Chapter 64: Do You Need Me to Dredge the Meridian Channels for You?
“Lord Yuwen, His Majesty demands your and Mrs. Yuwen’s presence in the Palace.”
Yuwen Mansion was the home of Yuwen Tong, who was the most powerful Marshal of Great Yue. Yuwen Zhi smiled and bribed emperor’s eunuch who called Wang Baolu. “Eunuch Wang, do you know why His Majesty summons us so suddenly?” Yuwen Zhi asked.
Returning the money to Yuwen Zhi, Wang Baolu said with a bothered tone, “Not that I don’t want to tell you, my lord, but I really don’t know what His Majesty wants. But rest assured, His Majesty looks peaceful.”
Bribing the eunuch didn’t work, so Yuwen Zhi felt a bit vexed. Though he kept scolding the eunuch inwardly, he still pretended to be grateful. “Thank you for letting me know. I will go to see His Majesty with my wife right away,” Yuwen Zhi said.
“Lord Yuwen, that’s very kind of you. I will be going then. And I will await your arrival in the Palace,” Wang Baolu said.
“Eunuch Wang, take care,” Yuwen Zhi said.
As soon as he saw Wang Baolu off, Yuwen Zhi immediately went to find his wife, Zheng shi.
“Why would His Majesty suddenly summon us?” Zheng shi asked with puzzlement while changing her clothes under the serve of her maid. Although she was nearly forty years old this year, she didn’t look her age and still kept her charm.
“I don’t know. Wang Baolu didn’t want to tell us anything. He returned the money I gave him as well.” A dark look formed on Yuwen Zhi’s face as he spoke.
“What? Is there something wrong?” Zhang was shocked. And she became hesitant while dressing herself.
“No matter what happens, we must to o the Palace right away. Be flexible, this time His Majesty specially asks me to take you, he will definitely ask you some questions. Leave it to me when you don’t know how to answer and I will do it,” Yuwen Zhi said.
Zhang responded in panic. After getting dressed, she went to the Palace with Yuwen Zhi.
In the Palace, the Emperor looked at them with no expression on his face.
“Your Majesty, what is your order for me and my humble wife? ” Yuwen Zhi said after secretly observing the Emperor’s countenance.
Zheng stood behind Yuwen Zhi and lowered her head. The emperor’s silence frightened her.
“Yuwen Zhi, do you know where my Marshal is?” The Emperor was sitting in there and said slowly.
Yuwen Tong? Yuwen Zhi was confused as he replied, “He should be on his way back to the Capital.”
The Emperor looked at Yuwen Zhi for a long time with his sharp eyes before speaking, “It seems that you don’t know where he is either.”
“Your Majesty, did he do something wrong? If so, please forgive his mistake for the sake of his devotion to defending the territory of Great Yue,” Yuwen Tong knelt on the ground and said.
Zheng also hurriedly dropped to her knees.
“Don’t be nervous. I didn’t say he did anything wrong. You make excessive demands on Yuwen Tong,” the Emperor said.
Yuwen Tong admitted his error and asked for punishment in a hurry, Zheng did the same.
“Get up. I have something to ask you,” the Emperor said.
Yuwen Zhi and Zheng stood up. He said, “Please, your majesty. I will tell you everything I know.”
“When did Yuwen Tong get engaged? Why are you keeping this secret?” the Emperor said.
What the Emperor said stunned Yuwen Zhi and Zheng. Engagement? What was that?
“Engagement? There’s no such a thing.” Zheng wore a puzzled look as she turned to Yuwen Zhi.
The Emperor glanced at Zheng then tat Wang Baolu, who, after getting the hint, said, “Marshal Yuwen has gone to Tanyang to look for his fiancé.”
Tanyang? Zheng was still confused, but Yuwen Zhi’s face changed drastically.
The Emperor’s eyes had changed too, he stared at Yuwen Zhi and asked, “Do you recall anything?”
At first Zheng looked at her husband in bewilderment, whereafter, something occurred to her. She gradually widened her eyes. “That’s impossible!”
“How dare you! Are you questioning His Majesty?” Wang Baolu berated.
Zheng was shocked to repeated kowtows, “Your Majesty, please spare me. I was just surprised to Yuwen Tong’s engagement, I absolutely dare not question you. Please forgive me.”
Yuwen Zhi also joined in the kowtows as he pleaded, “She was indiscreet. Let me take her punishment.”
“Take it easy. Not a big deal, don’t make a fuss. Wang Baolu, don’t scare Mrs. Yuwen,” the Emperor said.
“That’s my fault,” Wang Baolu said.
“Yuwen Zhi, what was on your mind?” the Emperor asked.
Looking at his trembling wife, Yuwen Tong knew that if he didn’t tell the truth, the Emperor would not let him go easily. And the most crucial thing was that Yuwen Tong exposed this matter himself. According to his tough personality, there was no way he could hide this matter. “I just remembered an old past. Please forgive me for not answering your question in the first place.”
“Ah? An old past?” the Emperor sounded interested in this matter.
“This engagement was settled twenty years ago. The other side is the eldest grandson of Ling Xingzhong, who used to serve as the Shilang (Vice Minister), ” Yuwen Zhi said.
