In a great hurry, a group of courtiers nervously helped the emperor into his carriage and then escorted him back to the imperial bedchamber. Looking at the emperor who was lying in bed unable to move, the courtiers all appeared rather anxious. Wh–Why was this happening? What should they do if the emperor's waist was permanently damaged?

The chairman of the imperial hospital, whose surname was Sun, along with two of the best court physicians, soon arrived with all haste. They said that the room had to be quiet, so the courtiers had no choice but to leave the bedchamber and wait outside. Ling Zhang and the two prime ministers were the only ones staying.

When all the courtiers had left, Ling Zhang looked at the two prime ministers.

The two ministers nodded at him and then quietly moved to the side.

Yuwen Tong sat up, as though the man who had been in too much pain to walk a moment ago were another person.

"Physician Sun, are you ready?" Ling Zhang asked Chairman Sun.

"We're ready, Your Highness," answered Chairman Sun, the other two court physicians standing behind him with their heads down as if pretending they were invisible.

Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong, who rose to his feet, stretched and said, "Now that everything's in readiness, let's begin."

...

An hour later, the doors of the imperial bedchamber opened. The two prime ministers walked out first, followed by Chairman Sun. At the sight of them, the courtiers waiting outside hastened to cluster around them.

"Chairman Sun, how's my father?" inquired Yuwen Qi, Yuwen Yue standing on his right, Yuwen Lin beside her. The little princess, somewhat frightened, put her arms around her big brother's waist, looking into the bedchamber with a mixture of nervousness and fear in her eyes. She attempted to go inside right away but was stopped by Yuwen Qi, who breathed to her, "Wait a moment, Crescent."

After Yuwen Qi asked the question, the others also looked at Chairman Sun.

Chairman Sun replied, "His Majesty is fine."

All the others were relieved at the answer.

"But..."

The others felt their pulse throbbing in their throats again.

"His Majesty hurt his waist. It'll take a two-month rest cure to nurse him back to health. He'll have to lie in bed all the time for the duration, which means he won't be able to preside over any court meetings or deal with any state affairs."

"But he'll fully recover from the injury in two months, right?" Yuwen Qi looked at him.

Chairman Sun inclined his head. "Yes."

Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin both heaved a sigh of relief. "Can we go in there to see him?"

"Certainly. His Majesty said that all three of Your Highnesses may go inside directly," responded Chairman Sun.

Yuwen Qi gave a nod and looked at Yuwen Lin and with that the two boys, along with Crescent who had been meaning to get in for quite some time, entered the imperial bedchamber.

Compared with the three young imperial family members who were now relaxed, the courtiers appeared rather tense. One of them asked, "Chairman Sun, His Majesty really can't walk before a full recovery from the wound?"

Chairman Sun shook his head. "He can't. He must lie in bed for a rest cure. Otherwise his health would be severely damaged."

"What should we do? The Wan Kingdom–"

"There's no need to panic. His Majesty's being absent from court meetings for two month is not the end of the world. If there's anything urgent, we could still come here to report it to His Majesty," said Old Master Ji, his eyes sweeping across the courtiers around him. Seeing that the speaker lapsed into silence, he softened his face a little and added, "His Majesty wants the six ministers in his bedchamber for a consultation in a quarter. You may make some preparations, Your Lordships."

...

A quarter of an hour later, the six ministers entered the imperial bedchamber. Before long, the courtiers outside were ordered to get on their knees to listen to the emperor's instructions.

"What with my waist injury, I won't be able to walk anytime soon. Starting tomorrow, my consort will be attending morning court meetings in my stead. After every court meeting, the two prime ministers are to accompany my consort to my bedchamber to report to me on the meeting. Urgent intelligence reports or memorials are to be delivered to me directly. In addition, since it's inconvenient for me to write, my consort will be writing my decisions on the memorials on my behalf," said Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong's voice was as sonorous as always, and there was no panic on the face of any of those in the bedchamber, so the courtiers were convinced that Yuwen Tong was fine except for his temporary loss of mobility caused by the waist injury, and none of them raised any objections. Though Ling Zhang had scarcely shown his face in court meetings in recent years, the courtiers were all fully aware that he had an intimate knowledge of the situation in the court. Besides, currently the political landscape was stable, and the emperor had two adopted sons, which meant that the empress's position was quite secure, so the courtiers didn't have the guts to raise any objections. Furthermore, the couple of top-ranking courtiers didn't say anything, so the others naturally didn't dare utter a word.

