Two hours later, the city gates of the Luohai capital opened without notice.

The Great-Wen army were instantly on the alert, but then they saw that out of the city came a group of officials in robes, civil ones and military ones, a large number of citizens following in their wake.

Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang, who were looking in the direction of the city in the distance, saw this scene and exchanged a glance, knowing that the plan worked.

"Holy shit! What's going on? Wh–What do those people think they're doing?!" exclaimed Yuwen Jin, astonished.

"You moron. Isn't it obvious? They're here to surrender," said He Xiao, rolling his eyes at him.

Yuwen Jin's eyes widened. "Does that mean we don't have to attack the city any more?"

"What's the point of attacking the city when they've already surrendered?"

Soon, the troops of the Great Wen also fell to formation. Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang, followed by some officers, walked out of the encampment, halted a few paces away from the entrance and waited.

The Luohai official heading the team found his whole body tense, feeling as though his feet were growing heavier with his every step, but as he saw that Yuwen Tong had actually walked out of the encampment with some officers and was waiting near the entrance, he abruptly relaxed completely, mixed feelings instantly rising inside him.

There was no insult to the vanquished. No matter what Yuwen Tong's true thoughts were, at least on the surface he was showing them respect.

And that was enough for them.

...

" ... We're here to capitulate to Your Majesty and the Great Wen on behalf of all residents of this city. We petition Your Majesty to grant us permission to be your subjects. We ask for nothing but that Your Majesty show mercy to the residents of this city."

Luohai officials of all descriptions, along with the citizens in their wake, got down on one knee, the one in charge presenting an instrument of surrender with both hands.

Yuwen Tong's calm eyes swept across the group of people. Due to the air about him which was more powerful and brooding than anybody's, all those in front of him bowed their heads, appearing respectful or scared, not daring look up at him, foreheads of the couple of officials at the front covered in fine beads of cold sweat.

It was a few moments before Yuwen Tong took the instrument of surrender in that man's hands, unfurled it, read it and said, "Your petition's granted."

The subdued, nervous atmosphere instantly became relaxed. All those officials put their other knees to the ground and prostrated themselves.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The citizens chorused the same words, their collective voices much louder than the officials'.

All members of the Great-Wen army behind Yuwen Tong, at the sight of this scene, threw out their chests, looking at Yuwen Tong with fervent reverie in their eyes.

...

Since the capital had capitulated, all the other cities gave up resisting and opened the gates to let the Great-Wen army in to take over.

Thus, the whole Luohai Kingdom was also subjected to the Great Wen's rule.

And the reunification of the three countries had been achieved in terms of territory.

This day marked a new chapter of the Great Wen which was slowly entering its prime.

...

...

Another five years passed.

In Xinjing, the new capital of the Great Wen.

The whole city was oozing liveliness and prosperity, every street swarming with pedestrians.

Five years ago, the Great Wen had accomplished the great cause of the reunification of the three countries and its capital had been moved. The new capital was almost twice the size of the old one, and its population had been booming in the past few years.

People of the two subjugated countries had gradually come to accept their new identity as Great-Wen subjects over the past five years, mixing with the original subjects of the Great Wen, multiplying and living a happy life. The situation at the border had also gradually stabilized and there hadn't been any unrest.

Overall, the Great Wen was showing a relentlessly upward development trajectory.

Also, the residents' respect and love for the ruler of the Great Wen had been deepening.

The imperial couple's tenth wedding anniversary was drawing near, and residents of all cities were awaiting the upcoming celebration with keen anticipation. Many caravans from various prefectures had come to the capital city several days in advance. Apart from merchants, some of those who had the economic power had also journeyed to the capital, coming along for the ride.

Government departments in the capital city had also prepared themselves for the approaching grand occasion.

...

In the imperial palace.

Carved beams and painted rafters could be seen everywhere in the resplendent and magnificent complex of buildings.

The new imperial palace of the Great Wen, built according to Yuwen Tong's and Ling Zhang's preference, was very different from the palace in the former capital. The design of it was centered on making sure that the imperial couple found it a comfortable dwelling.

The imperial bedchamber had once again been sited in the vicinity of the consultation hall. There were partition walls between the two palaces both of which were heavily guarded.

On this day, eunuchs were animatedly bustling around in the imperial palace, putting the finishing touches to the preparation for the oncoming celebration, the hustle making an enjoyable sight. The imperial study, however, was still very quiet, with only the guards on duty standing outside, and nobody dared approach it without permission.

The atmosphere in the study was also a little subdued compared with how it was at ordinary times.

All the guards outside found their backs tense, looking too nervous to make a sound.

The reason for this was that there had been a lot going on in the imperial study since morning, and several batches of courtiers had visited it, keeping the emperor so occupied with state affairs that he was unable to leave the imperial study to go out of the palace with the empress, the princes and the princess, which was why he was in a very foul mood and the atmosphere in the study was rather glum.

With a cold face, Yuwen Tong, having just finished reading a memorial, tossed it to the side and said to the courtier standing in front of his desk, "I can't believe you've been fussing over such a trivial matter the whole morning. Have someone figure it out before you come here again."

