Masskara Festival

Everything About Masskara Festival

MassKara Highlights

The Glory After Rebirth – Chapter 488

by

Chapter 488: 488

Chapter 488 . Give It Your Best Shot .

Translator: DragonRider

In the Wan capital .

A rider on a fast horse entered the city in a great hurry, galloping towards the royal palace .

“Dispatch delivery!”

“Sire, an urgent letter from our scouts in the Great Wen has just been delivered here . ”

On hearing that it was an urgent letter from his scouts in the Great Wen, Shan Congli, worrying that something unexpected had happened, hastened to have his henchman bring him the letter . After reading the secret letter, however, he burst into laughter, “What a godsend!”

The courtiers, unaware of what it was about, were all confused as to why their emperor was laughing heartily .

“Yuwen Tong suffered a severe waist injury and has to lie in bed for two months . He’s not even attending court meetings . What else would you call this, if not ‘a godsend’?” explained Shan Congli, smugness and determination glinting in his eyes .

“In that case, there’s no way Yuwen Tong could lead the army himself . Without Yuwen Tong being in charge, Jiang Ke, Jiang Xi and Shao Feng don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of withstanding our and the Luohai Kingdom’s concerted attack,” croaked Shan Congyi, whose face was terribly disfigured in the explosion five years ago and was now covered with a mask .

“Our chance of defeating the Great Wen is now fifty percent higher,” commented Xue Chi who would be leading the Wan army as commander-in-chief in the upcoming war against the Great Wen, a relaxed look appearing on his face .

“Fifty percent? Yuwen Tong is only human . Don’t you think you’re giving him too much more credit than he deserves, General Xue?” sniffed Shan Congyi, displeased at Xue Chi putting it so dramatically as though their chance of winning would be halved if Yuwen Tong would be leading the Great Wen’s army . He was just one man, thought Shan Congyi .

Xue Chi shook his head . “I’ve long since come to know what Yuwen Tong is capable of when he has an army under his command, but no matter what, now that he’s injured, we’ve been offered an opportunity that is nothing short of a godsend . Sire, I suggest we attack immediately instead of continuing to wait for the Luohai Kingdom . It would be such a shame if we let this opportunity slip away!”

Naturally, Shan Congli was fully aware of the importance of seizing the opportunity, so he agreed on the spot, “Okay, General Xue . How soon can you get our troops ready to depart?”

Xue Chi answered, “Everything’s in readiness already, Sire . The provisions and fodder have also been delivered there in advance . Our men are ready to leave at a moment’s notice . ”

Shan Congli said, “In that case, they shall set off first light tomorrow morning . I’ll be seeing them off personally . ”

Xue Chi said, “Yes, Sire . ”

None of the courtiers dared raise any objections . It was now a foregone conclusion that the Wan Kingdom would attack the Great Wen, and their monarch had paid a heavy price to convince the Luohai monarch to join hands with him . On top of that, right now the emperor of the enemy country was injured and unable to lead his army, which meant this was a perfect opportunity . Anybody who dared oppose the operation at this point in time would be making an enemy of the monarch and might well be beheaded .

Shan Congyi glanced around him and then said to Shan Congli, “Sire, I petition you to grant me the permission to go with the army . ”

Shan Congli looked at him, a fairly disapproving expression on his face . “You’ve just recovered from your injuries . Staying in an encampment will take its toll on your health . ”

Shan Congyi said, “All my curable injuries have been healed . The rest of them are not going to be any different no matter how much rest I take, so I might as well go with the army . I swear I’ll take the capital city of the Great Wen with General Xue and kill Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong to avenge my sufferings and the deaths of the countless men we lost . ”

Shan Congli was still hesitating, but Shan Congyi was very intransigent, desire for revenge glinting in his eyes . Eventually, Shan Congli gave a nod of consent . “Take care of yourself . I don’t want to hear any news about you getting hurt again . ”

“Thank you for your concern, Sire . I promise I’ll take good care of myself,” said Shan Congyi .

Xue Chi inwardly furrowed his brows, not because he wasn’t comfortable with the idea of having a royal family member in his army, but because ever since Shan Congyi had returned after surviving the explosion, he had changed dramatically . He was now snaky, ruthless, unpredictable and unapproachable . Xue Chi was worried that Shan Congyi might lose control of himself . When they were at the border, without the monarch’s authority being a deterrent, there was no telling what kind of trouble Shan Congyi might get them into . However, Shan Congli had given the order, and Xue Chi had no alternative but to obey it and accept the fact that Shan Congyi would be going with the army .

“Sire, I have another suggestion – please send a message to Mu Hengtian and urge him to send his army as soon as possible . Only by joining hands with him would we be able to occupy the north of the Great Wen in the shortest possible amount of time and then move south to take their capital . If we fail to achieve the goal before Yuwen Tong recovers from his injury, we’ll lose the most precious opportunity we’ve ever had,” said Xue Chi .

Shan Congli took his advice and immediately had someone set off to send a letter to Mu Hengtian the Luohai monarch .

The next morning, Shan Congli drank a farewell toast to the troops and then the Wan army departed advancing towards Shengzhou Pass .

…

The moment the Wan army set off, scouts of the Great Wen sent a message back . Yuwen Tong, who had stayed in his bedchamber for almost ten days, curled his lip and said, “I specially lowered the security level, but it still took Shan Congli such a long time to find out . What a good-for-nothing . ”

Ling Zhang was not as composed as him . The departure of the Wan army meant that Yuwen Tong would soon set off to the south, that they wouldn’t be able to see each other until they were both in the Wan Kingdom .

“It takes a couple of days for a message to be delivered here from the Wan Kingdom . Given that the Wan Kingdom wants to attack as soon as possible, the enemy may well arrive in Shengzhou Pass in six days,” observed Ling Zhang .

After the message was delivered back to the capital city, Yuwen Tong would put in an appearance in front of the courtiers once again, make some arrangements and then set off to the south without more ado .

Please download our sponsor’s game to support RLN!

Yuwen Tong said, “That old bastard Xue Chi thinks he could get through Shengzhou Pass while I’m absent . What a daydreamer . ”

Xue Chi was a famous general of the Wan Kingdom . During the first few battles between Xue Chi and Yuwen Tong, the former had got one over on the latter, but the period when the former had had the upper hand had been very short . Yuwen Tong had soon inflicted several defeats on Xue Chi in succession . He knew Xue Chi very well, and so did his lieutenants, Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi . In the last few years of the former emperor’s reign, Yuwen Tong had been unwilling to help the then emperor expand his territory, and it had been Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi who were defending the border against Xue Chi, but Xue Chi was unaware of it .

“Still, we shouldn’t take him lightly . Once word gets out that you’ve occupied the south of the Wan Kingdom, Xue Chi would no doubt launch an all-out attack to force you into retreating and save the situation . Shengzhou Pass must be held,” said Ling Zhang .

Yuwen Tong looked at him . “You must be careful when you’re in Shengzhou . ”

Ling Zhang said, “I will . You need to be cautious as well . ”

The mood in the room became somewhat subdued . If everything went as planned, they would be reunited in the Wan capital in half a year . However, anything could happen on the battlefield . No matter how much the odds were in their favor, there would always be risks . Neither of them would be able to stop worrying about the other until the war was over .

“My father has already returned . He’ll be taking care of the children for us, and my maternal grandfather will be here as well . Even if anything goes awry, I’m sure they’ll be able to put things back under control before the situation gets any worse . In addition, I’ve instructed the chamber of commerce to give your plan their full support . They’ll be working at full stretch to ship medicines, provisions and weapons for the South-western Army . I can guarantee you even if the supply line in the charge of the court is crippled, your army won’t be short of supplies, so don’t worry about the capital city . Just give it your best shot,” said Ling Zhang, looking at Yuwen Tong earnestly .

