A luxurious carriage slowly drove over, and the Crown Prince’s guard of honor came to a halt in the gateway of the residential compound of the Yuwen family.
Zhao Pingchuan dismounted from his horse and knelt down to welcome the prince. “It’s a great honor to kneel before you, Your Highness.”
Eyes darkening, Yao Yi winked at the crack soldiers behind him and they all knelt down to pay their respects.
It was a few moments before Zhou Mingtang rose to his feet and walked out of the carriage at a gentle pace. It was after gazing at the plaque etched with the name of the Yuwen family for a while that he said to Yao Yi flintily, “Guard Yao, just now you said that palace guards are not eligible to enter the residential compound of the Yuwen family. May I ask if I’m eligible?”
“I dare not judge you, Your Highness. What I said just now was directed at the Palace Guards’ unwarranted attempt to break into the residential compound of the Yuwen family. I meant no disrespect for you whatsoever. Please don’t misunderstand me,” replied Yao Yi in a neither humble nor pushy tone.
But Zhou Mingtang’s eyes went piercing. “You meant no disrespect? If that’s true, tell me whether or not these palace guards, who are acting under my orders, are eligible to enter this place?”
“If I may ask, Your Highness, why are you having the Palace Guards surround and try to intrude into this compound?” asked Yao Yi.
“You’re in no position to ask me this question. Where’s Yuwen Tong?” said Zhou Mingtang frostily.
“The Marshal is occupied preparing for his wedding and hasn’t been informed of your arrival yet. I’ve already sent someone to report it to him,” answered Yao Yi.
Zhou Mingtang didn’t move, fixing Yao Yi with a chilly gaze. He was the Crown Prince, but this bodyguard actually expected him to wait for his arrival to be informed?! No matter who told Zhou Mingtang that Yao Yi wasn’t doing this spitefully, Zhou Mingtang would find it hard to believe.
Of course Yao Yi was doing this deliberately. Disgusting Zhou Mingtang was exactly what he was trying to do. Surely he wasn’t supposed to welcome Zhou Mingtang with a smiling face when the reason why Zhou Mingtang had come here was so obvious?! If he let Zhou Mingtang easily get through the front gates of the residential compound of the Yuwen family, he would not only have trouble justifying his inaction but also find it hard to show his face in front of members of the North-western Army without feeling deeply ashamed!
“Your Highness?!” A sudden exclamation of alarm was heard. Zheng shi, wheeling Yuwen Qi, was walking over, a large group of servants and handmaids following in her wake. Her face took on a greatly startled expression at the sight of the Crown Prince standing in the doorway and with that she reprimanded Yao Yi, “What do you think you are doing, Yao Yi? How could you have His Highness wait at the front gates? Go and tell Tong to bring everybody in this residence here to kneel before and welcome His Highness! Now!”
The corners of Yao Yi’s mouth twitched. Gazing at Zheng shi and Yuwen Qi who had just turned up, he really found them terribly repulsive.
“What’s the hurry, Aunt?”
Yuwen Tong sure-footedly walked out side by side with Yuwen You, followed by Fang shi, Liu shi and other members of the collateral branch of the Yuwen family. It seemed that they were really coming out to welcome the Crown Prince.
Seeing Yuwen Tong showing up accompanied by members of the collateral branch, Zheng shi tightened her hands into fists and remarked coldly, “Not everybody is eligible to welcome the Crown Prince.”
“Is that so? I’m glad to see that you have the wisdom to know your place, Aunt,” said Yuwen Tong icily, walking closer and then passing her with Yuwen You and the others without a second glance at Zheng shi or Yuwen Qi.
Eyeing Yuwen Tong’s back, Yuwen Qi tightly gripped the armrests of his armchair, gave a sneer and then inwardly jeered, “You won’t be able to keep that cocky face for long. Your death is imminent, yet you’re too stupid to perceive.”
“Yuwen Tong, your humble servant, and all his family members respectfully welcome you, Your Highness.”
“Yuwen You, your humble servant, and all his family members respectfully welcome you, Your Highness.”
