The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 121- 123

Chapter 121: Shock

‘Does Yuwen Tong know about the conflict between Ling family and the Prefecture Guards?’

Staring speechless at one another, all four deputy commanders felt that the matter of Ling family had become tricky.

It would take only a minor mistake for them to make an enemy of Yuwen Tong, which would leave them in the most unfavorable situation. Currently, even the emperor had to give precedence to Yuwen Tong out of courtesy under certain circumstances. Surely they didn’t dare cross Yuwen Tong, confronting the tough with toughness. Even a fool knew they didn’t stand a chance. Yuwen Tong was no soft target!

‘Now that a frontal attack is not a choice, I’ll have to figure out another way.’

Zhang Chong stood up. “I’m a bit of a boor and I have little acquaintance with courtesy, but Marshal and Childe Ling can count on me coming here with lavish presents and my soldiers to congratulate you on your wedding day.”

“Yes. We can also be counted on bringing liberal gifts here to congratulate Marshal and Childe Ling on your wedding day.”

Four deputy commanders raced to stand up and made a promise.

“Previously, I failed to recognize Jia family for who they are and fell prey to their instigation. Although people of Jia family had been convicted and jailed, my conscience still stands guilty. Fortunately I didn’t wrong any good people in a moment of impulsion. Otherwise, I won’t be able to atone for my guilt even if I die ten thousand times.

Childe Ling, please forgive me if any previous deeds of the Prefecture Guards offended you or your family. From now on, the Prefecture Guards will be Ling family’s most powerful backer. If Ling family encounters any difficulties, please feel free to contact me. I swear I’ll do everything I can to help Childe Ling out.”

Zhang Chong made the first half of his remarks in an apologetic tone, and then sincerely staked out his position. If it weren’t for the fact that Ling Zhang still had memories of what happened in his last life, he would probably have been moved by Zhang Chong’s knowing when to yield and when not.

Unfortunately, Ling Zhang had long ago found out what kind of person Zhang Chong actually was, and Zhang Chong owed him a huge debt of blood, which was impossible to be repaid with one or two remarks.

“You spoke so seriously and strongly that I feel embarrassed, Commander Zhang. I’m your junior and unworthy of such courtesy and kindness of yours. Besides, there have not really been any conflicts between Ling family and the Prefecture Guards, and I actually admire Commander Zhang.”

‘Who doesn’t know any polite formulas? And the time to shed all pretences of cordiality has not come yet anyway. It’ll take only a couple of more days’ wait for me to get my wish, so why bother angering Zhang Chong on this occasion?’ Ling Zhang thought.

Ling Zhang’s tactful remarks made Zhang Chong feel very pleased. The four deputy commanders also secretly felt relieved, thinking that it was very fortunate of them not to have carried out those plans they had formulated to undercut Ling family’s position, otherwise things might end ugly on this day.

However, they had come to understand the situation, but Tao Feng was reduced to confusion. ‘Is Ling Zhang trying to… make peace with Zhang Chong? If Ling family and Zhang Chong write off all their old scores, won’t I be left with a hopeless future? Will the Prefecture Yamen by any chance never be rid of the repression of Zhang Chong?’

Tao Feng’s eyebrows slightly furrowed. As Zhang Chong saw this, a faint sneer of complacency flashed across his eyes.

‘Tao Feng intends to use Yuwen Tong to deal with me? Humph. Even Yuwen Tong himself doesn’t want to come into conflict with the Prefecture Guards of Tanyang for no good reason. That Ling Zhang is fairly tactful, yet this Tao Feng really thinks he can turn the tide and be the boss? Wake up, dude.’

The hostility glinting in the eyes of Tao Feng and Zhang Chong when they made eye contact didn’t escape the notice of Ling Zhang whose senses were becoming more and more acute, let alone Yuwen Tong.

Both of the two men kept silent, pretending that they didn’t see it at all.

And then the mood in the ante-room became relaxed and friendly. Though Tao Feng was displeased with Ling Zhang’s stand, he wouldn’t show it on his face. Zhang Chong made several attempts to sound out Yuwen Tong about what he had done during his stay in Tanyang, but Yuwen Tong tactfully evaded the issue and Zhang Chong didn’t get any information.

