The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 247- 249

Chapter 247: A Sequel of the Riot in Xiang City

“Look how smug he is. It’s just a drugstore. Big deal!”

Ling Zhang ran into Jiang Yu at the front gates of the Imperial College. They saw each other, but Ling Zhang didn’t make any gestures of acknowledgement, and Jiang Yu merely glanced at him and then walked away. While leaving, Zuo Yuanping taunted Ling Zhang, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

“One more word and you’ll find yourself unwelcome in this group,” said Jiang Yu coldly without even turning his head around.

It’d never crossed Zuo Yuanping’s mind that his remarks would earn him scolding from Jiang Yu instead of recognition. Dismayed and indignant as he was, he didn’t dare show a shred of his feelings on his face, obediently shut his mouth and flicked a backward glance at Ling Zhang with resentful eyes.

Ling Zhang pretended not to notice. He had got used to the jealousy and hate in other people’s eyes, feeling that it’d be a big waste of time to stare back at everybody who gave him this kind of look, that saving the strength for study would be a wiser choice.

Yuwen Jin and the other couple of friends of Ling Zhang’s were the happiest to see him return to the college.

Previously, when Yuwen Tong had been “recovering from his injuries”, Yuwen Jin had also taken a few days off from school. At that time he’d looked listless all day long like an eggplant exposed to frost, and his spirits had only risen to normal after Yuwen Tong “achieved a recovery”. When Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong had gone to the manor, his father had had him go back to the Imperial College, exhorting him to focus on his study.

“Brother Zhang, you’re finally back. How’s my cousin? Does his wounds still hurt?” asked Yuwen Jin.

Beneath Yuwen Jin’s gaze, Ling Zhang who still had a somewhat guilty conscience hurriedly replied, “They’re no longer painful. The physician said that he made a full recovery. You know, Yuwen Tong has an uncommonly strong constitution.”

Yuwen Jin said happily, “I’m glad to hear that.”

Ji Feng and the others also expressed their concern for Yuwen Tong. They had visited the Ling Mansion with the intention to look up him after he “sustained an injury”, but at that time the whole residential compound had been heavily guarded by palace guards, and nobody except members of Yuwen family had been granted permission to go inside, so they hadn’t been able to gain entry. Afterwards, the King Hui’s attempted usurpation had shocked both officials of the imperial court and residents in the city; they all had some elders working in the imperial court, so naturally they’d been paying close attention to that event. When it’d finally come to an end, Yuwen Tong had gone to the manor to have a good rest to recuperate with Ling Zhang keeping him company, and they’d felt it inconvenient to pay them a visit which might be a disturbance to them.

“I thought you’d invite us to the grand opening of your drugstore,” said Ji Feng.

Ling Zhang first apologized to them and then said, “There were too many guests, and I feared I might not be able to have you well entertained, so I want to specially invite you around to take a look another day. I hope you’ll grace me with your presence.”

Ling Zhang fished out a wad of invitations and gave one to each of them.

Ji Feng and the others were confused as to why Ling Zhang was being so official as to send them invitations, but after opening and reading it, he dissolved into laugh. “Look at this. I thought it was a decent invitation.”

There were no words in the invitation, only a sketch of a wine pot and seven wine cups

“Drinking wine in a drugstore – that’s quite some ingenious idea you’ve got here, but I think maybe the smells of medicinal herbs would impart some unique flavor to drinking,” observed Zhao Turui.

The seven of them burst into laughter.

…

Ling Zhang stayed in the Imperial College for a full day and heard that the inquiry into the incident of horses running wild on the Back Hill was still fruitless, that the road leading to the Back Hill had been sealed, and students were forbidden to approach that area.

After returning home, Ling Zhang informed Yuwen Tong of this matter. “I wonder why they still haven’t found anything out about it after such a long time.”

Yuwen Tong replied, “It’s the Dali Temple (the Supreme Judicial Court in feudal China) that’s working on this case. I’ll send someone to make some inquiries.”

Ling Zhang gave a nod. Though eager to know what was going on, he knew fretting about it wouldn’t help.

“Have they found any clues in the Court Prison?”

Yuwen Tong shook his head. “The Court Prison is used to hold criminals guilty of serious crimes, and the emperor always personally selects the prison guards of it, so it’s very difficult to worm anything out of any of them. All those Su Zhi made contact with after entering the palace are not above suspicion. As regards the Court Prison… If it was in there that he was threatened… There are very few people whose reach is wide enough to cover the Court Prison.”

