The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 25- 27

Chapter 25: I’m Afraid It’s Too Late

The engagement with Yuwen family was like a stone pressing on his chest. It wouldn’t suffocate him, but could make him feel uncomfortable.

If possible, Ling Zhang would like to stand in front of the whole Yuwen family and throw the letter of engagement in their faces.

Unfortunately, Tanyang was far from the capital. He couldn’t go to the capital just for the engagement. It was a pity that he couldn’t see the expressions of those people when the letter of engagement was thrown in their faces.

“Brother,” Ling Maomao, who was sitting in Ling Zhang’s arms, looked up at Ling Zhang, “Grandfather is calling you.”

Ling Zhang quickly came back from the thoughts and looked at Ling Xingzhong.

“You want to clean up the servants in our family?” Ling Xingzhong asked.

Ling Zhang replied, “Grandfather, I think that we are now at daggers drawn with Jia family and Zhang Chong. They must have hated our Ling family a lot. They won’t do anything bad to us in the open, but they will certainly take action in secret. We have to be prepared, and we’d better clean up those that may have been bought over in advance.”

Ling Xingzhong nodded with satisfaction, “Your words really make sense, then do what you want.”

“Yes,” Ling Zhang answered, and then said to Fu Caiwei, “Aunt knows the arrangement of the servants in our family best. So please give me directions when I clean up them.”

Fu Caiwei said with a smile, “Just the arrangement of the servants, you needn’t call that ‘directions’. Whatever you want to do, just tell me and I will cooperate with you.”

Ling Maomao raised his head, “I want to help, too!”

Ling Zhang looked down at him, “Well, Maomao is the most considerate boy.”

Being praised, Ling Maomao beamed with big smiles and the eagerness to try.

The big dog A’da was sitting beside the feet of Ling Zhang. Ada looked up and rubbed its head against Ling Zhang’s knees, grunting in a low voice as if it really wanted to help. Ling Zhang reached out his hand and touched A’da gently on the head.

Then they chatted about something else. But Ling Zhang and Ling Zhaowen didn’t tell Ling Xingzhong about their plan to kill Jia Yuanling secretly.

Smelling the alcohol on Ling Zhang that did not disperse, Fu Caiwei let Ling Zhang go to wash and have a rest.

After Ling Zhang left, Ling Xingzhong changed his tone and said to Ling Zhaowen,”Did Zhang’er suffer any other grievance?”

“Although he didn’t fall into Jia Yuanling’s frame-up, he has always treated Jia Yuanlinga as a good friend. Taking such a big hit this time, he must be so sad,” Ling Zhaowen replied.

Ling Zhaowen did not mention anything about Ling Zhang’s dream.

Ling Xingzhong sighed, “I saw that he was so silent just now, with some hint of depression in his eyes. I hope that he will not be affected too much by this incident.”

I’m afraid it is too late.’ Ling Zhaowen thought. The change of the child was the most intuitive to show the influence, but he did not think that it was a bad thing. Only when Ling Zhang grew up could he face the next storm.

*

Ling Zhang returned to his own yard and looked at the exquisite layout and the blossoming flowers in the yard. Seeing the familiar scene and the things after rebirth, he was filled with emotion. Although the time that catastrophe befell Ling family only lasted about half a year in his previous life, he felt it even longer than the over ten years he had experienced. It was so long that he almost forgot the quiet and peaceful days.

“Young Master, welcome back!” As soon as Ling Zhang stepped into the yard, someone came to greet him happily.

Ling Zhang pulled a chilling face that could reveal his emotions and walked into his yard with a short H’m. He did not go to wash immediately, but sat down in the hall. He said indifferently, “Inform Dongshan and Dongsong to come here.”

“Yes.” Seeing that Ling Zhang’s face was long and chilling, the person who answered Ling Zhang was shocked. He did not dare to delay and hurried out to call those two people.

Chapter 26: To Execute Those Treacherous Servants

“What’s wrong with Young Master? He looks terrifying.”

As soon as Xiafeng walked out of the hall, the servants in the yard gathered around him.

Xiafeng was the most competent servant around Ling Zhang, enjoying the highest status among these servants in the yard. The house steward came specially to tell him what had happened outside, so he certainly knew more than these servants.

“Go and call Dongshan and Dongsong over, and don’t pry into even a single word that you shouldn’t ask,” Xiafeng said seriously.

Noticing the tone of Xiafeng was severe, the two servants shrunk their necks, and turned around to call Dongshan and Dongsong, not daring to ask any more.

After two servants left, Xiafeng pulled a long face. He didn’t follow Young Master to Jia’s mansion to attend the banquet because he had been caught up in something else. He didn’t expect something so serious had happened. If it were not for young master’s calm way of handling it, he would have suffered a great loss today!

