Chapter 102 - You Like Me?
Chapter 102: You Like Me?
“What’s the matter? Why are you so quiet? Are you still mad?” Seeing that Ling Zhang kept silent, Yuwen Tong worried that he was still angry, so he lowered his voice and said, “Like I said, don’t let Yuwen Qi’s words bother you. They’re not calling the shots in Yuwen family. After we get married, you’ll be the one in charge and they’ll be at the mercy of you.”
Ling Zhang still hadn’t got over the shock of finding the truth when he heard Yuwen Tong talking about them getting married.
“Who told you I’d marry you? Didn’t I say that I want to break off this engagement?”
“I never agreed.”
“You!”
“I kind of like you. You should’ve known this. Why will I agree to break off our engagement?”
What? Ling Zhang was somewhat perplexed. “You like me?”
Yuwen Tong was speechless.
His face darkened.
“Hasn’t my behavior made this obvious enough?”
In a somewhat unnatural manner, Ling Zhang drew a few steps back. “You never told me.”
His countenance being a mixture of deep resignation and embarrassment, Yuwen Tong directly put his arms around Ling Zhang’s waist and landed a kiss on Ling Zhang’s soft, red lips.
Ling Zhang fell speechless.
He pushed Yuwen Tong away with great force. “Hey!”
“Does this ring a bell?” Yuwen Tong looked at him with a serious look on his face. “If not, I can do this one more time.”
His heart pounding with excitement and his face burning, Ling Zhang wiped his lips with the back of his hand, “That’s enough. You’ve made your point. Even so, we don’t necessarily have to come to marriage.”
“Why not do it when it’s such a natural thing? Surely you won’t have me live with you without acknowledging me as your legal spouse? Don’t you think it would be … a little irresponsible of you to do that?”
Ling Zhang’s mouth was wide open with astonishment. What? He was irresponsible? Was Yuwen Tong out of his senses?
“The point I’ve been trying to make is that what you feel for me won’t last long. You’ll forget it after some time. And then you can find someone else to marry. There’s no need for you to marry me in such haste!”
“I’m in midlife already.”
“Why should I care?”
“If I were to fall for another guy, I would have been married for a long time. You’re the only one I like and will like.”
Ling Zhang fell speechless.
‘He keeps saying this word ‘like’. Has he no shame?’
Face burning, Ling Zhang blushed scarlet and thundered, “I don’t like you!”
Yuwen Tong lifted his eyebrows and observed significantly, “Some soldiers I met on the battlefield once said that enough sex makes two people love each other, no matter how far apart their hearts stand originally. How about we give it a shot? Though I haven’t done any research into it before, I have incredible stamina.”
Ling Zhang fell utterly speechless. ‘Yuwen Tong is such a brazen hooligan!’
His cheeks were burning so badly that he felt as if he would explode on the spot if he stayed in this room for an extra moment.
In indignation, Ling Zhang turned around, opened the door and strode away.
Seeing Ling Zhang walking outside, Wang Dashan had no idea what had just happened inside the room, but judging from the blushes of anger on Ling Zhang’s cheeks, he figured that there seemed to have been some kind of disagreement between the two.
Having knowing about the true identity of Yuwen Tong, Wang Dashan didn’t dare to leave directly. In embarrassment, he cupped his hands before his chest and bowed to Yuwen Tong. “Marshal, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go back with my young master.”
Yuwen Tong bobbed his head and said blandly, “There’s no need to call me ‘Marshal’. I’d like to have my identity stay a secret for the moment.”
“Yes, Lord Yuwen.”
With that, Wang Dashan quickly walked away to catch up with Ling Zhang. Before he reached the landing, the angry voice of Ling Zhang came from downstairs. “Wang Dashan, what are you doing? Get your ass down here!”
Wang Dashan gave a shiver on hearing this and speeded up.
‘It seems that Young Master really got angry. He’s always been so polite to me, but now he’s calling me by my full name!
Exactly what it was that Marshal has done to him?!’ Wang Dashan wondered.
