Huo Wujiu looked at him in silence for a moment, and slowly exhaled.
“I’m not trying to discipline you,” he said. He stood up, tested the temperature of the teapot on the table, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to Jiang Suizhou.
“I heard today that Lou Yue has returned.” Huo Wujiu inquired.
Jiang Suizhou moved his hand as if to take the teacup from the table. However, when he heard Lou Yue’s name, he retracted his hand.
He was feeling rather complicated.
He knew all too well that Lou Yue was a rare loyal minister and an outstanding general of Southern Jing. Even if the palace of Southern Jing were to collapse, he didn’t want him to follow the old path in history and be killed by Pang Shao again.
He wanted to save Lou Yue.
However, when Huo Wujiu asked, he somehow felt a little uncomfortable and suffocated.
He replied, “Yes, I went out of town today to escort him.”
After a pause, he somehow added, “His daughter Lou Wanjun is with him.”
After saying that, he raised his eyes to look at Huo Wujiu.
Unbeknownst to him, his eyes at this time were rather apprehensive and looked a little pitiful.
Huo Wujiu noticed it.
Those eyes glowed with moisture under the lamp. Huo Wujiu stiffened, feeling a soft bump on his heart.
The corners of his mouth also curled up.
He thought Jiang Suizhou must now be drunk and not at all sober to show such an appearance and slow speech. He locked eyes with Jiang Suizhou’s and said rather casually, “Huh? That Lou Yue has really made some effort to bundle her back from the frontier.”
He was smiling and his tone was also quite relaxed, but in Jiang Suizhou’s eyes, it looked like something else.
Jiang Suizhou had only mentioned Lou Wanjun’s name, but Huo Wujiu smiled.
Jiang Suizhou told himself in the bottom of his heart, This is the way it should be. The two were childhood sweethearts. It’s a no brainer. It’s only right.
Meanwhile, Huo Wujiu didn’t forget to add, “She has a bad temper and likes to fight with others. She is more unreasonable than her father. She didn’t bully you today, did she?”
Listening to his familiar and relaxed tone, Jiang Suizhou felt a sour feeling in his nose.
It’s my fault. He thought to himself. How did he somehow fall in love with Huo Wujiu?
He didn’t want to listen to Huo Wujiu anymore. He just wanted to go back to sleep and wake up sober.
He coughed a couple of times and dodged Huo Wujiu’s question. He changed the subject and said, “You sought me out today, just for Lou Yue, right?”
Hearing his question, Huo Wujiu also stopped the chit-chat and sat down beside Jiang Suizhou.
“Yes,” he said. “I made some plans today and want to discuss them with you.”
But when someone was drunk and was exposed to the wind again, his brain was more or less disoriented.
Jiang Suizhou nodded on the surface, but deep inside he thought: When speaking about Lou Wanjun, Huo Wujiu smiled and said she was bad-tempered, but when it came to him, he only talked about these business matters.
That sour feeling rose once more and Jiang Suizhou could no longer hold it down.
Huo Wujiu was completely oblivious to it and replied, “He returned this time and brought with him 50,000 soldiers and horses, which is quite massive. However, even if I were to make use of them, it will be difficult to accomplish anything in a very short period. When the time comes, Pang Shao will also gather his forces, and we’ll be at a standstill with them. This is somewhat difficult to deal with.”
Jiang Suizhou hummed in response.
Huo Wujiu continued, “However, this is our only way out. Now that the 50,000 are stationed outside the city, they probably won’t be withdrawn in the short term. If we can convince Lou Yue to turn his allegiance within this period, we can try to quickly surround Lin’an, revolt and directly kill Pang Shao and Jiang Shunheng inside the city, and save the people from suffering through a war.”
He spoke earnestly. His brows furrowed unconsciously, and he also drew dotted sketches on the table. Jiang Suizhou nodded from time to time, looking like he was listening seriously.
But when Huo Wujiu raised his eyes, he realized that he was distracted.
There was a faint fragrance of wine in the room. It was extremely mild. Jiang Suizhou didn’t really drink too much, but his eyes were unfocused.
This was the first time Huo Wujiu saw him like this.
He knew that Jingwang was charming, and although he always exuded a part of him that others couldn’t distinguish, all he saw was his cuteness. However, Jiang Suizhou had never been careless when talking about business. He was acting abnormally today… Something bigger than the business at hand must have happened.
Huo Wujiu’s expression turned cold, and he scowled.
“Did something happen today?” He asked out of the blue.
Jiang Suizhou nodded repeatedly in front of him. There was doubt that he didn’t listen to what he was asking.
Huo Wujiu closed his mouth and didn’t say a word.
A few moments later, Jiang Suizhou snapped back to his senses and hurriedly looked up at him: “Hmm?”
He found that Huo Wujiu’s expression had turned solemn. He was scowling, heralding a rising storm in the mountain. He looked angry. “What happened?”
Jiang Suizhou was a little timid when he saw his expression. He shrank invisibly and replied honestly, “Nothing happened.”
… A lie.
Huo Wujiu was inexplicably annoyed, and his brow furrowed even deeper.
Did someone bully him when he went out today? But there was no news from his men in the city. More than that, there were no rumors at all.
Could it be something that happened in the palace?
Huo Wujiu commanded sternly, “Say it properly.”
Jiang Suizhou didn’t know why he suddenly asked such a question. What’s more, he didn’t lie.
He was confused. He turned Huo Wujiu’s words over and thought about them for a while. Finally, he captured a clue.
