Although the gurgling sound of water was faintly audible from their location, there was still some distance from the stream.
Jiang Suizhou wanted Huo Wujiu to help him to the water’s edge, but Huo Wujiu bent down and pinched his ankle.
Jiang Suizhou gasped in pain, and reflexively ducked back.
Huo Wujiu straightened up and said, “You’ve sprained yourself and can’t walk at this time.”
“But…”
Before Jiang Suizhou could speak, his body lightened, and his feet were already in the air.
Huo Wujiu carried him up in a horizontal embrace.
“Hey!” Jiang Suizhou was startled and subconsciously struggled. However, Huo Wujiu held him steadily, and lifted a leg, setting out toward the water’s edge.
“Stop wriggling about,” Huo Wujiu commanded.
Jiang Suizhou felt his neck burning.
What is this, Huo Wujiu! Although he really couldn’t walk, this action was pretty ambiguous. There was something indescribably strange between them.
This strange feeling made Jiang Suizhou’s heart go pitter-patter.
“Quickly put me down first!” Jiang Suizhou cried anxiously.
Huo Wujiu glanced down at him in some confusion.
Then he noticed that under his black hair, his white and transparent ears were dusted a shade of blush.
Huo Wujiu realized in hindsight that this way of carrying him seemed to be inappropriate.
He did not think much about it just now, and only considered it more convenient. However, now that this man just let him carry him in his embrace, he looked quite well-behaved. It also seemed like he was entirely dependent on him.
Huo Wujiu actually felt reluctant to put him down again.
He maintained his composure, and only moved his eyes, averting his gaze from his ear.
“We’ll be there soon.” He looked calm, and his voice sounded indifferent, as if he hadn’t noticed any abnormality or felt the tension of the man in his arms. “Don’t struggle again, lest you fall.”
His appearance seemed to trick Jiang Suizhou. He replied with a stiff ‘Oh’ and no longer struggled to get down.
It was just that his head lowered deeper, as if to bury himself.
He didn’t realize that Huo Wujiu, who was carrying him, was not as calm as he imagined.
The pair of arms embracing him tightened two points nervously.
Jiang Suizhou was absent, but the Hou Zhu had quite a harvest on this day.
They rode to the hunting ground early in the morning, and by the time the sun descended, the Hou Zhu had hunted several large and small prey.
There were also a lot of military generals on the field. When it came to hunting, it was child’s play for them to capture some beasts. But everyone knew that His Majesty was fond of hunting. His hunting skills were awful, and he dared not chase and kill wolves and tigers.
His Majesty loved his image, so at this turn, they naturally couldn’t steal the limelight from him.
Thus, when the time came to count, only the Hou Zhu hunted the most. Afterward, the Hou Zhu pretended to train several military officials on the field, saying that their martial arts were lacking, and they needed more diligent training.
The crowd naturally responded with a resounding yes. It was plain to see that His Majesty looked like he was admonishing them, but from the look on his face, he was smug.
As expected, after His Majesty finished lecturing them, he waved his hand and asked the imperial guards to take away the animals he had hunted throughout the day and serve them up in dishes in the imperial kitchen. Tonight, the officials would enjoy a big banquet.
There was no mention of Jingwang, who had entered the forest and hadn’t come back yet.
Everyone was beaming and knelt down in succession to thank him.
But at this juncture, clattering horses’ hooves resounded from a distance.
The crowd raised their heads and spotted a tall dark horse carrying an adult man galloping straight toward them.
The man advanced closer until the crowd recognized his face.
He had a square wide dark face, a pair of copper bell-like eyes, tall and stocky. He was wearing official robes, reminding everyone of a ghost from hell. He was horribly ugly.
It was Ji Hongcheng.
The Hou Zhu frowned. The look of joy on his face gave him a feeling that nothing good had happened.
Ji Hongcheng traversed directly toward him, dismounted from his horse, knelt down in front of him, and laughed aloud, “Your Majesty!”
“What’s the matter?” The Hou Zhu couldn’t care less about what good things had happened to him.
Ji Hongcheng replied, “This subject has just hunted a tiger and would like to present it to Your Majesty!”
The Hou Zhu felt a lump in his throat. The instant the ministers heard his declaration, they exchanged glances for a moment, and the joy on their faces froze.
Did this Ji Hongcheng have a one-track mind? How could he accompany the Emperor on a hunting trip and steal the limelight from him?
The Hou Zhu was rendered speechless for a time. He raised his eyes and looked in the direction where he came. He saw several imperial guards riding horses and struggling to drag a humongous, hill-like object towards them.
Ji Hongcheng not only hunted a tiger, but also a sturdy and tall adult fierce tiger.
The Hou Zhu then glanced at his pile of elks and goats scattered around and felt sick of them.
This man surnamed Ji really spoiled the fun.
“This being the case, you, dear subject, is considered the best hunter. I should reward you handsomely.”
Ji Hongcheng exercised no modesty at all and responded loudly, “Thank you, Your Majesty!”
The Hou Zhu gnashed his teeth, wishing he could kill him.
“In that case, I’ll give you a job.” He sat on his horse and looked down at Ji Hongcheng. His tone was light, but his teeth were clenched.
“Jingwang went to chase a stag in the forest just now, but he hasn’t returned yet. I’m worried about him, so you go and find him back. You’ll be heavily rewarded.”
The Hou Zhu looked up at the sun that was gradually sinking down the mountain and decreed.
An entire day had passed. Looking at the weather, it was time to collect his Fifth Brother’s corpse. Let Ji Hongcheng take over this unlucky task. While he was at it, he would condemn him to death for the crime of failing to protect Jingwang and causing him to die when the time came. He would execute this ignorant fool all together.
