C193: Missing Him
This store was suitable in every regard, and revamp, along with some other flaws, were just minor problems, so eventually Ling Zhang selected this one.
That petty official readily led Ling Zhang back to the property exchange affiliated to the yamen without raising any questions. Between a purchase contract and a lease, Ling Zhang chose the former.
Although the price was very high, Ling Zhang believed that this was not going to be a losing proposition. Even if his herb business turned out to be money-losing, he would still be able to make a small fortune by reselling the store. Of course, it was impossible for the owner of a drugstore in a place like that to lose money.
After signing the purchase contract and going through all necessary procedures, Ling Zhang officially became the owner of the store located in the west of the city.
Seeing this, the general storekeeper secretly clicked his tongue. Even my boss would’ve found the price of this store pretty high. No, without a powerful backer, nobody will be able to get the ownership of this store, no matter how much money they have. Ling Zhang has just arrived in the capital, yet he managed to purchase a store like this. Though he has Yuwen Tong at his back, only by signing the contract would he become the owner of this store.
“Thank you for sparing time to help me pick a store, General Storekeeper. I might have to bother you with some other questions in the future,” said Ling Zhang.
The general storekeeper replied that the two of them had been cooperating with each other in herb business for many years, that he had undertaken to offer Ling Zhang help, so there was no need for Ling Zhang to be so courteous.
As a result, Ling Zhang no longer stood on ceremony and consulted him about the revamp issue.
The general storekeeper, accompanying Ling Zhang, went back to the store and consulted with Ling Zhang as well as artisans hired by Ling Zhang. Eventually, they decided which parts of the store were to be revamped. The revamp project would take quite a long time. Wang Qing was designated to supervise artisans revamping the store for the duration.
On this day they visited the store several times and some artisans started revamping it, which some time ago attracted the attention of many people in the trading center.
It had also come to the knowledge of a lot of people keeping a close watch on the Ling Mansion that Ling Zhang had bought a store in the trading center in the west of the city and was revamping it.
Those who had been waiting for Ling Zhang to come into conflict with people of Yuwen family so that they could profit from it were thrown into perplexity, wondering why the first thing Ling Zhang did after staying at home for half a month was purchase a store.
“Is buying a store by any chance more important to him than marrying Yuwen Tong?”
This was a question that confused most of them. In their eyes, if they were in Ling Zhang’s shoes, they would definitely have regarded marrying Yuwen Tong as soon as possible as the top priority. What’s the point of buying a store? If in the end he fails to marry Yuwen Tong, how could he possibly keep the store?
Ling Zhang had stood up to several powerful figures in a row after arriving in the capital; even the Ninth Princess had been sent to a temple to practice Buddhism without tonsure as a punishment for her attempt to have Ling Zhang assassinated; also because of him, Yuwen Zhi broke Yuwen Qi’s leg—these things seemed to be suggesting that Ling Zhang was going to destroy anybody in his way, so a lot of people had very high expectations of Ling Zhang, anticipating a fight between he and Yuwen Zhi which would cause destruction to both sides, but the current situation terribly disappointed all of them.
“He seems a guy who knows some petty tricks, but it turns out that he’s soft in the head.”
Tao Yi was probably the only one who felt at ease after this long-time peace between Ling Zhang and Yuwen family. Every day he would make some inquiries about the situation outside before he could get down to studying safe in the knowledge that everything was fine.
A school friend of his, seeing his behavior, couldn’t help but tease, “You are acting like his old man. Is this really necessary?”
Tao Yi gave him a dirty look, “You won’t understand.”
“I understand it very well. You are just worried that Ling Zhang would get hurt if he comes into conflict with Yuwen Zhi, aren’t you? If I had Marshal Yuwen at my back, I wouldn’t give a shit about Yuwen Zhi—nobody in this city would dare to mess with me, okay?” commented his school friend.
Tao Yi, in heartache and headache, looked at him. “Fortunately, it’s not someone like you that the Marshal has his eye on.”
“Hey, that’s hurtful. What’s wrong with people like me? I’m remarkably eligible! I’m not only handsome but also talented. If the Marshal were to have his eye on me, he would definitely find me worthy of him,” replied his school friend.
“Stop dreaming. The Marshal is meant to be with Brother Ling.”
“Look at you. You still want to deny you’re not like his old man? I just made a single remark and you got tensed up.”
Tao Yi put an end to the frivolous chat with his school friend, since his teacher summoned him.
