When many people say something, even if it’s false, it slowly becomes true.

Lady Wang was trapped by the rumors. She even began doubting herself. Perhaps to escape this predicament, she became very strict about Zhao Erlang’s education, and her personality gradually became forceful and extreme. At the slightest disturbance, she suspected the other party of mocking her for harming relatives.

Zhao Hezhen learned to read expressions and hide her true nature in this environment.

From her mother’s experience, she understood how important reputation was. Therefore, she cherished her feathers and always presented a virtuous appearance to outsiders.

Zhao Changyu also valued the education of his granddaughter and grandson. Not only because he had promised Zhao Zhi, but also because they were the Zhao clan’s future—and not just Zhao Hezhen and her brother, but also Zhao Ji’s several children, whom he educated the same way.

However, to deal with Empress Jia, he rarely openly concerned himself with the education of his nephews and grand-nephews. After all, he and his second brother had a poor relationship.

Zhao Changyu truly did worry more about Zhao Hezhen and her brother.

From when Zhao Zhi could speak, Zhao Changyu and Lady Wang taught him poetry and prose. Of course, they only had him recite and memorize, not expecting him to recognize or write the characters.

Zhao Zhi was indeed intelligent. By age three, he could already recite many poems and prose pieces.

At that time, Zhao Changyu had a carpenter carve commonly used characters into wooden blocks, making them round. He personally drew images on the other side of the blocks according to each character’s meaning.

Zhao Zhi played with these for two years. By the time he began formal education at five, he could already recognize most commonly used characters and recite them clearly.

Zhao Changyu taught Zhao Erlang the same way.

He even used the same set of tools.

But while his father would happily clap his little hands and recite the characters on the blocks, Zhao Erlang would quickly grab the blocks and throw them far away. The farther he threw them, the happier he became. His little hands clapped like dragonfly wings, nearly creating afterimages.

Zhao Changyu’s heart ached deeply.

If not for Lady Wang’s deep affection for her son, and Zhao Erlang’s little face being a replica of his father’s childhood appearance, he would definitely suspect this grandson had been switched.

By comparison, his granddaughter’s reading and character recognition were very much like the Zhao family.

Like Zhao Zhi, by age five she could already recognize most commonly used characters and had memorized quite a bit of poetry and prose.

When Zhao Erlang turned five, Zhao Hezhen’s studies had already surpassed Zhao Yi’s. Even Zhao Zhongyu couldn’t help but take notice.

Zhao Zhongyu paid attention to her, let alone Zhao Changyu.

At this time, Lady Wang was trapped in rumors. Zhao Changyu could manage surface matters but not what was hidden.

People didn’t speak in front of him. If he brought it up himself, it would seem like guilty conscience.

Seeing his granddaughter affected by this, becoming increasingly quiet, he specially summoned her and asked: “In your view, is your mother a good person?”

Zhao Hezhen answered without thinking: “Mother is of course a good person.”

Zhao Changyu smiled: “Do you think your grandfather is a good person?”

The still-young Zhao Hezhen, despite being very good at concealment, still paused before saying: “Grandfather is of course also a good person.”

Zhao Changyu laughed: “You also feel Grandfather isn’t quite a good person, a good grandfather. But why does no one in the clan dare spread rumors about me?”

Zhao Hezhen was puzzled about this point, so she didn’t refute but instead looked at him with an expression eager for answers.

Zhao Changyu said: “Because Grandfather has great ability and great power. They not only respect me but also fear me.”

He spoke very slowly, pausing in the middle to give her time to think. “Sanniang, if you don’t want people to gossip about you or be swept up in rumors, you must either have a sage-like reputation, or make them fear you, make them depend on you so they must submit to your authority.”

“If you can’t first have reputation then authority, then become someone who first has authority, then reputation. This way, no one will dare gossip about you.”

Zhao Hezhen pondered deeply. That day, she stayed in her grandfather’s study for a long time.

Zhao Changyu not only taught Zhao Hezhen the way of living and governing, but for the first time mentioned Zhao Erlang’s obstinate mind.

“Erlang will probably have difficulty becoming enlightened in this life. Fortunately, his health is good. In the future, you siblings will support each other and should be able to live peacefully.”

Although Zhao Erlang was only five, from when he learned to speak until now, he had been studying for over three years. To this day, he still couldn’t pick out even the simplest character “big.”

Although Zhao Changyu hadn’t completely given up hope, he had already begun laying groundwork for their future.

If Zhao Erlang truly was foolish…

“In the future, you will be his limbs and brain, while he is your torso,” Zhao Changyu said. “You can use the Zhao clan’s resources and connections through him.”

He had planned it well. It didn’t matter if his grandson was stupid—his granddaughter was intelligent. They were bound not only by blood but also by mutual interests.

This world naturally favored males. Whether Zhao Hezhen admitted it or not, even if her brother was foolish, his words carried more weight in the clan than hers. Externally, between her and her brother, the brother better represented the Zhao clan.

