Just as Yuwen Tong had expected, when the two of them met the Ling family, Ling Xingzhong and some others observed that Ling Maomao had put on some weight during his several-day stay in the palace at the sight of the little boy. On hearing their remarks, Ling Zhang couldn't help but pull a wry face.

This time around, apart from paying an after-wedding visit to his family, Ling Zhang had come here mainly to check on Ling Zhaowen's preparations for his journey and see if there was anything he could do to help.

"Don't worry. It's all taken care of. I'm your uncle, an adult, remember? I'm totally capable of handling this kind of stuff."

Though Ling Zhaowen said these words in a seemingly disapproving tone, there was smile on his face all along. It was obvious that his nephew's solicitude for him gladdened his heart. Standing on the side, Ling Zhaowu, who was Ling Zhang's natural father, actually felt a little jealous at the sight of this. Ling Zhaowen noticed it but made no effort to restrain himself. He even deliberately chuckled in the presence of his big brother.

Ling Zhaowu, "..."

He might really beat Ling Zhaowen up were the latter not his little brother.

Ling Zhaowen's baggage had indeed been prepared some time before. Steward He and Li Fu would go to Shengzhou with him. The former would act as the butler, and the latter a personal servant. Aside from them, two secret bodyguards of Yuwen Tong's would also be accompanying them. As Shengzhou was under Yuwen Tong's complete control, for the moment there was no need to worry about Ling Zhaowen's safety in that city.

Before lunch, Ling Zhaowen called Ling Zhang in to have an uncle-nephew talk with him in private.

"I'll depart the day after tomorrow. All necessary arrangements have been made for things in this house to be handled, so you don't have to concern yourself about anything. Your father's here, and nothing could go wrong under his watch."

When Ling Zhaowen made the last remark, his tone was imbued with his absolute trust in his big brother. On hearing this, Ling Zhang cast him another look, wondering if his uncle had perceived something, for there seemed to some kind of undertone in his words.

Unsurprisingly, Ling Zhaowen, after saying that, glanced at Ling Zhang and continued, "There's no doubt your father has been through quite some hardships. I could tell that things between you two have become a lot more natural recently, so I think it's safe to say you've made peace with the past. It's a pretty good thing. I have complete peace of mind now."

"Uncle Zhaowen..." Words failed Ling Zhang. Previously he'd never kept anything from his uncle, but afterward, secrets about him had seemed to pile up, and he didn't know how to explain any of them to his uncle. Now, after hearing these words of Ling Zhaowen's, Ling Zhang felt rather upset, wondering if he was doing the wrong thing.

Ling Zhaowen, who knew his nephew just as well as he did his own son, could divine what his nephew was thinking just by looking at him, so he hurriedly raised his hand to stop his nephew from overthinking it. "I'm not saying that you did something wrong. I'm really very happy to see that you and your father have let go of those things. I've watched you grow up, and your father is my blood brother. You two being okay means the world to me."

Ling Zhang gave a bob of the head. "Um."

Ling Zhaowen put his hand down and smiled, "Good boy."

Ling Zhang was somewhat embarrassed by this compliment from his uncle. Seldom had his uncle praised him this way since he'd reached adulthood.

"On the surface your father seems to have changed a lot, but in fact he's just as mulish as always. It's just that when he was young, his stubbornness verged on the bigoted. Now he's older, and he's buried his intransigence fathoms deep, but he's as protective of you as he was of your mother in the past. There's no guarantee he wouldn't do the same thing again if anything happens to you, so you must take good care of yourself."

"I know," replied Ling Zhang in a quiet voice.

"Lately your father's physical condition has been getting better and better. He looks a lot healthier than he did when he first returned home. Also, his face is less sunken, and he appears much younger after being nursed back to health. He's only in his late thirties and is quite virile, but he doesn't have a partner by his side. I tried to persuade him to find one, but he wouldn't listen. He's quite opinionated in this regard as well."

As he finished speaking, Ling Zhaowen let out a sigh. It struck him that his big brother hadn't been able to enjoy life for a single day during the past so many years. His wife had died an early death, and he himself had developed dementia and sustained grievous injuries which had almost cost his life. So many years had passed, and he didn't even have a partner to keep him company.

