The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 472- 474

Chapter 472: Ling Xingzhong’s Dream

“Fa–Father…”

On entering the imperial study, the little girl in Ling Maomao’s arms caught sight of Yuwen Tong sitting behind a desk. Her big eyes instantly brightening, she strained her neck, calling to Yuwen Tong, stretching out her hands. Her voice was babyish and sounded as though it were tinged with the aroma of milk. The sound of her voice alone was enough to melt Yuwen Tong’s heart, not to mention that she was also gazing at him with sparkling, longing eyes.

Yuwen Tong rose to his feet and walked around his desk.

Ling Maomao, Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin bowed with hands folded in front to pay their respects to Yuwen Tong.

“I’m honored to bow before you, Your Majesty.”

“I’m honored to bow before you, Father.”

“There’s no need for formalities,” said Yuwen Tong, walking up to Ling Maomao and reaching out his hands. Yuwen Yue in Ling Maomao’s arms giggled happily, gave a vigorous push at Ling Maomao’s chest and launched herself at Yuwen Tong, calling excitedly, “Father! Father!”

After landing in Yuwen Tong’s embrace, she kept calling Yuwen Tong “Father” delightedly, wriggling around in Yuwen Tong’s arms. Then she gave Yuwen Tong a light peck on the cheek, her delicate-skinned arms around his neck, excitement written all over her face, her eyes narrowing into two crescents for smiling, which reminded people of her pet name. Her chuckle was exceptionally soft and pleasant.

Carrying his daughter steadily with one hand beneath her hips and the other on her back, Yuwen Tong, after being kissed by her, gave a smile and said happily, “You’re such a good girl, Crescent.”

“I’m a good girl.” Yuwen Yue repeated Yuwen Tong’s words, beaming, enjoying Yuwen Tong’s compliment without any pretence of modesty.

Yuwen Tong laughed, looking at his daughter who was not at all ashamed to second his favorable remark about her being a good girl, feeling that his daughter was so smart.

Ling Maomao, along with Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin who were younger than him, stood where they were and watched Yuwen Yue make Yuwen Tong laugh, feeling relieved. Ever since Ling Zhang’s departure from the imperial palace, Yuwen Tong had been getting sterner by the day. The two princes were frightened of him like rats of cats. On this day, because of Crescent’s presence, Yuwen Tong didn’t wear a poker face, which was rare.

“Why did you come to the palace today?” Yuwen Tong asked Ling Maomao after playing with his daughter for a while.

Ling Maomao was thirteen now and had been growing taller very fast, and the top of his head was about shoulder height with Yuwen Tong. On top of that, as he practiced kung fu on a daily basis, he was well-proportioned and lean, and he was always upright when walking, striking people as a teenager of great presence.

After Fu Caiwei gave birth to her second son, Ling Maomao and she had gone to Shengzhou to live with Ling Zhaowen. With the intention to toughen his son up, Ling Zhaowen had sent Ling Maomao to the military encampment. He hadn’t had him join the army but just let him train with the crack troops under Jiang Ke’s command. There had been quite some young boys in the North-western Army, many of whom were Ling Maomao’s age. After assessing the boys’ aptitudes, officers of the army would give the boys specialized training accordingly. Ling Maomao had considerable aptitude for kung fu. Ling Zhaowu had specially helped him lay a foundation, and the method Ling Zhaowu had adopted was similar to the one Yuwen Tong had used to help Ling Zhang in Tanyang. By doing that, he had improved Ling Maomao’s aptitude appreciably. After Ling Maomao started receiving training with crack troops, he had at first felt as though he was going through hell, but afterwards he’d gradually become used to it. The five years’ training had been quite fruitful. It had also greatly improved his mental endurance. When he’d turned twelve, Ling Zhaowen had sent him back to the capital city to learn kung fu from Ji Yin. After returning to the capital city, Ling Maomao had been quite unaccustomed to his new life, for life among aristocrats was totally different than life in the North-western Army. Fortunately for him, the training given by Ji Yin had also been quite harsh, so gradually he’d also got accustomed to it. On top of that, Ling Zhang had specially hired a distinguished scholar from a noble family to teach Ling Maomao. During the last couple of months, Ling Maomao’s behavioral pattern and some of his habits had slowly changed somewhat. Ling Zhang had no intention to bring any changes to Ling Maomao’s disposition, for the boy was thirteen now and had long since learned how to make decisions on his own. Still, Ling Maomao was actually the future patriarch of the Ling family, so it was inappropriate for him to stay in the army all the time. There were a lot of things that he must learn how to handle, which was why currently he was living in the suburban manor with Ling Xingzhong and Ji Yin. He stayed in the Ling Mansion only in days when he returned to the city to call on Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin both hit it off with Ling Maomao. They found each other very good company. As the two princes’ “uncle”, every time Ling Maomao visited the palace, he would bring them some gifts from the streets. As a result, the two young princes admired and liked him very much.

