The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 484- 486

Chapter 484: Recollections of Childhood

One month’s time was neither long nor short. The atmosphere in the imperial court and that in the borderlands had both become subdued and tense before anybody realized it. It struck many people that this was just the lull before the storm.

The Ling Mansion, however, was unaffected. Contrary to what it was like at ordinary times, the mood in the residence became uproarious.

After Fu Caiwei’s return to the capital city, the Ling Mansion had instantly become lively. Both Ling Xingzhong and Ling Maomao had moved back to the Ling Mansion from the suburban manor, and even Ji Yin had moved back as well. It was as though someone had turned the clock back five years. Everybody in the residence had a delighted look on their face and emanated an air of joy when walking.

When Ling Zhang’s guard of honor arrived at the Ling Mansion, the residence which had stood quiet for five years thoroughly came alive.

Ling Zhang brought Yuwen Qi, Yuwen Lin and Yuwen Yue with him. The moment they showed up, Ling Xuxu’s spirits rose. Ever since he’d returned to the capital city with Fu Caiwei, he had been the only child in the Ling Mansion. Having no acquaintances in this city, he had inevitably been feeling rather lonely. At first Yuwen Qi, Yuwen Lin and Ling Xuxu were a little uptight when having dealings with each other, but since the two brothers had seen Ling Xuxu a couple of times before and were his peers, they soon hit it off. Yuwen Yue kept running behind them, a group of palace ladies and middle-aged handmaids on her heels. Thus, the couple of children scampered around with a group of adults following in their wake.

Even Yuwen Lin, who had always been relatively quiet, lost his inhibitions. At ordinary times the two brothers always had to act courteously, and occasions when they could really relax like this were rather rare, so Ling Zhang didn’t put any restrictions on them. He himself went to play Chinese chess with Ling Xingzhong and Ji Yin. Ling Xingzhong was no better a chess player than he’d been many years ago. It was amazing that Ji Yin had been patiently playing Chinese chess with him for such a long time.

Fu Caiwei was sitting in a living room located in another area of the residential compound. The hall was spacious, and sitting in it, she could see the children playing in the large garden. While talking with some middle-aged handmaids, she watched the children chasing a group of palace ladies, laughing all the way. Seeing that Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin who always conscientiously obeyed the rules had shed their inhibitions and were now playing happily with Ling Xuxu and Yuwen Yue, she sighed, “I haven’t seen them so lively for a very long time.”

When her eyes rested on Yuwen Yue, the look in them became exceptionally gentle. Seeing that she was delicate-skinned and fair-complexioned and followed by a group of nervous palace ladies and middle-aged handmaids, she came to know that the little girl must’ve been growing amid the love of a lot of doting adults in the palace. Recalling the astonishment that had appeared on the face of everybody, including Ling Zhaowen, when she had told them her decision, she was amazed by how fast time had been going. In what felt like the blink of an eye, the baby had grown into a little girl, who was now chasing her brothers, calling out to them in a silvery, babyish voice, her ruddy and delicate cheeks glowing with vigor.

“…At that time the imperial court were both startled. Fortunately Her Highness didn’t consume much, and a court physician prescribed her some mild alexipharmic medicine, so she’s okay now.” A middle-aged handmaid serving Yuwen Yue was among the group of people talking with Fu Caiwei. Ling Zhang, aware that Fu Caiwei must be eager to know more about Yuwen Yue, had specially told the handmaid to keep Fu Caiwei company and talk with her.

Smiling, Fu Caiwei said, “That sounds like something Maomao would normally do when he was younger. When Maomao was a little boy, he also liked to put all kinds of things into his mouth. On one occasion, Zhang’er was caught flat-footed and got his arm bitten by Maomao. The bite was so hard that it left a bruise on his arm. Maomao refused to let go no matter how hard Zhang’er tried to convince him.”

Ling Maomao, who was keeping an eye on his mother as well as the couple of children playing in the garden, blushed. “Mother, what are you talking about?”

Everybody in the room clapped a hand to their mouth and snickered. Fu Caiwei looked at him and said, “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Every child grinds their teeth sometime, and it’s a normal thing that children like to bite things. They tend to put everything they could get into their mouths. Her Highness is doing what every child her age would do. You used to be like her as well.”

His face suffusing with color to the snicker of the women in the room, Ling Maomao simply rose to his feet and said, “I’m going out there to check on them.”

After saying this, he ran out as though fleeing and the people in the room burst into laughter.

