The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 76- 78

Chapter 76: Unblocking Meridians

Ling Zhang was deeply shocked by Yuwen Tong. After browsing them carefully, he found that Yuwen Tong had drawn diagrams of three formations, which shocked him even further.

“I picked these three formation diagrams which are relatively suitable for them to begin with. I also offered some advice on their respective positions for your reference. You may have a try.”

Ling Zhang resumed browsing quickly and did find more detailed diagrams, on which there were not only positions of all twelve security guards but also annotations.

“You…”

“Just ask if you have any questions.”

Ling Zhang lost his tongue for quite a while in shock. He had thought that it would be amazing enough if Yuwen Tong was able to complete the formation diagram half of which was missing, and which he had only had a glimpse at, but remarkably, Yuwen Tong gave him three. He had thought that these three formation diagrams were all Yuwen Tong had managed to deduce, but Yuwen Tong said that these three were the ones he picked for him, which meant that he knew more than these. Now Yuwen Tong was fully acquainted with the security of his home, and there were even detailed positions of guards and annotations.

Was this man really only a human?

In shock, he even had a feeling that what he had known about Yuwen Tong so far was merely the tip of the iceberg.

“I… How come you know so well about the security of my home?”

“I can see everything people in the Guards’ yard do from the rooftops of the Green Bamboo Mansion.”

The expression on Ling Zhang’s face instantly turned a little unnatural. So Yuwen Tong could see distinctly what he did in the Guards’ yard if he wanted to?

Did he still have any privacy in front of Yuwen Tong?

“I heard that you’d got all required herbs ready. Start having medicated bath to unblock your meridians tonight. You’ll surely feel the difference when you practice kung fu tomorrow.”

Ling Zhang nodded faintly stiffly and said, “Okay.”

Yuwen Tong’s suggestions were more penetrating than the plan Ling Zhang had thought of by his own. The longer Ling Zhang read them, the more strongly he felt the gap between him and Yuwen Tong.

“I’ll have them try these a few days later.”

Judging by how detailed these things were, Yuwen Tong must have spent a lot of time on them. Though having known about the formations, Yuwen Tong could have kept it a secret from him, but he still chose to tell him and even offered him help. He owed Yuwen Tong yet another favor.

On that night, he was ready to unblock his meridians.

Before this day, Ling Zhang had already specially had his warm-room (A small room connected to a bigger one, where a stove is set to heat rooms.) converted into a bathroom. Since medicated bath required constant water temperature, he had some craftsmen build a bathing pool in the room, under which there was a stove chamber connected to the outside, so that servants could heat the bathing pool to ensure fixed water temperature.

Herbs were put into the bathing pool following the proportions given by Yuwen Tong. As he walked into the bathroom, he was greeted by a strong smell of medicinal materials as well as billows of warm steam.

“Should I take the medicated bath first or… “

“I’ll use my internal energy to help unblock your meridians while you’re soaking in the water.”

Yuwen Tong followed him inside and started undressing.

Ling Zhang stood transfixed for quite a while.

“What are you waiting for? Don’t waste the medicine. Hurry,” Yuwen Tong urged him.

He didn’t seem to have any indecent thoughts at all. Ling Zhang couldn’t help feeling that he was being unduly timid, so he also took off his coat.

Yuwen Tong turned aside and flicked a glance at him. It seemed casual, but actually his eyes had already swept through Ling Zhang’s whole body, and with his extraordinarily good memory, he had quickly memorized every detail.

“Take off some more clothes. To make it more convenient for my internal energy to run through your meridians and easier for you to absorb active constituent of the medicine, you should wear only underpants. It’s best if you take off all your clothes.”

Take off all clothes? Ling Zhang’s fingers on his clothes froze. “I think I’ll keep my pants on.”

By comparison, keeping his pants on was more acceptable to him.

There was a disguised regretful look in the depths of Yuwen Tong’s eyes, but he felt it was good enough to have Ling Zhang undress until he had only underpants left.

Ling Zhang clenched his teeth, trying hard to make himself look natural. When he had only underpants left, he quickly stepped into the bathing pool and sat down cross-legged. Billowing water vapor blocked his view, so his embarrassment partially abated.

But for Yuwen Tong, the vapor was no obstacle. He could still distinctly see Ling Zhang’s lean but muscular body. Maybe because of his recent strenuous workout, 17-year-old Ling Zhang didn’t look thin at all, his shoulders broad, his hip narrow, his skin white, and there was no flab in his arms or any other parts. He affected a calmness, but what he didn’t know was that the blushes on his face had already betrayed him.

