When Huo Wujiu returned with Jiang Suzhou, it was already late at night.
He left through the back window and sent Jiang Suzhou back to his room. After Jiang Suzhou changed his clothes, he left Jiang Suzhou's room openly.
Meng Qianshan, who was guarding the door, looked at Madame Huo's radiant face in the wheelchair. He wanted to say something, but stopped himself.
Huo Wujiu didn't even look at him. He put something on his lap and moved the wheelchair quickly away.
Meng Qianshan couldn't help but look at Madame Huo's back.
This General was different from ordinary people. His legs were broken, but he walked as if he was flying in the wheelchair.
Meng Qianshan watched for a while, then shook his head and went back to his master's room to wait on him.
In Huo Wujiu's room, Wei Kai was like an ant on a hot pan, pacing around anxiously.
Other people didn't know what the two of them were doing, but he knew. Because he knew, he knew how dangerous their General's trip was. It was no less dangerous than wandering around under the nose of the ruler of Nanjing.
Therefore, the later it was, the more anxious he became.
Fortunately, the door opened at the second watch period, and the sound of the wheelchair could be heard.
Wei Kai breathed a sigh of relief. He felt as if he had just walked through the gates of hell. It was really exciting.
"General, how was it?" he asked hurriedly after the door closed.
Huo Wujiu raised his hand and threw a light pouch into his hand.
The pouch was more than half empty. There were only a few pieces of silver left at the bottom of the pouch. He held the pouch in his hand and it made a hollow sound.
Wei Kai hid the heartache in his eyes.
Forget it, forget it … Even though he had painstakingly saved up the money when he was poor and drifted to Nanjing, the general had never lacked money since he was young. He didn't even know how much money he had on hand. If he spent it all, it would be all spent …
However, he couldn't help but ask, "Did you buy anything?"
He raised his head and looked in the direction of Huo Wujiu.
Huo Wujiu got up from his wheelchair and sat down at the side. He was fiddling with something in his hand. It was quite big and looked like a mask.
His master was holding it under the lamp, and was examining it with downcast eyes. The light shone brightly on the smile in his eyes, and the corner of his mouth, which was always tilted downwards, also lifted. It was a smile so faint that it was almost indiscernible, but on Huo Wujiu's face, it was exceptionally dazzling.
"Yes, I did." Huo Wujiu answered casually. As he spoke, he picked up some things in his hand and waved them in front of Wei Kai.
"Prince Jing gave it to me. Is it nice?"
Wei Kai swallowed his saliva and was momentarily speechless.
… What's there to look at?
Such a huge pile of silver in exchange for this? It was just a crudely made mask, and on it was a picture of a ferocious beast with its bloody mouth wide open. The ferocious beast was called Suan Ni, and it was a famous ferocious beast in the "Shengyi Jing". It was a stubborn, arrogant, and ruthless monster that messed up the natural order. It was used by the common people to fight poison with poison to ward off evil spirits.
How could their general be so happy when he received something like this?
Wei Kai stared at the mask and was momentarily speechless. This made Huo Wujiu unhappy.
He frowned and spoke rudely, "Are you deaf?"
Wei Kai looked at his general's obviously unfriendly gaze, and for a moment, he resigned himself to his fate.
Forget it. Although he wasn't educated, he still knew how to misrepresent a deer as a horse. Now that the tyrant was in front of him, even if he had been infected by the ferocious beast and had become a blockhead, he still had to follow his words.
"… It's quite nice." He didn't mean what he said and forced himself to speak under the pressure of the tyrant.
— —
Fortunately, Wei Kai didn't suffer a huge loss.
After that day, he received a reward from Prince Jing's residence under various pretexts. The amount was several times more than what he had lost to Huo Wujiu.
Although Wei Kai was a man who wouldn't bend over for five buckets of rice, when he held the money that Prince Jing returned to him and looked at the general who carefully put away the mask, Wei Kai couldn't help but feel that Prince Jing was more humane than the general.
After that day, his sick leave ended in Jiang Suizhou.
His body had recovered a long time ago, and he waited in the residence for two days until the day of the court assembly. He knew that even if he wanted to slack off, he couldn't relax at this juncture. After all, he had dealt a heavy blow to Pang Shao that day at the hunting grounds.
As expected, the atmosphere in the court assembly was extremely cold.
His successor had never been a person who could hide his thoughts. Today, he clearly expressed his coldness and disgust towards Pang Shao. Today, most of the people in the court assembly were Pang Shao's henchmen. When Pang Shao was disappointed, these people trembled with fear. After a whole morning, the atmosphere in the court assembly vaguely returned to normal.
However, Jiang Suizhou could tell that his successor was just throwing a tantrum with Pang Shao.
He was familiar with the history books and knew that his successor and Emperor Jing Ling didn't have a close relationship. Emperor Jing Ling favored the original owner's mother, while his successor's mother, the current Empress Dowager, was Emperor Jing Ling's long-neglected wife. According to the history books, his successor had never seen Emperor Jing Ling when he was young. Even when he was four or five years old, he still didn't know who his father was.
After that, in order to coax him, Pang Shao naturally doted on him.
