Jiang Suzhou, on the other hand, was slightly taken aback and didn't quite understand.
What did he just ask? What did I say when I was traveling with Lou Wanjun today?
Huo Wujiu's expression was overly serious, causing Jiang Suzhou's heart to involuntarily skip a beat.
Was he suspecting that he had said something to Lou Wanjun that he shouldn't have, or was he simply unhappy because he had gotten close to her?
Well, it was normal for him to want to monopolize someone who had a relationship with him.
Jiang Suzhou suppressed the sourness in his heart and forced a smile, saying, "Nothing much. Miss Lou is very talkative and has a cheerful and extroverted personality. She just likes to gossip and gossip. She didn't say anything important. "
Cheerful and extroverted?
Huo Wujiu's eyebrows were so furrowed that they could crush a flying insect.
In his memory, Lou Wanjun was an unreasonable and clingy female tyrant. When had she ever been cheerful and liked to smile so much? She would even stare at the man next to her with sparkling eyes.
It was obvious that something was wrong, but Jiang Suzhou actually praised her.
Huo Wujiu couldn't help but compare himself to Lou Wanjun.
He didn't talk much, and he definitely wasn't cheerful. Seeing how Jiang Suzhou smiled at Lou Wanjun just now, Huo Wujiu felt even more stifled.
This was only the second time the two of them had met, right? The first and second times they met, Lou Wanjun was scowling at him and didn't even bother with words.
Huo Wujiu's thoughts began to become unreasonable, causing his emotions to become even more unreasonable. As a result, his expression became even more unsightly. After a while, he finally opened his mouth.
"You should stay away from her in the future," he warned.
Lou Wanjun wasn't a good person. When they were young, she could annoy him to no end just because of a fight. Now, it was very likely that she would continue to annoy him, the clean and pure Imperial Prince Jing. When that time came, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Jiang Suzhou's expression inexplicably became a bit downcast.
"… I understand," he said.
Huo Wujiu nodded.
For a moment, he actually felt a little guilty, and even a little distressed.
What if Jiang Suzhou really had some ideas about Lou Wanjun? From the looks of it, it wasn't impossible.
If he were to break up the couple, would Prince Jing be sad?
However, it only lasted for a moment before it disappeared from Huo Wujiu's mind.
Who cares, he thought fiercely.
It was fine if he was sad, but he just couldn't get together with Lou Wanjun.
As for who he could get together with … who cares? I'll take it one step at a time. It would be best if it was Huo Wujiu.
— —
Jiang Suizhou had no other choice but to temporarily divert his attention and place more of his energy on the court.
Sure enough, within a few days, Pang Shao made a big move.
And this big move of his was actually directed at Qi Min.
During this period of time, Lou Yue was acting tyrannically in the court. Not only did the Pang faction suffer, but Qi Min's faction was also deeply affected and was always implicated.
Today, Pang Shao sent a letter to Qi Min's subordinate officials.
The letter didn't say that he would cooperate with them, but it sent a few accusations of disrespect towards Lou Yue. Some said that he roared at the court, some said that he openly disobeyed the imperial edict, and even meddled in some things that he shouldn't meddle in. For example, he stopped a few skinny horses that the new prefectural magistrate of Suzhou was sending into the capital as a present for the emperor to play with, and had his subordinates forcefully send the women back to Suzhou.
Some of these things were known to Qi Min, while some were not known to Qi Min. In short, he wrote a few long pages. Although they were all trivial and not enough to cause Lou Yue to be punished, they were enough to anger the future emperor.
At the end of the letter, Pang Shao also wrote a few sentences with hidden meaning.
He said that Lord Qi and everyone else should be clear that the consequences of military officials in power are not something that you and I can bear. Today, he dared to rely on his merits to create such an incident. Who can guarantee that he won't do something even more disrespectful in the future? These signs should be made known to the emperor.
