As the wedding day neared every day, Ling Zhang inevitably began to feel strained.
The day before the imperial wedding, everything was in readiness.
In the Ling Mansion, people busting around could be seen everywhere. The imperial wedding ceremony was right the next day. Everybody appeared more tense than Ling Zhang did. Even the two little boys, Ling Maomao and Ji Xiaocong, were nervous and excited. Whitie the fox, worried that his pretty fur would be stroked bald by the two thrilled kids, refused to stay with them and insisted on crouching on Ling Zhang’s shoulder. The fox had grown considerably bigger and heavier. Sometimes when he abruptly jumped onto Ling Zhang, the latter was sent staggering.
“How many times do I have to tell you this, Whitie? Don’t jump at me without warning like this. You’ve been gaining weight. Understand?”
Ling Zhang resignedly reached out a hand with the intention to pull the fox off his shoulder. Whitie, who was quite agile, transferred to Ling Zhang’s other shoulder in the blink of an eye, showing his unwillingness to leave and a total disregard for Ling Zhang’s comment about him gaining weight without even giving Ling Zhang a glance.
“Big Brother,” said Ling Maomao, casting a look at the little white fox on Ling Zhang’s shoulder, his intention to stroke Whitie’s fur manifest in his eyes. Whitie stiffened for an instant, his hair on the verge of bristling. Fortunately Ling Maomao took his eyes off the fox after a brief stare at him. “Grandfather would like a word with you.”
“I see. I’ll go there right away,” said Ling Zhang. “I want you two to behave yourselves. Don’t mess around. In the next few days this residence will be swarming with people busy with all kinds of things. You might bump into someone and hurt yourselves if you’re not careful enough. Cong is still young, which makes you his big brother, Maomao, so you need to take good care of him.”
Ling Maomao looked at Ji Xiaocong who was standing beside him and then said, “Cong is a good boy.”
The corners of Ling Zhang’s mouth twitched and with that he gave Ling Maomao a playful knock on the forehead. “It’s you that I fear would misbehave.”
Ling Maomao had a urge to knead his brow, but after glancing at Ji Xiaocong who was beside him, he managed to subdue it and said to Ling Zhang with a poker face. “I never messed around, and I’ve been taking care of Cong.”
Ling Zhang lifted his eyebrows, surprised that this little guy seemed to be quite unconvinced.
“Let’s go.”
Holding a hand of each of the boys, Ling Zhang headed for Ling Xingzhong’s place.
“Brother Ling, can you bring us to the palace to play tomorrow?” asked Ji Xiaocong, looking up at Ling Zhang.
For some unknown reason, Ji Xiaocong had been quite obsessed with visiting the imperial palace. A few days ago Ling Zhang had promised him and Ling Maomao that he would bring the two of them to the Infinite Fortune Palace and let them stay there for a couple of days, but afterward what with the matter of the Abode of the Marquess Huaiwen, he had had to delay it.
“Yes.” Ling Zhang gave it some thought and then scooped up Ji Xiaocong, holding him in the crook of his arm. Ji Xiaocong reached out a hand to wrap it around Ling Zhang’s neck, carefully shifted his position slightly by moving his butt and then relaxedly sat on the crook of Ling Zhang’s elbow. Ling Maomao threw a look at them and then quietly tightened his hold on Ling Zhang’s hand which was holding his. After thinking about it for a brief moment, he edged closer to Ling Zhang until he was walking with his side almost against his big brother.
Ling Zhang just subconsciously held Ling Maomao’s hand tighter in response, oblivious of the unnoticeable detail of Ling Maomao’s reaction. Then he continued to talk to Ji Xiaocong. “Tomorrow there will be a lot of people. You two must stay close to your elders lest you get lost. I’ll take you two to the palace to stay for a couple of days after the wedding.”
“I won’t get lost. I know the way,” said Ji Xiaocong, having great confidence in himself.
“That’s quite impressive, Cong. Brother Maomao will be relying on you to lead the way for him during your stay in the palace,” observed Ling Zhang.
Ji Xiaocong patted his own chest, suggesting that that wouldn’t be a problem for him.
