Chapter 344 - Spying on Childe Ling?

After lunch, as there was still some time left for rest, Ling Zhang tried to convince Yuwen Tong to take a nap but failed.

“Let’s have a nap together,” suggested Yuwen Tong, drawing Ling Zhang into the inner hall. Thanks to his powerful internal energy, he could work for seven consecutive days without sleep and still remain energetic. Now he had merely had a couple of hectic days, and he had slept at night, so right now he was not tired, but a chance to lie on the same bed with Ling Zhang for a while was not something he would say no to.

He carved the time out, so he wouldn’t let it go to waste.

As Ling Zhang lay down onto the bed, he sighed, “Going to sleep immediately after a meal – this is what pigs do.”

Yuwen Tong reached out a hand and kneaded Ling Zhang’s stomach and belly. “Did you overeat?”

Ling Zhang replied, “No.”

Ever since Yuwen Tong had made up his mind to never let Ling Zhang overeat again, he always reminded Ling Zhang not to eat too much whenever they dined together, and slowly Ling Zhang had developed a habit. Even during the separation when Yuwen Tong had been in the north-west, he had still been restraining himself from overeating.

“You should close your eyes and get some sleep,” Ling Zhang added.

Yuwen Tong took his hand, holding it, stroking it, closing his eyes.

Ling Zhang twisted his head aside to look at him. Seeing that Yuwen Tong had indeed closed his eyes, he slowed his breathing and at the same time shifted his position slightly and then remained motionless, letting Yuwen Tong hold his hand. He had asked Yuwen Tong to close his eyes and sleep, but his own eyes stayed open. After he collected his thoughts, his father’s words came floating out of his memory once again.

Both the matter of his father’s rebirth and what Yuwen Tong had done in his last incarnation were keeping him from sleeping.

Had Yuwen Tong really never married for his whole life in his last incarnation? He’d stayed in the north-west defending the border like a warlord who answered to nobody but himself. He… hadn’t taken the place of the Zhou family, the imperial household, as he had done in this incarnation? Why?

He wondered whether his father knew the reason. There was no doubt his father had been through a lot afterward in his last incarnation, but he didn’t know if his father’s and Yuwen Tong’s paths had crossed again. If they had, his father should know something about it, and Ling Zhang wanted to find out.

While he was thinking about this, his hand involuntarily made a slight movement. Yuwen Tong, who was lying beside him, wasn’t really asleep. He had closed his eyes only because he had sensed that Ling Zhang wanted him to get some rest. Naturally, he felt this subconscious hand movement of Ling Zhang’s.

A moment ago, when he had closed his eyes, Ling Zhang had clearly slackened his breathing for fear of causing him any disturbance, but now Ling Zhang’s breathing was changing somewhat, and his hand was stirring automatically, which showed that Ling Zhang’s mind was wandering, and it was very likely that what he was thinking had something to do with what he had tried to conceal from him just now…

“What are you thinking about?” Yuwen Tong suddenly inquired.

Ling Zhang started, jerking his head aside to look at him. “You weren’t asleep?”

Yuwen Tong raised Ling Zhang’s hand which he’d been holding. Seeing this, Ling Zhang immediately came to realize that he seemed to have subconsciously moved his hand. “Did I wake you up?”

Yuwen Tong responded, “Not really, because I wasn’t asleep. Just now you were absent-minded. What were you thinking about?”

Ling Zhang, who couldn’t disclose to Yuwen Tong anything about his last incarnation for the moment, shook his head. “I wasn’t feeling tired and couldn’t sleep, so I gave the current situation some thought.”

At the mention of this, he recalled that there was really something he needed to talk with Yuwen Tong about. “When I was on my way out of the palace this morning, I chanced upon Yuwen Feng. He looked much thinner than before and had dark circles under his eyes. I think one reason’s because of his unduly heavy workload in the Ministry of Rites, and the second reason’s because of Yuwen Zhi and Yuwen Qi. Have you considered what to do with the two of them?”

