just that
because of those momentary thoughts that day, he began to worry that his
dishonesty would be classified as deception.
He had always been decisive in attacking and cutting someone down, but
this simple thought made his lips and tongue pressed in his teeth. He
wavered to and fro, unable to voice it out.
For a moment, only a faint "hmm" remained, fleeting, and drowned by the
clatter of the wheels.
Jiang Suizhou chatted with Huo Wujiu and gradually fell asleep.
His seat was soft, but the carriage wall was nothing but hard. He leaned
against the carriage somewhat uncomfortably as the carriage jolted.
But perhaps he was sound asleep, so little by little, this discomfort
disappeared. He seemed to be leaning on a hard but tough thing, warm and
smooth, holding him in place. It felt like gradually sinking into an embrace.
He slept until Meng Qianshan awakened him.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, wake up. We are here," Meng Qianshan
called in front of him.
When Jiang Suizhou opened his eyes in a daze, he discovered that the
outside the carriage window was ablaze with lights. They had entered a
courtyard. The servants were already waiting outside the carriage. Huo
Wujiu was also sitting beside the carriage, with Wei Kai pushing him from
the back.
When Li Changning decocted medicine for him that day, he said it was
inconvenient for him to accompany him, but Jiang Suizhou and Huo Wujiu
needed someone to decoct medicine every day, so he asked Jiang Suizhou
to bring his apprentice with them.
Jiang Suizhou didn't want to speak out, and was afraid of making mistakes,
so he simply let Wei Kai take Sun Yuan's position and left Sun Yuan in the
manor.
He felt drowsy with a hazy patch before his eyes. After a while, he
gradually recovered his divine consciousness.
"I slept so soundly, I didn't even realize that we had arrived," he said
somewhat hoarsely.
He got off the carriage with Meng Qianshan's help and saw that they finally
reached the palace park on the mountain. Although the altitude of Tianping
Mountain wasn't high, the mountain peaks stretched. This was one of them,
and the former site of the Daoist temple that was demolished two years ago.
It was true that the scenery in the place was spectacular. In the evening,
they could vaguely make out the verdant mountains, the dense forests at the
foot of the mountain and the gurgling river. Pang Shao had put a lot of work
into it. Although the palatial garden area on the mountain wasn't that large,
every corner was exquisite and unique. From a distance, it resembled the
dwelling place of immortals in the mountains.
The main room in the courtyard was a five room house with two rows of
wing rooms on both sides. Meng Qianshan settled the people down quickly,
and invited Jiang Suizhou and Huo Wujiu into the main room.
There were two beds in the east and west rooms, so it saved a lot of trouble.
Although Jiang Suizhou had slept throughout the journey, the carriage was
bumpy, so he felt sore and fatigued. When he got into the room, Meng
Qianshan served him to clean up, and then he laid down on the bed.
"This Prince feels like my body is much better." Jiang Suizhou said.
Meng Qianshan smiled and pulled the blanket for him while asking, "What
do you mean, Your Highness?"
Jiang Suizhou replied, "This morning, this Prince sat in the carriage and felt
sore all over. I initially thought I couldn't stick it through all the way, but
surprisingly, I'm not as tired as I imagined until now."
Meng Qianshan sniggered at his words.
"What's the matter?" Jiang Suizhou was puzzled.
Then he saw Meng Qianshan shake his head repeatedly.
"Nothing, nothing," he laughed, "This servant is happy for Your Highness."
Jiang Suizhou looked puzzled and couldn't help but observe him a bit more,
but didn't question him any further.
As Meng Qianshan spoke, he let down the bed curtains for Jiang Suizhou
and retreated with a grin.
He was naturally happy for the Prince, but he couldn't speak frankly as to
why.
After Meng Qianshan exited Jiang Suizhou's bedroom, he chortled.
He couldn't possibly tell the Prince that he wasn't fatigued by the long
journey today because his body was hale and hearty, right?
He replayed what he saw during the day today once more.
He opened the curtains of the carriage today in an attempt to answer the
Prince, but he found him sleeping. He was not leaning against the carriage,
but Madam Huo, who was sitting in a wheelchair beside him and was
letting Jiang Suizhou lean on his shoulder.
When he opened the curtain, Madam Huo was gazing down at the Prince.
Meng Qianshan had never seen that look in his eyes before.
From what the Prince said just now, it must be because Madam Huo let him
sleep against him the entire time.
Meng Qianshan couldn't hold back his laughter again.
There was no question he was happy for the Prince. He was glad he wasn't
harboring wishful thoughts, and that it was a mutual affection.
——
The palatial garden on the mountain wasn't extensive, and there were few
rooms in the wing rooms on both sides. Due to the large number of servants they brought, they had to live in a crowd. Even Meng Qianshan had to live
in the same room with others.
The next day, they might have to follow the Emperor into the mountain.
There were a bunch of things to do, so Meng Qianshan sent others to watch
the night outside Jiang Suizhou's room, while he returned to his room to
rest first.
He lived in a quieter room, with only two beds. When he entered the room,
the other bed was already occupied.
Seeing him enter, the man stood up routinely and bowed: "Meng-
gonggong."
The man was precisely Dr. Li Changning's apprentice, who tagged along
with them pretending to be a servant.
Meng Qianshan waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Don't be so polite.
You can just rest."
He specifically arranged the kid in the room. He attended to Madam Huo
and decocted medicine for the two masters. The room next to them was
crowded with people with varying intentions. It was not as clean as Meng
Qianshan's.
Meng Qianshan noticed that the kid was dull but well-behaved. He obeyed
him and sat back on the bed. Meng Qianshan sat on his bed while taking off
his boots and chatting with him.
"Your master has also been serving at the Prince's side for a while now.
Have Madam Huo's legs improved?"
When Wei Kai, who was sitting next to him and pretending to be dumb,
heard his question, his nerves immediately tensed.
Here we go, he muttered deep inside.
He weighed his words carefully and said, "Meng-gonggong, we can only
alleviate Madam's pain to a degree for now. This way, Madam doesn't have to suffer painfully during rainy days. However, my master also said that the
meridians on Madam's legs have been completely damaged, I'm afraid…
we can only treat him to this extent."
Hearing these words, Meng Qianshan could not help but sigh.
"It's also good to reduce his pain to some extent," he remarked.
Wei Kai surveyed his expression and agreed repeatedly.
Seeing the kid's honesty, Meng Qianshan couldn't resist giving him a
couple of instructions, "You and your master just serve him well. As long as
Madam Huo's legs recover for one or two points, the two of you won't be
without the glory and wealth in the latter half of your lives. "
The moment Wei Kai heard his instruction, he pretended to be
dumbfounded, but his expression also bore a tinge of truth.
Don't tell me he discovered my identity? Otherwise, how could he say such
a thing?
He watched Meng Qianshan put his boots on the ground. He then raised his
eyes, glanced at him, and chuckled, "Madam Huo is quite important."
Wei Kai paused and hesitantly asked, "What… for?"
Meng Qianshan laughed a couple more times at his question.
What a truly naive boy. One was the Prince and the other was his wife. Why
else would the Prince spoil his wife?
He laughed some more and glanced away.
"You don't understand," he said slowly, "After a few years, you will
naturally know."
——