Chapter 257 - This Kids Got a Lot of Tricks Up His Sleeve (1/2)

Ling Zhang had someone go to the summer house of the Ji family to send a message to Ji Feng, who had a scowl on his face at the news and returned to the city that very night to console his grandfather.

Ling Zhang spent two days with Yuwen Tong and then went back to the new manor, Yuwen Tong accompanying him.

As Ji Yin’s eyes fell on Yuwen Tong who was in disguise, a spasm crossed the corner of his mouth without anybody noticing.

“This is the date Old Master Ling, Uncle Ling and I agreed on. Please have a look, Mr. Ji.”

Yuwen Tong handed Ji Yin a piece of paper with the date he and Ling Zhang had fixed. Ji Yin took a look at it, did a quick mental calculation factoring in their Eight Characters (in four pairs, including the year, month, day and hour of a person’s birth, each pair consisting of one Heavenly Stem and one Earthly Branch, formerly used in fortune-telling), felt that there was nothing wrong with the date, and said, “Then let’s start going through the process. On this occasion, your family are supposed to make the first move.”

“I understand. I’m going back to the city to consult with my elder right now.”

“You mean with your second uncle?”

“At my request, my granduncle has agreed to be the representative. My other two uncles and aunts have moved into the residence of the Yuwen family temporarily to help me handle these things.”

Ji Yin looked at him with very admonitory eyes. “What about your second uncle?”

A brooding gleam of wildness could be faintly seen in Ji Yin’s eyes, which was a manifest indication of what consequences Yuwen Tong would have to take if he angered him.

“Rest a.s.sured, Mr. Ji, I’ll have everything properly handled.”

Yuwen Tong understood what Ji Yin’s warning meant. He was fully aware that unlike Ling Zhang’s other family members, Ji Yin had no misgivings and was a consummate kung fu expert to whom people’s lives meant nothing in some circ.u.mstances, and who could kill as he pleased. Taking the lives of Yuwen Zhi’s family was probably as simple as trampling a couple of ants to death. Ling Zhang was Ji Yin’s grandson, and also the only thing he cared about in the world outside the Millennium Pavilion. He’d have no scruples whatsoever about killing a couple of people for Ling Zhang’s sake.

Ji Yin believed that Yuwen Tong had understood his warning. The wild and murderous look in his eyes disappeared, and he appeared a genial old man once again.

…

“I’m going back to the city. You stay here and be patient. Make sure you’re accompanied by your bodyguards when you’re going elsewhere. Xie s.h.i.+ is staying here as well. Wait for me to come back.”

When the two of them were alone, Yuwen Tong exhorted Ling Zhang to be careful, saying that he was going back to the city to consult with his family with the wedding, that he would return to this manor this very night if he could.

“What my grandfather meant was–”

“Mr. Ji said that for your good. I can totally understand.”

Ling Zhang, worrying that Yuwen Tong was under pressure due to Ji Yin’s words, wanted to say something but Yuwen Tong interrupted him. He could understand what Ji Yin had said that. If he were Ji Yin, he would have done it in an even more dramatic way. He himself was under the constraint of the promise he’d made previously, but it was his burden to bear and he didn’t want Ling Zhang to share it. He would have everything dealt with all on his own.

However, Ling Zhang was unable to set his mind at rest. He had a sneaking worry.

What with Yuwen Qi’s broken legs and Su Zhi’s death, both Yuwen Qi and Zheng s.h.i.+ hated Yuwen Tong to the core. Yuwen Zhi held him in contempt and was against this marriage from the very beginning, and had even stooped so low as to threaten his family. He had been on very bad terms with Yuwen Zhi all along. Afterwards, Yuwen Tong pressured Yuwen Zhi into breaking Yuwen Qi’s legs, threatening to disown them if he refused to do that, and there had been grudges between the two of them ever since. It could be said that their relations with Yuwen Zhi’s branch of the Yuwen family were so terrible that they literally couldn’t bear sharing the same house with each other. He knew this very well, and so did Yuwen Tong. Now that it was impossible for the two sides to live in the same residence, breaking up the family was inevitable.

But given the status of the Yuwen family, breaking it up wasn’t a simple thing. Back then when Yuwen Tong had been forcing Yuwen Zhi to make a decision after Yuwen Qi set a venomous snake on him, he’d prepared for breaking up the family, but at that time the conditions hadn’t been ripe for it, and forcibly breaking up the family would bring a lot of trouble –getting the emperor’s consent alone would cost them dear. Yuwen Zhi’s making concessions had actually been a mutually beneficial choice. But now the circ.u.mstances had changed. Shan Congwen had returned to the Wan Kingdom, and the terms of the truce between the two countries had become unchangeable.

Although Yuwen Tong had every intention of taking him back to the north-west after their wedding, from the vantage point of the present, it was very difficult for them to leave the capital city, unless the Wan Kingdom broke the truce. With Yuwen Tong himself in the capital city, Yuwen Zhi and his family were barely of any use to the emperor. Therefore, this time around, if Yuwen Tong went to the emperor and suggested he and his uncle divide up the Yuwen family and go their separate ways, the emperor’s reply to it would be directly linked with his next move. If the emperor disagreed, they would stand a chance of going to the north-west; if the emperor agreed, then it would be impossible for them to leave the capital city unless there was an outbreak of hostilities in the north-west, and Yuwen Tong would be in grave danger unless he handed over his command of the armies, and if he did that, he would be at the mercy of the emperor, like a toothless tiger. Ling Zhang was unwilling to see Yuwen Tong be reduced to that. To put it disrespectfully, he wanted Yuwen Tong to have enough power to protect himself, and if by any chance the emperor decided to kill him some day, Yuwen Tong could directly overthrow him and take over, which would obviously be a better choice than to wait to be killed after serving this country for so many years.

“Show some patience and don’t mention breaking up the family to the emperor yet, as long as they don’t make trouble for us.”

Yuwen Tong gazed fixedly at him and couldn’t help sweeping him into his embrace. “I’ll have to settle this matter sooner or later.”

Currently the emperor had some scruples, because it hadn’t been long since the war had been won. Sooner or later the emperor would make an excuse and relieve Yuwen Tong of his command, so he might as well break up the Yuwen family first. He had made some preparations for this some time ago. “Trust me.”

Ling Zhang kept silent. After quite a while, he nodded. “Whatever. I’ve decided to marry you anyway. No matter what the future holds, I’ll stay by your side.”

Delighted, Yuwen Tong narrowed his eyes and kissed Ling Zhang. “You may rest a.s.sured that I’ll keep you and our family safe.”

Cheeks wet with saliva due to the sloppy kisses, Ling Zhang felt uncomfortable and tried to push him aside.

“Let this hug last a little longer. I’m not sure if I could make it back here tonight. Alas, sleeping alone is such a torture.”