Crescent, who was Ling Maomao’s little sister, had allowed Ling Maomao to hug her the first time they’d met, which had gladdened Ling Maomao’s heart.

When Ling Maomao had returned to the capital city a couple of months before, he had brought back news that Fu Caiwei was pregnant once again, but there was no telling whether it was a boy or a girl. Though the living conditions in the capital city were better, Ling Zhaowen, believing that Fu Caiwei was not in a fit state to make a long journey, had decided to have her stay in Shengzhou to await delivery. After being informed of this, Ling Zhang had hastened to send a court physician to Shengzhou, along with some precious medicines.

Fu Caiwei, who had been using the methods taught her by Mr. Mu to preserve her health these years, seemed as though she were aging backwards, and her constitution was excellent. Some people worried that it was fairly risky for her to bear another child, considering her age, but she herself was not concerned at all, and she felt rather resigned as she learned that even her nephew in the capital city which was very far away had been alarmed by the news of her pregnancy. Before Ling Zhang’s departure from the capital city, she had written him a letter, telling him not to worry about her.

Ling Zhang had still felt apprehensive after reading the letter, but he hadn’t dared overdo his concern for his aunt for fear that she might be unhappy, that it might hinder her from nourishing the fetus, so he had had no choice but to restrain himself, but eventually his worries had been channeled into his efforts to knock Ling Maomao into shape. When he’d still been in the capital city, he’d checked Ling Maomao’s homework every few days, and when he’d found it unsatisfactory, he had gone back to the manor to scold and punish Ling Maomao on that very day.

As a result, though the very sight of the eminent scholar responsible for teaching him gave Ling Maomao headaches, the boy didn’t dare take his studies lightly and had been learning from his teacher and studying hard every day.

There was nothing particular going on in the capital city. Theoretically, Ling Maomao should be in the manor working hard at this time, which was why Yuwen Tong asked Ling Maomao why he’d come to the palace this day.

“My grandfather was worried about my cousin, so he sent me here to check if there’re any new messages from my cousin. Last night, my grandfather had some dream which scared him awake. After waking up, he kept telling me to come here, so I set off early this morning,” replied Ling Maomao.

A dream? Yuwen Tong’s eyebrows contracted slightly. Ling Xingzhong had never been an impetuous man; given that a mere dream had frightened him into sending his grandson to this palace, it had been by no means a good dream. Yuwen Tong missed Ling Zhang very much. These days, what with Ling Zhang’s absence, the look on his face was so cold that nobody dared approach him when he was in a foul mood. At this time, he subconsciously became sulky at these words, but he knew that neither Ling Xingzhong nor Ling Maomao was to blame, so he didn’t show any particular emotions on his face.

“I received a signed letter from him only the day before yesterday, in which he said that everything’s okay. He has twenty-four guards by his side and some of my secret bodyguards are covertly protecting him. Even if he blows his cover, nobody would dare do him any harm. You may go back and tell Old Master Ling that your cousin is fine, that everything’s going well and there’s no need to concern himself. He had a bad dream because he worried too much.”

After hearing Yuwen Tong’s remarks, Ling Maomao, who also knew about that and had made this visit only because he wanted to help ease his grandfather’s apprehension, said, “I’ll repeat your words to my grandfather.”

Yuwen Tong said no more about this topic. His adopted daughter in his arms patted his cheeks with her soft little hands. “Father, smile.”

Though Yuwen Tong didn’t show anything on his face, children are innately sensitive to changes in adults’ moods.

