The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 370- 372

Chapter 370: The Enthronement Ceremony and a Bowl of Noodle (2)

Yuwen Tong lifted his brows, coming to understand what Ling Zhang meant. Then his hand which was kneading Ling Zhang’s waist instantly slid elsewhere and gave Ling Zhang a little squeeze. “Yeah. This one’s exclusive to me.”

Ling Zhang had originally just wanted to make a sly little dig at Yuwen Tong. It hadn’t crossed his mind that Yuwen Tong would feel him up. He hurriedly took Yuwen Tong’s hands off him and said, “What are you doing? People might see us.”

“They are all outside,” sniffed Yuwen Tong, putting his arms around Ling Zhang again.

Ling Zhang stayed in his embrace for a while and then said, “Okay, that’s enough. We should get going. It’s inappropriate to keep that many people waiting too long.”

It was only then that Yuwen Tong released Ling Zhang. The two of them walked out together and went to the great hall of the Taiqing Palace.

All the courtiers and members of diplomatic corps had arrived. Both the hall and the square in front of the hall were packed with seated guests. Naturally, when Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang entered the hall, all guests rose to their feet and then sunk to their knees to pay their respects.

Ling Zhang lagged a pace behind Yuwen Tong and stood there. Yuwen Tong furrowed his brows and looked over his shoulder at him.

Ling Zhang gave him a gentle push and breathed, “Keep going. Hurry.”

Yuwen Tong stared at him for a few moments before pivoting around to resume progressing.

Ling Zhang unnoticeably let out a sigh of relief and then followed Yuwen Tong to the seat of honor.

“My courtiers, envoys of neighboring countries, you may all rise.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Yuwen Tong sat down in the seat of honor. Ling Zhang, who didn’t want to be obtrusive, settled himself in a right-hand seat.

Although Ling Zhang wasn’t an official, everybody present knew about his identity, so even if he took the seat beside the seat of honor, nobody would dare say anything about it, but Ling Zhang didn’t want to steal Yuwen Tong’s thunder. This night belonged to Yuwen Tong, who was supposed to be the shiniest star, and nobody would be able to pull focus from him.

Of all those present, apart from the civil officials and military officers of all descriptions and members of diplomatic corps of the three foreign countries, there were also some others who were fairly conspicuous – members of the Ling family.

The Ling family were the only ones present who hadn’t been rewarded. Everybody else speculated that they would be rewarded after the wedding ceremony.

Aside from the Ling family, there were yet another two persons who attracted many people’s attention – Ji Yanlai and his nephew, Ji Xiaocong. Ji Yanlai had unnaturally attractive looks, and Ji Xiaocong was fair-skinned and quite adorable, but nobody knew who they were. The courtiers merely heard that the two of them were presently living with the Ling family, that their surname was Ji, that they and Ling Zhang’s maternal grandfather were from the same clan. Nobody knew anything more about them. Their identity and background were both cloaked in a shroud of mystery.

Some people had tried to fish for information, but the Ling family gave those people a perfunctory reply and dismissed them. Even when someone asked Ji Yanlai directly, the latter just pretended not to have heard them.

Some got angry, but they didn’t dare show any sign of their anger, what with the occasion. Most importantly, both Ling Zhang and the emperor were very polite to Ji Yanlai, which further deterred those people from saying anything offensive to Ji Yanlai.

Ling Zhang was somewhat amused by the sight of Ji Yanlai unhurriedly enjoying the food, showing a total disregard for those people who were trying to sound him out or giving him dirty looks. Ji Yanlai didn’t care about any of those things that these people believed he cared about. As there was nothing these people could offer that could pique Ji Yanlai’s interest, it was only too natural that Ji Yanlai was cold-shouldering them.

Apart from Ji Yanlai, there were yet another two people who were also fairly conspicuous – Xu Lingyun and Xiao Ziyan. The two of them were sitting at the same table. Though their conduct was totally socially acceptable, they appeared intimate and in sync, and there was an entirely different air about them. Those who knew their identities were all sneaking surreptitious glances at them, trying to find something to satisfy their curiosity and desire of prying into others’ personal life, but Xu Lingyun and Xiao Ziyan looked calm and composed, utterly unconcerned by those people’s gaze.