Even the look in Yuwen Tong’s eyes changed. He also undressed himself and stepped into the bathing pool, wearing only a pair of underpants.

Concentrating on relaxing and making himself look natural, Ling Zhang didn’t notice that Yuwen Tong, who didn’t need to absorb the medicine, had also undressed and was wearing only underpants.

He didn’t even turn his head back, so he missed the chance to see how good a figure Yuwen Tong had, which was quite a pity in Yuwen Tong’s view.

After sitting down in the bathing pool, Ling Zhang was right before him. Yuwen Tong had always known that he had been growing fonder and fonder of Ling Zhang all along. This scene in front of him was an intense stimulation for him.

Though having always had excellent self-control, he also had to secretly give himself a warning to keep his cool.

As Ling Zhang sat down in the bathing pool, medicine contained in the slightly hot, chest-deep water began to seep into his body from all sides giving him an inexplicably pleasant feeling.

A palm was pressed against his back and Ling Zhang’s heart lurched on this physical contact.

“Stay cool and concentrate your mind. You’ll feel a little uncomfortable later on. Just hang in there.”

After these words, Yuwen Tong became serious. He confirmed that Ling Zhang was ready, and then mobilized his internal energy and slowly sent it into Ling Zhang’s body. His Qi started circulating in Ling Zhang’s meridians bit by bit.

Ling Zhang began to feel numb, itchy and painful all over. When that mysterious stream of warmth went through some joints of meridians, the pain was so unbearable that he felt as if numerous ants were gnawing at his heart. Ling Zhang’s face blushed scarlet and he gritted his teeth against the agony.

Those positions were probably those partially blocked acupoints in his meridians network that Yuwen Tong had mentioned. Yuwen Tong was using his internal energy to slowly expand them, which was definitely not an enjoyable process.

Ling Zhang was sweating buckets. As the stream of warmth circulated inside him, the medicine contained in the water began to permeate into his body again, which made the numbness, itch and pains intensify. Blue veins stood out on his forehead.

Yuwen Tong was also sweating profusely. He knew Ling Zhang was in anguish, but he didn’t pause for a single instant.

Vapor in the bathroom was getting thicker and thicker. When it thickened to a certain degree, it suddenly began dissolving at a gentle pace. The medicine carried by the vapor was slowly absorbed by Ling Zhang worming its way into his body.

As time passed bit by bit, Ling Zhang’s mouth was filled with taste of blood due to tightly gritted teeth. Fighting against agony had cost him so much mental strength that his consciousness began to blur. The only thing he could feel was the mixture of numbness, itch and pain.

The water was gradually becoming cleaner. When it became completely clean, Yuwen Tong finally stopped.

Ling Zhang’s tense nerves abruptly relaxed and he blacked out falling backwards.

Yuwen Tong hurriedly stretched out his hand and caught him. Heedless of the fact that both of them were nearly naked, he held unconscious Ling Zhang in his arms, stood up from the bathing pool, and took a piece of soft thick cotton cloth to wrap him up before carrying him out of the warm-room.

The moment Xia Feng waiting outside saw Yuwen Tong, who was half naked and holding Ling Zhang in his arms, walk out, he immediately hurried over and asked in anxiety, “What happened to my childe?”

Yuwen Tong glanced at him and said, “The medicine was too potent for him to withstand and he passed out. Get him some clean clothes.”

Xia Feng was unwilling to leave, since he didn’t know Yuwen Tong well enough to place trust in him.

“Hurry,” Yuwen Tong looked at him with piercing eyes.

Xia Feng felt a shiver from head to toe. Eventually, he still obeyed and went to look for clean clothes for Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong carried Ling Zhang into an inner room, put him down on the bed and wiped him dry with a piece of cloth.

When Xia Feng returned, he quickly covered Ling Zhang with a quilt and said with a sullen look on his face, “Put the clothes down and get out.”

“My lord, please let me take care of my childe.”

“Get lost.”

Xia Feng had an intense feeling of pressure once again, which was even more intense than the one he had had a while before, and which nearly caused him to lose his footing. Gritting his teeth, he eventually chose to draw back step by step, but he stopped in the corridor between the inner room and the ante-room, silently standing there staring fixedly at the bed behind a curtain in the distance.

