Chapter 269: Ling Xiao Goes to Battle
Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT , Rock
Early morning the next day, the stage had long been cleared and removed. All those who stayed in Smoky Thea Tower had opened their windows wide without prior discussion, as though the disgusting atmosphere was still present inside the place and they wanted to let the wind sweep it away.
None of those who had personally witnessed the scene last night had any appetite for breakfast. This also gave everyone some reverence and fear towards Ling Tian living in Heavenly Fragrance Chamber. The second in command of the XiMen Family had brought their experts and two young nobles, as well as their Blood Iron Death Troops, to Sky Bearing. Such a strength was actually comparable to or even better than the strength of the other great families. To think that it only took one night for all of them to be swept away, and those alive to be involved in such a humiliating scandal!
And the person who had orchestrated the entire destruction of the XiMen Family, Ling Tian, seemed to be untainted by even a speck of it, as though he had lost nothing, nor did he look tired! What sort of strength was this? How could any family not based in Sky Bearing resist?
Everyone thought that they had to be a little more careful in Sky Bearing. If they were to accidentally provoke this malignant star, then they wouldn't even have a place to cry in!
The scholarly meet wasn't concluded yet, but now the organizers of the meet, the XiMen Family, didn't have even a single person alive anymore. Furthermore, with that disgusting and bloody scenario yesterday, it seemed like there would be no way for the scholarly meet to continue.
Ling Tian was currently happily chatting with Yu BingYan when the curtains parted and a person walked in. He was Wang Tong, head of Ling Tian's bodyguards.
"Young noble, the Grand Marshal will be going to the battlefield today. Madam has already rushed down to the military drill ground, and wants me to inform young noble to rush over at the fastest possible time." Wang Tong's sentence left Ling Tian in a daze. The fact about Ling Xiao leaving for war was a common occurrence the past few years, but every time he did, there would be a preparation of close to a fortnight. Since when would it be such a rushed affair?
While the border station was in a bad situation and needed reinforcements badly, to arrange the troops and logistics needed time. How could they just decide to run off to the battlefield without any advance warning?
This matter seemed fishy! Ling Tian immediately stood up, saying, "Ling Chen, follow me. Yan'er, I'll need you to stay with your third uncle for the moment, I'll look for you when I'm back, okay?" After making a few hurried preparations he left with Ling Chen.
Yu BingYan let out a meek sound of assent, staring in a daze at Ling Tian's retreating shadow. She was perfectly clear of the situation. The fact that the army was setting out in such a rush would mean that they were going to resist the Northern Wei, there were no other reasons! Whether the Yu Family was allied with the Northern Wei didn't matter. They were in the end part of the empire, and while the Yu Family wasn't afraid of the Northern Wei, they couldn't be so blatant as to appear in the enemy's army. This is why Ling Tian wasn't able to bring her along.
The other reason was that Ling Xiao's setting off was a Ling Family affair. If Yu BingYan were to appear, what would that signify? The world would think that Yu BingYan was Ling Tian's principal wife! While the two of them had feelings for each other, such a matter involved the politics of two different great families, so how could they take it lightly?
Indeed, if Ling Tian were to bring Yu BingYan along, when that matter spread it would definitely incite disharmony between Northern Wei and the Yu Family. But Ling Tian was unwilling to resort to such measures, and besides, what was one Northern Wei to him?
To deal with his enemies, Ling Tian never needed to resort to any unscrupulous methods to achieve his objective. But even if he were to do so, he had a bottom line, and that was to never use his woman! No matter if it was to use the love or reputation of a woman, Ling Tian would definitely be unwilling to use such a method!
Ling Tian was willing to use any sort of psychological method, even the cruelest and most despicable methods to go against his enemies. Towards his family members, especially his own woman, he wouldn't even think about it. It was a sort of principle, and it was Ling Tian's own moral compass.
Ling Tian hurriedly bid farewell to the audience present and jumped on Wang Tong's horse, nudging the horse and speeding away.
From afar, one could already hear that the entrance of the Imperial Palace was filled with a hubbub of noise. The never-ending wave of noise made it sound like there was a tsunami approaching.
Once he neared the palace, Ling Tian didn't stop his speed, but rather urged his horse to leap over the crowd. On the stage was Ling Xiao, dressed in full metal armor, looking imposing and proud as he loftily stood there.
Underneath the stage stood Old Madam Ling together with Chu Ting'er and the rest, all with neutral faces. Ling Xiao setting off to war was an occurrence similar to having a family dinner together. Besides, with the Northern Wei's monarch ill and the crown prince ruling on his behalf, mobilizing the Northern Wei forces for war was akin to the saying 'if the speech is not in order then nothing can be accomplished'. Mobilizing all of Sky Bearing Empire's troops was actually without justification, merely throwing the country into chaos. As such, Ling Xiao was actually not allowed to blindly slaughter the opponent's soldiers, but only to focus on defense. Old Madam Ling and Chu Ting'er were not that worried, but rather it was Long Xiang the emperor that seemed to be taking this a little too seriously. Sending the Sky Bearing's God of War to watch over the defense, wasn't this akin to using a war-blade to slaughter a chicken?
