The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 373- 375

Chapter 373: Jiang Yu’s Decision

Ling Zhang was shocked by Jiang Yu’s words. Most importantly, he could tell that Jiang Yu meant every word he said.

“I don’t need you to serve me heart and soul. You’re a childe of the Jiang family. Why are you so insistent on being my attendant?” Ling Zhang was baffled.

Jiang Yu replied, “Firstly, I want to repay you for saving my life. Secondly, I trust you.”

Trust him? Trust him to do what? Ling Zhang gazed at Jiang Yu, whose face manifestly registered determination. The tricky part was that the current situation struck him as a trifle thorny. By saying those words in the presence of all so many people, Jiang Yu had virtually humiliated himself numerous times, and he would become a laughing stock of the whole capital city the moment he walked out of this hall. He really didn’t mind? Ling Zhang was really astounded by Jiang Yu’s act. What would Jiang Yu have to face if he declined Jiang Yu’s offer?

Ling Zhang felt somewhat awkward. He had merely saved Jiang Yu’s life in passing, and after that Jiang Yu had stopped seeing him as an enemy and even forewarned him of the King Duan’s trick once. He had thought that the two of them were even.

“What do you say?” Yuwen Tong asked Ling Zhang.

On hearing this question, Ling Zhang came to know Yuwen Tong’s take on this matter. If Yuwen Tong didn’t want him to agree to Jiang Yu’s request, he would never have asked this question – he wouldn’t even have summoned him to this hall. In other words, Yuwen Tong actually wanted him to grant Jiang Yu’s request.

Ling Zhang was somewhat bewildered, but owing to his trust in Yuwen Tong, he hesitated for a brief moment and then looked at Jiang Yu. “I’ll only ask you once – are you sure you’ve thought it through?”

“I am,” answered Jiang Yu without a second thought.

Ling Zhang’s eyes swept across all the others present in the hall and then said slowly, “Then get to your feet and come with me.”

“Yes, Childe Ling. Thank you.” A hint of delight appeared on Jiang Yu’s face and Ling Zhang noticed it.

Yuwen Tong sitting in the throne, however, suddenly furrowed his brows, his piercing eyes flashing towards Jiang Yu, who sensed it but just glanced at Yuwen Tong in a seemingly unintentional way before following Ling Zhang out of the great hall.

Yuwen Tong’s face fell.

After walking through the doors of the hall, Ling Zhang led Jiang Yu forward for a certain distance before he came to a halt and pivoted around to look at Jiang Yu. “Why are you doing this? I want to hear the truth,” he said.

Jiang Yu gazed at him silently for quite a while and then replied, “I meant it when I said that I wanted to repay you. Apart from that, I’m also doing this for the Jiang family and my own aspirations.”

Ling Zhang looked at him in bemusement. “Even if you want to restore the Jiang family’s status, there’s no need for you to go to such great lengths, and if you have some particular aspirations, it’d be yet another reason why you shouldn’t ruin your career prospects.”

Jiang Yu shook his head and replied, “No. Serving you will allow me more opportunity to realize my aspirations. You might feel that I’m being reckless, but like I said, I trust you.”

“And that’s all?” asked Ling Zhang.

Jiang Yu inclined his head. “That’s all.”

Ling Zhang stared at him for a long moment. “No. I think there’s something you’re not telling me.”

Jiang Yu was astonished. Beneath Ling Zhang’s gaze which was calm but penetrating, he suddenly gave a smile. “You’re right. Returning the favor, revitalizing the Jiang family, fulfilling my aspirations – these are all just pretexts. I just… I don’t know the reason either. If I must give one, I would say it’s because of my curiosity. I’m uncontrollably curious about how far you could go. You’ll have to face many knotty problems after you become the empress, and I want to know how you’re going to tackle them. Also, I want very much to find out what kind of scenery you’d be seeing when you’re at the top of the hierarchy. The decline of the Jiang family made a lot of things clearer to me. I loathe the official circles, but I have a craving to see the ebb and flow of those struggling in official circles. My thoughts sound quite contradictory, right?”

Ling Zhang remained silent for quite a while, gazing at Jiang Yu as though he were a madman.

“They’re not contradictory. They’re lunatic.”

Jiang Yu didn’t take offence. Instead, he smiled, “I think you’re right. Maybe I’m really soft in the head.”

“Never mind. Back in the hall, you didn’t really have a chance to extricate yourself from the awkward situation. I’ve agreed to your request, but I’ll also give you some more time to think about it. If you regret it, you may tell me at any moment,” said Ling Zhang.

