If Yuwen Jin was to get into the top three in the Imperial Martial Arts Examination (IMAE), he would have to put more effort into practice. Given that he couldn't even defeat Jiang Yu in the kung fu competition a while ago, Ling Zhang was quite worried that he would be flattened in IMAE.

"I haven't told my grandfather about my decision to take IMAE yet. I want to talk with my cousin about it first and see what he's got to say. If he agrees, it'll be a lot easier for me to convince my grandfather. And then..." Yuwen Jin let out a giggle before he continued, "Then I'll ask my cousin to let me learn from Brother San for some time."

Brother San? The others had no idea who Brother San was and all looked at him, their faces etched with confusion.

Ling Zhang, however, knew very well whom Yuwen Jin was referring to by saying the name 'Brother San'. It was Qi San, the commander of the Shadow Battalion at Yuwen Tong's command. But his awareness of this was also the reason why he was surprised. By making these remarks, Yuwen Jin had almost made it clear that he would go to the Shadow Battalion. Though having never been to that place, Ling Zhang had a shrewd idea what the training was like in there. If Yuwen Jin did go there, would he be able to walk out of it in one piece?

"Are you sure you want to do that? This is no laughing matter," said Ling Zhang, looking at him, his eyebrows contracting.

Yuwen Jin stopped smiling and inclined his head with a very earnest expression on his face. "I'm sure. I know it'd be very difficult for me to get into the top three in IMAE if I don't do that, given my average kung fu skills. I have to get into the top three."

The others, though unaware of who the 'Brother San' Yuwen Jin had just mentioned was, could tell from the grave looks on his and Ling Zhang's faces, that this matter was not something to be taken lightly.

"Who's Brother San? Is it dangerous to learn kung fu from him?" inquired Ji Feng.

Yuwen Jin replied, "I can't tell you that, but it's not dangerous, and I have to do it."

Ji Feng and the others exchanged glances and then shifted their gaze to Ling Zhang in unison.

Ling Zhang said, "I cannot tell you guys that either." Then he turned to Yuwen Jin and continued, "If you've made up your mind, I won't try to stop you. You may talk to Yuwen Tong about it."

Yuwen Jin bobbed his head. "I understand."

Seeing this, the others were somewhat apprehensive, but they also came to realize that it'd probably be best if they stayed out of this matter, so they didn't persist with their questioning.

"No matter what, now that you've made a decision, you should just go for it. We look forward to seeing you win the title 'the Number One Warrior' in IMAE!"

Though they couldn't get any more information about that person, they still felt it their duty to give Yuwen Jin some words of encouragement.

Yuwen Jin said, "I will, and when I do..."

Yuwen Jin flicked Jiang Yu a glance and added, "Humph, I'll have another competition with you!"

Jiang Yu raised no objections.

After they finished talking about the matter of Yuwen Jin and some others, Ling Zhang looked at Zhao Jiusi and Zhao Turui. "What about you guys?" he asked.

A moment ago, when Ji Feng had been telling him about their plans, he hadn't mentioned anything about Zhao Jiusi or Zhao Turui, which struck Ling Zhang as fairly baffling.

"We also have our own plans, which is also the very reason why we're paying you this visit. Can we have a word with you in private later?" said Zhao Jiusi seriously.

Ling Zhang was somewhat surprised, but at the sight of the earnest expressions in the two brothers' eyes, he came to understand something and replied with a nod, "Okay."

At that moment, Jiang Yu, who had been listening quietly all along, also raised his head to look at the two brothers.

Ji Feng's, Xie Qing's, Yuwen Jin's and Tao Yi's faces all registered bemusement. After a few moments, as they saw that both the two brothers showed no inclination to disclose any details, the bemused expressions on their faces were replaced by thoughtful ones.

Yuwen Jin and the others, who could tell that Zhao Jiusi and Zhao Turui had something to talk with Ling Zhang about, didn't linger for long. After chatting with the three of them for another few moments, they all rose to their feet and took their leave. Before leaving, Tao Yi secretly had a word with Ling Zhang.

"After the imperial examination scheduled for next spring is over, my teacher and Lord Pei might request permission to go back to their hometowns to live out their lives in retirement."

