The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 175- 177

Chapter 175: Contracting an Alliance by Marriage? Save Me the Embarrassment

The emperor still made it up to Ling Zhang, but those were just some cloth, precious medicine, gold ingots etc. They were merely a token gesture.

Ling Zhang expressed his gratitude and walked back to Yuwen Tong’s side. Yuwen Tong unnoticeably scratched Ling Zhang’s palm. Ling Zhang pretended nothing had happened but secretly gripped Yuwen Tong’s restless fingers. ‘He’s merely going through the motions. Anybody can do this. I may not be as sophisticated as these civil officials and military officers filling this hall, but I’m not a fool either,’ he thought.

After what had happened, not only the emperor was no longer in the mood for a banquet, those civil officials and military officers also knew it was inadvisable for them to stay. As a result, they all rose from their seats intending to take their leave.

Ling Zhang flicked an uncertain glance at the envoys of the Wan Kingdom, wondering, ‘Exactly what was it that they came here for?’

Maybe because Ling Zhang’s confusion was so deep that it somehow generated some kind of influence on the envoys, they finally made their move. The gorgeously clothed man sitting at the front, whose name was Shan Congwen, who was the King Ming’en from the Wan Kingdom, rose to his feet and said to the emperor, “Your Majesty, there’s a particular matter I’d like to consult with you on behalf of my country.”

The emperor, who was leaving and suddenly stopped by Shan Congwen, grew impatient. ‘What is wrong with this Shan Congwen guy? He’s been in this city for such a long time. What is it that he waited until this occasion to bring up?’ he wondered.

“What do you want to consult with me, King Ming’en?”

“Your Majesty, I on behalf of my father petition you for your consent to unite our two countries by marriage. My father is willing to marry one of my sisters into the Great Yue, sealing amity between us with a marriage alliance,” replied Shan Congwen.

‘A marriage alliance? This matter was discussed once, but Shan Congwen had been hesitating all along and never given an official response. Why did he bring this up on his own account today?’ some officials wondered.

“Originally, my father had intended to have my sister marry into the imperial family of the Great Yue, but she was very wilful and wanted to choose her husband herself,” Shan Congwen continued.

‘Choose her husband herself?’

All officials patiently sat back into their seats with the intention to find out what this prince of the Wan Kingdom had got up in his sleeve.

“Oh? May I ask which meritocrat Her Highness has her eye on?” the emperor asked in a lukewarm tone of voice. ‘She refused to marry into the imperial family and insisted on choosing her husband herself? These guys from the Wan Kingdom probably don’t quite understand the current circumstances. They’re here to sue for peace, not to put on airs.’

“She has her eye on Marshal Yuwen and wishes to make an affectionate couple with Marshal Yuwen,” responded Shan Congwen, looking in the direction of Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong directly rolled his eyes upwards. ‘Fuck! I knew these fools of the Wan Kingdom harbored evil intentions.’

Ling Zhang curved his lips in a sneer. ‘Does this Shan Congwen guy regard me as invisible? And Yuwen Tong is also an asshole. It’s annoying enough that he attracts the attention of so many girls in the Great Yue, and now even a princess of the Wan Kingdom intends to marry him.’

Yuwen Tong had just rolled his eyes upwards when he saw the sneer on Ling Zhang’s face. Taken aback, he hurriedly adjusted his attitudes and responded in severe and categorical terms, “I refuse. I don’t like women of the Wan Kingdom, especially princesses. A single glance at them would ruin my appetite for food. I would rather let His Majesty have me beheaded than marry her. No, that won’t work. If I die, Younger Brother Zhang would end up being a widow. Jesus, it never crossed my mind that you were such a sly devil, Shan Congwen. You are doing this because you want not only to have me killed but also my Younger Brother Zhang living in widowhood. Is there really not a single eligible man left in the Wan Kingdom? She doesn’t even want to marry into the imperial family of the Great Yue? Who does she think she is? If His Majesty is willing to make a response to her, that would be because he’s kind enough to save her face. If not, she would end up becoming a woman nobody wants to marry. She really thinks she’s more beautiful than a goddess? Get out of here and save me the embarrassment, will you? If you insist on staying and making yourselves uncomfortable, I happen to be itching for another war. And I assure you this time I won’t take just seven common cities. My troops will directly occupy the capital city of the Wan Kingdom. And after that… Humph!”

Yuwen Tong made a torrent of words. Faces of envoys of the Wan Kingdom were dark with rage and they were nearly reduced to vomiting blood with fury. Even the emperor and civil officials and military officers in the hall were sent open-mouthed. It had never crossed any of them’s mind that Yuwen Tong, who had always been a man of few words, would in certain circumstances talk in such a flow of eloquence. And his terms were so… so …

‘Is this man really Yuwen Tong? Is he by any chance an impostor?!’

