The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 313- 315

Chapter 313: Intentions of the Other Sides

After attentively hearing the man out, Zhao Zheng lapsed into a thoughtful silence.

The Right Prime Minister, however, felt that this matter was so odd. It had been immediately after he left the Ling Mansion that those bizarre changes happened, so he couldn’t help but wonder about the reason. Confucius never talked about anything paranormal. (from the Analects) Surely it hadn’t been some kind of psychic phenomenon that his men saw in broad daylight?

“Hurry. Get the carriage ready. I want to go and see it myself.” The Right Prime Minister rose to his feet and started making towards the door.

He must not let anything happen to Ling Zhang. Otherwise there would be unimaginably dire consequences.

At this moment, Zhao Zheng jerked out of his rumination, stood up and said, “Relax. I once heard that there are some peculiar concealment formations which could keep objects and people from being seen. These sudden changes that happened to the Ling Mansion sound somewhat similar to a situation I once heard of. I’ll go there with you to take a look. In all likelihood, the Ling Mansion should’ve been hidden by a formation.”

“A formation?” The Right Prime Minister was dubious. “There are actually formations in this world that could make that happen?”

The two of them hastened to the outside of the Ling Mansion only to see that the front gates of it was indeed gone, replaced by a wall.

“Thi–This is…” The Right Prime Minister was shocked. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he really wouldn’t have been able to believe that this was actually happening!

“Your Lordships, may I ask if it’s because of something urgent that you came here in haste?”

All of a sudden, the air in front of them rippled like the surface of the water and with that a man walked out of the void as if by magic. The Right Prime Minister cocked an eye at it and recognized him. It was the very guard who had been on duty at the front gates and led him into the Ling Mansion this morning.

For a long moment, the Right Prime Minister was unable to speak. Zhao Zheng also appeared quite astounded. “You…”

Zhao Shen looked over his shoulder at the Ling Mansion. In the knowledge that the two of them were startled, he raised his hand to scratch his head and then said, “There’s no need for you to panic, Your Lordships. It’s just a concealment formation.”

Formation? It was really a formation. Such divine formations actually did exist in this world? The Right Prime Minister’s perception of the world was thrown into a spin.

“We–We hurried over because we received a message and were worried that some accident had happened in the Ling Mansion,” said Zhao Zheng after managing to calm down.

Zhao Shen responded, “Don’t concern yourselves, Your Lordships. This is a formation deployed by Childe Ling’s grandfather who is a wonder. It conceals the front gates of this compound. On top of that, the outer walls you see are not necessarily real. People who dare approach without permission would not only get lost in the formation but also might be hurt by the defensive mechanism in it.”

“I see.” Zhao Zheng exhaled deeply. Having mostly regained his composure, he observed, “It seems that Childe Ling is under the protection of a formation master and nothing could harm him.”

Zhao Shen gave a smile. The reason why he had simply explained it to these two courtiers just now was because Ling Zhang, in order to spare them the worry and fear, had instructed him. As regards the details, he had no inclination to disclose any. “Would you like to go inside, Your Lordships?”

“We don’t want to impose. Tomorrow we’ll meet Childe Ling in the Right Prime Minister’s house,” said Zhao Zheng.

The Right Prime Minister also came to himself and agreed with Zhao Zheng.

“Then let me have some men escort you back home, Your Lordships,” suggested Zhao Shen.

“That won’t be necessary. We have our own guards. Please just go back and tell Childe Ling that we’re returning home,” said the Right Prime Minister.

“Okay, then. Have a safe trip home, Your Lordships,” said Zhao Shen.

After the Right Prime Minister and Zhao Zheng left, Zhao Shen went back inside and reported it to Ling Zhang.

“So they returned home. I see. You guys keep guarding the front gates.”

“Yes, Childe Ling.”

…

Many eyes had been watching when the Right Prime Minister and Zhao Zheng had been talking with Zhao Shen in the gateway. Unfortunately for them, what with the long distance in between, they could only see them but couldn’t hear a word of the conversation.

Because of this, when these people returned to report it to their masters, their descriptions were rather sketchy.

Fang Quan’s face darkened after he heard the report of his scout. Then he sent some others to the Ling Mansion, who staked out the place for a whole day. Even so, it still took a lot of doing for him to get a vague idea that that was a kind of concealment formation.

“No wonder Yuwen Tong dared leave Ling Zhang in the capital city alone. It turns out he’s made preparations some time ago.”

“I wonder what kind of formation it is exactly. It’s so eccentric.”