Only if Yuwen Tong gave it his best shot would he be able to keep himself safe .

Yuwen Tong, gazing fixedly at him with intense affection gleaming in the depths of his eyes, said, “I will . ”

Ling Zhang exhaled lightly and said, “I’ll cooperate with Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi and do our level best to hold Shengzhou Pass . ”

This time Yuwen Tong made no reply . Instead, he drew Ling Zhang into his embrace and the next moment they were hugging each other tightly .

…

In the following few days, Yuwen Tong frequently summoned the two prime ministers, the heads of the six major departments and some generals to his bedchamber .

A couple of days later, a message was delivered back to the capital city, which said that a large army of the Wan Kingdom was advancing towards Shengzhou Pass . All courtiers inwardly muttered “About time” at the news and then started bustling around .

In Ling Zhang’s company, Yuwen Tong ‘managed to’ settle himself in the high seat in the outer hall of the imperial bedchamber and had a meeting with his whole court, at which he made the detailed arrangements that he had long since finalized .

Sponsored Content

“It’s been five years since the end of the last war . The semblance of peace between the Wan Kingdom and us has now been shattered . Their army is large and strong and closing in on us as we speak, but we have made preparations some time ago as well . The Shengzhou garrison and the Youzhou garrison are both on full alert and combat-ready, and I have no doubt they will make sure the enemies never make it back home if they dare attack . Our victory is certain, as long as everybody sticks to the plan I made, but if anybody chickens out of performing his sworn duty during the war, under no circumstance will I let him off lightly . ”

“We will not let the Great Wen fall as long as we still draw breath . If the enemy attacks, we will fight back with all we got . On no account will any of us shrink from confrontation . ” The courtiers stated their stand clearly .

“Good . The Wan Kingdom’s army will soon arrive in Shengzhou Pass . Now go and do what you are supposed to be doing . Get ready for the war . ”

“Yes, Your Majesty . ”

After the meeting, Yuwen Tong had the couple of courtiers who were privy to the plan concerning the South-western Army stay, had the guards shut the doors and consulted with them covertly . Two hours later, the doors were reopened, and the couple of courtiers took their leave, and with that the imperial bedchamber fell silent again .

Yuwen Tong returned to the inner hall, took off his imperial robes and changed into a common skintight outfit .

Ling Zhang silently helped him change clothes . There’s a lot he wanted to say, but eventually he said nothing, feeling that he had said all he needed to say, that all he could do next was pray everything would go as Yuwen Tong planned .

Yuwen Tong waited until Ling Zhang finished helping him change clothes to take Ling Zhang’s hand . “It’s been five years, and we still have so many years ahead of us, so I’ll come back in one piece . You must stay safe, because everything I did would be meaningless without you by my side . ”

The lines around Ling Zhang’s mouth tightened, an apprehensive look in his eyes . What Yuwen Tong had just said was exactly what he wanted to say .

“Wait for my message . I know you’ve deployed a large-scale Formation outside Shengzhou Pass . I’ll take all cities in southern Wan Kingdom before Xue Chi’s men break out of the Formation . ”

Ling Zhang was not surprised that what he had done outside Shengzhou Pass had come to Yuwen Tong’s knowledge . In fact, it was Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi who had helped him deploy the Formation . At that time, apart from bring his aunt back to the capital city, confirming the completion of the Formation was also part of the reason why he had detoured to Shengzhou .

“Okay,” said Ling Zhang in a deep voice .

The two of them were hugging each other before they knew it, and the hug lasted quite a while .

Yuwen Tong and Yuwen Jin would leave the city together immediately after dark, and nightfall was drawing near .

The two of them had had lunch with their children in the bedchamber at noon . In order not to raise any doubts in the children’s minds, Yuwen Tong had been leaning against the headboard when eating .

Sponsored Content

With the moment of parting approaching, Yuwen Tong kept from thinking how his children would feel after coming to know about his departure, because he would be burdened with worries if he thought too much about it . Ling Zhang told him not to let anything weigh on his mind, saying that he needed to exert himself, that he must stay safe .

The two of them were in a cuddle, both unwilling to let go . However, time always seemed to quicken its pace when people wished it would slow down . As the sun set behind the mountains, the night closed in, cloaking the capital city in darkness . Palace lanterns were lit one after another, including those outside the imperial bedchamber . Nobody would enter to disturb the two of them .

Ling Zhang was uncertain as to what he was feeling exactly, and he didn’t dare think deeply about it, fearing that he might not be able to bring himself to let go of his lover if he gave it too much thought .

After his hands moved slightly, Ling Zhang freed himself from Yuwen Tong’s hug . Yuwen Tong edged his arms forward with the intention to pull Ling Zhang back but soon paused and forbore from doing so in the knowledge that the two of them wouldn’t be able to part unless they hardened their hearts a little . Now that the parting was unavoidable…

Yuwen Tong decisively rose to his feet, spun around and made towards the door in a determined manner .

Ling Zhang followed in his wake, watching him heading for the front gates of the imperial bedchamber . Outside the gates were dozens of personal bodyguards led by Yao Yi . At ordinary times they wore palace guard’s uniform, but now they had all changed into common black skintight outfits, standing motionlessly in the gateway as though having merged into the dark night .

“Let’s go . ”

Yao Yi and the others inclined their heads, quietly followed Yuwen Tong out of the Infinite Fortune Palace and then disappeared from view .

Standing on the stairs in front of the doors, watching them ride out of sight, Ling Zhang balled his hands into fists at the back, a feeling of constriction in his chest, having difficulty breathing, his eyes gazing fixedly into space as though he were seeing through the high palace ramparts at the group of people leaving the city .

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc . . ), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible .

Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters .


The Glory After Rebirth – Chapter 483

by

Chapter 483: 483

The twittering of birds was heard .

It was a spring morning, and shafts of warm sunlight were pouring in through the windows of the imperial bedchamber, hitting the tables, chairs and other exquisite funishings, covering them with a genial glow . The whole imperial bedchamber was quiet except for the cheerful chirp of birds which was coming from outside the windows and echoing in the bedchamber . A couple of little birds were hopping around outside the window . One of them jumped onto the window ledge, gave a little hop to edge aside and lowered its head to preen itself . After giving a couple of faintly muffled cries, it started twittering joyously again .

Ling Zhang, without opening his eyes, groggily grabbed the quilt and pulled it over his head in an attempt to rid himself of the chirrup . Buried in the quilt, he was still quite drowsy and didn’t even feel like moving a finger, not to mention opening his eyes .

After a while, the bird on the windowsill flew off in a fluster as though alarmed by something, and so did other birds outside the window .

With his whole body beneath the quilt, Ling Zhang continued to indulge in sleep . The night before, he was badgered into changing into that set of scarlet clothes by Yuwen Tong who made out with him for a whole night . Unless the sky fell down, nothing would stop him from continuing to sleep .

He drifted into a deep sleep once again and it was not until noon that he slept enough and woke up . Eyes still closed, he reached out a hand to knead the small of his back . With a sudden movement of the quilt, a warm palm came joining him in massaging the small of his back .

A groan escaped Ling Zhang’s throat and with that he withdrew his hand, rolled over and lay prone to allow that warm palm to knead his waist in a more dutiful fashion .

As a low chuckle issued from outside the quilt, someone drew the quilt down to reveal his neck and planted a warm kiss on it .

