Ji Yuan listened and almost fainted from anger again. He hurriedly looked at Zhao Hanzhang and saw her eyes wide open in shock, staring at Zhao Hu.
Ji Yuan pointed at Zhao Hu angrily and said, "You shut up. One day, Third Lady will be led astray by you all."
Zhao Hu clicked his tongue, unable to understand why Ji Yuan placed so much trust in Zhao Hanzhang, as if all the bad influences ca from others, while she was actually the leader.
Zhao Hu wanted to break his illusion and was about to speak when he saw Zhao Hanzhang sitting aside, raising her eyelids to glance at him. All his words got stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t say a word for a long ti.
In the end, Zhao Hu dared not provoke Zhao Hanzhang and muttered softly, "Fine, fine, I’ll shut up. I’m not talking to you anymore."
After saying this, he flung his sleeves and walked away, his back full of pride, his last stand of defiance.
Zhao Shen lowered his head and stood silently at one side, unmoving.
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t look at him but turned to reassure Ji Yuan, "Fifth Uncle, Seventh Uncle never thinks before he speaks. Don’t take it to heart. My wedding is approaching, relatives will return, and there are many matters to trouble you with. Please take care of your health."
Ji Yuan’s face relaxed. He tightly held Zhao Hanzhang’s hand and confird with her, "Third Lady, Ji Yuan and the others breaking protocol isn’t what you want, right?"
Zhao Hanzhang neither nodded nor shook her head, just smiled and squeezed his hand, "Uncle, rest assured."
Ji Yuan thought he had received affirmation and exhaled deeply, releasing the pent-up anger in his chest. Then, supported by Zhao Hanzhang, he lay down on the bed.
Zhao Hanzhang tucked him in, then stood up and let the waiting Imperial Physician co in to examine Ji Yuan.
After the examination and prescription were done, Zhao Hanzhang asked the household servants to fetch the dicine and take care of Ji Yuan, then bid farewell and left.
Zhao Shen escorted her out.
Standing in the yard, Zhao Shen looked at her keenly and asked, "Third Sister, do you truly have no intentions?"
Zhao Hanzhang tilted her head to look at him, "If I have no intentions, what will Brother do?"
Zhao Shen stared at her, unable to discern her thoughts, and then said softly, "The Zhao Family cannot fall, you know that. Once it does, the Zhao Family will be shattered completely."
Zhao Hanzhang’s expression remained unchanged and unaffected, she simply asked softly, "Brother asks like this, is it only for the Zhao Family?"
"Not entirely," Zhao Shen replied, looking into her eyes, "This world has changed so much because of you. Without you, it would face great upheavals, likely disasters."
"Even for the sake of the people, I cannot let you retreat." Zhao Shen said softly, "So, Third Sister, do you understand? I am different from Grandpa, and even from Father and Grandfather."
Zhao Hanzhang withdrew her gaze and said softly, "Fifth Uncle is old now; it is better to let the elders feel so comfort at this ti."
Zhao Shen raised his eyebrows, carefully studied her expression, and after a mont, nodded, "Alright."
He escorted her out the door.
After Zhao Hanzhang’s figure disappeared, he turned back to see Ji Yuan.
He found it increasingly difficult to understand this cousin of his, which made him appreciate Seventh Uncle’s candidness; he disliked it when people hid their emotions from their faces.
The servants brought up the dicine, and Zhao Shen served his grandfather, helping him eat the dicine. As he was about to leave, the anxious Ji Yuan grabbed his sleeve.
Zhao Shen looked back, Ji Yuan was eagerly looking towards the tray with sugar candies.
Zhao Shen glanced at it and said, "Grandfather, the doctor said you should eat less sweets."
Finally, Ji Yuan spoke, "It’s bitter!"
Zhao Shen replied, "Who made you have such a big temper? If you didn’t take dicine, there wouldn’t be any problem."
Ji Yuan turned away angrily, ignoring him.
