Zhang Xie very readily had people bring money and grain to pay taxes. Xiahou Yan didn’t move. Seeing that Fu Tinghan also looked unhurried, he asked, “Master Fu, what if I simply refuse to pay?”

Fu Tinghan replied, “I also have no recourse.”

Xiahou Yan sneered coldly. “So this law is aimed at honest people like Jingyang? Those who pay lose money, while those who don’t pay suffer no harm? I thought Commander Zhao would send troops to arrest and execute all of us who don’t pay.”

Fu Tinghan said, “Embezzling taxes in large amounts could indeed result in execution, but based on Master Xiahou’s current family assets, even if you owed for a lifetime you wouldn’t reach that threshold.”

Zhang Xie was also curious. “Then does the office have no way to deal with those who owe taxes?”

Fu Tinghan smiled. “Not exactly. According to the law, the office will make one request and two reminders. For instance, my visit today counts as the first request. If the household head still doesn’t pay, the office will issue an official document as a reminder. If they still don’t pay, another reminder.”

Zhang Xie asked, “And if they still don’t pay?”

“Then they’ll be listed as untrustworthy individuals. Not only will public notices be posted to inform the world, but in the future, any transactions requiring office registration—buying or selling houses, land, various commercial qualifications, and so on—will all be affected. In serious cases, travel passes will be confiscated. If they continue to resist stubbornly, perhaps they’ll be arrested and imprisoned.” Fu Tinghan continued, “However, this entire series of operations would take at least three to five years, giving the other party ample time to consider and prepare the taxes. Commander Zhao is still very tolerant and magnanimous.”

Xiahou Yan clutched his chest. What tolerant and magnanimous? He basically couldn’t hear anything after the first sentence about “posting public notices to inform the world.”

As a distinguished gentleman, who didn’t cherish their reputation?

Even if they weren’t distinguished gentlemen, there wasn’t a single scholar in this era who didn’t value reputation. Merchants also placed extreme importance on trust. If they were categorized as untrustworthy individuals, what face would they have left to live in this world?

This was killing the heart, not just the person!

Xiahou Yan stamped his foot. “Zhao Hanzhang is destroying me!”

Like Xiahou Yan, quite a few people paid their taxes in full immediately out of fear of this law, without even needing the tax collectors to mention it.

But there were also some people who didn’t even need the collectors to open their mouths about this law.

When they saw Wei Jie sitting with lowered eyes in respectful attendance, as soon as he opened his mouth, the other party agreed. Without even looking at the bill, they directly had their household prepare money and grain according to the figures Wei Jie reported.

Who could bear to have someone like Wei Jie constantly speaking of vulgar matters like money and grain?

So Wei Jie’s collection efficiency was particularly high.

Zhao Erlang and the others were slightly less effective, but when those being approached looked at those young and handsome faces, though their expressions weren’t pleasant, they still didn’t curse at them.

The old clerks following behind Zhao Erlang and the others waiting to tally accounts couldn’t help but secretly shed tears.

When they went door to door collecting, they often couldn’t even see the household heads, let alone constantly being cursed at. Yet they said the same words—could it really just be because of different status?

But among those dispatched this time were also people without official rank, just minor clerks doing odd jobs at the county office—all young men and women on practical training from the Imperial Academy. They all had one thing in common: they were good-looking.

The old clerks’ gazes swept over those sent out to collect this time, their hearts darkening. So it really was just because they were good-looking?

That very evening, taxes that had been in arrears for over a month were collected almost completely. Zhao Hanzhang nodded with great satisfaction. “As expected, this is an era that especially values appearance.”

Looking through the historical records of various dynasties, basically every important figure would have a physical description. The Wei and Jin dynasties in particular had especially abundant and specific descriptions of people’s appearances.

In certain dynasties, some people who were enfeoffed as marquises or appointed as ministers might not even have physical descriptions, but in Wei and Jin, even someone with just a bit of fame would have extensive passages describing their appearance.

She’d mentally tallied it before—basically everyone who was granted an official position or noble title was good-looking.

Currently working under her, Wang Xing looked extremely ordinary.

Of course, this “ordinary” didn’t mean he was ugly, but rather that he looked very much like a common person. His father Wang Rong greatly disliked him. Zhao Hanzhang had recently watched him handle government affairs and felt that though he lacked poetic talent, he was someone who truly got things done and was skilled at managing people.

Such a person was disdained by his father to such an extent—it must be because he wasn’t good-looking enough.

Just imagine—if he had Wei Jie’s face, even without poetic talent and being born of a concubine, he wouldn’t be despised by his father to that degree.

How much did Wang Rong despise him?

He only had two sons. His eldest died at nineteen due to Wang Rong’s own actions, leaving only this one concubine-born son, Wang Xing. Yet Wang Rong would rather have Wang Xing adopted by his deceased younger brother, then adopt an heir from among his clan relatives to inherit his own estate, than let his actual biological son inherit.