And then there were Jiang Xi, Shao Feng and some others of the North-western Army. These people were high-ranking officers of the North-western Army and also Yuwen Tong’s most immediate, most trusted subordinates. They represented the hundreds of thousands of troops of the North-western Army, who were the strongest force at Yuwen Tong’s back.

This banquet was an occasion where old courtiers and newly appointed ones got to know each other, where officials of the four countries communicated, and where various forces sounded each other out.

Those who hadn’t enjoyed themselves to their hearts’ content wouldn’t leave before the end of the banquet.

Ling Zhang sat there for quite some time. He didn’t leave either. For him, this was an opportunity to know all those people at once. While the others were observing him, he was also observing the others.

“Big Brother, His Majesty is looking at you,” said Ling Maomao, glancing at Yuwen Tong who was sitting in the seat of honor and had been gazing at his big brother for quite a while. Then he shifted his gaze to Ling Zhang whose mind seemed to be wandering and gave his arm a gentle push.Read manga at our MangaBob.com

Ling Zhang pulled himself back to the present, subconsciously twisted his head aside to look in the direction of Yuwen Tong, a puzzled expression in his eyes, as though asking Yuwen Tong why he was gazing at him.

Yuwen Tong, seeing Ling Zhang had barely touched the food in front of him and been drinking and dealing with those trying to strike up conversations with him, worried that the wine would take a toll on Ling Zhang’s health, so he sent someone to have those in the kitchen prepare a bowl of noodle soup for Ling Zhang.

As a bowl of hot noodle soup was proffered to Ling Zhang, all those who were on their way to Ling Zhang’s table to make his acquaintance halted, gazing confusedly at the noodle.

Yuwen Tong said, “Don’t just drink wine.”

All the others, “…”

They quietly turned around and returned to their seats.

Clearly the emperor was disgruntled, and whoever dared to urge Childe Ling to drink wine would be working against the emperor, and to work against a newly enthroned emperor was no doubt suicidal.

Looking at the bowl of noodle, Ling Zhang pulled a wry face. How was he supposed to eat when everybody present was staring squarely at him?

Yuwen Tong withdrew his eyes, which then slowly swept across all those in the hall.

The courtiers, all of whom were observant and could take the hint, immediately looked away from Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang, “…”

Ling Maomao took a couple of sniffs and said, “This smells like the noodle my mother makes. Who made this, Big Brother?”

Ling Zhang took a slurp from his bowl and then replied, “A cook of the Infinite Fortune Palace.”

The “cook of the Infinite Fortune Palace” sitting in the seat of honor twisted his head aside and glanced at Ling Zhang. It was after he saw Ling Zhang eating noodle with loud slurps that his face softened.Read manga at our MangaBob.com

Yuwen Tong had started making the soup base very early in the morning. He had instructed the cooks to keep watch on the fire and leave the soup base to simmer. Also, he had made the noodle from dough all by himself when he’d gone back to change his clothes. As regards the chopped green onion and the fried egg, it had indeed been a cook in the Infinite Fortune Palace who prepared them. These two things, after being made, lost their original flavor easily, and there was nothing Yuwen Tong could do about it.

Watching his big brother eating the noodle with good relish, Ling Maomao swallowed hard, and then he quietly twisted his head around to enjoy the courses in front of him. Although the smell of the noodle was tantalizing, these dishes made by imperial chefs were very delicious as well. Ling Maomao felt that it was a little dumb of his big brother to choose a bowl of noodle over a tableful of delicacies.

Ling Zhang, who Ling Maomao believed was a little stupid, finished the bowl of noodle and the soup. Feeling comfortable, he kneaded his belly. He had broken out in a sweat due to the heat but looked in much better spirits.

Seeing he had finished the noodle, Yuwen Tong instructed a servant to take the empty bowl away.

All officials present were astonished by the emperor’s public display of affection, and even Ling Zhang’s family members were somewhat embarrassed, having mixed feelings.

Fu Caiwei secretly gave a chuckle and said, “This is a good thing, isn’t it? His Majesty cares about Zhang’er so much. Now we have nothing to worry about.”

