At the sight of the harassed-looking Right Prime Minister grabbing Yuwen Tong, Ling Zhang quietly backed away two paces and then unblushingly walked away, leaving Yuwen Tong in the lurch.

Yuwen Tong, "..."

The Right Prime Minister and some others immediately besieged Yuwen Tong for fear that he would leave as well. Yuwen Tong had no alternative but to invite them to his study to sit and talk. Thus, Ling Zhang successfully made good his escape.

Ling Zhang went to see his grandfather. Ji Yin, who had some time ago sensed his grandson's arrival, was waiting for him.

"Grandfather."

Ling Zhang walked up to Ji Yin, who looked at his grandson with penetrating eyes and immediately found that something about Ling Zhang was not quite right. "Your internal energy is not as powerful as before. You are hurt?"

Not having expected that his grandfather would perceive it at a glance, Ling Zhang had no choice but to honestly give Ji Yin an account of how he had accidentally drained himself of internal energy.

"The pill Yuwen Tong gave me worked like a charm. Grandfather, I think I'll soon make a breakthrough and reach the third layer of the mental cultivation method."

Ji Yin made no reply, reached out a hand to hold Ling Zhang's wrist, carefully felt his pulse and then said, "It seems that that misfortune was a blessing in disguise. But your internal energy hasn't been restored completely yet. Right now you need to recover your internal energy first before considering how to make a breakthrough."

"I understand."

"Where's your father?"

"Yuwen Tong and I needed to come back as soon as possible, and we worried that my father wouldn't be able to endure the weary journey, so we didn't let him travel with us. It'll probably take him another three to five days to arrive," Ling Zhang explained and then inquired of Ji Yin, "Did anything particular happen during these days, Grandfather?"

"It's been fairly peaceful. There hasn't been anything requiring my personal intervention."

Ling Zhang felt a faint sense of relief, happy to learn that everything was fine.

Ji Yin was not very interested in the matters in the borderlands. As the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom had been defeated, what they should consider right now was Yuwen Tong's enthronement.

"I wonder what that Yuwen boy is planning. He still hasn't killed the two princes of the imperial household."

Ling Zhang didn't know any details about Yuwen Tong's plan either, but he did know that the reason why Yuwen Tong spared the two princes' lives must be because they would prove useful. Otherwise Yuwen Tong would have some time ago taken their lives.

"Have there been any accidents in the imperial palace, Grandfather?"

"No. Some trouble-makers tried to sneak in to rescue them. I took care of them."

"Who tried to rescue Fang Quan and his allies? Were they related to any courtiers?"

"They were sellswords from Jiangzhou. Someone hired them to rescue those in the palace. We killed several batches of them before they stopped showing up."

Surprised that the garrison of Jiangzhou were still unreconciled to the situation after the garrison of Shengzhou defeated them and forced them back to Jiangzhou, Ling Zhang slightly furrowed his brows.

"Those people are the least of our problems. I can take them apart with a flick of my finger. What we need to do right now is bury the old emperor's body. His coffin has been in there for long enough."

Had Ji Yin not mentioned this matter, Ling Zhang would probably forget that the old emperor's body was still in the palace. After the old emperor's death, they had been using ice to preserve his body. Currently, placed in the great hall of the imperial palace was a giant ice coffin, but no matter what, it had been in there for long enough.

Ling Zhang felt that the first thing they should do was probably hold a burial of the old emperor.

This was also the very matter that those in the study were discussing. The Right Prime Minister and all the others suggested they had the old emperor's body delivered to the imperial mausoleum and buried as soon as possible.

"What's the head star-watcher's opinion? When is the nearest day suitable for a burial?" inquired Yuwen Tong.

"The day after tomorrow," answered the Right Prime Minister immediately. He had done some research some time ago.

"The day after tomorrow it is."

...

Two days later, the old emperor's coffin was finally moved out of the imperial palace and sent to the imperial mausoleum to be buried. Previously the mausoleum had been under construction, but recently they had specially ordered the builders to speed it up and the project had been finished shortly before the burial of the emperor. Thus, the burial ceremony was handled without much trouble.

