The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 97- 99

Chapter 97: Escalation of the Conflict Between Jia Yin and Zhang Chong

An official document, along with a man sent by Zhang Chong to covertly follow Jia Yuanling, came back by a fast horse of the courier station. Originally, the man had intended to wait until Jia Yuanling was escorted to the destination to rescue him. Unexpectedly, Jia Yuanling halfway.

“Are you sure it was unaccustomed climate that he died of?”

“Positive. I’ve already examined Jia Yuanling’s corpse covertly. I’m a-hundred-percent sure. On top of this…” “Go on.”

“Commander, that kick you gave Jia Yuanling in Prefecture Yamen on that day seriously wounded his heart and lungs. As a result, Jia Yuanling had severe internal injuries, which the local post-mortem examiner concluded was the root cause of his death after performing a post-mortem examination. The official document brought back by people of the courier station made this very clear. Jia family probably have already been informed of it by now.” “What?”

Finally, the look on Zhang Chong’s face changed. “You moron! Why didn’t you stop them?”

“I beg your pardon, Commander, but the courier station delivered the document to Jia family very urgently and I didn’t have enough time to stop them.”

Zhang Chong smacked his palm onto the table in rage. Originally it had been a mere trifle, but the death of Jia Yuanling, the root cause of which was that hard kick he had given him, had just complicated this issue.

“Get horses prepared. We’re going downtown right now.”

“Commander! Jia Yin requires an audience with you.” ‘So soon? The dawn has just broken yet Jia Yin has already arrived?’

Zhang Chong had intended to go into the city immediately to appease people of Jia family. Unexpectedly, Jia Yin came to his encampment so soon, which reduced him to a passive position.

Face dark with rage, Zhang Chong thundered, “What’s the problem with Jia Zhong? Why didn’t he stop Jia Yin? Or did he come here as well?”

“Commander, word has it that last night, County Magistrate Jia took some men and went to that town to bring the body of Jia Yuanling back to Tanyang.”

“Son of a bitch!” Zhang Chong cursed in fury. “Let Jia Yin in!”

Jia Yin was led into the hall. On the sight of Zhang Chong, he pointed at him and shouted, “Zhang Chong! Give me my son back!”

“What do you mean, bro? I don’t understand.” Zhang Chong played dumb.

“My son died on his way to the frontier all because that kick you gave him caused him severe internal injuries. You’re so cold-blooded. As the man my son called godfather, you not only didn’t try to help him in Prefecture Yamen on that day but also kicked him. Now he’s dead because of you!

We sold all our ore to you. We trusted you and supported you. But you! This is how you treated us in return?!

Mark my words, Zhang Chong. From this moment on, I, Jia Yin, will be your mortal enemy! I will avenge my son’s death!

You are not going to get a single ore from our mine ever again!”

Jia Yin blushed scarlet as he cursed loudly on and on, which made Zhang Chong’s face as black as the bottom of a wok.

“Bro, there’s something you need to know. Under the circumstances on that day, if I hadn’t gone through the motions, that issue would never have been resolved. Besides, that kick I gave him was merely a gesture I made to convince others present. I didn’t mean to cause Yuanling any harm. It was the absence of due care that caused him to die of illness, for which those Yamen runners should be held responsible. In the final analysis, people of Ling family are the real culprits who got Yuanling killed. Instead of hating them, you came here to blame me?” “Bullshit! People of Ling family are scum. You are no better than them!”

“How dare you talk to Commander like this!” yelled a bodyguard standing beside Zhang Chong.

“Why should I be afraid to say this? Zhang Chong ungratefully refused to save my son. Instead, he got him killed. Am I supposed to be thankful for his ‘kindness’?!”

“As far as I can remember, I have never, ever, treated Jia family shabbily. Surely you are well aware of how Jia Zhong got the position of County Magistrate, aren’t you? If it weren’t for me, Tao Feng would have skinned each and every one of your family members alive some time ago!” But this kind of words were far from convincing enough to sway Jia Yin, since he had been harboring grudges against Zhang Chong all along because of his previous refusal to help Jia Yuanling, and now, to make things worse, Jia Yuanling had died due to that kick given by Zhang Chong. Even Jia Yin’s eyes were blood-red with rage.

Jia Yin kept venting his fury on Zhang Chong in the Prefecture Encampment for quite a long time. At first, Zhang Chong patiently tried to reason with Jia Yin, but eventually, he lost his temper and had his men force Jia Yin out of the encampment.

“Commander, if Jia Yin keeps doing this, will the mine of Jia family continue providing us with ore?”