Dongshan and Dongsong had followed young master to Jia’s mansion, so they shouldn’t have let Jia Yuanling get such a chance to harm young master.

No matter whether they hadn’t done their duty or there had been some turns and twists, they absolutely couldn’t be forgiven today.

Soon two servants in gray were shown to Xiafeng. They kneeled down directly before Xia could say something. They begged, “Brother Xia, young master will punish us, won’t he? Please intercede for us to young master! We didn’t mean to leave his side. It was the servant of Jia Yuanling who refused to let us into the yard.”

With a straight face, Xiafeng looked at them coldly and said, “If you have anything to say, enter the house and report to young master.”

Having heard the speech outside faintly, Ling Zhang was not to be swayed yet. When he entered the yard of Jia Yuanling, these two servants were still following him, but they disappeared later. Therefore, he didn’t believe at all there had been no dirty trick.

When it happened in his previous life, he didn’t get time to deal with the two guys because of the disordered situation at that time. It was not until Ling family met with the catastrophe later, and the two guys suddenly ran away without a trace that he realized there was something wrong with them.

“Bring them in.” Ling Zhang shouted coldly.

Waving his hand, Xiafeng called the servants in the yard to escort Dongshan and Dongsong into the hall.

Dongshan and Dongsong dropped to their knees the moment they entered the hall, crying and pleading for forgiveness.

“Young Master, please forgive us. It is not that we didn’t want to be with you. It is the servants of Jia family who stopped us and drove us out of the yard.”

“That’s true, Young Master! We tried to go back to your side and protect you, but the servants of Jia’s family were just too detestable. They called some helpers to stop us.”

“When were you driven out of the yard? Who did it? How many helpers were there, and where were you stopped?” Ling Zhang asked slowly.

“It was…It was Jia Er, Jia Yuanling’s servant, who stopped us.”

“Yes, Yes, Yes!”

“We wanted to dissuade you from drinking too much, but he drove us away.”

“Yes, Yes, Yes!”

“He…He stopped us in the garden behind the corner door.”

“Yes, Yes, Yes!”

“There were five or six helpers, and all of them were servants of the Jia’s family. We were not very familiar with them.”

The other guy was about to nod and echo again, however, Ling Zhang pulled a long face suddenly, and threw the tea cup in his hand onto the ground violently!

The garden behind the corner door? He was in the pavilion of that garden then. He didn’t hear any noise, nor did he notice a damn shadow of man.

“Xiafeng, take someone to the rooms of these two men, and search. Bring any suspicious thing here,” Ling Zhang ordered angrily.

Both of their faces got pale, and they crawled on the ground, “Young Master! Young Master! We really didn’t mean to do it! Believe us.”

Although Xiafeng didn’t figure out any loophole in the two guy’s words, he took someone to search their rooms without hesitation since Ling Zhang had given the order.

Having kicked the door open, Xiafeng shouted with a loud voice, “Search intensively, and don’t ignore even the smallest corner. You will be held responsible if anything is left out.”

The servants who had sent to search the room didn’t dare to be careless, and every corner of the rooms had been rummaged, digging out many things.

Xiafeng looked through these things one by one. The more he looked, the more serious his face got. He finally yelled in a rage, “Take all of these things back!”

These things were piled before Ling Zhang soon, and Xiafeng went up to report, “Young Master, suspicious things have been searched out, and they both have this, a big pouch with a hundred taels of silver inside. The embroidered pattern and stitches of the two pouches look exactly the same, which were clearly designed by the same person, and were hidden in a corner that was difficult to find.”

When Xiafeng was describing, the faces of Dongshan and Dongsong got paler and paler. Both with dense cold sweats running down from forehead, they didn’t dare to raise their head and look at Ling Zhang.

“Young Master, the embroidered pattern and stitches of the pouch look very much like those of the clothes and pouches worn by Jia Yuanling, which are designed by Wang Sanniang, the female embroider of Jia family. In the beginning of the year, Wang Sanniang once presented an embroidery handkerchief to you. Do you still remember, Young Master?” Xiafeng continued.

How could he ever forget it! Now Ling Zhang looked at Dongshan and Dongsong as if he was looking at two dead creatures. A hint of murderous intention flashed in his eyes.

“Spare me, Young Master! Spare me! We won’t do it again! Spare me!” Being the first one to quit resisting, Dongsong cried to beg for forgiveness.

With his face looking pale like a ghost, Dongshan raised his head, and met Ling Zhang’s eyes. Catching the cold eyes, Dongshan trembled all over, and couldn’t hold on any more. “Young Master! Spare me!”

To spare their lives? If he spared them, who would spare the lives of those dozens of people of Ling family in previous life?

“To gag them.” Ling Zhang spoke in a flat tone.