Ling Zhang, who was in the room next door and had a sharp sense of hearing, naturally heard every word of the conversations between people in the living room, and so did Ji Yin sitting beside him. The old man tossed Ling Zhang an amused glance and asked, “You really got bitten?”

Ling Zhang smiled, “Maomao was like a puppy, and his bites were quite painful. At that time Uncle Zhaowen was a busy man, and Aunt Caiwei had to help with the family business from time to time, so I was made a babysitter. Maomao not only liked to bite people but also was running around all the time. I was twelve and it never occurred to me that babysitting a kid could be so challenging. Sometimes Maomao pissed me off to such a degree that I was on the verge of tears.”

Ling Xingzhong, though not having heard the conversations between people in the next-door room, could divine what that was about from his grandson’s words. On hearing the story, he dissolved into laughter. After he finished laughing, he said, “You were not just on the verge of tears. You were literally reduced to tears. Your eyes were red, and you gritted your teeth, but there was nothing you could do with Maomao.”

Ji Yin, who had really never heard of this kind of childhood stories about Ling Zhang before, flicked a searching glance at Ling Zhang’s eyes, as though picturing what twelve-year-old Ling Zhang had looked like when sulking with red eyes and clenched teeth.

Ling Maomao, who had just escaped from his mother and was planning to tell his elders that he was going out to check on the three children, had just entered when he heard Ling Xingzhong’s words which made him feel very much like sinking through the floor. He had been very young when those things had happened, and he couldn’t recall any of them clearly. He really didn’t know that he had once made Ling Zhang that angry.

Fortunately for him, Ling Zhang, who observed him walk inside, specially changed the topic in an effort to spare him the embarrassment. “Go and keep an eye on Crescent. She’s too young to outrun her big brothers, and she might cry when she fails to catch up with them.”

Ling Zhang knew his daughter very well. Shortly after he stopped speaking, Yuwen Yue’s deafening weep issued from the garden. Ling Maomao spun around and trotted out.

Ling Zhang went out as well and saw Ling Maomao run up to Yuwen Yue like the wind, scoop her up, coax her for a moment and then affect an air of ferocity before going after Yuwen Qi and the other two boys, sending Yuwen Yue laughing through tears, screaming excitedly.

Ling Zhang shook his head resignedly. Fortunately it was a windless day, and the sun was quite warm, so it was okay to let the children roughhouse a little.

In the room, Ling Xingzhong and Ji Yin were still talking about Ling Zhang’s childhood. After a while, Yuwen Tong finished work and came out of the palace. He entered the living room and paid his respects to the two elders. “Paternal Grandfather, Maternal Grandfather.”

Because of his identity, Ling Xingzhong and Ji Yin didn’t dare allow him to actually kneel before them.

“May I ask what you were chatting about? I heard your laughter a long distance away,” said Yuwen Tong, throwing Ling Zhang a significant glance.

Ling Xingzhong also cast a look at Ling Zhang, who simply rose to his feet and took his leave. “I’m going to keep Aunt Caiwei company and talk with her.”

Well, this time around Ling Zhang was the one making an excuse to leave, which was something Ling Maomao had done a short while before.

But him taking his leave meant that he didn’t mind if Ling Xingzhong talked about his childhood.

Now Ling Xingzhong had no misgivings. Both these two people loved his grandson, so he naturally felt it unnecessary to keep anything back from them. Therefore, he confided to them many funny stories about Ling Zhang’s childhood, with an emphasis on the period when Ling Zhang had been babysitting Ling Maomao. Ling Xingzhong had felt quite amused when he had seen Ling Zhang who had always been a polite well-behaved grandson stamping his foot in anger with teary eyes because of a toddler. That period had lasted quite some time, and only when Ling Maomao had been several years older and less naughty had Ling Zhang been rid of the ordeal.

As Yuwen Tong listened to these stories about Ling Zhang, many images naturally came into his mind, his eyes gleaming with amusement. That version of Ling Zhang struck him as precious and different in the sense that he had been innocent at that time. Ling Zhang had been brought up by Ling Xingzhong, so his personality bore some likeness to that of his grandfather. Also, twelve-year-old boys tended to believe that they were supposed to behave like adults, so Ling Zhang at that time definitely had been courteous, innocent, kind-hearted and quite methodical in speech and action, a teenager like an opening bud, who hadn’t been through rebirth or any of the upheavals that had happened afterward, who had been like a piece of blank white paper that hadn’t been stained by any of the colors that had afterward made it iridescent, but who had been adorable in a unique way regardless. Thinking about this, Yuwen Tong felt rather regretful. Why had he not found out about the marriage contract between them sooner? Had he done that, he would have met the twelve-year-old Ling Zhang. However, this was probably what people meant when they said “Sometimes the providence is just not in the mood for granting people the happy endings they want.”

