Qi Min didn't say anything. Jiang Suzhou walked up and stopped in front of Qi Min. He smiled faintly and nodded, "Lord Qi."
Qi Min's gaze paused on him and Huo Wujiu. After a while, he sat up straight and said, "… Your Highness, please have a seat."
Jiang Suzhou nodded and sat down in the chair in front of Qi Min.
"I came to disturb you today because I have something to discuss with you, Lord Qi," Jiang Suzhou said warmly.
Qi Min was silent for a while. Then, he said, "I've heard some rumors these days. I didn't want to believe them at first. But now, it seems that the rumors are true. "
Jiang Suzhou knew what he was talking about.
Huo Wujiu had taken over the Imperial City. The Emperor was dead, and no one knew whether Prince Jing was dead or alive. The Imperial Palace wasn't a remote mountain range. It was always clear whether a person was dead or alive.
If the Emperor wasn't dead, he must be alive.
The complicated relationship between Prince Jing and Huo Wujiu was well known to the whole world. Now that Huo Wujiu was in power, he detained Prince Jing but didn't kill him. The reason for this was worth thinking about.
Jiang Suzhou could guess. Now that he was faced with Qi Min's inquiry, he was quite open about it.
"If General Huo is the one who saved me, then the rumors are true," Jiang Suzhou said calmly.
Qi Min stared at him for a while.
"So, Your Highness, the arrangements in and outside the Capital these days were all your ideas?"
Jiang Suzhou nodded.
"Are you here today to persuade me on behalf of Huo Wujiu?" Qi Min continued to ask.
Jiang Suzhou still didn't deny it.
He knew that Qi Min always spoke and did things openly, so he didn't want to beat around the bush.
Qi Min let out a deep sigh when she saw that he had acquiesced.
"I knew that Huo Wujiu wouldn't do such a thing," he said. "However, Your Highness King Jing, I originally thought that you understood everything clearly. But now, it seems that you are so muddle-headed."
Huo Wujiu, who was beside him, felt that his words were too slow and unpleasant to listen to. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Jiang Suizhou looked up and glanced at him indifferently.
Their eyes met. Huo Wujiu paused for a moment. He was a little unconvinced, but he still pursed his lips and tilted his head to the side.
Before he came here today, he had promised Jiang Suizhou that he would not have a conflict with Qi Min.
Jiang Suizhou retracted his gaze and looked at Qi Min again.
"What do you mean, Lord Qi?" he asked.
Just now, he had silently communicated with Huo Wujiu. Even though it was very subtle, it still didn't escape Qi Min's eyes. When Qi Min looked at him again, there was a complicated look in his eyes. He paused for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Your Highness King Jing, you shouldn't confuse the country with your personal affairs."
Jiang Suizhou said calmly, "But I didn't make these decisions because of my personal affairs. Similarly, I didn't ask you to leave the mountain and return to the imperial court because of my personal affairs. "
"Then why did you do it?" Qi Min's voice was a little loud.
Jiang Suizhou sat there with a calm and unperturbed expression.
"I did it for my own life," he said. "And I came to persuade you for the sake of the imperial court."
"The imperial court?" Qi Min didn't get angry. Instead, he laughed. "Your Highness King Jing, where is the imperial court now? If you tell me now that you are about to ascend the throne, then I have an imperial court. If you don't do this, then where is my imperial court? "
At this point, he changed the topic, "Aren't you the same? The late emperor let you down. Pang Shao monopolized power, but the imperial court still exists. This is your home and my country. Now that you have destroyed your own country, aren't you destroying your home as well? Now, why are you in such a hurry to persuade me to work for the Huo Clan's imperial court? "
At this point, he became a little agitated and coughed violently.
After a while, he stopped coughing and said in a low voice, "A good woman doesn't serve two husbands, and a good minister doesn't serve two masters. Your Highness King Jing, Huo Wujiu is standing behind you today. You don't need to waste your breath. Please go back. "
When Jiang Suizhou heard this, he was silent for a moment, then stood up.
"Then I won't disturb Lord Qi any further," he said. "However, Lord Qi has nothing to do. There are some trivial matters that you can think about."
Qi Min raised his head and looked at him.
"If a woman trusts the wrong person, then is she bound to waste her life for an unjust person? A good minister has never met a wise master. Even if he has a grand plan, he can only watch as the country is destroyed. Is this his loyalty? "
Qi Min didn't say anything.
Jiang Suizhou continued, "In my opinion, a woman doesn't need to keep her chastity for anyone else. Since men need to cherish their time and build their careers, then a woman shouldn't waste her youth. She only needs to live up to her desires. On the other hand, a subject should not be tied to a certain dynasty or a certain king. If this so-called loyalty is tying oneself to a sinking ship, then it's better not to have this loyalty. "
As he said this, he took a step back.
"If Lord Qi's heart is tied to repaying the imperial court and the late emperor, then I shouldn't try to persuade you. However, if Lord Qi's heart is tied to the common people of the world, then you only need to be loyal to the people of the world. You don't need to care about who sits on the throne. "
His gaze was calm but firm.
"Just like me, my home and country are just the vast land under my feet. It has nothing to do with anything else."
— —
On the way back, Huo Wujiu didn't say anything.
Jiang Suizhou asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Huo Wujiu turned his head and looked at him deeply for a while.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Suizhou didn't understand.
He saw Huo Wujiu lean over, and very naturally pulled him into his embrace.
