By the time Jiang Suizhou returned to the residence, it was already late at night.
The morning court assembly had left him exhausted enough already, so after a long, busy day at the Ministry of Rites, he found himself feeling lightheaded.
Fortunately, Ji You was aware of his frail health and didn’t lambaste him for it. He delegated most of Jiang Suizhou’s tasks to his subordinates and allowed him to take things a bit slower.
Ji You’s kindness was the only reason Jiang Suizhou could return to the residence at this hour.
He rode the palanquin back to the courtyard and entered with his head and legs feeling like cotton. His mouth was dry, so he sat down at the table and asked Meng Qianshan to pour him some tea.
Seeing his pale face, Meng Qianshan quickly brought the tea to Jiang Suizhou’s hands and bowed.
“Your Highness, are you all right? Should your servant send for the physician to check your pulse?”
Jiang Suizhou waved his hand, a little breathless.
“No need,” he added in a hoarse voice.
He could tell that his lightheadedness was due to exhaustion. Rather than summoning a doctor to keep him up half the night, it was wiser to simply get some extra rest.
Meng Qianshan reluctantly agreed and stepped aside.
Jiang Suizhou drank a few sips of tea. His thirst quenched, he felt a bit better. He put the cup back on the table and was about to get up to wash when he noticed an envelope on the table.
It was delicate and dainty, like a love letter from a young lady.
“Who sent this letter?” he asked, unable to restrain his curiosity.
Meng Qianshan had brought the letter to Huo Wujiu earlier that day and knew exactly what it was. His answer was swift and direct, as if he had finally found someone to tattle to.
“Your Highness, it was sent by the wife of Minister Chen Ti!”
Chen Ti?
Jiang Suizhou frowned.
Although only a fifth-rank official in the capital, he was a distant relative of Pang Shao. He lacked any notable skills except that of ingratiating himself with Pang Shao. But because of that, he’d flourished within the capital.
Why would his wife have sent a letter here?
“The letter is for Madam Huo,” Meng Qianshan clarified, noticing his silent frown.
Jiang Suizhou looked at Huo Wujiu, who briefly returned his gaze.
“Flower-viewing banquet,” Huo Wujiu said in a low, calm voice.
Flower viewing?
Jiang Suizhou opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. Inside was an invitation asking Huo Wujiu to attend a flower-viewing banquet at Chen Ti’s residence a month later.
Jiang Suizhou’s frown deepened. He didn’t even bother finishing the letter; he just stuffed it back into Meng Qianshan’s hands with the envelope.
Loathsome wretches, all of them.
The steep decline of Southern Jing was largely due to its foolish emperor and swaths of sycophants in the court. They spent their days doing nothing and had no clue how to strengthen the nation against Northern Liang. Instead, they fixated on humiliating prisoners of war, as if that would restore the dignity they’d lost with their defeats.
The emperor was already forcing Jiang Suizhou to bring Huo Wujiu to the palace banquet. And now this complete nobody dared to brazenly join in on the humiliation? After the irritating, exhausting day he’d had, this was the last straw for Jiang Suizhou.
“Send it back wherever it came from,” he said, a hint of fury seeping into his usually well-controlled tone.
Meng Qianshan was startled.
“Your Highness…”
“What?” Jiang Suizhou snapped, sweeping a look at him. “Am I obligated to feign interest in some flowers?”
Meng Qianshan shook his head hard. Although clearly conflicted, he dared not voice it.
At that moment, Huo Wujiu spoke up.
“Pang Shao must have asked him to send this. He won’t give up until he achieves his goal.”
Jiang Suizhou paused in the middle of picking up the teacup and glanced at Huo Wujiu, who now looked fully and directly into his eyes.
“I’m their target. It has nothing to do with you,” Huo Wujiu said.
He understood that this would continue for as long as he remained in Southern Jing. The imperial court was determined to make a spectacle of him, and they were relentless. He’d been fortunate enough to evade their previous attempts, but that was all thanks to the Prince of Jing.
The Prince of Jing had been shielding him, but in doing so, he made himself vulnerable to their manipulation. Each time, these people would seize the chance to take something from him. How much more could the prince afford to lose in his attempts to protect him?
He had no wish to be a coward, nor did he want others to shoulder his burdens for him.
He noticed Jiang Suizhou’s gaze falter slightly in surprise. Huo Wujiu’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly looked away.
Hopefully the Prince of Jing wouldn’t read too much into his words. He only wished to convey that he didn’t need Jiang Suizhou’s self-sacrificing kindness.
But when Jiang Suizhou spoke next, his hoarse voice had grown much colder.
“Nothing to do with me?” Jiang Suizhou sneered. “You married into my household. How could it have nothing to do with me? Do you think I would not be humiliated as well, should you attend a women’s garden party as a grown man?”
Jiang Suizhou went to his inner chamber to wash up.
As he walked, he grumbled to himself.
If you weren’t destined to chop off my head in three years, then I suppose it really wouldn’t have anything to do with me!
He was well aware that this petty official had dared to send the letter to his residence because Pang Shao was backing him. And why would Pang Shao back him? Naturally, because doing so would amuse the emperor.
Pang Shao was more than happy to sit back and watch it happen.
Jiang Suizhou had already learned a lot about how to counter these people’s schemes during his time here. In any case, he’d continue to thwart everything he could, and when a time came that he couldn’t, well…he’d cross that bridge when he came to it.
With this in mind, Jiang Suizhou cleaned up and took a nice, relaxing bath.
He’d had an exhausting day, and when he emerged from the inner chamber, his body felt clean but weightless with fatigue. All he wanted was to collapse into bed and sleep.
But when he returned to the bedroom, he saw Huo Wujiu sitting next to the daybed, quietly reading.
…But why?
Baffled, Jiang Suizhou stood frozen in place, his mind going blank.
Huo Wujiu looked up when he heard Jiang Suizhou enter the room. Expressionless, he gestured toward the bed with his chin.
“Sleep there,” he said bluntly, as stern as if he were giving orders to his soldiers.
Jiang Suizhou’s mind had yet to process what was going on. He looked toward the bed.
The bed was neatly made, and on the small table beside it was a pill.
“And take the pill on the table before you do,” Huo Wujiu added.