Zhao Cheng lowered his eyes without speaking.

Zhao Hu’s eyes began to dart around—just now Zhao Cheng had been protecting him?

Zhao Hanzhang stood up and straightened her robes. “Uncle must be hungry after traveling all the way into the palace. I’ll go make you a bowl of noodles.”

With that, she got up and left, bringing Zhao Yunxin along as well. The serving maids in the hall immediately followed suit and withdrew.

As soon as she left the hall, Zhao Hanzhang said to Zhao Yunxin, “Go get all the documents on the burned properties, and bring the land deeds too.”

Zhao Yunxin acknowledged the order.

Zhao Hanzhang then took Ting He to the side room, where there was a small kitchen. It was usually used to brew tea and make small snacks for Zhao Hanzhang and the ministers.

Right now the palace was poor. The so-called large kitchen prepared meals for the guards and palace servants, while the Emperor’s and Zhao Hanzhang’s meals were all made in their respective small kitchens.

This small kitchen in the side room was responsible for Zhao Hanzhang’s and the on-duty ministers’ lunches.

Of course, even the cleverest housewife can’t cook without rice. Given the budget Zhao Hanzhang had allocated, the cooks didn’t have much room for creativity.

Currently, the most sumptuous meal they’d eaten in the palace was noodles with two added eggs.

At this moment, Zhao Hanzhang wanted to treat Zhao Hu and Zhao Cheng to this very bowl of noodles.

The cook immediately opened a jar like it was a treasure. From inside, he opened a fine cloth bag and carefully scooped out half a large bowl of flour. He poured the flour into a basin, then opened another jar and scooped out a small half-bowl of yellow bean powder, also pouring it into the basin.

He stirred it together, then judiciously added a little water. His fingers moved quickly, allowing the flour to slowly moisten. After dripping in some more water, he set the water bowl aside and began stirring and kneading in the basin.

Finding this interesting, Zhao Hanzhang rolled up her sleeves and washed her hands. “Let me do it.”

The cook hesitated for a moment but still yielded his position.

Zhao Hanzhang began kneading the dough. She had to admit, kneading dough was quite fun.

It really exercised one’s arm strength. Most importantly, as she pressed and pulled, the surroundings were very quiet, and her mind, which had been muddled and drowsy from a morning of handling government affairs, suddenly cleared.

Zhao Hanzhang became thoughtful. After kneading the dough well, she stepped aside and handed it over to the cook.

The cook rubbed his hands with some dry flour before taking over the kneading and pounding. Soon he had formed it into a ball. He walked to the stove and saw that the soup had just come to a rolling boil.

He immediately picked up a knife and swish-swish-swish began cutting noodle strips into the pot.

Watching his knife skills that were almost a blur, Zhao Hanzhang smiled. “That’s excellent—I want to learn this too.”

Ting He said, “…In the early years, Madam wanted you to learn some cooking skills, but you wouldn’t learn. Instead, you spent time learning horseback riding, archery, and martial arts. Now you don’t need to learn cooking, so why are you interested in it again?”

“Learning some cooking skills isn’t a bad thing,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “At critical moments, it can demonstrate filial piety.”

She observed the cook’s noodle-cutting technique until he finished, only then withdrawing her gaze. She then stepped forward and said to the young eunuch tending the fire, “Let me do the stoking.”

The young eunuch was startled. He had been squatting but now knelt on the ground, head lowered, not daring to make a sound, trembling with fear.

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and patted his shoulder. “Don’t be afraid. It’s not that I think you’re doing a poor job. I said I would make noodles for Seventh Great-Uncle, so I can’t just knead some dough and call it done, can I?”

“The only kitchen work I know how to do is tend the fire.”

The head cook quickly said to the young eunuch, “Why don’t you thank the Great General for her grace?”

The young eunuch repeatedly kowtowed. “Thank you, Great General, thank you, Great General.”

