The smile on Huo Yuyan's face completely disappeared. He paused, then regained his composure and asked in a low voice, "Are you aware of what you’re saying?"

Jiang Suizhou met his gaze unwaveringly, even feeling justified. "Of course. Anyway, Huo Wuji isn't here right now, so why should I pretend? If you want, you can go complain to him and see if he believes you or me."

He gave a slight smile, tinged with arrogance and pride, before turning back to sit on the throne. "Very well." The bitterness in his low voice disappeared. He looked at Huo Yuyan, smiled slightly, and said, "I’ve been in court before, so I guess I know more about the affairs of Nanjing than Your Royal Highness. If Your Highness wants to help the general, I could help you too. It wouldn’t be a bother, would it, Your Royal Highness?"

Seeing the expression on his face, Huo Yuyan, despite all his experience, felt a twinge of discomfort. Huo Wuji was really blind. He scolded himself internally. Wasn’t he so clever on the battlefield? How could he lose his composure in front of a man and let himself be manipulated by such a vile and wicked person?

Huo Yuyan gritted his teeth, suppressing his disgust and anger. Never mind, he thought. Let’s bear with him for now.

After all, Huo Wuji wasn’t in the palace now, and he couldn’t send him away even if he wanted to. Court affairs were complicated, and this young, arrogant man seemed like just a fool who liked to have fun.

Even if he caused trouble, he wouldn’t do any real harm to my important affairs.

Thinking this, Huo Yuyan gritted his teeth and forced a weak smile. "Of course, Your Highness may do as he wishes."

However, he later realized how his hasty decision had caused him trouble. This fool not only knew nothing, but he also liked to meddle in other people’s affairs. He stayed there, content to eat desserts and fruit, and even had wine brought in, drinking it slowly with the desserts.

But even so, he couldn’t stop him from interfering with his affairs, reviewing each petition and each officer’s assignment.

When his tired eyes could no longer continue, he ordered the servant next to him to read them. This servant, who had no respect for Huo Yuyan and was as thick-skinned as a wall, took everything and read the petitions to the young Prince Jing.

Prince Jing did not simply listen; he also took the liberty of giving instructions, even regarding the positions and assignments of officers. Huo Yuyan, already in poor health, struggled to cope with this added stress. Throughout the morning, he was constantly disturbed by the other man, managing to finalize only a few officer assignments and exhausting himself mentally.

In the end, he had no choice but to follow Jiang Suizhou's directives, despite his own reservations. After all, this fool was also a source of disruption, changing the officer arrangements he had made, sometimes simply because of the officer’s name or lineage. This turmoil left him drained.

This disturbance continued until dusk. Huo Yuyan, exhausted, resigned himself to smiling and then apologizing. Seeing his staggering figure, Jiang Suizhou’s gaze darkened. This game of madness had worked rather well.

*

That night, Huo Yuyan fell ill in his room. His servant hastily summoned the court doctor, who could only slightly reduce his fever, allowing him to fall into a peaceful sleep.

Meanwhile, things were not calm on Jiang Suizhou’s side either. When Huo Wuji returned to the palace after work, he saw Jiang Suizhou sitting under the lamp light, holding a book in one hand and a pen in the other, hastily copying something.

Seeing Huo Wuji return, he looked up and asked, "Back?" Huo Wuji nodded and sat opposite him, smiling, "Back. I heard on my way back that you tormented Huo Yuyan quite a bit today, didn’t you?"

Jiang Suizhou gave a slight smile and replied, "Of course." Then, he looked up at Huo Wuji, almost jokingly, "Who wouldn’t be a source of trouble? I’m rather experienced at handling this kind of snake." Huo Wuji laughed at these words, then reached out to naturally take the book Jiang Suizhou was holding, along with the pen and ink.

"It’s enough, you’ve tormented others, but you’ve also tormented yourself, haven’t you?" he assumed.

Looking down, he saw that the book was full of names of officers. The left page contained what he had prepared with Jiang Suizhou a few days ago, intended to plan the officers’ assignments, while the right page, which Jiang Suizhou was copying, showed what he had arranged today in front of Huo Yuyan.

The movements between the two were all related to official ranks, just to avoid Huo Yuyan’s suspicions. Jiang Suizhou had spent the whole day distracting him, playing the role of the arrogant favorite while mentally revising and reorganizing the officers' information to find appropriate positions for them. Finally, Jiang Suizhou had his hands free and took a sip of tea.

