Li Sicai came to understand what Ling Zhang meant at these remarks. He said, “Rest assured, Young Master, I know what needs to be done.”
Li Sicai took action very quick, and the way he counter-attacked was radical and efficient. Instead of circulating hearsay on the sly, he chose to do it in the Taibai Tavern, the busiest place where the youngest intellectuals congregated.
It was from the mouths of young intellectuals that some statements began to spread. They indignantly assailed the rumors, charging the initiator with calumniating the former emperor.
When the criticism reached the mastermind’s ears, the whole city was talking about this matter.
“Why is this happening? Who started the rumor about Ling Xingzhong? I never instructed any of you to do that!”
“Have mercy on me, Master. It wasn’t us who started the rumor. None of us told those people anything about Ling Xingzhong. We have no idea who started it.”
In the residential compound of Su family, Su Zhi, Zheng shi’s brother-in-law, was beside himself with rage and alarm. At the request of Zheng shi, he’d had some of his men spread rumor. Much unwilling to offend Yuwen Tong as he was, it’d been with Zheng shi’s assistance that Su family had managed to gain a foothold in the capital city, so he couldn’t disobey Zheng shi and ordered his men to gingerly spread those rumors about Ling Zhang.
But he’d never expected that eventually things would come to this. Though his position in the government was low, he was not stupid and immediately came to realize that someone was taking advantage of their rumors and spreading the hearsay about Ling Xingzhong on purpose, but why this person was doing this was unknown to Su Zhi. What he did know was that once anybody found out he was the one responsible for the circulation of the rumors, in no circumstances would he be allowed to go unpunished.
His eyes instantly went murderous as he looked at his two servants, who perceived it and were horrified. “Please have mercy on us, Master. Please!”
…
Meanwhile, Yuwen Tong had just exited the imperial palace. After rumors started spreading that he was trying to pressurize Yuwen Zhi into meeting his demand that the two of them divide up family property and live apart, the emperor had summoned him and Yuwen Zhi to the palace and asked them about it.
Sure enough Yuwen Tong had denied it, and so had Yuwen Zhi. Eventually, the matter had been left unsettled.
Yuwen Tong’s eyes got cold as he thought of the one who’d started the rumor.
When he returned to the Ling Mansion, angry accusations of young intellectuals in the Taibai Tavern had reached his ears.
Countenance unchanged, Yuwen Tong got a shrewd idea of why those intellectuals were doing this.
“Childe Ling had Li Sicai do that,” explained Li Sicai.
Yuwen Tong, who hadn’t seen Ling Zhang since his return, inclined his head and asked, “Where’s Brother Zhang?”
“Li Sicai found some people who might be initiators of the rumors, and Childe Ling has personally set out to investigate them,” answered Yao Yi.
After thinking for a few moments, Yuwen Tong turned around and started walking outside, planning to find Ling Zhang.
Li Sicai had narrowed down the list to some women responsible for buying groceries for a couple of rich families. These women worked for different families, and it was very easy for them to hide themselves, for entering a large residential compound was like entering another world. It had been their repeatedly starting rumors that had given Li Sicai the opportunity to track them down.
Ling Zhang had looked into the background of these families and found that all patriarchs of them were officials working in the capital city, but there was nothing noteworthy about any of them; none of them had had any dealings with Ling Zhang or had any powerful backers; they’d always kept a relatively low profile compared with other officials in the city and their ranks were rather low; no sides would consider them worth co-opting, which was why none of them belonged to any particular faction.
After going through the background information of these families, Ling Zhang didn’t directly visit any of them to query their patriarchs. Instead, he found a way to have those women sought out and interrogated them one by one.
The couple of women were all very scared when faced with Ling Zhang, especially when their eyes fell on the “ferocious-looking” bodyguards beside him. They made a full confession immediately after being threatened. Someone had paid them to do that. The one responsible for contacting them was a market trader living outside the city who entered the city to sell vegetables in a stall every day.
At their words Ling Zhang came to know that these women had done this multiple times — there was actually a fixer they were in regular contact with.
After dragging out of those women how to make contact with that market trader, how they usually got things done, and some other details they needed to pay attention to, Ling Zhang took some men and went to look for that market trader.
As that market trader was someone those women went to the market to contact on a regular basis, he definitely went there very often. Even if he wasn’t there, there was no doubt that some others would be able to offer information about where he might be, so it wouldn’t be difficult to find him.
As a result, when Yuwen Tong arrived at the market, he was told that Ling Zhang had just left. He hurriedly went in the same direction.
…
“Tell me. Who paid you to spread those rumors?”
“It wa–was a peddler near the end of the bridge in front of the food market in the east of the city.”
A peddler?
“Did that peddler contact you regularly or just this once?”
“Just this once.”
“Do you know that peddler? Does he show up often or occasionally?”
“He used to show up every couple of days, but these days he goes there daily.”
He went there on a daily basis probably to make contact with this market trader.
“Did he turn up today? What does he look like?”
Trembling all over, the market trader described the peddler to them and then added, “This morning he was there for a while and then left.”
“Is he usually like that? Staying only for a while?”
“No. Normally he peddles his goods in nearby streets and alleys until dusk.”
Ling Zhang’s brow furrowed. This was too coincidental. It’d been in the morning that those intellectuals had shown up in the Taibai Tavern. That peddler seemed to have got wind of it and fled.
Ling Zhang was somewhat frustrated, feeling that he should have waited until the peddler was caught to have Li Sicai talk to those intellectuals.
