Ling Zhang didn’t even cast a glance at Zheng shi. He directly ignored her, raised his head and coldly said to Yuwen Zhi, “Lord Yuwen, even if you people of Yuwen family disapprove of the engagement between me and Yuwen Tong, I’m sure there’s no need for any of you to poison me on sight, is there? Or has this been Yuwen family’s intention all along?”
Yuwen Zhi had ignored Ling Zhang when Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong entered the living room a moment ago. It was not that he had not seen Ling Zhang but that he had deliberately pretended not to notice with the intention of showing his disdain for Ling Zhang and humiliating him, but now he had no choice but to look at Ling Zhang. “What did you mean by that remark?”
“I was just walking on a street, not doing anything else, but Yuwen Qi showed up and threatened to beat me and disable me. After being restrained by Yuwen Tong’s bodyguard, he even set a venomous snake on me, which gave me a bite. Had I not carried on me some medicine that can detoxify any poison, I would have died on the street by now. You people of Yuwen family are really good at doing one thing before a man’s face and another behind his back. In the presence of outsiders, you told me that you didn’t dare forget my grandfather’s great favor of saving your father’s life, that you would see it decently returned, but when there’s nobody else around, your son resorted to every means to have me killed. After he failed to beat me to death, he made an attempt to poison me, which was a real eye-opener for me.”
Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Zhi, sarcasm glinting in his eyes. “How do you explain this, Lord Yuwen? Am I not supposed to come here to seek justice after what happened?”
“Yo–You are lying! My cousin didn’t cause you any harm.” Originally, Su Yaoyao supporting Yuwen Qi had wanted to hurl abuse, but she immediately swallowed back the words on the tip of her tongue as her eye fell on Yuwen Tong. Looking at Yuwen Tong, she accused Ling Zhang of lying.
Ling Zhang gave a sneer. “Miss Su, no barefaced lie can help you become Yuwen Tong’s wife. All those who have eyes saw what happened on that street. It’s okay if you people of Yuwen family are unconvinced. Originally, in order to save Yuwen Tong’s face, I didn’t want to make too big a fuss about this matter, which was why I came to this place to seek justice. If you are unconvinced, I don’t mind reporting this to the yamen. Given that a great many people saw the incident, I think people of the yamen wouldn’t dare to close this case without an intensive investigation and they would probably have to refer it to His Majesty. If you are not afraid of this matter coming to the knowledge of everybody in this country, do whatever you want. I, Ling Zhang, will take you on right to the very end.”
“Yo–You… That’s bullshit!” Su Yaoyao, whose true thoughts had been exposed, flushed scarlet, cheeks burning with embarrassment. Deeply worried, she looked at Yuwen Tong, fearing that Yuwen Tong believed Ling Zhang’s words but also hoping that Yuwen Tong would look at her. ‘If he looks at me, he’d see how pretty I am and know that I’m far better a choice for him than Ling Zhang is, who’s a man knowing nothing about being tender or gentle,’ she thought.
However, Yuwen Tong didn’t even glance at her, as if she were as invisible as air, which rendered Su Yaoyao angry, annoyed and ashamed.
“Uncle, what’s your opinion? Younger Brother Zhang is not only my betrothed but also the eldest grandson of the man who once saved my grandfather’s life. Do you want this matter settled here or in the court of law?” queried Yuwen Tong.
Yuwen Tong’s tone of voice was very flinty. At this moment, he was trying hard to subdue his anger. Had Ling Zhang not taken Yuwen Qi to this place to seek justice, he would have broken Yuwen Qi’s legs some time ago.
“Yuwen Tong, Qi’er is your cousin. How could you side with an outsider instead of coming to his support?!” Zheng shi looked at Yuwen Tong, unable to believe his words. “Exactly what kind of sweet talk did he use to beguile you? Why do you always take this outsider’s side at every turn?! And what kind of lifesaver is Ling family anyway? Is that petty favor really worth bringing up again and again? They’re just taking advantage of it to do just as they please. You–”
“Enough!” Yuwen Tong icily looked at her.