“A mere Jia family dared to be so bold as to threaten me? I showed him respect but he threw it away to my face. Only when the mine is in the hands of Jia family is it called Jia’s Mine. When it’s not in their hands, Jia family is just an expendable pawn that I can give up at any time I want to!”

“So Commander’s plan is…”

With a sepulchral look in his eyes, Zhang Chong observed, “Since Jia family has gone out of control, let’s eliminate them!”

…

In Tanyang.

All those who knew that Jia Yin had headed for the Prefecture Encampment were waiting to see how he would return from the encampment, and Ling Zhang was no exception. He had sent Xia Feng to the southern part of the city to wait for news to come in.

“Young Master, all of us have thought it through. By no means should we give up so easily. We must improve our proficiency in this formation and retrieve the reputation of Young Master!”

After a night’s thinking, all security guards had cooled down. They seemed to have regained their morale.

Zhou Xiang added, “We promise we’ll master those arrays one by one and we won’t get impulsive again.”

“Good. This is all I can ask for. In a few days, I’ll invite one of Lord Yuwen’s bodyguards here to spar with you. If you can keep him in the formation for the duration of drinking a pot of tea (approximately 10 minutes), I’ll begin to teach you the second array.”

All guards were very excited to hear this and promised that they would do their level best to trap the opponent.

Seeing that they were still confident and enthusiastic about learning the formation, Ling Zhang was relieved. After working out in the guards’ yard for two hours, he headed for his dwelling. As he passed by the gateway of the Green Bamboo Mansion, he caught sight of Zhang Liu.

‘He came back at this time of the day. It seems that he has already finished forging the account book.”

Ling Zhang turned and walked into the Green Bamboo Mansion.

“Childe Ling.” Zhang Liu greeted Ling Zhang as he saw him.

“Your clothes are sweat-soaked. Why didn’t you change first? You might catch a cold.” Yuwen Tong flicked a glance at him. Seeing his clothes wet with sweat, he knitted his brows and walked up to him.

“I saw that Zhang Liu had returned, so I came here to ask if the account book had been successfully forged,” said Ling Zhang after wiping off the sweat on his sideburns.

Seeing this, Yuwen Tong turned around, picked up a clean handkerchief from the desk and began wiping Ling Zhang’s face with it, saying, “It’s done. I’ll have him deliver it to Yao Yi in a while.” “To Yao Yi? Isn’t Yao Yi still in the Grand Mang Mountain? Why send it there?” Ling Zhang was puzzled and also somewhat uneasy. Yuwen Tong was wiping the sweat off his face in such a natural manner that he felt that it would be weird if he dodged aside, but standing on the spot letting Yuwen Tong help him wipe his face, beneath the curious gaze of Zhang Liu, he could feel his cheeks burning, even though sweat had just been wiped off them.

“Yao Yi is going to the capital city. He’ll bring the account book to the emperor.”

Though talking in a serious tone of voice, Yuwen Tong was also secretly observing Ling Zhang and none of his subtle movements and minute changes of his expressions escaped his notice. Seeing that he faintly flushed with embarrassment but could not dodge aside for fear of being deemed impertinent, Yuwen Tong felt that he was a sight so pleasing to the eye that flushes of delight were sweeping through him.

“If he departs today, it will take him at least seven days to get to the capital city, right?”

“It might be shorter than that. This is an opportunity to try the route that Zhang Chong prepared. If things go smoothly, he’ll reach the capital city in two days.” Too concerned to consider whether this would be an unnatural reaction, Ling Zhang blurted, “Isn’t the route guarded by bandits on the Grand Mang Mountain? It’s too risky!”

“His lightness skills are pretty good. Under the cover of night, getting through the Grand Mang Mountain unseen by those bandits shouldn’t be a problem for him.

Get back and change. Or… ” Yuwen Tong stooped down and whispered the rest of his sentence into Ling Zhang’s ears.

The color of Ling Zhang’s face alternated between red and normal. Eventually, he shot Yuwen Tong a dark glance, turned around and left.

‘I thought that Yuwen Tong had converted to a decent man. I was terribly wrong!

It is such a humiliation for the Great Yue that a man like him occupies a position as important as the Grand Marshal of the North West Army.’

Ling Zhang returned to his dwelling in anger and quickly changed while wiping his sweat-soaked hair. When walking past the full-length mirror, he paused, looked into it and saw that there were pink flushes on his cheeks, which made him seem rather shy…

Ling Zhang felt a twitch of disgust and believed that he must be hallucinating. Angered by this, he called Yuwen Tong names again.

