The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 181- 183

Chapter 181: He’s Indeed a Talent

On the table was a long, unrolled piece of cloth, on which rows of thin needles of different lengths were fixed. These needles alone made the security guards’ blood run cold. There was also a large bathtub on the side, which contained black decoction giving off a weird odor beyond description. Xie Shi informed them that the decoction inside was poisonous, that Wang Dashan and others were to go in there one by one to test their sensitivity to the decoction. Apart from these, Xie Shi had also prepared quite a lot of phials and pots, some of which contained poison, and the others antidotes. Wang Dashan and other security guards were to observe the contents with all methods they could think of, ingest those they believed to be antidotes and then state the reason.

In other words, it was very likely that they might mistakenly consume poison.

Even Yao Yi and other bodyguards were somewhat scared as they saw the things that Xie Shi had prepared, let alone Wang Dashan and other security guards. If anyone of them survived all these, he could definitely count himself extremely lucky. Wang Dashan and others were so nervous that cold sweat was oozing out of their backs continuously, and their clothes were soaking wet. They feared that they might kick the bucket after a small mistake. As a result, when Yue Qi showed up, all of them looked in his direction with expectant eyes, as if he were their savior.

Yue Qi, who was just about to speak, was startled by their gaze and gave a hiccup. “Wh–Why are you giving me that look?”

“What business do you have here?” Xie Shi impatiently slid him a sideways glance.

Yue Qi pointed in the direction of the main courtyard house and responded, “The Marshal and Childe Ling returned.”

Yao Yi was amazed. “At this hour?”

Yue Qi inclined his head. “The Marshal didn’t seem very happy.”

On hearing this, Xie Shi put down the needle in his hand. “The Marshal took Childe Ling back to Yuwen family this afternoon. It seems that things didn’t go very well there.”

No longer in the mood for these things, they all went to the main courtyard house.

At this time, Ling Zhang had changed into a lighter outfit and walked outside. Seeing Yuwen Tong was not in the room, he was surprised and called, “Yuwen Tong?”

“I’m in the study.” Yuwen Tong’s voice came from the study.

Ling Zhang hurried there and found that Yuwen Tong had also changed clothes. Seeing him writing something, he walked over and asked, “What are you writing?”

“A dispatch to my men in the border area,” responded Yuwen Tong.

“Did something happen?” Ling Zhang queried in worry.

Yuwen Tong replied, “A small group of soldiers were seen wandering near the border with unknown intentions. Jiang Ke wrote me a letter and reported it to me.”

While speaking, he finished the letter and with that he put it into a special correspondence-tube and had someone take it out to be delivered to the border areas.

Ling Zhang carefully observed Yuwen Tong’s countenance and saw that the displeasure he had returned with was gone. Feeling slightly relieved, he said, “Envoys of the Wan Kingdom are still in our capital city. It’s not likely that they would be so bold as to make any trouble that might lead to another war.”

Yuwen Tong shook his head. “Waging another war is definitely not on their to-do list, but they might not necessarily be afraid to make trouble. I told Jiang Ke and others to keep a close watch on them and find out what it is that they intend to do.”

The two of them were talking when Yao Yi and others showed up at the doorway, craning their necks to glance inside.

Ling Zhang fell speechless.

Even he had seen them, let alone Yuwen Tong!

Unsurprisingly, the next moment, Yuwen Tong shot out the writing brush in his hand and hit Yue Qi, who had just poked his head into the room, on the head, leaving his forehead covered in ink.

“Why are you acting stealthily?”

“Marshal, we’re worried about you and our young master.” Wang Dashan stepped inside.

Ling Zhang was confused. “Worried about us? Why?”

Since Yuwen Tong was present, Wang Dashan and others felt it inconvenient to tell the truth, hemming and hawing.

But Ling Zhang came to realize what was going on and observed, “It’s nothing serious. There’s no need for such fuss. Go back and do what you’ve got to do.”

‘That’s a mere trifle,’ Ling Zhang thought. What had happened in the residential compound of Yuwen family actually had caused him neither pain nor itch. It was Yuwen Tong that concerned him more.

But manifestly Yuwen Tong had some time ago prepared himself for this kind of situation. Seeing Yao Yi and other bodyguards of his were also present, he called them in and instructed, “Have my uncle and his family under surveillance. Keep me informed of their conduct.”

“Yes, Marshal!” Yao Yi answered and immediately left to make arrangements.

Before long, the dinner was ready. Chefs in the kitchen prepared a sumptuous meal, most courses of which were Ling Zhang’s favorites. Of course, there were also some that Yuwen Tong liked, but Ling Zhang could tell at a glance that his favorite dishes were disproportionately more than Yuwen Tong’s, and he also vaguely guessed that Li Sicai had done this on purpose. Feeling somewhat amused, he shook his head.