There was a deathly hush in the hall. Everybody was dumbfounded.

Ling Zhang covered his forehead with his hand, his facial expression manifestly suggesting that he couldn’t bear to watch this scene any longer. ‘Isn’t Yuwen Tong being unduly arrogant?!’

“Yuwen Tong, You’re going way too far. You really think we are afraid of having another war with the Great Yue?!” Finally, Shan Congwen was angered to the verge of tearing up the peace accord.

“Yuwen Tong, how dare you insult our princess! We will make you pay for this, whatever the cost!” Other envoys also flied into a rage.

Yuwen Tong gave a sneer. “You want to quarrel? Were you not the ones who refused to be reasonable in the first place? Actually I’ve seen tons of such deeds of your country. It’s like a thief crying ‘Stop the thief’. You guys of the Wan Kingdom always want to profit yourselves at the expense of others whenever you have the chance. What kind of trick are you trying to play this time? Force me to marry your princess?”

“Yo–You!” It probably had never occurred to envoys of the Wan Kingdom that Yuwen Tong was so ‘shameless’. They rolled their eyes upwards in fury and nearly lapsed into unconsciousness.

“That’s enough, Aiqing Yuwen. Stop being rude to the King Ming’en and envoys of the Wan Kingdom. They are our honored guests. Don’t give others the excuse to accuse us of being impertinent.” The emperor finally collected his thoughts and kept Yuwen Tong from making any more remarks to anger the envoys further.

“King Ming’en, you heard it yourself. Aiqing Yuwen is unwilling to accept the offer of marriage of your country. Aiqing Yuwen is betrothed to Childe Ling, and I wouldn’t force him into marrying anybody even if the engagement didn’t exist. I think it’s only advisable if you talk to your sister and have her reconsider it, King Ming’en.”

This time, the emperor was heartily on Yuwen Tong’s side. ‘Yuwen Tong is a marshal. If he married a princess of the Wan Kingdom, wouldn’t he be able to stage a revolt any time he wants?’ The emperor would do anything to stop that from happening. It was impossible for him to let Yuwen Tong forge an alliance with the Wan Kingdom by marrying their princess.

It took Shan Congwen quite a while to recover himself. He had almost been enraged to death by Yuwen Tong.

“Yuwen Tong is such a vulgar man. Even if my sister insists on marrying him, I will never agree.” Shan Congwen spitefully criticized Yuwen Tong.

Then he tried to incite Ling Zhang. “Childe Ling, you saw it yourself. Yuwen Tong is nothing but a boor of brawn. I suggest you think twice before marrying him.”

Ling Zhang replied frostily, “Such concern of yours is unnecessary, King Ming’en. No matter what kind of man Yuwen Tong is, it’s me who’s going to marry him, not you. Surely you don’t… have your eye on Yuwen Tong as well, do you?”

Shan Congwen’s face twisted. “I wouldn’t even if I were blind!”

“That’s very reassuring,” said Ling Zhang.

All others were speechless.

Yuwen Tong appeared quite contented, without a shred of displeasure on his face.

The emperor gave a soft cough and remarked, “All right, so much for the discussion about contracting an alliance by marriage. I’m tired and would like to take my leave early. You may continue. I’d appreciate it if you would keep Aiqing Yuwen company making sure he fully enjoys this banquet.”

The emperor, bursting with impatience, quickly left for fear that Shan Congwen might make any other irritating remarks.

Since even the emperor had left, Yuwen Tong, who had no intention to stay in this place mingling with these people, also rose from his seat and said, “I’m also tired. I think I’ll go back. I hope you guys enjoy the wine.”

Ling Zhang also stood up, made a bow to the officials with hands folded in front and then followed Yuwen Tong out of the hall.

Civil officials and military officers exchanged glances in embarrassment and then excused themselves from the banquet one after another on all kinds of pretexts.

The King Duan had followed in Yuwen Tong wake when he saw him leave. The King Hui, who had been having a sullen face all along due to the matter of the Ninth Princess, was among the last ones to leave.

People of Yuwen family also lagged behind. Yuwen Zhi’s countenance had been sulky from start to finish. Seeing there was nobody else around, Yuwen Qi directly observed, “Is Yuwen Tong out of his mind? He turned down a princess’ proposal!”

Yuwen Zhi rose from his seat and replied, “Let’s go back home first and talk later.”

