As the end of the year neared, staff members of the Ministry of Rites were getting increasingly occupied with work. Ling Zhang, as the empress, also had a lot of matters to attend to, every one of which was tedious but had to be handled. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, there were a succession of sacrificial ceremonies. Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong were on the move for a whole day. When they finally returned to the imperial bedchamber after getting everything dealt with, Ling Zhang slumped down in a chair and didn’t utter a word for quite a while.

“What’s the matter?” Yuwen Tong looked at him apprehensively.

“Even sitting with you in the consultation hall for a whole day couldn’t have been more tiring than this.” Ling Zhang finally made a remark, putting his hands on his shoulders to massage them. He was wearing particularly thick clothes which had many layers. It had been such a hectic day that Ling Zhang was having trouble putting his hands and feet in comfortable positions.

Yuwen Tong walked up to him, helped him take off his overgarment and then reached out his hands to knead Ling Zhang’s shoulders. “All this is over now. What we need to do next is wait for the Spring Festival to come.”

His shoulders heaving as Yuwen Tong massaged them, Ling Zhang’s face slowly relaxed. “It never occurred to me an empress had to deal with so many chores.”

He was a man, which spared him from a lot of chores, but even so, he still had tons of trivial matters to attend to. He couldn’t imagine how busy he would be were he a woman. Managing the imperial seraglio alone might well tire him out. And, fortunately for him, Yuwen Tong only had eyes for him and had no intention to take concubines. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to bear managing a large seraglio full of troublesome issues, even if he could stand Yuwen Tong taking concubines. At the thought of this, Ling Zhang felt a cold shiver run through him.

He looked up at Yuwen Tong, his mild eyes full of affection. “You’re so sweet.”

Yuwen Tong was surprised. “Um?”

“Am I doing it correctly?”

Mistakenly believing that Ling Zhang said so because he was doing a good job in massaging him, Yuwen Tong continued.

“Yeah,” answered Ling Zhang, but that was not what he meant. “If you could always…”

“What is it?” Yuwen Tong asked him, confused as to why he left his sentence hanging.

Ling Zhang shook his head. “Nothing. Stop massaging me and sit down. I’ll give you a massage in return.”

Yuwen Tong slightly paused. This guy seemed to have something to say. What was on the tip of his tongue a moment before?

Without the slightest change of his countenance, he stopped and sat down. When Ling Zhang walked behind him to knead his shoulders, he inquired in a seemingly casual tone, “There are indeed too many trivial matters in the palace. If it really bothers you, I’ll have the Ministry of Rites simplify the celebration and cancel those optional parts.”

“Don’t,” demurred Ling Zhang immediately. “We only have one or two days as hectic as this one in a year. All the officials and residents will be watching. If we give them a simplified version of the celebration, there will definitely be discontent. Besides, in order to save money, the Ministry of Rites have canceled some unnecessary parts already.”

Owing to this matter, Yuwen Feng had visited Yuwen Tong privately and complained to him about the inadequate budget several times, and eventually managed to get an extra sum from the Ministry of Revenue.

“All right. Then let’s stick to the plan,” said Yuwen Tong. “What was it you wanted to say just now? Are you worried about something else?”

Ling Zhang subconsciously shook his head. “No. I’m just happy you’re like this. You make my life so much easier.”

“You’re happy I’m like this?” Yuwen Tong’s mind raced. “What do you mean?”

Some thoughts crossed Yuwen Tong’s mind as he recalled that Ling Zhang had been busy all day and was somewhat resigned to the red tape in the palace, but he still wanted to confirm them.

“We’re the only ones living this place, so there are not many knotty issues. Otherwise I might well end up working myself to death as the empress,” said Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong had the twinkle of a smile in his eyes when listening to the first half of Ling Zhang’s words, but as he heard the latter half, his eyebrows contracted. “What are you talking about? This is a festive day. Don’t say any inauspicious words.”

Yuwen Tong went fretful at the word “death”. Heedless of the fact that Ling Zhang was massaging his shoulders, he turned around and spanked Ling Zhang. “Don’t you say anything like that again.”

Ling Zhang clapped his hands to his butt. “Okay, okay. I won’t! You don’t have to spank me! I was just saying! Why are you making such a big deal out of it?”

Yuwen Tong snorted, “Why do you think I’m making a big deal out of it? This is a festival. You’re not supposed to anything like that. The only reason why I’m letting you get off with a mere spank is because I’m soft-hearted.”

Knowing that he indeed should have been more careful with his choice of words, Ling Zhang gave a little cough and said, “All right, I get it. Stop being mad. I’m sorry, okay?”

Yuwen Tong looked at him. “Then why are you still keeping distance from me? Come over here.”

“Okay.” Ling Zhang stepped closer and said, “Don’t overreact. I didn’t mean any of those words. Besides, it’s not like I made a prophecy or some–”

“Um?” Yuwen Tong knitted his brows, staring at Ling Zhang piercingly.

Ling Zhang immediately shut up, appearing quite docile.

Yuwen Tong gave another snort. “Today is a festive day, so I’ll let you off the hook. If I hear you say anything like that again, you’ll have to take consequences far more serious than spanking.”

Ling Zhang inwardly rolled his eyes upwards, thinking that he was not a kid any more.

“It was your first time dealing with this kind of rigmarole, which was why you were a little flustered. With the experience you gained today, you’ll find yourself able to deal with this kind of matters with great facility the next time you’re in a similar situation. After you get more helpers and finish grooming some of them as your henchmen whom you click with, you may have them share your burden. Your position as the empress is supposed to serve as a platform for you to realize your aspirations. I could never bring myself to see you shackled to this kind of chores.”

After lecturing Ling Zhang, Yuwen Tong made some serious remarks.