Zhao Hanzhang was now very curious and quietly asked Wang Siniang, “Could this cousin of yours possibly not be your uncle’s biological son?”

Wang Siniang also lowered her voice. “Of course he is. Although Cousin Xing looks ordinary, those eyes are especially beautiful. One glance and you know he’s a Wang family man. His birth mother was also extremely beautiful.”

“Then how did he turn out like this?” Zhao Hanzhang said, “Although I never saw your great-uncle in his youth, as one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, his beauty was far-renowned.”

Wang Siniang’s eyes lit up as she pulled Zhao Hanzhang closer. “I was curious about this as a child too, so I secretly asked my elder brother. My brother then took me to meet Cousin Xing’s maternal uncle.”

Zhao Hanzhang asked, “And?”

“Cousin Xing does bear some resemblance to him,” Wang Siniang sighed. “His birth mother, the Qiao family, came from common folk. After Great-Uncle brought her into the Wang family, her entire family lived off her, so Great-Uncle constantly looked down on them and disdained Cousin Xing as well.”

“I didn’t used to think Great-Uncle was wrong in this, and I also felt the Qiao family lacked backbone in depending entirely on their daughter who was merely a concubine. I was unwilling to look at such people. But after this great disaster, having seen so much separation and helplessness on the road, I realized that while their actions showed no backbone, weren’t they also forced by circumstances?”

“Since he looked down on the Qiao family, why keep them close by where they’d be an eyesore?” Zhao Hanzhang said, “Wouldn’t it be better to buy them some land in the countryside, give them some money to become self-sufficient and live well? Wang Xing would be less influenced by them, and the father-son relationship wouldn’t have deteriorated so badly.”

Wang Siniang hummed softly. “Great-Uncle wouldn’t be willing. He was extremely stingy.”

Wang Huifeng, who had been keeping her eyes lowered pretending not to hear, coughed heavily twice.

Wang Siniang instantly sat up straight and stopped leaning against Zhao Hanzhang.

Wang Huifeng raised her eyes to look at Zhao Hanzhang and picked up the册子 in her hand. “Commander, rest time is over. We should begin class.”

Zhao Hanzhang felt somewhat troubled but still nodded in agreement. “Yes, teacher, please proceed.”

Zhao Hanzhang had returned to Chen County once, and Madam Wang had noticed her daughter’s lack of familiarity with their own family genealogy. So she’d brought her the genealogy kept in their ancestral hall and made her memorize it.

When she was memorizing it, Zhao Ming happened to see her.

Zhao Ming suddenly remembered that the Zhao family’s education of Zhao Hanzhang had been somewhat lacking.

Because she was a young woman, though they had her read and memorize the clan genealogy, they hadn’t explained other clans in much detail to her.

Just looking at how she memorized their own genealogy showed this, and sometimes when scholars came to pledge allegiance, Zhao Ming had to prompt her from the side before she knew who was who.

This was very bad—it made her appear less than astute.

So Zhao Ming immediately wrote to Ji Yuan, instructing him to find someone in Luoyang who could teach Zhao Hanzhang.

Since she harbored such ambitions, even though he hadn’t agreed yet, she still needed to learn the necessary skills and acquire the relevant knowledge.

Otherwise, with her current recklessness, pulling up the radish and bringing out the mud with it, who knew how many people she might offend unintentionally?

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t think she needed to act according to aristocratic families’ whims, but background knowledge—well, understanding more couldn’t hurt. As they say, know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll never be defeated.

Relationships between clans weren’t just simple matters of who was whose maternal uncle or whose second uncle. There were also matters of who did what under what circumstances, resulting in feuds or favors or other connections with others.

This was completely like a combination of a certain Q&A site and a certain microblog—a gossip-lover’s paradise that could totally be heard as stories.

The premise being that the other party didn’t require her to categorize, summarize, and then recite all this by memory.

Ji Yuan had searched all around Luoyang and finally fixed his gaze on Wang Huifeng and Wang Siniang.

Wang Huifeng needless to say—she was a Wang family woman, widely read with an excellent memory, and had been the former Crown Princess. In terms of understanding the relationships between the clans in today’s world, she probably surpassed even the Emperor.

Even the people now around the Emperor couldn’t match this former Crown Princess who had received specialized education, handled numerous palace affairs, and even dealt with Empress Jia.

So Ji Yuan immediately selected her. As for Wang Siniang…

She was a study companion.

Ji Yuan had long anticipated this would be a tedious task. If there was no one to accompany Zhao Hanzhang, she probably wouldn’t persist for long.

And given her temperament and position, if she truly made up her mind not to study, besides crying, Ji Yuan had no other recourse. To avoid crying, Ji Yuan found her a study companion early on.

He also told Wang Siniang, “Your task is to keep the Commander studying—studying more and studying longer. Only when she’s learned everything Teacher Wang knows about the clans can you stop.”

The reason Wang Xing came up today was first because Wang Huifeng mentioned the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, and second because all the good-looking people had been sent out this time, leaving only Wang Xing among the young officials at the Governor’s office to handle matters.

