C343: Is There Anything You’re Not Telling Me?
Ling Zhaowu was briefly surprised. “Okay.”
Ling Zhang rose to his feet and hastened towards the door. Suddenly, he paused, pivoted around to look at Ling Zhaowu and said, “I remember we had a talk back when you first came to this city. I said that I used to have a grudge against you, but that is all water under the bridge now. Our past is full of pain, and I’m not necessarily the one who suffered the most. I’m your… your son (the second “your” in honorific form). You don’t ever have to apologize to me. And, thank you for being honest with me about these things, Father. When all this is over, I hope you’ll tell me more details about what happened in the past.”
Having sensed the change of Ling Zhang’s attitude, Ling Zhaowu was excited. “I will.”
…
On his way back to the palace, Ling Zhang’s mind wandered constantly. He kept running over his father’s words in his head.
Even when he returned to the imperial palace, he still had a somewhat distant look on his face.
Yuwen Tong was still in the consultation hall. He had decided to have lunch in the hall. It was just lunchtime that Ling Zhang came back, so he personally delivered Yuwen Tong’s lunch to the hall.
As he entered, everybody in the hall stopped talking and shifted their gaze to him.”
“Your Lordships, you’ve all had a hectic morning. Maybe you should take a break and continue your discussion after lunch. Our people rely on you to deal with all those state affairs. Staying energetic is the key to maintaining high work efficiency.”
Yuwen Tong also said, “You may all go to the side hall and get some rest. We’ll continue the consultation in an hour.”
The courtiers were indeed tired and hungry. Seeing the serious expression on Yuwen Tong’s face, they all came to know that this was not the time to play the dutiful servant. They ended their discussion and a eunuch led them to the side hall to rest.
Yuwen Tong walked down the platform, up to Ling Zhang and breathed, “I thought you went out of the palace and wouldn’t return until the end of the day. Why are you back? The sight of that pile of memorials no longer makes you feel dizzy?”
Ling Zhang fixed him with a stare and replied, “It doesn’t.”
Yuwen Tong was amazed, the look in his eyes instantly changing. “What’s wrong? Did something happen when you were out there?”
Ling Zhang shook his head and fought down the tears that were about to well up. “Nothing. I just went back and talked with my father about the drugstore. Right now you’re too busy, so I’ll wait until you have everything handled to tell you the details.”
However, Yuwen Tong knew Ling Zhang well and was observant enough to perceive the slightest change in Ling Zhang’s mood. His eyebrows immediately contracted. “Was there anything particular that your father said to you?”
“I just consulted with him about the drugstore and then came back,” responded Ling Zhang.
At once, Yuwen Tong took Ling Zhang’s hand and strode towards the Infinite Fortune Palace.
“Wait a moment. We’re not having lunch in the consultation hall?”
“Forget about lunch. How am I supposed to eat when you’re keeping something back from me?”
With a sulky face, Yuwen Tong drew him back to the imperial bedchamber, had everybody else leave and then turned around to look at Ling Zhang. “Tell me the truth.”
While being drawn to the bedchamber, Ling Zhang had psyched himself up. His rebirth must not come to the knowledge of Yuwen Tong, and he certainly couldn’t breathe a word of what his father had told him to Yuwen Tong. Therefore, when Yuwen Tong looked at him, there was no sign of any particular emotion on his face. “I told you we just talked about the drugstore. I’m going to transfer the store to the Ling family and my father will be the one managing it, but I’ll secretly remain the actual owner of it. We consulted each other about some details, and when I came back here, I heard that you hadn’t had lunch yet, so I went to the consultation hall with the eunuchs delivering lunch, planning on having lunch with you.”
Yuwen Tong looked deep into his eyes. “You’re not only keeping secrets from me but also lying to me. Exactly what is it that you are unwilling to tell me about? There should be no secrets between us. I’m not tolerating this!”
Ling Zhang looked back at him, a quizzical expression on his face. Yuwen Tong had held his wrist. “Tell me. If it’s something difficult to deal with, we’ll figure out a solution together. Otherwise what’s the point of me being an Emperor? If I take the throne but couldn’t use it to do anything for you, what do I need it for?”
“I–I’m really not keeping anything from you. Stop overreacting,” Ling Zhang hurriedly said.
Yuwen Tong lapsed into silence, stared at him with irritable eyes, his whole being emanating an air that was telling Ling Zhang he was angry.