Ling Maomao looked up at his big brother and was about to say something but forbore from doing that after a moment’s hesitation. Ling Zhang, who noticed it, asked, “What is it you want to say, Maomao?”
“The imperial palace is a huge place. Will we be allowed to go anywhere we want in there?” inquired Ling Maomao.
“Yeah,” Ling Zhang answered in the affirmative.
But Ling Maomao was just worried that the imperial palace was too large, that if he let Ji Xiaocong lead the way, they would definitely get lost. However, looking at Ji Xiaocong, Ling Maomao subconsciously felt that he shouldn’t express this worry of his in the presence of Ji Xiaocong lest the latter get angry, so he had no choice but to keep his concern to himself.
Ling Zhang, who was unaware that Ling Maomao had thought that far already, led the two little boys into Ling Xingzhong’s courtyard house only to find that apart from Ling Xingzhong, Ji Yin was also in there.
Ling Zhang put Ji Xiaocong down, inquired after them and then asked, “What is it that you want to see me about, Paternal Grandfather, Maternal Grandfather?”
“Tomorrow is your wedding day. Have you got everything ready?” asked Ling Xingzhong.
“Everything’s in readiness,” replied Ling Zhang.
Ji Yin gave him a wave and with that Ling Zhang walked up and sat down beside them.
“Are you nervous?” said Ji Yin.
A faint flush spread over Ling Zhang’s ears. “Kind of. I’m worried that I might get things wrong tomorrow.”
The ritualistic formalities of the wedding ceremony were too complicated. Though having done a dry run with Yuwen Tong, Ling Zhang was still concerned that he might not be able to get all the steps right.
Naturally, he couldn’t bring himself to tell them the most important reason: the next day he would really be married, and everything would be different after the wedding, so he was secretly somewhat perturbed.
As Yuwen Tong was not present, Ling Zhang didn’t have the heart to express his concern to worry his family.
Ling Xingzhong and Ji Yin had called him in with the intention to have a talk with him to set his mind at ease.
“Just relax and get married. If Yuwen Tong is not good to you, Grandfather is going to stick up for you and get you free,” said Ji Yin.
If Yuwen Tong was not good to Ling Zhang and Ling Zhang was not happy, Ji Yin would undoubtedly put his grandson first, and he would, by hook or by crook, break Ling Zhang out of the imperial palace and help him return to freedom. He was telling Ling Zhang this because he wanted Ling Zhang to have no misgivings about doing what he wanted to do.
Ling Zhang believed that his grandfather was capable of doing that. Though having never thought about parting from Yuwen Tong, he was still grateful to his grandfather for his heartfelt concern for him.
“His Majesty’s a nice and trustworthy man, and he’s given you his word, so naturally we should believe in him,” commented Ling Xingzhong. Unlike Ji Yin, Ling Xingzhong would never refer to Yuwen Tong by his full name, for he held Yuwen Tong in very high regard.
However, he also added, “But if by any chance that kind of thing does happen, we’ll always be on your side.”
A warm glow flared inside Ling Zhang. Ling Xingzhong had always been a man of his word. His family’s take on this matter was clear-cut: they would be there for him and on his side.
“I’ll make things work between me and Yuwen Tong. I have faith in him. Also, after I move into the palace, I’ll take good care of myself and protect myself. There’s no need for you to worry about me, Maternal Grandfather, Paternal Grandfather.”
Ji Yin said, “After the transfer of our clansmen is finished, I’ll resign my eldership and move to the manor in the suburb. By that time, my clansmen will no longer need me. You’re the only family I’ve got left, so I’ll watch over you for the rest of my life, making sure nobody does you any harm.”
Ling Zhang was almost reduced to tears. “Grandfather, I’m really capable of taking care of myself. The suburban manor is too secluded. You’ll feel lonely if you live there by yourself. It’s totally unnecessary for you to do that. Besides, you’re the Prime Elder of the Millennium Pavilion. How could you leave on account of me?”
