C60

Ling Xingzhong revealed a rueful look: "Elder is too kind, at that time, I was only scheming for his authority."

"Isn't it rare to find someone else to scheme against?" Yuwen Tong said.

These words had obviously touched upon Ling Xingzhong's heart, causing the atmosphere between him and Yuwen Tong to become slightly closer.

Ling Zhang didn't have any other thoughts this time, the past must be very important to his grandfather. Yuwen Tong even knew about this and still remembered that Ling Zhang was willing to change his opinion of Yuwen Tong for this reason.

After all, not even he knew about these matters.

After dinner, Ling Xingzhong asked Ling Zhang to accompany him for a walk in the garden.

Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong, and met his gaze, his eyes drooping slightly, "Then, I'll accompany Big Brother in walking a round."

Walking out with Yuwen Tong, Ling Maomao wanted to follow along, but was stopped by Ling Xingzhong who gave him a glare.

This scene did not escape Ling Zhang's eyes, and his emotions couldn't help but become complicated again. What was his grandfather doing, he couldn't possibly think that just by walking around with Yuwen Tong, he would be able to create some sort of feelings, right?

"Lord Ling is growing stronger with age and has a strong body. He is also a talkative person." Yuwen Tong said.

"After grandpa left, sometimes it was hard to avoid feeling lonely at home. Just now, you accompanied him and chatted about a lot of matters related to the borders and the past, and he was very happy. Thank you." Ling Zhang said, these words he said were from the bottom of his heart.

Yuwen Tong had long sensed the deep feelings Ling Zhang had for his family, so his gratitude was not surprising, "Every old man has his own treasures, so it's better for me to chat with them. There's no need to thank me."

At night, besides the lamps in the corridor, the Ling Family's garden was mostly pitch black. Maybe it was because of Yuwen Tong, but there were a few lampposts erected in the garden that lit up the path in the garden.

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong walked into the garden together, and felt a little uncomfortable.

"My grandfather passed away on the battlefield very early, and my grandmother also passed away early. It's also been many years since I've chatted with this old man like before." Yuwen Tong said.

Ling Zhang remembered Yuwen Tong's background and had already heard of this before. He could not help but be curious: "Where are the other elders in your family?"

"There's also an elder uncle. However, his family doesn't live in Yuwen Manor, so I only have a few years to go back to the capital to meet and chat with him." Yuwen Tong answered him.

So there were no longer elders of the grandfather's generation in Yuwen Palace, and he heard that Yuwen Tong's parents had also passed away.

Ling Zhang realized that maybe talking about his family members with Yuwen Tong was not a good idea, so he changed the topic: "Why don't you want to end the marriage agreement?"

Yuwen Tong stopped and did not answer, but instead asked: "I heard that you do not have a lover, and have not engaged yet. Why are you so anxious to break off the engagement?"

Of course it was to prevent your Yuwen Clan from having the chance to humiliate the Ling Family again. Thinking about this, Ling Zhang's face involuntarily turned cold.

Yuwen Tong saw it clearly, and his gaze turned deeper. Whenever the matter of the marriage was mentioned, Ling Zhang's attitude would immediately change.

It seemed to be specifically aimed at him.

But this was even more strange. Did he have a bad reputation that he did not know about?

"Did I ever do anything wrong?" Yuwen Tong didn't like to beat around the bush and asked directly.

Ling Zhang was stopped by his question. In this life, Yuwen Tong obviously did not do anything, but he could not say anything about the humiliation at Yuwen Clan in his previous life.

"I spend most of my time at the border. I rarely return, and I don't think I've ever seen you before when I wasn't aware of it." Yuwen Tong continued.

After hearing this, some vague thoughts flashed past Ling Zhang's mind, but he didn't manage to grab hold of it in time.

"Then let me ask you, this marriage was decided a long time ago, why did you keep silent?" Ling Zhang asked.

But the words felt strange, as if he were complaining.

Yuwen Tong revealed a slight smile. Just when Ling Zhang thought that he was about to start ridiculing them, Yuwen Tong said: "Sorry, I didn't know about this marriage before. If I had known, I definitely wouldn't have not contacted the both of you for so many years."

Don't know? Ling Zhang was slightly taken aback, "How are you not aware of this?"

"This marriage was arranged by my grandfather. He suddenly passed away on the battlefield, there are many things he hasn't even had the chance to tell me. At that time, I was still very young. After my parents passed away one after the other, perhaps there were still elders in the family who knew about it, perhaps they didn't know that I rarely returned to the capital, that I was not interested in marriage, and that I had never thought about asking about it. Fortunately, we bumped into your house's housekeeper on our way to the capital. You have just become an adult, so it's not too late for me to learn about it. " Yuwen Tong explained.

What do you mean not too late, Yuwen Tong, what do you mean by that?

No, that was not what he wanted to say.

He just did not expect Yuwen Tong to be like him, and not realize that he still had this marriage contract on him.

Then what happened in his previous life?

Just by knowing it in advance, would Yuwen Tong's attitude be so different?

Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong in probing manner. That's right, in his previous life, no one would have been afraid of his terrible reputation at that time, let alone Yuwen Tong.

