Jiang Suizhou spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon going over the plan with his advisors. After finalizing their strategy and ensuring there were no loopholes, the three of them took a break and had a meal together.
During the meal, Xu Du looked curiously at Jiang Suizhou.
“Your Highness, how do you know so much about Chen Ti’s assets?”
Jiang Suizhou smiled faintly.
“I have my ways,” he said lightly.
He couldn’t very well tell them that he had come from a thousand years in the future and had specifically studied them, could he?
However, hearing this, Gu Changyun laughed.
“Why even ask? You’ve read fairy tales, haven’t you?” he said, grinning. “People like His Highness always have some strange abilities that normal people don’t. I see nothing unusual about this.”
Jiang Suizhou couldn’t help but smile at that. He playfully tapped the back of Gu Changyun’s hand with the thicker end of his chopsticks.
The three of them bantered for a while until Jiang Suizhou suddenly went quiet. He thought for a moment, then spoke.
“Actually, there’s one more thing.”
The two looked at him.
“I want to find a way to treat Huo Wujiu’s injured legs.”
Xu Du and Gu Changyun exchanged a brief glance. Neither of them spoke for a while.
“Your Highness…why is that?” Xu Du finally ventured.
“Pang Shao’s influence runs deep, and the emperor is an ignorant fool. But I don’t think we are in the position to bring them down,” Jiang Suizhou said carefully. “That will be Northern Liang’s doing.”
There was another short but heavy silence.
“Although that’s true,” Gu Changyun said, “has Your Highness considered your own situation?”
Jiang Suizhou looked at him quizzically.
“Pang Shao is an enemy, but Northern Liang is also an enemy,” Gu Changyun continued. “How can Your Highness be sure that Huo Wujiu will kill Pang Shao but not you?”
Jiang Suizhou was momentarily at a loss for words.
He had been thinking about this since that morning. He knew that everything in Southern Jing would be destroyed by Huo Wujiu in three years’ time, but he didn’t want to spend all that time waiting quietly while skirmishing with Pang Shao.
He wanted to shorten that time.
But, as Gu Changyun had said, what guarantee did he have that Huo Wujiu wouldn’t kill him?
He couldn’t think of a compelling reason, but somehow, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he just…wouldn’t. In fact, the very thought of Huo Wujiu killing him seemed outright ridiculous.
Was it because Huo Wujiu had been so amiable toward him recently?
“There’s still time,” Jiang Suizhou said vaguely. “As long as we can cure him, I can guarantee it.”
He had never been a gambling man, but with those words, he knew he was making a very risky wager.
And yet, like a true gambler, he felt certain that he wouldn’t lose.
He looked calmly at the two men in front of him.
After a long silence, Gu Changyun was the first to sigh.
“Since Your Highness is so certain, then your subordinate will also trust you,” he said.
Jiang Suizhou nodded slowly.
“Then, our next task will be to find a renowned physician to treat him,” Gu Changyun added. “But if we’re going to search the world for a doctor, we’ll need a viable cover story for it.”
Jiang Suizhou wholeheartedly agreed.
“Your subordinate has an idea,” Gu Changyun said.
Jiang Suizhou nodded, signaling him to continue.
“Your Highness’s poor health works in our favor now. We can claim that the incident at the Ministry of Rites left you deeply worried, and then you were caught in the rain yesterday on top of that. Thus, you fell ill a few days after returning home. That gives us a solid reason to seek out a doctor.”
He was truly a sharp-minded man.
Jiang Suizhou nodded, thought for a moment, and then frowned.
“But if we say that, I’ll need to actually fall ill. The emperor and Pang Shao are watching me closely, and I guarantee they’ll send someone to investigate.”
Gu Changyun smiled.
“Your Highness, have you forgotten where this subordinate came from?”
Jiang Suizhou was stunned. “The brothel?”
Gu Changyun nodded.
“This subordinate picked up many unconventional tricks there, including some interesting medical formulas. Though none of them can cure an illness, they can create the appearance of illness. I know of a medicine that can make someone seem so convincingly sick that it would fool any normal physician.”
Jiang Suizhou was quite surprised.
“Such a thing exists?” he asked incredulously. “If that’s the case, then this plan is foolproof. When the physicians here inevitably fail to cure me, we can post notices seeking a doctor. If the two of you can screen the applicants, we might find someone who can cure Huo Wujiu.”
Gu Changyun nodded.
“However, if that’s the plan…” He paused.
“What is it?” Jiang Suizhou looked at him.
“It will take time to prepare the medicine,” he explained. “And even more to apply it—you’ll have to soak in a tub to thoroughly absorb it and receive the effects…”
Gu Changyun gave Jiang Suizhou a playful, suggestive smile before he continued.
“In that case, Your Highness will have to spend the next couple of nights in my room.”