The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 250- 252

Chapter 250: The Taibai Tavern Was the Bane of Us?

This dangerous situation reduced all others to screaming with horror. Jiang Yu swiveled his head aside to look at it but lost his balance, staggered and then toppled towards the tip of the blade.

Ling Zhang’s eyes went grim, flipped his wrist and hurled the saber in another direction. It went squarely into the room and with that an anguished screech was heard. Some unlucky guy in there was hit. Ling Zhang didn’t bother to find out who the victim was, believing that all those people deserved it. Jiang Yu, however, instinctively grabbed Ling Zhang as he realized he was falling over to the floor. Ling Zhang also tottered at the pull and then toppled over.

“Young Master!” “Brother Zhang!”

“Jiang Yu!”

With a thud, Ling Zhang and Jiang Yu landed together, Jiang Yu on the floor, and Ling Zhang, accidentally, on Jiang Yu. To make things worse, because of the inertia, Ling Zhang abruptly bumped his chin on Jiang Yu’s shoulder, and the sharp pain stupefied him for a moment.

Jiang Yu’s shoulder also ached terribly due to the hit. He subconsciously looked aside but the moment he twisted his head, his lips brushed past something warm and soft, leaving him transfixed on the spot.

That bump was so painful that Ling Zhang failed to feel Jiang Yu accidentally kiss his ear lobe and cheek. He propped himself up on one hand in an effort to get to his feet.

Fortunately, the others had got over their shock at this moment and hurriedly helped Ling Zhang get off Jiang Yu.

Ling Zhang carefully held his lower jaw, gave a shake of his head and finally got his mind out of the stupefaction caused by the great pain.

Jiang Yu had also been heaved to his feet by his friends, a peculiar expression on his face. As it had happened in such a sudden manner, nobody had noticed that small detail. He flicked a glance at Ling Zhang who was shaking his head, he briefly tucked his lips in and with that something occurred to him and he hurriedly loosened them. Then he raised his hand with the intention to wipe them, but felt that it might have the opposite effect, so he stiffly put his hand down.

“Are you okay?” someone standing beside him asked.

Miao Shiba examined Ling Zhang and looked at his chin. “Did you hurt your mouth with your teeth just now?”

Ling Zhang shook his head. “No.”

Miao Shiba said, “Then you’ll be okay after the pain ebb away.”

Yuwen Jin also checked Ling Zhang’s hand. “Brother Zhang, did you get hurt by that saber?”

“No. It was the hilt that I grabbed.”

“Which one of you threw that saber just now? You want to die?!” At this moment, two bands of men walked out of the room, all looking ferocious. One of them had a wound in his shoulder, which clearly had been caused by the saber that Ling Zhang had just thrown inside. These people were here to find the one responsible and settle the score.

Ling Zhang’s eyes instantly went cold. These people had the nerve to come here and bluster?

The noises on this floor was so loud that soon people of the Taibai Tavern arrived. At the sight of Ling Zhang and the others, the taverner respectfully hastened over and said, “May I ask what happened here, childes?”

Yuwen Jin had been glaring at those men all along. “These people were fighting and yelling here. We almost got hurt by a saber of theirs when walking by. Inform the garrison patrol. These guys gathered a crowd, made disturbances and hurt Brother Zhang. On no account will we let them get away with it.”

Those men didn’t seem to be locals and had no idea who Ling Zhang and the others were. One of them said haughtily, “You want us arrested? I’ll break your–”

Bang!

All people on the scene saw a flicker of a figure and with that the speaker was sent flying into the room by a kick, overturning the table and chairs as he landed. The man held his chest and abruptly coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face going pale.

Everybody’s countenance changed.

Miao Shiba withdrew his foot and stepped back to Ling Zhang’s side, coldly eyeing those men. “Whoever utters another word ends up the way this man did.”

The one who had just been knocked off his feet was the chief of these men. After seeing this, none of them dared make any other remarks.

Soon a garrison patrol came and escorted those men away. All these childes were from powerful families. None of those men stood a chance of getting out of prison in one piece.

As Ling Zhang had saved Jiang Yu once again, Yuwen Jin, seeing Jiang Yu walk away with his cronies, said unhappily on their way out of the tavern, “Something always happens whenever we meet Jiang Yu. Do you think there’s a jinx on him?”

