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Chapter 160: Chapter 160 – Go Wherever You Find Comfortable and Leave Me Alone

After being informed that the gift Yao Yi and others had given to Ling Zhang was a white fox cub, Wang Dashan had a somewhat different expression in his eyes when he looked at Yao Yi .

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Just like a craftsman who feared that his apprentices would some day obsolete him after they learned all his skills, Wang Dashan was deeply worried that Yao Yi and others might some day replace him and the other twenty-three security guards as trusted subordinates of their young master .

“Where did you get that white fox cub?” Wang Dashan inquired of Yao Yi .

Yao Yi, unaware of Wang Dashan’s complicated feelings, replied in a delighted tone of voice, “We bought it . Originally we had intended to buy a puppy, but as luck would have it, a hunter was selling fox cubs he’d found in a fox den, so we purchased the best one . ”

“Where are the others?” asked Wang Dashan .

“There were only three in total . And all of them were sold almost immediately . A lot of childes and ladies from rich families were fascinated by those little creatures at first sight and scrambled for them . Fortunately we were quicker than them,” responded Yao Yi smugly .

Wang Dashan felt slightly regretful in the knowledge that all of them had been sold so soon .

…

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong went into the streets and did find someone who knew about raising foxes . They bought adequate food the white fox cub needed and also wrote down all the tips on raising it .

After that, they resumed their journey carrying the white fox cub with them .

After ten days, they arrived in northern Cangzhou . On that night, they checked into the largest inn in the city . They were only two days’ journey away from the capital city .

Given that they had been traveling for ten consecutive days, Yuwen Tong decided to let them have a day’s rest in the city before departure . Except for a couple of small counties, the capital city would be the only place that they could get a good rest, but currently, it was inadvisable to hurry into the capital city .

This time even Zhao Pingchuan and Zhang Xi didn’t feel any displeasure . After ten days’ non-stop travel, the two of them were also exhausted .

“Are you nervous?” Since they were very close to the capital city, Yuwen Tong asked Ling Zhang whether he was nervous or not .

After hearing this question, Ling Zhang carrying the white fox cub replied, “I would be lying if I tell you that I’m not nervous, but what I’m nervous about is why there is yet another guy who wants me dead . ”

This reply gave Yuwen Tong a somewhat guilty conscience . “Maybe you should move in with me . I’m not comfortable with the idea of you living elsewhere . ”

“I cannot run from them forever . And I’d like to find out who it is that want to see me dead . I might be weak, but I’m not going to let them get what they want too easily . ”

Yuwen Tong, seeing Ling Zhang was still stroking the white fox cub in his arms and didn’t even raise his head to glance at him, felt somewhat upset . “I got your back . I’ll see that you come to no harm . ”

Ling Zhang raised his eyes and flicked him a glimpse . “You’ll be having no less troubles than I will when we’re in the capital city . ”

The troubles waiting for him in the capital city didn’t really bother Yuwen Tong, because every time he returned to the capital city, there were always pulsing undercurrents of various kinds running through the city, which was something he had long ago become accustomed to .

“That person has already been escorted to the capital city, I suppose?” Ling Zhang asked .

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Yuwen Tong gave a bob of his head . “He’s been taken to Yuwen family . ”

“News of the assassination has spread through the whole capital city, hasn’t it? Did your men staying in the capital city find anything? Has the Ninth Princess taken any particular course of actions?”

Yuwen Tong replied, “The Ninth Princess went to the Zhaohua Temple to pray to the Buddha for blessings half a month ago and has not returned to the capital city yet . ”

“This is so coincidental . Do you think she is intentionally doing this to avoid us?”

“No matter whether she’s deliberately avoiding us or not, we will find some traces, one way or another, as long as that was indeed her doing . Besides, we’ve already escorted the assassin into the capital city . With the testimony of this witness as a line of inquiry, the one behind the scenes will undoubtedly be found out, no matter whether this person is the Ninth Princess or not . There should be definite news by the time we arrive in the capital city . ”

Ling Zhang inclined his head . ‘That’s great .

But about the Ninth Princess… ‘

“Exactly how many daughters does the emperor have? And how many of them are of marriageable age?”

After a brief moment’s surprised silence, Yuwen Tong observed, “Why do you ask? You’ve got me . ”

Ling Zhang slid him a sideways glance, as if warning him not to steer the conversation away .

Yuwen Tong was thrown into resignation . Since his attempt to change the topic had failed, he had no choice but to honestly answer the question . If he didn’t, Ling Zhang might take the white fox cub and leave him for good .

“The emperor had twelve daughters . Four of them died young, so there are actually eight princesses . The Eighth Princess and the The Tenth Princess, who are elder sister and younger sister of the Ninth Princess respectively, are of marriageable age . The other two princesses are still young . ”

Ling Zhang stroked the white fox cub, a fairly satisfied expression on his face . In fact, Tao Feng had some time ago informed him of this .

“So apart from the Ninth Princess, there are at least the Eighth Princess and the Tenth Princess who might be betrothed to you by the emperor?”

This remark brought embarrassment to Yuwen Tong’s face . “Even if the emperor did have such intention, that was in the past . Currently, it is us who are officially engaged . ”

Ling Zhang gave him a dirty look . “What is it that you think I’m going to say? The point I’ve been trying to make is that if the other two princesses also intend to marry you, they would also want me dead, which means I’ll have to keep an eye out . ”

Yuwen Tong hurriedly said, “The Eighth Princess was betrothed to someone long ago . ”

“Oh? How do you know?”

“Ur… That was several years ago . Everybody knows . ”

Ling Zhang decided to let this go . “And the The Tenth Princess?”

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This time, Yuwen Tong was somewhat hesitant . “It is said that the Tenth Princess has mental deficiency, but I never paid any attention to her, so I didn’t try to verify whether the rumors are true . ”

Ling Zhang was dismayed to hear this . “Mental deficiency?”

Yuwen Tong inclined his head . “Her mother is an unfavored concubine of the emperor . She suffered a lot during childhood, which resulted in her mental retardation . ”

Something seemed to have just occurred to Ling Zhang . “During childhood? So she’s been have mental retardation for many years?”

“Exactly . ”

“As things stand, it is indeed the most likely that the Ninth Princess is the one the emperor intends to marry to you . The Eighth Princess has already been betrothed, so she’s not an option . As regards the Tenth Princess, no matter whether she really has mental deficiency or not, she is retarded in the eyes of the people and the emperor, which means she is also not suitable to be married to you, since the emperor will have to face revilement from his subjects if he betroths her to you . ”

This meant that, from the vantage point of the present, everything indicated the Ninth Princess was the one who had ordered the two palace guards to assassinate Ling Zhang .

“The Ninth Princess is daughter of the Concubine De . I heard that the emperor favors her very much, that the Fourth Prince is her elder brother, who bears the title of the Huiwang King and is a force to be reckoned with in the imperial court . ”

Ling Zhang slowly repeated what Tao Feng had told him .

“If the Fourth Prince is just as ambitious as the Sixth Prince, he would definitely marry his younger sister to you trying to co-opt you, given how easy it’ll be for him to eliminate the Crown Prince and ascend the throne providing he has you at his back . It seems that I’ve probably got in the way of the Fourth Prince . I haven’t reached the capital city yet, but I’ve already become a thorn in his flesh .

As it stands, those on the side of the Crown Prince are actually the ones who don’t want the Ninth Princess marrying you the most . People on the side of the Third Prince who was given birth to by the Concubine Xian, as well as those on the side of the Fifth Prince whose natural mother is the Concubine Liang definitely hate the idea of you marrying the Ninth Princess as well . However, much as they don’t want the Ninth Princess marrying you, they no doubt wish to marry their younger sisters or elder sisters to you, which makes them no less anxious to see me dead . Uh… Taking all these into account, I believe there are a lot of people having every reason to kill me . Do you think some other assassins will show up during the next two days?”

