It didn’t take long for the carriage to arrive at the clan compound. When they got home, Yun Ling carefully lifted Yun Xia and brought her down the carriage to her room. Yue Dongmei followed behind while giving some assistance to him when he needed it.

As they gently laid Yun Xia down on her bed, Yun Ling felt a familiar presence coming towards them. After a few moments, he turned around and saw his father standing still at the doorway, looking at them.

“Is she asleep?” Yun Zhan asked quietly.

Yun Ling dully stared at him as he nodded. His father can totally see her sleeping so why bother asking? But Yun Ling understood that his father didn’t ask that to get an answer but merely to start a conversation with him.

“I see...” Yun Zhan’s gaze fell on Yun Xia’s small figure as he let out a smile. He had always wanted a daughter but sadly, the heavens didn’t grant him one. A granddaughter was fine with him though. Letting out a contented sigh, he shifted his attention back to Yun Ling and said, “Come to the study after you’re done here.”

“Got it.” Yun Ling answered. He figured that his father probably wanted to hear from him what happened in the banquet.

That was fine with him. He was originally planning on going to his study when they arrived but he had to take care of his daughter first before going there.

Yun Ling then paused for a second and said, “I’ll come with you right now.”

There was nothing to do for him there anyway so he might as well leave. Yue Dongmei was also there so he can just leave the rest to her.

“Are you sure?” Yun Zhan raised a brow at him.

Yun Ling nodded. He glanced at Yue Dongmei and instructed, “Call me if something comes up.”

“Understood,” She said indifferently.

With that, both father and son left the room in total silence with Yun Zhan taking the lead.

Instead of going directly towards his study, Yun Zhan headed towards the courtyard. Yun Ling wordlessly followed behind, his mind thinking of something else. He recalled his conversation with Yue Dongmei earlier as he let out a sigh. Was he too scheming?

“What’s wrong?” Yun Zhan asked upon noticing that his son wasn’t his usual self. He knew his son very well. Yun Ling only acts like this when he had something troubling him.

“It’s nothing,” Yun Ling waved him off.

“Hmm...” Yun Zhan hummed in thought. He looked up the open sky to watch the starry night.

He knew something was troubling Yun Ling but he didn’t probe much. Yun Ling was no longer a kid and had long since grown up. He even had his own daughter and now a father himself. Yun Zhan was sure that whatever it was that Yun Ling was bothered of, he’d do fine on his own. If he couldn't, then he’d be there to lend a helping hand.

“So, when are you leaving?” He changed the topic.

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“Pardon?”

He looked at his son and said, “Don’t you have a task to accomplish? When are you leaving?”

“You already know? Since when?” Yun Ling’s eyebrow twitched.

“I have my ways,” Yun Zhan said with a knowing smile.

“Right…” Yun Ling rolled his eyes.

His father was such a know it all sometimes. He shouldn’t be surprised though. The banquet was no secret event. Any person with power could find out what happened there if they wanted to. His father probably sent some men there without his knowledge. They might even be one of the participants in the Golden Dragon Election.

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Yun Ling responded.

“So soon?”

“The sooner I can get this over with, the sooner I can spend more time preparing for the Golden Dragon Election,” Yun Ling explained.

Yun Zhan nodded. “Very well. I’ll have the servants prepare your things for you so you can have a proper rest tonight. The emperor had strictly forbidden us from assisting you but this much is fine.”

“Thanks for that,” Yun Ling said. He was someone with a fairly high cultivation realm so he didn’t really need to rest. He could go on for weeks without feeling any fatigue but resting a little would be much better for him than having no rest at all.

Yun Zhan smiled at him. Despite Yun Ling’s flaws that he disliked, especially his licentious behavior in the past, he was truly proud to have a son like him. Many parents could only dream of having a genius child like Yun Ling. Quite a lot of his political enemies were envious of him for having such a son which was truly pleasant as he could use this fact to rub it on their annoying faces.

“By the way, Father...” Yun Ling started as he remembered something. “Is there some trouble in one of the recently conquered kingdoms?”

Yun Zhan looked at him in surprise. “Where did you hear this from?”

“I heard it from him the crown prince.”

“I see,” Yun Zhan nodded. “That’s right. The general of the Tong Kingdom is making some suspicious moves in the shadows. We found signs that he’s illegally importing weapons to the kingdom and recruiting hundreds of soldiers. At this point, it’s pretty much a certainty that he’s going to revolt. It’s not surprising really. It’s normal for them to be unresigned. Being taken over by another, much stronger force, the same people responsible for the death of your many comrades, who would be satisfied?”

Yun Ling had no comment. He didn't have any experience in a war yet, but if he were to put himself in their own perspective, he could somehow understand their motive to a certain extent.

“Nonetheless, this shows that their general is still lacking in foresight. No wonder their kingdom was easily defeated by ours. They didn’t have a chance back then with their full force, how much more now? Their army is nowhere near what they had in the past. What he’s doing is only sending more of his comrades to death.” Yun Zhan shook his head in pity.

“Maybe he already knew that. He might have the mentality that he would rather die than submit to our empire, that kind of thing,” Yun Ling said.

“No way,” Yun Zhan snorted. “If he had that kind of conviction, he wouldn’t be living till now. He would’ve died in battle like the other generals of their kingdom back then. Besides, if he really thought that way, that’s just being stupid. If he wanted to die, he shouldn’t drag his comrades along with him.”

“If he’s planning something against the empire, why haven’t you done something about him? Wouldn’t it be easy for the emperor to send some men to kill him?” Yun Ling asked. Why was that general still alive if they already knew that he was going to cause an uprising? Why hadn't they taken action yet?

Yun Zhan smiled at him. “Who said we haven’t?”

Yun Ling raised a brow.

“It’s already late. You should take a rest soon. You’re leaving tomorrow right?” Yun Zhan immediately shifted the topic.

Yun Ling sighed. Here he was again, acting mysterious and the like.

Although he was curious, he didn’t continue to ask. It was unlikely that his father would answer him now after he already changed the topic.

“Alright, I’m going to sleep now. Good night, Father.” Yun Ling said as he retreated to his room.

“Good night,” Yun Zhan said before he left. Then, he fell into deep thought as he stared at the direction Yun Ling had left. Frowning, he muttered to himself. “Although I said that, I can’t help but think there’s something more to this. That man is a general, after all, he shouldn’t be stupid. Still, why is he making his move this late in the game?”