Watching Ling Zhang kneading his belly, Ling Zhaowen had a complex expression in his eyes. “His Majesty is overindulging him. It’s inappropriate to behave this way on an occasion like this.”

Fu Caiwei smiled, “What’s important is that they have a good life and are happy.”

Chapter 371: I’m Going to Take That for a Yes

After some time, Ling Zhang who had finished a bowl of noodle began to feel sleepy. He sat there for another few moments and his eyes became somewhat unfocused, but he still tried his best to keep his eyelids from drooping.

Yuwen Tong’s attention had been on Ling Zhang all along. Though his eyes didn’t seem to be fixed on Ling Zhang all the time, he still immediately noticed the dreamy look on Ling Zhang’s face. He knew Ling Zhang well and could tell without a second thought that Ling Zhang had had his fill of food and drink and was now sleepy.

Yuwen Tong looked out of the hall into the sky to gauge the time. This banquet had lasted long enough, and it wouldn’t be the last one. During the next few days, there would be several other banquets, so Yuwen Tong rose to his feet.

The moment he stood up, all the others naturally looked in his direction.

“I feel sleepy, so I’m going to call it a night. You may continue enjoying this banquet.”

“Have a safe trip home, Your Majesty,” chorused all the officials.

Yuwen Tong descended the stairs, walked up to Ling Zhang and gave him a wink.

Ling Zhang, whose drowsiness was instantly driven away by the officials’ reply in unison, saw Yuwen Tong’s wink and hastened to stand up to follow him. Before leaving, he told Miao Shiba to take some men and escort his family back to the Ling Mansion safely.

“Consider it done, Childe Ling,” said Miao Shiba.

Ling Zhang drew abreast of Yuwen Tong and the two of them left the great hall together.

After leaving the great hall, they kept walking forward for a distance, leaving the babble of voices behind them. As he breathed the fresh air, Ling Zhang’s mind felt much clearer.

Seeing Ling Zhang was slowing down, Yuwen Tong turned around and took his hand. “Hurry up. The night wind is chill. You drank a lot of wine, and you might catch a cold if you’re exposed to this wind for too long.”

Ling Zhang caught up with him and they progressed shoulder to shoulder. “You drank a lot of wine as well, didn’t you?” he said.

“Hey.” He suddenly raised his voice and observed happily, “Although it’s been a tiring day, I think we both enjoyed ourselves a lot.”

At the sight of Ling Zhang’s starry eyes which were gleaming with delight, intense longing started to flood Yuwen Tong in waves. In a low and deep voice, he replied, “Yeah.”Read manga at our MangaBob.com

Then he reached out an arm, swept Ling Zhang into his tight embrace and began kissing him uncontrollably.

Seeing this, the guards behind them hastened to back away.

Ling Zhang gave a chuckle and put his arms around Yuwen Tong’s neck, his lips parted…

Yuwen Tong’s eyes instantly became feverish with desire. He quickly stretched out his other arm and scooped Ling Zhang up. Carrying him on the crooks of his arms, he rapidly returned to the Infinite Fortune Palace.

The two of them were both quite weary, but fatigue was never a problem for them when they were turned on.

…

After a long sex, the two of them lay motionlessly on the bed, holding each other.

Ling Zhang was half-asleep. Cuddling him, Yuwen Tong was still kissing his sweaty cheek. He moved Ling Zhang’s forelock aside and lightly wiped the sweat from his brow and the corners of his eyes. “I anticipate the wedding ceremony more than I did the enthronement ceremony.”

At the banquet earlier tonight, Ling Zhang had refused to sit beside him, so he could only gaze at him and hadn’t been able to touch Ling Zhang from start to finish.

“Um,” Ling Zhang dreamily mumbled. In fact, he didn’t even know what he was agreeing to, let alone what Yuwen Tong had just said.

Yuwen Tong gave a hollow chuckle. “So you agree.”

“Let’s get married tomorrow…”

Ling Zhang had no idea what kind of suggestion he had just groggily made that he would bitterly regret having made later. It was probably because he heard Yuwen Tong mention something about him anticipating the wedding ceremony more that he subconsciously said these words.

Though aware that holding the wedding ceremony the next day was not workable, Yuwen Tong still rejoiced in the knowledge that Ling Zhang looked forward to their wedding as much as he did.

