The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 394- 396

Chapter 394: I Won’t Leave. I Won’t

It took the two of them quite some time to finish the dry run. It was not until their stomachs started rumbling that they came to realize it was past lunchtime.

Chefs of the imperial kitchen had prepared a meal for them. It was after having their fill of food that the two of them felt relieved.

“This was just a dry run. I’m afraid I won’t even have enough strength left to raise my hands or feet after going through the actual ceremony on the wedding day,” sighed Ling Zhang, sprawling in his chair.

Yuwen Tong, whose heart ached for him, said, “After everything’s done in the front hall, you may go to the side hall to get some rest. I’ll give you a massage there.”

Ling Zhang looked at him, reaching out a hand to knead Yuwen Tong’s arm. “You’re not tired?” he asked.

Yuwen Tong would have to be a fool to reply that he was tired. Knowing that he couldn’t say that, he answered, “No. I won’t feel tired, no matter how tiring those things are.”

Ling Zhang looked at him silently. For an instant he felt somewhat guilty, wondering whether or not he was being too honest, and whether or not his words had hurt Yuwen Tong’s feelings.

However, the next moment, he heard Yuwen Tong say, “You may rest assured that on the wedding day, I’ll be unusually energetic instead of being tired, and I’ll make sure your desire is satisfied in the nuptial chamber that night.”

Ling Zhang, “…”

His feeling of guilt instantly vanished, and he would have started hurling things at Yuwen Tong had there been any within his reach.

Yuwen Tong was such an asshole and bullshitter!

Looking at his dilated eyes, Yuwen Tong secretly snickered, feeling that his sweetheart was so timid. Then he leaned over to kiss Ling Zhang but was pushed aside before his lips could touch Ling Zhang’s cheek.

…

In the afternoon, Ling Zhang didn’t leave the palace. He spent the whole afternoon keeping Yuwen Tong company in the consultation hall. At night, they returned to the Infinite Fortune Palace to rest.

At the sight of their two masters coming back, the guards, who had watched over the deserted imperial bedchamber for several nights in the Infinite Fortune Palace, were moved so much they were almost reduced to tears. In the past few days they had felt abandoned by their masters and been so upset as though they had lost their names.

Seeing they seemed to be touched, Ling Zhang was amused. As a bunch of rough men, didn’t they feel it embarrassing to have that kind of expressions on their faces?

“Your Majesty, Childe Ling, there’s going to be a lantern show in the imperial garden tonight. It’ll be beautiful. Would you care to go there to enjoy it?”

Ling Zhang was somewhat surprised. A lantern show in the imperial garden?

“Why are they holding a lantern show?”

“It’s a rehearsal for the lantern show scheduled for the night of Your Majesty’s and Childe Ling’s wedding day. The preparatory work is almost finished. Countless lanterns will be lit after dark, and it’s going to be a spectacular sight. If Your Majesty and Childe Ling are interested, you may go there to take a look.”

Ling Zhang didn’t know much about the imperial garden, because he had been fully occupied all along ever since he’d moved into the Infinite Fortune Palace, and he had never had the time to pay a visit to the imperial garden. Besides, the imperial garden was not really close to the Infinite Fortune Palace, and he had merely passed it in haste several times, so he really didn’t know what the view was like in the imperial garden.

However…

“Seeing as it’s a rehearsal, if we go there, wouldn’t we alarm the eunuchs and interrupt the rehearsal?”

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Childe Ling. The eunuchs will leave after all lanterns are lit, so if you go there to enjoy the view after that, nobody will disturb you.”

Ling Zhang felt tempted at these words.

Yuwen Tong, who was much more direct than him, said, “Let’s go there after dinner. We could take an after-dinner walk to help with digestion.”

“All right,” answered Ling Zhang.

When the two of them had had dinner and a few moments’ rest, it was completely dark outside.

At this time, all the lanterns in the imperial garden had been lit. There were thousands of them, which were of every description and a variety of colors, making a splendid sight.

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong slowly strolled in that direction. They hadn’t got close to the front gates of the imperial garden yet when they beheld the sea of lighted lanterns inside it. Every lantern was elaborately made and of unique design. All of them were works of highly skilled imperial artisans, and some of them were even slowly rotating. Every one of them was so beautiful that people couldn’t bring themselves to take their eyes off them. Ling Zhang were dazzled by the light.