Therefore, in the final analysis, they still had to investigate those people one by one, which would definitely take some time. More importantly, the culprit had probably obliterated all traces already. After all, although Yuwen Tong had eyes in the imperial palace, that place was not his turf and there were some limitations, so he was unable to ascertain the truth immediately.

Right at this time, the prefectural governor of Xiang City and all the other guilty officials who had been the cause of Jiang Chengfeng’s removal from office were escorted into the capital city.

The local government of Cangzhou was undergoing a radical reorganization.

In the imperial court, another bout of intense disputes were ongoing, all of which were about punishment for these guilty officials and appointment of their successors. On this occasion, people of Jiang family who originally had had a considerable say in Cangzhou affairs chose to keep a low profile, and all other forces were happy to see this.

To Ling Zhang’s surprise, Yuwen Tong also became busy because of this. Though he was still staying at home, Yao Yi and the others were bringing letters to him one after another.

He had an intuition that what Yuwen Tong was occupied with had something to do with Cangzhou.

Ever since he and Yuwen Tong had returned to the capital city, on the surface all other sides appeared happy to see Yuwen Tong back and it seemed that Yuwen Tong was able to rally multitudes at his call, but in fact hardly anybody had paid Yuwen Tong any private visits.

Ling Zhang had scarcely seen any other callers coming to the Ling Mansion to see Yuwen Tong apart from members of Yuwen You’s branch of Yuwen family, as if Yuwen Tong had no well-acquainted friends in the capital city whatsoever, which didn’t really accord with Yuwen Tong’s identity.

At first this hadn’t struck Ling Zhang as odd, but gradually he came to realize that something was not right.

Yuwen Tong had always been well informed of everything in the capital city except for those that happened in the imperial palace. Even if Yao Yi and other bodyguards had all had three heads and six arms, there was no way they could gather information about all things so quick. It must be that a lot of people had been secretly sending messages to Yuwen Tong. Though he was seemingly isolated, there was actually a hidden network through which intelligence of various kinds was being passed on to him.

Yuwen Tong had moved into the Ling Mansion on his return to the capital city. Apart from his disgruntlement with deeds of his uncle’s branch of Yuwen family, another reason for it had probably been because of the avoidance of a lot of trouble. Yuwen Tong was still Yuwen Tong, but for him, living in the residential compound of Yuwen family was evidently far removed from living in the Ling Mansion – at bottom, the owner of the Ling Mansion was Ling Zhang, not Yuwen Tong, which meant that even if some people had the intention of visiting Yuwen Tong, they’d feel it fairly inconvenient to come to this place.

Thinking about this, Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong who was consulting with Yao Yi and some others about something.

Yuwen Tong immediately sensed Ling Zhang’s gaze and looked back. The expression in his eyes instantly softened at the eye contact.

…

“Father, are we really going to give up Cangzhou like this?”

In the residential compound of Jiang family, Jiang Chengfeng asked Jiang Shennian a question, unresigned to the situation. These days the wrangling in the imperial court was reaching such a pitch that every meeting was in total confusion, but Jiang family still hadn’t taken any action, giving Cangzhou up completely. Considering how close Cangzhou was from the capital city, for a powerful force like Jiang family, giving it up, which meant losing all sources of information they’d planted there, was like giving up half its eyesight, and this was unacceptable, whatever the reason was.

After hearing Jiang Chengfeng’s question, Jiang Shennian sitting with an unhurried face said, “It’s inadvisable for us to get involved in the competition for Cangzhou in these circumstances.”

Jiang Chengfeng was unconvinced. “But if we don’t do anything, it’ll be very difficult for us to plant men in Cangzhou in the future. We have a lot of businesses in Cangzhou. There’s no telling what those vicious vultures will do to squeeze us out after they come to know that we no longer have helpers there.”

Jiang Shennian said, “Tell them to inventory those properties and businesses. Sell the less important ones. Be cautious with those of significance – transfer them if possible.”

Jiang Chengfeng was astounded. “Father?!”

