Fu Tinghan watched his retreating back and asked in confusion, “Why did you change your mind?”

Earlier she had clearly looked ready to kill as an example to others.

Zhao Hanzhang said, “I’ve already killed people. From today’s observations, he was indeed frightened, but before I arrived, he still violated orders both overtly and covertly, not even maintaining surface compliance.”

“So killing him won’t accomplish much,” Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze darkened, “Since we’re going to kill, let’s kill someone significant.”

Fu Tinghan didn’t ask who she planned to kill, but asked, “You plan to use him?”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, “Use him temporarily. Look at this weather.”

Fu Tinghan turned to look outside, seeing the sky dark and overcast, black clouds pressing down, the north wind blowing in waves that made one’s bones ache with cold.

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Heavy snow is coming.”

Fu Tinghan’s heart sank. Heavy snow at this time…

“Who knows how many refugees are outside, or what the local people’s situation is like. Beheading a county magistrate is simple—once he’s dead, he’s dead. But who will prepare relief supplies for me and organize the local people for self-rescue?” Zhao Hanzhang said, “He’s capable, so let’s keep him for now.”

Then she said through gritted teeth, “Capable yet refusing to act, letting the situation worsen day by day—truly detestable!”

She really wanted to give him a beating.

Fu Tinghan’s emotions showed little fluctuation. He said, “In this era, isn’t this attitude toward handling affairs the norm?”

Zhao Hanzhang lowered her eyes in thought, “So our administrative reform must start with attitude. At minimum, we need them to establish the correct attitude.”

“Hmph, what a coincidence. Let’s start with Nanyang Kingdom then.”

Zhao Hanzhang went directly to write orders. After stamping them, she had Qiu Wu send them to various places, with one copy to be sent back to Chen County for Ji Yuan to issue orders to other commanderies and kingdoms.

By evening, snowflakes were flying down. Fan Ying returned through the wind and snow to report, “County Magistrate Gao arranged the refugees in several abandoned mansions in the county. He borrowed some bedding, thick clothing, charcoal and firewood from many wealthy households and pawnshops in the city. They can barely get through tonight.”

Zhao Hanzhang asked, “What about grain?”

“County Magistrate Gao used grain from the county office storehouses.”

Zhao Hanzhang sneered and said to him, “Tell Gao Cheng that tomorrow I want to audit the county office accounts. Have him prepare the ledgers for me.”

Fan Ying bowed and replied, “Yes.”

Gao Cheng was so busy his feet barely touched the ground. Hearing this terrible news, his vision darkened.

The chief clerk following him waited nervously until he had recovered somewhat before saying, “County Magistrate, we just appropriated grain from the storehouses today. The accounts aren’t balanced yet, and even if we report truthfully, the previous accounts also…”

Gao Cheng said angrily, “Do you think Zhao Hanzhang doesn’t know? That Fan Ying’s eyes are like two lanterns. We moved so much grain from the storehouses today—how could she not know?”

“She specifically told me to audit the accounts just to make me find my own way to raise relief grain, not to appropriate from the storehouses,” said Gao Cheng.

Though Gao Cheng knew this, he didn’t have the courage to refuse Zhao Hanzhang.

By now he had figured it out—his life was like a fish that had bitten Zhao Hanzhang’s hook. She was still considering whether to reel in the line. If she reeled it in, he would quickly become a dead fish. If she didn’t, he could live a bit longer with the hook in his mouth. Perhaps during this time, he could find a way to shake free from the hook, or she might mercifully remove it.

Gao Cheng wasn’t naive. He knew the latter possibility was almost zero, so he could only find his own way to break free. But before breaking free, he had to stay alive first.

So after the heartache passed, Gao Cheng gritted his teeth and said, “Go buy grain and fill the shortage in the county office storehouses.”

The money would naturally come from Gao Cheng.

The major households in Xi’e County who had grain were surprisingly cooperative. Seeing Gao Cheng frantically buying grain, they very considerately sold grain to him, though because of the disaster situation, grain prices had risen slightly.