Next, Yuwen Tong made a lot of other arrangements and eventually instructed, "Except for those who have urgent business to report, the two prime ministers and the heads of the six major departments, nobody is to come to this palace lest my rest be disturbed. If your service is needed, I'll have the two prime ministers or the other six ministers inform you."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"All right, you may leave. Today is a festive day and I want my subjects to enjoy the celebration, so do not tell anybody else about my injury. Let them spend the festival without having to worry about my health."

"Yes, Your Majesty," chorused the courtiers. Then they rose to their feet and filed out of the bedchamber.

Old Master Ji and Chu Liangyan, along with the other courtiers, left the bedchamber. When they had descended the stairs, Chu Liangyan said to the courtiers, "Your Lordships, the Wan Kingdom is itching for a war, so it's best if we keep the matter of His Majesty's injury to ourselves. Please make sure you don't let slip anything about it."

"Your Lordship may rest assured we have enough sense of perspective to stay tight-lipped," a courtier hurriedly replied.

After seeing the group of courtiers off, the heads of the six major departments and the two prime ministers also took their leave. Chairman Sun, along with the other two court physicians, went to the side hall, and the imperial bedchamber quieted down again.

Yuwen Yue, leaning propped against the bed, was gazing at Yuwen Tong with her big eyes, the expression in which suggested her heart was aching badly for her father. "Does it hurt, Father? You want Crescent to blow at your injury to ease the pain?"

Yuwen Tong, whose heart melted at his daughter's cajoling voice, reached out a hand and stroked Yuwen Yue's head. "I'm not in pain or experiencing any other discomfort. I just can't move."

A considerable part of Yuwen Yue's distress dissolved at these words, but she was still holding Yuwen Tong's hand, refusing to let go. Seeing this, Yuwen Tong felt somewhat guilty, but Yuwen Yue was still a child, and she might not be able to keep the secret if he confided it to her, so Yuwen Tong, guilty as he was, had no choice but to continue to conceal the truth from her.

Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Qi were also unaware that Yuwen Tong was faking his injury. Mistakenly believing that Yuwen Tong was really wounded, they both looked upset.

He had a hard job coaxing his daughter into leaving. When his two sons had also left, Yuwen Tong heaved a sigh of relief and sat up. Lying prostrate on the bed motionlessly for such a long time turned out to be quite an ordeal. "What we need to do next is just wait for the Wan Kingdom to declare war on us."

Ling Zhang said with an inclination of the head, "Since you're 'hurt', your great-uncle and my grandfather and some others may well come here to visit you this afternoon or tomorrow, so you'll have to keep up the pretence in the next two days. I'll keep an eye on the kids and make sure they don't come here to disturb you, so you won't have to lie on your stomach to hoodwink them again."

Yuwen Tong sighed, "Did you see Crescent's eyes when she was looking at me a moment ago? They were so sad. It seems our daughter's grown up and learned to show concern for her father."

A short while before, his daughter's gaze had almost rendered Yuwen Tong unable to maintain his pretence, because her eyes looked so much like Ling Zhang's. At the sight of the eyes full to the brim with sorrow, Yuwen Tong had felt as though he were looking at a young version of Ling Zhang whose heart was aching for him, and he had had an almost overwhelming urge to immediately "recover" and get out of bed to console her.

Looking at Yuwen Tong with his bright eyes, Ling Zhang said, "Crescent is quite stubborn. I wouldn't like to be in your shoes when she finds out about it."

Yuwen Tong gave a little cough and said, "Which is why we have to make sure she never comes to know I'm faking my injury. I'm counting on you to keep this secret from her, my dear empress. Whether or not I'll be able to get away with this purely depends on you."

Ling Zhang gave an involuntary shudder at the words "my dear empress", sliding Yuwen Tong a reproving glance.

Yuwen Tong chuckled. Indeed, his daughter's eyes closely resembled Ling Zhang's, but in his sight, Ling Zhang's eyes were the most charming in the world. No matter whether Ling Zhang was smiling or sulking, the gleam in Ling Zhang's eyes always made him feel as though it were tickling his heart, filling every fibre of his being with joy.

