The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 481- 483

Chapter 481: The Empress’s Return

The Luohai Kingdom? Both Ling Zhaowen and Fu Caiwei were amazed.

Ling Zhang didn’t give details after telling them it was the Luohai Kingdom that he’d just returned from. Since Ling Zhang made no more remarks on his journey, Ling Zhaowen and Fu Caiwei, both of whom had great sense of perspective, didn’t ask any further questions on that score.

“Uncle Zhaowen, Aunt Caiwei, this time around I’m here because I want to bring Aunt Caiwei back to the capital city,” said Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhaowen exchanged a look with Fu Caiwei and thought about it for a moment. Actually Fu Caiwei’s pregnancy was now in a very stable state, so making a journey back to the capital city wouldn’t be a problem for her if her carriage traveled at a gentle pace. Besides, if she went with Ling Zhang, she would be sitting in Ling Zhang’s carriage which was, naturally, far better than those of common people, so she wouldn’t experience any discomfort. Most importantly, as the Shengzhou governor, Ling Zhaowen was fully aware of the recent covert movements of the North-western Army. Though presently Shengzhou assumed a semblance of peace and normality, the prospect of war was actually looming large. Unless he was very much mistaken, it wouldn’t be long before the fighting broke out.

Connecting this with Ling Zhang’s return from the Luohai Kingdom and his special detour to Shengzhou with the intention to bring Fu Caiwei back to the capital city, Ling Zhaowen became more convinced of the truth in his conjecture and at the same time caught on to what Ling Zhang meant.

“Do you have to depart right away?” asked Ling Zhaowen.

Fu Caiwei looked at him in astonishment, for previously they had decided that she was to stay in Shengzhou waiting for the baby to come. Still, instead of interrupting her husband immediately, Fu Caiwei started pondering. She knew that Ling Zhaowen, after making a decision, wouldn’t change his mind unless the situation changed. On top of that, her nephew seemed quite determined as well…

Her mind racing, Fu Caiwei felt that she had vaguely guessed something, a faintly apprehensive expression appearing on her face in spite of herself.

Since Ling Zhaowen was asking about the time of departure instead of raising an objection, Ling Zhang came to know that his uncle must’ve guessed the reason. Having heard no objection from his aunt either, Ling Zhang replied, “We depart the day after tomorrow, which means we have one day to make preparations.”

Ling Zhaowen gave a nod. “All right.”

Fu Caiwei opened her mouth but eventually said nothing. She just raised her hand and stroked her belly as the look on her face gradually became one of unswerving determination.

Ling Xuxu, though unable to tell what the adults were thinking about, had come to understand what Ling Zhang and Ling Zhaowen meant. “Is Mom going to the capital city?”

Ling Zhang looked down at him. “Yeah, and you’re coming with us. Your big brother and grandfather are both in the capital city waiting for you. Do you miss them?”

Ling Xuxu answered with a head bob. “Yes!”

But he immediately added, “What about Dad?”

“Your dad has work to do, a lot of it, so it’s just you and your mom going back to the capital city,” Ling Zhang said to the boy.

Appearing slightly disappointed, Ling Xuxu looked at his father.

Sensing his son’s reluctance to leave him, Ling Zhaowen felt gratified, but the next moment he heard Ling Xuxu say, “Rest assured, Dad, I’ll take good care of Mom.”

Ling Zhaowen, “…”

He was happy to see that his son had such filial affection for his mother, but why was he feeling a sense of loss?

Fu Caiwei threw her husband a glance, inwardly snickering.

…

A decision to return to the capital made, everybody in the residence started bustling around. Except for the couple of servants who were in Ling Zhaowen’s and Fu Caiwei’s confidence, everyone was baffled as to why Fu Caiwei suddenly wanted to go back to the capital city. However, it was not for them to ask questions in that regard. Though a solid day had been set aside, the servants were still having difficulty getting everything ready before the departure. Ling Zhang suggested that he and Fu Caiwei set off as scheduled, that the servants pack the rest of the things later and then have them delivered to the capital city. After he made this arrangement, all the servants were relieved, caught their breath and began to pack in a more careful way.

Ling Zhang gave up his carriage for Fu Caiwei. Designed by the best artisan of the Ministry of Works, it was roomy and comfortable, and passengers in it could barely feel any bumps when it was progressing.

Ling Zhang himself, along with Ling Xuxu, got into another horse-drawn carriage.

It was early in the morning of the third day that they departed from the Abode of Governor, exited the city and headed north towards the capital city.

