CH 156

The guards acted roughly.

They dragged Jiang Suizhou up from the ground, and then pulled down a rope from the beam. Jiang Suizhou was in severe pain, and the pain immediately awakened his chaotic consciousness a bit.

Where did Pang Shao go?

Now that there was only the Huo Zhu left here while Pang Shao was nowhere to be found, this meant there were two possibilities—either Pang Shao had learned of Huo Wujiu’s plans and movements and went to capture him, or the major event was about to be completed and Pang Shao had escaped.

Jiang Suizhou groaned, raised his eyes, and looked at the Hou Zhu.

The guards had already brought the torture tools out.

He clenched his teeth, forcing himself to be sober and calm, and then let out a cool laugh: “Imperial Brother, you really think highly of this sick brother.”

The Hou Zhu looked him straight in the eye.

He glared at Jiang Suizhou, and his eyes were overflowing with hatred that could not be concealed. His expression was also a little distorted, causing the fat on his cheeks to jiggle.

After a while, he said bitterly, “Jiang Suizhou, are you very proud?”

He gritted his teeth and spoke coldly. At first glance, he was forced to a dead end, and that made him loathe him.

With this appearance, Jiang Suizhou could presume that they had 1 to 2% chances of winning against the Hou Zhu and Pang Shao’s party.

Jiang Suizhou closed his eyes and exhaled quietly.

Wonderful. This way, he had nothing to worry about.

Jiang Shunheng had fallen to such a state and had no way to survive. However, since both sides were at the end of their ropes, and the Hou Zhu had lost a right arm like Pang Shao, then he could try to gamble.

… He would just have to hope that the Hou Zhu in front of him still had extravagant hopes and affection for his uncle.

He closed his eyes and said slowly, “Where shall we start, Imperial Brother?”

“Start what?” An eerie laughter escaped from the Hou Zhu’s throat as he stood up from his chair. “Why? Didn’t you wait for this day when you deliberately set Huo Wujiu free?”

Jiang Suizhou laughed faintly in response.

“That’s not quite true.” He said, “It’s just that Huo Wujiu has promised me some benefits, and we both get what we want.”

“Both get what you want?” It was as if the Hou Zhu had heard some kind of joke.

Then, he gritted his teeth and said, “If each takes what he needs, would he have left you behind to stay here, waiting for me to kill you?”

For some reason, he spit the words ‘left behind’ quite heavily, as if containing some hatred and grievances that he could not express verbally.

Still Jiang Suizhou laughed calmly.

“For sure.” He said, “I also have his handle in my hand. That thing is what Pang Shao wants most. Pang Shao won’t kill me.”

As he said that, he acted a little puzzled. He looked around and asked, “Where is Pang Shao?”

Seeing his reaction, the Hou Zhu frowned in confusion.

“He’s gone,” he replied, “What about it?”

When Jiang Suizhou heard his response, he acted surprised. His calmness just now completely disappeared.

“Impossible!” He said, “If Pang Shao fails to obtain that thing, he will never give up, so how can he leave?”

The frown on the Hou Zhu’s face deepened, but in the bottom of his heart, he felt a wave of relief.

He thought to himself: Sure enough. My uncle has just personally gone to bring me help. He didn’t leave me behind and flee.

… Even if not for him, it would be for the object in Jiang Suizhou’s hand, wouldn’t it?

After listening, he paused for a second and asked, “What is it?”

Jiang Suizhou remained silent.

The Hou Zhu was a little impatient.

His uncle was always like this. He didn’t tell him anything until it was the last resort. He would only tell him that he had arranged everything. Although he was happy to be free, sometimes he would be a little upset. He felt excluded, like an outsider.

His uncle acted so, but on what basis could Jingwang, a sickly son born to a wicked concubine, act so?

The Hou Zhu was displeased. At this point, he no longer cared to restrain himself. He took several steps forward and immediately landed a kick on Jiang Suizhou.

Although he had been indulging in lust for many years and had long been hollowed out without much strength, his bloated frame was still there. With a kick filled with all his strength, he succeeded in earning a muffled grunt from Jiang Suizhou. He was hoisted up and was kicked into a stumble.

“I’m asking you a question,” the Hou Zhu said.

Jiang Suizhou, however, raised his eyes and looked at him provocatively.

“If you are so capable, you can beat me to death today.” He said, “That way, when Pang Shao returns with an army, everything he wants will be rotten in this brother’s stomach.”

The Hou Zhu stared daggers at him.

Jiang Suizhou was truly repulsive as hell, and just the sight of him could bring back unpleasant memories. However, he had always been restrained, always avoiding his spearhead, and had always submitted meekly to his insults, maltreatment and humiliation.

This was the first time Jiang Suizhou had showed such arrogance in front of him.

He loathed him so much that he wished he could watch this man suffer more than a dozen kinds of torture in the cell, cutting him to pieces one at a time.

But… he couldn’t.

He observed Jiang Suizhou in front of him.

This sickly young man was only hung up in this gloomy prison for a moment, yet his face and lips were already pale. This good-for-nothing could die at any moment. Even when this trash was suffering at this time, he did not dare to really gamble…

No matter how much resentment he harbored, he didn’t want his uncle to come back to a corpse and be disappointed.

After all, his uncle didn’t leave him behind, did he? His mother was still in the palace, and she was his uncle’s most beloved sister from childhood. Jiang Suizhou even had something that his uncle wanted. With these factors in the play, his uncle would not abandon him…

He even unintentionally, like an isolated child, held out all his valuable treasures, just in exchange for someone to consider him more.

The Hou Zhu stared intently at Jiang Suizhou with his eyes glowing red and his hands shaking.

He wanted to kill this man, but could not.

After a while, as if his emotions finally went out of control, he grabbed the salt-soaked whip from the guard next to him, and swung it heavily on Jiang Suizhou.

The sudden whip fell on Jiang Suizhou and immediately ripped Jiang Suizhou’s court robes apart. Even if the Hou Zhu was weak, the whip still left a bloodstain when it landed on his body.

Jiang Suizhou’s eyebrows tightened. Even though he clenched teeth, a painful grunt still escaped from his lips.

His reaction greatly pleased the Hou Zhu.

He stared at the blood that instantly seeped out of Jiang Suizhou’s robe, and a twisted smile surfaced on his face. He gritted his teeth and swung the whip once more at Jiang Suizhou.

The sound of flesh being lashed resounded loudly in the cell, and a bloody stench gradually diffused, mixing with the rotten blood in the prison.

Even if he wouldn’t kill Jiang Suizhou, he would make him suffer a lot.

If his father were watching in the heavens, let him open his eyes and have a good look. His self-righteous favor to this good-for-nothing would be the death of him.