Huo Wuji didn't return until late in the day.

Jiang Suizhou knew he had been detained by Huo Yuyan, so he wasn't in a hurry either. When Huo Wuji returned, Jiang Suizhou was already half-asleep, leaning against the headboard. As he entered the room, Huo Wuji saw him dozing and gestured for the servants to leave before quietly making his way to the bedside and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Jiang Suizhou, who had been lightly sleeping, woke up when he sat down.

"Is everything settled?" he asked softly.

Huo Wuji nodded calmly and leaned in to kiss him. "In a few days, I'll do as Huo Yuyan said and send you out of the city," he said. "Lou Yue has already arranged everything. Once you leave the city gates, he'll make sure someone replaces you. Then you'll stay in Lou Yue's camp for the time being."

Jiang Suizhou murmured in agreement, but then expressed some concern. "Although the trap set this time is well-prepared, you need to be careful too."

"I'll be fine," Huo Wuji replied. "But this time, I fear we won't see each other for a few days."

Jiang Suizhou let out a soft grunt.

Huo Wuji then sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes fixed on him for a moment.

"So, during these few days, you mustn't skip any meals and make sure to take the medicine Li Changning prescribed for you at every meal. Since no one will be there to look after you this time, if you need anything, just ask Lou Yue. If I come back in a few days and find you looking thinner, I'll take care of Lou Yue."

His tone was serious, which made Jiang Suizhou laugh.

"I'll stay in Lou Yue's camp. What could possibly happen?" he said, sitting up a bit and smiling. "Besides, General Huo has to play his part fully today. He can't afford to have any lingering affection for me, a fallen little lover."

Huo Wuji clicked his tongue in response, slightly displeased.

Indeed, this was the arrangement he had discussed with Jiang Suizhou. That day, when he had asked Lou Wanjun to keep an eye on Huo Yuyan, who was privately harassing the poor scholar, he had thought of this method.

Jiang Suizhou had always wanted Huo Yuyan to cause a great disturbance and expose himself. Using Lou Wanjun as the starting point was a good strategy. Huo Yuyan wanted to use her, and his methods were dishonorable, so he would naturally feel guilty. If there was an uproar and someone exposed him publicly, he would naturally seek revenge.

There was no reason not to take revenge for offenses. But Huo Yuyan was always cautious. If he had a powerful enemy and the enemy was difficult to reach, he wouldn't dare act recklessly. He would only act behind the scenes. If his opponent had no support and no strong background, Huo Yuyan would act decisively and quickly to avoid further problems.

And because of this, the target of this attack would surely be Jiang Suizhou. The arrogant image of Jiang Suizhou was already established in Huo Yuyan's mind, and now that his supporter, Huo Wuji, had withdrawn his "support," it would inevitably give Huo Yuyan the impression that he had an opportunity.

After all, Jiang Suizhou, protected by Huo Wuji, could not be touched. But Jiang Suizhou, rejected by Huo Wuji, could no longer be treated the same way. As soon as Huo Yuyan acted, he could easily make him stumble, thereby confirming his accusation.

As for the nature of the accusation he would confirm and the image he would project in the world's rumors, that would depend on Jiang Suizhou and Huo Wuji.

And Huo Wuji's strategy this time was that, when they headed south, he would replace Jiang Suizhou, making Huo Yuyan’s plan on Jiang Suizhou a plan aimed at killing Huo Wuji. At that point, everyone would know that Huo Yuyan was a traitor, ready to break away from his allies.

Huo Wuji's plan was quite thorough, but after calculating everything, he still hadn't planned how to pass the two days before his departure.

To play his part fully, he obviously could no longer stay in Jiang Suizhou's room.

Huo Wuji said nothing.

Seeing his obvious non-cooperative attitude, Jiang Suizhou couldn't help but smile faintly and continued gently, "I'm not joking. Now is the crucial moment when Huo Yuyan is trapped; we can't make him suspicious."

Huo Wuji looked up to gaze at him upon hearing these words.

"What's going on?" After observing him, he stared directly into Jiang Suizhou's eyes, who was smiling. "I see you're quite pleased to see me leave?"

Jiang Suizhou blinked and fell silent immediately.

But it was already too late.

Used to hanging around here, Huo Wuji was already dissatisfied with having to change rooms. Now, with Jiang Suizhou’s smile, he had even more reason to act. Moving closer, he pressed him onto the bed.

Although he knew it wasn’t the time to joke around, an hour had already passed when he finally left.

Meng Qianshan was waiting outside the door, listening to some sounds of movement from within. Then, he saw Huo Wuji open the door and step out decisively.

His face showed a clearly feigned anger, but Meng Qianshan noticed, beneath the anger, a glimmer of satisfaction.

Huo Wuji stopped in front of Meng Qianshan and said, his gaze slanting toward him, "Tell your master to think carefully, not to let himself go too much, and not to think he’s still a prince."

Meng Qianshan understood his meaning and nodded quickly in agreement.

He then saw Huo Wuji leave with quick strides.

His pace was swift like the wind, and it was clear to Meng Qianshan that his master had surely suffered a little from his "displeasure."

Meng Qianshan averted his gaze, involuntarily sighing.

