Jiang Suizhou was sitting alone on a tree trunk that was stretched across the ground.
Huo Wujiu moved to and fro several times and dealt with the corpses on the ground neatly. The terrain in the mountain was treacherous, and there was a canyon nearby. Huo Wujiu’s movements were quite fast. In short order, everything in front of Jiang Suizhou was clean as a pin.
A few moments later, footsteps sounded in the air. Jiang Suizhou looked up and saw Huo Wujiu landing in front of him.
He did not hide his legs at all. He sat down in front of Jiang Suizhou, and ripped off the hem of his robe.
Jiang Suizhou only stared at his shoulder.
After a moment of silence, Huo Wujiu chuckled deeply.
“Ask whatever you want to ask.” he prodded, “What can you know from staring at me?”
However, he heard Jiang Suizhou take a breath and say in a somewhat wavering voice, “I’ll bandage it for you, all right?”
Huo Wujiu handed the torn cloth on Jiang Suizhou’s lap, and while neatly unfastening his robe, he replied, “No, you don’t know how.”
As he spoke, he had already ripped open half of his lapel, revealing part of his muscular shoulders. It was just that when he exposed this piece of skin, several old wounds, all of which were pale scars, came to light. The deepest one ran across his clavicle. Amidst its hideousness, the smooth and rugged collarbone actually made it appear rather charming.
And in his shoulder socket was the new wound that was still bleeding.
The dagger didn’t pierce too deep, but it also tore his flesh, making it look quite appalling. Huo Wujiu put the cloth over the wound with one hand, bit down on one end, wrapped it a few times, and then roughly bandaged his wound.
Another moment of silence later, he bit the cloth. His eyes fell on his own shoulder, and he addressed Jiang Suizhou, “Aren’t you going to ask when my legs healed?”
Only Huo Wujiu himself knew that he was hiding a trace of apprehension under his lowered eyelashes.
He jumped out of the back window of Jiang Suizhou’s room, bypassed the surrounding guards, and then entered the mountain. When he went up the mountain the day before yesterday, he memorized the right direction and headed straight to the hunting ground.
Sure enough, Pang Shao made a move against Jiang Suizhou on the hunting grounds.
The Hou Zhu drew the whip that fell on Jiang Suizhou’s horse, but Huo Wujiu knew all too well that what drove the horse crazy was the concealed weapon that struck it.
Once he fell off the horse under any circumstances, his life absolutely would be in danger. Huo Wujiu didn’t care to find out who released the concealed weapon. He dove into the forest to chase after the horse. However, just when he caught up, he saw Jiang Suizhou fall into an ambush that was set up early on.
As expected, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. One hoop after the other, Pang Shao made arrangements long ago with no intention of leaving Jiang Suizhou half a chance of survival.
Huo Wujiu could no longer care about anything else, and had no choice but to show himself immediately.
He knew that this was the only way he could save Jiang Suizhou. On the flip side, he also knew that in this manner, his legs would be exposed.
But he didn’t regret it either.
He lowered his gaze, as if seriously dressing his wound, but the force under his hands couldn’t help exert more strength. He even squeezed the wound till it bled.
Just then, Jiang Suizhou interrupted him.
“There’s no need to ask,” he said, “Li Changning lied to me before, didn’t he?
Huo Wujiu ceased moving.
“Mm.,” he responded.
“So that means he’s your man,” Jiang Suizhou said. “The apprentice following him resembled a man in the military camp at first sight. He didn’t look right when he saw you. However, I was ill at that time and had little energy. Li Changning claimed he was a farmer, and I believed it.
Jiang Suizhou’s voice was nothing but calm.
However, Huo Wujiu felt as if a fine silk thread was strangling his heart, tightening by the minute.
His hand that was tying the knot to the wound stopped in place and he didn’t move much.
Sure enough, he said to himself, He has always been smart. So long as he sees something, no further explanation is needed.
Huo Wujiu, however, tasted some bitterness in his mouth.
Akin to a prisoner awaiting his sentence, he had been hanging all day long and the dust finally settled today but he was not happy at all.
“Yes,” he confirmed, “So…”
Therefore, I’m not a frank and honest partner. You can be disappointed with me, but I will still do what I promised before.
He choked in his throat, quite unable to speak.
Just then, Jiang Suizhou interrupted him.
“So you can’t bandage your wound like this,” he leaned down and said to Huo Wujiu, “Although I don’t know anything, I still know that you can’t bandage it tightly. Even if there’s no wound medicine here, shouldn’t you clean the wound first? I vaguely hear the sound of water. Is there a stream nearby?”
Huo Wujiu hesitated: “There’s one half a mile to the west.”
“Come on, let’s go to the stream first,” Jiang Suizhou said as he stood up.
He had been sitting for a long time, and Huo Wujiu carried him earlier, so he had forgotten that he had sprained his foot. As soon as he got up, he took a painful breath and nearly plunged to the ground.
Huo Wujiu raised his hand and caught him.
“What happened to your foot?” Huo Wujiu asked.
Jiang Suizhou was propped up on Huo Wujiu’s arm. His arm muscle was firm, and it felt as hard as a stone to the touch. With his support, everything was seemingly steady with a sense of security.
“When I fell off the horse, I twisted it a little,” he explained.
Huo Wujiu stood still. A moment later, he sighed helplessly and clenched his teeth.
“How can you forget even this?”
Jiang Suizhou was a little embarrassed.
In fact, what happened to Huo Wujiu when he was injured was shocking. Jiang Suizhou was too focused on checking on him and forgot about his sprain.
Huo Wujiu looked down, saw his expression and immediately understood what he was thinking.
There really was nothing he could do about the man in front of him.
He kept silent for a couple of seconds and whispered again.