Jiang Yu frowned. “I don’t regret it.”

Ling Zhang raised his hand. “Stop right there. Don’t jump to any conclusions, okay? I’m asking you to go back home and reconsider it. This is an order, okay? Give me a reply in three days. Now go home.”

Jiang Yu looked him in the face. “I won’t regret it.”

After saying this, he made a bow and left.

Ling Zhang, “…”

When the meeting in the hall was finally over, Ling Zhang hastened there to see Yuwen Tong. “Why do you want me to take Jiang Yu as attendant?”

Yuwen Tong’s face instantly darkened.

Ling Zhang was thrown into perplexity. Why was he having this look on his face?

Yuwen Tong said, “I kind of regret it.”

“Ah?” Ling Zhang’s bafflement deepened.

Yuwen Tong explained, “I know very well what Jiang Shennian is up to, but it never crossed my mind that he would go so far as to bet his own grandson on it.”

“Bet?” Ling Zhang looked at him.

“Jiang Shennian is retreating in order to advance. As for the matter of Jiang Yu, it’s because Jiang Shennian has seen the true nature of the relations between you and me. It’s next to impossible for Jiang Yu to become a top-ranking official in the imperial court and restore the Jiang family to its former glory. The imperial court is heaving with wily old foxes who would kill to get a promotion, and even if Jiang Yu is willing to pay heavy prices, his chance of defeating them would still be slim, but with you, the situation is totally different – you barely have any advisers, and you certainly don’t a real right-hand man. Others may think that becoming an attendant of yours would be destroying one’s own career prospects, but Jiang Shennian knows very well that serving you is one of the quickest ways to get to a high position. Very few people in this city see the true nature of the relations between you and me. Even Chu Liangyan and those on his side don’t see it, but Jiang Shennian is one of the few who do,” said Yuwen Tong.

“Well, hang on.” Ling Zhang was confounded. “What do you mean by the true nature of the relations between you and me?”

Looking at him, Yuwen Tong sighed, “You really lack perception in this regard. How could you not have seen it when even Jiang Shennian has?”

Ling Zhang’s temper began to fray. “What have I not seen? Are you saying that even Jiang Shennian, an outsider, is better than me?”

Yuwen Tong took Ling Zhang’s face in his hands and planted several kisses on his cheek in succession before Ling Zhang’s anger appeared to ebb slightly. “You’ll be the empress, my wife. In my eyes, this country is not only mine but also yours. Can you understand it now?”

Ling Zhang was astonished. “You…”

“This is my country and also yours. In addition, this is not the only country we’ll be ruling. In the future, more lands will be added to our territory, and all of them will be ours,” said Yuwen Tong. “Jiang Shennian caught on to this, which was why he put a bet on it, sending his own grandson to be your attendant. He’s the first one to have done this, and I think it won’t be long before some others come to realize the reason and line up to do the same thing. Let’s leave that aside for now. We’ll handle them later. I have many courtiers in the imperial court, but you have nobody. Jiang Yu’s the first one to come. As long as he stays loyal to you and makes full use of his ability and wisdom, he’ll no doubt become the most hard-core member of your think tank. As far as I could tell, Jiang Yu has the required courage and intelligence.”

Ling Zhang’s heart fluttered at these words. He had got a general idea of what Yuwen Tong meant. “Are you saying that although I’ll soon become the empress, I’ll still be able to do what I want to do and achieve my personal goals?”

Yuwen Tong smiled, “Exactly.”

“Jiang Yu is intelligent and full of dash, and he will make the right-hand man of yours, which was why I had you grant his request, but…” Yuwen Tong broke off in the middle of a sentence, a fairly concerned look on his face.

Ling Zhang looked at him. “What’s the matter? Is there anything suspicious about Jiang Yu?”

“There’s nothing suspicious about him. His gratitude to you for saving his life is real, and he’s indeed far more loyal to you than he is to me, which is a good thing for you, but the problem is that he has some ulterior motive.” Yuwen Tong’s voice dropped to a murmur when he made the last remark, so Ling Zhang didn’t hear him clearly.

“What did you just say about his motive?” asked Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong looked at him. “This person will do your bidding only, and I won’t be able to put him under my control. I’m afraid he might make things difficult for me.”

“Ah?” Ling Zhang looked back at him, a quizzical expression on his face. “How do you know that? It was only earlier this day that he expressed he’d do that, wasn’t it?”