Yuwen Tong and Yuwen You uttered the same words – except for their given names – in unison.
Zhou Mingtang didn’t say anything, his gaze fixed on Yuwen Tong. He should have been holding an advantage considering palace guards had ringed the residential compound of the Yuwen family, but unexpectedly, palace guards were held back at the front gates, and after such a long time, he hadn’t even gained entry into the compound yet. This whole thing was turning out to be a farce!
“Yuwen Tong, I never thought it’d be so difficult to get through your front gates. This is the first time that I’ve been kept waiting in the gateway. Tell me, what kind of punishment do you think you deserve for this?”
Yuwen Tong said, “Your Highness graced us with your presence without notice, which was why I didn’t have enough time to make preparations and failed to give Your Highness a prompt welcome. Please forgive me.”
Zhou Mingtang didn’t tell them to rise, but there was no anxiety whatsoever on Yuwen Tong’s face, and even Yuwen You, Fang shi and Liu shi didn’t seem to be anxious at all, as if these palace guards who crowded the area in front of the gateway posed no threat to their family.
Anger was smoldering in Zhou Mingtang, and his face was getting darker. “Forgive you? I’m afraid that won’t be easy to do. Someone went to my father and charged you with possession of banned items as well as conspiracy to stage a rebellion. I’m here to escort you to the imperial palace.”
Zheng shi, who was kneeling in the rear of the group, tightly balled her hands which were trembling unnoticeably.
All of them were expecting to hear Yuwen Tong defend himself in a panic-stricken voice, but to their surprise, Yuwen Tong’s tone was as calm as usual when he spoke.
“May I ask if you have any proofs, Your Highness?
Readily willing to go to the palace to personally defend myself before His Majesty as I am, I cannot do anything that might compromise Your Highness’ and His Majesty’s reputation, for people will lay unfavorable comments on you if the accusations against me turn out to be untrue.”
Why was he still so composed? Was he not afraid?!
Zhou Mingtang crossed his hands at the back, fists clenched, eyeing Yuwen Tong fixedly.
“Do you dare let palace guards go inside to conduct a search, Marshal?”
“I don’t see why I should be afraid of doing that. It’s just that I’ve been doing preparatory work for my wedding and there are a lot of things stored inside in readiness for the occasion. If by any chance the palace guards cause damage to any of them, I’ll have no choice but to claim compensation, because I’m really poor, and I’ve been spending most of my salaries on subsidizing the North-western Army.”
Yuwen Tong made a reply in an unhurried manner and even tried to bargain. Zhou Mingtang gritted his teeth in rage. “If no evidence is found, I’ll compensate you for all damage they cause.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Yuwen Tong, along with Yuwen You and the others, stepped aside to make way, and he also instructed Yao Yi and the dozens of crack soldiers to do the same.
Zheng shi and Yuwen Qi were the only ones still standing where they’d been, as if not having come back from the stupefaction caused by Yuwen Tong’s reaction.
“How dare you stand in His Highness’ way! Move aside!” yelled Zhao Pingchuan as he, escorting Zhou Mingtang forward, saw Zheng shi and Yuwen Qi still blocking the path.
Zheng shi gave a frightened start and hurriedly wheeled Yuwen Qi away, her confused, anxious eyes flashing towards Zhou Mingtang, who didn’t even glance at her and ordered the palace guards to conduct a thorough search after entering the residential compound.
Yuwen You’s face reddened with fury at the sight of those palace guards breaking things with no regard at all for other people’s property. “This is outrageous!”
Yuwen Tong turned to console him under his breath, “Take it easy, Granduncle. I’ll have the emperor pay back tenfold the total value of the things these people damaged here.”
But Yuwen You found no comfort in these words. Instead, he looked at Yuwen Tong with worried eyes. They both were fully aware of the reason for this disaster – the emperor was taking action to eliminate Yuwen Tong… Even if they managed to survive this, would they be able to survive what was coming next?
Yuwen Tong could tell what was on his granduncle’s mind. “Don’t worry, Granduncle. Everything will be fine.”
After saying this, Yuwen Tong turned his head back, something intense glinting in the depths of his seemingly calm eyes.