Naturally, Yuwen Tong had sensed that Xia Feng didn’t really leave the room. But there was a distance between them as well as a curtain which made it impossible for him to have a clear view of the inner room, so he said no more.

He lifted the quilt, took off Ling Zhang’s wet pants and after that he was briefly transfixed, unable to move his eyes.

After a while he took a piece of cotton cloth, wiped Ling Zhang dry, quickly clothed him in clean clothes and tucked him in.

He removed Ling Zhang’s hair stick, reached out and felt his forehead as well as his pulse. After confirming that everything was steady, he stuffed Ling Zhang’s hand back under the quilt, stood up and left the bedside.

When walking past Xia Feng, he said, “Keep a close eye on him tonight. If anything happens, come to the Green Bamboo Mansion to inform me immediately.”

“Yes,” Xia Feng slightly lowered his head and answered.

Yuwen Tong retrieved his clothes from the bathroom and left.

Xia Feng hastily walked to the bed and checked Ling Zhang. It was not until he confirmed that Ling Zhang was fine that he exhaled in relief and wiped the sweat off his brow.

Just now, the aura about that man was so horrifying that he could barely bear it. His young master would surely be angry with him the next day if he knew that he was so useless. Fortunately, he had eventually managed to withstand it.

Well aware that he couldn’t afford to let anything go awry, Xia Feng stayed on the bed in the outer room keeping watch at night himself.

After returning to the Green Bamboo Mansion, Yuwen Tong took a bath, changed his clothes, picked up a document on the desk and started reading, sparing part of his attention for the room next door.

It was fairly cold at night. Yao Yi put a thick cape on him and said, “Marshal, let me keep watch here. I promise I’ll inform you if anything happens to childe. Why don’t you go and have some sleep?”

Xia Feng had just woken up when he heard Ling Zhang’s voice. He was just about to go inside to check when a figure flashed past him and entered the room before him.

Watching Yuwen Tong who had abruptly shown up, he widened his mouth in shock.

Ling Zhang knitted his eyebrows as if in pain, and his limbs briefly twitched.

Yuwen Tong held him in his arms and started giving him a massage. The massage seemed to be very effective. Gradually, Ling Zhang’s body relaxed and his eyebrows unknitted. Against Yuwen Tong’s chest, he resumed his deep sleep.

Chapter 77: Undercurrents

“Officers, two officers, something bad happened!”

In a courier station in a small town in the south-west, before daybreak, a staff member yelled, “The prisoner died!”

“What!”

People went out of their rooms, hurried to the canopy of the courier station and immediately saw Jia Yuanling who had died in the prison wagon.

“What happened? Wasn’t he fine yesterday?”

“You think he was fine? After leaving Tanyang, he’d been suffering from the climate all along, vomiting and having loose bowels constantly. I told you we should get him some medical treatment lest he die and bring us trouble. Now what do we do!”

“Suffering from the climate? Jia Yuanling was a young man. How was it possible that he died so easily of an unaccustomed climate?”

“Hey! What are you talking about, Old Four? Jia Yuanling was tortured in the yamen first, and then Zhang Chong gave him a hard kick and wounded his heart and lungs. He’d never recovered from the injury and had been having a bad cough all along.”

The yamen staff member whose nickname was Old Four also had a deeply concerned look on his face. “No matter what, we have to find someone to perform an autopsy. Otherwise there will be consequences we’ll have to face after returning.”

“That’s true. Jia Yuanling’s death itself might be insignificant, but the Jia family surely won’t let this go. We’d better have someone perform an autopsy.”

“An autopsy it is. I don’t want to be held responsible for this either. But first things first, everybody has to pay their share of the fee.”

“Money is the only thing you can think about.”

A crowd of residents gathered around the doorway of the courier station. Some people felt that this might bring them bad luck, so they left. Others were still looking on.

The post-mortem examiner of the town was soon invited to the station. After examining Jia Yuanling’s body, he said, “This man’s heart and lungs had been seriously injured. He went on a long tiring journey without recovering from the injury first, and he also had a weak constitution, which was why he died of a mere unaccustomed climate.”

The four staff members of yamen exchanged glances. One of them said, “I told you by no means had he died of an unaccustomed climate. In the final analysis, it was that kick Zhang Chong gave him that was the fundamental cause.”

“That’s true. Accepting this task was such a stupid decision. How are we supposed to report this after going back?”

“We tell them the truth.”

“I suppose that’s the only thing we can do.”

