Ling Zhang, after giving Yuwen Qi a kick which had made him vomit blood, said coldly, “I’m in no position to judge you? For your information, soon everything in the Yuwen family will be mine, including Yuwen Tong, and from now on you two will be my sworn enemies, because you tried to have him killed today; and make no mistakes, it is your lives that I’ll be seeking to take!”
After saying this, he aimed another kick at Yuwen Qi which instantly sent him flying. Yuwen Qi landed head-first on the ground, blood flowing from his forehead, unable to speak.
“Qi’er!” Zheng shi let out a scream, launching herself at her son.
Yuwen Feng rose from his seat and blocked Ling Zhang’s path. “Childe Ling, please stop.”
Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Feng flintily. Stop? Fuck you!
Unhesitatingly, he raised his foot and gave Yuwen Feng a kick as well, violently throwing him backwards. “Who are you to tell me what to do?! You think I’m your servant or something? Fuck off!”
Of course, Yuwen Feng who had never practiced kung fu was no match for Ling Zhang who possessed internal energy. Ling Zhang, in his fury, had given that kick with all his might, and Yuwen Feng had not only been sent flying but also reduced to spitting a mouthful of blood.
“How dare you!” bellowed Yuwen Zhi, finally losing his temper and springing to his feet.
A sneer at the corners of his mouth, Ling Zhang made towards Yuwen Zhi with a thinly disguised intention to give him a kick as well, which startled Yuwen You and some others.
Yuwen Zhi involuntarily took a step backward, both alarmed and angry. “You brat. How dare you acting with such unruliness in our family! It’s not your place to talk–”
Thud!
Ling Zhang ruthlessly aimed a kick at Yuwen Zhi’s stomach, which sent him slumping into the chair behind him and unable to speak for quite a while.
“AAARGH! YOU LUNATIC! LET GO OF ME!”
Zheng shi’s hand was heavily trampled underfoot by Ling Zhang. Ling Zhang, after kicking Yuwen Zhi, had turned around and stamped on Zheng shi’s hand, in a seemingly unintentional manner, but nobody present believed it was accidental, because Zheng shi’s hand became bloody and mangled very soon, which was a horrifying sight.
Seeing this, Yuwen You who was sitting in the host seat couldn’t help saying, “Cool down, sonny. Don’t make things any uglier.”
There was still iciness glinting in Ling Zhang’s eyes when he flicked a glance at Yuwen You, who gave a start and broke out in a cold sweat, fearing that Ling Zhang would kick him as well.
Fortunately Ling Zhang still had some regard for Yuwen You’s respectability. He moved his foot off Zheng shi’s hand and stepped back to Yuwen Tong’s side.
Yuwen Feng had already struggled to his feet. The sight of his mother’s mangled hand and his father’s pasty face from which cold sweat was still oozing threw him into a few moments’ stupefaction. Then he saw that his cousin was standing there silently, seeming to have never had any intention whatsoever to stop Ling Zhang from doing what he’d done, which had made his stand self-evident.
Finally, Yuwen Tong spoke. “The previous decision still stands.”
As soon as he finished this remark, Yuwen Feng’s face went ghastly white. Mouth slack, he regarded Yuwen Tong imploringly.
Yuwen Tong didn’t look at him and merely added, “Do not delay or I’ll do it myself.”
After saying this, he took Ling Zhang’s hand and his voice became gentle. “Let’s go. This matter has been settled. I’ll tell you the details after we return.”
Ling Zhang’s anger had slightly subsided after he kicked these people. His eyes flintily swept them one last time and then he left with Yuwen Tong.
“How did it happen exactly?” Ling Zhang’s temper began to fray again as he saw the awful shambles in houses of the first branch of the family.
Yuwen Tong explained the ins and outs of it to him. “Some people used Zheng shi and laid a trap for me.”
“Who?”
“Zhou Mingtang and his father who’s at his back.”
Ling Zhang’s brow abruptly corrugated in a deep frown. “Then why did you cede half of your power?!”
Hadn’t he been inviting his own doom by doing that?!