“As I said earlier, Li Changning lied to you,” he said. “He follows my orders, so it’s I…”
Just then, Jiang Suizhou interrupted him.
“So, it’s a good thing, ah!” Jiang Suizhou exclaimed. “I’ve always had a headache with your legs, but I didn’t expect to have your people come to you and cure you.”
Huo Wujiu once again froze and looked down at Jiang Suizhou.
He found Jiang Suizhou also looking up at him. The sparkling joy in those eyes didn’t seem fake at all.
“So, why don’t we hurry up and go to the stream?” He urged, “If you don’t clean your wound any time soon, your legs might be fine, but your arm will be crippled.”
The door of the room opened and then closed again.
Jiang Suizhou left.
Gu Changyun walked back slowly to Xu Du’s side and sat down, picking up his own cup of tea.
“It’s still early. Shall we play a game of chess and then go back?” He suggested lazily, blowing on the floating leaves on the water.
Xu Du, however, made no sound.
Gu Changyun raised his eyes and saw that Xu Du was sizing him up.
They had worked together for a long time, and with a single look, Gu Changyun understood what he was thinking.
He held his tea and let out a snort of laughter.
Xu Du opened his mouth and said, “You can see it too.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement.
That, although clearly the King looked like the King, he was in no way the King.
Both of their lives were tethered to His Highness, so His Highness never worried that they would defect, let alone had to pretend in front of them…He had never treated the two of them so calmly.
Especially when Pang Shao snatched away what was his, he was too calm.
As for Huo Wujiu…
His Majesty bestowed their marriage through a decree, so His Highness had loathed him before even seeing him. His Highness transferred all his hatred for Pang Shao and His Majesty to Huo Wujiu, wishing to let Huo Wujiu die a violent death in his residence like those scouts, and let people drag him to a mass grave.
After all, to His Highness, Huo Wujiu was a symbol of the emperor’s wanton humiliation of him. A day that Huo Wujiu stayed in his house meant a day he was trampled under the feet of the good-for-nothing he had always despised.
Therefore, at a glance, Xu Du saw through Gu Changyun’s scrutiny with his proposal just now.
Gu Changyun put down his cup of tea.
“What do I see? The one who came just now, isn’t he the King?”
He spoke breezily. While speaking, he took out a chessboard and two chess baskets, one black and one white, from under the table where he sat, and placed one of them in Xu Du’s hand.
“No matter what, the lives of my whole family are in His Highness’s hands.” Gu Changyun drawled as he slowly and orderly moved the chess pieces.
“As long as we obey the King’s orders, we don’t have to worry about anything else, right?”
Saying that, he dropped a piece on the chessboard and raised his eyes at Xu Du.
Flickers of excitement shimmered in those exquisite and delicate eyes, that were as cold as a bottomless abyss.
Those two lulled Jiang Suizhou. After weighing the pros and cons, he still went to Huo Wujiu’s residence.
He had killed those previous spies sent in as concubines, but the more of them he killed, the more suspicious he’d become. What was more, he was a modern man and couldn’t send someone to kill another.
This time…he could only rely on Huo Wujiu.
Along the way, Jiang Suizhou was chagrined.
He regretted speaking too harshly.
Last night, he had warned Huo Wujiu not to be an eyesore, yet today, he himself rushed to his residence to be an eyesore.
Before he even arrived at Huo Wujiu’s residence, he had already felt embarrassed for himself.
The palanquin traveled for a long time before it finally arrived at a dimly lit courtyard.
Jiang Suizhou sat in the palanquin and only glanced at it briefly before withdrawing his gaze.
Next to the courtyard, it was pitch black with some faint lights in the distance. That must be the house where the servants lived.
But unexpectedly, the palanquin stopped in front of this courtyard gate.
Jiang Suizhou looked askance at Meng Qianshan, who was beaming at him from the side. Meng Qianshab stepped forward and tried to help him get out of the palanquin.
As Jiang Suizhou walked down, he frowned and asked, “Here?”
Meng Qianshan nodded. “We’re here! This is the courtyard that Your Highness has arranged for Madam Huo. Did you forget?”
Jiang Suizhou stood still and looked up.
From a distance, this courtyard and the surrounding houses were in harmony. He couldn’t see anything special.
But when he stood closer, he could see that the courtyard was barren. There were weeds everywhere and several big trees that had never been pruned looked like they were baring fangs and claws in the yard. The ground was covered with a layer of leaves that should have fallen in the autumn of last year.
Through the dim light coming from the window, he could vaguely see the broken window panes and window paper, rustling and trembling under the breeze.
…This place was uninhabitable!
King Jing had driven Huo Wujiu to the corner of the palace and gave him such a dilapidated house to live in. A quick glance around and it was clear that the original owner never wanted Huo Wujiu to appear in front of him for the rest of his life. He even deliberately made things difficult for Huo Wujiu, so that he would live a bitter life in the King’s residence.
The original owner was struggling in Southern Jing; he was probably limited to seizing power from the Emperor and Pang Shao. For him, Huo Wujiu was a traitor and an enemy he would never consider to win over.
——How could he have known what Huo Wujiu would do three years later?
Jiang Suizhou fell into a complicated mood for a while and couldn’t help but thank his two “concubines” in his heart.
If not for today’s timely arrival, he probably would have had to shoulder the original owner’s blame again and be a credit on Huo Wujiu’s account.
He sighed inwardly, and grunted, “I mentioned it offhand. I can’t remember.”
After speaking, he lifted his feet and walked towards the courtyard.
Next to him, Meng Qianshan clicked his tongue in wonder.
How could he not remember? A few days ago, when he asked His Highness where Madam Huo would live, His Highness’s eyes were frighteningly cold. He specifically said to throw Huo Wujiu a little further away and never let him see him.