Zhao Hanzhang saw his head banging against the ground with a thud, his forehead instantly covered in black ash, yet also swelling and turning red—it looked both dark and red at once.

Her heart ached. She reached out to stop him, her face still wearing a smile, and waved her hand cheerfully. “Everyone in the small kitchen has merit today. Tonight, each of you will be rewarded with one egg, and the head cook gets two.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up. Don’t underestimate a single egg—even Zhao Hanzhang herself only had two eggs to eat each day at present.

Everyone immediately knelt to express their gratitude.

Zhao Hanzhang waved her hand and squatted by the stove, carefully adding firewood.

The head cook finished cooking the noodles and ladled them out, adding the soup, then cracked two eggs to cook, ladled them out and divided them between two bowls, then added a handful of greens…

Before long, two bowls with both meat and vegetables—half yellow and white, half green—were ready.

Setting aside the taste for now, at least the color and aroma were first-rate.

Although Zhao Hanzhang had just eaten lunch not long ago, because she expended mental energy quickly, she was getting a bit hungry again.

But she held back. Sigh, even the landlord’s family had no surplus grain. These were for Zhao Hu and Zhao Cheng to eat.

Her face full of smiles, she was very warm and pleasant as she headed to the side hall, then ran into Zhao Cheng emerging from inside with a somber expression.

Zhao Hanzhang’s smiling face fell flat with a crash.

With one look, she could tell Zhao Cheng and Zhao Hu hadn’t had a very pleasant conversation.

After thinking for a moment, she handed the tray to Ting He behind her and walked forward.

Zhao Cheng had already moved to the side and was bowing in courtesy.

Although he was an elder, unless they were in the Zhao residence discussing private matters or when he needed to reprimand her, Zhao Cheng never took on the airs of an elder. Each time he conducted himself as a subordinate official.

Zhao Hanzhang said to Zhao Cheng, “There are no outsiders here at the moment, Uncle need not be formal with me.”

Zhao Cheng straightened his back and cupped his hands. “I have no further business and will take my leave first.”

Zhao Hanzhang called him back and asked, “Did Uncle quarrel with Uncle-Grandfather again?”

Zhao Cheng remained silent.

Zhao Hanzhang then asked, “Did Uncle urge Uncle-Grandfather to donate his family assets to me?”

Zhao Cheng emphasized, “To donate to the national treasury, to donate to Great Jin.”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, acknowledging his correction was proper, then smiled. “Uncle-Grandfather must have been unwilling.”

Zhao Cheng’s face remained dark without response.

Zhao Hanzhang smiled. “If it were me, I might be unwilling too. For Uncle-Grandfather, his family assets rank second only to Uncle Cheng and cousin Zheng. Great Jin has neither enfeoffed him as a marquis nor promised him future wealth and honor. Why should he donate his family property to the nation?”

Zhao Cheng said, “Without the nation’s protection, how could he have accumulated such wealth? Now that the nation faces difficulties, as a citizen, he should naturally contribute his share.”

“He has already contributed his due share,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “Uncle doesn’t know how capable Uncle-Grandfather is. These past few years of warfare, his household alone—through taxes and donations—has supported fifty thousand soldiers of my Zhao Family Army.”

“Not for one day, but for four years. Just this time, the calculation tax he paid saved all of Youzhou Province.” Zhao Hanzhang continued, “I won’t hide this from Uncle—the calculation tax Uncle-Grandfather paid accounts for one-third of the total calculation tax collected this time.”

This was equivalent to the entire nation collecting one type of tax, yet Zhao Hu alone paid one-third of what the national treasury collected.

She sighed. “To be honest, if it weren’t for Uncle-Grandfather’s personality—I’m afraid he’d cause great trouble—just based on his taxes and donations these past few years, he could be enfeoffed as a marquis.”

Zhao Cheng, whose expression had already softened, immediately said, “You mustn’t enfeoff him!”

Zhao Hanzhang looked at him.

Zhao Cheng smiled bitterly. “Enfeoffing him would harm him.”