“What have you been doing these days? Where did your mind wander to? Look how lousy your essay is!”
Tao Yi, being scolded, felt somewhat aggrieved, believing that his essay was pretty good.
“Answer me! What have you been thinking? Why are you so slack in your study?!”
Originally Tao Yi had had no intention of telling the truth, but on second thought, he stepped closer to his teacher and said, “Mr Gu, do you think Lord Yuwen will pick on Brother Ling again? And there’s another thing—many people outside say that Brother Ling is silly, that in these circumstances he should have the Marshal fix a date for the wedding. Did Brother Ling by any chance really do the wrong thing? Please give me some advice, Mr Gu. If he’s really mistaken, I’ll go and warn him right away.”
His teacher speechlessly glared at him for a few moments and then reprimanded in a sonorous voice, “That’s none of your business! Stop being a busybody!”
“He’s my friend. I can’t just look on unconcerned,” replied Tao Yi in severe and categorical terms.
“Enough. You think you are smart? As far as I can tell, Ling Zhang is far smarter than you are.”
“Ah?” Tao Yi believed that was not true, that he was definitely smart.
“Those people say that because they want Ling Zhang to come into conflict with Yuwen Zhi, so that they could profit from it, while Ling Zhang has been unhurried and poised because he knows what those people are trying to do. Otherwise he would’ve ended up being other people’s pawn. If he really takes any rash actions, there’s a high chance that eventually he’d lose more than he’d gain. Yuwen Tong is not the kind of person who likes to be pressurized into doing anything. In these circumstances, he still has the leisure to buy a store, which is an unmistakable indication that Yuwen Tong values him very much and gives him enough confidence that his herb business wouldn’t be a losing proposition. So there’s nothing for you to worry about. Just focus on your study.”
Light suddenly dawned on Tao Yi and even the look on his face was much more relaxed. “You’re indeed a man of great wisdom, Mr Gu.”
“Stop licking my boots and get your ass to your desk.”
“Mr Gu, although there’s nobody else around, you shouldn’t forget your identity. How could you say such rude words?”
His teacher directly threw a writing brush at his head in response to his question, which frightened Tao Yi into fleeing hastily.
…
Ling Zhang was unaware of how people on various sides in the capital were speculating about his conduct. After making arrangements for the store to be revamped, he got down to setting up a trade caravan.
There was one thing that Tao Yi’s teacher was wrong about: Yuwen Tong actually would be very glad if Ling Zhang tried to pressurize him into marrying him. Seeing Ling Zhang was fully occupied building a trade caravan, Yuwen Tong particularly hoped that Ling Zhang would be anxious to marry him as outsiders expected.
Ling Zhang practiced kung fu at night and went to see another man—the general storekeeper of the Jiang’s Drugstore Chain—during daytime. Yuwen Tong was suddenly forsaken, feeling that his life was as miserable as that of an unfavored concubine in the Cold Palace.
In fact, he did want to help Ling Zhang handle the trade caravan and all others matters, but the problem was that Ling Zhang would by no means let him.
“Any news on Peng Fang?” Out of sheer boredom, Yuwen Tong had no alternative but to find someone to vent his anger on.
“We’ve confirmed that the reason why Peng Fang tried to have Young Master Ling poisoned was because he wanted to give the Duan Wang a written guarantee of allegiance. After we lay low for half a month, Peng Fang began to panic. He made some underhand arrangements and thought that we’d be misled into suspecting Qian Kang of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs. He’s already prepared to scapegoat Qian Kang, but since we’ve been lying low, he began to get paranoid. It’s said that he’s started suffering from insomnia since a couple of days ago, and he’s got noticeably thinner, too,” replied Yao Yi.
Yuwen Tong gave a sneer. “It’s about time we took action. Let’s start with him.”
This time Zhou Mingyuan is lucky to get away. Peng Fang just wanted to use this as a guarantee of allegiance, and Zhou Mingyuan was not directly involved. Otherwise I would by no means let Zhou Mingyuan walk away unpunished, thought Yuwen Tong.
Yao Yi replied, “Then I’ll send word to them and have them hand over that person right away.”
Yuwen Tong uttered “Um” and then queried, “How’s everything going in the Langya Garden?”
“Young Master Qi is still locked in the ancestral hall. It’s been confirmed that he will never fully recover from his broken leg. He’ll be a cripple for the rest of his life. These days, Second Mistress has sent for each and every famous physician in the capital but none of them could make a difference. There’s been several occasions when she kicked up a stink and wept in front of Second Master. Young Master Qi also made a scene in the ancestral hall and drove all physicians away,” responded Yao Yi.