He was still sensible enough to know that this was not the right place to talk about this matter.

Yuwen Zhi was shamed once again on this day. Except for the King Hui, he was the one whose face was the sulkiest.

After people of Yuwen family also left, a young eunuch stealthily glanced around the hall and didn’t leave until he confirmed that there was nobody else left.

Meanwhile, the King Duan caught up with Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang. “Marshal, Childe Ling.”

Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang had no intention to hear whatever nonsense the King Duan had to say, but they didn’t have a choice, for the King Duan had already kept pace with them.

“Is there anything else you’d like to talk about, Your Highness?” queried Yuwen Tong.

The King Duan replied with a smile, “I’m leaving the palace as well. We’re going the same way, so I’d like to walk along with you two.”

Yuwen Tong hated to be going the same way with this man.

“What you just said back in there really made me feel avenged. The Wan Kingdom is the vanquished, yet they still acted so cockily. Just now Shan Congwen was so angry that even his face twisted,” said the King Duan who believed that he had started the conversation with the right topic. The expression on his face seemed to be suggesting that he and Yuwen Tong were bound by a common hatred for enemy.

Yuwen Tong inwardly gave a sneer. ‘Even if I had not made those remarks, the emperor would still have declined the request of the Wan Kingdom on all kinds of pretexts. There’s no way the emperor will allow me to contract an alliance with the Wan Kingdom by marriage. Feel avenged? No words can help anybody get revenge. Without the blood of several hundred thousand troops of the North-western Army as the price, my words, no matter how powerful they sounded, would be of no more use than bullshit.’

“I merely said what’s really on my mind. Is this what you want to talk to me about, Your Highness?” responded Yuwen Tong.

Seeing Yuwen Tong didn’t seem to be happy, the King Duan hurriedly changed the topic. “Of course not. Actually, I want to invite you and Childe Ling to my place to have dinner the day after tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I was never a politician. I’m afraid there’s nothing I can help you with. If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to take my leave,” said Yuwen Tong.

“You are being too modest, Marshal. In fact, I just want to invite you and Childe Ling around to have some fun. It has nothing to do with politics,” explained the King Duan.

Yuwen Tong said, “Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness, but I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you, for I won’t be able to find the time in any of the next few days.”

The King Duan’s face briefly froze and with that he replied with a smile, “There’s no need for you to apologize, Marshal. I’ll invite you again when you are available.”

“Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness,” said Yuwen Tong.

On the rest of the trip, the King Duan said no more about inviting Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang to anywhere. He walked Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang to their horse-drawn carriage and said, “Then I’ll take my leave.”

“Safe journey home, Your Highness,” replied Yuwen Tong.

The King Duan got into his carriage and left. Officials of all ranks and descriptions, who had just walked out, saw that Yuwen Tong got into the carriage of Ling Zhang. Those who were aware of what had happened earlier at the front gate knew what was going on, while those who were unaware of it watched in astonishment.

“Why did the Marshal get into Ling Zhang’s carriage? Is he by any chance still going back to the Ling Mansion?”

“Shh, you forgot that tonight in the Taiqing Palace, Lord Yuwen didn’t seem to like that Ling Zhang guy at all, and Ling Zhang is no pushover either. It’s now crystal clear whose side the Marshal has taken.”

“It’s surprising that this Ling Zhang guy is so manipulative.”

Chapter 176: A Reminder from Li Sicai

“Why did you make those remarks just now?” inquired Ling Zhang in the horse-drawn carriage.

Yuwen Tong replied, “Shan Congwen is not really a fool, and neither is anybody in the imperial court of the Wan Kingdom. The ruler of any country is wary of subordinates whose personal prestige threatens to exceed his or hers. Of course those people of the Wan Kingdom knew that a proposal to contract an alliance by marriage would one way or another be rejected by the emperor. They made it anyway only to drive a wedge between me and the emperor, deepening the emperor’s wariness of me. There’s no doubt they will make a further move. I cannot let them seize the initiative and reduce me to a passive position.

Besides, given that the Wan Kingdom specially waited until I returned to the capital city to make the proposal, they’re definitely confident that they can make trouble for me with their next move. I’ll upset their plan first and then find out exactly what it is that they’re up to.”

Ling Zhang inclined his head. Although those remarks that Yuwen Tong had just made in the palace sounded arrogant and domineering, they had kept envoys of the Wan Kingdom from saying whatever it was that they’d planned to say next. If the Wan Kingdom had still insisted on having their princess marry into the Great Yue after Yuwen Tong put it that way, it would be a reproach to not only Shan Congwen but also the whole Wan Kingdom. It was just that the intention of the Wan Kingdom was still unknown.