Ling Zhang opened his mouth and his stomach suddenly clenched. Then he averted his eyes and added in an undertone, “I just suddenly felt that I shouldn’t have left you alone in the consultation hall. There are so many memorials. Although I know nothing about dealing with those affairs, at least I could keep you company at lunch.”
“And?” demanded Yuwen Tong in a deep voice.
Ling Zhang cast a glance at him and then looked away again. “And I shouldn’t have left you in the lurch.”
“And?” persisted Yuwen Tong in the same deep voice. “You returned to the palace only a short time after leaving it. If you were really consulting with your father about the matter of the drugstore, your talk would at least last until afternoon. Are you seriously expecting me to believe that you returned to the palace in such haste all because of your guilty conscience? If you don’t tell me the truth right now, not only will you not get any roasted meat for dinner tonight, you’ll be having vegetarian meals tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, too.”
Ling Zhang’s face crumpled up with vexation. “You can’t keep threatening me with vegetarian meals!”
“Then take heed of my words.”
Ling Zhang, “…”
Yuwen Tong was such an asshole. He found his achilles heel and kept using it to his advantage!
“Of course. When did I ever not take heed of your words?”
“Then tell me the truth right now. Don’t push me, because if you do, I will have them serve a vegetarian meal straight away. You haven’t had lunch yet either, I suppose? Are you hungry? You want some meat?”
Ling Zhang gritted his teeth. Originally he had been touched by what Yuwen Tong had done for him in his last incarnation, but now, what with Yuwen Tong’s attitude, the inexpressible feeling was gone. Right now the only thing he was feeling was an urge to bite Yuwen Tong to death.
“I just felt I was not being good enough to you, and I didn’t like the idea of you staying in the palace to have lunch with a bunch of insipid geriatrics, which was why I finished my talk with my father in a hurry and hastened back here. It saddens me that your workload is so heavy and you have nobody to keep you company. Are you satisfied?!”
Yuwen Tong slightly lifted his eyebrows. As far as he could tell, maybe there was still something that Ling Zhang was holding back, but Ling Zhang had definitely told the truth about the most important part. Now all he needed to do was ascertain what had aroused these emotions of Ling Zhang’s, and why Ling Zhang had hurried back to the palace to see him to find peace of mind without even sparing some time to have lunch with his father and grandfather first.
It shouldn’t be some security threat from outside. If it was, Ling Zhang would by no means conceal it from him, because Ling Zhang would never trifle with anything concerning his safety, particularly so in these circumstances where Ling Zhang, after his identity had changed, got tensed up every time he got wind of anything suspicious, and had nearly had Wang Dashan and the others deploy a formation covering the whole imperial palace.
And it shouldn’t be anything concerning Ling Zhang’s own safety either. Otherwise Wang Dashan and the other bodyguards wouldn’t have remained composed.
So it was something unthreatening but made Ling Zhang feel he owed him…
The Ling Mansion had been the only place that Ling Zhang went to after leaving the palace, and Ling Zhaowu and Ji Yin were the only two people who could have said something to him. Was it because any of the two disclosed something to him, by any chance?
A gleam flitted across the depths of Yuwen Tong’s eyes as he came to realize this. Then he gave a little cough, softened his tone and said, “Certainly. Presently I’m fully occupied with state affairs, and the idea of you going out of the palace alone really concerns me. Although the situation is under our control, and so is the capital, these are not normal times and I’m constantly worried that you might get hurt or something. Even when I was sitting in the consultation hall, I still had such worries and couldn’t collect myself, which was why I got scared at the sight of that look on your face when you came back. And then you refused to tell me what it was about, which deepened my anxiety even further. I feared that you were under some kind of coercion and I really couldn’t calm down.”
While listening, Ling Zhang felt a twinge of guilt, realizing that Yuwen Tong had been dealing with all those miscellaneous government affairs and worrying about him at the same time, that it was indeed inappropriate for him to keep it back from Yuwen Tong, that if he were Yuwen Tong, he would surely be anxious as well.
However, some of the facts really must not come to Yuwen Tong’s knowledge at this point in time. Firstly, he didn’t dare confide them; secondly, now was not the right time to talk about them.
“I’m sorry. I just…” Ling Zhang let out an unnatural cough and then continued, “I was too embarrassed to say those words.”
Yuwen Tong said, “But I would’ve still been worried had you not told me. Don’t keep anything back from me ever again, especially not in these circumstances.”