“There are so many lanterns there. Do they adorn the whole imperial garden?” asked Ling Zhang, pleasantly surprised.

Yuwen Tong replied, “Yeah. I want to have them hold the banquet scheduled for the night of our wedding day in the imperial garden. What do you think?”

Hold the banquet in the imperial garden? But the imperial garden was a distance away from the Taiqing Palace. If the banquet was to be held in the imperial garden, the security issue would be a lot trickier. On top of that, although there were pavilions, terraces, towers, rockeries and lakes in the imperial garden, there wasn’t an area suitable for holding a banquet. Surely they couldn’t hold it in the open air?

After Ling Zhang expressed his confusion, Yuwen Tong actually gave a nod. “That’s right. It’s going to be an open-air banquet. With the countless lanterns, we won’t have to worry about the lighting.”

Indeed, lighting wouldn’t be a problem. Right now this whole place was as bright as day.

However, if the banquet was to be held in the imperial garden, both the security and the preparatory work would be thorny issues. Eunuchs and court ladies would probably be working off their feet. Moreover, there were small hills and lakes in the imperial garden. If anybody accidentally fell into a lake at night, it would hardly be a pleasant experience for them.

Ling Zhang told his worries to Yuwen Tong, who said, “Qi San and Jiang Ke will be here. Even if something happens, they’ll be able to get the situation under control immediately.”

Yuwen Tong insisted the banquet be held in the imperial garden, and Ling Zhang couldn’t bring himself to rain on his parade. He was just a little baffled as to why Yuwen Tong was so insistent on holding the banquet in the imperial garden.

While Ling Zhang was wondering, the two of them walked into the garden hand in hand. Eunuchs and court ladies had all left. Only a group of guards were following the two of them, carefully keeping a certain distance from them.

Ling Zhang looked over his shoulder to cast a glance at those nervous guards, gave a little cough and said, “You may go back now. We don’t need anybody to protect us in this place.”

The guards exchanged apprehensive looks. “Childe Ling, please let us follow you. This garden is too dark,” said one of them.

Dark? Ling Zhang glanced around him. The whole place was so brilliantly illuminated he could even distinguish every blade of grass. He couldn’t think of a single reason why that guard found this place dark.

Yuwen Tong turned around and instructed with a motion of his hand, “Get back, all of you.”

The guards briefly hesitated and then chorused, “Yes, Your Majesty.” While pivoting around to leave, they twisted their heads aside to glance at the two of them, worrying that anything might happen to these two masters of theirs the moment they left.

All these guards were Yuwen Tong’s personal bodyguards. In their eyes, Yuwen Tong words were orders that must not be disobeyed. Whenever Yuwen Tong asked them to leave, they would leave. However, almost all of them had grown up with Yuwen Tong and were among those who cared about Yuwen Tong’s safety the most, which was why they appeared so ambivalent.

Qi San was still secretly following the two of them, along with a lot of secret bodyguards. The whole imperial palace was basically under Qi San’s and Yao Yi’s firm control. Even if somebody dared to do anything, they wouldn’t be able to have their way, so for the moment the two of them didn’t have to worry about their safety.

Yuwen Tong just wanted to spend some time alone with Ling Zhang in this place. On their wedding day, this garden would no doubt be seething with noisy guests, and it would be impossible for them to find any opportunities to enjoy the scenery alone like this.

“Let’s go and check that gazebo out,” suggested Yuwen Tong. Having dismissed the guards who’d been following them at every step, Yuwen Tong drew Ling Zhang up to a gazebo located on a small hill not far away. Because of the height of its site, they had a much wider view there.

As soon as Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong walked into the gazebo, they sighted the enjoyable scenery around the spot.

“This garden is really worthy of its reputation,” commented Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong just casually glanced around before his eyes rested on Ling Zhang’s face again. In his eyes, no matter how artistic those lanterns were, their beauty would never outshine Ling Zhang’s charm. There were also beautiful lanterns ablaze in the gazebo. They were giving off an orange light which was shed on Ling Zhang’s face. Every flutter of his long, curved eyelashes was accompanied by a gleam across his eyes, like someone lightly fanned the surface of the water rippling it. Yuwen Tong watched, enthralled. Ling Zhang’s face was covered with a warm glow which seemed as though it were emitted by his face itself. His rosy lips were opening and closing while Ling Zhang was speaking. From his current position, Yuwen Tong could easily see the charming view inside Ling Zhang’s mouth distinctly. He felt as though his whole being had been enchanted.