“Well, actually I feel that the Taibai Tavern is the bane of us. Let’s never come to this place to dine again,” said Tao Yi, having a lingering fear.

Thinking about the last incident and this one, every one of them, including Ling Zhang, couldn’t help but flick a backward glance at the Taibai Tavern, a weird expression in their eyes.

“Next time let’s go to the side yard of my family,” suggested Ji Feng in a quiet voice.

“Anyway, let’s change the location next time. I will never come to this tavern ever again,” said Tao Yi.

“Alas, it’s always Brother Zhang who suffers in the end. If the Taibai Tavern is really the bane of anybody, it’s Brother Zhang,” observed Yuwen Jin.

Everybody lapsed into silence, looking at Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang’s heart did a somersault, and the expression in his eyes grew even odder as he gazed at the Taibai Tavern. Even he himself could barely refrain from suspecting that the Taibai Tavern was the bane of him.

“Come on. Let’s go home right away. I’ve actually sobered up after this incident,” said Yuwen Jin.

Xun Huo, who was thoroughly drunk and fast asleep on his servant’s back, was the only one totally unaware of what had just happened.

…

After returning home, Ling Zhang surprisedly found that Yuwen Tong had already come back. “Why are you back so early?”

Yuwen Tong didn’t answer immediately. He looked at him with a frown, walked up and sniffed at him. “You drank wine?”

Ling Zhang smiled, “A few cups. With Yuwen Jin, Brother Tao and some others. That day the meal was called off, and we rescheduled it for today.”

Yuwen Tong raised his hand and removed a splinter from Ling Zhang’s sleeve, then looked at the dusty lower hem of his robes. “You fell over for drinking?”

Ling Zhang was sent into a fleeting amazed trance. How did Yuwen Tong come to know he’d fallen to the floor? He twisted his head around to look at Miao Shiba, who shook his head –he hadn’t found the time to tell the Marshal anything yet.

“What happened?” On seeing his facial expression, Yuwen Tong knew he had indeed fallen over.

Ling Zhang gave an account of what had happened in the Taibai Tavern earlier this day, and then said with a smile, “The Taibai Tavern is the bane of us. We’ll go there again. I think not only are we afraid of the tavern, the taverner is probably scared to see us as well.”

After hearing this, Yuwen Tong looked at Miao Shiba. “Who were those people?”

“Out-of-towners. They seemed like contract deliverers,” answered Miao Shiba.

Yuwen Tong bobbed his head and drew Ling Zhang inside to let him change clothes and bathe.

Watching their receding backs, Miao Shiba raised his head and thought for a while, feeling that Jiang Yu’s bumping against Ling Zhang had merely been an accident and no big deal, that it was unnecessary for him to specially report it to the Marshal, so he also turned around and left.

Ling Zhang took a bath to rid himself of the smell of wine, changed into clean robes and asked Yuwen Tong, “Did anything happen at the King Duan’s banquet?”

A couple of days ago Jiang Yu suddenly warned him against the King Duan, and then Yuwen Tong had happened to be invited to the King Duan’s banquet. Both of them had speculated that something would happen at the banquet, but seeing that Yuwen Tong had come back so early, Ling Zhang was uncertain about it.

Yuwen Tong replied, “Nothing. He was just a clown.”

“A clown?” Ling Zhang was bemused.

Yuwen Tong explained, “The King Duan curried favor with me, trying to draw me over to his side, but I didn’t fall for it.”

Ling Zhang said, “Back then, he’d tried to have me poisoned in order to make an in-law of you. He had no plan to do anything to that end on this occasion?”

This didn’t make any sense. Jiang Yu wouldn’t have given him that word of warning were it the case.

Yuwen Tong subtly paused and then said, “So many things happened these days. Anybody could tell that nothing can drive us apart.”

Ling Zhang could have noticed Yuwen Tong’s brief pause, if the latter half of Yuwen Tong’s words hadn’t given him a twinge of embarrassment.

Had Yuwen Tong known beforehand about those lame arrangements of the King Duan’s, he would never have gone there. He had thought that the King Duan had some kind of elaborate scheme, but it’d turned out that that trip of his was merely a waste of time.