The faint sense of displeasure inside Yuwen Tong was instantly dissolved by the pat his daughter gave his cheeks, and with that his eyes gleamed with amusement once again. “Okay, smile. Today I’ll take you to the imperial garden for a walk. In fact, I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

“I want to go and see the flowers!” said Yuwen Yue immediately. It was spring and the imperial garden, which was a varicolored sea of flowers of all descriptions, was quite appealing in children’s eyes. However, what with the occasional cold winds, the eunuchs and handmaids didn’t dare bring the young princess to the imperial garden. As a result, though Yuwen Yue for quite some time had been looking forward to going there to take a look, she hadn’t had the chance so far.

“Okay, then, let’s go and see the flowers,” Yuwen Tong said happily and then turned to face the doorway and instructed, “Go and bring my daughter her cloak.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” a eunuch answered and then walked off to make preparations.

It was not until this moment that Yuwen Tong looked at his two adopted sons. Though he hadn’t asked them any questions, he’d been observing their reactions all along. Both of them had listened quietly to the conversation between Yuwen Tong and Ling Maomao. Though neither of them had been asked any questions, they were both very patient. Unlike Yuwen Qi who had been looking up at the speakers unblinkingly, Yuwen Lin, though having been looking at them attentively as well, had a calmer expression in his eyes. His eyes had on occasions raked Yuwen Tong’s hands, which had suggested that he was checking whether his father was carrying his little sister steadily; when Ling Maomao had been speaking, he had fixed his earnest eyes on Ling Maomao; when Ling Maomao had mentioned Ling Zhang, the look in his eyes had become considerably more serious, and then he’d shifted his gaze to Yuwen Tong, waiting for Yuwen Tong to make a reply; when he’d heard that Ling Zhang was safe, the glitter in his eyes had become more noticeable than it’d been a moment before. All these micro-expressions of his had been fairly unnoticeable, but none of them had escaped Yuwen Tong’s notice.

Yuwen Qi was more like the Marquess Fuan (AKA the Marquess of Fortune and Peace) – smart but relatively active, while Yuwen Lin was more like the Marquess Huaiwen (AKA the Marquess of Moderation) – also smart but relatively quiet.

Each of his two adopted sons had his own merits, but Yuwen Qi, because of his activeness, would be easily distracted; Yuwen Lin, because of his quietness, would have less difficulty staying focused on things he set out to do. This was not very obvious at the moment, but as the two princes got older, the difference between their characters would become more and more evident, and eventually the two of them would grow into very different persons.

Yuwen Tong was in no hurry to select one of them to be the crown prince. He needed more time to observe his two sons before he could decide which one of them was fitter to be his heir.

There was no telling whether Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin had come to realize this. Also, it was premature to make a decision at this stage.

Chapter 473: The Children’s Craving for a Reunion

Yuwen Tong looked at his two sons and asked them, “Have you finished today’s homework?”

Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin inclined their heads in unison and with that the former replied, “Yes, we have, Father. Our teacher gave us permission to take half a day off from school.”

The two boys had been getting up early in the morning every day and working hard since a very young age. Their first teacher, who was still teaching them, was a distinguished scholar, and they themselves were quite intelligent and diligent, so their academic performance had always been pretty good. Earlier this day their teacher had given them a test, which they both had passed with distinction, so their teacher had allowed them to take half a day off.

Yuwen Tong, who on occasions asked the teacher about his sons’ progress in their studies, knew what this was about, and he normally wouldn’t interfere with the teacher’s decision, so he said, “In that case, you two may come with us.”

Then he told the eunuchs to go and get each of the two princes a cloak.

“Thank you, Father.”

Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin were both very happy. Though they regarded Yuwen Tong with reverence, they also held him in deep filial affection. They would be lying if they said they didn’t feel any jealousy when seeing Yuwen Tong hold Crescent in his arms and gently coax her. Yuwen Tong had never hugged either of them since they’d turned three. He was very strict with them and had been drumming it into them that they must learn to be independent. As a result, envious as they were, they didn’t dare show it on their faces. At this moment, they were, naturally, both overjoyed to hear that they were allowed to go to the imperial garden to play as well.

Thus, Yuwen Tong carrying Yuwen Yue went first. Ling Maomao followed in his wake, keeping an eye on the two young princes, heading for the imperial garden to view the flowers.

At first Crescent was in high spirits, but after playing for some time, she suddenly refused to share her flowers with others, nursing them as though they were treasures.