On hearing these words of Yuwen Tong’s, Ling Zhang, who was in the wrong, naturally promised without hesitation that he wouldn’t.
Another gleam flashed across Yuwen Tong’s eyes. “I’ll have them serve the courses.”
“Vegetarian ones?” Ling Zhang’s eyes stared at him.
“Non-vegetarian ones,” replied Yuwen Tong.
Predictably, what was served was a tableful of meat dishes, all of which were appetizing in appearance, tantalizing in smell and delicious in taste. Naturally, the culinary skills of the imperial chefs were superb, and Ling Zhang enjoyed the meal to his heart’s content.
While lunching, he and Yuwen Tong were talking about some of the government affairs. Currently there were a lot of things going on and it seemed the two of them would never find themselves short of topics.
Ling Zhang, who didn’t give the spat any extra thought, was unaware that when Yuwen Tong had gone to instruct the eunuchs to serve the meal, he had taken advantage of the opportunity and sent someone to the Ling Mansion to make inquiries about what Ling Zhaowu had said to Ling Zhang.
…
Meanwhile. In the Ling Mansion.
Ling Zhaowu looked at Miao Shisan, a quizzical expression on his face. “What did I tell Zhang’er?” he asked.
“Yes. After Young Master Ling returned to the palace, he looked as though something was bothering him. Sire was worried about Young Master Ling, but Young Master Ling was unwilling to tell him the truth, so Sire sent me here to ask you whether or not you said anything particular to Young Master Ling. Only by finding out the reason would Sire be able to figure something out to set Young Master Ling’s mind at ease,” said Miao Shisan.
Ling Zhaowu unnoticeably lifted his eyebrows briefly, but on the surface, he appeared utterly collected. “I just consulted with Zhang’er about the drugstore, nothing else. I only reminded him that Sire had been engaged in state affairs lately, that he should spend more time with Sire and see Sire through these trying times. Shortly before noon, Zhang’er went back to the palace in haste. Do you think this might be the reason? If so, Sire is overthinking it. Zhang’er is probably just worried about him.”
Miao Shisan kept silent for a moment and then said, “Thank you for your time, Master Ling. I’ll go back and report it to Sire right away.”
“See you around,” said Ling Zhaowu.
When Miao Shisan had left the Ling Mansion, he looked over his shoulder in the direction of the mansion, fingering his chin, feeling that there was something odd about this matter. Never mind. He should just relate to the Marshal what Master Ling had told him. Master Ling seemed to like the Marshal pretty much. Surely he wouldn’t suddenly raise an objection to Young Master Ling marrying the Marshal? Miao Shisan didn’t even dare let this absurd thought linger in his mind for another instant.
After returning to the imperial palace, Miao Shisan relayed Ling Zhaowu’s reply to Yuwen Tong.
The smallest frown creased Yuwen Tong’s face. Ling Zhaowu’s answer seemed to tally exactly with Ling Zhang’s explanation. However, his instinct was telling him that Ling Zhaowu hadn’t told the truth.
C344: Spying on Young Master Ling?
After lunch, as there was still some time left for rest, Ling Zhang tried to convince Yuwen Tong to take a nap but failed.
“Let’s have a nap together,” suggested Yuwen Tong, drawing Ling Zhang into the inner hall. Thanks to his powerful internal energy, he could work for seven consecutive days without sleep and still remain energetic. Now he had merely had a couple of hectic days, and he had slept at night, so right now he was not tired, but a chance to lie on the same bed with Ling Zhang for a while was not something he would say no to.
He carved the time out, so he wouldn’t let it go to waste.
As Ling Zhang lay down onto the bed, he sighed, “Going to sleep immediately after a meal—this is what pigs do.”
Yuwen Tong reached out a hand and kneaded Ling Zhang’s stomach and belly. “Did you overeat?”
Ling Zhang replied, “No.”
Ever since Yuwen Tong had made up his mind to never let Ling Zhang overeat again, he always reminded Ling Zhang not to eat too much whenever they dined together, and slowly Ling Zhang had developed a habit. Even during the separation when Yuwen Tong had been in the north-west, he had still been restraining himself from overeating.
“You should close your eyes and get some sleep,” Ling Zhang added.
Yuwen Tong took his hand, holding it, stroking it, closing his eyes.
Ling Zhang twisted his head aside to look at him. Seeing that Yuwen Tong had indeed closed his eyes, he slowed his breathing and at the same time shifted his position slightly and then remained motionless, letting Yuwen Tong hold his hand. He had asked Yuwen Tong to close his eyes and sleep, but his own eyes stayed open. After he collected his thoughts, his father’s words came floating out of his memory once again.
