Eventually someone noticed Ling Zhang and recognized him. Ling Zhang had first arrived in the capital city with the air of someone who was going to make themself known to the whole city, and on this day, it could be said that there wasn’t a single person in this city who had not heard of his name yet, which was why his being recognized on this street caused quite a sensation.
Almost immediately after he was recognized, all residents nearby quieted down, and even the acrobatic troupe stopped dead.
Although the official wedding ceremony hadn’t been held yet, there was a general consensus among all residents in the capital city that Ling Zhang was the future consort.
When a consort arrived, all subjects present were supposed to kneel and keep quiet to pay their respects to him or her, but the problem was that Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong were not officially married at the moment. Though everybody knew he would be the consort, according to the rules, he shouldn’t be addressed as such until the title was officially conferred upon him.
Then what should they do? All residents on the scene were at a loss what to do. Some of them reflexively sank to their knees but didn’t know what they should say. Others didn’t kneel but wondered whether or not it was appropriate for them to remain standing. Eventually they were all on their knees, unaware of what to say. For a moment it was a fairly peculiar scene.
Ling Zhang, “…”
He hadn’t thought that it would come to this. These people knelt down before him in such a sudden fashion that he was sent into a stupor.
“You may rise, all of you.” Unable to figure out what he should say, Ling Zhang had no alternative but to ask them to stand up.
The residents all felt relieved, rose to their feet and then continued gazing at Ling Zhang silently.
The acrobats stopped performing. Seeing that the acrobatic feat they wanted to see was suspended, Ji Yanlai, Ling Maomao and Cong all appeared rather disappointed, their enjoyment spoiled.
Ling Zhang intended to have the acrobatic troupe resume their performance, but all these people had now come to know his identity and looked faintly scared of him, and if by any chance the acrobats made any errors out of nervousness, it would be a real bummer. Moreover, because of these people’s kneeling down to him, residents in the distance had noticed and were all looking in this direction. If they kept walking around, they would only end up being the focus of attention from start to finish, and the liveliness of this occasion and the pleasure of strolling the streets would be lost as well.
Resigned, Ling Zhang had to admit that he had become a spoilsport by being recognized.
“I’m sorry, but it seems that this saunter of ours has come to an early end,” Ling Zhang said to Ji Yanlai.
A heavy pleasure seeker as he was, Ji Yanlai was a reasonable person. He said, “Never mind. I’ll stay in the capital city for another couple of days anyway. I can do this another time.”
Ling Zhang thanked him and then shifted his gaze to Ling Maomao and Cong. “We have to go back. As compensation for this, I’ll have my men buy some goodies and interesting stuff and bring them back, so that we can have some fun in the residence.”
Ling Maomao was a big boy now and knew when to heed adults’ words. In addition, this city was strange to him and he was still a trifle uptight. A moment ago when the large crowd had knelt down in their direction, he had been somewhat frightened. On hearing Ling Zhang’s arrangement, he obediently bobbed his head. “Okay, Big Brother. Let’s do it your way.”
Cong was still young, but children could be very sensitive to the change in the atmosphere in some circumstances as well. He had evidently sensed the strange gaze from the eyes of people nearby, which was different from how it had been just now. He gave a nod and said nothing, just inching his little body behind Ling Maomao in an effort to hide from those looking in his direction.
Ling Zhang’s eyebrows contracted slightly. Without saying anything else, he pivoted around and started to lead them back. At the same time he instructed Liu Yi to take some men and buy some food and toys and then bring them back to the Ling Mansion.
They had gone out in high spirits but returned fairly dispirited. All of them seemed a little bit down.
Ling Xingzhong, Ling Zhaowu and Ling Zhaowen, who were playing chess in the ante-room, along with Ji Yin who was sitting on the side counting something on his fingers, were all somewhat puzzled as to why they had come back so early. “Eek? Why are you back so soon? It’s been less than an hour.”
Seeing they appeared in low spirits, Ling Zhaowu asked, “Did something happen when you were on the street?”
“It was my fault. I should’ve taken into consideration the possibility of someone recognizing me.” Ling Zhang gave them an account of what had happened out on the street.
All his elders lapsed into silence and were absorbed in thought for a few moments. Then Ling Xingzhong observed, “Your identity is different now, and it’s indeed inappropriate for you to walk on the street like this. We just haven’t adapted ourselves to these changes. What happened tonight should be taken as a word of warning for us.”
Ling Zhaowen felt sorry for Ling Zhang. “You mean from now on Zhang’er couldn’t even go out into the street?”
Ling Zhaowu remained silent, but the slight frown on his face showed that his heart also ached for Ling Zhang.
“‘You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs,’ as the saying goes. You and Yuwen Tong had been celebrities already even before your identities changed. There’s a very high risk that you’ll be recognized. For the sake of your safety, you need to wear a disguise before going out into the street. Surely Yuwen Tong has someone at his command who knows how to disguise people, I suppose?” said Ji Yanlai matter-of-factly.
Comprehension dawned on the faces of all others at these words, as though they had just woken up from their dreams, and with that the atmosphere lightened instantaneously.
Ling Zhang smiled, “That’s so true, Clan Leader. I’m sorry for spoiling your enjoyment tonight. I should’ve made some preparations beforehand.”
Ji Yanlai said, “Like I said, it’s no big deal. I’ll do it another day.”
Ling Zhang said, “But Clan Leader, your appearance is too obtrusive. Given what happened out there just now, I’m afraid you would also be the focus of attention when you’re on the street.”
Ji Yanlai said, “I don’t mind that. They could only stare at me and it wouldn’t cause me any inconvenience.”