Naturally, Yuwen Tong also heard this remark. Recalling the pink flush on the cheeks of Ling Zhang, he leisurely performed lightness skills and left the tea house.
…
Ling Zhang stormed his way back to Ling family, followed by Wang Dashan who dared not say a single word.
Seeing the angry face of Ling Zhang, the guards on duty at the gateway had no idea what had happened. Nervously, they bowed to Ling Zhang and greeted him. “Young Master.”
Ling Zhang grunted “Um” in a deep voice, intending to enter.
“Old Master’s carriage approaches.”
Hearing this, Ling Zhang halted and turned around. As expected, his grandfather’s carriage returned.
He took a deep breath in an effort to subdue the anger aroused by Yuwen Tong, trying to calm himself down. Then he walked down the flight of steps to welcome his grandfather.
“Grandfather.”
Ling Zhang guided Ling Xingzhong off the carriage. “How’s everything going in Lu family?”
“Not bad. It’s just that Lu Fengnian, their old master, is somewhat concerned that Zhang Chong might become suspicious if this takes too long. The plan of our guest is definitely going to work, right?” Ling Xingzhong asked him in a low voice.
Another wave of anger swept through Ling Zhang as he heard Ling Xingzhong mention Yuwen Tong. Trying hard to cool down, he replied, “Sure thing. Everything is going as planned. People of Lu family will see it as long as they show patience and wait for another couple of days.”
“That’s good.” Ling Xingzhong gave a gasp of relief on hearing this.
After helping his grandfather into the mansion, Ling Zhang saw the servant that he had sent in the morning to stalk the two merchants from Jiangzhou. He gave a wink at that man.
The servant softly nodded and left to wait for further instructions.
Ling Zhang saw his grandfather back to his room, patiently talked with him for a while and then took his leave.
For the moment, he had no intention of letting the visit of the two merchants from Jiangzhou come to the knowledge of his grandfather, so he didn’t mention it.
After leaving Ling Xingzhong’s dwelling, Ling Zhang summoned that servant to his place and asked him, “Where are the two people staying?”
“Young Master, they checked into the Rising Sun Inn, along with a couple of servants, all of whom also speak with Jiangzhou accent,” answered the servant respectfully.
“Did any of them make any special contact with anybody?”
The servant did some careful recalling and then shook his head. “I didn’t see any particular person contact them. The two people never left their rooms after returning to the inn.”
With that, as if something had just occurred to him, he added, “Oh by the way, I happened to see Mrs. Jia order a lot of snacks in a snack store beside the Rising Sun Inn.”
‘Fang shi?’ A thoughtful look appeared on Ling Zhang’s face. “About that snack store you just talked about, is Fang shi a regular customer there or did she show up there suddenly?”
The servant replied immediately, “Fang shi goes to that snack store regularly. You might have forgotten, Young Master. The snacks that store sells were Jia Yuanling’s favorite. You used to…”
The servant hurriedly broke off in the middle of a sentence. “I beg your pardon, Young Master. I talked too much.”
Ling Zhang’s countenance slightly changed. He did recall something. In his last life, when he mistakenly believed that Jia Yuanling was his close friend, he frequently saw Jia Yuanling eat a kind of snack. He also asked Jia Yuanling about it and even specially went to that snack store to buy it for Jia Yuanling once. It was just that those things happened in his last incarnation and he had long ago forgotten them.
“Jia Yuanling is already dead. I wonder why Mrs. Jia ordered so many snacks. Were those for her deceased son?” added the servant. When he finished the last word, his face paled visibly with fright.
“You’re scared?” Ling Zhang looked at him.
The servant felt a cold shiver of fear run through him and answered immediately, “I’m not scared, Young Master.”
“Then go back there and keep a close watch on the two merchants from Jiangzhou. Remember, pay close attention to any locals who might have been in special contact with them. See it done and your reward shall not disappoint you.”
“Yes, Young Master!”
After the servant left, Ling Zhang’s face darkened.
