Jiang Suzhou's eyes started to heat up.
The lights in the room were dimly lit. Under the dim light, he could see Huo Wujiu's dark eyes looking at him with utmost seriousness and certainty.
It was an indescribable sense of security. It even gave him a feeling that Huo Wujiu cared a lot about him.
This was not an illusion. After all, the two of them were already on good terms. He was the one who caused trouble and had thoughts that he should not have.
Jiang Suzhou did not speak for a while.
During his silence, Huo Wujiu felt rather uneasy.
He was not as indifferent as he appeared to be. After all, this was the first time in his life that he had suffered from insomnia.
Only then did he realize that even if a person was lying comfortably in bed, they would still toss and turn and be unable to fall asleep. It was even more uncomfortable than rolling on a board of nails. He opened his eyes and thought back and forth in vain. He wondered if he had said something wrong, or if Jiang Suzhou had really encountered some serious trouble outside.
This worry that was intertwined with doubt made him extremely agitated. He could not sit or lie down peacefully.
However, the other party had already left. The doors and windows of the main room were tightly shut. Meng Qianshan leaned against the pillar in the corridor and dozed off. In the darkness of the night, it seemed as if the whole world was peaceful and quiet. Only Huo Wujiu could not sleep.
Only he knew how much torment he had suffered and how much determination he had to make before he could sit up and secretly knock on Jiang Suzhou's window without even changing his clothes.
At this moment, Jiang Suizhou was silent and didn't say anything, which made his hanging heart even more unsettled.
He was not too fierce just now, right? It was all because he was used to talking to shameless men like Wei Kai. In a moment of anxiety, he lost his sense of propriety …
At this moment, Jiang Suzhou spoke.
"It's nothing …" His voice was weak, as if he had no confidence.
Huo Wujiu stared at him intently, only to see him raise his head to look at him. His pair of eyes were clearly like those of a fox spirit, yet he had an extremely innocent look on his face, making people unable to say even half a harsh word.
He seemed to ponder for a while before he said, "It's just that I was outside the city today, and there was a commotion at the banquet. When I came back, I was a little tired."
Huo Wujiu didn't believe him, but his tone was much gentler, as if he was very careful not to damage a flower.
"Is that all?" he asked.
Jiang Suzhou nodded.
"And a little worried about General Lou," he said.
"Don't worry about him," Huo Wujiu blurted out.
Jiang Suzhou asked sternly, "But have you ever thought that Pang Shao holds a grudge against him and that he could be killed at any time?"
Huo Wujiu looked at him, raised his eyebrows slightly, and asked in surprise, "So, you were distracted just now because of this?"
The night covered Jiang Suzhou's ears, which were slightly red from lying, and replied, "… Yes."
Huo Wujiu laughed out loud. His voice was very soft, but it was filled with joy, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
"Are you stupid?" He raised his hand and pressed it on Jiang Suzhou's head, stroking it twice as if he was stroking his hair. "Do you like to worry about other people's problems so much?"
Jiang Suzhou didn't say anything.
Huo Wujiu continued, "Don't worry. Unless I'm still locked up in prison with both my legs broken and no contact with the outside world, this kind of thing won't happen. Even if Pang Shao has three heads and six arms, as long as I can let him kill Lou Yue right under my nose, I'll change my surname to Pang Shao. "
Jiang Suzhou nodded. In Huo Wujiu's eyes, he looked exceptionally obedient.
He curled his lips into a smile. He felt that his decision today was simply too wise.
Now, he could have a good night's sleep.
"Are you relieved now?" he asked.
Jiang Suzhou nodded again.
Huo Wujiu replied, "Then I'll be leaving?"
Jiang Suzhou didn't forget to remind him, "Don't let anyone see."
Huo Wujiu knew what he meant. He didn't want anyone to see that his legs had recovered, but to his ears, it sounded a little more charming, as if the two of them were secretly having an affair.
He was happy for no reason, and even a little bit excited.
He stood up. Before he left, he didn't forget to turn back and say to Jiang Suzhou, "Don't worry for nothing. Go to sleep."
When he heard Jiang Suzhou say "Okay", he turned around, flipped over, and jumped out of the window again.
At this moment, his back seemed to be relieved of a heavy burden, and he was even lighter than when he came.
Jiang Suzhou watched him leave. He watched as Huo Wujiu closed the window, and the room returned to silence.
He lay back on the bed and let out a long breath.
He knew that he should be happy.
In the original history books, it was because Huo Wujiu was confined to the back of the Prince's Mansion and was firmly guarded by the original owner that Pang Shao had the opportunity to seize Lou Yue's military power step by step and kill him.
This time, Lou Yue wouldn't take the same path as before.
Then... what about Huo Wujiu and Lou Wanjun?
However, no matter what happened to them, he should be a silent outsider.
But he felt ashamed.
He should stay away from them, but he was greedy for the warmth that Huo Wujiu brought to him. For the first time, he lost his rationality. He wanted to pretend that everything was peaceful today, just to stay by Huo Wujiu's side.
Because he didn't want to go anywhere else.
— —
All the officials of the Jing Dynasty, as long as they were "sensible", knew what it meant to step into the Pang Mansion.
The Prime Minister Pang Shao was the most authoritative person in the world other than the Emperor. Even the Emperor listened to the Prime Minister. Sometimes, the Prime Minister's intentions would become the Emperor's in the blink of an eye.
Therefore, as long as they found the right way, obtained the right to send the money to the Grand General's Mansion, it wouldn't be difficult for them to ascend to heaven.
Everyone who went in and out of the Pang Mansion was happy. After all, there was no Bodhisattva in the world who could do things more efficiently.