Half a day past. There were more and more onlookers gathering at the gateway of the residence of Ling family, but Zhang Chong and Tao Feng had never come out, and there had not been any signs of particular activity either, which left all lookers-on perplexed about what was happening in Ling family. The longer they were kept in suspense, the more curious they grew, and the more speculations they made.

Unlike these residents, servants of Ling family were all trembling in fear, involuntarily keeping their breathing shallow.

‘Lord Yuwen, that mysterious, honored guest that has been living in this mansion all along is none other than Marshal Yuwen!’

‘That is Marshal Yuwen!’

‘My goodness. I’ve got to be in a dream!’

Those servants who had talked with Yuwen Tong couldn’t even concentrate their attention on what they were doing. ‘I talked with Marshal Yuwen! The spirit of one of my ancestors must have manifested and this is a blessing from him!’

“Elder Brother Wang, is that man really Marshal Yuwen?!”

Security guards in the guards’ yard had been wild with excitement for quite some time. ‘That’s Marshal Yuwen! I scrapped with Marshal Yuwen!”

It didn’t matter whether they were in a dream or not, because in neither of the cases could they believe this.

“Yeah. In the flesh.” As the only one who had been informed of the true identity of Yuwen Tong long ago, Wang Dashan was in absolute composure.

All others admired him very much. ‘Elder Brother Wang’s reputation is well-earned. No wonder he was named captain. He’s far more poised than us.”

Enjoying the admiration in other people’s gaze, Wang Dashan involuntarily threw his chest out, saying, “What’s there to be surprised at? If it comes to the knowledge of Marshal Yuwen that your minds are so easily boggled, he will definitely hurl another torrent of criticism at you.”

Hearing this, the others hurriedly subdued their shock and tried to make themselves seem collected.

“You are right, Elder Brother Wang. If Marshal Yuwen finds out that we made such a fuss about this, he will surely scold us.”

“Yeah. Don’t let Marshal Yuwen look down upon us.”

“That’s right. We–We can’t make Young Master feel embarrassed.”

All of them started discussing so animatedly that anybody could tell they had not calmed down at all. They were just expressing their shock in a different way.

Before they knew the true identity of Yuwen Tong, they had just felt that Lord Yuwen’s kung fu was very good, and they more or less had borne grudges against him. And each of them had the intention to get even with Yuwen Tong for the humiliating defeat he had inflicted on them. After all, anybody would feel unconvinced after being exposed to ridicule from someone who was indeed more powerful.

But now, they had been told that Lord Yuwen was actually Yuwen Tong. Grudges? They didn’t even remember what that word meant. All of them began talking about how they performed the Trap-and-kill Formation to fight with Yuwen Tong on that day. Each and every one of the details that had already fallen vague suddenly became distinct and vivid. They talked about the fight again and again. The one who had exchanged the most moves with Marshal Yuwen during that fight would probably keep bragging about it for a whole day — no, a whole year.

Among the crowd, Liu Yi was the most composed other than Wang Dashan, but since he had always been like this, this reaction of his didn’t strike any of the others as strange.

Liu Yi’s composure was the that-accounts-for-it kind of composure. On that day, after merely exchanging a couple of moves with Liu Yi, Yuwen Tong found out that he was deliberately concealing part of his strength, and then Ling Zhang became suspicious of him, so he had felt wronged all along, but he couldn’t tell anybody about it.

“Bro, I know you must be shocked as well. There’s no need to subdue it. Just spit it out. I’m not going to laugh at you,” said Wang Dashan in a very considerate tone of voice, who had just walked over and thrown a reassuring arm around Liu Yi’s shoulders.

Liu Yi fell speechless with embarrassment.

“Elder Brother Wang, did you actually find out about the identity of Marshal Yuwen some time ago?”

Wang Dashan hurriedly let out a cough. Others were still excitedly talking about their fight with Marshal Yuwen that day and were too occupied to notice other things, which relieved Wang Dashan. He lowered his voice and told Liu Yi, “It was merely a couple of days ago that this matter came into my knowledge. Young Master told me to keep it to myself.”

“I know. It’s not that I want to blame you,” Liu Yi said. “Is it true tha–that Young Master is engaged to Marshal Yuwen?”

Wang Dashan rounded his eyes and hurriedly looked around. Then he asked in a muted, nervous voice, “How did you know?”

Having mixed feelings, Liu Yi looked at him. “It was me who brought the news back just now. Who did you think told them about this?”

