Zhao Hu began to regret. Those Xun Fan and Jia Pi were old Jin court officials. They certainly wanted to support the young Emperor and oppose Zhao Hanzhang. Zhao Cheng was Zhao Hanzhang’s right-hand man, so…

He couldn’t help but raise his hand and slap himself with a smack, startling Zhao Hanzhang, who quickly reached out to stop him, chiding, “What are you doing?”

Zhao Hu asked, “If I now drag Zitu out and put on a display of fatherly kindness and filial piety, will they believe it?”

Zhao Hanzhang said with amusement, “Not only will they not believe it, it will be counterproductive.”

Zhao Hu slumped down listlessly without moving.

Zhao Hanzhang softened her tone. “In this kind of situation, the best approach is gentle as a spring rain, slowly influencing everyone’s impressions. So if Seventh Uncle-Grandfather wants Uncle Cheng not to suffer from gossip in the future, it’s best to restrain your words and actions starting now.”

Over the past twenty years, Zhao Hu and Zhao Cheng had been at each other’s throats. When they met, they quarreled; when they didn’t meet, he never stopped cursing Zhao Cheng within the clan.

To prove himself right meant Zhao Cheng had to be wrong.

So Zhao Cheng’s reputation within the clan had always been polarized. Those who agreed with him understood him, but there were also quite a few who believed he violated filial piety.

Zhao Song was the most representative among them. He knew Zhao Hu was wrong, so he always lectured Zhao Hu, hoping he would reform and be more lenient with Zhao Cheng. But under this premise, he also believed Zhao Cheng’s behavior toward Zhao Hu violated filial piety.

If someone as magnanimous as Zhao Song thought this way, what of others?

Within one clan there were so many complex and inconsistent views—how much more so when extended to the entire realm, to the court where political struggles were fierce?

The criticism Zhao Cheng would face would only increase.

Zhao Hanzhang tore open what Zhao Hu couldn’t see, or didn’t want to acknowledge, and laid it bare for him to see, forcing him to make a choice directly.

Would he choose to vent verbally for momentary satisfaction, or would he endure, change his temper somewhat, and benefit his children and grandchildren?

Zhao Hu sat with lowered eyes, deep in thought, clearly having made his decision.

He looked up at her and asked, “You’re not going to force me to donate?”

Zhao Hanzhang chided, “Seventh Uncle-Grandfather, when have I ever forced you to donate? Our dealings have always been primarily based on enticement through profit, haven’t they? Willing transactions, mutual benefit—how can that be called forcing?”

Zhao Hu thought about it and realized it was true. At least when asking for money, she had never once brandished a knife. It was just… somehow it still felt not quite right.

Zhao Hu really couldn’t think of the specific words to describe it, so he could only ask, “So this time, how do you want to cooperate?”

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and poured him a cup of tea. “He who knows me is none other than Seventh Uncle-Grandfather. I really do have a big business deal to work with you on.”

What donation? Taking Zhao Hu’s money for free—she was afraid he’d grow arrogant and bully others based on his position, and in the future she wouldn’t be able to deal with him properly and justifiably.

Even if she wanted money, she would take it openly and above board. Oh no, she would earn it!

Zhao Hanzhang wanted to sell all the burned properties in the inner city.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hu immediately said, “I—I’ll buy them all.”

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and asked, “Won’t Seventh Uncle-Grandfather hear the conditions first?”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hu’s spine instantly stiffened, and he asked, “You’re not going to charge high prices, are you? Those houses were burned beyond recognition. They must all be completely demolished and rebuilt. You’re just selling plots of land. If the price is too high, who will buy?”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “I’ve divided the prices according to location. For example, that building closest to the palace gates—it occupies about two and a half acres. I’ve set the price at one hundred twenty thousand coins.”

Zhao Hu’s eyes rolled around. This price was cheaper than he’d expected. That building was not only large but also well-positioned. If he could build a house on it and resell it, it would fetch at least a million coins.

Of course, he wouldn’t sell it. He planned to build it for his own use, for his son and grandson in the future. The three of them would live there, and Zhao Cheng’s daily commute to court would be very convenient. Just out the door, cross the stone bridge, and there was the palace gate. He could sleep at least two quarters of an hour longer than other officials each day.

This house would never be sold. It would be passed from son to grandson, from grandson to great-grandson. In the future, their children would have this same convenience commuting to court.

He’d also buy another house near the Imperial Academy—that would solve the children’s schooling problem too.

Zhao Hu fantasized about this in his mind and couldn’t help but smile with delight.

Zhao Hanzhang watched silently. When he’d smiled enough, she said, “But I have conditions.”

Zhao Hu asked with a beaming smile, “What conditions?”

“I require that those who purchase land must construct buildings according to regulations within three years. The completed houses must not be demolished and rebuilt for at least ten years. If all my conditions cannot be met, after three years, the court will reclaim the land without compensation.”

Zhao Hu’s mouth fell open. After stammering for a long while, he angrily demanded, “Do you know how long it takes to build a proper house?”

“I know. For such large estates, requiring meticulous work, it generally takes two years.”

