Yuwen Tong returned to the residence of Ling family, but Ling Zhang was nowhere to be seen, which sent him confused, since he had assigned a bodyguard to tend Ling Zhang, and both of them should have come back by this time.
“Marshal, Childe Ling also joined the hunt for Zhang Chong. He got there almost as soon as you left,” said a bodyguard who had returned shortly after Yuwen Tong.
“Then where is he? Why am I not seeing him?” Zhang Chong was already dead. Why kept him from coming back?
“Here he is,” replied a bodyguard.
Yuwen Tong turned around and saw a bodyguard, who was carrying Ling Zhang, land in the courtyard.
With a slight frown on his face, Yuwen Tong walked over and helped him get off the back of the bodyguard. “What happened?”
“It’s okay. I just need some time to regain my strength, which was why I had this bro carry me,” responded Ling Zhang.
“Go inside and get some rest. Dai Cheng is in charge of the matter of Tanyang now. Let’s leave it to him.” Yuwen Tong supported Ling Zhang with his hand.
“I killed Wang He.”
Yuwen Tong cocked an inquisitive eyebrow at him.
“He saw your face and is definitely going to tell Dai Cheng about it. If Dai Cheng reports this to the emperor, you will be condemned as defying an imperial edict and the emperor will no doubt use it against you.”
“He may testify about Zhang Chong’s crimes.”
“You think we need a witness to testify that Zhang Chong was a rebel?”
Yuwen Tong raised his brows and, heedless of the presence of bodyguards, scooped up Ling Zhang and strode towards the room.
“Hey, what are you doing? People are watching!” Ling Zhang patted him.
Before Yuwen Tong could say anything, those bodyguards quickly turned around and chorused, “We didn’t see anything.”
A pink flush spread over Ling Zhang’s cheeks and ears with embarrassment. ‘This is ridiculous… They are lying through their teeth.’
“I have to go to my uncle’s place and put in an appearance. He must have been very worried about me.”
“I’ll go and tell him you’ve come back.”
“I–”
“Trust me. I got this. What you need to do now is get some sleep. You’ll be informed of all other things after you wake up.”
‘Then see me back to my own place. Why are you carrying me into your bedroom?!’ Ling Zhang complained in his mind. However, maybe because he was really too exhausted and also had no intention of arguing with Yuwen Tong, he almost drifted into sleep before being put down on to the bed.
Yuwen Tong lowered his head to look at him and, with even greater caution, placed him on the bed very, very gently.
But Ling Zhang still opened his eyes. After seeing where he was, he closed his eyes and mumbled, “Two hours’ sleep is all I need. Wake me up after two hours.”
“Just sleep,” Yuwen Tong coaxed him in a low voice.
This voice was so hypnotic that Ling Zhang fell asleep almost immediately after hearing it.
It was after dark that he woke up from hunger. He opened his eyes and was still a little sleepy and unclear-minded, but the unfamiliar furnishings instantly sent him fully awake. It was already night and there was no lighted lamp in the room. A lantern overhanging the corridor was shining soft light through the window.
His coat had been removed and placed on a teapoy beside the bed. He was covered with Yuwen Tong’s quilt, which was giving off that faint fragrance of Yuwen Tong, making him feel that his whole body was enwrapped in this scent.
Memories of occurrences of this morning instantly came back to him. He recalled being carried into this room by Yuwen Tong, but what had happened next was just a blur, since he had fallen asleep shortly after that due to overwhelming sleepiness.
He wondered what the current situation was like outside.
Hastily, he got out of bed and dressed. The clean clothes with a refreshing smell brought him into another fleeting pause. ‘Yuwen Tong prepared these clean clothes for me.’
Since these clothes had been in this room for some time, they also had that faint fragrance on them. After putting them on, Ling Zhang felt as if he were still in Yuwen Tong’s bed, which made him very uneasy. He kept having this feeling that something was not right.
“What’s the matter?” As if on cue, Yuwen Tong walked into the room and saw that Ling Zhang was sniffing at his clothes with his head down and a faint flush on his cheeks.
Ling Zhang hurriedly lowered his arm. “It’s nothing.”
‘He thinks this reaction of his suggests nothing?’ Yuwen Tong walked up to Ling Zhang, craned closer to him and took a sniff. “I don’t smell anything weird. I took these clothes here from your bedroom last night. They should be all right.”