Jiang Shennian looked at him in displeasure. “Although His Majesty merely dismissed you as a punishment for your mishandling of the event of Cangzhou, his eyes are still on us, and he might vent his anger on us immediately if we take any action. His Majesty is definitely angrier over this riot than he appears. There’s only a short distance between Cangzhou and the capital city. Once a riot breaks out, the capital city will be at stake. It compromised the stability of his rule, which was a crime no less serious than usurpation! You are still standing here only because His Majesty was lenient with you for the sake of Jiang family. If you wade in the disputes over Cangzhou instead of laying low, not only you but also our whole family will be in danger!”

Jiang Chengfeng looked abashed after being scolded by Jiang Shennian. “I think you’re being a little dramatic, father. I just offered some help with the cover-up. Dismissal from my post is a rather harsh punishment. There’s no leniency in that.”

Jiang Shennian shook his head, looking at Jiang Chengfeng disappointedly. “This is all I have to say. Go back and give my words some careful thought.”

Unable to convince Jiang Shennian to change his mind, Jiang Chengfeng had no choice but to obey.

After Jiang Chengfeng left, Jiang Shennian shifted his gaze to Jiang Yu who’d been listening quietly on the side all along. “Yu’er, what do you think?”

Jiang Yu said, “I might be unsophisticated, but I think I understand what you mean, grandfather.”

Unlike Jiang Chengfeng who was bigoted, Jiang Yu had a calm look on his face. Seeing this, Jiang Shennian felt a sense of relief and said, “Thriving and powerful as our family seems, in the final analysis we’re still but an appendage to the imperial household. There are many things you can do wilfully, but you must not go near anything that might threaten the emperor’s rule. There have been a lot of incidents lately. All the couple of cousins of yours want that position, but look how they ended up. Even His Majesty’s own sons are no exception… You must see this clearly and lodge it firmly in your mind. In addition to this, try not to have any dealings with your cousins these days. Their personal ambition has been growing with their age. Jiang family has enough wealth and fame now. We don’t need any more. Besides, your father has just made a mistake and His Majesty has his eye on him. One more mistake and we’ll be in big trouble. His Majesty is still in the prime of his life. There are many things that we have plenty of time to make preparations for.”

Jiang Yu lowered his head. “Yes, grandfather.”

Jiang Yu had a darkened face all along after he left Jiang Shennian’s abode. First the Sixth Prince, and then the Ninth Princess, and then the King Hui… All of them were the emperor’s children, but after they made mistakes, the emperor had disowned them without any mercy. There had been no news of the King Hui whatsoever since he’d been put into prison. The likelihood was that he had some time ago been secretly executed…

Jiang Yu was no fool. He’d come to see a lot of things more clearly after the recent events.

“Young Master, a visitor from the King Duan’s residential compound seeks an audience with you.”

On hearing his servant report this, Jiang Yu who was thinking about something furrowed his brows. After a few moments, he instructed, “Let him in.”

Chapter 248: A Word of Warning from Jiang Yu

The King Duan had arranged to meet Jiang Yu at the Taibai Tavern. “Why haven’t you been visiting the imperial palace lately, cousin? My father was talking about you only yesterday.”

Jiang Yu said, “My whole family have terrible conscience about my father’s mistake, and I’m ashamed to go to the palace disturbing His Majesty.”

The King Duan sighed, “It was for your father’s own sake that my father had him stay at home introspecting about his faults. That was such a serious incident. All officials found guilty have been escorted into the capital city, and the principals are bound to be beheaded. But due to the many vacancies that have suddenly appeared in the yamen of Cangzhou, there’s been a lot of disputes in the imperial court over the past few days, which has been giving me headaches. The Prime Minister is always a resourceful man. Without him offering suggestions, everything’s in a muddle. I know because of your father’s case, it’s inconvenient for him to say anything in public, but it wouldn’t hurt to offer us some advice in private. May I ask if he’s got any ideas?”

Jiang Yu instantly came to understand what the King Duan was up to. Well sugar-coated as his remarks were, he was just trying to worm Jiang family’s intentions out of him.

“My grandfather never talks with me about state affairs. He thinks I’m still a child. Actually I indeed have little acquaintance with those things. How I wish I were as intelligent as you are, cousin,” said Jiang Yu, looking rather depressed.

Unable to get any information from Jiang Yu, the King Duan went somewhat displeased and casually made a few perfunctory remarks. After a while, he sudden said, “How’s everything in the Imperial College?”