They didn’t travel fast. Ling Zhang put Fu Caiwei’s health first, making sure that she had plenty of rest, so the fleet of carriages was going very slow. However, Ling Zhang still felt that it was not slow enough and would have ordered the fleet to slow down even further if the court physician that had previously been sent to the Abode of Governor hadn’t promised him that Fu Caiwei was okay.

It was ten days later that they reached the capital city. After entering the city, the fleet of carriages directly drove into the Ling Mansion.

Ling Maomao, who had been informed some time before, had welcomed them with a group of servants at the city gates. Some citizens had recognized Ling Maomao and felt quite curious at the sight of the long fleet of carriages entering the city. When they had found that all the carriages bore the crest of the Ling family, they had speculated that it was a member of the Ling family who had returned.

Ling Zhang escorted Fu Caiwei back to the residence and watched as she was settled in her chambers. Only after the court physician examined her several times and assured Ling Zhang she was fine did Ling Zhang set off to return to the imperial palace.

In the imperial palace.

Yuwen Tong had long since received a letter saying Ling Zhang was coming back, but unexpectedly, not only had Ling Zhang made a detour to Shengzhou halfway through the journey, but he had traveled so slowly that it’d taken him nearly half a month to return to the capital city. Yuwen Tong didn’t dare harbor any grudges against Fu Caiwei, so he had vented his anger on his court. As a result, over the past half a month or so, the courtiers had found themselves going through hell once again. It was not until Ling Zhang’s return that they were rid of that miserable situation.

Surprisingly, by sitting in a carriage among the fleet of the Ling Mansion, Ling Zhang made it more difficult for people to find out about his presence. Nobody noticed that the empress, who everybody believed was still in closed-door cultivation, was actually in one of the carriages.

After leaving the Ling Mansion, Ling Zhang quietly entered the palace, and then went to see his children instead of going to the imperial bedchamber.

The palace that the two princes and the princess were living in was the closest to the imperial bedchamber. Since the princess was still young and might feel lonely if she lived alone, the imperial couple had let her live in the same large palace where her two big brothers lived. Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin lived in the east wing, while Yuwen Yue, her wet nurse and some handmaids lived in the west wing. The two wings were not far away, so when Yuwen Yue needed anything and called out to her brothers, they could hear her. Also, when Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin had the time, they would go to the west wing to play with their little sister for some time.

Yuwen Yue was still young, so Ling Zhang pretty often went to the west wing to keep her company. All handmaids and eunuchs in this palace had been carefully screened several times before being assigned to this palace. Anybody whose honesty was not absolutely unquestionable would never be allowed to serve in this palace. In addition, there were a lot of guards on duty, and some of Yuwen Tong’s secret bodyguards were covertly keeping a close watch on people in the palace. Before the princes and the princess reached adulthood, the imperial couple would do everything within their power to keep them safe.

Ling Zhang went into the palace with intense anticipation only to be told by a eunuch that the two princes were having a lesson, that the princess had been carried to the imperial study by the emperor. Ling Zhang was astonished.

Did Yuwen Tong not know that he was returning today? Why had Yuwen Tong done this knowing that he’d undoubtedly been worried about the children? Ling Zhang narrowly avoided losing his temper. He spun around and it wasn’t until he had walked through the palace gates in haste that he cooled down and halted. After standing there for a while, he said, “Let’s go back to the imperial bedchamber.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Ling Zhang went back to the bedchamber. First he took a bath, washing off the travel fatigue, then changed into clean, soft clothes, got fully dressed, sat down and finished a bowl of congee and a dish of braised pork with soy sauce before he set out to the imperial study.

In the imperial study, Yuwen Tong, holding Yuwen Yue in his arms, was keeping her from scribbling on the table with the writing brush in her hand, pretending to be listening carefully to the discussion between the courtiers when actually his mind was wandering. The Wan Kingdom was itching for a war, and the Great Wen had secretly made some preparations already, but the issue of provisions transportation and the details of many other matters still needed discussing. Yuwen Tong normally wouldn’t have listened to their long-winded ramble and would have directly told them to get out of his sight and not to come back until they got everything sorted out, but on this day, his mind was on something else, so he didn’t stop them.

In fact, the courtiers were also secretly bewildered. The emperor they knew would have some time ago chucked them out to rid himself of their meaningless chatter. Why was the emperor so quiet today? Why was he showing no inclination to have them leave after such a long time? Somewhat unaccustomed to the sudden change of the emperor’s attitude, the courtiers gradually lowered their voices. All of them were worried that the emperor appeared cool and unemotional because he was actually extremely angry and considering how to punish them.