“What’s the matter?” Yuwen Tong was baffled as to why his daughter suddenly became unwilling to share the flowers with others and appeared fairly glum.

“I want to save these flowers for Daddy,” replied Crescent in a babyish voice, looking at Yuwen Tong with her big eyes brimming with anticipation. “Father, when is Daddy coming back?”

As she mentioned Ling Zhang, both Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin paused briefly and with that they shifted their gaze to Yuwen Tong in unison, the same anticipation in their eyes.

Beneath the expectant gaze of his children, Yuwen Tong was having a hard job maintaining the smile at the corners of his mouth. Feeling a throb of pain in the heart, he raised his hand to stroke Crescent’s head. “Daddy has something important to attend to. He’ll be back when it’s done.”

The anticipation in Crescent’s eyes ebbed somewhat. She was still looking at Yuwen Tong with her big eyes, but the corners of her lips were hanging. “I miss Daddy.”

Holding the flowers so tight as though they were the possibility of her Daddy coming back, the little girl seemed somewhat crestfallen, the boisterous air she’d been emanating a moment before now gone, clasping her sleeve with her fingers unawares.

Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin were older and thus had a better understanding of the situation. On hearing their father’s reply from which a definite date of return was absent, they came to realize that their Daddy wouldn’t be back anytime soon, their faces etched with disappointment as well.

Yuwen Tong, who was crouching, opened his arms. Crescent, head down, leaned into his embrace and rubbed her face against his shoulders. Before long, she started sobbing.

His heart aching, Yuwen Tong hugged his daughter and patted her back consolingly. “Be good, Crescent. Daddy will be upset if he knows you cried. Cheer up, Crescent, so that Daddy will be happy when he comes back.”

Crescent made no reply, burrowed her face into Yuwen Tong’s shoulder, sobbing, still holding her flowers in her arms.

Both Yuwen Qi’s and Yuwen Lin’s faces became somewhat downcast as well at the sight of Crescent crying. They were also still children after all. Except for an interlude of Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang going to the south-west when they’d been younger, they’d never been separated from Ling Zhang for such a long time. Ever since Ling Zhang’s departure, the two of them had been almost every day anticipating hearing the sound of people welcoming Ling Zhang’s return at the front gates of the palace.

Infected by the children’s dejection, feeling a bit upset as well, Yuwen Tong scooped up Crescent. Patting her on the back, he made an attempt to distract the children’s attention. “How about I take you kids to see some foals? A few days ago I had them make some children’s saddles. Qi and Lin may try getting on horseback.”

On hearing that they were going to see some foals and may try riding them, Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin were immediately distracted and the despondency on their faces finally disappeared.

Crescent, with her face buried in Yuwen Tong’s shoulder, sobbed for another few moments. With her father consoling her, she slowly grew tired for sobbing and stopped. When they arrived at the livery stable, her attention was instantly drawn to a snow-white foal. Staring at it with curious eyes, she had Yuwen Tong put her down and then walked up to it to stroke it, forgetting what she’d felt sad about a short while before.

Seeing this, Yuwen Tong finally heaved a sigh of relief. These children got emotional so easily that he was really a little worried that he might not be able to handle this kind of situation properly.

Ling Maomao, who’d been following him all along, also gave a gasp of relief, holding the flowers that Crescent had entrusted to him. As he saw that his nephews and niece were fascinated by the three foals, he hastened up to them to make sure none of them got hurt.

Those foals were all descendants of thoroughbreds of rare species. The black one with white patches on its skin was the son of North Wind and Snowflake; the other two were born of another pedigreed horse. Yuwen Tong had specially prepared these foals to feast his children’s eyes.

Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin, under the close protection of guards, got onto the foals’ backs. The foals were quite docile and didn’t overreact after the two princes mounted them. As the foals slowly walked around, Yuwen Qi shouted with joy. Even Yuwen Lin who had always been rather quiet couldn’t help but feel thrilled, his face registering excitement.

Crescent also wanted to get onto a foal like her brothers did, but she was too young to be on horseback on her own, so Yuwen Tong mounted North Wind and, carrying her in his arms, had North Wind slowly walk around the field. A while before, when crying, she’d appeared a gentle and quiet little girl, but at this moment she was so happy as though she were losing her mind. She laughed and screamed in delight and urged Yuwen Tong to have the horse run.