Yuwen Tong had a cold look on his face. Yuwen Zhi had broken Yuwen Qi’s leg but showed mercy to him, making sure the injury was curable. In the normal course of events, the wound in his leg could be healed. But how was it possible that he would let Yuwen Qi fully recuperate? By crippling him, Yuwen Tong was already being merciful.
“Let them be. Yuwen Zhi doesn’t dare to release Yuwen Qi. Kicking up a stink wouldn’t make any difference. It’s Yuwen Zhi himself that we should keep an eye open for in case he secretly plays some dirty tricks.”
Yao Yi shook his head. “Strangely enough, during the past half a month Second Master has been staying at home all along except for meeting time in the morning. And he refuses to receive any visitor.”
Yuwen Tong’s brow corrugated in a frown. He knew his uncle very well, and this was not what his uncle would normally do. “Find out what he’s been doing hiding in there.”
“Yes, Marshal,” replied Yao Yi.
A guard ran inside like the wind and reported, “Marshal, Young Master Ling returned!”
On hearing that Ling Zhang had returned, Yuwen Tong, who had been sitting there bored stiff, instantly perked up and waved his hand motioning for Yao Yi to leave immediately and do what he’d got to do, so that he wouldn’t be a hindrance to him.
Yao Yi was speechless.
Ling Zhang had just come back from outside. A while ago, he had consulted with the general storekeeper of the Jiang’s Drugstore Chain about the trade caravan. About setting up a trade caravan, he had got a general idea of what kind of preparations he had to make, and also written a letter to his uncle in Tanyang telling him to build a trade caravan according to the contents of the letter. For its maiden journey to the capital, his caravan was to go together with the trade caravan of the Jiang’s Drugstore Chain. After they were familiar with the route, they would be able to do it on their own.
Of course, the most important issue was security of the trade caravan, which was also the main business he consulted with his uncle.
No matter what, he had to wait for people in Tanyang to make a reply to him. He had some leisure now, so he returned early after everything was handled.
He had just reached the drill ground when he saw Yuwen Tong walking squarely towards to him. Ling Zhang had been fully occupied these days. Though he still had dinner and talked with Yuwen Tong every day, Ling Zhang missed Yuwen Tong very much, which was a feeling he found quite strange. When he finished his business and returned on this day, in particular, he somehow felt fairly excited.
As a result, what he failed to realize was that his eyes lit up as he saw Yuwen Tong walking towards him, which Yuwen Tong felt was exceptionally charming.
“You returned earlier than usual. Everything’s finished?” Yuwen Tong gazed fixedly at him.
C194: Going to the Imperial College
“Yeah. All I have to do next is wait for a letter from Tanyang and for the revamp of the store to be finished,” replied Ling Zhang. It had been a long time since the last time he’d been so engaged on something. Every day felt very fulfilling. It was just that after so many days together, he had got used to Yuwen Tong’s company, so sometimes when he was out there too occupied to make a decision on a particular matter, he would subconsciously raise his head with the intention to ask Yuwen Tong for advice only to find that Yuwen Tong was nowhere to be seen.
Ling Zhang, eyes gleaming with delight, fixed Yuwen Tong with a gaze, which brought Yuwen Tong to an intense emotional arousal. He reached out his hand to take Ling Zhang’s and even his voice was somewhat husky with longing. “Let’s go inside.”
Ling Zhang, oblivious of Yuwen Tong’s anomalousness, followed Yuwen Tong into the house obediently.
The moment he entered the house, the doors were slammed shut behind him and with that a shadow fell across him and, against the doors, he was swept into Yuwen Tong’s embrace. His chin was slightly lifted and he was given a passionate kiss, lips enveloped, teeth parted as a tongue came through them into his mouth to tease him tempting his tongue into joining the dance. After only a few moments, he was intoxicated by the kiss, oblivious of the trickles from the corners of his mouth.
Yuwen Tong’s thumb first lightly brushed past his lower jaw, and then, as if he could no longer refrain, Yuwen Tong heavily pressed it down and started kneading his jaw in a somewhat rough way, so urgent and passionate that it felt as if he wanted to swallow Ling Zhang in a gulp.
