In the end, Zhao Hanzhang decided not to go in and interrupt their conversation.

The matters in the official documents could be resolved a bit later, but opportunities for this father and son to resolve their conflicts weren’t common.

The words Zhao Hanzhang used today to persuade Zhao Hu had cost her many brain cells, hadn’t they?

So the sister and brother sat together on the steps in front of the building in a daze, while servants went to fetch hot water for Zhao Zheng.

Zhao Hanzhang propped up her chin and gestured toward the room behind them, asking, “Seventh Grand-Uncle just arranged this for you. Don’t you want to go in and look?”

Zhao Zheng shook his head. “I won’t look. I won’t be living in it anyway.”

He said, “In a moment I still have to go with Father to Ruyin Commandery. When we return, Father won’t permit me to live in such a room either.”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded. “Though we were born into wealth, we cannot become pampered wastrels.”

She said, “Heaven has already treated us well, so we should do something to repay this world. If we only know pleasure-seeking, not only would we waste this good starting position in life, but once our good fortune runs out, our future days might not be good.”

Zhao Zheng was at the age where he liked to challenge things, so he asked, “What if I work hard but still end up with a bad outcome?”

He said, “For example, Yan Heng. He worked so hard, yet didn’t he still die an untimely death?”

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and said, “Then do you think Yan Heng regrets coming into this world? Regrets having chosen Gou Xi, strategizing for him, regrets remonstrating with Gou Xi to the death at the end?”

Zhao Zheng thought seriously for quite a while before saying, “I think he probably doesn’t regret it.”

“If he hadn’t studied, hadn’t chosen Gou Xi, but had just stayed in his hometown, only seeking basic sustenance, drifting through the chaos, passing through life in a daze—even if he could have lived longer than he did, do you think he would have been happy?”

Zhao Zheng said nothing.

Zhao Hanzhang said, “I don’t want to live that kind of life. Compared to happy ignorance, I prefer painful clarity. He might not care about posthumous fame, but the reality is, his name resounds throughout the Central Plains and will be recorded in the history books. Future generations will remember him. People now are inspired by his character. The things he once did benefited people, and those people survived crisis after crisis under his protection, surviving in this chaotic world.”

“I think that since he didn’t regret remonstrating with Gou Xi to the death, he naturally wouldn’t want to pass through life in confusion either,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “He was someone with great aspirations, and also someone worthy of our respect.”

Zhao Zheng then said, “If I don’t live well in the future, I won’t regret today’s choice either.”

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and patted his shoulder. “Good lad. Then you must work hard and not give yourself the opportunity to regret.”

The heart that had wavered due to exquisite clothing and utensils became firm again. Zhao Zheng let out a breath and secretly decided that he should see less of Grandfather recently, otherwise he feared he couldn’t control his heart’s temptation.

Servants brought up a basin of hot water along with clean towels.

Zhao Zheng draped the towel over the wooden basin and peeked toward the pavilion, seeing they seemed to have finished their conversation. He picked it up. “Third Sister, I’m going.”

Zhao Hanzhang waved her hand. “Go ahead, go ahead. Oh, did you see the official documents by my seat? When you come back out, bring them to me.”

Zhao Zheng said “Oh” and hesitated, reluctant to go forward. “Third Sister, why don’t you come with me?”

“Your family is talking. Why should an outsider like me join in? Just go yourself.”

Zhao Zheng was a bit afraid—afraid both that his grandfather would cry and that his father would scold him—so he wanted to pull Zhao Hanzhang along. “You were just advising Grandfather earlier, so you’re family too. Let’s go together.”

Zhao Hanzhang refused. “Your grandfather just cried. He’ll definitely feel uncomfortable seeing me right now. You go ahead. I’ll wait for you here.”

Zhao Zheng had no choice and could only walk forward with three backward glances.

He presented the water basin. His father personally wrung out the towel and handed it to his grandfather. Zhao Hu looked at the towel handed to him and cried again.

He used the towel to wipe his face while crying, and the tears seemed to increase with the wiping.

Zhao Zheng was dumbfounded.

Zhao Cheng: …

He wordlessly took the towel, washed it again and handed it over, then turned his head to ask Zhao Zheng, “Sanniang hasn’t left yet, has she?”

Zhao Hu immediately stopped crying, held back his tears, then quickly tidied himself up. His reddened eyes fiercely swept around.

Unfortunately, with such red eyes, Zhao Hanzhang didn’t perceive any menace, only thought he looked rather pitiful. So after his one glare, she sensibly pulled her head back and stopped peeking at them.

When Zhao Zheng withdrew carrying the water basin, he also brought along Zhao Hanzhang’s official documents. Zhao Cheng merely glanced at them without saying anything. After he left, he turned to Zhao Hu and said, “Father, please take away all those things from Zheng’er’s room.”

Zhao Hu, having just reconciled with his son, didn’t want to argue with him again, so he nodded. In his view, since the things were already set up, they might as well be used. In the future, he would just send fewer extravagant items to Zhao Zheng.

But looking at his son’s upright face, he didn’t voice this thought.

Zhao Cheng paused, then continued, “I don’t understand business matters, but Father, the reason you can travel between commanderies now, buying land and shops in various commanderies, isn’t because of your own strong capabilities, but because you have Hanzhang as your backing.”

He said, “So what she requests, please take it to heart, Father. When she’s strong, when Yuzhou is strong, only then can the Zhao clan be strong and protect the clan members below.”

Zhao Hu snorted twice somewhat unconvinced, but still agreed.

He understood the logic—he just wasn’t willing to concede defeat, especially to Zhao Hanzhang.

For some reason, he always felt that he and she were incompatible in destiny, starting from that first meeting when she escorted the coffin home.

Zhao Hu said, “Zitu, don’t you think she’s changed a lot? I remember she wasn’t like this before. Every time I saw her, she was a gentle young lady. When did she become like this, so…”

Zhao Hu couldn’t even find the words to describe it.

Zhao Cheng didn’t think much of it. “How many times had you seen her before?”

Zhao Hu said, “Twice. Though only twice, each time she was a gentle and quiet young lady.”

Zhao Cheng scoffed. “That was all an illusion.”

Unlike Zhao Hu, Zhao Cheng had an extremely good relationship with Zhao Zhi. Even after Zhao Zhi married, they studied together, so from Zhao Sanniang’s birth until Zhao Zhi fell gravely ill, Zhao Cheng could often see her.

In his impression, she was lively and mischievous, and very clever.

At two or three years old, she dared to cover her hands with ink, then hide them behind her back, waiting for her father to pick her up, then slap him right on the face with one palm. Even he had fallen victim.

There were only more such mischievous incidents, not fewer. She was so active, yet also very intelligent. After reading a poem to her twice, she could memorize it. Though she hadn’t yet learned to read, she could recite it while swaying her head.

So Zhao Song was surprised that Zhao Hanzhang became like this, Zhao Hu was suspicious, even Zhao Ming sometimes felt puzzled, but Zhao Cheng had never doubted it.

She was just born female, which was why so many people doubted her.

If she had been born male, given how mischievous and clever she was as a child, wouldn’t her current achievements be perfectly natural when she grew up?

Zhao Cheng never doubted that she was any less than men. Her previous behavior was just concealment based on various considerations.

And now, she no longer needed to hide her abilities and intentions, so she had become this powerful.

—