Seeing the two of them return to the Ling Mansion, Wang Dashan and others, who had been in deep concern because this was the first time that Ling Zhang had visited the imperial palace, heaved a sigh of relief.

“Young Master, how’s everything going at the banquet in the imperial palace?” Li Sicai walked over and took the cape Ling Zhang had just unfastened.

Li Sicai had been designated butler in this residence after arriving in the capital city with Ling Zhang. Xia Feng and Wang Qing were assistant butlers. Li Sicai had been teaching Xia Feng on the journey to this city all along in the knowledge that Ling Zhang thought much of and also had high expectations of Xia Feng. Though he was the chief butler now, he had given Xia Feng a free hand in many affairs in the residence and had also been offering him directions. As regards Wang Qing, he knew very well why he had been assigned to the capital city. He just offered some assistance and never interfered in these things.

“Not bad.”

At the banquet in the imperial palace this night, Ling Zhang had matched those officials of different ranks to the names and information he had been told. Thanks to Yuwen Tong, he had witnessed several interesting occurrences this night, which had helped him come to a preliminary understanding of the situation in the capital city.

“Did you meet those people of Yuwen family?” Li Sicai inquired of him in a low voice.

Ling Zhang gave a bob of his head and noticed that Yuwen Tong, Yao Yi and a couple of others, though looking in other directions, actually had pricked up their ears. He inwardly gave a cold snort and then gave Li Sicai and others a sketchy account of his confrontation with Yuwen Zhi at the banquet. Then he exhorted them, “Today I thoroughly offended Yuwen Zhi, so there will no doubt be some trouble in the future. You have to be careful. If anybody of Yuwen family comes here to make trouble, you don’t have to be forbearing or conciliatory, but you do need to have a sense of propriety. Don’t let them get anything on you.”

Li Sicai and others nodded, their faces solemn.

In fact, before coming to the capital city, they had also predicted that people of Yuwen family, which was a noble family of high social status, might look down upon their young master, but because of Yuwen Tong, they had been very well disposed towards other members of Yuwen family, believing that even if they thought little of their young master, they wouldn’t stoop to such ungrateful things, but now it came to their knowledge that they had been mistaken, that Marshal Yuwen’s uncle and his family didn’t welcome their young master. For Li Sicai and others, their young master’s origin was indeed not as noble as that of people of Yuwen family, but he was the best master in their eyes, and they wouldn’t let anybody bully him.

“You may rest assured that we will never let those people bully anybody in this place, Young Master.” Wang Dashan patted himself on the chest. All security guards behind him threw out their chests and patted them, promising that they would never allow people of Yuwen family to bully their young master.

Yuwen Tong, who had been listening with his ears pricked up all along, was speechless.

Yao Yi and others, having mixed feelings, looked at their marshal. In their eyes, there were sympathy, reproach and also anxiety… Anyway there were many different meanings contained in that look, which they didn’t know whether their Marshal would be able to understand or not.

…

Shortly before bedtime, Ling Zhang washed, changed clothes and planned to go to bed. Outside, Yuwen Tong wanted to enter but Li Sicai standing at the doorway stopped him.

“Marshal, our young master is going to bed. It’s pretty late. If your business is not urgent, please wait until tomorrow.”

Yuwen Tong was speechless.

‘What a moron. Isn’t it obvious enough that the reason why I’m here at this late hour is because I want to sleep with Ling Zhang? We have finally left Tanyang, and there are no other eyes watching us here, and I have good reason to spend the night in the Ling Mansion. This guy expects me to give up this opportunity of sleeping with my wife and go back to sleep in a cold bed alone? I’m no fool,’ Yuwen Tong thought.

However, Li Sicai looked Yuwen Tong in the eyes and didn’t move an inch, standing solidly at the doorway.

“I have an urgent business to consult with him.” Yuwen Tong had no choice but to make a decent excuse.

Li Sicai asked respectfully and politely, “Must it be handled tonight?”

Beneath Li Sicai’s gaze full of sincerity and trust, Yuwen Tong found it difficult to keep lying. After a few moments, he replied, “Not really.”

“Then please wait until tomorrow morning.” Li Sicai’s voice was still respectful and courteous.

After hearing the conversation, Ling Zhang inside the room had already guessed Yuwen Tong’s intention. He directly sat down, waiting to see whether Yuwen Tong would be able to get over this hurdle of Li Sicai.