*

As expected, two days later, the rumors reached Huo Yuyan's ears.

It was said that after his private conversation with Huo Wuji that day, Huo Wuji had returned to Prince Jing's palace. But shortly after, they had parted on bad terms, and Huo Wuji had even slammed the door of the great hall as he left.

After that, Huo Wuji simply did not return to the palace, remaining in the military camp all day. Two days later, Prince Jing was escorted by carriage to Suzhou to relax.

There were only a few usual eunuchs by his side, and even the bodyguards accompanying him were few in number, as Huo Wuji didn’t see the need to assign more.

Huo Yuyan flipped through the report in his hands, smiling slightly.

He ordered the eunuch beside him, "Go, find a few people, reliable people."

"Yes." The eunuch bowed, a meaningful smile on his lips. "Your Highness, rest assured. The pacification of Jiangnan has just begun, and there are still many unstable people. How many pairs of eyes are focused on the carriages leaving the palace? There’s no need for someone to act specially, that person is sure not to survive."

Huo Yuyan gave the eunuch a glance, smiling slightly, without saying anything more.

Peace still reigned in Lin'an.

Huo Yuyan had not forgotten what Huo Wuji had asked him to do that day.

Even though Huo Wuji was tired of Prince Jing, he had still been his former favorite. If no one replaced him immediately, Huo Wuji might later regret treating a dead man so lightly.

In recent days, Huo Yuyan's eunuchs had also been scouting, looking for young girls from Lin'an whose family background was not the highest but who had exceptional looks.

Over the days, several portraits of young girls from Lin'an were gathered. Learning that Huo Wuji was staying at the military camp, Huo Yuyan sent the portraits there.

The eunuch who brought the portraits took a long time to return with a report.

When he saw the eunuch had returned, Huo Yuyan asked, "What did Huo Wuji say?"

The eunuch replied, "Reporting, I did not see General Huo."

Huo Yuyan frowned at this answer, his expression cooling. "What happened? Where did he go?"

The eunuch replied, "I asked, but the people in the camp did not say where he went. They only explained that General Huo was busy."

Huo Yuyan placed the file he was holding in his hand down, his expression cooling slightly.

He thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "He hasn’t left the camp these past few days?"

The eunuch shook his head. "They say no."

Huo Yuyan's brows furrowed deeper. Something was wrong. Normally, there wouldn't be much to do in the camp at the moment. In the past few days, he had simply thought that Huo Wuji was avoiding Prince Jing, but now that Prince Jing had left, why was Huo Wuji still staying in the camp without going out?

Unless... he was playing a move with an empty city.

He ordered in a stern voice, "Call someone. Go immediately to the camp and bring an order for me. Tell Huo Wuji to come to the palace immediately. I have important matters to discuss with him."

A guard immediately received the order and hurriedly left the palace.

Time passed minute by minute, but the guard sent to find Huo Wuji did not return. Huo Yuyan grew more and more anxious as he waited, until, after almost half an hour, he could no longer sit still.

Huo Wuji had left without a word, leaving Lin'an quietly. What could he be doing?

Huo Yuyan stood up and began walking nervously around the palace, replaying everything that had happened over the past few days. Suddenly, it seemed like he remembered something.

Immediately, what should have been the logical next step revealed a clue.

He was taken by surprise.

"Go give the order," he turned abruptly and instructed the eunuch near him. "Tell those who have gone to Suzhou to stop immediately and return to Lin'an right away."

The eunuch didn't know what his master was referring to, but seeing his impatience, he quickly nodded and hurried off.

However, just as he was leaving through the palace's main gate, a guard hurriedly arrived and blocked his way.

Ignoring the eunuch, the guard rushed forward and prostrated himself before Huo Yuyan.

"Your Highness, it’s an emergency! Your Highness!" His voice trembled.

"What happened?" Huo Yuyan furrowed his brows and looked down.

The guard barely overcame his sweat and hurriedly said, "There is a great commotion in the city of Lin'an!"

"Why?" Huo Yuyan took a few steps forward.

"It's... it's a message from Suzhou! They say General Huo went to Suzhou to help you, but on the way to Suzhou, his carriage was attacked! There were dozens of assailants, and although General Huo barely managed to escape, he was injured!"

"...Huo Wuji?" Huo Yuyan's mind went blank, and he felt as if he were in a dream.

"It’s...! Also... on one of the attackers, they found an item that belongs to Your Highness! The identities of the assassins killed in the attack have also been verified... they were indeed your guards! This news has spread throughout Jiangnan, the whole court, and all the citizens now say that you are a traitor and want the death of General Huo!"

Huo Yuyan widened his eyes, staring at the guard kneeling before him, almost curled up in place.

This couldn’t be... it was clearly Jiang Suizhou who was going to Jiangnan, and the ten assassins he had sent weren’t even as many, nor were they meant for Huo Wuji.

Huo Yuyan was momentarily caught off guard, then suddenly looked up.

Although there was only a clear blue sky outside the window, he seemed to perceive a gigantic net slowly closing in around him. ...

It was obvious that this was Huo Wuji’s scheme!

 

Translator : DarNan