CH 131

He was asking what happened in the palace today, right? Then the only major incident was when Lou Yue rebuked Pang Shao.

It was because he was drunk and muddled that he let those messy thoughts trip up his train of thoughts. He even forgot about such a major event. No wonder Huo Wujiu was unhappy. It must be because he was worried about Lou Yue, but he was acting dumb…

With this in mind, Jiang Suizhou replied, “Something did happen. At the banquet earlier, General Lou pointed at Pang Shao’s nose and berated him. Pang Shao didn’t lose his temper at that time, but his expression was already thunderous. Now that General Lou is back in the capital, he ordered his massive army to wait for deployment outside the city.  I believe Pang Shao is afraid of his military power and wants to do something to him. After the incident today, Pang Shao will most likely act immediately…”

The more Huo Wujiu listened, however, the more tightly he frowned.

He was talking about irrelevant crap. If Pang Shao really wanted to make a move on Lou Yue, it would be the perfect opportunity for him to incite Lou Yue to defect. He was clearly asking him what grievances he had suffered today, but Jiang Suizhou was so concerned about other matters, more annoying, trivial matters. His voice was slow and soft, and this made him inexplicably distressed and more anxious.

He openened his mouth without warning and interrupted Jiang Suizhou.

“Was I asking about this?” He questioned, “What’s the matter with you today?”

He stopped him short. His sudden interruption was two-point heavier than usual. Huo Wujiu had always been domineering, a trait he cultivated from commanding the army for many years. When he spoke out of the blue, Jiang Suizhou was so startled that his shoulders trembled.

“W-What?”

——

This was the first time they parted in discord.

Huo Wujiu glowered at him. Jiang Suizhou lowered his eyes, stated that he was drunk and pushed the door and left.

When the night breeze blew, his eyes were burning, but his body was chilled.

He didn’t know why Huo Wujiu suddenly got angry, and he had never seen Huo Wujiu so fierce. It wasn’t a big deal normally. Even ordinary friends would quarrel after staying together for a long time. He never took such trivial matters to heart.

He just couldn’t help but feel aggrieved, even more so because he knew that the man could never like him and was about to get together with someone else.

No matter how he lost himself in various fancies and conjectures, they were all his wishful thinking.

When he returned to the main house, even Meng Qianshan noticed that he was unhappy. Too many events happened today, and the Prince was already spent racking his brains. From the look on his face, he must have just had another disagreement with Madam Huo.

He didn’t dare to probe any deeper. He waited for Jiang Suizhou to fall asleep, then dismissed the servants in the room and retreated himself.

Once the door closed, only an empty silence remained in the room.

Jiang Suizhou lay on the bed, but could not sleep.

He forced himself to sleep, but to no avail. It was getting late, but after a long time, he sighed in resignation and opened his eyes.

The brocade bed canopy, decorated with pearls and Hetian jades, reflected the faint candle light on the carved bed posts at the four corners.

He looked towards the candlelight, but what he saw was the couch under the window.

It was not spacious, and he recalled how Huo Wujiu had to bend his legs to fit his height when sleeping.

Everything was better then. Huo Wujiu ignored him with that cold front all day long, while he himself acted cautiously and neither of them spoke to the other. The two of them lived together peacefully, and he didn’t have so many messy thoughts. Now, he even had trouble sleeping after Huo Wujiu uttered a couple of harsh words.

But…

However, Huo Wujiu’s smile was seriously eye-catching. That day in the mountains, the stars at night looked more beautiful than he had ever seen.

As no one was around, he finally dared to stare at the couch wantonly, not caring what kind of expression he was wearing at the moment.

Just then, the candle flame swayed.

Two muted knocks suddenly echoed from his window frame, startling him.

“Who is it?!” He asked.

Then he saw a person’s shadow dimly reflected on the window paper under the candle’s illumination.

“Me.” The voice was deep and soft. It was Huo Wujiu.

Jiang Suizhou was stunned.

“… It’s so late. What are you doing here?”

“Open the window,” Huo Wujiu said.

Jiang Suizhou paused, and again, like an ostrich with its head stuck in the sand, whispered, “I’m sleeping.”

No sound came outside the window.

After a while, he slowly withdrew his gaze and tried to close his eyes again.

But then, with a crash, the window was suddenly opened from the outside.

Jiang Suizhou was alarmed and quickly opened his eyes. He watched Huo Wujiu leap over with one hand propped up on the edge of the window, followed by the window being closed again. After that, he stood majestically in his bedroom, wearing a single garment.

Jiang Suizhou sat up from the bed without delay and asked gingerly, “Why did you come here at this hour? What if someone sees you…”

He was about to roll over and get out of bed when Huo Wujiu walked forward. Huo Wujiu raised his hand and pressed him back into the quilt.

“Lie still,” he said. “The floor is cold.”

“You…”

Hearing his stutter, Huo Wujiu momentarily paused, seemingly unable to say something awkward. A moment later, he sighed like a compromise.

“Did I wake you up?” He said, “I have no other choice. I can’t sleep. Did I scare you just now?”

Jiang Suizhou opened his mouth but said nothing.

Huo Wujiu sat down on the edge of his bed, rested one hand on his quilt and looked down at him.

“It’s not like I was mean to you. What are you running away for?” He said. “How gutless; what did I do to you?”

“I didn’t…” Jiang Suizhou opened his mouth to refute.

But Huo Wujiu continued, “I was just a little anxious. You’ve been absent-minded all night. Did someone bully you outside? Why don’t you dare tell me? Even if I can’t set things right, is there any point for you to keep it to yourself?”