"Look how smug he is. It's just a drugstore. Big deal!"

Ling Zhang ran into Jiang Yu at the front gates of the Imperial College. They saw each other, but Ling Zhang didn't make any gestures of acknowledgement, and Jiang Yu merely glanced at him and then walked away. While leaving, Zuo Yuanping taunted Ling Zhang, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

"One more word and you'll find yourself unwelcome in this group," said Jiang Yu coldly without even turning his head around.

It'd never crossed Zuo Yuanping's mind that his remarks would earn him scolding from Jiang Yu instead of recognition. Dismayed and indignant as he was, he didn't dare show a shred of his feelings on his face, obediently shut his mouth and flicked a backward glance at Ling Zhang with resentful eyes.

Ling Zhang pretended not to notice. He had got used to the jealousy and hate in other people's eyes, feeling that it'd be a big waste of time to stare back at everybody who gave him this kind of look, that saving the strength for study would be a wiser choice.

Yuwen Jin and the other couple of friends of Ling Zhang's were the happiest to see him return to the college.

Previously, when Yuwen Tong had been "recovering from his injuries", Yuwen Jin had also taken a few days off from school. At that time he'd looked listless all day long like an eggplant exposed to frost, and his spirits had only risen to normal after Yuwen Tong "achieved a recovery". When Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong had gone to the manor, his father had had him go back to the Imperial College, exhorting him to focus on his study.

"Brother Zhang, you're finally back. How's my cousin? Does his wounds still hurt?" asked Yuwen Jin.

Beneath Yuwen Jin's gaze, Ling Zhang who still had a somewhat guilty conscience hurriedly replied, "They're no longer painful. The physician said that he made a full recovery. You know, Yuwen Tong has an uncommonly strong constitution."

Yuwen Jin said happily, "I'm glad to hear that."

Ji Feng and the others also expressed their concern for Yuwen Tong. They had visited the Ling Mansion with the intention to look up him after he "sustained an injury", but at that time the whole residential compound had been heavily guarded by palace guards, and nobody except members of Yuwen family had been granted permission to go inside, so they hadn't been able to gain entry. Afterwards, the King Hui's attempted usurpation had shocked both officials of the imperial court and residents in the city; they all had some elders working in the imperial court, so naturally they'd been paying close attention to that event. When it'd finally come to an end, Yuwen Tong had gone to the manor to have a good rest to recuperate with Ling Zhang keeping him company, and they'd felt it inconvenient to pay them a visit which might be a disturbance to them.

"I thought you'd invite us to the grand opening of your drugstore," said Ji Feng.

Ling Zhang first apologized to them and then said, "There were too many guests, and I feared I might not be able to have you well entertained, so I want to specially invite you around to take a look another day. I hope you'll grace me with your presence."

Ling Zhang fished out a wad of invitations and gave one to each of them.

Ji Feng and the others were confused as to why Ling Zhang was being so official as to send them invitations, but after opening and reading it, he dissolved into laugh. "Look at this. I thought it was a decent invitation."

There were no words in the invitation, only a sketch of a wine pot and seven wine cups

"Drinking wine in a drugstore – that's quite some ingenious idea you've got here, but I think maybe the smells of medicinal herbs would impart some unique flavor to drinking," observed Zhao Turui.

The seven of them burst into laughter.

...

Ling Zhang stayed in the Imperial College for a full day and heard that the inquiry into the incident of horses running wild on the Back Hill was still fruitless, that the road leading to the Back Hill had been sealed, and students were forbidden to approach that area.

After returning home, Ling Zhang informed Yuwen Tong of this matter. "I wonder why they still haven't found anything out about it after such a long time."

Yuwen Tong replied, "It's the Dali Temple (the Supreme Judicial Court in feudal China) that's working on this case. I'll send someone to make some inquiries."

Ling Zhang gave a nod. Though eager to know what was going on, he knew fretting about it wouldn't help.

"Have they found any clues in the Court Prison?"

Yuwen Tong shook his head. "The Court Prison is used to hold criminals guilty of serious crimes, and the emperor always personally selects the prison guards of it, so it's very difficult to worm anything out of any of them. All those Su Zhi made contact with after entering the palace are not above suspicion. As regards the Court Prison... If it was in there that he was threatened... There are very few people whose reach is wide enough to cover the Court Prison."