However, Gao Cheng couldn’t be bothered to haggle. As long as he could balance the accounts and not let Zhao Hanzhang catch concrete evidence to casually behead him, that was enough.

Though when she beheaded him, she didn’t always need concrete evidence.

Zhao Hanzhang spent one evening reviewing Xi’e County’s recent official documents. She also looked through Xi’e County’s household registration and tax ledgers, gaining a preliminary understanding of Xi’e County’s situation.

Fu Tinghan was already sitting amid a pile of county records and ledgers.

Both were quite busy, but making time in their busy schedule, Zhao Hanzhang still met warmly with the county’s major households, learning more about Xi’e County and Nanyang Kingdom from them.

Nanyang Kingdom was a very special place.

A kingdom within a kingdom—one could see how important its geographical position was.

And precisely because it was so important, the counties within were somewhat uncontrollable. Everyone had their own ideas and didn’t much want to obey the orders of the Nanyang Kingdom Commandery Administrator.

Of course, the Nanyang Kingdom Commandery Administrator hadn’t had any good orders this time either. This time’s high commercial taxes on passing merchants and expulsion of refugees was led by him.

From Gao Cheng and the county’s major households, Zhao Hanzhang learned that the Nanyang Kingdom Commandery Administrator not only collected high taxes from passing merchants but also from them.

“He said Prince Nanyang needed to raise troops to protect Dajin, so he had to raise provisions.” Zhao Hanzhang kicked off her shoes and sat cross-legged on the mat in the style of this era, with a brazier by her feet. She sighed and said, “I wonder if Prince Nanyang truly has such great control in Nanyang Kingdom, or if Pei He is acting falsely in Prince Nanyang’s name.”

Fu Tinghan: “What do you plan to do?”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Regardless of whether this is Prince Nanyang’s intention or Pei He’s private actions, in Yuzhou, there can only be one will. And Nanyang Kingdom belongs to Yuzhou, so it must obey me!”

Zhao Hanzhang had made up her mind, “Pei He must be replaced.”

“But he’s a kingdom’s commandery administrator. Unlike with Administrator Zhang back then during wartime, you can’t just kill him,” Fu Tinghan knew that the official world had its rules. If Zhao Hanzhang wanted to attract talent, she had to observe certain rules.

She could kill a county magistrate for dereliction of duty, corruption and bribery, but she couldn’t use such reasons to kill a commandery administrator without trial.

Administrator Zhang had been an exception—it was wartime then, a life-or-death situation. Killing two more commandery administrators was acceptable, but not now.

Zhao Hanzhang knew this too.

Her fingertips tapped lightly as she suddenly raised her head and said, “Then I’ll make him voluntarily request resignation.”

“Mm?” Fu Tinghan looked up, puzzled.

Zhao Hanzhang said with her chin slightly raised, “I’ll make him voluntarily request resignation!”

The essence naturally lay in the word “make.” So the question was, how could she make Pei He voluntarily request resignation?

Zhao Hanzhang went to bed early. The next day she publicly announced that she had caught a cold and fallen ill, and would be closing her doors to recuperate.

But in reality, she led Qiu Wu in quietly leaving Xi’e County, taking only one hundred men to swiftly head toward Luyang.

In the main courtyard of the county office’s rear compound, only Fu Tinghan remained.

Even Zhao Erlang stayed with the soldiers. He rushed in like a gust of wind, his gaze sweeping the room. Not seeing his sister, he immediately went to find Fu Tinghan, “Brother-in-law, they say Elder Sister is sick. Where is she?”

Fu Tinghan said, “She took medicine and went to sleep.”

Seeing Zhao Erlang about to go look, he said, “The snow has been heavy these past days, and we’ve been traveling in the wind for days. You should have caught some cold too. Do you want to drink a bowl of medicine as prevention?”

Zhao Erlang immediately stood straight, looking left and right, “Brother-in-law, Elder Sister has me lead men to watch Gao Cheng closely and not let him pull any tricks. I’m going to watch him now. I’ll eat lunch with the troops and won’t come back.”

Then he ran off.

Fu Tinghan didn’t stop him either. He shook his head and lowered it to continue reading the county records in his hands.