From that day on, Jiang Suizhou settled down to rest at home.
Many court officials sent him get-well gifts. Even the emperor had sent over a royal physician, ostensibly to treat him—or so he claimed. Jiang Suizhou knew the emperor suspected him of feigning illness. Hence, he’d sent someone over to check.
But Jiang Suizhou was genuinely ill. The royal physician reported that the Prince of Jing’s constitution was too weak, that even a spring rain would be enough to put him one foot in the grave. The delighted emperor then sent him a pile of useless gold and jewels the next day, telling Jiang Suizhou to rest and not to worry about court affairs.
Ji You, the Minister of Rites, knew that it was the task he’d assigned that led to Jiang Suizhou falling ill. When Jiang Suizhou had Meng Qianshan convey a message to him, the remorseful Ji You sent back several volumes of miscellaneous historical texts as an apology.
Equal parts amused and exasperated, Jiang Suizhou quickly instructed Meng Qianshan to put those books away where he couldn’t see them.
The next day, his fever subsided, but the illness lingered.
Jiang Suizhou had never experienced such a miserable cold before.
The original owner of this body must have had a particularly fragile respiratory system. Exposure to the slightest chill made his throat and lungs ache in discomfort. His overall poor health caused his condition to fluctuate over the next few days—one moment he felt as cold as ice, and the next he had a low fever.
Despite his illness tormenting him to the brink of lifelessness, Jiang Suizhou still found time to secretly ask Meng Qianshan if they should move Huo Wujiu out to avoid infecting him.
After all, a nasty cold seemed like an excellent excuse to finally get Huo Wujiu to leave without the risk of insulting him.
There was no need to keep up the ruse at this point. Not only were the emperor and Pang Shao completely convinced of his homosexuality, but they earnestly believed him to enjoy some rather unspeakable debauchery. So, in that case, why force Huo Wujiu to stay here and sleep on the daybed?
But Meng Qianshan shook his head in reply, and he smiled so widely that his eyes narrowed into happy slits.
“No need! Madam Huo isn’t afraid of this,” he whispered, taking advantage of Huo Wujiu’s absence from the room.
Jiang Suizhou frowned.
“Ah, His Highness doesn’t know!” Meng Qianshan exclaimed with obvious delight. “Madam Huo is the one who found you ill in your bed. When your servant arrived, the madam was already holding your hand, and he didn’t let go until His Highness woke up!”
By this point, Meng Qianshan was grinning from ear to ear.
Jiang Suizhou was speechless.
He vaguely remembered something along those lines…but Huo Wujiu hadn’t been holding his hand, exactly. Jiang Suizhou had been the one clinging to him.
However, Meng Qianshan wouldn’t believe him, so he didn’t bother to offer any explanations. It was patently ridiculous, anyway. Huo Wujiu was disabled, but surely he could shake off a feverish patient, right?
“Your Highness, I really do think Madam Huo has some feelings for you,” Meng Qianshan added with a chuckle. “Ah! Truly, sincerity can move even metal and stone!”
Jiang Suizhou’s expression cooled, and he quickly shooed Meng Qianshan out.
Indeed, a lie will always come around and bite you in the end. He should’ve expected there’d soon be a price to pay.
Jiang Suizhou gritted his teeth and shook his head as he watched Meng Qianshan cheerfully retreat from the room. He pushed the thought of moving Huo Wujiu out to the back of his mind for now.
Although his illness continued to fluctuate in severity, he gradually recovered, day by day.
The emperor had sent a royal physician once, but there had been no further news since. Then, unexpectedly, a few days later, another royal physician arrived from the palace.
This time, Jiang Suizhou noticed something different.
The previous physician sent by the emperor had merely taken his pulse, seen that he was seriously ill, and left.
This one was different. He took his time carefully examining Jiang Suizhou and even thoroughly checked the medicine he had been taking over the past few days.
Most likely, this physician was sent by Pang Shao.
The emperor only wanted to see if Jiang Suizhou was ill. Once that was confirmed, he was satisfied and paid him no further attention. Pang Shao, on the other hand, intended to keep an eye on Jiang Suizhou. He would monitor his health and estimate when he would recover, all to ensure he wouldn’t seize this chance to make any moves.
Jiang Suizhou found this surveillance terribly irritating, but there wasn’t much to be done about it. Every few days, the persistent physician would return.
On his third visit, after carefully examining Jiang Suizhou, he offered a knowing smile and gave his assessment.
“Your Highness is recovering well. In two or three days, you should make a full recovery. As it happens, His Majesty’s birthday banquet is in four days. The emperor has been quite worried about whether you’ll be able to attend, but I’m confident that His Majesty won’t be disappointed.”
With that, he left.
Jiang Suizhou sat on the bed, his breathing ragged with suppressed anger.
He knew this was Pang Shao’s way of threatening him. He was letting him know that they were aware of his condition and that he couldn’t use it to escape. He had to bring Huo Wujiu to the palace for the emperor’s amusement.
Just then, Meng Qianshan entered with the prepared medicine.
Jiang Suizhou glanced at it and then looked away. He’d ingested so much of the foul concoction that he felt as though he’d been thoroughly steeped in it, to the point his entire body must have reeked of the same bitterness.