The Emperor frowned, as if he were trying to recall. After a while, he suddenly realized, “It’s him. I remember that he resigned and returned home very early.”
“Your Majesty, you are so wise. Lord Ling did return to his hometown, Tanyang. When my father and Lord Ling set this marriage contact, the eldest son of Lord Ling was just married, and his elder daughter-in-law was just pregnant. They all didn’t know the gender of the kid, so it was a sloppy decision. Later, Lord Ling returned to Tanyang and our two families didn’t contract each other anymore due to the far distance. Then I heard a businessman from Tanyang who said that Lord Ling’s daughter-in law had a son. At that time, I thought that since his family got a boy, the marriage contact was invalidated. After so many years, I have almost forgotten this matter,” Yuwen Zhi said.
“Really? A boy?” the Emperor smiled. “That is a bit unexpected. Then why Yuwen Tong said that he was going to Tanyang to find that boy? What’s going on here?”
“This… Your Majesty, I haven’t seen my nephew for three years. I never wanted to tell him about it. And I have no idea exactly where he learned about it. I never thought he’d go to Tanyang to find the boy. After all, they are both men and can’t get married,” Yuwen Zhi took it for granted.
An ambiguous smile appeared on the Emperor’s face, “You are too blinkered. The empress of the founding emperor of our country is a man. The marriage of two men is no longer a novelty in our civilized country.”
Yuwen Zhi froze. ‘What does the Emperor mean? Does he support Yuwen Tong marry Ling Family’s eldest grandson?’
“Your Majesty, what do you think of it?” Yuwen Tong didn’t dare to make a final decision.
The Emperor’s answer was very ambiguous, “We can talk about it after Yuwen Tong comes back to the Capital. No need to rush things.”
Yuwen Tong hurriedly said, “Yes, your majesty.”
Zheng, beside Yuwen Zhi, turned pale. After getting out of the Palace, she asked in a hurry, “Master, how could Yuwen Tong know about this engagement? We never told him.”
“The most important thing now is not how he learned about it, but this matter has been known by the Emperor!” Yuwen Tong looked extremely gloomy.
“What should we do? Our plan…” Zheng shi asked anxiously.
“Put it aside. Let me think it over,” Yuwen Zhi said. “His Majesty’s attitude towards this matter was so strange just now. So we have to stop finding in-laws for him.”
Zheng was shocked, “But, but didn’t we just promise…”
“Hum, promise? It’s just a polite formula,” Yuwen Zhi said.
Then he hit the wall of the carriage angrily. That sound startled Zheng.
“Master,” Zheng yelled.
“What exactly is he thinking? He hasn’t come back home in so many years, and every time I talked to him about his marriage, he never cared. Now he went to look for the man who comes from a declined family. Now this scandal is well known. Does he mean to disgrace our Yuwen Family?” Yuwen Zhi said angrily.
“Master, now we just sit by and see him marry that man?” Zhang said unwillingly.
“I will never agree to it,” Yuwen Zhi said.
Zheng wanted to say something, but stopped while seeing Yuwen Zhi was in a temper.
*
Tanyang…
The wonderful feeling of warmth was flowing around Ling Zhang’s whole body, which made him feel amazing. Ling Zhang couldn’t help but ask Yuwen Tong, “Is this inner power?”
“Yes.” Yuwen Tong looked up at him and said, “How are you feeling now?”
“I’m good now,” Ling Zhang said. Seeing that Yuwen Tong’s hand was still on his ankle, he hurried away. “That’s enough.”
Yuwen Tong got up and said, “I have found that some parts of your body’s meridians are not very smooth, which will affect your heath. If you like, I can help you to improve it.”
After listening to what he said, Ling Zhang was very interested. But as soon as he thought that doing so might bother Yuwen Tong, he hesitated.
“To help you clear your meridians not only requires my inner power, but also a medicated bath. I found a lot of herbs in Tanyang, so it is not difficult for you to find those herbs. When the meridians of your whole body are cleared, your body will improve, and it’ll also be easier for you to learn martial skills,” Yuwen Tong said.
Ling Zhang was tempted. He had been practicing every morning so that he could learn martial arts. Yuwen Tong’s suggestion was perfectly tailor-made for him, which was difficult for him to refuse.”Of course, you can take your time to think about it carefully. I’m not in a hurry to leave,” Yuwen Tong said.
Ling Zhang agreed without much hesitation, “Would it bother you much?”
“It doesn’t matter. It is also a kind of inner power training for me,” Yuwen Tong said.
“Thank you, please then,” Ling Zhang said.
“That’s easy. I’ll give you the prescription when we get back. And then you can ask someone to prepare these things for you. These two methods must be used together for good results,” Yuwen Tong said.
Ling Zhang nodded, “Okay, I will have the herbs ready as soon as possible.”
Ling Zhang’s attitude towards Yuwen Tong softened unwittingly because of this offer. Ling Zhang didn’t think he could accept Yuwen Tong’s kindness yet treat him uncivilly after. He was never a man so ruthless.
The two returned to the woods to lead their horses out, and headed back to Tanyang. After giving the horses back to the shop, they walked back to Ling Family. However, they heard the some noises before they got into the house.