At a loss for words, Yuwen Tong fell speechless with embarrassment .

“Was it Tao Feng who told you you all this?”

Ling Zhang lowered his head and stroked the white fox cub . “Yeah . Lord Tao is a pretty interesting man . If some day I’m really somebody, I’ll definitely return the favor . ”

Yuwen Tong was reduced to an embarrassed silence .

Never had he wished so strongly that Ling Zhang were less intelligent .

However, the thought that Ling Zhang had willingly followed him to this place dissolved his worry considerably .

“You specially allowed them to have a day’s rest here because you know what’s coming for us, right?” Ling Zhang added .

Yuwen Tong’s pulse was throbbing in his throat again . Now he deeply felt that Ling Zhang was being too smart, which made him a little panic-stricken .

“I’ll take you into the capital city in one piece . ”

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Ling Zhang nodded . “I know . If you don’t…”

He raised his head, looked at Yuwen Tong and gave a smile . “I won’t stop haunting you even after I die and become a ghost . ”

Yuwen Tong was reduced to an embarrassed silence .

“You have only your charm to blame . And all those attracted to you are so powerful that every one of them is capable of crushing me to death with a single finger of theirs . ”

Yuwen Tong started an in-depth introspection . For the first time, he felt it a trifle regrettable that he was such an eligible man . After a few moments thinking, he apologized to Ling Zhang in a sincere tone of voice . “I’m sorry for having been working so hard to improve myself . It’s not really my wish to have become a man of such magnetism . ”

Ling Zhang was thrown into speechlessness .

His cheeks bulged with annoyance .

And then the Marshal was evicted from the room .

“This little fox is far better company than you are . Go wherever it is that you find comfortable and don’t come back . ”

And then the door was slammed shut .

Yuwen Tong stroked his nose . Though the door nearly knocked his nose flat, he still couldn’t help but curve up the corners of his mouth in a faint smile .

“Marshal?” Wang Dashan and others guarding outside the room watched him in dismay .

‘Is he in trouble with young master? But it doesn’t make any sense . Young master is so angry, yet the Marshal is still smiling?’

All of them were in puzzlement .

Yuwen Tong stopped smiling and said, “Do your job and stay alert . Under no circumstances should this room be left unguarded . ”

“Yes, Marshal!” Wang Dashan and others chorused, subconsciously throwing their chests out .

It was not until Yuwen Tong left that Wang Dashan and others pulled themselves out of awe and looked at each other, at a loss for words .

“Did young master and the Marshal have a quarrel?”

“I think so . ”

“Then why was the Marshal smiling?”

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“Uh… Some kind of personal preference?”

“…”

All others fell speechless . As bachelors, they couldn’t quite understand what that was . After all, it was somewhat hurtful to think about this kind of matters .

Before long, lunch was delivered to the doorway . Liu Yi examined the food by sticking a silver needle into it . After confirming that there was nothing wrong, he took the lunch box and knocked at the door . “Young Master, your lunch is here . ”

“Bring it in . ”

Liu Yi pushed the door open and was greeted by the scene of Ling Zhang teasing the white fox cub .

The white fox cub had become less somnolent during the past two days and had opened its liquid black eyes . It had some kind of inexplicable and innate affinity for Ling Zhang, which was manifested in the total disregard it showed to all others, including Yuwen Tong .

At this time, the white fox cub, head up, was letting out faint soft cries, rubbing itself against the tip of Ling Zhang’s nose .

There was manifest delight on Ling Zhang’s face, who didn’t at all seemed to have just had a quarrel with Yuwen Tong .

Liu Yi thought for a few moments and believed that maybe they did overthink it . ‘So that was really some kind of… Ur… personal preference . ’

He put the dishes and the soup cup down onto the table and then placed a bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks in suitable positions .

“Young Master, would you like me to take care of the white fox cub for you?”

“That won’t be necessary . Let it stay where it is,” replied Ling Zhang . “I’ll get it something to eat later . ”

“Yes, Young Master . I take my leave . Please call me if you need anything . ”

“Okay . Go and have lunch . There’s no need for all of you to be on guard at the same time . Do it in shifts . You need enough strength to perform your duties well . ”

“I’ll relay your instruction, Young Master . ”

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Chapter 159: Chapter 159 – A Gift for Childe Ling

“Are you suffering from headaches?” At this time, Yuwen Tong got into the horse-drawn carriage and saw that Ling Zhang was leaning against the wall of the carriage with one hand kneading his forehead, face pale .

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He sat down beside Ling Zhang, held him in his arms and started kneading his temples for him .

Ling Zhang merely flicked a glance at him and then closed his eyes .

At first, seeing that Ling Zhang obediently let him hold him in his arms, Yuwen Tong thought that Ling Zhang was no longer angry with him, but he was just secretly delighted when the expression in Ling Zhang’s eyes brought a frown to his face . “What’s going on?” queried Yuwen Tong .

With Yuwen Tong kneading his temples, Ling Zhang felt much more comfortable, the twitches of pain in his forehead alleviated . “There’s some information that I’ve just found out, but I cannot tell you for the present . ”

After a few moments’ silence, Yuwen Tong asked, “Does it have anything to do with what your uncle previously informed you of?”

Ling Zhang abruptly sat upright and looked at him . “How did you come to know it?”

Yuwen Tong’s hands were pushed aside by him . Seeing the wary expression on his face, Yuwen Tong felt somewhat upset and replied, “It’s just my guess, a lucky one made after I noticed that you’ve been frequently checking something in your inner pocket and having an absent-minded look on your face over the past few days . ”

Ling Zhang was slightly surprised to hear that Yuwen Tong had observed some time ago something had been bothering him .

Just a few moments ago, he had been wondering whether Yuwen Tong had seen the envelope while he had not been paying attention . The parentage of his mother might be a matter of little significance, but it was also possible that this matter was of great importance . In either case, it was not yet the right time to let this come to the knowledge of anybody else . For the moment, he couldn’t tell this to anybody in a worry-free way, and even Yuwen Tong was no exception .

‘And there’s also the issue of our engagement . Given my complicated family background, if I marry Yuwen Tong…

Wait a moment . ’

Ling Zhang couldn’t help but raise his head and kneaded his temples again . Now he came to a general understanding of why his grandfather, ever since Yuwen Tong’s arrival in Tanyang, had been so insistent that he marry Yuwen Tong . He also had a shrewd idea why his grandfather had still been wavering on whether he should tell him about the parentage of his mother .

But no matter what, since this matter had already come to his knowledge, he decided that he couldn’t marry Yuwen Tong, at least not when Yuwen Tong was unaware of this .

In other words, he had gone to so much trouble to avenge the sufferings of his family and himself only to find that Ling family were still faced with at least two formidable enemies either of whom could destroy them at any moment .

Yuwen Tong moved Ling Zhang’s hands off his temples and started kneading them for him again . “No matter what it is, I want you to know that I’ll be here with you . I respect you and I won’t pressure you into telling me, but if by any chance it involves some kind of danger, you must tell me . ”

After a moment’s silence, Ling Zhang replied, “Um . ”

However, because of this single moment’s subtle silence, Yuwen Tong guessed something . His eyes squinted softly and briefly .

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‘I knew it . What Ling Zhang is keeping back from me indeed entails danger,’ he thought .

“You’ve got to give me some time to think it through,” Ling Zhang suddenly added .

‘This is enough for me . ’ Yuwen Tong, who was brought to a much better mood by this remark, responded, “There’s no hurry . Take your time . ”

Ling Zhang raised his eyes and looked at him . “Take my time? I’ll take your word for it . ”

Yuwen Tong was reduced to an embarrassed silence .

“No . You should figure it out as soon as possible . I was just trying to be polite . Don’t take my word for it . ”

Ling Zhang gave a soft snort . After a few moments’ thinking, he leaned back against Yuwen Tong’s chest to make it more convenient for Yuwen Tong to knead his temples for him .