“Have the peddler’s portrait drawn and start searching for him.”
Yuwen Tong’s voice was suddenly heard. Ling Zhang turned around and saw Yuwen Tong walking over with Yao Yi and some others in his wake.
Yao Yi and some other bodyguards surrounded the market trader, had him give a description of the peddler’s features and soon, a portrait was finished. Then they immediately set out to look for the peddler.
Yuwen Tong said, “My men have some contacts. They can handle it quicker.”
Ling Zhang nodded and said, “Was it because of those rumors that His Majesty summoned you to the palace?”
Yuwen Tong replied, “Yeah. He asked me if I demanded my uncle and I break up the family and live apart.”
Ling Zhang looked at him anxiously. “What did you tell him?”
“I said I didn’t. My uncle denied it as well. Nobody has to hear about this matter from any of us as long as it is not brought to light.”
This was a fact that Yuwen Zhi was also fully aware of.
“Did His Majesty say anything else?”
“He just warned me not to break up Yuwen family.”
Yuwen Tong sounded indifferent. The emperor wouldn’t be able to stop him if he really decided to do it.
Ling Zhang, however, was rather worried. The only reason why the emperor didn’t want Yuwen Tong and Yuwen Zhi to break up the family and live apart was that he’d have nothing to keep Yuwen Tong under control if the two of them did that. Therefore, he wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen for no good reason. Previously Yuwen Tong had told him that he had found a way. Ling Zhang had no idea what it was specifically, but he was sure that there would be great aftermath. No matter what, it would cause a lot of trouble.
The problem was that when they’d been confronting Yuwen Zhi, even servants of Yuwen family hadn’t dared approach the room, and this matter should’ve been kept in the strictest confidence. How had it come to the knowledge of the initiator of the rumors?
Yuwen Tong sneered, “It’s probably my loving uncle who’s having a headache.”
He and Ling Zhang would never disclose it, which meant it was definitely a member of his uncle’s branch of the family who’d done that.
Indeed, just like Yuwen Tong said, Yuwen Zhi lost his temper after returning home. Staring at Zheng shi, he demanded angrily, “Was it you who started the rumors?!”
Zheng shi was taken aback by Yuwen Zhi’s furious tone. She had indeed had Su Yaoyao go back to tell Su Zhi to do that, but the angry look on Yuwen Zhi’s face scared her and she didn’t dare admit it. Shaking her head repeatedly, she said, “No. It wasn’t me, Master. Who told you that? You wronged me.”
“Who told me that? Nobody except us knows about this matter. Who else could have done that except you?!” stormed Yuwen Zhi. He had warned Zheng shi not to stir up trouble, but his words had gone in one ear and out the other. She’d been ignoring his warning and making trouble for him!
Zheng shi subconsciously defended herself. “Didn’t Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong also…”
She realized the problem and broke off in the middle of a sentence. The rumors were directed at Ling Zhang, who would never do this kind of thing to himself as long as he wasn’t soft in the head.
Yuwen Zhi eyed her coldly. “It seems that my words mean nothing to you.”
It was only at this moment that Zheng shi came to realize that by spreading those rumors, she’d made a rod for her own back. On this occasion, it was no good trying to deny it.
Yuwen Zhi stared flintily at her, fists clenched with anger. Yuwen Tong’s crossing and humiliating him had been tough enough for him, but this stupid woman was making life even more difficult for him. Had she any idea that he…
A butler hurried inside and reported, “Master, yamen runners are all over the streets.”
Yuwen Zhi furrowed his brows, looking at him. “What is it about?”
The butler wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied, “It’s said that His Majesty got angry and ordered a hunt for those who started the rumors in the past couple of days.”
The butler was in Yuwen Zhi’s confidence, so of course he knew about Yuwen Tong’s previous threat to break up Yuwen family. He was not a fool and naturally had guessed that Zheng shi probably had something to do with this matter. As a result, he was somewhat anxious.
Yuwen Zhi said, “Why is this happening? His Majesty didn’t say anything about a hunt when I talked with him in the palace.”
“It was because of some intellectuals in the Taibai Tavern.” The butler informed Yuwen Zhi of those intellectuals’ remarks. “Everybody is talking about this. These words probably have reached His Majesty’s ears, which is why he gave arrest orders for initiators of the rumors.”
Yuwen Zhi fiercely looked at Zheng shi and gave her a slap across the face. “You blockhead!”
Zheng shi was flabbergasted after being slapped hard across the face, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, eyes full of incredulity.
The butler quickly hung his head in alarm and retreated to a corner, trying to pretend he didn’t exist.
“Do you want to get us killed? Do you?!” Yuwen Zhi was confused with ire. “Exactly what the hell have you done?! Tell me!”
Holding her face with one hand and clenching the other, trembling all over, Zheng shi said through gritted teeth, “I had Su Zhi do it. It has nothing to do with us. His Majesty won’t be able to trace it to us.”
Yuwen Zhi almost suffered a sudden death with rage. “Everybody knows Su Zhi is my brother-in-law!”
All the color drained from Zheng shi’s face.
Yuwen Zhi instructed the butler, “Go find Su Zhi immediately. Tell him to have all those involved in this disposed of, that he is to keep his mouth tightly shut if it’s traced to him, and if he breathes a single word of it to anybody, I’ll make sure his whole family suffers despite the fact that he’s my brother-in-law!”
Not daring to waste a moment, the butler immediately trotted out.
Yuwen Zhi felt dizzy from fury. Zheng shi was shocked by his words, her face ghastly white.
