Chapter 5.1
Chapter 5.1
When Jiang Suizhou and his party left, the courtyard became completely silent.
Huo Wujiu sat up, pulled the wheelchair closer, propped himself up on the edge of the bed and moved himself into the wheelchair with a little effort.
He quietly gathered his hair, tied it up sharply behind his head, and looked out the window.
It was dawn.
He has always been very adaptable. When he was in Yangguan in the past, he was very tolerant of the airborne dust and sand in the north and could ride his horse on the Gobi desert to his heart’s content; he stayed there until his father raised his army. He also adapted quickly to the successive years of war and learned how to climb out of the mountain of corpses and blood, lead his subordinates and be a sufficiently qualified general.
Now, he also learned how to live with a pair of legs that had lost all functions in a very short time, and how to fight when alone in the enemy camp.
The sun gradually rose outside the window, and the light fell through the window onto the ground. With the rising sun, the rays advanced little by little toward Huo Wujiu.
When that light was about to envelop the edge of his wheelchair, a knock sounded at the door.
Huo Wujiu looked in the direction of the door, and his gaze sank without a trace.
He knew that if he wanted any answers, now was a good opportunity.
——
Jiang Suizhou was unaware that Meng Qianshan had secretly drafted some nasty thoughts behind his back. He closed his eyes, but wasn’t very sleepy, so he contemplated the grand court session later.
At the Grand Court Assembly, not only did the hundred officials pay their respects, but they also had to discuss official business in the court. But…But considering the South Jing Emperor’s professional level as recorded in history books, he reckoned they wouldn’t be able to discuss any business matters in the courtroom.
What worried Jiang Suizhou was his identity.
After all, the King Jing he had become now had scarcely any records in literature, not even a few words in total.
He was the only surviving younger brother of the emperor, the sickly man who died an untimely death. To add to that, he was also gay.
It was practically blank. So, he had no idea what his current position was, much less what kind of people the original owner knew, what kind of friendships he had, and how to deal with them.
What was more worrying was that he married the infamous General Huo only yesterday. Hence, he was sure to become the target of criticism today.
Facts proved that his fears were spot on.
He wondered if there was a way to solve his official post. All in all, once Jiang Suizhou changed into his official robe, he realized what his official rank was; when Meng Qianshan brought him the ivory court tablet, he knew where he should stand when he was in the court later.
The major he studied was unduly fitting, giving him more or less an advantage in this matter of crossing.
However, his major didn’t teach him how to face various strange glances from civil and military officials.
From the moment he got off the palanquin and entered the Kaiyang Gate, many of the officials nearby were given a start, and countless eyes looked him up and down non-stop. One or two people looking at him was just fine, but almost everyone looked at him a few times. Thus, it was inevitable for Jiang Suizhou to be on the tenterhooks.
Those gazes were a mixture of Schadenfreude, abhorrence and disdain, and also grief. Some wanted to speak but then hesitated.
A bold official even went to Jiang Suizhou’s side, bumped him with his shoulder and said with a smile, “Your Highness must have been exhausted last night. When it comes to luck with romance, you are indeed blessed!”
From his official uniform, he wasn’t a high-ranking official from the third rank.
Although he wasn’t in a high official position and was only idly working in the Ministry of Rites, he was also a first-rate prince. If he dared to drip acid with sarcasm on him, there must be someone backing him up.
The treacherous minister, Pang Shao, who was well-known in history books, was in this dynasty.
Jiang Suizhou gave him a casual look, but made no response.
His cold and arrogant eyes have always been a strong deterrent, so with a touch of warning in them, he immediately rendered the official frightened and stunned. The wretched smile on his face, which was a bit of schadenfreude and improper intimacy, was also put away awkwardly.
Jiang Suizhou withdrew his gaze from him, speeded up his pace, and walked away from him.
His appearance somewhat deterred some people and made the second half of his journey to the imperial court much smoother.
It also spared him some energy to scrutinize some things on the side.
Before the Jing Dynasty fled south, the capital of the country was in Yecheng. Three years ago, Huo Wujiu led the Liang army and invaded the capital. The previous emperor, Emperor Jing Ling, fled south in haste with his family and numerous officials and died on the way. The present ruler, Jiang Shunheng, hastily fled to Yuhang and changed his name to Lin’an, which became the new capital of the country.
At present, it has only been three years since the capital was established here, and the palace has been hastily built up.
The palace was roughly built, and the blueprint was also a mess. It took a glance to see the result of the rushed work. According to historical records, after the emperor fled to Lin’an, he insisted that wouldn’t be emperor without a royal palace, which forced South Jing to build the Imperial City in a hurry within half a year.
Rough as it was, the cost was, by no means, paltry. Along the way, it seemed that the whole imperial city was resplendent and decidedly extravagant. At first glance, a large sum of gold and silver was spent.
Jiang Suizhou could not help but sigh in his heart.
There was no bias in the historical records of the preposterous deeds of the Emperor of South Jing.
He walked up the long white marble steps in front of Guangyuan Hall and saw that many courtiers were already standing inside. Because they studied historical materials in the school, everything was fine and detailed, so Jiang Suizhou didn’t have much trouble finding his position and stood there.
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