Chapter 418: An After-Wedding Visit to the Ling Family (2)
Translator: DragonRider
Just as Yuwen Tong had expected, when the two of them t the Ling family, Ling Xingzhong and so others observed that Ling Maomao had put on so weight during his several-day stay in the palace at the sight of the little boy. On hearing their remarks, Ling Zhang couldn’t help but pull a wry face.
This ti around, apart from paying an after-wedding visit to his family, Ling Zhang had co here mainly to check on Ling Zhaowen’s preparations for his journey and see if there was anything he could do to help.
“Don’t worry. It’s all taken care of. I’m your uncle, an adult, rember? I’m totally capable of handling this kind of stuff.”
Though Ling Zhaowen said these words in a seemingly disapproving tone, there was smile on his face all along. It was obvious that his nephew’s solicitude for him gladdened his heart. Standing on the side, Ling Zhaowu, who was Ling Zhang’s natural father, actually felt a little jealous at the sight of this. Ling Zhaowen noticed it but made no effort to restrain himself. He even deliberately chuckled in the presence of his big brother.
Ling Zhaowu, “...”
He might really beat Ling Zhaowen up were the latter not his little brother.
Ling Zhaowen’s baggage had indeed been prepared so ti before. Steward He and Li Fu would go to Shengzhou with him. The forr would act as the butler, and the latter a personal servant. Aside from them, two secret bodyguards of Yuwen Tong’s would also be accompanying them. As Shengzhou was under Yuwen Tong’s complete control, for the mont there was no need to worry about Ling Zhaowen’s safety in that city.
Before lunch, Ling Zhaowen called Ling Zhang in to have an uncle-nephew talk with him in private.
“I’ll depart the day after tomorrow. All necessary arrangents have been made for things in this house to be handled, so you don’t have to concern yourself about anything. Your father’s here, and nothing could go wrong under his watch.”
When Ling Zhaowen made the last remark, his tone was imbued with his absolute trust in his big brother. On hearing this, Ling Zhang cast him another look, wondering if his uncle had perceived sothing, for there seed to so kind of undertone in his words.
Unsurprisingly, Ling Zhaowen, after saying that, glanced at Ling Zhang and continued, “There’s no doubt your father has been through quite so hardships. I could tell that things between you two have beco a lot more natural recently, so I think it’s safe to say you’ve made peace with the past. It’s a pretty good thing. I have complete peace of mind now.”
“Uncle Zhaowen...” Words failed Ling Zhang. Previously he’d never kept anything from his uncle, but afterward, secrets about him had seed to pile up, and he didn’t know how to explain any of them to his uncle. Now, after hearing these words of Ling Zhaowen’s, Ling Zhang felt rather upset, wondering if he was doing the wrong thing.
Ling Zhaowen, who knew his nephew just as well as he did his own son, could divine what his nephew was thinking just by looking at him, so he hurriedly raised his hand to stop his nephew from overthinking it. “I’m not saying that you did sothing wrong. I’m really very happy to see that you and your father have let go of those things. I’ve watched you grow up, and your father is my blood brother. You two being okay ans the world to .”
Ling Zhang gave a bob of the head. “Um.”
Ling Zhaowen put his hand down and smiled, “Good boy.”
Ling Zhang was sowhat embarrassed by this complint from his uncle. Seldom had his uncle praised him this way since he’d reached adulthood.
“On the surface your father seems to have changed a lot, but in fact he’s just as mulish as always. It’s just that when he was young, his stubbornness verged on the bigoted. Now he’s older, and he’s buried his intransigence fathoms deep, but he’s as protective of you as he was of your mother in the past. There’s no guarantee he wouldn’t do the sa thing again if anything happens to you, so you must take good care of yourself.”
“I know,” replied Ling Zhang in a quiet voice.
“Lately your father’s physical condition has been getting better and better. He looks a lot healthier than he did when he first returned ho. Also, his face is less sunken, and he appears much younger after being nursed back to health. He’s only in his late thirties and is quite virile, but he doesn’t have a partner by his side. I tried to persuade him to find one, but he wouldn’t listen. He’s quite opinionated in this regard as well.”
