Zhao Hanzhang looked heartbroken. “I was planning to have people install glass windows for Great-Uncle first, but who knew you would hurt Sanniang’s heart like this.”

Zhao Hu sneered coldly. “Stop trying to coax me. Your assistant already said you only have one team of craftsmen who can build greenhouses.”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “From proposing the greenhouse to actually building it only took a few days. Craftsmen can be trained on the job—as long as the glass produced is up to standard, the other carpentry and such all have their foundations.”

Zhao Hu froze.

Zhao Hanzhang stood up and walked forward, bowing repeatedly to Zhao Hu. “Seventh Great-Uncle, please forgive me. Sanniang knows she wronged you today.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hu turned his head to the side with a heavy humph. He said, “You speak of fairness with me, but don’t forget—when you were gathering grain and supplies, I provided quite a lot of grain. And this time when Yuzhou was short of grain and you couldn’t buy any anywhere, it was I who sold you all my remaining grain. Merchants offered me one hundred twenty coins per dou, but I didn’t sell to them—I specifically kept it to sell to you. How much money did I lose?”

“Yes, yes, yes. Hanzhang knows and remembers it all in her heart,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “If this were any ordinary matter, I would certainly mediate for you both. But this situation is different.”

“How is it different? Today I’m not your seventh great-uncle, and you haven’t received any favors from me?”

Zhao Hanzhang said helplessly, “Seventh Great-Uncle, you said it yourself—you are my seventh great-uncle. In and around Xiping, who would bring such a small matter before me?”

“And they specifically chose a time when Uncle Ming wasn’t here.”

Zhao Hu’s eyes widened. “You’re saying he did this deliberately?”

Zhao Hanzhang asked, “What do you think?”

Zhao Hu seriously considered this, then slammed the table after a moment. “I knew he had ill intentions! Otherwise, how could he pay the deposit just one step before me? So this matter is still my right!”

Zhao Hanzhang smiled. “From a logical standpoint, he’s more in the right.”

Zhao Hu glared at her.

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and said, “Seventh Great-Uncle, being an official isn’t done this way. I can have suspicions, but when judging cases, I judge by actions, not by hearts.”

Zhao Hu said, “After all that talk, you still think I’m in the wrong.”

Zhao Hanzhang shook her head. “Seventh Great-Uncle isn’t wrong either. People naturally tend to favor positions that benefit themselves. He can file a complaint, and naturally you can also voice your own perspective…”

Zhao Hu waved his hand to cut off her words. “I don’t understand all this talk. Just tell me—whose side are you on?”

“If he has ulterior motives, naturally Seventh Great-Uncle and I are on the same side!”

Zhao Hu had been waiting for exactly these words and immediately declared, “He definitely has ulterior motives!”

Then his eyes shifted as various devious schemes came to mind. “The Treasure Pavilion is going to build that glass greenhouse for him, right? Have those craftsmen build it poorly. Best to time it so that when he invites people to view it, the glass greenhouse collapses right then.”

Zhao Hanzhang was speechless.

“Seventh Great-Uncle, are you trying to harm him or harm me? That greenhouse was built by my Treasure Pavilion!”

She and Fu Tinghan had specifically had the Glassworks make several models of glass greenhouses to earn their money. If it collapsed, the Treasure Pavilion’s reputation would be ruined too.

“This won’t work, that won’t work—then how will you avenge me?”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “By doing what pains him most and what he least wants me to achieve—that’s the best revenge on him.”

Zhao Hu looked completely confused. Seeing he didn’t understand, she pulled him aside to explain in detail. “Seventh Great-Uncle, you say he filed a complaint against you with ulterior motives, right?”

“Yes! Definitely yes!” If not, how could he stand united with Zhao Hanzhang against their common enemy?

“But why would he do this?”

Zhao Hu tilted his head, thinking seriously. “Could it be I offended him without realizing it? But I really have no memory of this person. Could it be the servants at home offended him? Or maybe it was Zitu who offended someone when he was out?”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Seventh Great-Uncle, he did this to get at me.”

Zhao Hu came back to himself. “Oh right, you’re the Provincial Governor—he might be targeting you. But what’s the point of doing this?”

Zhao Hanzhang broke it down for him to explain. “…forcing me to choose between the Zhao clan and talented scholars from across the realm.”

“Oh~~” Zhao Hu said meaningfully. “So by judging this way now, you’ve chosen talented scholars from across the realm and abandoned our Zhao clan?”

Zhao Hanzhang had been at a loss for words many times today—definitely the most in the entire year. She was nearly at her breaking point. She grabbed Zhao Hu’s hand and held it tightly, tears welling in her eyes. “Seventh Great-Uncle, can’t you think a bit more? What’s my relationship with talented scholars from across the realm, and what’s my relationship with the Zhao clan?”

“You and the Zhao clan are all my blood relatives. With you, if there’s a misunderstanding, I can call out that it’s a misunderstanding. But with those ethereal talented scholars, we’re strangers—would they listen to my protests of innocence?”

Zhao Hu nodded in agreement, then halfway through raised his head. “So you’re making me suffer a grievance?”

“Are you suffering a grievance now?”

“How am I not suffering? I…”

“Tomorrow I’ll have craftsmen from the Glassworks come measure your windows at home, then begin custom-making the glass and window frames. Once they’re ready, they’ll install them for you. I’ve already given you a ten percent discount, and now I’ll authorize another ten percent off. You’ve gotten both speed and price advantages—what grievance is there?”

Zhao Hu opened his mouth but couldn’t speak.

“Oh, and there’s the confrontation with Fang Jing. Think about it—now his schemes have been exposed before us, all his calculations have come to nothing. Not only did I gain a reputation for valuing talented scholars, but I’ve also grown closer to my clan relatives. Wouldn’t that frustrate him even more?”

It really did seem that way.

But Zhao Hu still felt something was wrong. After being escorted out by Zhao Hanzhang, he finally remembered. “What if he had no schemes and this was all just coincidence?”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Then wouldn’t that be even better? This way no one suffered a grievance—how wonderful.”

“But I…” Zhao Hanzhang smiled as she looked over, meeting Zhao Hu’s somewhat indignant gaze.

Zhao Hu paused and fell silent.

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Seventh Great-Uncle, Hanzhang is the Provincial Governor of Yuzhou. Yuzhou has millions of people, and our Zhao clan is but a drop in the ocean among them. For the sake of fairness, I must use the law as my standard in all things.”

“Blood relatives are different for me. For the Zhao clan, like Uncle Ming, I would die in battle. For the millions of people in Yuzhou, I would also die in battle!”

Zhao Hu didn’t know if he understood, but San Jin behind him did. Supporting the old master back home, as soon as they returned to the fortress, he spread the word, sighing in admiration. “When it comes to capability, it has to be Sanniang. She broke such a vicious scheme and smoothly placated our Great-Uncle.”