At this time, Yuwen Tong outside the room also came to realize what was going on. During the day nobody had tried to stop him from getting into this room, but now at night, Li Sicai refused to let him in. Obviously, after Yuwen Zhi and Yuwen Qi deliberately picked on Ling Zhang at the banquet earlier this night, these servants of Ling family had grown more protective of their young master, and Li Sicai was doing this to remind him of it. ‘No wonder Old Master Ling assigned Li Sicai to come here with Ling Zhang. This guy’s far smarter than Xia Feng,’ Yuwen Tong pondered.

“Okay, you made your point. I’ll figure out a way to have my troublesome uncle and his family change their attitudes, and before it’s done, I won’t take your young master to the residence of Yuwen family where he might be subjected to unkind treatment. It’s just that you shouldn’t underestimate your young master. I don’t think there are any circumstances in which my uncle can get the best of him.”

Li Sicai smiled, “That’s very reassuring, Marshal. Although we don’t have the numbers, we’ll never let our young master be wronged by anybody.”

Finally, Li Sicai made way for him. On entering the room, Yuwen Tong saw that Ling Zhang sitting in a chair was leisurely watching him. Clearly he had been listening to his conversation with Li Sicai all along.

“Why did you come to my place at this late hour of the night instead of sleeping?” Ling Zhang cocked an inquisitive eyebrow at him.

As if he were doing this as a matter of course, Yuwen Tong replied, “That’s the very thing I came here to do –sleep.”

Ling Zhang lightly gave a sneer, “This is my house.”

Yuwen Tong walked up to him, drew him to his feet, held him and said, “Your house is my house. Everybody knows about our relationship now. Is it really necessary to make it clear what’s yours, what’s mine?”

Both the warm embrace and the faint fragrance were familiar. Ling Zhang, who was very sleepy, couldn’t help but relax completely in Yuwen Tong’s arms, like a weary bird in its nest that it returned to after a long journey. He felt so comfortable that he involuntarily heaved a sigh. “You’re so shameless.”

‘How could face compare to sleeping with my wife in my arms?’ Yuwen Tong, who had very keen senses, heard distinctly Ling Zhang’s soft sigh of comfort and couldn’t help holding him tighter. In a lowed voice, he remarked, “You mean much more to me than face does. Are you sleepy?”

Ling Zhang lightly uttered “Um”. The ends of Yuwen Tong’s hair were tickling the tip of his nose, and he subconsciously rubbed his face against Yuwen Tong’s neck.

The rub quickened Yuwen Tong’s breathing and also brought a change of look to his eyes. With that, he scooped up Ling Zhang and soon the two of them were in bed.

Yuwen Tong lowered his head and gave him a kiss. Ling Zhang, whose eyes were almost closed, opened them after being kissed. With an admonitory expression on his face, he looked at Yuwen Tong and said, “Don’t do that again. Sleep.”

“I’ll sleep after I have my share of kiss.”

After saying this, Yuwen Tong gave him another kiss, which lasted quite a long time.

The feeling of lips and tongues rubbing together was indeed intoxicating. Originally Ling Zhang had wanted to push him aside, but spontaneously, he put his arms around Yuwen Tong’s neck.

“Whh–” Suddenly, a thin soft cry came from beside their ears.

Ling Zhang instantly sobered, pushed Yuwen Tong aside, looked at the inner side of the bed and saw a ball of snow-white fur wriggle its way out of the quilt. It twisted its fluffy head around and curiously stared at him and Yuwen Tong with its sparkling black eyes.

The two of them fell speechless.

They had forgotten about this white fox cub. Seeing the pure look in the fox cub’s eyes, Ling Zhang felt as if he and Yuwen Tong were setting a bad example for a child. He immediately withdrew his hands and gave Yuwen Tong a dirty look. “Get out of my way. Now.”

Yuwen Tong had inwardly cursed the white fox cub numerous times. ‘If it weren’t for this white fox cub, I would be able to kiss him a while longer and maybe I would even get to kiss some other parts of him. This guy’s definitely a Fox Demon.’ With a sullen face, he lifted the white fox cub, got out of bed and walked towards the door.

Ling Zhang also hastily got out of bed and followed him. “What are you doing?!”

Yuwen Tong replied, “Finding it someone else to sleep with!”

In his hand, the white fox cub cried waving its legs around frantically in an attempt to grab something. It looked at Ling Zhang with a beseeching expression in its liquid black eyes, the thin soft cry from its throat making Ling Zhang’s heart ache. “Whh–Whh–”

Ling Zhang, who didn’t have the heart to let Yuwen Tong take it away, caught up with him like the wind and snatched the white fox cub from Yuwen Tong’s hand. “If Whitie is to leave my room, you’ll have to leave as well.”

Yuwen Tong was speechless.

