The moment Yuwen Tong walked into the courtyard and sighted Ling Zhang, all his unease and anxiety slowly ebbed away, tension consuming him like never before. As though everything and everybody else around him had suddenly disappeared, he could only see the person opposite him, who, wearing the wedding robes he’d tried on the other day, was standing in sunlight, every inch of the robes so becoming and so enthralling as though the beauty of them were bewitching his heart and mind.
Ling Zhang quietly stood still where he was, watching Yuwen Tong making towards him, also unable to see anybody else.
Yuwen Tong walked closer to Ling Zhang step by step. As he saw that Ling Zhang was gazing squarely at him with only his reflection in his eyes, his mind was occupied by the thought that the whole being of this person in front of him belonged to him now, his heart hammering madly, its every beat making his eardrums throb. He could feel his heart pounding more violently with every step he took towards Ling Zhang, as if only by walking up to Ling Zhang would he be redeemed.
The morning breeze lifted the hem of Ling Zhang’s scarlet wedding robes, which were fluttering. The red silk ribbons attached to Ling Zhang’s headwear were flying, entrancing Yuwen Tong further with their every flutter. Such was the beauty of Ling Zhang on this day that Yuwen Tong was entranced. Although he had once seen Ling Zhang in these robes, he was still fascinated at this moment. This kind of beauty was a combination of masculinity and femininity. Yuwen Tong had never seen this side of Ling Zhang before, so impressed by his charm that he involuntarily held his breath, but his heart was racing faster with every beat.
Likewise, in Ling Zhang’s eyes, Yuwen Tong looked so handsome on this day that he was unable to bring himself back to his senses for quite a while. The two of them clearly had tried on their wedding robes in the imperial bedchamber the other day, and they’d known beforehand how they looked in their wedding robes, but they felt that on this day something was different, that the visual stimuli were exceptionally intense. On that day Ling Zhang had stared unblinkingly at Yuwen Tong because the latter had looked so handsome in the wedding robes that he’d been unable to take his eyes off him, but on this day, apart from handsomeness, there was also something else about Yuwen Tong, something that even Ling Zhang himself found inexplicable, something that was making his heartbeat quicken. If he was to describe it with words, he would say it was probably destiny.
The destiny that had brought him and Yuwen Tong together.
His father had once told him that in his last incarnation, although Yuwen Tong had never met him, and the two of them had never been in love, Yuwen Tong had still avenged the massacre of the Ling family by killing Zhang Chong and members of the Jia family; afterward, Yuwen Tong had spent the rest of his life in the north-west like a warlord and never married. Their paths had been supposed to cross, but what with the woeful fate of the Ling family, the two of them had missed the opportunity to meet, which had resulted in his early death and Yuwen Tong’s lifelong bachelordom. After he was reborn and started this incarnation, because of a misunderstanding, he’d decided to call off the engagement to Yuwen Tong on his own account; the Ling family’s butler had set off to the capital city to deliver the Letter of Revocation but had chanced upon Yuwen Tong halfway there; Yuwen Tong, after being informed of the existence of the engagement, had gone to Tanyang of his own accord and thus their paths had crossed. Afterward, Yuwen Tong had helped him get his revenge, ridding the Ling family of the threat from their foes, ensuring the Ling family’s safety. All this struck Ling Zhang as a cosmic plan.
It was as though his rebirth had been meant to make sure he crossed paths with Yuwen Tong. The convergence of their paths had changed the Ling family’s fate, his fate, Yuwen Tong’s fate, and even the fate of everybody in this country. Sometimes Ling Zhang really couldn’t help but wonder whether or not it’d been because something had gong awry in his last incarnation that had caused their paths, which had been meant to cross, to fail to cross, but this destiny still stood. Providence had given him a chance of rebirth and he’d seized it, and now they had walked into each other’s lives.
Sometimes this feeling of his was very intense, especially after the fortunes of this world were changed. The Great Wen had been built, with Yuwen Tong being its emperor, who had the ambition of unifying the world. Maybe this would affect the whole world directly.
It struck Ling Zhang that maybe, to a certain degree, his rebirth had really been meant to have him cross paths with Yuwen Tong.
If that was the case, Ling Zhang would be very grateful to providence. Having been reborn and met Yuwen Tong and fallen in love, he was very content. Even if divine providence had just been using him, he would still feel it was okay. He was willing to be used this way. Besides, this time around he and Yuwen Tong had both found happiness.
During the process of Yuwen Tong covering the short distance of several paces between them, Ling Zhang thought about a lot. It felt like an instant but also felt like a lifetime.
Yuwen Tong, standing before him, took his hand and with that Ling Zhang’s eyes met Yuwen Tong’s. For a long moment, neither of them uttered a word.
“I look especially handsome today, don’t I?” asked Yuwen Tong, his eyes gleaming. Seeing Ling Zhang gazing at him in infatuation, Yuwen Tong archly asked this question in a furtive and low voice, intending to have him answer it unawares.