“It doesn’t matter how I know that. Anyway, I kind of regret it now,” said Yuwen Tong. Back in the hall, the smile of delight Jiang Yu had had on his face when looking at Ling Zhang had been a wake-up call for Yuwen Tong, and when Jiang Yu had casually shifted his gaze to him, a warning bell in Yuwen Tong’s mind had rung madly, but eventually he had still restrained himself.

Jiang Yu would become Ling Zhang’s best assistant if Ling Zhang used him in the correct way.

Ling Zhang was thrilled by Yuwen Tong’s words, and his mind was racing with excitement on his way back, because Yuwen Tong had let him see another possibility, another future.

Yuwen Tong, however, sent some men to ascertain the facts of everything about the Jiang family and Jiang Yu down to the smallest detail.

…

News of what had happened in the hall soon spread through the whole city. Everybody, to a greater or lesser degree was surprised by Jiang Shennian’s and Jiang Yu’s deeds, especially by Jiang Yu’s.

“Is that Jiang Yu guy out of his mind? Why did he ruin his own career prospects?” Most people saw it this way.

However, like Yuwen Tong had expected, there were also a limited few who began to realize the truth.

In the residence of the Ji family.

“Grandfather, why did Jiang Yu do that?”

Old Master Ji flicked a glance at his grandson, let out a little sigh and clicked his tongue, thinking that this grandson of his was indeed no match for Jiang Yu in terms of wits, that Jiang Shennian, a wily old fox, had made a wily little fox of his grandson.

“Why do you think Jiang Yu did that?” Old Master Ji inquired of Ji Feng.

Ji Feng gave it some thought and replied, “Jiang Yu said that he did it because he wanted to return the favor, but I don’t buy it. If he did it for the sake of the Jiang family… Is he trying to use Ling Zhang to protect the Jiang family? After all, His Majesty cares about Ling Zhang very much. With Ling Zhang’s protection, he and his family would have nothing to worry about.”

“That’s it?” Old Master Ji gaped at him.

Ji Feng seemed a trifle aggrieved. “Well, what other reason could there be?”

Old Master Ji shook his head. “Thinking more about it won’t kill you. What you said was just part of the reason, not all of it. There are many ways to keep the Jiang family safe, and Jiang Yu didn’t have to do that to achieve this end. The reason why Jiang Shennian and Jiang Yu did that was because they saw the true nature of one particular thing. In another sense, they’re also gambling. If the gamble pays off, they’ll be able to return the Jiang family to its former glory; if not, they’ll lose everything.”

“What’s this particular thing?” inquired Ji Feng.

“His Majesty’s feelings for Ling Zhang,” replied Old Master Ji slowly.

Ji Feng was thrown into puzzlement. What?

Chapter 374: A Rise of Jiang Yu’s Status

Soon Jiang Shennian was appointed to a yamen of a provincial town. Given that Jiang Chengfeng had been sent back to Cangzhou to watch over the ancestral mausoleum and Jiang Yu had ruined his own career prospects, the Jiang family, which used to be a power juggernaut and had recently shown signs of a political comeback, had instantly declined again. Many people believed that this time around the Jiang family had been taken down for good.

Only very few people saw through Jiang Shennian’s little game and came to realize why Jiang Yu had made that decision, but they didn’t have the courage to gamble everything as the Jiang family had. A proof of this was that many people had also recommended some men to Ling Zhang, but all the youngsters they’d recommended were the ones that were not thought highly of in their families.

Yuwen Tong didn’t know much about these youngsters’ abilities, but he detested the attitudes of those who’d recommended them, which was why he’d dismissed them directly, sparing Ling Zhang the trouble of meeting them.

Three days had passed, and Jiang Yu was the only one that Ling Zhang had taken as attendant.

Also, the time for Jiang Yu to give Ling Zhang his reply had come.

“You really don’t regret it?” Ling Zhang asked him once last time. Ever since Yuwen Tong had enlightened him three days before, he had been so excited that he couldn’t sleep at night. This time, if Jiang Yu’s decision remained unchanged, he wouldn’t decline again.

Jiang Yu replied in a calm but earnest tone, “I don’t.”

Ling Zhang said, “Good! Remember this answer of yours. And I also want you to bear in mind at all times what you said in the hall on that day.”

In response to these words, Jiang Yu got down on one knee and saluted Ling Zhang with a high level of formality. “Childe Ling.”

Ling Zhang told him to rise and then said, “First you need to make the acquaintance of my men. Dashan, take Jiang Yu back and introduce him to the others.”

“Yes, Childe Ling.” Wang Dashan walked over. “Childe Jiang, please come with me.”