Seeing Ling Zhang lean against him of his own accord enjoying the massage he was giving him, Yuwen Tong was only too anxious to hug him and give him a good long kiss . However, he was still faced with the task of kneading Ling Zhang’s temples, so he had no alternative but to regretfully dismiss this thought .

Maybe because of Yuwen Tong’s presence, though what his uncle told him in the letter had given him a heavy heart, Ling Zhang was not very nervous or afraid . With Yuwen Tong kneading his temples, the headaches gradually disappeared and eventually he drifted off to sleep .

Yuwen Tong shifted Ling Zhang to a more comfortable position and carried him in his arms while he was asleep .

Xia Feng looked over his shoulder . After seeing this through the gap between the curtains, he exhorted the driver to slow the horse-carriage down .

With their carriage decelerating, those behind them naturally slowed down as well . After this speed reduction, the procession, which had not been traveling fast, was almost crawling, as if they were on an excursion .

Noticing that carriages ahead were slowing down, Zhao Pingchuan and others bringing up the rear had no choice but to decelerate as well .

“Come on, not again . Have they any idea how long it’ll take us to get to the capital city if we keep going at this rate?”

On hearing this, Zhang Xi smiled, “How about you go and ask them about it, Commander Zhao?”

Zhao Pingchuan immediately fell silent . ‘This guy wants me to risk angering Yuwen Tong on an occasion of this kind? Does he really think I’m a fool?!’

Zhang Xi flicked him a glance, let down the curtain and his face became expressionless after he sat back in his seat .

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He had a sneaking suspicion that the attempted assassination with Yuwen Tong as the target the night before had been conducted with Zhao Pingchuan’s full knowledge . He even suspected that it had been a secret task assigned to Zhao Pingchuan by the emperor, one he was not privy to .

During this journey, he had tried to worm something out of Zhao Pingchuan but failed to get anything, which was why Zhang Xi had been sullen all along .

The young eunuch, scared by him, didn’t dare to stay close to him and had been sitting outside the carriage with the driver .

…

It was not until night fell that Ling Zhang woke up . The procession had just past the boundary marker of Tanyang . They would have to sleep in the open this night .

Preoccupied with his own thoughts, Ling Zhang seemed absent-minded even when he was having supper .

After traveling this way for another two days, they arrived in a county in northern Yanzhou .

The county seat covered a rather vast area and this day happened to be the date for some kind of festive occasion, which was why all streets were uproarious .

Yuwen Tong gave the order to rest for a day in this county .

Ling Zhang had been in a state of preoccupation and his security guards had been worrying about him for two days .

At noon, they had just finished lunch when Yao Yi walked up to Ling Zhang and informed Ling Zhang in a mysterious tone of voice, “Childe Ling, we sent you a gift . It’s right in your room . Would you care to go and check it out?”

Ling Zhang looked at him with a disbelieving expression on his face . “A gift to me?”

Yao Yi inclined his head . “Yeah . All of us pitched in a couple of copper coins to buy it . ”

‘All of them pitched in money to buy it?’ Though Ling Zhang felt somewhat surprised, since this gift had been sent collectively by so many people, he believed that he must not trifle with it . Immediately, he rose to his feet and returned to his room .

Yuwen Tong, who had instructed Yao Yi to cheer Ling Zhang up, followed in his wake . ‘Finally these guys made their move,’ he thought .

Ling Zhang pushed open the door and first looked in the direction of the table, but there was nothing on it . Then his eyes swept around the room but the gift was still nowhere to be seen . Suspecting that Yao Yi and others were playing a trick on him, he was just about to leave when his eye suddenly fell on a curious object on his bed . After a brief moment’s hesitation, he walked over .

It was a thin cotton-padded jacket with something wrapped inside, something moving!

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Ling Zhang was amazed . ‘What is this thing? It’s alive?’

He cautiously stepped closer and observed a small patch of soft, smooth and white fur showing amid the cotton-padded jacket…

Ling Zhang softly unfolded the cotton-padded jacket and, when he saw what it was that had been mysteriously wrapped in it, he was thrown into shock, eyes dilated with pleasant surprise gleaming in them .

“Is this…”

A little soft fluffy creature had curled into a ball lying in there, its limbs and tail beneath its body, two small ears pricked up, eyes shut…

It looked like a little fox .

As if this little soft creature had struck something into his heart, Ling Zhang stared fixedly at it, eyes sparkling . Slowly, he stooped down to take a closer look, fascinated by it .

Yuwen Tong, who had followed Ling Zhang and entered the room shortly after him, naturally had seen the whole process . He squinted his eyes and looked at the little white ball-like creature . ‘A living thing?’

“A fox! It’s a fox cub! A white one!” Ling Zhang excitedly beckoned to him to check it out .

Yuwen Tong walked up to the bed and confirmed the species of it . “It’s a white fox . The color of its fur is pure and it has a pretty healthy constitution, too . It’s really something of a rarity . ”

Ling Zhang reached out his hand and softly stroked the little fox from the back of its head to its neck and to its back . The soft, warm touch of it even brought a involuntary twitch to his hand . It reminded him of Ada, his dog, which had also been like a little ball of fur when it had been a cub .

“How did they come to get this? They are amazing,” Ling Zhang observed delightedly .

Yuwen Tong softly uttered “Um” and then replied, “I’ll reward them later . ”

Ling Zhang nodded repeatedly . “I’ll express my gratitude to them as well . ”

“They did this to cheer you up . My reward for their service will be enough,” remarked Yuwen Tong .

“It’s very considerate of them to do so . I’ll thank them in person . ” Eyes fixed on the white fox cub, Ling Zhang didn’t even have the time to give a backward glance at Yuwen Tong .

“When Ada was a cub, it also looked like a fluffy ball like this little fox . It was stunning . Maomao was much younger at that time as well . They were two little guys . The two of them used to race each other trying to find me on their little short legs . The way they toddled along never failed to make me laugh . ” Ling Zhang couldn’t help but talk to Yuwen Tong about the past .

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Surprisingly, as he was reminiscing, memories of those days seemed to be a long long time ago . Those things that had happened in his last life filled him with nostalgia .

These words also gradually melted Yuwen Tong’s heart . It was not because of the two little guys Ling Zhang had mentioned but because of Ling Zhang . He couldn’t help wondering what Ling Zhang had looked like at that time –he must be a teenager who would affect an air of sophistification and stoop down to pick up his younger brother . He might even feign sulkiness and lecture him . Yuwen Tong believed that it must have been a very, very pity-inducing scene .

Yuwen Tong slowly exhaled, looked at this Ling Zhang in front of him and asked, “Would you like to take it outside and go for a walk?”

Ling Zhang pulled his mind out of memories, shook his head and replied, “It’s too young . I don’t think it’s a good idea to expose it to too much wind . Let it stay here . By the way, I have to go and ask Yao Yi and the others about how to raise a fox cub . ”

‘Yeah . I bet those guys know all about it,’ thought Yuwen Tong after secretly giving a snort .

“There’s got to be someone in the county seat who knows about how to raise it . Maybe we should go and make some inquiries . ”

Ling Zhang straightened himself up . “Okay . ”

He affectionately stroked the fox cub again . This time, the little fox let out a faint grunt which sounded as soft as its body and sent Ling Zhang powerless to leave . “It woke up!”

However, the fox cub merely woke up for a few moments and gave two grunts . It didn’t even open its eyes . After rubbing itself against Ling Zhang’s hand when he was stroking it, the fox cub fell asleep again, showing no sign of awaking soon .

Ling Zhang regretfully watched it fall asleep . “I thought it woke up . ”

Yuwen Tong found that he had been standing in this room for quite some time but Ling Zhang’s eyes had been fixed on that fox cub all along, that he had been totally ignored .

“Let’s go . The county seat is bustling today . With luck, we might encounter someone with the right expertise in the street . ”

Ling Zhang gave a bob of his head . This time, he finally took his eyes off the little fox .