“Bah! Two years isn’t even enough to carve the decorations on the eaves. It takes at least ten years.”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Three years.”

Seeing her expression unchanged and her resolve firm, Zhao Hu felt pain so intense he could barely breathe. It was like having a mountain of gold placed before him. Originally the mountain had been behind a large door. Though he coveted it, he knew he had to open the door first, so he worked hard at opening it.

Then with a bang, Zhao Hanzhang opened the door a crack, letting him see the mountain of gold inside, then told him he could only go in once to grab what he could. How much he could carry depended on his own ability—only one chance.

So he had to watch helplessly as more than half the mountain of gold was snatched away by others, while he only had an armful.

Zhao Hu’s breathing became rapid. He said through gritted teeth, “Eight years!”

Zhao Hanzhang said calmly, “Four years. Seventh Uncle-Grandfather, one must act according to one’s capabilities. Calculate carefully how much you can buy, or else in the end you’ll lose both the lady and the soldiers.”

Zhao Hu studied her expression and tentatively probed, “What about seven years? Think about it—such good locations will attract buyers who are either wealthy or noble. They’ll surely want to add some rockeries, dig some ponds, and such. All that takes time.”

Zhao Hanzhang remained silent, merely looking at him with a half-smile.

Zhao Hu felt his confidence waver first and automatically reduced it by a year. “Six years?”

Zhao Hanzhang said mildly, “Five years. Starting from the day we sign the contract and sell the land, after five years, if the buildings aren’t completed, I will reclaim the land.”

“Seventh Uncle-Grandfather, rockeries are too labor-intensive and time-consuming. If you’re building houses to sell, I think you could leave open space and plant some flowers and grasses. If future buyers want rockeries, they can add them themselves.”

However, Zhao Hu had indeed reminded her about rockeries. Though the houses had been burned down, most of the rockeries and such left inside remained intact.

Zhao Hanzhang clicked her tongue twice and decided that in a little while she’d deploy troops to have people thoroughly search all the houses.

Zhao Hu lowered his eyes in thought for a long time. Feeling it would be difficult to extend the timeline further, he reluctantly agreed to Zhao Hanzhang’s five-year deadline. However, he still secretly hoped she wouldn’t be able to sell a single plot of land except for what he bought.

“What if no one buys? What do you plan to do with those plots?”

Zhao Hanzhang smiled at him. “I can gather craftsmen myself to construct the buildings, then sell them. Luoyang is about to prosper, and talented people from across the realm will gather in Luoyang. Don’t you think houses in the inner city will sell?”

Zhao Hu fell silent.

Zhao Hanzhang wasn’t a Great General ignorant of practical affairs. The workshops under her command earned no less money than he did, and she had countless craftsmen at her disposal. If pushed to extremes and she didn’t sell a single plot but built houses herself, could they really not buy them?

This was the inner city near the palace, once home to various powerful nobles and aristocratic families. If they wanted to return to Luoyang and return to the center of political power, would they not buy?

And there were the newly risen who wanted to squeeze into this circle—people like Ji Yuan and Beigong Chun. Would they not buy a house?

Oh, they already had some—given to them by Zhao Hanzhang. But those were some distance from the palace, and besides, could houses they bought themselves be the same as those Zhao Hanzhang gave them?

What they bought themselves could be passed down through generations. What Zhao Hanzhang gave them—who knew if it might be reclaimed in the future if they committed some offense…

Zhao Hu always thought of others in terms of the worst possible outcomes.

In short, houses in that location wouldn’t lack for buyers, as long as they could be built.

Right now the land was in Zhao Hanzhang’s hands, so it was her decision. This was a seller’s market.

Zhao Hu sighed and said, “Fine, five years it is. But I get to choose the locations.”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded. “Good. I’ll instruct them to wait until Seventh Uncle-Grandfather has made his selections before selling to others.”

She poured Zhao Hu another cup of tea and smiled. “I know Seventh Uncle-Grandfather knows many people and has some good brothers and friends. The inner city houses won’t lack for buyers. This is essentially a guaranteed profitable business. Please help spread the word about this, Seventh Uncle-Grandfather.”

“Spread the word?” Zhao Hu murmured this twice, then slapped his thigh and laughed. “Announce and proclaim—yes, this must be widely proclaimed. These houses, once built, still need to be sold. I’ll help you, but you must help me too, right?”

Zhao Hanzhang shook her head with a smile. “Seventh Uncle-Grandfather, I represent the court. I can’t help with that.”

Zhao Hu just looked at her steadily.

Zhao Hanzhang laughed heartily and said to him, “However, I will have Erlang and Zhao Zheng help you out.”

Zhao Hu perked up, his eyes brightening. “How will they help?”

“Though cousin Zheng is young, he’s skilled in governance and administration. Luoyang’s civil affairs have relied heavily on him this past half year. So I want to appoint him as County Magistrate of Luoyang County. As for Erlang, he’s been wholly devoted to the military camp lately and his temper has grown increasingly volatile. Luoyang happens to need a county magistrate. Let him fill the vacancy and learn some of cousin Zheng’s cultured and scholarly demeanor.”

Zhao Hu paused, his brows furrowing slightly.