On noticing that they gradually quieted down, Yuwen Tong tossed them a glance and asked, “Why are you not talking any more? You guys have figured it out?”

The couple of courtiers exchanged apprehensive glances, having difficulty finding the courage to make a reply. Eventually, it was Old Master Ji who stepped forward an said, “We feel it inappropriate to bother Your Majesty with such trivial matters, so we think it’d be better if we work out a solution first before we come back here to submit it to you so you could make a final decision.”

Yuwen Tong said blandly, “All right. This matter brooks no delay. It has to be sorted out as soon as possible. I have an intimate knowledge of the overheads of both the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War in recent years. Also, none of you need me to tell you what you ought to do. As for how to have the next few batches of army provisions transported to the destination without anybody noticing, it concerns the big plan of the Great Wen, so you guys had better put the heads on your necks to good use while they’re still there. You’ve discussed this matter for quite some time. If you don’t figure something out soon, there will be consequences.”

“Your Majesty may rest assured we’ll do our level best to get it done. We’ll sacrifice our lives without hesitation if that’s what Your Majesty and the Great Wen need us to do.”

“Okay, enough with the big words. You may leave now.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The courtiers were just about to leave when a eunuch in the doorway of the imperial study reported aloud, “The empress arrives!”

The empress? The couple of courtiers paused at the same time. They were all members of the inner circle of the imperial court, and naturally were aware that lately the empress had probably been away from the palace instead of in closed-door cultivation. Therefore, on hearing about the return of the empress, they all came to a halt.

They counted as the most powerful people in the Great Wen except for the imperial couple, but none of them had ever got wind of the time of the empress’s departure from the imperial palace or when he’d returned to the city, which was why all of them were shocked. There had been increasing occasions of this kind in recent years. During the first few years following the enthronement ceremony, they had been able to find some faint traces from time to time, but now they couldn’t find a single one, and they were all fully aware of what this meant.

Five years before nobody had thought that the empress would become so resourceful. Most courtiers had even believed that the empress would get himself into deeper and deeper trouble, but ever since the emperor’s sudden decision to adopt some children of his relatives’, things had been going in a direction that none of them had expected. There were now two princes and a princess in the imperial household. Though none of them was the empress’s trueborn child, the two princes were both Yuwens. The princess was not a Yuwen, but being a princess meant that she had no claim to the throne, so there wouldn’t be a problem. Presently, the two princes and the princess were all so close to the empress as though he’d given birth to them. Also, the marital bonding between the emperor and the empress had been very strong all along, and the former had no inclination whatsoever to take any concubines. The empress’s position had been getting more and more secure. Currently, the empress was in charge of more than half of the Great Wen’s intelligence sources. There was nothing any of the courtiers could do that the empress wouldn’t find out. Even if any of them harbored ulterior motives, he wouldn’t dare risk disclosing anything to others.

Chapter 482: Yuwen Tong, Why Are You Such a Lousy Parent?!

All the courtiers halted and looked in the direction of the doorway of the imperial study.

On entering the study, Ling Zhang caught sight of the couple of courtiers who appeared to have just paused on their way out. Slightly surprised, he wondered what this was about.

Apart from him, Old Master Ji and the others were also secretly surprised as their eyes met. Ling Zhang was walking in with his back to the daylight coming from outside, and not only did every line of the contours of his figure seem to be cloaked in some kind of halo as he moved, but a sense of power was spontaneously radiating from him, and, though not quickly, was flooding towards them. When looking at Ling Zhang’s eyes, they felt that their souls were quivering. His eyes were so penetrating as though the owner of them was seeing right into their hearts and reading their minds!

Almost all of them were awed and on the alert in spite of themselves. Even Old Master Ji, after a brief moment’s stupor, gave a horrified start.

Ling Zhang was approaching, an involuntary expression of confusion appearing on his face as he saw them remaining stationary.

Old Master Ji was the first to realize the situation. “I’m honored to bow before you, Your Highness.”

The others became conscious of externals and all hastened to pay their respects to the empress.

Inwardly raising his brows, Ling Zhang said, “There’s no need for formalities, Your Lordships. Are you going inside or…”

“Your Highness, we’re going back to the hall to confer with each other about the matter of army provisions.”

“I’m impressed by your dedication.”

“A compliment none of us deserve. I think it’s safe to say Your Highness is here to talk with His Majesty and Her Highness, so we’d like to take our leave if you’ll excuse us.”

Ling Zhang nodded and resumed progressing. Old Master Ji and the others watched as he walked towards the far end of the study.

Ling Zhang sensed the gaze from behind him and the corners of his mouth unnoticeably curled.