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yuwen Tong brought Ling Zhang out of the room . When the little white fox was no longer in sight, Ling Zhang’s eyes found their way back onto Yuwen Tong . “I wonder if it’s a good idea to take it to the capital city . ”

However, the next remark of Ling Zhang’s was still about the little white fox .

Yuwen Tong’s face darkened with annoyance .

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Chapter 158: Chapter 158 – Secrets in the Letter

Wang Dashan and a couple of others were on guard duty outside the room of Ling Zhang when Yao Yi suddenly came into sight, beckoned to them and said in a lowered voice, “Come here . ”

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Wang Dashan walked over and asked him, “Guard Yao, what’s the matter?”

Yao Yi drew him a few paces further away from the others and replied, “Childe Ling is still asleep?”

Wang Dashan tossed a glance at his hand which was still being held by Yao Yi .

Yao Yi hurriedly released his hand and gave an apologetic giggle, “Sorry . Please don’t take me wrong . ”

Wang Dashan was thrown into speechlessness .

‘I just asked you to release my hand . What could I possibly have misunderstood?’

In a resigned tone of voice, he said, “Our young master is still asleep . Is there anything particular that the Marshal wants to see our young master about?”

Yao Yi replied, “Not really . It’s my intention of consulting with you about something that brings me here . ”

Wang Dashan was rather surprised, “What is it? Does it have anything to do with the assassin?”

Yao Yi shook his head . “No . It’s…” He gave an unnatural cough and continued, “Do you know how to make Childe Ling happy?”

Wang Dashan’s eyes dilated with astonishment goggling at him . “Guard Yao, how dare you attempt to poach from the Marshal?”

Yao Yi was sent into embarrassment and hastily gestured for him to lower his voice, “What are you talking about? The Marshal will have me beheaded if this reaches his ears!”

Wang Dashan also felt somewhat awkward . He had just blurted that out in a jolt of dismay . “Then why did you take it into your head to win my young master’s favor?”

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Yao Yi answered in a deep tone of voice, “It’s for the sake of Childe Ling that I’m doing this . ”

Wang Dashan looked at him in puzzlement . ‘For the sake of young master?’

Yao Yi observed, “The attempted assassination must have scared Childe Ling pretty bad . We can even see it on his face . It’s just that we want to know if there’s anything we can do to cheer Childe Ling up . ”

Wang Dashan gave a bob of his head . “We are not as considerate as you are . This never crossed the mind of any of us . ”

Yao Yi patted Wang Dashan on the shoulder . “You’re too young to be blamed for it . ”

Wang Dashan, who was no younger than Yao Yi, fell speechless with embarrassment .

“In the past, every time our young master feels depressed, our second mistress will cook him dishes that she’s best at cooking, and young master always cheers up after enjoying them . ”

Yao Yi raised his head and pondered for a while . “Is there an alternative?”

‘The level of difficulty of this method is too high . Surely we can’t just return to Tanyang and take Second Mistress Ling here?’

“Sometimes, when our young master feels a bit down, he would play with our second young master and Ada . We can always hear his laughter when he is with them . ”

Once again, Yao Yi responded in resignation, “I’m afraid I’ll have to pass on this one as well . Hey, bro, it’s not that I’m being picky, but neither of these two is an option for us . Childe Ling is now away from Tanyang . ”

Wang Dashan looked at him with a deeply meaningful expression in his eyes and remarked, “As far as I could tell, our young master is actually pretty happy when he’s with the Marshal . ”

Yao Yi was delighted to hear this, but soon something occurred to him and with that his face darkened again . ‘This one is not doable either . The reason why the Marshal wants us to cheer Childe Ling up must be that it’s not very convenient for him to do it himself . Thinking about this, Yao Yi frowned and said, “Is there by any chance another way? For instance, Childe Ling’s favorite food, what he likes to watch the most, what he likes to listen to the most, etc . Whatever and wherever it is, we’ll figure out a way to bring it to Childe Ling . ”

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Wang Dashan looked at him with a resigned expression on his face . ‘Did I not tell you that our young master likes dishes cooked by our second mistress, likes to watch Childe Maomao playing with Ada and also likes hearing the Marshal say…’ Thinking of this, Wang Dashan secretly gave a cough .

Wang Dashan stopped deliberately making impracticable suggestions, which had put Yao Yi in an awkward situation . “Our young master likes Ada pretty much, which he was unable to take with him on this journey to the capital city . Though he didn’t say anything, I could tell that he feels somewhat regretful . So maybe you could try get him a puppy?”

Yao Yi’s eyes lit up . “Thanks, bro!”

After saying this, he left like the wind .

Wang Dashan stroked his nose and returned .

Liu Yi flicked him a glance . For fear of waking up Ling Zhang, Wang Dashan didn’t say anything about the conversation .

…

In the afternoon, the group resumed their journey . Ling Zhang had just woken up and was still a little sleepy, so Yuwen Tong settled him in a horse-drawn carriage instead of on the back of a horse .

All palace guards and Zhang Xi were bring up the rear . In the knowledge that Yuwen Tong might vent his anger on them, all of them kept quiet .

Ling Zhang looked back, lifted his left brow and then let down the carriage curtain .

“Would you like to get some extra sleep, Young Master?” asked Xia Feng .

Originally, Ling Zhang had wanted to shake his head, but after a brief moment’s thinking, he replied, “Yeah . I do want to catch up on my sleep . You may go out there and sit with the driver . ”

‘There’s nobody else around . I should take advantage of this opportunity and read the letter as soon as possible,’ he thought .

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Ling Zhang’s instruction aroused no doubts in Xia Feng’s mind . He immediately went outside, sat down beside the driver and even let down the front curtain for fear that the sunlight and the wind might be a disturbance to Ling Zhang .

This was exactly what Ling Zhang wanted . After the front curtain was let down, he hastily fished the envelope out of his inner pocket, unsealed it and started reading, his heart involuntarily fluttering with nervousness .

The letter written by his uncle was very long . In it, he gave an account of the series of events happened within a couple of years, from the first meeting between Ling Zhang’s parents to his mother’s death and his father’s missing .

It was not until Ling Zhang read this letter that he discovered that his mother had also been a very important reason why his grandfather had chosen to leave the capital city in that year .

It had been his father who had rescued his mother . Back at that time, all the handmaids of his mother had been killed, and his mother was the only one left struggling with the enemies, trying to survive . His father, who had some kung fu skills and mistakenly thought that those men were bandits, sprang to her help without much hesitation . After his parents joined hands and disposed of the enemies mobbing them, his mother, drained of energy, passed out and was taken home by his father .

Originally, people of Ling family had thought that his mother was from some family in the capital city, intending to ask his mother about it and then have her escorted to her home after she came around . Unexpectedly, after reviving, his mother was instantly on the alert, overreacted and almost killed his father . People of Ling family were startled and intended to report this to local authorities, but eventually his father stopped them from doing so . After that, his mother lived in the residence of Ling family . Because of her injuries and weak constitution, it took her a long time to make a full recovery . During her stay in Ling family, she and his father fell in love with each other . After his mother recuperated, his father asked his grandfather for permission to marry her .

At first, his grandfather disagreed, saying that she was a very dangerous woman because her family background was known and she had Jianghu kung fu skills . His father implored his grandfather for a very long time . His mother, not having the heart to see his father suffering from the tough situation, decided to leave, but his father didn’t agree, saying that he would leave Ling family as well if she left . Eventually, unwilling to see his father part with his family, his mother told people of Ling family about her parentage .

His mother was not from the Great Yue or the Wan Kingdom but the Millennium Pavilion, all members of which had been living in seclusion for generations .

It was rumored that the Xia (about 2100-1600 BC), the last dynasty, used to have a department called the Foreseers Agency, that foreseers were descendants of phoenixes and capable of foreseeing the future developments of all events in the world as well as bringing peace .