“Back at the time when my grandfather and my parents passed away one after another, I believed that providence must dislike me very much to have had subjected me to that many pains, but now I’m really grateful to providence for sending you to me. I’m luckier in this incarnation than I was in the last one,” muttered Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang had fallen into a fairly deep sleep and couldn’t hear a single word of Yuwen Tong’s.

“So you must stay by my side at all times. You must not leave or walk too far away from me.”

“Um.”

A feeble and faint grunt was heard and with that Yuwen Tong immediately looked down at Ling Zhang, but the latter was not awake at all, and he’d given that grunt in a completely unconscious way. It was so light as though it had never existed.Read manga at our MangaBob.com

“I’ll take that for a yes.”

Yuwen Tong carefully pecked him, shifted his position, closed his eyes and soon fell asleep as well.

There were a whole bunch of matters he would have to wake up early in the morning to attend to.

…

In the Ling Mansion.

Ling Zhaowu was sitting in his courtyard house, drinking alone.

Ling Zhaowen walked inside. “You’re still awake, Big Brother.”

Ling Zhaowu said, “It’s pretty late. Why did you come here instead of keeping Caiwei company?”

Ling Zhaowen stepped to the table, took a seat and replied, “Because I figured you might not be able to sleep tonight, what with what happened at the banquet.”

Ling Zhaowu lifted his eyebrows and looked at him. “How do you know that?”

Ling Zhaowen responded, “Apart from anything else, we’re blood brothers. Besides, I watched Zhang’er grew up, and I’ve been treating him like my own son. I had a hard job bringing him up, and now, Yuwen Tong’s taking him away from me.”

Ling Zhaowu gave a chuckle, pouring his brother a small cup of wine. “You want to have a drink with me?”

Ling Zhaowen sniffed at the wine. “This is almost as good as the wine they served at the banquet tonight. Why have I never seen you drink this kind of wine before?”

“I bought it only earlier this day. People of the Taibai Tavern preserved it for years and have just taken it out of their wine cellar,” explained Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhaowen took a sip of the wine and savored it with obvious relish. “Brother, it surprises me you’re so familiar with the capital city. I asked some people who’d lived here for a long time, and I found that even they had no knowledge of many of the things you know about.”

Ling Zhaowu asked, “So you’re here to investigate me?”

Ling Zhaowen said, “We’re brothers. Of course I’m not here to investigate you. Just tell me the truth.”

Ling Zhaowu said, “Well, I sort of have been to this city before. I heard about some of those things on my way here. The one who told me those things was a native of this city who was born and grew up here. There are many things unknown to out-of-towners. I just went there to try my luck, and it turned out I was in luck. Now I can see that that person didn’t lie to me.”

Ling Zhaowen observed, “It would seem fate was kind to you, Brother.”

Ling Zhaowu sighed, “If that was the case, I wouldn’t have been separated from Zhang’er and you guys for that long.”

Ling Zhaowen said, “But our family has been reunited anyhow, and now I want nothing more than to see you and Zhang’er have a good life.”

Ling Zhaowu raised his hand and clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m not worthy of a brother like you.”

Ling Zhaowen didn’t like this remark and told him off for it. After that, he added, “If you say something like this again, I’ll never have another drink with you.”

Ling Zhaowu said, “I apologize, Brother. Don’t be mad.”

Ling Zhaowen was astonished. Many years ago, when the two of them had been little boys, Ling Zhaowu had always coaxed him this way whenever he’d been angry. Recalling this, Ling Zhaowen felt a twinge of sadness. Finding this both funny and annoying, he said, “It surprises me you still remember that.”

“How could I forget it?” said Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhaowen sighed, “Time really flies. Zhang’er is a grown man now, and after some time he’ll be the empress of the Great Wen. Sometimes I couldn’t help wondering whether this is a good thing for him or not. Previously, the reason why we insisted he marry Yuwen Tong was because at that time Yuwen Tong was a marshal, a military officer, but now things have changed so fast, and I’m not so sure we did the right thing.”

Ling Zhaowu said, “I could tell what kind of person Yuwen Tong is, and I believe we can trust him to take good care of Zhang’er.”