With a displeased countenance, he secretly clenched his teeth as he looked at the white fox cub which had already wormed its way into the crook of Ling Zhang’s arm curling with its head against his chest.

“This white fox cub has grown a lot bigger now. You’ve got to stop letting it sleep in your arms every day. A child will never grow up if parents refuse to wean them. In border areas, eagles always push their young out of the nests to let them learn to fly. It’s time this little white fox learned to be independent of you.”

Yuwen Tong poignantly made these remarks, feeling that Ling Zhang was pampering this white fox cub like his own child, which, of course, he disapproved of.

Ling Zhang briefly paused and then replied in a disbelieving tone of voice, “Those are eagles. Whitie is a fox. You are not comparing like with like.”

“In this regard it’s the very same case. You’re spoiling it. If you don’t stop this and it ends up becoming a fox that is unduly dependent on you and cannot live on its own, you’ll be the one to blame,” observed Yuwen Tong seriously.

Ling Zhang wondered in uncertainty, ‘Is that really the case?’ Watching the little fox in the crook of his arm, he really didn’t have the heart to let it go.

“Even if you don’t like the idea of it sleeping with someone else, you’ve got to let it sleep alone,” added Yuwen Tong hurriedly as he saw that Ling Zhang seemed to have been swayed somewhat. Ling Zhang would definitely disagree with having the fox cub sleep in another room, but he might find it acceptable to let it sleep in its own box.

“Well, okay,” Ling Zhang inclined his head reluctantly.

The box of the fox cub, which had been expanded considerably, was soft, warm and very comfortable.

After a few moments’ thinking, Ling Zhang put the white fox cub into the box and exhorted, “Sleep in your den. Don’t take the liberty of climbing onto my bed again.”

Chapter 177: A Visit to Yuwen Tong’s Father’s Uncle

The white fox cub’s sparkling black eyes were full of confusion. It didn’t quite understand why climbing into the bed was suddenly banned. What happened just now?

It had been a hectic tiring day. Ling Zhang vaguely felt that there was something he had been meaning to talk with Yuwen Tong about, but he couldn’t remember what it was no matter how hard he tried to. After a short while, he drifted off to sleep.

Yuwen Tong, who didn’t have the heart to cause him any disturbance, slept beside him.

…

The two of them were sleeping soundly in this room, while in the residence of Yuwen family, lamps had been ablaze all along. Yuwen Zhi, who had almost been infuriated to death at the banquet in the imperial palace earlier this night, smashed more than half of the things in his study.

Yuwen Feng was kneading his brow. He had some time ago reminded his father not to pick on Ling Zhang, because they would be reduced to a passive position if Ling Zhang played the favor card. Unfortunately, everything he had said to his father had gone in one ear and out the other. However, after this matter, it had come to his knowledge that Ling Zhang was not as gentle as he seemed. His father had merely cold-shouldered him at the banquet, yet he had counter-attacked almost immediately… ‘It seems that father has already made an enemy of Ling Zhang due to what he sent those people to Tanyang to do,’ Yuwen Feng thought.

The reason why Yuwen Feng was unwilling to offend Ling Zhang was that he didn’t want to offend Yuwen Tong, but what if Ling Zhang had felt offended already? Moreover, from the vantage point of the present, it was very unlikely that his parents would change their minds. ‘What should I do? No matter what, I’ve got to convince father. Tomorrow Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang will come back here. We can’t afford to screw things up.’

“Father–”

With a smash, a teapot was dashed to pieces beside Yuwen Feng’s feet. He had barely finished the first word when the smash interrupted him.

The situation in the chambers of the King Hui and the Concubine Liang was almost the same as that in Yuwen family. The punishment of the Ninth Princess was, for all intents and purposes, synonymous with stripping her of her identity as a princess. All of them were bound to have a sleepless night.

…

Early the next morning. In the Ling Mansion.

Yue Qi and some other bodyguards were somewhat surprised to see the twenty-four security guards start training so early. And they were amazed even further when they saw that they were training in two groups. “What kind of formation is this?” Yue Qi asked.

“How about you give it a try?” Yao Yi egged him on.

Yue Qi, who was sharp-eyed, could tell a mile off that the formation Wang Dashan was in was the ripe one. He took a flying leap charging at Wang Dashan and others in the formation. Wang Dashan and others quickly reacted and surrounded Yue Qi before he even landed.

“Eek, you guys have pretty quick reflexes,” Yue Qi observed appreciatively and with that the look in his eyes went piercing and he suddenly made his move without warning.