This beauty belonged to him. Nobody would be able to take Ling Zhang away from him, and he wouldn’t allow anybody to take him away.

Ling Zhang, who was enjoying the scenery in the imperial garden with curious and excited eyes, unaware that the man beside him was eyeing him covetously. The glint in Yuwen Tong’s eyes was so feverish as though they could really burn people, as though he were trying to melt Ling Zhang with his gaze, but his eyes were also like some kind of dark, deep pond which was trying to swallow Ling Zhang and trap him in it.

When Ling Zhang perceived that there was something wrong with Yuwen Tong’s gaze, the latter had got very close to him. It was not until this moment that he noticed the fervent emotions that were about to burst their boundaries in Yuwen Tong’s eyes. His whole body instantly stiffened at the sight of this. “You…”

“You’ll stay in this palace and be by my side forever, right?” asked Yuwen Tong in a low and deep voice, fixing him with an unblinking stare, a powerful, brooding air radiating from him.

Ling Zhang sensed a kind of danger that he had never sensed before, the source of which was Yuwen Tong’s eyes. It was as though he would be swallowed by Yuwen Tong in one gulp and never be able to escape if he didn’t give Yuwen Tong an answer he deemed satisfying. Also, the powerful emanation from Yuwen Tong’s eyes was weighing him down like never before. It struck him as so heavy that he could distinctly feel the most real thoughts of Yuwen Tong’s.

If it’d been not long ago that he started a relationship with Yuwen Tong, Ling Zhang would have been scared by this state Yuwen Tong was in, but right now Ling Zhang only felt that Yuwen Tong was virtually glowing. Although the glow from Yuwen Tong was trying to bind him, as though it would stop at nothing to trap him, Ling Zhang didn’t feel afraid.

Because he wanted to do the same thing to Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong wanted take possession of him, and he wanted to take possession of Yuwen Tong. He wanted to marry Yuwen Tong and be Yuwen Tong’s only marriage partner. He wouldn’t allow Yuwen Tong to take anybody in as his concubine or leave him. If anybody dared to get between the two of them, he would show his worst side and tear them to pieces.

“I will never leave you. What about you? Will you let me leave?” inquired Ling Zhang, gazing at him.

Yuwen Tong looked at Ling Zhang’s eyes which were gazing at him and seemed to be glistening, transports of affection surging madly inside him. “I won’t.”

“I heard you very clearly – you said you won’t. If one day you want to forsake me and take concubines for the sake of your identity, I swear I’ll kill you,” said Ling Zhang.

Eyes glinting with a crazed passion, Yuwen Tong clamped his arms around Ling Zhang tightly. “I heard you clearly as well. You’re not to forget a single one of these words!”

Chapter 395: An Important Promise

The imperial garden spangled with radiant lanterns was so dazzling, the scenery so entrancing, but what struck the two of them as more entrancing was the charm of their lovers.

With such beauty in sight, Yuwen Tong was unable to retain his cool, and so was Ling Zhang, which was why eventually the two of them didn’t finish their planned stroll around the imperial garden. Instead, they strolled back to their bed in the Infinite Fortune Palace…

The official of the Ministry of Rites responsible for the decoration of the imperial garden, who mistakenly believed that he hadn’t done his job well enough, was terribly anxious. Yao Yi provided some much-needed reassurance to him. “Don’t worry. His Majesty and Childe Ling are both very satisfied with tonight’s lantern show. Just do it all over again on the night of their wedding day.”

It was only then that the official of the Ministry of Rites was saved from dying of anxiety.

…

The next day, Ling Zhang woke up very late.

Both of them had found their passion somewhat out of control the night before, and they’d spent hours unleashing that energy inside them. Ling Zhang’s waist was so sore and painful he almost toppled back onto the bed immediately after he sat up.

His face burned as he recalled the killing frenzy the night before, feeling that he and Yuwen Tong had probably lost their minds.

Of course, it might also have been because they’d been very relaxed in the Infinite Fortune Palace, their own place, in which nobody would disturb them no matter what they did, and which was different from the Ling Mansion where there were a lot of inconveniences. Both of them had been totally at ease and all what they’d wanted to do was enjoy themselves to their hearts’ content. As a result, it was not until noon that Ling Zhang got out of bed to languidly wash and change.