As he finished speaking, Ling Zhaowen let out a sigh. It struck him that his big brother hadn’t been able to enjoy life for a single day during the past so many years. His wife had died an early death, and he himself had developed dentia and sustained grievous injuries which had almost cost his life. So many years had passed, and he didn’t even have a partner to keep him company.
“You want to convince my father to remarry, Uncle Zhaowen?” asked Ling Zhang.
Ling Zhaowen looked at him, his face sowhat apologetic. “Without a marriage partner, your father is very loneso.”
“I understand. There’s no need for you to feel guilty about what I’ve been through. Actually I once ntioned this to my father in a roundabout way, but he steered the conversation away. It’ll take ti. I need a suitable opportunity, and I also need to respect my father’s will,” said Ling Zhang.
He knew what Ling Zhaowen ant, but he also understood why his father was doing this. If he were his father, he wouldn’t be able to forget a love so deep it had been engraved permanently on his heart either. Besides, his father had undergone a rebirth. Given that his father had never remarried in his last incarnation, it was very unlikely that he would be able to move on and marry another woman in this one. Still, his uncle had a point, and Ling Zhang indeed worried that his father would feel lonely if he stayed a widower for too long, so he would try to persuade his father again if the occasion arose.
“You’re right,” remarked Ling Zhaowen with a nod.
After the uncle and nephew sat down, most of the ti Ling Zhaowen was talking about Ling Zhaowu, and Ling Zhang’s face took on a reminiscent look as he listened. Despite the many-year separation, things between his uncle and his father didn’t seem to have changed a bit. The brotherhood between them had always been so strong.
“Uncle Zhaowen, the climate in Shengzhou is sowhat different from the one in this city. You might be unaccustod to it when you first get there. Maybe I should have Qiu Bing go there with you in case you need any dical help.”
Ling Zhaowen declined the offer. “That won’t be necessary. It’ll be better if Qiu Bing stays here with you. My constitution is pretty strong. I’m sure I can handle a minor climate change. Besides, there are physicians in Shengzhou as well, aren’t there? And they’re definitely more experienced in treating that kind of ailnts.”
Ling Zhaowen didn’t want to take too many people with him to Shengzhou where he was to take office, for it’d be bad for him integrating with the local community. The fewer people and baggage he brought, the better.
...
At the sa ti, Yuwen Tong was also having a private talk with soone – Ji Yanlai.
“... I’ve already made arrangents for so n to go there. They’ll get everything ready beforehand and wait for you in Haizhou,” said Yuwen Tong. According to the terms of their deal, he was to grant Ji Yanlai official permission to go to the island. He had already sent so n there to inform the local authorities. The situation in Haizhou was fairly peaceful, so there wouldn’t be any serious problems.
Ji Yanlai inclined his head. “I’ll send a ssage to my big sister and have her make contact with your n.”
Thus it was settled. Actually there weren’t many things the two of them could talk about. Yuwen Tong was just about to end the conversation when he heard Ji Yanlai say, “You still haven’t settled the matter of Jiangzhou?”
Ji Yanlai was not the kind of person who would interfere in this kind of things. As long as the sky wasn’t falling, he wouldn’t be interested in asking a single question about anything of this sort. Given that he was suddenly inquiring about Jiangzhou, there was no doubt that sothing had happened in that city.
“Not yet. Is sothing going to happen in Jiangzhou?” asked Yuwen Tong.
Ling Zhang had once told him that Ji Yanlai possessed extraordinary intuition. In other words, Ji Yanlai had perceived so portents, which was why Yuwen Tong directly asked him whether or not sothing was going to happen in Jiangzhou.
Ji Yanlai replied, “I could only sense that sothing’s not quite right in Jiangzhou. Maybe there’s going to be a disaster. You’d better be careful.”
Yuwen Tong gave a bob of the head. “I see. Thank you for the forewarning.”