Both Zheng shi and Su Yaoyao were taken aback by the bloodthirstiness and murderousness in Yuwen Tong’s eyes. They not only gave a gasp of horror but also recoiled two steps, afraid to utter another word due to the deterrent effect of the expression in his eyes.
At this time, Yuwen Qi, who had recovered, demanded, “Why on earth are you so insistent on marrying this Ling Zhang guy, cousin? What is it that you see in him, anyway?! Yaoyao is ten thousand times better a choice for you than he is!”
There was not a shred of regret in his voice.
Anger surged inside Yuwen Tong and he could barely keep from losing his temper. Yuwen Feng, who suddenly returned in haste, walked up and slapped his younger brother across the face. “Shut your mouth! You did something wrong yet have no intention of mending your ways?!”
“Ah!”
“Qi’er!”
Su Yaoyao and Zheng shi, who were standing on the side, let out a scream. That slap given by Yuwen Feng was very hard, which broke Yuwen Qi’s mouth, blood spattered.
Ling Zhang furrowed his brow. ‘The timing of Yuwen Feng’s return was perfect.’
“Cousin, my younger brother is ignorant. I apologize for his words and deeds. From today onwards, he’ll be locked up in the ancestral hall introspecting about his faults. Under no circumstances will we let him leave the hall without your consent. I hope you and Childe Ling could let go of your anger. We are family, and things didn’t reach the point where a life-or-death fight is unavoidable,” remarked Yuwen Feng.
“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, Childe Feng. It’s not that things didn’t reach the point where a life-or-death fight is unavoidable. Your younger brother almost got me killed on the street just now. He wanted me dead, which was something everybody present saw with their eyes,” said Ling Zhang.
Yuwen Feng looked at him, bowed down and replied, “I know. It was all my younger brother’s fault. I’ll throw him into the prison of the yamen myself as long as you give the word, but please take into consideration his kinship with my cousin and forgive him this time.”
“Are you out of your mind, Feng’er?!” Zheng shi screeched.
Ling Zhang’s brow corrugated in a frown once again. ‘If I don’t pardon Yuwen Qi, would I strike others as a narrow-minded person who seeks revenge for the smallest grievance?’ he wondered.
“Yuwen Feng.” Yuwen Tong suddenly spoke and he directly called Yuwen Feng by his full name. Yuwen Feng jolted, straightened himself and looked at Yuwen Tong.
“There are circumstances when you cannot expect others to let things go for your sake,” Yuwen Tong commented, looking him in the face.
Yuwen Feng paled visibly. Of course he knew what Yuwen Tong meant.
“It’s a fact that Yuwen Qi stopped Younger Brother Zhang on the street threatening to disable him and force him to go back to Tanyang, and so was that he tried to have Younger Brother Zhang poisoned with a venomous snake. It’s impossible for me to pretend that neither of these happened. Today I have no intention of talking with you people about anything else. I just want to ask you one question, uncle. How do you plan to punish Yuwen Qi?”
Yuwen Tong’s eyes were no longer on Yuwen Feng but on Yuwen Zhi.
Yuwen Zhi had an uncommonly sullen look on his face. “What do you want to say?”
“Break a leg of Yuwen Qi’s, have him introspect about his faults in the ancestral hall for a month, and from now on, none of you are to lay any comment on or interfere in the marriage between me and Younger Brother Zhang, or introduce any unsavory women to me, for they will only serve as eyesores to me. Do these and I’ll let this go; we’ll still be family; I’ll render Yuwen family protection as long as I still draw breath; and you’ll still get the power, status and reputation that you want. If you’re unwilling, then from today onwards, the secondary Yuwen family and I will go our separate ways, which is not without precedents in our family history, and nobody will deem it inappropriate. After that, you’ll have to move out of the residential compound of Yuwen family. The promise I made my father will still stand – unless any of you do anything life-threatening to me or Younger Brother Zhang, I’ll do my best to keep you alive, even if you poked holes in the sky. Think this through, uncle.”
After Yuwen Tong finished speaking, there was a deathly hush in the room. Everybody was shocked.