Wang Dashan scratched his head. “Yeah… I almost forgot.

But you must not disclose this to another person. Young Master wants this to stay secret.”

Liu Yi watched him, his feelings still mixed. “I’m afraid it won’t be long before news of this matter spreads through the whole Tanyang — no, the whole Great Yue and neighboring countries as well.”

Wang Dashan widened his mouth in shock, asking, “How come?”

“Servants who went to the ante-room to serve tea have already known, and I think servants working in the rear yard have come to know about this as well. It is rumored that this news has also spread across the whole capital city. Soon it’ll reach Tanyang.”

Light suddenly dawned on Wang Dashan and he nodded. “I see. You nearly scared me to death. I thought there was a leak.”

“So Young Master is really engaged to Marshal Yuwen,” observed Liu Yi in a positive tone.

“I think he is. Young Master didn’t deny it that day,” said Wang Dashan. Then he chuckled, “It has never crossed my mind that some day, I, Wang Dashan, would also get to ride the crest of wave.”

Liu Yi looked at him in disbelief.

Wang Dashan continued on his own account, “Young Master is engaged to Marshal Yuwen. Judging from the closeness between them I’ve observed during these days, they will definitely get married. Doesn’t it mean that we, Young Master’s henchmen, will become Marshal Yuwen’s henchmen?”

Liu Yi kept silent for a moment and then commented, “Elder Brother Wang, you’re overthinking it.”

“Overthinking it? No, I’m not.” Wang Dashan believed that he didn’t overthink this matter at all. On the contrary, he felt that he was thinking too little about it. ‘Given that Marshal Yuwen went so far to defend Young Master in the teahouse that day, he must like Young Master very much. As Young Master’s henchmen, as long as we loyally serve Young Master, Marshal Yuwen will surely think differently of us. Maybe we would even get a chance to fight a war with him some day!’ thought Wang Dashan.

Wang Dashan couldn’t help but fall into his own fantasies. Liu Yi slightly shook his head and heaved a sigh of resignation. Then he also started pondering something.

Ling Zhang was unaware of the shock that all people in his family had been thrown into. Sitting in the ante-room of Ling family, Tao Feng and Zhang Chong didn’t dare to stand up to leave, as if there was paste on the chairs they were sitting on and their robes had been stuck on them.

Originally, Ling Zhang had become impatient, but then he recalled the situation on the Grand Mang Mountain and decided to show more patience, believing that maybe Zhang Chong would miss some important intelligence reports if he stayed in Ling family for a longer time, which would buy Yao Yi and others some more time.

“Marshal, may I ask if you could spare some time and live in the Prefecture Encampment for a couple of days so that soldiers who long to see you can behold your dignified demeanor?”

“Yeah, Marshal. If they know they get to see you, they’ll definitely be too excited to sleep at night.”

Zhang Chong and his four deputy commanders invited Yuwen Tong to go to the Prefecture Encampment. They showed such enthusiasm that it seemed as if they really wished Yuwen Tong to go there.

Chapter 122: We’ve Got Marshal Yuwen. What Have You Got to be Afraid of?

In the dark prison of the Prefecture Yamen, apart from flaming torches positioned at intervals along the corridor, a peephole about the size of a bowl was the only source of light. The whole place was damp and foul-smelling. Anybody who was locked up in here would feel very miserable.

Jia Yin, his wife and some of his relatives were the only ones from Jia family that were still in this prison. Servants and handmaids found not guilty had been released, and those found guilty had also been convicted and then transferred elsewhere. Despair on the faces of Mrs. Jia and others deepened as servants and handmaids left one after another. At first, they had still had enough strength to hurl curse, but after a couple of days, anger in them was gradually replaced by fear and they fell powerless to swear.

Jia Yin was restrained in a separate cell. He had been sentenced to death. When the time came, he would be beheaded at the entrance of the food market.

Waiting to meet his end was distressful. During the first few days of the custody, Jia Yin had managed to maintain his pretence of composure by dint of the resentment and indignation bubbling beneath the surface, but as the execution day drew near, Jia Yin finally began to panic.

He didn’t want to die, so he made an attempt to escape.

With some finesse, he managed to make contact with a prison guard. When he was finally on conversational terms with the prison guard, Jia Yin stated his intention to escape and promised to give the prison guard a lot of treasure if he helped him successfully get out of the prison.

