Chapter 253 - Stay with Grandfather for Two Days (1/2)

Yuwen Tong seemed to have become addicted to that thing after they consummated their relations.h.i.+p. He was very keen on doing it and refused to let any opportunity to do it slip away, and he always did it two or three times in a row. What with this, Ling Zhang had been having a sore waist and a backache all along recently. As he had to attend lessons during the day and do this thing at night, there was barely any time left for him to cultivate internal energy.

He had tried to refuse, but for him, this was a new and thrilling experience as well. Also, he was in his youth and full of enthusiasm. How was he supposed to control himself? Every time he attempted to walk away, Yuwen Tong would persist and he would soon succ.u.mb to temptation.

Yuwen Tong’s tongue moved from his shoulder to his shoulder blades, and then the back of his neck. Ling Zhang nearly lost his balance because of the itch, involuntarily pulling his shoulders in, his chest out. Yuwen Tong’s hand went through his open collar, sliding straight downward. The smooth and fine touch of Ling Zhang’s back made Yuwen Tong’s lower abdomen abruptly contract and with that his palm quickly moved to a half-moon…

The towel with which Yuwen Tong had wiped Ling Zhang’s hair dropped to the ground, and Ling Zhang’s clothes to the crook of his arm. He reached out a hand and grabbed Yuwen Tong’s wrist but couldn’t at all stop him.

“Ah.”

Suddenly, Ling Zhang’s eyes widened and went dazed, an unnaturally seductive look on his face. Yuwen Tong’s hand stroking his chest slid upwards and held his cheek, his thumb fingering Ling Zhang’s lips, and with that his Adam’s apple bobbed and his mouth took the place of the hand.

…

Yuwen Tong made out with him for a whole night. The next day, when Ling Zhang arrived at the Imperial College, his waist and legs were still fairly limp. He inwardly cursed Yuwen Tong for a few moments.

After Ling Zhang walked inside, Yuwen Jin told him under his breath, “Let me tell you something – that student who tried to provoke you yesterday has been expelled from our college. It seems that he was found to be guilty of some kind of misbehavior. This morning someone said that he packed up his stuff and left the city with his tail between his legs last night.”

“Last night?” After sitting down, Ling Zhang didn’t dare change his position, trying to make himself appear normal.

“Yeah. He’s already left,” said Yuwen Jin.

Ling Zhang had a thoughtful look on his face. Because of Miao s.h.i.+ba’s deed and Yuwen Tong’s cautious questions the day before, it was not difficult for him to guess that the qin master must be the one who’d appeared at the King Duan’s banquet that day. As things stood, someone had done something.

After hearing about how that student had ended up, Zhao Jiusi on the side slightly paused. The day before, after seeing that student, he’d felt rather weird but hadn’t figured out the reason immediately. It’d been after he returned home and did some careful thinking that he realized that that student’s figure bore some resemblance to Ling Zhang’s, and his looks slightly resembled Ling Zhang’s as well. Originally he’d worried that this person would work against Ling Zhang with some subterfuges, but unexpectedly, he’d been forced into leaving the capital city so soon.

Maybe because the weather was getting hot, students were more inclined to gossip than usual. They talked about this matter for quite a long time, making all kinds of speculations about whom that student had offended. Ling Zhang listened for a while and then lost his interest. He asked the college for two days off. The next day he was going to the new manor to meet his grandfather and see if there was anything he could help with.

He hadn’t told Yuwen Jin and the others about the manor yet, planning to wait until the revamp was over.

“All the fuss over such a petty matter. I wonder whether they could get the better of those courtiers in an argument if they’re brought to the imperial court.”

Ji Feng took the folding fan his study-servant (a boy serving in someone’s study) handed him, unfolded it with a jerk of his hand and started fanning himself vigorously. What with the hot weather, all students were sweating buckets, and even their tones were slightly more confrontational than usual. This was the time when everybody was particularly p.r.o.ne to pick a fight at a minor disagreement.

“What happened in the imperial court?”

Ling Zhang asked about it. Yuwen Tong hadn’t been attending court meetings and couldn’t be bothered to pay any attention to what the courtiers were disputing about, so when it came to the situation in the imperial court, Ling Zhang was not as well informed as Ji Feng and the others whose elders attended court meetings regularly.

“The appointment of new officials, of course. What else could it be? The Gu family recommended someone, vouching for his competence. This guy is a toady and wily old fox, who seldom does anything practical and spends most of his time currying favor with superiors. My grandfather believes that allowing a man of this sort to be promoted will undermine the foundation of our country, so he raised a strong objection, but His Majesty clearly had already been convinced by Gu family and would probably appoint that guy to the position in the next two days. My grandfather’s so angry that he couldn’t even eat.”

Ji Feng, a scornful look on his face, evidently loathed the one that the Gu family had vouched for. Xie Qing’s and Zhao Jiusi’s countenance also changed somewhat, seeming to have also heard about this matter from their elders as well.

Yuwen Jin asked curiously, “Someone the Gu family recommended and vouched for? Who is it?”

Ji Feng gave a soft cough and confided in an undertone, “w.a.n.g Cai.”

w.a.n.g Cai? This name was completely strange to Ling Zhang. He’d been in the capital city for quite a few days and the inquiries he’d made should be enough for him to know about all those he needed to know, but he’d never heard of this w.a.n.g Cai guy before, as though he was a newcomer.

Not only Ling Zhang but also Yuwen Jin and Xun Huo appeared puzzled.

“w.a.n.g Cai is a member of the w.a.n.g family in Haizhou. The w.a.n.g family used to be very powerful in the reign of the former emperor, but afterwards returned to Haizhou in dejection due to mishandling of a particular event. It’s been a couple of decades and they seem to have gathered enough strength and want to gain a foothold in the capital city again, so they hooked up with the Gu family. People of the Gu family have been losing their sense of propriety these years, recommending all kinds of people to His Majesty, heedless of their qualifications, stopping at nothing to expand the Crown Prince’s faction.”

Ji Feng made these remarks in a very low voice audible only to Ling Zhang and the couple of others.

“After the Sixth Prince and the King Hui were brought down in succession, the King Duan, the King Yu and the Crown Prince carved up their forces. As the Crown Prince had been nursing his illness for years, the other two princes got larger shares. Now the Crown Prince has returned to the imperial court, so the Gu family, naturally, wants to help him gather enough helpers so as to oppose the other two sides. His Majesty adopted the suggestion of the Gu family and decided to give the post to this w.a.n.g Cai guy because he wants to use him as a counterbalance to the powers of the other two princes. My grandfather said that His Majesty…” Ji Feng let out a cough and continued, “Anyway, if w.a.n.g Cai gets promoted, he’d be nothing but a disgusting douche bag.”

After hearing Ji Feng’s words, Ling Zhang couldn’t help but inwardly heave a sigh. The emperor was indeed inextricably bogged down in the idea of checks and balances; all he could think about was how to enforce his rule, and these years he hadn’t really made any achievements in terms of improving people’s lives. The riot in Xiang City of Cangzhou, on the surface, had been caused by local officials, but in fact, the political climate in the whole Great Yue was fairly degenerate these years, and people had long been in discontent.