Due to the frivolity of Yuwen Tong, Ling Zhang forgot that there was something he wanted to ask Yuwen Tong about. It was not until he changed into clean clothes and walked out of his room that he recalled this.

He quickly calmed himself down and was just about to go and pay another visit to the Green Bamboo Mansion when someone showed up.

“Young Master, there’re visitors requiring an audience with Old Master, but Old Master happened to have gone to Lu family. Second Mistress is occupied in the backyard and is not available for the moment.”

“I see. I’ll go and see. Who are they?” “They look strange to me. I think they are outsiders. They came with a letter of introduction.”

“A letter of introduction?” Confused, Ling Zhang quickly walked to the ante-room.

‘Though they have a letter of introduction, it was very inadvisable for them to show up here so abruptly. They’re so ignorant of formality,’ Ling Zhang thought.

“May I have your names?” Ling Zhang entered the ante-room and saw two middle-aged men sitting in there, one fat and the other thin, both of whom did seem strange to him.

On the sight of Ling Zhang, the two men hurriedly rose to their feet. “You must be Childe Ling. I’m Zhang Huan. This is my cousin Zhao Xiangrong. We came here from Jiangzhou to visit Old Master Ling. Originally, I meant to bring a visitor’s card here, but I worried that I might not be let in if I did that, so I directly showed them my letter of introduction. Please forgive me for my impertinence.” “It turns out that you’re from Jiangzhou. Since you specially came here to meet my grandfather, may I ask what it is about?” Ling Zhang also skipped usual pleasantries and directly asked them what they wanted.

These two people said that they were from Jiangzhou, but for some inexplicable reason, Ling Zhang kept feeling that he was missing something.

“I’m from a commercial family. By a stroke of fortune I acquired a couple of antiques in the north, and I wonder if I could trouble Old Master Ling to help me verify their authenticity,” the fat one said politely.

But Ling Zhang was transfixed with shock on hearing these words. ‘Jiangzhou… antique authentication… ‘

It suddenly struck him what it was that these two men had come here for!

In his last life, his grandfather went to Jiangzhou to help two people verify the authenticity of a couple of antiques, but afterwards, news suddenly came that those antiques were fakes. The commercial family in Jiangzhou specially sent some men to Ling family, who made quite a scene. That matter came to the knowledge of all residents of Tanyang. His grandfather was disgraced and, for quite a long time, suffered from depression, frequently found mumbling to himself that by no means could he have made that kind of mistakes.

At that time, people of Ling family demanded that those antiques be authenticated again publicly, but those people in Jiangzhou flatly refused. They affirmed that Ling Zhang’s grandfather was a liar and insisted that his grandfather compensate them for their losses.

‘How dare these people come here again in this life!’

Ling Zhang’s countenance fleetingly froze and soon returned to normal, but those who were familiar with him could tell that the look in his eyes had become much more apathetic.

Chapter 98: The Madness of Jia Family

“There’s quite a long distance between Jiangzhou and Tanyang, and I’m pretty sure my grandfather is not the only one in the Great Yue who has the expertise in authenticating antiques. What was it that made you decide to come to Tanyang to ask my grandfather for help?”

Ling Zhang sat down in the left-hand seat without the courtesy to ask the guests to take a seat first, a bland look on his face, which made it difficult for people to gauge his mood. Unable to tell what Ling Zhang was thinking about, the two middle-aged men became cautious.

“We admire Old Master Ling for his wide knowledge of antique authentication, and we also heard that Old Master Ling used to be in charge of the restoration work of sacrificial vessels of the last dynasty during his tenure as an assistant minister in the Ministry of Rites, which was why we took the liberty of coming here to trouble Old Master Ling to take a look. We know this is very impertinent, so we’ve prepared handsome honoraria to express our gratitude.”

Handsome honoraria? a cold look flashed across Ling Zhang’s eyes. “Just now you mentioned sacrificial vessels. Was it by any chance sacrificial vessels of the last dynasty that you acquired?” “Well, we are not sure, which is the very reason why we came here to ask Old Master Ling for help.”

These two men had very sufficient reason. Either they had been preparing for this for quite some time, or someone would intervene halfway to the end of this matter, which would lead to the eventual turn of events that happened in his last life.

In his last life, he suspected that there was something behind this antique authentication thing, because it was very unlikely that a man as discreet as his grandfather would make this kind of mistakes. It seemed as if someone had taken advantage of this matter to undermine Ling family.

And it was not that difficult for him to guess who that person was.

As regards whether there was any kind of relation between these two merchants from another city and Jia family, it would only take a few inquiries to find that out.