The prison guard didn’t believe him. ‘All Jia family’s assets have been confiscated. By no means will Jia Yin be able to fulfill his promise. Moreover, I’ll face execution if anybody finds out that I assist Jia Yin in his escape. What’s the good of treasure if I won’t be able to live long enough to spend them?’

But Jia Yin refused to give up. He persistently tried to convince the prison guard to come to his help.

“It’s not that I’m questioning your credibility, but can you please say something sensible? All your family assets have been confiscated. What else can you possibly offer to have me come to your assistance?” The prison guard was reduced to impatience.

“I do have something else to offer. Believe me. They only confiscated those they found. There’s plenty more gold, silver and jewels that I hid elsewhere. As long as you help me escape from this place, I’ll tell you where they’re buried, and all of them will be yours!” said Jia Yin anxiously, trying to make himself sound convincing lest the prison guard disbelieve him.

The prison guard did stand somewhat skeptical of his remarks. “Leaving aside whether those jewels truly exist or not, by no means will you be so generous as to give them to me even if they do exist. You’re just trying to trick me into helping you. Don’t treat me like a fool.”

“Sir, I’m not lying. I can tell you another location of hidden treasure. There’s less treasure there, but it’s still worth quite a fortune. Consider it as earnest money. I’ll tell you another location of treasure after you help me escape from here. I’ll never go back on my word. If I do, you can always report to the Prefecture Yamen and have me hunted down. Nobody will find out you are the one who set me free anyway. When you arrest me and bring me back here, you’ll be deemed to have rendered outstanding service and get promoted. You won’t be a prison guard any more. You’ll be the chief of prison, even a head constable.” Jia Yin proceeded with his efforts to convince the prison guard.

The prison guard sneered and looked at him, “You should know that if I am to arrest you and bring you back here, I’ll have to kill you first, because that will be the only way to ensure you won’t inform on me.”

After hearing this, Jia Yin didn’t appear to be afraid but rather felt a sense of relief, since the prison guard’s words were an indication that he was swayed.

The prison guard briefly rolled his eyes sideways and then said, “Tell me. Where’s the first location of hidden treasure?”

A lean camel is bigger than a horse. Besides, Jia family is one of the richest families in Tanyang. If what Jia Yin said was true, he would make a big fortune.

In the knowledge that the prison guard had risen to the bait, Jia Yin felt greatly relieved and informed him, “Come closer. I’ll tell you.”

The prison guard pressed his ear against the railings and listened as Jia Yin told him the first location of hidden treasure in a whisper.

Eyes of the prison guard slightly lit up. After hearing it, he observed, “If it’s true, I’ll help you get out of here. If not, you should know what consequences you’ll have to take. In this dark prison where no laws or justice can reach, I have plenty of methods for infliction of torture.”

“Just go and do some digging. You’ll see that I’ve told you nothing but the truth.” There was no panic whatsoever on Jia Yin’s face. He looked confident and unhurried.

Seeing his expression, the prison guard half was half convinced.

A ghost of mysterious smile flashed across Jia Yin’s face after the prison guard fell prey to his trick.

At the same time. In Ling family.

Zhang Chong invited Yuwen Tong to pay a visit to the Prefecture Encampment.

Ling Zhang stood skeptical, having no idea how Zhang Chong came to be so bold as to invite Yuwen Tong to the Prefecture Encampment. ‘If Yuwen Tong really accepts the invitation and goes there, many secrets in the Prefecture Encampment will surely be exposed. Why is Zhang Chong unafraid of this?’

Ling Zhang was in puzzlement, but Yuwen Tong was fully aware of what was going on. The night before, Zhang Chong buried more than half of the weapon workshop and also directly blocked the entrance to the underground chambers built for heavily armored infantry. All heavily armored infantry had been temporarily reassigned to different platoons… ‘In order to deal with me, Zhang Chong went to a lot of trouble and made all these arrangements overnight.

It seems that it would be a shame if I don’t accept the invitation, given that he had been bustling around for a whole night. Unfortunately, news might come from the Grand Mang Mountain at any moment. This is not a good time to go to the Prefecture Encampment,’ thought Yuwen Tong.

“Now that Commander Zhang has issued an invitation, I think I should accept it despite the risk of showing my thick skin. It’s just that I happen to have some business to attend to. Would you mind waiting two days?”

