CHAPTER 336: CHAPTER 330: COMING TO DEMAND SOMEONE

Zhao Hanzhang was unaware that Prince East Sea had abandoned his task midway, nor did she know about the urgency in Yu State. She was standing on the city walls of Xiping County, watching the long line of people entering the city below.

She clicked her tongue twice in satisfaction, "I never expected my Recruitment Order to attract so many people."

At that moment, only Sun Linghui was by Zhao Hanzhang’s side, and she sincerely congratulated her, "Congratulations, Chief of the County."

Zhao Hanzhang smiled at her and, while watching the people queue to enter the city, engaged in casual conversation with her, "Does your family still want to take you back home?"

"After meeting with the Chief of the County, they haven’t mentioned it again."

Sun Linghui had secretly come to participate in the exam herself. Of course, she had a very good reason for staying out for so long.

She wanted to visit her uncle and aunt in Xiping.

That’s right, Sun Linghui was not only Zhao Yunxin’s cousin but also Zhao Hanzhang’s... cousin?

Zhao Hanzhang was momentarily unsure and turned to ask her, "Which of us is older?"

Sun Linghui lowered her head shyly, "The Chief of the County is slightly older than me; I was born in September."

Zhao Hanzhang was surprised, "Then you’re just coming of age?"

"Yes," Sun Linghui admitted without hiding, "It’s precisely because I am of age now that my family wants to arrange a marriage for me, which is why I came to stay with my uncle."

Sun Linghui’s mother is Zhao, so Zhao Hanzhang also had to call her aunt. Although their blood relation was distant, the clan didn’t care about these things; an aunt was still an aunt.

So when her aunt cried at the door, Zhao Hanzhang had to set aside her position as Chief of the County and comfort her as a niece.

The Sun Family never expected Sun Linghui to be so bold as to conspire with Zhao Yunxin to deceive the family.

After learning about the Recruitment Order, she began writing to Zhao Yunxin.

So Zhao Yunxin wrote letters to the Sun Family in the tone of her parents, expressing that her parents were unwell and very much missed Sun Linghui, wanting to bring her to their home for a visit.

Zhao Dong wanted his son Zhao Kuan to marry Fan Ying, but the Sun Family took a liking to Zhao Kuan and wanted to strengthen familial ties.

So as soon as Zhao Yunxin’s letter arrived, the Sun Family thought they understood and immediately packed off Sun Linghui to Xiping, intending for her to get along well with her uncle and aunt first.

Who knew it was the two children’s doing without the family’s knowledge?

Oh, upon further investigation, Zhao Kuan was aware. Zhao Dong once suspected that the idea came from Zhao Kuan, because Zhao Yunxin wasn’t generally very bold, and while Sun Linghui was daring, she would never think of gambling with her own marriage.

The Zhao Family thought Sun Linghui had missed Zhao Yunxin, so she came to stay for a while. The families were close, and the girls were of similar age, which was a common occurrence.

When Sun Linghui and Zhao Yunxin went to take the exam, Zhao Dong and his wife, already used to their daughter’s school studies, noticed nothing amiss.

Until the news reached the Sun Family, leaving her parents, who were waiting to marry her to Zhao Kuan, utterly shocked.

Aunt Zhao couldn’t think of anything else and rushed with her husband to Xiping to take Sun Linghui back home.

The young girl, who always maintained a clear boundary by respectfully calling Zhao Hanzhang "Chief of the County" both publicly and privately, for the first time, asked for Zhao Hanzhang’s help as a relative.

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t want to lose such a good helper, so she personally went to meet her uncle and aunt, whom she had never met before.

Upon seeing them, Zhao Hanzhang searched her memory; it seemed the original owner had met them, but they weren’t familiar and had rarely spoken.

Indeed, they weren’t close. To Sun Zhengyang and Zhao Qi, Zhao Hanzhang seemed quite unfamiliar, but her reputation was now so great that neither dared belittle her because of her age.

They furtively glared at their daughter and invited Zhao Hanzhang in to sit.

Zhao Dong and his wife also came over. Now, both their son and daughter were working under Zhao Hanzhang, especially since Zhao Kuan’s future depended on her, so they were very polite to Zhao Hanzhang, "How come you didn’t have someone tell us in advance that you were coming, Third Lady? We could have come to greet you personally."

Zhao Hanzhang laughed, "Our homes are quite close; why would a niece visiting her uncle’s house formally announce her arrival?"

Her gaze fell upon Sun Zhengyang and Zhao Qi, and she smiled warmly, "Uncle Dong, I’m young and haven’t returned to Xiping for many years, so many relatives have faded from my memory. This must be our family’s aunt and Uncle from the Sun Family, right?"

Though Zhao Kuan and Zhao Hanzhang were no longer within five degrees of kinship according to formal conventions, she still called her "our family’s aunt," which eased Zhao Qi’s heart, calming the fiery anger in her chest.

Even Sun Zhengyang felt a sense of relief, directing all the anger towards Sun Linghui.

Zhao Dong: "Yes, this is indeed your Aunt Qi and Uncle Sun."

Zhao Hanzhang then politely paid her respects.

Zhao Qi, taking her hand, wept, "Third Lady, our Second Lady has troubled you. We came this time intending to take her home."

Zhao Hanzhang looked surprised and grasped Zhao Qi’s hand, "Why would Aunt say that? I was just planning to send a commendation letter to the County Magistrate of Wuyang County for Aunt."

She glanced at Sun Linghui and then solemnly said, "It is a blessing for the nation, a blessing for Ru Nan County, and my personal fortune that Uncle and Aunt have nurtured a talent like Linghui. I want to announce it throughout the county so that everyone can learn from Uncle and Aunt. If the world could cultivate more talents like Linghui, it would be wonderful."

Not only Zhao Qi, but even Sun Zhengyang was left with his mouth agape.

Honestly, this feeling was somewhat... bizarre.

They had once dreamt that if they could receive such an accolade because of their son or grandson someday, their lives would be complete.

Now they had received it, but who could have imagined it was because...

Their gaze simultaneously fell on Sun Linghui.

Sun Linghui, at this moment, was exceptionally obedient, with both hands clasped respectfully in front of her stomach.

Sun Zhengyang understood his daughter; she was always bold and lively, rarely seen this composed.

He hesitated, meeting his wife’s expectant yet conflicted gaze, paused, and then asked, "Is Third Lady just telling us what we want to hear?"

Zhao Hanzhang seriously replied, "Uncle is underestimating Ru Nan County. In this Recruitment Order exam, Linghui ranked first, even though Yunxin, who is closest to me, only ranked eighth. Surely you wouldn’t suspect me of favoritism? Even if I were willing, those under me wouldn’t be."

Sun Zhengyang’s emotions were boiling like water, filled with both excitement and anxiety, unsure of what to say.

Zhao Hanzhang seemed to sense his dilemma, turned to Ting He, and said, "Go to the county government and fetch Sun Li’s exam papers."

She turned to Sun Zhengyang and Zhao Qi, smiling, "Uncle, Aunt, if you don’t believe it, you can look at Linghui’s exam paper. She truly isn’t inferior to the other men."

Zhao Qi proudly said, "That’s true; since she was young, this child has loved reading. When she was little, she loved to pester her father, so she started learning together with her brothers from a young age and wasn’t academically inferior to them."

Sun Zhengyang nodded, but he quickly remembered their reason for coming and hurriedly said, "She isn’t young anymore; we are planning to arrange a marriage for her back home, so it’s not good for her to be out and about at this time..."