Ling Zhang languidly let out a disapproving grunt and slightly moved his neck . “Stop it . It itches . ”

Yuwen Tong gently removed the couple of strands of mischievous hair from Ling Zhang’s neck . Kneading his waist with one hand, he softly ran his fingers through his hair with his other hand, tenderly massaging his head to help clear his mind . “The whole morning Crescent has been pestering me to let her see you, and she’s still sulking as we speak . You’ll have to go and coax her after you get up . ”

“Okay,” answered Ling Zhang . The massage Yuwen Tong was giving him was so comfortable that he let out a long sigh of contentment . “There weren’t any serious issues reported at the court meeting this morning, I suppose?”

“It’s still about the secret transportation of food supplies to the south-west . The first batch has been covertly gathered and delivered to the South-western Army already . I plan to have another two batches shipped there by stealth so that our troops will have adequate provisions and fodder after entering the Wan Kingdom . After their entry into the Wan Kingdom, it will no longer be necessary to keep the transportation of food supplies secret, and we may have them delivered in any way we like,” replied Yuwen Tong .

At the mention of army provisions and the upcoming war, Ling Zhang, though inclined to stay in the quilt for a little while longer, felt his drowsiness vanish instantly and with that he shifted his position slightly and then sat up .

Yuwen Tong withdrew his hand and, after Ling Zhang settled himself on the bed, wrapped the quilt around him, believing that the weather was still cold, that Ling Zhang who had just woken up needed some extra protection against the low temperature .

Ling Zhang grabbed the edge of the quilt and asked him, “No matter how careful we are, leaks about the transportation of army provisions are inevitable . We’ve got to take action as soon as possible, before the Wan Kingdom figures out what we’re doing . ”

Yuwen Tong said, “The Wan Kingdom hasn’t made its move yet, so we have to stay put and bide our time . The transportation of provisions and fodder is a must . We’ll have to figure out a more secure delivery method . We’ve come up with a couple of workable plans during the discussion this morning . Barring accidents, I’ll be able to issue a secret decree on that score tomorrow . ”

Ling Zhang pondered for a while before he inquired, “Who are you putting in charge of the shipment of the next two batches of provisions?”

“He Xiao,” responded Yuwen Tong .

Ling Zhang made no more remarks . Since a decision had been made after some discussions, he believed that they had taken into consideration everything that ought to be considered . After a brief moment’s thinking, he said, “I can have the chamber of commerce help with the transportation if you want . ”

The Great Wen was where the real headquarters of the Jiahe Chamber of Commerce was located, which meant that it would be easier to get the job done without anybody noticing . It was totally feasible to ship army provisions under the cover of goods shipment .

Yuwen Tong said, “I was just about to talk to you in this regard . My men will handle the shipment of food supplies . It’s the transportation of medicines and physicians that I want the chamber of commerce to help with . ”

Please download our sponsor’s game to support RLN!

A war against the Wan Kingdom would inevitably led to heavy casualties . Enormous quantities of medicines and a huge team of physicians would be needed .

Ling Zhang said, “No problem . ”

The matter of medicines was easy to settle . The tricky part was how to transport a large number of physicians without alarming the enemies . Fortunately, during the past couple of years, the Jiahe Chamber of Commerce had roped in a lot of talents of all descriptions, among whom there were many physicians . The risk of a leak would be lower if the army recruited physicians from within the chamber of commerce .

After giving it some thought, Ling Zhang, who had come to know what to expect, got out of bed to wash and dress himself instead of continuing to stay in bed .

“By the way, I’ve found Qi and Lin a kung fu instructor,” said Yuwen Tong, giving Ling Zhang a name .

Ling Zhang, who had heard about that person before, raised no objection to Yuwen Tong’s arrangement .

…

After lunch, Ling Zhang went to pacify his daughter, played with her in the imperial garden for a while and then made towards the imperial study .

On the west wall of the imperial study hung a detailed map of three neighboring countries: the Great Wen, the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom . Such was the comprehensiveness of the map that the monarchs of the other two countries would be startled and then scared if they saw it . Leaving aside a couple of areas, it rivaled the maps owned by the monarchs of the other two countries in terms of the exhaustiveness and accuracy of the information about the two countries .

Standing in front of the map, Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong studied it for a while . Then they pivoted around to check the sand table which took up almost the whole room . Most of the time their eyes were fixed on the south-west .

Sponsored Content

Three years ago, he and Yuwen Tong went to the south and knocked the two south-western prefectures into shape . They not only put the two prefectures under their complete control but also made an important arrangement – hoarding food supplies and soldiers there .

They had been hoarding provisions and fodder and recruiting soldiers in the two prefectures covertly, and only a limited few knew about it, all of whom were absolutely trustworthy . It had taken the two of them three years to achieve their goal step by step . Currently there were over 100,000 troops and vast quantities of army provisions in the two south-western prefectures . All of them were crack troops who had been given secret training, and whose mission was, according to the plan that was to be carried out next, to take the south-eastern part of the Wan Kingdom at one fell swoop and then occupy the whole south before advancing towards the capital of the Wan Kingdom .

Yes, their main force was stationed in the south-west, not Shengzhou . The border between the Wan Kingdom and the Great Wen was quite long, but in the south-west the two countries were separated by lofty mountains where some ungoverned tribes dwelt . Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang had spent a solid year studying those areas before they got an intimate knowledge of them and made some arrangements accordingly .

This time around, the Wan Kingdom had allied itself with the Luohai Kingdom, intending to attack the Great Wen . The Luohai monarch had promised that the dispatch of his army would be a mere act . The main battlefield would be Shengzhou, and the Wan Kingdom would be sending its main force there . Yuwen Tong’s and Ling Zhang’s plan was to send their army to the south of the Wan Kingdom and take it at one blow while the Wan Kingdom’s main force was in Shengzhou . Yuwen Tong himself would be directing the troops in that battle .

During that time, officials of the capital city must keep his departure secret, and the Shengzhou garrison would have to withstand the fierce attack from the main strength of the Wan Kingdom’s army .

As regards how to extricate themselves from the capital city, Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang had had it all planned out . Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi were in Shengzhou . Xiao Ziyan had also been transferred to Shengzhou . All arrangements had been minutely discussed numerous times three years ago, and all contingencies had been considered in detail . What they needed to do next was to race against time . Whether or not the Great Wen would be able to annex the Wan Kingdom depended on if the South-western Army led by Yuwen Tong would successfully take the south-eastern part of the Wan Kingdom at a single stroke and then the whole south of it .

“Shan Congli has finished mustering his army . He’s waiting for the Luohai Kingdom . Mu Hengtian has to buy himself some time, so there’s no doubt he wouldn’t finish mustering his army anytime soon, which means that it would be at least a month before they officially declare war on us,” said Yuwen Tong .

Mu Hengtian had aligned himself with the Wan Kingdom and also signed an alliance agreement with the Great Wen . The reason why he had made himself a common ally of both countries was because he wanted to see the Wan Kingdom and the Great Wen fight each other, which would give him an opportunity to deal with the issue of infighting in his court . As a result, the longer the Wan Kingdom and the Great Wen were mired in a war, the more beneficial the situation would be to him, so naturally he wouldn’t finish mustering his army that quickly, but Shan Congli wouldn’t wait patiently for long and would definitely hurry Mu Hengtian again and again . The earliest possible time of the dispatch of the Luohai Kingdom’s army was one month later, and the latest possible time of it depended on how long Mu Hengtian could delay it .

