Jiang Suzhou naturally did not know how the secret letter that Huo Wujiu received scolded him. He happily went around the Ministry of Rites and went to his study when he returned to his residence.
Because of their conversation that day, Ji You's attitude towards him had become much closer. Today, he even gave him two books and said that he wanted to borrow them to read together.
Of course, they were two unofficial history books.
Because of his own experience, Jiang Suizhou more or less didn't like unofficial histories. Thus, after thanking Ji You for his good intentions, he put away the two books and casually placed them on the table.
Whoever wanted to read them could read them. He did not want to take the risk of transmigrating again.
Moreover, he had other things to do — —
For example, the secret letter sent to him by the two ministers.
He was extremely cautious and kept the letter when he received it early in the morning. Only when there was no one around did he open the letter and read it.
— — As he had guessed, the letter did not provide any useful information.
These two ministers were not high-ranking officials. They just happened to be in the Ministry of Works. Thus, when this matter was taken over by the Ministry of Works, they could easily find out the budget and who was in charge.They also did some calculations for Jiang Suzhou and calculated how much money Pang Shao could get from this project.
It was indeed a considerable amount.
The two ministers must have been anxious because of this. In the letter, they asked him if they wanted to plant some of their own people in the project.
Jiang Suzhou fell into deep thought.
Based on his understanding of the original owner, he would definitely do something. Even if there was no return or even a loss, he had to try.
However, Jiang Suzhou knew that this was completely useless.
Pang Shao would never let any official that he did not trust handle the money. Thus, even if he planted his own officials in the project, they would not be able to touch the money allocated by the imperial court. Under such circumstances, the only thing that could be done was to collect evidence of corruption and report it to the imperial court … — —
However, what was the relationship between Pang Shao and the future owner? What was the relationship between him and the future owner?
Obviously, he was asking for trouble. He was afraid that the future owner would not be able to catch him.
Moreover, the planted officials would be pushed into the teeth of the storm and could easily be harmed by Pang Shao.
Before transmigrating, when he was reading history books, he had seen many officials in Nanjing who died in accidents during certain projects.
Jiang Suzhou did not dare to take this risk.
He pondered for a moment and carefully read the letter. He roughly memorized the numbers and names in it and put the letter in a secret compartment on the table.
There were already a lot of letters there.
They were all saved by the original owner. Jiang Suzhou spent a lot of effort to find this secret compartment.
He roughly determined the influence of the original owner based on the letters...
Most of the information collected from the letters stored here was fragmentary and had no reference value.However, according to the positions of the officials in the letters, these people did not have any real power. Even these bits and pieces of pitiful information were obtained by them with all their might.
These officials painstakingly collected the information and handed it to the original owner. The original owner did not let their efforts down. The letters in the box were all marked with annotations. It could be seen how much effort the original owner put into reading them.
Jiang Suzhou put the letter away and carefully locked it. Then, he began to write a reply to the two officials.
He did not directly reject them. He only told them not to make a move and that he would act according to the situation. When the time came, if he found an opportunity to plant them, he would inform them immediately.
Fortunately, there were a few letters in the study that the original owner had not sent. Jiang Suzhou could reluctantly imitate his tone and finish writing the letter.
After he finished writing, Jiang Suzhou read the letter and waited for the ink to dry.
He could not help but sigh.
It had been three years since Nanjing escaped from the Yangtze River. They had gradually walked out of the fear of their country being destroyed. They seemed to have accepted the current situation where they were ruled by separate rivers. More than a month ago, Huo Wujiu sent troops south and broke the original balance. However, when they were crossing the river, their reinforcements were cut off and they were besieged and captured.
Now that even General Huo was no longer in Beiliang, the officials in Nanjing were naturally more at ease.
Because of this, Pang Shao was able to freely embezzle and seize power without any qualms. The new owner only wanted to enjoy himself. As for King Jing and the officials behind him, they were all trying their best to fight for power with Pang Shao's faction. They wanted to find a way out of the dark clouds.
However, none of them knew that their days were numbered and that the building was about to collapse.
They were trying their best to climb up the building that was about to collapse.
Jiang Suzhou looked out the window.
He gradually accepted the fact that he was dragged into this period of history. At the same time, he was also being dragged into this torrent of events.
Gradually, he wanted to help them.
— —
By the time he came out of the study, the sky had already darkened. He handed the secret letter to Meng Qianshan and watched him skillfully stuff the letter into his clothes.
Jiang Suzhou looked away, relieved.
Perhaps it was because his body was weak, but he did not look well after sitting for a long time. Meng Qianshan saw that his lips were a little pale and asked considerately, "Master, you must be tired. Do you want me to prepare a bath for you?"
When Jiang Suizhou heard his question, he also felt a little tired, so he nodded his head.
Meng Qianshan nodded repeatedly.
Jiang Suzhou went back to his room and saw that dinner was already prepared. Under the bright lights, Huo Wujiu was sitting there reading a book.
How many books could there be in his room? They were all prepared by Meng Qianshan to relieve the original host's boredom before going to bed. The original host preferred obscure Confucian ancient books that talked about the ways of the world. Jiang Suzhou was used to reading ancient texts and did not find them boring. However, Huo Wujiu was different.