How pitiful.

Zhao Hanzhang ground ink, picked up her brush, and continued seriously attending class, writing down the names Wang Huifeng mentioned while noting their main deeds beside them.

When Wang Huifeng finished today’s lesson, Zhao Hanzhang had someone invite her to go rest and eat before leaving. Then she grabbed Wang Siniang, who was also rising to withdraw, and pulled her aside to whisper, “Your great-uncle was very stingy?”

Wang Siniang first glanced outside, and seeing her sister had disappeared at the end of the corridor, immediately nodded and raised her voice too. “Exactly! When my brothers, sisters, and I used to visit for New Year’s, he never gave us New Year’s money. When my parents gave my cousins New Year’s money, he’d turn around and take it away, claiming to keep it for them.”

“His family used to have a plum tree that bore pretty good fruit. If my brother and I wanted to eat them, we still had to pay him for them. This made my brother so angry that he secretly took us to steal them several times. Unfortunately, we got caught once, and my brother had to pay a lot of money before the matter was settled.”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “…How stingy must someone be to have a plum tree at home?”

Wang Siniang laughed heartily. “I just remembered—your family also had a plum tree! Oh right, there were rumors that his family’s plum tree was grown from a pit from your family’s tree. Unfortunately, the taste still didn’t match yours. By the way, what happened to your family’s plum tree?”

Zhao Hanzhang waved her hand. “Don’t mention it—my maternal grand-uncle had it cut down.”

Wang Siniang said, “What a pity.”

“You’re telling me!” Zhao Hanzhang pulled her closer. “Tell me more about this great-uncle of yours—all his marriage connections, old friends, and relationships you can mention.”

Wang Siniang leaned aside, looking at her suspiciously. “Why are you suddenly interested in my great-uncle?”

“Isn’t it just because we happened to be talking about this?” Zhao Hanzhang said, “You also know how complex clan relationships are and how hard to memorize. Today I spent all my effort just memorizing the relatives of Shan Tao’s family and my brain is stiff. Eventually Wang Rong will come up too—having a ready example makes it easier to memorize.”

Wang Siniang hesitated. “But he is my elder after all. Occasionally saying something improper is one thing, but specifically discussing this ancestor’s bad points isn’t good, is it?”

“Then just talk about his good points.”

Wang Siniang and she stared at each other with wide eyes. Zhao Hanzhang blinked, incredulous. “He was one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove after all—surely he wasn’t without any merits?”

Wang Siniang said somewhat awkwardly, “I’m not close to this great-uncle, and I was young—when I spent time with him, the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove had long since fallen apart.”

Wang Siniang paused, then gritted her teeth and said, “But if you’re interested, why not save someone—she might be able to tell you more.”

Zhao Hanzhang asked, “Who?”

“Pei Dun’s daughter, Pei Yuanjun,” Wang Siniang pressed her lips together. “She’s the same age as my second sister and was once betrothed to my eldest cousin Wang Sui. She’s currently living with Pei family clan members. This time she was lucky and was rescued along with us when you brought us back.”

Perhaps it really was improper to speak ill of an elder—some petty stingy talk was one thing, but more serious matters Wang Siniang felt uncomfortable discussing, so she left it at that.

Zhao Hanzhang could only ask Ji Yuan.

Compared to Wang Siniang, Ji Yuan was much more straightforward. He said directly, “Pei Dun’s daughter—I actually know about her.”

His gaze first lowered to look at Zhao Hanzhang, then he said, “Years ago your grandfather had intentions of seeking a marriage with the Pei family woman for your father.”

In other words, if he’d succeeded, there would be no Zhao Hanzhang or Zhao Erlang.

Zhao Hanzhang: …

She asked curiously, “Then this Lady Pei must be very virtuous.”

Ji Yuan had already been at Zhao Changyu’s side back then. Hearing this, he nodded. “Indeed. She has a reputation for virtue, often reads books, and has a gentle and benevolent nature. However, at that time the Wang family was powerful—Wang Rong was Minister of Education—so the Pei family chose the Wang family.”

“Unfortunately, Wang Sui died young. At that time, Lady Pei had not yet married. Wang Rong, grieving his eldest son’s death, declared that Lady Pei must remain faithful to his memory and forbade anyone from seeking her hand in marriage.” Ji Yuan continued, “The Wang family was powerful, and no one dared defy his wishes, so Lady Pei remained in her chambers waiting to be married, never wedding. To this day, she’s reached an advanced age.”

Zhao Hanzhang pressed her lips together. “I didn’t know the Wang family had such a story. Isn’t Wang Yan supposed to be a renowned gentleman? Did he just stand by and do nothing?”

Ji Yuan scoffed derisively without courtesy, then said, “You used to despise Wang Yan for neglecting court affairs, but didn’t realize—this behavior started with Wang Rong.”

He sighed. “If we trace it to the root, the disaster originated with the Sima clan.”

—