Both the matter of his father’s rebirth and what Yuwen Tong had done in his last incarnation were keeping him from sleeping.
Had Yuwen Tong really never married for his whole life in his last incarnation? He’d stayed in the north-west defending the border like a warlord who answered to nobody but himself. He… hadn’t taken the place of the Zhou family, the imperial household, as he had done in this incarnation? Why?
He wondered whether his father knew the reason. There was no doubt his father had been through a lot afterward in his last incarnation, but he didn’t know if his father’s and Yuwen Tong’s paths had crossed again. If they had, his father should know something about it, and Ling Zhang wanted to find out.
While he was thinking about this, his hand involuntarily made a slight movement. Yuwen Tong, who was lying beside him, wasn’t really asleep. He had closed his eyes only because he had sensed that Ling Zhang wanted him to get some rest. Naturally, he felt this subconscious hand movement of Ling Zhang’s.
A moment ago, when he had closed his eyes, Ling Zhang had clearly slackened his breathing for fear of causing him any disturbance, but now Ling Zhang’s breathing was changing somewhat, and his hand was stirring automatically, which showed that Ling Zhang’s mind was wandering, and it was very likely that what he was thinking had something to do with what he had tried to conceal from him just now…
“What are you thinking about?” Yuwen Tong suddenly inquired.
Ling Zhang started, jerking his head aside to look at him. “You weren’t asleep?”
Yuwen Tong raised Ling Zhang’s hand which he’d been holding. Seeing this, Ling Zhang immediately came to realize that he seemed to have subconsciously moved his hand. “Did I wake you up?”
Yuwen Tong responded, “Not really, because I wasn’t asleep. Just now you were absent-minded. What were you thinking about?”
Ling Zhang, who couldn’t disclose to Yuwen Tong anything about his last incarnation for the moment, shook his head. “I wasn’t feeling tired and couldn’t sleep, so I gave the current situation some thought.”
At the mention of this, he recalled that there was really something he needed to talk with Yuwen Tong about. “When I was on my way out of the palace this morning, I chanced upon Yuwen Feng. He looked much thinner than before and had dark circles under his eyes. I think one reason’s because of his unduly heavy workload in the Ministry of Rites, and the second reason’s because of Yuwen Zhi and Yuwen Qi. Have you considered what to do with the two of them?”
Yuwen Tong had a sneaking suspicion that Ling Zhang wasn’t telling the truth, but what Ling Zhang had just brought up was indeed a problem, so he replied, “Fang Quan and his followers must be convicted of attempted coup. Since Yuwen Zhi played a part in it, I cannot let him get away unpunished. The reason why Yuwen Feng still has his position in the Ministry of Rites is because everybody knows Yuwen Zhi placed him under house arrest, just as they know about Yuwen Zhi’s involvement in the coup. If I punish Fang Quan and his followers and spare Yuwen Zhi, not only will I, a newly enthroned Emperor, be doubted, I will also lose my prestige among the people. As a result, Yuwen Zhi must be severely penalized.”
Ling Zhang, “…”
“You said so much. Are you going soft?”
Yuwen Tong shook his head and replied, “Me saying so much means that considering either personal grudges between us or his crimes, Yuwen Zhi must die, but Yuwen Feng is a talent who’s useful to both me and the imperial court, and I don’t want to hurt his feelings too badly. Apart from anything else, he is my cousin, a member of the Yuwen family, which is why I have to reconsider the handling of this matter with more caution.”
“Maybe you should just spare his life and mete out some other penalties to him,” observed Ling Zhang.
Yuwen Tong lightly shook his head. “I’ll need some more time to figure out what kind of penalties would be the most appropriate.”
“Are you going to have Fang Quan and all his followers executed?” Ling Zhang inquired of him.
Yuwen Tong said, “They have to die.”
Ling Zhang suggested, “How about executing only Fang Quan and the couple of arch-criminals and banishing the others whose involvement was less deep? By doing this, you’ll have a reason to spare Yuwen Zhi’s life. Besides… there’s yet another problem. As Zhou Ming’an has abdicated the throne, we can’t do anything to him for the moment. If he intercedes on behalf of Fang Quan and you execute Fang Quan regardless, wouldn’t it make some people disgruntled? To my knowledge, all those civil officials care about this kind of stuff pretty much.”
