Jiang Suzhou's heart skipped a beat, and his mind went blank.
He panicked and opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
After a while, he explained in a panic, "No, I was just …"
He then saw Huo Wujiu laugh, his eyes staring straight at him.
"I know," he said. "You were just anxious and told me the truth."
"I …"
Jiang Suzhou was about to speak, but Huo Wujiu interrupted him.
He reached his hand into Jiang Suizhou's blanket, grabbing his hand that was under the blanket.
Normally, Huo Wujiu would often pull him over, but every time, he would only hold his wrist through his sleeve. This time, it directly covered the back of his hand and held his entire hand in the palm of his hand.
Jiang Suizhou was stunned for a moment.
Gradually, he came back to his senses and realized what Huo Wujiu's action meant.
The palm of that hand was very rough, and it was obvious that it was the result of years of martial arts practice. That hand was not as calm as its owner's face. Instead, it was clenched tightly, as if it was full of turbulent emotions that could not find an outlet, and it hurt his finger bones.
Then, Huo Wujiu seemed to think it was not enough, and pulled his hand out of the blanket and wrapped his other hand around it, holding his hand tightly in both of his hands.
Jiang Suzhou stared at him in a daze.
His reaction, could it be that he was also …?
For a moment, Huo Wujiu's gaze, smile, and sometimes unhappiness for no reason, all had an explanation.
Jiang Suzhou felt like he was in a dream.
How could it be … a person like him, how could he silently do this to her …?
The impact of this response was so strong that he even forgot to be happy for a moment.
Huo Wujiu, who was kneeling by the bed, pulled his hand forward and pressed it against his face.
"Why didn't you do it earlier?" His tone was very low, as if he was talking to himself. For a moment, he looked foolish. As soon as he said this, he seemed to immediately overturn his own question and continued to talk to himself. "No, it's my fault. I actually asked you to speak first."
At this point, he frowned and said, "But I couldn't see it at all."
Jiang Suizhou replied in a low voice, "… I couldn't tell either."
Huo Wujiu didn't even think about it. He said matter-of-factly, "Of course I can't let you see it. You already told me that you're not gay. What if you see it and run away in fear? I can't just tie you up and bring you back. "
"Of course not," Jiang Suizhou blurted out. "I just …"
Only then did he realize what he was saying. He quickly shut his mouth and swallowed the rest of his words.
How strange. Previously, in order to prevent Pang Shao from getting suspicious, what kind of unpleasant words did he not say in front of everyone? He had always been calm and composed, and he could even put on a vivid performance. But now, it was just a simple sentence from the heart. It was difficult for him to say it out loud.
Even though his hand was warm, his heart was boiling hot.
But Huo Wujiu in front of him seemed to understand.
He looked at Jiang Suizhou with a burning gaze and laughed for a moment.
His laughter was very pleasant to the ears. It caused a stuffy tremor in his chest, all the way to Jiang Suizhou's hand.
Then, as if it wasn't enough, Huo Wujiu squeezed the hand in his hand a few times. Then, he pulled it from the side of his face to his lips and kissed his fingers deeply. Then, he pressed his lips tightly against his lips.
He sighed with a smile. The warmth of his breath traveled through his fingers to Jiang Suizhou.
Jiang Suizhou's ears were instantly ignited by that breath.
He tried to pull his hand away, but it was to no avail. Instead, Huo Wujiu tightened his grip.
That burning gaze full of laughter was so invasive that he couldn't help but avert his gaze. He lowered his eyes in a panic, like an ostrich that had plunged into the sand.
This self-deceiving avoidance made the invader even more excited.
His muffled laughter traveled from his warm lips to his knuckles. It traveled down his arm and numbed all the meridians in his body.
— —
Huo Wujiu's soldiers were very efficient.
This was also thanks to Huo Yuyan's arrangements. At the beginning of the year, he instigated Huo Wujiu's subordinate, Wu Qianfan, causing Huo Wujiu to be isolated and helpless. After that, he killed Wu Qianfan to silence him. The number of soldiers under Huo Wujiu's command was several times greater than Huo Yuyan's, and most of Huo Yuyan's forces were deployed around Ye City. Thus, he couldn't allocate any men to replace the soldiers from Jiang Bei.
Therefore, other than the dead Li Cheng and his trusted aides, the 200,000 troops he brought today were all Huo Wujiu's own subordinates.
Within a day, they firmly controlled the imperial palace and Lin 'an. All the residences of the officials in the capital were heavily guarded. After Pang Wei's death, Huo Wujiu divided the troops outside the city into several groups and sent them out to control the various counties in Nanjing.
Deep into the night, everything was peaceful.
Li Changning sent over the decocted medicine. He told Jiang Suizhou to rest more these few days and not to exhaust himself. Otherwise, it would be detrimental to his recovery. Therefore, not long after he drank the medicine, Huo Wujiu forced him to sleep. After Jiang Suizhou fell asleep, he went straight out of the palace.
At this time, the palace next to the empress's bedroom was a dark ruin. There was no one around. Wei Kai and Meng Qianshan were waiting at the door. His eyes were red and he was so anxious that his eyes were rolling.
Seeing Huo Wujiu come out, Meng Qianshan hurriedly went up to him.
