All the courtiers halted and looked in the direction of the doorway of the imperial study.

On entering the study, Ling Zhang caught sight of the couple of courtiers who appeared to have just paused on their way out. Slightly surprised, he wondered what this was about.

Apart from him, Old Master Ji and the others were also secretly surprised as their eyes met. Ling Zhang was walking in with his back to the daylight coming from outside, and not only did every line of the contours of his figure seem to be cloaked in some kind of halo as he moved, but a sense of power was spontaneously radiating from him, and, though not quickly, was flooding towards them. When looking at Ling Zhangs eyes, they felt that their souls were quivering. His eyes were so penetrating as though the owner of them was seeing right into their hearts and reading their minds!

Almost all of them were awed and on the alert in spite of themselves. Even Old Master Ji, after a brief moments stupor, gave a horrified start.

Ling Zhang was approaching, an involuntary expression of confusion appearing on his face as he saw them remaining stationary.

Old Master Ji was the first to realize the situation. Im honored to bow before you, Your Highness.

The others became conscious of externals and all hastened to pay their respects to the empress.

Inwardly raising his brows, Ling Zhang said, Theres no need for formalities, Your Lordships. Are you going inside or

Your Highness, were going back to the hall to confer with each other about the matter of army provisions.

Im impressed by your dedication.

A compliment none of us deserve. I think its safe to say Your Highness is here to talk with His Majesty and Her Highness, so wed like to take our leave if youll excuse us.

Ling Zhang nodded and resumed progressing. Old Master Ji and the others watched as he walked towards the far end of the study.

Ling Zhang sensed the gaze from behind him and the corners of his mouth unnoticeably curled.

Between the front doors of the imperial study and the inner chamber where the emperors desk was was a straight passageway paved with mirror-like floor tiles. All those who could tread it were top-ranking officials of the Great Wen, pillars of the imperial court. Over the past five years, Ling Zhang had seldom come to the imperial study on his own initiative, even more rarely to the consultation hall, and there were very few occasions when hed met any of the courtiers. The last time hed seen Old Master Ji and the others was at a banquet held in the palace on the eve of the New Years Day. At that time he hadnt reached the sixth layer of his method of cultivating internal energy yet, and his proficiency in the utilization of the Force of Blood in him had still been at a rather low level. Now he had reached the sixth layer, and it was as though he had truly taken his first step into another realm. He was seeing and hearing things in a very different way and also capable of control his powers in a more efficient and accurate fashion. A short while before, after he sensed Old Master Jis and the others presence in the study, hed been briefly surprised, decided to try it out on them and gradually lifted the restrictions hed imposed on his powers, and the outcome struck him as satisfactory, for he had noticed that even Old Master Ji, a wily old fox, had had an involuntary look of shock and astonishment in his eyes.

Ahem.

At this time, a fit of coughing suddenly came from inside, which didnt sound like the kind of cough that people couldnt stifle. It was tinged with displeasure. Clearly the person inside was displeased with Ling Zhangs slow pace.

Ling Zhang lifted his brows and quickened his pace. Through the see-through curtains, he could now see the major part of the interior of the imperial study. Around a corner was a spacious hall. On the two sides were tall bookcases laden with books of all descriptions. Right between the two rows of bookcases was the emperors desk which faced due south, and which people could see immediately after turning the corner.

Yuwen Tong, who was holding Crescent in his arms, had cocked his ears the moment Ling Zhang had entered the imperial study. Hearing Ling Zhangs footsteps and his greetings to the courtiers, feeling the sense of power radiating from him, Yuwen Tong had slightly squinted his eyes with a proud look on his face. Eager to see Ling Zhang, he had deliberately let out a cough to give him a prod and then perceived him quickening his pace. Through the curtains, he could vaguely see a figure coming towards him. When Ling Zhang was standing in the hall, Yuwen Tong fixed his eyes on him. He hadnt seen Ling Zhang for nearly two months, and now he could finally put an end to the days when he had to lie in bed alone and unable to sleep. He hardened his face, preparing to dress down Ling Zhang to let him know that he had been lonely and suffering from insomnia all this time. However, he had just opened his mouth when the countenance of Ling Zhang standing opposite him changed drastically and with that Ling Zhang let out a roar.