Ji Yin said with a wave of his hand, “With the Clan Leader in charge, nothing could go wrong. Although I won’t be the Prime Elder any longer, I’ll still be a member of the clan. If anything happens, I’ll go back there and help deal with it, so you don’t have to concern yourself with that. As for that suburban manor, the quiet of it is exactly what takes my fancy. I don’t like the hustle and bustle of the city, so the manor is the perfect place for me to be.”
Ji Yin was so insistent that it seemed nothing would make him change his mind.
Ling Zhang was resigned, feeling it inappropriate to make another attempt to dissuade him in the knowledge that Ji Yin was also an intransigent man.
Ling Xingzhong said, “I’m a geriatric too, and the capital city is too noisy for me. Would it be too much trouble if I visited your manor from time to time, my dear in-law?”
Ji Yin replied, “Not at all. We’re family now. Your politeness makes me feel I’m being treated as a stranger. If you go there, we’ll live together. I think we both could use some company. Besides, that manor is huge and can accommodate a lot of people. When I’m at my leisure, I’ll go for a stroll in nearby areas and take on a couple of apprentices. Teaching them and joking with them will make my life quite comfortable. Also, I’ll help Zhang’er make a breakthrough and reach the third layer of the cultivation method, and teach him more knowledge of formations too. Come to think of it, life there won’t be boring at all. By that time, we’ll be able to have Zhang’er stay in that manor with us to perform closed-door cultivation. It’d be nice.”
As Ling Xingzhong offered to go to the manor to keep Ji Yin company, Ling Zhang’s worry doubled, and then, when he heard that Ji Yin was going to take on some apprentices, he was somewhat astonished.
“You want to take on some apprentices, Grandfather?”
Ji Yin bobbed his head. “I’m getting old, and I think it’s about time.”
Ji Yin looked very young and far from old, but if he was to take on apprentices, it would by no means be a trivial matter.
“Have you talked with the Clan Leader about your plan to take on apprentices? Does someone have to a member of the Millennium Pavilion to be your apprentice?” asked Ling Zhang.
Ji Yin answered, “For the moment it’s inadvisable to let any of the kung fu skills of the Millennium Pavilion be known to the outside world, so I’ll select a couple of my clansmen to be my apprentices. I think I’ll be bringing my apprentices with me when I come back from the island.”
This decision of Ji Yin’s was a little unexpected. Ling Zhang was surprised by it but at the same time felt that this was a good thing. With those young apprentices in the manor, that place would be much less cheerless.
“Have you mentioned the matter of your plan for closed-door cultivation to Yuwen Tong?” Ji Yin inquired of him.
Ling Zhang inclined his head. “Yes. I think I’ll have extricated myself by the time you return to this city from the sea.”
“Good. Then it’s settled,” said Ji Yin. Then he added, “Oh, by the way, we called you here because we want to tell you there’s no need for you to worry that there’ll be no going back after you enter the imperial palace. Grandfather got your back.”
Feeling warm inside, Ling Zhang smiled, “I know.”
Although Ling Xingzhong was not a consummate kung fu master as Ji Yin was, he had always been upright and outspoken, and as he had said that he’d be on his grandson’s side, he would do everything within his power to make sure that Ling Zhang wouldn’t be subjected to any unkind treatment.
Both the two elders wanted Ling Zhang to marry Yuwen Tong without the worries behind.
When he had walked out of Ling Xingzhong’s courtyard house, Ling Zhang was told that Ling Zhaowen wanted to talk to him.
Although Ling Zhaowen’s words were different from the two old men’s, he wanted the same thing for Ling Zhang, hoping that Ling Zhang wouldn’t have many misgivings after moving into the imperial palace. He promised that he would be at Ling Zhang’s back and wouldn’t let anybody hurt him, even if he had to give up his job.
Ling Zhang was touched. He had just left Ling Zhaowen’s courtyard house when a servant informed him that his father would like a word with him.
This time around, Ling Zhang, before meeting his father, got a shrewd idea of what his father was going to say.
On this day, his elders had talked to him one after another to make their stands, hoping that he would happily and relaxedly marry into the imperial family, that he would have a happy marriage.
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