Ji Yanlai wasn’t worried that he might not be able to go out into the street again, because he also had some disguise skills. Besides, being stared by a large group of people never gave Ji Yanlai any feelings of embarrassment. Also, he didn’t feel there was anything awkward about those people following on his heels.
Although their saunter down the street had ended early, Liu Yi and some others soon returned with tasty foods and interesting toys. There were two tablefuls of a variety of delicacies and drinks: snacks peculiar to the capital city, wonton that was only available by night, fine wine from restaurants, appetizing courses that went with wine… They all gathered together to enjoy the occasion. The two little boys, Ling Maomao and Cong, were laughing happily all the time. This to some degree made up for the regrettable early end of their stroll on the street.
After Liu Yi and the others brought those things back, Ling Zhang specially had them spare a portion of the food for him and then personally delivered it to Fu Caiwei who was staying in the rear yard.
Previously, when they had been in Tanyang, Fu Caiwei would typically be present at family gatherings like this. The Ling family was not really a large family, so they had fewer rules compared with most other families, but right now, what with Ji Yanlai’s presence and the fact that this was the capital city, Fu Caiwei had decided to stay in her room. In the capital city she had to be more discreet about her words and deeds and couldn’t act as freely as she would in Tanyang.
After delivering the food to his aunt, Ling Zhang invited Mr. Mu to the ante-room and the group of people chatted until the end of the Hai Hour (21:00-22:59) to turn in.
Ling Maomao and Cong were quite sleepy. After they were taken away by their respective elders, Ling Zhang and Ji Yin were the only ones left in the ante-room. Ji Yanlai had taken Cong away. Ling Zhaowen had brought Ling Maomao back to his room. Ling Zhaowu and Mr. Mu had accompanied Ling Xingzhong to his courtyard house. Ling Zhang was keeping his maternal grandfather company.Read manga at our MangaBob.com
When the two of them was walking out of the ante-room, Ji Yin asked Ling Zhang, “Are you going back to the palace early tomorrow morning?”
Ling Zhang cast a look at the night sky to gauge the time and then replied, “Yuwen Tong should be still awake at this time, so I’ll go to the palace after walking you to your room.”
He had originally planned to spend the night in this mansion, but because of what had happened out on the street tonight, he missed Yuwen Tong very much, feeling that he wouldn’t be able to sleep even if he stayed here, so he might as well return to the palace.
Ji Yin didn’t try to dissuade him. “It’s late. Be careful on your way there. Bring enough bodyguards with you.”
Ling Zhang inclined his head. “Grandfather, those…” He gave a little cough and then continued, “There’s no need for you to do anything more about my trousseaus. Haven’t you made a list of them already? Just let the Ministry of Rites handle it when the time comes. Those things on the list are already more than enough to astonish them.”
Ji Yin said, “Things are different now. At that time it was a marshal that you were engaged to marry, but now you’re going to marry an emperor and become his consort. How could the trousseaus be the same? Under no circumstances will I embarrass you.”
Ling Zhang pulled a wry face. “Grandfather, any aristocratic family in this city would find it difficult to prepare trousseaus like those without liquidating their assets. You’re probably the only one who could afford those things. They will be sensational enough. Those staff members will definitely black out from shock. If you add anything more to the list, they will black out from shock – they will fall ill because of it, so please stop adding to the list lest it become something life-threatening. Currently, the situation in the imperial court is still unstable and there are a lot of things they need to attend to. If they really fall ill, Yuwen Tong would be swamped with work, and so would I, Grandfather.”
Ling Zhang tried to convince Ji Yin. It struck him that the list was scary enough already. If his grandfather added to the list anything else that would make the hair on his scalp prickle, the list would not be astounding but frightening. In that case, Ji Yin and the others at his back would be investigated intensively, which would inevitably ruin their peaceful lives.
Ji Yin tossed him a fairly disapproving glance. “These things are a mere trifle. If those people are really that useless, we might as well scare them to death.”
Ling Zhang gently shook Ji Yin’s arm and softened his tone. “Grandfather.”
Ji Yin, “…”
Ji Yin couldn’t at all bring himself to say no to Ling Zhang when he was behaving in a spoiled manner. Ling Zhang was his only grandson, the apple of his eye. How could he have the heart to put Ling Zhang in a difficult position?
“Let me think about it.”
Seeing Ji Yin was swayed, Ling Zhang decided to make hay while the sun shone. “Grandfather, think about it – you’re giving me so many trousseaus, all of which will be recorded, and sometimes it might be inconvenient for me to utilize them. If there’s really something else you want me to have, you could just give it to me in private. As for the list, it’s long enough already and you don’t want to overdo it.”
Ji Yin fell silent. After giving it some thought, he believed that his grandson had got a point, but he still said, “I’m still going to add to the list, but there are only two more things I’ll include. You’re a man, and you don’t have any high-ranking family members who could offer you support. I fear that you’d be at a disadvantage if I don’t do something dramatic to psych those people out, but your words make some sense as well, so I’ll give you some of the trousseaus in private and they won’t be recorded.”
On hearing that his grandfather still planned to add another two things to the list and both of them seemed to be something precious, Ling Zhang felt both moved and somewhat apprehensive. “Grandfather, what about your own life if you give me everything? You’ve been leading a secluded life in the Millennium Pavilion for many years. No matter how many possessions you have, I’m sure they’re not inexhaustible. All the things you are giving me are your own savings, and you might need them some day. I–”
Ji Yin raised his hand and interrupted Ling Zhang. “I’ll be fine as long as you’re fine.”
Ling Zhang was briefly astonished and then felt a twinge of sorrow. “Grandfather…”
“Those things are lifeless, no matter how much they value, and they’ll be of more use to you than they were to me. I’ll rest easier knowing that they’re in your hands. I’m only to anxious to give you as much as I could, to let you have as much to rely on as possible.”
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