Chapter 10.1

The door of the room opened and then closed again.

Jiang Suizhou left.

Gu Changyun walked back slowly to Xu Du’s side and sat down, picking up his own cup of tea.

“It’s still early. Shall we play a game of chess and then go back?” He suggested lazily, blowing on the floating leaves on the water.

Xu Du, however, made no sound.

Gu Changyun raised his eyes and saw that Xu Du was sizing him up.

They had worked together for a long time, and with a single look, Gu Changyun understood what he was thinking.

He held his tea and let out a snort of laughter.

Xu Du opened his mouth and said, “You can see it too.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement.　　

That, although clearly the King looked like the King, he was in no way the King.

Both of their lives were tethered to His Highness, so His Highness never worried that they would defect, let alone had to pretend in front of them…He had never treated the two of them so calmly.

Especially when Pang Shao snatched away what was his, he was too calm.

As for Huo Wujiu…

His Majesty bestowed their marriage through a decree, so His Highness had loathed him before even seeing him. His Highness transferred all his hatred for Pang Shao and His Majesty to Huo Wujiu, wishing to let Huo Wujiu die a violent death in his residence like those scouts, and let people drag him to a mass grave.

After all, to His Highness, Huo Wujiu was a symbol of the emperor’s wanton humiliation of him. A day that Huo Wujiu stayed in his house meant a day he was trampled under the feet of the good-for-nothing he had always despised.

Therefore, at a glance, Xu Du saw through Gu Changyun’s scrutiny with his  proposal just now. 

Gu Changyun put down his cup of tea.

“What do I see? The one who came just now, isn’t he the King?”

He spoke breezily. While speaking, he took out a chessboard and two chess baskets, one black and one white, from under the table where he sat, and placed one of them in Xu Du’s hand.

“No matter what, the lives of my whole family are in His Highness’s hands.” Gu Changyun drawled as he slowly and orderly moved the chess pieces.

“As long as we obey the King’s orders, we don’t have to worry about anything else, right?”

Saying that, he dropped a piece on the chessboard and raised his eyes at Xu Du.

Flickers of excitement shimmered in those exquisite and delicate eyes, that were as cold as a bottomless abyss.

——

Those two lulled Jiang Suizhou. After weighing the pros and cons, he still went to Huo Wujiu’s residence.

He had killed those previous spies sent in as concubines, but the more of them he killed, the more suspicious he’d become. What was more, he was a modern man and couldn’t send someone to kill another. 

This time…he could only rely on Huo Wujiu.

Along the way, Jiang Suizhou was chagrined.

He regretted speaking too harshly.

Last night, he had warned Huo Wujiu not to be an eyesore, yet today, he himself rushed to his residence to be an eyesore.

Before he even arrived at Huo Wujiu’s residence, he had already felt embarrassed for himself.

The palanquin traveled for a long time before it finally arrived at a dimly lit courtyard.

Jiang Suizhou sat in the palanquin and only glanced at it briefly before withdrawing his gaze.

Next to the courtyard, it was pitch black with some faint lights in the distance. That must be the house where the servants lived.

But unexpectedly, the palanquin stopped in front of this courtyard gate.

Jiang Suizhou looked askance at Meng Qianshan, who was beaming at him from the side. Meng Qianshab stepped forward and tried to help him get out of the palanquin.

As Jiang Suizhou walked down, he frowned and asked, “Here?”

Meng Qianshan nodded. “We’re here! This is the courtyard that Your Highness has arranged for Madam Huo. Did you forget?”

Jiang Suizhou stood still and looked up.

From a distance, this courtyard and the surrounding houses were in harmony. He couldn’t see anything special.

But when he stood closer, he could see that the courtyard was barren. There were weeds everywhere and several big trees that had never been pruned looked like they were baring fangs and claws in the yard. The ground was covered with a layer of leaves that should have fallen in the autumn of last year.

Through the dim light coming from the window, he could vaguely see the broken window panes and window paper, rustling and trembling under the breeze.　　

…This place was uninhabitable!

King Jing had driven Huo Wujiu to the corner of the palace and gave him such a dilapidated house to live in. A quick glance around and it was clear that the original owner never wanted Huo Wujiu to appear in front of him for the rest of his life. He even deliberately made things difficult for Huo Wujiu, so that he would live a bitter life in the King’s residence.

The original owner was struggling in Southern Jing; he was probably limited to seizing power from the Emperor and Pang Shao. For him, Huo Wujiu was a traitor and an enemy he would never consider to win over.

——How could he have known what Huo Wujiu would do three years later?

Jiang Suizhou fell into a complicated mood for a while and couldn’t help but thank his two “concubines” in his heart.

If not for today’s timely arrival, he probably would have had to shoulder the original owner’s blame again and be a credit on Huo Wujiu’s account.

He sighed inwardly, and grunted, “I mentioned it offhand. I can’t remember.”

After speaking, he lifted his feet and walked towards the courtyard.

Next to him, Meng Qianshan clicked his tongue in wonder.

How could he not remember? A few days ago, when he asked His Highness where Madam Huo would live, His Highness’s eyes were frighteningly cold. He specifically said to throw Huo Wujiu a little further away and never let him see him.

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