Hearing Ling Xingzhong in the next-door living room talk about his childhood, Ling Zhang, who was keeping Fu Caiwei company, also had a somewhat distant look on his face. It was in not only his childhood but also his last life that those things had happened. Sometimes he felt that it had been only an instant since the occurrence of those events, but sometimes he felt that it had been decades, and those memories of his seemed to have blurred somewhat.

“Zhang’er?” called Fu Caiwei apprehensively as she noticed the distant expression on his face. “Is something bothering you?”

Ling Zhang pulled himself back to the present and said, “No. It’s just the sight of them playing reminds me of my childhood.”

Fu Caiwei smiled, “You were much more well-behaved than them when you were their age. You were always meek and polite. They are a bunch of naughty little devils.”

Ling Zhang was not Fu Caiwei’s natural son, and he’d been almost ten when Fu Caiwei had married into the Ling family, but at the age of ten, he had been shorter than his peers and looked as though he were seven or eight. Also, he’d been delicate-skinned and fair-complexioned, and his eyes had been exceptionally bright and always had an appraising look in them when Ling Zhang had been quietly looking at someone. He had been a boy of few words but quite lovable. Fu Caiwei had taken a liking to him on first acquaintance and, after being informed of what had happened to his parents, developed a sympathy for him. Over time, she had come to regard him as her own son. Before the birth of Ling Maomao, Ling Zhang had been like a firstborn to her. He had been obedient, sensible and quite thoughtful, so all her memories of his childhood, naturally, were sweet and pleasant.

His aunt’s words sent Ling Zhang into fits of chuckle. After sitting there for another few moments, feeling that these women’s topics were not very becoming for him, he rose to his feet, took his leave and went to look for the children who had run to the other side of the garden to play. Judging from the color of the sky, lunchtime was near. It was about time he had them come back, wipe up their sweat and change out of their sweaty clothes.

…

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, along with their children, had lunch in the Ling Mansion and then chatted with their elders for some time. It was shortly before the time when Ling Xingzhong would normally go to have an afternoon nap that the two of them brought the children back to the palace. After their return to the palace, it was time to deal with the matter of Yuwen Tong’s absence from future court meetings. Naturally, in order not to arouse anybody’s suspicions, they had to make some arrangements to prevent that from happening, and to do that, they needed some help. Having nobody else at his service whom he deemed trustworthy enough to be entrusted with the task, Yuwen Tong had got his eye on Yuwen Jin, who had successfully passed the Imperial Martial Arts Examination and had been trying to toughen himself in the Western City Garrison Battalion over the past few years.

Chapter 485: Kung Fu Contest

The weather this spring had been very good, with gentle breeze and timely rain, which was why people of the Great Wen all had smile on their faces. During these five years of Yuwen Tong’s reign, the yearly harvest had been growing steadily. Though there had been occasional natural disasters, the imperial court had carried out rescue and relief operations promptly and fruitfully. With a reliable government at their back, the people were now more confident about their future, and naturally their living conditions were improving. And Yuwen Tong’s prestige had been rising correspondingly year by year. During this year’s Spring Rite, the number of people attending the ceremony had hit a record high. Though it had been quite some time since the end of the ceremony, a lot of residents of the capital city were still talking about the pomp of it.

The people were in high spirits and kept feeling that they needed to find another way to vent the joy swelling in them. As a result, the ship-lantern show scheduled for the middle of this month became their target. Unlike previous years, this year’s ship-lantern show featured a segment where fleets of pleasure-boats would drive along the river circling more than half of the capital city. The riverbanks had been adorned with colorful lanterns. On the fifteenth day of this month, all those lanterns would be lit, and there would be a panorama of the sea of lanterns from the high palace ramparts.

In response to the people’s enthusiasm, Yuwen Tong decided to hold a kung fu contest at the palace gates on the fifteenth day of this month.