“Should we bury him or just…. ” The four people kept silent for a while. The staff member whose nickname was Old Four said, “Let’s put him in the mortuary temple first and then have someone in the courier station send a letter back to Tanyang as soon as possible. Then we wait for our lord’s response.”

“O–Okay, then. Let’s do it your way.”

“What an ominous matter.”

The rest of the lookers-on also cleared off. Soon the body in the prison wagon was sent to the mortuary temple in the town.

Among the crowds clearing off, someone flicked a look in the direction of the prison wagon with a frown and then secretly followed.

…

When Ling Zhang woke up the next day, he felt his body was filled with warmth, as if he had inexhaustible strength. His spirits were also much better than before.

As he recalled the anguish he suffered the night before, his heart still fluttered with fear.

He remembered that he had eventually passed out, but he had no idea what had happened in the wake of that.

“Xia Feng.”

On hearing Ling Zhang calling his name, Xia Feng immediately walked inside and said, “You woke up, childe.”

“What happened after I fainted last night?”

“It was Lord Yu who carried you out of the room. He also helped you change your clothes. In the latter half of the night, you suddenly went into convulsions in misery. It was also Lord Yu who hurried here and gave you a massage. He stayed tending you until you fell into deep sleep after a certain amount of time.”

Xia Feng told Ling Zhang what happened the night before. His wariness of Yuwen Tong had been greatly dissolved after what Yuwen Tong did the night before, and his tone of voice was more natural.

Ling Zhang’s eyelids twitched as he heard the story. Yuwen Tong helped him get changed?

“It is said that the oil lamp was on all night in the Green Bamboo Mansion.”

With a mixed expression on his face, Ling Zhang wondered whether Yuwen Tong had stayed up all night in case he needed help.

“I see.”

He raised his hand, clenched his fist and threw a punch at the air with great force, which generated a gust of wind he could distinctly feel. Not only was he able to punch in a much more relaxed manner, but also his body was easier to control.

Surprisingly, Yuwen Tong’s method was so effective.

After thinking for a while, Ling Zhang didn’t directly go to his dwelling in the Guards’ yard but took a detour to the Green Bamboo Mansion next door.

“Did your marshal wake up?” On entering the Green Bamboo Mansion, instead of going deeper inside, Ling Zhang stopped and asked the guard on duty.

The guard was just about to answer when Yao Yi walked out and said, “Childe Ling, our marshal has woken up. Would you like to come inside?”

“He didn’t sleep last night?”

On the sight of Ling Zhang’s expression, Yao Yi realized it had already come to Ling Zhang’s knowledge that the marshal stayed up all night the night before, so he answered, “He didn’t. The night before last, Marshal was writing something and didn’t sleep until very late. And last night he stayed up all night. I tried to persuade him to get some sleep but he wouldn’t listen.”

The night before last night? It was the stack of paper full of formation diagrams and words that Yuwen Tong had given him. Having barely had any sleep for two days in a row, even Yuwen Tong must have been tired.

Ling Zhang briefly tightened his lips and said, “I’ll go and check on him.”

“This way please, childe.” Yao Yi turned aside making way for Ling Zhang.

After watching Ling Zhang entering the room, Yao Yi gave a smile.

Standing beside him, the guard on duty said in an undertone, “Captain, our marshal’s internal energy is excellent. Even if he doesn’t sleep for seven days and seven nights in a row, he’ll still be fine. Did you just say that on purpose?”

Yao Yi gave him a dirty look and said, “Don’t be so talky.”

The guard flinched, gave a giggle and with that the serious look reappeared on his face, leaving no trace of the fact that he was gossiping just a moment ago.

Ling Zhang walked across the courtyard onto the winding corridor. Standing there looking inside, he saw that Yuwen Tong was standing before a wall observing various maps on the wall and thinking about something.

“You came around. How are you feeling?”

Yuwen Tong didn’t turn his head back but he seemed to have known that the visitor was Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang walked over and took a look at the map on the wall first. The familiar terrain briefly stunned him. A map of Tanyang?

“I feel a lot more relaxed and my spirits are also in a much better state,” Ling Zhang answered. “I heard that you stayed up all night tending me. Is it true?”

“Yeah. Last night, it was the first time that you’d taken a medicated bath and had your meridians unblocked by somebody else with internal energy, so you might convulse and have trouble sleeping, or maybe some other problems would arise. I figured it was best if I kept an eye on you myself. Now that you survived last night, there will be no further problems.”

