Overall, Jiang Suizhou was a docile and fairly agreeable drunk, despite his dizziness and confusion. When Huo Wujiu told him to sleep, he obediently crawled into bed and allowed Huo Wujiu to lower the bed curtains and extinguish the lights in the room.
As he lay in bed, Jiang Suizhou’s mind was still a mess.
Wouldn’t it be great if Huo Wujiu’s legs healed right now? Then he could kill that bastard Pang Shao and change the course of history. Make that man’s death come sooner.
With these jumbled and outlandish thoughts, Jiang Suizhou drifted off into a deep sleep.
When he woke up again, it was already bright outside.
The sunlight shone on his face, making him squint. He could feel a headache coming on, and when he sat up, he was still a little dizzy.
…He had definitely drunk too much yesterday.
His memory only stretched back to when he was still at the wine shop. The moment he stepped outside and the cold wind hit him, everything became a blur. Now, sitting on the bed and rubbing his head, he tried in vain to recall how he had made it back to the residence the previous night.
Just then, Meng Qianshan came by and noticed that Jiang Suizhou was already awake. He quickly instructed the maids to bring some hangover soup and then hurried over to attend to him.
“Your Highness, you’re awake!”
Jiang Suizhou nodded, still rubbing his temples.
“Is Your Highness feeling unwell? It’s still early, so you can sleep a little more,” Meng Qianshan told him. “The Ministry of Rites is currently under investigation. Early this morning, someone came to report that Your Highness doesn’t need to go to work today.”
When he heard “Ministry of Rites,” Jiang Suizhou shook his head.
“I won’t be going back to sleep,” he said.
“Understood,” Meng Qianshan replied as he took the bowl of soup from a nearby maid and handed it to Jiang Suizhou. “But please, Your Highness, have some soup first.”
Jiang Suizhou nodded and took a few sips of the soup. It did seem to help clear his mind a little and sharpen his blurry vision, if only slightly.
In silence, he began to mull over his options regarding Ji You’s situation.
Ji You had been imprisoned because of him, and that meant he had to do something. But what, exactly? Right now, Jiang Suizhou was isolated and had little to rely on. In short, Pang Shao and his faction were strong, and he was weak. It was an uphill battle.
Thus, Jiang Suizhou needed to find some weak point he could exploit and strike at from the shadows. He had to catch his opponents off guard.
That being the case, he might have to make use of the other two “concubines” in his residence.
Gu Changyun was quite clever, and though his loyalty wasn’t assured, Jiang Suizhou had leverage over him. If Jiang Suizhou asked for his assistance, he would receive it.
And Xu Du had already quite convincingly affirmed his loyalty to the prince after the honest heart-to-heart conversation they’d had. Plus, the man was training elite soldiers for him.
If they struck from the shadows, they might prove useful…
The sound of a wheelchair approaching alerted him to Huo Wujiu coming out from the back room. Apparently he’d just finished washing up for breakfast, judging by the way damp strands of hair clung to his forehead, glistening in the sunlight.
Noticing Jiang Suizhou’s gaze, Huo Wujiu turned and met his eyes calmly.
“Awake?” he asked casually.
Right… Jiang Suizhou had returned drunk last night and had no idea what he’d done. But Huo Wujiu had been in the room the whole time, so he must have seen everything.
Jiang Suizhou felt uneasy as he analyzed Huo Wujiu’s expression.
He hadn’t said anything he shouldn’t have, right?
Perhaps it was just because the sunlight was nice today, but when he looked at Huo Wujiu’s expressionless face, he felt that Huo Wujiu was in a good mood.
It seemed he hadn’t provoked him last night, at least.
Jiang Suizhou let out a subtle sigh of relief. With Meng Qianshan’s assistance, he changed his clothes and washed away the smell of alcohol, then sat down at the table feeling quite comfortable and in good spirits.
Huo Wujiu sat across from him.
After living together for a while, the two had naturally developed an unspoken understanding in these little things.
Sunlight streamed brightly through the window as they quietly shared breakfast, a small moment of tranquility.
Because of the alcohol, Jiang Suizhou didn’t have much of an appetite and only ate half a bowl of porridge before putting down his chopsticks.
Meng Qianshan quickly stepped forward, handing him a copper basin with which to wash his hands.
“Your Highness, will you be going to the ministry office or the study later?”
Jiang Suizhou pondered for a moment, remembering his plans for the morning.
There was no time to waste.
“Neither,” he said. “Send someone to Gu Changyun’s room now, and tell him I’ll be visiting him soon. Have him prepare for my arrival.”
Meng Qianshan’s gaze darted from Jiang Suizhou to Huo Wujiu and back a few times.
Already? This early in the morning?!
He cautiously acknowledged the order and retreated.
Jiang Suizhou picked up the teacup on the table and lifted it to his lips.
But before he could take a sip, a sharp clang! interrupted the movement. It wasn’t loud, but it was so sudden that it startled Jiang Suizhou and made his hand tremble briefly.
He looked up and saw that Huo Wujiu had roughly put down his bowl. His face was absolutely devoid of expression as he turned his wheelchair and exited the room without a word.
…Was he done with breakfast already?
Jiang Suizhou looked at the bowl Huo Wujiu had left.
Huo Wujiu usually had a good appetite and never wasted food. But today, a large portion of porridge remained in his bowl, and the main dishes on the table had only been half eaten.
Surprised, he looked around to see where Huo Wujiu had gone. It seemed he’d entered the bedroom.
Just a moment ago, he’d thought Huo Wujiu was in a good mood. Why was he suddenly angry now? Had someone offended him?