Jiang Yu, confused as to why the King Duan was asking about this, gave him a reply in an offhand manner, for there were only a limited number of things students could do in the Imperial College anyway. Besides, he’d just spent a few days nursing his injuries caused by his horse not long ago, which the King Duan hadn’t even bothered to mention so far. Maybe he didn’t even have any knowledge of that event, but Jiang Yu was not inclined to remind him of it.

At this moment, something seemed to occur to the King Duan and he said, “Incidentally, a few days ago I heard that that Ling Zhang guy was pretty cocky in the Imperial College, that he also made trouble for you. You want me to teach him a lesson for you?”

Jiang Yu inwardly knitted his eyebrows. Ling Zhang? The King Duan was doing this because of none other than Ling Zhang?

“I’m much stronger than you give me credit for, cousin. That was just a minor disagreement. I got it settled some time ago. We haven’t laid eyes on each other for quite a few days, and I don’t give a damn about the likes of him. It’s totally unnecessary for you to go to any trouble on my account, cousin. He’s just not worth that,” said Jiang Yu disdainfully.

Jiang Yu didn’t know what the King Duan wanted to do, and neither did he care. He admired Yuwen Tong, but his father had lost his post after a single unsuccessful attempt of his to frame Ling Zhang. Though the reminder from his grandfather had been very veiled, he had got a shrewd idea of what had really happened. Yuwen Tong was such a ruthless man. Had there been any careless mistakes during the handling of that matter, it wouldn’t have been merely his position that his father had lost, and Jiang family would’ve taken a far heavier blow.

He had paid the price for his actions and at the same time come to see that Yuwen Tong was not someone he could afford to mess with. On top of that, he had his own dignity. How could he throw himself at Yuwen Tong again after being given such a dire warning?

Also, however embarrassed he was to admit, it was an indisputable fact that Ling Zhang saved his life on the Back Hill that day. With this being the case, he’d decided to wipe the slate clean and stay out of Ling Zhang’s way in the future.

The King Duan had thought that Jiang Yu would be very happy to hear these words of his and bursting to use him to deal with Ling Zhang, but unexpectedly, Jiang Yu had unconcernedly declined the offer.

The Jiang Yu he knew would never let Ling Zhang get away with the crowning humiliation he’d inflicted on him. Why was Jiang Yu giving him this kind of reaction? Was there anything else that had happened and was unknown to him?

After returning home, the King Duan who’d had his offer turned down by Jiang Yu instructed his men to find out what else had happened between Jiang Yu and Ling Zhang. Before long, he was informed of the incident of horses going wild on the Back Hill as well as Jiang Yu’s owing Ling Zhang his life.

Cold faced, the King Duan said, “It seems that I underestimated Ling Zhang.”

“Should we keep working on Childe Jiang, Your Highness?” his henchman asked.

The King Duan said, “That won’t be necessary. Jiang Shennian has been acting like a coward in the imperial court; Jiang Yu must’ve been given a word of warning of some sort; and now we’ve found out about this matter. Stop wasting time on him. Go talk to that person. Tell him to get ready. I’m going to hold a banquet in a few days, and Yuwen Tong will be among the guests.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

…

On this day, in the afternoon, Ling Zhang and his classmates, along with Jiang Yu and some others, were having an archery lesson in the Imperial College.

Ling Zhang didn’t give it much thought after seeing Jiang Yu, and he felt that Jiang Yu appeared to have no intention of having any dealings with him either. ‘Good. He finally began to see senses,’ thought Ling Zhang.

But unexpectedly, on this occasion Jiang Yu walked up to him on his own account. Though it seemed that the two of them had been coincidentally paired up to practice shooting arrows, Ling Zhang had an intuition that Jiang Yu had something to say to him.

Unsurprisingly, Jiang Yu sent all his cronies away, raised his bow, loaded it and asked Ling Zhang a question as he fired the arrow. “You and the King Duan have history?”

The King Duan? For a moment Ling Zhang’s mind was racing. “Why ask?”

Jiang Yu’s arrow hit the bull’s-eye. He turned around and said while walking away, “I just want to give you a word of warning. That’s all.”

Ling Zhang didn’t follow Jiang Yu’s receding back with his eyes, a thoughtful look on his face. In outsiders’ eyes, the two of them were ill-disposed towards each other and weren’t even on speaking terms.