...

Though angered by the fight between Yuwen Jin and the former champion, afterward the emperor still rewarded the top twenty contestants handsomely and gave the order for fireworks to be set off on the palace ramparts at night. As a result, residents of the capital city still enjoyed the ship-lantern show very much which was lively and uproarious. None of them was aware that their emperor was injured and lying in his bedchamber, unable to move.

Meanwhile, Yuwen Jin, after hearing about the emperor's waist injury, immediately requested permission to go into the palace to help nurse the emperor back to health, saying that he would stay in the imperial bedchamber until the emperor made a full recovery. In order to show his sincerity, he knelt outside the study of the Marquess Fuan for quite some time. Eventually, the Marquess Fuan became resigned and the next day specially went into the palace and petitioned the emperor to allow Yuwen Jin to enter the palace to help instead of introspecting about his faults at home, and give him an opportunity to make amends for what he'd done. The empress also interceded, so eventually the emperor granted Yuwen Jin's request. On that very day, Yuwen Jin moved into the imperial palace, beginning to help nurse the emperor's injury.

"Sire, I've done everything you told me to. Do I have your permission to go to the south-west with you?" asked Yuwen Jin, looking at Yuwen Tong, expectation written all over his face. In order to make his act convincing enough, he had suffered a lot of wounds and been suspended from his post as Assistant Commander of the Western City Garrison Battalion too. He felt that he wouldn't be able to refrain from kicking up a stink if the opportunity to go to the south-west was denied to him.

After hearing this, Yuwen Tong who was reading a memorial didn't even lift his eyes.

Yuwen Jin became anxious. "Sire, would you please look at me? Am I allowed to go or not?"

Yuwen Tong still made no reply. Ling Zhang, now unable to keep from staying silent, reproached, "Are you really a fool or pretending to be one?"

Yuwen Jin looked at him, a faint glitter in his eyes. "Can you drop a hint to me, dear Brother Zhang?"

"Why else would your second cousin go to such trouble to get you in here, if not to have you go to the south-west?" asked Ling Zhang. Yuwen Tong would never have tolerated such a talky guy lingering in his bedchamber for so long if it weren't for that reason.

Yuwen Jin's eyes instantly brightened. "Are you saying that..." He paused and then delightedly swiveled around and said to Yuwen Tong, "Thank you, Sire!"

It was not that Yuwen Jin was stupid. The main reason was that he didn't dare risk stepping out of line in front of Yuwen Tong. Though having a speculation, he had been uncertain and apprehensive before receiving a definite reply.

Yuwen Tong coldly snorted, "You expect me to put an army under the command of someone as slow-witted as you? I'm not sure I could afford to take the risk."

These remarks deflated Yuwen Jin instantaneously. "Please don't change your mind, Cousin!"

Given that he was addressing Yuwen Tong as "Cousin", Yuwen Jin was indeed anxious. "I–I was just worried there might be unexpected changes. I promise I'll never make that kind of mistake again! Please don't leave me in the capital city."

Ling Zhang decided that it was best if he stayed out of it when Yuwen Tong lectured Yuwen Jin lest he get himself into trouble. He picked up the intelligence report which had been delivered here by Wang Dashan a moment before, and which told him that staff members of the chamber of commerce had successfully got the medicines and physicians ready and were now transporting them to the south-west. After reading the report, Ling Zhang instructed Wang Dashan to send a message to the chamber of commerce, telling them they must be extra careful not to rouse anybody's suspicions.

In the Wan capital.

A rider on a fast horse entered the city in a great hurry, galloping towards the royal palace.

"Dispatch delivery!"

"Sire, an urgent letter from our scouts in the Great Wen has just been delivered here."

On hearing that it was an urgent letter from his scouts in the Great Wen, Shan Congli, worrying that something unexpected had happened, hastened to have his henchman bring him the letter. After reading the secret letter, however, he burst into laughter, "What a godsend!"

The courtiers, unaware of what it was about, were all confused as to why their emperor was laughing heartily.