“We must find out. Otherwise I’d never be rid of the worry that it’ll bring us trouble.”

“How about we send someone to approach the Ling Mansion and see what happens?”

Fang Quan gave it some thought and then replied through gritted teeth, “We may do that, but currently our first priority is not to unravel the mystery about the Ling Mansion but to help my grandson ascend the throne!”

…

Meanwhile, Ling Zhang arrived at the residence of the collateral branch of the Yuwen family, accompanied by some bodyguards.

The residence was heavily guarded. On Ling Zhang’s arrival, Yuwen Chi personally walked outside to welcome him and brought him inside.

After consulting with Yuwen You and the others for two hours, Ling Zhang exited the study only to be startled by Yuwen Jin who was standing motionlessly right outside. “What are you standing here for?” Ling Zhang asked.

Yuwen Jin took two steps forward, grabbed Ling Zhang’s arm and drew him away from the study.

“What do you think you are doing, Yuwen Jin?!” bellowed Yuwen Chi from behind them.

Drawing Ling Zhang towards somewhere else, Yuwen Jin replied aloud, “I just want to have a word with Brother Zhang, Uncle! I’ll bring him back in a short while!”

“You brat!” Yuwen Chi bawled.

Ling Zhang gave him a wave, suggesting that it was okay. It was only then that Yuwen Chi subdued his urge to catch up with Yuwen Jin and beat him black and blue.

Looking at Yuwen Jin’s angry face, Ling Zhang was speechless for a moment, the corners of his mouth twitching. “What happened to you? You look so grumpy.”

It was when Yuwen Jin had drawn him to a quiet spot that he released Ling Zhang’s wrist, halted, spun around and said, “I’m the one who should be asking this question. You haven’t visited me once since your return from Tanyang, and now so much has happened…”

At the sight of the look on Yuwen Jin’s face which was indicating that he was somewhat at a loss what to do, Ling Zhang had a shrewd idea what was going on and asked, “Then what do you have in mind?”

Yuwen Jin flicked him a glance. “What could I possibly have in mind? No matter what you and my cousin are going to do, I’ll be there for you. Therefore, if there’s anything you need me to help with, you’ve got to tell me, so that I could do something for you. My grandfather, uncle and father keep telling me to stay out of it, as though getting them into trouble is the only thing I’m capable of.”

Ling Zhang smiled, “They’re just trying to protect you.”

“But I’m not a kid any more. I’ve had my rite of passage already,” retorted Yuwen Jin.

Yuwen Jin’s rite of passage had been held during Ling Zhang’s and Yuwen Tong’s stay in the Millennium Pavilion. What with the spate of subsequent events, Ling Zhang hadn’t found the time to send Yuwen Jin his best wishes or a gift.

“Sorry to have missed your rite of passage,” said Ling Zhang.

“Humph.” Yuwen Jin lightly gave a snort and said, “Then send me a gift to make up for it. Ji Feng has left the capital city, and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of your for quite a long time, and the others are nowhere to be seen as well. Presently most people in the city are staying indoors all day with their doors closed, and there are not many students going to the Imperial College to attend classes, so we figure we might as well just stay at home.”

“You’ll get your present, I promise.” Ling Zhang thought for a while and then inquired, “How are the others doing?”

“Well, you probably don’t need me to tell you about Zhao Jiusi’s or Zhao Turui’s take on it. Because of Minister Zhao, the two of them are naturally on our side. Xie Qing has also some time ago stated his stand clearly owing to his father. Xun Huo is the only one left whose attitude is unknown… It’s been a long while since the last time I heard news of him. I don’t know if any of the others has.”

Xun Huo? He remembered that Xun Huo’s father was Xun Yi, a councillor of the Ministry of Penalties, who seemed to be keeping a very low profile and pretty well invisible all along.

A slight frown creased Ling Zhang’s forehead. “You should figure out a way to get in touch with the others and ask them about it. We’re all friends. Given the uncertainties of the current situation in this city, we need to check that everybody’s okay.”

Yuwen Jin nodded. “I will. Incidentally, how’s everything going with Brother Tao?”

Ling Zhang replied with a soft sigh, “I wrote him a letter two days ago but still haven’t received a reply yet. I think…. maybe he’s got a bit of a situation.”

Yuwen Jin knitted his brows and said, “What kind of situation could it possibly be? Is it because he’s switched sides that he’s not replying to your letter, by any chance?”

Ling Zhang’s lips were pressed together. After a moment, he responded, “I don’t know. I’ll try contacting him again. Whatever the circumstances, I hope to get a reply from him.”

