Zhao Hanzhang pulled Fu Tinghan out of Fifth Grand-Uncle’s home, following the alley to see the bustling main street outside, and invited him, “Shall we take a look around?”

Fu Tinghan also wanted to see the difference between a fortress economy and a typical town, so he nodded.

Fu’an and Ting He were tidying up at the old residence. Seeing the two had no one attending them, servants from the Zhao residence wanted to follow, but Zhao Hanzhang waved them off. “In our own family fortress, who would dare bully us? No need to follow.”

The servants bowed in acknowledgment and watched the two walk away.

Once they were far enough, Fu Tinghan spoke up. “Zhao Ming is truly formidable.”

Zhao Hanzhang: “It’s just a pity his ambition isn’t great enough, otherwise he could completely replace Zhao Ji.”

“However, Zhao Zhongyu’s ability is not weak. Even if he currently lacks prestige, for stability’s sake, the Zhao family won’t consider changing clan leaders,” Zhao Hanzhang pondered for a moment. “But now Prince Donghai has already taken the emperor and fled the capital. Who knows what the future holds.”

She continued, “If the situation deteriorates in the future, they’ll probably migrate south. At that time, Zhao Zhongyu will likely bring the clan members along. When that happens, moving might actually be worse than staying put. Zhao Ming’s thinking isn’t wrong.”

Fu Tinghan: “Will you migrate south?”

“In five or six years, we should have already found our way back, right? If we still haven’t, then we probably can’t return. We’ll see when the time comes—go with the flow, prioritizing safety.”

Zhao Hanzhang thought very openly. This was her judgment based on the history she knew, but Zhao Song didn’t know this history.

So what they did was address matters as they arose.

Zhao Ming, reeking of alcohol, entered the study. Zhao Song glared at him irritably. “Drinking during the day, doing nothing productive—are you still young?”

Zhao Ming found a spot on the mat to sit cross-legged and poured himself a cup of tea, downing it in one gulp. “Your son is sobering up right now. Don’t be angry, old man.”

Zhao Song: …This made him feel even angrier. What should he do?

Zhao Ming set down his teacup and wiped his mouth. “What did you want to discuss? Is it about organizing the clan property and the businesses Elder Uncle entrusted to us, then handing them over to the clan leader? I’ll go do it right away.”

“Stop right there!” Zhao Song said irritably. “Don’t you even ask who will manage it before handing it over?”

Zhao Ming replied helplessly, “Father, Tan Zhong has already moved into the fortress. Your son isn’t deaf—I naturally heard about it.”

Zhao Song frowned. “Just hand it over like that?”

“The clan property should be managed by the clan leader. Most of Elder Uncle’s former assets were given to the clan leader and Zhao Ji. If we don’t hand them over, are we going to have a long-distance legal dispute with the clan leader’s branch?” Zhao Ming said. “Now the Jin court is in trouble, with constant disputes at court. It’s best not to distract the clan leader with clan affairs at this time. Let him do as he wishes.”

Zhao Ming paused, then continued, “Actually, your son thinks the clan leader may not truly want to hand all the businesses to advisors for management. It’s just that he’s currently short on funds, and having just become clan leader, it’s awkward to ask Father directly, so he wants to take the assets and raise some capital.”

“Hmph, Sanniang exchanged all the fields and shops in the Luoyang area to him. Not to mention the value of those properties and storefronts, just the inventory and ready cash from the shops—isn’t that enough for his expenses? Why does he need to come back to the clan to raise money? Your elder uncle never did such things when he was in charge.”

“Father, wasn’t this an unexpected situation? Sanniang also said that when the incident happened suddenly, the clan leader went to the palace and directly fled with the emperor. Sanniang and the others stayed at home and could only pack up the family’s valuables, which they ended up losing completely. As for the shop inventory—forget about them not being able to return to Luoyang now, even if they could, would there be anything left?”

Seeing Zhao Song remained silent, Zhao Ming consoled him, “Why would the clan leader rather hand assets to advisors than the clan? Isn’t it because you and the clan leader have a mediocre relationship, Father? You question the clan leader at every turn and restrict him everywhere. Why should he hand assets over to you?”

“When Elder Uncle was in charge and he needed money, did you respond to him this way?”

Zhao Song’s eyes widened, his temper flaring up instantly. “You’re lecturing your own father?”

Zhao Ming sighed helplessly. “Your son is trying to reason with you. See, you’re being unreasonable again, aren’t you?”

“I’m just being unreasonable,” Zhao Song said furiously, stomping his foot in anger. “I refuse to hand it over to him. Hmph, Luoyang has erupted in war now, making the shops and fields there seem worthless, but there was no war when he exchanged them with Sanniang!”

“He’s an elder, his son has inherited the title, and Elder Brother gave him all the ancestral property. What more does he want? He actually had the nerve to trick Sanniang into exchanging those properties, then turn around and shamelessly tell me the fields and shops in Runan were gifts to Sanniang,” Zhao Song slapped his own face. “I’m so embarrassed for him. Good thing I didn’t speak up earlier, or as an elder I’d have no face in front of Sanniang. And Fu Changrong is here too—this isn’t just losing Zhao Zhongyu’s face, this is losing face for our entire Runan Zhao clan!”

Zhao Ming listened and, after brief consideration, nodded. “Indeed quite shameful.”

Zhao Song’s anger subsided a bit. He exhaled and said, “So you understand how shameful it is now?”

“But we still can’t act impulsively. You still haven’t said how to resolve this,” Zhao Ming directly raised the core issue. “Right now the clan leader is short on funds, plus there’s the matter of the ancestral property, clan property, and his private property in his hands—how do we resolve it?”

Zhao Song: …How infuriating. He couldn’t stand hearing anything related to Zhao Zhongyu right now, yet he had no choice but to deal with it.

He sat back down on the mat, huffing and puffing in anger. After a long while, he said, “Tomorrow take them to see the harvest in the fields. My idea is that his private property can be managed by his advisors, but not the ancestral and clan properties.”

He looked at Zhao Ming, frowning. “I’m thinking the land properties near Sanniang’s fields should be given to her to manage. She can pay him an annual tenant rent, and the rest will still be managed by the clan. What do you think?”

Zhao Ming: “…Father, was this Sanniang’s suggestion?”

“Of course not. I thought of it myself and haven’t told Sanniang yet.”

“Why would Sanniang do such a thankless task? If she profits from it, aren’t you afraid that when the clan leader returns, relations between our family and Sanniang’s will deteriorate even further?”

“But we can’t just follow his wishes completely. How can we hand so much ancestral and clan property over to advisors for management?” Zhao Song said. “Never mind your elder uncle—even the previous generation never handed clan business over to outsiders.”

“But we can’t give it to Sanniang either,” Zhao Ming said. “Sanniang is already of that age. In another two years she’ll be married off.”

“There’s still Erlang, isn’t there?” Zhao Song replied. “This isn’t being given to Sanniang, it’s being given to Erlang.”

At the end of the day, Zhao Song still felt sorry for Zhao Erlang, thinking that as Zhao Changyu’s grandson he had only received such a small portion of assets, much of which had to be placed in Sanniang’s dowry first.

When had the Zhao clan’s descendants ever needed to be so constrained?

Zhao Ming looked at his father helplessly. “Father, you both underestimate Sanniang and trust her too much.”

Zhao Song looked at him with disdain. “You’re the one who underestimates your elder uncle. Since he dared to put Erlang’s assets under Sanniang’s management, it shows he absolutely trusts Sanniang.”

Put simply, Zhao Song trusted Zhao Changyu.

—