Besides, it would be better if he didn’t drink the medicine. At worst, he’d stay sick for a few more days. That would be far preferable to Jiang Suizhou than letting those people have their way. He could spare Huo Wujiu the humiliation.
“Put it down,” Jiang Suizhou ordered calmly. “I’ll drink it later.”
Meng Qianshan carefully observed him.
He knew his lord was in a bad mood and probably didn’t feel like drinking the medicine right now. And to be fair, Jiang Suizhou had been very diligently taking his medicine over the past few days. Other than the first time, he’d never refused.
Placing his trust in Jiang Suizhou’s word, Meng Qianshan obediently placed the medicine on the side table and left.
With Meng Qianshan gone, Jiang Suizhou and Huo Wujiu were left alone in the room.
Jiang Suizhou sneaked a glance at Huo Wujiu, who was quietly flipping through a book and minding his own business.
Seeing that the coast was clear, Jiang Suizhou slipped out of bed and picked up the bowl of medicine from the side table.
He didn’t notice that Huo Wujiu had heard the rustling of the blanket and immediately turned to look at him.
Clad in thin sleeping robes and holding the medicine in one hand, Jiang Suizhou was completely oblivious as he unsteadily made his way over to a corner of the room, where an ornamental tree stood in a purple clay pot.
If he dumped out two days’ worth of medicine, his fragile body would surely relapse. At that point, they would have to carry him to the birthday banquet if they wanted him to attend so badly.
This would work perfectly for everyone.
Jiang Suizhou stood before the unsuspecting potted tree and began to tilt the jade bowl. Just before the repulsive liquid could reach the lip of the bowl, a hand firmly grasped his wrist.
Startled, he turned around to find that Huo Wujiu had wheeled over to his side at some point, entirely unnoticed. He gripped Jiang Suizhou’s wrist in one hand, effortlessly rendering it immobile. Despite the fact that Huo Wujiu was looking up at him from below, Jiang Suizhou felt the full, imposing force of his sharp gaze.
For some reason, he felt a pang of guilt.
“What are you doing?” Huo Wujiu asked.
Jiang Suizhou steadied his nerves.
“None of your business. Now let go of me.”
But Huo Wujiu’s grip didn’t loosen in the slightest.
“Drink it.”
It wasn’t a request or a suggestion. It was more like a command.
Jiang Suizhou adopted the same stern voice he used with Meng Qianshan when he stepped out of line. He looked down at Huo Wujiu with an appropriately haughty, arrogant expression.
“You dare to use that tone with me?” he sneered.
Huo Wujiu said nothing.
Then, in an instant, the force applied to Jiang Suizhou’s hand doubled. He found the bowl slowly, inevitably approaching his lips as Huo Wujiu forced his hand upward.
Words were no longer necessary. He enunciated his command through actions.
The bitter smell assailed Jiang Suizhou’s nostrils, and his mouth curled into a frown. He dropped his gaze to look at Huo Wujiu, but the man’s expression was unyielding. Clearly, there was no room for negotiation.
Jiang Suizhou felt inexplicably aggrieved, and suddenly it all boiled over.
He knew the emperor despised him. From the moment he arrived here until now, he’d endured countless humiliations and had long since grown accustomed to it.
He also knew how miserable it was to be sick. Over the past few days, he had been tormented by illness to the point he wished for death. Never in his entire life had he been so awfully ill for so long.
If Jiang Suizhou had been concerned only with his own pride, then he would have easily acquiesced to the emperor’s demands. It would be far better to let the emperor have his verbal victory in exchange for an end to this suffering.
It wasn’t a matter of pride; it was a matter of fear! He’d been backed into this corner because he was so afraid that if he allowed Huo Wujiu to be humiliated, then he would hold Jiang Suizhou accountable and demand his life in return.
He let out a humorless laugh.
“General Huo, do you know why I’m throwing away the medicine?” he asked.
Huo Wujiu still didn’t speak, but he held Jiang Suizhou’s wrist in a silent confrontation.
Jiang Suizhou continued.
“Did you hear what the royal physician just said? Do you know why he keeps visiting me? And why he made sure that I remember that invitation?” he fired off angrily. “It’s because the emperor has demanded that I bring you to his birthday banquet. He wants to see you.”
It’d been some time since he’d said so many words in one go, and it left him a bit winded. He had to stop and cough a bit before he recovered enough to continue.
“You know what it is that he wants from you, right? While I’d rather not get involved, I refuse to allow myself to be publicly humiliated like that. If I pour out this medicine and remain ill for a few more days, it will work out in both of our favors. Understand?”
Having said what he needed to say, Jiang Suizhou took a few labored breaths to steady himself. He looked down at Huo Wujiu, who had been watching and listening to his tirade with an expression of serene composure.
“I understand,” he finally said once Jiang Suizhou had caught his breath. “Drink the medicine.”
Jiang Suizhou looked at him and frowned.
This man was a prisoner of war in an enemy country. He had been subjected to such heinous torture that he could no longer stand on his own two legs, and yet he still looked at Jiang Suizhou with those steady, placid eyes that inexplicably exuded reassuring strength.
“I have nothing to be afraid of,” Huo Wujiu continued. “It won’t kill me, so if he wants me to go, I’ll go.”
He hesitated for a moment, suddenly awkward.
“So, you shouldn’t be afraid either,” he added stiffly.