Even if for some reason they went their separate ways, Tao Yi would still owe it to him to give him a reply, considering their friendship.

Yuwen Jin looked in the direction of the outside. “The caravan carrying supplies will depart for the borderlands tomorrow afternoon, right?”

Ling Zhang answered in a deep voice, “Yeah.”

Then he lapsed into silence, gazing north-west.

Yuwen Jin knew what he was worried about. “Relax. I always have a lot of faith in my cousin. This time around I also have no doubt he’ll defeat the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom and return with a great victory.”

Ling Zhang said, “I know. I have faith in him as well.”

“How… How are things going there? Have you had any news of them?” Yuwen Jin suddenly asked in an implicative tone.

Ling Zhang understood. Yuwen Jin was referring to Yuwen Zhi’s branch of the Yuwen family who were living in the residence of the Assistant Minister of Rites.

“Yuwen Feng has been occupied with the emperor’s funeral all along. Yuwen Zhi has been absent from court meetings on the pretext of illness. He even missed all the sacrificial rites for the emperor except one. Yuwen Qi hasn’t shown his face lately and seems to be behaving himself at the moment, but there’s no telling whether he’ll stay this way until your cousin comes back.”

Yuwen Jin curled his lip. “I don’t think they have enough sense to keep their noses clean.”

…

In the residential compound of the Assistant Minister of Rites.

Yuwen Zhi hesitated for a long time before making up his mind, but how to do it was a problem. Apart from everything else, one of his sons probably wouldn’t get on board.

It was now very obvious that Yuwen Feng’s opinion had tilted in favor of Yuwen Tong. Yuwen Zhi was not very pleased with this, but ever since Yuwen Tong had thwarted his plan, Yuwen Feng had been the sole pillar of this family, so he couldn’t try to stop his son even if he wanted to. On top of that, currently Yuwen Feng had eyes everywhere in this residence, which made it rather difficult for him to contact the Fang family and contribute to their cause without Yuwen Feng noticing. He had to figure out a way.

After pondering for quite a while, Yuwen Zhi wrote a letter and instructed his personal butler to find an opportunity to deliver it to the Fang Mansion.

The butler gingerly put away Yuwen Zhi’s letter and prepared to leave the compound. Zhao Fugui walked into his father halfway. Seeing the cautious expression on his father’s face, he asked, “What’s going on, Father?”

The butler gave him a dirty look. “Keep you nose out of this and mind your own business!”

“Father, I’m your son. We always work with one heart and one mind. Surely you don’t think there’s anything you need to keep secret from me?” demurred Zhao Fugui unhappily.

The butler’s brows were furrowed. “Enough with the nonsense. I have instructions from Master to deliver a letter, and the First Young Master must not know about it. I need you to keep an eye out for the others in this residence and cover for me in passing.”

Chapter 314: Yuwen Zhi’s Letter

Delivering a letter? To whom was he delivering it by stealth?

Zhao Fugui felt that his father was up to something, that this letter he was delivering for Yuwen Zhi must be about something important. Should he tip the other side off about this? After an intense struggle in his mind, Zhao Fugui eventually gritted his teeth and slipped out of the residential compound, planning to find out where his father was delivering the letter first and then made a final decision.

“The Fang Mansion?” Zhao Fugui was taken aback as he saw his father slink to the Fang Mansion. He was no fool and naturally was aware that the owner of the Fang Mansion was the Eighth Prince’s grandfather.

“What is Master trying to do? Does he want to side with the Eighth Prince, by any chance?” Zhao Fugui’s face took on a vexed expression. He was merely a servant of Yuwen Zhi’s, so his knowledge of this matter was limited, and he didn’t have much acquaintance with the current political landscape, but he did know that this was definitely not a good thing. Given that it was in a stealthy fashion that his father had come to the Fang Mansion, this letter must be about something underhand.

As a result, Zhao Fugui was torn between his father and people of the Ling Mansion, wondering whether or not he should inform the latter.

…

Ling Zhang took his leave of Yuwen Jin and the others and then returned to the Ling Mansion.

“Childe Ling, a moment ago Zhao Fugui secretly came here to deliver a message, saying that Yuwen Zhi had a letter sent to the Fang Mansion,” said Yao Yi.

Ling Zhang came to a halt, feeling that this was definitely Murphy’s Law at play. Yuwen Zhi couldn’t even stay out of trouble for a single day!

“What about Yuwen Feng? Is he in this as well?” asked Ling Zhang.