The Millennium Pavilion had grown out of the Deca-millennium Pavilion . At that time, the Xia was a country far larger than the Great Yue . With the Wan Kingdom, the Luohai Kindom and the Fangcun Kingdom, to name but three, under its rule, this whole land was under its sole dominion . The Deca-millennium Pavilion, having been serving the imperial family of the Xia for hundreds of years, were highly revered . However, as the Xia fell apart, the Deca-millennium Pavilion suffered an unprecedentedly heavy blow and disappeared from history .

No one could have foreseen that the Deca-millennium Pavilion had not really been erased from existence . A few surviving members, taking with them the imperial family of the Xia and manuals on unique skills that had been treasured by the Deca-millennium Pavilion for centuries, escaped from pursuers from various sides, secluded themselves in remote mountains and renamed themselves the Millennium Pavilion . From then on, they started living in seclusion, staying away from all disputes in the world . Their secluded life lasted hundreds of years . As daughter of the head elder of the Deca-millennium Pavilion, Ling Zhang’s mother possessed the blood of the foreseers clan . The reason why she left the mountain was that she wanted to find her younger brother who had also secretly left . Unexpectedly, her younger brother, after leaving the mountain, was framed in a sudden misfortune and died . Ling Zhang’s mother, in a fit of rage, with the martial formations of the Deca-millennium Pavilion, killed the man responsible for her younger brother’s death and all his family members…

Those dispatched by the Deca-millennium Pavilion to look for Ling Zhang’s mother and her brother found out about this matter and reported it back . Those in charge decided that the unsanctioned use of martial formations of Ling Zhang’s mother was against the rules, caused quite a stink and was punishable by death . Unconvinced, Ling Zhang’s mother, taking her handmaids with her, tried her best to flee from the killers sent by the Deca-millennium Pavilion . After a couple of fights, both sides suffered serious injuries . The last time they engaged each other was in the suburbs of the capital city, when both sides were like spent arrows . All handmaids of Ling Zhang’s mother died protecting her, and she was reduced to an extremely unfavorable situation . Had his father not suddenly shown up, she would have met her end as well .

Deeply shocked by the truth told by Ling Zhang’s mother, Ling Zhang’s grandfather raised an even stronger objection to his father marrying her . In the end, his father had a long private talk with Ling Xingzhong in the study, the contents of which were unknown to Ling Zhaowen . After that, Ling Xingzhong changed his mind and agreed .

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Their wedding was a very low-key affair . When his mother conceived him, she kept feeling somewhat worried that some others from the Deca-millennium Pavilion might find her . As chance would have it, something else happened and his grandfather conveniently resigned from office, took his family out of the capital city and retired to Tanyang . After returning to Tanyang, his mother finally managed to rid herself from fear . However, she insisted on giving birth to Ling Zhang despite the risks and the delivery took a heavy toll on her . Drained of vital energy, his mother, on heavy medication, lingered on for a couple of years and passed away .

At the end of the letter, his uncle conjectured that the reason why Ling Zhaowu had suddenly left home was because he intended to find the Millennium Pavilion, because rumor had it that a descendant of a phoenix was capable of rising from the dead . His father, not resigned to accepting his wife’s death, wanted to figure out a way to resurrect his wife .

Ling Zhang’s brow corrugated in a deep frown . After reading the letter, the only feeling he had was that this whole thing was ridiculous . ‘Resurrection? How is it even possible?! Ling Zhaowu must have taken leave of his senses when he came to believe that . In order to chase a shadow, he chose to forsake his family . What a heartless bastard!’

Thinking about this, Ling Zhang felt a terrible constriction in the chest as well as an urge to vent his anger but didn’t know how .

‘And about that so-called Deca-millennium Pavilion or Millennium Pavilion, given that they had never shown up in Tanyang for so many years, it was almost certain that they had failed to find anything . Under the circumstances, Ling Zhaowu should have kept his head down and stayed with his family, but he was actually stupid enough to go to their place on his own account!

No, if he had found them, we wouldn’t have heard no news of it for so many years . It must be that he had never found any traces of them whatsoever . ’

Ling Zhang barely slept the night before and merely had a few moments’ sleep in the morning . At this time, he was suffering from spells of headache, which made his face somewhat pale .

By this moment, he had also managed to figure some things out . ‘No wonder uncle believed me so willingly when I told him that I’d been having dreams about those things . It turns out that there was a reason for that . ’

All the martial formations his mother left to him, along with the medicinal jade, were from that so-called Millennium Pavilion .

Ling Zhang fished out the medicinal jade he was wearing, which was blackish green and giving off a mild glow . People had to pay great attention to be able to detect an extremely faint smell of medicine .

He remembered that when he had been young, the smell of medicine had been stronger, but now it was very light . Only when in contact with something of the opposite medicinal property would the jade give off a stronger smell of medicine, just like the poisonous creature carried by Yuwen Qi the last time they’d met .

‘Its medicinal efficacy has been getting weaker…’ he thought .

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Chapter 157: Chapter 157 – What Do I Need to Do to Make Young Master Happy?

Chapter 157: What Do I Need to Do to Make Young Master Happy?

Translator: DragonRider

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“Uh…Ooh!”

In a quiet corner of the courier station, Zhao Pingchuan, propping himself with his left hand on the wall, bent from the waist and vomited, his face terrifyingly pale .

“What happened to Commander Zhao? Why is he barfing so badly?”

Many palace guards observed Zhao Pingchuan walk to the corner and, distantly, saw him throwing up so terribly like he would puke his guts out . All of them felt very surprised .

A bodyguard of Yuwen Tong’s walked out, contemptuously gave a sneer, and walked up to him while saying, “Commander Zhao, do you want a pill? Our medic made it by a secret formula . It’s a very effective treatment for vomiting . ”

However, on hearing the voice of this man, Zhao Pingchuan vomited even worse .

Those palace guards were speechless with astonishment .

‘What’s going on?’ they wondered .

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, who happened to be standing by a window of a room on the second floor of the courier station, saw what was taking place down there .

“Didn’t Commander Zhao go to the room to bear witness to the interrogation? What happened to him? Did he eat bad food and upset his stomach?”

Yuwen Tong replied, “He probably just exposed himself to something too scary . ”

“Something too scary?” Ling Zhang was surprised . “Did Xie Shi interrogate the assassin in a… scary way? Is it really scary enough to cause a man to throw up for so long?”

In fact, Ling Zhang had wanted to use the word “cruel” or “gory”, but after a brief moment’s thinking, he felt that it was somewhat inappropriate to use either of the two words to describe it .

“A living assassin will be of more use to us than a dead one . Should we go easier on him?” Ling Zhang continued .

Yao Yi broke in, “Rest assured, Childe Ling, Xie Shi knows very well where the limit is and he never tortures anybody to death . Actually the assassin might not even have lost a single drop of his blood . ”

‘Not even having lost a single drop of his blood? Then what was it that could possibly have been so scary as to cause Zhao Pingchuan to vomit so badly?’ Ling Zhang wondered .

“Zhao Pingchuan gets scared too easily,” observed Yuwen Tong .

Ling Zhang inclined his head approvingly, believing that this was probably the real reason . ‘Who would have thought that he appears a tough hombre but is actually so cowardly?’

“If only that assassin were also as much of a coward as Zhao Pingchuan is . He would have made a full confession some time ago provided that were the case . ”

Yao Yi gave a soft cough but made no response .

Yuwen Tong twisted his head around, flicked a glance at him and warned him in a cold tone of voice, “Go and see if Xie Shi has got anything . ”

“Yes, Marshal . ” That glance sent chills down Yao Yi’s spine and he hurriedly left .

Downstairs, Zhao Pingchuan had already walked out of the corner . Although he was no longer vomiting, he seemed to have been drained of energy and was in a state of prostration, his face so pale that people worried he might pass out at any moment .

