Chapter 204: An Invitation

Translator: DragonRider

“Enough!” thundered the principal. He deeply looked at Ling Zhang with his penetrating eyes and then said to Jiang Yu, “Jiang Yu, you are not to forget that this is the Imperial College. As a student, you are in no position to question my decision.

And, Ling Zhang, you don’t have to make such a serious accusation. It’s too much for the Imperial College.

This ends now.”

The principal gave each side a word of warning and then left, followed by others. Professor Du was also taken away.

Jiang Yu clenched his teeth. Though bitterly unreconciled to this outcome, he had no alternative but to let this go. Before leaving, he admonished Ling Zhang, “Ling Zhang, I’d like to see how much longer you can keep up your pretence of toughness.”

Ling Zhang watched as they walked away, a cold look in his eyes.

Yuwen Jin was still very angry. “I swear I’ll crack that son of bitch’s head the next time I lay eyes on him!”

Ling Zhang, who had recovered himself, turned around and said to the five students who had just now stood up for him, “Thank you for coming to my support, but I’m afraid I’ve implicated you, and Jiang Yu might make life difficult for you.”

The one standing at the front, who’d also been the first one to spring to his defence just now, replied, “Now that I’ve already stepped forward, what he’ll do doesn’t really scare me. There’s no need for you to thank me. I did that because Professor Du was not being fair. Actually it surprised me that you had the principal expel him from this college. Even if we hadn’t stood up for you, you wouldn’t have come to grief.”

“Without your help, I couldn’t have so smoothly had the principal make the decision,” remarked Ling Zhang.

“Ling Zhang, since during the past few days you’ve been keeping a low profile without making any trouble, I was beginning to suspect that those rumors were untrue, but it turns out that you’re really quite badass,” said another student, amusement gleaming in his eyes.

The other three students also felt a sense of relief and said, “That’s true. It was so badass of you to have Professor Du fired.”

Ling Zhang, seeing they were sincerely making these remarks with awe and not satirizing him, pulled a wry face and replied, “You sound as if I was being domineering and unreasonable.”

“No, no, no. We saw it clearly. It was Professor Du who’s in the wrong.”

“Yeah. We just didn’t expect that you’d make that move. Just now Professor Du’s sulky face almost scared the life out of me.”

“That’s the retribution for his evil intentions.”

As Ling Zhang watched them discussing, his foul mood caused by the unpleasant matter that had happened just now gradually lightened.

It was not that he wasn’t forgiving enough to let this matter go, but he had just thought about pardoning the professor when he’d recalled Yuwen Tong had once told him that he should punish all those who dared to mess with him, that he shouldn’t be soft-hearted. He had a different identity now, which in many cases represented not only his own reputation but also that of Yuwen Tong, who was the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Great Yue. As Yuwen Tong’s betrothed, if he was too soft, people would only think less of Yuwen Tong.

Besides, he had built a reputation as an arrogant man the day he arrived in the capital city. If he had cowered on this occasion, he would only have given people the impression of being weak, which would not only have caused people to look down upon him but also bring him more trouble. On top of this, in this college where situation was quite messy, this matter of Professor Du was virtually a golden opportunity to make an example of someone, which had presented itself right before him. If he’d let it slip away instead of taking it to deter those who secretly harbored malicious intentions towards him, how was he supposed to survive future campus life in the Imperial College?

As regards Jiang Yu…

If his guess was right, Jiang Yu had been the one who had incited Professor Du to pick on him and make trouble for him. Had he acted impulsively on this day, he would have fallen prey to their trick, and it would have been him rather than Professor Du who had been expelled from the Imperial College. Provided that he had really been expelled from this college, not only him but also Yuwen Tong would’ve become laughing stocks of the whole capital city.

“Professor Du was in the wrong in this matter today, so you got the best of it, but if anybody wants to do something to you in the future, they would definitely be more cautious, so you’d better be careful and guard against back-stabbing,” the student who’d been the first one to speak previously informed of Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang was dismayed for a few moments and then earnestly expressed his gratitude. “Thank you for reminding me.”

Of course he was fully aware that he needed to be more discreet in the Imperial College, but he hadn’t expected that this person would specially remind him of this.

…

With a bang, a table was overturned by a hard kick. Jiang Yu’s handsome face was twisting in anger, teeth gritted. He and his study-servant (a boy serving in someone’s study in feudal China) were the only ones inside the room. His guards were standing at the door to act as lookouts, vigilantly eyeing every student walking by lest anybody approach and see what their young master was doing to vent his anger.

“A subordinate of mine was expelled for nothing. Ling Zhang, you will pay for this!”

The study-servant flinched, shoulders in, standing in a corner, too afraid to make any sounds. Previously he had seen the whole thing from start to finish. Never once had anybody in this college dared to act with such disregard for his young master’s respectability; even the principal always made allowances for his young master whenever he could. Never had his young master failed to get what he wanted in the Imperial College. This was the first time that he had seen his young master suffer a failure; even the principal gave his young master a reproachful look. ‘That Ling Zhang guy is really not bad. No… bah, I shouldn’t dramatize the enemy’s power and disparage that of ourselves. Young Master is the most favored son of Old Master, and even His Majesty likes him very much. That Ling Zhang guy is nothing but a country bumpkin. Though he’s Marshal Yuwen’s fiancée, they might not necessarily get married in the end,’ thought the study-servant.

Guards at the doorway, hearing the noises coming from inside, exchanged glances in astonishment. After all, this was the first time that they had seen Jiang Yu vent his anger in this way, almost totally regardless of his personal image.

‘It seems that that Ling Zhang guy people keep talking about is really someone to be reckoned with. Young Master indeed suffered a defeat this time,’ thought a guard.