"General …"
Huo Wujiu waved his hand and said, "Your prince is fine. Go in and serve him. Be gentle. He's already asleep. "
Meng Qianshan nodded repeatedly and bowed to thank him. Then, he turned around and quietly went into the palace.
Wei Kai came up to him and said, "General, I've already prepared a place for you to stay. It's not far from here. I'll take you there."
Huo Wujiu made a sound of acknowledgment and followed him.
For some reason, Wei Kai felt that his general's footsteps were quite light and lively.
Could it be that the general was so happy because His Highness Prince Jing's injuries weren't serious and it was a false alarm? That didn't seem to be the case. Maybe he was mistaken …
However, as soon as Wei Kai entered the palace, he realized that he wasn't mistaken.
The people waiting in the palace were all people from the prince's estate and Huo Wujiu's subordinates. Wei Kai led him in and told him where the front hall was, where the bedrooms were, and how the imperial palace was decorated. However, he noticed that his general was already absent-minded.
He saw the general stroll around the room as if he didn't hear anything. He casually sat down on the couch and poured himself a cup of tea.
When Wei Kai saw this, he waved his hand and signaled for the servants around him to leave.
When he turned around, he saw that their general was holding the teacup with one hand. He didn't drink from it and just stood there, staring at the surface of the water as if he was lost in thought.
Wei Kai frowned.
Could it be that someone had tampered with the tea and the general had noticed?
He hurriedly went forward, "General?"
Just as he was about to ask, he saw Huo Wujiu look up at him. He couldn't hide the smile in his eyes. It even made his mood rise. Although he didn't move or smile, he was inexplicably in high spirits.
Wei Kai was dumbfounded.
"General …?"
He saw his general put down the teacup on the table and lift one of his long legs to step on the edge of the couch. He put his arm up and the corners of his mouth curled up.
"What's with that expression? Did someone die?" he asked. "Smile for me."
Wei Kai was speechless, but he could only obediently smile.
"General, did something good happen?" he asked.
Huo Wujiu raised his eyebrows.
"How do you know it's something good?"
Wei Kai was speechless.
In the past, when their general was in a good mood, he did look like he deserved a beating. However, it couldn't be helped. He had been impudent since he was young, so it was normal for him to be like this.
However, the general's expression today was especially annoying.
Something good must have happened.
When he thought of this, Wei Kai was startled. For a moment, an immature guess appeared in his mind.
"General," he said. "Could it be that His Highness Prince Jing has …"
Before he could say the word 'relationship', he saw his general break into a smile. The hand on his knee also started to rub on it, like a dog's tail that was wagging in circles.
Wei Kai didn't expect his immature guess to be true.
"It's actually His Highness Prince Jing. He …" He was delighted.
However, he saw their general snort and a fierce look appeared on his face.
"It's none of your business," he said. "If you have the time, go and patrol the palace before the third watch period. Pay attention to the residences of the officials and the concubines, eunuchs, and maids who are detained in the palace. Don't let anyone out who's looking for trouble."
Wei Kai secretly curled his lips.
"Yes," he replied, unwilling to give in.
Huo Wujiu waved his hand and said, "Get out of here."
Wei Kai responded. He cursed in his heart and left.
Once the door was closed, only Huo Wujiu was left in the hall.
He stared at the flickering candle flame in front of him for a while. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.
He couldn't help but jump off the couch and walk back and forth in the hall a few times.
The seven rooms of the palace were so spacious that one couldn't see the other end. However, Huo Wujiu felt that the room was very small. After walking around a few times, he couldn't even stretch his muscles.
There was an emotion that was rampaging through his limbs and bones. It made him extremely excited, but he couldn't find a way to vent it.
He couldn't help but laugh, but it didn't work. He seemed to need to go out into the night and have a good ride. However, the imperial city he was in right now didn't have a wide grassland. There were only layers of palaces that stretched to the horizon. Perhaps he needed to find a battle to fight. It would be best if it was an extremely difficult opponent that could make him fight to his heart's content and exhaust his strength. However, looking at all of Nanjing, there was already no one who could be his opponent.
Or perhaps … what he needed the most was to take another look at Jiang Suizhou.
He didn't need to do anything else. As long as he looked at him, touched him lightly, and watched over him by his bedside, all of his anxiety would vanish like smoke in thin air.
However … Li Changning just had to say that Jiang Suizhou needed a good rest.
He really did need to rest. Huo Wujiu still saw how he was injured and on the verge of death today.
He also knew that Jiang Suizhou was a light sleeper and couldn't be disturbed. Therefore, he pretended to be serious and left. Even though he was pacing around the room like a trapped beast, he didn't dare to actually sneak into his room.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. He tilted his head back and drank the cup of tea he had just poured. Then he pushed open the door and walked out.
That night, Huo Wujiu's palace was lit with candles all night long. However, there wasn't a single person in the huge palace.
In the dewy night, the sky full of stars seemed to be encircled by the four walls of the palace. They quietly shone on the resplendent glazed roof tiles for the entire night.
However, no one knew that on this night, Huo Wujiu sat alone on the white marble steps in front of Jiang Suizhou's gate until dawn.
He had never quietly stared at the stars for an entire night like this, nor had he ever quietly listened to a person's breathing like this before. His entire chest was filled with warmth.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