But for the Great Wen, the sooner the Wan Kingdom sent its army, the better . Therefore, apart from the Wan Kingdom, Yuwen Tong would also take some covert measures to have Mu Hengtian send his troops as soon as possible .

“When are you going south?” Ling Zhang asked him .

Sponsored Content

Yuwen Tong said, “When Shan Congli’s men reach Shengzhou . ”

Ling Zhang’s eyebrows contracted slightly . “Wouldn’t that be too late?”

Yuwen Tong said, “Not really . This time Xue Chi would be the commander-in-chief of the Wan Kingdom’s army . If we are to trick him, I’ll have to make a public appearance after the Wan Kingdom declares war on us lest they become vigilant . Once the Wan Kingdom’s army get to Shengzhou, Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi would hold them at bay and prevent them from going anywhere else, and that’s when the South-western Army make their move . ”

Ling Zhang didn’t have as much acquaintance with war as Yuwen Tong did, and he didn’t know Xue Chi as well as Yuwen Tong did either . Now that Yuwen Tong had made such arrangements, Ling Zhang, who had absolute trust in him, believed that he had no doubt contemplated them . According to the plan, it would be a month before Yuwen Tong went to the south, which meant that he could stay in the capital city for another month . Before he left for the south, he would have to take some precautions to make sure that his absence from court meetings wouldn’t arouse anybody’s suspicions . The two of them had some time ago made some arrangements on this score .

However, although they had long since had everything planned out, the prospect of Yuwen Tong going to war still sent Ling Zhang into deep worry . In order to keep abreast of the latest developments in the situation in Shengzhou and Youzhou, he would have to stay in the imperial palace in the capital city and wouldn’t be able to go with Yuwen Tong to the battlefield, which meant he wouldn’t be able to real-time information about the war or Yuwen Tong’s safety…

At the thought of this, Ling Zhang naturally felt a little crestfallen, and even his face became fairly glum .

Yuwen Tong knew what he was worried about . He wanted to bring Ling Zhang with him, but the capital city needed Ling Zhang, and their children were still young and couldn’t do without a parent .

“I’ll go to Shengzhou after you take the south-east of the Wan Kingdom and wait until the time comes for us to rendezvous in the capital of the Wan Kingdom,” said Ling Zhang . By that time, it would no longer be necessary to conceal the fact that Yuwen Tong was not in the capital city but in the Wan Kingdom . The two prime ministers would be in the capital city, and so would his father and maternal grandfather, who would take care of the children for him after he went to Shengzhou . When Yuwen Tong had taken the south of the Wan Kingdom, the North-western Army would launch an all-out attack . Their target was the capital of the Wan Kingdom, where they would naturally rendezvous with each other if they won .

Yuwen Tong’s heart gave a little lurch and with that he said, “All right . ”

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc . . ), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible .


The Glory After Rebirth – Chapter 461

by

Chapter 461: 461

Jiangzhou was, for all intents and purposes, in the same situation that Cangzhou had previously been in . To restore order in Cangzhou, Xu Lingyun and Xiao Ziyan had been transferred there . To select two suitable candidates to be assigned to Jiangzhou, the courtiers consulted with Yuwen Tong for two consecutive days before a decision was made .

After Yuwen Tong settled this matter, the first winter rain came, accompanied by fine snowflakes .

The capital city had entered winter . Ling Zhang paid a visit to the Ling Mansion and then returned to the palace . After stamping his feet for a moment, he went into the imperial bedchamber . Yuwen Tong had finished work early on this day and returned to the bedchamber before dark .

“Is Aunt Caiwei okay?” Yuwen Tong asked him .

Ling Zhang replied, “Yeah . Everything’s fine . ”

It was snowing and Ling Zhang had been worried about Fu Caiwei’s health, so he’d specially gone out of the palace to pay her a visit .

Yuwen Tong, who had heard Ling Zhang stamping his feet outside the imperial bedchamber a short while before, held out his hand to Ling Zhang and said, “Come here . ”

Ling Zhang walked up to him, confused . “What’s the matter?”

Yuwen Tong took his hand and felt his clothes . “Put on more clothes next time you go out,” he cautioned .

Ling Zhang’s hand was held by Yuwen Tong whose warm palm was warming up his, making him feel so comfortable that he was unwilling to withdraw his hand . And then he put his other hand into Yuwen Tong’s .

Yuwen Tong, faintly turned on by this small movement of his hand, abruptly drew him into his arms . As he fell into Yuwen Tong’s embrace, Ling Zhang was instantly enveloped by a warm air, relaxedly let out a sigh, rubbed his face against Yuwen Tong’s chest and then slightly shifted his position to let his whole body into Yuwen Tong’s embrace .

After he finished shifting his position, Yuwen Tong hugged him tight, let him sit on his lap, and then caressed his ear with his lips . “Why are you so meek today?”

Ling Zhang softly snorted, “I’ve heard you say this many times . When was I ever not meek in front of you?”

Yuwen Tong gave a chuckle, slightly raised Ling Zhang’s chin and the two of them kissed for a while .

After a few moments, Ling Zhang pushed him away . “Soon they’ll deliver dinner here . ”

Feeling somewhat regretful, with lingering longing in his eyes, Yuwen Tong hugged Ling Zhang and made out with him for another long moment .

“I want you to go with me to pay a visit to my great-uncle tomorrow,” said Yuwen Tong .

Ling Zhang looked at him . “What for?”

“Yuwen Qian’s wife’s time is near,” replied Yuwen Tong .

Ling Zhang’s eyes widened slightly . Recalling Yuwen Tong’s plan, he was somewhat flustered, at a loss as to how to conduct himself in front of Yuwen Qian and his wife after they entered the abode of the Marquess Fuan the next day .

“Don’t worry,” Yuwen Tong consoled him, stroking his back . “We’ve agreed on it some time ago . Everybody in my great-uncle’s family has psyched themself up . After we adopt the baby, they’ll still be able to come here to see him from time to time . ”

Ling Zhang lightly inclined his head . “I know . I’m just not sure what the proper way to conduct myself in front of Yuwen Qian and his wife tomorrow is . ”

“The usual way . Tomorrow you may just behave the same way you behaved in front of them previously . You’re the consort, and they are beneath you . They should be worried about how to conduct themselves in front of you, not the other way around,” said Yuwen Tong .

Please download our sponsor’s game to support RLN!

Ling Zhang was slightly surprised, looking at Yuwen Tong .

Yuwen Tong continued, “It’s true they also bear the surname Yuwen, and in the past they were our elders and peers, but now they’re our subjects . Yuwen Qian’s child, after being fostered with us, will be a prince or a princess, and their birth parents will be their subjects as well . The moment I was enthroned, a chasm between the imperial family and subjects came into being . Nobody would be able to change that . Also, we’ll need to broaden and deepen that chasm when necessary . Remember, we’re the rulers, and they’re our subjects . You don’t have to take anybody’s feelings into consideration before doing anything, and you don’t have to explain anything to anybody . They can only revere you or fear you . None of them will dare judge you . ”

Ling Zhang listened quietly . After a while, he replied with a heavy nod, “I see . ”

Yuwen Tong was right . He was now the consort . He and Yuwen Tong were at the top of the social hierarchy in the Great Wen . The two of them were the only ones at the top, and all those beneath them could only look up at him . There were some rules that must be enforced and engraved in everybody’s heart . If the domestic situation of the Great Wen was to stay stable, emperorship must be of supreme superiority .

A smile curled the corners of Yuwen Tong’s mouth as he saw that Ling Zhang had caught on .