Naturally, what Ling Zhang could understand was also within Yuwen Tong’s grasp. He commented, “I have to admit Li Sicai is indeed a talent.”

Ling Zhang couldn’t help but chuckle, “I’ll have them prepare two more dishes.”

In fact, though dishes Yuwen Tong liked were not as many as those Ling Zhang liked, they still numbered three. Given Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong’s habit of being thrifty, three dishes were enough for either of them. Ling Zhang made this offer merely to cheer Yuwen Tong up.

Yuwen Tong declined the offer. He reached out his hand, picked up a piece of food from a dish before Ling Zhang with his chopsticks and observed, “I’m not a picky eater.”

So Ling Zhang didn’t rise from his seat to make arrangements but merely lifted his eyebrows.

In fact Yuwen Tong was indeed not a fussy eater. Living conditions in the encampment in border areas were poor, which made it impossible for him to be fussy about food. As a result, he had been an omnivore for many years.

Ling Zhang picked up a piece of pork and put it in Yuwen Tong’s bowl. Then he glanced at the tableful of courses and asked, “How about some wine?”

Yuwen Tong inclined his head. “All right.”

Ling Zhang had a servant bring some wine and the two of them had a drink together.

Ling Zhang’s tolerance to alcohol was not as high as that of Yuwen Tong. A flush spread over his cheeks after a couple of glasses of wine. Yuwen Tong pressed Ling Zhang’s hand to the table and said, “I think you’ve had enough.”

Ling Zhang shook his head. “One more glass.”

Beneath his beseeching gaze, Yuwen Tong felt it utterly impossible to refuse, so he refilled Ling Zhang’s glass and exhorted, “This is the last glass.”

It was not that he didn’t want Ling Zhang to drink more but that… Ling Zhang looked very seductive after drinking, and Yuwen Tong was worried that he might not be able to control himself if he allowed Ling Zhang to drink more.

Ling Zhang was unaware that in Yuwen Tong’s eyes he was now as appealing to him as an appetizing steamed bun to a starving man. After drinking another glass, he gave a hiccup heavy with smell of wine and comfortably remarked with a sigh, “It tastes so good.”

Tanyang abounded with medicinal herbs and was also famous for medicinal liquor, but Ling Zhang, maybe because he was a young man, didn’t really like medicinal liquor very much. He preferred stronger drinks. This Pear Blossom Wine brought by Yuwen Tong, for example, took his fancy very much. After drinking it, he felt fully relaxed and warm all over.

“You see, I’m still sober, am I not?” He even specially said to Yuwen Tong in a smug tone, “So I can definitely handle another glass.”

At this moment, a thin soft cry was heard. Surprisingly, the white fox cub, after smelling the wine, ran up to them, raised its head and looked at the two of them.

Ling Zhang scooped it up, put it on his lap and lowered his head to look at it. “You want to try it as well? Good boy, Whitie. You’re so brave. Come on. Here you are.”

At this time he was already somewhat drunk. While saying this, he really reached out his hand to pour some wine for the white fox cub.

Yuwen Tong hurriedly stopped him. “It is a fox, not a human being.”

Ling Zhang blinked and queried, “Don’t those books say that foxes love drinking?”

After a brief moment’s silence, Yuwen Tong asked him, “What books?”

“Scripts for story-telling,” Ling Zhang replied.

‘Oh, that’s true. In those stories, foxes can not only drink but also turn into human beings,’ Yuwen Tong thought disapprovingly, took the white fox cub from Ling Zhang’s arms, dipped the end of a chopstick into wine and sent it to the mouth of the white fox cub. The fox cub flicked out its tongue, licked the chopstick and briefly shivered.

Yuwen Tong put it down and said to Ling Zhang, “It had a try.”

Ling Zhang gave a bob of his head after a few moments’ thinking and then lowered his head to look at the white fox cub which had been put down on to the ground. “How do you like it, Whitie?”

The white fox cub, which was still recollecting the pleasant flavor of the wine, shook its head and gave another thin soft cry.

Ling Zhang dissolved into laugh. With one arm on the table, he leaned his upper body on it, looked sideways at the white fox cub and reached out the other hand to stroke its back. “Good boy. You does have something in common with me, your master. I’ll let you drink a whole glass when you grow a little bigger.”

He didn’t know whether the white fox cub understood his words or not, but it raised its head to face him and gave another thin soft cry, as if extremely pleased.

Ling Zhang laughed again, a pink flush on his cheeks, which made him look as radiant as a cottonrose hibiscus blossom.