Originally, he had had no time to fix these two men. Now that they came to him on their own account, they had only themselves to blame for what was going to happen to them.

“It has been years since the last time that my grandfather authenticated any antiques for others. Besides, we don’t have the heart to let an old man go on such a tiring long journey. I hate to say this, but I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. Please go back.”

“Uh… Childe Ling, we’ve covered quite a good deal of ground to come here. Please at least let us have an audience with Old Master Ling.”

The two people were unwilling to be dismissed like this.

“Somebody come and see our guests out,” Ling Zhang ordered directly.

The two men had never expected that Ling Zhang would be so unfriendly to them. Not only had he been giving them the cold shoulder from start to finish, now he even ungraciously asked them to leave.

“You…”

“Surely you won’t be so ungracious as to insist on staying?”

“Come on. Let’s get out of here first.” The fat one gave the thin one a pull, forced a smile at Ling Zhang, said “Thank you for your time” to him and then dragged the thin one out of the room.

“That Childe Ling was so rude. We came here to invite his grandfather with total sincerity, but he didn’t even have the common courtesy to let us take seats. We had barely made any remarks when he asked us to leave – without even asking a single further question about who we are. This is unbelievable. They don’t seem like a literary family at all. As far as I can tell, they are even more ignorant of formality than country folks are!” observed the thin middle-aged man after they left Ling family.

“Next time, let’s go and talk to Old Master Ling directly. By some unlucky chance, he’s not in today.”

After the two men walked far away, someone immediately went out of the mansion of Ling family and followed them. There was also another person who immediately returned to report to Ling Zhang.

“Find out where those two people stay and report to me without delay.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Did Old Master say when he would come back from Lu family?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“Inform me when he returns.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Xia Feng came back at around noon, saying that Jia Yin had an exceptionally sepulchral look on his face when he returned to the city. It was rumored that Zhang Chong’s men forced him to leave after he made a scene in the Prefecture Encampment.

“After Jia Yin returned to Jia family, someone covertly sent word out that Jia family severed their business relationship with Zhang Chong and would never sell ore to him again, that they intended to find a new buyer and also said…” “Said what?”

“They said that from now on Ling family would be an implacable enemy of Jia family, and anyone who had contact with Ling family were also enemies of Jia family. There was also a lot of other bluster.”

Ling Zhang sneered, “When Jia family had Zhang Chong at their back, nobody dared to mess with them. But now, Zhang Chong is no longer their ally. Jia Yin really thinks people would still follow his orders like they used to? He has just dug his own grave.” ‘In no circumstances will Zhang Chong give up that mine. If Jia Yin keeps acting so arrogantly, ha…

But a dog will fight if cornered. Jia Yin is now like a rabid dog, which might launch an attack on us at any moment. I have to warn grandfather to try not to leave home during the next few days so that Jia Yin won’t be able to grab any chances to hurt him,’ Ling Zhang thought.

“Young Master, is there anything we should do about it?”

“Of course there is. This is such a golden opportunity. It would be such a shame if we don’t take advantage of it and add some fuel to their conflict.”

After thinking for a while, Ling Zhang waved his hand gesturing for Xia Feng to come close to him, and then minutely whispered something into his ears.

“Rest assured, Young Master. I know what to do,” replied Xia Feng after hearing Ling Zhang’s words. “Shall I go and make arrangements right now?”

“Go ahead.”

Yuwen Tong walked over and happened to see this scene. He leisurely sized Xia Feng up with penetrating eyes.

Xia Feng inexplicably felt a cold shiver of fear. ‘Lord Yuwen seems to be somewhat displeased with me.’

Ling Zhang didn’t notice this. On the sight of Yuwen Tong, he recalled the two remarks that Yuwen Tong had made beside his ears. As a result, when he spoke, his tone of voice was somewhat unnatural, “Why did you come here?”

“To talk to you about something, of course. I happened to see you guys whispering to each other. What was it that you were talking about? I’d like to hear it.”

“We were not whispering. I was giving Xia Feng an assignment.”

“You could have just done it in your normal voice. There’s nobody else around to hear you anyway.”

“Well, you are here.”

“Rest assured. Your secret is safe with me.”

“You’re so thick-skinned.”

“Sort of. Would you like to give me a pinch and confirm it?”

Ling Zhang fell speechless.

He really felt an urge to pinch him to death.

Then he flicked a glance at Xia Feng.

Xia Feng took a hint and left. With that the alarm in him dissolved and he involuntarily gave a gasp of relief.