“Thank you.”

Finally, Yuwen Tong moved his eyes off the map, turned around and looked at him. “Um? Do you still remember what I told you?” Of course Ling Zhang didn’t forget. Yuwen Tong had told him to never thank him.

“You’ve barely had any sleep for two days. You’d better go and take a rest.”

Yuwen Tong lifted his eyebrows, thinking, ‘Not bad. He probably began to care about me.”

“There’s no need for that. I’ve just performed Qi circulation and finished several circuits. I don’t feel tired. It’s about time. You should go and teach those morons.” “Though your kung fu is pretty good, you can’t keep depriving yourself of sleep.” Ling Zhang was insistent.

Yuwen Tong watched him for a while and then said, “Fine. I’ll get some sleep right away. Just go. If we keep talking, it’ll be daybreak soon and I won’t be able to sleep.”

Seeing that he had been convinced, Ling Zhang was secretly relieved. “I’ll drop by again at noon.”

Yuwen Tong nodded.

After Ling Zhang left, Yao Yi walked inside. “Marshal, rest assured. We’ll keep an eye on Childe Ling for you. Just have a good sleep.”

Yuwen Tong flicked a sideway glance at him and then moved his eyes back onto the map on the wall. “That’s not necessary.”

“Ah?”

“Who told you I was really going to take a sleep?”

“But you’ve just promised Childe Ling that.”

“I did that merely to have him leave. I haven’t punished you yet for your being a busybody a moment ago, and you began to interfere with my business again.”

Yao Yi shut his mouth immediately, thinking, ‘It was for your sake that I did that, marshal. How would Childe Ling know it if you don’t tell him what you’ve done for him? How would his heart ache for you if he doesn’t know it? And how would his feelings for you deepen if his heart doesn’t ache for you?’ Marshal not only didn’t praise him, but also blamed him, totally unaware of his good intentions and thought for him.

“If you don’t stop grumbling inside right now, I’ll send you back to the capital.”

Terrified, Yao Yi turned around and left immediately. It was not until he was far away from the room that he exhaled in relief.

He didn’t say anything but the marshal somehow guessed what he was thinking as if he could read his mind, which nearly scared him to death.

In the Prefecture Encampment…

“Commander, County Magistrate Jia requires an audience with you.”

Zhang Chong gave a sneer with a twitch of his heavy face and then said, “Bring him in.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Jia Zhong was led into Zhang Chong’s tent. On the sight of Zhang Chong, he immediately bowed respectfully with a smile and said, “Your humble subordinate pays his respect to you, Commander Zhang. You seem even more dignified than the last time I saw you a couple of days before, Commander.”

“Save it, Jia Zhong. There’s no need for formalities. What did you come here for?”

“I mean every word, Commander. Originally, I planned to give Commander some good stuff earlier, but unfortunately, some domestic chores have been delaying me until this day.”

“What is it?”

Jia Zhong clapped his hands and signaled Adviser Qian waiting outside to come in. Adviser Qian was holding a tray on which there was something covered with a piece of red silk.

Jia Zhong removed the silk and said, “Please take a look, Commander.”

Zhang Chong flicked a glance at it and with that an interested look appeared in his eyes. He said in a milder tone of voice, “Not bad, Jia Zhong. I didn’t expect that you would be able to come by this thing.”

Jia Zhong smiled, “You’re the one I have to thank for all this, Commander. And you’re the only one who deserves this thing.”

Zhang Chong waved his hand, gesturing his bodyguards to take it. Then he looked at Jia Zhong and said, “I heard that there was quite a scene in your family two days ago.”

The smile on Jia Zhong’s face briefly froze. “We must have incurred Commander’s ridicule.”

“Ridicule? I’ve long ago lost my interest in ridiculing you. The Ling family got the best of you again and again, yet you never learned your lesson. Liu Chengfang was such a good pawn but you wasted her. You not only failed to cause Ling Zhaowen any harm but also got yourselves in deep trouble. Liu Weiling has already been to your home to shit on you, I suppose?”

Jia Zhong was so embarrassed that he could barely retain his smile. “Yes. That old dog is determined to bite a piece of meat off our family and he won’t relax his bite until he gets it. What a bastard.”

“It is rumored that your elder brother insists on taking Liu Chengfang as his concurrent wife?”

“He was just joking with my sister-in-law. How could he really take her as his concurrent wife? She could be nothing more than a concubine.”