Therefore, in the final analysis, they still had to investigate those people one by one, which would definitely take some time. More importantly, the culprit had probably obliterated all traces already. After all, although Yuwen Tong had eyes in the imperial palace, that place was not his turf and there were some limitations, so he was unable to ascertain the truth immediately.

Right at this time, the prefectural governor of Xiang City and all the other guilty officials who had been the cause of Jiang Chengfeng's removal from office were escorted into the capital city.

The local government of Cangzhou was undergoing a radical reorganization.

In the imperial court, another bout of intense disputes were ongoing, all of which were about punishment for these guilty officials and appointment of their successors. On this occasion, people of Jiang family who originally had had a considerable say in Cangzhou affairs chose to keep a low profile, and all other forces were happy to see this.

To Ling Zhang's surprise, Yuwen Tong also became busy because of this. Though he was still staying at home, Yao Yi and the others were bringing letters to him one after another.

He had an intuition that what Yuwen Tong was occupied with had something to do with Cangzhou.

Ever since he and Yuwen Tong had returned to the capital city, on the surface all other sides appeared happy to see Yuwen Tong back and it seemed that Yuwen Tong was able to rally multitudes at his call, but in fact hardly anybody had paid Yuwen Tong any private visits.

Ling Zhang had scarcely seen any other callers coming to the Ling Mansion to see Yuwen Tong apart from members of Yuwen You's branch of Yuwen family, as if Yuwen Tong had no well-acquainted friends in the capital city whatsoever, which didn't really accord with Yuwen Tong's identity.

At first this hadn't struck Ling Zhang as odd, but gradually he came to realize that something was not right.

Yuwen Tong had always been well informed of everything in the capital city except for those that happened in the imperial palace. Even if Yao Yi and other bodyguards had all had three heads and six arms, there was no way they could gather information about all things so quick. It must be that a lot of people had been secretly sending messages to Yuwen Tong. Though he was seemingly isolated, there was actually a hidden network through which intelligence of various kinds was being passed on to him.

Yuwen Tong had moved into the Ling Mansion on his return to the capital city. Apart from his disgruntlement with deeds of his uncle's branch of Yuwen family, another reason for it had probably been because of the avoidance of a lot of trouble. Yuwen Tong was still Yuwen Tong, but for him, living in the residential compound of Yuwen family was evidently far removed from living in the Ling Mansion – at bottom, the owner of the Ling Mansion was Ling Zhang, not Yuwen Tong, which meant that even if some people had the intention of visiting Yuwen Tong, they'd feel it fairly inconvenient to come to this place.

Thinking about this, Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong who was consulting with Yao Yi and some others about something.

Yuwen Tong immediately sensed Ling Zhang's gaze and looked back. The expression in his eyes instantly softened at the eye contact.

...

"Father, are we really going to give up Cangzhou like this?"

In the residential compound of Jiang family, Jiang Chengfeng asked Jiang Shennian a question, unresigned to the situation. These days the wrangling in the imperial court was reaching such a pitch that every meeting was in total confusion, but Jiang family still hadn't taken any action, giving Cangzhou up completely. Considering how close Cangzhou was from the capital city, for a powerful force like Jiang family, giving it up, which meant losing all sources of information they'd planted there, was like giving up half its eyesight, and this was unacceptable, whatever the reason was.

After hearing Jiang Chengfeng's question, Jiang Shennian sitting with an unhurried face said, "It's inadvisable for us to get involved in the competition for Cangzhou in these circumstances."

Jiang Chengfeng was unconvinced. "But if we don't do anything, it'll be very difficult for us to plant men in Cangzhou in the future. We have a lot of businesses in Cangzhou. There's no telling what those vicious vultures will do to squeeze us out after they come to know that we no longer have helpers there."

Jiang Shennian said, "Tell them to inventory those properties and businesses. Sell the less important ones. Be cautious with those of significance – transfer them if possible."

Jiang Chengfeng was astounded. "Father?!"