Yuwen Tong stretched out a hand and held Ling Zhang’s with which he was stroking the white fox cub. Then he craned over and pressed his lips precisely against those of Ling Zhang who had just raised his head in puzzlement.

Ling Zhang squinted his eyes and opened his mouth.

The look in Yuwen Tong’s eyes instantly went deeper and with that he drew Ling Zhang over from the chair to his lap, put a hand behind Ling Zhang’s waist to support him, raised his chin with the other hand and deepened their kiss.

Taken aback by this sudden, wide-range motion of theirs, the white fox cub let out a screech and jumped aside. Then it squatted down onto the ground, raised its head and watched the two men who were kissing passionately showing a total disregard for everything else. After giving another thin soft cry, it lowered its head and licked its fur in a quite unhurried way, as if a trifle scornful of this kind of intimacy between lovers. It was surprising that at such a young age, this fox cub displayed a worldly-wise demeanor typical of a seclusive master.

Feeling comfortable while kissing, Ling Zhang relaxed his body resting his whole weight on Yuwen Tong. The range of their motions was a little too wide and they accidentally overturned Yuwen Tong’s wine glass on the table, which rolled and came to a halt at the edge, wine spilled out of it all over the ground.

Eyes of the white fox cub lit up. It rose to its feet and cockily walked over. After a lick of the wine, it squinted its eyes and let out a thin soft cry. This lick of the wine was far more intense a stimulation than the chopstick dipped in wine had been. It was so pungent that its hair stood on end.

Indulging himself in his kiss with Yuwen Tong, Ling Zhang failed to notice what the white fox cub was doing. Besides, groans from throats were far more pleasant to hear than the thin soft cry of the white fox cub was. Yuwen Tong enjoyed them very much and had tightly put his arm around Ling Zhang’s waist.

A bodyguard at the doorway vaguely saw what was happening inside and quietly walked away. Soon all others were informed of it.

In fact, Yao Yi and others had been worried that Ling Zhang might be angry with Yuwen Tong after being aggrieved in the residential compound of Yuwen family earlier this day, that their marshal’s chance to marry Ling Zhang would be lost for good, which would be very tragic.

On hearing that the two of them were making out in the room, they all heaved a sigh of relief.

“It seems that Childe Ling is no longer angry,” remarked Yao Yi.

“Alas, had our master and second master known so many things would happen, they definitely wouldn’t have allowed our young master to come to the capital city,” said Wang Dashan.

Yao Yi and the others had a somewhat guilty conscience. After all, they were aware that Yuwen Qi and Supervisor Zhao had gone to Tanyang and threatened Ling Zhang and Ling Zhaowen, but they didn’t disclose this to others for fear that their marshal might die a bachelor if they did.

Chapter 182: A Reunion of Old Friends

Yuwen Tong was unaware that his subordinates had been worried that he might die single and alone. If it came to his knowledge that they had so little confidence in him, he would undoubtedly fly into a rage and have them stand in the drill ground for a full day as a punishment.

Yuwen Tong scooped up Ling Zhang, who had been in dizziness during the kiss and eventually drifted off to sleep, and carried him into the bedroom. Ling Zhang unconsciously rubbed his face against Yuwen Tong’s chest, sleeping soundly with his mouth slightly open. Yuwen Tong’s chest felt nice and warm, an intense desire churning inside him. He couldn’t help but lower his head and kiss Ling Zhang on forehead, cheek and mouth.

What had happened earlier this afternoon had indeed made him very unhappy. He felt that his uncle had been growing increasingly interfering. He had warned his uncle several times in an effort to persuade him stay out of his business, but his uncle was too stubborn and refused to listen to reason; even Yuwen Feng had more sense than he did. Yuwen Tong knew that his uncle had been harboring grudges against his grandfather for his keeping him from joining the army. When young, his uncle had been a very conceited man who believed that he would definitely be able to render meritorious service on the battlefield with his wide knowledge of military strategy and tactics, who was unaware that those theories he’d learned from books were totally useless when faced with the cruelty of an actual war. Besides, at that time, the Great Yue had been in decline for years, and every battle was of utmost significance; any small careless mistake might lead to the subjugation of this country, which meant that people couldn’t risk letting his uncle gain experience through mistakes. As regards the situation in Yuwen family, Yuwen Tong’s grandfather and parents had all gone to the front, and his uncle was the only pillar of this family left. In those trying times when the future of the whole country were hanging in the balance, having his uncle stay in the capital city had actually been a precaution against extermination of this family. However, his uncle didn’t – or was unwilling to – see things this way, always believing that his grandfather’s decision had ruined his whole life, that Yuwen Tong had snatched from him the glory that was rightfully his.