Yuwen Qi was the first one to react. His face instantly went frighteningly pale and with that he immediately looked at his father, an imploring expression in his eyes. “Father!”
‘I don’t want my leg breaking! I don’t want to be a cripple!’
Zheng shi stepped to the front of Yuwen Qi and vigilantly eyed Yuwen Tong. “You are going too far, Yuwen Tong. He’s your cousin! Have you taken leave of your senses?!”
Su Yaoyao was terrified out of her wits, and the two words of Yuwen Tong’s – ‘unsavory women’ – were as hurtful as a sharp splinter sticking right in her heart, which rendered her face both ghastly white and embarrassed.
Yuwen Feng and Yuwen Zhi were the only ones remaining silent.
Yuwen Feng was astounded by Yuwen Tong’s decision, for Yuwen Tong had said that he’d part with the secondary Yuwen family. Nobody knew better than they did about what Yuwen Tong’s separation from their family meant. Everything they currently had was based on Yuwen Tong’s illustrious military exploits, which was a fact that Yuwen Feng had an increasingly clearer conception of as he rose through the ranks. Meanwhile, he had also seen clearly many turbulent undercurrents. In fact, currently Yuwen family was like a house built on the frozen surface of a lake, which could collapse at any moment. Despite the semblance of glory and wealth, Yuwen family actually was faced with many dangers, and the most crucial factor in all this was Yuwen Tong. It could be said that every decision he made was a matter of life and death for Yuwen family!
“Cousin, please don’t be impulsive,” Yuwen Feng tried to persuade him.
Yuwen Tong’s eyes were still on Yuwen Zhi. “Uncle, it’s your call.”
The sullenness on Yuwen Zhi’s face was beyond description. He fixed Yuwen Tong with a stare and said, “Have you any idea what you are talking about? You think you can separate this family as you please? His Majesty will not allow it.”
“There’s no need for you to worry about that, uncle. As long as I’m willing, His Majesty will definitely consent to the separation between us,” commented Yuwen Tong.
“You’ll hand over the command of the armies? You cannot do that!” Yuwen Zhi huffed.
“You’re overthinking it, uncle. I’m the one who’s supposed to consider these things. All you have to do is make a decision.” Yuwen Tong was unwilling to let the conversation be steered away.
“Yuwen Tong!” Yuwen Zhi was consumed with rage. He had never expected that Yuwen Tong would dare to push him so hard – he was trying to pressurize him into making a choice between breaking his son’s leg or separating this family!
Once he and Yuwen Tong went their separate ways, no matter how it would affect Yuwen Tong – and he didn’t really care – he would definitely no longer be the patriarch of Yuwen family but just patriarch of an offshoot family! His identity and status, along with everything else, would be different. Yuwen Zhi didn’t want to see any of these happen, and neither would he allow any of them to. What angered Yuwen Zhi even more was that Yuwen Tong had removed a fig leaf ruthlessly revealing a fact that was as humiliating to him as a slap across his face: he and his family owed everything they enjoyed to Yuwen Tong, and his status was vitally interrelated with Yuwen Tong as well; once Yuwen Tong was no longer on their side, he would lose everything!
This was virtually more embarrassing for Yuwen Zhi than slapping his face, and it was also a fact that Yuwen Zhi had been unwilling to admit all along. However, now Yuwen Tong had brought up the separation of Yuwen family. No matter how unwilling Yuwen Zhi was to face these facts, they had been put right before him.
‘Yuwen Tong is threatening me – either I accept Ling Zhang or I lose everything.’
Fists clenched tightly, Yuwen Zhi stared fixedly at Yuwen Tong. “Good. Good. This move of yours is very good.”
‘No wonder the old man designated him to be trained as a successor before death,’ thought Yuwen Zhi. Yuwen Tong was aiming at his Achilles heel. Now, conversely, he had to fawn on Yuwen Tong and take Ling Zhang into this family on my own initiative. Ling Zhang and he had instantly switched positions. As Yuwen Tong’s uncle, he meant less to his nephew than an outsider did now.