He didn’t even know at what time Yuwen Tong had left in the morning.

“Sire promptly presided over the court meeting. After that, he came back here to check on you. You were still sleeping. Sire told us not to awake you and then returned to the consultation hall,” said Yao Yi.

Ling Zhang inclined his head. Fortunately Yuwen Tong had made it. Otherwise it would’ve been the second time that Yuwen Tong had missed a court meeting because of his excessive indulgence in sex the night before, though Yuwen Tong hadn’t been enthroned yet when he’d done that for the first time…

“Did he eat anything in the morning?” asked Ling Zhang.

“Yes. He had breakfast in the side hall,” Yao Yi answered and then said, “You should get something to eat too, Childe Ling. How about I have the servants bring the food here?”

Ling Zhang looked at the color of the sky to gauge the time and then said, “He’ll come back soon. I’ll wait a while and dine with him.”

Yao Yi gave it some thought before he took his leave to have the servants get ready to serve the lunch. Yuwen Tong should return soon.

Predictably, after a Joss-stick (a unit of time used in feudal China; how long it takes for a joss stick to burn itself out), Yuwen Tong came back. Seeing that the lunch had been served and Ling Zhang was waiting for him, he gave a smile, walked up and pressed a hand against the small of Ling Zhang’s back. “How do you feel?” he asked.

Ling Zhang slid him a sideways glance. “What do you think?”

Yuwen Tong stroked his nose in a somewhat guilty way and said, “I should’ve shown some self-restraint. You may catch up on your sleep after lunch.”

Ling Zhang said, “It’s about time I got back home.”

Without the slightest change of his countenance, Yuwen Tong poured him a bowl of nourishing soup and then said, “You need more rest. The trip out of the palace would be tiring, and you’re not in a fit state to do that. Even if you can manage it, I can’t bring myself to let you do it.

On top of that, your maternal grandfather and your father are both in the Ling Mansion, and they’re unbelievably sharp-eyed. If you get back like this, they’ll be able to tell at a glance what happened. You… really think it’s okay to let them see you like this?”

Ling Zhang’s face registered vexation at these words, and even his appetite for the bowl of nourishing soup in front of him was gone. “Then what should we do? I promised my family I’d go back today.”

“I’ll have Yao Yi explain to your elders. He’ll tell them that there are still some preparations to make for the wedding ceremony, that I’m otherwise engaged and you have to stay to help. You may stay here for another night on this pretext and get back home tomorrow,” said Yuwen Tong.

This explanation was watertight. Ling Zhang could tell at the mention of it that Yuwen Tong had had this planned out some time ago. Ling Zhang silently looked at him.

Yuwen Tong appeared quite composed, without a single sign of shame on his face. He called Yao Yi in and instructed him to deliver a message to the Ling Mansion. Not having heard any objections from Ling Zhang, Yao Yi took his leave and exited the palace to deliver this ‘explanation’.

…

In the Ling Mansion.

It was Ling Zhaowu who received Yao Yi. After hearing Yao Yi’s explanation, Ling Zhaowu slightly lifted his brows. His eyes were calm, but they seemed to be seeing right through Yao Yi. After a brief moment, Ling Zhaowu said, “I see. I’ll tell this to my family. Zhang’er has been quite busy with his own thing lately. Even if something comes up in the palace, you guys should figure out a way to share your master’s burden, rather than relying on Zhang’er to deal with it. I want you to tell Yuwen Tong that Zhang’er will move into the palace sooner or later, and he’s not supposed to keep Zhang’er there when it’s time for him to come back. I’ve been tolerating him sneaking in here every night, but it’s unacceptable for him to take Zhang’er back to the palace after he spent merely a couple of days at home.”

In an embarrassed but polite manner, Yao Yi promised he’d relay the message and then quickly left the Ling Mansion as though he were fleeing from something. On his way back to the palace, he kept having this feeling that someone was chasing him.

“… Sire, I didn’t disclose anything to Master Ling, but he seemed to see me through at a glance. Moreover, it’s come to his knowledge that you’ve been visiting the Ling Mansion every night.” After returning to the palace, Yao Yi steeled himself to related to Yuwen Tong what Ling Zhaowu had said, and also reminded him that Ling Zhaowu had found out about him going to the Ling Mansion every night, that Ling Zhaowu had warned him to let Ling Zhang return home immediately.

