The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 295- 297

Chapter 295: Trousseaus That Ji Yin Added to the List

When Ling Zhaowu had regained his memories, Ling Zhang was still on his journey to the capital city. He looked over his shoulder in the direction of Tanyang.

“Childe Ling, people in Tanyang will write a letter to us as soon as your father wakes up. I’m sure he’ll make a full recovery without any trouble,” observed Miao Shisan.

Ling Zhang slightly inclined his head, withdrew his eyes gazing towards Tanyang and resumed galloping with Miao Shisan, headed for the capital city.

…

“There might have been unimaginably serious consequences had Zhang’er not promptly used his medicinal jade pendant to detoxify the poison.”

Sitting beside Ling Zhaowu, Ling Zhaowen was telling him about how the Ling family had fallen out with the Jia family. “Their intentions were so evil. It was actually because of me that Zhang’er was incriminated – Jia Zhong was bent on knocking me out to get the appointment as Tongzhi. I failed to protect him. I failed you, Brother.”

The look on Ling Zhaowu’s face changed several times at these words. Eventually, he reached out his hand and held Ling Zhaowen’s shoulder firmly. “No, I failed you. You did such a good job raising Zhang’er up, while I have never done my duty as a father. Who am I to blame you?”

Ling Zhaowen still wanted to say something but Ling Zhaowu lifted his hand to stop him and asked, “What happened afterwards?”

Ling Zhaowen continued telling the story, filling him in on the subsequent events down to every detail. “… This is the surprising part – right at that time, Zhang’er happened to recall the martial formations that his mother taught him and used them to deal a heavy blow to Jia Yuanling and the others, and then things took a turn for the better and have been going fairly smoothly ever since.”

When mentioning the formations, Ling Zhaowen was somewhat cautious for fear that Ling Zhaowu might get angry. To his surprise, instead of being angry, Ling Zhaowu pondered over his words with an earnest face for a while and then, a faint gleam in his eyes, sighed, “Zhang’er is very smart. Back then he was just a little boy, and now he’s become a man capable of handling things on his own.”

Seeing that he wasn’t mad, Ling Zhaowen felt a sense of relief. “Yeah. Any common person in his shoes would definitely have hurled abuse at Jia Yuanling in those circumstances and wouldn’t have thought of going to the court of law to score a hard hit on the Jia family.”

As if something occurred to him, a look of grief mixed with sorrow flashed across Ling Zhaowu’s eyes, and it was a few moments before he pulled himself out of his trance.

“I want to hear more about that dream Zhang’er told you about at that time.”

Ling Zhaowen’s relaxed face slightly stiffened. “Those were all unpleasant things. What’s the point of hearing them again, Brother?”

Ling Zhaowu gazed into the distance, keeping silent.

Resigned, Ling Zhaowen told him about the content of that dream of Ling Zhang’s once again.

One of Ling Zhaowu’s hand was on the table, and there was nothing out of the ordinary about it, but his other hand, hanging beside him, tightly balled into a fist.

“… I think that dream had something to do with what Zhang’er inherited from his mother. Maybe my sister-in-law’s spirit in the heaven has been protecting Zhang’er and the Ling family,” remarked Ling Zhaowen in transports of sentiment.

Ling Zhaowu raised his head to look into the sky, his eyes brooding and reminiscent. “You’re right. The providence is protecting us, and she is protecting Zhang’er and our family.”

Although Ling Zhaowu had been simple-minded most of the time during the past half a year, he did know key facts about the Blood of the Phoenix Clan. For instance, in order to acquire the ability to foretell the future, one needed to reach the twelfth layer of the cultivation method of the Ji family – at least to reach the level that Ji Yanlai was at currently. However, Ling Zhang hadn’t even got that handbook on internal energy yet at that time…

Had he really just had a prophetic dream or had he experienced the same thing that he had…

Ling Zhaowu privately hoped that the former was the truth, for if that was the case, at least he’d know that Ling Zhang had never undergone that kind of agony.

“Tell me what happened next,” said Ling Zhaowu after a long silence.

Ling Zhaowen nodded and gave Ling Zhaowu a blow-by-blow account of what had happened afterwards in Tanyang.

After hearing it, Ling Zhaowu rose to his feet. “I’m going to the capital.”

