Soon Jiang Shennian was appointed to a yamen of a provincial town. Given that Jiang Chengfeng had been sent back to Cangzhou to watch over the ancestral mausoleum and Jiang Yu had ruined his own career prospects, the Jiang family, which used to be a power juggernaut and had recently shown signs of a political comeback, had instantly declined again. Many people believed that this time around the Jiang family had been taken down for good.
Only very few people saw through Jiang Shennian’s little game and came to realize why Jiang Yu had made that decision, but they didn’t have the courage to gamble everything as the Jiang family had. A proof of this was that many people had also recommended some men to Ling Zhang, but all the youngsters they’d recommended were the ones that were not thought highly of in their families.
Yuwen Tong didn’t know much about these youngsters’ abilities, but he detested the attitudes of those who’d recommended them, which was why he’d dismissed them directly, sparing Ling Zhang the trouble of meeting them.
Three days had passed, and Jiang Yu was the only one that Ling Zhang had taken as attendant.
Also, the time for Jiang Yu to give Ling Zhang his reply had come.
“You really don’t regret it?” Ling Zhang asked him once last time. Ever since Yuwen Tong had enlightened him three days before, he had been so excited that he couldn’t sleep at night. This time, if Jiang Yu’s decision remained unchanged, he wouldn’t decline again.
Jiang Yu replied in a calm but earnest tone, “I don’t.”
Ling Zhang said, “Good! Remember this answer of yours. And I also want you to bear in mind at all times what you said in the hall on that day.”
In response to these words, Jiang Yu got down on one knee and saluted Ling Zhang with a high level of formality. “Childe Ling.”
Ling Zhang told him to rise and then said, “First you need to make the acquaintance of my men. Dashan, take Jiang Yu back and introduce him to the others.”
“Yes, Childe Ling.” Wang Dashan walked over. “Childe Jiang, please come with me.”
“Just call me Jiang Yu. Thanks for the trouble,” said Jiang Yu.
Wang Dashan and the other twenty-three bodyguards had been the only ones brought to the imperial palace by Ling Zhang. Xia Feng and some others also wanted to accompany him to the palace to serve him, but he and Yuwen Tong were too busy, and for the moment there weren’t any specific stipulations in the palace regulations in this regard, so Xia Feng and the others couldn’t get in. According to the rules of the previous dynasties, those serving in the imperial palace were either guards or eunuchs or palace ladies. Naturally Ling Zhang didn’t want Xia Feng or any of the others to be castrated.
After Jiang Yu, Ling Zhang’s twenty-four bodyguards and Yuwen Tong’s bodyguards made each other’s acquaintance, Ling Zhang sent Jiang Yu to the Ministry of Rites.
With the wedding ceremony coming soon, there were a lot of matters to attend to, and Ling Zhang was up to his eyebrows in the preparatory work. As his and Yuwen Tong’s personal bodyguards were all rough fellows innately insensitive to this kind of ritualistic rigmarole, the arrival of Jiang Yu who had grown up in an aristocratic family had virtually come as a godsend. After dispatching Jiang Yu to the Ministry of Rites, Ling Zhang waited to see how much help Jiang Yu would be of.
Two days later, Jiang Yu made Ling Zhang feel that his burden had been lightened considerably.
Sending invitations was among the first couple of matters to be handled. Ling Zhang personally sorted and recorded the replies, because it would help him further familiarize himself with the various forces. Jiang Yu had classified those replies into several categories. As a childe of a large noble family, he was discerning enough to see these people for what they really were by merely looking at their names. There were many people strange or unfamiliar to Ling Zhang, and Jiang Yu provided detailed information about every one of them for him, including who these people were, the difference between their identities, their personalities, their conduct as well as their contacts. Jiang Yu told all these to Ling Zhang in a very objective manner. He also disclosed to Ling Zhang some very private information known to members of aristocratic families only, which helped Ling Zhang know these people much better and prevented him from falling prey to semblance.