"I was just thinking that I used to hate listening to civil officials quarrel," he said. "What do you mean by that? I don't understand what they're saying, and they quarrel so much. It's better to listen to monks chanting scriptures."
Jiang Suizhou burst out laughing when he heard that.
Huo Wujiu continued, "But why is it different today?"
Jiang Suizhou looked at him with a smile on his face. "What's the difference today?"
Huo Wujiu said seriously.
"I've just been thinking about how I could have such good taste," he said.
Jiang Suizhou raised his eyebrows and waited for him to continue.
Huo Wujiu didn't continue.
He had always felt that human bones were shaped by external objects. The bones of these stinky soldiers were made of iron and had a cold, metallic smell. The bones of civil officials were shaped by books and poems. They smelled like books, but Huo Wujiu smelled like rotten books.
Only Jiang Suizhou was different.
He should be no different from other people. It wasn't that Huo Wujiu hadn't seen a young master in a rich and beautiful village.
However, Jiang Suizhou seemed to be shaped by light and freedom.
He was tall and straight, upright, and had a sense of transparency that no one around him had.
This aura was extremely attractive, and it simply caused others to be like moths attracted to the light. Even if they were about to be obliterated by the light, they would still pounce onto the light and try to embrace the warm light.
That was what Huo Wujiu thought, and that was what he did.
He lowered his head and kissed Jiang Suizhou's lips heavily.
— —
A few days later, something big happened in the capital.
The guards of the Grand Commandant's Mansion, which was heavily guarded, were all withdrawn. The next day, the Grand Commandant of the old dynasty, Qi Min, came out of the mansion openly, got on the carriage, and entered the Imperial Palace.
On that day, Qi Min was promoted by half a rank and became the new Minister of the Treasury. He was in charge of all the civil officials south of the Yangtze River.
This matter not only shocked the court, but also the people inside and outside Lin 'an City knew about it. For a moment, both the court officials and the people clearly understood one thing — —
Huo Wujiu, who led the troops to kill the Emperor and burn the Imperial Palace, did not come with bad intentions. Every wrong had its perpetrator and every debt its debtor. Although he killed the Emperor, he did not touch the people and court officials. He even put them in important positions.
The officials of Nanjing, who were still a little nervous, more or less calmed down at this time. Even if Huo Wujiu wanted to get rid of the donkey after it had outlived its usefulness, he would not dare to kill the respected Qi Min. Now that Qi Min had become the same person as them, Huo Wujiu probably did not have the intention to kill them.
For a moment, everyone was relieved.
However, the discussion about Qi Min was also rampant. There were different opinions. Some said that Huo Wujiu was supported by the people, and some said that Qi Min was not loyal and righteous.
However, no matter how the people guessed, only Jiang Suzhou and Huo Wujiu knew what Qi Min was thinking.
That day, Qi Min went to the Imperial Study to see Jiang Suzhou when he entered the Imperial Palace.
"The world is so big. It doesn't lack an old man like me," Qi Min said to Jiang Suzhou. "But now the situation is turbulent. You need me, and I'm willing to help you."
Jiang Suzhou said, "Lord Qi, you are so righteous."
However, Qi Min raised her hand and stopped him from speaking.
"I just don't want to be a dying old man and let down the people of the world," he said. "But when the world is at peace, Your Highness, please don't force me to stay. Let me go back to work."
Jiang Suzhou said, "I won't force you, Your Highness. Everything is up to Your Highness."
This time, all the officials in and out of Lin 'an were finally gathered. Now that there was a leader, they could finally get the situation south of the Yangtze River on the right track.
Now, although this situation couldn't last long, it was finally straightened out. With the help of Qi Min, the number of documents sent to the Imperial Palace's desk suddenly decreased. Jiang Suzhou had been busy for a long time. At this time, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Huo Wujiu also breathed a sigh of relief.
He saw that Jiang Suzhou was so weak and was so busy all day. He was so anxious that he was irritated, but he couldn't stop himself.
Now that the messy affairs had come to an end, he could finally let Jiang Suzhou rest for a while, right?
Huo Wujiu only felt that his body and mind were at ease. In a good mood, he even went to the army outside the city to inspect.
However, before he could be happy for two hours, he heard that Jiang Suzhou had returned to his bedroom, changed his clothes, and went out again.
This time, he went in the direction of Lin 'an's imperial prison.
What was that place? It was bloody, extremely gloomy, and full of gloomy dampness.
Huo Wujiu put down the affairs in his hands and hurried over, stopping Jiang Suzhou halfway.
"Where are you going?" Huo Wujiu's expression was uneasy.
Jiang Suzhou was calm. "I heard that you locked Pang Shao in the imperial prison, so I'm going to take a look."
Huo Wujiu frowned. "Are you feeling better? Why are you going to such a gloomy and cold place?"
Jiang Suzhou said, "Now that everything has come to an end, it's time to release him."
Huo Wujiu was silent.
He knew that for someone like Pang Shao, death was the best release. That day, he had killed Jiang Sunheng on the spot in a moment of impulse, but there were still many debts that he hadn't settled yet.
Therefore, he delayed Pang Shao's death and put all the debts on Pang Shao.
Now, he still hadn't settled the score.
Seeing his expression, Jiang Suizhou guessed a thing or two of his thoughts.
He raised his hand and grabbed Huo Wujiu's firm arm.
"The best punishment for him is to let him die with a clear understanding," he said.
"But you …"
"If you're worried, why don't you come with me?"
This time, Huo Wujiu didn't refuse.
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