Because she was a young woman, although they had her read and memorize the clan genealogy, they hadn’t explained other clans to her in much detail.

Looking at how she memorized their own genealogy showed this, and sometimes when scholars came to pledge allegiance, she still needed Zhao Ming to prompt her from the side before she knew who was who.

This was very bad—it made her appear less than intelligent.

So Zhao Ming decisively wrote to Ji Yuan, instructing him to find someone in Luoyang who could teach Zhao Hanzhang.

Since she harbored such aspirations, even though he hadn’t yet agreed, she still needed to learn the necessary skills and acquire the relevant knowledge.

Otherwise, with her current rashness, pulling up radishes and bringing mud with them, who knew how many people she might inadvertently offend?

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t think she needed to act according to aristocratic families’ preferences, but background knowledge—well, understanding more of it wouldn’t hurt. As they say, know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll never be defeated.

Relationships between clans weren’t just simple matters of who was whose maternal uncle or whose second uncle. They also involved who did what under what circumstances, resulting in feuds or favors or other connections.

This was completely a combination of a certain Q&A platform and a certain microblog—a gossip-lover’s paradise that could totally be enjoyed as stories.

The premise being that the other party didn’t require her to categorize, summarize, and then recite all this from memory.

Ji Yuan searched all around Luoyang and finally fixed his gaze on Wang Huifeng and Wang Siniang.

Wang Huifeng needless to say—she was a Wang family woman, widely read with excellent memory, and had been the former Crown Princess. In terms of understanding relationships between the world’s clans today, she probably surpassed even the Emperor.

Even the people currently around the Emperor couldn’t match this former Crown Princess who had received specialized education, handled numerous palace affairs, and even dealt with Empress Jia.

So Ji Yuan immediately selected her. As for Wang Siniang…

She was a study companion.

Ji Yuan had long anticipated this would be tedious work. If no one accompanied Zhao Hanzhang, she probably wouldn’t persist long.

And given her temperament and position, if she truly decided not to study, besides crying, Ji Yuan had no other recourse. To avoid crying, Ji Yuan found her a study companion early.

He also told Wang Siniang, “Your task is to keep the Commander studying more and studying longer. Only when she’s fully learned everything Teacher Wang knows about the clans can you stop.”

The reason Wang Xing came up today was first because Wang Huifeng mentioned the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, and second because all the good-looking people had been sent out this time, leaving among the young officials at the Governor’s office only Wang Xing to handle matters.

How pitiful indeed.

Zhao Hanzhang ground ink, picked up her brush, and continued seriously attending class, writing down the names Wang Huifeng mentioned while noting their main deeds beside them.

When Wang Huifeng finished today’s lesson, Zhao Hanzhang had someone invite her to rest and eat before leaving, then grabbed Wang Siniang who was also rising to withdraw, hiding in a corner to whisper, “Your great-uncle was very stingy?”

Wang Siniang first glanced outside, and seeing her sister had disappeared at the end of the corridor, immediately nodded and raised her voice. “Absolutely! When I was small and went with my brothers and sisters for New Year visits, he never gave us New Year’s money. When my parents gave my cousins New Year’s money, he’d turn around and take it away, claiming to keep it for them.”

“His family used to have a plum tree that bore decent fruit. If my brother and I wanted to eat them, we still had to pay him. This angered my brother so much that he secretly took us to steal them several times. Unfortunately we got caught once, and my brother had to pay a lot of money before the matter was settled.”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “…How stingy must someone be to have a plum tree at home?”

Wang Siniang laughed heartily. “I just remembered—your family had a plum tree too! Oh right, there were rumors that the plum tree at his house was grown from a pit from your family’s tree. Unfortunately, the taste still didn’t match yours. By the way, what happened to your family’s plum tree later?”

Zhao Hanzhang waved dismissively. “Don’t mention it—my maternal grand-uncle had it cut down.”

Wang Siniang said, “What a pity.”

“You’re telling me!” Zhao Hanzhang pulled her closer. “Tell me more about this great-uncle of yours—his marriage connections, old friends, and all the relationships you can mention.”

Wang Siniang leaned aside, looking at her suspiciously. “Why are you suddenly interested in my great-uncle?”

“Isn’t it just because we happened to be talking about this?” Zhao Hanzhang said, “You also know how complex and difficult to memorize clan relationships are. Today I spent all my energy just memorizing Shan Tao’s family relatives and my brain is stiff. Eventually it will come to your great-uncle too—having a ready example makes it easier to memorize.”

Wang Siniang hesitated. “But he is my elder after all. Occasionally saying something improper is one thing, but specifically discussing this ancestor’s faults isn’t good, is it?”

“Then talk about his good points.”

Wang Siniang and she locked eyes. Zhao Hanzhang blinked, incredulous. “He was one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove after all—surely he wasn’t completely without merits?”

Wang Siniang said somewhat awkwardly, “I wasn’t close to this great-uncle, and I was young. When I spent time with him, the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove had long since fallen apart.”

Wang Siniang paused, then gritted her teeth and said, “But if you’re interested, why not save someone—she might be able to tell you more.”

Zhao Hanzhang asked, “Who?”

“Pei Dun’s daughter, Pei Yuanjun,” Wang Siniang pressed her lips together. “She’s the same age as my second sister and was once betrothed to my eldest cousin Wang Sui. She’s currently living with Pei family clan members. This time she was fortunate and was rescued along with us when you brought us back.”

Perhaps it really was improper to speak ill of elders—some petty stingy gossip was one thing, but more serious matters Wang Siniang felt uncomfortable discussing, so she left it at that.

Zhao Hanzhang could only ask Ji Yuan.

Compared to Wang Siniang, Ji Yuan was much more straightforward, saying directly, “Pei Dun’s daughter—I actually know about her.”

His gaze first dropped to look at Zhao Hanzhang, then he said, “Years ago your grandfather had intentions of seeking a marriage with the Pei family woman for your father.”

In other words, if successful, there would be no Zhao Hanzhang or Zhao Erlang.

Zhao Hanzhang: …

She asked curiously, “Then this Lady Pei must be very virtuous.”

Ji Yuan had already been at Zhao Changyu’s side back then. Hearing this, he nodded. “Indeed. She has a reputation for virtue, often reads books, and has a gentle and benevolent nature. However, at that time the Wang family was powerful—Wang Rong was Minister of Education—so the Pei family chose the Wang family.”

“Unfortunately, Wang Sui died young. At that time Lady Pei had not yet married. Wang Rong, grieving his eldest son’s death, declared that Lady Pei must remain faithful to his memory and forbade anyone from seeking her hand.” Ji Yuan continued, “The Wang family was powerful, and no one dared defy his wishes, so Lady Pei remained in her chambers awaiting marriage, never wedding. To this day, she’s reached considerable age.”

Zhao Hanzhang pressed her lips together. “I didn’t know the Wang family had such a story. Isn’t Wang Yan supposed to be a renowned gentleman? Did he just stand by and do nothing?”

Ji Yuan scoffed derisively without courtesy, then said, “You used to despise Wang Yan for neglecting court affairs, but didn’t realize—this behavior started with Wang Rong.”

He sighed. “If we trace to the root, the disaster originated with the Sima clan.”

—