Did Zhang Chong dare to mind? Not only did he not mind, he was only too anxious to have Yuwen Tong delay the visit for two days so that he would get more time to make preparations.

“Then I’ll come here myself to pick Marshal up and escort you to the encampment of Tanyang Prefecture Guards in two days.”

“That’s very kind of you.”

Seeing that Yuwen Tong had accepted Zhang Chong’s invitation to the Prefecture Encampment, Tao Feng, who was unreconciled to lagging behind Zhang Chong in establishing a good relationship with Yuwen Tong, immediately invited Yuwen Tong to live in the Prefecture Yamen, but Yuwen Tong declined the invitation and only agreed to attend a welcome feast there.

‘Attending a feast sounds good enough.’ Tao Feng was perfectly content with it and had already come up with some ideas of how to tell on Zhang Chong and convince Ling family not to make peace with Zhang Chong.

The secret struggle between Tao Feng and Zhang Chong didn’t escape the notice of Ling Zhang or Yuwen Tong.

The reason why they had not disclosed anything about their plan to Tao Feng was that they didn’t have that much trust in Tao Feng for the moment. Furthermore, the more anxious Tao Feng was, the less alert Zhang Chong would be. Tao Feng’s anxiety would lull Zhang Chong into a false sense of security.

Tao Feng and Zhang Chong stayed for lunch at the invitation of Ling family. And then, seeing that Yuwen Tong was not really in the mood for further conversation, the two of them took their leave.

“Finally this is over,” said Ling Zhang. During lunch at the dinner table, he had been trying hard to subdue his urge to kill Zhang Chong all along, and all his muscles had been tense.

Yuwen Tong had noticed that Ling Zhang had barely eaten anything.

“Tell those in the kitchen to prepare some food for you. You barely ate anything during lunch.”

Ling Zhang shook his head. His deep nervousness had spoiled his appetite and he felt no desire for food.

The sight of his tense face brought it into Yuwen Tong’s knowledge that Ling Zhang was still worried about the situation in the Grand Mang Mountain, so he offered, “You seem to be in deep concern. I can take you to the Grand Mang Mountain and check if you want.”

First Ling Zhang was delighted but the next moment he calmed down and shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. I think I’ll just stay here waiting from news to come.”

‘What can I possibly do after going there? I probably would end up being more of a hindrance than a help. Besides, my family members here need my protection. I can’t let anything happen to them. I can’t willfully leave,’ Ling Zhang thought.

After seeing Zhang Chong and Tao Feng out of the residence, Ling Zhaowen returned and said, “Marshal, your presence has come to the knowledge of them. Will this somehow affect your plan?”

Yuwen Tong replied, “Don’t worry, Uncle Ling. All this is within my anticipation. It won’t bring any influence on my plan, but Uncle Ling should not go outside during the next few days. If there’s a matter of utmost urgency and you do have to leave this mansion, make sure you’re accompanied and protected.”

Ling Zhaowen nodded with a serious look on his face. “I understand.”

“Uncle, let me be by your side,” offered Ling Zhang.

“Stay with Marshal.” Ling Zhaowen disagreed in the belief that no place was safer than the side of Yuwen Tong, that it was best if Ling Zhang stayed with Yuwen Tong.

“But–”

“I’ll have Li Fu and a couple of security guards protect me, and I won’t go outside, so there’s no need for you to worry about me,” Ling Zhaowen interrupted him.

But how could Ling Zhang not worry about him. “Uncle, maybe you should stay in my place during the next two days. Yuwen Tong is living right next door. We can better take care of each other if we stay closer, and it’ll spare me some worry as well.”

Ling Zhaowen thought for a few moments but still shook his head. “That’s not a good idea. Currently, stabilizing the situation is the most important thing. If I move to your place, somebody on the opposing side might become suspicious, and we’ll lose more than gain.”

“Uncle Ling’s got a point. Keeping the situation stable is the first priority. If it bothers you, I’ll have my bodyguards provide secret protection for Uncle Ling,” Yuwen Tong informed Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang shook his head and declined. Most of Yuwen Tong’s bodyguards had been dispatched elsewhere, and it was because a flashpoint was drawing near that a couple of his bodyguards came back several days ago, but currently, Yuwen Tong still had only three bodyguards around him. ‘They should stay with Yuwen Tong protecting him. I’ve already ‘borrowed’ a bodyguard named Xie Shi to protect grandfather and others. I can’t ask Yuwen Tong for another one,’ thought Ling Zhang.