This was very important to Ling Zhang. Previously he hadn’t cared much about these things, and there hadn’t been any necessity for him to care about them. After all, at that time, neither he nor Yuwen Tong had expected that their identities would change so dramatically. Afterward, his identity had really changed abruptly, and he’d found himself in need of someone who had much acquaintance with these matters and could help him sort things out. As a result, what Jiang Yu was doing was like timely rain for Ling Zhang.
On top of that, Jiang Yu’s explanation was well organized and clearly stated. He expounded on those forces one by one, which made it a lot easier for Ling Zhang to understand and memorize their relations and thus saved quite some time.Visit website our Listnovel.com
It took Ling Zhang a solid day to get the hang of it. When having dinner, Ling Zhang was still thinking about it. Now that he’d started to get to know these things, he found his mind in a state of excitement. He felt as though the place where he was standing were rising, and it was now like a mound. Previously his view had been blocked, and now he finally felt that he had a wider view, that he could see a little more clearly the people and things that had previously been indistinct in his sight.
Seeing Ling Zhang was in a trance with gleaming eyes, Yuwen Tong asked, “What makes you so happy that you’re not even eating your meal?”
Yuwen Tong had come to know that Jiang Yu had briefed Ling Zhang on a lot of things earlier this day. Indeed, nobody could have done this better than Jiang Yu had, but now was the time for the two of them to enjoy dinner together. Why couldn’t Ling Zhang stop thinking about that for a while?
“You were right. With Jiang Yu’s help, my burden is indeed much lighter than before. Fortunately you reminded me of it,” said Ling Zhang.
Yuwen Tong, “…”
But he slightly regretted it, feeling that he’d made the wrong decision by allowing Jiang Yu to be Ling Zhang’s attendant.
Ling Zhang was very pleased with Jiang Yu’s performance on this day. Jiang Yu had provided him with information about a lot of people, many of whom had feuds with the Jiang family, but Jiang Yu’s opinions about them had still been quite objective and totally uninfluenced by his personal feelings. This was also one of the reasons why Ling Zhang held Jiang Yu in high regard. Jiang Yu had a great sense of propriety, and he had only objectively related the facts without imposing any of his subjective moods on Ling Zhang. In other words, he had no intention to manipulate Ling Zhang’s thoughts, so Ling Zhang didn’t have to guard against this kind of things. Jiang Yu knew his place well, which made Ling Zhang feel relaxed and comfortable in his dealings with Jiang Yu.
Yuwen Tong listened as Ling Zhang talked on and on about Jiang Yu, his regret now significantly deeper than before.
…
After the matter of the name list was handled, Jiang Yu started conferring with the Ministry of Rites about the wedding on behalf of Ling Zhang, dealing properly with all those miscellaneous issues that didn’t require Ling Zhang’s personal involvement, allowing Ling Zhang the time to sit down and have a cup of tea.
As the wedding ceremony drew near and Jiang Yu went in and out of the Infinite Fortune Palace on a frequent basis every day, more people gradually came to realize that Ling Zhang thought highly of Jiang Yu.
A lot of those who had previously taunted the Jiang family and Jiang Yu began to get a sniff of something else.
They had expected that Jiang Yu would become one of Ling Zhang’s guard dogs, the one guarding the front gates at the most. It had never crossed their mind that Jiang Yu would be frequently going in and out of the Ministry of Rites, and even in charge of many matters concerning the wedding ceremony in the name of Ling Zhang. Even guard dogs could be quite different from each other with respect to status. If going in and out of the Ministry of Rites was just a symbol, then him being in charge of the many issues concerning the wedding ceremony and his taking up various matters with officials of other departments meant that he had become a member of the innermost circle by taking a shortcut that had previously been unknown to everybody.
Most importantly, those people couldn’t perceive the emperor’s displeasure or his intention to stop Jiang Yu, so just like this, Jiang Yu made his presence felt.
“Jiang Shennian is such a wily old fox. It’s true what they say, ‘There’s no substitute for experience.'”