Yao Yi answered, “Yuwen Feng has no knowledge of this. It was his personal butler that Yuwen Zhi had deliver the letter.”

Ling Zhang walked into the room and sat down.

“What happened?” asked Ling Zhaowu, stepping inside.

“Yuwen Zhi contacted the Fang family. It would seem he’s taking the Eighth Prince’s side,” replied Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhaowu’s forehead corrugated in a frown. It had been after that matter that he was informed of the complicated situation in the Yuwen family. Yuwen Zhi was Yuwen Tong’s uncle. Although the two of them had divided up family property and been living apart, it didn’t change the fact that there was blood bond between them. Surely Yuwen Zhi was fully aware of what the current circumstances were like? Still, he had decided to side with the Eighth Prince, which was really an unreasonable move.

“Before Yuwen Tong left the city, did he tell you what to do with this uncle of his?” inquired Ling Zhaowu in a very direct way.

Ling Zhang replied in a cold tone of voice, “He wants me to show Yuwen Zhi no mercy if he dares step out of line again. Given the current situation, Yuwen Zhi’s choosing to pit himself against me means only one of us will survive this fight. Since he has a death wish, I shall grant it.”

Now that Yuwen Zhi was determined to worm his way into that net to seek his doom, he would have only himself to blame when he got it.

“Childe Ling, what should we do with Childe Feng?” said Yao Yi.

Ling Zhang slightly furrowed his brows. Yuwen Feng’s stand had always been firm, and he’d never shown the faintest inclination to go along with his family in their evil deeds, but this matter was of utmost importance, so Ling Zhang felt he shouldn’t jump to conclusions. “Let’s sound Yuwen Feng out first and see what his take on this matter is like.”

“Should I go and talk to Childe Feng?” asked Yao Yi.

“Tomorrow there’s going to be a meeting in the Right Prime Minister’s residence. In order to find out about Yuwen Feng’s attitude, the Right Prime Minister probably has invited him as well. Inform Zhao Fugui of it. Tell him to figure out a proper way to tip Yuwen Feng off about Yuwen Zhi’s intention without disclosing anything about our involvement in this,” said Ling Zhang.

Yao Yi had a somewhat sympathetic expression on his face. It didn’t take a genius to see how difficult a position Yuwen Feng would be put in, but this was a life-or-death juncture, and although Yuwen Feng was probably the only member of that branch of the Yuwen family who still cared about their marshal, the time had come for them to force Yuwen Feng to make the final choice.

“I’ll go there right now.”

…

At dusk, Yuwen Feng returned home and routinely asked the servants, “How are Master and Second Young Master doing today?”

“Master sat in his study for a very long time. Second Young Master is in his courtyard house all along,” answered a servant.

Yuwen Feng inclined his head and then went to see Yuwen Zhi. The two of them talked about some affairs concerning the imperial court.

“Is the Eighth Prince still keeping vigil beside the bier?” asked Yuwen Zhi.

“The Eighth Prince lives in a side palace. He’s been keeping a round-the-clock vigil during the past few days. Courtiers are taking turns to wail beside the coffin. The Eighth Prince has been performing the duty alone, for the Ninth Prince is too young to take his place,” replied Yuwen Feng.

“He and the Ninth Prince are the only hope of the imperial household now. The Ninth Prince is still young, so the Eighth Prince has become the pillar of the imperial family. By keeping vigil beside the coffin all along, he’s shown some strength of character. Maybe we can count on him to become a competent ruler of the Great Yue,” observed Yuwen Zhi.

There was a deepening frown on Yuwen Feng’s face as he listened. “Father, the Eighth Prince is still young; the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom are eyeing us with hostility; the capital city is vulnerable, and the garrisons in other cities are quite strong. The Eighth Prince is just a ten-year-old boy. I’m afraid he’s not ready for the task of ruling this country.”

Yuwen Zhi looked at him. “Having the garrisons toe the line would be an achievable goal if he has a capable adviser.”

“Father.” Yuwen Feng looked at him confusedly and disapprovingly. “You better than anyone should know what the current situation in the imperial court is like. Once a prince of the Zhou family ascends the throne, our family would sure as hell come to grief. What are you thinking exactly?”

After a few moments’ eye contact with him, Yuwen Zhi replied, “You regard Yuwen Tong as a cousin, but he treats us like dirt.”

“Father, the only way to bring peace to this country is for my cousin to accede to the throne. Please say no more in this regard.” Yuwen Feng rose to his feet, gazing at Yuwen Zhi with a faintly admonitory expression in his eyes. “Although he’s not in this city at the moment, he still has control over the whole city, and each and every single move of ours will come to his knowledge. I hope you’ll stop being a hater. Don’t make any unwise decisions at this point in time.”

