The group quickened their pace. After walking for less than two quarters of an hour, they spotted houses. This appeared to be a small town—the dwellings were scattered sparsely at first, but following the terrain upward, one could see wisps of cooking smoke rising. Clearly, this was a large village.

Several families living at the village entrance heard the commotion and poked their heads out to look. Seeing so many people and horses, they were startled and immediately slammed their doors shut with a bang, hiding inside their homes.

Zhao Hanzhang heard the loud thud and looked in the direction of the sound. She saw a young man stealthily climbing over a courtyard wall, avoiding their line of sight as he ran toward the village.

Seeing this, Zhao Hanzhang raised her hand to halt everyone. After surveying the surroundings, she pointed to an open field beside them and said, “We’ll camp here tonight. Uncle Qianli, maintain discipline among everyone—no one is to enter the village and disturb the villagers.”

Her gaze fell on the refugees following behind them. She said to Chengbo, “Distribute some steamed buns to them and tell them that if they want to follow us, they must obey the rules. Anyone who commits murder or theft will be treated as a rogue soldier.”

Chengbo acknowledged the order. He took out the grain bag, thought for a moment, then divided out half to distribute.

Zhao Hanzhang helped Wang Shi dismount and found a rock for her to sit on. “Mother, do you still have anything valuable on you?”

Wang Shi: “…”

She instinctively touched the hairpin on her head, looking at her daughter. She still tapped her forehead and scolded in a low voice, “You really are here to collect debts.”

She removed it and gave it to her, whispering, “So much of our family’s wealth has been plundered, we can barely eat ourselves, yet you’re still so carelessly generous.”

Zhao Hanzhang smiled at her ingratiatingly.

Wang Shi’s face was full of worry. “I don’t know if Master Ji safely brought your dowry back to Runan. If something happened… then what we have on us now would be the family’s only possessions. You mustn’t be so extravagant.”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Don’t worry, Mother. I know what I’m doing.”

Zhao Hanzhang rummaged through their only trunk but couldn’t find anything of value. She could only wrap the hairpin in a handkerchief to make it look more valuable.

Fu Tinghan saw this and reached out to take the hairpin, unfastening the jade pendant from his waist and giving it to her. “This will work better.”

Zhao Hanzhang took it and saw the characters on the jade pendant. She returned it, shaking her head. “No, this jade pendant is too fine, and it has your surname on it. An elder in your family must have carved it for you.”

Fu Tinghan insisted on handing it to her. “Take it. If you want to trade for grain, how can you show enough sincerity without something substantial?”

Zhao Hanzhang thought for a moment and accepted it. “I’ll redeem it for you later.”

Fu Tinghan smiled slightly.

Zhao Dian led people out to find a water source. They brought water back and found some firewood. The villagers finally arrived, led by the young man who had gone to report.

The villagers all carried wooden clubs, hoes, and kitchen knives, but didn’t dare approach too closely. Seeing that they were camping at the village entrance without entering the village, they immediately stopped and hid their clubs and knives behind their backs.

An old man and a middle-aged man walking at the front paused, then immediately turned to tell the villagers to stop. The two came forward together and bowed to Chengbo, saying, “We don’t know which distinguished guest is in charge here?”

Though they asked this way, their eyes looked directly at Fu Tinghan.

Fu Tinghan, however, looked straight at Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Hanzhang stood up, approached with a smile, and bowed first. “We apologize for disturbing you, Elder.”

Chengbo immediately said, “This is our young mistress. She is the one in charge of the group.”

The elder was slightly surprised but didn’t dare underestimate Zhao Hanzhang. He saw the coffin being protected in the center of the group and asked, “May we know the young mistress’s name, where you’re from, where you’ve come from, and where you’re going?”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Sanniang is from the Zhao clan of Runan. We came from Luoyang. My grandfather passed away, so we’re escorting his coffin back to our ancestral home. We happened to pass through your honored place and have disturbed you and the villagers. Please forgive us for any inconvenience.”

The elder was startled and couldn’t help looking at the coffin again.

The term “hong” for death was not one just anyone could use.

Apart from the empress dowagers and princes in the palace, only powerful nobles and marquises were qualified to use this word.

“May we know which ancestor you speak of? Since we’ve encountered this, we should also pay our respects.”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “My late ancestor was the Earl of Shangcai, the former Director of the Imperial Secretariat.”

The elder was shocked, and tears immediately welled up in his eyes. “So it’s Earl Zhao.”

He immediately pulled the middle-aged man forward to bow. Zhao Hanzhang quickly helped them up. “Elder, you honor us too much.”

The elder said with tears, “Earl Zhao deserves this courtesy. During the Yong’an year when warfare affected our area, our villages were plundered again and again. We could barely survive. It was Earl Zhao who came forward to restrain those soldiers who were pillaging everywhere, allowing us to avoid abandoning our homes. We all remember this kindness. We never imagined that our benefactor has actually…”

He asked tearfully, “When did our benefactor pass away?”

Zhao Hanzhang sighed, “Eight days ago.”

The elder looked at them, then at the coffin. How could he bear to let Zhao Changyu’s coffin remain outside exposed to the frost?

So he immediately had people set up a mourning tent in his family’s courtyard to house the coffin.

He pulled Zhao Hanzhang, insisting she come to his home as a guest.

Zhao Hanzhang quickly declined. “We’re only staying one night. There’s really no need to build a mourning tent.”

“If we let our benefactor sleep rough in our village, how could we have the face to continue living?”

Hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang could only follow them into the village.

Fu Tinghan followed behind her with a wooden expression, entering the village with everyone else.

The villagers’ attitude changed completely from their earlier wariness and hostility—they received them very warmly.

The mourning tent was quickly erected. As soon as Zhao Changyu’s coffin was carried inside, groups of villagers came to mourn, weeping heart-wrenchingly with tears and mucus flowing, more genuinely than Zhao Hanzhang, his own granddaughter.

Zhao Hanzhang stared in amazement.

The elder also went to cry for a while before returning with reddened eyes to receive them. He looked curiously at Fu Tinghan, who had been staying by Zhao Hanzhang’s side. “This gentleman is…”

“Oh, this is the fiancé my grandfather arranged for me. He’s also the eldest young master of the Fu family. Elder, you can call him Fu Dalang.”

Wang Shi was moved to sadness by the villagers’ crying. She also went with her son to cry before her father-in-law’s spirit, nearly fainting. Finally, Qinggu and Ting He supported her as she went to rest.

Zhao Erlang had been injured yesterday and had sat on horseback all day today. His waist and backside ached terribly, and he was so sleepy his eyes were about to close. In a daze, he followed his mother into the room.

The elder had been observing carefully. Seeing this, he sighed and had his daughter-in-law invite Zhao Hanzhang to go rest. He pulled his son aside to speak privately. “It should be genuine. I’ve heard that Earl Zhao’s grandson, like Emperor Hui, is simple-minded. Looking at their dress and manner of speaking, they don’t seem like frauds either.”

The middle-aged man asked, “Father’s meaning is?”

“I don’t think they’ll stay long. Since they’re not wicked people, let’s fulfill our duties as hosts. I see their luggage is scattered and there’s a group of refugees following them—most likely they escaped to avoid disaster. Let’s prepare some more grain and send them on their way properly.”

The old man sighed, “This both repays our debt of gratitude and prevents disaster from arising.”

The middle-aged man acknowledged and bowed before going to make preparations.

—