“Just call me Jiang Yu. Thanks for the trouble,” said Jiang Yu.

Wang Dashan and the other twenty-three bodyguards had been the only ones brought to the imperial palace by Ling Zhang. Xia Feng and some others also wanted to accompany him to the palace to serve him, but he and Yuwen Tong were too busy, and for the moment there weren’t any specific stipulations in the palace regulations in this regard, so Xia Feng and the others couldn’t get in. According to the rules of the previous dynasties, those serving in the imperial palace were either guards or eunuchs or palace ladies. Naturally Ling Zhang didn’t want Xia Feng or any of the others to be castrated.

After Jiang Yu, Ling Zhang’s twenty-four bodyguards and Yuwen Tong’s bodyguards made each other’s acquaintance, Ling Zhang sent Jiang Yu to the Ministry of Rites.

With the wedding ceremony coming soon, there were a lot of matters to attend to, and Ling Zhang was up to his eyebrows in the preparatory work. As his and Yuwen Tong’s personal bodyguards were all rough fellows innately insensitive to this kind of ritualistic rigmarole, the arrival of Jiang Yu who had grown up in an aristocratic family had virtually come as a godsend. After dispatching Jiang Yu to the Ministry of Rites, Ling Zhang waited to see how much help Jiang Yu would be of.

Two days later, Jiang Yu made Ling Zhang feel that his burden had been lightened considerably.

Sending invitations was among the first couple of matters to be handled. Ling Zhang personally sorted and recorded the replies, because it would help him further familiarize himself with the various forces. Jiang Yu had classified those replies into several categories. As a childe of a large noble family, he was discerning enough to see these people for what they really were by merely looking at their names. There were many people strange or unfamiliar to Ling Zhang, and Jiang Yu provided detailed information about every one of them for him, including who these people were, the difference between their identities, their personalities, their conduct as well as their contacts. Jiang Yu told all these to Ling Zhang in a very objective manner. He also disclosed to Ling Zhang some very private information known to members of aristocratic families only, which helped Ling Zhang know these people much better and prevented him from falling prey to semblance.

This was very important to Ling Zhang. Previously he hadn’t cared much about these things, and there hadn’t been any necessity for him to care about them. After all, at that time, neither he nor Yuwen Tong had expected that their identities would change so dramatically. Afterward, his identity had really changed abruptly, and he’d found himself in need of someone who had much acquaintance with these matters and could help him sort things out. As a result, what Jiang Yu was doing was like timely rain for Ling Zhang.

On top of that, Jiang Yu’s explanation was well organized and clearly stated. He expounded on those forces one by one, which made it a lot easier for Ling Zhang to understand and memorize their relations and thus saved quite some time.Visit website our ReadNovelFull.com

It took Ling Zhang a solid day to get the hang of it. When having dinner, Ling Zhang was still thinking about it. Now that he’d started to get to know these things, he found his mind in a state of excitement. He felt as though the place where he was standing were rising, and it was now like a mound. Previously his view had been blocked, and now he finally felt that he had a wider view, that he could see a little more clearly the people and things that had previously been indistinct in his sight.

Seeing Ling Zhang was in a trance with gleaming eyes, Yuwen Tong asked, “What makes you so happy that you’re not even eating your meal?”

Yuwen Tong had come to know that Jiang Yu had briefed Ling Zhang on a lot of things earlier this day. Indeed, nobody could have done this better than Jiang Yu had, but now was the time for the two of them to enjoy dinner together. Why couldn’t Ling Zhang stop thinking about that for a while?

“You were right. With Jiang Yu’s help, my burden is indeed much lighter than before. Fortunately you reminded me of it,” said Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong, “…”

But he slightly regretted it, feeling that he’d made the wrong decision by allowing Jiang Yu to be Ling Zhang’s attendant.

Ling Zhang was very pleased with Jiang Yu’s performance on this day. Jiang Yu had provided him with information about a lot of people, many of whom had feuds with the Jiang family, but Jiang Yu’s opinions about them had still been quite objective and totally uninfluenced by his personal feelings. This was also one of the reasons why Ling Zhang held Jiang Yu in high regard. Jiang Yu had a great sense of propriety, and he had only objectively related the facts without imposing any of his subjective moods on Ling Zhang. In other words, he had no intention to manipulate Ling Zhang’s thoughts, so Ling Zhang didn’t have to guard against this kind of things. Jiang Yu knew his place well, which made Ling Zhang feel relaxed and comfortable in his dealings with Jiang Yu.

Yuwen Tong listened as Ling Zhang talked on and on about Jiang Yu, his regret now significantly deeper than before.

…

After the matter of the name list was handled, Jiang Yu started conferring with the Ministry of Rites about the wedding on behalf of Ling Zhang, dealing properly with all those miscellaneous issues that didn’t require Ling Zhang’s personal involvement, allowing Ling Zhang the time to sit down and have a cup of tea.

As the wedding ceremony drew near and Jiang Yu went in and out of the Infinite Fortune Palace on a frequent basis every day, more people gradually came to realize that Ling Zhang thought highly of Jiang Yu.

A lot of those who had previously taunted the Jiang family and Jiang Yu began to get a sniff of something else.

They had expected that Jiang Yu would become one of Ling Zhang’s guard dogs, the one guarding the front gates at the most. It had never crossed their mind that Jiang Yu would be frequently going in and out of the Ministry of Rites, and even in charge of many matters concerning the wedding ceremony in the name of Ling Zhang. Even guard dogs could be quite different from each other with respect to status. If going in and out of the Ministry of Rites was just a symbol, then him being in charge of the many issues concerning the wedding ceremony and his taking up various matters with officials of other departments meant that he had become a member of the innermost circle by taking a shortcut that had previously been unknown to everybody.

Most importantly, those people couldn’t perceive the emperor’s displeasure or his intention to stop Jiang Yu, so just like this, Jiang Yu made his presence felt.

“Jiang Shennian is such a wily old fox. It’s true what they say, ‘There’s no substitute for experience.'”

Most people in the capital city couldn’t help but inwardly curse Jiang Shennian for his cunning, bitterly regretting not having seized that opportunity. As Ling Zhang relied on Jiang Yu more and more, the latter would become an irreplaceable member of the former’s think tank. Even if there would be some other members, none of them would be valued as much as Jiang Yu was. What distressed those people the most was that none of the youngsters they recommended took the emperor’s fancy, and they didn’t even have a chance to get close to Ling Zhang.

“These people made the most stupid move,” said Old Master Ji to his grandson, the apple of his eye.

Ji Feng, however, found those people’s deeds understandable. “Grandfather, are you saying that those people that they recommended to Ling Zhang were unpresentable in terms of status and identity?”

Old Master Ji replied, “His Majesty is both discerning and resourceful, with a fund of stratagems. Also, he started as a military officer, so he doesn’t care about family background or origins as much as most people think he does. If it were about selecting talents for the imperial court, he wouldn’t have taken into consideration those people’s parentage. As many departments are currently in dire need of capable staff members, he wouldn’t reject anybody who has the required skills and a decent sense of morality, but it doesn’t mean that he is willing to let anybody disgrace Ling Zhang. Those people made a whole bunch of unsolicited recommendations, and all those they recommended were who they deemed of little value and thus dispensable. By doing that, weren’t they openly telling everybody that they thought those they deemed dispensable were good enough for Ling Zhang? His Majesty made his attitude clear enough when he allowed Jiang Yu to become Ling Zhang’s attendant, but those people still didn’t take Ling Zhang seriously. How could His Majesty not be angry? Even taking a wait-and-see attitude for some time would be a much wiser choice than making that stupid move.”

Ji Feng came to understand and was even more surprised. Previously he had only known that the Marshal cared about Ling Zhang very much, that they were in a good relationship, but it was at this moment that he realized that maybe the bond between them was even stronger than he’d expected.

“Grandfather, you also said that what the Jiang family put a bet on was His Majesty’s feelings for Ling Zhang. If…I mean if, His Majesty’s feelings for him change, wouldn’t the Jiang family’s plan come to grief?” said Ji Feng.

In terms of personal relations, he was friends with Ling Zhang, so naturally he didn’t want this assumption to come true, but if truth be told, deep down there Ji Feng was somewhat uncertain about it, because after all, Yuwen Tong was now the emperor, and this identity was more than enough to change anybody. If Yuwen Tong’s feelings for Ling Zhang changed, what would happen to Ling Zhang whom Yuwen Tong had sent to such a high position? And what would happen to those around Ling Zhang?

Old Master Ji remained silent for quite a while before he observed, “This is where Jiang Shennian outshines me.”

Amazed, Ji Feng looked at him. “Are you saying that…”

“Of course I intended to do the same thing that he did. You and Ling Zhang are close friends. This alone gives you a great advantage over Jiang Yu,” replied Old Master Ji.Visit website our ReadNovelFull.com

After his amazement ebbed away, Ji Feng pondered for a long moment and then said, “Grandfather, I still want to become an official working for the imperial court like you. This is my aspiration. In the past, the Zhou family were fatuous and I didn’t see much hope, but now things are different, and I think it’s time for me to dismiss all the misgivings and strive for my goals.”

Old Master Ji replied with a nod of approval. “I’m glad to see that you have such determination. I look forward to seeing you make some achievements.”

However, unlike Ji Feng, someone else made a decision that was quite the opposite of the one Ji Feng had just made.

…

In the residence of the Jiang family.

Jiang Yu, who had had a hectic day, returned home, entered his courtyard house and slumped down in a chair. He was so tired that he sat there motionless for quite some time.

“Young Master, today the footman received yet another dozen calling cards,” reported a servant.

Jiang Yu opened his eyes which were glinting flintily. “Return them all. From now on, all this kind of calling cards are to be returned to their senders immediately. There’s no need to report to me first. Keep the front gates shut tight when I’m away from home. Nobody is to come in without my consent. And keep close watch on those people in this house. If any of them dares make contact with any outsiders without my knowledge or entertain any ideas they should not have, report to me immediately. I’ll chuck them out of the Jiang family!”

Chapter 375: A Servant

The Jiang family refused to receive any visitors, their front gates shut just as tight as they had been before the house arrest was lifted. Those who went to the Jiang family to deliver calling cards or visit Jiang Yu were all denied entrance. Jiang Yu seemed to have made up his mind not to receive any caller.

As seeking an audience with Jiang Yu directly was not an option, some people tried to bribe the others living in the Jiang family’s residence. Jiang Shennian had been appointed to the yamen of a provincial town, and Jiang Chengfeng had gone back to Cangzhou. Both of them hadn’t brought many people with them. Jiang Shennian had taken only a couple of personal servants and bodyguards, and Jiang Chengfeng merely his wife and several attendants, leaving all the others in the large residence of the Jiang family. At first there had indeed been someone who accepted bribes, but when Jiang Yu had been informed of it, he had harshly rebuked him and then evicted him from the Jiang family, regardless of the fact that the man bore the same surname as his or was blood relations with him.

After Jiang Yu made an example of that person, other members of the Jiang family immediately restrained themselves and didn’t dare go outside again, making it impossible for outsiders to make contact with anybody of the Jiang family.

Naturally, none of these things that Jiang Yu had done escaped Ling Zhang’s notice.

Yuwen Tong had once said that Jiang Yu was full of dash, and at that time Ling Zhang had been rather dubious about it, because after all, back when he’d been in the Imperial College, he and Jiang Yu hadn’t really been on very good terms with each other, but this time around, from what Jiang Yu had done in the Jiang family, Ling Zhang saw how decisive Jiang Yu was.Read manga at our MangaBob.com

Jiang Yu was indeed a capable assistant, but if he was unable to sort out his family affairs, Ling Zhang wouldn’t let him stay, no matter how capable he was. Still, Jiang Yu didn’t disappoint him. In this regard, Ling Zhang found Jiang Yu fairly admirable, feeling that he knew when to eat humble pie and when to hold his head high, that once he made a resolution to do something, he would spare no efforts to achieve the goal and wouldn’t let anything get in his way. Even if there were some obstacles, he would remove them personally.

There was one respect in which Jiang Yu bore some similarity to who he used to be when he’d been in the Imperial College – his pride which had remained changed. Previously when he’d been in the Imperial College, he had mostly taken pride in his family background, and now the source of his pride was himself. It was a qualitative change – from shallow arrogance to a pride originating from the very marrow of his bones.

As a result, Ling Zhang was very complimentary when talking with Yuwen Tong about Jiang Yu.

At first Yuwen Tong had managed to put up with it, but after some time, his temper began to fray. “Jiang Yu, Jiang Yu. Can you remember a single recent day when you didn’t talk about Jiang Yu?”

Ling Zhang was astonished and baffled, wondering why Yuwen Tong suddenly got angry. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

“Stop mentioning him so often, or I’ll go back on my word. It’s not like I don’t have anybody else as talented as Jiang Yu. I can replace him with someone else at any moment,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang, “…”

Looking at Yuwen Tong’s sulky face, Ling Zhang had a general idea of why Yuwen Tong was unhappy. Pulling a wry face, he replied, “I’ve just been observing him during the past couple of days. He’s been doing a good job and has indeed lightened my burden. Besides, it was you who advised me to let him stay.