In that year, Yuwen Tong’s father, on his deathbed, exhorted Yuwen Tong to come back home more often and take good care of his uncle and other family members if he could. During these years, he had always been true to his word. Though he had had to stay in the border areas most of the time, he had planted some men in the capital city, who’d been keeping a close watch on the residential compound of Yuwen family. This was also a protection for his uncle and others. The emperor was wary and afraid of him, but the more so, the more misgivings he had about causing any member of Yuwen family any harm. Instead, he had to ensure their safety, which was yet another form of protection for members of Yuwen family.

However, in recent years, his uncle had been growing more and more discontented with the current situation. He had even interfered in his marriage. Not only had he tried to keep the engagement between him and Ling Zhang secret from him, he also had the fond hope of gaining a final say on his marriage. In the final analysis, he merely wanted to stay in sole charge of the whole Yuwen family and have Yuwen Tong in the palm of his hand, which might be just two smaller ones of his ambitions…

Yuwen Tong took no pleasure in assuming the worst about the intentions of his kin, but he really felt he should teach his uncle a lesson, because if not, his uncle would always be as oblivious of the reality as he had been since youth, mistakenly believing that everything was under his control, which would only reduce Yuwen family to a more disastrous situation.

“Uh.”

Ling Zhang, who had been in a sound sleep, was woken up as Yuwen Tong took the liberty of kissing him. He unhappily uttered “Uh” and twisted his head aside trying to avoid Yuwen Tong’s lips.

Yuwen Tong raised his head to look at Ling Zhang and with that all the thoughts that had been bothering him were dismissed from his mind.

The next morning, Ling Zhang woke up very early and his head felt a trifle uncomfortable. He removed the arm around his waist and got out of bed, intending to go and wash his face to clear his head.

Seeing him get up, Yuwen Tong, who had been awake for quite some time, also got out of bed and asked, “Are you going to visit Tao Yi today?”

“Yeah.” Ling Zhang inclined his head and vaguely recalled what happened the night before. Feeling that being kissed to sleep was really somewhat shameful, he gave Yuwen Tong a dirty look. “Where’s Whitie?”

“I had Yao Yi take care of it.”

‘We were having such a good moment last night. You think I would let that white fox cub ruin it? I’m not a fool,’ thought Yuwen Tong.

The corners of Ling Zhang’s mouth involuntarily twitched. He had a servant bring hot water and towels into the room. After he washed his face, his mind felt a lot clearer.

Yuwen Tong kneaded Ling Zhang’s temples and said, “I had them prepare lean pork congee and stir-fried bok choy.”

The night before they drank some liquor, so he believed that it would be best if they had a light breakfast.

Since the breakfast wasn’t ready yet, Ling Zhang went to the drill ground, where he practiced fighting skills for two hours. Then he returned, changed clothes again and sat down to have breakfast with Yuwen Tong.

It was after he sat down that Ling Zhang recalled something that he had forgotten for quite some time. With that he queried Yuwen Tong, “Are there any particular places you need to go to today?”

“I have to go to the Ministry of War first, and then the imperial palace. I think I won’t be able to return until night.”

“Then I’ll talk to you about it at night.”

Yuwen Tong didn’t ask him what it was about, since he would find out after he came back at night.

Before leaving, Ling Zhang summoned Liu Yi. “Elder Brother Liu, you once told me that you needed to look for an old friend of that kung fu expert. If it’s urgent, you may go and attend to it first.”

“Thank you for your kindness, Young Master. I’ll go out and make some inquiries today,” replied Liu Yi.

Ling Zhang inclined his head. After a few moments’ thinking, he exhorted, “Take care of yourself.”

Liu Yi responded earnestly, “Rest assured, young master, I’ll be cautious.”

‘Young master didn’t ask any further questions about where I’m going to look for that person. Clearly we ought to be discreet, given that we have just arrived in the capital city. This shows how much young master trusts me, and I must be cautious when I’m out there. Though looking for an old friend for the kung fu expert is a promise of great importance, it has compromised young master’s safety,’ Liu Yi thought.

…

“That’s enough, Tao Yi. Have you any idea how many clothes you’ve tried on?! You’re meeting a fellow-townsman, not going to a blind date. Is this really necessary?!”

Tao Yi tore his clothes off again, changed into another outfit and replied, “He’s not just any fellow-townsman!”

‘Ling Zhang is now Marshal Yuwen’s betrothed, which means that some day they’ll get married and he’ll be the wife of the Marshal. I’ll be lending Ling Zhang a certain dignity if I dress up. How can I risk letting others say that Ling Zhang has dealings with a poor guy who cuts a sorry figure? That would undoubtedly take a heavy toll on Ling Zhang’s reputation,’ he thought.