"You want me to convince my father to remarry, Uncle Zhaowen?" asked Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhaowen looked at him, his face somewhat apologetic. "Without a marriage partner, your father is very lonesome."

"I understand. There's no need for you to feel guilty about what I've been through. Actually I once mentioned this to my father in a roundabout way, but he steered the conversation away. It'll take time. I need a suitable opportunity, and I also need to respect my father's will," said Ling Zhang.

He knew what Ling Zhaowen meant, but he also understood why his father was doing this. If he were his father, he wouldn't be able to forget a love so deep it had been engraved permanently on his heart either. Besides, his father had undergone a rebirth. Given that his father had never remarried in his last incarnation, it was very unlikely that he would be able to move on and marry another woman in this one. Still, his uncle had a point, and Ling Zhang indeed worried that his father would feel lonely if he stayed a widower for too long, so he would try to persuade his father again if the occasion arose.

"You're right," remarked Ling Zhaowen with a nod.

After the uncle and nephew sat down, most of the time Ling Zhaowen was talking about Ling Zhaowu, and Ling Zhang's face took on a reminiscent look as he listened. Despite the many-year separation, things between his uncle and his father didn't seem to have changed a bit. The brotherhood between them had always been so strong.

"Uncle Zhaowen, the climate in Shengzhou is somewhat different from the one in this city. You might be unaccustomed to it when you first get there. Maybe I should have Qiu Bing go there with you in case you need any medical help."

Ling Zhaowen declined the offer. "That won't be necessary. It'll be better if Qiu Bing stays here with you. My constitution is pretty strong. I'm sure I can handle a minor climate change. Besides, there are physicians in Shengzhou as well, aren't there? And they're definitely more experienced in treating that kind of ailments."

Ling Zhaowen didn't want to take too many people with him to Shengzhou where he was to take office, for it'd be bad for him integrating with the local community. The fewer people and baggage he brought, the better.

...

At the same time, Yuwen Tong was also having a private talk with someone – Ji Yanlai.

"... I've already made arrangements for some men to go there. They'll get everything ready beforehand and wait for you in Haizhou," said Yuwen Tong. According to the terms of their deal, he was to grant Ji Yanlai official permission to go to the island. He had already sent some men there to inform the local authorities. The situation in Haizhou was fairly peaceful, so there wouldn't be any serious problems.

Ji Yanlai inclined his head. "I'll send a message to my big sister and have her make contact with your men."

Thus it was settled. Actually there weren't many things the two of them could talk about. Yuwen Tong was just about to end the conversation when he heard Ji Yanlai say, "You still haven't settled the matter of Jiangzhou?"

Ji Yanlai was not the kind of person who would interfere in this kind of things. As long as the sky wasn't falling, he wouldn't be interested in asking a single question about anything of this sort. Given that he was suddenly inquiring about Jiangzhou, there was no doubt that something had happened in that city.

"Not yet. Is something going to happen in Jiangzhou?" asked Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang had once told him that Ji Yanlai possessed extraordinary intuition. In other words, Ji Yanlai had perceived some portents, which was why Yuwen Tong directly asked him whether or not something was going to happen in Jiangzhou.

Ji Yanlai replied, "I could only sense that something's not quite right in Jiangzhou. Maybe there's going to be a disaster. You'd better be careful."

Yuwen Tong gave a bob of the head. "I see. Thank you for the forewarning."

Ji Yanlai would never forewarn anybody for no good reason. Previously Yuwen Tong had sent some men to Jiangzhou to deal with the situation there. Currently, Jiangzhou was under the control of the original garrison. Because of the enthronement ceremony, the imperial wedding and the necessity to hold the situation in Cangzhou in check, Yuwen Tong, instead of playing hardball with the Jiangzhou garrison, had had a lot of men infiltrate into Jiangzhou, planning to disband the armed forces there from within. However, now that Ji Yanlai had given him a word of warning, Yuwen Tong naturally became vigilant, feeling that the matter of Jiangzhou brooked no delay and must be resolved as soon as possible.

Since Ji Yanlai had said that the matter of Jiangzhou might cause a disaster, he would nip it in the bud.

Seeing that Yuwen Tong had come to know what to expect, Ji Yanlai, who had a sense of propriety, made no more remarks.