The announcement of the contest sent a ripple of thrill through the whole city, for according to the announcement, anybody having no criminal record was eligible to enter the contest, irrespective of status and family background, and those finishing in the top twenty in the contest would be rewarded handsomely. Given the large population of the capital city, it would be impossible to finish the contest in merely one day. Therefore, it was decided that an elevated fighting arena would be set up five days in advance for a qualifying competition in which the top a hundred contestants would earn their qualification for the contest scheduled for the fifteenth day of this month. The imperial couple would present themselves on the palace ramparts to spectate the event. In order to win the laurels, all residents having some acquaintance with martial arts entered for the contest.

Ever since Yuwen Jin had finished first in the Imperial Martial Arts Examination five years ago, he had been in the limelight all along. After he had joined the Western City Garrison Battalion with the intention to toughen himself and later had been promoted to assistant commander, many people pursuing a career in martial arts idolized him, because they could tell that Yuwen Jin had got the position as assistant commander utterly unaided, that he had never had any of his relatives in the imperial clan pull strings for him.

“Are you entering the contest to be held at the front gates of the palace, Assistant Commander?”

Ever since news of the kung fu contest had spread, all soldiers of the Western City Garrison Battalion had been looking forward to hearing Yuwen Jin’s decision to participate in it. He had lost count of the number of times he had been asked about it on his trip from the tent to the drill ground earlier this day. Even if Yuwen Jin were not inclined to get involved, the expectant eyes of his men would have rendered him powerless to say no, not to mention that Yuwen Tong had assigned him a task.

The very thought of what he would have to do in the contest gave Yuwen Jin headaches. Were his second cousin not the emperor, he would have directly left with a flick of his sleeve immediately after Yuwen Tong finished speaking that day. What kind of man did this to his second cousin?!

…

On the fifteenth day of the month.

A spacious, substantial, elevated fighting arena had been built near the entrance to the imperial palace five days ago. It was now heavily guarded. Colored flags positioned along the ramparts fluttered constantly in the spring breeze.

Residents of the capital city had gathered around the arena some time ago. All of them maintained order on their own account, expressing their enthusiasm only by discussing the event loudly. The whole place was in incessant hubbub and uproar.

The fighting arena was flanked by seats meant for qualifiers. The imperial couple and the courtiers would be spectating on the palace ramparts. At this moment most of the qualifiers had arrived, but there was nobody on the ramparts except for densely posted guards.

In the Infinite Fortune Palace.

Ling Zhang helped Yuwen Tong who had just returned from a court meeting change into a skintight outfit. After changing out of his solemn imperial robes, Yuwen Tong wearing close-fitting attire appeared taller and upright, his bearing brisker, his movements stamped with less regal dignity but more masculine charm. Ling Zhang walked once around him. Though he saw Yuwen Tong every day and was familiar with every part of his body, at this time, looking at Yuwen Tong, he still felt an involuntary surge of intense affection. He slightly blinked twice unawares, a faint flush spreading over his cheeks in spite of himself.

At the sight of him staring unblinkingly at him, Yuwen Tong was secretly self-satisfied. Though there were a large number of young men gathered outside the palace, he was the one appealing to Brother Zhang the most.

When Ling Zhang slightly colored while considering Yuwen Tong, the look in the Yuwen Tong’s eyes gradually became heavy with longing as Yuwen Tong scrutinized him. Ling Zhang had also changed into a skintight outfit some time ago and was waiting for him, his clothes setting off the slimness of his waist, the straightness of his back and the slenderness of his figure. Though he was not as strong as Yuwen Tong, his elegant mien coupled with his graceful figure also made a uniquely enjoyable sight. The five years’ imperial life had rid him of the aura of unsophistication he had been giving off during the first few years of his adulthood, and it had also lent an air of charming grace to his each and every move. Of course, this was the impression that most outsiders got when they clapped eyes on Ling Zhang. Yuwen Tong saw far more than the elegance of Ling Zhang’s bearing and was fully aware of when the time that Ling Zhang was the most charming, most seductive and most irresistible was. The very thought of it made Yuwen Tong feel as though a fire were burning in his heart, a fire so fierce that he couldn’t wait to scoop up Ling Zhang right away, carry him to the bed and do something to make Ling Zhang’s charm swell beneath his body.

Slap. Yuwen Tong felt a hard slap on his arm.

He jerked out of his trance and saw Ling Zhang scowling at him. “Time to go. What are you thinking about?” Ling Zhang reminded him in an admonitory tone.

It turned out that after Ling Zhang wrenched his mind out of his fascination for Yuwen Tong’s glamor, he had found that there was something out of the ordinary with the look in Yuwen Tong’s eyes, that Yuwen Tong had put an arm around his waist, his hand kneading the side of his waist with varied strength, sending a numb sensation crawling from the small of his waist to the back side of his head. Knowing that they would soon end up in bed if he didn’t do something about it, Ling Zhang had heavily slapped Yuwen Tong’s hand off immediately and warned him.