The faintly rebellious idea in Ling Zhang’s mind disappeared at these words. In an earnest tone of voice, he said, “I see.”

Presently, Jiang Yu and Zhao Jiusi were the only ones he had at his service apart from Wang Dashan and the other twenty-three. Both of them were talented. After he knocked them into shape, he would recruit another couple of capable advisers, and then there would be no problem. After all, he would have much work to do in the palace in only the next few years. After everything was back on track, he would focus on the business network his father was trying to build, and use it as a foundation to do what he wanted to do.

He wouldn’t interfere with any state affairs. He could tell that the courtiers had mixed feelings about him and were also somewhat wary of them. It was unnecessary for him to make any of them become more defensive with him. Besides, he didn’t have any political aspirations. Yuwen Tong was more than enough to keep things under control in the imperial court, and a second ruler was needless, for it would severely undermine the stability of the political situation. Even if he and Yuwen Tong were totally okay with it, their subordinates would sooner or later come into conflict with each other because of partisan wrangle, which would do the people no good whatsoever.

As a result, ever since he’d married Yuwen Tong, he’d been visiting the consultation hall considerably less often, and after the Spring Festival, he wouldn’t go to any court meetings with Yuwen Tong or show up in the consultation hall once again unless he had to.

In his sight, the best-case scenario would be for Yuwen Tong to rule the country as the emperor while he covertly offered Yuwen Tong assistance. Yuwen Tong would be dealing with all the important state affairs in the imperial court, and he would travel to different areas of the Great Wen and utilize the intelligence network his father built for him to secretly collect information about conditions of the people, so that Yuwen Tong would be able to keep abreast of the overall domestic situation without having to go out of the capital city. In addition, before that, they’d still be faced with the greatest problem – to unify the three countries.

Ling Zhang had given it some thought. In two or three years, after everything was back on track, he would gradually cut back on his public appearances, keep a low profile, and then visit the three countries. Of course, he was just planning it and hadn’t mentioned it to Yuwen Tong. They still needed to settle the matter of the south-west, so he prepared to wait until the situation there stabilized to talk with Yuwen Tong about it.

“What are you thinking about? You seem to be lost in thought,” Yuwen Tong suddenly said, gazing fixedly at Ling Zhang, as if he were reading Ling Zhang’s mind.

Ling Zhang instantly withdrew his eyes. “Well, just now you said something about realizing my aspirations. That’s what I was thinking about.”

A slightly skeptical look appeared in Yuwen Tong’s eyes as he saw Ling Zhang look away. “There’s no hurry.”

“I’m in no hurry. I know what our first priority will be in the next few years,” Ling Zhang hastened to reply.

Holding Ling Zhang’s hand, Yuwen Tong kept silent, pondering over something. Ling Zhang became faintly nervous. A moment before he’d merely been thinking about that matter, and he hadn’t said anything about i. Surely Yuwen Tong hadn’t divined what he’d thought about just by looking at him? But even if Yuwen Tong had, he would still set out to do what he’d made up his mind to do.

“I’m glad to hear that. They’ve established a plan to build a school. It’ll be carried out next spring. How about you deal with this matter?” said Yuwen Tong.

“Me? Uh…Are you sure it’s proper for me to do that?” Ling Zhang hesitated.

He hadn’t participated in any of the discussions in court meetings, so he worried that some of the courtiers might not be happy about him taking it over.

“There’s nothing improper about it. The establishment of an imperial school also concerns Maomao, which means you have a reason to be in charge of it. I’ll get you some help. Besides, there will be piles of state affairs to be dealt with next spring, which will obscure the significance of the matter of establishing a school. You may take it as an opportunity to improve yourself,” replied Yuwen Tong.

As Yuwen Tong had put it so explicitly, Ling Zhang naturally agreed briskly. If truth be told, the idea of taking over this matter struck him as quite appealing. Just like Yuwen Tong had said, he could improve himself during the process. The matter of establishing a school was somewhat different from those important state affairs which would come onto the agenda next spring, and it wouldn’t alert any of the courtiers. It was perfect to practice on.

“All right. I’ll handle it,” agreed Ling Zhang.

Now that he’d undertaken to handle it, he must finish the job with flying colors.

…

The day after the Laba Festival (the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month), people in the capital city started bustling around making preparations for the Spring Festival. There were a lot of stipulations concerning this festival in the imperial palace, so there were naturally a lot of work to do. Ling Zhang began to juggle the festival preparations and preparatory work for the establishment of the school which was scheduled for next spring.

Days went by one after another. During the process, Ling Zhang, as the empress, had paid a visit to Yuwen Feng’s residence. Most people were confused as to why Ling Zhang went to the abode of the Marquess Huaiwen. Only a limited few who knew some inside information were aware that Ling Zhang had brought a court physician with him to show care and concern for Yuwen Feng’s wife. Her expected date of childbirth was later than that of Yuwen Qian’s wife, but her belly was also quite big. A few days before, she’d accidentally tripped and suffered from bellyache. Ling Zhang, after conferring with Yuwen Tong, decided to pay her a visit, bringing a court physician with him. Given that the two of them had paid a visit to the abode of the Marquess Fuan, they should visit the abode of the Marquess Huaiwen as well, because after all, this baby of Yuwen Feng’s was to be fostered with Yuwen Tong as well.

Yuwen Feng had got two sons and a daughter already, all of whom were born of his legal wife. The three children were of similar ages. The eldest one of them was five. A few days before, when Ling Zhang had held a banquet in the imperial garden, Yuwen Feng had brought his firstborn son to attend it. Unlike Yuwen Feng who was poised, his firstborn son was blunt and bluff, more like Yuwen Jin.