Chapter 73: Chapter 67: GiftZhao Hanzhang entered the room and signaled Ting He to close the door.

    Ting He glanced at Fu Tinghan, hesitating.

    Zhao Hanzhang realized and said to her, "Go invite Uncle Cheng and Uncle Qianli over, I have something to instruct."

    Only then did Ting He leave.

    Zhao Hanzhang took out his jade pendant, looked at it, and smiled as he handed it back to him, "No longer useful."

    Fu Tinghan accepted it, "Then what will you use for the exchange with them?"

    Uncle Cheng and Zhao Ju arrived, Zhao Hanzhang first spoke to Zhao Ju, "Uncle Qianli, restrain our people. We’ll stay here for one night and it’s best not to taint grandpa’s reputation."

    Zhao Ju agreed.

    Only then did Zhao Hanzhang instruct Uncle Cheng, "Second Son, the annotated copy of the Analects he used to read is kept by you, right? Bring it to me."

    Uncle Cheng was momentarily stunned and then hurriedly said, "Third Lady, Second Son hasn’t started reading this book yet. The annotations were specifically prepared by the Master for him."

    "I know. I intend to transcribe it, not give it away."

    Uncle Cheng finally breathed a sigh of relief, bowed down, and went to fetch the book.

    They didn’t have many books with them. Most of them were packed into Zhao Hanzhang’s dowry chests and taken by Ji Yuan.

    This particular copy was annotated by Zhao Changyu, who always wanted to personally teach Zhao Erlang. Unfortunately, Zhao Erlang hadn’t grasped it yet, still stuck on the first page of the "Thousand-Character Classic," so Zhao Changyu kept this book.

    When they escaped, Uncle Cheng treated this book as a treasure.

    Zhao Hanzhang dug out a stack of paper from the box and started cutting.

    Fu Tinghan helped her and casually picked up a bowl of ink, "Together?"

    Zhao Hanzhang nodded with a smile.

    The two, with nothing else to do, on a long night, found transcribing books a good way to induce sleepiness.

    They shared a table, opened the book, each transcribing a page, working quickly.

    This was not the complete Analects, consisting of three volumes. This was the first volume, meticulously annotated by Zhao Changyu.

    The Analects were hard to find, but the annotations even more so, especially those by Zhao Changyu. Its significance aside, it could easily fetch ten, even a hundred gold coins on the market.

    In this village where most people were illiterate, this book could be considered priceless.

    Upon entering, Zhao Hanzhang noticed the bald-bristled brushes in the adjoining room, indicating someone here read and wrote.

    Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan worked together for half the night, transcribing a volume of Analects annotations.

    Zhao Hanzhang arranged the pages, stacking them neatly on the desk, then looked at Fu Tinghan, who was nearly asleep, and tapped his shoulder, "Go rest."

    Fu Tinghan snapped awake, nodding as he left.

    Zhao Hanzhang lay on the bed, yawning, turned over, and fell into a deep sleep. Meanwhile, Mr. Chen, who was searching among the refugees for his family, encountered Mr. Jia, their neighbor. With teary eyes, the two embraced and cried.

    Mr. Jia: "Brother Chen, I didn’t expect you to survive, such joy!"

    "Brother Jia, I finally found you. Do you know where my family is?"

    "Over there," said Mr. Jia, "We only caught up with the main army at noon. But with so many refugees stretching miles, I heard your family has a brother working in the imperial guard, so they went to find him. We bumped into them at dusk; they should be over there."

    Mr. Jia, seeing Ji Ping and others behind him, muscular and strong, asked suspiciously, "Who are these people?"

    Mr. Chen hurriedly said, "They are honorable men I met on the road, thanks to whom I’m still alive to meet Brother Jia."

    Mr. Jia looked at him with envy.

    Mr. Chen quickly led Ji Ping to find his family.

    Mrs. Chen saw Mr. Chen and their daughter, excitement mixed with tears, she rushed forward, "Husband—"

    The children gathered around, the family embraced, crying together.

    Ji Ping: ...

    After crying, Mr. Chen turned to his cousin who looked displeased and wiped his tears before stepping forward, "Fourth Brother, I almost didn’t get to see you."

    Chen the fourth waited for him to finish crying before asking, "Who saved you?"

    His gaze fell on Ji Ping but sensed he wasn’t an ordinary vagabond or hero; he seemed to have military experience like himself.

    Mr. Chen pulled him aside, quietly recounting the events along the way.

    Chen the fourth looked at him in astonishment, "Zhao Zhongshu’s granddaughter?"

    "Yes, she is certainly extraordinary. She saved me too, Fourth Brother. Why not grant her a favor?"

    Chen the fourth asked, "Does she know her granduncle was promoted?"

    "Ah?"

    Chen the fourth pondered, "News from the main tent, today Zhao Zhongyu was promoted to Chief of Staff." Sёarch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Mr. Chen hurriedly said, "Fourth Brother, I see the relationship between Zhao Family’s first and second branches is unusual. Why don’t we treat them separately?"

    Chen the fourth heard his inclination and asked, "Do you think Zhao Family’s first branch can turn the tables on the second branch?"

    "More friends mean more options, besides, disregarding profits, she saved me and Second Lady’s lives, at least let’s repay her..."

    Chen the fourth understood, after thinking, said, "I don’t have much grain to spare, but I know a few grain merchants traveling with the army, they have plenty. They follow, partly summoned by the Prince, partly to seize profit opportunities. On my side, there’s nothing much, but the price they require isn’t cheap."

    Mr. Chen immediately went to find Ji Ping, and shortly returned with a box, opened it for Chen the fourth to see inside the pearl jewelry.

    Chen the fourth, seeing such high-quality pearls, nodded satisfactorily, "I will prepare for them tomorrow."

    Mr. Chen pleaded, "Brother, we can wait, but they can’t afford to. At that time, to cover for our early departure, Third Sister Zhao’s group had their luggage and grain stolen, please, work hard to settle it tonight so they can leave early morning. Moreover, Ji Ping and others are ultimately Zhao Family retainers. If Zhao Zhongyu’s people accidentally spot them..."

    Chen the fourth looked at him, "You, you, I really owe you."

    He strode away to arrange contacts.

    As night deepened, the previously noisy camp gradually quieted; Zhao Zhongyu, exhausted, walked out of the main tent, the nearby guards immediately came forward, holding torches to light his way, speaking in subdued tones, "Master, Princely Heir, no, Lord, they have arrived."

    Zhao Zhongyu, slightly more alert, quickened his step, "Are they all safe?"

    The guard didn’t answer.

    Zhao Zhongyu frowned at him, "What happened, did something occur on the way here?"

    The guard whispered, "Only Lord and them, Second Lady and Third Lady, Second Son are not among them."

    Zhao Zhongyu’s face darkened, he stopped, "What’s the meaning of this? If Third Lady and Second Son aren’t here, where have they gone?"

    The guard lowered his voice further, "Reported they got separated while on the road."

    Zhao Zhongyu clenched his fist, "Then...what about the coffin?"

    The guard lowered his head even more, murmuring softly, "Lost together with them."