After sparing a couple of men to help carry the baggage, Yue Qi and other bodyguards got acquainted with Wang Dashan and his men as well as Xia Feng and a couple of supervisors. Then they showed Ling Zhang around the residence.
Just like Yuwen Tong had told him, this residence covered a vast area. After walking through the front door, he was greeted by a spacious and quite imposing front yard. On the right side of the yard was the first row of houses, among which there was a generously and ingeniously furnished reception hall.
On each of the two sides of the first row of houses was a corridor, and there was broad open space, too. Behind these houses was an altogether different world all its own, which was two even three times the area of the front yard. This was a garden. Ling Zhang believed it was probably the one Yuwen Tong had mentioned. There were two-story buildings with attic on both sides of the garden, the furnishings of which had their own respective characteristics.
Further ahead was a lake, where lotuses had been planted. Currently, the whole surface of the lake was covered in lotus leaves. Behind the lake was a large drill ground. An ingenious part of the layout of the garden was that there were rockeries, pavilions and platforms in the garden, which meant that people were not able to see the drill ground from the other side, so the concealment of this drill ground was satisfactory. Beside the drill ground were small courtyards and rows of living quarters for security guards.
Amid those living quarters was an exquisite main courtyard house that had been prepared for Ling Zhang. All furnishings and arrangements inside it had cost a lot of money and efforts. The more of the abode Ling Zhang saw, the fonder of it he grew.
Apart from these, there were also a couple of other courtyard houses, which were reserved for people of Ling family who might come to the capital city some day.
All necessary facilities were readily available, such as the kitchen, living quarters for servants, utility rooms, stables etc.
In a word, Ling Zhang was very satisfied with this residential compound.
Yue Qi and others had already had the whole compound thoroughly cleaned. All furniture and daily essentials were new.
The management of messing arrangements had not started yet. Since Ling Zhang and his men had arrived, chefs and other servants working in the kitchen would prepare the first meal after all baggage was properly handled.
They had moved into this place in a haste, so Ling Zhang decided to make it simple.
First they set off firecrackers at the front door. Then a wooden board engraved with the name of Ling family was hung on top of the door. After that servants in the kitchen made a fire in the stove.
When it came to the first meal in a residence, chefs were well acquainted with related customs. After going through a series of ceremonies and making quite some auspicious remarks, everybody took a seat around the tables, waiting for food to be served.
Having just finished such a long and weary journey, all of them were satiated by the feast. Chefs were still busy preparing all kinds of food in the kitchen and probably wouldn’t be able to get any spare time until the next day.
After the meal, they drank some wine.
Wang Dashan and other security guards had some time ago started chatting and messing around with Yao Yi and his men, their arms around each other’s shoulders, which was an uproarious and frivolous scene.
Yue Qi and other bodyguards, holding their fellows they had not seen for quite a long time, sighed in sentiment, “It’s been really difficult for us to find a place like this to let off steam since we returned to the capital city. We had to behave very cautiously in the abode of the Marshal and never got to relax in this way. It seems that life in the north-west is the most comfortable.”
Qiu Bing instantly craned over. “Bro, you get to drink and mess around like this in the encampment?”
“Of course. Why shouldn’t we? But we have to get the Marshal’s consent first. There are a great number of men in the encampment, and it’s quite a scene when all of them start having fun. This is nothing compared to that,” said Yue Qi.
Once a conversation was stuck up, these bodyguards who seemed to be cold and unapproachable in ordinary times seemed unable to stop talking, but Wang Dashan and others happened to like this kind of stories. All of them gathered around listening carefully.
Even Xia Feng, Wang Qing and Li Sicai couldn’t help but walked up to them.
Ling Zhang himself also failed to forbear from becoming one of the listeners. He lay down on the side with the white fox cub in his arms, listening to their aimless chat. It had been such a long travel, and he had been haunted with fear during the past few days. Now he could finally relax safe.