The only plausible explanation for Jiang Yu’s suddenly bringing up the King Duan was that the latter was planning to do something to him. Ling Zhang gave a sneer. Back in Wu City, Peng Fang had tried to have him poisoned in order to cross over to the King Duan’s side. Though the King Duan had been quiet these days, the two of them had actually become enemies long ago. He was not at all surprised that the King Duan was going to take action. What he did find surprising was that it was Jiang Yu who’d come to warn him.

It seemed that his action of saving Jiang Yu’s life on the Back Hill that day was not totally fruitless.

At dusk, school was over. Ling Zhang returned home and mentioned this to Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong raised his eyebrows, produced an invitation and handed it to Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang took and opened it and ran an eye over it. “The King Duan invites you to a banquet?”

Yuwen Tong said, “I’ll find out what tricks he’s going to play.”

Originally he’d wanted to ignore it, but now he decided to go and see what the King Duan had got up his sleeve.

This invitation was for Yuwen Tong only. Clearly the host was trying to have Ling Zhang stay out of the banquet. Ling Zhang sneered.

The banquet was in three days. When the day arrived, Yuwen Tong set off for it.

The location of the banquet was a side yard of the King Duan’s, the layout of which was of great ingenuity. Apart from Yuwen Tong, there were a lot of others invited. Yuwen Tong’s status was the highest, so naturally he became the focus of attention on his arrival.

The King Duan personally went outside to welcome him and walked him to the frontmost guest seat. “Originally I had no intention of disturbing you, Marshal, because I know you need more time to nurse your wound, but it’s been so long since I last saw you, and I miss you very much. Thank you for coming.”

The King Duan’s touchy-feely words didn’t seem to bother the others. Yuwen Tong’s countenance remained unchanged and there wasn’t even the slightest movement of his eyebrows. He just regarded the King Duan’s words as fart.

“There’ll only be fruit wine at today’s banquet, which won’t have any negative effect on your injury, Marshal. You may drink a cup or two.” The King Duan seemed to be very considerate.

Fruit wine? It was not strong, and Yuwen Tong would never get drunk on it, but as wine had nothing to do with the trick, it must be something else. Yuwen Tong remained vigilant.

The moment the banquet began, the King Duan took the lead and started flattering Yuwen Tong, and all other guests followed suit. Yuwen Tong was merely half-listening. All flattering remarks went in one ear and out the other. These people’s flattery meant nothing, and he would be a fool if he believed a single word of theirs.

Foods and drinks were sumptuous, and there was also singing and dancing. It seemed a very normal banquet that was all about eating, drinking, mutually flattering and bullshitting.

Halfway through the banquet, the King Duan still hadn’t made any particular move. Yuwen Tong was in no hurry. He was quite confident that nobody could outdo him when it came to patience.

The King Duan had been secretly observing Yuwen Tong all along, and found that Yuwen Tong was very composed and didn’t take anybody’s flattery seriously. When people talked to him, he didn’t cold-shoulder them, but it was very clear that he was offhand with them, showing no interest whatsoever. He’d tried some of the dishes but hadn’t eaten much, as though they weren’t to his liking.

Feeling that the time was ripe, the King Duan finally put down his wine cup. The singing and dancing had also stopped at this moment. He said, “It’s a little boring to have only singing and dancing. I suggest we have someone play qin (a seven-stringed plucked instrument in some ways similar to the zither) for entertainment. This qin master of mine might not be consummate, but his tunes are of unique artistic conception. Would you care to give it a shot?”

All of them were the King Duan’s guests, so of course nobody raised any objections.

The King Duan specially looked at Yuwen Tong. “What do you think, Marshal?”

Yuwen Tong said, “Your banquet, your call.”

The King Duan clapped his hands and had someone call the qin master in. It was a man in light turquoise robes that fitted him perfectly, slender-figured, well-featured and of a cultured demeanor. With a qin in his arms, he walked inside and made a bow to pay his respects. He had well-shaped brows and beautiful eyes, but his standing position was rather arrogant.

At first Yuwen Tong merely flicked a nonchalant glance at him, but he suddenly paused and then looked at the man again. This person’s figure, features and temperament had struck him as a trifle familiar when he’d seen him out of the corner of his eye just now.

While introducing the qin master to his guests, the King Duan unnoticeably observed Yuwen Tong. As he noticed that Yuwen Tong had a different countenance for the first time since the beginning of the banquet, a flicker of complacency crossed his eyes.