After hearing it, Yuwen Tong kept silent for quite a while. Ling Zhang, who was leisurely lying on a soft couch on the side, languidly reading a book, pretending not to notice Yuwen Tong’s complex countenance, just lazily remarked, “My father’s not a pushover.”

Yuwen Tong exhaled deeply. “Now I know.”

There was a downside to having a smart father-in-law: he could easily see through his little games. Most importantly, his father-in-law had no problems whatsoever with expressing his opinions explicitly, and had warned him in a very direct way, which made him feel fairly awkward.

Luckily Yuwen Tong believed himself to be rather thick-skinned. The embarrassment caused by the relayed word of warning from his father-in-law merely lasted a few moments before ebbing away. “Given the deep love between us, I’m sure your father will come around. Tomorrow I’ll go back to the Ling Mansion with you and apologize to him.”

Ling Zhang put the book down and looked at him. “You want to go back there with me and apologize to my father?”

This guy seemed to have no idea how messy the situation was already.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You’re the emperor now. If you go out of the palace, the matter of your safety alone would give Yao Yi and the others a hard time. Besides, you’ve still got tons to do. How are you supposed to find the time tomorrow? As for apologizing to my father, you must be joking when you said that, I presume? My father just sent you a word of warning. It’s best if we keep this between us. If you go there to apologize, you’d be deliberately antagonizing him further, and he’d definitely lose his temper. Are you soft in the head?”

Smiling, Yuwen Tong walked up, sat down on the soft couch, reached out a hand to take the book from Ling Zhang, put it down on the table on the side and then took Ling Zhang’s hand. Stroking it carefully, he said, “Of course I won’t really be so foolish as to make an explicit apology to him. I’m just thinking of pacifying him in a tactful and roundabout way.”

“And how are you going to do that?” asked Ling Zhang, looking at him, eyes full of curiosity. He was really quite curious about how Yuwen Tong planned to pacify his father.

“By pleasing him, of course,” replied Yuwen Tong with a confident smile.

“Pleasing him? Do you know anything about my father’s hobbies? How are you going to please him?” Ling Zhang inquired of him.

When it came to Ling Zhaowu’s hobbies, even Ling Zhang himself was almost in the dark. How was Yuwen Tong going to please him? He had never seen his father crazy about anything but his mother. Presently, family was the only thing his father cared about the most. Nothing else mattered much to him. He wasn’t particular about food or drink, and he didn’t have any of the interests or hobbies that most men his age had either, which seemed to be because of his rebirth. Ling Zhang believed that in his last incarnation his father had definitely been through a lot and witnessed a lot of things afterward, which was why he was rather uninterested in wealth or anything like that.

Looking at Ling Zhang’s curious eyes, Yuwen Tong replied, “You don’t necessarily have to give people something tangible to please them. Helping your father fulfill his wish would please him as well. Currently you’re the apple of your father’s eye. As long as you’re happy, your father will be happy, which means that giving you a happy life is all it takes for me to get your father to like me.”

Ling Zhang looked at him in puzzlement. “I hate to disillusion you, but my father is not someone you could sweet-talk into trusting you.”

“Which is why what I’m giving your father is not some sweet talk but an important promise,” said Yuwen Tong.

An important promise? Ling Zhang looked at him with a slight frown on his face. “What are you going to do? Listen to me – don’t make promises you cannot keep, especially not to my father. If you make him a promise, you’ll have to honor it, or my father will definitely make you pay the price.”

Yuwen Tong gazed at him quietly for quite a while before he said, “Why do you have so little faith in me?”

His eyes narrowed dangerously after these words, and the menacing glint that Ling Zhang had noticed in Yuwen Tong’s eyes the night before could now be faintly seen again.

Ling Zhang hurriedly explained, “That’s not what I mean. We’re together now, and we’ve made each other a promise. I believe you and I will both keep our promises, so there’s no need for you to say anything else to my father. This matter is…”

It struck Ling Zhang that he was not clarifying anything, but he had this vague feeling that the important promise Yuwen Tong said he would make to his father would be one not to be taken lightly…

Yuwen Tong replied, “Well, even if I don’t do it tomorrow, after our wedding I’ll still have to do it. It’s something I cannot run away from.”

