When the procession entered Xiping, it had already been ten days. The climate here was warmer than Luoyang, and because of last winter’s vigorous planting, the fields on both sides of the road were full of tall wheat.

From the moment they entered Yuzhou, Zhao Yi was shocked by the thriving vitality here. This was so different from the scene in Luoyang.

The people walking on the roads all wore smiles—those smiles carrying contentment and happiness were something Zhao Yi hadn’t seen in many years.

In his memory, only occasionally in his childhood would he see such expressions on some people’s faces.

But now, the vast majority of people in Yuzhou were like this. From them, he felt a vitality like spring itself.

Many fields on both sides remained fallow, but much had also been cultivated, growing wheat, millet, sorghum, and beans he could identify, and many crops he couldn’t name.

Entering Xiping, shock turned to awe.

As far as the eye could see across the fields, the vast majority were a lush green expanse, with wheat, millet, beans, and sorghum growing at varying heights.

At this time, there were also people in the fields, carrying wooden buckets to spread fertilizer. Seeing troops passing by, they weren’t as panicked and terrified as Luoyang’s common people. Instead, they turned to look, and upon seeing the banners in their procession, they even smiled.

Some half-grown children rushed from the fields to the roadside, running barefoot through the grass alongside their procession while singing, “Liangzhou great horses, roaming throughout the land. Liangzhou owl kites, bandits eliminated. Owl kites fluttering, frightening people to death.”

Just as Zhao Yi was puzzled, he heard the children laughingly sing, “Xiping iron cavalry, roaming throughout the land. Xiping mighty phoenixes, bandits eliminated. Mighty phoenixes resplendent, frightening people to death!”

Zhao Yi’s expression changed slightly. He couldn’t help looking at Geng Rong. “Are they singing about Third Sister?”

Geng Rong nodded. “About the Miss and the Xiping Zhao family troops.”

“Directly comparing Third Sister to a phoenix—if word gets out, won’t it invite criticism?”

Geng Rong was unconcerned. “These are folk children singing for fun. Who would take it seriously? Besides, even if word did get out, so what? Who does our Miss need to fear now?”

Xiping was the safest place. Since Zhao Song and the Zhao clan allowed this children’s song to spread in Xiping, it meant the benefits outweighed the harm.

Why would they need to worry about such things?

Zhao Yi was left speechless.

The children clustered around the procession, singing all the way back to Xiping. As they approached the county seat, seeing they weren’t heading to the county town but turning toward Zhao clan’s fortified settlement, the bolder children called out loudly, “Are you Zhao family people?”

Mounted on his horse, Zhao Yi looked down at the children who stubbornly refused to disperse and nodded. “Yes.”

The children exclaimed with delight, chattering excitedly, “Young Master, is your surname also Zhao?”

After receiving confirmation, they asked, “Does Young Master also work for the Miss?”

“Does Young Master need attendants? I can be your attendant.”

“I can too! I don’t need pay.”

“Me neither—I just want to meet the Miss someday.”

“Miss” had almost become Zhao Hanzhang’s alternate name in Xiping.

Seeing them get more excited and nearly climbing onto the carriages, Geng Rong quickly waved to drive them away. “Go, go, go back to your school and study properly. What attendants? To meet the Miss, learn proper skills. When the Miss returns to Xiping, you’ll naturally meet her.”

“We’re not clever—learning characters is difficult. We really can’t continue reading, but we could manage being attendants.”

In this world, there were smart people and those less gifted. The characters of this era were extremely difficult to recognize—even normally intelligent people needed to struggle greatly with learning.

For those not so intelligent, continuing was very difficult. The school would suggest they only learn commonly used characters and focus instead on learning trades.

Such as farming.

That’s right—farming was also a trade. So the children’s parents would take them home during those lessons, wielding whips to make them learn in their own fields. They could answer all their questions.

Unlike before when they followed their elders farming in a muddled way until adulthood, only gradually mastering farming techniques after the elders passed, now children around ten in Xiping could recite the twenty-four solar terms and recite what farming tasks needed doing according to the agricultural seasons.

Many things even their parents didn’t know, which really broadened their horizons.

Returning to the topic, the children rejected by Geng Rong stopped in their tracks, jumping vigorously in place while waving to Zhao Yi. “Young Master, if you need attendants, remember to come select me! I’m very affordable and have learned many things too!”

Geng Rong told Zhao Yi, “Young Master Yi, don’t take it to heart. If you want to select attendants, you can choose from the school, though you’ll need to prepare more money.”

“Why?”

“Because to take someone from the school, you must settle all their tuition expenses from these years,” Geng Rong said. “This was a new regulation the Miss issued last year, specifically to give school students more and better opportunities. Moreover, people who leave the school absolutely cannot sign death contracts as slaves—only employment contracts as hired workers.”

Although Geng Rong had no interaction with Zhao Yi after arriving in Luoyang, he had vaguely heard some rumors. Besides, being from Xiping, his father had once been Xiping County’s Assistant Magistrate, so he had heard something about the disputes between the two branches of the Zhao clan’s legitimate line.

He feared Zhao Yi might cause trouble that would inconvenience the Miss, so he cautioned, “In Yuzhou, the Miss’s orders are law. Everyone within this territory must obey the Miss’s commands—even Fifth Great-Uncle and Seventh Great-Uncle in the fortified settlement are no exception.”

Zhao Yi’s back stiffened. He knew Zhao Hanzhang’s circumstances had changed dramatically, but he hadn’t known her influence in Yuzhou was this great.

Even Fifth Great-Uncle had to obey her—no wonder Grandfather had retreated again and again, never again mentioning the succession of the clan head position.

While Zhao Yi was still thinking, their party entered the fortified settlement.

Looking at the prosperous settlement, Zhao Yi felt somewhat dazed.

How long had it been since he’d seen such a flourishing scene?

The roads inside the settlement weren’t very wide—only able to accommodate three carriages side by side—so there were only two cart lanes, with the remaining space for horses and pedestrians.

Unlike Luoyang with its separated wards and markets, here shops fronted the street with residences behind. Zhao Yi had returned to the settlement three times. In his memory, although the front of houses could be used as shops, few households actually did so.

People in the settlement mostly made their living from farming.

But now, all the front-facing doors along the road had opened, displaying a dazzling array of goods with many customers shopping.

Riding by on horseback, he could still hear people inside loudly bargaining. Some people’s accents clearly weren’t from Yuzhou.

Geng Rong escorted them to the old residence before departing.

When Zhao Changyu was alive, their branch hadn’t divided the family. They were still called the senior and junior branches, but actually, their old residence hadn’t been divided either.