The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 538- 539

Chapter 538: The Reunification of the Three Countries

Two hours later, the city gates of the Luohai capital opened without notice.

The Great-Wen army were instantly on the alert, but then they saw that out of the city came a group of officials in robes, civil ones and military ones, a large number of citizens following in their wake.

Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang, who were looking in the direction of the city in the distance, saw this scene and exchanged a glance, knowing that the plan worked.

“Holy shit! What’s going on? Wh–What do those people think they’re doing?!” exclaimed Yuwen Jin, astonished.

“You moron. Isn’t it obvious? They’re here to surrender,” said He Xiao, rolling his eyes at him.

Yuwen Jin’s eyes widened. “Does that mean we don’t have to attack the city any more?”

“What’s the point of attacking the city when they’ve already surrendered?”

Soon, the troops of the Great Wen also fell to formation. Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang, followed by some officers, walked out of the encampment, halted a few paces away from the entrance and waited.

The Luohai official heading the team found his whole body tense, feeling as though his feet were growing heavier with his every step, but as he saw that Yuwen Tong had actually walked out of the encampment with some officers and was waiting near the entrance, he abruptly relaxed completely, mixed feelings instantly rising inside him.

There was no insult to the vanquished. No matter what Yuwen Tong’s true thoughts were, at least on the surface he was showing them respect.

And that was enough for them.

…

” … We’re here to capitulate to Your Majesty and the Great Wen on behalf of all residents of this city. We petition Your Majesty to grant us permission to be your subjects. We ask for nothing but that Your Majesty show mercy to the residents of this city.”

Luohai officials of all descriptions, along with the citizens in their wake, got down on one knee, the one in charge presenting an instrument of surrender with both hands.

Yuwen Tong’s calm eyes swept across the group of people. Due to the air about him which was more powerful and brooding than anybody’s, all those in front of him bowed their heads, appearing respectful or scared, not daring look up at him, foreheads of the couple of officials at the front covered in fine beads of cold sweat.

It was a few moments before Yuwen Tong took the instrument of surrender in that man’s hands, unfurled it, read it and said, “Your petition’s granted.”

The subdued, nervous atmosphere instantly became relaxed. All those officials put their other knees to the ground and prostrated themselves.

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

The citizens chorused the same words, their collective voices much louder than the officials’.

All members of the Great-Wen army behind Yuwen Tong, at the sight of this scene, threw out their chests, looking at Yuwen Tong with fervent reverie in their eyes.

…

Since the capital had capitulated, all the other cities gave up resisting and opened the gates to let the Great-Wen army in to take over.

Thus, the whole Luohai Kingdom was also subjected to the Great Wen’s rule.

And the reunification of the three countries had been achieved in terms of territory.

This day marked a new chapter of the Great Wen which was slowly entering its prime.

…

…

Another five years passed.

In Xinjing, the new capital of the Great Wen.

The whole city was oozing liveliness and prosperity, every street swarming with pedestrians.

Five years ago, the Great Wen had accomplished the great cause of the reunification of the three countries and its capital had been moved. The new capital was almost twice the size of the old one, and its population had been booming in the past few years.

People of the two subjugated countries had gradually come to accept their new identity as Great-Wen subjects over the past five years, mixing with the original subjects of the Great Wen, multiplying and living a happy life. The situation at the border had also gradually stabilized and there hadn’t been any unrest.

Overall, the Great Wen was showing a relentlessly upward development trajectory.

Also, the residents’ respect and love for the ruler of the Great Wen had been deepening.

The imperial couple’s tenth wedding anniversary was drawing near, and residents of all cities were awaiting the upcoming celebration with keen anticipation. Many caravans from various prefectures had come to the capital city several days in advance. Apart from merchants, some of those who had the economic power had also journeyed to the capital, coming along for the ride.

Government departments in the capital city had also prepared themselves for the approaching grand occasion.

…

In the imperial palace.