“Young Master, this is your Sobering Soup.” A servant brought Ling Zhang some Sobering Soup.

Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong, who said, “Drink some, though you’re not really drunk.”

Ling Zhang drank only half a bowl of it. It was not very tasty.

“Where’s Whitie? It’s been quite a while since my return. Why haven’t I seen it?” asked Ling Zhang. Whitie the fox always stayed with him when he was at home –unless Yuwen Tong got annoyed and left it in someone else’s charge.

Yuwen Tong inwardly snorted and then said, “It’s with Xie Shi.”

“Where are they?” inquired Ling Zhang.

“In a house in the front in the east. He’s instructing Qiu Bing,” replied Yuwen Tong.

After strict selection, Xie Shi had chosen Qiu Bing to be his apprentice. Qiu Bing had been having a tough time and complaining a lot. Those intimidating medicated baths alone made Ling Zhang’s flesh creep. However, though the training Xie Shi had been giving him was harsh, it was also pretty fruitful. Originally Qiu Bing had been completely clueless about detoxification, but he was learning very quickly, making steady progress.

After drinking some Sobering Soup, Ling Zhang became sleepy.

While he was drifting off, Yuwen Tong took him in his arms, kissing him and fondling him. Ling Zhang on the verge of sleep was annoyed, chucked Yuwen Tong out, lay prostrate onto the bed and fell asleep.

Yuwen Tong waited until Ling Zhang was deep in sleep to walk inside and adjust his sleeping position. Then he had a servant bring a basin of ice into the room and put it under the window.

As this place was not as cool as the manor, Ling Zhang had slept badly for several consecutive days since his return, which was why he was sleepy during the day.

Gently stroking his face, Yuwen Tong felt that maybe they should go back to the manor and stay there. Ling Zhang’s study in the Imperial College wasn’t really something of urgency anyway.

“Marshal,” Miao Shiba called from outside.

Yuwen Tong stood up, walked out with noiseless steps and closed the door. “Let’s go to the study to talk.”

As soon as he left, Ling Zhang turned over to lie prone on the bamboo sleeping mat, briefly rubbed his face against it and soon was sound asleep. In his dream, he reached the third layer of the mental cultivation method of internal energy, mastered the unique skills taught by his grandfather, acquired the ability to conjure storm and rain, and was almost capable of flying in the sky and traveling freely underground. It was a really sweet dream.

Chapter 251: A Rich and Generous Grandfather

Jiang Yu threw a glance at him, uninterested in brothels. “I’m not going.”

“Why are you being so shy? It’s just a brothel. You still don’t dare set foot in one till this day.”

“I’m not interested.”

“Oh, so you’re not very struck on girls of that sort. Have you been hiding some kind of beauty in your house, by any chance?”

“You may go without me. I’m going back home.”

After parting from his companions, Jiang Yu returned home with a cold face and immediately instructed servants to prepare bathwater for him. It was only when he washed himself clean in the bathroom that his face which had been stern all along slightly softened. Sitting in the bathtub, he involuntarily recalled that scene in the Taibai Tavern once again, tucking his lips in. Then he raised his hand to wipe them, but when his hand was halfway to the other corner of his mouth, he heavily smacked it onto the surface of the water, his face alternating between green and pink, looking very bizarre.

…

“Grandfather.”

“I heard that yesterday when you were dining in the Taibai Tavern, another group of daredevils made trouble for you?”

In the morning, Ling Zhang arrived at the Imperial College and paid a visit to Ji Yin first. Naturally, all others in the college believed that Ling Zhang and Ji Yin were just on very good terms, and none of them was aware that they were family. The first thing Ji Yin did at the sight of Ling Zhang was ask about the incident in the Taibai Tavern, which made Ling Zhang go slightly red in the face. What happened the day before wasn’t really a serious event, but the knowledge that his grandfather had been worrying about him made him feel somewhat guilty.

“Two groups of contract deliverers from out of town got drunk and started fighting. We happened to be walking past and narrowly avoided being hurt. It’s nothing serious.”

“I’ve heard of the Taibai Tavern before. It’s said to be the best tavern in the capital city. The way I see it, its reputation is unearned. First one of their waiters was bought and tried to poison you, and then people carrying weapons brawled in it. It seems to be a terribly troubled place.”