Therefore, even if the two of them didn't realize it, Jiang Suizhou clearly knew that Pang Shao filled the vacancy of his successor's father. Therefore, even if he caused such a big mess, his successor still couldn't let go of Pang Shao in his heart.
Even if he wanted to punish him, he definitely wouldn't kill him.
Because he was already mentally prepared, Jiang Suizhou only wanted to hear if there were any major events in the court today. As for his successor and Pang Shao, he just treated it as a show.
As expected, he didn't come in vain.
An official in the court reported that General Lou had returned victorious and would arrive in Lin 'an in a few days. At that time, someone would have to take care of the ceremonial guards to welcome General Lou.
Everyone knew that this wasn't a good job.
General Lou, Lou Yue, had a bad temper and was famous for not being moved by force or persuasion. If he got this job, not only would he not get any benefits, but he would also get into trouble.
The courtiers all knew this, and so did the successor. He looked around disinterestedly and finally found the first thing that was worth being happy about today.
He raised his hand and pointed.
"Fifth Brother, I'll leave the task of welcoming General Lou to you," he said.
— —
There were some things that the onlookers could see more clearly than the authorities.
After the court, Pang Shao's expression was ugly until he got into the carriage.
In the court today, in front of the courtiers, he had been humiliated by the emperor many times. The courtiers weren't deaf or blind, so they naturally saw it all. He wasn't a person made of wood, so of course, he also felt it.
When he spoke, the brat on the throne pretended not to hear. Whenever he made a suggestion, the boy would turn his back on him with a sullen face.
This feeling of shame and anger was too strange. He hadn't felt it since the death of the previous emperor.
Pang Shao's face was gloomy. He didn't say a word until he got back to his residence.
He admitted that since the end of the year, his life hadn't been smooth sailing these past few months. Prince Jing, who was clearly a sickly person who was about to die at any time, made him fall one after another. The tasks he got didn't go smoothly, and he even destroyed the newly built ancestral temple in the palace.
These were all facts, he admitted. Although he was angry, he knew that it was just a few bumps in the road. He was still sitting in the position of the Prime Minister, so he didn't lose.
But …
He sat down in his hall and slowly drank his tea.
However, although he addressed the Emperor as the Emperor for the time being, in his eyes, the Emperor was no more than a thirty-year-old child who had yet to reach adulthood. He pushed Jiang Sunheng to his current position because he was related to him by blood. He was also raised to be stupid and clumsy by his elder sister, so he was the easiest to manipulate.
He kept sending sugar-coated bullets to make the brat trust and love him, all so that when he ascended the throne, he could hold the power of the world.
But now …
Pang Shao put down his teacup and looked down at the ripples in the cup. A cold smile appeared on his face.
Now it seemed that people were like cats and dogs. They couldn't be raised well. If you treated him well, it would become a reason for him to reach for a yard after taking an inch. If you treated him badly, he wouldn't remember your previous kindness.
It was also his fault. He was too eager for quick success and spoiled that brat.
He made Jiang Sunheng feel that he was very obedient to him. He made him feel that he was the emperor and dared to step on his head.
What he didn't know was that he, Pang Shao, didn't care who was sitting on the throne. He only cared about whether that person was easy to control and whether he, Pang Shao, had the power to control the world. As for the so-called emperor, he could protect him yesterday. In the future, he could replace the disobedient one with someone younger and easier to control.
It would just take a little more effort.
After a long time, Pang Shao laughed coldly.
"Men," he said.
His confidant hurriedly came forward and knelt in front of him, quietly waiting for his orders.
Pang Shao spoke slowly.
"Is the eldest son of His Majesty almost three years old now?" he asked.
The confidant cupped his hands and answered.
Pang Shao smiled.
"I remember that his birth mother didn't come from a good family. She was just a palace maid," he said. "Go and report this to the Empress Dowager. Bring the child under her care and let her take care of him. Don't say anything else and don't ask too much."
— —
Because the task of welcoming Lou Yue had fallen on his head, Jiang Suzhou had no choice but to be busy these days. Etiquette was complicated to begin with. In addition, Pang Shao's subordinates always made things difficult for him, so his work was much harder than usual.
However, he knew that this was just the norm. These small troubles were only because Pang Shao hadn't found a reason to overthrow him in one fell swoop. Therefore, he was very cautious and sent people to secretly monitor Pang Shao's movements.
However, Pang Shao was unusually quiet these days. He didn't make any moves until the day Lou Yue returned to the city.
On this day, the sky was clear and there were no clouds for thousands of miles. Jiang Suzhou set out early in the morning and followed the ceremonial procession out of the city. They waited outside the southern gate of Lin 'an to welcome Lou Yue's army.
It was also this morning that a willow branch was brought into Prince Jing's Estate and delivered to Huo Wujiu.
"General, what's the meaning of this?"
Wei Kai held the willow branch in his hand.
It was already past spring. In summer, willow branches were thick and resilient. The person who broke the willow branch was also very strong. He actually broke the entire branch, which looked like a whip used to spur horses.
Huo Wujiu's gaze paused on the willow branch. He thought of the note he had given Ji Hongcheng that day. A hint of disdain appeared on his face and he looked away.
"Prince Jing left early in the morning?" he asked.
Wei Kai nodded.
Huo Wujiu slowly spoke.
"That means that Lou Yue is back."
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