Ling Zhaowen naturally also knew that Yuwen Tong was trustworthy. It was the emperorship that he didn’t trust. Yuwen Tong’s identity had changed, and a lot of things had changed with it.

“Time will prove everything, and no matter what, we’ll always be at Zhang’er’s back,” said Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhaowen gave a smile. “You’re right. It’s no good thinking about these things at this point in time.”

“You should go back. It’s late. Caiwei must’ve got worried,” said Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhaowen gave a bob of the head, gulped down the rest of his wine and rose to his feet. “I came here with the intention to offer you a few words of comfort, but I ended up being comforted by you, Brother.”

Ling Zhaowu said with a smile, “I’m your big brother after all.”

Smiling, Ling Zhaowen took his leave. Ling Zhaowu thought about something for quite a while and eventually returned to his room.

…

This was a night when the whole nation joined in the jubilation. The night market of the capital city lasted the whole night, and the next day most people overslept.

Ling Zhang, who hadn’t gone to the night market to have fun but had stayed in bed having fun with Yuwen Tong until very late, was no exception.

The sun was high up in the sky already when he opened his eyes. At the sight of the light, he came to know that he had probably slept until noon once again.

Yuwen Tong wasn’t in, presumably busy dealing with government affairs in the hall.

For the moment they were still staying in the Infinite Fortune Palace, but many daily necessities had been replaced with new ones worthy of emperorship.

Ling Zhang glanced around the bedchamber which struck him as both familiar and strange, scratched his head and then got out of bed to wash and change.

On guard duty in the doorway were still Yuwen Tong’s personal bodyguards. None of those eunuchs and palace ladies would be given the permission to enter the imperial bedchamber until all arrangements were finalized.

This allowed Ling Zhang more freedom and quiet. Miao Shiba and the others on duty outside didn’t enter to disturb him. It was shortly before lunchtime that Miao Shiba walked inside and asked, “Would you like me to have them serve lunch, Childe Ling?”

“Okay. I do feel hungry. Where’s Yuwen Tong?”

“Sire is still in the consultation hall. There’s another banquet in the Taiqing Palace this noon, so Sire is not coming back for lunch. He wanted me to tell you not to eat only meat, that you need to have more vegetable,” replied Miao Shiba.

The corners of Ling Zhang’s mouth twitched in spite of himself. This was so embarrassing. “What’s the banquet about?”

“It’s about discussing the terms of the peace agreement with the diplomatic corps of the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom,” answered Miao Shiba.

“Haven’t they negotiated about it already?” Ling Zhang was puzzled.

“Originally a peace accord was supposed to be negotiated in Youzhou, but Jiang Ke and the others managed to delay it until after the enthronement, so the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom instructed their diplomatic corps to do it right after sending their congratulations to Sire,” explained Miao Shiba.

Ling Zhang inclined his head. He had been so busy lately that he had almost been knocked senseless and forgotten these things.

“What kind of terms did they agree on?”

Miao Shiba responded, “I don’t know anything about that for the moment. Sire said that he’ll definitely have the Luohai Kingdom pay dearly for their deeds, that others matters can wait, for currently our first priority is to have our country recover from the aftermath of the war, and we’ll launch an attack on them when we’re at full strength again.”

Miao Shiba disclosed such a shocking message in a very calm tone of voice, and Ling Zhang almost choked on food because of it. Though Miao Shiba knew that Yuwen Tong had such a plan, saying it out without any misgivings made Ling Zhang feel that Miao Shiba was quite a daredevil.

“Okay, I see. Have you guys had lunch? If you haven’t, you may go and get something to eat. I could use some quiet,” said Ling Zhang.

“Yes, Childe Ling,” answered Miao Shiba, intending to leave.

“Wait. The diplomatic corps of the two countries are here. What about the others? They still haven’t come to the palace?” asked Ling Zhang.

“They’ll come in the afternoon. Sire told them to sober themselves up first and come to the palace in the afternoon,” replied Miao Shiba.

Ling Zhang looked out of the window into the sky to gauge the time. Recalling that he had slept until noon and was in no position to judge other people, he lowered his head to eat, making no more remarks.