Ling Zhang, totally unprepared, dreamily made a reply with an inclination of the head. “Very handsome.”
It was undoubtedly the same robes Yuwen Tong had worn the other day that he was wearing now, but he was more attractive than he’d been that day.
Because he knew that from this day on they’d be a married couple, a married couple who were pronounced husband and husband at an official wedding ceremony. They would be together for the rest of their lives. Yuwen Tong was the emperor, and he was the empress. Their names would be mentioned together. They would stand in front of the others shoulder to shoulder. Most importantly, this person would belong to him thoroughly and completely.
Who wouldn’t be fascinated by, obsessed with and addicted to this kind of feeling?
Ling Zhang knew that he would never be able to escape for the rest of his life. He had once said to Yuwen Tong that if one day Yuwen Tong dared forsake him, on no account would he let it go, that he would get Yuwen Tong back to him by hook or by crook and kill him. A true lover would rather destroy their loved one than give them up to a third person.
Maybe because Yuwen Tong noticed the flicker of strong desire and ferocity cross Ling Zhang’s eyes, his eyes instantly became so possessive as though they were deep ponds which were trying to trap Ling Zhang inside them. In that instant, he felt that Ling Zhang was just as possessive as he was. This desire to take possession of him quickened his heartbeat. How could one not want their loved one to be highly possessive of them?
Yuwen Tong was possessive of Ling Zhang, much more possessive of Ling Zhang than Ling Zhang was of him. He strongly wanted Ling Zhang to belong to him. He wanted to own Ling Zhang and lock him up in his embrace so that nobody else would be able to see him or find anything out about him. Sometimes he even wished he could incorporate Ling Zhang into his own body, so that wherever they went and whatever they did, this person would belong to him, and nobody could separate them no matter how hard they tried.
Yuwen Tong feared that this would scare Ling Zhang. After this kind of strong craving to own him came into existence and he distinctly sensed it, he had been intentionally curbing it and concealing it from others, but this didn’t mean that it was no longer there. It was not only still there but also growing stronger by the day. Sometimes it was so strong that Yuwen Tong suspected he would lose control of himself and do something crazy if he didn’t marry Ling Zhang and put him under his complete control right away.
And now, he saw the same craving in Ling Zhang’s eyes. In that instant, ecstasy swept over him, making him feel as though all his blood were boiling. He knew what he was excited about and what he was anticipating. Ling Zhang’s being possessive of him took his thrill to such a frenetic pitch that he was only too anxious to… to swallow Ling Zhang in one gulp!
However, he still had some of his senses left, which were telling him that this was not the right time, that he was not supposed to let his longing get the better of him at this moment, that he needed to restrain himself however intense his desire was, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to successfully marry his sweetheart or take him back to hide him in the imperial palace.
A gleam flashed across Yuwen Tong’s eyes in an instant. It was so quick that it was barely perceivable. Ling Zhang didn’t notice it either. He was still immersed in his own thoughts, still looking at Yuwen Tong, unable to blink, still thinking about a lot of things, including how cruelly he would retaliate against those who tried to stop him after he married Yuwen Tong…
“Can you be more specific?”
Yuwen Tong asked another question. He wanted Ling Zhang to express more of his thoughts and even felt an almost overwhelming urge to flaunt it. He wanted more people to know about Ling Zhang’s heartfelt, irresistible desire to control him and rely on him. As a result, suppressing his excitement, he managed to ask this question in a seemingly calm tone.
Ling Zhang was unaware of Yuwen Tong’s intention or the fact that this man in front of him, whom he wanted to own completely, was actually bubbling over with extreme thrill because of his possessiveness.
As a result, he gave a chuckle in a very natural way and then, in a somewhat low and deep voice tinged with manifest firmness, replied, “So handsome I’m besotted. I don’t want anybody else to see you so handsome. I want to be the only one who has the privilege.”
“Just like the other day when we were in the bedchamber, when you were the only one seeing me in these robes?” Yuwen Tong’s voice became even lower and seductive.
Ling Zhang was like Yuwen Tong’s quarry that was walking into a trap unawares. “Yeah. Just like the other day when we were in the bedchamber, when I was the only one seeing you in these robes.”
A wild and unbridled smile curved the corners of Yuwen Tong’s mouth, which had never appeared on his face before, and which was mixed with some kind of demented smugness and a crazed resolution to get what he wanted at all cost. “Go back to the palace with me right now and I’ll let you hide me.”
Ling Zhang’s eyes instantly brightened. He looked at Yuwen Tong and asked, “Really?”
Looking back at him, Yuwen Tong smiled, “Really.”
In that instant Ling Zhang’s eyes glittered with such extreme excitement as though he was feeling some kind of overwhelming sense of contentment. His desire to own his lover was satisfied to the core, so he was very happy, as if he had just obtained the most precious treasure in the world.
“Nobody is to see you. You are mine, and mine alone. If anybody dares glance at you, I’ll…”
Ling Zhang suddenly left his sentence hanging, fixing Yuwen Tong with a stare, a murderous look flitting across his eyes.