---

“Commander Zhao, how about you go back to your room and have some rest? We’ll get a physician here to offer you medical treatment . ” The bodyguard who had offered to give Zhao Pingchuan a pill a while ago walked up to him .

On seeing him, Zhao Pingchuan subconsciously took a step backward, as if he caught sight of something horrifying .

After this backward step, Zhao Pingchuan came to realize what was going on . His face immediately darkened . “I don’t need any physicians . Marshal Yuwen’s means of interrogation widened my knowledge today . He’s indeed admirable . ”

The bodyguard replied, “It’s very kind of you to say that, Commander Zhao, but actually I feel relieved for you –fortunately that assassin didn’t rat you out . ”

“What’s this supposed to mean?” Zhao Pingchuan clenched his fists .

The bodyguard stared fixedly at him . “I think you know exactly what I mean, Commander Zhao . ”

Zhao Pingchuan responded through gritted his teeth slowly stressing each syllable, “I do not know!”

The bodyguard shrugged his shoulders, turned around and left, a porcelain bottle in his hand, which he had originally meant to give Zhao Pingchuan . ‘Since Zhao Pingchuan is so insistent on playing tough, saying he doesn’t need any pills, why should I waste my pills?’

Eyes wide with anger, Zhao Pingchuan watched the bodyguard walk far away and heaved a sigh of relief, but with that his face went sullen .

A lot of people were standing nearby looking on . These people had seen it all when he had been vomiting in an undignified way!

“What are you looking at?! Go back to your rooms!” Zhao Pingchuan thundered at his subordinates . Deterred by Zhao Pingchuan, all palace guards obediently followed the order .

But Yuwen Tong’s bodyguards and those family security guards brought here by Ling Zhang showed a total disregard for his anger and were still staring at him .

Zhao Pingchuan’s face turned livid with rage but there was nothing he could do about it . Having no alternative, he indignantly strode back to his room to change clothes .

“It seems that Guard Xie’s interrogation of that assassin scared that Zhao Pingchuan guy really bad . I wonder what kind of methods Guard Xie adopted,” said Qiu Bing, excitement gleaming in his eyes .

Wang Dashan flicked a warning glance at him . “Be smart . Stay away from the interrogation room . ”

“Elder Brother Wang, I’m just curious . I won’t go there or make any trouble,” responded Qiu Bing .

“I know you and your little tricks too well to believe this . ” Wang Dashan gave him a dirty look .

Upstairs .

“The assassin made a confession . It was the Ninth Princess who ordered the assassination . ”

After saying this, Yao Yi hung his head and didn’t dare to look at the face of Yuwen Tong or Ling Zhang .

“The Ninth Princess?” said Ling Zhang slowly, his face impassive . “The one that the emperor intends to marry to you?”

But Yuwen Tong shook his head . “I don’t know . ”

“You don’t know?” Ling Zhang looked at him with a disbelieving expression in his eyes .

---

Yuwen Tong explained in a resigned tone of voice . “The emperor’s idea of marrying a princess to me is currently just an idea . There are many princesses in the imperial family and I don’t have any acquaintance with any of them . Who knows which princess the emperor plans to use?”

“Then why did the Ninth Princess try to have me assassinated?” Ling Zhang was puzzled . After a few moments’ thinking, he asked, “Is it possible that she’s the one the emperor has chosen?”

Yuwen Tong replied, “It’s inadvisable to draw a conclusion after merely hearing the one-sided story of the assassin . I’ll have some men conduct an inquiry into it . To be on the safe side, I suggest you share a table and a bed with me until we reach the capital city . ”

“I’m okay with sharing a table, but I think I’ll pass on sharing a bed . ” Ling Zhang’s face immediately darkened . “Although I’m a male, my identity is different now . Besides…”

Ling Zhang tossed an apathetic glance at Yuwen Tong . He didn’t finish his sentence, but the meaning of it had been made very clear .

He was very angry at the moment . ‘Yuwen Tong should count himself extremely lucky not to have to face my anger, yet he dared to have the fond hope of me sharing a bed with him? What a nerve . ’

Yuwen Tong was reduced to an embarrassed silence .

“Childe Ling, Marshal is innocent . ” Yao Yi hurriedly interceded on behalf of his marshal .

However, this remark sent Yuwen Tong even more embarrassed . He instructed Yao Yi, “That’s enough . Leave us . Tell Xie Shi to keep a close watch on that assassin . If there’s anybody else secretly having their eye on us, they would almost certainly take another action to make sure the assassin doesn’t make it to the capital city alive . Figure out a way to safely escort him to the capital city . ”

Yao Yi nodded . “I’ll go and consult with Xie Shi about it right away . ”

The moment Yao Yi left, Yuwen Tong said, “No matter to what end did the Ninth Princess resort to this, I’ll ascertain the facts and give you an explanation you deem acceptable . ”

“She’s a princess . What could you possibly do about this?” Ling Zhang looked at him .

“Well, the Sixth Prince is a prince, yet I’ve successfully got him condemned to lifelong house arrest, haven’t I?” replied Yuwen Tong .

He made this remark in a bland tone of voice, but if anybody else had heard it, they would definitely be deeply shocked .

However…

Ling Zhang was aware that Yuwen Tong was indeed capable of doing this . Besides, when he arrived in the capital city, he would almost undoubtedly be faced with restrictions in various aspects, so he might as well leave this to Yuwen Tong .

It had been a long hectic night . Originally, Ling Zhang had planned to read the letter given to him by his uncle after returning to the courier station on this night, but it had never crossed his mind that there would be an assassination . And now it was almost daybreak .

“Go and get some sleep . Today we’ll stay in this courier station and rest . We depart tomorrow,” said Yuwen Tong .

Ling Zhang shook his head . “Let’s just depart in the afternoon . Try not to let news of this incident spread to Tanyang . I don’t want my family worrying about me . ”

This would be very difficult . The night before, there were many visitors in the herbal garden, so it wouldn’t be easy to have all of them keep their mouths shut, but Yuwen Tong told them that it was him who had been attacked by some assassins, so they were unaware that the actual target of the assassination had been Ling Zhang .

Thinking about this, Yuwen Tong immediately agreed . “Then we’ll depart in the afternoon . ”

‘Departing earlier has its compensations . If by any chance Uncle Ling and others hear about this and change their minds asking Ling Zhang to go back home, things would get really tricky,’ he thought .

Ling Zhang had no idea what Yuwen Tong was thinking about . Unlike Yuwen Tong, he didn’t have powerful internal energy, so he was indeed very tired .

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After returning to his room, Ling Zhang casually changed clothes and went to bed .

It was not that he did not want to read the letter but that…

“Young Master, please get some sleep . We’ll be here on watch . ”

Xia Feng was standing right at his bedside . Wang Dashan and other security guards were outside the room . Even Li Sicai and Wang Qing, who had been terribly scared, refused to leave and insisted on staying outside the room . There were people both in and outside the room .

‘How am I supposed to read the letter with all these people present?’

Ling Zhang resignedly raised his hand and kneaded his brow . ‘It is true what they say, ‘Man proposes, God disposes . ”

“Young Master, are you suffering from headaches? I’ll send for a physician right now . ” Xia Feng immediately went nervous .

“No . There’s no need for that . I’m just tired . I’ll be okay after a sleep,” Ling Zhang hurriedly replied .

“Then please lie down and sleep, Young Master . ”

Ling Zhang lay down, put his hand on his chest where the letter was, and said to Xia Feng, “Go there and take a seat . I can’t sleep with you standing here . ”

Thinking that he could still keep a watch on the bed from that position, Xia Feng obeyed .

Ling Zhang softly let out a sigh . Apart from anything else, he was indeed exhausted, so before long, he drifted off to sleep .

Shortly after Ling Zhang fell asleep, something else occurred in the courier station . The captured assassin bit off his tongue and committed suicide .