Chapter 372: The Jiang Family’s Decision

After agreeing on the terms of the peace treaty with the diplomatic corps of the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom, Yuwen Tong who was in a pretty good mood returned to the Infinite Fortune Palace.

At the sight of his face, Ling Zhang came to know that the negotiations were fruitful. “So what were the terms? They accepted all of them?”

Yuwen Tong told him the terms and added, “They agreed to all of them.”

While listening, Ling Zhang felt rather sorry for the Wan Kingdom’s and the Luohai Kingdom’s emperors. “With this agreement, I think they’ll have to lay low even if they don’t want to, and they won’t be able to recover from the after-effects of these terms of yours any time soon.”

Harsh as these terms were, the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom had actually accepted them, which showed that this defeat had indeed rendered them incapable of waging another war. Also, Yuwen Tong had acceded to the throne and put everything under control, and the emperors of the other two countries began to be afraid of him.

“The more willingly they accepted the terms, the quicker they will tear the agreement up when they decide to go back on their words,” said Yuwen Tong, who knew about the situation very well. The Wan Kingdom had ripped up a peace accord before, and their promises meant nothing to them. The Luohai Kingdom seemed to be peace-loving, but they had still resorted to ruthless back-stabbing at a crucial juncture. “There’s no doubt they would do the same thing again once they think they’re ready. As a result, we also have to speed things up, revive the economy and restore our army to its full strength, but from the vantage point of the present, they would only fulfill approximately half of these terms. After all, they’ll want to stall for time.”Read manga at our MangaBob.com

They’d only fulfill half of the terms? No wonder they’d agreed so readily. Ling Zhang coldly gave a snort.

The matter of the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom handled, a lot of courtiers entered the imperial palace in the afternoon, including the Right Prime Minister, Zhao Zheng, Yuwen Feng, Old Master Ji and… Jiang Shennian.

It had been this noon that people of the Jiang family’s house arrest was lifted. A lot of people had almost forgotten about the existence of this family, which indicated how much time could do, because it hadn’t really been long since the Jiang family had been placed under house arrest.

When Jiang Shennian showed up in the imperial palace, he struck people as a lot thinner than before, but his back was still quite straight, and he was still sure-footed.

Chu Liangyan’s eyebrows contracted at the sight of him. Previously Jiang Shennian’s authority and influence had weighed him down like a mountain, leaving him barely able to breathe, and it hadn’t been until the Jiang family and the Gu family were brought down that he was rid of the burden. It could be said that the two of them were irreconcilable foes.

However, Chu Liangyan was also fully aware that no matter how much he disliked Jiang Shennian, the latter would undoubtedly make a political comeback sooner or later. Back at the time when the Jiang family had been under house arrest, Chu Liangyan had hoped that Jiang Shennian would lose his cool and do something stupid, but to his surprise, Jiang Shennian had actually managed to retain his composure and stay put, stating his stand clearly.

Apart from disappointment, Chu Liangyan had also had some admiration – though not much – for Jiang Shennian’s mental endurance, believing that a man like this wouldn’t be defeated easily.

“Jiang Shennian, a guilty servant of yours, pays his respects to Your Majesty.”

“You may rise.”

“My gratitude, Your Majesty,” said Jiang Shennian, straightening his back, “but I don’t dare rise to my feet. What with my momentary confusion, I almost made a serious mistake. Your Majesty magnanimously released the Jiang family earlier this day. I’m deeply indebted to you and at the same time feel terribly guilty. I’m really ashamed to stand up.”

“I know what you mean, Old Master Jiang, but you’re a smart man, and you know better than to believe that staying on your knees would be enough to express your gratitude and remorse,” said Yuwen Tong matter-of-factly.

Jiang Shennian’s whole body tensed briefly and with that he hastened to rise to his feet and said, “I don’t dare have any ulterior motive, Your Majesty. I came here for two reasons. The first one is to kneel before you and thank you for sparing my families’ lives, and the second one is to express the Jiang family’s determination to dedicate all our energies throughout our lives to serving the Great Wen and Your Majesty wholeheartedly so as to repay Your Majesty for your kindness and atone for our crimes.”Read manga at our MangaBob.com

“I find your words somewhat confusing, Old Master Jiang. The Jiang family has lost its influence, and Jiang Chengfeng is not fit to take on any important responsibilities. Who else of the Jiang family could possibly do something for the Great Wen? You? A geriatric?” said Chu Liangyan scathingly.