Ji Yin’s voice grew unhappy as he talked. He felt that fame was the only thing the Taibai Tavern had – their management was not strict enough; they allowed all kinds of customers to get in, and his grandson’s life had been threatened there. It’d taken him, an old man, so many years to find his grandson, and he hadn’t found the opportunity to make up to him for these years’ absence of love in his life, but these nasty incidents had happened one after another, in which his grandson had been faced with danger. Ji Yin was very disgruntled at the thought of this.

Seeing that Ji Yin was angry, Ling Zhang, worried that anger might compromise his health, said, “I’ll never dine in the Taibai Tavern again. It turns out eating at home is the best choice.”

“How about grandfather buys you a manor outside the city or a second residence in the city? So that you and your friends will have a place to stay in when it’s not inconvenient for you to take them home, and it’ll save you going to any of those taverns on the streets to dine, and spare you worries about safety.”

After hearing Ling Zhang’s words, Ji Yin suddenly offered to buy him a manor or another residence, sounding as casual and natural as if he were talking about buying two steamed buns.

“And about those twenty-four security guards of yours, don’t just leave them at home as though they were some kind of decorations. You should take them with you when you go out. They’ve been practicing those martial formations for such a long time, and it’s about time they made themselves useful. In a few days I’ll talk to the principal and resign my professorship, so that I’ll have time to help you reach the third layer of the mental cultivation method and teach those brats some discipline. Um, I think a manor will be a better choice. Grandfather will personally select one for you. When it’s done, you and your security guards may move into it immediately.”

Ling Zhang fell open-mouthed as he heard Ji Yin’s decision. “Wait, Grandfather. There’s no need to go to that much trouble. Buying a manor is too–”

“There won’t be any trouble. It’s just a manor. I’ll buy a big one and have it revamped. There’ll be a spacious drill ground, and a quiet chamber for you to cultivate internal energy. And you don’t have to worry about the hiring of servants. I will handle it for you. If nothing else works, I’ll drug them to keep them under control. You may rest assured that all of them will be absolutely loyal and obedient.”

Hearing this, Ling Zhang came to realize that his grandfather had already had everything planned out, including even what kind of manor to buy, and how to revamp it. He hurriedly tried to talk him out of it. “Buying a manor is too big a move, Grandfather. What if someone notices and becomes suspicious of you?”

“Don’t fuss. I’ll be in disguise.”

“But a manor costs a fortunate, Grandfather. I’ll buy one myself after I earn enough money. You should keep your money in case you’re in need some day.”

“A manor doesn’t really cost that much. I have more than enough money to buy a city, and I seldom find myself in need of any. Those silver ingots are getting moldy in there.” After saying this, Ji Yin, as if something had just occurred to him, told Ling Zhang, “You’re still young, and there’ll be a lot of occasions when you need money. Besides, you’re with Yuwen Tong and your identity is different now. That money will be of much more use to you than it is to me.”

A hint of urgency appeared in his voice as he talked about this. Ji Yin felt that previously he’d been too careless. His grandson’s status was different now, and maybe the reason why he’d encountered so much trouble from the beginning of his journey to the capital city till this day was because people believed he was weak and from a poor family.

‘No. I’ve got to do something for my grandson right away,’ thought Ji Yin.

“You have a lesson to attend, don’t you? Hurry. Go back to the classroom. Grandfather’s got some business to deal with.”

Ling Zhang looked at Ji Yin’s anxious face, dazed. He kept feeling that his grandfather would definitely create a sensation if he let him go out like this. “Grandfather, you really don’t need to buy a manor for me. I’ve already got a residence. Also, Yuwen Tong owns a manor in the suburb…”

Ji Yin’s eyes which were fixed on Ling Zhang went piercing as though he’d thought his grandson knew better than this. “You said it yourself – that manor belongs to Yuwen family, and it’s different from a manor of your own. You’re my grandson, which means you’re of very noble blood. How can I let anybody look down upon you? It’s true that members of the Millennium Pavilion live in seclusion, but you’re not. In no circumstances should this matter be taken lightly.”