But the flatter his voice was, the more frightened the crowd in the hall got. Even Xiafeng didn’t dare to speak, and he gagged Dongshan and Dongsong along with a couple of servants.

There was a pressing atmosphere pervading in the hall, which weighed so heavily on their hearts that they even didn’t dare to breathe.

“Give each of them a bowl of medicine, and poison them,” said Ling Zhang.

Dongsong collapsed heavily onto the ground, with his head knocking on the ground with a loud sound and the whites of his eyes shown.

“Young Master…” Xiafeng intended to say something, but when his eyes met Ling Zhang’s, he shivered and swallowed back his words.

“Shall I ask your help to do it?” Ling Zhang said in a cold voice.

Xiafeng lowered his head. “No, I dare not. I’ll go get the medicine.”

“Well, don’t disturb master. If you were seen by accident, tell him it is for acute disease,” Ling Zhang said.

“Yes, I got it.” Xiafeng went backwards out of hall with his head lowered.

The four remaining servants bowed their heads. They pressed Dongshan and Dongsong down firmly with their hands, not daring to raise their heads even one time.

Xiafeng was quick in action and soon the medicine was presented after having been decocted.

While carrying the medicine, Xiafeng had recovered his composure. “Young Master, the medicine is ready.”

Seeing Xiafeng had composed himself so quickly, Ling Zhang felt slightly surprised. Xiafeng had followed him for many years, so Xia might tend to behave like him, resembling his former characters to a degree. He thought Xia could have gone to the front hall to lodge a complaint, but Xia not only didn’t do that, but also had already boiled the medicine.

It seemed that he hadn’t found out the other aspect of Xia’s personality.

In this world, no one was really weak. But it was great. Since he was going to take a bloody road, people around him couldn’t be that feeble.

“Force them to take the medicine! Don’t leave even one drop!” Ling Zhang said in a flat tone.

While Dongsong had already fainted without any reaction, Dongshan struggled to stand up. When looking at Ling Zhang, he appeared very frightened as if he was looking at a terrible devil.

As soon as the cloth in his mouth was taken out, Dongshan began to shout loudly. “No, Young Master! Spare me! Spare…”.

He didn’t even finish his words before he was pinched in the cheeks by Xiafeng, and forced to drink down the bowl of medicine.

All his struggles were in vain. The medicine couldn’t be spat out once it was taken.

After a while, Dongshan began to have a reaction. He was not only foaming at the mouth, but also kept trembling all over. After about a cup of tea’s time, he lost his breath completely. He died!

Soon Dongsong died too.

Sitting on the chair, Ling Zhang looked at the scene calmly as if he was not witnessing the death of two lives, but a most ordinary and indifferent performance.

He looked so calm, and his calmness even made others involuntarily tremble.

“Wrap them up and send the bodies to the mass graves.”

Xia shivered slightly. After inhaling deeply, he responded calmly, “Yes.”

“Carry them away.”

Xia led other four servants to carry the two bodies away swiftly.

The moment they walked out of the hall, a blast of wind blew. These five guys including Xiafeng all quivered with cold. It was not until now that they began to realize they had got soaked at the backs. Cold sweat, of course!

Xia raised his hands to have a look. They were shaking.

Every family had that kind of medicine in their homes, which was a covert secret. What was different was that some of them were so cruel that a couple of people were poisoned to death every year. However, as for the Lings, they had never seen anything like what happened today. The medicine was more symbolic of deterrence than something for people to take. Today, it was the first time for Xia to get to know the reaction of people after taking the medicine.

Young master changed! He had followed young master for many years, so he could clearly sense the difference. It was also the reason why he finally chose to follow the order, prepared the medicine and presented it after he had hesitated in the kitchen for quite a while.

His face froze as his thoughts got here. Xia clenched his fists tightly, put his shivering hands at his back, and spoke to the four servants, “You guys have witnessed what happened today. I think you know what to say and what not. You have been sold to the Lings. Since your indentures are in the hands of young master, just shut up your mouths firmly if you don’t want to have a miserable fate like them.”

The four trembled all over, and looked at each other. Gritting their teeth, they nodded. “Don’t worry, brother! We all got it and won’t speak out. Since they have betrayed young master, and put him in such a dangerous situation, it is their retribution.”

“Good! You are very clear about what kind of person our young master is. He has never treated you harshly. The reason why he is so angry this time is that these two servants have touched the bottom line. As long as you behave yourselves, and don’t go over the line, young master won’t do that to you,” said Xia.

“We get it, brother,” responded the four, quite relieved.

“Go! Wrap their bodies with white cloths, and throw them to the mass graves. Remember if anyone catches sight of it, just tell him they died of acute illness,” Xia warned.

“Yes.”

Ling Zhang who was standing far away didn’t turn around to leave until he heard their whole conversation.