Xia Feng couldn’t help but turn his head back to glimpse at the house. He didn’t know if he was imagining things or not, but he kept having this feeling that the way his young master and Lord Yuwen communicated with each other was somewhat weird. ‘That Lord Yuwen’s background and identity have always been shrouded in mystery. Even Old Master acts respectfully in front of him. And there has been frequent spells of his mysterious absence during his staying in Ling family. Who is he exactly…’

“What is it that you want to talk about?” Ling Zhang asked Yuwen Tong in the room.

Yuwen Tong said with a serious look on his face. “I have to go out against tonight. Take the medicated bath two hours ahead of schedule, if it’s convenient for you.”

Ling Zhang was confused. “Go out again? Haven’t you already got everything figured out?” Yuwen Tong nodded. “There’s something else that I want to find out about, which is why I need to pay another visit to the Prefecture Encampment.”

Ling Zhang held back the words which had sprung to his lips. After keeping silent for a while, he observed, “Just because your… your kung fu is good doesn’t mean that you can go in and out of that dangerous place whenever you want. If they spot you, you’ll be in deep trouble.”

But Yuwen Tong was very pleased to hear this. “You’re actually worrying about me, which is pretty rare, but rest assured, I won’t get spotted by Zhang Chong’s men.”

Ling Zhang replied. “What worries me is that the big plan will be compromised if you get exposed.”

Yuwen Tong heaved a long sigh. “A couple of days ago, someone gallantly prepared all kinds of delicacies for me. It’s been only such a short time, but that person has already forgotten how good I’ve always been to him.”

Ling Zhang fell speechless.

‘This guy is acting as if I hurt his feelings. If it weren’t for that he made those frivolous remarks in the morning, I would never have been reduced to feeling uneasy even though I’m merely sitting in the same room with him,’ Ling Zhang thought.

Maybe because the tense back of Ling Zhang melted Yuwen Tong’s heart, the latter said, “Fine. I’ll stop teasing you. You don’t really seem like any of those pedants who were spoon-fed with outworn knowledge in The Four Books( (The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Confucian Analects, and The Works of Mencius) and The Five Classics(The Book of Songs, The Book of History, The Book of Changes, The Book of Rites and The Spring and Autumn Annals). How come you cannot even handle a couple of jokes?” Ling Zhang looked at him and disagreed with Yuwen Tong. “Do you joke this way with everybody you know?”

“If I tell you that you are the first one that I’ve joked with in this manner, is there any chance you will immediately fall sulky again?”

“I…”

Yuwen Tong suddenly grew serious. “I won’t push you, so there is no need for you to be nervous.”

Ling Zhang was stunned and left at a loss for words by Yuwen Tong’s remarks.

“It has come to my knowledge that Jia Yin went to the Prefecture Encampment and made a scene there. He’s gone too far, which made it very difficult for Jia family and Zhang Chong to trust each other like they used to. Zhang Chong has a strong demand for ore, and he won’t stand by and watch Jia family sell their ore to another buyer. It’s advisable for you to add some fuel to the flames of their rage and have them start a dog fight.” Yuwen Tong abruptly steered the conversation away from their relationship and started talking business. Ling Zhang, who was still in a trance, did a double take.

“So you actually heard what I said to Xia Feng just now?”

“I did. Would you like me to help?”

“That won’t be necessary. I think Yao Yi and Guard Zhang have enough tasks to perform. And I have no intention of burdening them with my own problems.”

“I see. Anyway, if by any chance you need my help, don’t hesitate to let me know. And in case of my absence… I assigned two of my subordinates to stay in the Green Bamboo Mansion. You can contact them when in need of help.”

“Okay.”

Yuwen Tong was indeed a very busy man. After staying in Ling Zhang’s place for only a short amount time, he took his leave, saying that he would come over again to help Ling Zhang unblock his meridians at night.

Originally, Ling Zhang had had a lot of issues waiting for him to figure out, but it was not until he sat there for quite a long time that he recalled this.

‘Exactly what did Yuwen Tong mean by that remark? What is he going to do about our engagement?

I have already expressed my intention of breaking off the engagement, but after such a long time, there has still been no sign of his agreement.

Does he really want to marry me?’

Ling Zhang hurriedly shook his head, believing that he must have been affected by the couple of frivolous remarks of Yuwen Tong’s, which was why, surprisingly, he was actually considering the possibility that Yuwen Tong really wanted to marry him. ‘Have I really been too close to Yuwen Tong recently?’ he wondered.

‘But currently, we’re allies. I need Yuwen Tong’s help to get revenge, and I can’t avoid meeting him because of this petty matter of my personal feelings.