Carved beams and painted rafters could be seen everywhere in the resplendent and magnificent complex of buildings.

The new imperial palace of the Great Wen, built according to Yuwen Tong’s and Ling Zhang’s preference, was very different from the palace in the former capital. The design of it was centered on making sure that the imperial couple found it a comfortable dwelling.

The imperial bedchamber had once again been sited in the vicinity of the consultation hall. There were partition walls between the two palaces both of which were heavily guarded.

On this day, eunuchs were animatedly bustling around in the imperial palace, putting the finishing touches to the preparation for the oncoming celebration, the hustle making an enjoyable sight. The imperial study, however, was still very quiet, with only the guards on duty standing outside, and nobody dared approach it without permission.

The atmosphere in the study was also a little subdued compared with how it was at ordinary times.

All the guards outside found their backs tense, looking too nervous to make a sound.

The reason for this was that there had been a lot going on in the imperial study since morning, and several batches of courtiers had visited it, keeping the emperor so occupied with state affairs that he was unable to leave the imperial study to go out of the palace with the empress, the princes and the princess, which was why he was in a very foul mood and the atmosphere in the study was rather glum.

With a cold face, Yuwen Tong, having just finished reading a memorial, tossed it to the side and said to the courtier standing in front of his desk, “I can’t believe you’ve been fussing over such a trivial matter the whole morning. Have someone figure it out before you come here again.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” answered the courtier hastily before quietly wiping the sweat off his forehead. It was not that they wanted to add to the emperor’s workload. The main reason why he had come to the study was because the lost goods were some kind of special tribute from a mini-state in the Western Regions. It was said that the mini-state valued this batch of tribute very much, that the leader of the diplomatic corps, after the tribute went missing, had been terribly anxious and sent several petitions for help successively. Not daring delay reporting this matter to the emperor, they had come to the imperial study early in the morning, because who should be the one sent to deal with the matter was the emperor’s decision to make.

After getting Yuwen Tong’s approval, the courtier hastened to take his leave, not daring stay in the study for a single extra moment. At the front gates of the palace, he chanced upon another group of courtiers, with whom he inevitably fell into conversation.

“Lord Li, you’ve just left the imperial study as well?”

“Yeah,” answered the courtier asked, who then added, “His Majesty doesn’t seem to be in a good mood today. Is it because something else happened?”

“Well, nothing serious. It’s mostly because several rather urgent matters happened to be reported to His Majesty this morning, every one of which, like the case of lost tribute in your hands, required a decision from His Majesty; and, unfortunately, this morning His Highness went back to the Ling Mansion to visit his relatives, bringing with him His and Her Highnesses. His Majesty had originally planned to go with them, but his plan was upset by these matters.”

“Well, that’s indeed quite unfortunate. No wonder His Majesty’s eyes were reproachful when he looked at me a moment ago,” said the courtier who had just left the imperial study, heaving a long sigh of relief in the knowledge that he was not the reason why the emperor was unhappy.

“Ha ha … His Majesty is just a little sulky today. Just make sure you don’t do or say anything that might get on his nerves.”

“I wouldn’t dare do that.”

Everybody knew that the imperial couple had deep affection for each other. The reason why the mini-state in the Western Regions had sent some men here to pay tribute was because of the imperial couple’s tenth wedding anniversary, but if truth be told, the courtiers still found it incredible that the marital bonding between the imperial couple was so strong. The two of them had been living together for so many years, but the emperor was now sulking just because he couldn’t go out of the palace with the empress. The chemistry between them was such as though they were newly-weds.

‘What an enviable marriage,’ they thought.

…

When it was almost noon, Yuwen Tong finally got all the state affairs in his hands settled and, without more ado, took some men and left the palace, heading for the Ling Mansion.