Ling Zhang, though young and inexperienced, always got Yuwen Tong’s meaning in one, and Yuwen Tong never had to spend much time explaining anything to him .

“When the new year starts, the conversion of the palace will start as well . The preparatory work may well last until after the imperial examination, and by that time, Jiang Yu and Zhao Jiusi will have returned to your help, and you’ll be able to delegate the other matters in your hands to them . I’ll put you in charge of the conversion,” said Yuwen Tong .

Ling Zhang thought about it for a moment . “Originally I planned to deploy a large-scale defensive formation in the palace, but afterward it occurred to me that the Millennium Pavilion might have in hand some copies of the handbooks on formations they gave me . It’s too risky to deploy a defensive formation offered by the Millennium Pavilion, but currently I’m not capable of creating a new large-scale defensive formation that compares with any of those given by the Millennium Pavilion . What do you think we should do?”

Ling Zhang was not afraid of taking on responsibilities . Putting him in charge of the conversion of the palace was synonymous with putting the security of the whole palace in his hands . Now that Yuwen Tong had enough trust in him to let him loose on the project, he had no reason to be frightened of doing it . But how should he convert the palace to make it safer and more defendable? Ling Zhang had been bearing this in mind for quite some time .

Yuwen Tong said, “A defensive formation is of secondary importance . No matter how secure a formation is, there’s always a way to crack it . Also, people could easily grow dependent on it . It is people that we ultimately rely on for the security of the palace . ”

At first Ling Zhang was baffled as to why Yuwen Tong stressed that it was people that they ultimately relied on, but after a few moments he slowly came to understand, his eyes gradually brightening . “Are you saying that…”

Sponsored Content

“This palace was built when the Zhou family was in power . The first emperor from the Zhou family was also a capable monarch, and the palace he built naturally has some merits . By converting it, we’ll actually be making adjustment to his work . How safe this palace is depends on the capabilities of its owner . If its owner is weak and careless, all defensive measures would be no good, no matter how strong they are; if its owner is smart and able, the situation would naturally be under control,” explained Yuwen Tong .

The point Yuwen Tong was trying to make was that the owner was to this palace as a commander-in-chief was to his army . If the commander-in-chief was competent, his army would naturally win the war; if the commander-in-chief was incompetent, the guards around the main tent, no matter how many there were of them, would be of no use .

As a result, it would be better to do it in an open and direct way than it was to deploy a large-scale defensive formation like an escape-proof net . The palace built in the former dynasty was vast, and the matter of defense had been taken into consideration during the building of it . Also, there were several underground passageways . Given that Yuwen Tong had no intention of expanding the imperial seraglio, what they needed to revamp was the underground passages and the main body of the palace . There could be a defensive formation, but the principal defensive measure would be the tight security maintained by the palace guards . Sometimes playing it above aboard was a smarter move than playing all kinds of tricks .

Ling Zhang was enlightened by Yuwen Tong’s words . He had seen the overall plans of the imperial palace, and at this moment several conversion plans popped into his mind in spite of himself . All he needed to do was compare them in detail and select the best one, and then he’d be ready to make preparations for the conversion .

As regards the future generations… Yuwen Tong had the ambition to unify the three countries, so there was no telling whether or not the capital city of the Great Wen would still be this one . Besides, the imperial court was now indeed short of money, and it was inadvisable to spend an extravagant sum of money on the conversion project .

Ling Zhang pondered more and more deeply, considering a widening range of details, gradually lost in thought . Seeing he was mulling over it, Yuwen Tong didn’t interrupt him . Every time Ling Zhang did some serious thinking with someone he trusted by his side, he lapsed into such a state as though he’d forgotten about himself, especially when the one beside him was Yuwen Tong . In this kind of circumstances, Ling Zhang would subconsciously obey Yuwen Tong, no matter what the latter wanted him to do…

Yuwen Tong tossed his book to a side of the desk and kissed Ling Zhang all over while that latter’s mind was wandering, indulging in ‘playing’ the apple of his eye in his arms .

It was not until a eunuch’s voice came from outside requesting permission to deliver the dinner inside that the two of them, both of whom were in their own worlds, were brought back to their senses .

On seeing that his belt had been unfastened and Yuwen Tong’s hands were moving around in his clothes, Ling Zhang got mad, shook off Yuwen Tong’s hands and hastened to rearrange his clothes . “What are you doing? I told you they’d soon deliver dinner here . Why did you still do that?!”

Yuwen Tong had been fully aroused while caressing Ling Zhang . Unfortunately for him, now was not the time to satisfy his desire . He had no choice but to subdue his urge, rose to his feet and helped Ling Zhang rearrange his clothes, his eyes still burning .

“Let’s go to the Imperial Bathing Pool to have a bath after dinner . ”

Sponsored Content

Ling Zhang paused, briefly avoiding Yuwen Tong’s eyes . “Why go to the Imperial Bathing Pool? It’s too much trouble . ”

Built by order of the former emperor, the Imperial Bathing Pool was splendid and deluxe . Not long ago, shortly after the eunuchs cleaned it, Yuwen Tong had had him go to that place with him, and he’d shouted so much in there that night that he’d almost gone hoarse . That place was virtually… virtually tailor-made for people wanting to indulge in debauchery . Yuwen Tong had turned him over and over to try different positions on that day . Ling Zhang shuddered at the very thought of that, but it was more because of the numb sensation shooting up his spine from the small of his back as his body automatically recalled those things than because of bashfulness .

Yuwen Tong, who knew him well, could divine what he was thinking just by looking at the expression in his eyes or a small movement of his body . The yearning in Yuwen Tong’s desire-laden eyes was deepening, as though he were about to swallow Ling Zhang whole .

Ling Zhang knew what the expression in Yuwen Tong’s eyes was like without even having to look at them . To prevent Yuwen Tong from doing anything crazy straight away, he hurriedly instructed the eunuchs to brought the dinner inside .

The eunuchs, who finally got the permission to enter, neatly served the dishes one by one and then quietly left .

These eunuchs, who’d been allowed to stay in the Infinite Fortune Palace to serve the imperial couple, had all been through very strict selection process and were very observant . During their stay in the Infinite Fortune Palace since the imperial couple had moved in, they had all come to know that once in the imperial bedchamber, their eyes must not dart around and they must guard their tongue, that the imperial couple didn’t like noises or talky people . Also, whenever the imperial couple were in a noticeably different mood, they’d have to leave as soon as possible . The only way to make sure they could continue to stay in the Infinite Fortune Palace was to always take their leave immediately after finishing what they were supposed to do .

Looking at those delicacies prepared by court chefs, all of which were appetizing in appearance, tantalizing in smell and delicious in taste, Ling Zhang naturally felt hungry . Yuwen Tong was just about to sit down beside him when Ling Zhang shooed him to the opposite side . Given the situation a few moments before, the two of them would, without doubt, end up making out if he allowed Yuwen Tong to sit beside him . No matter how they were feeling, at least they had to eat dinner in a normal way!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc . . ), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible .


The Glory After Rebirth – Chapter 448

by

Chapter 448: 448

In other words, this alliance of those pirates actually provided an opportunity for the navy of the imperial court to dispose of them at one fell swoop! And it would make things even easier for the navy if all the pirates were lured ashore .

This chart was quite exhaustive . Yuwen Tong, after arriving in Pingtao City, secretly scouted out the lay of the land of the port and nearby areas, and now he had a shrewd idea which route those “pirates” would take to get ashore . What he needed to do next was figure out a way to entice them into moving far inland so that his men could put them to rout in a land battle . The combat capabilities of his men would be hemmed in if they had to fight a sea battle . Moreover, the sea area that those pirates’ hideouts were distributed was vast, and they could easily make their escape during a naval engagement .