It’s been almost half a month and the deadline is drawing near. Soon Yuwen Tong will have to leave Tanyang. One way or another, this matter will surely come to an end. I might as well cross that bridge when I come to it.’

Ling Zhang put all these miscellaneous thoughts aside. In order to collect himself, he specially sat down and wrote two full pages of Chinese characters in Xiaokai(regular script in small characters, as used in Chinese calligraphy exercises).

“Young Master, Second Master returned and required your presence.” He had just finished writing when a servant called him from outside.

“I see.”

Ling Zhang believed that it must be about the matter of Jia family.

As expected, after Ling Zhang entered the study of Ling Zhaowen, Ling Zhaowen told him, “Stay at home and don’t go outside unless you have to during the next few days. Jia Yin is like a rabid dog which bites everybody in its sight.”

This was the very advice that Ling Zhang had planned to give his family members. Ling Zhaowen anticipated him.

“Earlier today, a close colleague of mine had a minor disagreement with a member of Jia family. A couple of servants of Jia family put a sack over his head and beat him up. While striking him, they also threatened to beat him every time they see him if he keeps in contact with anyone of Ling family. Due to the absence of any definite proof, there is nothing he could do about it. Currently, he’s staying at home recuperating from the injury.” Ling Zhang had anticipated that Jia Yin would do something crazy, but that person was merely a man who was relatively close to Ling family, yet Jia Yin still attacked him like a rabid dog?

Chapter 99: A Chance Encounter of Two Foes

The name of the one who had been beaten up was Lin Yuan, a petty official working for the Prefecture Yamen, who was mainly in charge of construction projects and restoration work. He was also one of the most competent subordinates of Ling Zhaowen.

After giving Ling Zhang a word of warning, Ling Zhaowen intended to pay a visit to Lin Yuan.

Though it was people of Jia family who had attacked Lin Yuan, their hatred towards Ling family was the reason why they had done that, which obliged Ling Zhaowen to call on him.

“Uncle, let me go with you.”

Ling Zhang was somewhat concerned. The abode of Ling family happened to be located in the eastern part of the city, so there was a high risk that Ling Zhaowen would encounter people of Jia family on his way there.

“Don’t worry. I’ll bring some men with me.”

“It was because of us that Supervisor Lin got beaten up, so I should accompany you. The more people go and see him, the more comforting it would be for him.”

Ling Zhaowen gave a smile. Though he deemed it totally unnecessary for his own nephew to do this for him, he appreciated Ling Zhang’s heartfelt concern. “Okay, then. Let’s go.”

“Dad, elder brother, where are you going? I want to go as well!” As chance would have it, Ling Maomao, who had just come back home from school, overheard their conversation and yelled his intention to go with them.

“Behave yourself. Dad and your elder brother are going out to handle some Yamen affairs.” Ling Zhaowen put on a sulky face.

“I promise I’ll be quiet. Take me with you, dad. Please,” Ling Maomao pleaded, looking up at his father with expectant eyes.

The appealing look of the little boy made refusal a difficult choice, but Ling Zhaowen, his natural father, made it without even blinking. “No.”

The look in the sparkling eyes of Ling Maomao instantly dimmed. Seeing this, Ling Zhang gave a soft cough and said, “Just now, when I was on my way here, I smelt sweet dumplings. Your mother seemed to be cooking them. She must be specially preparing them for you. Why don’t you go and check it out?”

Ling Maomao, who had just finished school, was hungry, so his eyes lit up as he heard this. “We–Well then, I’ll go and see.”

With that, the little boy immediately turned around and hastily ran outside.

On the sight of the running little boy, Ada let out two barks and followed in his wake.

Ling Zhaowen shook his head resignedly. “I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve told him to try to develop a steady demeanor, but he never listened.”

“Being naughty is a privilege boys of his age enjoy. I made no less trouble for you and grandfather when I was his age.”

Ling Zhaowen smiled. “You were much more sensible than him when you were a young boy.”

Ling Zhang summoned Wang Dashan, Qiu Bing and Zhou Xiang to accompany them. Apart from these three and Li Fu who was an attendant of Ling Zhaowen, Physician Lin was also on the carriage drawn by four horses. Ling Zhaowen had specially invited him over to help treat Lin Yuan. The group of people departed, heading for the east of the city.

After entering the east of the city, they progressed straight towards Lin family and eventually reached the destination without any trouble.

Lin Yuan’s wife came to their welcome with her children. People of Lin family had a simple family structure. Lin Yuan’s parents were living with his elder brothers in the countryside. Apart from Mr. and Mrs. Lin, their two children and four servants were the only ones dwelling in this house.

