Jiang Suizhou didn’t feel like figuring out what was off about Huo Wujiu. Once he was done eating, he headed to the Ministry of Rites to loaf around.
Meng Qianshan stayed behind in his stead. Extremely diligent and attentive, he hovered near Huo Wujiu, making it clear he was at his beck and call.
Huo Wujiu watched indifferently as Meng Qianshan bustled around him. The eunuch only gave Huo Wujiu a much-desired respite—albeit a temporary one—when the carpenter arrived to deliver the wheelchair.
He massaged his temples. The eunuch was so damn noisy.
At that moment, Sun Yuan—who had been standing behind him the entire time—took the opportunity to step forward and stuff something into his hand.
Huo Wujiu looked up at him. Sun Yuan was stiff as a board from head to toe, and his nervousness was written plainly across his face.
“This is… Er, someone requested that your humble servant give this to you,” Sun Yuan stammered in a whisper.
The porter boy had never done something like this before. It was something of a tall order for him.
The day before yesterday, as he was exiting the residence alone after wheeling Madam Huo into the courtyard, someone stopped him. The stranger pressed a silver ingot into his hand before asking him to pass a letter along to Madam Huo.
What kind of person was His Highness, and who was Madam Huo? Just thinking about the answers to those two questions, he hastily declined and ran away. Fortunately, the person who made the request wasn’t cruel enough to press him into service despite his hesitancy, nor did he kill him to ensure his silence.
But then, a day later, His Highness instructed him to privately deliver all letters and items to Madam Huo as requested. That had terrified Sun Yuan down to his marrow. However, he didn’t have the guts to disobey a direct order from His Highness.
That night, on his way back home from the Prince of Jing’s residence, he encountered the same person again.
“Consider this my plea to you: All you have to do is deliver this letter to him,” the man said. “General Huo isn’t a careless man. So long as the letter makes it to him, he will not leave behind any traces that might implicate you.”
Sun Yuan faltered.
Well, since His Highness had instructed him to accept…
Hope immediately flickered across the man’s face at the sight of Sun Yuan’s hesitation.
“What do you say? I can pay even more, if you want. That’s very negotiable!”
Sun Yuan had been honest and sincere his entire life. That offer scared him so much that even his thoughts stumbled over themselves.
It wasn’t exactly about the money…but at the same time, he couldn’t just say that His Highness had actually told him to do this… So, what now?
After stalling for a second, Sun Yuan spoke.
“Um… Y-yeah, increase the pay.”
“By how much?” the main replied quickly.
Sun Yuan paused before bashfully extending two fingers.
“Maybe…add two-tenths of a silver ingot.”
The man was very perplexed. Why was this kid asking for such an affordable pay increase?
Nevertheless, despite his puzzlement, he readily agreed and gave the letter to Sun Yuan, and Sun Yuan eventually delivered it to Huo Wujiu.
Huo Wujiu took one glance at the letter in his hand. Then he raised his head, and his probing gaze landed on Sun Yuan, who immediately felt uneasy under his scrutiny. The boy barely even dared to breathe as he stood there, as rigid as a bamboo pole.
“Who told you to deliver this to me?” Huo Wujiu asked in a low voice.
“I-I didn’t recognize…” Sun Yuan stuttered, trailing off.
“I meant,” Huo Wujiu cut in, “who granted you permission to deliver letters to me?”
His Highness told me not to say, the boy thought to himself miserably, lips trembling.
Even though he didn’t say a single word, his appearance told Huo Wujiu all that he needed to know.
…Unbelievable.
While he had visited Yecheng once or twice with his father in his youth, he couldn’t remember ever having met the Prince of Jing, not even in passing. What had he been talking about? It was beyond absurd of the prince to say that he was “deeply fond” of Huo Wujiu.
Yet when Huo Wujiu connected his words to his behavior from the past few days, that did seem to be the case…
It made sense, with the way he acted like a sheep in wolf’s clothing. He put up a tough front while inexplicably treating him exceedingly well.
If the prince insisted on developing some inexplicable feelings for him, Huo Wujiu couldn’t exactly stop him. He had observed the prince watching him closely and looking after him over the past few days, thinking he was as stealthy as a thief. That wasn’t what Huo Wujiu was most concerned about, though.
He was a prisoner of war from an enemy nation, detained here in the prince’s residence. He knew that the only reason he was able to receive this letter was because the prince had allowed it. Was the Prince of Jing truly either so bold or so stupid? Or rather…
Huo Wujiu frowned in confusion, idly rubbing his thumb against the paper in his hand.
Could such fondness truly blind someone to this extent? So much so that he would put the object of his affection before his own country and life?
Huo Wujiu had always been a master of military strategy and tactics, but he was clueless when it came to matters of the heart. He didn’t have any experience with them, which momentarily impacted his judgment, his thoughts suddenly thrown into disarray.
It felt as if, regardless of whatever plans he made or actions he took, he would inevitably be taking advantage of the prince’s affection for him.