In the end, only twenty-eight retainers were willing to leave with Zhao Dian. Out of the ninety-four retainers who survived up to this point, which doesn’t include Ji Ping and his group, less than a quarter were willing to leave with Zhao Dian.
Zhao Dian didn’t say anything, and after receiving the allocated dry rations, he bid farewell to Zhao Hanzhang early the next morning.
Of course, Zhao Hanzhang wouldn’t let him return just like that. Not only did she write an emotionally rich letter for him to deliver to Zhao Zhongyu, but she also collaborated with Fu Tinghan to write a letter to Fu Zhi, explaining their plans.
The farther they went from Luoyang, the calr the chaos beca. Although there were many mountain bandits along the way, Zhao Hanzhang brought along quite a few retainers, and with refugees following them, ordinary bandits wouldn’t trouble them.
With provisions, they smoothly headed east, then bypassed Yingchuan to enter Ru Nan. Their long-lost guards had wandered off on the wrong path, and as they rode their fast horses directly through Yingchuan back to Ru Nan, they encountered the refugee army there, finding it hard to advance...
Zhao Hanzhang, who had been waiting for them to catch up, was left in suspense: ...
Zhao Hanzhang had few mories of Ru Nan, but Uncle Cheng was very familiar with it.
Before reaching the boundary stele, Uncle Cheng pointed to a field of wheat that had just started to turn yellow and said, "Third Lady, that’s our manor."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang turned her head to look and raised an eyebrow, "Are we in Ru Nan?"
Uncle Cheng laughed, "Ahead is Anchang, which is within Ru Nan’s borders. It’s at least another three days’ journey from here to the family ho in Xiping."
Zhao Hanzhang turned up the corners of her mouth and said, "We’re not going to Xiping. We’re heading to Shangcai."
Uncle Cheng was taken aback, "Shangcai?"
Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "Shangcai isn’t far from Xiping. There’s grandfather’s fief there, along with the family’s previously acquired estates and manors; it’s the most suitable place to go."
"But now the new lord is the patriarch..."
Zhao Hanzhang: "Will the patriarch return?"
Of course, he would not. Let alone Zhao Ji, even Zhao Changyu hadn’t returned to his hotown in many years.
"That’s it then. I’ll manage the fief for the patriarch temporarily. Besides the fief, there’s also grandfather’s acquired estates. Earlier, I had exchanged industries with a grand-uncle, so apart from the fiefdom’s living, the land deeds and house contracts in Shangcai are in my hands."
She had never intended to return to the family ho in Xiping, which was ruled by the clan. What would a girl, already betrothed and soon to be married off, do by returning?
Would she listen daily to the clan elders’ lectures?
Zhao Hanzhang said, "Let’s go directly to Shangcai. Once we settle, we can send soone to Xiping to notify the clan and choose a good day for grandfather’s burial."
Uncle Cheng bowed in acknowledgnt.
Shangcai and Xiping are in the sa direction; the roads split only at Yu Yang, with Shangcai further to the northeast, while Xiping is toward the northwest.
The seat of Ru Nan County used to be in Shangcai, but it was relocated to Xinxi during this dynasty.
Even after the relocation, Shangcai remains one of the largest counties in Ru Nan County, with city walls taller than those of other counties.
Zhao Changyu’s title was inherited from his ancestors because of his origin from Ru Nan County, which is why he was titled Shangcai Marquis.
He had once achieved great rit, which could have raised his title to Shangcai Marquis or even Shangcai Duke. Unfortunately, Empress Jia was in power at the ti and held a grudge against Zhao Changyu for his previous opposition to her husband, Emperor Hui’s succession, so she incited Emperor Hui to, rembering Zhao Changyu’s contributions, grant Zhao Zhongyu the title of Ru Nan Ting Hou instead.
At that ti, Zhao Changyu’s son, Zhao Hanzhang’s distant father Zhao Zhi, was still alive.
During this period, Zhao Hanzhang reflected on the relationship between the main family and the second branch, realizing that the tension between them had plenty of internal and external causes. Internal causes need not be ntioned, and external ones like outsiders eagerly sowing discord were also significant factors.
Empress Jia had been so diligent, Zhao Changyu and Zhao Zhongyu naturally couldn’t disappoint her too much, and thus, the brothers’ relationship had always been strained.
The Zhao family’s Wu Castle was in the Xiping Clan Land. Though there were considerable assets in Shangcai, the largest one was a manor.
The tenant farrs and long-term workers living there could form a large village; Zhao Changyu had built a secondary residence here, which had always been managed by household servants.
This manor and secondary residence were openly listed as part of Zhao Hanzhang’s dowry, so she is now the rightful owner here.
Of course, Zhao Hanzhang wouldn’t just show up without prior notice. She sent soone two days in advance to inform the manor head to tidy up the secondary residence and prepare everything.
Upon arriving in Shangcai, she sent out two retainers every two quarters of an hour to notify further.
Fu Tinghan couldn’t help but watch her. In his impression, Teacher Zhao was a very low-key person who never liked drawing attention, especially at school.
But because she was sowhat special, she always attracted attention even if she didn’t intend to.
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t explain and led the group through Shangcai County. After exiting the other side of the city gate, they soon saw the Zhao family’s estate.
From a distance, those on horseback saw the houses, neatly arranged and surrounded by taller, possibly even two or three-story buildings.
Mulberry and hemp plants lined both sides of the road. Not far from the village entrance, a group of people stood; as they got closer, they saw ten retainers standing at the forefront—those who had been sent to notify them earlier. Behind them stood a middle-aged man, with n, won, elderly, and children, and roughly two to three hundred people in total.
Zhao Hanzhang rode her horse at the forefront, and Fu Tinghan imdiately understood her intentions, pulling the reins to slow his horse, trailing half a horse’s length behind her.
Riding forward, Zhao Hanzhang t the gaze of the manor head, who then looked at Zhao Ju and Uncle Cheng behind her, and imdiately knelt down.
Seeing this, the people behind him fluently followed, kneeling along both sides of the road.
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t pause, leading the group through them directly to the secondary residence at the center of the manor.
Uncle Cheng, however, halted his horse and waited on the side until the hearse and the carriage carrying Mrs. Wang and others passed. Then he turned to the manor head, "Is the secondary residence prepared?"
The manor head bowed and said, "It’s prepared. As soon as we received the ssage, we had people clean up. The rooms have been fumigated, and the bedding has been freshly washed. We’re only concerned the masters might not find it satisfactory, but due to poor harvests in recent years, good things are hard to co by."
Uncle Cheng said, "You can’t fool with that, let alone the masters. Shortly, I’ll take you to see the lady; if you have the nerve, report these to her."
The manor head said with a bitter face, "Uncle Cheng, I wouldn’t dare hide anything from you. The harvests truly have been poor—last year there were droughts and snow disasters, people starved to death in the manor, and this year refugees from Yingchuan have co down, even stealing unripe wheat. The county town’s fabric shop is selling a single thread at sky-high prices; where could I find the money to buy silk and cotton for bedding?"
Uncle Cheng frowned and asked, "Did no one visit these past few days?"
"No one ca."
"Not even guests? That Mr. Ji you t before, didn’t he co?"
"No, I’ve never heard of Mr. Ji coming."
Uncle Cheng’s expression subtly changed.
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