Not yet old enough to go to school, their two children standing behind Mrs. Lin timidly cupped their hands before their chests and bowed to Ling Zhaowen and Ling Zhang.

“There’s no need for formality, Mrs. Lin. It was because of me that Younger Brother Lin suffered this misfortune. I feel guilty and I’m utterly unworthy of your courtesy.”

Mrs. Lin observed with a calm look, “Please don’t beat yourself up over this, Your Lordship. Both my husband and I are sensible persons. People of Jia family were the ones who committed this crime. On no account should we lay the blame for it on you.”

“Your words made my conscience suffer even more, Mrs. Lin. This time, I brought Physician Lin here to help treat Younger Brother Lin’s wounds. Would you be so kind as to lead us to his room if it’s convenient?”

Mrs. Lin bobbed her head. “Your Lordship, Childe Ling, Physician Lin, this way please.”

Lin Yuan was lying prostrate in bed and a servant was tending him.

Ling Zhang and the others were greeted with smells of medicine the moment they entered the room. Manifestly, some physician had been here and rendered Lin Yuan medical treatment.

Ling Zhaowen quickly walked up to the bed and called, “Younger Brother Lin.”

Eyes closed, Lin Yuan was somewhat sleepy. On hearing the voice of Ling Zhaowen, Lin Yuan opened his eyes in a mixture of surprise and delight. “Lord Ling, to what do I owe the honor?”

Upon saying this, Lin Yuan made a struggling effort to rise from the bed.

Ling Zhang preceded Ling Zhaowen to the bedside and supported Lin Yuan. “You’re still recovering, Supervisor Lin. There’s no need for you to get out of bed. My uncle doesn’t really care much about formality.”

“That’s true. Please just lie down, Younger Brother Lin,” said Ling Zhaowen. “I invited Physician Lin over here to treat your wounds. Let him do his job first. We can have our talk later.”

With Ling Zhang’s assistance, Lin Yuan conveniently lay back to his original position and observed. “I haven’t seen you for quite a long time, Childe Ling. It’s a pity that I have to lie in bed. Otherwise we may have a good talk.”

“I promise I’ll come here more often to chat with you after you recover from the injury, Supervisor Lin.”

Taking the hint, Physician Lin came over and sat down beside the bed to feel the pulse of Lin Yuan.

“Thank you for your trouble, Physician Lin,” said Lin Yuan.

Physician Lin replied, “This is what I do. Besides, we bear the same surname. It’s my pleasure to be able to help.”

Most of Lin Yuan’s wounds were in his arms and back. On that day, after someone put a sack over his head, he immediately realized what was coming next and sensibly curled up in an effort to protect his head, chest and abdomen. As a result, though his back and arms had been badly hurt, his head and internal organs were fine.

Watching Physician Lin checking the wounds on the back and arms of Lin Yuan, Ling Zhaowen, with a solemn expression on his face, observed angrily, “What Jia family did is beyond forgiveness! By no means will I let them get away with this.”

“Please turn from your anger, Your Lordship. Currently, Jia family is like a rabid dog. Please be careful and make sure you are adequately accompanied when you are out on the streets. In no circumstances should you go outside alone,” said Lin Yuan.

Then Ling Zhaowen and Lin Yuan had a fairly long conversation. Lin Yuan gave him a sketchy account of his previous disagreement with people of Jia family as well as their attack on him. After hearing it, Ling Zhaowen indignantly rose to his feet with the intention of going to Jia family to seek justice but Lin Yuan stopped him, trying to persuade him to calm down.

Ling Zhang had been listening on the side all along. If it weren’t for that he was well aware of what kind of man his uncle was, he might have been convinced that just now his uncle had really intended to go directly to Jia family to bring Lin Yuan’s attackers to justice.

Though it was more likely that his uncle had done that as a pose for Lin Yuan to see, as Ling Zhang found that Lin Yuan seemed to be in a much better mood, he realized that Lin Yuan had actually needed his uncle to stake out his position on this issue.

He didn’t really have the talent for this kind of finesse, but –

“Young Master, all necessary arrangements have been made,” Qiu Bing said after entering the room, an expectant and excited look on his face.

Ling Zhang gave a bob of his head. “Good.”

Ling Zhaowen flicked a questioning glance at Ling Zhang, as if asking him what he had done.

Ling Zhang made no immediate response. On their way out of Ling family, Ling Zhang said to Mrs. Lin who was seeing them off, “Mrs. Lin, you could expect to hear a pleasant message tonight. Though it cannot really be taken as a vengeance on the attackers of Supervisor Lin, I hope it’ll help abate the anger of Supervisor Lin and you. Rest assured, Mrs. Lin. Soon Jia family will no longer be a threat to us.”

