After bypassing the vast and exquisite garden, one could reach the rear residence of the prince's estate. A large area of unique houses was divided into courtyards. This was where the concubines of the prince's estate lived.
Prince Jing's Estate was originally the residence of a rich and powerful man in Lin 'an. The entire estate occupied a large area and was extremely luxurious and exquisite.When the imperial court fled here, the rich and powerful man was afraid that he wouldn't be able to keep his life, so he confiscated a lot of his property and gave away his home.
After that, this place became Prince Jing's Estate.
Prince Jing wasn't like the rich and powerful man who lived in the same house for several generations and had a large family. Such a large residence wasn't enough to accommodate all of them. Therefore, although there were many rooms in the rear residence, most of them were empty. There were too many empty rooms and too many years had passed, so there were many rooms that no one took care of them.
In a corner, as night fell, a few broken lamps lit up in a courtyard that had been in disrepair for a long time.
With a squeak, the door was pushed open.
A maidservant carrying a box of food stepped over the threshold and walked in with large strides. The main room wasn't big and the things inside hadn't been cleaned for a long time. As soon as she entered, there was dust everywhere and it was a bit choking.
She frowned in disgust and quickened her steps. She walked to the table in the room and put the box of food on the table.
"The food is here. Master, please help yourself." Her tone was cold and the two words "master" had a bit of sarcasm. It was extremely jarring in the quiet night.
The person in the wheelchair in the room didn't respond to her.
This maidservant had long seen that this person was not only disabled but also mute. As long as others didn't touch him, no matter how they bullied him, he wouldn't react.
Naturally, she was the best person to vent her anger on.
This maidservant had only been in Prince Jing's Estate for a few months and finally got a chance to serve her master.
Although the people in the estate were all masters, there were big differences. For example, Madam Xu's place wasn't a good place to go.
She had long wanted to find a way to get Madam Gu's courtyard to serve her, but she didn't expect that she would be assigned to this disabled person.
What kind of benefits could she get by coming here? Even a crippled person like him had to live in a run-down house with leaks.
The maid was full of resentment. When she saw the wheelchair, she felt unlucky.
Seeing that the cripple didn't speak as usual, she sneered and said, "I'm afraid you still don't know. When you made a move this afternoon, Madame Gu's servant girl went to the prince to complain. When His Highness heard this, he immediately said that he would go to Madam Gu's room tonight. "
Huo Wujiu remained motionless.
The maid's voice was sharp. "Do you know who Madam Gu is? You hit the prince's heart, do you think the prince will let you go? When the time comes, the prince will punish us, and we might even be implicated. I'm really unlucky. It's one thing to be assigned to such a lousy courtyard, but to encounter such a thing on my first day here. "
With that, she snorted coldly, turned around, and left.
"A cripple wants to fight with others? You're really overestimating yourself."
The door was slammed shut.
Huo Wujiu slowly closed his eyes.
At this moment, his forehead was burning intensely because the wounds on his body had not yet healed.
His mind was gradually covered by a layer of chaos, but he was still very clear-headed.
He hid all his emotions back into the depths of his eyes.
In those eyes, there was a wild beast that was forced into a narrow cage with its rationality, and was bruised by the iron cage until it was covered in blood.
He had only endured pain since he was young, and had never been humiliated.
He knew that the loser was always in the wrong, and that it was natural for him to be at the mercy of others. He also knew that he needed to stay on the mountain and endure hardships. As long as he was still alive, there would be a day when he would pay with his blood.
He knew that there was no pain that could not be overcome, but he never knew that to kill a tiger, one didn't really need to use a knife.
He only needed to injure it a little, lock it up, and sprinkle a handful of flies on its wound that couldn't be dispersed or avoided.
It would naturally die, bit by bit. No matter how strong it was, it would not be able to resist.
— —
Jiang Suzhou looked at them in a daze. Gu Changyun invited him to sit down and asked, "Master, did Pang Shao make any moves in the imperial court today?"
Jiang Suzhou was dumbfounded by Gu Changyun's question.
He had thought of many possibilities, but he didn't expect that this fox spirit was not a fox spirit, and that the short-lived marriage was not a short-lived marriage. These two people were actually the original owner's aides that he kept in the manor under the guise of his wife and concubine.
For a moment, many things became much clearer.
It turned out that the original owner's so-called "homosexual" was just an act. He didn't need to think to know that he pretended to be homosexual in front of his successor and Pang Shao, so that they wouldn't have any misgivings about him. As for the so-called concubines who died because of his cruelty and ruthlessness, they must have been planted by others to test him, so they died tragically in his hands.
For a moment, Jiang Suzhou felt some admiration for the original owner.
He endured humiliation and was meticulous. If he was the one sitting on the throne, the Jing Dynasty wouldn't have fallen so quickly.
He slowly sat down on the imperial tutor's chair in the middle of the room, digesting the sudden large amount of information.
After a moment, he chose his words carefully and said briefly, "He used the Emperor's mouth to ask for the right to repair the ancestral shrine."
After he finished speaking, he picked up the cup of tea that Gu Changyun had poured for him and took a sip.
Just now, he was so engrossed in flipping through the documents in the study that he forgot to drink water. Now that he was sitting here, he felt his mouth and tongue dry.
Jiang Suzhou took two sips of tea, but the room was silent. Neither of the two people said anything.
He put down the teacup and looked at them.