Zhao Hanzhang continued, “It’s not convenient for me to openly help Uncle-Grandfather, but those two—one is Luoyang County Magistrate, one is Luoyang County Magistrate—the county’s economy is within their scope of responsibilities. So this matter is entrusted to them.”

Zhao Hu’s expression kept changing, showing clear hesitation.

Zhao Hanzhang asked curiously, “Does Seventh Uncle-Grandfather have some difficulty?”

Zhao Hu’s face went through various transformations before he finally couldn’t hold back. “Having Zheng’er serve as magistrate under Erlang isn’t good, is it? Erlang can’t even read all his characters. This isn’t the battlefield where you can use brute force. Governing a locality requires brains…”

Zhao Hanzhang’s smile, which had been constant, dropped flat in an instant. Her face expressionless, she said, “Seventh Uncle-Grandfather, Erlang does have reading difficulties, but that’s called dyslexia. There’s nothing wrong with his brain.”

She said with some anger, “It’s just reading characters, isn’t it? Having two literate attendants by his side solves that. What’s needed for an official is a heart that loves the people and the wisdom to govern a locality. Do you think fighting wars only requires swinging a spear with brute force? If he can command an army, that proves he’s not stupid!”

“But Xie Shi manages the army for him…”

Zhao Hanzhang looked at him coldly.

Zhao Hu’s voice grew lower and lower under her gaze. He shifted his position and coughed lightly. “Fine, if he’s county magistrate, then let him be county magistrate.”

Zhao Hanzhang snorted coldly, glancing at the noodles before him and saying icily, “The hour is late. I’ll have someone escort Seventh Uncle-Grandfather out of the palace.”

With that, she called for guards to come escort Zhao Hu out.

Zhao Hu stood up and walked to the hall entrance. He couldn’t help but turn back toward the side hall and snort. He hadn’t said anything wrong! How could Zhao Erlang be worthy of having Zheng’er serve under him as magistrate?

Zhao Zheng was well-read and learned, his knowledge vast as the ocean, while Zhao Erlang only had brute strength and barely recognized a handful of characters. Just thinking about it made Zhao Hu feel aggrieved.

Zhao Hanzhang was also very angry. As soon as Zhao Hu left, she was so furious she paced circles in the hall, saying to Ting He, “Is our Erlang stupid? Our Erlang can now recite Master Sun’s Art of War, the Six Secret Teachings, and the Three Strategies backward and forward. So what if he has difficulty reading? He has the nerve to look down on our Erlang despite being an old man who isn’t as sensible as an eight-year-old child?”

Ting He quickly tried to soothe her. “Yes, Seventh Great-Uncle is just jealous. He’s jealous that our Erlang is now a general with high position and great authority. You’ve always known what kind of person he is. Why get upset with him?”

“Hmph! I’m not stooping to his level,” Zhao Hanzhang took two deep breaths and looked down at the noodles on the low table. She immediately said, “Pour these unfinished noodles out for the dogs!”

Ting He acknowledged and was about to take them away.

Just as she was about to take them, Zhao Hanzhang ultimately couldn’t bear it. She called her back and asked, “Are there dogs in the palace?”

Ting He said, “There are both cats and dogs, though they’re not kept as pets. The guards were afraid they might hurt His Majesty or the young lady, so they were planning to kill them.”

“Just catch them and throw them outside the palace—no need to kill them. Have someone pick through them; if there are any good dogs, send them to the county office and the army to be used for breeding.”

Ting He acknowledged the order.

Zhao Hanzhang waved her hand. “Never mind, take all the bowls and chopsticks down and let the kitchen handle them.”

Ting He smiled, curtsied as she beckoned a maid to clear things, saying, “Your servant thanks you on their behalf, my lady.”

The palace servants didn’t have easy lives. Feeding such noodles to dogs would be too wasteful.

Zhao Hanzhang tapped the table and decided to vent some of the fire in her heart. So she said, “Send someone to the military camp outside the city to summon Erlang back. Tell him to bring more people. I have tasks for him.”

Ting He acknowledged and withdrew.

Zhao Yunxin came carrying an armful of materials—all documents about the burned properties, including their sizes, previous owners, and even property deeds with detailed structural diagrams of the houses.

Besides these, there were also previous house prices and recent price comparisons.

Zhao Yunxin unfolded a large sheet, which completely covered the entire low table. In the end, maids had to come forward to spread the diagram before Zhao Hanzhang.

She took one look and said, “Find a wall to nail it up.”

Zhao Yunxin acknowledged and had people nail up the diagram.

Zhao Hanzhang stood before the diagram looking at it. Zhao Yunxin took a vermillion brush and stood beside her to explain. “This is that row of houses closest to the palace. You estimated the price at one hundred twenty thousand. This row is the second row. Here’s an estate that spans from here to here, occupying two lanes by itself and positioned right in the center. Inside there’s a large lake. Go out the door, turn left for less than two hundred meters and you reach the main street leading directly to the palace. This estate has been designated the ‘land king.’ Seventh Uncle-Grandfather has always wanted to buy it.”

Zhao Hanzhang took one glance and said, “This used to be the Wang family’s property.”