Yuwen Tong sneered, “That’s yet another reason why I have to kill Fang Quan. If I don’t, those people would take it for a chink in my armor and think I’m a pushover. I need to do something to have them dismiss the kind of thoughts that they shouldn’t have from their minds.”
Ling Zhang didn’t feel that there was anything wrong with Yuwen Tong’s methods. He just worried that there might be some harsh comments that would compromise the stability of the political situation after Yuwen Tong’s enthronement.
“I spared Zhou Ming’an and had him abdicate the throne because I didn’t want to cause any greater unrest. After all, given the current circumstances, the best move is to have this country go through this period of transition peacefully and let the people restore their lives, not to subject them to more turmoil, but because of this, there hasn’t been enough bloodshed during the process of my taking the throne. If I am to psych those people out, I’ll have to take more lives, which is why I need to kill Fang Quan and his followers. I started out as a military officer and numerous enemies died by my saber, which is a fact I shall have them lodge firmly in their minds, so that they’ll know what the right thing to do is,” said Yuwen Tong.
Ling Zhang came to understand. “When do you plan to deal with Fang Quan and the others? Before the enthronement or after?”
Yuwen Tong kept silent for a moment and then responded, “Before the enthronement.”
Ling Zhang was briefly stupefied, then sat up and looked at Yuwen Tong. “So soon? What are you going to do with them?”
Yuwen Tong released Ling Zhang’s hand, pulled him to his chest and put his arms around him. “It’s not too soon. Having these people taken care of as soon as possible will do us a lot of good. As for how to do it, I’m waiting for an opportunity. It’s complicated and explaining it will take some doing. You’ll understand when the time comes.”
Ling Zhang looked at him incredulously. This guy was talking in riddles once again. He stared at Yuwen Tong for quite a while and then said, “Promise me you’ll let me know when you need my help. I want to be helpful and share your burden.”
Yuwen Tong said, “I’ll tell you when the time is ripe. The specifics of the plan will have to wait until necessary arrangements are made to be finalized. It won’t be long. I’ll fill you in on all the details, and I’ll let you know if there’s something you could help with.”
It was after hearing this that Ling Zhang became satisfied and let it go.
However, the old question—what to do with Yuwen Zhi—returned to his mind. Lying prone on Yuwen Tong with his head rested on Yuwen Tong’s shoulder, Ling Zhang mulled over it, somewhat vexed.
Cuddling him, stroking his back automatically, Yuwen Tong was looking sideways. For an instant, his eyes went cold, but he didn’t let Ling Zhang see it.
…
The two of them talked for a little while longer, lay in silence for another few moments and then it was time for Yuwen Tong to return to the consultation hall.
Yuwen Tong got out of bed and adjusted his clothes. Ling Zhang helped him smooth his hair and said, “I forgot to tell you this—Yuwen Feng said that some of the preparatory work for the wedding ceremony would be brought forward, that the Ministry of Rites would send someone to consult with me about it in a day or two. I think maybe you should let me handle this matter, so that you could focus on the state affairs without being distracted by the wedding ceremony.”
Yuwen Tong thought about it for a fleeting moment and then said, “All right.”
But secretly he was a little unhappy. In his eyes, it was the wedding ceremony that was of the greatest importance, but right now he was up to his neck in those tedious and trivial chores, which made him feel that he was letting things get out of perspective. However, if he couldn’t handle those government affairs properly, his and Ling Zhang’s wedding would be affected. In order for everything to go smoothly at their huge wedding ceremony, he indeed had to steel himself and tough it out. The very thought of this rendered him frustrated.
His countenance was still faintly sulky when he left. On his way to the consultation hall, he was emanating a frighteningly brooding air, and all those who were following in his wake didn’t dare utter a word.
“Shisan.”
“Sire.”
Miao Shisan soon showed up.
Somewhat unaccustomed to his new title, Yuwen Tong briefly paused but didn’t show anything on his face. He instructed, “Tell Shiba to stay close to Brother Zhang and keep me posted about everything he does.”
“Yes, Sire,” answered Miao Shisan, feeling somewhat surprised. It seemed that Sire wanted Miao Shiba to spy on Young Master Ling. Although he didn’t ask about it, his face was etched with puzzlement.
Seeing this, Yuwen Tong explained, “Ling Zhaowu didn’t tell the truth. They are concealing something from me. I’m worried that something bad might happen if he keeps it to himself for too long. I need you to keep close watch on him. Don’t overlook anything.”