YUWEN TONG, WHY ARE YOU SUCH A LOUSY PARENT?!

Ling Zhang, after turning the corner, had specially paused looking in the direction of Yuwen Tong sitting behind the desk. When hed seen Yuwen Tong sitting there idly instead of coming down to welcome him, he had curled his lip intending to talk with him about it, but then his eyes had moved downward and alighted on Yuwen Yue in Yuwen Tongs arms and with that his countenance had abruptly changed and he had sprinted inside in alarm.

Yuwen Yue, a naughty kid, had dipped her fathers writing brush into the ink, scribbled on her face and then put the brush into her mouth. Her cheeks and lips covered in ink, she was grinning, revealing her ink-stained baby teeth

Everybody in the study was taken aback by Ling Zhangs roar. At the sight of Ling Zhang streaking towards him after a drastic change of his countenance, Yuwen Tong hastened to look down at his daughter. Startled by the scene, he hurriedly grabbed the writing brush one end of which was in Yuwen Yues mouth. Unfortunately for him, Yuwen Yue had the brush clamped tightly between her teeth. Yuwen Tong didnt dare pull hard for fear of hurting her teeth, sweat breaking out over his back.

The couple of courtiers outside, who hadnt left yet, heard the roar, ran back into the study and were dumbstruck as they saw the little princess whose face and lips were covered in ink fighting her father for a writing brush.

Ling Zhang tore up to the desk, slapped Yuwen Tongs hand off the writing brush and grabbed it himself. Let it go, Crescent, Ling Zhang said.

Yuwen Yues eyes brightened noticeably at the sight of her birth father, but for some reason, seeing her father holding the writing brush, the mischievous girl misconstrued this as some kind of game, smiling archly, refusing to slacken her grip. Looking at the ink in her mouth, Ling Zhang almost blacked out with anxiety and he subconsciously demanded in an imperative tone, Yuwen Yue! Let it go!

On sensing Ling Zhangs anger, Yuwen Yue was astounded. Not daring to smile any more, she loosened her grip in a dreamy way. When Ling Zhang had hastily pulled out the writing brush and tossed it away, the corners of her mouth dropped and she burst into tears, an injured look in her eyes.

Flustered, Ling Zhang tried to wipe the saliva mixed with ink off her lips, but his efforts seemed to be having the opposite effect. Positively faint with anxiety, he swiveled his head around and thundered, Send for a court physician!

There was no telling whether or not the ink shed consumed would make her ill. The very thought of the damage it might cause to her health wrenched at Ling Zhangs heart.

A eunuch hastened to send for a court physician. The courtiers didnt dare leave and just watched as the empress took the princess from the emperors arms and used his own sleeves to wipe her lips and face. The princess was still crying noisily. The emperor was anxiously patting the princesss back and at the same time sneaking guilty glances at the empress. This scene which was heavy with a flavor of the next married couples daily life astonished them so much that they forgot about the sense of power that had radiated from the empress and awed them a short while before.

Stop crying. Daddy didnt mean to lose his temper with you. Look at youboth your face and your mouth are black. And youre making yourself look terrible with your tears, coaxed Yuwen Tong.

But look terrible seemed to be the only words that the little girl had heard and she cried even louder.

Yuwen Tong paused, unsure as to whether he should withdraw his hand or continue stretching it out to console her.

Ling Zhang gave him a dirty look, lifted Yuwen Yue up and then stationed her on his knees to let her face him. Supporting her with one hand and wiping her tears off with the other, he cajoled, Be good. Stop crying. Are you not happy to see Daddy?

The anger that had registered on his face a few moments before had been replaced by a concerned and affectionate expression. Sobbing, Yuwen Yue put her arms around his neck, soiling it and his collar with the remaining ink in her mouth. Daddy yelled at me she said in a choked voice, still weeping.