Yuwen Tong had a sneaking suspicion that Ling Zhang wasn’t telling the truth, but what Ling Zhang had just brought up was indeed a problem, so he replied, “Fang Quan and his followers must be convicted of attempted coup. Since Yuwen Zhi played a part in it, I cannot let him get away unpunished. The reason why Yuwen Feng still has his position in the Ministry of Rites is because everybody knows Yuwen Zhi placed him under house arrest, just as they know about Yuwen Zhi’s involvement in the coup. If I punish Fang Quan and his followers and spare Yuwen Zhi, not only will I, a newly enthroned emperor, be doubted, I will also lose my prestige among the people. As a result, Yuwen Zhi must be severely penalized.”

Ling Zhang, “…”

“You said so much. Are you going soft?”

Yuwen Tong shook his head and replied, “Me saying so much means that considering either personal grudges between us or his crimes, Yuwen Zhi must die, but Yuwen Feng is a talent who’s useful to both me and the imperial court, and I don’t want to hurt his feelings too badly. Apart from anything else, he is my cousin, a member of the Yuwen family, which is why I have to reconsider the handling of this matter with more caution.”

“Maybe you should just spare his life and mete out some other penalties to him,” observed Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong lightly shook his head. “I’ll need some more time to figure out what kind of penalties would be the most appropriate.”

“Are you going to have Fang Quan and all his followers executed?” Ling Zhang inquired of him.

Yuwen Tong said, “They have to die.”

Ling Zhang suggested, “How about executing only Fang Quan and the couple of arch-criminals and banishing the others whose involvement was less deep? By doing this, you’ll have a reason to spare Yuwen Zhi’s life. Besides… there’s yet another problem. As Zhou Ming’an has abdicated the throne, we can’t do anything to him for the moment. If he intercedes on behalf of Fang Quan and you execute Fang Quan regardless, wouldn’t it make some people disgruntled? To my knowledge, all those civil officials care about this kind of stuff pretty much.”

Yuwen Tong sneered, “That’s yet another reason why I have to kill Fang Quan. If I don’t, those people would take it for a chink in my armor and think I’m a pushover. I need to do something to have them dismiss the kind of thoughts that they shouldn’t have from their minds.”

Ling Zhang didn’t feel that there was anything wrong with Yuwen Tong’s methods. He just worried that there might be some harsh comments that would compromise the stability of the political situation after Yuwen Tong’s enthronement.

“I spared Zhou Ming’an and had him abdicate the throne because I didn’t want to cause any greater unrest. After all, given the current circumstances, the best move is to have this country go through this period of transition peacefully and let the people restore their lives, not to subject them to more turmoil, but because of this, there hasn’t been enough bloodshed during the process of my taking the throne. If I am to psych those people out, I’ll have to take more lives, which is why I need to kill Fang Quan and his followers. I started out as a military officer and numerous enemies died by my saber, which is a fact I shall have them lodge firmly in their minds, so that they’ll know what the right thing to do is,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang came to understand. “When do you plan to deal with Fang Quan and the others? Before the enthronement or after?”

Yuwen Tong kept silent for a moment and then responded, “Before the enthronement.”

Ling Zhang was briefly stupefied, then sat up and looked at Yuwen Tong. “So soon? What are you going to do with them?”

Yuwen Tong released Ling Zhang’s hand, pulled him to his chest and put his arms around him. “It’s not too soon. Having these people taken care of as soon as possible will do us a lot of good. As for how to do it, I’m waiting for an opportunity. It’s complicated and explaining it will take some doing. You’ll understand when the time comes.”

Ling Zhang looked at him incredulously. This guy was talking in riddles once again. He stared at Yuwen Tong for quite a while and then said, “Promise me you’ll let me know when you need my help. I want to be helpful and share your burden.”