Ling Zhang’s heart did a somersault. He kept feeling there was an increasingly high chance that his premonition would come true. With a mixture of nervousness, apprehension and some kind of inexplicable anticipation on his face, he looked at Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong gave a smile and stroked Ling Zhang’s cheek. “It would seem you’ve come to know what I’m going to say.”

Ling Zhang was still gazing fixedly at him.

Fingering the corners of Ling Zhang’s eyes, Yuwen Tong said, “Trust me.”

It was a long moment’s silence before Ling Zhang replied, “I trust you, but this matter is not easy to deal with. How are you going to handle it?”

Yuwen Tong said, “I’ve come up with a plan already. All I need to do is wait for the opportunity to present itself.”

Ling Zhang looked at him. If it was really what he thought it was, then what was the plan that Yuwen Tong had just mentioned? And what kind of opportunity was he waiting for? A minor mistake in the handling of this matter would compromise the stability of Yuwen Tong’s imperial power, and might make it multiple times more difficult for him to rule the Great Wen as its first emperor. It was no trivial matter.

As a result, recently Ling Zhang hadn’t dared give it any in-depth thought, and neither had he dared bring it up. Now their wedding was very close, but Ling Zhang still didn’t feel like thinking it through. Even he himself had no idea why he kept avoiding it.

Chapter 396: A Promise

Neither of them lifted the curtain, but they both knew what it was that they were referring to.

The next day, the two of them went to the Ling Mansion. This was the first time that Yuwen Tong had visited the Ling family as an emperor after his enthronement. Understandably, the imperial guard of honor’s arrival at the front gates of the Ling Mansion caused quite a sensation.

All members of the Ling family went out to welcome Yuwen Tong, who spared them the formalities and entered the residence very soon.

After walking inside, everybody felt more at ease and behaved more naturally.

Yuwen Tong talked with Ling Xingzhong and Ji Yin for a while before he found an opportunity to speak with Ling Zhaowu alone.

Ling Zhaowu, who had had Yao Yi relay a word of warning to Yuwen Tong the day before, had originally thought that Yuwen Tong would avoid him. It hadn’t crossed his mind that Yuwen Tong would come to talk to him on his own initiative, so he quite admired Yuwen Tong’s courage.

“Soon you and Zhang’er will be married. There’s no need to rush into anything. I don’t understand why you’ve been so impatient in the past couple of days,” said Ling Zhaowu.

Yuwen Tong inwardly gave a little cough, fairly surprised that Ling Zhaowu was being so explicit.

“The wedding ceremony involves a lot of complicated ritualistic formalities. I was worried that we’d be flustered on the wedding day if we didn’t do a dry run,” explained Yuwen Tong, looking composed.

“What about this visit? You don’t really have to come here with such fuss on this day,” said Ling Zhaowu.

Yuwen Tong smiled, “I’ve been meaning to pay you a visit after my enthronement for quite some time. After this visit, those insensible characters in this city would gossip less about your family.”

Ling Zhaowu lifted his brows. ‘Not bad. This explanation is pretty reasonable,’ he thought.

Not many people living in this residence were aware that Yuwen Tong had been slipping in here by night over the past few days. Except for kung fu experts like Ji Yin and Ji Yanlai, nobody could sense Yuwen Tong’s existence without seeing him, but Ling Zhaowu was different. Though he couldn’t hear Yuwen Tong slink in, he could deduce it from Ling Zhang’s behavior and reaction in daily life.

Considering the two of them were going to get married, Ling Zhaowu had no interested in stopping them from secretly meeting each other at night. However, Yuwen Tong’s being unwilling to let Ling Zhang leave the palace struck him as faintly provocative. The reason why Ling Zhaowu had involuntarily made those remarks the day before was because he’d wanted to remind Yuwen Tong that he was his future father-in-law, that he needed to show some self-restraint.

By making this visit, Yuwen Tong proved he was not a coward.

Now that Yuwen Tong had come here, Ling Zhaowu took advantage of this opportunity to ask him some questions that he’d been meaning to ask him for quite some time.

“You two will be married in a few days, and there are some issues that you’ll have to face up to sooner or later. Given that you’re now the emperor, there’s no doubt some day people will start asking about the matter of your heir, though nobody has brought it up so far. How do you plan to handle it?”

Ling Zhaowu’s question was very direct. Fortunately Yuwen Tong had meant to talk with Ling Zhaowu about this matter from the very beginning, and had some time ago made preparations for it.

