Actually there weren’t any disputes between the two of them. Ling Zhang glanced over his shoulder at the consultation hall, gave it some thought, scratched his head and then pivoted around to double back.

Qi San, who walked out of the consultation hall just in time to see him, paused briefly and then also scratched his head. Seeing Ling Zhang no longer appeared angry, he couldn’t help but wonder whether he’d misread the situation. No wonder His Majesty had told him to stay out of it. Maybe this was what Yao Yi and some of the others had described as “spice”, which was beyond his grasp.

Scratching his head, Qi San walked away. In the belief that what he’d done just now was a funny mistake, he didn’t make any sounds while leaving, not alarming anybody, fearing that anybody might stop him and ask him about what had happened in the consultation hall a short while before. However, he should’ve realized that what with the poker face he always had at ordinary times, hardly anybody dared approach him, and certainly nobody would dare stop him or ask him about this kind of things. He was just overthinking it.

Ling Zhang, who was unaware that his conduct confused Qi San, entered the hall and saw that Yuwen Tong was still sitting there, who appeared somewhat surprised at the sight of him walking in, as though he’d been absorbed in thought just now and hadn’t heard his footsteps. This was very uncharacteristic of Yuwen Tong. Previously every time Ling Zhang had approached this hall, Yuwen Tong had immediately perceived it and been waiting to make eye contact with him when he’d entered.

Ling Zhang inexplicably felt a pang of guilt, gave a little cough and began, “I, uh, I wasn’t mad at you a moment ago. I was just a little anxious. If you really don’t want me to go there, I’ll drop the idea.”

Yuwen Tong looked deep into his eyes. It was a while before he resignedly smiled, “Give me some more time to think about it.”

Ling Zhang’s eyes lit up, looking at him gingerly. “Take as much time as you need. I’m going out of the palace. I’ll be back later.”

“Going out of the palace? To what end?” asked Yuwen immediately, staring at him.

Ling Zhang answered, “I want to ask my father about the situation in Jiangzhou. Although in this life…”

Saying this, Ling Zhang suddenly realized that walls had ears and left his sentence hanging. After looking left and right to confirm nobody else was around, he walked up to Yuwen Tong’s table and breathed, “Although in this life we changed the course of history, those people remain who they are. Given that Wang Xiangxin has so many kung fu experts as his helpers, it surely took him a lot of time to recruit them. Maybe those people joined him a long time ago, which means in Wang Xiangxin’s last incarnation he definitely had those people under his command as well. I’ll go and ask my father and see if he still remembers anything about it. Maybe he could help.”

Yuwen Tong’s heart melted completely as he saw Ling Zhang talking in a hushed voice for fear of people eavesdropping. Having no room in his mind for other thoughts, he rubbed Ling Zhang’s head and said, “Be careful out there. Don’t come back too late.”

After having his head rubbed, Ling Zhang hastened to look left and right again. After all, he was an adult and also the empress. It’d be such a disgrace to him if anybody noticed. Seeing there was nobody else around, he heaved a sigh of relief and said to Yuwen Tong, “Don’t do that again when we’re outdoors. It looks as if you’re stroking a child.”

Yuwen Tong chuckled, “How about you give me a kiss?”

Ling Zhang wanted to refuse flatly, but then he recalled that a short while ago he’d been somewhat impulsive. Knowing they were the only ones present, he walked to the other side of the table and kissed Yuwen Tong. “You got your kiss now.”Read latest chapters at Listnovel.com

Yuwen Tong was astonished for an instant. He had originally thought that Ling Zhang would go berserk at his words, but unexpectedly, Ling Zhang had walked up to him on his own initiative and kissed him…

His eyes started burning. Yuwen Tong knew that Ling Zhang was guilty about losing his temper a short while before and was now trying to please him.

He reached out a hand and swept Ling Zhang into his embrace, holding him so tight that he couldn’t move an inch.

Ling Zhang willingly let Yuwen Tong hug him, not trying to free himself. He even said in Yuwen Tong’s ear, “I’ll cook you something delicious tonight.”

“Um,” Yuwen Tong said and then spanked Ling Zhang. “Are you coaxing me like a child? How old do you think I am? Ling Maomao’s age or Ji Xiaocong’s?”

Ling Zhang instantly burst into laughter. Massaging his butt, he retorted, “Even Ji Xiaocong is older than you.”

Yuwen Tong, whose eyes were also gleaming with amusement, let out a sigh, planted a kiss on Ling Zhang’s eyes and said, “Go. I hope my father-in-law does remember something about it.”

“Um,” answered Ling Zhang, left Yuwen Tong’s embrace, rearranged his robes and then walked out.

Watching Ling Zhang’s retreating figure, Yuwen Tong, whose mood had lightened, collected his thoughts intending to deal with the matter of Jiangzhou. At the sight of the map of Jiangzhou, the look in his eyes instantaneously went cold and grave.

…

Ling Zhang went out of the palace in a low-key fashion, without the empress’ guard of honor.