So she could stand behind Zhao Erlang, like an empress dowager ruling from behind the curtain, remotely controlling him.

Until this point, Zhao Changyu still preferred Zhao Erlang as his heir.

He still had confidence in his own bloodline. He thought that even if Zhao Erlang was stupid, he should at least be able to recognize some characters and know right from wrong. The internal strife within the Zhao clan wasn’t as fierce as in major clans like the Wang family. With his granddaughter’s intelligence, she should be able to manage.

He had planned well but didn’t anticipate sudden changes.

The contradiction between him and Zhao Zhongyu grew deeper and deeper. What began as pretense slowly became real—or perhaps it was never entirely pretense. The brothers had always had some conflicts.

Besides this, more importantly, Empress Jia had died, but her death didn’t end Great Jin’s chaos. Instead, it made Great Jin even more chaotic.

In the ninth year of Yuankang’s winter reign, Empress Jia wrongly executed the Crown Prince. But less than three months later, she was poisoned by Sima Lun. Less than a year later, three princes rose up against Sima Lun, and he too was killed…

In just over a year, the capital was razed three times. In three major upheavals, over 200,000 people died. Countless prestigious families in Luoyang were exterminated.

Even capable and renowned men like Zhang Hua and Pei Wei were killed, their entire clans implicated.

Zhao Changyu had hovered on the edge of death three times. Only now did he overturn his original plans.

In such times, if he left the family business to Zhao Erlang and Zhao Hezhen, could the siblings truly preserve the family business, preserve their lives, preserve the entire Zhao clan?

Almost without thinking, the currently coerced, plundered, imprisoned, and deposed Emperor was a ready example.

The Emperor had ascended the throne, Sima Yue had taken total control of government, but Luoyang still wasn’t stable. He almost didn’t control his subordinate generals, so the army acted like bandits, plundering people everywhere. There were also scattered soldiers who hadn’t been suppressed. Therefore, Luoyang refused refugees entry. Among the city’s people, unless they had to go out to make a living, no one went outside the city.

It was at this time that Zhao Erlang was tricked outside the city.

By the time Zhao Hezhen found out, he was already at the city gate. She could only hurry to chase after him.

Zhao Hezhen fell from her horse and was injured, then carried back home. Zhao Changyu knew immediately.

He immediately had people summon the imperial physician. In between, she once lost her breath and heartbeat. So even though the physician later said she only had broken bones and a concussion but nothing major, Zhao Changyu remained furiously angry.

He was willing to hand the family business to the second branch, but only while preserving the first branch.

The actions of Wu Shi and his grand-niece truly chilled his heart. What chilled him even more was that after learning the truth, Zhao Ji and Zhao Yi chose to conceal it, sweep away traces for the mother and daughter, and even turn against Lady Wang and her children.

Zhao Changyu felt cold to his teeth.

From this moment, he doubted his own decision. From this moment, he completely lost trust in Zhao Zhongyu and his son Zhao Ji.

So when his granddaughter, having shed her disguise and released her hidden nature, came to him, Zhao Changyu chose her, chose to defy all conventional wisdom.

Since the family business couldn’t be given to an imbecile, and giving it to the second branch would hardly end well, then why not just give it directly to his granddaughter?

Things like “women must eventually marry out” or “married-out daughters can’t take the family’s foundation”—he threw all this nonsense aside.

Rules in this world were only called rules when most people followed them. Otherwise, rules were meant to be broken.

The Emperor was supreme, but look at the late Emperor—where was he supreme in this life?

So even the ruler-minister relationship had been shattered. The ruler wasn’t ruler-like, ministers weren’t minister-like. What rule in this world couldn’t be broken?

But he couldn’t tell her these things openly. He could only divide the family business in two—one portion left to the Zhao clan, one portion given to his granddaughter.

The Zhao family’s wealth was mostly earned by Zhao Changyu, but it didn’t rely on him alone.

These years he had been busy with court affairs. While he led the general direction in money-making matters, the actual work was basically done by his stewards.

And his stewards basically all came from the Zhao clan.

Many businesses were also jointly managed by Zhao clan members.

Zhao Changyu was very wealthy, but he kept a low profile. Outsiders couldn’t calculate exactly how much money he had, but each time the Emperor faced trouble, it was he who produced money to smooth things over.

Previously when Chang’an was fought over several times, the Emperor was in Chang’an then. When Zhao Changyu was with him in Chang’an, there was no famine.

Later when the Emperor was brought back to Luoyang, Luoyang was also fought over several times. Countless commoners died, farmland was destroyed. But with Zhao Changyu in Luoyang, there was also no famine.

Conversely, Chang’an—not long after Zhao Changyu left, famine began.

People privately speculated that Zhao Changyu still had much money and grain, definitely more than in the state treasury.

Even Sima Yue couldn’t help casting a sideways glance at this fortune.