Yuwen Tong lifted his brows, coming to understand what Ling Zhang meant. Then his hand which was kneading Ling Zhang's waist instantly slid elsewhere and gave Ling Zhang a little squeeze. "Yeah. This one's exclusive to me."

Ling Zhang had originally just wanted to make a sly little dig at Yuwen Tong. It hadn't crossed his mind that Yuwen Tong would feel him up. He hurriedly took Yuwen Tong's hands off him and said, "What are you doing? People might see us."

"They are all outside," sniffed Yuwen Tong, putting his arms around Ling Zhang again.

Ling Zhang stayed in his embrace for a while and then said, "Okay, that's enough. We should get going. It's inappropriate to keep that many people waiting too long."

It was only then that Yuwen Tong released Ling Zhang. The two of them walked out together and went to the great hall of the Taiqing Palace.

All the courtiers and members of diplomatic corps had arrived. Both the hall and the square in front of the hall were packed with seated guests. Naturally, when Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang entered the hall, all guests rose to their feet and then sunk to their knees to pay their respects.

Ling Zhang lagged a pace behind Yuwen Tong and stood there. Yuwen Tong furrowed his brows and looked over his shoulder at him.

Ling Zhang gave him a gentle push and breathed, "Keep going. Hurry."

Yuwen Tong stared at him for a few moments before pivoting around to resume progressing.

Ling Zhang unnoticeably let out a sigh of relief and then followed Yuwen Tong to the seat of honor.

"My courtiers, envoys of neighboring countries, you may all rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Yuwen Tong sat down in the seat of honor. Ling Zhang, who didn't want to be obtrusive, settled himself in a right-hand seat.

Although Ling Zhang wasn't an official, everybody present knew about his identity, so even if he took the seat beside the seat of honor, nobody would dare say anything about it, but Ling Zhang didn't want to steal Yuwen Tong's thunder. This night belonged to Yuwen Tong, who was supposed to be the shiniest star, and nobody would be able to pull focus from him.

Of all those present, apart from the civil officials and military officers of all descriptions and members of diplomatic corps of the three foreign countries, there were also some others who were fairly conspicuous – members of the Ling family.

The Ling family were the only ones present who hadn't been rewarded. Everybody else speculated that they would be rewarded after the wedding ceremony.

Aside from the Ling family, there were yet another two persons who attracted many people's attention – Ji Yanlai and his nephew, Ji Xiaocong. Ji Yanlai had unnaturally attractive looks, and Ji Xiaocong was fair-skinned and quite adorable, but nobody knew who they were. The courtiers merely heard that the two of them were presently living with the Ling family, that their surname was Ji, that they and Ling Zhang's maternal grandfather were from the same clan. Nobody knew anything more about them. Their identity and background were both cloaked in a shroud of mystery.

Some people had tried to fish for information, but the Ling family gave those people a perfunctory reply and dismissed them. Even when someone asked Ji Yanlai directly, the latter just pretended not to have heard them.

Some got angry, but they didn't dare show any sign of their anger, what with the occasion. Most importantly, both Ling Zhang and the emperor were very polite to Ji Yanlai, which further deterred those people from saying anything offensive to Ji Yanlai.

Ling Zhang was somewhat amused by the sight of Ji Yanlai unhurriedly enjoying the food, showing a total disregard for those people who were trying to sound him out or giving him dirty looks. Ji Yanlai didn't care about any of those things that these people believed he cared about. As there was nothing these people could offer that could pique Ji Yanlai's interest, it was only too natural that Ji Yanlai was cold-shouldering them.

Apart from Ji Yanlai, there were yet another two people who were also fairly conspicuous – Xu Lingyun and Xiao Ziyan. The two of them were sitting at the same table. Though their conduct was totally socially acceptable, they appeared intimate and in sync, and there was an entirely different air about them. Those who knew their identities were all sneaking surreptitious glances at them, trying to find something to satisfy their curiosity and desire of prying into others' personal life, but Xu Lingyun and Xiao Ziyan looked calm and composed, utterly unconcerned by those people's gaze.

And then there were Jiang Xi, Shao Feng and some others of the North-western Army. These people were high-ranking officers of the North-western Army and also Yuwen Tong's most immediate, most trusted subordinates. They represented the hundreds of thousands of troops of the North-western Army, who were the strongest force at Yuwen Tong's back.