Xu Du, who was sitting at the side, asked unhurriedly, "Although the repair of the ancestral shrine doesn't have much to do with it, it was fought for by the officials of the Ministry of Rites … Now, it has been taken away by Pang Shao?"
His face was calm and his expression was indifferent. Just a few simple words made people feel as if they were bathing in the spring breeze.
Jiang Suzhou couldn't help but relax a little, "Since the Emperor asked for it, there was no other way."
At the side, Gu Changyun said, "Since he used the Emperor's mouth, it was indeed difficult for Your Highness to refuse. It's just a pity that the money will fall into Pang Shao's hands again. "
Xu Du said, "There will be more opportunities in the future. We just have to wait quietly. However, has Your Highness appeased the officials of the Ministry of Rites? "
Gu Changyun nodded, "Indeed. Those officials fought for Your Highness this time and did a lot of things. If they are angered, Your Highness's dealings with them these days will be used against Your Highness. "
After they finished speaking, the two of them turned to look at Jiang Suzhou.
Their words were straightforward and logical. It was obvious at a glance that the original owner of the body would share the news with these two people. To him, these two people were extremely trustworthy.
However, the premise was that … they didn't realize that Prince Jing had been replaced by another person.
As a result, Jiang Suizhou was rather cautious. After taking note of what they said, as well as the names of the officials, he nodded and said concisely, "This king knows. I have also informed lord Qi today."
The two of them nodded.
Then, Jiang Suzhou briefly told them about the other memorials in the imperial court. Fortunately, the new owner of this body was a fatuous ruler and didn't talk about anything useful during the previous morning court session. Therefore, Jiang Suzhou didn't spend too much effort.
The two of them naturally began to discuss with him.
What they were thinking about was what Pang Shao would do under the current situation, and what opportunities they would have to obstruct him and benefit from it. Jiang Suzhou gradually understood that these two people were the original owner of this body's brain. After analyzing and deducing for him, he would make the decision.
And because the original owner of this body was weak, when he went against Pang Shao, his methods weren't very honorable. For example, when he repaired the ancestral temple, the original owner of this body planned to embezzle money from it. The only difference between him and Pang Shao was who got the money.
Jiang Suzhou understood him. After all, the imperial court had reached such a stage that it was useless to keep it clean and honest.
Jiang Suzhou listened carefully to the two of them and noted down any useful information that he could use to fish in troubled waters in the future.
Time slowly passed. By the time they finished their discussion, half of the oil in the lamp had already been burned.
They stopped talking. Jiang Suzhou was a little thirsty from talking, so he picked up his teacup and drank two mouthfuls of tea.
At this moment, Gu Changyun spoke again.
"My lord … what do you think of Huo Wujiu?" he asked.
Jiang Suzhou was stunned.
… What do you mean by 'what do you think'? Are you trying to compete with him for favor?
He looked at Gu Changyun, wanting to say something, but hesitated. He didn't say anything for a while.
Gu Changyun rubbed his wrist and chuckled.
"My lord, don't think too much. After discussing with Xu Du today, I feel that … there are still some things that you need to do in Huo Wujiu."
Jiang Suzhou didn't understand. He tilted his head and motioned for Gu Changyun to continue.
Xu Du and Gu Changyun exchanged glances.
Gu Changyun continued, "Two years ago, Pang Shao and His Majesty didn't give you people. However, those people were all dealt with by my lord. Not a single one was left.Now, there are only the two of us in the residence, and we were all found by my lord … Therefore, this time, Pang Shao proposed to His Majesty to give Huo Wujiu to you as a concubine. He must have wanted to test you. "
Jiang Suzhou frowned, "You mean …"
Gu Changyun nodded.
"Let's not talk about His Majesty for now, but Pang Shao still has doubts about my lord's identity as a homosexual.The people he sent in previously were all spies. However, this time, Huo Wujiu is different … He is neither His Majesty nor Pang Shao's men, and he has outstanding looks. Therefore, Pang Shao must have sent people to secretly investigate and see if Your Highness … will still favor Huo Wujiu. "
Jiang Suzhou, "…"
Ah, you want me to favor Huo Wujiu to prove that I am a homosexual? Why don't you just chop off my head and hand it to Huo Wujiu?
He immediately refused, "If I don't favor Huo Wujiu, can that prove that I am a homosexual? This is not appropriate. "
However, Xu Du, who had been silent all this time, spoke up.
He said, "But if you favor him a few times, it can prove that Your Highness is a homosexual. If not, Pang Shao's party will send more people in soon. If Your Highness still kills them one by one … I think it won't be long before your identity is exposed. "
Gu Changyun nodded, "The two of us discussed and felt that this is the most appropriate way. Your Highness doesn't need to worry. You just need to spend more nights at Huo Wujiu's place during this period of time. "
In other words, it didn't matter whether you did anything to him or not.
As long as he personally showed Pang Shao that even if he hated men in Jiang Suzhou, as long as they were good-looking, he would force himself to sleep with them. That would be enough.
Xu Du continued, "Today is a good day. Changyun just had a conflict with Huo Wujiu. It is reasonable for my lord to visit him today. "
For a moment, two pairs of extremely serious eyes looked at Jiang Suzhou.
Jiang Suzhou looked at them and fell silent.
He had made many preparations so that he wouldn't have to sleep with the original owner's concubines.
However, he didn't expect that the original owner's concubines would look at him attentively and ask him to sleep with Huo Wujiu.