Yuwen Tong gave a little cough, took his hand and drew him towards the doors. “Let’s go.”

They had just walked through the gates of the imperial bedchamber when they heard three voices chorus, “Good morning, Father, Dad (a female voice used ‘Daddy’).”

It was Yuwen Qi, Yuwen Lin and Yuwen Yue who was hand in hand with her brothers that had arrived. The two brothers had also changed into close-fitting clothes which set their upright figures off to advantage, making them look soldierly and particularly energetic. Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong both appeared quite pleased at the sight of them. Yuwen Yue had also changed clothes, wearing a set of princess’s attire that was relatively light, her hair tied into a ponytail at the back which cutely swayed from side to side as she moved, eager anticipation and excitement written all over her delicate-skinned and fair-complexioned little cheeks. No sooner had she clapped eyes on Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong than she slackened her grip on her brothers’ hands and trotted towards her two fathers.

Yuwen Tong immediately stooped down and scooped up his daughter as she got within his reach. “Crescent is so pretty today.”

Yuwen Yue, who couldn’t be more familiar with Yuwen Tong’s embrace, put her arms around Yuwen Tong’s neck immediately after being scooped up. On hearing the compliment, she proudly jerked up her chin and snorted endearingly, “I’m prettier than my big brothers.”

“Yeah, you’re prettier than your brothers.” Yuwen Tong seconded his daughter’s words without any hesitation.

Ling Zhang slightly shook his head, beckoned Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin over, scrutinized them and remarked, “Good. You two look sharper now.”

“Thank you, Father.” Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin threw out their chests further after hearing their father’s words.

“Let’s go. People are waiting for us,” said Ling Zhang. They needed to go to the great hall to rendezvous with the courtiers first and then ascend the ramparts. It would take quite some time.

Yuwen Tong inclined his head and made towards the front gates of the palace with his daughter in his arms. Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin naturally walked on Ling Zhang’s left and right respectively. The family of five progressing together was a harmonious and sweet sight. The eunuchs and palace ladies, all of whom had long since become inured to it, respectfully followed in the wake of the ruling house.

When Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang entered the hall with their children, the courtiers were all waiting for them. Like the members of the imperial family, the courtiers had also changed into light clothes. They were wearing informal court dress. None of them was surprised to see Yuwen Tong carrying the little princess. Ever since the little princess had been brought into the palace shortly after her birth, the emperor had become a doting father who never stopped talking about his daughter, and who brought his daughter to court meetings on a frequent basis. The courtiers had long since become accustomed to it. It was the two princes whom they were more interested in. At the sight of the two princes who bore a striking similarity to Yuwen Tong, the courtiers couldn’t help but feel astonished at the fact that the two princes and the emperor were so alike, though the emperor was not their birth father. What the courtiers found quite bewildering was that not only did the two princes resemble the emperor in appearance, but their straight backs, gait, decisive way of speaking, bright and penetrating eyes all bore a strong likeness to Yuwen Tong’s. What kind of twist of fate did it require for such uncanny resemblance to exist?

Yuwen Qian and Yuwen Feng had also inwardly asked themselves this question numerous times. If it weren’t for their awareness of the marital bonding between Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang, and the marital bonding between them and their wives, they would have begun to suspect that there was something behind this matter, something that had been concealed from them!

However, though both the two princes looked very much like the emperor, there were some differences. Yuwen Qi’s demeanor was more similar to Yuwen Tong’s, while Yuwen Lin’s demeanor bore some resemblance to Ling Zhang’s.

“It’s an honor to kneel before you, Your Majesty, Your Highnesses.” The courtiers’ inward mutter didn’t hinder them from paying their respects to the imperial family.

“You may rise,” said Yuwen Tong. “There’s no need to make any more remarks. Let’s go to the ramparts right away.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang, along with their children, walked out first, followed by the courtiers. The large group of people got into their respective horse-drawn carriages and headed for the front gates of the imperial palace. This palace had been built in the previous dynasty, and the average distance between buildings in the rear of it was rather short, but the front of it was vast, and the front gates were fairly far away from the great hall.

When they arrived at the entrance of the palace, they felt the enthusiasm of the residents outside before getting close to them. At the sight of the emperor’s carriage coming, the crowd got on its knees to welcome the ruling house to successive torrents of deafening sound.