Once North Wind started running, it wouldn’t be easy to get him to slow down. Worrying that the little girl could easily catch cold in the airflow, Yuwen Tong, naturally, wouldn’t have North Wind gallop. He just trotted the horse to stay ahead of Yuwen Qi’s and Yuwen Lin’s foals. However, even so, Crescent got very excited and smugly “derided” her big brothers.

Standing on the spot, watching the children yelling excitedly on the field, Ling Maomao couldn’t help recalling that when he’d been their age, he’d learned to ride in the same way. It’d been Ling Zhang who taught him, and at that time they’d still been in Tanyang.

The Ling family had been through so much after moving to the capital city that Ling Maomao, recollecting his childhood, felt as though those things had been in the long distant past. Ever since he’d come to the capital city, he’d never returned to Tanyang again. During the last Spring Festival, his elders had talked about paying a visit to Tanyang later this year, but what with his mother’s pregnancy, he had a feeling that the plan could well be put on ice.

However, though he wouldn’t be able to return to Tanyang anytime soon, he wanted to pay a visit to Haizhou. Ever since he’d gone to Shengzhou, he’d never got a chance to come back to this city until a couple of months before, and neither had he ever got a chance to go to Haizhou. Previously he’d promised Ji Xiaocong that he would go to that island to look up him and his family, but the occasion had never arisen…

Right now he was learning kung fu from Ji Yin. Though what he’d been learning didn’t include the unique method of cultivating internal energy of the Millennium Pavilion, Ji Yin had been teaching him some long-lost kung fu skills of the Millennium Pavilion. He would become a first-rater in the martial arts world if he mastered all of them. He was grateful to Ji Yin, and every time he saw the old man, he recalled Ji Xiaocong’s and his uncle Ji Yanlai’s stay in the capital city and the promise he’d made Ji Xiaocong, and his desire to pay a visit to Haizhou intensified somewhat. He had asked Ji Yin about it and been told that he had to wait until he’d learned from Ji Yin for a solid year to get the permission to go to Haizhou. This one-year period was crucial in the sense that he was supposed to lay a solid foundation during it, so he must not slack off and had to tough it out.

Still, he wondered what Ji Xiaocong looked like now. It’d been five years and Ji Xiaocong had also grown into a teenager…

“Ha-ha…Hurry, Father! They’re catching up!” Crescent’s voice was high-pitched and sonorous and could be heard from a long distance.

…

In the Luohai Kingdom.

A carrier pigeon carrying a letter containing news of Ling Zhang’s two-day closed-door cultivation quickly traveled past one mountain after another. The messages were soon delivered to Youzhou. After reading the letter, Ling Zhaowu had a shrewd idea of why his son had started closed-door cultivation. He thought about the situation in the Luohai Kingdom for a while before deciding to go to that country. Then he quickly made a series of arrangements.

Meanwhile, these messages were also being rapidly delivered to the Great Wen. It was two days later that Yuwen Tong received them.

“Closed-door cultivation?” Yuwen Tong knitted his brows, worrying that it was because something had gone wrong during Ling Zhang’s cultivation of internal energy, for the Luohai Kingdom was not a fit place for Ling Zhang to conduct closed-door cultivation. When he’d patiently finished reading the letter, he came to understand the reason and was relieved. At the same time, it came to his knowledge that Ling Zhaowu had sneaked into the Luohai Kingdom.

A chuckle escaped his lips. Ling Zhaowu hadn’t changed a little bit during so many years – he always dealt with things in an unhurried fashion, except when his son was concerned. However, Yuwen Tong soon realized that he himself was just like Ling Zhaowu, that he would have left with Ling Zhang if it weren’t for the fact that there’d been too many state affairs in early spring which had kept him fully occupied.

“Yao Yi, I need you to go to the manor to deliver a message to the two old men. Tell them the news about Brother Zhang. Inform Mr. Ji of his closed-door cultivation. Old Master Ling only needs to know Brother Zhang is safe.” Yuwen Tong summoned Yao Yi and instructed him to deliver a message to the suburban manor.

Yao Yi accepted the orders and soon exited the city, heading for the manor on a fast horse.

After receiving the message, Ling Xingzhong came to know that Ling Zhang was fine, and his mind finally stopped dwelling on the dream he’d had several days before. Half of his worries dissolved, but the other half might well linger in his head until he saw Ling Zhang return safely.

