Jiang Suizhou did not expect Huo Wujiu to bring him directly to the city wall.
It was dark, and the soldiers’ tents under the walls were lit by fire. The walls, on the other hand, were dark, and nothing was visible. Huo Wujiu skillfully found a blind spot from the guards, and led Jiang Suizhou to leap up on the wall.
The walls of Lin’an were quite high, separating the inside and outside of the city into two worlds.
The city was ablaze with lights, while outside the city, bright tents were scattered all over the place.
Huo Wujiu led Jiang Suizhou and sat at the edge of the city wall.
When Jiang Suizhou lowered his head, he could see a buzz of activity.
This scenery was different from the city. The tents were illuminated by steaming fire on the ground. The soldiers around the fire were boisterous, chatting with laughter and poking fun at each other, as if they were boiling up by the flame.
They sat on the ground, and their wine and food were also laid on the ground. The aroma of wine and meat with the rising steam billowed up together.
Jiang Suizhou’s eyes widened for a moment.
“How lively,” he said. “Do they do this every day?”
“It’s because we’re leaving tomorrow; that’s why they’re acting so,” Huo Wujiu answered beside him. “This is a rule in the army.”
It was as if he had always sat on city walls. Obviously, there was a space of more than ten feet hanging under his feet, but his legs dangled back and forth idly. He even lifted his other leg and stepped on the edge of the city wall.
On the contrary, Jiang Suizhou was quite nervous. Huo Wujiu supported him when he sat and he no longer dared to move.
“It’ll be hard work for days later on,” Jiang Suizhou said and looked at Huo Wujiu. “Will you be with them tomorrow?”
Huo Wujiu put his arm on his knee and looked sideways at Jiang Suizhou: “Lou Yue has already sent two sets of military uniforms. Wei Kai and I will sneak in tomorrow.”
“Won’t they discover you?” Jiang Suizhou asked.
“The one leading the army is Ji Hongcheng.” Huo Wujiu said. “He’s reliable. Rest assured.”
Jiang Suizhou nodded.
Then, he heard Huo Wujiu say, “It’s you. Although I can go back and forth fast, and Lou Yue is in the city, you should be careful and not let Pang Shao find out.”
Jiang Suizhou responded, “Okay.”
Huo Wujiu added, “Some of my men will remain in the city, and they will protect you henceforth. Tomorrow, one of my subordinates will enter the residence. You don’t have to worry about him. He knows what to do.”
Jiang Suizhou nodded.
“Ahem…” he looked askance at Huo Wujiu: “Is there really no danger?”
Huo Wujiu looked down at him.
He dared not tell the truth.
Huo Wujiu did not know how many troops the other parties would bring, what kind of thoughts they would have, and what kind of generals they would send.
These were the odds he was uncertain of. He couldn’t even say what their chances of winning were. The only thing he was sure of was that he would not let Jiang Suizhou be alone in danger for too long, no matter what.
He raised his hand to caress Jiang Suizhou’s hair, but when his hand was halfway up, he stopped.
Huo Wujiu said with certainty, “Nothing will happen to you; you’re safe, don’t worry.”
Jiang Suizhou stared at him.
If he was still the same person as he was a few months ago, he would never be worried one bit. Who was Huo Wujiu? The War God of the Great Liang, the man invincible in battle. He might have botched up once, but there would never be a second time. In front of him, nothing was a problem.
But now…
Huo Wujiu wasn’t the general who was endowed with immortality in the history books.
He was his beloved.
After a long pause, Jiang Suizhou slowly spoke.
“Then you must stand by your word.” He said, “You can’t lie to me.”
Early the next morning, the army outside the city marched off.
Huo Wujiu’s movements were quite secretive and swift. When Jiang Suizhou got up early in the morning and rushed to his room, the man in the wheelchair was no longer Huo Wujiu.
It was a young man about the same height as him. When the man saw him enter the room, he looked at him up and down, stood up and said to Jiang Suizhou, “Are you His Highness Jingwang? My name is Nie Yao. The General specially ordered this subordinate to protect Your Highness.”
Jiang Suizhou froze before he found his voice and said, “… He’s gone?”
Nie Yao answered, “An hour ago, I sent the General out of the city.”
Jiang Suizhou lowered his eyes and whispered after a while, “So early…”
Nie Yao nodded, “Yes. The General has specially instructed me not to disturb your rest.”
Jiang Suizhou smiled at him, but somehow the corners of his mouth drooped a bit, and his smile appeared forced: “Got it. Just stay here at ease. I have already instructed Meng Qianshan, so you don’t have to worry about food and clothing. If you need anything, I will definitely come to you.”
Nie Yao cupped his hands and responded positively. Jiang Suizhou then turned around and went out.
When the door was closed, the early summer breeze in early June was obviously gentle, but Jiang Suizhou felt a little cold.
He turned around and stared at the closed door.
He didn’t even notice that since he transmigrated, this was the first day Huo Wujiu was not by his side.
He felt so uncomfortable that he felt as if the whole world had gone empty.
He turned around and returned to the main courtyard as if nothing had happened.
Huo Wujiu had made extremely thorough arrangements for him.
Although Lou Yue remained as domineering as usual in the court, he was secretly cooperating with him, acting strong on the surface but was actually weakened by Pang Shao step by step. From time to time he also performed some incompetent rage.
With Lou Yue diverting Pang Shao’s attention, it was quite convenient for Jiang Suizhou to act. He sent people to closely monitor Pang Shao’s every move, and also to keep an eye out for any unusual actions.
Pang Shao had indeed been busy in recent days. In addition to taking care of Lou Yue, a lot of issues outside the city also required his attention. Daily missive exchanges occupied him instead of caring about Jiang Suizhou.
Jiang Suizhou knew that those must be related to Lingnan.
Among Pang Shao’s numerous exchanges, he apprehended one or two.
The locust plague in Lingnan was getting worse, but news about it had been suppressed. Pang Wei had already arrived in Lingnan, just waiting for the opportunity to incite the people, and make use of the momentum to let the army revolt.
It was enough to prove that Fang Zhaohe was truly insane.
With just a few sporadic pieces of news, Jiang Suizhou realized that Pang Shao didn’t intend to let Fang Zhaohe live at all. The locust plague, his embezzlement, concealment and failure to report; stacking these crimes together would definitely kill Fang Zhaohe. By then, the army in Lingnan would revolt, endangering Lin’an. After the death of the Hou Zhu, Pang Shao could pretend to ‘suppress’ the rebellion, so he would most definitely denounce someone publicly for his crimes. Fang Zhaohe was the perfect scapegoat to take the blame.
Presently, however, Fang Zhaohe only cared about working for Pang Shao.
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