Chapter 27: Xiao Feng’s Fear

The two bodies were seen by quite a number of people as they were carried out. Soon the news reached the ears of Ling Xingzhong and Ling Zhaowen.

“Were they thrown into the mass grave?” Ling Xingzhong stared at the steward with sharp eyes.

The steward answered cautiously, “Yes, they had been shipped out.”

Ling Xingzhong had a serious expression on his face. After a while, he said to the steward, “Ask the servants to mind their words. Don’t let them spread the matter out of the house.”

“Yes, I will get right on it,” the steward answered.

The steward’s heart was still fluttering with fear when he thought of the two bodies covered in white cloth. All this while, the young master had given others the impression of being a gentle and modest man. Who would’ve thought that even the young master was capable of such viciousness when driven by desperation?

“Wait a minute.” Ling Xingzhong added before the steward excused himself, “Keep an eye on the servants in our residence, and report any suspicious behavior to me immediately!”

Being Ling Xingzhong’s most trusted assistant and right-hand, the steward knew what Ling Xingzhong had in mind the moment he heard the order. The steward instantly felt a twinge of fear inside his heart. “Yes, my lord. Your wish is my command.”

After the steward left, Ling Xingzhong looked at Ling Zhaowen and said, “Are those two the ones who followed Zhang’er to Jia’s residence today?”

Ling Zhaowen nodded, “Yes, I was going to remind Zhang’er to punish them later. But I didn’t expect that Zhang’er would deal with them so soon.”

Ling Xingzhong sighed, overtaken by somewhat mixed feelings. He would admit that his grandson’s decisive and swift way of handling things were advantageous; at least he wouldn’t be easily bullied by others. But at the same time, Ling Xingzhong was worried that his grandson might lose his cool once sufficiently provoked. “Remember when Zhang’er was still a little boy? He was so timid back then. He once ran into the kitchen and got scared because the cook was trying to slaughter chicken.”

“I understand your worries, father. But you don’t have to worry about Zhang’er. He’s an adult now. From how he handled the matter, we can already see that he’s independent, and someone with the will to act. I do not believe that he is some heartless person who disregards human life. Those two servants are very suspicious. They must have done something unpardonable. And I am certain that it is connected to Jia Yuanling’s attempt to set him up. Those two servants knew no loyalty. They had betrayed their master. Pardoning them would only lead to more disaster in the future. Besides, this is a perfect opportunity to warn all the others around Zhang’er in case they harbor any other evil intention,” Ling Zhaowen said.

Ling Zhaowen knew more about Ling Zhang compared to Ling Xingzhong, especially after he had learned from Ling Zhang about those ominous dreams. That knowledge allowed him to better understand Ling Zhang’s actions.

“If you are still worried, father, then why don’t we get him here and ask him about it?”

Ling Xingzhong pondered over the matter for quite a while, still hesitating. In the end, he decided to let it go for now. “You are right, Zhang’er has grown up,” Ling Xingzhong said. “He’s capable of making his own judgment. We shouldn’t interfere in everything like we used to. But……I still think it is better if you look into the matter privately to see whether those two men had really done something to betray their master.”

“Yes, father,” Ling Zhaowen nodded. “I will get to the bottom of it.”

Ling Zhang had been expecting his grandfather and uncle to question him about his killing two of his servants. Much to his surprise, however, the two elders never send for him even after such a long time. There was no way that he had succeeded in fooling the two elders.

The servants in the courtyard were all quiet out of fear. No one dared to look Ling Zhang in the eye. Instead, they performed their duties carefully as they were afraid that any carelessness on their part would anger Ling Zhang. In other words, they didn’t want to suffer the same fate as Dong Shan and Dong Song.

Ling Zhang didn’t try to offer an explanation to his servants or defend his actions. All he did was ask Xiafeng to keep a close eye on the servants in the yard.

“Young Master, do you think there’s still a traitor among us?” Xiafeng asked.

Ling Zhang had washed up and had changed into comfortable clothes. His hair had been immaculately washed and fell loosely behind his back after being dried.

Ling Zhang was pondering about his grandfather and uncle’s intentions when he heard Xiafeng’s question. “I wouldn’t go so far to say that there’s a traitor among us,” Ling Zhang said. “The problem is that these servants have yet to be properly screened to see which ones are truly loyal. It will easy for others to manipulate the disloyal ones. So, I want you to spend some time to assess them and see which ones we should keep. Come up with a list in a few days.”

The young master was planning to weed out the disloyal ones among the servants!

Deep down, Xiafeng felt like he had just dodged the bullet. He wondered what would have happened if he had chosen to report everything to the elders instead of obeying the young master’s orders to start brewing the medicinal herbs. Would he be among the people laid off by the young master?