Meanwhile, Ji Yin, after being informed of Ling Zhang’s closed-door cultivation, guessed that Ling Zhang was trying to gain more control over his powers. Ling Zhang had just reached the sixth layer, and it would indeed be an inconvenience if he kept emanating a brooding air unawares. Ji Yin had also come to know that Ling Zhaowu had entered the Luohai Kingdom, but it was unnecessary for him to worry about Ling Zhaowu. He said to Yao Yi, “Thank you.”

…

Ling Zhaowu, whom nobody was worried about, headed straight for the capital after entering the Luohai Kingdom.

Ling Zhang was unaware that his own father had come to this country as well. He had just finished his closed-door cultivation and was now performing Qi circulation. During the two-day closed-door cultivation, he had finally learned how to better control his internal energy of the sixth layer. He felt that he could mobilize any proportion of it at will, that this time around, if he deliberately kept it under control, people should no longer be deterred from glancing at him.

After he opened the doors, the first thing he did was summon Yang Liuzi and some others to give it a test run.

On entering the house, Yang Liuzi and a couple of others distinctly felt the change in the air about Ling Zhang, their faces etched with astonishment. “Young Master, why are you…”

Chapter 474: A Stink- The Death of Xue Yi’s Half-Brother

In the Luohai Kingdom.

Taiping Inn in the capital was uproarious. It provided customers with accommodation as well as delicacies and good wine. At mealtimes, both the ground floor and the second floor were always filled to capacity, the innkeeper and the waiters working flat out.

Sitting around a table in a corner of the second floor were six people, all of whom were about the average height of Luohai people, but they were more light-complexioned, and their noses were more prominent than those of common Luohai people, their eyes more hollow. Though their clothes were of Luohai style, people with discerning eyes could tell that they were not natives of the Luohai Kingdom.

“What should we do now, Young Master? It’s been two days since we had our request delivered into the palace, but the monarch still shows no inclination to grant us an audience. He’s so offhand with us, treating us like a bunch of nobodies. Do you think he’s really going to make an alliance with us?”

One of the six people made some remarks in a very disgruntled tone of voice. Were this not a public place, he would have pounded the table and jumped to his full height. These people were Xue Yi and his men who entered the city two days before. They had orders from the monarch of the Wan Kingdom to come to the Luohai Kingdom to negotiate and see if they could forge an alliance with the Luohai Kingdom to fight against the Great Wen, but judging from their angry faces, they clearly hadn’t even been granted an audience with Mu Hengtian yet. Xue Yi’s henchmen had grown discontented some time before.

“Both our country and the Luohai Kingdom have everything to gain and nothing to lose by forging an alliance. We must fulfill the task His Majesty assigned to us, by hook or by crook, so be patient. It’s been only two days. We’ll wait two months if that’s what it takes to get the job done, let alone two days.”

The speaker was a big man with a grave face, who was none other than Xue Yi, Xue Chi’s son. All the five men he’d brought with him were his trusted subordinates who always followed his orders with unquestioning obedience. As Xue Yi had put it this way, his henchmen restrained themselves, though they were quite indignant at the way the Wan monarch had treated them.

“But we can’t just keep waiting. By the end of the day, if the Luohai monarch still doesn’t summon us, we’ll have to figure out another way to get an audience with him,” said a man sitting beside Xue Yi. He bore some resemblance to Xue Yi, but compared with Xue Yi who was tall and strong, he appeared relatively thin.

“You’ve got a point, Second Brother. We should go and see Mu Rongfeng the crown prince if his father still refuses to see us,” said Xue Yi.

“Um. Mu Rongfeng–”

“Oh, what a small world. Aren’t you General Xue’s son? Why are you stealthily hiding in this corner dressed like a Luohai commoner? Are you really so scared of showing your face? Or are you afraid that citizens here would spit at you and drown you with their saliva if you blow your cover?”

A harsh voice came, interrupting the man beside Xue Yi, drawing the attention of all customers and infuriating Xue Yi’s men.

“What did you just say?! Say it again and I’ll tear your stupid mouth apart! Wretches like you are in no position to judge our young master!” snapped one of Xue Yi’s henchmen, springing to his feet.