The old emperor buried, the enthronement of a new emperor became pressing.

...

Fang Quan and all the others who had attempted to rebel had been temporarily thrown into the Court Prison. The Eighth Prince and the Ninth Prince were still in the imperial palace.

The next day, word got out that the Eighth Prince had been enthroned. Right at the time when a lot of people were in astonishment, another extremely dramatic event occurred.

The Eighth Prince abdicated in favor of Yuwen Tong, the Supreme Commander of the armed forces.

After the imperial edict of abdication was released, everybody, both discerning ones and undiscerning ones, came to understand what was going on.

Of course, there were also some who were unreconciled to the situation, such as the garrison of Jiangzhou and the garrison stationed in the south-west, but naturally some people would make them shut their mouths, such as the garrison of Shengzhou and the garrisons He Xiao had united. On top of that, the whole north-west was completely under Yuwen Tong's control, and all the uncertainties in and outside the imperial court had been taken care of. Yuwen Tong ascended the throne almost utterly unopposed.

The abdication ceremony turned out to be quite an occasion. When Yuwen Tong took the imperial edict of abdication with both hands, Ling Zhang was standing right by his side. From this moment on, Yuwen Tong's identity changed thoroughly.

"I'm honored to kneel before you, Your Majesty. Hail to the emperor!"

The Right Prime Minister prostrated himself and with that civil officials and military officers of all descriptions followed suit, offering their congratulations to the new emperor.

Even at this moment, Ling Zhang still had a somewhat distant look in his eyes. Previously he had considered several possibilities, but it had never crossed his mind that this matter would be settled this way. Yuwen Tong became the new emperor just like this?

Yuwen Tong holding his hand, the two of them were standing shoulder to shoulder on a high platform. However, looking down at the scene in front of the platform, Ling Zhang felt that what was happening seemed to be somewhat unreal.

"What's the matter?" asked Yuwen Tong under his breath, noticing that Ling Zhang's mind was wandering.

Ling Zhang slightly shook his head. "I just haven't got used to the change of your identity."

Yuwen Tong smiled, "I'm not the only one whose identity has changed. Yours has changed as well."

Ling Zhang looked at him in a stupor. Yuwen Tong firmly tightened his hold on his hand and said, "Soon we'll get married, and you'll be my consort."

Ling Zhang's eyes dilated with shock. Con–Consort?

For an instant Ling Zhang suspected that he was hallucinating. Then he abruptly had an astounding feeling that a sea change was really happening right in front of his eyes.

"Why do you look so shocked? You've never thought of any of this?" said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang subconsciously shook his head. He had indeed never thought of any of this. Even at the time when Yuwen Tong had confided to him that he was planning to take the throne and become the emperor of this country, he had believed Yuwen Tong was just trying to help them survive. In his eyes, Yuwen Tong was still that marshal, and he was going to marry a marshal, not an emperor, but now he suddenly came to realize that things had changed, which was an overwhelming shock to him.

When Yuwen Tong had drawn him down the high platform, Ling Zhang still hadn't come to himself.

"Although I've got the imperial edict of abdication and a proclamation has been made, we still have an official enthronement ceremony to prepare, and there are also a lot of other matters to attend to before that, so I won't be able to find the time to go to the Ling Mansion any time soon. How about we move into the imperial palace and stay there for some days?"

Ling Zhang twisted his head aside to look at Yuwen Tong. "Move into the imperial palace?"

Yuwen Tong was still holding his hand, fixing him with an expectant gaze.

"Okay," responded Ling Zhang.

...

"What do you think, Father-in-law? Yuwen Tong's performance doesn't strike you as disappointing, I suppose?"

In the Ling Mansion, Ling Zhaowu was playing chess with Ji Yin. The commotion outside was shattering the air, but the two of them were totally unaffected by it, sitting there unhurriedly, enjoying their game of chess.

"A man with the physiognomic attributes typical of a ruler could hardly do anything disappointing," observed Ji Yin. "Otherwise the Clan Leader wouldn't have pinned his faith on him."

Ling Zhaowu smiled, "The Clan Leader will soon take action, right?"