Yuwen Tong just watched in silence, making no remarks.

The others were also watching and listening, waiting to see what bargaining chip Jiang Shennian would show, but surprisingly, they heard Jiang Shennian reply, “I’m indeed on the verge of senility, and I don’t dare become a burden to Your Majesty, but I worked in the Ministry of Penalties for many years, and I have some experience in settling lawsuits. I heard that Your Majesty has ordered retrials of all the cases in all cities the verdicts of which are not beyond reasonable doubt with the intention to get justice for wronged victims. With your permission, I’d like to go to the yamen of a provincial city where my experience in settling lawsuits is needed. I’m willing to do whatever I can to help the wronged victims make appeals so as to display Your Majesty’s kind-heartedness, pacify local residents and assist local officials in performing their duties of improving people’s livelihood.”

Jiang Shennian was volunteering to be appointed to a provincial city? This was not something he would normally do. However, Yuwen Tong’s and Old Master Ji’s countenance remained unchanged, as though totally unsurprised by Jiang Shennian’s decision.

A wily old fox who had been in official circles for many years, Jiang Shennian saw the reaction of everybody present out of the corner of his eye. As he noticed Yuwen Tong’s face which was composed and utterly free of surprise, he inwardly let out a sigh, feeling that Yuwen Tong was indeed no common person, that it was a very natural thing that Yuwen Tong had succeeded in taking the throne from the Zhou family.

“I heard about your ability to crack cases and your discernment some time ago. Still, are you sure you’re in a fit state to handle the workload?” said Yuwen Tong blandly.

Jiang Shennian replied, “I think I still have another couple of years to live. Otherwise I would never have dared volunteer such services. Please trust me, Your Majesty.”

“I know what you mean now, Old Master Jiang. I’ll think about it,” said Yuwen Tong.

After a few moments’ astonishment, Chu Liangyan’s mind started racing. He had a general idea of why Jiang Shennian was doing this. He was making concessions in order to gain advantages.

“Old Master Jiang, are you planning to walk away and leave your large family in your son’s incompetent hands? As far as I know, your son has quite some personal ambition.”

Many people knew that Jiang Chengfeng had insisted the Jiang family take the Eighth Prince’s side.

Without the slightest change in his countenance, Jiang Shennian responded, “I’ve given up on that good-for-nothing son of mine. In fact, I’ve already sent him to watch over the mausoleum of my ancestors, and I won’t allow him to come back until he truly realizes his mistakes.”

Guarding the mausoleum? The Jiang family’s ancestral home was in Cangzhou, but it’d been several generations since they’d moved to the capital city, and they barely had any relatives in Cangzhou. In addition, what with the previous political turbulence, the Jiang family had lost all their contacts in Cangzhou, and the popular uprising in Cangzhou had almost reduced the whole city to rubble. Sending Jiang Chengfeng to Cangzhou to watch over a mausoleum was no different from sending him into exile.

Jiang Shennian had actually had the heart to do that?

“After the rebellion in Cangzhou, I heard that our ancestral mausoleum was damaged. By watching over the mausoleum, he’s merely doing what he should do as a member of the Jiang family. Also, it’s an opportunity for him to introspect in front of our ancestors,” said Jiang Shennian.

Chu Liangyan felt that Jiang Shennian was rather heartless. “If so, who’s going to take care of the rest of your family?”

Surprisingly, Jiang Shennian gave a smile. “I’ve put my grandson Jiang Yu in complete charge of the Jiang family. Yu’er is sensible and intelligent. I can relax safe in the knowledge that the Jiang family is in his hands.”

After saying this, he said to Yuwen Tong, “Your Majesty, I have another request. This may make me seem thick-skinned, but with your permission, I’d like to have my grandson Jiang Yu serve Childe Ling as his attendant. Childe Ling saved Yu’er’s life twice, which is a favor so great that the Jiang family would never be able to return a small fraction of it no matter how hard we try. I only hope my grandson would have a chance to serve Childe Ling so that he could repay Childe Ling as much as possible.”