"Yes, Your Majesty," answered the courtier hastily before quietly wiping the sweat off his forehead. It was not that they wanted to add to the emperor's workload. The main reason why he had come to the study was because the lost goods were some kind of special tribute from a mini-state in the Western Regions. It was said that the mini-state valued this batch of tribute very much, that the leader of the diplomatic corps, after the tribute went missing, had been terribly anxious and sent several petitions for help successively. Not daring delay reporting this matter to the emperor, they had come to the imperial study early in the morning, because who should be the one sent to deal with the matter was the emperor's decision to make.

After getting Yuwen Tong's approval, the courtier hastened to take his leave, not daring stay in the study for a single extra moment. At the front gates of the palace, he chanced upon another group of courtiers, with whom he inevitably fell into conversation.

"Lord Li, you've just left the imperial study as well?"

"Yeah," answered the courtier asked, who then added, "His Majesty doesn't seem to be in a good mood today. Is it because something else happened?"

"Well, nothing serious. It's mostly because several rather urgent matters happened to be reported to His Majesty this morning, every one of which, like the case of lost tribute in your hands, required a decision from His Majesty; and, unfortunately, this morning His Highness went back to the Ling Mansion to visit his relatives, bringing with him His and Her Highnesses. His Majesty had originally planned to go with them, but his plan was upset by these matters."

"Well, that's indeed quite unfortunate. No wonder His Majesty's eyes were reproachful when he looked at me a moment ago," said the courtier who had just left the imperial study, heaving a long sigh of relief in the knowledge that he was not the reason why the emperor was unhappy.

"Ha ha ... His Majesty is just a little sulky today. Just make sure you don't do or say anything that might get on his nerves."

"I wouldn't dare do that."

Everybody knew that the imperial couple had deep affection for each other. The reason why the mini-state in the Western Regions had sent some men here to pay tribute was because of the imperial couple's tenth wedding anniversary, but if truth be told, the courtiers still found it incredible that the marital bonding between the imperial couple was so strong. The two of them had been living together for so many years, but the emperor was now sulking just because he couldn't go out of the palace with the empress. The chemistry between them was such as though they were newly-weds.

'What an enviable marriage,' they thought.

...

When it was almost noon, Yuwen Tong finally got all the state affairs in his hands settled and, without more ado, took some men and left the palace, heading for the Ling Mansion.

After the capital had been moved, the Ling family had also transferred. The well-being of elderly family members taken into consideration, the new Ling Mansion had been sited in a fairly secluded spot, but the residential compound covered a vast area, with bamboo groves and lakes inside it, which made it a perfect place for relaxation and wellness preservation.

Regular occupants of the residence included Ling Xingzhong, Ji Yin, Ling Maomao, Ling Xuxu and Mr. Mu.

At first Yuwen Tong had intended to bestow a title on Ji Yin and built him another mansion, but Ji Yin had deemed it unnecessary to go to that much trouble for an old man like him who had no other family members, so he had been living in the Ling Mansion all along, keeping Ling Xingzhong company.

As for the others, Ling Zhaowu stayed in Jiahe Chamber of Commerce all the year around; Ling Zhaowen was now a prefectural governor and lived with Fu Caiwei and their youngest son Ling Xiaobao in their own residence. The large Ling Mansion was always fairly quiet except for the Spring Festival. Ling Zhang from time to time took his adopted children back to the Ling Mansion to visit the elders lest they feel lonely.

Yuwen Tong went there incognito, but even so, it still took him some time to reach the Ling Mansion. Ling Zhang and the others had been waiting for him at the dining table.

The large family held a feast in the dining hall as usual, and there weren't many servants waiting upon them, because they felt more comfortable and at ease when almost everybody in the room was family.

The moment Yuwen Tong arrived, all the others rose to pay their respects to him.

Yuwen Tong flung out his arms to stop the two old men from getting on their knees, not daring to let them pay respects to him.

Then he inclined his head at the junior family members and a moment later the whole family had taken their seats.

Ling Zhang asked him, "You got everything handled?"

Yuwen Tong nodded. "Almost. They can take care of the rest."

It was only when he had sat down beside Ling Zhang that the vexation that had been smoldering inside Yuwen Tong the whole morning dissolved. His mind now at ease, his mood naturally lightened.

Over the past five years they had been quite busy all along, because after all, everything in the Great Wen had been getting back on track, but overall, the situation was much better this year than it had been when the capital city had just been moved, which was why Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang on occasions could find the time to go out of the palace to visit the Ling Mansion.

"Incidentally, I've just received a message from the Clan Leader. He said he'd come here to offer his congratulations to you," Ji Yin suddenly informed them.

An invitation had been sent to the Millennium Pavilion as usual, and it astonished them that Ji Yanlai had accepted it, because he had turned down the invitations on all similar previous occasions.

Both Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong found this a pleasant surprise. Ling Maomao also had a twinkle in his eyes.