Yuwen Tong flew into a temper and hurled a torrent of rebuke at Xie Shi and others who had been responsible for guarding the assassin . Even Zhao Pingchuan fell victim to Yuwen Tong’s rage . He didn’t even dare to raise his head while being reprimanded .

The whole courier station was shrouded in a subdued mood . Nobody dared to utter a single word . All people were trying to make themselves scarce for fear of further angering Yuwen Tong .

Zhao Pingchuan heaved a sigh of relief after returning to his own room .

In another room, Zhang Xi was also secretly relieved .

“Gonggong, that assassin is dead . Was it a good thing or a bad thing?” queried the young eunuch .

“Of course it’s a good thing . Yuwen Tong refuses to disclose a single word about the result of the interrogation . Whether he really got anything or is just bluffing is still unknown . The man’s death was a favorable turn of events . His Majesty has got more room for maneuver,” observed Zhang Xi .

The young eunuch inclined his head, as if suggesting that he had learned something from the old eunuch .

“Guide me to my bed . We’re going to depart in the afternoon, yet I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night . I’m at my advanced age . This sleep deprivation could have killed me . ”

The young eunuch hurriedly guided Zhang Xi to his bed and helped him lie down . “Gonggong, your physical condition is far better than mine . You’re not old at all . ”

…

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“Is it done?” asked Yuwen Tong calmly, who was in the largest and the most comfortable room of the courier station . On his face, there was no trace whatsoever of the fury that he had been showing a while ago .

Yao Yi standing on the side replied, “It’s done . They’ve already departed . ”

“Tell them to be careful and not to let his death become the truth . ”

“I’ve already exhorted them . They’ll be cautious . ”

After a few moments, Yao Yi asked, “Marshal, did Childe Ling get angry with you just now?”

Yuwen Tong flicked a glance at him . “For your own sake, I suggest all of you be on your best behavior and figure out a way to get him brighten up during the next few days . ”

‘We figure out a way to brighten Childe Ling up?’ Yao Yi widened his eyes . “Marshal, wouldn’t it be better if you do this yourself?”

Yuwen Tong responded, “I don’t really need you to remind me about this . Just concentrate your efforts on making him happy . ”

Yao Yi had no choice but to answer, “Yes, Marshal . ” However, in his mind, he was muttering to himself . ‘I’ve never done this kind of thing before . What should I do to cheer Childe Ling up?’ Thinking about this, he hurriedly went outside to consult with Zhang Liu and others .

After hearing this, Zhang Liu and some others looked at each other, at a loss for words .

“What do we need to do to make Childe Ling happy?”

“This is tricky . ”

“Tricky how? All we need to do is cheer Childe Ling up . ”

“This is exactly why we always say you’re stupid . This task of making Childe Ling happy needs to be performed in moderation . If we make Childe Ling too happy, all his attention will be drawn to us . In that case, the Marshal will definitely get angry once again!”

“Then what do you suggest we should do?”

“How about we go and ask Wang Dashan and his men for advice?”

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Chapter 156: Chapter 156 – A Breach of the Rules

“Wanna leave?! You wish!”

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The sound of fighting emanated from the backyard of the courier station .

On hearing it, Yao Yi quickly rushed out of the room towards the scene, while Zhang Liu stayed inside guarding the body .

When Yao Yi got to the backyard, the one trying to escape had just been overpowered by Xie Shi . Secretly rejoicing that he had arrived in time by a fluke, Yao Yi immediately hit at a couple of acupoints of the assassin’s to neuter him of his mobility, then decisively dislocated the assassin’s lower jaw and fished out a ball of wax hidden in his mouth .

Xie Shi’s brow corrugated in a frown . “What’s going on? He’s hiding poison in his mouth?”

Yao Yi nodded . “Due to a momentary lapse of concentration of mine, the one upstairs bit through the wax ball in his mouth and committed suicide . Fortunately we stopped this guy from doing the same thing . ”

The man lying on the ground was the very assassin who had previously been hit by Yuwen Tong on the back . He had sustained an internal injury after receiving that palm strike of Yuwen Tong, and now his face was frighteningly pale . With a resentful look in his eyes, he stared at Xie Shi and Yao Yi, but since his acupoints had been hit, eyeing his enemies belligerently was the only thing he could do .

“Lock him up first . Keep him alive . Marshal will decide how he shall be dealt with,” instructed Yao Yi .

Xie Shi gave a bob of his head and escorted the assassin away with some others .

When Zhao Pingchuan arrived at the yard, he found that his subordinate was nowhere to be seen . “Where is he? He escaped?”

Yao Yi flicked a bland glance at him . “Why am I feeling that Commander Zhao seems very happy to know that he managed an escape?”

Zhao Pingchuan immediately replied, “I just worry that he might try to hurt someone else . ”

“Is that so? Didn’t Commander Zhao claim with absolute certainty that there was no assassin whatsoever hiding among palace guards? How are you going to explain this?” asked Yao Yi .

Zhao Pingchuan’s face darkened as he heard this .

…

All visitors in the herbal garden had been carefully questioned, every corner of the manor searched, but no accomplices of the assassins had been found .

The owner of the herbal garden heaved a deep sigh of relief and, as if having been drained of energy, was within an inch of going limp and slumping to the ground .

Yuwen Tong was sitting in a seat with a highly commanding presence, striking fear into the heart of anyone that laid eyes on him .

“Marshal, we searched everybody and every inch of this place . No accomplices of the assassins were found,” the head constable of the county yamen reported after wiping the sweat off his forehead and walking over .

“Your trouble is appreciated . I’ll keep your meritorious services in mind and see them properly rewarded later . It’s been a long tough night . You may go back and get some rest now,” observed Yuwen Tong .

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“You are too kind, Marshal . We but performed our sworn duty,” replied the head constable, secretly relieved . “Marshal, would you and Childe Ling care to go back to the inn? If you would, may I take the liberty of offering to escort you and Childe Ling there?”

Yuwen Tong inclined his head . “It may not be a bad idea . Thanks in advance for the trouble . ”

“You are too courteous, Marshal,” the head constable responded and hurriedly walked away to make arrangements for Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang to be escorted back to the courier station .

“I’m sorry to have disturbed you and your guests today,” Yuwen Tong said to the owner of the herbal garden . “I’ll compensate for all the losses . Please calculate them and deliver the total number to the courier station tomorrow . I’ll pay double the amount . ”

The owner of the herbal garden was shocked . It had never crossed his mind that Yuwen Tong would offer to compensate him . Though having been busy and on tenterhooks for the whole night, the owner of the herbal garden was very gratified to hear Yuwen Tong say this . “Marshal, I’m already deeply indebted to you for absolving me from my failure to provide up-to-standard security . How dare I accept a compensation from Marshal?”

“That’s another issue . Besides, you are just victims of an undeserved catastrophe,” observed Yuwen Tong .

The owner of the herbal garden was deeply moved, thinking, ‘Marshal Yuwen’s reputation as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Great Yue as well as the God of War is well-earned . Marshal Yuwen is indeed different from those generals or other officers . ’

“Marshal, though you wish to make up for me, there’s no need to pay me any money . Just take it as a petty donation of mine to the North-western Army . I have no fighting skills and therefore am not capable of going to the battlefield to defend our country against enemies, which has always been a great regret of mine . And I’ve always had great admiration for soldiers of the North-western Army, so I’d like to make a contribution in my own way,” said the owner of the herbal garden tactfully .

Yuwen Tong gave a smile, “Such sense of patriotism stands something of a rarity these days . Then so be it . I guess you’ve had enough of us disturbing you, so we’ll take our leave . ”

“I’ll see you and Childe Ling to the gateway, Marshal,” said the owner of the herbal garden .

Before leaving, Yuwen Tong went to the teahouse and had a brief talk with those customers, expressing his gratitude for their being cooperative this night .

Though feeling it regrettable that no accomplices of the assassins had been found, on hearing that Yuwen Tong was leaving, all customers went out of the teahouse with the intention to see him back to the courier station .