“I’ll have Wang Dashan and some others to protect you, uncle.”

“It’ll also be obtrusive if I suddenly have some personal guards.”

“Not if there’s an obvious reason.”

The reason that Ling Zhang created was simple and direct. He bade one of Yuwen Tong’s bodyguards to wear black clothes, put in an appearance outside the dwelling of Ling Zhaowen, and deliberately let a servant catch sight of his figure.

The servant was taken aback and started yelling.

Since a suspicious person, presumably a burglar, had shown up, people of Ling family searched the whole residence. Eventually, Ling Zhang, with good cause, assigned Wang Dashan and several security guards to protect Ling Zhaowen.

Those security guards were still animatedly discussing the matter of Marshal Yuwen when a servant told them that someone suspicious had been seen in the residence. In the knowledge that Marshal Yuwen was still in Ling family, they got thrilled and literally searched every inch of Ling family’s residence. The corners of Ling Zhang’s mouth involuntarily twitched as he watched them doing the search.

“Young Master may rest assured that we will not let Second Master out of our sight,” said Wang Dashan after hearing Ling Zhang’s decision.

“I wonder who that burglar is that acted so boldly as to intrude into here when Marshal Yuwen is present.”

“We didn’t find that guy. He was definitely scared away by Marshal Yuwen.”

“I agree with you. That burglar must have found out that Marshal Yuwen is here.”

Apart from security guards, servants were also discussing with each other in private. But surprisingly, as if by some kind of tacit agreement, they all believed the reason why the burglar had not been found was that he had found out about the presence of Yuwen Tong and immediately got scared away.

After all, Marshal Yuwen was a legendary war hero. Which burglar would not be scared when Marshal Yuwen was present? If there was indeed such a burglar, he must be blind, which was the only explanation for a burglar being unafraid of Marshal Yuwen.

The spirits of people of Ling family were exceptionally high. Though a suspicious man, presumably a burglar, had just shown up in the residence, none of the servants seemed to be afraid. All of them walked with their heads up and their chests thrown out, their faces unafraid.

Chapter 123: Victimization by Jia Yin

Why were they unafraid? Because Marshal Yuwen was in Ling family.

Yuwen Tong’s presence in Ling family emboldened all servants. As if there was a protective talisman on each of them, they looked courageous and seemed likely to yell “Come at me, burglar!” at any moment.

When Ling Zhang saw a handmaid walking almost like a soldier marching forward in a formation, he couldn’t help rolling his eyes.

‘Have these people taken leave of their senses?’ he wondered.

Behind him, Yuwen Tong could barely forbear from laughing. “Your servants are pretty interesting, just like you.”

Ling Zhang turned his head back and gave Yuwen Tong a dirty look. ‘Has this guy developed some kind of eye disease? With which eye is he seeing any resemblance between me and those maniacs?’

This dirty look given by Ling Zhang sent waves of hotness through Yuwen Tong, who felt an instant urge to hug him, knead him and kiss him, but currently, Ling Zhang was in deep concern over the situation in the Grand Mang Mountain as well as the imminent conflict with Zhang Chong. ‘If I do that, he will no doubt get angry.’

Marshal Yuwen couldn’t help but sigh secretly, thinking, ‘If only I can get back to the capital city right now and figure out a way to have him marry me.’

Ling Zhang was unaware of what Yuwen Tong standing behind him was thinking about. If he had known, he would definitely give Yuwen Tong another dirty look and say to him, “You are daydreaming. Who said I would marry you?”

When Ling Zhang justifiably made arrangements for security guards to stay with Ling Zhaowen protecting him, Zhang Chong and Tao Feng had returned to their respective places.

The moment Zhang Chong entered his tent, his face fell sullen in the extreme.

“Commander?” Deputy Commander Bai Jun looked at him in perplexity. ‘Wasn’t everything going smoothly in Ling family?’ he wondered.

“Commander, are there any remaining problems?” asked Deputy Commander Wang He.

“It’s that fledgling, Yuwen Tong. As long as he’s in Tanyang, I’ll never find peace of mind,” replied Zhang Chong, a sepulchral look on his face.