The residential area of the first branch of the Yuwen family was where the sweep was the most intensive. These palace guards, on entry, started swarming around like locusts, scouring every inch of the place, leaving a trail of mess in their wake. They were clearly under orders, and Zhou Mingtang, the one who’d given the orders, seemed to be positive that they would find proof of Yuwen Tong’s plot to rebel in this place.
At this time, the street outside the residential compound was congested with citizens, as if all people in the capital city had gathered here. They were speaking in whispers. Some were saying that the Yuwen family would never scheme to stage an uprising, that on no account would Marshal Yuwen become a rebel; some others were saying that people of the Yuwen family were greedy and full of wild ambitions; there were also some suspending their judgement. The only comforting part was probably that the majority of the citizens believed the Yuwen family would never betray this country.
Yuwen Zhi and Yuwen Feng, naturally, were marched to the group of members of the Yuwen family. At the sight of palace guards wreaking havoc in the residence, Yuwen Feng was shocked. “Wh–What was this about?!”
Yuwen Tong made no reply
Yuwen Feng detected something astounding in Yuwen Tong’s attitude but couldn’t figure out what it was exactly.
Yuwen Zhi asked Yuwen Tong but the latter still chose to ignore him. Yuwen Zhi flew into a temper, put on a cold face and was just about to tell him off when Yuwen You commented, “If you have the strength to scold people, you might as well use it to pray that they wouldn’t find any inexplicable evidence in this place, because if they do, all of us will meet our ends soon.”
Yuwen Zhi was rendered speechless by Yuwen You’s words, an extremely sulky expression on his face.
Yuwen Feng, however, discerned something else in Yuwen You’s remarks. “What do you mean by ‘inexplicable evidence’, Granduncle?”
Yuwen You coldly snorted, giving no answer to his question.
Clanking and smashing sounds could be heard coming from here and there inside the compound.
Every smash led to an increase in Yao Yi’s and the others’ anger. Yuwen Tong’s face had gone so cold that it seemed almost non-human, and anybody could tell that his fury was reaching flashpoint.
…
As time ticked away, the Palace Guards’ search was coming to an end.
“Commander, we found nothing.”
“Commander, there’s nothing here either.”
“Commander…”
More and more search teams came back to report to Zhao Pingchuan. Nothing had been found hitherto. With a somewhat sullen face, Zhao Pingchuan informed Zhou Mingtang of the results of the search. Zhou Mingtang’s face went even more sullen. He turned to glance at a personal bodyguard of his, who took the hint and intended to go inside.
“Your Highness, it’s best if your men touch nothing,” said Yuwen Tong suddenly, his voice so emotionless that even Zhou Mingtang felt a chill run down his spine.
Zhou Mingtang swiveled around and was greeted with Yuwen Tong’s inhumanly icy eyes, which seemed to belong to the most ruthless killing machine on a battleground, containing not a shred of emotion.
Zhou Mingtang broke out in a cold sweat and unnoticeably shifted his gaze elsewhere. “You overthink it, Marshal. Nobody is going anywhere.”
Zhou Mingtang’s heart was pounding violently. He suddenly realized that maybe this operation was a wrong move. Yuwen Tong seemed very frightening at this moment, his eyes seeming to have seen through everything. If he returned empty-handed, the situation would be very troublesome. People of the Yuwen family, whose loyalty was now as impassive as Yuwen Tong’s eyes and questionable, could get out of control at any moment.
No matter how hard Zhou Mingtang prayed, palace guards still failed to find the thing that should’ve been found by now, though they’d combed the whole compound.
“Have they finished the search, Your Highness? Did any of them find any banned items in my place?”
Zhou Mingtang had a terrible scowl on his face. As his frosty eyes raked Zheng shi and Yuwen Qi, the former paled visibly.
“This is so confusing to me. How about you give me an explanation, Madam Yuwen?”
Madam Yuwen?
Everybody focused their eyes on Zheng shi. The expression in Yuwen Feng’s eyes instantly went incredulous and even somewhat heartbroken. “Mo–Mother?!”