Jiang Shennian looked at him in displeasure. "Although His Majesty merely dismissed you as a punishment for your mishandling of the event of Cangzhou, his eyes are still on us, and he might vent his anger on us immediately if we take any action. His Majesty is definitely angrier over this riot than he appears. There's only a short distance between Cangzhou and the capital city. Once a riot breaks out, the capital city will be at stake. It compromised the stability of his rule, which was a crime no less serious than usurpation! You are still standing here only because His Majesty was lenient with you for the sake of Jiang family. If you wade in the disputes over Cangzhou instead of laying low, not only you but also our whole family will be in danger!"

Jiang Chengfeng looked abashed after being scolded by Jiang Shennian. "I think you're being a little dramatic, father. I just offered some help with the cover-up. Dismissal from my post is a rather harsh punishment. There's no leniency in that."

Jiang Shennian shook his head, looking at Jiang Chengfeng disappointedly. "This is all I have to say. Go back and give my words some careful thought."

Unable to convince Jiang Shennian to change his mind, Jiang Chengfeng had no choice but to obey.

After Jiang Chengfeng left, Jiang Shennian shifted his gaze to Jiang Yu who'd been listening quietly on the side all along. "Yu'er, what do you think?"

Jiang Yu said, "I might be unsophisticated, but I think I understand what you mean, grandfather."

Unlike Jiang Chengfeng who was bigoted, Jiang Yu had a calm look on his face. Seeing this, Jiang Shennian felt a sense of relief and said, "Thriving and powerful as our family seems, in the final analysis we're still but an appendage to the imperial household. There are many things you can do wilfully, but you must not go near anything that might threaten the emperor's rule. There have been a lot of incidents lately. All the couple of cousins of yours want that position, but look how they ended up. Even His Majesty's own sons are no exception... You must see this clearly and lodge it firmly in your mind. In addition to this, try not to have any dealings with your cousins these days. Their personal ambition has been growing with their age. Jiang family has enough wealth and fame now. We don't need any more. Besides, your father has just made a mistake and His Majesty has his eye on him. One more mistake and we'll be in big trouble. His Majesty is still in the prime of his life. There are many things that we have plenty of time to make preparations for."

Jiang Yu lowered his head. "Yes, grandfather."

Jiang Yu had a darkened face all along after he left Jiang Shennian's abode. First the Sixth Prince, and then the Ninth Princess, and then the King Hui... All of them were the emperor's children, but after they made mistakes, the emperor had disowned them without any mercy. There had been no news of the King Hui whatsoever since he'd been put into prison. The likelihood was that he had some time ago been secretly executed...

Jiang Yu was no fool. He'd come to see a lot of things more clearly after the recent events.

"Young Master, a visitor from the King Duan's residential compound seeks an audience with you."

On hearing his servant report this, Jiang Yu who was thinking about something furrowed his brows. After a few moments, he instructed, "Let him in."

The King Duan had arranged to meet Jiang Yu at the Taibai Tavern. "Why haven't you been visiting the imperial palace lately, cousin? My father was talking about you only yesterday."

Jiang Yu said, "My whole family have terrible conscience about my father's mistake, and I'm ashamed to go to the palace disturbing His Majesty."

The King Duan sighed, "It was for your father's own sake that my father had him stay at home introspecting about his faults. That was such a serious incident. All officials found guilty have been escorted into the capital city, and the principals are bound to be beheaded. But due to the many vacancies that have suddenly appeared in the yamen of Cangzhou, there's been a lot of disputes in the imperial court over the past few days, which has been giving me headaches. The Prime Minister is always a resourceful man. Without him offering suggestions, everything's in a muddle. I know because of your father's case, it's inconvenient for him to say anything in public, but it wouldn't hurt to offer us some advice in private. May I ask if he's got any ideas?"

Jiang Yu instantly came to understand what the King Duan was up to. Well sugar-coated as his remarks were, he was just trying to worm Jiang family's intentions out of him.

"My grandfather never talks with me about state affairs. He thinks I'm still a child. Actually I indeed have little acquaintance with those things. How I wish I were as intelligent as you are, cousin," said Jiang Yu, looking rather depressed.

Unable to get any information from Jiang Yu, the King Duan went somewhat displeased and casually made a few perfunctory remarks. After a while, he sudden said, "How's everything in the Imperial College?"