Huo Wuji sat across from him and said, "I’ll organize it for you, just repeat to me who was arranged during the day."
It was much easier this way. After a long, exhausting day of work, Jiang Suizhou didn’t refuse Huo Wuji’s help this time. He slowly repeated all the arrangements they had made. Huo Wuji wrote quickly. In less than half an hour, they had both finalized the results of the day.
"It’s done," Huo Wuji finally said, setting down his pen and handing the written book back to Jiang Suizhou. Jiang Suizhou took the book, quickly skimmed through it, and couldn’t help but smile.
The book was clearly divided. The first half was written in his regular, neat handwriting, while the second half, with strokes of hasty, messy calligraphy, almost looked like scribbles. Huo Wuji’s characters weren’t particularly beautiful or orderly, but they were full of strength and confidence, though hard to understand.
It was a bit like a prescription written by a modern doctor.
Huo Wuji raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why are you laughing?"
Jiang Suizhou cleared his throat: "Nothing special."
Huo Wuji tried to grab the book from his hands: "You’re making fun of me because of my ugly handwriting, aren’t you?"
Jiang Suizhou hid the book behind his back, evading Huo Wuji’s attempt.
"No, no," he said with a smile. "It’s just that I thought of something funny."
Huo Wuji wasn’t convinced: "What is it?"
Jiang Suizhou said seriously: "Today, I humiliated Huo Yuyan, but I used you as an excuse."
Huo Wuji frowned: "So what?"
Jiang Suizhou continued: "I told him that you cherished me so much that everything that belongs to you also belongs to me."
Huo Wuji smiled wryly: "That’s not entirely untrue."
Jiang Suizhou continued: "I also told him that if he wanted to punish me, he should take care of you first."
Huo Wuji shrugged: "What an idea, that’s not flattering."
Jiang Suizhou smiled again: "Anyway, he didn’t seem pleased. With his personality, he probably won’t truly punish you. But I bet he’ll come looking to talk to you in the next few days."
Huo Wuji frowned: "About what?"
Jiang Suizhou smiled: "Naturally, to ask you not to favour the flatterers and not to compromise important matters."
*

As expected, a few days later, Jiang Suizhou's words came true.
In the past few days, Huo Wuji had worked hard to give Jiang Suizhou space to flourish, returning home late every day so that Jiang Suizhou could move freely and avoid being summoned by Huo Yuyan for questioning.
But that day, just as he entered the palace, he was stopped by Huo Yuyan’s servants.
"General Huo, do you have any plans for today?" asked the young eunuch.
Huo Wuji frowned: "Nothing, why?" The young eunuch smiled: "The prince has been thinking of you after your hard work and invites you to dinner to reminisce about the past."
Reminisce about the past? That was just another way of saying he came to complain. Huo Wuji furrowed his brow.
What a stroke of bad luck. As for what Huo Yuyan wanted to complain about, not only did Huo Wuji already know what it was, but he had also been involved.
However, these thoughts would not leave his mouth. He looked at the young eunuch, smiled slightly, and said, "Alright, lead the way."
The young eunuch bowed and led him to Huo Yuyan’s residence.
Huo Yuyan's residence in the palace was relatively far, as he himself had claimed, to seek peace and quiet. Fortunately, the residence was very well maintained, and the windows were sun-facing, providing good natural light throughout the year.
When Huo Wuji arrived, the sky was already dark, and lamps were lit in the courtyard. Huo Yuyan was already waiting for him at the table.
As soon as he entered, Huo Wuji saw a round table set up in the center of the main hall, with a variety of dishes that appeared to have been carefully prepared. The dishes weren’t the usual Jiangnan cuisine, but rather northern specialties, and there was even a plate of roasted lamb that looked very authentic, likely prepared with great attention to both the ingredients and the chef.
"You’re back, Wuji?" Huo Yuyan said as he stood up, smiling. "You’ve really worked hard; it’s already getting dark."
Huo Wuji simply grunted in response and sat down at the table with him.
"It took a bit longer than expected, there were all kinds of issues to sort out, and I had a terrible headache," Huo Wuji said lightly.

Huo Yuyan smiled. "They say that great things in the world start with details. To achieve great accomplishments, one must accumulate these kinds of small troubles. Don’t let them disturb you," he said softly.

Huo Wuji smiled faintly, but didn’t take his advice to heart. "Great things, troubles! These are just nonsense from those scholars. Well, let’s not talk about these boring things anymore. Does big brother still remember what I used to like eating back in the day?"

Huo Yuyan gave a slight smile and subtly replied, "Of course. Since we went to Ye Cheng, I noticed you always had a fondness for northern landscapes. I finally found a chef who specializes in northwest cuisine, but by that time, you were already immersed in the affairs of the southern Jing... This time, with everything you've accomplished, I’m truly happy for you. When I came, I also brought the chef with me."

Huo Wuji gave him a glance.

This guy really knew how to play the hypocrite since he was young. Even when he was younger, he was hypocritical towards elders and strangers. Huo Wuji never contested him and always protected him, seeing him as a sensitive and reserved person.

He would never have thought that today, he, Huo Wuji, would also become a stranger who needed to hide his true self.

Huo Wuji smiled slightly without saying anything: "Big brother has been thoughtful." He then took the glass of wine on the table, raised his hand to toast with Huo Yuyan, and drank it in one go.

When he swallowed a sip of wine, Huo Wuji frowned and, setting the glass down, cast a suspicious glance at its contents.

Seeing his expression, Huo Yuyan asked in surprise, "What’s wrong?"

Huo Wuji asked, "What kind of wine is this? It’s very bitter."

Huo Yuyan nodded slightly, smiling gently: "I forgot to tell you. These past few days, my health hasn’t been very good, and the doctor said I shouldn’t drink alcohol. If you want to drink, you should have the medicinal wine he specially prepared."

Of course, he hadn’t forgotten to mention it. This wine was specially given to Huo Wuji to drink.

If he didn’t drink it, why would he complain about its bitterness? If he didn’t ask questions, how could he open the way to explain how his "beautiful concubine" had exhausted him these past few days?

However, there was something he didn’t know, something the doctor hadn’t told him either.

This medicinal wine was a powerful tonic. Since his health was very weak, drinking a little was indeed beneficial.

However, for someone in good health, this kind of tonic wine was meant to increase internal heat, strengthen the qi, nourish the yin, and revitalize the yang.

 

Translator : DarNan