Ling Zhaowen was totally unsurprised at these words of Ling Zhaowu’s. He felt that his elder brother was indeed different from the man he used to be now. The big brother he remembered was full of dash, stubborn and even bigoted, but now he had become poised and firm, as though having been through a lot of things. Was it really possible for someone to change so much after being asleep for over a decade and then suffering from amnesia for half a year? Also, Ling Zhaowen kept feeling that something was not quite right, but he couldn’t figure out what it was specifically, so eventually he gave up trying, for no matter how much his brother had changed, he was still his brother, and a poised and steadfast brother struck him as better than an intransigent one.

“Brother, you’re still quite weak. Mr. Mu said that you’ve just recovered and shouldn’t do any traveling, that you must have a rest cure. I know you’re anxious to see Zhang’er, but you need to nurse yourself back to health first. Before leaving, Zhang’er exhorted us to take good care of you. I wouldn’t be able to face Zhang’er if anything happens to you, and Zhang’er would be very worried, too.”

Ling Zhaowu kept silent for a brief moment. “I’ll go and ask Mr. Mu how soon I’d be in a fit state to leave.”

Unable to stop him, Ling Zhaowen had no choice but to immediately follow him.

The two of them found Mr. Mu, who didn’t seem to be surprised at Ling Zhaowu’s question, as though he had some time ago anticipated this.

“You need to rest for at least another half a month. Apart from the fact that you still need plenty of repose to relax your mind on a daily basis, given your physical condition, you’d end up being a burden to Ling Zhang if you go to the capital city without having a rest cure to recuperate first.”

Ling Zhaowu’s eyebrows were furrowed. “Half a month? Is it possible to–”

“No. It’s beyond your physical endurance,” said Mr. Mu.

Ling Zhaowu lapsed into silence. After quite a while, he said, “I see. Thank you, Mr. Mu. Please help restore me to health during the next half a month. I’m okay with any medication, no matter how bitter it tastes, and if there’s anything you need me to do, don’t hesitate to tell me. You’ll have my full cooperation.”

Mr. Mu said, “I promise you’ll be ready to set off as long as you do as I tell you.”

After taking his leave of Mr. Mu, Ling Zhaowu asked Ling Zhaowen, “Is there a quick way to make contact with people in the capital city? I did some calculations and found that Zhang’er should reach the destination in two days. Have you sent him a message telling him I woke up?”

Ling Zhaowen replied, “Yes, I have. Zhang’er should have received the first batch of messages already.”

Seeing his whole mind was concentrated on his son who was on a long journey, Ling Zhaowen feared that worrying too much might hinder him from making a full recovery and said, “The Yuwen family’s dowries were delivered here a few days ago. I emptied a whole storeroom to keep them. There are two wild geese, too. We’ve been keeping them in good shape. You want to see them?”

Ling Zhaowu’s eyes gleamed briefly at these words. As though thinking about something that had happened in the distant past, he had an absent-minded look on his face for a while. Then he replied, “Okay. Let’s go.”

As this matter concerned Ling Zhang, of course he wanted to go and take a look, especially because this was about an important occasion – Ling Zhang’s wedding.

Ling Zhaowu’s attention distracted by this matter, Ling Zhaowen relaxed somewhat. After Ji Yin and Ling Xingzhong joined them, in particular, Ling Zhaowu had no time whatsoever to think about going to the capital city, because he was now faced with a pressing issue – preparing trousseaus.

“I made a list of the things that I want to add to the trousseau. Take a look and see if there are any problems.” Ji Yin fished out a thick pamphlet and handed it to people of the Ling family.

They unfolded the pamphlet which turned out to be even longer than the table, and one end of it almost dropped to the ground, each and every single item on it telling people how wealthy the one who planned to buy it was. All three members of the Ling family present were flabbergasted at this list and was unable to speak for quite a while.

“In-law, you–you want to add all these to the trousseau?” asked Ling Xingzhong in spite of himself, as if to confirm what he’d just heard.

Ji Yin nodded. “I’m not trying to impress anybody. It’s just that I wasn’t able to give my daughter a decent wedding, so I couldn’t help wanting to make amends by doing something for my grandson. These things are a token of my affection for him. If this strikes any of you as inappropriate, I could make some adjustments to it.”

