In front of him was an imperial desk that had been pushed to the ground, with memorials and books scattered all over the place. At the foot of the steps not far in front of him was the Hou Zhu, who was sitting on the heavy carpet with his legs crossed and an imperial robe, which was draped recklessly over his body, in disarray. In one of his hands was a jar of wine.
Jiang Suizhou frowned at him, not knowing what he was up to.
However, the Hou Zhu asked him with a smile and a tipsy tone, “What do you think? Is my throne comfortable to sit on?”
Jiang Suizhou’s voice was hoarse, and his breath sounded weak: “What are you up to?”
After hearing his question, the Hou Zhu smiled and said, “I’m not going to do anything. I just don’t want to die. There are still a good deal of things that I haven’t seen, so I can’t die.”
With that response, he tried to stand up with one hand on the ground, but tripped over his robe and crashed heavily on the ground again.
He didn’t mind it either.
“In any case, I want to see you die.” He said. “Huo Wujiu is also to blame. He ruined my kingdom, so I also want to watch him die.”
After saying that, he laughed.
“You don’t believe me, do you?” The Hou Zhu said smugly, “I can’t kill him, but someone can kill him for me.”
Jiang Suizhou asked hoarsely, “Who?”
After the Hou Zhu crossed his legs, he took a sip of wine comfortably.
“His brother, ah,” he answered with a smile. “If it weren’t for his brother, do you think you’d have the good fortune of marrying him?”
Jiang Suizhou flinched. His brain, which was clogged by pain, sobered up in an instant.
“…What did you say?” he asked after.
He was in such a hurry that he choked and coughed. The cough tugged at his wounds, and the pain made his vision spin. He almost fainted.
The Hou Zhu was too drunk to see what was wrong with him. He only propped himself up on the ground with one hand and wobbled to his feet.
He glanced at Jiang Suizhou.
His elegant court robe had been torn, and now stained with old and fresh blood. His hair was scattered on his shoulders, and his ashen face was also stained with blood, making him look wretched.
Nevertheless, he was born beautiful. Although his half-dead appearance looked wretched, he still exuded an indescribable and wicked beauty, like an orchid that was stepped on in the blood mud.
The Hou Zhu grinned in satisfaction.
He held the jar with one hand, while the other hand haphazardly lifted the hem of his imperial robe. He staggered up the red steps to the throne, and with his robe pinched, he squatted down in front of the desk that was scattered in front of Jiang Suizhou.
“You can’t believe it either, right?” He rummaged around in the pile of messy scrolls on the floor and finally picked out a few sheets of paper, which he waved in front of Jiang Suizhou.
“See this?” He started, “They’re secret letters. The Crown Prince, Huo Wujiu’s brother, sold him to my uncle a long time ago.”
After informing him of that, he sat on his butt and shook the pieces of paper with an accompanying chortle.
“By virtue of him being Huo Wujiu, the God of War of the Liang Dynasty, right? What’s the use? His father died, and even his brother betrayed him.” He chuckled. “All people are like that, not just me.
But Jiang Suizhou couldn’t care less what he said.
He only stared at the pieces of paper.
What did he just say? So, it was Huo Wujiu’s brother who betrayed him? Huo Wujiu only had that one brother, Huo Yuyan.
In a blink, Jiang Suizhou’s mind cleared up, and all his doubts before seemed to have an explanation.
Huo Wujiu’s sudden defeat in war; his hesitation to proceed; even when his legs were already healed, he didn’t readily return to the north. Huo Yuyan, who died early in history books, and Huo Wujiu, who guarded Yangguan alone until his death…
It turned out that the instigator of everything was Huo Yuyan!
Jiang Suizhou’s breath caught, and he struggled on the imperial throne.
But his limbs were tied, so no matter how much he struggled, it was all in vain.
Jiang Shunheng gently opened his hand and tossed the pieces of paper back to the ground.
“Everyone is like this,” he said with a smile. He raised his head, picked up the empty jar, and poured whatever was left into his mouth again.
Jiang Suizhou, however, suddenly struggled hard, tearing the wounds on his body. He was in such pain that he lurched to the side and bumped straight onto the armrest of the golden throne.
His mind went blank in pain.
But the next moment, he suddenly came back to his senses.
Imperial throne!
Although he didn’t know why the Hou Zhu had tied him here, he was definitely going to die today. As far as his eye could see, there were only the two of them left in the hall, so he must find even a slim chance of survival for himself.
He clenched his teeth, holding back the taste of blood that rose up in his throat. He sat up straighter and turned sideways.
His hands, which were bound behind him by ropes, were right by the angular golden dragon on the back of the chair.
He gritted his teeth, stuck the rope on the golden dragon, and grinded it hard.
He moved stealthily, and the Hou Zhu was too drunk to notice everything for a while. He leaned sideways against the red-painted pillar beside him.
“However, I hate you the most.” He said, “The day your wicked concubine mother gave birth to you, she should have thought of today. When father spoiled you beyond the skies, he should also have thought of a day like today.”
Speaking of this, he shook his head.
“However, you and I can put our grudges behind us today.”
Jiang Suizhou gathered whatever strength he had left on his pair of arms. At this time, he merely pursed lips and did not dare to speak, fearing that he’d reveal the slightest cue.
But fortunately, the Hou Zhu wasn’t waiting for his response.
He stretched his legs and said: “Today, if you die here, it would be a huge favor to me. I promise, after today, I will not hate you anymore.”
After speaking, he guffawed drunkenly.
Just then, a eunuch’s panicked cry sounded outside the hall : “Your Majesty, it’s ready. Your Majesty, please follow this servant!”
The Hou Zhu impatiently responded. He propped himself up on the ground, and slowly stood up.
“When you get to the underworld, don’t hate me.” He said to Jiang Suizhou. “Only hate our Imperial Father. He favored you too much and drove me into wanting to kill you.”
After he finished speaking, he stumbled down the steps, and before leaving the palace gate, he turned around and grinned at him.
The next moment, he raised his hand and nudged a golden candlestick that was lit beside him.
The flames roared to life.
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