He had purposely sent this letter to Qi Min. Jiang Suizhou didn't expect that Qi Min would secretly send someone to send this letter to him.
Qi Min attached a small line of words.
"Pang Shao's heart, Your Highness can see it."
Jiang Suizhou held the letter in silence for a moment.
Although the contents of the letter were normal and there was nothing wrong with it, considering the relationship between them, Pang Shao's intentions were extremely thought-provoking.
He didn't have a good relationship with Qi Min. Naturally, he didn't send such a letter out of goodwill between colleagues. Instead, it was more likely that Pang Shao wanted to borrow Qi Min's power to temporarily join forces with him to overthrow Lou Yue.
He provided Qi Min with enough evidence and even helped him think of a crime against Lou Yue. He accused him of being disrespectful. On top of that, he was implying that it was reasonable for military officials to be apprehensive, and that it was impossible to guarantee that in the future Lou Yue would do something even greater. That was pushing him in the direction of rebellion, or even gathering troops for his own sake, and threatening the imperial power.
Presumably, he knew that his reputation in front of the future emperor was not as good as before, so he wanted to borrow Qi Min's mouth to accuse Lou Yue in front of the future emperor.
Then, what next?
He must have a plan for the next step. Otherwise, he wouldn't have rashly accused Pang Shao of such a big crime.
At this time, Jiang Suizhou received another secret letter.
It was the news that Xu Du's men of sacrifice had received.
The secret letter said that Pang Shao's subordinates had traveled back and forth between Lin 'an and the southern counties many times. They didn't do anything else but frequently entered the mansions of the governors. At the same time, Pang Shao's subordinates had also intentionally or unintentionally contacted the governor of Lingnan, the former Suzhou magistrate, Fang Zhaohe, who had gone to Lingnan to take up his post. There seemed to be money transactions, but they couldn't find anything else.
Jiang Suizhou held the two secret letters in his hands and pondered for a moment.
After a while, his expression gradually became serious.
If he didn't guess wrongly, Pang Shao's action this time was already secretly looking for a candidate who could replace Lou Yue. This candidate didn't need to be an outstanding general. As long as he was obedient, he would meet Pang Shao's requirements.
As for Fang Zhaohe …
If Jiang Suizhou remembered correctly, this person had been convicted of corruption and bribery in the history books, and his entire family had been executed after autumn this year. But now, this person had gone to Lingnan to take up his post. Although it was a demotion on the surface … Lingnan was Lou Yue's original stronghold.
This person must have been bribed by Pang Shao. Pang Shao had saved his life, and he had become a part of Pang Shao's plot to harm Lou Yue.
As for what this person would do in Lingnan …
Jiang Suizhou pondered for a moment, then ordered Xu Du to immediately send someone to Lingnan to investigate.
Xu Du accepted the order and left. Only Jiang Suizhou sat in the study, deep in thought. He put away the two secret letters and wrote a reply to Qi Min.
Pang Shao's letter to Qi Min listed many crimes, but they were all superficial. In the end, Lou Yue would only be scolded. Pang Shao's intention was probably to test Qi Min's attitude.
Since that was the case, he might as well show Pang Shao his allegiance and let Pang Shao believe that Qi Min was willing to temporarily put aside their differences and work together against Lou Yue. In this way, Pang Shao could temporarily rest assured about Qi Min. In order to advance his plan, he would at least reveal some important information to Qi Min.
And this information was the most useful thing.
Jiang Suizhou finished writing the letter and slowly dried it as he browsed through it.
The ink gradually dried on the paper. Jiang Suizhou looked at his own signature and slowly sighed.
He knew that Lou Yue had rejected Huo Wujiu, and Huo Wujiu had allowed him to reject him without threatening him.
But now, Jiang Suizhou wanted to use the evidence in his hands to threaten Lou Yue. After all, these things clearly told him that Pang Shao had already set up an inescapable trap. If Lou Yue continued to hesitate, Pang Shao would frame him and make his successor take away his military power and convict him. By then, it would be too late.