“Then what is it that you want me to help with this time? Do you want me to help you get rid of Liu Weiling?”

Zhang Chong stared at Jia Zhong, as if he could see right into Jia Zhong’s soul with his piercing eyes.

Jia Zhong broke out in a layer of fine beads of cold sweat covering his back. He affected a calmness he did not feel and said, “The petty matter of Liu Weiling is not worthy of Commander’s trouble. I came here today to ask Commander whether you have any good plans to help me eliminate Ling Zhaowen.”

Zhang Chong slowly leaned against the back of the chair and said with a cold look in his eyes, “I know what you’re thinking about. Ling Zhaowen is nothing. This time I’ll annihilate all those who disobey me.”

“If Commander has any plans, I am at your service,” Jia Zhong said delightedly. He couldn’t wait to hear Zhang Chong’s plan.

“There’s no hurry. I’ve had this matter worked out. Just go back and wait. I’ll let you know if I need your service.”

As a very discreet man, Zhang Chong had no intention of disclosing anything to Jia Zhong.

Though unreconciled in mind, Jia Zhong didn’t dare to offend Zhang Chong. Knowing that the Ling family would soon be eliminated, he said in patience, “Then I’ll wait for Commander’s orders.”

Chapter 78: Trails of the Last Incarnation

“Commander, are we really going to do that?”

Zhang Chong, who was sitting in repose with his eyes closed, didn’t even open his eyes after hearing this question. “Ling Zhaowen is a henchman of that uneducated guy named Tao Feng, to whom he owes all his promotions. And now this Lu Kui turned up. It is already difficult enough for me to interfere with affairs of the Prefecture Yamen. If both these two people become Tao Feng’s right-hand men, not only will the Prefecture Yamen be harder to handle, other aspects will surely be handicapped by them as well, which is unfavorable for me.”

“Besides, during that matter of the Jia family last time, that bastard, Tao Feng, dared to inflict a humiliation like that on me. Even a fledgling brat of the Ling family dares to mess with me. I must eliminate them to restore my prestige among the masses.”

“But this is going to catch too many people’s attention after all. If by any chance it comes to knowledge of people in the capital city…”

“The Sixth Prince is reaching adulthood. We must be ready. In no circumstances should Tanyang be a hindrance to the big plan. This is going to catch many people’s attention, so we shall quiet them down. Moreover, if people in the capital city can’t even handle this petty matter, there will be no need for me to stake everything on them.”

“Your vision dwarfs me, Commander. I was being short-sighted.”

“Humph. Then learn harder. By the way, has there been any letters from the capital city?”

“Not yet, which is very strange. By convention, the courier pigeon carrying the letter from the capital city should have arrived yesterday, but this time it didn’t arrive on time. I wonder if anything happened in the capital city.”

Zhang Chong opened his eyes. After a while, he said, “Let’s wait for two more days.”

“Yes.”

After leaving the Prefecture Encampment, Jia Zhong returned to Tanyang. The moment he arrived home, the sound of a teacup smashing to pieces on the floor was heard, followed by explosive arguments.

“Let me tell you something, Jia Yin. If you take Liu Chengfang as your concurrent wife, I’ll leave and go back to my parents’ place.”

“Fine by me! You shrew are stirring up trouble every single day. If it weren’t for that you made such a scene, Yuanling would never have vented his anger on her and ended up in exile!”

“Everybody knows it was you who invited that bane of our family into this house and got our son in exile, and you still have the nerve to blame me. Jia Yin, you confound black and white. Shame on you! My son, how poor you are! It’s all your father’s fault. If it weren’t for him, you would never have been exiled!” Mrs. Jia burst into tears, crying so loud that even people at the front gate could hear her. Blue veins stood out rippling on Jia Zhong’s temples.

“Cry, cry, cry — crying is the only thing you’ve ever done! This family is shrouded in bad luck because of your crying. We’ve suffered enough humiliation already!”

“If it weren’t for you, no humiliation would ever have been inflicted on our family! You’re the one who brought the biggest shame on us! And now you want to marry that bitch Liu Chengfang. I’m telling you — no way!”

“Shut your mouth! I’ll lock you up if you don’t!”

“Jia Yin, your conscience has been eaten by a dog!”

With an almighty bang, even the ground quaked. Jia Zhong hurried over and saw that the hall was in a state of total disorder, all tables and chairs overturned by Jia Yin. Mrs. Jia was sitting on the ground at the doorway screaming and crying at the top of her lungs.