Xue Yi slightly furrowed his eyebrows, looking in the direction of the man who’d made those provocative remarks. Naturally he was annoyed, but he was not inclined to escalate this situation. “That’s enough. Sit down. This is no place for a stink.”

That henchman of his was unreconciled to it, but eventually he still obeyed Xue Yi’s orders and sat into his seat.

“Faugh! What a wimp. People like you are not even fit to clean my shoes. All you do is steal from people in the border city like thieves and rob and murder Luohai merchants! Tell me – how did you sneak in here? Are you harboring any ulterior motives?!”

The one who was trying to provoke them seemed to have no intention to let it go at that. Instead, he started using more insulting words. More and more people’s attention was arrested. Almost all customers on the second floor fixed their eyes on Xue Yi and his men.

Xue Yi and his men were in disguise and didn’t want to blow their cover, for Xue Yi intended to keep his presence in the Luohai Kingdom secret from other people, especially Yuwen Tong’s men. He was inclined to swallow the provocation to stay out of trouble, but that man clearly had no inclination to leave the matter at that. Worse still, more and more people were looking in his direction. Seeing this, Xue Yi gave his men a significant look, signaling them to take action and restrain the speaker first.

A guard of his immediately rose to his feet and made towards the speaker.

“What are you doing? This is the Luohai Kingdom not the Wan Kingdom. You want to use violence? Somebody help me! This guy from the Wan Kingdom wants to attack me!” At the sight of Xue Yi’s bodyguard walking up to him, the man who’d made those provocative remarks started yelling.

“Shut up!” railed Xue Yi’s bodyguard.

Looking at that man, Xue Yi knitted his brows. He didn’t know that man, but somehow the man had recognized him. The more he thought about it, the stronger his foreboding feeling that something was wrong. He instructed, “Get it over with.”

The guard quickened his pace and with that the customers were agitated and made towards the scene. The relationship between the two countries had been worsening during the past few years, and Luohai people were quite ill-disposed towards Wan people. At this moment, seeing these Wan men posing as Luohai commoners were making trouble, the customers naturally became indignant.

After a flicker flashed across his eyes, the man who’d tried to provoke Xue Yi reprimanded aloud, “How dare you people! Do any of you know who I am? I serve the crown prince. Lay a finger on me and I’ll have you pay with your lives!”

He served the crown prince? He was Mu Rongfeng’s man?

Xue Yi commanded his man to stop. “Wait!”

Seeing Xue Yi instruct his guard to stop, the man became even more smug. “It seems you guys are not blind to reason. If you dare harm a hair of my head, you will be apprehended and thrown into prison immediately. This is the Luohai Kingdom, not the Wan Kingdom!”

“What do you want? Just because you serve the crown prince doesn’t give you the right to insult people as you please. Since you know who I am, you should also know who sent me to this country. How dare you abuse me like that?” raged Xue Yi.

“We would never forget how many innocent Luohai residents you people have murdered at the border. If you’re here to make overtures, why don’t you do something to demonstrate your sincerity first?” said the man.

“What do you mean?” asked Xue Yi, staring at the man, wondering whether the man was speaking on behalf of himself or Mu Rongfeng.

“Execute those Wan soldiers who murdered Luohai merchants and civilians. Execute Chen Feng who murdered our envoy!”

The customers gathered around the two sides. They might not know who Xue Yi was, but it was unmistakable that the six men were from the Wan Kingdom. At this moment, after hearing the man’s words, all the customers went angry and bawled, “Execute those murderers!”

“Kill them!”

“Shut your mouths!”

Xue Yi’s bodyguards, who also went furious, couldn’t help but raise their voices, demanding those people shut up. Afterward, for some reason, someone grabbed a stool, lunged up to Xue Yi and swung at him with the chair. Xue Yi’s bodyguards, naturally, did what they had to do to protect Xue Yi.

The customers were antagonized even further as they saw the bodyguards make their move…

And then the situation got out of control. A melee broke out before Xue Yi could instruct his men to show restraint. They were ringed by angry customers who were hurling stools, chopsticks, bowls and dishes at them constantly. Some of them even drew knives.

Xue Yi’s countenance changed at the sight of the knives. “Stop! All of you! You–”

“Watch out, Second Young Master!”

