Presently, the Hou Zhu’s bedchamber on the side was already a dark ruin without anyone around. Waiting at the door was Wei Kai and Meng Qianshan, whose eyes were flushed and anxious.
Seeing Huo Wujiu come out, Meng Qianshan greeted them.
“General…”
Huo Wujiu waved his hand and said, “Your Prince is all right. Go in and serve him. Lighten your movements. He’s already asleep.”
Meng Qianshan replied affirmatively, bowing straight to him with his thanks. Afterward, he turned around and noiselessly entered the palace hall.
Wei Kai also stepped forward to greet him. “General, this subordinate has already cleaned up your accommodation. It’s not far from here. Let me take you there.”
Huo Wujiu hummed in response and followed him.
For some reason, Wei Kai felt that his General’s steps were quite brisk.
Could it be that the General was blissful because His Highness Jingwang hadn’t been seriously injured and only suffered a false alarm? Not really, maybe he was wrong…
However, as soon as he entered the palace, Wei Kai discovered that his illusion was not at all an illusion.
The people serving in the palace were all the servants brought from the royal family and the soldiers under Huo Wujiu. Wei Kai led him inside and was telling him where the front hall was, where the bedroom was, and how the Imperial City was arranged inside and outside, when he realized that his General was absent-minded.
The General casually strolled around the room, and as if he didn’t hear him at all, he sat down on the couch nearby, raised his hand and poured himself a cup of tea.
When Wei Kai saw this, he waved his hand and told all the servants around them to retreat.
When he turned back, he saw that the General was holding a teacup in one hand, but wasn’t drinking from it. He froze there in that posture, staring down at the surface of the water, as if in a trance.
Wei Kai frowned.
Could it be that someone tampered with the tea and the General noticed it?
He went forward pronto: “General?”
He was about to ask, but Huo Wujiu raised his eyes to look at him. There was no way to hide the smile in his eyes, and it even made his entire aura glow. Although he didn’t move or laugh, he was inexplicably high-spirited.
Wei Kai was dumbfounded.
“General…?”
He watched as the General put the teacup on the table. He lifted a long leg and stepped on the edge of the couch. Next, he lifted an arm, and curled the corners of his lips.
“What’s wrong with your reaction? Am I dead?” he said, “Give me a smile.”
Wei Kai was speechless, but he only obediently responded with a smile.
“General, has something good happened?” he asked.
Huo Wujiu, however, raised his eyebrows.
“How do you know something good happened?”
Wei Kai: “…”
In the past, the General would indeed give them a beating when he was in a good mood, but they couldn’t do anything about it. It was only right for a person who grew up unbridled since childhood.
However, the General’s appearance today was extraordinarily underwhelming.
So, he surmised that something great must have happened.
With this conclusion, Wei Kai felt deeply astounded, and in an instant came up with an immature conjecture.
“General,” he started, “Don’t tell me you’re in a relationship with His Highness Jingwang…”
Before the word ‘relationship’ was even out of his mouth, he saw the General grinning. His hand on his knee was not honestly lying on his lap. Instead, it kept swinging in circles like a dog’s wagging tail.
Wei Kai did not expect that this immature speculation was actually true.
“Sure enough, it is about His Highness Jingwang…” He was ecstatic.
The General clicked his tongue and revealed a rather ferocious expression.
“It’s none of your business.” He said, “If you’re so free, lead the troops to inspect the palace before the third watch, especially the minister’s residence plus those concubines and eunuchs detained in the palace. Don’t let go of any troublemakers.”
Wei Kai secretly pouted.
“Yes,” he replied reluctantly.
Huo Wujiu waved his hand and said, “Get out of here.”
Wei Kai answered while cursing in his heart, and retreated.
Once the door closed, only Huo Wujiu was left in the room.
He stared at the flickering candle in front of him for a moment, and the corners of his mouth raised involuntarily.
He suddenly jumped up from the couch and paced back and forth in the room a few times.
The seven-room palace was so spacious that you could hardly see the other end from his spot, but Huo Wujiu felt that the room was very small. After walking around several times, he barely even stretched his muscles.
A certain emotion was rampaging through his limbs and bones, making his spirit intensely exhilarated and at the same time unable to find a way to vent it.
He couldn’t restrain his laughter, but this still didn’t work. It seemed that he must go for a nice ride in the night, but the imperial city he was staying in now had no vast grassland. There were only a series of palace towers that reached the sky. Perhaps he just needed to find a fight, preferably with a challenging opponent, to make him satisfied and exhausted. However, upon searching the entire Southern Jing, there seemed to be no one else who could rival him.
Or maybe… What he needed most was to take another look at Jiang Suizhou.
He didn’t have to do anything else. Just look at him, gently touch him, and stand guard by his bed, then the restlessness from his head to the tips of his toes would likely disappear.
But then again… Li Changning said that Jiang Suizhou needed a good rest at this time.
He really needed to rest. His injured and dying appearance today was still lingering in Huo Wujiu’s mind.
He also knew that Jiang Suizhou was a light sleeper and couldn’t be disturbed, so he put on a serious look and left. Even if he was spinning around in the room like a trapped beast, he still did not dare to sneak into his room.
Suddenly, he stopped, raised his head and drank the cup of tea he had just poured, then opened the door and walked out.
That night, candles lit up Huo Wujiu’s palace all night, but no one occupied the spacious room.
In the dewy night, the stars in the sky seemed to be enclosed in the square palace walls, and they lit up quietly all night on the brilliant glazed tiles.
But no one knew that for a night, Huo Wujiu sat alone on the white marble steps in front of Jiang Suizhou’s door until dawn.
He had never ever stargazed quietly for a whole night, nor had he ever, just quietly listened to the sound of a person’s breathing, which filled his heart to the brim with warmth.
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