Ling Zhang felt his body getting hotter and hotter. His whole body was burning and even his eyes were hot. Since his eyes were closed, he felt as though he was entrusting Yuwen Tong with his whole being, allowing Yuwen Tong to guide him anywhere even if it meant he would lose his ability to think.
It was not until after quite some time that Ling Zhang slowly came around from the confused state of mind in which he was utterly unable to think. At this time, he was already in bed, soft quilt beneath him, Yuwen Tong’s burning body upon him. He was clasped in Yuwen Tong’s tight embrace, whose arms were clamped so tightly around him that they were hurting Ling Zhang somewhat, as if he was trying very hard to subdue something which could overwhelm him at any moment.
Yuwen Tong’s head was beside Ling Zhang’s neck, his hot and heavy breaths being sprayed onto it one after another. The two of them were against each other gapless and they were intimately aware of each other’s states. Their vibrant heartbeats, like drumbeats, were hammering at their eardrums.
Ling Zhang didn’t dare to move an inch in the knowledge that even the slightest movement of his would cause Yuwen Tong to lose control of himself.
It was not until after another long time that Yuwen Tong released Ling Zhang from his tight embrace and propped himself up on his hands. Finally, there was some space between them.
Ling Zhang also felt fully relaxed after being released. There were faint pains in both his arms and his back, which had been caused by Yuwen Tong’s unduly tight embrace. But these were nothing. Yuwen Tong’s gaze, which was still brimming with craving at this moment, was the reason why he didn’t dare to look at Yuwen Tong.
However, as his head tilted to one side, his smooth long fair-skinned neck was revealed, which stood out in sharp relief against his black hair and dark-colored quilt, appearing so white that it was almost dazzling. Calming down his churning blood had taken Yuwen Tong a lot of efforts, but it instantly boiled again as his eye fell on Ling Zhang’s neck.
Though Yuwen Tong had propped up his upper body, his lower body was still pressed tight against Ling Zhang’s, so naturally Ling Zhang immediately felt his bodily reaction. Almost in an instant, Ling Zhang in dismay adjusted his head back into place and looked Yuwen Tong in the face. “You…”
Yuwen Tong heavily took in a large gulp of air and his eyes shifted back and forth between Ling Zhang’s neck and red swollen lips several times. Eventually he hardened his heart, took his eyes off Ling Zhang and abruptly got out of bed.
He poured himself a cup of tea and quickly drank it in one gulp, as if he were about to charge at thousands of enemies and destroy them all, which was quite scary.
Ling Zhang sat up and looked at Yuwen Tong’s ferocious face. The sexually romantic mood in the room abruptly struck him as somewhat amusing and he dissolved into chuckle.
Yuwen Tong paused, put down the teacup and fiercely twisted his head around to look at him. “You think this is funny?”
Seeing him acting like that, Ling Zhang chuckled even more happily. He tossed a glance at a particular part of Yuwen Tong’s body with his amused eyes and said, “You are acting like I abused you.”
After being glanced by him, Yuwen Tong once again was sent to the verge of succumbing to temptation. “Wait here. I’ll go and have someone select an auspicious day for us. We’re getting married.”
Ling Zhang didn’t know what to say.
It seems that I went too far in this, he thought.
…
Yuwen Tong really hired someone who did some research and selected an auspicious day for him, but he didn’t tell Ling Zhang when. It was just like he seemed to be in a good mood when he returned.
Ling Zhang sounded him out several times but failed to worm anything out of him. He couldn’t help but wonder in confusion, Why is Yuwen Tong so confident that I’ll agree to marry him? The last time when he mentioned it, I told him I needed some time to think it through and I haven’t given him a definite reply yet.
But after some careful thinking, Ling Zhang felt that although he hadn’t made a definite reply to Yuwen Tong, he was not against it and had no dislike whatsoever for the idea of marrying Yuwen Tong. He had even involuntarily been vaguely anticipating it.
However, this was not something that could be done in a short time. The two families were very far away from each other. Apart from those miscellaneous preliminary ceremonies and preparations, the consultation about the date for the wedding, which would entail several journeys between the capital and Tanyang, would probably take half a year. After the date was fixed, there would be some other preparatory work, which would also be quite time-consuming.
Even ordinary families had to spend a lot of time preparing a wedding, let alone Yuwen Tong who had uncommonly high social status.
No matter what, even if we start preparing right now, the wedding would be after New Year’s Day. How come Yuwen Tong still looks pretty happy?
Ling Zhang was totally perplexed.