There was nothing inappropriate about the list. It was just too dramatic – so dramatic that Ling Zhaowen’s face instantly crumpled up. The Ling family wouldn’t be able to afford these things even if they sold everything they owned! As these were trousseaus that Ling Zhang’s maternal grandfather offered to buy for him, and there was this reason behind it, they naturally couldn’t bring themselves to decline, but the problem was, what kind of trousseaus could they offer to match these things?

Ling Zhaowu, however, after carefully reading Ji Yin’s list, said, “I still have some stores under my name as well as some other valuables. I’ll add all of them to our trousseau list. There’s no need for us to make a list that matches my father-in-law’s. Just do what we can. I’ll figure out a way and get some more.”

“The herb farm in the south suburb has to be on the list. Apart from your stores, we also plan to include half of the stores we own. And–”

“Half of them would be too many. Soon Maomao will grow up and reach marriageable age. You have to save some for him. Besides, you and my sister-in-law are both still young. It’s very easy for you to get another child, who you’ll have to prepare dowries for someday as well.”

“Brother, Maomao is still young. Besides… there isn’t the slightest sign of us getting a second child, and we have plenty of time to get more stores. A decision is a decision, and it’s a final one. Father and I have agreed on this.”

“There isn’t the slightest sign? I’ve felt your and your wife’s pulse. Both of you are in good physical condition. In all likelihood, good news will come in just a few days,” Mr. Mu chipped in.

This remark immediately steered the conversation away from the original topic, and everybody’s attention shifted to Ling Zhaowen and Fu Caiwei.

Eyes alight with joy, Ling Zhaowu said delightedly, “Mr. Mu, are you serious?”

As he himself had only one son and no intention of marrying another woman to get more offspring, it would be best if his little brother could get a second child to make the Ling family larger, and this time around he would be there to bear witness to it as he should have done when Ling Maomao had been born.

Mr. Mu was not annoyed at Ling Zhaowu’s question and answered with the air of a psychic, “I was never wrong about this kind of thing.”

Members of the Ling family present went into raptures over this news. Cheeks flushing scarlet, Fu Caiwei left the room.

Ling Zhaowen knew that this was because recently good things had happened in succession in the Ling family, and he and Fu Caiwei had both been much more relaxed than before. However, Ling Zhaowen was keeping a secret to himself – the matter that Ling Zhang told him about a couple of days ago… but Ling Zhaowen wouldn’t disclose it to worry Fu Caiwei in these circumstances, feeling that it’d be better if he waited until his wife’s pregnancy was confirmed. Given that there was little he could do to help with what was going on in the capital city, he believed he might as well send his nephew a piece of good news to cheer him up. At the same time, he prayed that everything would go smoothly in the capital city.

Chapter 296: Detoxification and the Poisoner

“It’s done. The poison has been thoroughly detoxified.”

Xie Shi raised his head and told everybody the good news after finishing a minute examination of Yuwen Tong’s body.

Ling Zhang heaved a long sigh of relief. Having traveled a very long distance to get to the capital city, he still looked quite weary. It was not until he fully relaxed that he began to feel somewhat tired. “I’m so glad you’re okay now.”

Yuwen Tong held his hand and looked at his fatigued face, his heart aching. “You should go and wash yourself and then have some sleep.”

Ling Zhang raised no objection. He had barely had any rest during his journey from Tanyang to this city. Even a man of steel would be exhausted after so many sleepless nights. He had a quick shower, simply took a couple of sips of congee, closed his eyes the moment he lay down onto the bed, and soon drifted off.

Yuwen Tong walked to the bedside, pulled the thin quilt over to cover Ling Zhang’s belly and stroked his palm which was full of bruises from gripping the reins for days, waves of heartache sweeping over him. He held Ling Zhang’s palm to his lips to kiss it, and then put it back onto his abdomen.

“Marshal, although the poison has been detoxicated, it’ll still take two days to nurse you back to health. You should rest as much as possible during the next two days,” observed Xie Shi.

Yuwen Tong gave a nod, left the room to find Miao Shisan outside and asked him what had happened in Tanyang.

Miao Shisan gave him a detailed account of the whole process. “… At that time Master Ling was still unconscious. Before we arrived here, we’d received a letter from Tanyang saying that he’d already woken up and regained his memories.”

“Good. Did they say anything else in that letter?” asked Yuwen Tong.

“The letter only said that Master Ling was still having a rest cure. There’s nothing else,” answered Miao Shisan.

Yuwen Tong inclined his head.

Then Miao Shisan added, “Childe Ling’s grandfather mentioned something about that pill. It seemed to have something to do with Childe Ling’s cultivation method and the Force of Blood. I didn’t quite understand it, so I could only repeat their exact words to you.”

And then Miao Shisan gave him a blow-by-blow account of what Ji Yin and Mr. Mu had said on that day.

The look on Yuwen Tong’s face slightly changed. “I see. Don’t tell him this matter has come to my knowledge.”

Miao Shisan bobbed his head. “Yes, Marshal.”

…

In the depths of a palace.

“Your Highness, it’s been so many days, but Yuwen Tong has neither sent for a physician nor left his house. I wonder if he’s really poisoned or not.”

“What about those people? They haven’t found out about it?”

“No. Their hands are tied now. Gathering that team of assassins was the best they could do.”

“Humph, those good-for-nothings couldn’t even kill one man. If it weren’t for my contingency plan, all our previous efforts would’ve gone to waste.”

“Your Highness, our next step is…”

“He rejected my invitation twice. It seems that I’ll have to have my father intervene.”

“A very wise decision, Your Highness. On no account would Yuwen Tong decline His Majesty’s invitation. Also, it’ll be an opportunity to sound him out.”

…

Ling Zhang was fast asleep and didn’t wake up until the next day. The whole Ling Mansion was cloaked in a shroud of tension, with guards on duty everywhere. The security was so tight that even a fly might not be able to get in.

“How do you feel?” Ling Zhang spotted Yuwen Tong as soon as he opened his eyes, his lingering drowsiness instantly vanishing, gazing at him nervously.

“I’m okay now. I just need to rest more than usual during the next two days.” Yuwen Tong was lying beside him, and the two of them were in each other’s embrace. After a good night’s sleep, he also appeared refreshed and much more energetic.

Ling Zhang sat up and felt Yuwen Tong’s pulse. He had little medical knowledge, but he had become more discerning in this regard after starting to cultivate internal energy, and was able to tell from a person’s general pulse condition whether he or she was healthy or not. After a while, he confirmed that Yuwen Tong’s pulse was robust and vigorous, and with that he felt greatly relieved.

“Sorry. What with my carelessness during the fight, you were unable to stay in Tanyang keeping Uncle Ling company when he regained his memories.”

Yuwen Tong’s heart was aching when he was making this remark. When he’d been holding Ling Zhang in his arms the night before, he had distinctly perceived that Ling Zhang was thinner. They had first traveled to the Millennium Pavilion, then to Tanyang, and then returned to the capital city; Ling Zhang first had been deeply worried about his father, and then about him when he’d been on his return journey to the capital city. These days he’d been on the run all along and hadn’t been sleeping well, and definitely hadn’t been eating well, which was why he’d lost weight. Feeling heartache, Yuwen Tong cuddled him, unwilling to let him go.

Ling Zhang wanted to get up. “Stop hugging me. I’m hungry and need to go get something to eat. You’ve just rid yourself of the poison and could use some nourishing food as well.”

Yuwen Tong wanted to spend some more time staying with him in this room. He stroked Ling Zhang’s sagging belly, gave a sigh and then let go of him.

Ling Zhang summoned Xia Feng. “What did you have them prepare for dinner? Yuwen Tong needs something nutritious.”

Xia Feng replied, “Rest assured, Young Master, the nourishing stew for the Marshal is ready. I’ve instructed them to deliver it to the dining room the moment I heard the sounds from your house.”

Ling Zhang nodded, finding that the whole place was very quiet and there weren’t even any footsteps. “How’s everything going in the compound? The situation is a little complicated. Make sure all the servants keep their mouth shut about what’s going on here. And, tell them to stay calm.”

Xia Feng said, “I understand. I’ve already given every one of them a kick up the backside. The Marshal’s bodyguards are in charge of the procurement for the moment. All servants are forbidden to go outside.”

“Yue Qi is helping deal with the matters in this compound, and all servants are under constant watch, so there’s no need for you to worry. As regards my being poisoned, people inside this compound are the only ones aware of it. No outsiders would find out.” Yuwen Tong walked out, fully dressed.

“Marshal.” Xia Feng paid his respects. As Yuwen Tong had walked out, he took his leave and went to the dining room to supervise the servants serving breakfast.

Ling Zhang returned to his room to get dressed, washed and then went to the dining room with Yuwen Tong. When they had taken seats, Ling Zhang dismissed the servants.

“Do you know who sent the assassins?” asked Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong said, “The Sixth Prince and his remaining minions. The Concubine Shu and the Concubine De also played a part in it.”

Ling Zhang frowned. “The Sixth Prince has been under house arrest, and all the forces at his command have been brought down. The Concubine De and the Concubine Shu have been sent to the cold palace (a palace where an emperor installs members of the imperial family who do something wrong). How did they manage to get in touch with an assassin group outside the palace? And since when did the Concubine De and the Concubine Shu become allies?”

Questions exploded inside Ling Zhang’s head. The Concubine Shu was the Sixth Prince’s mother, and the Concubine De was the King Hui’s and the Ninth Princess’ mother. Both of these two women were in the cold palace, but they actually still had the power to have so many assassins do their bidding?

Yuwen Tong explained, “It was the surviving members of the Concubine Shu’s and the Concubine De’s families who contacted the assassins, all of whom are Jianghu kung fu experts paid handsomely. The King Hui and the Ninth Princess are dead. As almost all members of the Concubine De’s family were executed after the failure of the King Hui’s attempt to usurp the throne, this time the Concubine De mainly utilized her connections in the palace and pitched in with money. The Sixth Prince and the surviving members of the Concubine Shu’s family were responsible for hiring assassins from outside the palace.”

Ling Zhang felt that something was not quite right. Given that the King Hui had died because of his attempted usurpation, if the Concubine De harbored hatred towards anybody, it should be those who had brought her son down. The Ninth Princess’ death was the only plausible explanation, but shouldn’t she hate him more than she did Yuwen Tong for that? And then there was also the Sixth Prince. If he were the Sixth Prince and really had some men at his command, he would do his best to lay low, slowly gather strength, figure out a way to free himself from house arrest, return to the imperial court, gain a foothold, and then settle the old score with Yuwen Tong who had dealt a heavy blow to him during the affair of Tanyang previously. Why had he gone all out, risking exposing himself, just to kill Yuwen Tong? Were the Sixth Prince and the Concubine Shu insane? Had they lost all their sense of perspective?

Ling Zhang expressed his suspicions. Yuwen Tong sneered coldly, “All the Concubine De’s children are dead, and so are all members of her family, so her hatred for me is purer, and I’m not surprised that she wants me dead. As regards the Sixth Prince and the Concubine Shu… naturally it was because someone promised them something better, something that would spare them many years’ house arrest and allow them to instantly regain their former status.”

“Who did that?” Ling Zhang knitted his brows.

Yuwen Tong looked at him. Beneath his gaze, Ling Zhang gradually came to realize that the emperor was the only one with the authority to set the Sixth Prince free.

“Within merely a couple of days following my returning to the capital city, the Crown Prince sent me two invitations, both of which I rejected. The rare poison named ‘Mrs. Pistil’ hadn’t appeared in Jianghu for a very long time. If it could still be found anywhere, it would be the imperial palace.”

Eyes glinting coldly, Ling Zhang heavily smacked his fist onto the table. “They failed to do it overtly, so they decided to do it covertly, trying to dispose of you with a third party! Even if the whole thing is brought to light, they could just scapegoat the Sixth Prince and the Concubine Shu both of whom have some time ago been regarded as disposable pawns that have served their purpose, and the culprits wouldn’t suffer any losses whatsoever!”

So many things had happened recently: resignation of a top-ranking courtier, the rebellion in Cangzhou, to name but two, and yet the emperor and the Crown Prince were still plotting to eliminate Yuwen Tong. It was so unfortunate of the Great Yue to have a ruler and a crown prince like them!

“Since they have so much leisure, I’ll find them some work to do,” said Yuwen Tong with a frosty expression in his eyes.

“What do you plan to do?” Ling Zhang looked at him.

“Do unto them what they did unto me, of course,” replied Yuwen Tong matter-of-factly.

“Marshal, someone from the palace delivered a message here!”

The two of them were eating and talking when Yao Yi walked inside and reported that a eunuch from the imperial palace brought a verbal instruction from the emperor, saying that Yuwen Tong was to go to the imperial palace to attend a banquet tonight.

Ling Zhang slightly furrowed his brows. “It seems that the emperor is intervening personally after the Crown Prince’s plan to nose out your physical condition failed.”

There was no doubt that the palace banquet Yuwen Tong was attending tonight would be full of traps. The whole thing was just a conspiracy.

“I’ll go with you,” said Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong slightly shook his head. “No. We don’t know any details of their scheme. It’s too dangerous. If anything happens to you, it would be the most deadly blow on me.”

“But–”

“Be a peach and stay here waiting for me to come back.”

After a few moments’ silence, Ling Zhang said, “Then you need to bring enough guards with you. Take Xie Shi.”

“I will,” responded Yuwen Tong, though he knew that his guards definitely wouldn’t be allowed to enter the banquet hall, that he’d have to play it by ear.

After giving it some thought, Ling Zhang said, “The poison named ‘Mrs. Pistil’ takes effect almost immediately once it’s activated, but they’ve never heard any news of you showing any toxicities. You should try and anticipate how they’re going to sound you out when they see you appear at the palace tonight without any symptoms of poisoning, so that you could take some precautions.”

Yuwen Tong said, “Since their intention is to nose out the truth, they’ll definitely observe me first and then speculate about my physical condition. It’s most likely that they will believe I haven’t detoxified the concealment poison yet, which is why I’m not showing any symptoms of ‘Mrs. Pistil’, and then they’ll try to detoxicate the concealment poison to activate it.”

“What if they find out there’s no poison inside your body at all?”

“Then we’ll see whether or not they have the balls to directly try to poison me at the banquet.”

Chapter 297: Failure of the Plan to Sound Him Out

Xie Shi told Ling Zhang, “Don’t worry, Childe Ling. The Marshal still has inside his body some residual active ingredient of the antidote you provided. No poison could do him any harm for the moment. Yao Yi and I will accompany the Marshal to the palace, and we’ll make arrangements for some men to stand by outside, too. If things go south, we’ll charge inside to rescue the Marshal immediately.”

“I’ll be careful as well. Given that the rebellion still hasn’t been suppressed yet, the emperor and the Crown Prince wouldn’t dare let anything happen to me in the palace unless they have reason as ‘good’ as the one they had the last time. Otherwise my troops in the north-west would rise in revolt, and they’d have a hard job to quash it.”

Yuwen Tong had changed into the outfit prepared for the banquet. It was almost dusk now, and officials were supposed to arrive at the palace early when invited to a banquet held by the emperor.

This time, apart from Yuwen Tong, the emperor had also invited a lot of courtiers of all descriptions, including Yuwen Zhi who had been demoted by three ranks.

…

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At night, Yuwen Tong went to the imperial palace. Ling Zhang, who had barely eaten a bite of his dinner, stayed in his room alone, worrying about the situation in the palace.

At this moment, there was a semblance of harmony in the imperial palace. All courtiers were chatting and laughing, as though none of them had sensed the looming tempest.

Yuwen Tong had been the focus of numerous people’s attention from the moment he went through the palace gates till he sat down in the banquet hall. Everybody was sizing him up. As Yuwen Tong hadn’t tried to hush up the attempted assassination of him, it seemed to have come to the knowledge of all of them.

Apart from these people’s appraising look, what he was receiving more frequently was the emperor’s and the Crown Prince’s searching gaze, both of whom were trying to gauge whether or not he was poisoned!

There were a lot of delicacies and soup placed in front of Yuwen Tong. He had neither the power to foretell the future nor the ability to tell whether a course had been poisoned or not, but fortunately for him, he was now literally immune to all poisons. Even the poison named Mrs. Pistil couldn’t harm him. Given how rare and precious Mrs. Pistil was, Yuwen Tong believed that even those people didn’t have any more of it at their disposal.

“I heard that a few days ago some assassins made an attempt on you. Was it true?” With this sudden question from the Crown Prince, the banquet hall fell so quiet that people inside could hear a pin drop.

“That did happen, Your Highness,” answered Yuwen Tong calmly.

“Did you get hurt, Marshal? If you did, I’ll have a court physician treat you,” said the Crown Prince.

“Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. The bunch of assassins were no threat to me. I beheaded each and every single one of them on the spot. Their heads have probably already been consumed by dogs and worms,” replied Yuwen Tong as calmly as usual.

All others in the hall appeared a trifle sick at these words.

The Crown Prince’s face also took on a rather disgusted expression. “It’s hard to imagine that those assassins were actually bold enough to try to assassinate a marshal of the Great Yue. You were showing them mercy by merely cutting their heads off.”

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Then he added, “At that time, you only had a couple of guards protecting you. If you are wounded, you must not keep it back from us. My father and I would be very upset if anything happens to you.”

Yuwen Tong said, “That’s very nice of you, Your Highness. I’m indeed unharmed. If you don’t trust me and suspect that I’m lying to you, you may have a court physician examine me right now.”

The Crown Prince’s countenance slightly changed again. “You’re overreacting, Marshal. I’m just worried about you, but since you’ve brought this up, we might as well have some court physicians perform an examination.”

A group of court physicians arrived very soon, which made people in the hall wonder whether or not they’d been waiting outside quite some time for the Crown Prince’s order to come in to examine Yuwen Tong. Some relatively shrewd ones had already had a sniff of something out of the ordinary, their faces growing rather inscrutable.

“Your Majesty, Your Highness, the Marshal is indeed unharmed and in good health,” said a court physician after the examination.

Of course arrangements had been made beforehand for these court physicians to come. The tea served to Yuwen Tong a while ago contained the antidote to the concealment poison. Had the poison named ‘Mrs. Pistil’ was still inside his body, it would undoubtedly have taken effect by now, and the court physicians would’ve detected it. However…

The Crown Prince and the emperor unnoticeably exchanged glances. Although they both looked relieved on the surface, they themselves were the only ones aware of what they were actually thinking.

“It turns out that my worry was unnecessary, but you being healthy is a blessing for the Great Yue, Marshal. Someone fill the Marshal’s cup with wine. I’d like to toast the Marshal personally,” said the Crown Prince, rising to his feet.

Naturally, Yuwen Tong also stood up, watching a young eunuch filling his wine cup, an impenetrable look in his eyes.

…

After the banquet.

A teacup was heavily thrown to the ground and smashed to pieces.

“Are you sure that cup of wine was poisoned?!”

“Please turn from your anger, Your Highness. I did poison that pot of wine. Afterwards the Marshal even drank almost half of it. If you don’t believe me, you may have a court physician check that pot of wine.”

“You piece of shit! Since when do you give me orders? Guards, drag him out and cut his head off!”

“Mercy, Your Highness! Please have mercy on me!”

Consumed with anger, the Crown Prince eyed the lackey fixedly as he was dragged out of the room. In the knowledge that Yuwen Tong had come to no harm whatsoever after drinking so much poisonous wine, he couldn’t help wondering whether or not there’d been something wrong with the poison he’d given to his subordinate!

“Father, what do you think is the reason for it?” The Crown Prince looked at the emperor sitting in the seat of honor.

With a darkened face, the emperor replied, “We underestimated Yuwen Tong.”

“But how’s that even possible? That bottle of ‘Mrs. Pistil’ was the last bottle of it in the world. Nobody alive today knows how to detoxify it, and even if someone does, there’s no way they could get the rare ingredient required to prepare the antidote. How come Yuwen Tong was utterly unaffected by it? I… I really couldn’t understand.” The Crown Prince’s face was full of annoyance.

The emperor said, “Although the Yuwen family was not one of the families that assisted the founding emperor, it dates back to times before the establishment of our country, witnessing the rises and falls of two dynasties. It started as a family of civil officials and later became one of military officers. Maybe… they happen to have the antidote to this rare poison.”

How Yuwen Tong had remained totally unaffected by it couldn’t be explained otherwise. Under no circumstances would the emperor believe there was any truth in the speculation that Yuwen Tong was immune to all poisons or had an indestructible body.

The emperor continued, “Yuwen Tong survived the poison, but there’s no doubt he’d be more vigilant after the attempted assassination. Given how hard you pushed him in the banquet hall tonight, I’m afraid he’s already become suspicious. Suspend all plans. Put the North-western Army under closer surveillance and intercept their correspondence with Yuwen Tong. At the same time, figure out a watertight plan to eliminate Yuwen Tong once and for all as soon as possible. Otherwise this tiger might really get out of control.”

The Crown Prince nodded. “Yes, Father. I’ll figure something out to share your burden after I return.”