How could a person who wielded swords and sabers read these things?
With this thought, Jiang Suzhou sat down at the table and asked, "Reading?"
His tone was very cold, clearly showing that he was not interested in what the other party was doing.
He did not expect Huo Wujiu to pay attention to him. His words were just an opening remark. As his voice fell, he paused and was about to ask Meng Qianshan to send some leisure books to Huo Wujiu when he suddenly heard a deep and mellow voice.
"Just casually flipping through." Huo Wujiu said.
Jiang Suzhou was shocked.
He looked at Huo Wujiu in disbelief and saw that he was eating calmly.
The words he had prepared were about to speak, but Huo Wujiu's abrupt response stopped him. For a moment, Jiang Suzhou did not speak.
He saw Huo Wujiu raise his eyes and look at him indifferently.
He did not know if it was an illusion, but he felt that when Huo Wujiu looked at him this time, his expression was still cold and unapproachable. However, the aggression in his eyes had lessened by a lot, and the oppressive aura had also dissipated by more than half.
For a moment, Jiang Suzhou thought that he was seeing things.
He was stunned and hurriedly put away his surprise. He lowered his eyes and picked up some food with his chopsticks, saying, "Yes. What books do you usually read?Ask Meng Qianshan to bring you some. "
As he spoke, he signaled Meng Qianshan with his eyes.
Meng Qianshan, who was behind him, nodded repeatedly.
However, he heard Huo Wujiu speak again.
"No need." He said.
After a pause, Huo Wujiu looked at him indifferently and said, "I'm not used to being taken care of by others."
His words were not only referring to the matter of finding the book, but also the sacrifice he had made in court a few days ago, as well as the letter he had sent to him. Meng Qianshan was naturally aware of this.
If Prince Jing insisted on liking him, he could not do anything about it. However, he also did not want to accept Prince Jing's favoritism and good intentions.
He had to return the favor after receiving it. He could not return this kind of feeling.
Jiang Suzhou, who was sitting across from him, raised his eyes. A trace of surprise flashed across his eyes, and then he laughed coldly, saying, "When have I ever taken care of you? I just wanted to find something for you to do so that you don't cause trouble for me. "
Jiang Suzhou was very happy.
How could he not get used to it? For the sake of my life, there are many things I will have to take care of you in the future!
Get used to it as soon as possible!
Huo Wujiu frowned. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Meng Qianshan beside him smile like a flower. He laughed mischievously and nodded, saying that he would pick out more books for his wife to choose from.
Obviously, this master and servant pair did not intend to listen to his opinion.
Huo Wujiu lowered his eyes, and Jiang Suzhou did not say anything else. After he finished eating, he went to the side to drink some tea.
He was in a good mood.
As the night deepened, Meng Qianshan came over and told him that the bath in the back room was ready and that he could take a bath.
Jiang Suzhou agreed, put down the book, and went to the back room.
As he walked around the silk screen, he could feel the steam rising from it. Under the heavy gauze curtains, there was already a flickering candle flame. Amidst the misty steam, there was a hint of flirtatiousness.
In the center of the back room, there was a bronze pool with carved flowers. It wasn't very big, about three to five square feet. At this time, the pool had already been filled with hot water. There was even a layer of flower petals floating in the pool, faintly emitting a delicate fragrance.
A few maids stood by the side, looking as if they were going to wait on Jiang Suzhou as he bathed.
… This was too inappropriate.
Jiang Suzhou withdrew his gaze and waved his hand, indicating for them to leave.
The maids left obediently. They did not even make a sound when they moved. After a while, they had all left.
Jiang Suzhou turned around and looked at Meng Qianshan, saying, "You can leave too."
Meng Qianshan was stunned, "Ah?"
This … Usually, when his master bathed, there was no time when there was no one to wait on him. Except when he was in Madam Gu's room …
Thinking of this, Meng Qianshan suddenly understood.
How could he be so insensible! There was another master in the room, how could he wait on him!
He nodded repeatedly, beaming, "Ah! This servant will take his leave now! "
He did not know if it was Jiang Suzhou's illusion, but he always felt that Meng Qianshan's expression … was a little indescribable wretchedness.
After he left, Jiang Suzhou walked to the side of the pool and leaned over to test the temperature. Then, he took off his layers of robes and hung them on the rack beside him.
At this time, there was no one around. He relaxed his mind and began to think about other things.
In two days, it would be the day of the imperial court meeting. He should think of a way to discuss the matter of the secret letter with the two aides …
He thought about it as he undressed. Just as he undid the belt of his inner robe and was about to take it off, he heard a clear sound behind him.
Jiang Suzhou turned around.
He saw Meng Qianshan pushing Huo Wujiu's wheelchair. Huo Wujiu sat upright in the wheelchair with an expressionless face. He looked like a Buddha who had been pushed in.
Behind him, Meng Qianshan smiled wretchedly.
Jiang Suzhou's mind went blank. In the next moment, he immediately understood what Meng Qianshan was planning.
He actually dared to bring Huo Wujiu here and ask him to bathe with him?