Chapter 12
JIANG SUIZHOU DIDN’T SLEEP well that night either.
At some point, he had grown tired enough to fall asleep while reading, at which point Meng Qianshan draped a blanket over him so he wouldn’t get a fever.
But when he opened his eyes, he still felt dizzy and lightheaded. The wooden couch was extremely hard, and it was very uncomfortable to sit on for a long period of time. After sleeping on it all night, his body ached all over.
Truthfully, Jiang Suizhou was a little bit peeved at the original prince for this.
Why did he arrange such awful living quarters for Huo Wujiu, with such crudely crafted furniture? Seriously, did he not consider that he might have to “sleep on the couch” here, so to speak?
He straightened up. The sky was beginning to lighten already, and the faint fragrance of food floated into the room. Meng Qianshan was likely instructing the other servants to prepare breakfast.
As Jiang Suizhou stood up, he glanced at the bed.
It was empty.
Where was Huo Wujiu?
Groggy but concerned, he surveyed the room with bleary eyes and soon jolted in alarm when he saw Huo Wujiu sitting next to the window, basking in the early morning sunlight. He seemed to be casually skimming through Jiang Suizhou’s partially read book, though Jiang Suizhou could tell from the way Huo Wujiu was holding it that he definitely wasn’t much of a reader.
Huo Wujiu gazed back at him with impassive black eyes, his face mostly devoid of emotion. Jiang Suizhou felt that such eyes could pierce through anyone who crossed him.
A wave of embarrassment suddenly washed over Jiang Suizhou. He hadn’t done anything, but he still inexplicably felt a bit guilty. Maybe it was because he had spent the entire night here, watching over Huo Wujiu, a decision that was more or less at odds with his persona.
Nonetheless, he tried to remain cool and nonchalant as he withdrew his gaze and called for his servant.
“Meng Qianshan?”
At the sound of his voice, Meng Qianshan quickly trotted in from outside to help him get ready for the day ahead.
Meng Qianshan had always been talkative, which was a blessing for Jiang Suizhou on this awkward morning. He could prattle on for quite a while regardless of who was listening, as long as Jiang Suizhou didn’t interrupt him, so for now he allowed Meng Qianshan to ramble away. Afterward, he pretended that he hadn’t seen Huo Wujiu at all and departed after finishing his breakfast.
There was no Grand Assembly today, but he had to report to the ministry office.
Prior to leaving, he made sure to remind Meng Qianshan of his most important duty today.
“Don’t forget to move Madam Huo.”
Meng Qianshan assured him that he wouldn’t.
Once Jiang Suizhou was gone, Meng Qianshan returned to Huo Wujiu’s living quarters and toured the dilapidated compound with several of the other servants. There wasn’t really anything to pack up, though, as Huo Wujiu hadn’t brought any personal belongings, and he had only stayed here for one night.
However, Madam Huo now had a very different status compared to when he had first joined the household. Wouldn’t it be considered a slight if he were delivered to His Highness’s living quarters with nothing but his own person?
As such, Meng Qianshan attended to Huo Wujiu throughout breakfast with the utmost care. After Huo Wujiu had eaten his fill, Meng Qianshan was ready to jump in and offer his assistance once more.
“Madam Huo, is there anything you’d like to purchase?” he asked, standing slightly too close and smiling slightly too wide. “If so, I’ll send someone to procure the items at once.”
Huo Wujiu didn’t reply.
He found the eunuch exceptionally noisy and his obsequious behavior also rather irritating. But what disgusted Huo Wujiu the most by far was the way Meng Qianshan fawned over him as though he were a favored concubine.
Meng Qianshan was clueless to all of this, however. At Huo Wujiu’s silence, he began to make his own arrangements.
“We’ll certainly have to order robes fit for all seasons,” he said thoughtfully. “I’ll send for a tailor shortly. Oh, and shall I ask a carpenter to make Madam a new wheelchair as well? And the servants who will be your personal attendants…”
Meng Qianshan trailed off as he realized that Huo Wujiu was staring quite intensely at him. The eunuch promptly leaned down and shuffled forward, thinking that he had a request to make.
“Madam?”
