Meng Qianshan didn't succeed in helping Madame Huo move out of her courtyard today.
When his master realized that something wasn't right with Madame Huo and called out to her twice without receiving a response, Meng Qianshan hurriedly ran off to find a doctor.
Jiang Suzhou, who remained in the room, ordered the remaining servants to push Huo Wujiu into the inner room and help him lie down on the bed.
Huo Wujiu seemed to have a fever. Although he was still sitting upright, his reactions were much slower.
Only when someone tried to help him up did he react.
Just as the servant was about to touch his leg, he reflexively raised his hand and blocked the servant.
The servant's face was filled with astonishment. Huo Wujiu lowered his eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "I'll do it myself."
He was calm but unquestionable. The servant hurriedly looked towards Jiang Suizhou, waiting for the prince's personal order. However, he saw that Jiang Suizhou, who was sitting to the side, didn't look at him, but instead looked at Huo Wujiu.
Huo Wujiu ignored the others and placed his hands on the armrest. Although his movements were practiced, one could clearly see that he was weak and somewhat sluggish.
He slowly propped himself up and moved onto the bed.
After sitting on the bed, he didn't lie down. Instead, he slightly tilted his body and used the bedpost to support himself.
He still sat very straight.
Although he didn't say anything, Jiang Suzhou could see a hint of innate pride in his movements.
His gaze paused. Suddenly, he couldn't help but think of Huo Wujiu from the history books.
He was the son of the Jing Dynasty's Marquis Dingbei. He was born in Yangguan. At the age of six, he learned to ride and shoot. At the age of ten, he hunted tigers. In the twentieth year of Jianye, when he was thirteen, his father was forced to rebel by Emperor Jing Ling. In the twenty-third year of Jianye, his father died in the Battle of Xunyang. His uncle, who had accompanied his father in the rebellion, was also surrounded by the army.
It was he who took over the commander's flag in the midst of the chaos and broke out of the encirclement to save his uncle. He won the battle despite being outnumbered and became famous in one battle. After that, he protected his uncle and gradually became the commander of the Liang army.
Before he was captured, he had never lost a single battle. He was like a hot knife through butter. In just four years, he killed his way into Ye City and chased Queen Jing across the Yangtze River. From then on, Liangjing was governed by two different rivers.
What kind of young general was he? Even if the historian was impartial, it could not hide the legendary color of his body.
That was a hero that he had studied countless times through yellowed historical materials over a thousand years.
He ought to be a proud man.
Jiang Suzhou suddenly understood why his future master had broken Huo Wujiu's legs.
This seemed to be the only way to make him kneel.
Jiang Suzhou was so distracted that he did not notice that he was staring at Huo Wujiu. He also did not notice that even though Huo Wujiu was muddled from the fever, he was still keenly aware of his gaze. At this moment, he was frowning slightly and looking back at him.
By the time he came back to his senses, Huo Wujiu's gaze was exceptionally unfriendly.
Jiang Suizhou understood the look in his eyes at a glance.
It was as if he was silently asking him: Why haven't you left yet?
Jiang Suzhou: …
The rare bit of emotion that had risen in his heart immediately dissipated.
He withdrew his gaze and guiltily put on a cold face. He stood up, gathered his cloak with one hand, walked to the bedside, and looked down at Huo Wujiu.
"Why hasn't the estate doctor arrived yet?" He coldly asked the servant next to him.
The surrounding maids and servants all knew that the prince had a bad temper and was not easy to serve. Hearing this, none of them dared to speak. For a moment, the surroundings were silent.
However, only Jiang Suzhou knew that he was clearly embarrassed by Huo Wujiu's gaze. He was putting on a strong front but was actually weak inside. He hurriedly found an excuse to make up for it.
He glanced at Huo Wujiu from the corner of his eyes, but saw that he had already lowered his eyes and was no longer looking at him.
… Even though he was sick, he was still very unlikable.
Fortunately, at this moment, Meng Qianshan arrived with the estate doctor, panting.
It was Doctor Zhou.
Doctor Zhou rushed in with a medicine box. As soon as he entered the room, he saw the prince standing by the bed with a cold expression, as if he was confronting Huo Wujiu.Seeing him enter, the prince slightly tilted his head and looked at him with a pair of cold eyes.
Doctor Zhou had always been timid. He immediately lowered his head and did not dare to look at him.
"Come and take a look at him." He heard the prince coldly order.
"You're so sick. Don't die in this prince's residence."
That voice was very pleasant to the ears. The tone was arrogant and slow, but there was a hint of almost inaudible panting. Just by listening to it, one could tell that his body was not well and that he was lacking in energy.
Doctor Zhou hurriedly complied and walked forward with his eyes lowered. He just happened to see that Huo Wujiu, who was sitting on the bed, had slightly raised his eyes and looked at the prince with an unclear expression.
He seemed to want to withdraw his gaze, but something seemed to have attracted him. His gaze paused and he looked at the prince again.
Just as Doctor Zhou was about to take another look, he suddenly met a cold and gloomy gaze.
Huo Wujiu had discovered that he was spying on him.
That pair of eyes were clearly covered with a layer of mist, but it still scared Doctor Zhou to the point of trembling. He quickly lowered his eyes and obediently walked to Huo Wujiu's bed. He put down his medicine box and respectfully examined him.
Jiang Suzhou sat back down.
Meng Qianshan was next to him. He skillfully poured a new cup of hot tea for him and placed it next to his hand. He carefully asked, "Where will the prince be staying tonight?"