“I remember that you excel at playing a tune called Commencement of War. Since the Marshal happens to be present, I want you to play it. Maybe the Marshal will offer you some advice after hearing it.”

The young qin master shifted his gaze to Yuwen Tong, a trace of admiration and longing on his face, but his bearing was still neither servile nor bumptious, and the look in his eyes seemed to be faintly suggesting that he was a little unconvinced. These were very contradictory but also very attractive.

A servant placed a qin table in the middle. The young qin master carrying his qin sat down behind it, carefully put the qin down onto the table and started playing the tune called Commencement of War adeptly. Sometimes the notes were rising and falling in cadence, and sometimes they were vehement and exciting, bringing guests’ mind to a battlefield around which the sound of war drums and bugles mixed with yelling were resounding.

The tune seemed to have last a long time, but it also felt like a mere instant. A lot of people were still in fascination when it ended.

“Terrific! You proved yourself worthy of the King Duan’s compliment. Your performance indeed displayed the unique artistic conception of this tune!”

“Marshal, did you find it enjoyable?”

Everybody moved their eyes to Yuwen Tong at the last remark.

Slowly turning the wine cup between his fingers, Yuwen Tong tossed a glance at the qin master, seeing the King Duan out of the corner of his eye. With an inscrutably calm countenance, he remarked, “How could a tune played by a student compare with the beats on war drums on a battleground?”

Chapter 249: Unromantic

The qin (a seven-stringed plucked instrument in some ways similar to the zither) master’s face was full of embarrassment at Yuwen Tong’s frosty, explicit comment as though it’d never occurred to him that Yuwen Tong, a marshal, would act so ungracefully. Even the King Duan had never expected that Yuwen Tong would make such a tactless remark. He pondered in confusion, ‘Just now Yuwen Tong clearly flicked a second glance at the qin master. Isn’t this the part where he expresses his appreciation of the qin master’s skills? Besides, this performance of Commencement of War was pretty good, if not superb.’

“I find your remark rather unfair, Marshal.” The young qin master straightened his back, an unyielding and somewhat aggrieved expression on his face. “Although I cannot hold a candle to soldiers and officers on the battlefield, comparing my performance of the tune with the sound of a war drum is as unfair as it is to compare me with you. It’s a total disregard for my many years’ hard work.”

“Yeah. You’re being over-demanding, Marshal. Not many qin masters could display a hint of the artistic conception of this tune in their performance,” a guest also said.

After hearing other people’s accusations of his lack of discernment, Yuwen Tong just replied, “I never said he didn’t work hard enough. I’m just stating the facts. You asked me, a boor who serves in the army and is used to the beats on war drums and the sound of bugles, to comment on the performance of this tune, and it’s a fact that to my ears, this performance is inferior to drumbeats. Isn’t it a little inappropriate for you, a group of literary men who greatly outnumber me, to lay criticism on me on this occasion?”

“Uh…”

Yuwen Tong’s words rendered the others speechless.

“Haha… You’ve got a point, Marshal.” The King Duan hurriedly made an attempt to smooth things over. “It turns out that we’re the vulgar ones. How about this – let the qin master drink a toast to you, and then all of us put this matter behind us.”

The qin master rose to his feet and drank a toast to Yuwen Tong.

The King Duan continued, “Decorating this side yard of mine took a lot of doing, and it’s barely worth a walk around. Sitting and drinking is a little boring. I suggest we go outside for a stroll. What do you think?”

Yuwen Tong made no reply.

The King Duan asked him, “What’s your opinion, Marshal?”

“Well, like I said, your banquet, your call.”

The King Duan smiled, “Marshal is as straightforward as always. Then please accompany me for a saunter, Marshal.”

The King Duan invited all guests to a sightseeing tour in the garden. The qin master seemed to be very much in favor with the King Duan and was also invited. The King Duan and Yuwen Tong were walking in front, the qin master following in their wake with the qin in his arms.

When they were crossing a bridge, the qin master tripped over something, let out a sudden yell and toppled towards Yuwen Tong, seeming to be about to fall off the bridge.

Normally, people beside him would reflexively try to help him, but –

There was no telling whether he did it intentionally or it was just a coincidence, but Yuwen Tong sidestepped with a nimble movement of his foot, leaving the qin master nothing to hold on to…

Plop!