Ji Yin replied, "I think so. Two days ago I received a letter from him, which said that he'd come to attend the enthronement ceremony and Zhang'er's wedding."

"I wonder how they are doing with the preparatory work in Tanyang. The wedding ceremony will be held right after the enthronement," said Ling Zhaowu, a different expression finally appearing on his placid face.

Ji Yin replied, "I would've personally gone to Tanyang if it weren't for the possibility of unexpected changes of the situation in this city."

Ling Zhaowu said, "I cannot put you to the trouble of doing that, Father-in-law. I want to bring my father and little brother to this city first. When Zhang'er and Yuwen Tong get married, it'd be inappropriate for Yuwen Tong to go to Tanyang and escort Zhang'er back to the wedding, for it's too far away."

Ji Yin inclined his head. "Let's do it this way – I'll have Donglin and Chaofang take some men and go to Tanyang and then escort all of them back to the capital city."

With Ji Donglin and Ji Chaofang protecting them, at least Ling Xingzhong's and the others' safety wouldn't be a problem.

"There's no point waiting. I'll have them depart right away. As for you, given that you've just finished a long journey, you should sit this out. Right now nursing yourself back to health is the most important to you," said Ji Yin.

Ling Zhaowu gave it some thought and then agreed, "Okay. Thank you, Father-in-law."

Ji Yin moved a piece on the chessboard. "With you staying safe and sound, Zhang'er will naturally have more peace of mind."

Ling Zhaowu gave a smile and looked at the chessboard, a faintly brooding expression in his eyes.

...

Before moving into the imperial palace, Ling Zhang returned to the Ling Mansion.

"Maternal Grandfather, Father, I want to have Wang Dashan and some others go back to Tanyang and escort my paternal grandfather and uncle here," said Ling Zhang.

Apart from Yuwen Tong's enthronement and their oncoming wedding, Ling Zhang's worries about the safety of his family in Tanyang was also a reason why he wanted to do this. After all, some risks would never cease to exist unless Yuwen Tong acceded to the throne.

Ling Zhaowu said, "It's been handled already. Your grandfather had Donglin and Chaofang take some men and go to Tanyang."

Ling Zhang was very happy to hear that. "You two always outthink me, Father, Grandfather."

Ling Zhaowu and Ji Yin both chuckled.

Ji Yin said, "With Donglin and Chaofang escorting them, you don't have to worry about your paternal grandfather's and uncle's safety. That Yuwen boy will definitely be fully occupied for some time. What about you? Do you have any plans?"

Ling Zhang responded, "I'll be keeping him company. Later I'll pack a few things and bring them into the imperial palace. I'll stay there with him."

Ji Yin exchanged glances with Ling Zhaowu, who asked somewhat surprisedly, "You're moving into the imperial palace?"

Seeing the astonishment on both their faces, Ling Zhang was worried that there was some kind of problem.

Ling Zhaowu said, "Well, it's not really a serious problem. It's just you two are not married yet. Although previously the two of you were living together, the place you were staying was the Ling Mansion. Now his identity is different, and numerous people are keeping watch on the imperial palace. If you move into the palace with him, you'll become the focus of everybody's attention, and it's very likely that there will be malicious rumors."

Ling Zhang's forehead corrugated in a slight frown. In fact, he had thought about this on his way back, but he didn't like the idea of leaving Yuwen Tong in the palace alone. There were not many things he could do for Yuwen Tong, but keeping him company was one of them.

"I'm not going to be bothered by rumors. What with my identity, there are probably rumors about me circulating out there right now, and they won't stop even after I marry him, but I don't really care. It's not them that I live for. From the vantage point of the present, even if they have something to say about it, they'll have to keep it to themselves."

Both Ling Zhaowu and Ji Yin appeared calm, unsurprised at Ling Zhang's decision.

"Then bring your bodyguards with you. They have learned how to deploy the formation that I deployed in this compound. Have them deploy one in your place and stay close to you whenever possible," said Ji Yin.

Ling Zhang inclined his head. "I'll bring them with me."