Next spring? Ling Zhang gave it some thought. "Did any of the two old lords mention it to His Majesty?"

Tao Yi shook his head. "The two of them only talked about this confidentially and haven't told anybody else. I'm telling you this only because I want to keep you posted. My teacher and Lord Pei are both in their declining years. They've meaning to leave for quite some time, for they're somewhat guilty about the downfall of the former imperial household, but the new dynasty has just begun, and they fear that if they leave at this point in time, there might be some unfavorable rumors that will affect the registration for the imperial examination next year, so they plan to wait until the exam is over to leave."

Ling Zhang came to understand, feeling that the two old lords were kind-hearted, that Yuwen Tong's being respectful to them all this time paid off. "I'll talk to His Majesty about this. The two old lords may expect to be summoned later."

Tao Yi gave a nod. "I'll tell this to my teacher. By the way, my mother will come here to keep your aunt company in the afternoon. I should've told you this earlier. I nearly forgot. You should have someone inform your aunt of it."

Ling Zhang smiled, "Okay. Be sure to thank your mother for coming here so often to keep my aunt company lately."

Tao Yi said, "There are few people my mother could have a chat with in this city. The two of them could use each other's company. The Zhao brothers seem to have something they want to talk to you about, so I'll leave you guys to it. I'll drop by again in a day or two."

Ling Zhang nodded. "All right."

After seeing Tao Yi and Yuwen Jin and the others off, Ling Zhang started to double back.

He had a shrewd idea of what the Zhao brothers had meant a moment ago. They both were friends with him, and they knew each other well. The Zhao family were among those who had rendered meritorious service during the process of assisting Yuwen Tong to take the throne. Zhao Zheng could be counted as one of Yuwen Tong's henchmen, and Ling Zhang believed the Zhao brothers were trustworthy. Zhao Jiusi was well adjusted, and Zhao Turui had a great sense of propriety. Both of them were quite able, and he'd be glad If the two of them really wanted to be his advisors. However, he'd have to talk with them first to find out whether or not this was the purpose of their visit.

After returning to his courtyard house, Ling Zhang entered the living room. The Zhao brothers rose to their feet.

"Young Master, I'll go and see if there's anything I could help Butler Xia with," said Jiang Yu.

Ling Zhang gave an inclination of the head.

When Jiang Yu had taken his leave, Zhao Jiusi, Zhao Turui and Ling Zhang were the only ones left in the room.

"What is it that you guys want to talk with me in private about?" asked Ling Zhang.

Zhao Jiusi smiled, "I think you've guessed it already. My brother and I have no intention of sitting the imperial examination. I wonder if you could take us in."

Zhao Turui also gave an embarrassed smile. "We know that you turned a lot of people down, and we don't dare put you in a difficult position, so we figured maybe we should privately ask you your opinion first. If you think we're competent, we'll serve you as Jiang Yu does."

'I knew it,' thought Ling Zhang. The truth of his speculation confirmed, Ling Zhang said, "You need to think this through. Given your talents, passing the imperial examination definitely wouldn't be a problem for either of you. If you guys take the exam, you'll become officials and have quite good career prospects. If you serve me, others might think that you're ruining your own future. Will you be able to handle the malicious gossip?"

"We've made our decisions and psyched ourselves up for everything we might be faced with. Rumors and other people's opinions won't affect our determination. If you let us stay, there'll be only one thing we have to do, and that's serving you. We won't bother with anything else," responded Zhao Jiusi.

"That's right. We've made up our minds," agreed Zhao Turui.

Ling Zhang kept silent for a brief moment before he said, "May I ask why you decided to come to me instead of taking the exam? Is this an arrangement made by your family? Did they force you into doing this?"

Zhao Jiusi answered, "No. Don't misunderstand us. Our family didn't force us to do anything. We made this decision of our own volition."

"We'd talked this through with our elders before we came here earlier this day. At first my uncle and my father did disagree, but we convinced them afterward," said Zhao Turui.

Ling Zhang looked at them. "Convinced them how?"