Back at the time when Ji Yin had just found Ling Zhang, what with his worrying about Ling Zhang holding resentment towards him, he’d been overcautious, not daring to do anything that might upset Ling Zhang, but over the past half a month, the two of them had been getting along better and better. Ji Yin was very happy, so naturally he began to consider some other matters. Although the Millennium Pavilion had been in seclusion for centuries, there were countless treasures and manuals of unique skills hidden in it, the total value of which was greater than that of a country, and the branches of it that had been covertly operating these years were also making profit. It was probably the wealthiest place in the world. Ji Yin, as the Prime Elder of the Millennium Pavilion, naturally was a super-rich man. In the realization that Ling Zhang was his only family member left and he himself didn’t need that much money, Ji Yin who was on increasingly better terms with Ling Zhang had come up with the idea of doing something for his grandson.

Ling Zhang had only felt the existence of the Blood of the Phoenix Clan on the few occasions when he’d been easily accepted by animals. There was nothing else, and he didn’t have any other expectations, which was why he was a little confused when Ji Yin reminded him that he was of noble blood.

“Pity I cannot mobilize the secret resources planted by the clan.”

Ji Yin felt it a great pity that he couldn’t use the resources of the secret branches of the Millennium Pavilion, which had been established to make sure that the clan was not utterly uninformed of the outside world. These were the Millennium Pavilion’s ears and eyes, and were of great importance. They must not be exposed, otherwise there would be trouble. Ji Yin would unhesitatingly make use of them to offer Ling Zhang help if it weren’t for these limitations.

Ling Zhang was overwhelmed by this unexpected favor. “Please do not use them, Grandfather.”

If his grandfather was subjected to punishment because of it, he would have a terribly guilty conscience.

Ling Zhang still wanted to talk Ji Yin out of the idea of buying him a manor, but he had just started when Ji Yin shooed him out of the house, and then he himself also left in a hurry.

Resigned, Ling Zhang had no choice but to have Miao Shiba inform Yuwen Tong of it and tell him to pay attention to events in the city and keep his grandfather safe.

What with this matter, Ling Zhang appeared absent-minded during the lesson and almost got scolded by the teacher.

…

When Yuwen Tong received the message from Miao Shiba, a muscle twitched at the corner of his mouth. It was not that he disapproved of the way Ji Yin was showing his affection for Ling Zhang, but that he had a premonition that his manor in the suburb would probably become useless, that he wouldn’t be able to hide his sweetheart there or have private time with him in it as he pleased…

As the weather got hotter, this residence would be even more unsuitable for spending the summer compared with that manor. Yuwen Tong had originally wanted to take advantage of this opportunity and trick Ling Zhang into going back to the manor. If Ling Zhang got his own manor, he definitely wouldn’t go there again. Also, Ji Yin would be in Ling Zhang’s manor…

Yuwen Tong immediately instructed Yao Yi and some others to keep their ear to the ground and pay special attention to the real estate trading center.

If it were anybody else, Yuwen Tong could directly have his men keep close watch on them, but when the target was Ji Yin, even he himself might not be able to spy on him, not to mention any of his subordinates. The old man always came and went like a shadow, and also had mysterious abilities of laying all kinds of formations. The very thought of this gave Yuwen Tong severe headaches.

Yuwen Tong massaged his temples. Ling Zhang’s powerful grandfather had become something of a vexation.

At this time, he missed Ling Zhang’s uncle and the others very much, all of whom were so adorable compared with Ji Yin.

…

Although Yao Yi had assigned some men to the real estate trading center to keep watch, he still failed to stop Ji Yin. In the afternoon, Ji Yin, through an unconventional method, directly purchased a large manor of the Marquess Ning’an (AKA, the Marquess of Peace), along with some private courtyard houses nearby and a piece of land.

Theoretically, not everybody could build manors in the suburbs of the capital city. The site and size of a manor had to be reported to and approved by the emperor before people could start the construction, and there were certain constraints on the manors trade, but the problem was that the piece of land bought by Ji Yin happened to be on the verge of the suburb of the capital city, just out of the boundary.

When the Marquess Ning’an had been at the climax of his political career, a large area of land had been awarded to him; though his fief had gone beyond the boundaries, nobody had dared raise any objections. Afterwards, as the family’s influence had gradually declined, its fief had dwindled, and eventually, all its land within the boundaries had been sold. They’d kept the part outside the boundaries to maintain the family’s dignity.

