By the time Ling Jintang returned to the residence, it was nearly evening. The steward came forward to greet him, concern showing on his face as he studied Ling Jintang’s expression. “Young Master…”
Ling Jintang looked up and gave him a gentle smile. “It’s nothing. Go and prepare dinner. Father will probably be back later.”
The steward said, “Miss is still waiting for you in the garden. She refused to return to her room, no matter how I urged her. She must be very worried about you.”
Ling Jintang nodded. “I understand. I’ll go see her now.” He reached out and patted the steward’s shoulder, saying somewhat helplessly, “Yun Bo, it’s all settled.”
Seeing this, the steward knew he should not ask further. He could only sigh and turn toward the front hall. Their young master had gone to the palace more than once or twice, but he had almost always returned looking troubled. This time, however, he seemed relieved, and the unusual turn of events only made the steward even more worried.
Ling Letong was still sitting on the swing in the same position she had been in when Ling Jintang left, staring blankly into space, lost in thought. It was not until Ling Jintang called her two or three times that she came to herself and answered instinctively.
“Brother?” She sprang to her feet and seized Ling Jintang’s sleeve. “Are you all right?”
“Is His Majesty… issuing the decree?”
Ling Jintang shook his head. He sat on the other swing and slowly rocked himself twice. The last trace of light on the horizon faded completely, and the deepening night concealed most of his expression. Ling Letong could hear only his usual, unruffled voice beside her.
“You don’t have to marry.” Ling Jintang said, “Putting aside the fact that you already have someone you love, even if you had not been betrothed to the Su family, Father and I would never agree to send you far away for a political marriage.”
Yet after hearing this, Ling Letong did not feel relieved. Instead, her unease grew. She stared straight at Ling Jintang. “Brother… I’m not stupid. His Majesty had Eunuch Yuan deliver an oral decree at noon. That means the matter is already more than halfway decided. How could he possibly give in so easily…”
She drew a deep breath. Even she did not realize that her voice had begun to tremble. “Or did he force you to agree to something?”
Ling Jintang had thought he was prepared to explain everything to his family, but now that the moment had come, he did not know where to begin. Seeing tears welling in Ling Letong’s eyes as she stubbornly held them back, he felt a pang of pity and had no idea how to comfort her. All he could do was let her grip his sleeve tighter and tighter. “No, don’t panic. We’ll wait until Father returns, and then I’ll tell both of you together…”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ling Letong pulled a tear in his sleeve.
She sheepishly let go, forcing her tears back. “Why is this fabric so flimsy?”
Ling Jintang said helplessly, “Yun Jiao, how did you get so strong? Does Su Ji still come over every day to practice martial arts with you?”
“No.” Ling Letong answered casually, “Brother, don’t hide anything from me.”
She sighed. “Fine. If you say we should wait until Father returns, then we’ll wait. Anyway…”
Just then, a loud, resonant voice came from behind them. With his hands clasped behind his back, Ling Feng strode toward them, smiling. “What are you going to tell me?”
Ling Jintang said, “Let’s go to the study. It’s still cold outside in the second month.”
Ling Feng glanced at his daughter and frowned. “Yun Jiao, why are your eyes red? Who bullied you?”
Ling Letong shook her head. “It’s nothing. Brother went to the palace today, and His Majesty probably had something to discuss with him.”
A brazier was burning in the study. The candlelight flickered twice in the breeze stirred up by their movement. Ling Feng took the seat of honor, while Ling Letong, unusually, did not settle onto the couch by the window. Instead, she stayed close beside Ling Jintang.
Ling Jintang began, “Father, did you meet the leader of the Moqin delegation today?”
Ling Feng picked up the tea nearby and moistened his throat before answering. “I did. His Majesty intends to hold a banquet tomorrow for the Moqin envoys. Their purpose in coming will probably be brought up during the feast. The Moqin have coveted the western border of Great Zhou and repeatedly provoked us over the past two years. They are a genuine threat. This time, they even stated outright that they wanted three of our cities. Their ambitions are truly those of wolves!”
“They brought it up once before, but Minister Liu turned them down. I wasn’t present that day, and when the matter was mentioned afterward, they never told me what had been said. I’m rather curious what Minister Liu said to make those envoys behave themselves for a few days.”
Ling Letong said coldly from the side, “They probably didn’t dare tell you. Eunuch Yuan delivered His Majesty’s oral decree today, saying that I was to be betrothed and granted a commandery princess’s title before being sent to Moqin for a political marriage. That’s why Brother went to the palace this afternoon.”
Ling Feng paused. He rubbed the cup in his hand, apparently lost in thought. Only after a long while did he speak, displeasure coloring his tone. “His Majesty wants to bring the Ling Family completely under his control…”
“Father, I have another plan regarding the political marriage.” Ling Jintang spoke abruptly. He told them everything he had said to the emperor in the palace that afternoon. The room fell utterly silent for a time. Even their breathing could be heard clearly. Ling Feng looked at him with a complicated expression. He was about to speak when Ling Jintang continued, “Father, you should know that I don’t act on impulse.”
The tears Ling Letong had held back for so long finally escaped, and she burst into tears. Ling Feng and Ling Jintang both froze, then hurriedly began trying to comfort her.
Ling Letong shook her head and looked at Ling Jintang. “Brother, I’m going to the palace right now. I’ll beg His Majesty to withdraw the order. I can marry, but you can’t be forced into this because of me.”
