The bones and muscles on his shoulders were firm and hard. Jiang Suzhou felt dizzy when he bumped into them.
After a brief moment of dizziness, a hand grabbed Jiang Suzhou's arm.
Because the hand was quite strong, Jiang Suzhou felt pain in his bones. Then, the hand lifted him up steadily and pulled him into a sitting position.
"Sit tight." He heard Huo Wujiu's voice.
Jiang Suzhou rubbed his temples awkwardly and cleared his throat.
"Sorry." He tried to make his voice calm and indifferent.
Huo Wujiu made a sound of acknowledgment.
The carriage started moving, the wheels rolling. For a moment, there was noise all around. The curtain of the carriage was slowly lifted by the wind, and the atmosphere was not so awkward.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Suzhou secretly glanced at Huo Wujiu.
He sat beside him and turned his head slightly, looking calmly out of the window. The curtain was slowly lifted, and the rain fell in. A few rays of light from outside shone on Huo Wujiu's face, leaving a few warm spots on his cheeks.
Jiang Suzhou did not know if it was an illusion, but he felt that Huo Wujiu's lips were a little pale, and did not seem normal.
However, the light in the carriage was too dim. For a moment, Jiang Suzhou could not tell if he was seeing things.
He could not help but take a few more glances.
At this moment, Huo Wujiu calmly turned his gaze back to him.
He had been caught red-handed. Jiang Suzhou paused and asked stiffly, "Is it cold?"
It should not be cold. It was already early spring. Although the rain outside was a little cold, it was not a problem for Huo Wujiu. After all, not everyone was like him, with a body made of paper.
Huo Wujiu slowly opened his mouth and said, "It's not cold."
His gaze swept over his leg without leaving a trace.
Since it started raining this morning, his leg had started to hurt. It was a pain that he was already used to, but after he went out, it suddenly became serious.
Like a chainsaw or a blunt axe, it cut into his meridians again and again, pulling at his legs until they felt like they were being tortured continuously. It was so painful that his scalp was numb, and his hands on his knees were tightly clenched into fists.
Naturally, he wouldn't tell Jiang Suizhou about this. He didn't think it was necessary, and he didn't want to scare him.
However, Prince Jing seemed to really want to chat with him.
Ever since she got into the car, she had been absent-minded. Just now, she was even secretly staring at him.
He glanced indifferently at Jiang Suizhou.
"Are you cold?" he asked.
Jiang Suizhou shook his head. "I saw that you … kept looking outside. I think it's because the wind is too cold."
Huo Wujiu chuckled softly from the window.
"Why don't you guess that I want to run?" he said.
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly. The curtain slowly fluttered, causing the light in his eyes to flicker. For a moment, it seemed like he was teasing him.
Jiang Suizhou was stunned. Then, he felt inexplicably uneasy and hurriedly looked outside the window.
"You can try and see if the emperor secretly sent someone to spy on you," he said coldly.
… He just said a few words, why did he panic?
Huo Wujiu looked away, and the smile on his lips deepened.
— —
The carriage stopped outside of Kaiyang Gate.
Jiang Suizhou was helped out of the carriage. He saw that there were already many carriages around him. Officials and women were coming and going. It was especially lively.
As soon as he got out of the carriage, he felt that many people were looking at him. Even more people were looking behind him. Jiang Suizhou knew that these people were waiting to see Huo Wujiu.
His expression was cold and arrogant. He stood beside the carriage, and a servant hurriedly came forward to help Huo Wujiu move his wheelchair.
Seeing that everyone's footsteps had slowed down, Jiang Suizhou frowned impatiently.
You want to watch the show, right? Fine, I'll show you.
He turned around and sternly said to the servants, "Hurry up. How long do you want this prince to wait?"
The servants hurriedly bowed and apologized, then hurriedly moved Huo Wujiu out of the carriage.
Jiang Suizhou looked away and coldly swept his gaze over the surrounding officials.
He was extremely irritable and looked like he was about to be implicated at any time. This time, everyone looked away and walked away as if they didn't see him.