Ji Yanlai would never forewarn anybody for no good reason. Previously Yuwen Tong had sent so n to Jiangzhou to deal with the situation there. Currently, Jiangzhou was under the control of the original garrison. Because of the enthronent ceremony, the imperial wedding and the necessity to hold the situation in Cangzhou in check, Yuwen Tong, instead of playing hardball with the Jiangzhou garrison, had had a lot of n infiltrate into Jiangzhou, planning to disband the ard forces there from within. However, now that Ji Yanlai had given him a word of warning, Yuwen Tong naturally beca vigilant, feeling that the matter of Jiangzhou brooked no delay and must be resolved as soon as possible.
Since Ji Yanlai had said that the matter of Jiangzhou might cause a disaster, he would nip it in the bud.
Seeing that Yuwen Tong had co to know what to expect, Ji Yanlai, who had a sense of propriety, made no more remarks.
“By the way, thank you for those diagrams of martial formations.” Yuwen Tong recalled the wedding gifts from Ji Yanlai and expressed his gratitude.
Considering Ji Yin had given Ling Zhang so diagrams to be his trousseau, those that Ji Yanlai had presented to him afterward were a token of Ji Yanlai’s generosity.
Ji Yanlai said, “Those are just so martial formations suitable to use on the battlefield. For you, they’re only the icing on the cake. You don’t have to thank for it. If I continue to keep them, they’ll end up being buried in dust. In your hands, they might be able to serve the purpose they’re ant for.”
Yuwen Tong had read those diagrams, so he naturally knew about the value of them. Those formations could be of much practical use to him. Ji Yanlai had indeed put quite so thought into those gifts.
“If you really want to thank , you may give so good stuff after you unify the world,” added Ji Yanlai.
Yuwen Tong’s heart lurched. These words of Ji Yanlai’s suggested that he had probably foreseen sothing. No matter what, he would co to know about it when the ti ca. “You have my word,” said Yuwen Tong.
Ji Yanlai had always liked Yuwen Tong’s briskness, and this occasion was no exception.
...
Ling Zhang, after finishing his talk with Ling Zhaowen, went to see Fu Caiwei, who looked pretty well, unaffected by Ling Zhaowen’s upcoming departure. This gave Ling Zhang a great sense of relief.
When he had walked out of Fu Caiwei’s courtyard house, he caught sight of Yuwen Tong waiting for him at the front gates.
“Why are you here?”
“It’s almost lunchti. I ca here to walk you to the dinning room. How does your aunt look? Is she okay?”
“Yeah. Those middle-aged handmaids told that recently her appetite has been fairly good, and she smiles a lot.”
Yuwen Tong took his hand and the two of them walked abreast, the others following in their wake, keeping a moderate distance from the two of them. Yuwen Tong told him about the forewarning from Ji Yanlai. Ling Zhang’s eyebrows contracted slightly. “Sothing’s going to happen in Jiangzhou?”
“No matter what, I need to send so more n to Jiangzhou. This has to be settled as soon as possible,” said Yuwen Tong.
Ling Zhang gave it so thought and said, “I’ll go.”
Yuwen Tong tightened his hold on Ling Zhang’s hand and looked at him. “Jiangzhou is too dangerous for you to go to. It’s better if I have Jiang Xi go there to handle it.”
Ling Zhang said, “One of us have to personally pay a visit to Jiangzhou. Right now this city needs you, which makes the only one who can do it. Now that the Clan Leader has given you a word of forewarning, the matter of Jiangzhou is definitely not as simple as it seems. I cannot have full peace of mind without personally going there to see it with my own eyes.”
Yuwen Tong still refused to relent. Jiangzhou was too dangerous. If he let Ling Zhang go there, he would be on tenterhooks at all tis. If anything happened to Ling Zhang, he would be devastated and never be able to perform his duties as the emperor. The very thought of that possibility sent a chill down Yuwen Tong’s spine. He grasped Ling Zhang’s hand and wouldn’t budge an inch on the issue, no matter how hard Ling Zhang tried to convince him.
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