"Yuwen Tong suffered a severe waist injury and has to lie in bed for two months. He's not even attending court meetings. What else would you call this, if not 'a godsend'?" explained Shan Congli, smugness and determination glinting in his eyes.

"In that case, there's no way Yuwen Tong could lead the army himself. Without Yuwen Tong being in charge, Jiang Ke, Jiang Xi and Shao Feng don't stand a snowball's chance in hell of withstanding our and the Luohai Kingdom's concerted attack," croaked Shan Congyi, whose face was terribly disfigured in the explosion five years ago and was now covered with a mask.

"Our chance of defeating the Great Wen is now fifty percent higher," commented Xue Chi who would be leading the Wan army as commander-in-chief in the upcoming war against the Great Wen, a relaxed look appearing on his face.

"Fifty percent? Yuwen Tong is only human. Don't you think you're giving him too much more credit than he deserves, General Xue?" sniffed Shan Congyi, displeased at Xue Chi putting it so dramatically as though their chance of winning would be halved if Yuwen Tong would be leading the Great Wen's army. He was just one man, thought Shan Congyi.

Xue Chi shook his head. "I've long since come to know what Yuwen Tong is capable of when he has an army under his command, but no matter what, now that he's injured, we've been offered an opportunity that is nothing short of a godsend. Sire, I suggest we attack immediately instead of continuing to wait for the Luohai Kingdom. It would be such a shame if we let this opportunity slip away!"

Naturally, Shan Congli was fully aware of the importance of seizing the opportunity, so he agreed on the spot, "Okay, General Xue. How soon can you get our troops ready to depart?"

Xue Chi answered, "Everything's in readiness already, Sire. The provisions and fodder have also been delivered there in advance. Our men are ready to leave at a moment's notice."

Shan Congli said, "In that case, they shall set off first light tomorrow morning. I'll be seeing them off personally."

Xue Chi said, "Yes, Sire."

None of the courtiers dared raise any objections. It was now a foregone conclusion that the Wan Kingdom would attack the Great Wen, and their monarch had paid a heavy price to convince the Luohai monarch to join hands with him. On top of that, right now the emperor of the enemy country was injured and unable to lead his army, which meant this was a perfect opportunity. Anybody who dared oppose the operation at this point in time would be making an enemy of the monarch and might well be beheaded.

Shan Congyi glanced around him and then said to Shan Congli, "Sire, I petition you to grant me the permission to go with the army."

Shan Congli looked at him, a fairly disapproving expression on his face. "You've just recovered from your injuries. Staying in an encampment will take its toll on your health."

Shan Congyi said, "All my curable injuries have been healed. The rest of them are not going to be any different no matter how much rest I take, so I might as well go with the army. I swear I'll take the capital city of the Great Wen with General Xue and kill Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong to avenge my sufferings and the deaths of the countless men we lost."

Shan Congli was still hesitating, but Shan Congyi was very intransigent, desire for revenge glinting in his eyes. Eventually, Shan Congli gave a nod of consent. "Take care of yourself. I don't want to hear any news about you getting hurt again."

"Thank you for your concern, Sire. I promise I'll take good care of myself," said Shan Congyi.

Xue Chi inwardly furrowed his brows, not because he wasn't comfortable with the idea of having a royal family member in his army, but because ever since Shan Congyi had returned after surviving the explosion, he had changed dramatically. He was now snaky, ruthless, unpredictable and unapproachable. Xue Chi was worried that Shan Congyi might lose control of himself. When they were at the border, without the monarch's authority being a deterrent, there was no telling what kind of trouble Shan Congyi might get them into. However, Shan Congli had given the order, and Xue Chi had no alternative but to obey it and accept the fact that Shan Congyi would be going with the army.

"Sire, I have another suggestion – please send a message to Mu Hengtian and urge him to send his army as soon as possible. Only by joining hands with him would we be able to occupy the north of the Great Wen in the shortest possible amount of time and then move south to take their capital. If we fail to achieve the goal before Yuwen Tong recovers from his injury, we'll lose the most precious opportunity we've ever had," said Xue Chi.

Shan Congli took his advice and immediately had someone set off to send a letter to Mu Hengtian the Luohai monarch.

The next morning, Shan Congli drank a farewell toast to the troops and then the Wan army departed advancing towards Shengzhou Pass.

...