The next second, the sound of a knife sinking into someone’s chest was heard. During the rough-and-tumble, the man from the Wan Kingdom who bore some likeness to Xue Yi received a stab in the chest and breathed his last on the spot.

“BROTHER!!” Xue Yi went berserk. The victim was his half-brother and also his trusted adviser, who had accompanied him to the Luohai Kingdom. Xue Yi would have to rely heavily on him to give him advice on how to negotiate with the Luohai Kingdom, but now he was dead.

The man who had started the whole thing and was now hiding in the crowd also saw this scene. As he heard Xue Yi call that man brother, his face stiffened for an instant and with that he grabbed the man beside him and hissed, “What’s going on? Why did they kill that guy? He’s Xue Yi’s big brother!”

“I–I don’t know either. I thought he was just a common bodyguard!” replied the man beside him tremulously.

“Tell them to stop. Now!”

Unfortunately, everybody involved in the confused fighting had got too emotional to see reason; the death of the man seemed to add fuel to the flames of the customers’ rage. Also, a city patrol who’d been informed of the incident was approaching along the street.

“Young Master, we don’t know what these people want. I’m afraid they might make an attempt on you. You need to get out of here right away,” urged Xue Yi’s bodyguard anxiously as he glimpsed a large group of guards flooding upstairs.

Xue Yi’s eyes were red with fury. “No, I’m not going anywhere unless the Luohai Kingdom gives me an explanation! It’s not myself that I came here on behalf of. These people are showing a blatant disregard for our country’s dignity!”

The capital city patrol arrived, packing the whole second floor of the inn, temporarily holding vehement customers back. Xue Yi and all his men bore visible wounds.

“What’s going on here?” inquired the man heading the city patrol.

“Captain, these guys are from the Wan Kingdom. They masqueraded as our fellow countrymen with intent to do evil. We saw through them and they tried to flee!” replied a customer indignantly.

Things were going in another direction amid public clamor. The captain looked at Xue Yi and his men. At a single motion of his hand, the guards made towards the suspects with the intention to arrest them.

Xue Yi angrily balled his hands into fists. “How dare you! I’m–”

“Stop, all of you!” someone suddenly bellowed.

The city patrol pivoted around and all gave a start at the sight of the owner of the voice and with that they hastened to bow with hands folded in front to the man. “It’s a great honor to meet you, Assistant Minister Dugu.”

It was a young man dressed like a Luohai aristocrat. After his eyes swept around the whole second floor, he knitted his eyebrows and asked, “What’s going on here? What are you guys doing?”

“Your Lordship, some thugs from the Wan Kingdom disguised themselves as our fellow countrymen and caused a disturbance. We’re here to arrest them,” responded the captain.

“Is that so?” The young man looked at Xue Yi and his men, a hint of surprise in his eyes. And then comprehension suddenly dawned on his face. “It’s you. Aren’t you…”

He seemed to recognize Xue Yi and his men, his face etched with astonishment. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He abruptly swiveled around to face the city patrol and reprimanded, “These are His Majesty’s honored guests. Who gave you the permission to arrest them?! Make way, now!”

Seeing this, Xue Yi’s bodyguard all muscles of whom were tense gradually relaxed. Then he turned his head around to look at Xue Yi. “Young Master?”

Holding his deceased half-brother in his arms, an ugly look on his face, Xue Yi shifted his gaze to the young man. “Who are you?” he asked.

“I’m Dugu Miao. My father is the Prime Minister, which I think you’ve come to know already, my honored guest. I was here to meet a friend and then I heard the noises on the second floor and came up here to see what it was about. I didn’t bargain on seeing these people misunderstand you. You’re His Majesty’s guests, surely not ‘thugs’ coming here to make trouble. There must be some kind of misunderstanding. How about we…” replied Dugu Miao, walking over. At the sight of Xue Yi’s dead half-brother in Xue Yi’s arms, he paused in shock. “Wha–What the…Someone send for a physician! Now!”

“That won’t be necessary,” said Xue Yi through gritted teeth. “My brother has died. I’ll make all these people pay for his death!”

As he stopped speaking, his murderous eyes flashed towards the initiator of the disturbance.

Astounded, Dugu Miao looked in that direction and then asked quizzically, “Sheren Wang? (In feudal China, hangers-on of an aristocrat are generally called Sheren) What business do you have here?”