Sure enough, it was not that the land outside the boundaries was too out-of-the-way to catch buyers’ fancy. In fact, that area was moderately populated. The reason was that the emperor couldn’t domineeringly take possession of all the suburbs. Construction work within the boundaries required his approval, but when it came to the area beyond the boundaries, the emperor had permitted merchants of every description and rich families to build houses on it, which had been meant as a privilege.

Though the manor was far away from downtown, there was also an upside in this regard – it wouldn’t be easy for people living in the city to pry into the personal life of the owner of the manor.

Moreover, Yuwen family’s manor was not far away from this place. Old General Yuwen had chosen a remote area to build his manor because he’d enjoyed the quiet.

Ji Yin had purchased the whole piece of land of the Marquess Ning’an in that area. When Yao Yi and the others got wind of it, he had already finished the hiring of artisans who were going to do the revamp. Ji Yin had directly bought the manor along with everything inside it. At this time, the butler and servants who had been working in it were leaving, baggage in hands.

Yuwen Tong, after being informed of it, lapsed into a long silence. The old man had got it done so quick that there was nothing he could do now. The silver lining was that the two manors were not very far away from each other.

Chapter 252: A Warning from Yuwen Tong

During the riding lesson in the afternoon, however, there was a blip.

As coincidental as it had been the last time, Ling Zhang and his friends were attending a riding lesson with Jiang Yu. Another group of people were also present.

Snowflake the horse, which was Ling Zhang’s steed, drew numerous people’s eyes as it made its appearance. Added to this was his reputation in the Imperial College. Almost everybody present knew who he was, and he naturally was the focus of attention in the field.

When Ling Zhang, Yuwen Jin and the others arrived, Jiang Yu and his cronies were already there. Their arrival was accompanied by a lot of noises, so naturally Jiang Yu and the others noticed.

“This Ling Zhang guy is getting cockier by the day.”

As usual, it was Zuo Yuanping standing behind Jiang Yu who spoke. After saying this, he specially looked at Jiang Yu to see his reaction. On that day, at the front gates of the Imperial College, Jiang Yu rebuked him after he made a nasty remark about Ling Zhang, and he was astonished, wondering why Jiang Yu suddenly changed his attitude. He had a history with Ling Zhang and didn’t want to see Jiang Yu and Ling Zhang bury the hatchet, but he didn’t dare offend Jiang Yu either, so after saying this, he flicked a tentative glance at Jiang Yu. Seeing no particular reaction from Jiang Yu, unaware of what Jiang Yu was thinking about, he added, “Marshal Yuwen is nursing injuries at home, but he, instead of staying with him and tending him, came to this place. Why does the Marshal has his eye on a man of this kind when he obviously deserves someone much better?”

“Would you knock it off?”

Jiang Yu turned around and looked at him coldly. “Like I said that day, if you say another word about this, you’ll have to leave this group.”

Zuo Yuanping went pale-faced and somewhat embarrassed. “Jiang Yu, don’t you think Ling Zhang is being unbearable?”

“Beat it.”

Since Jiang Yu had given the word, all his cronies acted accordingly and soon forced Zuo Yuanping out of the group. Zuo Yuanping was no longer welcome in Jiang Yu’s clique.

Zuo Yuanping was indignant but didn’t dare say anything, his fist clenched. ‘Jiang Yu!’

“Who’s that?” someone beside him suddenly said.

Zuo Yuanping looked in that direction and saw that a student walked up to Ling Zhang, said something and with that everybody beside Ling Zhang had an odd expression on his face.

“So you’re Ling Zhang. Can you play qin (a seven-stringed plucked instrument in some ways similar to the zither)?”

Ling Zhang was thrown into perplexity by this person who had suddenly shown up and asked him whether he knew how to play qin.

“I want to have a qin competition with you. Both of us play the tune ‘Commencement of War’.”

A muscle twitched at the corner of Ling Zhang’s mouth. Commencement of War? What was this guy talking about?

“I don’t know how to play the tune ‘Commencement of War’. Even if I did, I wouldn’t compete with you just because you asked. You haven’t identified yourself, and none of your words make any sense. How about you tell me why you want to compete with me on the proficiency in ‘Commencement of War’?”