“Don’t you dare talk to me like that, no matter how firmly you believe you’re old enough to do it. You hear me?” Yuwen Zhi flintily looked at him, disgruntled.

Yuwen Feng frowned. “Father, I just want you to see that in front of us is a heaven-sent opportunity, that this is the path which the Yuwen family should take.”

The two of them eyed each other coldly for a few moments and then parted in discord.

After leaving Yuwen Zhi’s study, Yuwen Feng became vigilant as he recalled what Yuwen Zhi had just said. The more he thought about it, the deeper his disquiet.

“First Young Master.”

Zhao Fugui standing in a corner called Yuwen Feng’s name as the latter approached Yuwen Qi’s courtyard house.

“What are you standing here for?”

Yuwen Feng was rather displeased to see Zhao Fugui’s sneaky bearing.

“Please forgive me, First Young Master. There’s something I need to tell you, and I don’t want any of Master’s or Second Young Master’s men to see us talking,” said Zhao Fugui.

Yuwen Feng stared at him for a while. “What is it?”

Zhao Fugui looked left and right. After confirming that the coast was clear, he breathed, “Earlier this day Master had my father deliver a letter to the Fang Mansion by stealth.”

Yuwen Feng was secretly startled. “The Fang Mansion? Are you sure?”

Zhao Fugui hurriedly bobbed his head. “I don’t dare lie to you, First Young Master.”

Yuwen Feng pivoted around and started walking away, but after two steps forward, he spun around and said to Zhao Fugui, “Don’t you tell anybody else about this, or else…”Updates by

Zhao Fugui immediately slumped to his knees, prostrated himself and spluttered, “I don’t dare do that. You’re the only one I disclosed this to. Under no circumstances will I tell it to a second person!”

Yuwen Feng withdrew his frosty eyes and hastened off.

It was when he was far away that Zhao Fugui pulled himself up and twisted his head around to look at Yuwen Qi’s courtyard house and then in the direction of Yuwen Feng’s receding back, a somewhat anxious expression on his face. People of the Ling Mansion had instructed him to sound Yuwen Feng out and see how he would react, but what kind of reaction was this? He didn’t dare explicitly ask Yuwen Feng’s opinion, because if he did that, Yuwen Feng would have him executed.

With this in mind, he had no choice but to stealthily follow in Yuwen Feng’s wake.

Yuwen Feng had originally wanted to question Yuwen Zhi about this matter, but he came to a halt in the doorway of the study.

In the distance, Zhao Fugui stalking him hurriedly hid himself in a corner at the sight of this, stealthily peeping.

…

In the Fang Mansion.

“What does Yuwen Zhi mean by this, Your Lordship?”

On the table in front of Fang Quan was a letter. A couple of people were sitting around it, all of whom were close personal friends of Fang Quan’s and were working with Fang Quan in assisting the Eighth Prince to succeed to the throne. They gazed at the letter from Yuwen Zhi, suspicion washing over their faces.

“Everybody in this city knows what Yuwen Tong is up to. Instead of giving counsel to him, the Yuwen family are actually telling us that they’re in support of the Eighth Prince?”

“It’s definitely a trick. Yuwen Zhi thinks we’re fools?”

“Well… it might not necessarily be a trick. Think about it. Previously, because of the matter of Yuwen Qi, Yuwen Tong and Yuwen Zhi had a falling-out; afterwards, Zheng shi informed on Yuwen Tong, accusing him of concealing banned items, almost causing Yuwen Tong to be brought down; and then Yuwen Tong and Yuwen Zhi immediately divided up family property and lived apart, and their relations reached a quite ugly end, so Yuwen Zhi isn’t really on good terms with Yuwen Tong. If Yuwen Tong does manage to take the throne, he might not treat Yuwen Zhi nicely.”

“Yuwen Zhi is a member of the Yuwen family after all. We should regard him as an enemy, whatever the circumstances. Besides, Although Yuwen Zhi has fallen out with Yuwen Tong, Yuwen Feng seems to exist to do Yuwen Tong’s bidding, and Yuwen Feng is Yuwen Zhi’s biological son. Surely you don’t think Yuwen Zhi would choose us, a group of outsiders, over his own son?”