With a loud bang, his blow was deflected by a counter-strike. Feeling the strength of his opponents, Yue Qi perked up and abruptly quickened his moves. He had originally believed that Wang Dashan and his men would be flustered, but unexpectedly, there was not a shred of fluster in their movements. Not only were they very composed, their flexible and varied formations had won them an edge over Yue Qi.

“Ha! Not bad. You know what you’re doing.” The look in Yue Qi’s eyes grew serious as he observed this changeable formation consisting of twelve.

“Yue Qi took them lightly and paid the price. Ha!” commented Yao Yi gloatingly.

With that he flicked Xie Shi a glance and asked, “Why aren’t you training Yang Liuzi and the others?”

Xie Shi answered in a leisurely tone of voice, “There’s no hurry. I’d like to finish watching this fight.”

Yao Yi said, “Exactly how did you best Du Shi’er having him left in Tanyang?”

Xie Shi’s voice was still leisurely. “I can’t tell you. It’ll lose its magic if I do.”

The corners of Yao Yi’s mouth involuntarily twitched. ‘This guy wants to keep it secret so he could use it against us again? Du Shi’er is such a poor guy. He clearly could have returned to the capital city with us. Xie Shi tricked him and had him stay in Tanyang helping train those new recruits. It’s so surprising that the Marshal was okay with that.’

Thousands of miles away, in the guards’ yard of Ling family in Tanyang, newly recruited security guards were also training, but their training was different from that of Wang Dashan and others –the Horse Stance.

They had been practicing the Horse Stance for almost half a month!

“Guard Du, when can we start practicing formations? We’ve been practicing the Horse Stance for half a month!” a newly recruited security guard finally couldn’t help but ask.

Hearing this, Du Shi’er lying on a giant rock with a length of green bristlegrass clamped between his teeth, made no reply but threw a stone which hit the man’s knee, and with that the man fell to the ground with a dull thud.

“When you can take the hit of a stone without losing your balance,” responded Du Shi’er.

Newly recruited security guards exchanged glances in speechlessness. ‘When will that day be?!’ they wondered.

“Your foundations are on various levels, yet you want to start practicing formations?” Then Du Shi’er added, “This trap-and-kill formation requires tacit understanding. You guys couldn’t even rid yourselves of your messy thoughts, let alone develop tacit understanding. I’m already going easy on you by merely having you practice the Horse Stance. If any of you utter another word of complaint, I’ll make you rue the days you were born.”

All newly recruited security guards gave a cold shiver of fear and thought, ‘Isn’t this already tough enough to make us rue the day we were born? After practicing the Horse Stance, we have to do pile-driving, and after that, there’ll be footwork practice on quincuncial piles or something like that. Anyone who fails to keep his balance and falls off will have to stand for two hours with a vat on his head.’ They not only rued the days they’d been born, they were on the verge of going crazy.

‘If there’s anything even harsher to come…’

They recoiled from the idea of it.

In the capital city, Xie Shi’s eyes raked faces of Yang Liuzi and the others. There was some kind of meaningful look in his eyes. Those who accidentally made eye contact with him felt cold shivers of fear run through them.

Yao Yi flicked a thoughtful glance at him and thought, ‘There’s something not quite right with this guy. Is he by any chance up to anything?’

Those security guards were training in full swing and Ling Zhang was woken up by the loud noises they were making. A whole night’s dreamless sleep had refreshed him considerably.

Seeing him wake up, Yuwen Tong, who had already got up, washed and changed clothes, walked over and asked, “Do you feel like sleeping for a little while longer?”

Ling Zhang sat up and shook his head. “Not really. I’ve already overslept today.”

‘We’re scheduled to visit Yuwen Tong’s father’s uncle this morning and we can’t be late. It’s impertinent to keep an elder waiting,’ he thought.

…

The horse-drawn carriage of the Ling Mansion slowly came to a halt at the doorway of a residence. The day before, Yuwen Tong sent someone to inform his father’s uncle beforehand that he and Ling Zhang would visit him this morning, so a lot of people had been waiting at the doorway.

The old man at the front bore a resemblance to Yuwen Tong, but not a striking one. He stood there with firm footing, cutting a hale and hearty figure. The old man’s clothes seemed to be of high quality but low-key in color and style. Apart from his, clothes of all those behind him were unobtrusive, which was a clear indication that they were different from Yuwen Zhi and his family.

Theoretically, Yuwen You was Yuwen Tong’s elder and didn’t have to come to his welcome, but obviously Yuwen You was not the kind of person who liked to put on airs. Seeing Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang getting off the carriage, he walked up to them with a smile.

Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang hastened to walk towards him.