“Yes, Sire.” Miao Shisan relaxed. Having been told what it was about, he felt less stressed.
After Miao Shisan took his leave, Yuwen Tong’s eyebrows contracted slightly. There had originally been no secrets between Ling Zhang and him, and he could tell that Ling Zhang had absolute trust in him. He had also believed that previously the Millennium Pavilion was the only secret that Ling Zhang kept back from him, but now he discovered that there were some other things that he didn’t know about. This kind of anxious and fretful feeling was something he’d never experienced before. It gave him an urge to go to Ling Zhaowu’s place immediately and question him, but his senses were telling him that it was unwise to do so.
Since finding out the truth through making inquiries was not an option, the only way left was for him to observe Ling Zhang, but presently he was too occupied to personally keep constant watch over Ling Zhang, so he had no choice but to have someone else do it for him. As he thought about this, his eyes, which were looking in the direction of the consultation hall, became somewhat murderous.
Every courtier sitting in the consultation hall felt a chill creep down his spine. Though it lasted for only a fleeting instant, they were still secretly taken aback, wondering whether it was just a hallucination or they had done something wrong and were about to be punished.
As Yuwen Tong entered the hall, these people surreptitiously glanced at his face, but his countenance appeared quite normal and there was nothing out of the ordinary about it, which made them more bemused. Was that really just a hallucination?
C345: In a Better Mood
Ling Zhang didn’t give it much thought when Miao Shiba told him that he had orders from Yuwen Tong to stay by his side protecting him. After all, back when he had been in the Imperial College, it had been Miao Shiba who followed at his heels acting as his personal bodyguard.
“Have the servants deliver some soup and fruits to the consultation hall in the afternoon to help the courtiers beat the heat,” instructed Ling Zhang, looking through the window at the sun in the sky. The weather had been uncommonly hot during the past couple of days, particularly in the afternoon.
“Yes,” Miao Shiba answered and then asked, “You’re not going there personally, Young Master Ling?”
The Marshal… Uh… Sire had ordered him to keep constant watch on Young Master Ling. His big brother had told him that it was because Young Master Ling’s keeping something back concerned Sire, but he believed that in the final analysis, it was because Sire was too busy to personally stay by Young Master Ling’s side and thus was somewhat worried. If Young Master Ling could show his face more often in front of Sire and let Sire see him, Sire would be less worried.
But unexpectedly, Ling Zhang shook his head. “Every time I go there, they are interrupted. It’s too much trouble. Just have the eunuchs deliver them to the hall. And, have the chefs in the Infinite Fortune Palace prepare them. Also, those delivering them must be our own men. Don’t assign the task to eunuchs serving in other palaces.”
Miao Shiba was somewhat disappointed to see that Ling Zhang was not swayed. “Rest assured, Young Master Ling, all Sire’s food is from the Infinite Fortune Palace. Under no circumstances will we let any outsiders get close to it.”
Ling Zhang gave a nod but then flicked a glance at Miao Shiba, a faintly peculiar expression on his face. He felt weird every time he heard them address Yuwen Tong as ‘Sire’… Maybe it was because he was still unaccustomed to it. After some time, when he got used to it, things should be better.
It was indeed very hot in the consultation hall in the afternoon, so some basins of ice were placed in the hall. On top of that, the hall was very high and spacious, so overall staying in it was not unbearable.
When eunuchs of the Infinite Fortune Palace delivered soup and fruits to the hall to beat the heat, Yuwen Tong immediately looked out of the hall, but after waiting for quite a while, he only saw Miao Shisan lead some eunuchs inside, and Ling Zhang was nowhere to be seen. His brow instantly corrugated in a frown.
Miao Shisan was observing his master’s countenance while leading the eunuchs into the hall. Seeing that his face was, predictably, a little sulky, he came to know that he had made a mistake by not having convinced Young Master Ling to come. His master appeared rather unhappy and might vent his anger on them. Next time he must convince Young Master Ling to come personally!
The busyness seemed to make time go much faster. When the courtiers in the consultation hall finally felt tired and stopped talking, their faces were inevitably etched with weariness. Also, night had fallen.
“Let’s call it a day. You may all go back and get some rest. Tomorrow we’ll start the consultation an hour later than scheduled, so that you people may have more sleep and recharge better,” said Yuwen Tong.