"By the way, thank you for those diagrams of martial formations." Yuwen Tong recalled the wedding gifts from Ji Yanlai and expressed his gratitude.

Considering Ji Yin had given Ling Zhang some diagrams to be his trousseau, those that Ji Yanlai had presented to him afterward were a token of Ji Yanlai's generosity.

Ji Yanlai said, "Those are just some martial formations suitable to use on the battlefield. For you, they're only the icing on the cake. You don't have to thank me for it. If I continue to keep them, they'll end up being buried in dust. In your hands, they might be able to serve the purpose they're meant for."

Yuwen Tong had read those diagrams, so he naturally knew about the value of them. Those formations could be of much practical use to him. Ji Yanlai had indeed put quite some thought into those gifts.

"If you really want to thank me, you may give me some good stuff after you unify the world," added Ji Yanlai.

Yuwen Tong's heart lurched. These words of Ji Yanlai's suggested that he had probably foreseen something. No matter what, he would come to know about it when the time came. "You have my word," said Yuwen Tong.

Ji Yanlai had always liked Yuwen Tong's briskness, and this occasion was no exception.

...

Ling Zhang, after finishing his talk with Ling Zhaowen, went to see Fu Caiwei, who looked pretty well, unaffected by Ling Zhaowen's upcoming departure. This gave Ling Zhang a great sense of relief.

When he had walked out of Fu Caiwei's courtyard house, he caught sight of Yuwen Tong waiting for him at the front gates.

"Why are you here?"

"It's almost lunchtime. I came here to walk you to the dinning room. How does your aunt look? Is she okay?"

"Yeah. Those middle-aged handmaids told me that recently her appetite has been fairly good, and she smiles a lot."

Yuwen Tong took his hand and the two of them walked abreast, the others following in their wake, keeping a moderate distance from the two of them. Yuwen Tong told him about the forewarning from Ji Yanlai. Ling Zhang's eyebrows contracted slightly. "Something's going to happen in Jiangzhou?"

"No matter what, I need to send some more men to Jiangzhou. This has to be settled as soon as possible," said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang gave it some thought and said, "I'll go."

Yuwen Tong tightened his hold on Ling Zhang's hand and looked at him. "Jiangzhou is too dangerous for you to go to. It's better if I have Jiang Xi go there to handle it."

Ling Zhang said, "One of us have to personally pay a visit to Jiangzhou. Right now this city needs you, which makes me the only one who can do it. Now that the Clan Leader has given you a word of forewarning, the matter of Jiangzhou is definitely not as simple as it seems. I cannot have full peace of mind without personally going there to see it with my own eyes."

Yuwen Tong still refused to relent. Jiangzhou was too dangerous. If he let Ling Zhang go there, he would be on tenterhooks at all times. If anything happened to Ling Zhang, he would be devastated and never be able to perform his duties as the emperor. The very thought of that possibility sent a chill down Yuwen Tong's spine. He grasped Ling Zhang's hand and wouldn't budge an inch on the issue, no matter how hard Ling Zhang tried to convince him.

Two days later, Ling Zhaowen departed for Shengzhou. Ling Zhang went out of the palace to see his uncle off.

After another two days, Ji Yin and Ji Yanlai also prepared themselves to leave the capital city, intending to return to the Sanguan Mountains.

People in the Ling Mansion started packing early in the morning. It was mainly Ji Yanlai's and Ji Xiaocong's bags that they were packing. The uncle and nephew seemed to have sharp curiosity about everything and wanted to include everything in sight as part of their baggage. Had there been any proper methods of preserving food for long, they would purchase all the delicacies for sale in the streets and alleys of the whole capital city and bring them back to the Millennium Pavilion.

Ling Maomao was running around helping Ji Xiaocong pack, his face drenched with sweat, Ji Xiaocong at his heels with laden arms. On entering the house, Ling Zhang was astonished by the two little boys rushed off their feet. At the sight of Ji Xiaocong quickly clattering around with a bag of things in his arms that almost blocked his view of his path, Ling Zhang was taken aback and hastened to his help.

When he had taken the bag from the boy, he found that the contents were just some sundry small items, all of which were doodads appealing to children.

"Do you want these packed as well?"

"Yeah!"

Ji Xiaocong made a reply excitedly, his eyes twinkling with merriment as he watched his bag grow fuller.

