The unpleasant incident at the gateway of the imperial palace soon seemed to be forgotten. Even the envoys of the Wan Kingdom lapsed into silence after entering the palace, clearly having no intention to bring up this occurrence.

The venue for the welcome reception was the Taiqing Palace, which was rather spacious. In the normal course of events, only on an important festival would this palace be used for a banquet, but evidently Yuwen Tong was an exception. The reason why he was given such honor was not only because of his identity but also his victory in this war. He had taken seven cities of the Wan Kingdom at one fell swoop, and the Wan Kingdom had even sent a diplomatic corps here to sue for peace with their tails between their legs, which had gladdened the hearts of all subjects of the Great Yue. During these years, as a result of incessant wars, the exchequer of the Great Yue had almost been depleted. Now, with this great victory, they could finally relax safe. In this regard, the emperor of the Great Yue was the most delighted one of all.

By the time Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong arrived, more than half of the attendees had been seated. Naturally, the two of them attracted the attention of almost everybody present when they walked inside. Yuwen Tong was handsome, stalwart and tall, and Ling Zhang was of great presence. The two of them walking hand in hand was such a pleasant sight that many guests were thrown into amazement.

However, some others were not very pleased to see this. Yuwen Zhi's face darkened. Yuwen Qi was rooted to the spot by shock, feeling that Yuwen Tong was out of his mind. Only Yuwen Feng, with a surprised and thoughtful look on his face, rose to his feet and walked up to Yuwen Tong to greet him. "Cousin."

Yuwen Tong inclined his head.

Smiling, Yuwen Feng looked at Ling Zhang and said, "This must be Childe Ling, I suppose?"

Ling Zhang folded his hands in front, "Yes, nice to meet you."

Yuwen Feng also made the same gesture of courtesy and said with a smile, "I'm Yuwen Feng. I've been hearing people talking about you for quite some time. Today I finally saw you in the flesh. For fear that you might be embarrassed, my cousin refused to let us visit you, which made all of us quite anxious. My father and my younger brother are also here. Would you like to meet them, Childe Ling?"

Ling Zhang gave a bob of his head and replied, "It's common courtesy to pay respects to my elder."

Yuwen Feng led him to Yuwen Zhi and introduced him. "Father, this is Childe Ling. You've been looking forward to seeing him, haven't you?"

"I'm Ling Zhang. It's an honor to meet you, Lord Yuwen." Ling Zhang made a bow with hands folded in front to show respect.

Unsurprisingly, Yuwen Zhi was not as enthusiastic as Yuwen Feng. With a lukewarm look on his face, he flicked Ling Zhang a glance, blandly uttered "Um" and then ignored him, which was an unmistakable indication that he held Ling Zhang in icy disregard.

Yuwen Feng's face changed. It had never crossed his mind that even on such an occasion when so many people were present, his father still refused to take into consideration of Ling Zhang's feelings. Seeing Yuwen Tong walking in this direction with a sullen countenance, he hurriedly introduced Yuwen Qi in an attempt to defuse this awkward situation. "This is my younger brother, Yuwen Qi. He's about your age. I think the two of you will get along quite well."

Ling Zhang secretly sneered. 'Get along quite well?'

Seeing his father's lukewarm attitude, Yuwen Qi, who didn't feel like talking to Ling Zhang, directly disregarded him as well. He even said, "Elder Brother, you should think twice before bringing people to father. Do you not know that father doesn't have the time to talk with a nobody?"

Ever since Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong entered the hall, all people present had fixed their eyes on the two of them, and they were staring at them at this moment as well. A few moments ago, when they had seen Yuwen Feng walk up to Ling Zhang to talk to him with a smiling face, they had thought that people of Yuwen family were very fond of Ling Zhang, and begun to suspect that there had been some particular reason why Yuwen family had turned a blind eye to the failed attempts to assassinate and poison Ling Zhang, but then, when they saw the attitudes of Yuwen Zhi and Yuwen Qi, the light suddenly dawned on them. 'So people of Yuwen family don't like this Ling Zhang guy at all. It seems that what's going to happen next would be quite interesting.'