Most people in the capital city couldn’t help but inwardly curse Jiang Shennian for his cunning, bitterly regretting not having seized that opportunity. As Ling Zhang relied on Jiang Yu more and more, the latter would become an irreplaceable member of the former’s think tank. Even if there would be some other members, none of them would be valued as much as Jiang Yu was. What distressed those people the most was that none of the youngsters they recommended took the emperor’s fancy, and they didn’t even have a chance to get close to Ling Zhang.
“These people made the most stupid move,” said Old Master Ji to his grandson, the apple of his eye.
Ji Feng, however, found those people’s deeds understandable. “Grandfather, are you saying that those people that they recommended to Ling Zhang were unpresentable in terms of status and identity?”
Old Master Ji replied, “His Majesty is both discerning and resourceful, with a fund of stratagems. Also, he started as a military officer, so he doesn’t care about family background or origins as much as most people think he does. If it were about selecting talents for the imperial court, he wouldn’t have taken into consideration those people’s parentage. As many departments are currently in dire need of capable staff members, he wouldn’t reject anybody who has the required skills and a decent sense of morality, but it doesn’t mean that he is willing to let anybody disgrace Ling Zhang. Those people made a whole bunch of unsolicited recommendations, and all those they recommended were who they deemed of little value and thus dispensable. By doing that, weren’t they openly telling everybody that they thought those they deemed dispensable were good enough for Ling Zhang? His Majesty made his attitude clear enough when he allowed Jiang Yu to become Ling Zhang’s attendant, but those people still didn’t take Ling Zhang seriously. How could His Majesty not be angry? Even taking a wait-and-see attitude for some time would be a much wiser choice than making that stupid move.”
Ji Feng came to understand and was even more surprised. Previously he had only known that the Marshal cared about Ling Zhang very much, that they were in a good relationship, but it was at this moment that he realized that maybe the bond between them was even stronger than he’d expected.
“Grandfather, you also said that what the Jiang family put a bet on was His Majesty’s feelings for Ling Zhang. If…I mean if, His Majesty’s feelings for him change, wouldn’t the Jiang family’s plan come to grief?” said Ji Feng.
In terms of personal relations, he was friends with Ling Zhang, so naturally he didn’t want this assumption to come true, but if truth be told, deep down there Ji Feng was somewhat uncertain about it, because after all, Yuwen Tong was now the emperor, and this identity was more than enough to change anybody. If Yuwen Tong’s feelings for Ling Zhang changed, what would happen to Ling Zhang whom Yuwen Tong had sent to such a high position? And what would happen to those around Ling Zhang?
Old Master Ji remained silent for quite a while before he observed, “This is where Jiang Shennian outshines me.”
Amazed, Ji Feng looked at him. “Are you saying that…”
“Of course I intended to do the same thing that he did. You and Ling Zhang are close friends. This alone gives you a great advantage over Jiang Yu,” replied Old Master Ji.Visit website our Listnovel.com
After his amazement ebbed away, Ji Feng pondered for a long moment and then said, “Grandfather, I still want to become an official working for the imperial court like you. This is my aspiration. In the past, the Zhou family were fatuous and I didn’t see much hope, but now things are different, and I think it’s time for me to dismiss all the misgivings and strive for my goals.”
Old Master Ji replied with a nod of approval. “I’m glad to see that you have such determination. I look forward to seeing you make some achievements.”
However, unlike Ji Feng, someone else made a decision that was quite the opposite of the one Ji Feng had just made.
…
In the residence of the Jiang family.
Jiang Yu, who had had a hectic day, returned home, entered his courtyard house and slumped down in a chair. He was so tired that he sat there motionless for quite some time.
“Young Master, today the footman received yet another dozen calling cards,” reported a servant.
Jiang Yu opened his eyes which were glinting flintily. “Return them all. From now on, all this kind of calling cards are to be returned to their senders immediately. There’s no need to report to me first. Keep the front gates shut tight when I’m away from home. Nobody is to come in without my consent. And keep close watch on those people in this house. If any of them dares make contact with any outsiders without my knowledge or entertain any ideas they should not have, report to me immediately. I’ll chuck them out of the Jiang family!”
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