Of course the clothes were okay. It was something else that wasn’t. But Ling Zhang felt that it would be a little strange if he specially brought this to Yuwen Tong’s attention.
“Like I said, it’s nothing.”
Yuwen Tong straightened himself. “Are you hungry? Dinner is ready.”
Hunger had happened to be the very reason why he had woken up. Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong walked to the dinning room. As expected, there was food on the table. It seemed that the dinner had just been served.
“You haven’t had dinner either?” Ling Zhang could tell with half an eye that the food was more than one serving.
People of Ling family were never wasteful. They always prepared the exact amount of food that could meet their needs.
Yuwen Tong nodded, held his hand and brought him to the table to sit down. “I just came back, so I thought I might as well wait a while and dine with you.”
“How’s everything going out there? Why didn’t you wake me up at noon?” asked Ling Zhang after taking a seat.
“Because I figured you were exhausted and could use some more sleep. Dai Cheng has taken over the Prefecture Encampment. Statistical work on casualties in this battle is ongoing. Those things on the Grand Mang Mountain have been transported outside. After inventorying them, Dai Cheng will report to the emperor and ship them to the capital city, so we can still stay in Tanyang for some more time. It will take at least half a month for his memorial to the throne to reach the capital city and then be delivered back here, which means you have more than enough time to do what you have got to do in Tanyang.”
“What about the bodies of Zhang Chong and his deputy commanders?”
“Dai Cheng had them brought back. I don’t know what his intention is. He only claimed that he was the one who killed them. Nothing more.”
“Will he by any chance guess that you were the one who killed them?”
“I don’t have any motives for killing Zhang Chong. He might conjecture that Zhang Chong was killed by some foes of his, but he won’t be able to find out anything else.”
‘That’s true. There was no known hatred between Yuwen Tong and Zhang Chong. Even if Dai Cheng has some suspicions, there’s no way he can confirm them. Besides, he doesn’t have any evidence.”
“Uncle Ling has told Tao Feng about the matter of Lu family. This afternoon, they went to the residence of Lu family. News of Lu Kui faking his death has spread through the whole Tanyang. He claimed that he faked his death because he offended Zhang Chong and was afraid of his retaliation. It is known to all residents in Tanyang that Zhang Chong was a traitorous rebel, so they all believe that Lu Kui’s faking his death is justifiable, and there has been no disturbance. But it is rumored that people of Lu family are going to hire some Taoist priests to hold a ritual so as to expel bad luck from their house.”
Ling Zhang nodded. “That’s understandable.”
Though Lu Kui was merely faking his death, it was still pretty inauspicious. People of Lu family might have trouble sleeping at night if they didn’t do something to rid their house of ill luck.
“By the way, there is yet another matter,” Yuwen Tong added.
“What is it?”
“Jia Yin almost died in his cell.”
“How did he come to survive?”
Yuwen Tong was not surprised by this reaction of Ling Zhang’s at all. He gave a smile and replied, “Because Tao Feng was afraid that you might get angry if Jia Yin died, so he sent for a physician who stopped Jia Yin from breathing his last. When the day arrives, he’ll be beheaded.”
Ling Zhang curled his lip. He didn’t really care whether Jia Yin would die in the jailhouse or on a chopping block.
“What was it that almost killed him?”
“It is said that he vomited blood from fury.”
“What a shame his fury didn’t take his life.”
While taking about Jia Yin, Ling Zhang thought of Jia Zhong. Given that it had been quite a few days, Yamen runners should be on their way back escorting Jia Zhong had the hunt gone smoothly.
“I wonder if they’ve got Jia Zhong or not.”
“I’ll send someone to make some inquiries,” said Yuwen Tong.
Recently, they both had been too occupied to find the time to follow up the hunt for Jia Zhong.
“Are Guard Yao and Guard Zhang back?”
Yuwen Tong gave a bob of the head. “They both returned.
I’ve already had someone deliver a message to Xie Shi. I think he should receive it tomorrow. Old Master Ling and your aunt will come back in a couple of days.”
Ling Zhang heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
Since Zhang Chong’s attempt to intrude into the city had failed, Ling family was pretty safe, but he had no intention of taking even the slightest risk.
With this burden removed, Ling Zhang felt fully at ease.