As a result, when Ling Zhang saw Tao Yi, he was almost dumbfounded by Tao Yi’s unduly gorgeous clothes.

“Elder Brother Tao, why are you dressing like this?” Ling Zhang looked at him in astonishment.

Tao Yi replied happily, “What do you think? I specially dressed so formally in order to be in tune with you.”

Ling Zhang immediately came to realize that Tao Yi had done this out of kindness, and he did feel slightly touched. “Well, thanks. That’s very kind of you, Elder Brother Tao.”

“There’s no need for that. We’re friends, remember?” replied Tao Yi after patting himself on the chest, but the next moment, his countenance changed drastically. With a ferocious look, he looked at Ling Zhang and observed, “No. There’s a score I’ve got to settle with you first. You sly old devil, when we were in Tanyang, you didn’t mention a single word about this to me. I was so kind-hearted as to specially ask you whether you wanted to go to the capital city with me to see Marshal Yuwen, but you couldn’t even be bothered to drop a hint to me when the Marshal was staying right in your home! I traveled thousands of miles to come here only to be informed that the Marshal was in Tanyang! Tell me how you are going to make up for my several-thousand-mile wasted journey. Know that I won’t forgive you easily if your answer is not satisfactory.”

Ling Zhang, who had a somewhat guilty conscience, replied cooperatively, “How about you tell me what kind of compensation you want? I’ll do anything I can.”

Instantly, a smile as bright as a blossom lit up Tao Yi’s face. “I’d like an audience with the Marshal.”

Ling Zhang was not surprised at all that Tao Yi wanted him to make it up to him this way. After a few moments’ thinking, he responded, “All right, but you have to wait until Yuwen Tong is available. He has just returned to the capital city and there are a lot of things he has to attend to.”

Naturally, Tao Yi raised no objection whatsoever. He agreed almost immediately for fear that Ling Zhang might go back on his word, but –

“You called the Marshal by his full name?!”

Ling Zhang looked at him in surprise. “I shouldn’t have? What am I supposed to call him other than ‘Yuwen Tong’?”

Tao Yi was open-mouthed for quite a while. And then in a resigned tone of voice, he remarked, “You got me on that one. It didn’t occur to me that you two are going to marry each other. Ah, ah, ah, I’m so not reconciled to this. Why isn’t my surname Ling?!”

Ling Zhang fell speechless.

He squinted his eyes and looked at Tao Yi. “Why did you say that? You want to compete with me?”

Tao Yi replied dramatically, “I’m a man of striking appearance and great presence, one of the very few prodigies in the capital city. I’m telling you, if anybody is to marry me, one of his ancestors’ spirit would definitely have to manifest and lend him extremely good luck!”

The corners of Ling Zhang’s mouth involuntarily twitched. “Okay, then. I’ll introduce you to Yuwen Tong and see if his ancestor’s spirit would manifest or not.”

Tao Yi hurriedly wiped the dramatic expression off his face. “No, no, I was just joking. Don’t take my word for it. The Marshal might hack me to death.”

“Not necessarily. After all, you are of both striking appearance and great presence, and also one of the very few prodigies.”

Tao Yi was reduced to imploring once again. It was not until Ling Zhang was pleased that he heaved a sigh of relief. “By the way, those things were delivered to me yesterday. My teacher asked me to tell you this and thank you on behalf of him.”

Ling Zhang replied, “The old lord’s gratitude is something I don’t deserve. I merely brought those things here in passing. Where’s the cart-driver of your family? He went back?”

“No. My father told him to stay in the capital city, saying that he could be of service to me,” responded Tao Yi. After a few moments, he queried seriously in a lowered voice, “I heard about what happened at the city gate and at the banquet in the imperial palace the day you entered the city. You are not in some kind of trouble, are you?”

Ling Zhang replied, “I’m fine. It’s some others who are in trouble.”

Tao Yi smiled, “My teacher told me that you were quite eloquent and didn’t let any of them get the best of your confrontation with them at the banquet.”

Ling Zhang was somewhat embarrassed. ‘Does this mean that I left a bad impression on the old lord?’

Tao Yi consoled him, “My teacher is not like any of those pedantic people. He said that your criticism was well-founded and full of dash. I think he held an approving attitude towards what you said back there.”

‘Really?’ Ling Zhang felt even more embarrassed.

“How–How’s everything going with you and Yuwen family? I don’t think you know this – the two of you leaving the residential compound of Yuwen family early last night has come to the knowledge of everybody in the whole city. Did Yuwen Zhi pick on you back there?” Tao Yi asked.