After the capital had been moved, the Ling family had also transferred. The well-being of elderly family members taken into consideration, the new Ling Mansion had been sited in a fairly secluded spot, but the residential compound covered a vast area, with bamboo groves and lakes inside it, which made it a perfect place for relaxation and wellness preservation.

Regular occupants of the residence included Ling Xingzhong, Ji Yin, Ling Maomao, Ling Xuxu and Mr. Mu.

At first Yuwen Tong had intended to bestow a title on Ji Yin and built him another mansion, but Ji Yin had deemed it unnecessary to go to that much trouble for an old man like him who had no other family members, so he had been living in the Ling Mansion all along, keeping Ling Xingzhong company.

As for the others, Ling Zhaowu stayed in Jiahe Chamber of Commerce all the year around; Ling Zhaowen was now a prefectural governor and lived with Fu Caiwei and their youngest son Ling Xiaobao in their own residence. The large Ling Mansion was always fairly quiet except for the Spring Festival. Ling Zhang from time to time took his adopted children back to the Ling Mansion to visit the elders lest they feel lonely.

Yuwen Tong went there incognito, but even so, it still took him some time to reach the Ling Mansion. Ling Zhang and the others had been waiting for him at the dining table.

The large family held a feast in the dining hall as usual, and there weren’t many servants waiting upon them, because they felt more comfortable and at ease when almost everybody in the room was family.

The moment Yuwen Tong arrived, all the others rose to pay their respects to him.

Yuwen Tong flung out his arms to stop the two old men from getting on their knees, not daring to let them pay respects to him.

Then he inclined his head at the junior family members and a moment later the whole family had taken their seats.

Ling Zhang asked him, “You got everything handled?”

Yuwen Tong nodded. “Almost. They can take care of the rest.”

It was only when he had sat down beside Ling Zhang that the vexation that had been smoldering inside Yuwen Tong the whole morning dissolved. His mind now at ease, his mood naturally lightened.

Over the past five years they had been quite busy all along, because after all, everything in the Great Wen had been getting back on track, but overall, the situation was much better this year than it had been when the capital city had just been moved, which was why Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang on occasions could find the time to go out of the palace to visit the Ling Mansion.

“Incidentally, I’ve just received a message from the Clan Leader. He said he’d come here to offer his congratulations to you,” Ji Yin suddenly informed them.

An invitation had been sent to the Millennium Pavilion as usual, and it astonished them that Ji Yanlai had accepted it, because he had turned down the invitations on all similar previous occasions.

Both Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong found this a pleasant surprise. Ling Maomao also had a twinkle in his eyes.

“The Clan Leader dislikes trouble. The reason why he turned you down when you invited him shortly after the reunification and the transfer of the capital was because he believed you still had a lot of things to deal with, that he wouldn’t be able to enjoy himself if he came here. Now he feels you two have the leisure to entertain him, so he agreed to come,” explained Ji Yin.

Ling Zhang chuckled, “The Clan Leader hasn’t changed a bit.”

Looking resigned, Ji Yin shook his head. “That’s what he’s always like. In recent years the situation on the island has also stabilized, but the couple of years following the transfer had been really tough for him. He’d been having his hands full in those days.”

Ling Zhang smiled but made no reply. Surely the workload of ruling an island was nowhere close to that of ruling a country? In the final analysis, everybody in the Millennium Pavilion had been pampering Ji Yanlai, and their hearts ached for him whenever he seemed to be a little busy with something. They saw him as their own child and couldn’t bring themselves to let him feel hard done by.

“Master, will Cong come here as well?” Ling Maomao suddenly asked.

Ji Yin said, “There’s no information in the letter on that score, but considering the young master has been cooped up on that island for ten years, the Clan Leader and the others could hardly say no if he wants to come out to get some fresh air.”

Ling Maomao’s eyes gleamed with anticipation at these words.