With the imperial edict of abdication in hand, their first priority was to hold an enthronement ceremony. However, holding an enthronement ceremony was no easy job. There was a lot of preparatory work involved, including sending invitations to neighboring countries. Though they had decided to omit all the unnecessary formalities, there were still a lot of matters left to be dealt with. These things were keeping them so occupied that they frequently lost track of time.

Ling Zhang, along with his bodyguards, moved into the imperial palace with Yuwen Tong, planning to stay there for some days. A thousand crack troops that Yuwen Tong had brought back from the north-west, who were under the command of Yao Yi and some other personal bodyguards of Yuwen Tong's, were overtly guarding the palace. Qi San, one of Yuwen Tong's trusted subordinates, and the Shadow Battalion at his command, were guarding it covertly. The palace where Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang were staying was under heavy security.

The palace they were temporarily staying in was called the Infinite Fortune Palace, which was the closest to the great consultation hall. Yuwen Tong had picked this palace because it'd be more convenient for him to deal with the many affairs that he was supposed to handle during the next few days.

After entering the palace with Ling Zhang, Wang Dashan and the other bodyguards deployed a formation around the Infinite Fortune Palace, which was riddled with smaller concealment formations and traps. Anybody who dared to approach the Infinite Fortune Palace without someone leading the way would fall victim.

...

Invitations had been sent to the Wan Kingdom, the Luohai Kingdom and the Fangcun Kingdom as a matter of urgency. Governors of the many prefectures, after receiving the messages, had all started making preparations for their journeys to the capital city. Garrisons of all prefectures had orders to stay where they were. In the capital city, staff members of various departments were mainly engaged in the preparatory work for Yuwen Tong's enthronement. All other matters had been shelved.

There were quite some pressing issues that they needed to find solutions to before the enthronement: firstly, what to do with the Eighth Prince and the Ninth Prince, the two surviving members of the Zhou family, the former imperial household; secondly, how to reward the North-western Army for their meritorious service; thirdly, how to reward the garrison of Shengzhou; fourthly, how to punish the garrison of Jiangzhou; fifthly, the follow-up settlement of the issue of the rebel forces in Cangzhou; sixthly, the security of the capital city on the day of the enthronement ceremony; seventhly, the amnesties for prisoners at the enthronement; eighthly...

How to resolve these problems had to be decided before the enthronement, so that decrees could be issued one by one in an orderly fashion after the ceremony.

"The rebel forces in Cangzhou have been thoroughly overpowered. After the rebellion was suppressed, the General Zhongwu (AKA the General of Loyalty and Valor) adopted a conciliatory approach as you ordered him to. Keeping the situation in Cangzhou stable for a certain period of time won't be a problem, but it usually takes a long time for a policy of conciliation to produce the desired effect, so we may have to show some patience. The best solution, I believe, is for Sire to grant amnesties to some criminals at your enthronement, treat the rebels leniently except for the leaders, and those who were originally common folk may be spared. And those miscellaneous taxes that could be abolished should be killed off. Also, we need to make sure those common folk get their paddy fields back after returning home, so that they could sustain their families."

"The Right Prime Minister's got a point. When the Zhou family were in charge, there were too many exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous levies imposed on people in this country. You should abolish as many of them as possible when you grant amnesties to prisoners. Our people have been under heavy burdens during the many years of war. We have to give them a respite so that they could restore their lives as soon as possible."

"Sire, here is the list of taxes that we made previously. We consulted with each other and took the liberty of marking the taxes that we believe could be scrapped. Please go over it and make a decision, Sire."

"This is a draft plan concerning the amnesties and conciliation aimed at the rebel forces and common folk in Cangzhou. Please look it over, Sire."

"Here is a list of the vacant positions of responsibility in the imperial court, along with the several selection mechanisms that we came up with after some consultations. We don't know whether you would find any of them feasible. Please go over it and make a decision, Sire."

"Here are some proposals about the rewards for the service of the North-western Army and the garrison of Shengzhou. We don't know which one is the most appropriate, so we list them all. Please go over them and make a decision."

"Here are some suggestions about the punishment of the garrison of Jiangzhou..."

"This is a proposal about what to do with the Eighth Prince and the Ninth Prince..."