After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine Chapter 109
A regiment of imperial guards carried lamps and marched up the mountain, lighting up the narrow and delicate mountain paths.
Those pieces of light poured noisily into the courtyard where Jingwang was staying.
Meng Qianshan was sitting in the courtyard, taking a nap.
The Prince went down the mountain without taking anyone, and somehow locked Madam Huo in his room, leaving only the medicine boy who came along dressed as a servant. Meng Qianshan had nothing better to do and nowhere to go, so he could only wait under the veranda for the Prince's return.
This wait lasted till the sky darkened and made him sleepy.
Just then, he heard a flurry of commotion.
He opened his eyes in a daze, and noticed a large bright light coming from the mountain road, heralding the Prince's imperial guards. He quickly got up to meet them, but saw that the group of people broke through the door and entered. The leader, however, was the current Chief Minister, Pang Shao.
Meng Qianshan was startled and hurriedly went forward to salute.
"Greetings, Chief Minister! I, Meng Qianshan, am a eunuch in the entourage of His Highness Jingwang. I wonder why you have come late at night..."
Before he could finish speaking, a bodyguard stepped forward and shoved him aside.
The imperial guards were well-trained and aggressive. In the blink of an eye, they surrounded the yard so tightly that not even a mosquito could have slipped in.
"Search," Pang Shao ordered in a deep voice.
He had already ordered his men on the way here.
He knew in his heart that the assassins he sent were all wiped out in the forest by either an elite brigade, or a supreme expert. Their imperial guards marched all the way to Tianping mountain, and because Huo Wujiu was present, his bodyguards and spies kept a close eye on Jingwang and his party at all times.
Everyone in the Prince's residence were royal slaves, and their exact detials were clean.
If Jingwang's people were definitely not in the attendant team, they had to be following outside the entourage. If that was the case, they would certainly communicate for orders. As long as there were exchanges, there would be traces, letters, tokens, and even tools to transmit messages. There would be clues.
In an instant, with his order, the crowd rushed into the courtyard and began to rummage through boxes and cabinets in the surrounding rooms.
However, the group who went straight to the main room were blocked by the corridor.
"What's the matter?" Pang Shao asked with a frown.
The guard by the corridor turned around and reported, "My Lord, the door of the main room... is locked."
Pang Shao's brows furrowed coldly. He strode towards the main room.
Seeing this, Meng Qianshan next to him hastily straightened up and followed him. With a smile, he spoke urgently, "My Lord, this is truly unfortunate. The Prince locked the door of the main room. He ordered that before he returns, no one can open this door..."
Pang Shaoli ignored him. He raised his hand and ordered someone to carry him away.
Meng Qianshan moved nimbly. He bent forward and escaped. In a few steps, he jumped in front of the door and blocked it.
He knew that even if the Prince and Madam Huo had quarreled in the morning, Madam Huo remained the person at the tip of the Prince's heart. Who was Madam Huo? A prisoner of war from Northern Liang, while the person in front was the Chief Minister of Southern Jing.
Today, no matter whether this man was really here on official business or not, he would definitely make Madam Huo suffer once they met. If the Prince were present, he could still protect him a bit, but His Highness was absent...
He, as the servant, could only be obliged to do so and drag time out for as long as he could.
Upon seeing his response, Pang Shao's brow furrowed.
Jiang Suizhou locked the door? That would be even more suspicious.
He sneered: "Why did His Highness lock this door?"
Meng Qianshan said: "Your Excellency, there are things this servant doesn't know. His Highness can let Madam Huo stay by his side, but he's most afraid of the consequences! This morning, His Highness was afraid that Madam Huo would make an escape once he's taken into the wilderness, so he had someone lock Madam Huo tightly in the room. Except for him, no one is allowed to open the door!"
It was reasonable, but Pang Shao knew that he could not miss the slightest chance.
"Someone, drag him away," he commanded coldly.
Meng Qianshan didn't expect to be confronted by a master who refused to listen to others advice, so he latched onto the door and started kicking up a fuss, wailing mournfully, "Spare me, Your Excellency! His Highness has left a decree punishable by death. If this servant fails to guard this door, His Highness will have this servant's head when he returns!"
Unfortunately, his two fists couldn't fight against four. In a blink of an eye, he was dragged aside and firmly held in place.
Several guards smashed the door with all their strength, and with a few consecutive loud bangs, the door abruptly slammed open.
The crowd rushed into the room. Pang Shao also followed and stepped in.
The room was quiet. Candles were shining all around, and the tall figure, sitting in a wheelchair, raised his eyes and considered him silently.
Huo Wujiu.
As soon as Pang Shao's eyes fell on Huo Wujiu, an inexplicable hunch sprang up in his heart.
The servants beside Jingwang were indeed innocent and had little skill, but he had forgotten about this one.
Although he had a few spies in Jingwang's backyard, Jingwang was overly cautious and did not allow him to stuff people into the yard where he was staying.
Hence, news about Huo Wujiu was cut off ever since he locked him up.
That being the case...
Could it be that Jiang Suizhou is keeping Huo Wujiu by his side, and it is Huo Wujiu who rescued him today?
Although Pang Shao considered this possibility as unlikely, if it were Huo Wujiu, then everything could be explained.
After all, there were few people in the whole world who could rival his servant, Tang Gui. He would never believe that Jiang Suizhou was capable of cultivating such people.
Pang Shao stared closely at him as if to capture a clue from him.
Huo Wujiu quietly raised his head and looked straight at him.
"Is something the matter?" Huo Wujiu inquired breezily.
Pang Shao stared at him for a good while. After a moment, a smile gradually spread across his face.
"Nothing," he replied, "I was just thinking, it's a real pity. If you can still stand up with your legs, General Huo, I think you would have been an expert who could defeat ten against one."
When he uttered 'ten to one', he slowed down his speech and spoke meaningfully.
Huo Wu Jiu glanced at him lightly, then dropped his eyes and didn't respond to him.
Just that one needle-like glance made Pang Shao's entire body tense.
He felt the humiliation of being condescendingly despised.
"I have a suspicion today, and I need you to solve it," he spoke unhurriedly.
Fortunately, he was well prepared. When they headed to the courtyard, he brought an imperial doctor with them. When the imperial doctor heard his words, he immediately stepped forward and stood by his side.
He didn't notice, however, that Huo Wujiu's expression imperceptibly condensed with his eyes down, as if struck by what he heard.
After a momentary pause, he kept his head lowered, and then looked up, staring at Pang Shao.
One corner of his mouth curled up, and he let out a contemptuous smirk.
"Are you worthy?"
These three words reached the ears of the densely packed imperial guards in all four corners.
Pang Shao only felt a roar in his head. All night, the disbelief at the failure of his plot, the fury at the loss of his beloved general, the apprehension about the Emperor's reaction, and the anger out of shame toward Jingwang all felt like a spark landing on a pile of dry wood.
It exploded.
Pang Shao laughed grimly.
He had to pretend in front of Jingwang, to act humble in front of the Emperor's eyes, and now, to be scorned by this defeated general?
He waved his hand to let the imperial doctor he had brought retreat, walked forward, raised his legs and kicked Huo Wujiu's wheelchair.
"I just want to confirm if your legs are indeed broken."