"The Clan Leader dislikes trouble. The reason why he turned you down when you invited him shortly after the reunification and the transfer of the capital was because he believed you still had a lot of things to deal with, that he wouldn't be able to enjoy himself if he came here. Now he feels you two have the leisure to entertain him, so he agreed to come," explained Ji Yin.

Ling Zhang chuckled, "The Clan Leader hasn't changed a bit."

Looking resigned, Ji Yin shook his head. "That's what he's always like. In recent years the situation on the island has also stabilized, but the couple of years following the transfer had been really tough for him. He'd been having his hands full in those days."

Ling Zhang smiled but made no reply. Surely the workload of ruling an island was nowhere close to that of ruling a country? In the final analysis, everybody in the Millennium Pavilion had been pampering Ji Yanlai, and their hearts ached for him whenever he seemed to be a little busy with something. They saw him as their own child and couldn't bring themselves to let him feel hard done by.

"Master, will Cong come here as well?" Ling Maomao suddenly asked.

Ji Yin said, "There's no information in the letter on that score, but considering the young master has been cooped up on that island for ten years, the Clan Leader and the others could hardly say no if he wants to come out to get some fresh air."

Ling Maomao's eyes gleamed with anticipation at these words.

He had been learning kung fu from Ji Yin all these years. On one occasion Ji Yin had entrusted him with the task of delivering something back to the Millennium Pavilion and thus he had gone to the island, but at that time Ji Xiaocong had been in closed-door cultivation, so he had not seen Ji Xiaocong during that visit, which had been a great regret of his ever since. He had left a letter for Ji Xiaocong but did not know whether Ji Xiaocong had read it or not. He believed that Ji Xiaocong would probably come to the capital city with the leader of the Millennium Pavilion if he had read the letter.

The expectant look in Ling Maomao's eyes reminded Ling Zhang of the time when Ling Maomao and Ji Xiaocong had romped around every day in their childhood, as well as the reluctance on their faces at the moment of parting, and with that he also involuntarily began to hope Ji Xiaocong would come to the capital city, wondering what the clever little boy looked like now.

The last ten years felt like an instant, as though it were only yesterday that Yuwen Tong's enthronement ceremony and their wedding had been held.

But Ling Maomao had had his rite of passage last year and was now eighteen, which was the same age that he, Ling Zhang, had been when he had arrived in the capital city with Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong immediately perceived Ling Zhang's absent-mindedness and shrewdly guessed what he was thinking at the sight of Ling Zhang looking at Ling Maomao with a reminiscent look on his face.

After lunch, Yuwen Tong, who was in no hurry to return to the palace, stayed in the Ling Mansion with Ling Zhang and their adopted children.

Ling Maomao, who had got used to being the headman of the children in the Ling family these years, brought them to the garden to have an after-meal walk, Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong slowly following in their wake. Though having been married for many years, the two of them still preferred to hold each other's hands when walking together.

"Time does fly. The past ten years feels like an instant," said Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong had not had any particular feelings when he had suggested they hold a celebration in honor of their tenth wedding anniversary. Not until he, a few moments ago, had seen Ling Maomao and the other children that had grown so much had he suddenly realized that it had indeed been ten years.

"This is the first decade. We'll have the second, the third ... We have many decades ahead of us before our deaths," observed Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong planned to hold a celebration every ten years. He was a thrifty and down-to-earth man and seldom held any celebrations. There had to be one during the Spring Festival, but other than that, he never went to the trouble. On this occasion, however, he had brought it up on his own initiative. The courtiers, after being informed that the emperor uncharacteristically wanted to hold a celebration, had immediately entered into the preparatory work with great enthusiasm for fear that the emperor might change his mind, all of them determined to make the celebration grand and ceremonious.

"I wonder what we'll look like when we're old several decades later." Ling Zhang thought that he would probably, like his maternal grandfather, look much younger than his age, that he might live longer than the common people.

Yuwen Tong had powerful internal energy and made huge breakthroughs during the past ten years, so it stood to reason that he would enjoy longevity. Ling Zhang was thankful that he had adopted the internal-energy cultivation method provided by the Millennium Pavilion, which enabled him to stay in Yuwen Tong's company for a longer period of time.

Yuwen Tong said, "There's no way to find that out in advance, so we might as well slow things down and enjoy life to the fullest. We'll know when the time comes, and there's no need to be anxious about it. And, after the kids grow up, I'll abdicate the throne so that the two of us will have time to do some traveling. Last year a mini-state in the Western Regions paid me some interesting tribute which they'd got from further west. Haven't you been curious as to what kind of country those things were made in? We may go and find out."

Ling Zhang's eyes lit up at these words of his. "Really?"

"Of course. What's the point of reunifying the three countries if we have to stay in this palace forever? We'd be like slaves if that's the case," said Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong was probably the only monarch who would regard himself as a slave to the throne.

But Ling Zhang indeed looked forward to traveling around the world with Yuwen Tong. As for whom Yuwen Tong would abdicate in favor of, Ling Zhang did not ask. He had never brought up this matter. Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin were both his sons, and both were very good, but he would not interfere in the decision about which one of them should be the heir to the throne.

In fact, during these years, as Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin grew up, the differences between the two brothers had been growing progressively evident.