The blood debts had finally been repaid in kind. Both of the two forces that had been running roughshod over Ling family had been eliminated, and they had rid themselves of life-threatening danger.
After the bitterness and longing for vengeance that had been building up in him dissolved, not only he himself felt much more relaxed, outsiders also sensed that he had changed considerably. Yuwen Tong, for instance, had always felt that Ling Zhang had been like a tense string, that even when he was smiling, there was always something other than happiness in his smile, as if something had all along been stopping him from being happy. But now, with Zhang Chong dead and the Prefecture Guards brought down, Yuwen Tong could distinctly sense that something joyous and vigorous had come back to Ling Zhang, as if even his eyes had become much brighter and sparkling.
Yuwen Tong found it hard to withdrew his gaze on Ling Zhang.
“What seems to be the problem?” Having noticed that Yuwen Tong had been gazing at him for some time, Ling Zhang lowered his head in confusion and checked his clothes wondering if there was anything strange about him.
“You seem more attractive after having a good sleep.”
It was not until after a short while that Ling Zhang came to realize that Yuwen Tong was taking liberties with him. “I’m a man. What are you talking about?”
“What’s wrong with being a man? In my eyes, you’re far more charming than any other man or woman.”
Ling Zhang fell speechless with embarrassment.
‘Did he really have to be so explicit?! How am I supposed to reply to this?!’ he thought angrily.
Ling Zhang believed that Yuwen Tong must have taken leave of his senses. Otherwise he would never have deemed him, a man, more good-looking that women.
“You don’t believe me?” asked Yuwen Tong. “Have you ever heard of that saying?”
“What saying?”
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
Ling Zhang fell speechless with embarrassment.
He wished for this conversation to come to an end.
Yuwen Tong watched him with smiling eyes. “So you’re better than anybody.”
“Enough. No more nonsense.” Ling Zhang hurriedly stopped him. He couldn’t bear to hear any more words of this kind. ‘Has Yuwen Tong any idea how to be euphemistic?’
Yuwen Tong gave a chuckle. “Okay, then. Let’s change our topic. With Zhang Chong’s death, necessity of eliminating those forces he had been colluding with as well as those bandits has arisen. There will be some more fights before people of Tanyang could embrace peace. Do you have any plans?”
This serious matter was brought up very abruptly…
Ling Zhang cleared his throat. “The relationships between local forces in Tanyang are quite complicated. Many of them had deep involvement with Zhang Chong’s rebellion and will be uprooted this time — He family, Zhou family, to name but two. And those county officials who colluded with Zhang Chong will also be eliminated. Too many things have to be done. I’ll have to consult with my uncle first.”
If Ling family was to consolidate its position in Tanyang, they had to make full use of this opportunity.
There were so many things they could do!
In front of him was such a golden opportunity that Ling Zhang would never forgive himself if he let it slip away.
Seeing the determined look in Ling Zhang’s eyes, Yuwen Tong asked, “You’ve got an idea?”
Ling Zhang gave a bob of the head. “It’s just an idea.”
After dinner, Ling Zhang couldn’t bear to sit there any longer, since Yuwen Tong kept staring at him with that strange look in his eyes.
He returned to his own place, walked into his study, sat down and finally regained his composure.
Having noticed that Ling Zhang seemed to be trying to avoiding him, Yuwen Tong itched to go after him, but Yao Yi happened to come back, so he had no choice but to meet Yao Yi first.
“In order not to alarm Zhang Chong, the emperor merely made an excuse and placed Concubine Shu and the Sixth Prince under house arrest. Now that Zhang Chong had been brought to justice, they probably won’t be able to regain their previous power. The brother of the wife of the six prince had also been in direct contact with Zhang Chong. All those on the Sixth Prince’s side will be eliminated, which will no doubt bring some influence on the balance of power in the capital city. Marshal, all those in the capital city are aware that it was you who masterminded this operation targeting Zhang Chong. What do you think they will think about you?”
“Currently, what concerns them the most is simply that I might be colluding with some prince, that I’ve chosen my side. I have no intention to deprive them of the fun of guessing.”
“May I ask if there are any particular things you plan to do after returning to the capital city? Are there any necessary arrangements that you’d like me to make beforehand?”
“There’s no hurry. Send a message to Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi first. Tell them I’ll stay in the capital city for a longer time. Instruct them to make sure that everything is all right in the Northwestern Army. This army means the world to us.”
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