“Speaking of Yuwen Feng, as the Assistant Minister of Rites, he wields even greater power in the department than the Minister of Rites. If we draw him over to our side…”

“Stop dreaming. Let me tell you something – even if Yuwen Zhi and Yuwen Feng somehow become sworn enemies of Yuwen Tong and are not even on speaking terms with him, I still wouldn’t dare put a shred of trust in them. All of them have the Yuwen family’s blood coursing inside them, and they all bear the same surname. What with these two facts alone, I believe it’s inadvisable to have them on board, Your Lordship.”

Fang Quan listened to their arguments without making any on-the-spot comments.

In fact, Fang Quan’s thoughts on the matter were in line with the latter speaker’s. He didn’t believe that Yuwen Zhi really wanted to side with the Eighth Prince, because apart from anything else, Yuwen Zhi was a Yuwen, Yuwen Tong’s biological uncle!

“I’ll send some men to keep close watch on the Yuwen family first. This is a crucial moment in the pursuit of our cause. We can’t afford to make even the slightest mistake. As for how to reply to Yuwen Zhi, I’ll write him a letter, pretending I don’t understand what he means,” said Fang Quan.

The others present in discussion all quieted down. “Lord Fang is right. No matter what, we must not make any mistakes at this point in time. It’s best if we just ignore Yuwen Zhi’s overtures. Still… Your Lordship, may I ask if you’ve ever considered the Jiang family?”

“Although the Jiang family haven’t been receiving visitors, Jiang Shennian is the former emperor’s uncle after all. They and the Eighth Prince are of the same blood. It’s true that the Jiang family have come down in the world, but they still have their contacts. On top of that, the Jiang family are far more trustworthy than Yuwen Zhi, aren’t they?”

Chapter 315: Ling Zhang’s Father’s Conception

It probably had never crossed Yuwen Zhi’s mind that Fang Quan would show a total disregard for his overtures after he went to so much trouble to get in touch with the Fang family.

Fang Quan’s reply to his letter first went through the hand of a secret guard of the Ling Mansion, and then that of a subordinate of Yuwen Feng’s before it eventually was delivered to Yuwen Zhi, who had no knowledge of the whole thing.

In the Ling Mansion.

“The Fang family actually rejected Yuwen Zhi’s request. This time he’s probably going to be reduced to vomiting blood from anger,” said Zhang Liu to a couple of others.

“Yuwen Zhi won’t give up so easily,” remarked Ling Zhang, his face hardening into a cold expression. “We still need to keep a weather eye on him. Do not let your guard down because of this.”

“Yes, Your Lordship.”Visit website our ReadNovelFull.com

…

Yuwen Feng heaved a sigh of relief after being informed of the contents of the letter written in reply by Fang Quan. His back which had been tense for a whole day finally relaxed. The relations between his family and his cousin had worsened once again after that incident, and they couldn’t afford to suffer another heavy blow. If it came to his cousin’s knowledge that his father had secretly contacted the Fang family, things would without doubt get ugly.

Yuwen Feng’s eyes went cold as he thought of this. All those who were aware of this matter had to be silenced. Zhao Fugui…

Having no idea that his death was drawing near, Zhao Fugui received rewards in the Ling Mansion and then returned to the residential compound of Yuwen Feng with a good deal of food and wine.

“Zhao Fugui.”

“First Young Master?”

Suddenly Yuwen Feng blocked his path. Zhao Fugui hastily paid his respects to him, but a foreboding feeling rose in him as he saw two guards with murderous faces show up behind Yuwen Feng. “First Young Master, what are you–uh!”

The food and jars of wine in his hands dropped to the ground and smashed to pieces. Yuwen Feng flicked a quick glance around and, after confirming that the coast was clear, instructed, “Take him away. Make sure the butler doesn’t find out.”

“Yes!”

…

In the Ling Mansion.Visit website our

Miao Shisan hurried into the house. “Childe Ling, something happened to Zhao Fugui. Someone in the Assistant Minister of Rites’ residence sent word that Zhao Fugui died of a foul disease.”

“He died?” said Ling Zhang. “What kind of foul disease?”

“The one who sent the message didn’t know either.”

“Given the suspicious circumstances of his death, it strikes me that his killer was not a foul disease but someone who wanted him to shut his mouth for good.”

“He was killed? So someone found out about his contact with us?”

Ling Zhang gave it some thought and then replied, “That shouldn’t be the case. We’ve been very cautious. There’s no way anybody has found out about it. Besides, Zhao Fugui’s father is a butler who’s very much in Yuwen Zhi’s confidence. Yuwen Zhi wouldn’t have killed him so suddenly. It must be Yuwen Feng who did it.”

“Him? Why?”