Ling Zhang exhaled deeply and stroked the white fox cub. On this occasion, he had completely forgotten about Yuwen Tong. Not only he but also all others in this room had put the existence of the Marshal on the shelves at the back of their minds. ‘The Marshal? What’s that? Is it edible?’
‘It’s much more fun to drink and chat with brothers.’
After all of them got tired from talking and drank enough liquor, servants brought them sweet dumplings from the kitchen, which excited exclamation of all bodyguards.
“Oh, I miss this. We’d been eating solid food all along when you were in Tanyang. The very thought of it makes me sympathize with myself!” yelled Yue Qi.
As Ling Zhang heard this, his heart involuntarily ached for them, but he also could barely forbear from laughing.
Yao Yi rolled his eyes, nudged Yue Qi and said, “You think I don’t know you guys had been sneaking outside to buy food?”
“But we couldn’t do that often, and we couldn’t afford to be spotted either. It was really difficult!” Yue Qi’s voice was still tearful.
Seeing a tough hombre behaving like this, Ling Zhang nearly laughed to death.
Yao Yi simply kicked him on the hip and said, “Beat it. Find yourself somewhere else to weep. You are ruining my appetite.”
Yue Qi accused him of caring little about brotherhood. Yao Yi rolled his eyes and butted Yue Qi with the back of his head.
Yue Qi looked around and directly walked up to Ling Zhang. He sat down on a short stool beside the deck chair, looked at Ling Zhang and the white fox cub in his arms and said, “Childe, where did you get this white fox cub? It’s pretty good-looking.”
Ling Zhang almost dissolved into laugh as he saw him. “Yao Yi and some others gave it to me as a gift.”
Yue Qi widened his eyes. “What? Those boors sent you a gift? It seems that they’ve developed some cunning. They didn’t use to be like this!”
After saying that, he added, “Childe, if there are any other animals you like, just tell me. I’ll deliver them to you tomorrow.”
Ling Zhang forbore to laugh. “Not really. The company of this white fox cub is enough for me. You’ve already done me too many favors, Guard Yue.”
Yue Qi gave a wave of his hand. “Hey, you are being too courteous, Childe. There’s no need to address me as ‘Guard Yue’. We’ve drunk wine together and that means something. Just call me Old Yue.”
He had just finished his sentence when Xie Shi aimed a kick at him and said, “Stop such undisciplined behavior. The Marshal will kick your ass if this comes to his knowledge.”
“The Marshal?” Yue Qi was confused. After quite a while, he recalled who this person was, smacked his palm onto his chest and replied, “The Marshal won’t find out, not if you and I don’t tell him.”
He openly expressed his intention to keep this back from his superior. It seemed that he was somewhat drunk.
Xie Shi’s temples involuntarily twitched. He disregarded this drunkard and said to Ling Zhang, “Childe, please just ignore him. This is typically him. He talks nonsense when drunk.”
Ling Zhang smiled, “It’s okay. I’m pretty comfortable with him behaving this way. Actually I feel a little embarrassed when you guys are being polite to me.”
Xie Shi gave a smile, picked up a sweet dumpling with his chopsticks, swallowed it and then continued, “Childe, is there anybody you’d like to visit in the capital city? If there is, we’ll deliver a visitor’s card to their place for you tomorrow.”
Ling Zhang thought for a few moments and replied, “There’s indeed a particular person. Those gifts I brought here for Lord Tao have to be delivered to two different places, so I do need to send them visitor’s cards first. I’ll get the cards ready later.”
Xie Shi inclined his head. “All right.”
After saying this, he kicked Yue Qi off the stool and sat down on it himself.
Yue Qi who got kicked was in a daze. After quite a while, he realized what had happened and came at Xie Shi.
Seeing them roughhousing, Ling Zhang couldn’t help smiling. The white fox cub in his arms gave a soft cry and watched Yue Qi and Xie Shi playfully fighting, amusement gleaming in its sparkling black eyes.
Ling Zhang had thought that he would feel very uncomfortable during the first few days after his arrival in the capital city when he was unaccustomed to it. However, with the company of this group of men, he didn’t feel lonely any more.