Zhao Shen quickly leaned closer, "Oh dear, please don’t sulk again. You treat just like Father, when angry, beat with a stick. If you sulk inside, won’t that hurt you?"
Ji Yuan then realized that maybe Zhao Ming’s frequent anger was for his own good?
Zhao Shen aspired to achieve what his father did, but Ji Yuan, looking at his handso face, couldn’t bear to hit him; grandsons and sons are ultimately different.
Ji Yuan couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Noticing Ji Yuan’s reluctance, Zhao Shen could only put the sugar candy into his mouth, sighing, "Grandfather, how about after the cold winter, when the weather warms up, you return to Chen County? Father is there, whenever you want to hit him, you can. It’s better than being stuck in Luoyang."
Ji Yuan couldn’t help but pat him, "That’s your father!"
Zhao Shen gave him a fawning smile.
Ji Yuan patted him, together with Zhao Hanzhang’s comforting words and the physician’s dicine, his heart felt much lighter.
Yet there was still a lingering worry on his heart; he felt it was his calamity. If he couldn’t figure it out, he wouldn’t overco it, and might die without peace.
Previously, he was convinced that he was right, but... watching the changes outside, Luoyang growing more prosperous and lively each day, along with Ji Yuan and others’ words and sarcasm, and Zhao Hu’s comnts, doubt began to stir in his steadfast beliefs.
He grabbed Zhao Shen’s sleeve and earnestly asked, "Shen’er, tell , between Seventh Uncle and , whose side are you on?"
Zhao Shen gazed down at the hand clutching his sleeve, reminiscent of how he used to hold his sleeve as a child, fearful of losing track.
He sighed, unwilling to deceive him, "Grandpa, you wish for her loyalty to the Jin Dynasty, and you feel no sha towards the ancestors. But have you ever considered, if one day Third Lady falls, the Zhao Family will face destruction. At that ti, can we still face the ancestors without sha?"
Ji Yuan widened his eyes at his grandson, paused for a long ti before retorting, "The Little Emperor worships and respects her greatly. In the future, when she returns power to Your Majesty, surely, she can..."
"Grandpa," Zhao Shen interrupted his reverie, speaking solemnly, "Throughout history, regents rarely end well with new monarchs. Why do you believe Third Lady will be an exception?"
"She is now acting against the current, either advancing amidst difficulties to beco a leader or perishing with the ship. Walk through Luoyang City, look at the world outside. Who can take over such a way of governance, who dares to?"
"She has already made herself indispensable to this world!" Zhao Shen declared, "Now, not only the Zhao Family relies on her, but the people of this world too!"
"Having seen the dawn, reverting to darkness would drive them mad, and this land will beco more chaotic and darker because of their madness." Zhao Shen softly added, "If the ancestors knew they still bore such karma after death, would they truly rest in peace?"
Ji Yuan was speechless.
Ji Yuan fell seriously ill, forcing Zhao Hanzhang to visit Zhao Hu’s residence every day to serve dicines alongside Zhao Shen.
The Imperial Physician changed two prescriptions, which still didn’t help much, only saying, "Heart ailnts need heart redies; once the old master resolves his thoughts, the illness will naturally heal. Otherwise, the dicines I prescribe only treat the symptoms, not the root."
Treating symptoms is still necessary, Zhao Hanzhang instructed him to give it his all to save the patient.
Because of Ji Yuan’s illness, Ji Yuan and others thought it was triggered by them. Zhao Hanzhang had already expressed with a stern face to use Zhao Ming’s sketched designs, and they dared not argue anymore.
The design and color of the wedding attire were thus decided, and the seamstresses hurriedly worked. When Princess Hongnong arrived outside Luoyang City, the wedding dress was just finished, Zhao Hanzhang tried it on when she returned ho from the office.
As she was putting it on, Zeng Yue quickly ca to report, "Lady, there’s news from the soldiers that the delegation from Cheng Country and Princess Hongnong’s group have reached the post station outside the city, entering the city early tomorrow morning."
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