At the gateway of the manor, Yuwen Tong stopped them and declined their kind offer, letting only the yamen runners of the county yamen be the escorts .

After seeing Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang to the doorway of the courier station, those yamen runners took their leave and returned .

It was not until there was no outsider present that Ling Zhang relaxed his back muscles which had been tense all along . “You have a very high personal prestige among the people . ”

‘No wonder the emperor fears him .

Yuwen Tong not only has powerful armies at his command but also possesses great renown which considerably overshadows even that of the emperor . How could the emperor not be on pins and needles?’ he thought .

However, Yuwen Tong’s reaction to this was rather bland . “Some matters are not as simple as they seem . ‘While water can carry a boat, it can also overturn it . ’ People have already grown accustomed to the rule from the imperial family . ”

After some thinking, Ling Zhang felt that he had got a point . Apart from everything else, in his last life, his family had done nothing wrong but those people, whose judgement had been clouded, vented their anger on and hurled curses at his family .

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“Let’s go and find out if Yao Yi and others caught the assassins,” said Yuwen Tong, breaking into Ling Zhang’s thoughts .

Ling Zhang pulled his mind back to the current moment and went into the courier station with him .

Yao Yi had already walked out of the back yard . “Marshal, we caught both of the two assassins . One of them ingested poison . We tried to save him but he didn’t make it . The other one is in custody . Both of them are palace guards . ”

“I see,” Yuwen Tong answered without even glancing at Zhao Pingchuan who had just hurried up to him with the intention to talk .

Ling Zhang softly gave a bob of his head and then left with Yuwen Tong .

Zhao Pingchuan briefly clenched his teeth and followed in their wake .

A young eunuch, who had been standing in the corridor occasionally popping his head around the corner to sneak a glance at them, saw they leave and quickly ran back to the room of Zhang Xi .

“Gonggong, the Marshal returned . Zhao Pingchuan is bound to suffer this time . ”

Zhang Xi had a grave expression on his face . “Go get the supervisor of this courier station . Tell him that I need a courier pigeon to deliver a letter to the capital city . ”

The young eunuch answered “Yes” and hurriedly trotted out of the room .

Zhang Xi muttered in a surprised tone of voice, “Exactly who was it that planted assassins in the Palace Guards? Those two men look rather familiar… Are they by any chance under anybody’s instigation?”

The frown on Zhang Xi’s face deepened as he thought about this . Eventually, he still wrote a letter and had the supervisor of the courier station use a courier pigeon to deliver it to the capital city .

No sooner had he taken this course of action than it came to the knowledge of bodyguards of Yuwen Tong, who immediately reported this matter to Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang .

“Let him be,” said Yuwen Tong .

Ling Zhang thought for a while but made no remarks about it . Such was the severity of this incident that people in the capital city would inevitably get wind of it sooner or later . And it was almost impossible to stop Zhang Xi from reporting it .

The assassin restrained was still lying on the ground . A pained expression appeared on his face when someone fixed his dislocated bottom jaw .

“Who sent you here to assassinate Childe Ling?” Yao Yi inquired .

The assassin closed his eyes and kept silent .

Yuwen Tong, who could tell at a single glance what kind of person this man was, couldn’t be bothered to waste any time on him . “Drag him away . Do whatever necessary to get him talking . ”

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“Yes, Marshal!” Xie Shi curved the corners of his mouth in a sneer and dragged the man away .

Ling Zhang looked at the assassin, who was literally being dragged forward, and then withdrew his gaze impassively .

He was eager to know exactly who it was that was so determined to see him dead!

The reason why Zhao Pingchuan had followed Yuwen Tong was that he wanted to see if Yuwen Tong would be able to get any information from the assassin, but unexpectedly, he only ended up helplessly watching the man being dragged away, which sent him into vexation .

“Commander Zhao, are these two assassins members of the Palace Guards?” Yuwen Tong queried .

Ling Zhang also looked at Zhao Pingchuan .

Being coldly stared by the two pairs of eyes, Zhao Pingchuan briefly froze and then replied, “They are indeed members of the Palace Guards . ”

“Was their plan to assassinate me in your knowledge?” Yuwen Tong asked another question .

Ling Zhang secretly tossed a glance at Yuwen Tong, saying nothing . ‘It was unmistakably me that the assassins attempted to kill . Why did Yuwen Tong say that he himself was the target?’

But Zhao Pingchuan failed to notice this minor inconsistency between Yuwen Tong’s statements and the facts . Face tense, he replied, “They did it without my knowledge . I would have killed them before they could take action had I known about it . Marshal Yuwen, neither I nor any of my other brethren was aware of why they did that . They’d been working under me for several years and they had always been honest and loyal . As regards this incident, I believe there must be some kind of mistake, some kind of misunderstanding . ”

“Misunderstanding? If it weren’t for the fact that I’d brought some bodyguards with me, my head wouldn’t have remained on my shoulders,” observed Yuwen Tong in a cold tone of voice after putting down the teacup .

Zhao Pingchuan was stressed out by Yuwen Tong’s aggressiveness and beads of cold sweat immediately oozed out of the forehead of him . “With all due respect, I still believe that my judgement of their character stands correct . They are by no means evildoers . ”

“We’ll find out whether they are evildoers or not when the interrogation is over,” remarked Yuwen Tong .

“But I’m afraid this kind of covert interrogation is against the rules, Marshal,” said Zhao Pingchuan, steeling himself against the pressure from Yuwen Tong .

“Then what do you think the rules suggest I should do?”

“I should be present, so that I’ll be able to report to His Majesty according to the truth provided he asks about it someday . ”

Yuwen Tong gave a sneer . “As you wish . Yao Yi, take him to the room . ”

Yao Yi flicked a glance of sympathy at Zhao Pingchuan . “This way, please, Commander Zhao . ”

Zhao Pingchuan had an inkling that something was not right, but he still braced himself and walked forward .

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After both of them left, Wang Dashan and a couple of others entered the room and looked at Ling Zhang, anxiety on their faces . “Young Master, are you okay?”

Ling Zhang shook his head . “I’m fine . Elder Brother Liu was there protecting me . ”

This reply sent Wang Dashan and others relieved . “I’m glad to hear that . I should have brought more men and gone there with you . Those assassins wouldn’t have dared to show their faces had I done that . ”

“Don’t blame yourself for that . It was me who decided to take only Elder Brother Liu with me . Elder Brother Wang, did you find anything after checking out staff members of this courier station?” asked Ling Zhang .

Wang Dashan responded, “Nothing . None of them has ever made any contact with the assassins . ”

Ling Zhang inclined his head .

“But the two assassins are palace guards . Why did they try to assassinate young master?” Qiu Bing queried in a confused and worried tone of voice .

After a few moments’ silence, Ling Zhang replied, “We’ll find that out when the interrogation is finished . ”

Feeling that something was not quite right, Qiu Bing intended to persist his questioning, but Wang Dashan gently knocked him with his shoulder .

Qiu Bing took the hint and shut up .

After they left the room, Qiu Bing, bursting with astonishment, queried, “Elder Brother Wang, why did you hush me just now?”

Wang Dashan looked at Liu Yi, who flicked a glance at them and said, “I think it has something to do with the engagement between young master and the Marshal . ”

“The engagement between young master and the Marshal?” Qiu Bing was perplexed at first and then the light dawned on him . “Are you saying that someone is trying to stop young master and the Marshal from getting married?”

“Theoretically, this is the only plausible explanation . ”

“What kind of son of a bitch would be so keen on being a busybody? I mean, to whom could the marriage between young master and the Marshal possibly cause any harm?!” remarked Qiu Bing angrily .

Both Wang Dashan and Liu Yi kept silent, but there were somewhat worried expressions in their eyes .

‘In order to stop them from getting married, these people actually resorted to assassination . It seems that this journey of young master’s to the capital city will be long and dangerous,’ Wang Dashan thought .

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