Zhao Turui exchanged a glance with Zhao Jiusi, and the latter replied, "A cousin of ours has volunteered to go to a provincial town. We both have every confidence in his abilities, and we believe that barring accidents, he will climb up the hierarchy step by step, find his way into the imperial court and take the place of our uncle. A family member of ours has already taken this path and I have no intention to become the icing on the cake, so I think maybe I should do something that I want to do, though it might sound a little willful. You're the future empress and also my friend, and currently Jiang Yu is the only adviser you have, so I figured that there'd be a lot of things you could use my help with, that I'd be able to put my mind to good use. Therefore, after hearing about what Jiang Yu did, I made the same decision almost without hesitation. As for my brother..."

Ling Zhang shifted his gaze to Zhao Turui, who awkwardly scratched his neck and said, "You might not know about this, but I'm really into commerce."

Ling Zhang was astonished. "You're into commerce?"

Eyes brightening, Zhao Turui gave a bob of the head and replied, "Yeah! But previously my parents didn't like the idea of me doing business and kept telling me to pursue a career in the government, so I had no choice but to keep it to myself all this time. I know that you have some stores, and you once said that you wanted to open stores in all cities around the country. If you still want to do that, would you please let me help you?"

Ling Zhang was at a loss for what to say. Zhao Turui was dealing him a wild card.

Zhao Jiusi on the side said in an embarrassed tone of voice, "Turui is into commerce, but the idea strikes our elders as rather unpromising. He knows that you won't give up your commercial aspirations, and he'd like to offer you some help if you still want to do something about it. By doing that, he'll also be sort of fulfilling his dream."

Ling Zhang pulled a wry face and said to Zhao Turui, "You said that your parents didn't like the idea. How did you convince them to give you the permission to go into business with me?"

Zhao Turui answered, "I just told them that I came here to volunteer to be your adviser. None of them know anything about my plan to go into business. I didn't even tell my uncle. My brother and I are the only ones aware of it in my family."

Ling Zhang came to realize that Zhao Turui intended to use him to cover his tracks and hoodwink his parents so that he could fulfill his desire to do business.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I've transferred all the stores to my father, and I don't see myself spending much time on business in the future," said Ling Zhang.

Predictably, disappointment registered on Zhao Turui's face. "Didn't you say that you wanted to open stores in every city in this country? You–You're going to give up just like this?"

Ling Zhang replied, "Well, apart from anything else, my identity is different now. Even if I still have that idea in my mind, it'll be very difficult to put it into action."

Zhao Turui's face crumpled up. "Come on, don't give up. I can help you."

Ling Zhang shook his head. "Sorry, but even I myself haven't thought it through yet. There's really nothing I could do to help you."

His business plan involved the establishment of an intelligence network, which was something only those he trusted complete would be privy to. For the moment Ling Zhang wouldn't let anybody except his father participate in any of these matters, and neither would he disclose it to anybody unless he had to, not even Zhao Turui, despite the fact that they were friends.

Zhao Turui still wanted to say something but was stopped by Zhao Jiusi, who said, "Don't worry. Although Ling Zhang has no intention of going into business, I'm sure there's another way for you to realize your dream. We'll think about it and figure something out after we get back. You can't force Ling Zhang to go into business, right?"

With a dispirited look, Zhao Turui replied, "Okay."

What Zhao Turui wanted was quite simple – doing business without his elders' knowledge. He had come to visit Ling Zhang because he'd believed that Ling Zhang could help make his dream come true. He had no ulterior motives, which was a fact Ling Zhang was fully aware of.

"Actually there's no need for you to be anxious about it. As the saying goes, 'Nothing forcibly done is going to be agreeable.' You should talk with you elders about it. They might not necessarily be unable to understand you. Even if I take you in as my adviser, you'll still have to sit the imperial examination. No matter what, the exam is something you cannot avoid," said Ling Zhang.

Zhao Turui and Zhao Jiusi were both astonished. "Sitting the imperial examination?"

Ling Zhang inclined his head. "After I become the empress, I'll have to rank my advisers, and they'll have to have either scholarly honor or some other achievements. Otherwise ranking them will be difficult, which will in turn make it inconvenient for them to perform the tasks I assign them."