Right at the time when Ling Zhang was wondering what Yuwen Tong had up his sleeve, another incident happened in the capital after half-a-month peace…
Peng Fang, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Works, was found to be the one who had attempted to have Ling Zhang poisoned in the Wu City. There was concrete evidence, leaving him unable to deny the charge. The Emperor, in order to maintain the semblance of how much he valued Yuwen Tong, had dispatched staff members of the Dali Temple to arrest Peng Fang. After verification of his crime, Peng Fang was thrown into prison. The whole process took merely one day.
Since Ling Zhang had been lying low during the past half a month, all those people in the capital who had a watch-and-wait attitude believed that Ling Zhang had gone soft in the head, but unexpectedly, this case involving Peng Fang suddenly came up. Peng Fang was a high-ranking official of the imperial court, and the Ministry of Works was a department in which officials could easily line their pockets. There were great powers going with his post and he had always been somewhat supercilious, but now he was brought down just like this, so those people who, after half-a-month’s waiting for Ling Zhang to make further moves, had planned to take some covert actions, chose to continue to wait and see.
“Exactly what’s wrong with this Ling Zhang guy? I’d like to say he’s a fool, but all those who messed with him have now ended up burning their fingers; sometimes I feel he’s smart, but he seems to be in no hurry to marry Yuwen Tong.”
“Yuwen Tong’s behavior is also inexplicable. If he doesn’t care much about Ling Zhang, he shouldn’t have sprung to Ling Zhang’s defense so often; but if he cares about him, why is he not anxious to get married either?”
“Yuwen Tong has been staying in the Ling Mansion for more than half a month, hasn’t he? Is he by any chance never going to return to Yuwen family?”
“It’s surprising Yuwen Zhi is tolerating all this, isn’t it?”
Right at this time, a notification from the Imperial College was delivered to the Ling Mansion, telling Ling Zhang it was time to go to the Imperial College to study.
During the past half a month, Ling Zhang had been occupied with cultivation of internal energy and preparatory work for the drugstore, and he had forgotten that he was supposed to go to college. It was not until someone from the Imperial College visited him that he recalled this matter.
Shortly after that, Yuwen Jin also paid him a visit. “Brother Zhang, are you ready? When are we going to the Imperial College?”
The last time when Ling Zhang visited Yuwen Tong’s father’s uncle, he and Yuwen Jin had agreed to go to the Imperial College together.
“I’m ready. We leave tomorrow,” replied Ling Zhang. Although he had forgotten this matter, Li Sicai and the others bore this in mind. They had made some inquiries and found out all he needed to know and also got all necessities ready. All Ling Zhang had to do was take those things they’d prepared for him and go to the Imperial College the next day.
“I’m also ready. Tomorrow I’ll come and pick you up and then we’ll go there together, okay?” asked Yuwen Jin.
Ling Zhang inclined his head. “Okay.”
Having received a definite reply from Ling Zhang, Yuwen Jin happily walked around in the Ling Mansion out of curiosity and then went back home.
As soon as Yuwen Jin left, Ling Zhang immediately went into his study and shut the door.
During these days, after coming back, if he had the time, he would also read some books that the teacher hired by Yuwen Tong had told him to read. It was just that there were a pile of books, and he had only finished reading half of them.
With only half a day left, it was impossible for him to finish the remaining half of the books. Ling Zhang had no choice but to cast an eye over them to get a general idea of what kind of books they were. He had read some of them before when he’d been at home, so he sifted them out. And then he selected the couple of relatively important ones from the rest of the books and concentrated his mind on reading them. Even so, it still took him the rest of the day. Until midnight, there hadn’t been a single occasion when he left the study, except for when he needed to eat or go to the privy. Fortunately, he had internal energy now, and a sleepless night had no negative influence on him, which was why he successfully finished reading the couple of books with his full attention.
The next day was the day for him to go to the Imperial College. Yuwen Jin would come here to pick him up very early. Ling Zhang gathered the rest of the books, had Xiafeng tidy them up for him and then went to take a bath.
Yuwen Tong also didn’t sleep the night before. He had kept Ling Zhang company in the study for a whole night, saying that he couldn’t sleep without Ling Zhang by his side. While Ling Zhang was reading school books, he was reading books on the art of war.
A short while after the two of them had breakfast together, Yuwen Jin showed up.
“Cousin, Brother Zhang.” Yuwen Jin walked inside, well dressed, oozing vigorousness.