As their eyes met, Meng Qianshan felt cold fear plunge straight through his chest. One look from Huo Wujiu was enough to make one feel as though they’d been dunked into a pool of icy water.
“The only thing I need,” Huo Wujiu said flatly, “is for you to keep your distance from me.”
Meng Qianshan spluttered, his enthusiasm doused completely.
He sheepishly scurried away.
Who would’ve thought that His Highness would develop a preference for the fierce, domineering type?
They were truly too difficult to please.
✦ ✦ ✦
Even though Jiang Suizhou was supposed to report to the ministry office for duty every day outside of the Grand Assembly, the Ministry of Rites had always been a little more idle than the other departments. Furthermore, Jiang Suizhou’s position in particular had little real responsibility, so he didn’t actually have much to do the entire day.
To top it off, his superior Ji You was a remarkably easygoing people pleaser.
The accounts written about him in the Jing historical records indicated that he was a bureaucratic idler who cared far more for the written word and poetry than politics and scheming. Although he’d been acknowledged as principal graduate by the previous emperor since he’d received the top score in the imperial examination, his career as an official never really took off due to his mild nature and lack of ambition. His poems were strikingly well written, though.
He wasn’t overly friendly with Jiang Suizhou, and he clearly wasn’t in the same faction, but he also didn’t go out of his way to give Jiang Suizhou a hard time. In fact, when he noticed Jiang Suizhou’s ashen complexion, he kindly suggested that since there wasn’t anything pressing to take care of today, Jiang Suizhou could head back early and get some rest.
However, unbeknownst to Ji You, the ministry office was actually the best place for Jiang Suizhou to relax. He was distressingly out of his depth when it came to both the imperial court and his own harem; he felt he must remain alert and vigilant at all times. It was exhausting.
Unexpectedly, his ministry duties ended up granting him a rare moment of reprieve.
For the first time in his life, Jiang Suizhou found himself empathizing with the modern workaholic office drone. He understood now why so many middle-aged men worked “overtime” smoking in the car, steeling themselves to bear familial pressures before finally going home. With that in mind, Jiang Suizhou put in a hard day’s rest in the ministry office.
There was no emperor or Pang Shao; no advisors with burning gazes; nor was there the ticking time bomb that was Huo Wujiu. Even the air in the Ministry of Rites seemed significantly fresher.
The calm atmosphere contributed so greatly to his mood that when it came time to leave for the day, he decided to stop in front of Ji You’s desk as he was walking by and exchange some pleasantries.
“Minister Ji, what are you reading?” he asked, eyeing the book in his hand.
Ji You lifted his head. At the sight of Jiang Suizhou, he flipped the book around and handed it to him with a smile.
“Merely a collection of tales told as unofficial history. There’s no basis for them. It’s just something to pass the time.”
Jiang Suizhou took the book and scanned its contents.
Sure enough, it was filled with nonstandard history, tall tales, and many, many artistic liberties. The author might as well have just written a novella about someone who happened to share the same name as the previous emperor.
He flashed a thin smile and returned the book to Ji You.
“It’s certainly intriguing,” he said cryptically.
“Is Your Highness also interested in this sort of thing?” Ji You asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
The scholars in this day and age tended to be a little self-righteous, and they vastly preferred the orthodox approach to history. Tall tales like these, which might as well be about horses soaring through the sky, were written to amuse the common people. The nobility and literati typically turned their noses up at such things.
Jiang Suizhou shook his head. Of course he wasn’t interested in unofficial history, though Ji You could never guess the reason.
The reason I’m standing here talking to you right now is because I’m being taught a lesson for looking down on unofficial history. I wonder, Minister, what would you think if I told you that you might be living in one of those tall tales?
Obviously, he couldn’t voice any of that aloud, so instead he just smiled faintly.
“I wouldn’t call it ‘interest,’ but history has always been written by the people, to be evaluated by later generations. Who knows who is telling the truth, and who is telling a lie?”
When Ji You heard that, his eyes lit up, gleaming with the spark of someone who had found a kindred spirit.
Jiang Suizhou nodded briskly in Ji You’s direction. Thinking nothing more of their interaction, he turned and left.