Yuwen Tong took Ling Zhang into his embrace, gently stroking his back, his voice tender but his eyes frosty. “After what happened today, both sides have come to know that the semblance of peace is over. The emperor fears I might rebel, and it’s very likely that, when feeling pushed to the wall, he’d throw caution to the wind and take action regardless of the consequences. I still need some time to fine-tune my plans. I handed over half of my power so that he wouldn’t be able to make his move any time soon. To be honest, I want to thank those who staged this farce, because my family now have good reason to shut the gates and focus on the preparatory work for our wedding without having to receive any visitors. Also, the emperor has got back the command of half of the armies and couldn’t make trouble for me in the near future, which means we may go to the Millennium Pavilion without worrying about the situation in the city.”
Ling Zhang made an unsuccessful attempt to free himself, still seething with frustration. “What kind of plan do you have? It’s an obvious fact that the emperor intends to kill you. How are you going to escape?”
“Escape? Who says I’ll make my escape?” said Yuwen Tong.
“You won’t flee? You’ll wait for him to kill you?” Ling Zhang couldn’t believe his ears.
Yuwen Tong smiled, “There is a better way. For some people, nothing is ever enough, and they leave me no choice but to fix them. It might not be a bad thing. I’ll handle them once and for all.”
Ling Zhang discerned a nerve-racking undertone in these remarks. Previously he had got a feeling that Yuwen Tong seemed to have made some kind of decision which he’d been keeping back from him, and now this feeling was getting stronger. “What do you want to do exactly?”
Yuwen Tong kissed Ling Zhang on the ear lobe and said in a quiet voice beside his ear, “You want to find out how it feels to reign over a country?”
Ling Zhang gave a start and didn’t speak for quite a while, his arms holding Yuwen Tong’s back tighter in spite of himself. “Wh–What are the odds you’ll succeed?”
“Ninety per cent.”
“But what will people in this country think of you if you do that?”
“No matter what I do, there will always be people talking against me.”
“Then when do you plan to go back to the north-west?”
Yuwen Tong grasped the overtones in Ling Zhang’s words and said with a chuckle, “I will return to the north-west, but it’ll be after everything’s handled.”
Ling Zhang had a quizzical face. “If you don’t go back to the north-west first, how are you going to…”
How was he going to take the throne? Surely he wasn’t planning to fight single-handed without any soldiers’ help?
Yuwen Tong lowered his voice and said beside his ear, “I never said I’ll usurp the throne with armies. That’ll be so boring.”
Ling Zhang, “…”
“Be careful not to go too far in your little game. I’m not ready to meet my end yet.”
Yuwen Tong gave a chuckle and cuddled him tightly. “I’ll make sure that you live a very long life.”
Some of Ling Zhang’s worries dissolved at these words of Yuwen Tong’s, but some others began to build up. He didn’t have a clue how Yuwen Tong would do it. In a matter of this kind, any lapse could lead to instant doom.
But Yuwen Tong had no intention of confiding the details to him straight away. Ling Zhang also knew that it was neither the right place nor the right time to talk about this matter. What with the incidents that had happened earlier this day, there was a lot of mess to be cleaned in the residential compound of the Yuwen family.
Anger began to rise inside Ling Zhang again at the thought of those people, and he had a sleepless night smoldering.
However, before daybreak, yet another incident took place.
Zheng shi died.
She hanged herself.
This was such a severe event that the whole Yuwen family woke up.
Ling Zhang was skeptical when he was informed that Zheng shi had hanged herself. How was it possible that a woman like her had committed suicide? He felt that this must be some kind of trick.
“She really died,” said Yuwen Tong, a calm look on his face.
Ling Zhang dressed and went to Zheng shi’s chambers with Yuwen Tong. When they arrived, they found that all the others, except for Yuwen Qi who’d been in a coma since his return from the ancestral hall, were present, including Yuwen You’s branch of the family.