Zhao Jiusi gave it some thought and said with a nod, "You've got a point."

Zhao Turui appeared vexed. It was not that he was afraid of taking the exam, but that once he took the exam, his parents would have more reasons to stop him from pursuing a career in business.

Zhao Jiusi patted his shoulder. "Ling Zhang is right. Nothing forcibly done is going to be agreeable. Compared with going to such trouble as to seek help from Ling Zhang, being honest with our parents would be a much better choice."

"That's right," commented Ling Zhang.

Zhao Turui had no alternative but to accept their advice.

As regards Zhao Jiusi...

"Have you really made up your mind?" Ling Zhang inquired of him.

Zhao Jiusi earnestly gave a bob of the head. "I've talked this through with my family. If you agree to take me in, I'll move out of my parents' house and find somewhere else to live, and I'll have only one identity – your adviser."

Zhao Jiusi had done some careful thinking before making these remarks. Unlike Zhao Turui, he had a very definite goal.

Ling Zhang was well acquainted with Zhao Jiusi and knew very well what kind of person he was, so he naturally could understand what he meant.

"Finding somewhere else to live isn't necessary for the moment. I'll get you a place to live if you don't mind," said Ling Zhang.

Zhao Jiusi brightened up at these words of Ling Zhang's which suggested that he had agreed. "Okay. I'll comply with your arrangement."

Feeling that he needed to talk with Yuwen Tong about this matter, Ling Zhang planned to tell Yuwen Tong at night. After a while, he summoned Jiang Yu and informed him that he needed to take the imperial examination.

Jiang Yu raised no objection. Passing the exam wouldn't be a problem for him.

Also, Jiang Yu was not surprised that Zhao Jiusi had become his associate, making no other reply to it than an inclination of the head.

Knowing that he would be working with Jiang Yu, Zhao Jiusi started making overtures to Jiang Yu. "It's a pleasure to work with you, Brother Jiang."

"You're too polite, Childe Zhao. We are colleagues now. If there's anything you need my help with, all you have to do is ask," said Jiang Yu.

Their conversation was just an exchange of courtesies, but it was a normal thing, given the current circumstances.

Zhao Jiusi and Zhao Turui didn't stay for long. They took their leave after another few moments. Zhao Jiusi would come to the Ling Mansion to "take office" in two days.

Ling Zhang planned to relieve Jiang Yu and Zhao Jiusi of all the trivial matters after the wedding ceremony so that the two of them could focus on making preparations for the exam. He valued the abilities of both of them, so he naturally hoped they would pass the examination. It would be an opportunity to prove themselves as well as to do him proud, so this matter must not be taken lightly.

...

At night, Yuwen Tong sneaked out of the imperial palace. Ling Zhang was sitting in the corridor of his courtyard house, waiting for him.

On this day, Yuwen Tong arrived a little late. Ling Zhang was worried that if it had been something thorny that kept him.

"It was a pressing matter that I had to deal with." Yuwen Tong told him what had kept him and then added, "It's been settled."

Ling Zhang cast him an appraising look and asked, "Are you hungry? Did you come here immediately after getting out of the consultation hall? Did you get something to eat first?"

Yuwen Tong shook his head. "I was anxious to come here to see you. You have anything to eat here?"

Ling Zhang looked at him resignedly. "Don't do this again. You need to eat something after working so late. Go inside and take a bath. I'll go and get you some food."

Yuwen Tong held him and gave him a kiss before walking into the house. Ling Zhang looked left and right. It was after seeing that those who should disappear had all disappeared that the flush over his cheeks ebbed away, and with that he hastened out of the courtyard house, heading for the kitchen.

Ling Zhang was entering the house with some food when Yuwen Tong walked out of the bathroom after the bath.

"It's short notice, so I just cooked some vegetable. I also got you some noodle," said Ling Zhang, carrying the food inside. There was a large bowl of noodle, an appetizing vegetarian dish and a dish of braised pork with soy sauce.

The foods were simple, but they were tastier than the choicest delicacy, and it didn't take an imperial chef to cook them. Yuwen Tong wolfed down the large bowl of noodle with loud slurps, along with the appetizer and the braised pork.