This banquet was an occasion where old courtiers and newly appointed ones got to know each other, where officials of the four countries communicated, and where various forces sounded each other out.

Those who hadn't enjoyed themselves to their hearts' content wouldn't leave before the end of the banquet.

Ling Zhang sat there for quite some time. He didn't leave either. For him, this was an opportunity to know all those people at once. While the others were observing him, he was also observing the others.

"Big Brother, His Majesty is looking at you," said Ling Maomao, glancing at Yuwen Tong who was sitting in the seat of honor and had been gazing at his big brother for quite a while. Then he shifted his gaze to Ling Zhang whose mind seemed to be wandering and gave his arm a gentle push.Read manga at our MangaBob.com

Ling Zhang pulled himself back to the present, subconsciously twisted his head aside to look in the direction of Yuwen Tong, a puzzled expression in his eyes, as though asking Yuwen Tong why he was gazing at him.

Yuwen Tong, seeing Ling Zhang had barely touched the food in front of him and been drinking and dealing with those trying to strike up conversations with him, worried that the wine would take a toll on Ling Zhang's health, so he sent someone to have those in the kitchen prepare a bowl of noodle soup for Ling Zhang.

As a bowl of hot noodle soup was proffered to Ling Zhang, all those who were on their way to Ling Zhang's table to make his acquaintance halted, gazing confusedly at the noodle.

Yuwen Tong said, "Don't just drink wine."

All the others, "..."

They quietly turned around and returned to their seats.

Clearly the emperor was disgruntled, and whoever dared to urge Childe Ling to drink wine would be working against the emperor, and to work against a newly enthroned emperor was no doubt suicidal.

Looking at the bowl of noodle, Ling Zhang pulled a wry face. How was he supposed to eat when everybody present was staring squarely at him?

Yuwen Tong withdrew his eyes, which then slowly swept across all those in the hall.

The courtiers, all of whom were observant and could take the hint, immediately looked away from Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang, "..."

Ling Maomao took a couple of sniffs and said, "This smells like the noodle my mother makes. Who made this, Big Brother?"

Ling Zhang took a slurp from his bowl and then replied, "A cook of the Infinite Fortune Palace."

The "cook of the Infinite Fortune Palace" sitting in the seat of honor twisted his head aside and glanced at Ling Zhang. It was after he saw Ling Zhang eating noodle with loud slurps that his face softened.Read manga at our MangaBob.com

Yuwen Tong had started making the soup base very early in the morning. He had instructed the cooks to keep watch on the fire and leave the soup base to simmer. Also, he had made the noodle from dough all by himself when he'd gone back to change his clothes. As regards the chopped green onion and the fried egg, it had indeed been a cook in the Infinite Fortune Palace who prepared them. These two things, after being made, lost their original flavor easily, and there was nothing Yuwen Tong could do about it.

Watching his big brother eating the noodle with good relish, Ling Maomao swallowed hard, and then he quietly twisted his head around to enjoy the courses in front of him. Although the smell of the noodle was tantalizing, these dishes made by imperial chefs were very delicious as well. Ling Maomao felt that it was a little dumb of his big brother to choose a bowl of noodle over a tableful of delicacies.

Ling Zhang, who Ling Maomao believed was a little stupid, finished the bowl of noodle and the soup. Feeling comfortable, he kneaded his belly. He had broken out in a sweat due to the heat but looked in much better spirits.

Seeing he had finished the noodle, Yuwen Tong instructed a servant to take the empty bowl away.

All officials present were astonished by the emperor's public display of affection, and even Ling Zhang's family members were somewhat embarrassed, having mixed feelings.

Fu Caiwei secretly gave a chuckle and said, "This is a good thing, isn't it? His Majesty cares about Zhang'er so much. Now we have nothing to worry about."

Watching Ling Zhang kneading his belly, Ling Zhaowen had a complex expression in his eyes. "His Majesty is overindulging him. It's inappropriate to behave this way on an occasion like this."

Fu Caiwei smiled, "What's important is that they have a good life and are happy."

After some time, Ling Zhang who had finished a bowl of noodle began to feel sleepy. He sat there for another few moments and his eyes became somewhat unfocused, but he still tried his best to keep his eyelids from drooping.