“Because he doesn’t want your marshal to find out about Yuwen Zhi’s attempt to cross over to the Eighth Prince’s side. In his eyes, the fewer who know about it, the better. I’m afraid that trusted butler of Yuwen Zhi’s wouldn’t last long either. Yuwen Feng is trying to hush up this matter. Unfortunately for him, it’s very unlikely his father would let him have his way, given what kind of person Yuwen Zhi is.”

Predictably, at dusk, Yuwen Zhi was found to make contact with the Fang family once again. This time, as Zhao Fugui was no longer there to report it to Yuwen Feng, the latter didn’t get wind of it immediately. It was after he returned home from the imperial palace at night that he was informed of it. He knew his father well enough and was aware that his father wouldn’t drop the idea easily, so he had specially made arrangements for a subordinate of his to spy on his father. That very night, the two of them had a fight over the matter.

It was almost midnight and Ling Zhang had gone to bed. Miao Shisan came and reported, “Childe Ling, Yuwen Zhi placed Yuwen Feng under house arrest. All their servants unaware of the truth believe that Yuwen Feng has caught a severe cold. Right now Yuwen Feng’s courtyard house is heavily guarded by Yuwen Zhi’s and Yuwen Qi’s men.”

Ling Zhang raised his hand to knead his forehead. “These guys are nothing but trouble.”

In a cold tone of voice, he instructed, “Stay put and keep watch on Yuwen Zhi. Let’s wait and see what else he’ll do tomorrow.”

“Yes, Your Lordship.”

…

The next morning, Ling Zhang and Ling Zhaowu arrived at the Right Prime Minister’s residence.

There were already a lot of people in the house: Zhao Zheng the Minister of War, Xie Dongsheng the Assistant Minister of Works, Commander Xie of the Northern City Garrison Battalion, to name but three.

As soon as Ling Zhang entered, his eyes swept across those present. As expected, Yuwen Feng was nowhere to be seen.

They first exchanged usual pleasantries. Seeing Ling Zhaowu who was standing beside Ling Zhang, the officials were all somewhat surprised. “May I ask who this is?”

“This is my father.”

“I’m Ling Zhaowu.”

The Right Prime Minister and the others were all rather astonished. Ling Zhang’s father? Hadn’t Ling Zhang’s parents both passed away? What was going on?

The Right Prime Minister was the first to come to himself. “It turns out you’re Childe Ling’s father. Please forgive me for not being discerning enough to recognize you earlier.”

“Your politeness humbled me, Your Lordship. What with my lack of knowledge and insight, I’m afraid I couldn’t be of much help.”

Ling Zhaowu looked a trifle thin, and his complexion was not very healthy, but he spoke in appropriate terms and behaved in the proper way, showing a great sense of propriety, giving every official present a very favorable first impression.

“Childe Ling, Assistant Minister Yuwen is said to catch a cold suddenly last night, so he didn’t come.”

After an exchange of courtesies, the Right Prime Minister first talked about Yuwen Feng. “Maybe it’s because he’s been working too hard lately. The task of holding His Majesty’s funeral was assigned to him without notice, and all staff members of the Ministry of Rites have been fully occupied.”

Naturally, Ling Zhang and Ling Zhaowu were aware of the real reason for Yuwen Feng’s absence. Ling Zhang replied, “I’ll pay a visit to him after the meeting. Since it’s just a cold, he should recover from it soon enough.”

All officials present had been informed that the day before the Right Prime Minister and Ling Zhang put out feelers to each other, so although for some of them, this was their first time meeting Ling Zhang, they knew what to expect and were not being overcautious.

“Last night I received a message saying that the Concubine Jin was rather anxious, but Fang Quan didn’t go to the palace to meet her. It would seem he’s been busy gathering strength,” said Ling Zhang.

Seeing that Ling Zhang even had intelligence about the Concubine Jin, everybody present came to realize that he had eyes in many key positions.

“Fang Quan has gathered quite a few people, all of whom are his close personal friends.” The Right Prime Minister gave a couple of names, the owners of which had all been pretty low-key previously but carried some weight in the imperial court.

“Last night I also received an invitation from Fang Quan. He wanted to have a private meeting with me, presumably intending to rope me in to help with his plan,” said Commander Xie. “I declined the invitation.”

