The others weren’t parties to the dispute. Just hearing the story narrated, Zhao Hanzhang’s judgment of the case was fine. Especially with what she said to Seventh Great-Uncle afterward—the clan relatives all felt valued and didn’t share Seventh Great-Uncle’s indignation and anger.

They joined San Jin in praising Zhao Hanzhang. “I always said this child was good—mindful of old ties yet fair, just like her grandfather.”

“Right, like the old clan leader. In the future when you encounter such matters, you’d better be careful. When the old clan leader was alive, he was impartial and just. If someone commits an offense that goes outside the family, I think Hanzhang will be just like the old clan leader.”

“Where would Hanzhang need to intervene? Zinian isn’t a decoration either.”

“Speaking of which, where was Zinian? Seventh Brother made such a big fuss, but Zinian didn’t come forward?”

“Seems like… he wasn’t home?”

Hearing that Zhao Ming wasn’t home, everyone spoke more freely. “It’s good he wasn’t home. This matter isn’t that serious when you think about it—Hanzhang handled it just fine.”

“Fortunately it fell into Hanzhang’s hands. If it had fallen into Zinian’s hands…”

“Hanzhang is a generation younger after all. She only serves as an official outside and doesn’t manage clan affairs, so naturally she can’t be too severe.”

“A twenty percent discount on the negotiated price—that glass greenhouse and glass windows must be quite valuable.”

“I know! I also went to the Treasure Pavilion to look. It’s truly transparent, but the price isn’t cheap either.”

“Did you ask the price?”

The person quoted a price, and everyone thought it wasn’t expensive. “That’s not very expensive.”

“One window naturally isn’t expensive, but if you replace all the windows in an entire building, calculate how much that would be.”

Someone good at math calculated mentally and immediately gasped. “Using my house as an example, replacing all the windows with glass would cost two hundred thousand coins.”

Everyone was shocked. “That much?”

“Two days ago I went to browse the Treasure Pavilion and saw a set of ink-cloud glazed cups and saucers. Those cups looked even more transparent than Hetian jade, yet had the same lustrous quality as jade. I loved them so much I couldn’t put them down. Do you know how much that set cost?”

“How much?”

“Eight hundred thousand coins!”

“It just so happened that some Xun clan disciples were there. The leading one bought it without even blinking, didn’t even blink an eye.”

“I heard about that too. Today I heard he brought that set of glazed cups into the garden to compete in drinking.”

“With so many treasures in Hanzhang’s Treasure Pavilion, how much money does she make each day?”

“She earns a lot, but spends a lot too. Otherwise she wouldn’t have needed to use the treasure trove the old clan leader left her.”

The topic drifted further and further off course, gradually moving toward areas everyone found more interesting. Someone lowered their voice, gathering everyone’s heads together before saying quietly, “Speaking of which, do you think the clan leader knows about the treasure trove the old clan leader left for Hanzhang?”

“I bet he doesn’t know. What do you say—shall we wager?”

“I’ll bet!” someone said. “I bet he definitely knows. If you don’t believe me, let’s write and ask him.”

Everyone fell silent.

They weren’t fools—even for the sake of face, the clan leader would have to grit his teeth and swallow blood, pretending he knew. How could he admit he didn’t?

As they chatted, the topic drifted further astray and couldn’t be salvaged. San Jin quietly breathed a sigh of relief and silently withdrew.

Returning home, San Jin went directly to Zhao Hu to report what he’d just done.

Zhao Hu frowned. “Why are you specifically spreading this story? Isn’t it embarrassing enough?”

San Jin tried to persuade him. “Great-Uncle, please don’t be angry anymore. What Sanniang said is right—in such matters, one judges by actions, not intentions. It’s true he paid the deposit first. Now we’ve gained real benefits, and Sanniang personally ordered craftsmen from Shangcai to come over. You can see how much she values you.”

“I’m just angry about her threatening me at the end!” Zhao Hu said huffily. “That was a threat at the end, wasn’t it?”

San Jin could only continue persuading. “Haven’t you always known that Sanniang has some bias against you?”

He lowered his voice. “You’ve always said you felt like she wanted to make an example of you.”

Zhao Hu said, “But that was before. I’ve been so good to her this past year—when she lacked grain I gave grain, when she lacked cloth I gave cloth…”

“…Old Master, Sanniang paid for all of that. It was normal business transactions.”

“It wasn’t normal at all. If I’d sold to other merchants, the price would have been at least half again as much.”

“But couldn’t you sell it? Master Ming gave the word—who would dare disobey?”

Zhao Hu harrumphed twice.

San Jin continued persuading, “You fear Master Ming because he manages clan affairs, and many matters in our household depend on him. You’re in awe of Sanniang because she commands troops and is fierce enough. So why don’t you deepen that fear and awe a bit more?”

“If this matter had fallen to Master Ming instead, you probably wouldn’t even have had a chance to speak,” San Jin said quietly. “Didn’t you always say Sanniang is even more frightening than Master Ming? Then why provoke her?”

The anger in Zhao Hu’s heart gradually subsided. San Jin smiled. “That’s right. You’re just too hasty in your actions. Slow down and all will be well.”

Zhao Hanzhang’s relationship with the Zhao clan hadn’t deteriorated, but her reputation for respecting talented scholars from Xiping began spreading among the aristocracy.

Upon learning of this, Zhao Song had a mountain villager take a piece of gold to reward San Jin, saying, “Fortunately Seventh Brother has San Jin by his side, or he would have squandered the family fortune long ago.”

Even Zhao Ming, returning from the mines, praised him: “San Jin is excellent.”

Zhao Ming had no intention of letting outsiders see the family’s disgrace, so as soon as he returned, he immediately set about rectifying the clan’s conduct. He called the heads of each branch for a scolding, saying, “Go back and properly discipline your households and individuals. No one is permitted to cause trouble outside. If anyone commits an offense, not only will our Zhao clan not protect them, we’ll deal with them severely. If you’re hoping to pull strings through the Provincial Governor, you’ll have to step over my body first!”

“Conduct nurtures character. Our Zhao clan was established on the principle of righteousness. If Zhao Hanzhang dares to show favoritism to clan members or commit unrighteous acts, I’ll be the first to expel her from the clan.”

Everyone bowed their heads silently, not daring to speak.

After scolding them, Zhao Ming said, “She’ll be leaving Xiping soon. Then I’ll be in charge of all of Runan Commandery. I’ll say this ugly truth now—anyone who bullies others relying on their position, unless they’re certain they can hide it from me for life, otherwise I’ll chop off their claws.”

Everyone knew Zhao Ming meant what he said and bowed their heads in acknowledgment.

When Zhao Hu learned of this, he felt rather hopeless about life. “This is truly being caught between a wolf in front and a tiger behind. He was already domineering before he became commandery governor—now he’s even more so.”

After Zhao Hu finished quietly badmouthing Zhao Ming to San Jin, he asked, “How is that Fang Jing’s glass greenhouse coming along?”

“I heard it’s already more than half built and will be finished soon.”

“What about ours?”

“Following your instructions, we’ve set aside the window replacement work and are building the greenhouse first. It should be finished around the same time as Fang Jing’s.”