Yuwen Tong's attention had been on Ling Zhang all along. Though his eyes didn't seem to be fixed on Ling Zhang all the time, he still immediately noticed the dreamy look on Ling Zhang's face. He knew Ling Zhang well and could tell without a second thought that Ling Zhang had had his fill of food and drink and was now sleepy.

Yuwen Tong looked out of the hall into the sky to gauge the time. This banquet had lasted long enough, and it wouldn't be the last one. During the next few days, there would be several other banquets, so Yuwen Tong rose to his feet.

The moment he stood up, all the others naturally looked in his direction.

"I feel sleepy, so I'm going to call it a night. You may continue enjoying this banquet."

"Have a safe trip home, Your Majesty," chorused all the officials.

Yuwen Tong descended the stairs, walked up to Ling Zhang and gave him a wink.

Ling Zhang, whose drowsiness was instantly driven away by the officials' reply in unison, saw Yuwen Tong's wink and hastened to stand up to follow him. Before leaving, he told Miao Shiba to take some men and escort his family back to the Ling Mansion safely.

"Consider it done, Childe Ling," said Miao Shiba.

Ling Zhang drew abreast of Yuwen Tong and the two of them left the great hall together.

After leaving the great hall, they kept walking forward for a distance, leaving the babble of voices behind them. As he breathed the fresh air, Ling Zhang's mind felt much clearer.

Seeing Ling Zhang was slowing down, Yuwen Tong turned around and took his hand. "Hurry up. The night wind is chill. You drank a lot of wine, and you might catch a cold if you're exposed to this wind for too long."

Ling Zhang caught up with him and they progressed shoulder to shoulder. "You drank a lot of wine as well, didn't you?" he said.

"Hey." He suddenly raised his voice and observed happily, "Although it's been a tiring day, I think we both enjoyed ourselves a lot."

At the sight of Ling Zhang's starry eyes which were gleaming with delight, intense longing started to flood Yuwen Tong in waves. In a low and deep voice, he replied, "Yeah."Read manga at our MangaBob.com

Then he reached out an arm, swept Ling Zhang into his tight embrace and began kissing him uncontrollably.

Seeing this, the guards behind them hastened to back away.

Ling Zhang gave a chuckle and put his arms around Yuwen Tong's neck, his lips parted...

Yuwen Tong's eyes instantly became feverish with desire. He quickly stretched out his other arm and scooped Ling Zhang up. Carrying him on the crooks of his arms, he rapidly returned to the Infinite Fortune Palace.

The two of them were both quite weary, but fatigue was never a problem for them when they were turned on.

...

After a long sex, the two of them lay motionlessly on the bed, holding each other.

Ling Zhang was half-asleep. Cuddling him, Yuwen Tong was still kissing his sweaty cheek. He moved Ling Zhang's forelock aside and lightly wiped the sweat from his brow and the corners of his eyes. "I anticipate the wedding ceremony more than I did the enthronement ceremony."

At the banquet earlier tonight, Ling Zhang had refused to sit beside him, so he could only gaze at him and hadn't been able to touch Ling Zhang from start to finish.

"Um," Ling Zhang dreamily mumbled. In fact, he didn't even know what he was agreeing to, let alone what Yuwen Tong had just said.

Yuwen Tong gave a hollow chuckle. "So you agree."

"Let's get married tomorrow..."

Ling Zhang had no idea what kind of suggestion he had just groggily made that he would bitterly regret having made later. It was probably because he heard Yuwen Tong mention something about him anticipating the wedding ceremony more that he subconsciously said these words.

Though aware that holding the wedding ceremony the next day was not workable, Yuwen Tong still rejoiced in the knowledge that Ling Zhang looked forward to their wedding as much as he did.

"Back at the time when my grandfather and my parents passed away one after another, I believed that providence must dislike me very much to have had subjected me to that many pains, but now I'm really grateful to providence for sending you to me. I'm luckier in this incarnation than I was in the last one," muttered Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang had fallen into a fairly deep sleep and couldn't hear a single word of Yuwen Tong's.

"So you must stay by my side at all times. You must not leave or walk too far away from me."

"Um."

A feeble and faint grunt was heard and with that Yuwen Tong immediately looked down at Ling Zhang, but the latter was not awake at all, and he'd given that grunt in a completely unconscious way. It was so light as though it had never existed.Read manga at our MangaBob.com

"I'll take that for a yes."