Jiang Suizhou knew that threatening Lou Yue was the only way.
And he had to do this, and he had to do it privately without Huo Wujiu's knowledge. Only then would Lou Yue and Huo Wujiu not be hostile towards each other.
As for how Lou Yue would view him after this …
Jiang Suizhou folded the letter expressionlessly.
Let him be.
— —
Sure enough, during the next court assembly, the court was in an uproar.
Just as Pang Shao had predicted, Qi Min also hated Lou Yue to the core. According to the evidence on the letter that Pang Shao handed over, he fiercely denounced Lou Yue and successfully infuriated the successor.
Of course, the successor was not interested in what Lou Yue did. What he cared about was why Lou Yue acted on his own initiative and drove the thin horse, who should have been sent to the palace, back to Yangzhou.
Because of this matter, the successor flew into a rage. Pang Shao and Qi Min's officials added fuel to the fire. For a moment, Lou Yue's two fists were no match for four hands. He was scolded to the point that his face turned red. Even when the court assembly was dismissed, his expression did not return to normal.
Jiang Suizhou watched from the side coldly from the beginning to the end.
He knew that today's situation was the best opportunity for him to negotiate with Lou Yue. Lou Yue had just been isolated by the other officials in the court. He probably knew about the current situation and would be easier to persuade and turn to Huo Wujiu's side.
Jiang Suizhou was ninety percent sure that he would succeed.
With this in mind, he secretly thought about how he should phrase his words. When the court assembly was dismissed, all the officials left Guangyuan Palace Hall in satisfaction. Jiang Suizhou then stepped forward to catch up with Lou Yue, who was the last to leave.
"General Lou, please wait!" he called out loudly.
Lou Yue heard someone calling him. He turned around and saw His Highness Prince Jing, who had greeted him outside the city the other day, standing a few steps behind him.
He was a very polite and sickly person.
Lou Yue stopped and patiently waited for Jiang Suizhou to catch up. He asked, "Your Highness Prince Jing, what advice do you have for me?"
Jiang Suizhou walked in front of him. Lou Yue saluted him and walked side by side with him.
"I can't say that I'm advising you," he said calmly. "But today's situation … is not very optimistic for General Lou."
He stopped talking and deliberately gave Lou Yue time to react. He was waiting for him to respond so that he could continue.
But he didn't expect …
When today's events were brought up, Lou Yue's face showed some anger, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he sighed and said, "That is indeed the case. I didn't expect that Qi Min would collude with Pang Shao after not seeing each other for a few years. However, I must thank you, Your Highness Prince Jing, for remembering to stay behind and comfort this general. "
This made Jiang Suizhou speechless for a moment.
He … he wasn't here to comfort Lou Yue. He was here to threaten Lou Yue.
However, Lou Yue continued to talk to himself.
"This general can see that you are a good person! Just by talking about that child Huo Wujiu, I can see that you have a good heart! "The more he spoke, the more excited he became. It was as if he treated Jiang Suizhou as a close friend. "It is also fortunate that we have you! Not only are you Huo Wujiu's benefactor, but you are also our Wanjun's benefactor! Ever since I was a child, I realized that these two children were a good match. Say, with Wanjun's arrogance, how could she follow Wujiu around every day? Say, isn't this fate bestowed by the heavens … "
Jiang Suizhou's bellyful of schemes and schemes were all blocked by Lou Yue.
His throat felt bitter and his heart felt sour, but he didn't show it on his face. He smiled faintly and agreed.
In his heart, he had already gritted his teeth.
Forget it! To think that he was worried about destroying the relationship between Huo Wujiu and Lou Yue and insisted that he be the bad guy! Since that was the case, he might as well hand this matter over to Huo Wujiu and let him talk to Lou Yue himself!
Jiang Suizhou thought in a fit of pique.
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