The group of courtiers expressed their gratitude and then took their leave one after another. Even the Right Prime Minister, who had always been the most motivated of them all, left, because he was too fatigued to think about government affairs any longer.
Yuwen Tong was still sitting bolt upright, tidying up the desk. Suddenly, his ears pricked up and with that he looked through the window.
A familiar figure passed the window, soon reached the doorway of the hall and entered.
“I saw those courtiers leave, so I came here. How did it go? Have you figured out how to settle the matters you’ve been discussing?” said Ling Zhang after entering the hall. He walked up to the desk to help Yuwen Tong put away the memorials to the throne and other stuff on it, and then asked him, “Are you tired? You want something to eat?”
Yuwen Tong lowered his eyes, instantly grabbed Ling Zhang’s hand which had a memorial in it, and held it motionlessly.
Ling Zhang was baffled. “What’s the matter?”
“You didn’t go out of the palace this afternoon?” Yuwen Tong raised his eyes to look at him.
“No. I had someone bring me a map of the imperial palace. We’ll be living in this place, and currently you’re pretty busy, so I figured maybe I should read the map first. All things in this palace are strange to me, and I need to familiarize myself with them one by one as soon as possible, so that I’ll be able to handle things with efficiency in the future,” answered Ling Zhang.
Yuwen Tong seemed to be touched by one of Ling Zhang’s words. Although he was still in the same position, both the look in his eyes and his facial expression changed slightly. Ling Zhang could distinctly tell that Yuwen Tong’s mood had instantaneously lightened.
Ling Zhang looked at him in perplexity. “What’s wrong?”
He had suddenly brightened as though he had hit pay dirt.
Yuwen Tong softly squeezed Ling Zhang’s hand, took the memorial from it and casually put it down on the side. “Let’s just leave it and go back. I’m hungry.”
Ling Zhang was somewhat bewildered by his sudden change of mood. “It’s a total mess.”
“I’ll come back later to read and comment on a couple of memorials and then tidy the desk up in passing,” said Yuwen Tong.
On hearing that Yuwen Tong would come back here at a later hour of the night, Ling Zhang looked sideways at the night sky outside and found that it was actually quite late already. He held tightly on to Yuwen Tong’s hand which was holding his. “I’ll be here keeping you company,” he said.
A smile curled the corners of Yuwen Tong’s mouth, who was in an even better mood now. “Okay.”
The two walked back to the Infinite Fortune Palace hand in hand, had dinner, rested for a while and then slowly strolled back to the consultation hall to help with digestion.
Yuwen Tong let Ling Zhang sit beside him to help him sort memorials. Ling Zhang, who had done this kind of thing during the past couple of days, skillfully started sorting the memorials on the desk. He leafed through every one of them and then classified them according to the urgency of them. Those that needed special handling had been sifted out from the pile by Yuwen Tong, who was reading them and giving remarks.
It took Ling Zhang quite some time to finish looking through all the memorials. When he had sorted all of them, he had begun to feel a little groggy. All these issues were of importance, the solutions to which had to be decided as a matter of urgency and would be proclaimed in the form of edicts before or at the enthronement. None of these memorials were about trivial matters, which meant all of them had to be taken seriously.
A twinge of melancholy swept over him in spite of himself. Being an emperor was so tiring.
He twisted his head around to look at Yuwen Tong who was raptly commenting on a memorial. Gazing at Yuwen Tong’s straight back and the calm look in his eyes and his unperturbed strokes, he was gradually fascinated without realizing it. There had been very few occasions when he had seen this side of Yuwen Tong. When not faced with enemies on the battlefield, Yuwen Tong turned out to be a pretty good politician with unique perception of politics. His vision, astuteness and resourcefulness outshone that of most politicians who had been engaged in politics for many years. His strokes were vigorous, his every character unhurried.
It was very quiet in the hall. The only sound apart from the cracking of the wicks was Yuwen Tong writing on memorials. One of them was attentively commenting on documents, and the other was staring in fascination, unable to pull himself back to the present.
When Yuwen Tong finally finished writing comments on it and intended to take another one, he briefly paused, lightly put down his writing brush, pivoted around and looked at Ling Zhang who was gazing fixedly at him as if in a trance. In the pair of bright eyes was his distinct reflection, nothing else. Intense affection came flooding over him and he reached out a hand to sweep Ling Zhang, who was in a daze, into his embrace…
When Ling Zhang came to himself, he found himself panting heavily with his head rested on Yuwen Tong’s shoulder. That long deep kiss just now had almost disembodied his soul. Both their bodies were scalding. Yuwen Tong was cuddling him so tight as though he were trying to break his waist.