Seeing his son rush over on horseback as he stood on the stage, Ling Xiao felt a sense of gratification. While this time there was no danger involved whatsoever, seeing his son urgently hurrying over still gave him a warm feeling in his heart. However, on the surface, his expression still showed displeasure, scolding, "Why are you here? Making your horse leap past the citizens, what would happen if you hurt them accidentally? Why are you so ignorant!"
Ling Tian stepped up, and bowed, "This son is here to send Lord Father off to battle. I wish you success in battle, and to return soon!"
Ling Xiao snorted once, "This old man has always been victorious in all his military exploits, when has it ever been different? Do I still require you to teach me?" While he looked like he was lecturing Ling Tian, he was actually full of confidence, and with his loud voice that spread to all the people present, it lessened their anxieties. All the soldiers present immediately raised their weapons, shouting, "We arrive and succeed! Come back quick! Sky Bearing's God of War never loses at all!"
A hint of a smile appearing in Ling Tian's eyes, to know that his father actually was so capable of swaying the hearts of people! This was especially seen through his words; they appeared so confident, considering himself above all! While such words would seem arrogant in normal days, but right now, it gave off the feeling of looking down from the top, especially with the name of 'Sky Bearing's God of War'!
What followed next was a flurry of traditional rites, like the emperor coming out to salute Ling Xiao with a cup of wine, followed by the officials and such. Ling Tian's gaze happened to collide with the Emperor, but Long Xiang surprisingly turned his head away guiltily. This gave Ling Tian a shock, and he began to plot once again.
When Ling Xiao had finished Chu Ting'er's wine and was about to wave his hands to set off, Ling Tian interrupted him by saying, "Lord Father, please wait." Everyone turned to stare at him.
Ling Tian confidently spoke, "Before Father sets off, your son only hopes for you to return early. However, there's another person's wine in the family that Father has never drunk before. This person, if Father doesn't take the wine, you would only feel endless regret!"
The crowd looked around in bewilderment. Didn't all of the Ling Family present already offered their wine? Were there still more family members coming?
Ling Tian only turned his head back, and warmly spoke, "Chen'er, give a toast to Father, to wish him a triumphant return!" Ling Chen immediately got a rude shock, her entire face flushing red as she was momentarily at a loss as to what she should do. Both Old Madam Ling and Chu Ting'er were also taken aback, and Long Xiang's face was exceedingly ugly to behold. His desire to take Ling Chen into his harem was a secret, but it was already impossible. Right now, Ling Tian's actions were akin to giving him a slap on his face! How could his expression be good?
Under this scenario, Ling Tian had actually asked Ling Chen to toast his father, and he mentioned it as 'give a toast to Father' and not 'give a toast to MY Father'! What did this mean? It meant that he treated Ling Chen as part of his family, which was as good as telling all present that Ling Chen is my, Ling Tian's, woman!
Everyone present completely understood the underlying message!
After this toast, Ling Chen would no longer be Ling Tian's maidservant! She would be considered as Ling Tian's woman, or the first woman that Ling Tian publicly proclaimed!
This was a completely unforeseen occurrence!
A tremendous earth-shaking bit of news!
These few years, anyone who had lived in the city would know that Ling Tian's maidservant was a peerless beauty! Just how many wealthy noble's sons yearned day and night for her, some even willing to give her the position of the first wife, reserving it for her! Many of them had come knocking on the door asking for her hand in marriage, but from today onwards, no one would even dare to breathe a word about this matter!
In her heart, Ling Chen wasn't only emotionally touched but totally embarrassed, her entire body trembling. She herself was aware that as long as she brought a cup of wine over to Ling Xiao, all of her desires and hopes would immediately be satisfied! This was the only desire she had in her life! A life of happiness beside her young noble!
When she secretly glanced over to Old Madam Ling and Chu Ting'er, she saw the two of them smiling and nodding their heads, she got even more panicked, lowering her head as she took over the cup of wine handed by Ling Tian. She raised her hands up and tottered a few steps until she was in front of Ling Xiao, then touched her kneecaps to the ground as she raised up the cup, saying in a voice full of shyness, "Chen'er toasts… toasts….". The moment she reached this part, her voice got softer and softer, as though it was a mosquito buzzing.
Ling Xiao burst into laughter, laughingly scolding her, "Silly lass! You have such an eloquent tongue in your everyday life, so why can't you say anything today? You don't want to toast your father-in-law? What's there to be embarrassed about, even if you don't dare to say it, I still have the guts to drink!" Saying thus, he took over the cup of wine, drinking it in one gulp and shouting out, "Good wine! This wine given by my daughter-in-law is really good to drink!"
Everyone fell to the ground in laughter. How could there be such a shameless father-in-law? Within the army, a black-faced general laughed out, "Grand Marshal, you've already drunk your daughter-in-law's wine, now you'll definitely emerge victorious. Grand Marshal just has to prepare to come back and carry your grandson!"
All the soldiers present burst into laughter, chanting, "Carry your grandson, gonna carry a grandson!" Ling Chen was so embarrassed that her face turned as red as a tomato. She dove straight into Ling Tian's bosom and stomped her foot repeatedly.