Zheng shi’s body had been removed from the rope. She had indeed hanged herself. Yuwen Feng was wailing in the room. Mrs. Su and Su Yaoyao were also present, and for an instant, the expressions on their faces went very odd at the sight of Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, and with that the two of them paled visibly and bowed their heads.
Ling Zhang didn’t notice, and Yuwen Tong merely tossed a casual look at them.
Outsiders had many speculations about the reason for Zheng shi’s death, but most people believed it to be her guilt about failing the Yuwen family.
Ling Zhang, however, knew that Zheng shi would never take her own life for a reason of this kind. She’d chosen to commit suicide because there was no longer any room for her in the Yuwen family, and her death would ensure Yuwen Qi’s keeping most of what he had in this family. If she hadn’t committed suicide, both she and Yuwen Qi would end up being killed.
The Yuwen family sent out an obituary, and Zheng shi’s death caused yet another sensation in the capital city.
“It never crossed my mind that people of the second branch of the Yuwen family would have the fortitude to resort to this kind of self-destructive means in pursuit of their ends.”
“Fortitude? I think it’s more like stupidity. I mean, obviously Zheng shi was being used as a pawn… Yuwen Tong is a smart guy, though. He immediately ceded half of his command of the armies, which ensures that his family will be safe in at least the next few years.”
“And what might happen after a few years? If I were him, on no account would I cede power, and if the worst comes to the worst, I’d just lead the Northwestern Army and fight my way to this city.”
“Easy for you to say. On that day, all four city gates were sealed by large numbers of palace guards, which was obviously a precaution against him fleeing. Had he not ceded power, he would definitely have been killed. By handing over his command of the armies, he actually earned himself a chance of survival. Anyway, I feel that Yuwen Tong is more than what he seems, and it’s impossible that he’s admitted defeat like that. You’ll see.”
…
This farce of the Yuwen family, accompanied by heated discussion, lasted a very long time, and it was a few days after Zheng shi was interred and the second branch of the Yuwen family separated from the first branch that it gradually ceased to be the topic of citizens’ gossip.
Another matter worth mentioning apart from this was that Mrs. Su and Su Yaoyao had disappeared after the two branches of the Yuwen family had gone their separate ways, and before their disappearance, something else had occurred.
After Zheng shi’s death, Mrs. Su had wanted to make a last-ditch attempt to use the forged evidence to frame Ling Zhang.
But before she could submit the forged evidence, the one who’d incited her to do it, the Ninth Princess in the imperial temple, had been found to have died a sudden death in her bedroom at midnight.
Mrs. Su had broken out in a cold sweat at the news and come to realize how ridiculous her previous plan was. She and Su Yaoyao had left the Yuwen family, exited the capital city in great haste and set off to return to Su Zhi’s hometown. On their way, they’d encountered some bandits who’d robbed them of all their money, and then all their servants and handmaids had fled, leaving the two of them eking out a precarious existence. For a time they’d even been reduced to begging for food on the streets. Afterwards, Mrs. Su, who’d still had part of her graceful bearing left, had caught a squire’s fancy and been taken as his concubine, and then the squire had arbitrarily married Su Yaoyao to his crippled, middle-aged butler.
By and large, the disappearance of them hadn’t attracted anybody’s attention.
As regards the second branch of the Yuwen family, first Zheng shi had died, and then Yuwen Qi’s leg injury suddenly worsened drastically and almost became incurable. It was impossible for him to regain his mobility. And then, Yuwen Feng and Yuwen Zhi, taking Yuwen Qi with them, left the residential compound of the Yuwen family and moved into Yuwen Feng’s residence. What with his incompetence in disciplining family members, Yuwen Zhi was demoted to a position three ranks lower which was even inferior to that of Yuwen Feng, who was the Assistant Minister of Rites and possessed a mansion allocated to him in accordance with related statutes by the imperial court. Thus, the three of them moved into the Residence of the Assistant Minister of Rites.
Considering the Residence of the Assistant Minister of Rites was two streets away from the residential compound of the Yuwen family, and the front gates of them faced opposite directions, the two branches of the Yuwen family would probably never have any further dealings with each other unless necessity arose.
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