Ling Zhang slightly furrowed his brow. “The whole city know about it now?”

Tao Yi gave a bob of his head and commented in a serious tone, “This is the only downside to being in the capital city: news spreads really quick here, especially news about you, who now have a special identity. Remember, you must be very cautious about your every move in this city. Otherwise you will be surprised by how many eyes have been covertly watching you.”

Ling Zhang replied, “Thank you, Elder Brother Tao. I’ll be careful.”

‘But I’m afraid no matter how careful I am, what’s meant to happen will still happen to me,’ he thought.

“Then… may I ask what happened in the residential compound of Yuwen family?” Tao Yi couldn’t help but ask curiously.

Ling Zhang responded with a smile, “Nothing serious. It’s just that Yuwen Tong had something to attend to, so we left early.”

There was no telling whether Tao Yi bought it or not, but he clearly knew very well how to behave in this delicate situation. Instead of persisting with his questioning about it, he asked, “Do you still remember what I mentioned to you about the situation in Yuwen family when we were in Tanyang?”

“I do.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I believe that, no matter what, you have a grasp of the situation you’re in and know what’s the right thing to do. All in all… Alas, since you’ve already come to the capital city, you’re definitely willing to marry the Marshal. The Marshal is your most powerful backer, and you must hold tight to him. With the Marshal on your side, nobody will dare to cause you any harm. If anything does happen, you can always come to me. Though there might not be much I could do, at least I can help you figure something out.”

Chapter 183: A Lady of Su Family

Ling Zhang thanked Tao Yi for his kindness and at the same time came to understand one particular thing more clearly – Yuwen Zhi’s disapproval of the marriage between him and Yuwen Tong probably had come to the knowledge of everybody in this city, and maybe in the eyes of some of them, what he had been doing was no different from a moth flying into the fire.

“But you really did a good job.” Tao Yi changed the topic and paid Ling Zhang a compliment.

“How so?”

“First you stood up to the Ninth Princess at the city gate, and then you shot down those gossips at the gateway of the imperial palace. After that, you even directly confronted Yuwen Zhi, and even he failed to get the best of the confrontation. News of all these things has spread. His Majesty having the Ninth Princess practice Buddhism due to her attempt to have you assassinated, in particular, shocked a lot of people. Before you entered the capital city, situation in the capital city had been different. It’s been less than two days since you arrived, but now all people in this city know that it’s inadvisable to mess with you.”

Tao Yi was looking at Ling Zhang in admiration while making these remarks. Clearly he was gratified at Ling Zhang’s capabilities.

“This is exactly what I want.”

Deterring those people was exactly what Ling Zhang intended to do. Only by having them know that he was no soft target would others think twice before deciding to do things that might be offensive to him.

The two old friends continued to talk about the old days and neither of them had any pretence of courtesy. After a while, Tao Yi offered to take Ling Zhang to the most famous tavern in the capital city to enjoy a meal.

“Their signature dishes are very well-known. I’ll let you have a taste of every one of them,” observed Tao Yi smugly.

The tavern Tao Yi talked about was the Taibai Tavern. It was located in the eastern avenue, which was an uproarious street crowded with people.

Ling Zhang and Tao Yi went into the Taibai Tavern together, followed by Wang Dashan and Zhang Liu. None of their faces was familiar to many in this city, so their arrival didn’t attract anybody’s attention.

Tao Yi was the one who ordered the dishes. He also ordered a pot of wine for the occasion.

The Taibai Tavern was a three-story building. Rooms on the third floor were all private rooms. On the second floor were comfortable seats and tables separated by screens. And in the hall on the ground floor, there were neither private rooms nor screens. When the two of them arrived at the Taibai Tavern, it was almost filled to capacity. Fortunately, there were still a couple of comfortable seats available on the second floor, which happened to serve as a convenience for them.

“This place is pretty popular.” Ling Zhang specially observed this tavern and found that most customers were sumptuously clothed.

“The food here is good, and it’s located in a busy street, but most importantly, many respected figures in this city dine here regularly. Every year, before the imperial examination, a poem competition or something like that will be held in this tavern, and a lot of talented students will come here to participate, which is why it’s so popular,” explained Tao Yi.

Ling Zhang inclined his head and looked outside, thinking about opening a drugstore. When it came to opening a drugstore in the capital city, choosing the right site was very important, but most importantly, it was not easy to get the ownership of a good site. ‘All things are difficult before they are easy’, as the saying goes. ‘No matter how difficult it will be, I must figure out a way to get it done,’ he thought.

“You see the guest at that table? They both work for the Dali Temple (the Supreme Judicial Court in feudal China). They didn’t even change out of their robes,” said Tao Yi, stealthily pointing at two guests at another table.

