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“General Huo…” Hearing no response from Huo Wujiu for a long time, Ji Hongcheng nervously stepped forward and called him.
But Huo Wujiu raised the hand holding the whip and motioned him to be silent.
Ji Hongcheng shut his mouth.
Then through the bleakness of the night, he saw Huo Wujiu slowly smile.
There was nothing unusual about it. It just bore a hint of indescribable bitterness and irony.
“Well said,” he commented.
After saying that, his expression turned cold. He pulled on the reins with one hand, kicked, and spurred his horse away toward the Great River.
“Kill all captives.”
——
That night, waves surged forth in the Great River.
Huo Wujiu commanded the ten thousand soldiers by the riverbank and even swaggered outrageously. He ordered Wei Kai to immediately carry Li Sheng’s head, lead people across the river, and commanded him to send all the officers and men guarding Jiangbei (the north of the river) to Jiangnan (the south of the river) overnight.
The naval ships cruised to and fro all night long.
Meanwhile, above the river, an inconspicuous gray pigeon flew across the river and arrived at Lin’an city at the fourth watch.
When the sky brightened, two messenger horses pulled an inconspicuous carriage, quickly merged into the fading night, rolled on the empty, blue-brick street stained with morning dew, and stopped outside Tianshu Gate. There, they handed an urgent letter through the locked palace gate.
A few moments later, a corner door opened at the Tianshu Gate. One of the men on the carriage hurriedly got off and entered without delay. With a heavy thud, the corner door closed, and the entire magnificent imperial city became an iron prison that no bird could fly into.
Only the carriage remained, quietly parked outside the Tianshu Gate.
——
The palace gates were locked every day at certain hours. If officials wanted to enter the palace at night, they could have a chance to be granted an audience at night only if they had an extremely urgent memorial in their hands, which they could pass through the Tianshu Gate, the nearest gate to the Emperor’s residence.
This was the first time that the Hou Zhu was awakened from the night due to an urgent missive since he ascended the throne. He was led to the imperial throne in his robes and sat back there, still dozing off.
He was up late last night with the two newest concubines in the palace, and had just fallen asleep.
A few moments later, he saw Pang Shao who entered at a brisk pace.
With a thud, he knelt down in front of the cherished throne.
“I had concealed an extremely important matter from Your Majesty, and now that it has come to light, it is my fault!” he started.
The Hou Zhu was totally confused. He held back the yawn that had reached his mouth and asked, “What is it?”
“Huo Wujiu has escaped.” Pang Shao gritted his teeth and said. “I have been in contact with Huo Yuyan, the Crown Prince of Northern Liang, and his men sent an urgent missive today, saying that Huo Wujiu has led Northern Liang’s troops across the river. I’m afraid there are a hundred thousand of them.”
The Hou Zhu’s brows furrowed tightly.
He understood every word Pang Shao said, but together they made him confused.
What was this all about? How could so many things suddenly happen in one night?
Then Pang Shao took out several letters he had prepared with Huo Yuyan’s correspondence, laid them on the Hou Zhu’s desk and quickly explained everything to him.
“Before Huo Wujiu crossed the river, Huo Yuyan found this minister. He wanted Huo Wujiu’s life, but did not dare to do it himself, so he said he would trick Huo Wujiu into coming and wanted to kill him through this minister’s hand. This minister wanted to kill Huo Wujiu, but temporarily changed my mind. I wanted to capture him alive just to restrain Huo Yuyan —— After all, this minister could always send Huo Wujiu back intact any time and threaten the Crown Prince’s position again. Therefore, as long as Huo Wujiu is in the Great Jing, Huo Yuyan will dare not act rashly.”
The Hou Zhu, however, still looked groggy. He asked, “Is this what you told me, that keeping Huo Wujiu alive was useful?”
Pang Shao felt vexed looking at his dull and wimpy appearance.
If it wasn’t an emergency and he needed to take his decree to mobilize the army from the surrounding counties, Pang Shao wouldn’t have come here to report this to this bastard. Everything he said was six parts true and four parts false. He would never tell the Hou Zhu he had been relying on Huo Wujiu to suck a steady stream of tens of thousands of silver from Huo Yuyan in recent months.
Pang Shao gritted his teeth and replied, “Yes. But now, Huo Wujiu escaped, which will endanger Lin’an again. This minister asks for Your Majesty’s imperial decree to immediately send people to the surrounding counties to borrow soldiers and horses to protect Your Majesty’s safety.”
The Hou Zhu was then half awakened with fright.
“Go. Go then quickly.” He asked, “But how did Huo Wujiu escape?”
Pang Shao gnashed his teeth.
“Jingwang set him free,” he answered, “It takes three to five days to get to the river from Lin’an. So many days have passed, yet Jingwang Manor remained peaceful. It must be a cover for Huo Wujiu.”
When he said this, Pang Shao clasped his fist and knelt down and said, “Your Majesty, you must capture and guard Jingwang. Since he provided cover for Huo Wujiu, this minister believes that he has quite a lot of information about Huo Wujiu in his hands. Perhaps, we might even have a chance of pinning Huo Wujiu down after his arrest.”
The Hou Zhu couldn’t care less about this.
“That sick boy is bold enough to collaborate with the enemy!” He gnashed his teeth. “Sure enough, the wicked son of a lowly concubine is rotten to the core!”
After cursing, he raised his hand and ordered, “Someone! Go to Jingwang Manor and bring that bitch for me!”
However, Pang Shao stopped him, “Your Majesty, no!”
The Hou Zhu scowled, “What?”
Pang Shao said, “Jingwang is unfathomable, so this minister is afraid this will inadvertently alert the enemy. I have a plan. Please listen to it, Your Majesty.”
The Hou Zhu said, “Make it quick.”
Pang Shao elaborated, “There will be a Grand Court Assembly today, so Your Majesty might as well wait until he enters the palace and then let him stay behind. By then, he will be in the palace. Won’t that like be catching a rat in the hole?”
When the Hou Zhu heard his argument, he thought it was reasonable.
He breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Let’s do as you say.”
Pang Shao responded and moved to retreat.
The Hou Zhu’s drowsiness was swept away, and he watched Pang Shao bow and retreat. Outside the window, the faint morning light penetrated inside, blending with the light of the candles in the hall.
The Hou Zhu suddenly spoke.
“Uncle,” he called out.
Pang Shao stopped.
Then he heard the Hou Zhu ask, “No matter what, Uncle will stay in the capital and protect me, right?”
Pang Shao bowed his head and saluted. He couldn’t see his face clearly under his wide sleeve and high crown.
“I will do so myself, and will never abandon Your Majesty.”