After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine

Chapter 32

After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine Chapter 32

The banquet hall was very spacious, as the banquet rule stipulated one person per table. Huo Wujiu was also in a wheelchair, so there was no need to add a chair, just bowls and chopsticks.

Jiang Suizhou sat abandonedly before his table. The eunuch saw that when His Highness King Jing took his seat, he turned his head and gave the general a cold and disgusted glare.

The eunuch hastily retreated.

He didn’t see that when His Highness King Jing looked at Madam Huo, he quickly apologized. "Forgive me."

Jiang Suizhou was in a cold sweat just now, not only because of his fear that something would go wrong during his first contact with Pang Shao, but more importantly, the series of actions he subjected Huo Wujiu to.

It was like pulling the tiger’s whiskers!

Jiang Suizhou was petrified, so as soon as he found an opportunity, he immediately apologized to Huo Wujiu.

He didn't expect Huo Wujiu to respond to him at all. He also thought about how to logically explain it to him again later on their way back.

But Huo Wujiu looked at him and winked slowly.

He seemed to be conveying: I know.

Jiang Suizhou was startled, and he could hardly retain his ice-cold visage.

He quickly averted his eyes, picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip to calm his nerves.

His wink just now...Was it a response to him? It shouldn’t mean, “You’re dead tonight,” right?

Jiang Suizhou's fingers trembled a little.

Behind him, Huo Wujiu shot him a pensive glance, concealing a bit of deep meaning that was extremely difficult to detect in the depths of his eyes.

Jiang Suizhou was so calm and composed in front of so many people just now, so why did he look at him and start acting scared again?

Nonetheless, this was the first time he saw Jiang Suizhou in front of people.

He was a superb actor, seeing how he even fooled Pang Shao. Jiang Suizhou’s performance indeed incited hatred. No wonder Ji Hongcheng flew into a rage because of him and wrote obscenities in his letter.

But…

Huo Wujiu surprisingly found it a bit cute.

When Jiang Suizhou looked at him with that seemingly hostile stance that actually hid pinches of nervousness, he felt like a paw was scratching his heart somewhere, causing a tickling itch.

Huo Wujiao involuntarily raised his hand and gently stroked his chin with his knuckles.

Jiang Suizhou’s cold and soft touch seemed to linger there.

His hands had trembled gently, as if he tried his utmost best to control it, but all to no avail.

Consequently, Jiang Suizhou’s supposed insulting ferocity unexpectedly acquired a piteous touch, making his viciousness like a paper tiger that would break with a poke. On the surface, he railed candidly, but in fact, he swayed tremblingly, as if looking for support.

Restraining himself from grabbing Jiang Suizhou’s hand into his own demanded more determination than enduring the pain of cruel torture.

Outside the door, the rain pattered incessantly, but brilliant lights filled the inside of the hall.

Amidst the gold and jade splendor, all high-ranking officials and lords were celebrating with songs and dance. If Jiang Suizhou were someone else, he really would have been dazzled and thought that the imperial court was at the peak of its power and had centuries left to live.

But Jiang Suizhou knew that this prosperous gaiety in front of him was the result of emptying the national treasury and also plundering countless surrounding states and counties. It was barely scraped together.

Beneath the glitz was a rickety, empty frame.

It was getting late. The court eunuchs sang and drank, then silence suddenly settled down everywhere.

His Majesty had arrived.

Jiang Suizhou rose to his feet with the courtiers and quietly waited for the emperor to sit down on the throne. Afterward, with the eunuch's cry, he, along with the ministers, knelt thrice and kowtowed nine times towards the emperor, performing the most solemn of salutes.

When the last salute was over, the ministers kneeled in place, waiting for the emperor to let them rise.

The grand eunuch inclined towards the emperor nearby with a horsetail whisk in his hand waited for a moment, but he didn’t hear a sound from the man on the throne.

...What was he up to now?

The grand eunuch felt a bit apprehensive, so he cautiously looked up. On the magnificent throne, the resplendently-dressed emperor sat askew, touching his chin with one hand and looking thoughtfully at the bottom of the step.

What is…?

The grand eunuch followed his gaze and saw that among the kneeling courtiers, there was only one person who stood out from the crowd, sitting there quietly and silently opposite the emperor.

His gaze was calm and indifferent, and he stared directly at His Majesty without any fear.

Huo Wujiu.

The grand eunuch knew this man. When Huo Wujiu was escorted back to Lin'an, he went to the dungeon with His Majesty once. That was the first time that man met His Majesty. Several officers and soldiers tried to force Huo Wujiu down on his knees, but were unsuccessful.

It was also on that occasion that His Majesty ordered his hamstrings to be picked off.

T-This man indeed can’t kneel now...but the look on His Majesty seems like he still wants to launch an attack, doesn’t it?

The grand eunuch's heart throbbed uneasily.

Just then, he heard His Majesty speak lazily.

“My dear subjects, you may rise,” he said.

Having received his decree, the ministers at the bottom of the stairs stood up and returned to their seats.

The grand eunuch sighed with relief.

His Majesty was truly foolish. In the past, the previous emperor suppressed him, so he was still restrained. However, now that he was the emperor, the Grand Minister over the Masses blindly obeyed him, making him sometimes ridiculous regardless of the occasion. Hence, servants like them were also in constant fear.

It would be best if His Majesty didn’t fly into a rage and instead, spent his birthday smoothly…

However, he was just halfway relieved when he heard His Majesty speak again.

“Hiss...Fifth Brother.” The emperor rested his cheek on one hand. Without announcing the start of the feast, he picked up a shrimp ball from the table in front of him and stuffed it into his mouth.

"All the ministers have kneeled just now...except your wife. Why didn’t he kneel before me?"