He would have to rid these waters of pirates sooner or later . The reason why he hadn’t done it yet was because he had just acceded to the throne, and there were many issues in the Great Wen he had to attend to first . Previously he couldn’t find the time to deal with those pirates even if he wanted to, but now, thanks to the Luohai Kingdom’s attempt to make trouble, he could conveniently end the scourge of pirates ahead of schedule, so this situation actually had its compensations .

…

It was almost midnight when he finished conferring with the commander of the Haizhou garrison, the commander of the Haizhou navy and the Haizhou governor .

Yuwen Tong had no idea how things were going with Ling Zhang . He believed that Ling Zhang had probably received his letter four days ago . If Ling Zhang, on receiving the letter, had departed heading for Haizhou by way of Yanzhou, he would be able to see Ling Zhang in three days at the earliest, but if something went awry…

“Still no report from Cangzhou?” asked Yuwen Tong .

“The latest intelligence report hasn’t arrived yet, Sire . The last report says that they found some traces Shan Congyi left behind, and the Jiangzhou rebel army were being redeployed,” replied the commander of the Haizhou garrison .

Given the time of the delivery of the last report, everything should be over by now .

This was the very matter that concerned Yuwen Tong . He wondered how things had ended and whether Ling Zhang was safe and unharmed .

Shortly before he went to bed, a courier pigeon carrying a letter from Cangzhou finally arrived, which said that the plan of the Wan Kingdom had been upset, that Wang Xiangxin had failed to get the financial support provided by the Wan Kingdom, lost more then half of the men he’d stationed at the checkpoint, and retreated behind the blockades .

This letter was for the commander of the Haizhou garrison from the General Zhongwu (AKA the General of Loyalty and Valor) . The latter cautioned that as Wang Xiangxin had lost the support of the Wan Kingdom, he would undoubtedly pin all his hopes on the Luohai Kingdom and would very likely launch a frenzied attack on Haizhou, that Haizhou needed to be ready when that happened .

Nobody could have foreseen that Yuwen Tong would come to Haizhou, so the General Zhongwu, out of his concern over Ling Zhang’s safety, didn’t mention anything about Ling Zhang .

But very soon, Yuwen Tong received a message from his secret bodyguards .

It said that Ling Zhang had entered Jiangzhou and was staying temporarily in a village of hunters, that his arm was wounded .

It’d been the very night Ling Zhang had arrived at that village that this letter had been sent . Yuwen Tong’s secret bodyguards hadn’t been able to gauge the time when Yuwen Tong would arrive in Pingtao City, and delivering this secret letter out of Jiangzhou had taken some doing, so Yuwen Tong hadn’t received this letter until the night before Ling Zhang would arrive in Haizhou .

“His arm’s wounded?” Yuwen Tong knitted his brows . “How did that happen?”

No detail was given in the letter . He had no idea specifically how Ling Zhang hurt his arm .

Whether Shan Congyi was alive or not was a mystery to him, and so were what had happened on that day exactly and if Ling Zhang’s arm injury had anything to do with that . He had thought that Ling Zhang would come to Haizhou via Yanzhou . He didn’t have a clue why Ling Zhang had entered Jiangzhou, or how he’d managed to do that . However, seeing as Ling Zhang had eventually chosen to stay in a village to nurse his injury, his wound must not be healing well .

Yuwen Tong was thrown into deep worry, looking in the direction of Jiangzhou, emanating a cold air .

…

Ling Zhang had arrived at the checkpoint on the boundary between Jiangzhou and Haizhou .

Due to his concern over the situation in Pingtao City, Ling Zhang had only stayed in that village for two days before leaving . He’d taken the route that he’d had his men check beforehand, heading straight for Haizhou along a defile going through mountains and forests .

Along the journey, Ling Zhang from time to time had had Yao Yi go to nearby towns to make inquiries, and thus had come to know that Wang Xiangxin had been dispatching more troops to the checkpoint near Haizhou as a matter of urgency, which meant that there would soon be a fierce fight in Haizhou .

Ling Zhang was worried about the situation in Haizhou, wondering how Haizhou’s defense had been organized, whether Yuwen Tong had arrived in Pingtao City, how the Luohai Kingdom were going to do it exactly…

However, the checkpoint near Haizhou had been sealed, and more troops of the Jiangzhou rebel army were hurrying to the checkpoint, so there was no way he could get out of Jiangzhou through the checkpoint . Fortunately for him, his father had given him some instructions in a timely manner, telling him that there was a secret shortcut connecting Haizhou and Jiangzhou . This path was in the turf of a prestigious sect in the martial arts world which was located in a valley formed by a branch range of Mt East . The valley lay not far away from the checkpoint on the boundary between Haizhou and Jiangzhou . The main road people normally took to go in and out of the sect was in Haizhou, but there was a secret defile which started from the hill behind the sect and led to Jiangzhou . However, the defile was too rough for people without lightness skills to travel on .

Nobody other than members of that sect knew about the existence of that path . Given Ling Zhang’s identity, even if he wanted to force his way through that sect to take that path, people there wouldn’t dare say anything . Desperate times call for desperate measures .

Please download our sponsor’s game to support RLN!

Everybody was astonished when Ling Zhang told them about that path . Yao Yi and Wang Dashan, who were very much in Yuwen Tong’s and Ling Zhang’s confidence respectively, to a greater or lesser extent, knew about the matter of the Millennium Pavilion, and they subconsciously believed that it was someone from that organization that had informed Ling Zhang of this . Ling Zhang was aware that they misunderstood, but this matter was hard to explain, because, naturally, the fewer who knew about his and his father’s rebirth, the better .

…

In the morning of this day . Pingtao City .

The commander of the Haizhou garrison requested an audience with Yuwen Tong early in the morning, saying that he had something urgent to report .

“Sire, something’s going on in the Jiangzhou rebel army . There’ve been frequent deployments since last night . The number of the troops guarding the checkpoint has doubled and is still on the rise . ”

Yuwen Tong calmly did some thinking before he observed, “Wang Xiangxin lost a lot of men and got nothing during the fight near the checkpoint on the boundary between Cangzhou and Jiangzhou . I think he’s hurried to the checkpoint near Haizhou already, planning to take Haizhou to cover the loss . ”

“Will they mount an offensive ahead of schedule?”

“If they are to launch an attack ahead of schedule, they’ll first have to make sure the Luohai Kingdom got their back . Keep a close eye on that checkpoint . They’ll sure as hell send someone out to make contact with Mu Rongfeng . ”

“Yes, Sire!”

After the commander of the Haizhou garrison took his leave, Yuwen Tong didn’t just sit there waiting . He carefully studied the overall terrain of the areas near Pingtao City, and then told the Haizhou governor and the commander of the Haizhou navy that the sea should be the focus of most of their attention .

At the same time, he instructed his secret bodyguards to cooperate with the Haizhou garrison, keep close watch on people and things going out of the checkpoint in Jiangzhou, and make sure that all courier pigeons and the like were intercepted .

If pirates and the Jiangzhou rebel army joined hands, the Haizhou garrison would have a hard job defending against the attack from them on their own – they would at least lose more men . The best way was to separate the pirates and the rebel army, lure Mu Rongfeng and his men ashore and dispose of them first, and then turn around to deal with Jiangzhou . Meanwhile, the Cangzhou garrison would make their move as well, outflanking and attacking Jiangzhou from another side, which would make things a lot easier .