Seeing him come so early, Ling Zhang asked him in concern whether he had had breakfast. Yuwen Jin responded, “I don’t want to complain, but my father pinched my ear and dragged me out of bed before daybreak. I had breakfast quite some time ago.”
Yuwen Si, Yuwen Jin’s father, had not only woken up his son but also reminded him once again of the situation in the Imperial College and exhorted him to take good care of Ling Zhang.
With a distressed face, Yuwen Jin added, “I could literally recite those words of my father’s, but he still told me once again, and I had to listen to him. My ears are growing calloused.”
“I’ll go with you,” said Yuwen Tong.
Ling Zhang was surprised, but Yuwen Jin exclaimed, “You are going with us, Cousin? Great!”
Yuwen Tong responded, “Let’s go. We can talk on the way up.”
Since Yuwen Tong was going together with them, the group naturally was larger.
The three of them were sitting in a horse-drawn carriage. Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong, a somewhat confused look in his eyes. Previously, Yuwen Tong had never mentioned to him that he would go together with him.
C195: First Arrival at the Imperial College
Maybe afraid that his father would nag him again if he failed to do what he’d been told to, Yuwen Jin intensively analyzed the situation in the Imperial College for Ling Zhang on their way to the college.
Even in an ordinary academy of classical learning, there were cliques of students. Students from rich families and those from impoverished families, for example, almost inevitably would detest each other on sight, and students of the Oriental Rite Academy were no exception in this regard.
However, the reason why the situation in the Imperial College struck people as chaotic was because in the Imperial College something more complicated was involved apart from strife between students of noble birth and those from humble beginnings. Due to its special position, almost all students in the Imperial College were of noble blood, and students from poor families only accounted for a very small proportion. There was a great disparity in number. Students of humble origins were totally outmatched and could barely breathe under the pressure from their rivals.
As a result, the strife between these two sides in the Imperial College was negligible. The source of the chaotic situation in this college was related to the factions at students’ back. The incumbent Emperor had a suspicious mind and was fond of using checks and balances to make sure his subordinates toed the line. Partisan wrangle between rival factions was very intense. Moreover, princes had all reached adulthood, each of whom represented a particular side. Most students of the Imperial College were children of dignitaries, so they unavoidably were affected by the factions in the imperial court and engaged in internal strife in the Imperial College.
Ling Zhang would never choose such a troublesome place if he really wanted to learn some academic knowledge. His best choice was the Oriental Rite Academy, but the Emperor had interfered and upset Ling Zhang’s plan with an imperial edict, which was why Ling Zhang now had no option but to enter the Imperial College where he would almost certainly be dragged into things he wants no part of.
“Why did you choose the Imperial College instead of the Oriental Rite Academy?” Ling Zhang inquired of Yuwen Jin.
Yuwen Jin blinked and replied, “I just like its uproariousness. The Oriental Rite Academy is so boring. The Imperial College is the kind of place where I can pursue my talents. It’s as chaotic as a battlefield where a general like me is needed to bring peace. Don’t you think so?”
Ling Zhang didn’t know what to say.
Why didn’t I discover earlier Yuwen Jin was such a narcissist? Is this guy reliable? he wondered.
“Be careful not to be bested by a bunch of kids, General. Otherwise you won’t even be able to find a shoulder to cry on,” Yuwen Tong said to Yuwen Jin.
Yuwen Jin immediately replied, “Then teach me some military strategy and tactics, Cousin. I’m the one who has the duty to protect Brother Zhang, and I cannot do that if you don’t teach me military strategy and tactics.”
Ling Zhang vaguely saw the light. Yuwen Jin has been waiting for this moment all along.
Yuwen Tong said, “Though your father has separated from Yuwen family, he still has a lot of books on the art of war in hand. Why ignore them and ask me?”
Yuwen Jin responded, “But my grandfather is unwilling to let me read them. Besides, you are a marshal. I’m sure you know more.”
In order to have Yuwen Tong teach him military strategy and tactics, Yuwen Jin made a lot of remarks of praise and tried his level best to fawn on Yuwen Tong. Eventually, his efforts paid off. Yuwen Tong reluctantly said, “Maybe I can teach you some.”
Yuwen Jin cheered. “You’re the best, Cousin!”
For fear that Yuwen Tong might go back on his words, Yuwen Jin quickly told Ling Zhang that he would go to the Ling Mansion to learn from Yuwen Tong whenever there was a day off at the Imperial College.
Now that Yuwen Tong himself had agreed, so naturally Ling Zhang raised no objection.