Between the front doors of the imperial study and the inner chamber where the emperor’s desk was was a straight passageway paved with mirror-like floor tiles. All those who could tread it were top-ranking officials of the Great Wen, pillars of the imperial court. Over the past five years, Ling Zhang had seldom come to the imperial study on his own initiative, even more rarely to the consultation hall, and there were very few occasions when he’d met any of the courtiers. The last time he’d seen Old Master Ji and the others was at a banquet held in the palace on the eve of the New Year’s Day. At that time he hadn’t reached the sixth layer of his method of cultivating internal energy yet, and his proficiency in the utilization of the Force of Blood in him had still been at a rather low level. Now he had reached the sixth layer, and it was as though he had truly taken his first step into another realm. He was seeing and hearing things in a very different way and also capable of control his powers in a more efficient and accurate fashion. A short while before, after he sensed Old Master Ji’s and the others’ presence in the study, he’d been briefly surprised, decided to try it out on them and gradually lifted the restrictions he’d imposed on his powers, and the outcome struck him as satisfactory, for he had noticed that even Old Master Ji, a wily old fox, had had an involuntary look of shock and astonishment in his eyes.

“Ahem.”

At this time, a fit of coughing suddenly came from inside, which didn’t sound like the kind of cough that people couldn’t stifle. It was tinged with displeasure. Clearly the person inside was displeased with Ling Zhang’s slow pace.

Ling Zhang lifted his brows and quickened his pace. Through the see-through curtains, he could now see the major part of the interior of the imperial study. Around a corner was a spacious hall. On the two sides were tall bookcases laden with books of all descriptions. Right between the two rows of bookcases was the emperor’s desk which faced due south, and which people could see immediately after turning the corner.

Yuwen Tong, who was holding Crescent in his arms, had cocked his ears the moment Ling Zhang had entered the imperial study. Hearing Ling Zhang’s footsteps and his greetings to the courtiers, feeling the sense of power radiating from him, Yuwen Tong had slightly squinted his eyes with a proud look on his face. Eager to see Ling Zhang, he had deliberately let out a cough to give him a prod and then perceived him quickening his pace. Through the curtains, he could vaguely see a figure coming towards him. When Ling Zhang was standing in the hall, Yuwen Tong fixed his eyes on him. He hadn’t seen Ling Zhang for nearly two months, and now he could finally put an end to the days when he had to lie in bed alone and unable to sleep. He hardened his face, preparing to “dress down” Ling Zhang to let him know that he had been lonely and suffering from insomnia all this time. However, he had just opened his mouth when the countenance of Ling Zhang standing opposite him changed drastically and with that Ling Zhang let out a roar.

“YUWEN TONG, WHY ARE YOU SUCH A LOUSY PARENT?!”

Ling Zhang, after turning the corner, had specially paused looking in the direction of Yuwen Tong sitting behind the desk. When he’d seen Yuwen Tong sitting there idly instead of coming down to welcome him, he had curled his lip intending to talk with him about it, but then his eyes had moved downward and alighted on Yuwen Yue in Yuwen Tong’s arms and with that his countenance had abruptly changed and he had sprinted inside in alarm.

Yuwen Yue, a naughty kid, had dipped her father’s writing brush into the ink, scribbled on her face and then put the brush into her mouth. Her cheeks and lips covered in ink, she was grinning, revealing her ink-stained baby teeth…

Everybody in the study was taken aback by Ling Zhang’s roar. At the sight of Ling Zhang streaking towards him after a drastic change of his countenance, Yuwen Tong hastened to look down at his daughter. Startled by the scene, he hurriedly grabbed the writing brush one end of which was in Yuwen Yue’s mouth. Unfortunately for him, Yuwen Yue had the brush clamped tightly between her teeth. Yuwen Tong didn’t dare pull hard for fear of hurting her teeth, sweat breaking out over his back.

The couple of courtiers outside, who hadn’t left yet, heard the roar, ran back into the study and were dumbstruck as they saw the little princess whose face and lips were covered in ink fighting her father for a writing brush.

Ling Zhang tore up to the desk, slapped Yuwen Tong’s hand off the writing brush and grabbed it himself. “Let it go, Crescent,” Ling Zhang said.

Yuwen Yue’s eyes brightened noticeably at the sight of her “birth father”, but for some reason, seeing her father holding the writing brush, the mischievous girl misconstrued this as some kind of game, smiling archly, refusing to slacken her grip. Looking at the ink in her mouth, Ling Zhang almost blacked out with anxiety and he subconsciously demanded in an imperative tone, “Yuwen Yue! Let it go!”