Then he pointed at guests sitting beside another few tables.

“Those are the King Hui’s subordinates. You can recognize them by the ID plates on their belts.”

“Those students sitting there are from the Imperial College. They are wearing Confucian scholar’s robes.”

‘From the Imperial College?’ Ling Zhang flicked another glance at them. A Confucian scholar’s robe issued by the Imperial College was of blue and white, the main part blue, the piping white, which lent an air of vigorousness to the wearer.

“My teacher told me that you were going to the Imperial College to study?” queried Tao Yi, who recalled something after seeing Ling Zhang flick another glance at those students of the Imperial College.

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

Tao Yi commented, “Pity I’m in the Oriental Proprieties Academy. If I were a student of the Imperial College, we would be classmates.”

‘Tell me about it. It’s all the emperor’s fault. It’s his interference that caused this,’ Ling Zhang thought.

Tao Yi, who had come to this city a long time ago, had not been in Tanyang when those events happened there, so he took advantage of this opportunity and asked Ling Zhang a lot of questions.

“In those days, Tanyang was not the only place shrouded in panic. The atmosphere in the capital city was also extremely tense. The Sixth Prince was put under house arrest. The Concubine Shu was sent to the cold palace (a palace where an emperor installs members of the imperial family who do something wrong). All hard-core members of the faction headed by the Sixth Prince were stripped of their titles. Oh, there’s also that Li Chong guy. He’s the most unfortunate one. It is said that he was dragged out of his bed before he could make any reaction. In a word, there were quite some upheavals in the capital city as well. It was not until shortly before you and the Marshal arrived that the situation stabilized,” remarked Tao Yi.

Ling Zhang had also heard Yuwen Tong talk about the previous situation in the capital city. ‘Speaking of people on the Sixth Prince’s side, that Peng Fang guy working in the Ministry of Works used to serve the Sixth Prince. Now he has switched allegiance to the King Duan. He also tried to have me poisoned in the Wu City,’ thought Ling Zhang. He wondered how Yuwen Tong’s investigation into this case was going. In fact, he was more inclined to believe that Peng Fang had had orders from the King Duan. After all, the Sixth Prince had already been put under house arrest. Besides, even if they intended to take revenge, their target should have been Yuwen Tong rather than him.

“You know who’s going to fill the vacancy left by Zhang Chong’s death and become the new commander of the Tanyang Prefecture Guards?” asked Tao Yi mysteriously.

Ling Zhang had been informed of this by Yuwen Tong quite some time ago. “He Xiao.”

Tao Yi was amazed. “You knew about this?”

“Someone told me, of course.”

The light dawned on Tao Yi. “I almost forgot that you’re with the Marshal. There’s probably nothing you don’t know about.”

“You specially mentioned He Xiao. Is there anything particular you want to tell me about?” Ling Zhang inquired of him.

Tao Yi gave a inclination of the head. “He Xiao departed for Tanyang early yesterday morning. I’ve heard about something before, so I want to inform you.”

Ling Zhang’s heart briefly lurched. He had a general idea of what Tao Yi was going to say.

“It is rumored that He Xiao is not really on good terms with the Marshal. There’s no telling whether or not he would make things difficult for your family after going to Tanyang. I think you should write Tongzhi Ling a letter telling him to keep an eye open,” said Tao Yi.

As expected, it was indeed about this matter. Ling Zhang replied, “Thank you for reminding me, Elder Brother Tao. Yuwen Tong mentioned this to me as well. I’ve consulted with my uncle before I came here.”

Faintly disappointed to know that the information he offered wasn’t of help, Tao Yi sighed, “Alas, having a marshal as a backer indeed makes a lot of difference.”

Ling Zhang looked at him somewhat amusedly. “There are many things that I could use your help with as well. You see, I knew nothing about all those people that you just told me about. You’ve been in the capital city for many years. I’m sure there are plenty of things that you have a better understanding of and know more about than I do.”

After hearing this, Tao Yi smugly responded, “Well, that’s true. If you have any questions about any of these things, I’m the very person you should go to.”

Zhang Liu, who had been standing on the side as still as a painting hanging on a wall, quietly flicked a glance at Tao Yi who had a self-satisfied expression on his face, thinking, ‘This Tao Yi guy really knows about a lot of things, including even the fact that He Xiao and the Marshal don’t get along.’

After three cups of wine, the two of them almost finished half of the meal. Right at this time, on the avenue, a couple of sumptuous horse-drawn carriages escorted by a team of guards slowly came to a halt in front of the doorway of the Taibai Tavern.