Because of this, the Haizhou garrison kept very close watch on the checkpoint in Jiangzhou . Even small birds flying by were shot down, because they couldn’t afford to take any chances .

Sponsored Content

While Yuwen Tong and some others were waiting for the “letter” to come out of the checkpoint in Jiangzhou, Ling Zhang had led his men through the turf of that sect and entered Haizhou . Looking down from the top of a hill, they could see Pingtao City in the distance .

“Childe Ling, this path leads right to Pingtao City . You may get there in half a day if you travel fast enough,” said the leader of that sect .

He’d been terribly astounded when Ling Zhang had revealed his identity, and he hadn’t had the time to carefully think about why the present empress knew about the existence of this secret path of their sect . Since this grandee just wanted to take this path to go to another city, they had no choice but to immediately lead the way for him, not daring try to stop him at all .

Ling Zhang expressed his gratitude and said, “Thank you . I owe you a favor and I’m not going to forget it . ”

“No, no, it’s nothing . We but did what we should do . ”

Ling Zhang inclined his head, folded his hands in front to bid them farewell and then quickly led his men towards Pingtao City .

As they reached the gates of Pingtao City at noon, Ling Zhang heaved a sigh of relief . Finally, they arrived at their destination .

“Let’s get into the city,” said Ling Zhang, looking at the tight security outside Pingtao City, a grave expression on his face .

“Yes, Childe Ling . ”

Having traveled for a long time, Ling Zhang was also somewhat tired, but at the thought that Yuwen Tong might already be in Pingtao City, all his weariness seemed to dissolve .

“Identify yourselves . ”

Seeing Ling Zhang approaching with a large group of people all of whom appeared to be from unusual background, the soldiers guarding the gates stopped them .

Yao Yi walked forward to talk to the soldiers . Before long, they were let in . Also, someone led the way for them, ushering them to a military encampment outside another pair of city gates .

Sponsored Content

There were some secret agents working for Yuwen Tong in Pingtao City . The moment Ling Zhang and his men showed up at the city gates, an agent spotted them and immediately sent a message back to the encampment .

Yuwen Tong was astonished at the news of Ling Zhang’s arrival and then hastened outside to welcome him .

He remembered very well that letter said Ling Zhang was staying in a village nursing his wound . How come Ling Zhang came to Pingtao City so soon? Yuwen Tong was worried about Ling Zhang’s injury, the look on his face growing serious .

The others didn’t know what was going on . At the sight of Yuwen Tong hurrying outside, they quickly followed in his wake .

Yuwen Tong’s true identity was kept secret from common soldiers, but as the commander of the Haizhou garrison, the commander of the Haizhou navy and the Haizhou governor were all very submissive and deferential to him, anybody could tell that he was no common person, so nobody dared try to stop him .

The two commanders and the governor, who hadn’t been able to hear what that secret bodyguard had said to Yuwen Tong, mistakenly believed that some kind of emergency had happened . Incapable of keeping pace with Yuwen Tong, they had to trot to follow him .

When they got to the military encampment, they saw that Yuwen Tong was standing there waiting for someone . All of them hurriedly asked, “Sire, is there an emergency? Why are you…”

All three of them looked rather nervous .

Yuwen Tong flicked them a glance . Knowing that they misunderstood, he said, “It has nothing to do with the military situation . I’m here because Brother Zhang has arrived . ”

Brother Zhang? The three of them were baffled . The Haizhou governor was the first to catch on . “His Highness has come to Haizhou as well?”

“Yeah . Keep this to yourselves,” replied Yuwen Tong, looking up the road leading to this encampment into the distance . Considering how long it’d been since the secret bodyguard had delivered the message to him, Ling Zhang could show up at any moment .

His Highness? The other two were amazed and at the same time eagerly looking forward to seeing the empress whom neither of them had ever clapped eyes on before, wondering what this grandee that their emperor had personally come to welcome in such haste was like .

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc . . ), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible .


The Glory After Rebirth – Chapter 431

by

Chapter 431: 431

This time around Ling Zhang planned to enter Jiangzhou via Cangzhou . Now that Shan Congyi had planted some men in Cangzhou, they needed to locate these people and monitor Shan Congyi’s every move .

As for those killers in Jiangzhou, Ling Zhang had promised Yuwen Tong that he wouldn’t engage any of them, that he would let Yuwen Tong’s secret bodyguards handle them . If he broke his word, Yao Yi would have to take him back to the capital city immediately .

Meanwhile, several secret imperial edicts were delivered to Haizhou via Yanzhou . What with the detour, it took the messengers quite some time to reach the destination, though their horses were very fast . The commander of the Haizhou garrison had started deploying troops already .

…

Ling Zhang and the others, after riding hell-for-leather for six days, entered a county of Cangzhou adjacent to Jincang County of Jiangzhou .

They had traveled all the way from the capital city to Cangzhou, and Ling Zhang had been observing the situation in Cangzhou since he’d entered it . Due to the destruction caused by that armed popular uprising, burnt houses and broken walls could be seen everywhere in this prefecture . A lot of towns which used to be quite prosperous had had half of their buildings flattened in the previous chaos and were cloaked in an air of faded grandeur .

Standing in contrast with these were fortifications under construction and fields being plowed . Yuwen Tong had shown great kindness to the people of Cangzhou at his enthronement ceremony by issuing an decree exempting them from the next three years’ tax . Also, earlier this year the imperial court had allocated a sum for helping them rebuild their houses and restore their fields . In addition, the imperial court was preparing food supplies to see them through the winter . The food would be delivered to Cangzhou and distributed to local people before winter set in .

The incumbent Cangzhou governor was Xu Lingyun . After arriving in Cangzhou, Ling Zhang had heard a lot of local people talk about Xu Lingyun, all of whom had observed that he was a good official . Xu Lingyun, after taking office in Cangzhou, had taken a lot of measures, all of which had been beneficial to local people and aimed at improving their livelihood . Most of the troops of the General Zhongwu (AKA the General of Loyalty and Valor) were stationed near the two checkpoints on the boundary between Cangzhou and Jiangzhou . Ling Zhang had barely seen any soldiers in this prefecture . Everybody seemed to be occupied in resuming normal agricultural activities or rebuilding their communities .

With the subsidies provided by the imperial court and the tax exemption, residents felt that there was still hope . Although faces of most of them still registered apprehension, their eyes were no longer hopeless . As long as they held out hopes, they’d be able to move on with their lives .

Midway through his journey, Ling Zhang specially lingered in a small town for half a day . He walked around to take a look and for good measure offered some help to some of the residents . By talking with the townsfolk, he acquired more information . By night, he put all he’d seen and heard along the way in letters which were later delivered back to the capital city .

Staff members of courier stations always traveled non-stop to deliver his letters . As day after day passed by, letters piled up on Yuwen Tong’s desk .

Every time Yuwen Tong received a letter from Ling Zhang, he spent almost an hour reading it again and again until he learned every sentence by heart, and then he anticipated the next letter .

Yuwen Tong replied to Ling Zhang’s every letter with care . Every few days Ling Zhang received a letter from the capital city, in which Yuwen Tong kept reminding him to take care of himself . Those letters were even more long-winded than Yuwen Tong’s chatter the day he left the capital city, but Ling Zhang always carried them with him . Sometimes, when he missed Yuwen Tong badly, he would take them out to read them, and Yao Yi and the others would pretend not to notice .

The only one who still found Ling Zhang’s behavior shocking was Jiang Yu . There had been several occasions when his face took on an incredulous expression at the sight of Ling Zhang producing letters Yuwen Tong had written him in reply, probably because it’d really never crossed his mind that anybody could be so gooey .