He had been learning kung fu from Ji Yin all these years. On one occasion Ji Yin had entrusted him with the task of delivering something back to the Millennium Pavilion and thus he had gone to the island, but at that time Ji Xiaocong had been in closed-door cultivation, so he had not seen Ji Xiaocong during that visit, which had been a great regret of his ever since. He had left a letter for Ji Xiaocong but did not know whether Ji Xiaocong had read it or not. He believed that Ji Xiaocong would probably come to the capital city with the leader of the Millennium Pavilion if he had read the letter.

Chapter 539: Frolics

The expectant look in Ling Maomao’s eyes reminded Ling Zhang of the time when Ling Maomao and Ji Xiaocong had romped around every day in their childhood, as well as the reluctance on their faces at the moment of parting, and with that he also involuntarily began to hope Ji Xiaocong would come to the capital city, wondering what the clever little boy looked like now.

The last ten years felt like an instant, as though it were only yesterday that Yuwen Tong’s enthronement ceremony and their wedding had been held.

But Ling Maomao had had his rite of passage last year and was now eighteen, which was the same age that he, Ling Zhang, had been when he had arrived in the capital city with Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong immediately perceived Ling Zhang’s absent-mindedness and shrewdly guessed what he was thinking at the sight of Ling Zhang looking at Ling Maomao with a reminiscent look on his face.

After lunch, Yuwen Tong, who was in no hurry to return to the palace, stayed in the Ling Mansion with Ling Zhang and their adopted children.

Ling Maomao, who had got used to being the headman of the children in the Ling family these years, brought them to the garden to have an after-meal walk, Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong slowly following in their wake. Though having been married for many years, the two of them still preferred to hold each other’s hands when walking together.

“Time does fly. The past ten years feels like an instant,” said Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong had not had any particular feelings when he had suggested they hold a celebration in honor of their tenth wedding anniversary. Not until he, a few moments ago, had seen Ling Maomao and the other children that had grown so much had he suddenly realized that it had indeed been ten years.

“This is the first decade. We’ll have the second, the third … We have many decades ahead of us before our deaths,” observed Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong planned to hold a celebration every ten years. He was a thrifty and down-to-earth man and seldom held any celebrations. There had to be one during the Spring Festival, but other than that, he never went to the trouble. On this occasion, however, he had brought it up on his own initiative. The courtiers, after being informed that the emperor uncharacteristically wanted to hold a celebration, had immediately entered into the preparatory work with great enthusiasm for fear that the emperor might change his mind, all of them determined to make the celebration grand and ceremonious.

“I wonder what we’ll look like when we’re old several decades later.” Ling Zhang thought that he would probably, like his maternal grandfather, look much younger than his age, that he might live longer than the common people.

Yuwen Tong had powerful internal energy and made huge breakthroughs during the past ten years, so it stood to reason that he would enjoy longevity. Ling Zhang was thankful that he had adopted the internal-energy cultivation method provided by the Millennium Pavilion, which enabled him to stay in Yuwen Tong’s company for a longer period of time.

Yuwen Tong said, “There’s no way to find that out in advance, so we might as well slow things down and enjoy life to the fullest. We’ll know when the time comes, and there’s no need to be anxious about it. And, after the kids grow up, I’ll abdicate the throne so that the two of us will have time to do some traveling. Last year a mini-state in the Western Regions paid me some interesting tribute which they’d got from further west. Haven’t you been curious as to what kind of country those things were made in? We may go and find out.”

Ling Zhang’s eyes lit up at these words of his. “Really?”

“Of course. What’s the point of reunifying the three countries if we have to stay in this palace forever? We’d be like slaves if that’s the case,” said Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong was probably the only monarch who would regard himself as a slave to the throne.

But Ling Zhang indeed looked forward to traveling around the world with Yuwen Tong. As for whom Yuwen Tong would abdicate in favor of, Ling Zhang did not ask. He had never brought up this matter. Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin were both his sons, and both were very good, but he would not interfere in the decision about which one of them should be the heir to the throne.

In fact, during these years, as Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin grew up, the differences between the two brothers had been growing progressively evident.

Both of them were very intelligent and strong-minded, but Yuwen Qi found the idea of becoming a renowned general more attractive than anything else, and he had clearly inherited the military leadership qualities that had passed from generation to generation in the Yuwen family. Though his academic performance was also pretty good, there was no doubt he much preferred kung fu and other fighting skills to knowledge. On one occasion he had even slipped out of the palace with the intention to sneak into the Garrison Battalion to watch the soldiers drill. Whenever he heard someone talk about kung fu practice or war, his eyes brightened and glittered with feverish excitement. Because of this, Yuwen Tong, who could have spared time to wipe out the Gu-masters in South Xinjiang and the northern tribes in the past few years, had eventually chosen to enhance domestic stability, spending more time guaranteeing the well-being of his subjects. Ling Zhang had vaguely guessed the reason why Yuwen Tong had done that, but he had been pretending otherwise all along, deciding to let nature take its course, because apart from anything else, their sons were still young.

Yuwen Lin, however, was somewhat sensitive and showed an extraordinary natural aptitude for politics. It had not been very obvious when he had been a little boy, but as he grew up, especially in recent years, it had been becoming more and more evident. Ling Zhang had no idea whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, because Yuwen Lin’s political precocity was bound to cause him to think more than his peers did. Ling Zhang had worried that Yuwen Lin might go bald at a young age, but after he overheard a conversation between Yuwen Lin’s teacher and Yuwen Tong, he had once again chosen to let nature take its course. However, maybe because Yuwen Lin had been spending more time on politics, which he found more interesting, his proficiency in kung fu had never stacked up against that of his brother, and he was rather thin too, which was why Ling Zhang from time to time had to remind the cooks to prepare extra nutritious food for Yuwen Lin.

Ling Zhang did not know whether or not it was a coincidence that his two sons had their respective interests between which there was no conflict. Also, the ties of brotherhood between them had been very close. Yuwen Qi, several months Yuwen Lin’s senior, was the big brother and had been protecting and taking good care of Yuwen Lin. Yuwen Lin, who was more sensitive to changes in the situation in the imperial court, from time to time reminded Yuwen Lin to pay attention. Sometimes, when he found Yuwen Qi “stupid”, he lit oil lamps at night and insisted Yuwen Qi write down the major political forces as well as the entangling relations between them. Ling Zhang would not have found out about it if he had not on one occasion discovered that they were not asleep late at night and gone to their bedroom to give them a prod, but he had not stopped them and had just told them that they must put out the lamps when it was time to sleep.

“Lin, bring Xuxu with you. We’re going to the drill ground.” Yuwen Qi, holding Yuwen Yue’s hand, told Yuwen Lin to bring Ling Xuxu as he saw Ling Xuxu straggle behind them.

Yuwen Lin turned on his heel and waited for a few moments before he took Ling Xuxu’s hand and yelled at his brother who was ahead of them, “Do not practice kung fu, Qi! We’ve just finished lunch! This is supposed to be an after-meal walk!”

“Alas, it’s okay!” said Yuwen Qi nonchalantly.

Yuwen Yue was also fun loving. Having grown up with a bunch of boys, she was somewhat of a tomboy and seemed to see herself as a boy. She had been into beautiful dresses when she’d been a little girl, but now, maybe because Yuwen Qi had had an influence on her, she had developed a strong interest in fighting skills.

At this moment, she freed her hand from Yuwen Qi’s and, with an I’m-grown-up expression on her face, said to Yuwen Qi, “You don’t have to hold my hand, Qi. I can manage it myself.”

With that she led the way towards the drill ground, strutting along in a very tomboyish manner.

Ling Zhang following them at a distance was rendered speechless at the sight of this.

He felt rather resigned. “I always remind her to behave like a princess before we go out of the palace, but she always forgets about it completely after only a few moments.”