“Yun Jiao, I know what you’re thinking.” Ling Jintang bent slightly and wiped away her tears. “You understand that this is the best way to deal with things under the circumstances.”
Ling Letong turned her head away. Her long lashes drooped as two tears rolled down. “I know.”
“That is simply how things are between ruler and subject. Today it’s an oral decree. Tomorrow it may be a formal edict. In the end, there will still be only one outcome.” She bit her lip and suppressed her sobs, her voice trembling. “I’m only angry that you should never have been forced this far.”
Her brother should have been like their father, displaying his talents in court and serving the ruler as a trusted official. He should not have been left useless and idle, unable even to do what he wished after being obstructed time and again.
Ling Feng looked at his two children and suddenly felt dazed. Even though he occupied a high position, he could not protect both of them. He let out a deep sigh. “Jintang, if you don’t want to…” He paused for a long while before finally forcing the words out. “If you don’t want to marry, I can go to His Majesty again…”
“There’s no need, Father.” Ling Jintang said, “For the sake of the nation, a political marriage is indeed the best option. For the Ling Family, it will also reassure His Majesty once and for all.”
“For me, it is a sliver of hope in a desperate situation.” Ling Jintang gave a soft laugh. “Hasn’t His Majesty always wanted me to enter the palace? So many things have happened, on and off, over the past few years. Now, I refuse to give him what he wants.”
He had always possessed a handsome face, but his gentle nature usually made him seem approachable and easygoing. That smile, however, revealed a rare recklessness and flamboyance, making it almost impossible to look away.
“As for everything else…” Ling Jintang reached over and patted the head of the still-sniffling Ling Letong. “We’ll deal with it one step at a time.”
“Father, I know you’re worried about me, and perhaps you still think I’m risking everything on a single throw.” A slight curve touched Ling Jintang’s lips. “That’s probably true. I’ve simply been forced too hard… and for too long.”
Ling Letong suddenly said, “Then that Moqin leader you met this afternoon is going to be our son-in-law?”
It took her a while to force the words out. She had meant to cheer her brother up, but the moment they left her mouth, she realized something was off. She immediately fell silent. Her tear-reddened eyes darted around, then she lowered her head dejectedly and muttered, “Why does my brother have to get married…”
Ling Jintang hurriedly covered her mouth. “Stop crying, Yun Jiao. If you keep this up, your eyes will be swollen when you go to the palace tomorrow.”
Ling Letong nodded, but the worry had not left her eyes. Looking utterly dejected, she returned to her room first.
Only Ling Feng and Ling Jintang remained in the study. Neither spoke for a long while. Perhaps there was simply too much to say, and yet, upon closer thought, no way to begin. It seemed that from the moment the decision became final, many things no longer needed to be said.
The tea in Ling Feng’s cup had long since gone cold, but he seemed not to notice as he raised it to his lips once more. Finally, he came back to himself. “Does the emperor know about your condition?”
Ling Jintang nodded. “Yes. He’ll probably mention it to the Moqin leader. At worst, he’ll have someone bring it up privately. It is, after all, a bargaining chip, even if not a particularly significant one.” He gave a self-mocking smile. “Father, I know you can’t bear to let me go, but I’ve been trapped in Shengjing for too long. Rather than remain here in fear and uncertainty, I might as well take this opportunity to leave Shengjing.”
“It may not be a good destination, but whatever happens, this time it will be my own choice.”
Ling Feng remained silent for a long time. It was as though he had rapidly aged in that instant. He nodded slowly. “With a temperament like yours, you truly are a child of the Ling Family.”
“I spoke with the leader of the Moqin delegation today. He may not be easy to deal with.” Ling Feng said, “Go back and rest. You have to enter the palace tomorrow.”
***
“Wolf King, I’ve been waiting for you for days. You’ve finally arrived!” Hui Lanyu pushed open the door, brimming with excitement. He was just about to offer the person inside a warm greeting when a cup came flying straight at him and stopped him at the threshold.
Hui Lanyu blinked at the white jade cup embedded in the doorframe. He swallowed carefully, edged sideways into the room, and ventured, “Why are you so angry? It’s only that we were delayed by two days on the road. It didn’t hold anything up, did it?”
The young man stood by the window and shot him a sidelong glance. “Delayed by two days? Didn’t hold anything up?”
“I’d like to know when I acquired a wangfei.”
Hui Lanyu hunched his shoulders. “Wolf King, it wasn’t something we proposed. A minister came by a couple of days ago and rattled on about something or other. The matter of the cities was put aside, but the proposal of a marriage to you was brought up instead.”
The young man gave him a chilling smile. “Oh? Great Zhou and I have no connection by marriage. Why would their emperor propose a match to me?”
Hui Lanyu argued, “Well, we aren’t fluent in their language, while they’re quite good at speaking ours…”
The smile on the other man’s face grew more pronounced. Hui Lanyu’s voice dwindled until it was barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz, and in the end he fell silent.
At the last moment, he still struggled to add, “They say it’s a peerless beauty, the sort even the emperor can’t bear to part with! I only heard about it today!”
“Hah…” The man gave a soft laugh. “What do I want a wangfei for? Can I eat one? One marriage in exchange for three cities. The emperor of Great Zhou certainly knows how to make a calculation.”