“Hail to the emperor! Hail to the empress!”

Holding his daughter in his arms, Yuwen Tong got out of the carriage, followed by Ling Zhang, who then helped his two sons disembark. Behind them, the courtiers also got out of their carriages one after another.

“Let’s ascend the ramparts.” Yuwen Tong, who didn’t like making long-winded speeches or wasting time, directly led the courtiers towards the flight of stairs at the foot of the palace ramparts and climbed to the top along it.

At the top of the ramparts, chairs and tables had been prepared some time ago. There were also flights of stairs leading to the top of the gate tower. Seats for the imperial couple were placed under the eaves of the gate tower, from which they could get a panoramic view over the whole venue.

“You may rise, everybody,” said Yuwen Tong on the ramparts, holding Yuwen Yue. “Today is about the kung fu contest, and everything else is secondary, so just stick to the plan, dispense with the formalities and do what needs to be done. Now, if the contestants are ready, let the fight commence.”

Chapter 486: Relax. I Just Sprained My Waist

After Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang took their seats, the courtiers followed suit, and then the first match officially commenced. Yuwen Yue was sitting on Yuwen Tong’s lap, her curious eyes raking the sea of spectators down below, some of whom were watching the fight, and some of whom were curiously straining their necks to get a better view of the imperial family on the ramparts, but unfortunately for them, the ramparts were too high and too far away for them to see the people on there clearly. Still, it didn’t dampen their enthusiasm at all. Great cheers were bursting forth in succession, making the atmosphere uncommonly lively. Yuwen Yue was startled somewhat but was unable to restrain her curiosity. Her father’s embrace gave her such a sense of security that she craned beyond the parapet for a glimpse of the arena.

“Sit back, Crescent,” cautioned Ling Zhang as he saw that almost her whole upper body was beyond the parapet.

“It’s okay. I’m holding her waist. I won’t let her fall off,” said Yuwen Tong, quite composed. He was confident that even if his daughter fell off, he would be able to get her back in the twinkling of an eye.

Ling Zhang had a disapproving look on his face. Yuwen Yue sensed his displeasure, obediently sat back into Yuwen Tong’s embrace, then tentatively twisted her head aside to look at him with the intention to check whether or not he was still unhappy, a very innocent expression on her face.

Ling Zhang, “…”

Yuwen Tong’s heart slightly ached for his daughter, but he didn’t dare blame his “big sweetheart”, so he had no choice but to coax his “little sweetheart”, “It’s okay. Daddy’s not mad. Look, the kung fu competition started.”

Having checked that there was no sign of displeasure on Ling Zhang’s face, Yuwen Yue happily turned her head back to look at the crowds at the foot of the ramparts. Watching the two men scrapping around in the arena, she laughed heartily. She was not scared of the fighting, because she had been seeing guards sparring in the palace on a frequent basis for as long as she could remember.

“Uncle Jin!” Suddenly, Yuwen Yue’s sharp eyes alighted on a familiar figure and she called out to that person, pointing in that direction, pleasantly surprised.

It was Yuwen Jin. Probably having sensed Yuwen Yue’s gaze on him, he looked up in her direction, and, at the sight of her gazing at him with a mixture of delight and surprise on her face, gave a smile and waved at her.

Yuwen Yue’s spirits soared and she clamored to go down there to see her Uncle Jin. “Father, let’s go down to meet Uncle Jin.”

Naturally, it was inconvenient for Yuwen Tong to leave. “Uncle Jin is busy. We shouldn’t disturb him.”

Yuwen Yue was unconvinced and was just about to say something else when a stern cough was heard. “Ahem!”

Yuwen Yue was taken aback, recognized her daddy’s voice and immediately sat back meekly, looking at the crowd down below with her big, particularly innocent eyes, as though it weren’t her who had just clamored to go down to meet Yuwen Jin.

Ling Zhang looked at her back with a severe face. After a while, his piercing eyes flashed at Yuwen Tong. Their little daughter wouldn’t have dared behave this way if Yuwen Tong hadn’t been pampering her.

Yuwen Tong blamelessly looked back at him, believing that there was nothing wrong with his parenting skills, that their daughter was fine. She just wanted to see her uncle.

Ling Zhang coldly snorted, feeling it necessary to have a “good long” talk with him.

Yuwen Tong stroked his nose. It struck him that this time around he was indeed rather hard done by.