The qin master, along with his qin, fell over the balustrade down into the lake with a big splash of water and cried in panic, “Help! Hel…Ugh…Help!”

Everybody else was stunned. After a while, someone reacted, hastily instructing servants to get down into the lake to save the man.

“Hurry! Help him!”

The King Duan looked from the qin master struggling in the lake to Yuwen Tong who was standing beside him and had a quite surprised look on his face as everybody else did. His lip twitched. Did Yuwen Tong move aside intentionally or unintentionally just now?

Eyes on the man splashing in the lake, Yuwen Tong said to the King Duan, “Well, so much for the stroll.”

The King Duan, “…”

…

While Yuwen Tong was at the banquet, Ling Zhang was in the Imperial College.

At noon, when the class was over, Miao Shiba walked inside. “Shall we go, Young Master?”

Ling Zhang gave a nod, looking at Yuwen Jin and the others.

Yuwen Jin had been scolded by the teacher during the class and looked despondent ever since, but the moment the class came to an end, he instantly perked up, leapt over and threw his arm around Ling Zhang’s shoulders. “Go, go, go. I’ve been waiting for this meal too long.”

Ji Feng and the others were standing on the side and all of them had bagged their stuff up.

Tao Yi and a couple of classmates of his were standing them a meal in the Taibai Tavern this day. The last time they’d gone to the Taibai Tavern to have a meal, someone had tried to poison Ling Zhang and they’d had to reschedule it. This time they’d still decided to go to the Taibai Tavern.

Sure enough on this occasion Wang Deguang was not present.

When they arrived at the Taibai Tavern, Tao Yi and the others whose school was closer to the place had already been waiting. The room they’d booked was on the third floor. Tao Yi craned out of a window and yelled, “Brother Zhang, here!”

Ling Zhang looked up at him, gave a smile and suddenly saw a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head aside and spotted a man standing beside the window of the room next door to the one Tao Yi was in, who seemed to have just walked to the window to look at him after hearing Tao Yi’s voice.

“Shit. Why is Jiang Yu also here? This is such bad luck!” Yuwen Jin also noticed him, his delighted face falling.

Ling Zhang hadn’t thought to run into Jiang Yu in this place either. Jiang Yu walked away from the window after seeing them. Ling Zhang also withdrew his gaze.

“Just pretend he’s not. Today we’re here to enjoy a sumptuous meal for which Tao Yi and his classmates are paying, so cheer up.”

It was only after hearing this that Yuwen Jin’s spirits rose again. Excitedly chirping, he marched Ling Zhang and the others onto the third floor into the private room booked by Tao Yi and his classmates.

“Eek, why are we missing one?” said Yuwen Jin, glancing around the room.

For an instant Tao Yi and the others appeared awkward. They all looked at Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang replied calmly, “Maybe he’s otherwise engaged and couldn’t make it.”

Tao Yi immediately agreed, “Yeah, Wang Deguang has left the capital city to help deal with some family matters.”

Yuwen Jin inclined his head, a suggestion of regret on his face. “I see.”

Ji Feng and Zhao Jiusi who were relatively observant detected something in this subtle atmosphere, but they both sensibly chose to keep quiet.

Before digging in, Tao Yi nervously started checking all the dishes and wine with great care. Clearly the incident that day had been traumatic for him.

Ling Zhang pulled a wry face and said, “Brother Tao.”

Tao Yi explained, “Alas, I’m just worried that some other fool might try to make trouble for us.”

Others were also experiencing a carry-over of fear. They not only didn’t laugh at Tao Yi but also carefully checked the dinnerware with him.

“This time around I sent an old trusted servant of mine to supervise them. He’d been keeping close watch on them all along,” said a student of the Oriental Rite Academy who was going to pay the bill.

He was the same student who’d paid for the last meal. On that day all the good dishes and wine were wasted, and this time he was determined not to let that kind of thing happen again.

Ling Zhang felt both touched and somewhat guilty. “I’m sorry you guys have to go through this. It’s all because of me.”

“You don’t have to apologize. We’re friends now, and this is not what friends are supposed to be like, is it?” said the man.

Ling Zhang smiled, “You’re right. I was being a little stagy.”

In order to thank his friends for their cautiousness, Ling Zhang drank a cup of wine in one gulp first.