…
The Imperial College was very far away from the Ling Mansion. It took them almost an hour to get there by horse-drawn carriage.
Yuwen Jin’s horse-drawn carriage was inconspicuous, but Yuwen family was very famous. Though Yuwen You had separated from Yuwen family, his surname was still Yuwen. Apart from the fact that Yuwen Tong was close to Yuwen You’s family, Yuwen Jin’s father, uncle and grandfather were all officials of the imperial court, not a bunch of nobodies, so the Imperial College designated someone to welcome them.
Yuwen Jin was the first one to get out of the carriage. Ling Zhang was the second. Seeing Ling Zhang, the one coming to their welcome was confused. “May I have your name?
“My name is Ling Zhang. I’m also here to enter school,” replied Ling Zhang.
Expression in the man’s eyes slightly changed as he heard the name. He was just about to say something when he saw Yuwen Tong get out of the carriage. With a drastic change of his countenance, he hastily walked up. “I’m Feng Zhangshi. It’s a great honor to meet you, Marshal.”
The man had only expected to see two students entering school. It had never crossed his mind that Yuwen Tong would show up, so he immediately greeted him with profound respect and humility.
“There’s no need for formalities,” said Yuwen Tong. “I just happened to be going their way, and I have no intention of alarming anybody.”
Happened to be going their way? Who’d believe this? This college is in such an out-of-the-way area. Who would happen to be going this way? Feng Zhangshi wondered.
The name of the one who had come to their welcome was Feng Zhangshi. He was an executive in the Imperial College, and also a well-informed man, so naturally he knew who Ling Zhang was to Yuwen Tong, and he had also heard all those rumors in the capital. Now seeing Yuwen Tong had specially seen Ling Zhang to this place, he came to realize that Yuwen Tong’s intention was manifestly to tell everybody in this college that he was at Ling Zhang’s back.
In an instant a lot of thoughts crossed Feng Zhangshi’s mind. The one he was most certain about was that Yuwen Tong valued Ling Zhang, which differed from some rumors claiming otherwise. The principal, by sending him here to welcome Yuwen Jin and Ling Zhang, was seemingly treating Ling Zhang the same way he did other students from noble families, but in fact, this suggested that the principal didn’t really think highly of Ling Zhang. If any of these two students were sons of a high-ranking official, the principal would no doubt have personally come here to welcome them.
Nobody had expected that Yuwen Tong would come here together with them.
Seeing there was nobody else behind Feng Zhangshi, Yuwen Tong, who was worldly-wise, immediately came to understand what was going on. He was not the kind of person who liked to abuse their position and throw their weight about, but in a place like the capital, the political hierarchy could literally be suffocating, particularly in the Imperial College where the situation was terribly chaotic. If he didn’t do anything that could act as a deterrent to those people, who knew what kind of underhand means they would use to make trouble for Ling Zhang?
“I’ve never been in the Imperial College before. May I go inside with them to take a look?”
Feng Zhangshi naturally agreed immediately and led Yuwen Tong, Ling Zhang and Yuwen Jin towards the front gate.
What was happening at the gateway also attracted the attention of some students coming in and out of the college. Since Yuwen Tong stayed in border areas almost all the year around, many students had only heard his name but never seen him before. As a result, at first nobody recognized him; they were just somewhat surprised to see that Feng Zhangshi was behaving so deferentially, and they also cast an appraising look at Ling Zhang and Yuwen Jin.
Surprisingly, in these circumstances, Yuwen Jin seemed to be the relatively famous one, for someone recognized him.
“That Yuwen Jin from the offshoot of Yuwen family also gained admission?”
“Who are the two men beside him? That taller one is quite imposing. I don’t even dare look back at him when he looks at me.”
Hearing the discussion of those students, Feng Zhangshi led Ling Zhang and the other two forward, planning to take them to see the principal. Yuwen Tong, who could tell at a glance what his intention was, refused to be led by the nose, saying, “Where are we going? If there are any particular things that students entering school need to do, just directly take us there.”
Feng Zhangshi was briefly surprised and then immediately replied, “We don’t dare to put you to the bother, Marshal. We’ve already handled all admission procedures for Young Master Yuwen and Young Master Ling some time ago. All they need to do is go directly to the professor to confirm it and then the courses may directly start.”
Yuwen Tong said, “Okay, then. Let’s go and meet this professor.”