And don’t say anything about replacing him again. So far I’ve been quite satisfied with Jiang Yu’s performance. You may keep those talents of yours. By the way, aren’t you in need of more competent subordinates?”

Hearing him defending Jiang Yu, Yuwen Tong nibbled his cheek playfully in annoyance and said, “I told you to stop talking about him. Why don’t you listen to me? Are you doing it on purpose? I can’t believe you’re deliberately angering me when you know that I’ve been so busy that I have to carve out time for meals.”Read manga at our MangaBob.com

The first half of Yuwen Tong’s words gave Ling Zhang an urge to answer back, but when he heard the latter half, his heart ached for Yuwen Tong, melting instantly. He wiped his cheek wet with saliva left by the sloppy kiss and said, “Okay, okay. I won’t mention him again. Start eating. You got my cheek so oily. Do you have time for a nap after lunch?”

Yuwen Tong responded in a displeased tone, “No. There are a lot of thorny matters to attend to. Before the enthronement I was busy, but after the enthronement I’ve been even busier. Fortunately Old Master Ji has come back to give me a hand. Otherwise I wouldn’t even be able to carve out time for a bite.”

After hearing this, Ling Zhang dismissed everything about Jiang Yu from his mind, affectionately putting more food in Yuwen Tong’s rice bowl. “Eat some more. I’ll prepare some food for you in the afternoon. A bowl of dumplings, I think.”

Yuwen Tong sneaked a look at Ling Zhang. Perceiving that Ling Zhang was thinking about him only and didn’t have any room in his head for anybody else, he inwardly gave a snort and his displeasure ebbed somewhat. He felt that even if he were a fool, he should have promptly stopped Ling Zhang from taking Jiang Yu as attendant on that day after he distinctly sensed that there was something questionable about Jiang Yu’s motive. Now it was inappropriate for him to dismiss Jiang Yu, which was a troublesome problem.

…

After having lunch with Yuwen Tong, Ling Zhang also started bustling around. As Yuwen Tong was otherwise engaged and unable to help with the wedding preparations, Ling Zhang had to take care of everything. Though Jiang Yu was sharing his burden, there were still a lot of things that he needed to keep watch on.

At mid-afternoon, Ling Zhang hastened to the kitchen, made some dumplings and started steaming them. He instructed a cook to keep an eye on the fire and then left to resume his work. When the cook came and told him that the dumplings were ready, he hurriedly changed and brought the freshly made dumplings and some sauce to the hall in the front.

The moment he entered the hall, the aroma of the food attracted everybody’s attention. Ling Zhang greeted them, placed the meal box in front of Yuwen Tong and served the dumplings. “Take a break and grab a bite.”

Miao Shiba and some others had accompanied him to the hall. Every time Ling Zhang came here to deliver food to Yuwen Tong, he would bring a portion for each of the courtiers in the hall as well.

To be honest, over time, more and more courtiers’ minds started wandering at mid-afternoon every day, and all of them were thinking about the various delicious foods delivered by Ling Zhang on a daily basis. They heard that it was cooks of the Infinite Fortune Palace who made those foods. They were not delicacies from land and sea, just some home-cooked dishes, but they were so tasty that the courtiers found their flavors unforgettable.

At this moment the courtiers thanked Ling Zhang and then retreated to the side hall of their own accord. Every one of them was sensible enough not to be the third wheel at this point in time.

Yuwen Tong put a plump dumpling with plenty of filling into his mouth and chewed it up, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Was it a cook who made the filling?”

Ling Zhang flicked him a glance. “You found that out from its taste? I was rather busy earlier this day and didn’t have the time to make the filling, so I had a cook make it for me, but I made the dumplings myself.”

Actually he had only made Yuwen Tong’s portion of dumplings personally. Other people’s portions had been made by cooks.

Yuwen Tong picked up a dumpling, looked at the creases on the surface and observed in an annoying tone of voice, “I can see that.”

Ling Zhang, “…”

“You don’t like them?”

Yuwen Tong said, “Of course I do. I’m feasting my eyes. This is the only portion of dumplings in the world that was made by you. It’s rare and precious.”

Ling Zhang gave him a dirty look, as though saying, “Spare me the act. You’re overdoing it.”

Yuwen Tong gave a smile and asked, “Have you had some yourself?”

Ling Zhang shook his head. “I need to pay a visit to the Ministry of Rites and then go back to the Ling Mansion. I’ll be back before dinner.”

Yuwen Tong slightly furrowed his brows, picked up another dumpling and held it to Ling Zhang’s lips. Ling Zhang opened his mouth and shut it on the dumpling. Chewing, he added, “Don’t give me any more. I’m sure there are a lot of goodies at home waiting for me. If you fill my belly right now, I won’t be able to finish those at home.”