Before Yuwen Tong could say anything, Ling Zhang remarked, "Before I came to the capital city, my grandfather once told me that Yuwen family is home to a great number of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for our country, that it is an admirable family. He also warned me that just because he had once saved Old General Yuwen's life doesn't entitle me to put on airs, that I'm supposed to respect elders of Yuwen family, be nice and try to get along with and learn from peers in Yuwen family, that he didn't expect me to achieve any unequaled accomplishments, only wished me to be as loyal to our country as martyrs of Yuwen family had been. He said that if some day I have the good fortune to become an official, I should dedicate myself to making life easier and happier for the people, that even if becoming an official is not what the future holds for me, I should also help others whenever I could. I've been keeping all these words in mind and not for a single instant have I ever forgotten any of them, but I'm afraid my grandfather's worry is unnecessary, for some people of Yuwen family have already forgotten what he did for their family, which makes it impossible for me to get a chance to learn from my peers in Yuwen family. What a pity. Such being the case, I think it's advisable for me to stop imposing on your patience. Please pardon me for my being presumptuous."

After saying this, he turned around and said to Yuwen Tong, "I'm such an embarrassment, and I brought shame on you as well. I might as well go back right now."

With a drastic change of his countenance, Yuwen Feng hurriedly stepped forward and stopped Ling Zhang. "Wait a moment. You misunderstood, Childe Ling. I'm sure it's just that my father and my younger brother failed to recall you are grandson of Old Master Ling in Tanyang. They didn't mean to embarrass you."

Yuwen Zhi's face had turned dark with rage while Ling Zhang made those remarks, and at this moment, the fury inside him had reached such a pitch that he could scarcely keep from losing his temper. However, all civil officials as well as military officers present in the hall were gazing in this direction. The look in their eyes so piercing that it seemed as if they wanted to cut his head open to see what was really in his mind. It would take only one tiny mistake to cause him to be branded as an ungrateful bastard.

It was far beyond his expectation that Ling Zhang was so sharp-tongued!

Consumed with anger, Yuwen Qi sitting on the side was just about to rise from his seat to hurl abuse when Yuwen Zhi quickly stopped him. Teeth gritted, Yuwen Zhi stared at Ling Zhang and said, "I didn't know you are the eldest grandson of Old Master Ling. What happened just now is indeed a misunderstanding. It is engraved in the very heart of every member of Yuwen family that Old Master Ling once saved my father's life. How could we forget that? It's just that you didn't state your identity and I didn't know you. How could I have known you were Old Master Ling's grandson at first glance? Please don't jump to conclusions, Childe Ling. This might reduce our family to being regarded as ungrateful."

Ling Zhang turned around, looked at him and replied, "That's a lesson well taught, Lord Yuwen. I was being extreme in that moment. I thought that..."

After saying this, he flicked a somewhat embarrassed glance at Yuwen Tong and continued, "I thought that you should've known whom Yuwen Tong was engaged to. You are his uncle after all. It never crossed my mind that you are unaware of it. I'm so sorry. I offer you my solemn apology once again. Please forgive me, Lord Yuwen."

Suddenly, a chuckle escaped the mouth of someone in the corner, but soon that person stopped and fought back his urge to laugh.

Yuwen Zhi's face twisted. "Of course I know who my nephew's betrothed is. It was just that I failed to recall. I'm a pretty busy man, and just now I was preoccupied with some public affairs, which caused a lapse of concentration of mine."

"I see. It was indeed rude of me to have misunderstood you consecutively tonight, Lord Yuwen. Please pardon me." Ling Zhang apologized, pushing the boat along with the current.

Although things seemed to have been smoothed over, all people present were fully aware of what had really happened.

"Ha ha... It turns out that was a misunderstanding. Lord Yuwen probably got overjoyed when he saw that his nephew had returned, and all his attention was focused on his nephew, so he forgot whom his nephew had brought to the capital city."

"Yeah, yeah. Lord Yuwen is still so affectionate towards the Marshal. The affection between the two of them is so deep."

"As far as I could tell, it won't be long before Yuwen family starts making preparations for a wedding. Am I right?"