…

Yuwen Tong left the imperial palace. On their way back, Yao Yi told Yuwen Tong, “Marshal, just now I saw Second Master get into the King Duan’s carriage at the other end of the alley.”

Yuwen Tong frowned. “Are you sure it was him?”

“Yes. I saw him distinctly,” replied Yao Yi.

After a brief moment’s silence, Yuwen Tong asked Yao Yi, “Has our contact in the palace found anything out about that venomous snake?”

“I was just about to report this to you, Marshal. It was ascertained that that venomous snake went into the cold palace after detouring around the utility room.”

The cold palace? The first names that popped into Yuwen Tong’s head were those of the Concubine Shu and the Concubine De, and with that he felt a bucketful of ice cascade into his stomach. Was Yuwen Zhi in league with those two women, by any chance? Had Yuwen Zhi played a part in the attempted assassination of him?

Yao Yi, as though aware of what Yuwen Tong was thinking, soon added, “That snake’s destination was not the Concubine Shu’s or the Concubine De’s place. It went to the north-west corner of the cold palace. All those who live in that area are imperial concubines sentenced to imprisonment in that place a long time ago. One of them even used to be the emperor’s favorite. She’s been in there for seven or eight years now. Oh, incidentally, it’s rumored that she was very young when she was thrown into the cold palace and was the darling of the emperor shortly before her sentence, that the reason why she was suddenly sent there was because she said something that the emperor found offensive.”

An imperial concubine sent to the cold palace seven or eight years ago? Yuwen Tong was confused. “Is there any connection between her and Yuwen Zhi?”

On hearing Yuwen Tong call his uncle by his full name, Yao Yi came to realize that Yuwen Tong was very disgruntled at him. He gave a soft cough and replied, “Yue Qi looked into it and found that she had no dealings whatsoever with any of your family members before her entry into the imperial palace and was a complete stranger to Second Master. Right now Yue Qi is digging deeper. Also, our contacts in the palace are trying to gain access into the cold palace to investigate. Unlike other places, the cold palace is relatively easy to get in, so there should be an outcome very soon.”

It was best if they could manage to infiltrate into the cold palace to conduct an inquiry into the affair, for it would allow them a chance to directly find out whether or not that imperial concubine was involved.

Yuwen Tong said, “Tell them to be cautious.”

“Yes, Marshal,” responded Yao Yi.

…

“How was it? Did anything happen?”

Ling Zhang had been waiting in the front yard all along. On seeing Yuwen Tong return, he hastened over to him, studying his countenance and sizing him up.

Yuwen Tong took his hand and drew him towards the courtyard house, saying, “Everything’s fine. Xie Shi has examined me already. I’m in perfect health.”

When he had given Ling Zhang a general account of what had happened in the banquet hall, the two of them had entered the courtyard house.

Ling Zhang let out a sigh of relief after hearing it. “I knew it was their doing. No. We need to figure out a way to prevent them from summoning you to the palace again. If every two or three days they call you to the palace to test you, it’d be an unbearable torture.”

“Don’t worry. They should have known that what they did today has roused my suspicions and wouldn’t take any further action for the moment. Besides, soon they’ll be too occupied to find any time to deal with me.”

Ling Zhang looked at him. “What do you plan to do?”

Yuwen Tong leaned over and whispered something in his ear.

Eyes widening, Ling Zhang immediately grabbed Yuwen Tong’s hand. “You… But what if–”

Yuwen Tong swept him into his embrace and observed beside his ear in an undertone, “There’s no ‘if’. I must do it. We’ve got to get ourselves out of passivity.”

Ling Zhang held him tight. After quite a while, he said, “Then do we need to leave the capital city first? Even staying in that manor would lower the risk of raising suspicion.”

Yuwen Tong replied, “There’s no hurry. Given the circumstances, it’d be more advantageous to us if we stay in the capital city.”

Hugging him, Ling Zhang stood motionless for quite a while. Eventually, he said, “Okay. I’ll be by your side no matter what lies in store for us.”

Yuwen Tong gave a smile, kissed him, scooped him up, carried him into the inner chamber and said, “Wait here for me. I’ll take a quick bath to rid myself of the strong smell of liquor.”

Ling Zhang gave him a dirty look and with that Yuwen Tong went to have a bath, a beam on his face.

Ling Zhang stood in a daze for a long moment. At the thought of what Yuwen Tong was going to do, a worried expression appeared on his face.