Feng Zhangshi flicked a glance at Yuwen Tong’s face. Seeing his flinty dignified countenance which deterred people from looking him in the eyes, Feng Zhangshi was uncertain of Yuwen Tong’s intention, so he had no choice but to obey, “Of course, of course. This way please, Marshal. This way, Young Masters.”
“I don’t dare. After you, sir,” said Ling Zhang.
Feng Zhangshi cast a look at him. Rumor has it that Ling Zhang is domineering and arrogant, but he doesn’t seem that kind of person.
The Imperial College covered a large area. All necessary fields and buildings were included. Apart from classrooms for teaching, there were also courtyard houses for professors to live in as well as various chambers to accommodate students. By foot, a trip around the Imperial College would take more than a day.
This was also the first time that Ling Zhang had seen the scenery in the Imperial College, which came as a real revelation to him.
At this moment, finally some people recognized Yuwen Tong. It was a group of students walking towards them, all of whom were wearing students’ uniform. The one heading them was of noble demeanor. His countenance and presence were different from those of others as well.
As he saw Ling Zhang and the others, he merely flicked a casual glance at him, but to his surprise, Yuwen Tong was among them. He immediately halted and exclaimed in a pleasantly surprised tone of voice, “Marshal?”
His voice was loud. All students nearby heard him, paused and looked in astonishment at the man who had just called Yuwen Tong, and then they shifted their gaze to Yuwen Tong. “Marshal? Yuwen Tong?”
“What brings you to the Imperial College, Marshal?” The one who called Yuwen Tong walked up to him, face full of excitement.
Ling Zhang flicked an appraising look at this man, somewhat confused. This guy seems to be pretty happy to see Yuwen Tong. Is he by any chance someone Yuwen Tong knows?
Unexpectedly, Yuwen Tong was also briefly puzzled as he saw that person. “Who are you?”
It was after hearing this that the man realized he hadn’t made a self-introduction yet, so he said, “Please pardon my impoliteness. I’m Jiang Yu. My grandfather is Jiang Changfeng, the Prime Minister. Three years ago, I had the good fortune to attend a banquet in the imperial palace with my grandfather, where I saw you once. It was just that you were too busy back then and didn’t notice me.”
Jiang Changfeng? Ling Zhang unnoticeably gazed at Jiang Yu. He’s grandson of Jiang Changfeng, the incumbent Prime Minister? If Yuwen Tong was the most influential military commander, then Jiang Changfeng would be the most influential civil official in office. On top of this, Jiang Changfeng was also a relative of the Emperor. The Emperor’s mother was a member of Jiang family, which meant Jiang Changfeng was the Emperor’s uncle.
So this Jiang Yu guy is also kin to the Emperor. It’s true what they say that many students of this college are of noble birth, thought Ling Zhang.
He decided to keep quiet first. This man named Jiang Yu was grandson of Jiang Changfeng and had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and it was hard to say what kind of person he was.
“So you’re grandson of the Prime Minister.” Yuwen Tong blandly gave a nod. He had amazingly good memory and was capable of memorizing anything at a glance, but he had no familiarity with this man named Jiang Yu. Three years ago, he attended and left the palace banquet in such haste that he didn’t pay attention to most invited guests, so of course he didn’t notice Jiang Yu.
After making that remark, Yuwen Tong lapsed into silence. Seeing Jiang Yu was still standing before him, he was somewhat puzzled.
For an instant Jiang Yu’s countenance subtly froze, for the puzzlement on Yuwen Tong’s face was too noticeable, which was almost synonymous with directly asking him why he didn’t just walk away.
“Is there any particular business that you came here to attend to, Marshal? Do you need me to lead the way for you?” Jiang Yu quickly concealed the hint of unnaturalness on his face and looked at Yuwen Tong with a smile.
As regards to Ling Zhang and Yuwen Jin who were standing beside Yuwen Tong, Jiang Yu seemed to have already forgotten their existence.
Ling Zhang and Yuwen Jin exchanged glances but neither of them said anything.
Clearly Jiang Yu was here for Yuwen Tong.
Ling Zhang, seeing Jiang Yu throwing himself at Yuwen Tong, couldn’t help but think of Tao Yi. He had already classified Jiang Yu into the type of idolaters like Tao Yi.
But Yuwen Jin secretly gave Ling Zhang’s sleeve a pull and observed under his breath, “This Jiang Yu guy is so supercilious. I can tell at a glance that he’s an asshole. You mustn’t let my cousin agree to it.”