“That’s the spirit!”

“Come on. Let’s drink a toast together.”

Two rounds of wine made the atmosphere in the room much more relaxed. Yuwen Jin and Ji Feng were always a guarantee of a party mood, and Tao Yi and his classmates had a gift for gab as well, so the noise of talk and laughter never stopped.

Seeing this, Ling Zhang felt that they definitely wouldn’t be able to make it back to the college to attend lessons in the afternoon, and he wondered what kind of punishments their teacher would mete out to them the next day.

Like Ling Zhang had expected, the meal lasted over two hours, and all their faces were scarlet from wine. Even Ling Zhang himself was somewhat drunk, feeling groggy, his mind much less clear.

“Next ti–time, let’s go to the manor of my family. I’ll treat you to some opera,” said Ji Feng, belching and hitting the table with his palm.

“It’s a deal. If you go back on your word, we’ll call you dog every time we see you,” said Tao Yi, pointing at Ji Feng’s nose.

Ji Feng pooh-poohed this remark, knocked Tao Yi’s finger aside and said, “A man’s word carries the weight of nine tripods. I’ve always been a man of my word.”

They were the only ones sitting. Others had low tolerance to alcohol and were sprawled face down on the table. Xun Huo was not only a timid rider but also a lousy drinker, groaning with his head on the table, red-faced, unable to open his eyes.

Zhao Turui reached out a hand to tap him on the face. “Hey. Seriously? You’re already so drunk?”

Xun Huo was too drunk to feel the tap.

Zhao Jiusi stopped Zhao Turui’s hand from patting Xun Huo’s face again. “Let him be.”

“All right. I think we’ve all had our fill. We’ll have trouble getting back home if we drink more wine. Let’s not worry our elders and just call it a day. We may drink again some other day.” Zhao Jiusi was relatively sober compared with the others and called for an end to the drinking.

Miao Shiba had worriedly entered the room when Ling Zhang had become a bit tipsy, and had been standing behind him keeping an eye on him. “It’s about time we got back as well, Young Master.”

Miao Shiba supported Ling Zhang to his feet. Others also stood up with the help of their respective study-servants (a boy serving in someone’s study) or attendants.

As luck would have it, when they walked out of the room, people in the next-door room were also exiting. Jiang Yu and a couple of gorgeously-clothed childes, who were also slightly pink in the face, seemed to have also drunk a lot of wine and were leaving.

Both groups were somewhat surprised to see each other. Yuwen Jin had got drunk and couldn’t think straight. At the sight of Jiang Yu, he pushed aside the servant supporting him, gave a jump and snapped pointing at Jiang Yu, “You annoying character, why do I keep running into you wherever I go? You’re such a haunting ghost!”

Jiang Yu furrowed his brows. Faces of the couple of people beside him also darkened.

This situation gave Ling Zhang a headache. He massaged his forehead, stepped forward to stop Yuwen Jin, and coaxed, “That’s enough. Let’s go back right now. If your father finds out you not only got drunk but also made trouble, he’ll definitely flog you after you return.”

On hearing Ling Zhang mention his father, Yuwen Jin subconsciously flinched, not daring say another word.

Jiang Yu, seeing that Yuwen Jin had backed down, had no intention of staying. He turned around and started walking away.

“You must have a death wish!”

All of a sudden, the door of the room on the opposite side was violently broken from inside and slumped to the ground into several pieces with an almighty clank, on which lay a man who seemed to have just been kicked, curling up in pain with his hands holding his stomach.

Ling Zhang and the others, drunk and happening to be walking by, were all taken aback by this unexpected event.

Apart from this, there also seemed to be a fight going on in the room. Clashes of swords and sabers could be heard.

Ling Zhang was instantly a lot more sober, a frown on his face. “Let’s get out of here. Hurry.”

No matter who it was that were brawling in there, it was none of their business. Judging from the way those people fought, they had all lost their marbles. Though these students had some kung fu skills, they were all drunk and could easily get hurt by accident.

Unfortunately, what he was worried about was already happening. After finishing his sentence, Ling Zhang urged Yuwen Jin forward, but before they’d gone two paces, a saber was hurled out of the room heading squarely for Yuwen Jin. Breaking out in a cold sweat, Ling Zhang hurriedly drew him back with great force, helping him dodged that shooting saber.