On sensing Ling Zhang’s anger, Yuwen Yue was astounded. Not daring to smile any more, she loosened her grip in a dreamy way. When Ling Zhang had hastily pulled out the writing brush and tossed it away, the corners of her mouth dropped and she burst into tears, an injured look in her eyes.

Flustered, Ling Zhang tried to wipe the saliva mixed with ink off her lips, but his efforts seemed to be having the opposite effect. Positively faint with anxiety, he swiveled his head around and thundered, “Send for a court physician!”

There was no telling whether or not the ink she’d consumed would make her ill. The very thought of the damage it might cause to her health wrenched at Ling Zhang’s heart.

A eunuch hastened to send for a court physician. The courtiers didn’t dare leave and just watched as the empress took the princess from the emperor’s arms and used his own sleeves to wipe her lips and face. The princess was still crying noisily. The emperor was anxiously patting the princess’s back and at the same time sneaking guilty glances at the empress. This scene which was heavy with a flavor of the next married couple’s daily life astonished them so much that they forgot about the sense of power that had radiated from the empress and awed them a short while before.

“Stop crying. Daddy didn’t mean to lose his temper with you. Look at you – both your face and your mouth are black. And you’re making yourself look terrible with your tears,” coaxed Yuwen Tong.

But “look terrible” seemed to be the only words that the little girl had heard and she cried even louder.

Yuwen Tong paused, unsure as to whether he should withdraw his hand or continue stretching it out to console her.

Ling Zhang gave him a dirty look, lifted Yuwen Yue up and then stationed her on his knees to let her face him. Supporting her with one hand and wiping her tears off with the other, he cajoled, “Be good. Stop crying. Are you not happy to see Daddy?”

The anger that had registered on his face a few moments before had been replaced by a concerned and affectionate expression. Sobbing, Yuwen Yue put her arms around his neck, soiling it and his collar with the remaining ink in her mouth. “Daddy yelled at me…” she said in a choked voice, still weeping.

There was a large black patch on Ling Zhang’s overgarment, which had been left by the ink he had her spit out a short while before, and now, since his neck and collar were also stained with ink and tears, he was no cleaner than Yuwen Yue. Resigned, his heart aching for his daughter, he drew her into a hug and patted her back. “There, there. Daddy won’t be angry with you again. You shouldn’t have put the writing brush in your mouth. I’ve told you many times this kind of stuff is inedible. If you do that again, I’ll spank you instead of scolding you.”

With her arms around his neck, Yuwen Yue sobbed, “Don’t spank me, Daddy.”

After hearing this, Ling Zhang was both resigned and amused. Supporting her little butt, he replied, “If you don’t want to get spanked, do not put a writing brush into your mouth again. You hear me?”

“Okay,” answered Yuwen Yue in a muffled voice. She was still sobbing, but not as hard as she had a few moments before. Yuwen Tong was relieved at the sight of this. Looking at her little butt supported by Ling Zhang, he felt an urge to spank her. It’d been so ill-behaved of her to bite a writing brush when he was not paying attention.

“Stop crying.” Yuwen Tong rubbed her head and then turned around to sort the memorial on the desk which had been messed up by Yuwen Yue. Fortunately, it was just a common memorial that an official had sent to him to wish him good health. It was of little significance and he didn’t have to reply to it.

Before long, a court physician arrived. After being given an account of the incident, he examined Yuwen Yue and then prescribed her some mild laxative. “Her Highness consumed only a small amount of the ink. It should be nothing serious. She just has to drink more water to wash her intestines and stomach. The laxative would serve only to detoxify the tiny amount of poisonous substance in the ink. The most severe potential side effect would be the runs, but Her Highness has a strong constitution, so it’s unlikely she’d suffer from any side effects.”

Fu Caiwei had always been in good health, and Yuwen Yue seemed to have inherited her mother’s strong constitution. On top of that, Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang cared about their adopted daughter very much and had been raising her according to the advice of some experienced wet nurses since her birth. Also, Mr. Mu had been visiting the palace to examine the children on a regular basis. As a result, the two princes and the princess had seldom developed any diseases. All wet nurses and handmaids were very scrupulous, and none of them dared make any careless mistakes when it came to the health of the young imperial family members. Every one of the three children had a strong constitution, and they’d hardly suffered any minor ailments.

After being informed that she was okay, Ling Zhang heaved a sigh of relief. Still, in his annoyance, he couldn’t help but playfully hit Yuwen Yue’s little butt twice. “You naughty little devil. I bet you won’t dare do that again.”