Jia Zhong took a deep breath and said loudly, “Enough! Elder brother, sister-in-law, people can hear you quarreling even from outside the front gate. This family has been through enough chaos. Would you please keep it down for a while?” On the sight of him, Mrs. Jia lowered her voice but was still sobbing, covering her face with a handkerchief.

Seeing that she was still weeping, Jia Yin wanted to scold her again but Jia Zhong stopped him, saying, “Say no more, elder brother. Don’t anger sister-in-law any further.”

“Sister-in-law, we have to accept Liu Chengfang into this house. Otherwise, how would outsiders think of elder brother? How would they think of our family? This is the last fig leaf, and you’re going to put it on even if you don’t want to. As regards Liu Chengfang’s status, a woman like her is not eligible to be a concurrent wife. The title of a concubine will suit her fine.” Jia Yin knitted his eyebrows together. He didn’t like Jia Zhong interfering in his business.

“Elder brother, Liu Weiling is insistent on taking a slice of the pie from our family. You’re going to swallow this?” Jia Zhong said in a timely manner.

It was after Jia Yin heard these remarks that the expression on his face became faintly milder. “Liu Weiling is still picking on you?”

“He refuses to leave the County Yamen.”

“His daughter came to Tanyang to have a tryst with her lover, yet he’s still on his high horse. If he keeps doing this, tell him I’ll never marry Liu Chengfang even if it means our family’s reputation will be ruined.”

Seeing that Jia Yin finally showed willingness to change his mind, Jia Zhong showed relief on his face.

Mrs. Jia stopped crying after hearing that Liu Chengfang would be a concubine at the most after she married into this family. The status of a concubine was far lower than that of a concurrent wife. As Jia Yin’s official wife, she could easily torture a concubine to death.

The man in black lying on the rooftop of one of the Jia family’s houses curled his lip. He was enjoying the conversation very much when it was interrupted, which made him feel bored.

On the other side, news of Jia Zhong’s visit to the Prefecture Encampment was immediately sent back to Yuwen Tong, and Ling Zhang happened to be in the room.

“Zhang Chong’s tent was heavily guarded, and it’s daytime, so I wasn’t able to get close enough to hear what they talked about.”

Ling Zhang thought for a while and asked, “Did Jia Zhong go there alone?”

“An advisor was with him, and they brought a gift, which was covered by a piece of red silk. I don’t know what it is. But Jia Zhong had a rather concerned look on his face before he went into the tent, and when he walked out, he appeared much more relieved, as if he had resolved some tricky issue.”

What kind of tricky issue did he resolve? The Jia family and Zhang Chong must have long ago made some arrangements for the matter of Jia Yuanling, so it was definitely not this issue that had been bothering Jia Zhong. In regard to the matter of Jia Yin and Liu Chengfang, though it was rumored that there had been intense quarrels between Jia Yin and Mrs. Jia, it wasn’t difficult for Jia Zhong to handle it, given how sinister he was. All these excluded, what was the problem left?

Jia Zhong wanted the position of Tongzhi and had already tried to kill his uncle twice.

Zhang Chong must have promised something to Jia Zhong, and there was no doubt that it was very unfavorable to his uncle, no matter what it was.

Ling Zhang immediately became vigilant. “I’ll go and inform my uncle.”

“I’ll go with you in a moment,” Yuwen Tong said to him, “but right now we have to figure out how Zhang Chong is going to do it first.”

How was he going to do it? Ling Zhang knitted his brows. Somehow, he recalled what happened to the Lu family in his last incarnation.

His uncle, Lu Kui, would also be promoted to Tongzhi this time. In his last incarnation, all members of the Lu family were slaughtered. Members of the Ling family were wronged and also massacred. According to the trail of his last incarnation, neither his uncle nor Uncle Lu got their deserved positions. Did this mean that…!

Ling Zhang abruptly stood up with a drastic change of his expression.

“What’s wrong?” Yuwen Tong looked at him in concern. “Did anything occur to you?”

He needed someone to consult with and Yuwen Tong was the obvious choice, but he couldn’t tell him what had happened in his last incarnation. After dithering for a while, Ling Zhang said, “I’m not sure. I have to go and consult with my uncle first.”

Yuwen Tong looked at him for a while and then said, “Then you go first. I’ll be there soon.”