Mrs. Lin stared at him in amazement. After quite a while, she collected herself only to find that Ling Zhang and Ling Zhaowen had already got on the horse-drawn carriage and were on their way back.

Mrs. Lin hurriedly returned and told this to Lin Yuan, who was also amazed by it.

“What do you think Childe Ling meant by this remark, darling?”

After meditating on it for a while, Lin Yuan replied, “Since Childe Ling told us to wait until night, we might as well show patience.”

Mrs. Lin was rather concerned. “Do you think Childe Ling by any chance has gone to Jia family and done anything? What if people find out about it?”

Lin Yuan asked her, “Did His Lordship say anything?”

Mrs. Lin responded, “I wasn’t paying attention, but it seemed as if His Lordship was uninformed about the arrangements Childe Ling made as well.”

After another few moments’ silence, Lin Yuan observed, “Childe Ling has really changed considerably these days. Scarcely has Jia family ever gained any advantage over Ling family during the two previous conflicts between them, both of which were resolved by Childe Ling himself. And I suspect that Childe Ling was also the one who made some covert arrangements which eventually brought about the resolution of the crisis Lord Ling encountered in that tavern. I think we should trust Childe Ling and wait to find out what that good news he mentioned is.” Slightly relieved, Mrs. Lin gave a bob of her head.

“By the way, Childe Ling said that soon Jia family would no longer be a threat to us. Darling, do you think–”

Lin Yuan signaled her to lower her voice and observed, “I don’t know much about it, but the tension between Ling family and Jia family is rapidly approaching flashpoint. It could be said there will soon be a fight between them in which only one side will survive. Judging from what people of Ling family have been doing recently, they definitely have no intention of waiting for death.”

Mrs. Lin made no further remarks, looking forward to the arrival of night.

Ling Zhaowen had been meaning to ask Ling Zhang what he had done all along ever since they took their leave of Ling family, but due to the presence of Physician Lin, he had no choice but to subdue his urge. All he could do was cast Ling Zhang a glance of warning.

Ling Zhang flicked him a comforting look in response.

Ling Zhaowen was speechless. ‘You brat.’

They had thought that they would have an uneventful trip out of the east of the city. Unexpectedly, what they did have was a chance encounter with people of Jia family, their mortal enemies. The carriage in front of them was also escorted by a great many guards.

Both sides paused. The street was broad enough to allow two carriages to get through, but people of Jia family, on the sight of the carriage of Ling family, parked their carriage squarely in the middle of the road, blocking their path.

Seeing that the two carriages belonged to Jia family and Ling family respectively, residents nearby who knew about the hatred between the two families instantly drew back for fear of potential collateral damage, but they didn’t walk far away but kept a safe distance from the scene, waiting to see whatever it was that was going to happen next.

“A good dog never gets in people’s way!” yelled a servant of Jia family, a malicious smile on his face.

Ling Zhaowen knitted his brows, thinking that it was such an unpleasant coincidence that they met people of Jia family when they were so close to leaving the east of the city.

Ling Zhang slightly raised the curtain of the carriage and gestured Qiu Bing to come over to him. “You know how to swear?”

Qiu Bing nodded. “I do, Young Master. Do you want me to swear at them?”

Ling Zhang lowered his voice whispering something into Qiu Bing’s ears. Qiu Bing’s eyes gradually lit up as he listened. At last, he patted his own chest and replied, “Consider it done, Young Master.”

Ling Zhaowen, who had pricked up his ears and heard everything, amusedly derided, “Where did you learn all these mean tricks?”

Somewhat embarrassed, Ling Zhang replied, “They came into my mind on their own account when I caught sight of these guys of Jia family.”

Ling Zhaowen gave a smile but raised no objection. Clearly, he was also waiting to see Jia family be humiliated.

“Eek? Whose dog barked so loudly just now? Bark again so that I can tell which family you belong to. I might feed you some meat If your barks please me!” Qiu Bing rode to the front of the carriage and yelled at people of Jia family on the other side.

“Why are you asking them questions? They’re dogs, and dogs cannot understand human language. Can’t you see that they are also blind? The road is right in front of them but instead of taking it, they chose to bark.” Zhou Xiang rode to Qiu Bing’s side and joined his effort.

“You… Humph! You’re just two guard dogs. Tell your master to show himself!” shouted the man on the other side.

“Eek? Did you hear that? It sounded like a vicious dog of Jia family.” Qiu Bing affectedly pricked up his ears and then pretended that light suddenly dawned on him.