What made them conspicuous was that, apart from guards, there were also some maidservants beside those carriages. Anybody could tell at a glance that the passengers in the couple of carriages were female.

Of course, there was yet someone else even more eye-catching. It was a young man who had just jumped off the first carriage, gorgeously clothed, a haughty look on his face.

“Cousin, we’ve arrived at the Taibai Tavern,” said the man after walking up to the second horse-drawn carriage.

The carriage curtain was lifted and a luxuriously dressed fair maiden walked out, who had pretty features and looked a trifle artless. She called the young man cousin with a smile, held his hand poised to support her, and with that the young man guided her off the carriage.

“It’s been quite a while since the last time I’ve come here. Thank you for bringing me here, cousin,” remarked the maiden.

The young man replied with an arrogant face, “I can take you here anytime you feel like to come. Let’s go inside. I’ve reserved a private room on the third floor and also ordered many dishes you like. I guarantee you’ll have a good time today.”

“Thank you, cousin!” the maiden smiled.

The group of people walked into the Taibai Tavern and the tavernkeeper himself came to their welcome. “To what do I owe this honor, Second Childe? Your gracious presence has added glitters to my humble tavern.”

“Tavernkeeper Wang, is the private room I booked ready?”

“It is, and all the dishes you ordered are poised to be served anytime.”

“You may have them served now.”

“You got it, Second Childe.”

The commotion from downstairs attracted many customers’ attention.

Tao Yi sitting beside the balustrade flicked a downward glance. At first he didn’t notice anything special, but after a few moments, as if something occurred to him, he hurriedly craned beyond the balustrade, took another look and muttered with a frown on his face, “How did he come to be here?”

Seeing this, Ling Zhang was somewhat curious. “Who is it?”

Tao Yi looked at him, fairly hesitating.

Ling Zhang was perplexed. “What’s the matter?”

“It’s Yuwen Qi,” replied Tao Yi.

Ling Zhang furrowed his brow. ‘Yuwen Qi?’

“There’s a maiden with him, whom I don’t recognize, but the horse-drawn carriage seems to belong to Su family. If my guess is right, that maiden is daughter of the patriarch of Su family,” said Tao Yi.

Ling Zhang’s corrugated brow flattened out as he queried, “Daughter of the patriarch of Su family? Is there a problem?”

“Well, not really. It’s just that this lady of Su family is Yuwen Qi’s cousin. Her mother and Yuwen Qi’s mother are cousins as well. Originally, her father was an official in another city. It was not until half a year ago that he was transferred into the capital city. His rank is not high, but because of the kinship between his family and Yuwen family, nobody dares to deal them a head-on blow, even though they’re new to this city. It’s said that Yuwen Qi dotes on this cousin of his,” explained Tao Yi.

‘His cousin?’ Ling Zhang’s countenance fell weird and with that he looked at Zhang Liu.

Zhang Liu was speechless.

‘Bad luck. How come Childe Ling so coincidentally encountered someone from Su family in a tavern?!’ he thought.

Zhang Liu inclined his head very grudgingly, suggesting that this cousin of Yuwen Qi’s was probably the one whom Zheng shi wanted to marry into Yuwen family. Quite unfortunately, the one she was meant to marry was their Marshal…

Ling Zhang sneered. ‘Very good.’

Tao Yi, who had not yet noticed anything wrong, was still talking. “… Anyway, the third floor is the only place Yuwen Qi would be every time he comes here. We won’t have to see them. Don’t worry.”

‘Worry? What could possibly worry me? Yesterday Yuwen Tong gave Yuwen Qi a kick, but he’s still in the mood for coming here today. It seems that that kick was not hard enough,’ thought Ling Zhang.

While they were talking, footsteps came from the landing. Unsurprisingly, it was Yuwen Qi, and the maiden by his side was indeed pretty. A lot of male customers in the tavern were eyeing her. Yuwen Qi’s piercing eyes raked those men. Having received the warning, all those male customers hastily took their eyes off the maiden and didn’t dare to look in her direction again.

The maiden was still chirping on to Yuwen Qi about something, looking as lively as a lark. Yuwen Qi listened to her, a very doting expression on his face.

Just like Tao Yi had speculated, they were going to the third floor, totally unconcerned with customers on the second floor.

Ling Zhang merely cast a glance at them and then immediately withdrew his gaze and lowered his eyes, making it difficult for others to see the look in them.

Zhang Liu stealthily observed him but failed to find any traces of his mood. Somewhat anxious, Zhang Liu made a suggestion, “Childe Ling, how about we go to the book market in the third east alley for a walk? You can conveniently find out if there are any particular books you’d like to buy.”

‘I’m toast. Is Childe Ling by any chance angry?’ he thought.