“Let’s go back,” croaked Yuwen Tong through gritted teeth.
Ling Zhang tried to struggle to his feet. “There are still some memorials left…”
“I don’t care.” Yuwen Tong, without giving the memorials a single glance, rose from his seat, scooping up Ling Zhang with his strong arms, and strode towards the doorway.
It was not until he walked through the doors of the hall that Ling Zhang came to realize the situation. “Put me down. If somebody sees us–”
“What could they possibly do about it? We’ll soon be a married couple,” said Yuwen Tong, still proceeding.
Ling Zhang patted his shoulder and breathed, “Stop it. Put me down. How am I supposed to show my face in this city if word gets out?”
Yuwen Tong paused, his lips pressed together. Eventually he put Ling Zhang down, clasped Ling Zhang’s wrist and quickly drew him towards the Infinite Fortune Palace.
Ling Zhang secretly gave a gasp of relief and then hastened to keep pace with Yuwen Tong. If truth be told, he was somewhat surprised that Yuwen Tong actually heeded his words and put him down.
The reason why Yuwen Tong had put Ling Zhang down was not that he was afraid of being seen by anybody. In fact, the consultation hall and the Infinite Fortune Palace, along with the buildings nearby, had all been encircled ring upon ring by his personal bodyguards, so he didn’t at all have to worry that somebody might intrude into this area unbidden and see the two of them. He’d put Ling Zhang down because he suspected that if he kept carrying Ling Zhang forward, Ling Zhang would go berserk midway and he wouldn’t be able to bring Ling Zhang back to the Infinite Fortune Palace.
Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong entered the Infinite Fortune Palace in haste. The guards on duty, who were sensible enough to know what was going on, had walked aside. After the two of them entered the palace, the gates were closed.
…
The two of them squirmed passionately in bed for a very long time. It struck Ling Zhang that Yuwen Tong was somewhat different on this day, that he was evidently more eager than usual, and his movements were more vigorous. Ling Zhang couldn’t bear it and instantaneously fell asleep when it was over.
Yuwen Tong had some hot water delivered into the bedchamber, wiped Ling Zhang’s body clean, applied some ointment, massaged his waist and back and helped him change into clean clothes. Then he put Ling Zhang onto a clean, soft bed and pulled a thin quilt over his belly.
It was after doing all this that he went to bathe. Then he put on his clothes, walked to the outer hall, summoned Miao Shiba and asked, “What did he do this afternoon?”
Miao Shiba answered, “Young Master Ling was reading a map of the imperial palace, mainly studying the layout of it.”
“Be specific.” Yuwen Tong flicked him a glance.
Sensing the brooding air that Yuwen Tong’s eyes were emanating, Miao Shiba was faintly taken aback and hurriedly started to give a more detailed account of what Ling Zhang had done. Yuwen Tong asked some further questions about Ling Zhang’s words, facial expressions and bearing. It had never crossed Miao Shiba’s mind that Yuwen Tong would ask about it in such a minute fashion. Fortunately for him, he, like all other bodyguards, had received special training. Having subconsciously lodged these details firmly in his mind, he answered all the questions one by one.
After hearing his answers, Yuwen Tong pondered for a while and then said, “You may leave.”
Miao Shiba took his leave without more ado. When he was outside the palace, he was still somewhat surprised.
It had been Ling Zhang who had some soup and fruits delivered to the hall to beat the heat, and after that, he had also asked Miao Shisan whether Yuwen Tong looked tired or not, and how the atmosphere in the hall was like. Before dark, he had instructed Miao Shisan to keep watch on the activity in the consultation hall. On being informed that the courtiers had left, he had hastened to the hall to help Yuwen Tong sort memorials. Ling Zhang had also been the one who specially had the chefs prepare a dinner consisting of dishes all of which were suitable to eat at night and to Yuwen Tong’s liking…
Every one of these matters seemed to be trivial, but all of them had something to do Yuwen Tong, and Ling Zhang had gone to the trouble of taking a personal interest in each and every one of them. It didn’t really seem to be very much different than usual, but from these things, Yuwen Tong had got a feeling that something had changed, that Ling Zhang manifestly cared about these things more than he used to. In other words, Ling Zhang cared more about him now, as though there was something Ling Zhang was not telling him…