Yuwen Tong said, “I’ll tell you when the time is ripe. The specifics of the plan will have to wait until necessary arrangements are made to be finalized. It won’t be long. I’ll fill you in on all the details, and I’ll let you know if there’s something you could help with.”

It was after hearing this that Ling Zhang became satisfied and let it go.

However, the old question – what to do with Yuwen Zhi – returned to his mind. Lying prone on Yuwen Tong with his head rested on Yuwen Tong’s shoulder, Ling Zhang mulled over it, somewhat vexed.

Cuddling him, stroking his back automatically, Yuwen Tong was looking sideways. For an instant, his eyes went cold, but he didn’t let Ling Zhang see it.

…

The two of them talked for a little while longer, lay in silence for another few moments and then it was time for Yuwen Tong to return to the consultation hall.

Yuwen Tong got out of bed and adjusted his clothes. Ling Zhang helped him smooth his hair and said, “I forgot to tell you this – Yuwen Feng said that some of the preparatory work for the wedding ceremony would be brought forward, that the Ministry of Rites would send someone to consult with me about it in a day or two. I think maybe you should let me handle this matter, so that you could focus on the state affairs without being distracted by the wedding ceremony.”

Yuwen Tong thought about it for a fleeting moment and then said, “All right.”

But secretly he was a little unhappy. In his eyes, it was the wedding ceremony that was of the greatest importance, but right now he was up to his neck in those tedious and trivial chores, which made him feel that he was letting things get out of perspective. However, if he couldn’t handle those government affairs properly, his and Ling Zhang’s wedding would be affected. In order for everything to go smoothly at their huge wedding ceremony, he indeed had to steel himself and tough it out. The very thought of this rendered him frustrated.

His countenance was still faintly sulky when he left. On his way to the consultation hall, he was emanating a frighteningly brooding air, and all those who were following in his wake didn’t dare utter a word.

“Shisan.”

“Sire.”

Miao Shisan soon showed up.

Somewhat unaccustomed to his new title, Yuwen Tong briefly paused but didn’t show anything on his face. He instructed, “Tell Shiba to stay close to Brother Zhang and keep me posted about everything he does.”

“Yes, Sire,” answered Miao Shisan, feeling somewhat surprised. It seemed that Sire wanted Miao Shiba to spy on Childe Ling. Although he didn’t ask about it, his face was etched with puzzlement.

Seeing this, Yuwen Tong explained, “Ling Zhaowu didn’t tell the truth. They are concealing something from me. I’m worried that something bad might happen if he keeps it to himself for too long. I need you to keep close watch on him. Don’t overlook anything.”

“Yes, Sire.” Miao Shisan relaxed. Having been told what it was about, he felt less stressed.

After Miao Shisan took his leave, Yuwen Tong’s eyebrows contracted slightly. There had originally been no secrets between Ling Zhang and him, and he could tell that Ling Zhang had absolute trust in him. He had also believed that previously the Millennium Pavilion was the only secret that Ling Zhang kept back from him, but now he discovered that there were some other things that he didn’t know about. This kind of anxious and fretful feeling was something he’d never experienced before. It gave him an urge to go to Ling Zhaowu’s place immediately and question him, but his senses were telling him that it was unwise to do so.

Since finding out the truth through making inquiries was not an option, the only way left was for him to observe Ling Zhang, but presently he was too occupied to personally keep constant watch over Ling Zhang, so he had no choice but to have someone else do it for him. As he thought about this, his eyes, which were looking in the direction of the consultation hall, became somewhat murderous.

Every courtier sitting in the consultation hall felt a chill creep down his spine. Though it lasted for only a fleeting instant, they were still secretly taken aback, wondering whether it was just a hallucination or they had done something wrong and were about to be punished.

As Yuwen Tong entered the hall, these people surreptitiously glanced at his face, but his countenance appeared quite normal and there was nothing out of the ordinary about it, which made them more bemused. Was that really just a hallucination?