Jiang Yu, confused as to why the King Duan was asking about this, gave him a reply in an offhand manner, for there were only a limited number of things students could do in the Imperial College anyway. Besides, he'd just spent a few days nursing his injuries caused by his horse not long ago, which the King Duan hadn't even bothered to mention so far. Maybe he didn't even have any knowledge of that event, but Jiang Yu was not inclined to remind him of it.

At this moment, something seemed to occur to the King Duan and he said, "Incidentally, a few days ago I heard that that Ling Zhang guy was pretty cocky in the Imperial College, that he also made trouble for you. You want me to teach him a lesson for you?"

Jiang Yu inwardly knitted his eyebrows. Ling Zhang? The King Duan was doing this because of none other than Ling Zhang?

"I'm much stronger than you give me credit for, cousin. That was just a minor disagreement. I got it settled some time ago. We haven't laid eyes on each other for quite a few days, and I don't give a damn about the likes of him. It's totally unnecessary for you to go to any trouble on my account, cousin. He's just not worth that," said Jiang Yu disdainfully.

Jiang Yu didn't know what the King Duan wanted to do, and neither did he care. He admired Yuwen Tong, but his father had lost his post after a single unsuccessful attempt of his to frame Ling Zhang. Though the reminder from his grandfather had been very veiled, he had got a shrewd idea of what had really happened. Yuwen Tong was such a ruthless man. Had there been any careless mistakes during the handling of that matter, it wouldn't have been merely his position that his father had lost, and Jiang family would've taken a far heavier blow.

He had paid the price for his actions and at the same time come to see that Yuwen Tong was not someone he could afford to mess with. On top of that, he had his own dignity. How could he throw himself at Yuwen Tong again after being given such a dire warning?

Also, however embarrassed he was to admit, it was an indisputable fact that Ling Zhang saved his life on the Back Hill that day. With this being the case, he'd decided to wipe the slate clean and stay out of Ling Zhang's way in the future.

The King Duan had thought that Jiang Yu would be very happy to hear these words of his and bursting to use him to deal with Ling Zhang, but unexpectedly, Jiang Yu had unconcernedly declined the offer.

The Jiang Yu he knew would never let Ling Zhang get away with the crowning humiliation he'd inflicted on him. Why was Jiang Yu giving him this kind of reaction? Was there anything else that had happened and was unknown to him?

After returning home, the King Duan who'd had his offer turned down by Jiang Yu instructed his men to find out what else had happened between Jiang Yu and Ling Zhang. Before long, he was informed of the incident of horses going wild on the Back Hill as well as Jiang Yu's owing Ling Zhang his life.

Cold faced, the King Duan said, "It seems that I underestimated Ling Zhang."

"Should we keep working on Childe Jiang, Your Highness?" his henchman asked.

The King Duan said, "That won't be necessary. Jiang Shennian has been acting like a coward in the imperial court; Jiang Yu must've been given a word of warning of some sort; and now we've found out about this matter. Stop wasting time on him. Go talk to that person. Tell him to get ready. I'm going to hold a banquet in a few days, and Yuwen Tong will be among the guests."

"Yes, Your Highness."

...

On this day, in the afternoon, Ling Zhang and his classmates, along with Jiang Yu and some others, were having an archery lesson in the Imperial College.

Ling Zhang didn't give it much thought after seeing Jiang Yu, and he felt that Jiang Yu appeared to have no intention of having any dealings with him either. 'Good. He finally began to see senses,' thought Ling Zhang.

But unexpectedly, on this occasion Jiang Yu walked up to him on his own account. Though it seemed that the two of them had been coincidentally paired up to practice shooting arrows, Ling Zhang had an intuition that Jiang Yu had something to say to him.

Unsurprisingly, Jiang Yu sent all his cronies away, raised his bow, loaded it and asked Ling Zhang a question as he fired the arrow. "You and the King Duan have history?"

The King Duan? For a moment Ling Zhang's mind was racing. "Why ask?"

Jiang Yu's arrow hit the bull's-eye. He turned around and said while walking away, "I just want to give you a word of warning. That's all."