…

What happened on this day was not a small matter, and all students of the Imperial College had heard about it. In the afternoon, after the Six Arts (six subjects taught in an aristocratic school in feudal China: etiquette, music, archery, carriage-driving, reading and calculation) lesson was over, Ling Zhang was followed by many people’s eyes when he was on his way back. Students whose curiosity about him had just dissolved began staring at him again, but this time things were different: their voices were considerably lower than before, and they were a trifle afraid of Ling Zhang, too.

“They seem to be somewhat afraid of you,” said Yuwen Jin.

Ling Zhang gave no particular reaction to this. ‘It’s better that they fear me a little. Maybe there won’t be any more unobservant guys making trouble for me.’

On this day, apart from Yuwen Jin, the other five students were also with Ling Zhang. The seven of them left the Imperial College together.

The next day happened to be a day of rest in the Imperial College, and they would enjoy a day off from school. Ling Zhang, in order to express his gratitude, had invited the five students to go out and all the five of them had willingly accepted the invitation, so at this moment Ling Zhang was fretting about the next day’s arrangements. They had agreed to meet in the Ling Mansion first, and he still had to consult with Yuwen Tong on further arrangements after he returned.

The seven of them walked out of the college together and then went their separate ways.

When Ling Zhang returned to the Ling Mansion, Yuwen Tong was waiting for him.

Seeing him, Ling Zhang told him what had happened earlier this day. “What do you think of the way I dealt with this matter?”

Yuwen Tong gave a nod. “That’s exactly what you should do.”

In fact, Yuwen Tong had some time ago been informed of what had happened earlier this day. After all, he had some of his men keep a constant watch on the Imperial College. ‘That old bastard dared to pick on my man. I’m not going to make him suffer, though he’s already been expelled from the Imperial College. And there’s also Jiang family…’

Humph, they could have chosen to continue their peaceful life, yet they’re so insistent on getting themselves in trouble.’

Before Ling Zhang came back, Yuwen Tong had already come up with an idea of how to make trouble for those people.

“That principal is also an asshole. He tried to smooth things over by blurring the line between right and wrong. Fortunately you’re smart enough and didn’t let him muddle through,” remarked Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang replied, “Actually I nearly got fooled. Today Professor Gu came to my help, and so did some of my classmates. They’re both nice people. The five of them and I have already agreed to go out tomorrow. I’ll stand them a meal to express my gratitude to them for standing up for me today. I haven’t decided where to go yet. Do you think the Taibai Tavern would be a good choice? Just now, before I came in here, I’ve instructed Li Sicai to reserve a private room. I wonder whether there’re still any rooms available for tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry about it. If he fails to book a room, I’ll handle it,” said Yuwen Tong, but in his head he gave a sigh. He had waited several days for Ling Zhang to have a day off from school, and originally he had planned to spend the next day with Ling Zhang alone, but unexpectedly this thing came up…

‘Never mind. Younger Brother Zhang could use some friends in the Imperial College,’ thought Yuwen Tong, who had already ascertained the background of the five students and believed that it should be okay for Ling Zhang to make friends with them. ‘A couple of friends will keep Younger Brother Zhang from feeling lonely in the college. After all, it’s too boring to have only Yuwen Jin by his side. Moreover, Younger Brother Zhang is new to this city, and maybe he wouldn’t miss Tanyang too often if he socializes more with friends.’

As a result, Yuwen Tong made a suggestion. “How about you invite Tao Yi as well? You haven’t seen each other for quite a while, have you?”

He had no worry about Ling Zhang mixing with Tao Yi in the knowledge that Tao Yi was one of his huge fans.

Ling Zhang’s eyes lit up. “That’s right. Why didn’t I think of that? Tao Yi would probably enjoy socializing with the five of them. Besides, he’s more familiar with the capital city than I am, so it’ll be easier for him to find a topic we can talk with them about.”

Ling Zhang immediately had someone go to Tao Yi’s to deliver a message.

Tao Yi’s reply came quite soon. He agreed very readily and also said that had Ling Zhang not sent him this invitation, he would soon fail to keep from going to the Imperial College to look for him.

Just like this, after Tao Yi accepted the invitation, Ling Zhang was in noticeably higher spirits.

“I have a suggestion. The Taibai Tavern is a small place, after all. Apart from eating, there is nothing else you could do there. I have a manor in the suburbs, and the view in it is pretty good. How about you guys go there tomorrow?” remarked Yuwen Tong.

“A manor?” Ling Zhang was curious.

Yuwen Tong said, “It’s one of my family properties. When I was a boy, there was once a very long period when my grandfather stayed at home, and it was in that manor that I spent that period with him. These years I’ve been in border areas almost all the time, and every time I return, I stay only for a few days before leaving in haste, so I couldn’t even remember the last time I went to the manor, but sometimes Yao Yi and the others would return to the capital city to attend to some business, and they would stay in that manor when they’re not in my courtyard house. There are some servants there maintaining the manor as well, so it’s not really deserted.”

“But given that you and your grandfather used to live there, I think it must be a very important manor. Aren’t you worried that we might mess that place up if we go there?” said Ling Zhang, hesitating about it.

‘Memories of being together with his grandfather must mean a lot to Yuwen Tong,’ thought Ling Zhang. Since this place was so important to Yuwen Tong, he hated to see it reduced to disorder due to him.

“It’s okay. That place is very roomy. Except for a couple of areas, you may go wherever you want in there.” Yuwen Tong was very generous. Most importantly, he added, “Tomorrow I’ll go there as well. We may meet there.”

Ling Zhang was very happy to hear this. “You are going as well?”