As long as the money could move the Prime Minister, as long as the Prime Minister was willing to open his mouth.
That night, the Pang Mansion was brightly lit. There was a carriage parked at the door. It looked very plain and unremarkable.
It wasn't until the middle of the night that a man came out from inside. His face was full of joy as he got into the carriage.
The man in the carriage quickly asked, "How is it?"
The man smiled and squinted his eyes, "It's done."
The man in the carriage was surprised, then ecstasy appeared on his face. He said happily, "It's done? … This is a serious crime that will cause the whole family to be beheaded. The Prime Minister is actually willing to do it? "
The man laughed.
"It's our good luck that we made it," he said.
"What did you make it?"
"Haven't you heard? A few days ago, there seemed to be some hostility between the Emperor and Lord Pang, "he said. "Recently, I don't know if Lord Pang is trying to please the Emperor or find a way out for himself. In short, he's short of money, so he doesn't refuse almost anyone. This time, I gave enough money. Lord Pang was happy. He not only forgave me, but also gave me a fat job. "
"What fat job?"
A mysterious smile appeared on the man's face as he pointed towards the southwest.
"In three years, you'll be able to earn back double the money you gave away today," he said.
The man in the carriage said in surprise, "But isn't that General Lou Yue's territory? I'm afraid it won't be easy to do anything. "
"Lord Pang said that Lou Yue won't be able to return to the capital for a year and a half," the man said. "Moreover, Lord Pang also said that it's not certain if he'll be able to stay in the capital for a few more years."
"Lord Pang actually wants to …"
"Lord Pang has his own plans," the man said. "It's not up to us. But just in case, after taking office, we should get as much as we can. After all, no one can be sure about the situation in the court, right? Besides, if we want to keep our position, we have to pay Lord Pang every year. In short, that place is rich, so we need to be more careful. "
At this point, the two men smiled knowingly.
The carriage set off, the wheels making a rolling sound as it gradually disappeared into the night.
No one knew that the person sitting in this shabby carriage was the Suzhou magistrate who had embezzled two hundred thousand taels of silver three years after taking office. This person's embezzlement had long been noticed by the Ministry of Revenue and put on record. They were just waiting to catch him.
It was this person who had heard the news and rushed to Lin 'an with the money in the middle of the night, knocking on Pang Shao's door.
With such a large amount of money, Pang Shao shouldn't have protected him. For Pang Shao, rather than taking his money and causing trouble, it was better to kill this person and find a more reliable accomplice. This way, he would be able to pay tribute every year and wouldn't lose anything.
This person was just trying to make a Hail Mary effort, but unexpectedly, his luck was good and he was saved.
A few days later, the court issued a transfer order for the Suzhou magistrate.
The large amount of embezzlement was all written off. This person was transferred to Lingnan to be the governor.
No one knew that on the day the new governor of Lingnan passed by Lin 'an on his way south, he received the money from Pang Shao.
It was several times more than what he had sent to the Pang residence.
However, this money wasn't given to him by Lord Pang. It was given to him … to do something important for Lord Pang.
— —
Although Lou Yue wasn't someone who looked down on civil officials, he had never given a civil official like Pang Shao any face.
He had soldiers in his hands and was unyielding. He naturally had a fearless spirit. As a result, in the past few days, the court had been quite chaotic because of him.
Pang Shao had been angered by him several times in a row. In addition, with Ji Hongcheng fanning the flames, the court was bound to quarrel when it came to the court.
Pang Shao wasn't as loud as Lou Yue, and he wasn't as direct as Lou Yue. As a result, he was always at a disadvantage.
In addition, sometimes Qi Min couldn't stand it and tried to mediate, but he was always scolded back by Lou Yue. After a few days, the originally incompatible Pang party and the civil officials led by Qi Min became more harmonious than before. They could even barely greet each other when they met.
Indeed, the conflict between the generals and the civil officials was much deeper than the conflict between the civil officials themselves.
However, Lou Yue didn't care about them.
Every time he came back from the court, he felt proud and elated. The turbid anger in his heart could also dissipate a little.
Today, he even got off the carriage at the end of the street and went to the market to look for some wine to liven things up.
He wasn't used to the fine wine in the residence. He liked to drink the rough and strong sorghum wine. This kind of sorghum wine was everywhere in Jiangbei, but now that he was in Jiangnan, he finally found a restaurant that specialized in northwest cuisine. The sorghum wine there was the strongest.
He dismissed the servants and went straight to the restaurant.
However, he didn't expect that as soon as he entered, before he could find a seat, someone bumped into his shoulder.
He turned his head and saw a very tall young man. He was very energetic and his expression was very unfriendly.
The man said with a cold face, "General Lou, someone wants to talk to you upstairs."
Who could it be?
Lou Yue had provoked a lot of people these days. He didn't know where his enemy was from. However, no matter where he came from, he definitely didn't come with good intentions. He wasn't afraid of this.
Seeing that the man was in such a situation, Lou Yue temporarily stopped drinking. He sneered and raised his hand, "Lead the way."
He followed the man upstairs.
Who else could it be? If it wasn't Pang Shao's henchmen, then it was a poor scholar who stood up for Qi Min.
Lou Yue straightened his back and was not afraid at all. When he was brought to the door of the shabby private room, he aggressively kicked the door open.
However, in the next moment, he was stunned.
The round table in the room was filled with the northwest dishes he often ate in his early years. There were also two large jars of sorghum wine. A person sat in front of the table. His back was straight, and his eyes were as sharp as swords. The silhouette of his good friend in the past overlapped.
However, he was younger, more handsome, and more delicate. He must have taken after his mother.
Lou Yue's eyes became hot.
"Wujiu, it's you?"
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