…

The competition was intense. The capital was a large city heaving with talented people, and all the 100 qualifiers were no mean fighters. During the past five years, aspirational talents had been flooding into the capital city. In order for the emperor to be impressed, every contestant strained every sinew to win, so each fight was fiercer than the last.

Yuwen Jin was a former Number One Warrior (the one finishing first in the Imperial Martial Arts Examination in feudal China) and the Assistant Commander of the Western City Garrison Battalion, so naturally he was the last one to fight. A lot of people wanted to challenge him. In fact, almost every one of those who had qualified for the next round wanted to challenge him. Yuwen Jin felt faintly under pressure because of this, but what really stressed him out was the prospect of putting on an act when it was his turn. He raised his head and looked in the direction of Yuwen Tong. As his second cousin calmly looked back at him, he hastened to withdraw his eyes. Yuwen Tong would sure as hell kick his ass if he botched it, so he must not screw it up!

Even Ling Zhang who was on the ramparts sensed Yuwen Jin’s nervous tension, and he even observed Yuwen Jin secretly clench his fists to pump himself up. The sight of it rendered Ling Zhang speechless. All he needed to do was put on an act. Why did he look more tense than a soldier going to war for the first time?

As time ticked on, the intensity of the fighting in the arena grew, and the last round was near. Beneath his second cousin’s gaze, he impassively psyched himself up and managed to maintain a poker face when entering the arena.

At the sight of him making his appearance, the spectators quieted down for a brief moment and then greater cheers burst forth.

“Commander Yuwen! Commander Yuwen!”

Some people started chanting his name, each chant louder than the last. Clearly Yuwen Jin had a high profile in this city.

Yuwen Jin’s opponent was the champion of this kung fu contest, a tall thickset man with a large hammer in each of his hands. Anybody could tell how formidable his strength was from the hammers he was holding so relaxedly as though they were wooden. Yuwen Jin, who had seen this man fight in several rounds, had some acquaintance with his fighting style and naturally didn’t dare take him lightly, but at the same time he was rather baffled as to where his second cousin had sought out this man.

“You may make your move now.”

“After you, Commander Yuwen.”

Both of them were polite.

The tough hombre struck first, making a lunge for Yuwen Jin, brandishing his iron hammers and generating howling vortex airflow which swept towards Yuwen Jin with great ferocity. Knowing that his strength couldn’t hold a candle to his adversary’s, Yuwen Jin, instead of trying to parry the blow, nimbly maneuvered through the seemingly seamless sheet of rapid blurs of hammer movement, throwing a palm strike at the man with both hands.

The man was astounded as he observed that Yuwen Jin actually snaked his way through the whirl of attacks from his hammers, but the next moment he perceived Yuwen Jin’s strike and with that he let out a roar and abruptly changed his direction, sidestepping the blow. His iron hammers, though seemingly a burden to him, turned out to be the key to his agile bodily movement when he swung them. Thus, the two contestants exchanged a blow but neither of them hit their targets.

Ling Zhang on the ramparts was watching with relish. Owing to his great kung fu prowess, the fight between Yuwen Jin and the beefy man was no more thrilling than a scrap between two children for him. After all, in his eyes, the two men’s each and every move seemed as if it were made in slow motion. Were he either of the two in the arena, he would be able to deal his opponent at least a hundred blows in an instant, every one of which was enough to incapacitate the opponent. Still, this was only because they had limited internal energy at their disposal. They both had quick reactions, and their strategies were ingenious. Yuwen Jin had been given quite some harsh special training in the Shadow Battalion, so both his bodily movement and his mindset bore some similarity to those of the members of that department, with a high degree of flexibility and unpredictability being the key feature, while the burly man, whom Ling Zhang had thought was all strength and no speed, turned out to be quite swift as well. His skill in using hammers as his weapons was consummate, which struck Ling Zhang as quite interesting, but…he was faintly worried that these two guys might become too intent on the fighting and forget their missions. Although there would be another way to get the job done if this plan failed, it would add to the trouble, and Ling Zhang was not inclined to be put to any more bother.

In the arena at the foot of the ramparts, Yuwen Jin and the brawny man fought to a stalemate. The latter’s attacks were savage but also swift, and the former was nimble and sly and all his moves were lethal. It could be said that the sturdy man would have some time ago been incapacitated and brought to the ground were he not strong enough. All spectators held their breaths in spite of themselves, watching unblinkingly, no longer letting out thunderous cheers, more tense than the two contestants in the arena were.