“I heard that you still haven’t set out to deal with the matter of the imperial seraglio. What are you planning to do?” Ling Zhaowu asked another question. “Have you made a mental list of your future concubines already?”

Ling Zhaowu appeared very calm when asking these questions. He even asked Yuwen Tong of his own accord whether or not he had any plans to take concubines, seeming not to be angry about this matter at all, as though finding it quite understandable.

But Yuwen Tong knew that Ling Zhaowu wasn’t being understanding. Although there hadn’t been many occasions when he’d talked with Ling Zhaowu in private, he had found through personal experience that Ling Zhaowu was quite secretive. The latter was a man who had been through a rebirth and was very poised and unhurried in his dealings with others. Nobody knew what he had been through in his last incarnation.

Although Ling Zhaowu seemed unruffled and quite understanding at this moment, Yuwen Tong would bet that if he really took some concubines and set up an imperial harem of his own, his and Ling Zhang’s wedding would almost certainly be called off, and Ling Zhaowu would get the wedding canceled covertly without raising any objections openly or putting his son in a difficult position, without even letting his son find out about his take on the marriage.

To say the least, even if the wedding was held as scheduled, he wouldn’t never have a chance to take any concubines. What concerned him the most was the possibility that every time he decided to take in a woman as his concubine, she would be found dead in her bedroom shortly after that.

Ling Zhaowu cared about Ling Zhang very much. Ling Zhang’s happiness meant a lot to Ling Zhaowu.

“Brother Zhang will be my only partner for the rest of my life. I’ll never take any concubines,” said Yuwen Tong beneath Ling Zhaowu’s seemingly level gaze.

Ling Zhaowu kept silent for a brief moment before he looked seriously at him and asked, “You’ll never take any concubines?”

Yuwen Tong replied, “Yes. Currently there isn’t a seraglio in the palace. All the eunuchs, court ladies and concubines of the former emperor that could be dismissed have been dismissed. Right now the seraglio is totally unoccupied, and it’ll stay that way for good.”

“You’re the emperor, and Zhang’er is a man. If you don’t take concubines, how will you ever be able to have a son? Without a son to be your heir, your throne will be insecure, the future of this country will be insecure. The Great Wen has just been built, yet you’ll let it meet its end in a few decades?” said Ling Zhaowu.

Yuwen Tong smiled, “Don’t worry, Father-in-law. It won’t meet its end so soon. Just because I won’t set up a seraglio and won’t have a son of my own doesn’t meant that I couldn’t have an heir.”

Ling Zhaowu looked at him earnestly. “What do you have in mind?”

“Adoption,” replied Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhaowu didn’t make any remarks immediately. He pondered for a while before he said, “That’s indeed feasible. Whose son are you going to adopt?”

Yuwen Tong answered, “Yuwen Feng or Yuwen Qian. Both their wives are pregnant. Apart from them, there are also some alternatives. I have many cousins, and all of them are blessed with more than one son. I’d discussed this matter with my granduncle and some others before my enthronement. I’ll make a decision about the adoption right after my and Brother Zhang’s wedding ceremony.”

All these people were close relatives of Yuwen Tong’s. They were all Yuwens. It was indeed a solution for Yuwen Tong to adopt their sons.

However, Yuwen Tong seemed to have the inclination to adopt more than one child, which would undoubtedly lead to some serious problems.

“Although all of them are you cousins, their sons are not your biological sons after all. How do you plan to tackle the issue of biological parents’ influence on the kids? If you don’t handle it properly, some day it’ll be the greatest pitfall. Moreover, all those kids are Yuwens, and they have no bonding with my son whatsoever. In the future, my son will be in a quite awkward position if you adopt them. How could you bring yourself to do that?” inquired Ling Zhaowu.

Yuwen Tong replied, “After the adoption, their relations with the Abode of the Marquess Fuan and the Abode of the Marquess Huaiwen will be severed, and Brother Zhang and I will be their fathers. I’ll take those kids into the palace to be raised by Brother Zhang immediately after their birth, and I’ll do everything within my power to strengthen the bonding between the kids and Brother Zhang. As long as I still draw breath, I’ll never let Brother Zhang feel hard-done-by. Also, I’ll make a will soon, so that if one day something does happen to me and one of the kids is to succeed to the throne, he’ll have to be nice to Brother Zhang. Otherwise none of them will be able to take the throne. On top of that…

I won’t have Brother Zhang stay in the palace for the rest of his life. I’ll help him build his team and have his own subordinates, making sure that he has what it takes to protect himself, so that if one day the situation does get out of control, nobody will be able to do him any harm.”