But…
Thinking about His Highness’s appearance in the morning, Meng Qianshan also worked it out.
His Highness used to hate Madam Huo because he hasn’t seen Madam Hou’s face yet.
Now that His Highness and Madam Huo spent the night, his attitude changed this morning. Faced with such ardent love, the disgust of before naturally did not count…
Meng Qianshan jogged all the way and followed behind Jiang Suizhou.
Not only was this courtyard on low terrain, but all the used water from the residence was also dumped here. As soon as Jiang Suizhou entered the yard, he felt damp and cold. Even the wind blowing on his body was several degrees lower.
…Truth be told, this sickly body is just too sensitive.
He went straight to the room in the middle but found no one in the corridor.
Before he could speak, Meng Qianshan beat him to it. He raised his voice and said, “Where have all the people in this courtyard gone?”
A few moments later, two maids scurried out from the side room, looking like they had already hit the sack.
As soon as they saw them, both showed surprise and fear on their faces. They quickly stepped forward and knelt down in front of Jiang Suizhou: “…Your Highness!”
Jiang Suizhou’s brow furrowed.
Although he was still unaccustomed to the ancient concept of masters and servants, he knew that one should do their job when paid wages. On top of that, one shouldn’t bully their employer.
They were obviously bullying Huo Wujiu.
Beside him, Meng Qianshan caught a glimpse of his reaction and sternly rebuked, “Why is there not even a night watch at the door? So, did you just leave your master to sleep like this? Did you come here to serve the Madam or to be the master yourself?”
The two maids did not dare to raise their heads at all, kowtowing one after the other to admit their mistakes.
Jiang Suizhou raised his hand and rubbed his temples.
It was apparent that the original owner’s death in the unofficial history was not only because of his own actions, but also because everyone in his house, from top to bottom, flattered the superior and trampled on the lowly. He insistently formed a deep-rooted enmity with Huo Wujiu that solidified his end.
He waved his hand and said indifferently, “Handle it.” Then he turned and went into the room.
Meng Qianshan agreed and ordered, “Men, drag them both away and give them a beating. Tomorrow, send them back to the slave trader along with their deeds of sale and sell them wherever!”
The two maids cried for mercy but were dragged far away.
However, Jiang Suizhou couldn’t care less about them.
As soon as he entered the room, he choked and coughed violently.
There was dust everywhere, filling the air. After just one breath, Jiang Suizhou felt like his fragile lungs had been hit hard. He was coughing so hard that he couldn’t distinguish between the north and the south, and tears welled up in his eyes.
The servants who followed behind were terrified. They entered in a flurry, helping to pour tea. But there wasn’t even a place to sit in the room, and the pot on the table only contained half a pot of cold water.
Everyone rushed around. Amidst the chaos, Jiang Suizhou vaguely heard the sound of a wheelchair, low and mute, which was instantly drowned in the sound of people.
Someone helped him to sit at the side. After coughing for a long time, he downed the hot tea that people had taken the trouble to find, suppressed it, and barely stopped coughing.
Only then did he open his teary eyes and saw Huo Wujiu, who was sitting diagonally in front of Jiang Suizhou looking suspiciously at him.
His dark eyes were like whirlpools.
Jiang Suizhou involuntarily coughed a few more times, and the physiological tears in his eyes fell in response.
As the tears fell, Jiang Suizhou also closely beheld Huo Wujiu.
He wasn’t sure if it was his illusion, but Huo Wujiu’s dark eyes seemed to be covered in a layer of fog.
But the next moment, those eyes moved away and did not look at him again.
Jiang Suizhou was naturally unaware of how pitiful he appeared in the eyes of others.
A cold and beautiful sickly man with reddened eyes, teary eyelashes, and a heavy cloak wrapped around him; when someone took in his tearful appearance, why did he feel like he was somewhat inviting a ravaging?
Jiang Suizhou was completely oblivious. When he finished coughing, he gathered the cloak that Meng Qianshan had just wrapped around him, sat up straight and said indifferently, “Meng Qianshan, is this the arrangement you said you had made?”
The cough sobered him up. He knew that he had to shift the blame first, so that he could logically take charge and give Huo Wujiu a new residence.
Hearing this, Meng Qianshan trembled and guiltily pleaded, “It’s all my negligence – it’s all my negligence! Tomorrow…um, no, immediately! I’ll immediately let people tidy up another courtyard and have Madam Huo move there!”
Jiang Suizhou gave a hum of approval and took another sip of tea.
He thought to himself; it would be best if Huo Wujiu was moved closer to him. After all, he had just taken the advice of those two minions and had to frequent Huo Wujiu’s place in the coming days…
He drank his tea with a start.
Didn’t the Anyin Hall where he lived have a lot of spare rooms?
Not only could he see Huo Wujiu daily and prevent others from secretly bullying him, but he would also have a way to sneak back to sleep in his own room. Once this reached the Emperor and Pang Shao’s ears, his goal would be achieved…What better way to have the best of both worlds than this?!
Jiang Suizhou’s eyes all but lit up.
He put down his teacup and spoke gently.
“There’s no need to clean up another courtyard,” he instructed, “Move him directly to my place.”
For a spell, the servants around him froze when they heard this command.
But Jiang Suizhou remained motionless.
Anyway, as the head of his own house, he needn’t explain his decisions to them. He just needed to pretend to be unpredictable.
However…
He noticed under the dim light that Huo Wujiu’s face looked somewhat abnormal.
He wasn’t even listening to what Jiang Suizhou was saying. One of his arms was resting on the armrest of his wheelchair, while the other hand was laboriously supporting his drooping head.
…Was he sick?