Yuwen Yue had stopped crying. From the combination of the court physician’s presence, the anxiety on both her father’s and her Daddy’s faces, and the nervous facial expressions of the lingering courtiers, she deduced that she’d done something wrong. After being hit on the butt, she secretly stroked it, not daring utter a word.

Ling Zhang was amused by her bearing but didn’t chuckle for fear that the little girl would get the wrong impression that what she’d done was no big deal. He scooped her up. “Okay. We’re going back. You need to drink some water and the medicine and change clothes. Look what a mess you’ve made out of your clothes.”

He was taking his daughter back. Yuwen Tong, who hadn’t seen him for such a long time, naturally was going back to the imperial bedchamber with him.

Since the little princess was fine and the imperial couple were returning, the courtiers all sensibly took their leave first, and the court physician left with them.

It was not until all of them had disappeared from view that Ling Zhang scowled at Yuwen Tong and reprimanded, “Crescent is still young, but you’re an adult. I expect more from you.”

Yuwen Tong knew he was in the wrong. “It was my fault and you may dress me down any way you like. Just stop being mad. You have just returned and haven’t had any rest yet. If you keep being angry, your health will be damaged, and when that happens, my heart will be broken.”

Owing to Yuwen Tong’s sincerely admitting his mistakes, and the knowledge that Yuwen Tong had failed to stop the kid from doing that because Yuwen Tong’s attention had been fixed on him, Ling Zhang, recalling that they hadn’t seen each other for quite some time and that he hadn’t checked on either of his sons yet, stopped being angry and walked out of the imperial study with Yuwen Yue in his arms, heading for the imperial bedchamber.

Yuwen Tong followed in his wake, casually making a gesture at the guards behind him, who saw it and immediately cordoned off the imperial study, not allowing anybody to get in or out of it.

Chapter 483: A Plan- The Arrangements

The twittering of birds was heard.

It was a spring morning, and shafts of warm sunlight were pouring in through the windows of the imperial bedchamber, hitting the tables, chairs and other exquisite funishings, covering them with a genial glow. The whole imperial bedchamber was quiet except for the cheerful chirp of birds which was coming from outside the windows and echoing in the bedchamber. A couple of little birds were hopping around outside the window. One of them jumped onto the window ledge, gave a little hop to edge aside and lowered its head to preen itself. After giving a couple of faintly muffled cries, it started twittering joyously again.

Ling Zhang, without opening his eyes, groggily grabbed the quilt and pulled it over his head in an attempt to rid himself of the chirrup. Buried in the quilt, he was still quite drowsy and didn’t even feel like moving a finger, not to mention opening his eyes.

After a while, the bird on the windowsill flew off in a fluster as though alarmed by something, and so did other birds outside the window.

With his whole body beneath the quilt, Ling Zhang continued to indulge in sleep. The night before, he was badgered into changing into that set of scarlet clothes by Yuwen Tong who made out with him for a whole night. Unless the sky fell down, nothing would stop him from continuing to sleep.

He drifted into a deep sleep once again and it was not until noon that he slept enough and woke up. Eyes still closed, he reached out a hand to knead the small of his back. With a sudden movement of the quilt, a warm palm came joining him in massaging the small of his back.

A groan escaped Ling Zhang’s throat and with that he withdrew his hand, rolled over and lay prone to allow that warm palm to knead his waist in a more dutiful fashion.

As a low chuckle issued from outside the quilt, someone drew the quilt down to reveal his neck and planted a warm kiss on it.

Ling Zhang languidly let out a disapproving grunt and slightly moved his neck. “Stop it. It itches.”

Yuwen Tong gently removed the couple of strands of mischievous hair from Ling Zhang’s neck. Kneading his waist with one hand, he softly ran his fingers through his hair with his other hand, tenderly massaging his head to help clear his mind. “The whole morning Crescent has been pestering me to let her see you, and she’s still sulking as we speak. You’ll have to go and coax her after you get up.”

“Okay,” answered Ling Zhang. The massage Yuwen Tong was giving him was so comfortable that he let out a long sigh of contentment. “There weren’t any serious issues reported at the court meeting this morning, I suppose?”

“It’s still about the secret transportation of food supplies to the south-west. The first batch has been covertly gathered and delivered to the South-western Army already. I plan to have another two batches shipped there by stealth so that our troops will have adequate provisions and fodder after entering the Wan Kingdom. After their entry into the Wan Kingdom, it will no longer be necessary to keep the transportation of food supplies secret, and we may have them delivered in any way we like,” replied Yuwen Tong.