This time even Old Master Ji was somewhat amazed.

Yuwen Tong’s face slightly changed, but the look in his eyes stayed the same. He looked at Jiang Shennian and asked, “Do you know what you are doing, Old Master Jiang?”

Jiang Shennian sank to his knees. “I do, Your Majesty. Childe Ling saved Yu’er’s life twice, and Yu’er should repay the favor with his life. I want him to serve Childe Ling because it’d be an opportunity for him to repay Childe Ling. Still, I don’t dare insist. It’s to be decided by Your Majesty and Childe Ling.”

Chu Liangyan gazed at Jiang Shennian, unable to believe what he’d just heard. Was Jiang Shennian out of his mind? He was actually sending his own grandson to be an attendant? Was he soft in the head?

A thoughtful expression appeared on Old Master Ji’s face. He fixed Jiang Shennian kneeling on the ground a stare, a flicker crossing his eyes.

He was such a wily old fox.

After a few moments’ silence, Yuwen Tong asked, “Where’s Jiang Yu?”

“He’s waiting outside.”

“Call him in.”

Soon Jiang Yu was summoned to the great hall. He appeared tall and upright, taciturn and poised, bearing little resemblance to the childe Yuwen Tong had once met in the Imperial College who’d been gorgeously dressed and skittish-looking.

He walked to the side of Jiang Shennian, got down on his knees and prostrated himself. “Your humble subject Jiang Yu pays his respects to Your Majesty.”

His movements were neat and clean.

Yuwen Tong sized him up and then instructed, “Straighten your back.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Jiang Yu answered and straightened his back to look Yuwen Tong in the face.

On that day Yuwen Tong had seen some kind of infatuation for him in Jiang Yu’s eyes, but now the only thing he could see in those eyes was calmness. There was no sign of the infatuation with him whatsoever. Also, the reason why Jiang Yu was looking Yuwen Tong in the face seemed to be that he wanted Yuwen Tong to know about his true thoughts.

Yuwen Tong inquired, “Did you hear what your grandfather just said? Is this what you truly want as well?”

“My thoughts on this matter are in line with my grandfather’s, Your Majesty. Childe Ling saved my life twice. In order to repay the favor, I’m willing to do anything for Childe Ling, including giving up my life,” replied Jiang Yu in a matter-of-fact but earnest tone of voice.

Yuwen Tong looked from him to Jiang Shennian, lapsing into silence. He made no reply and the others couldn’t tell what he was thinking. For a few moments the hall was very quiet.

“Tell Childe Ling to come here.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

A guard on duty outside immediately went to the Infinite Fortune Palace, found Ling Zhang and told him what had happened in the great hall.

Ling Zhang was perplexed. “Jiang Yu?”

“Yes. His Majesty requests your presence in the hall,” said the guard.

Ling Zhang slightly furrowed his brows. Why was Jiang Yu doing this? He had indeed saved Jiang Yu’s life, but given the personal history between the two of them, Ling Zhang believed that it was impossible for Jiang Yu to subject himself to such humiliation.

Bemused, Ling Zhang went to the great hall and saw Jiang Shennian and Jiang Yu both of whom were on their knees. Ling Zhang paused fleetingly and then walked straight past them, making towards Yuwen Tong. “What is it you want to see me about?”

“Jiang Yu, tell Childe Ling what you want to do,” said Yuwen Tong, looking in Jiang Yu’s direction.

Ling Zhang had no choice but to pivot around to face Jiang Yu, and with that he saw what Jiang Yu looked like at this moment and was amazed by how much Jiang Yu had changed.

“Childe Ling, I’m deeply indebted to you for saving my life twice, and I’m willing to be your servant for the rest of my life to return the favor. I’ll do anything you want me to do. Wanting in ability and shallow in knowledge as I am, I grew up in the Jiang family and have picked up a few skills over the years. I’m sure there are a lot of things I could help you deal with. If you take me as your attendant, I’ll do whatever you tell me to, put your needs before everything and do your bidding only. I won’t do anything against your interests even if His Majesty orders me to,” enunciated Jiang Yu, his earnest eyes on Ling Zhang.