Right now, he was still a pure person.

Ling Zhang's expression once again became ugly, and his attitude toward Yuwen Tong became cold and indifferent again, "Really?"

Yuwen Tong frowned slightly. He did not understand why Ling Zhang still remained cold after hearing his explanation. He had a hunch that there was something wrong, but he really could not tell what it was.

In the awkward silence, Ling Zhang did not say anything. He seemed to be deep in thought.

Yuwen Tong's courtyard was arranged to be next to the bamboo house, which was relatively quiet. Seeing that Yuwen Tong had brought many people here, Ling Xingzhong kindly told the servants of the Ling Family not to enter the bamboo house to disturb him, and only to keep people on guard outside the courtyard, as it was convenient to order them around.

"Marshal, this Ling Family is quite tactful." Yao Yi said after seeing the arrangements of the Ling Family.

In bamboo house, no matter what they wanted to do, no one would ever disturb them.

Yuwen Tong replied, "Yao Yi, you write a letter to return to the capital, have Yue Qi secretly investigate if there is anyone in the family who knows about the engagement between Ling Zhang and I that is hiding anything, find out if they have ever made things difficult for the Ling Family."

"Yes." Yao Yi agreed, "Marshal, do you suspect what they did?"

"Just a little suspicious." Yuwen Tong said.

Yao Yi coughed lightly, "Marshal, are you really going to marry Ling childe?"

Yao Yi's face was filled with gossip that he couldn't even hide.

Yuwen Tong glanced at him, "When the people from the State Guard's encampment return, tell them to report immediately."

Then he turned and went into the house.

Yao Yi looked at Yuwen Tong's back figure in disappointment. He was really curious in his heart!

In the courtyard of the Ling Zhang next door, Ling Zhang also hadn't slept, it should be said that if he could sleep like this, he would definitely have something to do with it.

He was restless, tossing and turning about. In the end, he simply put on his coat and left the room. When the night watchman saw him, he was shocked.

"I'll stand for a while. Don't panic." Ling Zhang said indifferently.

"Yes." The servant replied, not daring to go up and disturb him.

Ling Zhang looked at bamboo house next door, and all he could think about was what Yuwen Tong had said earlier in the day.

Even someone like Yuwen Tong would not argue with him, but would hearing the rumors be afraid to avoid him?

Forget it, why should he think so much? Didn't he already make up his mind to cancel this marriage, so what if Yuwen Tong was unwilling?

What he should be considering now was to what extent would Yuwen Tong use against Zhang Chong, if he did not eliminate someone like Zhang Chong, he would definitely counterattack, and since Yuwen Tong had already involved himself in these things, he could not allow Yuwen Tong to stop halfway, he must kill Zhang Chong!

"Marshal, they are back." Deep into the night, the bamboo house was lit up.

Yuwen Tong got up, put on a coat, walked out and sat behind the desk, and said, "Come in."

Yao Yi pushed the door and entered, along with a few other people, "Marshal."

"It's been hard on you. What did you find?" Yuwen Tong said.

During the day, he had sneaked into the State Guard's camp to investigate. He already knew a lot, but there were still some details that he needed to investigate in detail to fill.

"Marshal, this is the map of the State Guard's encampment that we made. Please take a look first." The person that came in said.

Yuwen Tong praised him as he looked at him. He took the paper and opened it up to take a look, and after reading it carefully, he nodded.

"Besides Zhang Chong, Tan Yang State Guard has four other Deputy Commander. They are Dou Li, Bai Jun, Wang Mian, and Wang He. The four of them also have …" The people who came in roughly explained the main characters of the State Guard and the matters they were in charge of. They also recorded down all the important points that they had heard from the soldiers and understood the general characteristics of these people.

"Apart from this, we have also investigated the patrol routes and the patrol areas of the State Guard's encampment. Marshal, please take a look …"

"The State Guard's military strength far exceeds the regulations of the imperial government, and the area of encampment far exceeds the rules. Furthermore, the food stored here and the horses also far exceeds the rules, so there's a difference between the training of the soldiers of the State Guard and the training of these people. They …"

"This subordinate has even discovered the secret location of the weapon camp."

Yuwen Tong carefully listened to what his subordinate had found out, while pondering about something.

On the other side, Yao Yi became more and more apprehensive. After the person finished speaking, he said, "Marshal, this Tan Yang State Guard already far surpasses the strength of ordinary State Guard. They have more people, more horses, more food, and even forged their own weapons. Are they trying to rebel? "

Yuwen Tong sneered, "Otherwise, do you think they are here to play?"

"But the Tan Yang is far away from the capital. Even if they rebel, it would still be difficult for them to reach the capital quickly." Yao Yi said.

Yuwen Tong didn't say anything. After a while, he said to Yao Yi: "Bring the map of the Tan Yang over."

Yao Yi hurriedly took out the map they brought and spread it on the desk.

Yuwen Tong's gaze swept across the surroundings of the State Guard's encampment as he pondered deeply. In the end, his finger lightly tapped on a spot and he said to Yao Yi: "Bring me Yanzhou's and Cang Prefecture's."