Yuwen Tong carefully pecked him, shifted his position, closed his eyes and soon fell asleep as well.

There were a whole bunch of matters he would have to wake up early in the morning to attend to.

...

In the Ling Mansion.

Ling Zhaowu was sitting in his courtyard house, drinking alone.

Ling Zhaowen walked inside. "You're still awake, Big Brother."

Ling Zhaowu said, "It's pretty late. Why did you come here instead of keeping Caiwei company?"

Ling Zhaowen stepped to the table, took a seat and replied, "Because I figured you might not be able to sleep tonight, what with what happened at the banquet."

Ling Zhaowu lifted his eyebrows and looked at him. "How do you know that?"

Ling Zhaowen responded, "Apart from anything else, we're blood brothers. Besides, I watched Zhang'er grew up, and I've been treating him like my own son. I had a hard job bringing him up, and now, Yuwen Tong's taking him away from me."

Ling Zhaowu gave a chuckle, pouring his brother a small cup of wine. "You want to have a drink with me?"

Ling Zhaowen sniffed at the wine. "This is almost as good as the wine they served at the banquet tonight. Why have I never seen you drink this kind of wine before?"

"I bought it only earlier this day. People of the Taibai Tavern preserved it for years and have just taken it out of their wine cellar," explained Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhaowen took a sip of the wine and savored it with obvious relish. "Brother, it surprises me you're so familiar with the capital city. I asked some people who'd lived here for a long time, and I found that even they had no knowledge of many of the things you know about."

Ling Zhaowu asked, "So you're here to investigate me?"

Ling Zhaowen said, "We're brothers. Of course I'm not here to investigate you. Just tell me the truth."

Ling Zhaowu said, "Well, I sort of have been to this city before. I heard about some of those things on my way here. The one who told me those things was a native of this city who was born and grew up here. There are many things unknown to out-of-towners. I just went there to try my luck, and it turned out I was in luck. Now I can see that that person didn't lie to me."

Ling Zhaowen observed, "It would seem fate was kind to you, Brother."

Ling Zhaowu sighed, "If that was the case, I wouldn't have been separated from Zhang'er and you guys for that long."

Ling Zhaowen said, "But our family has been reunited anyhow, and now I want nothing more than to see you and Zhang'er have a good life."

Ling Zhaowu raised his hand and clapped him on the shoulder. "I'm not worthy of a brother like you."

Ling Zhaowen didn't like this remark and told him off for it. After that, he added, "If you say something like this again, I'll never have another drink with you."

Ling Zhaowu said, "I apologize, Brother. Don't be mad."

Ling Zhaowen was astonished. Many years ago, when the two of them had been little boys, Ling Zhaowu had always coaxed him this way whenever he'd been angry. Recalling this, Ling Zhaowen felt a twinge of sadness. Finding this both funny and annoying, he said, "It surprises me you still remember that."

"How could I forget it?" said Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhaowen sighed, "Time really flies. Zhang'er is a grown man now, and after some time he'll be the empress of the Great Wen. Sometimes I couldn't help wondering whether this is a good thing for him or not. Previously, the reason why we insisted he marry Yuwen Tong was because at that time Yuwen Tong was a marshal, a military officer, but now things have changed so fast, and I'm not so sure we did the right thing."

Ling Zhaowu said, "I could tell what kind of person Yuwen Tong is, and I believe we can trust him to take good care of Zhang'er."

Ling Zhaowen naturally also knew that Yuwen Tong was trustworthy. It was the emperorship that he didn't trust. Yuwen Tong's identity had changed, and a lot of things had changed with it.

"Time will prove everything, and no matter what, we'll always be at Zhang'er's back," said Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhaowen gave a smile. "You're right. It's no good thinking about these things at this point in time."

"You should go back. It's late. Caiwei must've got worried," said Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhaowen gave a bob of the head, gulped down the rest of his wine and rose to his feet. "I came here with the intention to offer you a few words of comfort, but I ended up being comforted by you, Brother."

Ling Zhaowu said with a smile, "I'm your big brother after all."

Smiling, Ling Zhaowen took his leave. Ling Zhaowu thought about something for quite a while and eventually returned to his room.

...

This was a night when the whole nation joined in the jubilation. The night market of the capital city lasted the whole night, and the next day most people overslept.