Looking at Madam Huo's condition today, it was certain that she would not be able to sleep with the prince.Moreover, he had a fever and the prince was weak. What if he passed the illness to the prince?
Jiang Suzhou looked at Doctor Zhou and did not speak for a while.
Meng Qianshan saw that he did not intend to speak, so he quietly waited on the side and did not ask any more questions.
After a while, Doctor Zhou turned around and knelt down in front of Jiang Suzhou.
"Your Highness, Madam Huo's illness is due to the high fever caused by the inflammation of her wound …" He hurriedly said, "Madam can endure it. Her fever has been burning for a while. Madam Huo's injury is already serious. If it drags on, I'm afraid her life will be in danger! "
Jiang Suzhou frowned, "It's that serious?"
Doctor Zhou nodded, "I'll go boil the medicine now and change the bandages for Madam Huo. As long as the fever subsides in time, she will be fine. "
Jiang Suzhou nodded, "Let Meng Qianshan boil the medicine and change the bandages for her."
Doctor Zhou hurriedly complied.
Jiang Suzhou supported his face with one hand and turned his head to look at Huo Wujiu, who was sitting by the bed.
Although he was still sitting, he had fainted from the fever.His eyes, which had glared at everyone just now, were also closed.
The doctor carefully removed the bandages and cleaned the wound. Fresh blood soaked the bandages and stuck to the flesh. When the doctor carefully removed the bandages, it was inevitable that the wound would be pulled.
Huo Wujiu's eyes were closed, but his brows were furrowed. He pursed his lips and, in a daze, tried not to gasp. When the bandages were removed, the doctor could feel from the trembling between his brows that he was in great pain.
Jiang Suzhou suddenly remembered a small matter.
When he was young, he lived in his father's house. Once, he was pushed down the stairs by his younger brother, who he didn't know, and sprained his ankle. His mother was in a bad mood and always cried. He didn't dare let her know, so he could only limp back to his room and endure the pain for an entire night.
The feeling of enduring the pain alone was too torturous. No matter how many books he read, they couldn't divert his attention.
However, for Huo Wujiu, this seemed to have become a habit engraved into his bones.
Jiang Suzhou's gaze couldn't help but stop on his body and didn't move away for a while.
His body was covered with crisscrossing wounds. They were fresh, stained with blood, and very deep.
… … How painful was that?
He quietly sat there and watched as the doctor cleaned Huo Wujiu's wounds, re-wrapped the bandages, and helped him lie down.
The doctor returned to Jiang Suzhou and knelt in front of him to report, "Your Highness, the bandages have been changed. From now on, just give Madam Huo some medicine and wash some cold handkerchiefs to lower her temperature. Once the fever subsides, she will be fine. "
Jiang Suzhou nodded and raised his hand to indicate for him to do it.
The doctor quickly went to prepare a handkerchief and placed it on Huo Wujiu's forehead.
Not long after, Meng Qianshan came back with the medicine.
He gave the medicine to the doctor and returned to Jiang Suzhou's side. He bowed and asked, "Your Highness, it's getting late. Why don't you return to An Yin Hall to rest?"
Seeing that Jiang Suzhou was looking at Huo Wujiu, he didn't forget to add, "If Your Highness is still worried, this servant will leave more people here to watch."
Jiang Suzhou paused.
He naturally knew that Huo Wujiu wouldn't be burned to death, so there was nothing to worry about.
However, he couldn't help but think of the original Huo Wujiu.
At that time, there definitely wasn't anyone to change the bandages for him. He had endured like this for who knows how many days and nights until he managed to drag his life back from the hands of the King of Hell.
Perhaps it was because Jiang Suzhou knew what it felt like to endure the pain alone, but he suddenly didn't want to leave.
After a while, he said faintly, "Go find me a book."
Meng Qianshan was stunned.
He spoke quickly and directly said, "Your Highness, don't tell me you're not leaving …"
Jiang Suizhou looked up and glanced at him, causing him to swallow the rest of his words back into his mouth.
Meng Qianshan could only nod and go find him a book.
— —
By the time Huo Wujiu woke up, it was already the latter half of the night.
He slowly opened his eyes and felt something on his forehead. He raised his hand and pulled the thing off. He saw that it was a damp cold handkerchief.
He frowned.
It seemed that he had started to have a fever in the afternoon. This wasn't strange. He had been injured so many times on the battlefield that he would occasionally have a fever. He would get better after a good night's sleep.
At night, it seemed that Imperial Prince Jing came by. He didn't know what the prince wanted to do before he fainted from the fever.
Huo Wujiu raised his hand and touched his forehead.
It was cold and cool.
At this time, he was clearly conscious, but he had an extremely unreal feeling.
He was clearly a prisoner of war from the enemy country and was sent to Imperial Prince Jing's estate as a tool to humiliate Imperial Prince Jing. However, he was now lying peacefully on the bed. The wounds on his body had been treated cleanly, and there was a cold handkerchief on his forehead. There was a faint smell of medicine in the air.
It was obviously very painful, but it seemed peaceful and calm.
He was born at the border and had a tough life. He was able to withstand beatings and injuries. He had never been taken care of like this in his life.
He turned his head sideways.
Then, he saw a person sitting in the dim light of the lamp.
He held a book in one hand and rested it on his knee. The other hand was propped up on the side of his head. He had already fallen asleep. His eyelashes were very long and covered his cold and arrogant eyes.
The light shone on the side of his face, giving him a soft layer of light.
Huo Wujiu clearly realized that he was watching over him.
He couldn't help but stop breathing.