Jiang Suizhou looked away with satisfaction, put his hands behind his back, and walked towards Kaiyang Gate.
Meng Qianshan hurriedly pushed Huo Wujiu and hurriedly followed his footsteps.
Because His Highness Prince Jing was in a bad mood and looked like he could fly into a rage at any time, the ordinary officials didn't dare to provoke him even though they wanted to say a few words. As a result, the journey was much smoother.
However, there were all kinds of overt and covert sizing up of him, especially the person behind him.
Huo Wujiu.
Before this year, this name was like a malicious spirit that would haunt them to their deaths.
It was this person who led troops all the way from Yang Pass to Ye City. He chased them out of their century-old ancestral land and all the way to the south of the Yangtze River. At the end of last year, it was also this person who suddenly led tens of thousands of troops to the riverside. It looked like they were about to cross the river and exterminate Grand Jing.
Fortunately, the Yangtze River was easy to defend and difficult to attack. For some reason, Northern Liang's advance troops crossed the river, but the troops behind them didn't follow. This allowed the generals guarding the river to seize the opportunity and surround Huo Wujiu's more than a thousand troops.
Even so, this battle lasted for seven to eight days. It wasn't until the enemy ran out of ammunition and food that they barely managed to capture Huo Wujiu.
What did this mean to Grand Jing?
It was like having one foot in the gates of hell, but they managed to kill Wujiu, who wanted to take their lives.
Now, Wujiu's legs were broken and he was being pushed behind His Highness Prince Jing. He was attending His Majesty's birthday banquet as a member of Prince Jing's family.
More or less, everyone wanted to see what the legendary General Huo looked like.
However, he didn't look like the black-faced, round-eyed, bearded brute they had imagined.
On the contrary, he was an extremely handsome man.
He sat quietly in his wheelchair. His tall, slender body looked a little aggrieved, but he sat upright. He was dressed very simply and his face wasn't very red, but he was as sharp as an unsheathed blade. No one dared to approach him.
However, at this moment, the atmosphere around him changed slightly.
Jiang Suzhou also saw a person out of the corner of his eye.
He was tall and muscular. Although he was wearing a wide-sleeved imperial robe, he looked like a bandit who had climbed out of the mountains. His dark face was very conspicuous. His large, bell-like eyes were filled with grief and anger. The rims of his eyes were even a little red as he stared at Jiang Suzhou.
… Oh, it was Ji Hongcheng.
Jiang Suzhou secretly took a deep breath.
Ji Hongcheng was a reckless and straightforward person. Now that he saw Huo Wujiu, who knew what he would say or do.
He prepared himself and waited for Ji Hongcheng to make trouble.
Sure enough, Ji Hongcheng strode towards him. His robe fluttered in the wind. He looked like a black bear that had drilled through a cloth shop. He was wrapped in silk and satin, baring his fangs and brandishing his claws, ready to pounce and eat someone.
However, Ji Hongcheng stopped three steps away from him.
Jiang Suzhou stopped and looked at him with a frown. He saw Ji Hongcheng standing there, motionless.
… What was he trying to do?
Jiang Suzhou was a little confused. He saw Ji Hongcheng fiercely glare at him with his bell-like eyes, then turn around and leave. The delicate and pretty lady next to him turned around apologetically and bowed to Jiang Suzhou.
… He left just like that?
Jiang Suzhou looked at him in confusion. He just thought that this guy didn't dare to go crazy at the empress's birthday banquet.
However, he didn't know that just as Ji Hongcheng was walking towards him, an extremely small ball made of paper flew through the air like a sharp arrow. It steadily hit Ji Hongcheng's chest and fell into his arms.
No one saw this small object the size of a fly, and no one saw who made it.
Only Ji Hongcheng, who hurriedly hid in his room and carefully unfolded the ball of paper to take a look, knew.
On the paper, there was an iron hook and silver drawing. It was obvious that it was General Huo's notes.
[Don't send any more letters. Wait for the time to pass.