Yuwen Tong, however, was totally okay with it. There was no rule that said they had to pamper their daughter and have her stay at home all the time. If they did that, their daughter might be too weak to lift a staff, let alone protect herself from danger, which was, naturally, not what he wanted to see happen. Their daughter seemed fine to him – she was pretty, intelligent and even capable of wielding a spear. She had got plenty of brains as well as brawn. What else could they ask for?

“It’s okay. We’re in the Ling Mansion, aren’t we? It’s our own place, and there’s no outsiders here,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang slightly shook his head. He had known Yuwen Tong would say this.

He felt that it was indeed a good thing that their daughter had some kung fu skills with which she could protect herself, but it was inappropriate for her to spend too much time on that. The two of them were both men and, greatly to their daughter’s disadvantage, had little knowledge of how to raise a daughter properly, and if they by any chance failed to teach their daughter enough manners, she would, Ling Zhang feared, be angry with them after she grew up, and they would not be able to justify themselves to his aunt.

“Well, let’s just drop it. The most important thing is for our daughter to be safe and healthy. With the two of us and her brothers in her company, she’s bound to live a happy life, isn’t she?” said Yuwen Tong consolingly.

…

Meanwhile, the children had reached the drill ground. Ling Maomao was standing on the side, keeping an eye on the others lest any of them hurt themself.

Yuwen Tong drew Ling Zhang to one side where they settled themselves in chairs and a couple of servants immediately brought them some fruits and snack.

Yuwen Qi liked the drill ground in the Ling Mansion because it boasted many weapons that Ling Zhaowu had collected from various places. These weapons were neatly ranged in rows, and it was impossible for anybody who was interested in kung fu not to be attracted to them. At first Yuwen Qi had been the only one thinking about them all day long, but afterward Yuwen Yue had become obsessed with them as well.

Yuwen Lin was standing right behind them. As he saw his brother pick up a seemingly dangerous weapon, he cautioned, “That one’s dangerous.”

Yuwen Qi scratched his head and had just picked up another one when Yuwen Lin warned, “Qi, that one’s dangerous too!”

“Crescent, do not touch that big knife. It’s heavier than you are. You might hurt your foot if you try to move it!”

The drill ground was full of Yuwen Lin’s voice trying to dissuade the other two from picking up dangerous weapons.

“Alas, stop calling me by my pet name, Lin, will you? I told you I’m grown up now.”

With that the big knife in her hand clanked ominously to the ground.

Yuwen Lin’s forehead twitched with horror at the sight of it.

It was only then that Ling Maomao walked up to them and said, “Yueyue, you’re not strong enough to use this knife for the moment. Try this one.”

While saying this, he handed her a wooden saber.

Yuwen Yue, ” … “

Though unconvinced, she still took the wooden saber after a glance at Ling Maomao, not daring defy her uncle who seemed to be becoming more and more commanding, and who looked somewhat intimidating when serious.

Yuwen Lin heaved a long sigh of relief as he saw that she finally switched to a wooden saber.

Ling Xuxu on the side burst into laughter.

On hearing the laugh, Yuwen Yue spun around and gave him a dirty look in an effort to stop him from laughing.

However, Ling Xuxu was not afraid of her at all. It was true that Yuwen Yue was a princess, but he was her uncle according to the family hierarchy.

Unsurprisingly, Yuwen Yue, who did not dare do anything to Ling Xuxu, stamped her foot in anger and then went to Yuwen Tong, wooden saber in hand.

“Father, I’ve learned all the moves you taught me the other day. Let me show you!”

Yuwen Tong had taught her some moves? On hearing this, Ling Zhang twisted his head around to look at Yuwen Tong.

Beneath Ling Zhang’s reproachful gaze, watching his daughter run towards him with an innocent look on her face, Yuwen Tong couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, ‘Oh, my goodness. Why are you so bad at keeping secrets, daughter? I told you to be careful not to spill the beans!’