There was a large black patch on Ling Zhangs overgarment, which had been left by the ink he had her spit out a short while before, and now, since his neck and collar were also stained with ink and tears, he was no cleaner than Yuwen Yue. Resigned, his heart aching for his daughter, he drew her into a hug and patted her back. There, there. Daddy wont be angry with you again. You shouldnt have put the writing brush in your mouth. Ive told you many times this kind of stuff is inedible. If you do that again, Ill spank you instead of scolding you.

With her arms around his neck, Yuwen Yue sobbed, Dont spank me, Daddy.

After hearing this, Ling Zhang was both resigned and amused. Supporting her little butt, he replied, If you dont want to get spanked, do not put a writing brush into your mouth again. You hear me?

Okay, answered Yuwen Yue in a muffled voice. She was still sobbing, but not as hard as she had a few moments before. Yuwen Tong was relieved at the sight of this. Looking at her little butt supported by Ling Zhang, he felt an urge to spank her. Itd been so ill-behaved of her to bite a writing brush when he was not paying attention.

Stop crying. Yuwen Tong rubbed her head and then turned around to sort the memorial on the desk which had been messed up by Yuwen Yue. Fortunately, it was just a common memorial that an official had sent to him to wish him good health. It was of little significance and he didnt have to reply to it.

Before long, a court physician arrived. After being given an account of the incident, he examined Yuwen Yue and then prescribed her some mild laxative. Her Highness consumed only a small amount of the ink. It should be nothing serious. She just has to drink more water to wash her intestines and stomach. The laxative would serve only to detoxify the tiny amount of poisonous substance in the ink. The most severe potential side effect would be the runs, but Her Highness has a strong constitution, so its unlikely shed suffer from any side effects.

Fu Caiwei had always been in good health, and Yuwen Yue seemed to have inherited her mothers strong constitution. On top of that, Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang cared about their adopted daughter very much and had been raising her according to the advice of some experienced wet nurses since her birth. Also, Mr. Mu had been visiting the palace to examine the children on a regular basis. As a result, the two princes and the princess had seldom developed any diseases. All wet nurses and handmaids were very scrupulous, and none of them dared make any careless mistakes when it came to the health of the young imperial family members. Every one of the three children had a strong constitution, and theyd hardly suffered any minor ailments.

After being informed that she was okay, Ling Zhang heaved a sigh of relief. Still, in his annoyance, he couldnt help but playfully hit Yuwen Yues little butt twice. You naughty little devil. I bet you wont dare do that again.

Yuwen Yue had stopped crying. From the combination of the court physicians presence, the anxiety on both her fathers and her Daddys faces, and the nervous facial expressions of the lingering courtiers, she deduced that shed done something wrong. After being hit on the butt, she secretly stroked it, not daring utter a word.

Ling Zhang was amused by her bearing but didnt chuckle for fear that the little girl would get the wrong impression that what shed done was no big deal. He scooped her up. Okay. Were going back. You need to drink some water and the medicine and change clothes. Look what a mess youve made out of your clothes.

He was taking his daughter back. Yuwen Tong, who hadnt seen him for such a long time, naturally was going back to the imperial bedchamber with him.

Since the little princess was fine and the imperial couple were returning, the courtiers all sensibly took their leave first, and the court physician left with them.

It was not until all of them had disappeared from view that Ling Zhang scowled at Yuwen Tong and reprimanded, Crescent is still young, but youre an adult. I expect more from you.

Yuwen Tong knew he was in the wrong. It was my fault and you may dress me down any way you like. Just stop being mad. You have just returned and havent had any rest yet. If you keep being angry, your health will be damaged, and when that happens, my heart will be broken.

Owing to Yuwen Tongs sincerely admitting his mistakes, and the knowledge that Yuwen Tong had failed to stop the kid from doing that because Yuwen Tongs attention had been fixed on him, Ling Zhang, recalling that they hadnt seen each other for quite some time and that he hadnt checked on either of his sons yet, stopped being angry and walked out of the imperial study with Yuwen Yue in his arms, heading for the imperial bedchamber.

Yuwen Tong followed in his wake, casually making a gesture at the guards behind him, who saw it and immediately cordoned off the imperial study, not allowing anybody to get in or out of it.