When Yuwen Tong had taken command of the Northern City Garrison Battalion was anybody’s guess. Even Ling Zhang didn’t know much detail about it. He only knew that the personal friendship between Commander Xie and Yuwen Tong seemed to start a long time ago, though few people had knowledge of it. Currently, the Right Prime Minister had half of the commander’s seal of the Northern City Garrison Battalion, and Ling Zhang had the other half, so it would take three people to dispatch the troops of the battalion. It required a complete commander’s seal to move the whole battalion, which meant that Commander Xie couldn’t do it without both the Right Prime Minister’s and Ling Zhang’s consent. Naturally, Fang Quan was unaware of this. Otherwise he wouldn’t have contacted Fang Quan.

“Commander Xie declined Fang Quan’s invitation, but Fang Quan might not necessarily give up. You need to be more careful in case Fang Quan resorts to underhand tricks, Commander Xie,” said the Right Prime Minister.

Commander Xie replied, “I’m sure Fang Quan won’t pin his hopes on me.”

“It’s been a full day. He should’ve sent a message to Jiangzhou already. Given that the whole city is guarded by our men, he won’t dare take any action overtly to help the Eighth Prince. If we are to lure them out, we’ll have to loosen the security a little,” observed Ling Zhang.

The others exchanged glances. The Minister of War smiled, “We have the same opinion about this, Childe Ling. Before you came, we’d been discussing how to delude Fang Quan into believing that the time is ripe for him to make his move. We were worried that it might be difficult to convince you to agree to loosen the security, but it turns out that you’ve thought of this already, that we were being narrow-minded.”

Ling Zhang also gave a smile. “You flatter me, Minister Zhao. I’m sure Your Lordships’ considerations are more thoughtful than mine.”

“Now that we’ve reached a consensus, what’s the proper way to carry it out?” asked Commander Xie. “I’m not very good at thinking of things, so I’ll do whatever you guys say.”

Ling Zhang, “…”

Was it the right thing to do to let the whole military presence in this city be under this man’s command?

But on second thought, if this man was really slow-witted, he would by no means have been promoted to commander. Given that this man had served the former emperor so many years without anybody finding out about his relations with Yuwen Tong, he was definitely more than what he seemed, and he didn’t mean it when he said that he was not good at thinking of things. If anybody bought it, they would be the fool.

The Right Prime Minister and the couple of others mulled over it silently for a while.

Ling Zhaowu flicked a glance around the room and said, “Actually, once Fang Quan manages to reach an agreement with Jiangzhou, he will no doubt take action. The way I see it, instead of thinking about how to loosen the security, you might as well just wait and see how Jiangzhou replies to Fang Quan. If people there have other plans and are unwilling to get involved, then we’ll have to adopt another approach to deal with this matter.”

Ling Zhaowu’s words struck the others as enlightening. With a thoughtful expression on his face, the Right Prime Minister looked at Ling Zhaowu. “You’ve got a point, Brother Ling. We indeed should show more patience.”

Ling Zhaowu said calmly, “Your Lordships are all visionary courtiers, and you’re used to taking everything into consideration, so naturally some details will escape your notice. Luring them out is not difficult. Pretending not to notice will do the trick. The problem is that Fang Quan will make his move regardless of whether people of Jiangzhou agree to cooperate with him or not, because this is his only chance. In fact, I believe it is not the garrison of Jiangzhou but the Jiang family as well as Dai Cheng and that Wang Cai guy who are in Cangzhou that you need to be concerned about.

To my knowledge, Jiang Shennian of the Jiang family used to be the most powerful civil official, and he’s also the former emperor’s uncle. There are a lot of people in the imperial court who have connections with him. Maybe…” Ling Zhaowu’s eyes slowly swept across those sitting in the room and then, in a seemingly calm tone, said something that made everybody’s heart give a lurch. “Some of Your Lordships are connected with the Jiang family in some way.

Although the Jiang family have been laying low with their front gates shut, their ears and eyes used to be all over the imperial court. They will be our biggest threat in this city if they have the intention to assist the Eighth Prince. Besides, I don’t see any reason why Jiang Shennian should support Yuwen Tong instead of the imperial household who bear the surname Zhou and have the bond of blood with him.

Yuwen Tong left because he had to, what with the ongoing warfare in the north-west. His leaving the capital city was a risky move, for both this city and himself. In regard to the situation inside this city, without him in charge, all the other sides are itching for action, and there could be a coup at any moment; outside the city, those who see him as their greatest threat and want to directly eliminate him, naturally, could more easily find the opportunities they need. The current situation is fraught with danger. You have already figured out how to handle those foreseeable threats, and you should start considering those lurking in the shadows. Otherwise, even if Yuwen Tong is capable of protecting himself, you won’t be able to keep this city standing.”

Everybody present was shocked as Ling Zhaowu finished the last word.