“Grandfather.” Yuwen Tong greeted him.

“My name is Ling Zhang. I’m honored to kneel before you, Your Lordship.” Ling Zhang respectfully knelt down and prostrated himself before the old man.

Smiling, Yuwen You held Ling Zhang’s arms and said, “You may rise, good boy. There’s no need for such formality. Just call me grandfather as Tong does.”

Ling Zhang rose to his feet with a faint flush on his cheeks and replied somewhat timidly, “Then I think I’d better do as you ask instead of standing on ceremony, grandfather.”

Yuwen You burst into hearty laughter, which was very sonorous and resonant. The laughter traveled far away and there were even echoes sent back.

Ling Zhang was somewhat shocked, thinking that Yuwen Tong’s father’s uncle was so robust. ‘If only my own grandfather’s constitution was as strong as his.’

“Come here. Let me introduce them to you. This is Yuwen Chi, my eldest son. He’s works in the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs. This is Yuwen Si, my second son. He holds a post with very little to do in the Imperial Academy. This is Fang shi, my eldest daughter-in-law, and this is Liu shi, my second daughter-in-law. These boys are your peers: Yuwen Hong, Yuwen Han, Yuwen Qian and Yuwen Jin. You’re of similar age and should hang out more. Later this year, Jin will go to study in the Imperial College. I heard that you were going to study in the Imperial College as well. You two may keep each other company there.”

Respectfully and cautiously, Ling Zhang greeted the elders one by one by making a bow with hands folded in front. When he was introduced to Yuwen Hong and other peers, they acknowledged each other with due formality.

Yuwen You was very approachable, and so were the others. Yuwen Chi and Yuwen Si, who were high-ranking officials, also appeared very polite and amiable, with no bureaucratic airs. Fang shi and Liu shi were nice people as well. As regards his peers, both Yuwen Hong and Yuwen Han were a lot older than Ling Zhang; Yuwen Qian was two years older than him. All three of them had married. Their wives were occupied with the luncheon and thus had not come to welcome them. Yuwen Jin, the only one unmarried, was of the same age as his. Apart from these four men, there were also some female members, all of whom, except for Yuwen Yan, a ten-year-old girl, were married.

All these people struck Ling Zhang as approachable and sociable. On some aspects, they bore a striking similarity to Yuwen Tong who was straightforward, brisk and neat. Ling Zhang had a feeling that these people were Yuwen Tong’s true family.

“Cousin, I thought that you’d be bachelor your whole life. It surprised me that you found yourself someone willing to marry you,” Yuwen Jin archly said to Yuwen Tong.

“Our uncle’s father accumulated a lot of good karma. Otherwise our cousin would’ve still been a bachelor,” Yuwen Hong also remarked.

“Younger Brother Ling, what do you see in him, anyway? You need to be cautious. Don’t be fooled by him.” Yuwen Han was even more direct.

Their words surprised Ling Zhang somewhat. ‘They are really on such good terms?’

Yuwen Tong put his arm around Ling Zhang’s waist and replied with two words, “Beat it.”

The three of them who had been told to get lost didn’t mind at all and even dissolved into laughter.

Ling Zhang, however, was somewhat embarrassed by Yuwen Tong and hurriedly freed himself. ‘What is this guy thinking? There are elders here. This kind of conduct is so undignified.’

Yuwen You and others all appeared cheerful and gay. Judging from the look in their eyes, they believed these youngsters were merely joking with each other, and there was no sign of displeasure on their faces.

“Okay, that’s enough. You may continue to have your fun inside the house. Let Xiao Zhang have some rest. You guys should be careful not to scare him. It took Tong a lot of doing to find the right one. If you scare him away, your uncle’s father will scold you in your dreams,” said Yuwen You.

After hearing an elder’s words, those youngsters naturally didn’t dare to mess around any longer. They crowded around Ling Zhang and walked him into the house, while Yuwen Tong was left alone with only his own shadow.

Yuwen Tong quickly walked forward, drew Ling Zhang out of their encirclement to his side and cast each of them an admonitory look.

“Tsk, what are you doing? Why so possessive? Are you afraid that we’ll tell Younger Brother Ling any dirt on you?” queried Yuwen Han.

“That’s true, cousin. We’re not going to tell Elder Brother Zhang about the shameful things you did in your childhood,” remarked Yuwen Jin. Though merely a couple of months Ling Zhang’s junior, he was calling Ling Zhang elder brother, and he did it in a very natural way, not at all regarding him as an outsider.

Yuwen Tong raised his hand and hit him hard on the head. “Shut up. You weren’t even born when I was a boy!”