“But didn’t everything go as planned during this visit? Ling Zhang didn’t bring up any of our previous disagreements, which was a wise choice. And we’ve removed all problematic facilities in the encampment. Even if Yuwen Tong comes here right now, he definitely won’t be able to find anything suspicious,” commented Bai Jun in puzzlement.

“Deputy Commander Bai, the situation is far more complicated than you think it is.”

Before Zhang Chong could vent his annoyance, Wang He observed, “First, we have no idea when Yuwen Tong arrived in Tanyang, and neither do we know how long he has been here. Whether he has found out about anything during his stay in Tanyang is also unknown. In other words, we’re totally unaware of whether or not he has got the goods on us. Second, even if we have removed all questionable things in our encampment, Yuwen Tong is no common person. Can you guarantee that he won’t find any traces? It’s very risky to let him come here. We invited him only because we didn’t have any choice. Only by inviting him here on our own account can we prevent him from laying suspicions on us. Third, that Ling Zhang guy of Ling family is no fool either. Never once did Jia family get the best of him during their several previous conflicts. And now he’s got Yuwen Tong at his back, which means that Ling family has become a force no less powerful than us. Why did he choose to make peace with us so willingly? I keep having this feeling that there’s more to this matter than semblance suggests.”

Bai Jun was transfixed with shock after hearing this. He manifestly had never thought that there were so many hidden risks.

Zhang Chong flicked an appreciative glance at Wang He and then gave Bai Jun a displeased look, his eyes piercing.

Bai Jun felt a chill run down his spine and hurriedly lowered his head. “Please punish me for my being foolish, Commander.”

“If you are incompetent to perform the duties of a deputy commander, I’ll find someone else to replace you,” observed Zhang Chong directly.

Bai Jun knelt down on to the ground. “Commander, I promise I’ll do better. Please take into account all these years’ service of mine and all those things I did for you and for our encampment. Give me a second chance, Commander.”

Zhang Chong looked at him flintily, “Make sure this is the last time. Otherwise you’ll end up cutting firewood in the kitchen!”

After hearing this, Bai Jun didn’t even dare to raise his head.

“Then what do we do now, Commander?” asked Wang Ming.

The three points of Wang He instantly brought all others, whose wariness of Yuwen Tong had dissolved somewhat, on alert.

“Keep working on it. Destroy all other facilities except for the underground training chambers of heavily armored infantry. We’ve got more than enough weapons already. There’s no need to forge new ones for the moment. Since Yuwen Tong said that he would come here in two days, he will surely be here. Don’t let him get the goods on us.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Wang He, send some men to stake out Ling family. Keep a close watch on Yuwen Tong’s every move. Find out exactly what it is that he intends to do.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Wang Ming, make contact with those bandits on the Grand Mang Mountain. Tell them to make themselves scarce and not to leave the mountain during the next few days.”

“Yes, Commander.”

With a sepulchral look on his face, Zhang Chong thought for a while and then observed, “That fight we had with those bandits on the Lee Mountain actually has an advantage — since Yuwen Tong is here, we can just spill out all our troubles to him. Make sure that he will send word to the emperor and have the emperor approve our plan to expand our encampment and recruit more soldiers. We’ve lost a lot of men during that fight and we could use some replacements.”

“Commander, should we inform bandit gangs on other mountains and tell them not to leave their dens lest they offend Yuwen Tong?” asked Wang Ming.

“A word of warning would be enough. Nothing more than that.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Wang He had a slight frown on his face, as if pondering over something. He opened his mouth and dithered for quite a while but eventually said nothing.

Zhang Chong was deep in his own thoughts and didn’t notice this.

After walking out of the tent side by side with Wang He, Dou Li, another deputy commander, who had been silent all along, asked Wang He, “What was it that you intended to say to Commander Zhang just now?”

“I felt that Yuwen Tong is too dangerous. If he has been in Tanyang for only a short time, there will be nothing to worry about. But if he arrived here quite some time ago, I’m afraid I’ll have every reason to be concerned,” answered Wang He.

“About what?”

“That there’s some kind of relation between him and all those troubles we’ve encountered in the Prefecture Encampment these days.”

Dou Li fell silent. After a few moments, he asked, “Then why didn’t you tell Commander about this?”