"Wouldn't that be two happy events coming one after another? I mean, the Marshal has just won a victory when he got himself a beauti–" The speaker gave a cough and continued, "A considerate spouse. Childe Ling is of such great presence –as great as that of... his grandfather!"

"Yeah, that's true. Joy be with you!"

With a seemingly timid smile on his face, Ling Zhang glanced at Yuwen Zhi and Yuwen Qi out of the corner of his eyes and saw that the expression in their eyes seemed to have nothing to do with the smile on their faces. Of course, from his current position, he could not see anybody else's face.

Both Yuwen Zhi and Yuwen Qi had a sullen look in their eyes.

Hand in hand, Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang were led to their table by a palace servant, which was right next to Yuwen Zhi's table on the left and also the one closest to the emperor's seat.

Beneath the appraising gaze of all civil officials and military officers in the hall, Ling Zhang unhurriedly took a seat.

It was just that...

Yuwen Tong, who was sitting by his side, was the only one aware that the hand he was holding was quivering. 'This little guy hurled a torrent of criticism only a few moments ago, but now he is so nervous.'

He gave a chuckle. "You feel better now?"

Ling Zhang slightly parted his lips and replied in a muted voice, "Sort of."

Yuwen Tong still didn't release Ling Zhang's hand, his right hand and Ling Zhang's left one clasped together under the table.

Though appearing composed, Ling Zhang was secretly worried. 'With so many eyes fixed on us, Yuwen Tong still dared to conduct himself this way. Wouldn't us be embarrassed to death if anybody finds out?'

Right at this moment, two old men walked inside the hall, one of whom was wearing a robe of the first-ranked official, and the other second-ranked, but there was something special about their robes, so Ling Zhang came to the realization that these two men probably used to be a first-ranked official and a second-ranked official respectively and had now retired, who, though still having their ranks, would hardly get involved in any official affairs. Instantly, he guessed who these two men were. The older one should be Tao Feng's teacher, and the other one Tao Yi's.

Though no longer performing any official duties, these two old officials still carried a lot of weight, and the emperor still thought highly of them. It was rumored that whenever something important came up, he would always consult with the two of them, which was a clear indication that he trusted these two men very much. As a result, the two of them had always been conducting themselves in a low-key manner, trying not to get involved in the business of any faction. However, though they had drawn a clear line of demarcation with all factions, their students in themselves were an extensive and complicated network of relationships: Tao Feng and Tao Yi, to name but two.

As expected, after the two old officials entered the hall, many people rose from their seats and folded their hands in front to pay respect.

Yuwen Tong also stood up, and so did Ling Zhang. The two of them walked up to pay respect to the two old men.

"Congratulations on your victory and welcome back, Marshal."

"And you've also got yourself such a good partner. I really envy you."

The two old men each made a remark. Voices of both of them were rather sonorous, their smile very hearty.

For the first time since he had walked into this hall, Ling Zhang felt comfortable and at ease.

"Both of us received the visitor's cards from Childe Ling. Thank you for delivering the gifts here for Tao Feng. I heard that you were planning to go to the Imperial College to study?" asked an old official.

Ling Zhang hurriedly replied, "I don't dare to claim credit for that. Before coming to this city, I had the great honor to be granted by His Majesty the admission to the Imperial College."

The old official inclined his head and said, "Then it's safe to say that this won't be our last meeting."

Ling Zhang was confused. After they returned to their seats, still in puzzlement, he asked Yuwen Tong in an undertone, "What did that old official mean by that remark? I didn't hear anything about him teaching in the Imperial College."

As if something had just occurred to him, Yuwen Tong patted Ling Zhang on the back of his hand, signaling him to show some patience.

Ling Zhang gave a bob of his head and recovered himself.

After all these interludes, the emperor finally arrived.

"His Majesty approaches!" A eunuch showed up at the doorway and announced the arrival of the emperor and with that all people in the hall rose to their feet and bowed with their hands folded in front to pay their respects.

Ling Zhang had never seen the emperor before, not even in his last incarnation. This was the first time that he had laid eyes on him. Before this day, he had thought that the emperor was a very portly man, but unexpectedly, he was very thin. It was just that he didn't look very well, as if he had been born with a fairly weak constitution, but even if this were the case, it didn't change the fact that he was an emperor, and the commanding presence of him deterred most people present from looking him in the eye.