Seeing the hint of inexplicable hostility in this person’s eyes, Ling Zhang couldn’t help but give a sneer.

Yuwen Jin’s and the others’ faces also fell, their eyes fixed on this student who had suddenly come to challenge Ling Zhang. “Who are you?”

“Who is he? Yesterday–”

A hiss was heard.

A person beside the student had just wanted to say something when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his knee, and with that his legs buckled and he slumped to his knees.

“Is such a high level of formality really necessary?” Ling Zhang looked down at the person kneeling on the ground, an flinty look on his face.

“What happened to you?” Seeing his companion suddenly kneel down with a miserable face, the student who had just challenged Ling Zhang to a qin competition went somewhat flurried.

Because of the noises, all others moved their eyes in this direction, wondering what was going on.

With an apathetic expression, Ling Zhang glanced at Miao Shiba out of the corner of his eye. Just now there’d seemed to be a gleam shooting into that person’s knee. If he had seen correctly, it was Miao Shiba who’d done it.

With a thoughtful look, Ling Zhang ignored the two people, one kneeling and the other crouching, and said, “No matter who you are, I’m not interested in this kind of farce, and neither do I have the time for it. Be smart and stay away from me or there will be consequences.”

Seeing his companion yelling “My leg’s broken!” with an anguished, pallid face, the student who had challenged Ling Zhang to a competition also paled visibly. He turned to look at Ling Zhang, a faint mixture of wariness and fear in his eyes. “You did this?”

“You’re such a weirdo. We have every reason to suspect that you’re trying to frame Brother Zhang. This guy had barely finished a sentence when he knelt to the ground and started whining as though we did something to him. Use your brain, will you? And tell us who sent you here to make trouble for us.”

Yuwen Jin frostily eyed the two people, arms crossed on his chest.

On hearing the rebuke, the student clenched his teeth. “Arrant nonsense! I just want to have a qin competition with Ling Zhang.”

“Qin my ass! Get lost!” Yuwen Jin glared at him, his fists clenched, making it obvious that he’d beat him up if he didn’t leave right away.

“My leg… My leg hurts so badly! Help me! Send for a physician!”

The man wailed in pain on the ground was reduced to tears. The student’s face was full of anger but there was nothing he could do to vent it. His companion was tightly holding on to him asking him for help, and he couldn’t ignore him…

Ling Zhang rolled his eyes upwards, couldn’t be bothered to say another word, turned around and left.

Yuwen Jin and the others naturally followed in Ling Zhang’s wake. Before leaving, Zhao Jiusi thoughtfully tossed an appraising look at that person’s figure and looks, a flicker of suspicion crossing his eyes.

Seeing Ling Zhang walk away, Miao Shiba felt a sense of relief. When he looked at the student again who’d tried to provoke Ling Zhang, the expression in his eyes was icy cold and highly admonitory.

Distantly, lookers on fell into discussion after seeing this.

“I think that man is that what-d’you-call-him living in Tangfeng Garden who comes from a small city and is good at playing qin.”

“Why did he try to provoke Ling Zhang? He’s got a lot of balls.”

…

At dusk, before Ling Zhang returned home, Yuwen Tong came to know this matter, his face darkening. Because of Peng Fang’s previous attempt to have Ling Zhang poisoned, he had been meaning to fix Zhou Mingyuan for quite some time. If it weren’t for the fact that the time was not ripe yet, he would never have tolerated this kind of thing. He had let Zhou Mingyuan get away with his ridiculous arrangement for that qin master to seduce him, but making trouble for Ling Zhang was beyond the pale.

…

That very night, the King Duan’s henchman returned to the King Duan’s residential compound in haste and went to the study.

“Your Highness, that qin master came here to ask for help. A meridian in his left wrist got hurt and he can never play qin again. Also, the Imperial College expelled him, saying that he committed misbehavior. He implores you to offer him help.”

The King Duan knitted his eyebrows. “How did that happen?”

His henchman hesitated for a while and then said, “He went to Ling Zhang and kicked up a stink, which came to Yuwen Tong’s knowledge.”

The King Duan’s face fell. After quite a while, he instructed, “Send him home. Tell him not to show his face in the capital city again.”

“Your Highness?”