Ling Zhang cast an apologetic look at him, turned around and left the room.

“Marshal, there was something wrong with Childe Ling’s reaction. He seemed to know something.”

Yuwen Tong watched Ling Zhang’s receding figure, as if absorbed in thought. Then he said, “Have your eye on Zhang Chong. Under no circumstances should anything suspicious escape the surveillance, no matter how small it is.”

“Yes.”

On this day, Ling Zhaowen happened to be on leave at home. On the sight of Ling Zhang who came to his house with a worried look, he couldn’t help asking concernedly, “Zhang’er, what happened?”

“Uncle, I’m afraid something is going to happen to Lu family,” Ling Zhang said, looking solemn.

Ling Zhaowen immediately understood what Ling Zhang was referring to. He asked, “Did you hear anything?”

Ling Zhang nodded and told him the matter of Jia Zhong’s visit to the Prefecture Encampment as well as his own deduction. “Undoubtedly, Zhang Chong is going to make an attempt on you and Uncle Lu.” He once used that insidious tactic of killing two birds with one stone in his last incarnation. He was definitely going to use it again in this life.

“Uncle, did you remind Uncle Lu?”

The look on Ling Zhaowen’s face also became solemn, “I indicated this to him several times. He should have taken some precautions by now. It’s just that, in order not to arouse anybody’s suspicion, unlike us, the Lu family didn’t act overtly, but Lu Kui has already secretly prepared a place where his family members can hide.”

“But what concerns me is that they might not have enough time to hide. No matter what, hiding is not the best solution. We have to figure out a way to resolve it.”

“There are thirty bandits. I’m afraid even if all Yamen runners are dispatched, they still won’t be enough to handle them.”

“What if we send our security guards to join hands with them?”

Ling Zhaowen pondered over it for a while and said, “That might work.”

Then he sighed, “Originally I’ve already set a trap waiting for Jia Zhong to walk into it. If he does, he and the Jia family will be eliminated once and for all. But judging from what you’ve just said, I’m afraid misfortune will happen to the Lu family before Jia Zhong gets caught in the trap.”

“What kind of preparations did Uncle make?”

“The Jia family’s mine. I sent someone to make contact with the director of the mine. He’s already gained the trust of the director and will get his account book in just a few days. Once this account book is delivered to the capital city, not only the Jia family is doomed, Zhang Chong will also be incriminated.”

Startled, Ling Zhang asked, “Who did you send to the mine?”

“That director is an old goat. A woman will be more than enough to handle him.”

“Uncle, please tell that woman to stand by for the moment. On no account should any rash action be taken!”

Ling Zhang went anxious. Once that account book was stolen, which would alarm the Jia family and Zhang Chong ahead of schedule, Yuwen Tong’s plan would be ruined.

“What’s the matter? Why should she stand by? You don’t want to get your revenge anymore?” Ling Zhaowen was puzzled.

“Yuwen Tong came to Tanyang this time not only to pay a visit to grandfather but also to investigate Zhang Chong. He has already had someone make a duplicate of that account book. Apart from that, he also has other plans. Jia family and Zhang Chong must not be alerted for now.”

Ling Zhang disclosed part of the matter which he had consulted with Yuwen Tong about. “It was my fault for not having told you this earlier, uncle.”

But Ling Zhaowen didn’t get angry. “So that’s how matters stand. I nearly ruined your big plan. Rest assured, I’ll send her a message and tell her to stand by.”

“But Zhang’er, you… you and Yuwen Tong seem to keep no secrets from each other. Is he never wary of you?”

Ling Zhang made no response.

He understood why there was a meaningful look in his Uncle’s eyes, but they were talking business, and his Uncle shouldn’t have steered the conversation away to another topic.

“We can talk about this later, Uncle. The crisis facing the Lu family requires immediate resolution.”

“Since Marshal Yuwen intends to eliminate Zhang Chong, there’s no need for us to go to that much trouble. We only need to adopt a smarter approach.”

A smarter approach? Ling Zhang watched Ling Zhaowen in perplexity.

“Ha-ha, what a silly kid. How come you still haven’t gotten the point? Like you’ve just said, Marshal Yuwen has already formulated a plan to handle Zhang Chong, which means that soon Zhang Chong will no longer be a problem, so it’s totally unnecessary for us to fight Zhang Chong head-on. All we need to do is adopt delaying tactics and wait for the job to be done.”

“Delaying tactics? Are you saying that…”