“Commander probably has also guessed something. It’s just that he is not certain about it, and he doesn’t want to make any rash decisions. After all, the identity of Yuwen Tong is so special. One tiny mistake and the whole Prefecture Encampment will be doomed,” replied Wang He.

As a result, it was fairly reasonable that Zhang Chong thought highly of Wang He, who was indeed the most resourceful one among all four deputy commanders.

Unfortunate for him, no matter how resourceful he was, it could never have crossed his mind that Yuwen Tong had cast a giant net at them head-on, and the time to close the net was drawing near.

…

After the noon shift relieved him, the prison guard that had made contact with Jia Yin started his vacation. He walked out of the Prison of the Prefecture Yamen and then left yamen.

Appearing somewhat listless, the prison guard walked back home at a gentle pace. Everything seemed normal.

But the moment he got home, he immediately perked up. The fatigue on his face, which seemed to have resulted from staying up for a whole night, instantly disappeared, and there was even an expectant look in his eyes.

He changed into a low-key, unobtrusive outfit and then left home through the back door. To get rid of potential stalkers, he intentionally traveled several winding circuits of the city center before heading for the location of hidden treasure that Jia Yin had told him.

It was a deserted dwelling located at one end of eastern city, while the residence of Jia family was located on the other end. There was a rather long distance between the two.

The dwelling had been deserted for many years, and weeds and spider webs were everywhere. Worms and ants were crawling around in clusters of weeds, and there was even a wild cat that had made a home of this place.

It took the prison guard some efforts to get over the wall and enter this abandoned dwelling. Subduing his unwillingness, he managed to get through those tall, dense weeds and arrived at a relatively more spacious area. After searching more than half of this place, he finally found the orange tree that Jia Yin had told him about. Due to a lack of regular trims, this orange tree had been growing rampantly for years and was tall and big.

The treasure was said to be buried under the mound beside the orange tree. He had to remove the mound first.

But the mound was pretty big, and it would take him a long time to remove it. There had been several occasions when the prison guard intended to give up, but for the sake of the treasure that Jia Yin had mentioned, he forbore from doing so and kept digging.

After about four hours, he finally managed to dig a deep pit in the mound, and there was indeed an iron case at the bottom of the pit. The prison guard rejoiced. Bursting with impatience, he quickly dig up the iron case and cracked the lock on it with his tools.

The outside of the iron case was somewhat rusty but when he opened it, he beheld a whole case of shiny gold!

“It’s real! Jia Yin didn’t lie to me!” The prison guard was wild with joy. Eventually, he didn’t take the case away but buried it elsewhere, planning to come back to get it at night.

He doubled back to the wall, climbed over and left the dwelling, intending to go back home, rest in the afternoon and come back here to get the gold at night.

Thinking about the gold, the prison guard was in very high spirits. His heart was full of excitement and he didn’t feel sleepy at all. For several times, he had felt an urge to go back to the dwelling and dig up the case for fear that somebody else might find out about it and all his efforts would be in vain.

“…My goodness. Is it true?”

“Of course it’s true. The nephew of the uncle of my maternal aunt was one of the guards who accompanied Lord Tao to Ling family. He was wild with excitement after going out and nearly set off firecrackers to celebrate. You tell me whether he really saw Marshal Yuwen or not.”

“Marshal Yuwen is really in Tanyang! My goodness. Then is it true that Childe Ling is engaged to Marshal Yuwen?”

“Absolutely true!”

Instantly, all people who heard these remarks fell into discussions with each other. Soon, people in the whole street were animatedly talking about this unexpected engagement.

The prison guard stood transfixed with shock for quite a while, unable to believe what he had just heard. ‘Marshal Yuwen? Marshal Yuwen is in Ling family? And he’s engaged to Childe Ling?!

Is Ling–Ling family going to make its way in the world?

These people are going to reach Heavens at a single bound!’

Everybody was envious, particularly the prison guard, whose eyes nearly turned green, but soon an awful thought struck him — Jia Yin.

‘All people in Tanyang know about the feud between Ling family and Jia family. If Jia Yin escapes from the prison, what will happen?’ The prison guard felt a cold shiver of fear run through him. He didn’t even dare to think about potential consequences.

‘If it comes to the knowledge of Marshal Yuwen that I’m the one who helps Jia Yin escape, will I stand a chance of survival?! No, I’ll sure as hell end up dead. Jia Yin is trying to get me killed!’ he thought in horror.