Zhao Changyu: “The mortal realm just finished fighting a war and everything is in ruins. Life won’t be good for at least ten years. Reincarnating now, no matter how good the family, one can’t avoid suffering. I’ve suffered enough in my previous life – I don’t want to suffer again in the next.”

So he would wait – wait until the nation was peaceful and the people secure before reincarnating. Then he could just be a happy, carefree son of a wealthy family.

Zhao Zhongyu couldn’t help but snort lightly: “Elder brother was born noble – when did you ever suffer?”

The one who suffered was him, wasn’t it?

Zhao Changyu glanced at him: “I didn’t suffer? Did you suffer then? Do you know what kind of life our Zhao family lived before? You think the life of servants at your beck and call existed from childhood? Hah, let me tell you – I saved it up coin by coin!”

Zhao Zhongyu’s face flushed red. He couldn’t speak words of rebuttal.

The Zhao family’s direct line had an excellent tradition – serving as officials with integrity, true integrity.

Zhao Changyu was born the eldest legitimate son. At that time the Zhao clan already had very high reputation in the Runan area, and throughout the nation’s aristocratic circles their name was illustrious.

What the Zhao clan was most praised for was serving as officials with integrity, outstanding ability, and winning people’s hearts.

This tradition started with their grandfather. The Zhao clan’s accumulation of reputation also began with their grandfather.

Their grandfather was Grand Minister of Ceremonies under Cao Wei, enfeoffed by Emperor Ming of Wei as Marquis of Xiling Village. He served with integrity – at that time life was hard, and to make ends meet, he even had to sell fields and mansions.

By Zhao Changyu’s father’s generation, he served equally with integrity. He was additionally enfeoffed as Earl of Shangcai, generous and magnanimous in character, but never took a single penny from the people. Instead he often distributed wealth, helping neighbors and friends. All who came seeking help, his father would lend a hand.

When Zhao Changyu was born, life at home was very difficult – income couldn’t cover expenses, and the Zhao family’s days weren’t actually very good.

But he couldn’t just throw people out the door – he still had to make proper arrangements.

Otherwise, he feared this younger brother wouldn’t survive to adulthood.

He was also intelligent, famous throughout Yuzhou from youth. All who met him praised him.

Therefore, from youth Zhao Zhongyu consciously restrained his words and conduct.

In life, he also wasn’t extravagant – wearing one set of clothes for three or four years, wearing them happily even when washed thin. His diet was also mostly light vegetarian food. The Zhao family’s money was saved up coin by coin like this by him.

Opening up income streams by taking in refugees to farm, opening shops, forming merchant caravans; reducing expenditures by decreasing household servants and maids, planting fruit trees in the garden, planting flowers that could be picked for medicine. To save money, he bought furs in summer and stored ice in winter. Because there were many servants, he personally cut ice from the river in winter and wove palm-leaf fans and rush mats in summer.

He served in local office but never bought land or opened shops where he held office, carefully maintaining his integrity, serving as an upright official. Wherever he served, the economy developed rapidly and the people lived in peace and contentment.

He was so frugal precisely to uphold ancestral will. Yet this foolish younger brother, afraid others wouldn’t know the family had money, like their father foolishly generous, would give money to help anyone who asked.

Zhao Zhongyu couldn’t speak. He was indeed somewhat… well, easy to soft-heartedly help people.

Fortunately Zhao Changyu didn’t know Zhao Zhongyu’s thoughts, otherwise he would certainly vomit blood. From childhood beaten down and rebuked by his brother, losing face before so many others – he called that fraternal love?

Zhao Zhongyu: “…”

Zhao Changyu didn’t always ask questions, but when he did, he tried to avoid overwhelming the person with more than one question per response. He did his best to address Zhao Zhongyu’s concerns, even if ambiguous, before asking for clarification or additional information.

Zhao Zhongyu said earnestly: “We’re brothers – I still hope you can reincarnate into a good family. Calculate the timing well. After receiving one more national worship, then go reincarnate – you might just enter a good family.”

Zhao Changyu felt somewhat embarrassed. The past few days he had asked ghost officers about reincarnation. Recent years the mortal realm’s conditions had improved greatly. Ghosts coming down from the mortal realm also said that now ordinary common folk could eat their fill, few saw refugees outside, and even bandits had decreased.

“However, one still shouldn’t choose this time to reincarnate.”

The ghost officers’ explanations made it clear – reincarnation could only change fate, not increase intelligence. Better to carefully choose a simple, honest wealthy family to reincarnate into.

Zhao Changyu: “Why not?”

“The mortal realm just finished a great war. Though everything is developing for the better, it takes time to fully recover. If you reincarnate now, even into a good family, you’ll still be born during recovery period, and childhood won’t be easy.”

Zhao Zhongyu said: “The next few years will see peace and tranquility. If we wait a bit longer, reincarnating then – born during a golden age – wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

This made sense. Zhao Changyu thought about it and felt it reasonable.

He who admired and looked up to most was his own grandfather Zhao Wen. Many of his behaviors unconsciously learned from Zhao Wen, yet he corrected aspects criticized by others and considered trouble-making.

For instance, Zhao Wen also served with integrity and wasn’t greedy, but never used his power and position to amass wealth. His wealth all came through proper channels.

Most crucially, raising them well so they could occasionally give dreams to still-living descendants, having them support Sanniang and help Sanniang.

Though reborn, he might not necessarily choose this time. The mortal realm’s conditions had greatly improved recently. Common folk could finally live peacefully. If reincarnating now, his entire childhood would be during the recovery period. Though not impossible, it was still somewhat hard.

Madam Wang didn’t need mentioning – why would he go into his daughter-in-law’s dreams?

Both agreed not to reincarnate for now and to continue accumulating merit in the underworld.