Xie Shi and Yue Qi, after roughhousing for a while, challenged each other to a kung fu competition. The drill ground happened to be nearby. After they started fighting, all others came to spectate.
“The two of them started fighting once again. I wonder who will be the winner this time.”
“Well, Yue Qi is drunk and Xie Shi is a wily old fox. Yue Qi is definitely going to lose.”
Ling Zhang, whose interest was aroused by their words, carried the white fox cub and followed in their wake to watch the fight.
These two men proved themselves to be kung fu experts subordinate to Yuwen Tong. Their moves were fierce and powerful. Gusts of wind generated by their punches and palm strikes could be distinctly felt even by people outside the drill ground.
Gradually, Ling Zhang was fascinated. His eyesight was much better now, which enabled him to distinguish the rapid movements of these kung fu experts.
Xie Shi’s fighting style was ferocious and aggressive, while that of Yue Qi was flexible and artful. This fight between these two men was also an intense confrontation between two fighting styles, which was a real feast for spectators.
Watching the fight, Ling Zhang spontaneously thought of the mental cultivation method of internal energy recorded in the secret manual in his bosom.
He wondered whether his kung fu would some day be as good as that of Xie Shi or Yue Qi if he started practicing it.
And he had also promised Yuwen Tong that he would make a definite reply to him after settling down in the capital city.
In fact, he knew that deep down there, he had made up his mind some time ago.
Thinking of this, he finally recalled Yuwen Tong who he had completely forgotten. It had been quite some time since Yuwen Tong went to the imperial palace. He wondered how things were going in there.
…
“Are you sure you want to marry that Ling Zhang guy of Ling family?” The emperor stared at Yuwen Tong.
Yuwen Tong replied, “Yes, Your Majesty. I’m positive of this. I’ve already started making preparations.”
“Oh?” The emperor’s face remained unchanged. “So soon?”
Yuwen Tong said, “I’m afraid that he might change his mind, so I want the wedding held as soon as possible. I might be reduced to living in regret for the rest of my life if I don’t hurry.”
The emperor fell speechless.
‘Why does Yuwen Tong like that Ling Zhang guy so much?’ he wondered.
“Aiqing (a term of endearment used by an emperor or an empress to address an official in feudal China), Ling Zhang is a man after all.”
“Your Majesty, I know very well that Ling Zhang is a man. Never have any women taken my fancy, so I think I’m only interested in men.”
The emperor fell speechless once again. ‘Yuwen Tong is a gay?’
Even the King Duan standing on the side had a somewhat weird expression on his face. ‘How could this have never occurred to us before?!’
“What a pity. Originally, I wanted to marry a princess to you,” said the emperor in a regretful tone of voice.
“Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty. I’m afraid I’m unworthy of such blessing,” Yuwen Tong responded.
“It wouldn’t do you any harm to have a try, would it?” the emperor was somewhat unresigned.
Yuwen Tong kept silent for a few moments and then replied in a very explicit manner, “I’m uninterested.”
Both the emperor and the King Duan were reduced to an embarrassed silence.
‘This remark is almost synonymous with an admission of his inability to be sexually aroused by women!
Has Yuwen Tong any idea what he just said? There won’t be any room for maneuver!’
However, both of them also knew what kind of person Yuwen Tong was –a man of great credibility, who never went back on his words.
Having just been informed of such a piece of “grave” news, the emperor was clearly not in the mood for continuing this private talk with Yuwen Tong. Finally, seeing his travel-soiled clothes, he let Yuwen Tong take his leave.
“Bring Ling Zhang with you to the welcome reception tonight,” the emperor suddenly added.
Yuwen Tong thought for a while and replied, “I’m grateful for your patronage, Your Majesty, but he is still weak after the horrifying experience during our journey and needs more rest.”
On hearing the words “horrifying experience”, the emperor naturally recalled the “near misses” that Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang had been through on their way to the capital city. After his countenance changed several times, he asked, “Have you found out who acted so boldly as to resort to assassination, Aiqing?”
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