At the mention of army provisions and the upcoming war, Ling Zhang, though inclined to stay in the quilt for a little while longer, felt his drowsiness vanish instantly and with that he shifted his position slightly and then sat up.

Yuwen Tong withdrew his hand and, after Ling Zhang settled himself on the bed, wrapped the quilt around him, believing that the weather was still cold, that Ling Zhang who had just woken up needed some extra protection against the low temperature.

Ling Zhang grabbed the edge of the quilt and asked him, “No matter how careful we are, leaks about the transportation of army provisions are inevitable. We’ve got to take action as soon as possible, before the Wan Kingdom figures out what we’re doing.”

Yuwen Tong said, “The Wan Kingdom hasn’t made its move yet, so we have to stay put and bide our time. The transportation of provisions and fodder is a must. We’ll have to figure out a more secure delivery method. We’ve come up with a couple of workable plans during the discussion this morning. Barring accidents, I’ll be able to issue a secret decree on that score tomorrow.”

Ling Zhang pondered for a while before he inquired, “Who are you putting in charge of the shipment of the next two batches of provisions?”

“He Xiao,” responded Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang made no more remarks. Since a decision had been made after some discussions, he believed that they had taken into consideration everything that ought to be considered. After a brief moment’s thinking, he said, “I can have the chamber of commerce help with the transportation if you want.”

The Great Wen was where the real headquarters of the Jiahe Chamber of Commerce was located, which meant that it would be easier to get the job done without anybody noticing. It was totally feasible to ship army provisions under the cover of goods shipment.

Yuwen Tong said, “I was just about to talk to you in this regard. My men will handle the shipment of food supplies. It’s the transportation of medicines and physicians that I want the chamber of commerce to help with.”

A war against the Wan Kingdom would inevitably led to heavy casualties. Enormous quantities of medicines and a huge team of physicians would be needed.

Ling Zhang said, “No problem.”

The matter of medicines was easy to settle. The tricky part was how to transport a large number of physicians without alarming the enemies. Fortunately, during the past couple of years, the Jiahe Chamber of Commerce had roped in a lot of talents of all descriptions, among whom there were many physicians. The risk of a leak would be lower if the army recruited physicians from within the chamber of commerce.

After giving it some thought, Ling Zhang, who had come to know what to expect, got out of bed to wash and dress himself instead of continuing to stay in bed.

“By the way, I’ve found Qi and Lin a kung fu instructor,” said Yuwen Tong, giving Ling Zhang a name.

Ling Zhang, who had heard about that person before, raised no objection to Yuwen Tong’s arrangement.

…

After lunch, Ling Zhang went to pacify his daughter, played with her in the imperial garden for a while and then made towards the imperial study.

On the west wall of the imperial study hung a detailed map of three neighboring countries: the Great Wen, the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom. Such was the comprehensiveness of the map that the monarchs of the other two countries would be startled and then scared if they saw it. Leaving aside a couple of areas, it rivaled the maps owned by the monarchs of the other two countries in terms of the exhaustiveness and accuracy of the information about the two countries.

Standing in front of the map, Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong studied it for a while. Then they pivoted around to check the sand table which took up almost the whole room. Most of the time their eyes were fixed on the south-west.

Three years ago, he and Yuwen Tong went to the south and knocked the two south-western prefectures into shape. They not only put the two prefectures under their complete control but also made an important arrangement – hoarding food supplies and soldiers there.

They had been hoarding provisions and fodder and recruiting soldiers in the two prefectures covertly, and only a limited few knew about it, all of whom were absolutely trustworthy. It had taken the two of them three years to achieve their goal step by step. Currently there were over 100,000 troops and vast quantities of army provisions in the two south-western prefectures. All of them were crack troops who had been given secret training, and whose mission was, according to the plan that was to be carried out next, to take the south-eastern part of the Wan Kingdom at one fell swoop and then occupy the whole south before advancing towards the capital of the Wan Kingdom.

Yes, their main force was stationed in the south-west, not Shengzhou. The border between the Wan Kingdom and the Great Wen was quite long, but in the south-west the two countries were separated by lofty mountains where some ungoverned tribes dwelt. Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang had spent a solid year studying those areas before they got an intimate knowledge of them and made some arrangements accordingly.

This time around, the Wan Kingdom had allied itself with the Luohai Kingdom, intending to attack the Great Wen. The Luohai monarch had promised that the dispatch of his army would be a mere act. The main battlefield would be Shengzhou, and the Wan Kingdom would be sending its main force there. Yuwen Tong’s and Ling Zhang’s plan was to send their army to the south of the Wan Kingdom and take it at one blow while the Wan Kingdom’s main force was in Shengzhou. Yuwen Tong himself would be directing the troops in that battle.