Ling Xingzhong and Ling Zhaowu, the father and son, who were studying a wash drawing, were surprised to see Ling Zhang walk inside.

“Zhang’er? Why did you suddenly leave the palace?” asked Ling Xingzhong.

“Grandfather, Father,” called Ling Zhang, bowing with hands folded in front. “I came here to see my father. There’s something I want to talk with my father about.”

Ling Xingzhong looked from him to Ling Zhaowu and then said with a big wave of his hand. “Go ahead.”

“I’ll come back later to keep you company.”

“That won’t be necessary. I could use some quiet.”

Smiling, Ling Zhang and Ling Zhaowu walked out of the study. Noticing the somewhat apprehensive look on Ling Zhang’s face, Ling Zhaowu asked, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Father, does the name Wang Xiangxin mean anything to you? He’s the commander of the Jiangzhou garrison,” inquired Ling Zhang.

“Wang Xiangxin?” repeated Ling Zhaowu, a flicker flashing across his eyes as though he guessed the reason why Ling Zhang had left the palace and come here to see him. “Let’s go to my place first and talk later.”

The two of them returned to Ling Zhaowu’s courtyard house, sat down and started talking.

“Did something happen in Jiangzhou?” asked Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhang gave his father a sketchy account of the situation in Jiangzhou and then added, “Wang Xiangxin has some kung fu experts protecting him, who are masters of disguise and adept at hiding themselves. It’s very difficult for Yuwen Tong’s men to locate them, so I came here to ask you whether or not you could provide any particular information about Wang Xiangxin or those kung fu experts at his back.”

Ling Zhaowu said, “Speaking of Wang Xiangxin, I guess you came to the right person.”

“Oh? What did he do in his last life that you remember vividly?” asked Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhaowu replied, “In my last incarnation, after Yuwen Tong settled down in the north-west and became his own boss, he actually kept the lifeline of the three countries under his control, deterring the three of them from attacking each other. Without any threats from outside, the Great Yue was subjected to civil strife. The Cangzhou garrison, the Jiangzhou garrison, along with the garrisons in some other prefectures, rose in revolt. The emperor from the Zhou family was unable to suppress the rebellion and could only stand by watching those commanders of prefectural garrisons become warlords. They fought each other from time to time, showing a total disregard for the authority of the emperor from the Zhou family, who vomited blood with anger several times.

Ling Zhang got the point. In his father’s last life, the Jiangzhou garrison and the Cangzhou garrison had also revolted.

“Wang Xiangxin also wanted to be a warlord like Yuwen Tong?”

Ling Zhaowu inclined his head. “Yeah.”

A somewhat reminiscent look appeared on Ling Zhaowu’s face as he said this. “Speaking of Yuwen Tong, he’s really an amazing guy. It is as though the destiny of the whole world actually lies on the shoulders of him. In his last life, without him being an emperor, all the three countries descended into civil unrest. It could be said that the whole world was almost turned upside down. Everybody who had an army under his command made himself an emperor, as though every one of them could become someone like Yuwen Tong. In this life, he became the emperor and seems to have the inclination to fight for supremacy. How things will turn out is almost a foregone conclusion.”

Ling Zhang gave a little cough, feeling an inexplicable flush of pride. No matter what Yuwen Tong decided to do, no matter what kind of person Yuwen Tong decided to become, he was always the one preordained to determine the overall situation.

“Father, let’s get to the point,” said Ling Zhang. Though he felt somewhat proud, it was about time they got down to business.

“Oh,” said Ling Zhaowu, “right, Wang Xiangxin. Wang Xiangxin also wanted to be someone like Yuwen Tong. The natural advantages of Jiangzhou’s terrain made the prefecture easy to defend, so after he took control of Jiangzhou, he really became a local despot. Under military rule, great numbers of men were press-ganged into the Jiangzhou garrison. What with the necessity of defending the four mountain passes, his soldiers were overstretched and he had to recruit more, but the draft also caused the labor force in Jiangzhou to dwindle drastically and the food production to decline, which, in turn, led to a famine that lasted a very long time. There was no natural disaster. It was all Wang Xiangxin’s doing.

He hired a group of killers, all of whom were notorious scum of Jianghu. He paid them and they swore allegiance to him and killed for him. In Jiangzhou, whoever refused to do his bidding would end up dead. For a time Jiangzhou was reduced to a slough of misery, cloaked in the horror of famine and bloodshed. Afterward…” Ling Zhaowu gave a cough and continued, “Afterward, those killers were wiped out in one fell swoop and Wang Xiangxin lost the protection of them. Soldiers and civilians joined hands and stood up to him. They slit his throat, hung him by his feet and watched him bleed to death.”

Ling Zhaowu related the story in an unemotional tone of voice, a calm look on his face, but the more of his father’s words Ling Zhang heard, the more distinctly he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. When he heard the part of how Wang Xiangxin had died, he gave an involuntary shudder in broad daylight. “They were really that cruel?”