The fight between Yuwen Jin and the thickset man was getting increasingly fierce. As time ticked on, anger seemed to build up inside the two of them and begin to cloud their awareness of the fact that this was just a competition. Both of them had suffered visible wounds, and the ferocity and unexpectedness of their attacks was rising, all spectators sweating from nervousness. As the fighting was becoming more and more intense and the two contestants seemed to be losing their sense of perspective, even the spectators perceived something out of the ordinary and the unusual tension in the air. Some of them were so worried that they started muttering that maybe the fight should be stopped, that one of the contestants might end up dead if the fight continued. After all, this was just a kung fu competition, and the rule was that the fight should stop when one contestant admitted defeat or was incapacitated, not that they had to duel to the death. Moreover, Yuwen Jin was the emperor’s second cousin. If he died in the arena, the emperor would surely be heartbroken.

As things stood, it was only a matter of time before one of the two contestants lost control of himself.

At this moment, the beefy man abruptly swung his hammer at Yuwen Jin with the force of thunderbolt, the momentum so terrifying as though he wanted to smash Yuwen Jin to death.

“AAARGH!” The crowd screeched in horror.

“STOP!” bawled the referee in the arena, breaking out in a cold sweat.

However, after fighting at full throttle for such a long time, Yuwen Jin seemed to have become hell-bent on facing his opponent down with sheer might regardless of the price he might have to pay. Instead of backing off, he actually raised his palms and launched a frontal attack, intending to fight back head-on.

Everybody had their heart in their mouth. Some people involuntarily started shouting.

“Outrageous!” a cold voice stormed and with that all spectators saw a figure leap down from the ramparts, which moved so fast it was blurred, and which instantaneously interposed itself between the two contestants in the arena before any of the spectators knew it.

“YOUR MAJESTY!” cried a sharp-eyed courtier on the ramparts involuntarily in alarm as he saw clearly that it was Yuwen Tong who leaped down, his voice cracking.

Yuwen Tong landed between the two contestants and flung out his hands, one towards the thickset man’s large hammer, the other Yuwen Jin’s palms.

BANG!

With a bang, two figures were sent flying rapidly backwards in opposite directions. Fortunately for them, the arena was flanked by crowds of contestants, who, at the sight of the two of them being thrown off, carefully caught them. Those who broke Yuwen Jin’s fall sank to the ground because of Yuwen Jin’s body weight and the impact but suffered no injury, while those who cushioned the brawny man’s fall were rather unlucky, for the man’s hammers landed on them, almost killing them.

The crowds on the two sides of the arena were thrown into confusion. In the arena, Yuwen Tong withdrew his hands and, after his eyes flintily traveled from Yuwen Jin to the burly man, said, “How am I supposed to trust either of you to make positive contribution to the future of this country or to the imperial court if you two couldn’t even control yourselves in a kung fu competition? I hereby declare this man has just lost his championship. The title shall be given to the runner-up. Yuwen Jin the Assistant Commander of the Western City Garrison Battalion is suspended from duty and is to stay at home introspecting until further notice!”

Everybody present got on their knees. Sensing the emperor’s anger, nobody dared utter a word.

Yuwen Tong gave another cold snort and then instructed, “Ready the carriages. We’re going back to the palace!”

As he finished speaking, Yuwen Tong walked out of the arena, heading for the palace gates. The guards on duty in the gateway hurriedly opened the gates to let the emperor through.

On the ramparts, Ling Zhang hastened to lead the courtiers down the stairs and then walked up to Yuwen Tong. “Your Majesty,” he said.

“Um”, grunted Yuwen Tong, flicking a glance at the palace gates instead of saying anything.

The courtiers were baffled as to what the emperor meant, all their faces etched with uncertainty. Ling Zhang, who seemed to catch on, immediately had the guards shut the gates.

No sooner had they closed the gates than Yuwen Tong held out his hand to Ling Zhang, who appeared astonished briefly and then quickly took it. With that, Yuwen Tong suddenly bent from the waist as though falling to the ground.

“Your Majesty!”

“What happened to you, Your Majesty?!”

The courtiers, scared out of their wits, hastily gathered around Yuwen Tong.

“Relax. I’m okay. I just sprained my waist,” said Yuwen Tong, gritting his teeth against the pain.

S–Sprained his waist? All of them were sent into some kind of stupefaction. It was a few moments before someone came to himself and immediately yelled, “Send for a court physician! Hurry!”

“Come here. Let’s help His Majesty into the carriage and escort him back to the palace!”