When Lou Yue returns to the capital, send Zhi Liu over.]
Ji Hongcheng immediately understood what he meant.
It turned out that General Huo had already made plans without him saying anything. He hadn't done anything all this time. He was just waiting for the right time.
This right time … was General Lou.
However, General Lou was loyal to the emperor and the country. If General Huo rebelled … would General Lou really help him?
Ji Hongcheng's heart was pounding. He stuffed the note into his mouth and swallowed it.
— —
Huo Wujiu had already guessed that he would run into Ji Hongcheng at the banquet today.
Although this person wanted to help him, it wasn't of much use. On the contrary, he kept sending letters, but all of them were useless. It was easy to attract attention and cause trouble for the Imperial Prince Jing Estate.
To Huo Wujiu, his only use was to contact Lou Yue for him.
Huo Wujiu sat quietly in his wheelchair. His gaze was extremely deep.
He forced himself not to die, not because he wanted to let Jiang Sunheng humiliate him for a few more years, but because he was waiting for an opportunity to leave this place. In all of Nanjing, he had no one to rely on. The only person he could rely on was Lou Yue.
Although Lou Yue was on different sides from his father and was now his enemy, he still owed him a life in the early years. It could be considered a favor.
Huo Wujiu didn't care about asking for favors, and he also wouldn't let Lou Yue do anything that went against his principles. But now, he was deep in enemy territory. He could only use this to find a way out.
Thinking of this, he raised his eyes and looked towards Jiang Suizhou.
He was walking a step in front of Huo Wujiu. His figure was tall and slender, and his robes fluttered in the wind. His expression was probably very unsightly right now, which was why the people around him were cautiously looking in his direction but didn't dare to come forward.
If that day really came … Jiang Sunheng probably wouldn't let it go so easily.
Huo Wujiu looked away.
If the heavens didn't want him to die, if there was even a little bit of strength left, then he would see if he could save this rabbit's life on account of its kind heart and inexplicably infatuation with him.
Jiang Suizhou, who was walking in front, naturally didn't know what Huo Wujiu was thinking behind him.
Under the guidance of the palace servants, he walked all the way to Xiwu Hall. There, he saw that there was already an attendant waiting for him. Seeing him arrive, the attendant hurriedly greeted him with a smile and bowed deeply.
"Greetings to Your Imperial Highness, Prince Jing. This servant will lead you to your seat."
As he spoke, he slightly turned his body and was about to invite Jiang Suizhou inside.
However, at this moment, his gaze fell behind Jiang Suizhou.
Immediately, the attendant's smile became more flattering. He stepped forward and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Your Imperial Highness. We have rules in the palace — — family members need to sit in the women's seats."
As he spoke, he raised his voice and said to someone behind him, "Hurry up and get someone to lead Prince Jing's wife to the banquet hall on the west side …"
However, Jiang Suizhou raised his hand and interrupted him with a cold expression.
Send Huo Wujiu to sit in the women's seats? Was this a joke?
Jiang Suizhou didn't need to think about it to know that this was a method that his successor had thought of to humiliate him. Moreover, this would leave Huo Wujiu alone. At that time, it would be very easy for him to use underhanded methods.
Therefore, he definitely couldn't agree.
As for how to say it …
Jiang Suizhou paused and gloomily looked at Huo Wujiu. Then, he turned his gaze and looked at the attendant.
His gaze was as cold as a poisonous snake's. There was a hint of a smile on his face, which instantly revealed an indescribably perverted and sinister aura.
He slowly opened his mouth.
"This prince needs to personally keep an eye on this wife of mine. He's very wild. Only this prince can control him … Eunuch, please make an exception for me. "
His tone was gentle, but it inexplicably sent a chill down the attendant's spine. When he carefully looked at Prince Jing, he saw that Prince Jing was standing with his back to the light with a cold smile on his face.
His attitude and tone clearly didn't sound like he was asking the attendant to make an exception. Instead, it sounded more like he was telling the attendant that he needed to bring in more toys to fiddle with.