"You may rise, my Aiqing (a term of endearment used by an emperor or an empress to address an official in feudal China). This banquet is meant for Aiqing Yuwen, who has just returned to this city with a great victory. I'd like to drink this glass of wine first and, on behalf of all my subjects, thank Marshal Yuwen and all troops of the North-western Army for the valor they displayed on the battlefield. Without them, this great victory would never have been gained."

After saying this, the emperor drank the glass of wine in one gulp. Naturally, civil officials and military officers of all ranks followed suit and also made some remarks the meanings of which were similar to that of the emperor's.

Yuwen Tong drank several glasses in a row and the first round was finally over.

Among all attendees, envoys of the Wan Kingdom who had unabashedly attended this welcome reception were the only ones in embarrassment, their faces dark with anger, which made them quite a sorry sight.

Ling Zhang was not the only one in this hall who had a gift for gab. Those civil officials and military officers were also masters of sarcasm, and some of them were even more sharp-tongued than Ling Zhang was. With everybody contributing to the discussion, those envoys of the Wan Kingdom were nearly reduced to vomiting blood due to anger, but they had no alternative but to swallow all those remarks.

Ling Zhang was puzzled. 'What is it that they are after? Why did they put themselves in this awkward situation? They enjoy being ridiculed?'

No matter what the intention of this group of people from the Wan Kingdom was, the thing that Yuwen Tong wanted to do on this night was carried out as planned.

Halfway through the banquet, someone walked in from the outside, saying that he had something to report to Yuwen Tong.

However, right at the time when everybody believed that it was about some special military situation, the man reported, "Your Majesty, Marshal, the assassin who attempted to assassinate Childe Ling has been safely escorted into the capital city. The escort team is waiting right outside."

'An assassin?' All officials were somewhat perplexed. They had heard about the assassination, but rumor had it that all assassins were dead. 'Are they by any chance still alive?'

"Aiqing Yuwen, what's going on?" queried the emperor.

"Your Majesty, one of the two assassins caught in Tanyang bit through a wax ball with poison inside and we failed to save him. The other one bit off his own tongue trying to commit suicide as well but was afterwards found still breathing by me, so I hurriedly forced some medicine into him to keep him alive and then had my personal bodyguards take him to a famous physician in Cangzhou who offered him medical treatment. Since I wasn't sure whether this assassin would survive or not, to be on the safe side, I kept this to myself. Now that he's been escorted back to the capital city, I think he must have survived. I'll go outside and ask him who gave the order. It won't be long."

"Since this matter concerns the Palace Guards, I should not stand by. Have him brought inside," said the emperor.

"Uh... Yes, Your Majesty," Yuwen Tong replied and then instructed the man, "Go and bring him here."

The man followed the order. There was a deathly hush in the hall. Everybody was speculating exactly what was going on. After all, the assassins were palace guards. Though their target had not been Yuwen Tong himself, the intention of the behind-the-scenes mastermind afforded much food for thought. There were indeed some conjecturing that the emperor had been the one who had sent the assassins, that the statement of Ling Zhang being the target was but a cover-up, that Yuwen Tong had been the actual target.

All those who made such conjectures were people who more or less knew about the true thoughts of the emperor, but now, hearing the emperor give the order to interrogate the assassin in front of so many people, they were somewhat puzzled.

'Is His Majesty by any chance not the one responsible for this?'

As a matter of fact, the reason why the emperor had decided to openly interrogate the assassin was indeed to rid himself of suspicions. He did want Yuwen Tong killed, but not at this time, and he wouldn't resort to this kind of method, because this would reduce him to infamy. If he suddenly had Yuwen Tong killed for no good reason and the palace guards were the ones who did it, what would his subjects think of their emperor?

The emperor had a suspicious mind but also knew that this kind of ill name was something he didn't want.

Soon, the assassin was brought inside and forced to his knees in the middle of the hall, all his thoughts dashed, his face ghastly pale. "Your guilty servant pays his respect to you, Your Majesty. Please sentence me to death, though dying ten thousand deaths will not be sufficient to atone for my crime."