But maybe owing to these letters that had been coming on a regular basis, Ling Zhang, who had found the separation unbearable at first, slowly got used to it .

Ling Zhang even told Yuwen Tong in the last letter that he could now sleep soundly at night .

Yuwen Tong in the faraway capital city read the letter word by word, his eyes wide open . When he got to the part where Ling Zhang said he’d been sleeping fast lately, he felt a sense of relief but at the same time couldn’t help but inwardly criticize Ling Zhang as “a heartless little devil” . Still suffering from insomnia, he believed that Ling Zhang had taken to the life there and started to have a blast .

Please download our sponsor’s game to support RLN!

It had indeed been quite some time since the last time Ling Zhang had taken a journey like this . Though he’d been traveling in a hurry all along, every person he’d met and every event he’d seen had brought changes to his opinions and the way he saw things without him realizing it, and he’d also learned a lot during the process unawares .

As a result, when he’d reached Jincang County, he’d felt a trifle regretful, thinking that if only he could keep traveling forward like this, that even a journey around the whole country didn’t sound like a bad idea . He had to acquaint himself with this country, otherwise the perspectives from which he saw many things would be inferior to other people’s . Apart from anything else, he was now the empress, and this position came with some attached responsibilities .

In a county of Cangzhou .

This place was close to Jiangzhou and also where the ancestral home of the Jiang family was located . It was at nightfall that Ling Zhang and his team quietly entered the county . Though plainly clothed, they were a fairly large group of people, so their arrival attracted many residents’ attention, most of whom had watchful expressions in their eyes, rather wary of this team of strangers from out of town . It was not until they noticed the group of people were unarmed and appeared friendly that they shifted their gaze elsewhere .

When they had arrived in this county, that middle-aged guard of Jiang Yu’s proved himself helpful . A native of this place, he spoke very fluent Cangzhou dialect and was familiar with every street and every alley . With him as the introducer, Ling Zhang and the others were soon accepted by local people and found themselves a residence to live in . This residence was quite large . The former owner’s whole family had moved to Yanzhou when the revolt had broken out in Cangzhou . After standing empty for some time, it’d been sold to someone else . Ling Zhang purchased it, shut the front gates and then started unpacking .

Ling Zhang and the others had been in disguise all along for fear of encountering Shan Congyi’s men, so none of them looked who they really were . Ling Zhang had posed as a man older than his actual age with a mustache on his upper lip, looking fairly dashing – a conclusion Ling Zhang himself had drawn after looking into a mirror .

Yao Yi and the others found it quite amusing that Ling Zhang on a daily basis looked into the mirror at his mustache and then smiled a smug smile . Ling Zhang had very little body hair and barely grew any mustache . Every time he saw his maternal grandfather’s mustache, he felt that it was very flattering . He’d been meaning to get a mustache like that for quite a few days, but he had no facial hair and it was in the genes, so there was nothing he could do about it . This time around, before they departed for this southern prefecture, Ling Zhang had specially had Yao Yi disguise him as a mustached man . He could look into the mirror at his mustache with a smug smile on his face for quite a while .

At this time he looked like a cheerful teenager .

Sponsored Content

“Young Master, your bathwater is ready . You may go and take a bath now,” Wang Dashan yelled into the house .

Ling Zhang replied, “I’m coming!”

His traveling companions were all men – rough men actually, and all the people he’d met during the journey were commoners, so Ling Zhang, in order to blend in and prevent himself from appearing conspicuous, had intentionally started mimicking them . Gradually, he’d developed some habits unawares which were far removed from his true identity as the Prince Consort of the Great Wen .

He took a change of clothes to the bathroom, comfortably had a bath, washed his hair, toweled himself, changed into clean clothes and dried his hair with his internal energy, feeling that all his tiredness caused by the long journey had ebbed away . Outside his house, Wang Dashan and the others were engaged in unpacking and cooking, the whole place buzzing with activity . Hearing the noises, Ling Zhang was in a dreamy state for an instant . It struck him that life in the capital city seemed to be somewhat distant now, but this was only because of the contrast between this life style and the one in the capital city . At the sight of the man in the imperial palace, the look in his eyes naturally changed and with that he let out a sigh . So many days had passed since his departure from the capital city . He wondered how Yuwen Tong had been doing recently .

Yuwen Tong was fine actually, aside from his constant eagerness to receive a letter from Ling Zhang . If Ling Zhang’s letter didn’t come in the morning, he would be sulky for the rest of the day, frightening all the courtiers out of their wits . If Ling Zhang’s letter came, he would be in a relatively good mood for a whole day, and all the courtiers would feel relieved .

In a word, every letter from Ling Zhang was virtually a lifesaver for all courtiers .

Ling Zhang was unaware that courtiers of all descriptions regarded letters from him as lifesavers . Although his departure from the capital city was still confidential, as he hadn’t shown his face in public for a long time, some astute courtiers divined what had happened, thinking that the emperor and his consort indeed loved each other very much, given that the two of them hadn’t seen each other for merely a few days, but the emperor was having such abrupt mood swings . His mood was like the weather in June, which could switch between a cloudy one, a rainy one, a stormy one and a sunny one in an instant . Their mental endurance was being put to the test .

It was such a sore trial to the courtiers that lately they had taken to gauging Yuwen Tong’s mood first before deciding whether it was advisable for them to say a few extra words . If the emperor seemed to be in a good mood, then they might leisurely make some more remarks, and those who had disagreements with each other could prolong their arguments by a few moments, but if the emperor appeared sullen, then nobody would dare talk more than necessary . Otherwise the emperor might dress them down or cast them glances icy enough to make cold sweat well up on their backs .

Sponsored Content

The air about the emperor was so powerful that the courtiers had no alternative but to learn to gauge his mood to figure out a correct way to avoid getting themselves executed .

The first thing that the empress, who was hundreds of miles away but affecting the emperor’s mood perpetually, did after his bath was sit down behind the desk in his room and start writing a letter, telling Yuwen Tong they had arrived in Jincang County and settled in already . He also put in his letter what he’d seen since he’d entered Jincang County . Believing that Yuwen Tong might not be able to find the time to come to this prefecture to observe the people’s condition, Ling Zhang gave Yuwen Tong a detailed account of what he’d seen, so that Yuwen Tong, after reading his letter, would be as informed as though he’d been here himself .

Ling Zhang was writing the letter with rapt attention when Yao Yi walked inside at dinner time . Seeing he was writing a letter, Yao Yi said in a quiet voice, “Childe Ling, dinner is ready . Would you like to eat with us or should I bring the food in here?”

Ling Zhang was warmed to his letter and didn’t want his train of thought interrupted, but he also felt it inappropriate to keep Yao Yi and the others waiting too long, so he said, “Bring it in here . You may eat without me . ”

“Yes, Childe Ling,” Yao Yi answered and then brought Ling Zhang’s dinner into the room and put it down onto the table beside the desk . Seeing Ling Zhang had filled so many pieces of notepaper, Yao Yi was somewhat astonished . It would seem this master of theirs was going to have another super-thick letter delivered back to the capital city, but then he realized that the other master of theirs should be very happy to receive the super-thick letter . Thinking about this, Yao Yi involuntarily stroked the goosebumps on his arm . Though having got used to it, he was still shocked by the way his two masters displayed their affection .

Ling Zhang was unaware that his behavior was giving Yao Yi goosebumps once again . He was enjoying writing this letter very much and didn’t want to pause at all . It was after a long time, when the food was getting cold, that he stopped writing .

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc . . ), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible .