He could handle physical labor, and he could reluctantly accept an hour of exercise per day, but to both practice archery and learn mounted combat… how much time would he have left for experiments?

Oh right, he was also the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and had many official duties to handle.

Fu Tinghan opened his mouth, not knowing how to refuse her, and could only say dryly, “I’ll try my best.”

Zhao Hanzhang smiled, carrying the plate closer and holding it before him. “Try one? The kitchen made these not long ago; they’re still warm.”

Fu Tinghan picked one up to eat. After talking a bit, he felt much more at ease. After all, he was still wearing his inner garments—in modern terms, it was like wearing pajamas, so what was there to be afraid of?

Fu Tinghan tried to convince himself while his earlobes turned red.

Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes flashed with amusement as she asked, “I keep forgetting to ask you—after coming here, are you accustomed to everything?”

Fu Tinghan replied, “Luoyang? I’m quite accustomed. It’s pretty much the same everywhere.”

“No, I mean this world.”

Fu Tinghan paused, then nodded. “I’m accustomed to it.”

“I think so too. You’ve really adapted to local customs.” Zhao Hanzhang placed the plate on the table, smiling. “Rest a bit and then wash up. I’m going to handle some government affairs. I’ll come find you later to have our meal together.”

Fu Tinghan was confused. He didn’t understand until she reached the door and he saw his own arms, then it dawned on him. He wondered aloud, “Isn’t the custom of this era to be unrestrained and free-spirited?”

Zhao Hanzhang turned back, amused. “Only a minority of aristocrats like to bare their chests and run naked around their estates, and while they’re admired, most people still dress properly. Look at the people under my command—who dares to be so unrestrained?”

Even Zhao Ming, at most, would kick off his shoes and lean against the railing with his bare feet while drinking.

Fu Tinghan heard this and pulled his garment tighter.

Zhao Hanzhang laughed heartily and walked out.

Fu An happened to return carrying a small box, with four personal guards following behind carrying two larger chests. Seeing Zhao Hanzhang, he widened his eyes and hurried to say, “My lady, our young master is bathing…”

Zhao Hanzhang waved her hand. “Not yet. He’s eating something. Go help him wash his hair quickly.”

Fu An breathed a sigh of relief and quickly went inside. Fu Tinghan was standing by the table drinking water, turning his head to tell him, “Find a plain, simple set of clothes…”

Fu An asked, “Didn’t you want to wear bright, fresh clothes?”

“I changed my mind. Just what I usually wear—plain and simple is fine.”

Fu An agreed in confusion, noting that his young master’s ears were completely red. He asked no questions and silently went to sort through the luggage.

Since Wang Shi arrived in Luoyang, the household had never lacked meat. Zhao Hanzhang wrote down all the recipe methods she could remember. Of course, for most dishes she couldn’t remember the details, but she could remember the general approach, and the rest she left to the kitchen staff to figure out.

Even if they made mistakes, she thought it tasted good. At most it just wasn’t the same as what she’d eaten before, but creating another delicious dish was also nice.

Today they ate lamb spine hotpot.

By the time Fu Tinghan finished washing up and drying his hair, half an hour had passed.

Wang Shi specially picked out a section of lamb spine for him. “I didn’t know you’d enter the capital today. I thought it would be tomorrow. Otherwise I’d have simmered it longer over low heat all morning—that’s when it’s really fragrant. Try it. This is a method Sanniang came up with. It’s not very elegant, but it really is delicious.”

Of course Wang Shi wouldn’t gnaw on bones in front of them. There were servants who would separate the meat for her, and she was responsible for eating.

Zhao Hanzhang watched in astonishment, shaking her head with a light sigh. Alas, her mother still had concerns.

Thinking back to a few days ago when it was just the three of them, she’d sent the servants away, closed the door, rolled up her sleeves, and gnawed quite happily with them.

Besides the lamb spine hotpot, the table had many lamb-themed dishes. This was the best meal Fu Tinghan had eaten in months. At the seaside, he had eaten nothing but seafood, and now just seeing seafood made him feel dizzy.

Halfway through the meal, Fu Tinghan belatedly reacted. “Where’s Erlang?”

Only then did Wang Shi remember she had another son. She quickly asked Qinggu, “Did the kitchen save food for Erlang?”

Qinggu smiled while deboning meat for her. “Don’t worry, my lady. It’s been saved.”

Wang Shi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Fu Tinghan. “He hasn’t finished his duties yet. We’ll eat first; no need to wait for him.”

She glanced at Zhao Hanzhang across from her. “He’s been very busy lately, coming home very late every day. If the food at home wasn’t better than at the county office, I think he wouldn’t want to come home at all.”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Don’t worry, Mother. Once he gets through this busy period, it’ll be fine.”

Fu Tinghan asked, “What’s he busy with?”

“Quite a lot,” Zhao Hanzhang enumerated for him. “He’s busy organizing matchmaking events with the Ministry of War, busy with Luoyang’s economic development, and maintaining Luoyang’s public security.”

“Matchmaking?”

“Yes, he’s been doing this for a while. And quite successfully too. Last time he told me about three hundred matches made?”

Wang Shi said, “As of yesterday, five hundred sixty-nine matches have been made.”

“Mother, you remember so clearly.”

“Of course,” Wang Shi said. “For each successful match, I give them a vanity mirror. I need to know how many I’ve given away, don’t I?”

Now the matchmaking events weren’t limited to Luoyang’s widows and bachelors in the military. Single young men and women within Luoyang’s jurisdiction could all sign up at the county office if they were of appropriate age and wanted to find partners.

Now that it was cold and people were idle except for those doing service, everyone was enthusiastic about these activities. Even if they didn’t participate, watching the excitement was fun.

So recently Luoyang city had been quite lively.

Oh right, the labor service Zhao Hanzhang issued this year—the Luoyang portion would end in three more days. She thought it would become even livelier then.

People from surrounding towns and villages would flood into Luoyang for the excitement. When entering the city, they’d bring surplus goods from home to sell, making Luoyang’s small-scale street economy quite active.

Besides this, because that area of ruins had a stipulated completion time, recently Luoyang city increasingly needed workers for construction. Besides laborers for heavy work, they most lacked carpenters, masons, and craftsmen.

Many people came to Luoyang for matchmaking and sightseeing, and might not find a match but found a job instead. They came to watch the excitement but found work instead.

Visitors to the city transformed from tourists into laborers—transient population became temporary residents.

With more people in Luoyang, disputes and conflicts increased too. Recently, not only had theft cases increased, even fighting and brawling cases had multiplied.

As Luoyang County’s magistrate, Zhao Erlang became even busier.

But he was busy… and quite happy about it.

—