The King Duan had a sullen countenance. He originally had intended to use the qin master to curry favor with Yuwen Tong, but Yuwen Tong had not only shown no interest whatsoever but also wounded the qin master. Yuwen Tong knew the qin master served him, but he’d done it anyway. This was clearly a warning for him!

“Send him away.”

“Ur… Yes, Your Highness.”

After his henchman left, the scowl on the King Duan’s face still hadn’t ebbed. The reason why he’d always wanted to draw Yuwen Tong over to his side was because of his military leadership, but Yuwen Tong was unbelievably insensible – he’d given various hints to Yuwen Tong, but he still remained indifferent. And today he’d inflicted such a humiliation on him.

If it weren’t for his longing for the throne, he would never fawn on Yuwen Tong again and again!

The only thing that was luck for him was that though Yuwen Tong refused to side with him, he hadn’t made overtures to any other sides. It was okay that Yuwen Tong didn’t want to serve him, but if he was insensible enough to take anybody else’s side, he would have no choice but to eliminate Yuwen Tong.

…

After returning home, Ling Zhang took a bath first and changed into clean robes.

“Mr. Ji bought a manor outside the city and has hired some craftsmen to revamp it.”

Ling Zhang, who had just sat down, dilated his eyes at this message. “So soon?”

“Mr. Ji did it very fast, and not via the real estate trading center. I think he’d had everything planned out some time ago.”

Yuwen Tong told Ling Zhang where the manor Ji Yin had purchased was, a rather resigned expression on his face. He couldn’t stop Ji Yin, so he’d had no choice but to quickly send some men there to help. Fortunately Ji Yin hadn’t declined his offer, and Yuwen Tong had heaved a sigh of relief after being informed of it.

When stopping him was not an option, helping him was his only choice.

Ling Zhang was astounded by the efficiency with which his grandfather had handled this matter.

“The Marquess of Ning’an feels ashamed to have sold the manor, so he didn’t disclose it to anybody, and neither did any of the other merchants. So far hardly anybody has come to know about this matter.”

After hearing this, Ling Zhang felt a faint sense of relief. He’d been worried that what his grandfather was going to do would attract a lot of people’s attention and get himself in trouble.

Yuwen Tong took a dry towel to wipe Ling Zhang’s hair, gently massaging his acupoints. “I heard that someone tried to make trouble for you. Was it true?”

Ling Zhang’s eyes flickered briefly, and he replied, “Nothing serious. Just a little thing.”

Yuwen Tong, seeing that he didn’t seem to be unhappy, was slightly relieved. Although those annoying flies had been the King Duan’s doing, he still had a somewhat guilty conscience and worried that Ling Zhang might be angry.

“By the way, the trade caravan sent a letter here, saying that everything’s fine and they’re close to Yanzhou.”

In the afternoon a letter for Ling Zhang had been delivered to the residence. As it was from the trade caravan, Yuwen Tong had taken the liberty of reading it. The originally obscure trade caravan had shot to fame because of Ling Zhang and him. When it’d left the capital city heading back for Tanyang, it’d been more than twice its original size, and it had departed in massive, streaming columns. There was no need for them to worry about its safety. Any gang who wanted to lay hands on this trade caravan had to consider whether they stood a chance of defeating Marshal Yuwen’s army before making their move.

Ling Zhang, being massaged, felt very comfortable and gradually became languid, his broad collar hanging askew, revealing his long, white-skinned neck, pert collarbones and gracefully shaped shoulder, all of which were gleaming in the lamplight. The look on Yuwen Tong’s eyes changed at the sight of it. Slowly, his hands massaging Ling Zhang’s crown acupoints started misbehaving, sliding to his shoulders.

Enjoying the massage very much, Ling Zhang hadn’t noticed the change of mood in the room. It was only when Yuwen Tong nibbled his shoulder, the tip of his tongue tracing circles on it, that he came to realize what was happening. As the soft touch of Yuwen Tong’s tongue circled a spot repeatedly, a limp and numb sensation rapidly shot from his tailbone to the back side of his head, and his waist gave a shudder.

“Um… Stop that.”

Ling Zhang tried to pull his shoulders in but failed. The last syllable of his words was quivering, which further aroused Yuwen Tong. Satisfied with Ling Zhang’s reaction, he curled the corners of his mouth in a smile, the longing in his eyes deepening.