During that time, officials of the capital city must keep his departure secret, and the Shengzhou garrison would have to withstand the fierce attack from the main strength of the Wan Kingdom’s army.

As regards how to extricate themselves from the capital city, Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang had had it all planned out. Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi were in Shengzhou. Xiao Ziyan had also been transferred to Shengzhou. All arrangements had been minutely discussed numerous times three years ago, and all contingencies had been considered in detail. What they needed to do next was to race against time. Whether or not the Great Wen would be able to annex the Wan Kingdom depended on if the South-western Army led by Yuwen Tong would successfully take the south-eastern part of the Wan Kingdom at a single stroke and then the whole south of it.

“Shan Congli has finished mustering his army. He’s waiting for the Luohai Kingdom. Mu Hengtian has to buy himself some time, so there’s no doubt he wouldn’t finish mustering his army anytime soon, which means that it would be at least a month before they officially declare war on us,” said Yuwen Tong.

Mu Hengtian had aligned himself with the Wan Kingdom and also signed an alliance agreement with the Great Wen. The reason why he had made himself a common ally of both countries was because he wanted to see the Wan Kingdom and the Great Wen fight each other, which would give him an opportunity to deal with the issue of infighting in his court. As a result, the longer the Wan Kingdom and the Great Wen were mired in a war, the more beneficial the situation would be to him, so naturally he wouldn’t finish mustering his army that quickly, but Shan Congli wouldn’t wait patiently for long and would definitely hurry Mu Hengtian again and again. The earliest possible time of the dispatch of the Luohai Kingdom’s army was one month later, and the latest possible time of it depended on how long Mu Hengtian could delay it.

But for the Great Wen, the sooner the Wan Kingdom sent its army, the better. Therefore, apart from the Wan Kingdom, Yuwen Tong would also take some covert measures to have Mu Hengtian send his troops as soon as possible.

“When are you going south?” Ling Zhang asked him.

Yuwen Tong said, “When Shan Congli’s men reach Shengzhou.”

Ling Zhang’s eyebrows contracted slightly. “Wouldn’t that be too late?”

Yuwen Tong said, “Not really. This time Xue Chi would be the commander-in-chief of the Wan Kingdom’s army. If we are to trick him, I’ll have to make a public appearance after the Wan Kingdom declares war on us lest they become vigilant. Once the Wan Kingdom’s army get to Shengzhou, Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi would hold them at bay and prevent them from going anywhere else, and that’s when the South-western Army make their move.”

Ling Zhang didn’t have as much acquaintance with war as Yuwen Tong did, and he didn’t know Xue Chi as well as Yuwen Tong did either. Now that Yuwen Tong had made such arrangements, Ling Zhang, who had absolute trust in him, believed that he had no doubt contemplated them. According to the plan, it would be a month before Yuwen Tong went to the south, which meant that he could stay in the capital city for another month. Before he left for the south, he would have to take some precautions to make sure that his absence from court meetings wouldn’t arouse anybody’s suspicions. The two of them had some time ago made some arrangements on this score.

However, although they had long since had everything planned out, the prospect of Yuwen Tong going to war still sent Ling Zhang into deep worry. In order to keep abreast of the latest developments in the situation in Shengzhou and Youzhou, he would have to stay in the imperial palace in the capital city and wouldn’t be able to go with Yuwen Tong to the battlefield, which meant he wouldn’t be able to real-time information about the war or Yuwen Tong’s safety…

At the thought of this, Ling Zhang naturally felt a little crestfallen, and even his face became fairly glum.

Yuwen Tong knew what he was worried about. He wanted to bring Ling Zhang with him, but the capital city needed Ling Zhang, and their children were still young and couldn’t do without a parent.

“I’ll go to Shengzhou after you take the south-east of the Wan Kingdom and wait until the time comes for us to rendezvous in the capital of the Wan Kingdom,” said Ling Zhang. By that time, it would no longer be necessary to conceal the fact that Yuwen Tong was not in the capital city but in the Wan Kingdom. The two prime ministers would be in the capital city, and so would his father and maternal grandfather, who would take care of the children for him after he went to Shengzhou. When Yuwen Tong had taken the south of the Wan Kingdom, the North-western Army would launch an all-out attack. Their target was the capital of the Wan Kingdom, where they would naturally rendezvous with each other if they won.

Yuwen Tong’s heart gave a little lurch and with that he said, “All right.”