Yuwen Tong, “…”

“Isn’t it inconvenient for your aunt to prepare food now? What kind of goodies could there possibly be that you find so appealing?”

Ling Zhang responded, “My aunt has a quite healthy constitution and it hasn’t been a tough pregnancy for her. The middle-aged handmaids suggested she walk around more often and she took their advice. In the morning I had a servant deliver a message to the Ling Mansion, saying that I’d be back in the afternoon. She had the servant tell me that she’d make some delicious food for me. I’ll go back there right after visiting the Ministry of Rites, and I’m sure I won’t be late for the food.”

Yuwen Tong could tell that Ling Zhang was only too anxious to get out of the palace immediately. Knowing that he had a ton of work to do and couldn’t leave at all, he became rather unhappy.

“So you’re going to abandon me just like this. I’ve been working off my feet in this place, but you… Humph.”

Having no intention to start a frivolous verbal duel with him, Ling Zhang wiped his mouth and descended the stairs in a couple of strides. “Well, enjoy the dumplings. I’m going to the Ministry of Rites.”

Yuwen Tong bit a dumpling off his chopsticks, staring at Ling Zhang’s retreating figure, a glum look on his face.

…

Ling Zhang first went to the Ministry of Rites. After a flurry of bustle in the department, he finally extricated himself, planning to go home.

He had just walked through the front gates of the Ministry of Rites when he heard a commotion. Someone was quarreling with the guards on duty in the gateway, demanding an audience with the Minister of Rites. The man said that he was a family servant of the Marquess Huaiwen (AKA the Marquess of Moderation) and needed to see his master about something urgent.

Ling Zhang paused briefly and then made towards the man. “What’s going on?”

The incumbent Minister of Rites was not the one who’d been rebuked in the hall that day but Yuwen Feng, who had been promoted from the Assistant Minister of Rites to the Minister of Rites after Yuwen Tong’s enthronement. Also, the title “the Marquess Huaiwen” had been bestowed upon him. On top of that, the title of “the Marquess Fuan (AKA the Marquess of Fortune and Peace) had been conferred on Yuwen You, making him the second marquess of the Yuwen family. The two of them had been the only two people on whom titles of nobility were bestowed at the enthronement. In Yuwen Feng’s case, the title of nobility had been directly given to him, skipping Yuwen Zhi. What with Yuwen Zhi’s involvement in the attempted rebellion of Fang Quan and his conspirators, he had been convicted and condemned to be exiled to the south-west, but as Yuwen Zhi had been ill all along, his sentence hadn’t been carried out yet. Fang Quan’s accomplices hadn’t been executed yet as well, so nobody had raised any objections so far.

Currently, the Abode of the Marquess Huaiwen assigned to Yuwen Feng was still under construction, so Yuwen Zhi was still in Yuwen Feng’s original residence.

A moment ago when Ling Zhang had been with Yuwen Feng, he had noticed that Yuwen Feng’s face had been smileless all along. Also, he appeared even thinner than before. In fact he was almost skeletal, looking quite scary. Ling Zhang suspected that even the title of nobility hadn’t brought Yuwen Feng much happiness. On the contrary, owing to the matter of Yuwen Zhi and the work in the Ministry of Rites, Yuwen Feng seemed as though he could collapse at any moment. Even Ling Zhang couldn’t help but worry that Yuwen Feng was ill, preparing to talk with Yuwen Tong about it after he returned to the palace and see if Yuwen Tong could find someone else to temporarily take charge of the Ministry of Rites so that Yuwen Feng could go back home to nurse himself back to health.

Hearing the man say he was a servant of Yuwen Feng’s, seeing the anxious look on his face, Ling Zhang came to a halt and then walked up to the man.

The man was a servant who had been serving Yuwen Zhi’s branch of the Yuwen family for many years. At the sight of Ling Zhang coming, he hastily got down on his knees to pay his respects. “It’s an honor to see you, Childe Ling.”

“You may rise. What is it that you want to see your master about in such haste?” said Ling Zhang.

The servant hesitated, an awkward look on his face, uncertain about whether he should tell the truth or not.

Before Ling Zhang could ask again, a guard reprimanded, “Childe Ling asked you a question. Answer it!”

Taken aback, the servant hurriedly kowtowed and replied, “Please have mercy on me, Childe Ling. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. It’s really because I’m not allowed to disclose it. I…I…”