Ling Maomao walked over, took the bag from Ling Zhang's hand and put it into a trunk, his forehead and cheeks sopping wet with sweat, a faintly sulky expression on his face, appearing to be a trifle unhappy. Ling Zhang, who could tell at a glance what it was about, didn't say anything and just wiped the sweat off the boy's face.

"Is there anything else, Cong?" Ling Maomao asked Ji Xiaocong.

Ji Xiaocong pivoted around and broke into a trot, clattering away to look for more, Ling Maomao following in his wake at a gentle pace. The two of them had been living in the same house. Originally this house had had only Ling Maomao's things inside it, but afterward Ji Xiaocong had moved in, and then within only a couple of days, a lot of Ji Xiaocong's things had been brought into the house. They were literally everywhere. Ling Zhang couldn't find a single position in this house where he couldn't find any knick-knacks within his reach.

Ji Xiaocong ran into the bedroom, pointed at a small case on the side and said, "This one."

The contents of the case were also miscellaneous, including a kite, some glass beads from abroad, an exquisite pouch... Ling Maomao looked at the case, tentatively tried moving it but found that it was rather heavy. His face reddened from the effort but he still couldn't budge it, so he gave up, appearing somewhat vexed.

Seeing this, Ling Zhang walked over and picked up the case for him. "Don't worry. You'll have enough strength for this when you grow a little taller."

Ji Xiaocong watched Ling Zhang leave with the case, then climbed onto the bed, crawled to the depths of it and pulled out a pillow and a small-sized quilt. Ling Maomao was somewhat surprised at the sight of this. "Cong, you want to take this away as well?"

Ji Xiaocong nodded vigorously. "Yeah!"

He had slept with his head on this pillow and this quilt over his body, so of course these things belonged to him now. Although he had a pillow and a quilt at home which he had been using since birth and he liked them very much, this pillow and this quilt were also his favorites. The very thought of leaving them alone in this place saddened Ji Xiaocong.

On top of that... Ji Xiaocong stole a glance at the pillow and the quilt on the side, slightly inclined to take them too, though they were Ling Maomao's.

Ling Maomao panicked a little. "But, if you take them, there won't be anything of yours left in this house."

Ling Zhang, who had just brought the case outside, returned just in time to see this scene. He paused, gave it some thought and decided not to interrupt them.

Holding the pillow and the quilt, Ji Xiaocong was unwilling to put them down and even greedily wanted to take Ling Maomao's pillow and quilt away too. The artless little boy didn't think much about this matter. He just wanted to take away all the good, familiar things and hide them. It was at the sight of Ling Maomao's injured face that he looked somewhat astonished and slowly slackened his grip. "B–But I want to take them back home, because they'll remind me of you whenever I see them."

Ling Maomao was also astonished. Was that so? Should he let Ji Xiaocong take them away or should he not? But this little jerk Ji Xiaocong had ransacked this whole house and didn't leave anything of his behind.

Eventually it was Ling Maomao who compromised. "Okay then, you may take them."

As Ji Xiaocong saw Ling Maomao relent, smile reappeared on his face and he started crawling down the bed with the pillow and the quilt in his arms, but the two things were too large for his size and he lost his balance. Ling Maomao hurriedly flung out his arms to stop him from falling, scooped him up, put him down onto the ground and then took the quilt from his arms. "I'll take it there for you."

Holding a pillow and a quilt respectively, the two boys trotted outside and handed them to someone who was packing. The one packing Ji Xiaocong's bags was one of Ji Yanlai's men, a guard of the Millennium Pavilion, who was manifestly surprised to see that Ji Xiaocong wanted his pillow and quilt packed as well. "Young Master, you want these taken back too?"

"Yeah," replied Ji Xiaocong seriously.

The guard didn't make any remarks, took the pillow and the quilt from the boy and packed them, feeling that adding another couple of things to the baggage wasn't any trouble at all, given how many things he had packed already. Since these things took his young master's fancy, it was his duty to bring them back.

Ling Zhang, somewhat amused by this scene, called Ji Xiaocong over and asked him if there was anything else he wanted to buy.

Surprisingly enough, this time Ji Xiaocong shook his head and responded, "No. I'll buy more the next time I come here."