‘It was too coincidental to be true. Jia family is indeed behind this, as I’ve always expected.’
After seeing the servant walked out of the room, Wang Dashan, who had been waiting outside all along, hurriedly entered bursting with impatience.
“Young Master, is that Lord Yuwen really Marshal Yuwen?”
It was not until this moment that Ling Zhang recalled that Wang Dashan had been waiting. His anger having subsided, he was somewhat embarrassed about having called him aloud by his full name at the tea house a while ago.
“Yes. His identity is supposed to stay hidden. Remember to keep it secret from others. And I’m sorry for taking it out on you back at the tea house just now.”
Flustered by Ling Zhang’s apology, Wang Dashan hurriedly responded, “It’s okay. Actually, I feel more close to you when you call me by my full name. There’s no need for you to be too polite to us. But… Young Master, is it true that you are betrothed to Marshal Yuwen?”
Wang Dashan’s face was full of curiosity that he was unable to conceal. Clearly, he still hadn’t got over the shock of hearing those words.
Ling Zhang fell speechless.
“It’s true but also untrue.”
‘Ah?’ Wang Dashan was puzzled. ‘What kind of answer is this?’
“Just keep this to yourself, Elder Brother Wang. Don’t tell anybody else about it.”
“Well, I get it, Young Master.”
Though Wang Dashan didn’t quite understand what was really going on, he was well aware that Ling Zhang had no intention of telling him the truth. He was a man of discretion who knew very well which things he was allowed to talk about and which things were supposed to be kept secret.
“But, Young Master, that Yuwen Qi seems to be hostile to you. Members of Yuwen family are not common dignitaries. Please be sure to take care,” Wang Dashan concernedly reminded Ling Zhang.
Having heard so many news on this day, Wang Dashan was both shocked and worried. Unlike Zhang Chong, Yuwen family was really a formidably powerful force in the Great Yue.
Touched, Ling Zhang gave a bob of the head and replied, “I understand. Thank you for reminding me, Elder Brother Wang. In the next few days, there might be some upheavals in Tanyang. When it happens, just stay calm, keep others in composure and make sure no harm comes to any of my family.”
Taken aback by Ling Zhang’s words, Wang Dashan vaguely guessed what he was referring to. He responded in a solemn tone of voice, “Rest assured, Young Master. I promise I’ll keep them safe, whatever the cost!”
“Good. And I’d like to express my gratitude to you in advance, Elder Brother Wang. There’s nothing else I want to talk to you about. You may leave.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
After Wang Dashan left, Ling Zhang sat down leaning against the back of the chair, exhaled deeply with relief and then raised his hand to hold his eyes.
“Yuwen Tong is a hooligan, and his subordinates are no better than him. They are jackals from the same lair.”
A guard in black, who had orders from his Marshal to come here to inform Ling Zhang of where Yuwen Qi was imprisoned, was just about to leap off the rooftop when he heard Ling Zhang’s last remark and stood transfixed, wondering whether he should jump off at this time.
‘If I jump off, Childe Ling will definitely be mad at me. If I don’t, when I return, Marshal will no doubt ask me what takes me so long to finish the job. How am I supposed to answer?’
In this dilemma, the guard in black had a distressed look on his face.
Fortunately, Ling Zhang said no more after making that critical remark.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the guard in black hurriedly leaped off the rooftop and deliberately made some noises.
Unsurprisingly, Ling Zhang noticed. “Who is there?”
“Childe Ling, I have orders from Marshal to inform you that Yuwen Qi is imprisoned in a wing-room of the Green Bamboo Mansion.”
“Okay. I see.”
“Marshal also told me to remind you of tonight’s medicated bath.”
Ling Zhang fell speechless.
Through gritted teeth, he replied, “I see.”
“That’s all, Childe Ling.” The guard in black immediately leaped back onto the rooftop and left.
‘Childe Ling was clenching his teeth when he made the last remark, as if he was angry. No wonder Marshal wanted me to deliver the message instead of coming here himself.’