Ling Zhaowu, who’d been quietly listening all along, came to understand what Yuwen Tong meant, and he also caught on to the meaning of the last remark.

By doing that, Yuwen Tong, an emperor, would be like he were keeping a ferocious tiger beside his own bed, which could bite him at any moment.

“This is the best I can do to protect him,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhaowu asked, “Are you not afraid that it’d be like you’re raising a tiger which one day might kill you?”

Yuwen Tong smiled, “Brother Zhang is not a tiger. He’s my partner. The reason why I took the throne was because I wanted him to have no misgivings about being by my side. This country is a weapon I could use to protect him. If one day he wants it, I’ll do my best to help him. I have an ulterior motive. I’m willing to give him anything that’s mine to give, but he must not leave me, and no one must try to persuade him to leave me. This is my line in the sand, and I won’t show any mercy to whoever touches it.”

Ling Zhaowu flicked him a glance. This pal was warning him.

“Have you discussed all this with Zhang’er?” Ling Zhaowu asked him.

Yuwen Tong said, “We haven’t talked about any of this in detail, but we know each other well, so he’s probably guessed my plan.”

Ling Zhaowu gave it some thought and said, “This is between you and him after all, so I’ll stay out of it. I’ll bear these words of yours in mind, and I’ll wait and see if you’ll keep your promise. If you break your word and hurt him, I’ll take him away and kill you, and you’ll have only yourself to blame for it. The future of this country doesn’t mean anything to me, and I have no love for the people in this country. I’m not a kind-hearted man, and I’m not going to consider whether or not this country would descend into chaos. My son is the one I care about the most and I’ll do anything to protect him, which is a point I hope you’ll understand.”

Naturally Yuwen Tong understood. Through this talk, they became fully aware of each other’s line in the sand.

The conversation finished, Yuwen Tong went to play chess with Ling Xingzhong.

Seeing him coming, Ling Zhang who was playing chess with Ling Xingzhong came to realize that Yuwen Tong had finished talking with Ling Zhaowu, looking at Yuwen Tong with a somewhat nervous expression in his eyes.

Yuwen Tong slightly inclined his head, suggesting that the talk was over and the issue had been settled.

Ling Zhang felt a sense of relief.

“Your father probably has something to say to you. You may go and talk to him. I’ll finish the game for you,” Yuwen Tong said to him.

Ling Xingzhong looked at them and then said to Ling Zhang, “Go. I’d like to go a few rounds with His Majesty.”

Ling Zhang nodded, rose to his feet and took his leave.

Ling Zhaowu was still sitting in his chair, seeming to be lost in thought.

As Ling Zhang walked into the courtyard, he immediately perceived it. “Why did you come out? Weren’t you playing chess with your grandfather? How did it go? Did you win a game or two?”

Ling Zhang said, “Grandfather may be old, but his chess prowess is as formidable as always. I’m no match for him.”

Ling Zhaowu smiled, “I know very well how good a chess player your grandfather is.”

Ling Xingzhong’s chess strategy was just as open and above board as himself. It didn’t involve any artifice, and sometimes it could be very explicit. Any adept chess player would be able to acquaint themself with Ling Xingzhong’s style of playing after a couple of games with him. It was not really difficult to defeat him.

“Now that you’ve come here, take a seat. It was Yuwen Tong who told you to come, I suppose?” Ling Zhaowu asked him to sit down.

Ling Zhang was somewhat embarrassed. “Nothing escapes your eyes, Father.”

“Actually I happen to have something to say to you,” said Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhang looked at Ling Zhaowu, who related to him his conversation with Yuwen Tong a few moments before.

Although Ling Zhang had guessed what it was about before coming here, he was still slightly astounded as he heard the words “Brother Zhang will be my only partner for the rest of my life. I’ll never take any concubines”, which were repeated to him by Ling Zhaowu.

“Yuwen Tong had no intention of taking any concubines. He’ll adopt a couple of his cousins’ sons. I was worried that he’d be unfaithful to you, but he offered this solution, which surprised me somewhat,” said Ling Zhaowu.