After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine Chapter 47
Once rain started in the south of the Yangtze River, it poured incessantly.
Since the day the King went to Madam Gu’s courtyard and fell ill and bedridden, the drizzle outside fell non-stop for a few days without any signs of sunshine.
Coupled with the atmosphere in Anyin Hall, everything also became gloomy, which made people feel suffocated.
The victim who bore the brunt the most was Meng Qianshan.
The last time he experienced this kind of pressure was when the King went to spend the night at Madam Xu's. But this time, it seemed much more serious than the previous time. Hence, he was alarmed and on eggshells all day in Anyin Hall but couldn’t pinpoint the cause.
Deep inside, he thought he must let His Highness return.
However, His Highness stayed at Madam Gu's place for one day, and stayed for a second day immediately afterwards.
This was something that had never happened before.
On the third day, His Highness would surely return no matter what happened, right?
But to his surprise, on the third night, news of His Highness’s illness came from Gu Changyun.
Meng Qianshan was so anxious that he promptly rushed to Gu Changyun's courtyard. It never occurred to him that King Jing would bar him from entering.
The person who threw him out was Gu Changyun.
Gu Changyun was leaning against the door frame and looking quite gorgeous and charming clad in red. Seeing Meng Qianshan being stopped at the door and anxiously pacing in circles, Gu Changyun smiled and said, “What’s the rush? His Highness only drank too much wine these two days and is somewhat deficient in health. You just have to send the news to the palace and the Ministry of Rites and ask for a few days’ leave for His Highness. As for the rest...just take care of Madam Huo for His Highness.”
"This..." Meng Qianshan looked in anxiously.
Gu Changyun raised his hand and blocked his gaze.
"His Highness has orders not to let you in," he said, "Ah, has it been raining for the past few days? His Highness ordered you to go back quickly, boil dilong extract4 in An Yin Hall, and burn some fire. Don’t neglect that cripple."
After speaking, he arrogantly glanced at Meng Qianshan, turned around, and shut the door.
In the room, Jiang Suizhou was lying on the bed. His breath was uneven, and his face was a bit white.
“Have you given my orders?” he asked.
Gu Changyun stood at the edge of the bed and nodded.
Jiang Suizhou closed his eyes.
He didn't let Meng Qianshan in, purely because he was afraid the latter would talk too much and ask something he shouldn't ask.
He initially thought that after these two days, he would go back to Anyin Hall, but never expected that the effect of the medicine would strike so suddenly and fiercely and make it so that he could not get up, let alone return to his own courtyard.
Gu Changyun comforted him on the side, "Don't worry, Your Highness. After the first few days, the effect of this medicine will gradually become milder. By then, the symptoms that manifest will simply be having a weaker constitution due to palpitations.”
Jiang Suizhou nodded on the bed.
"Tomorrow, when the palace gets the news, they will send someone over," he said.
Gu Changyun nodded and said, "Yes. After the imperial doctor from the palace diagnoses you, let him administer medicine. You naturally can not be cured from that, and we can post a notice to seek medical help under that pretext."
Jiang Suizhou nodded and closed his eyes.
Seeing that he wanted to rest, Gu Changyun sensibly retreated to the outer room.
However, the atmosphere in Anyin Hall, where boiling of the dilong extract was in full swing, was one of condensation.
The servants and maids were busy going in and out, trying to finish the dilong extract for the night and burn some fire to drive away the dampness in the room. The man who was standing beside Huo Wujiu, Meng Qianshan, prudently kept his mouth shut and dared not utter a word.
Huo Wujiu was holding a book in his hand, but hesitated to turn the pages.
“Speak if you have anything to say,” he coldly said.
Meng Qianshan whispered, "Madam Gu said in the courtyard...that His Highness is bedridden, so he’s going to rest there."
Huo Wujiu did not move.
A moment later, he asked in a light voice, "What kind of illness?"
Meng Qianshan lost his tongue for a moment.
Huo Wujiu waited for a while but didn't hear him make a sound. A moment later, he raised his eyes, a pair of dark, bottomless eyes, and stared quietly at Meng Qianshan.
"Speak," he commanded.
Those eyes sent chills down Meng Qianshan’s spine. He trembled all over and hurriedly responded, "He said that His Highness drank too much wine these two days, and...is deficient in health...So, he got sick.”
Huo Wujiu remained motionless. Only his hand, holding the booklet, sharply clenched tight and crumpled the pages of the book.
Drank too much and was health deficient?
Huo Wujiu gripped the book, and an indescribable irritation flooded his heart.
Well done...good on that sickly man.
Braving the rain and drinking outside that day weren’t enough. He must go to his concubine's room to drink, and must fool around until he suffers from "health deficiency" before stopping.
Huo Wujiu never knew that a person could be so hateful.
Jiang Suizhou was unlike the emperor and Pang Shao, who were rotten to the core but were still people who could not make him lose his calm.
Jiang Suizhou was akin to a cat. He would crawl his way into your heart and sprinkle joy, making you unable to tear your eyes off him, and then he’d do something nasty to provoke you again.
They were petty things that people wouldn’t take to heart, but because Jiang Suizhou was the one who did this kind of thing, it inexplicably triggered Huo Wujiu’s bottom line. It stirred up his emotions all at once, making him jittery and anxious.
Huo Wujiu's fingers fiercely crushed the pages of the book under them.
Meng Qianshan, who was standing next to him, felt uncomfortable. Huo Wujiu’s fingers that crushed the book were like a noose around Meng Qianshan’s neck, causing him to gasp for air.
At this moment, even as dumb as he was, Meng Qianshan rough had an idea what the "Madam" in front of him was thinking.
Huo Wujiu was inwardly seething, or rather, he was jealous.
"...Madam Huo?" A few moments later, Meng Qianshan strenuously called out in a squeak.
Then he saw his master pause and casually toss aside the book that was crumpled and torn.
He said, "Withdraw."
Meng Qianshan whispered anxiously, "Are you all right? Please be at ease. His Highness is really weak. When he drinks and gets exposed to the wind, it’s common for him to..."
Huo Wujiu, who was sitting on his wheelchair, interrupted Meng Qianshan with a cold snort.
The next moment, Huo Wujiu raised his eyes at Meng Qianshan.
"I'm fine," he said. "I just didn't expect that the rules of your King Jing Mansion could be this bad."
Meng Qianshan was puzzled.
Then he saw this master looking out the window with a cold expression. His voice sounded so deep and cold as if it was squeezed out from his teeth.
“This kind of concubine, who pleases and confuses the master, would have been beheaded if in the Marquis of Dingbei Hou House.” Huo Wujiu said slowly.
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The author has something to say: #MadamHuoisjealous
Footnote:
4 Dilong extract - literally earthworm powder - a medicinal preparation based on abdominal extracts from the earthworm species used in traditional Chinese medicine for a wide variety of disorders, from convulsions and fevers to rheumatoid arthritis and blood stasis syndromes