CHAPTER 96: CHAPTER 90: FINE WINE AND BEAUTIFUL WOMEN

Zhao Song was delighted to hear this, "Quickly invite them in. Their house has been unoccupied for more than half a month, making it inconvenient to stay. Let them stay at our place."

Noticing the messenger nearby, he said, "Perfect timing, with the clan leader’s messenger here, let her meet them as well."

Zhao Song said to the messenger, "Third Lady has always been worried about the clan leader being stuck in a war-torn region. Seeing you now will give her peace of mind."

The messenger, a close confidant of Zhao Zhongyu, who was aware of Zhao Ji abandoning the main house, felt awkward hearing this.

Zhao Hanzhang decided to stay at her family’s old house, but after dropping off her luggage, she took Fu Tinghan along to greet Zhao Song, treating him like a close elder.

The messenger saw the two and immediately stood aside, waiting for them to finish greeting Zhao Song before coming forward to meet them, "Tan Zhong greets Third Lady and Mr. Fu."

Seeing him, Zhao Hanzhang struggled to bring his name to mind from her memory, "Oh, it’s Scholar Tan. Why are you here instead of being with Fifth Uncle?"

Lowering his gaze, Tan Zhong replied, "By the lord’s command, I returned to resolve some matters."

"What matters?" Zhao Hanzhang asked with concern, "The court is scattered now, and the people are in turmoil. Uncle is working hard for the country and the people, so we shouldn’t burden him with family matters. Though I’m young, I have a few capable people left by my grandfather, who might help."

Tan Zhong saw her sincere expression but wasn’t sure of her true intentions, considering the delicate relations between the two families...

Zhao Song looked at Zhao Hanzhang with satisfaction, "That’s how it should be. The blood of the clan should support each other harmoniously. It’s good that you have this intention. If your grandfather knew, he would be very pleased."

Zhao Hanzhang smiled politely, "So the messenger is here for..."

Not being present when the people are around is one thing, she couldn’t just write a letter to find Zhao Zhongyu. But now that they were here, she couldn’t just ignore her ambition.

Zhao Song didn’t hide anything and handed the list next to him to Zhao Hanzhang, while Tan Zhong couldn’t stop him but could only watch Zhao Hanzhang take the list.

Zhao Song said, "Your uncle wants Scholar Tan to come back to handle these properties."

In a seemingly kind manner, he added, "I heard from Scholar Tan that your uncle has given a lot of the land on the list to you and the Second Son. This way, your two families have more land adjacent to each other. Since you want to help, why not watch over these lands for him? He is currently serving in the court and cannot be without people around him. It’s impractical to delay Scholar Tan for such a trivial matter here."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang raised her eyebrows slightly and suppressed what she wanted to say, replying directly, "Alright."

Holding the list, Zhao Hanzhang looked at Tan Zhong, and with a half-smile asked, "Scholar Tan, what does the uncle plan to do with these lands and businesses?"

She smiled, "Back when I exchanged the lands and businesses in Luoyang with uncle for those here, he said these are ancestral properties and would never be sold. Has uncle changed his mind now?"

"Of course not. These are ancestral properties; how could they be sold?" Scholar Tan tried not to look at the suddenly stern eyes of Zhao Song, smiling instead at Zhao Hanzhang, "I just returned to check on this year’s harvest, inquire about the clan’s situation, and visit Fifth Grandfather as well as Third Lady and Second Son." Scholar Tan said, "Third Lady and Second Son went missing, which deeply worried the lord. Although he has received word of their safety, he still sent me to verify once more for peace of mind."

Tan Zhong said a lot of irrelevant things, avoiding the topic of having the second house’s properties managed by Zhao Hanzhang. Zhao Hanzhang was also uninterested in idle chatter, noting down the land and business addresses on the list, and handing it to Tan Zhong, "I’m also back to check on this year’s harvest. Coincidentally, why don’t we go together to the fields tomorrow?"

Tan Zhong glanced at Zhao Song before agreeing with a smile and stood up respectfully to take his leave.

Once he left, Zhao Hanzhang turned to Zhao Song, "Fifth Uncle, did Uncle send Tan Zhong back to get money? Surely he doesn’t intend to sell the ancestral properties?"

Zhao Song glanced at Fu Tinghan and laughed, "Of course not. Our family is not in such dire straits. With Wu Castle at our disposal, who would sell ancestral properties?"

Fu Tinghan knew this wasn’t the place for deep discussions, so he found an excuse to leave.

Outside in the courtyard, he looked around and found nowhere to go. Noticing the density of the buildings, he turned towards a less dense area, thinking it was a garden.

Sure enough, after walking for a while and passing through two screen walls, he saw the garden.

Zhao Ming was seated cross-legged in the pavilion, drinking alone. Looking up and seeing Fu Tinghan, he smiled and shouted, "Mr. Fu, are you visiting alone, or here with Third Lady?"

Across half the garden, Fu Tinghan shouted back, "Here with Third Lady."

Zhao Ming saw his lack of formality and regarded him with slightly more favor, waving him over, "Come join me for a drink."

Fu Tinghan walked over.

Meanwhile, in the front hall, Zhao Hanzhang asked with concern, "Could it be that Uncle ran into trouble outside?"

"Nothing happened," with Fu Tinghan gone, there was no risk of airing family matters, Zhao Song directly said, "The clan leader and the Earl are wandering with the court and have some financial difficulties, hence sent someone back for money."

However, the cash for the two houses is mostly in Luoyang, while here in Xiping, there isn’t much ready cash visible, and the properties are hard to liquidate quickly.

It’s akin to Zhao Zhongyu asking Zhao Song, the acting clan leader, for money.

Although Zhao Zhongyu is the clan leader and Zhao Ji is an earl, family resources should naturally be aligned with them. Zhao Song has no objection to using clan funds for the second house, but Zhao Zhongyu wanting to reclaim all properties and hand them over to aides for management was something he objected to.

Those are aides, outsiders – how could they be as trustworthy as family members?

He had managed clan affairs for Zhao Changyu for twenty years and never heard Zhao Changyu suggest reclaiming properties to hand them to Ji Yuan and others.

It’s impossible for Zhao Song to have no objections. He asked Zhao Hanzhang, "Were the properties crossed off on the list part of the exchange between you and the clan leader?"

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, explaining, "I and Second Son needed to bring a coffin back home and may never return to Luoyang. Moreover, most of the properties grandfather provided as my dowry were in Luoyang, which was inconvenient, so I exchanged them with uncle."

Zhao Song understood and nodded after her explanation, saying, "Tomorrow, Tan Zhong will go to the fields to check on the summer harvest. Accompany him."

Zhao Hanzhang gladly agreed, her mouth slightly curling into a smile.

It seemed Zhao Zhongyu wasn’t well-rooted in the Zhao Family. Without the prestige of Zhao Changyu, controlling the Zhao Family from afar would be no easy task.

In her heart, Zhao Hanzhang lit a candle for her uncle and then happily bid farewell to find Fu Tinghan.

A servant informed, "Mr. Fu headed towards the garden earlier."

Zhao Hanzhang then turned towards the garden.

Zhao Ming raised his head to finish the wine in his cup, holding it up and sighing, "Such worldly delight; pity there’s not much left."

Fu Tinghan took a sip of the wine, finding it fragrant but not strong enough, with a hint of sweetness. He put down the cup, "You like wine?"

"I do. In this world, only wine is truly delightful, more so than beauty," Zhao Ming looked up at Fu Tinghan and suddenly smiled, shaking his head, "You, you’re still too young to appreciate its charm. Mr. Fu, is my niece beautiful?"

Seeing Zhao Ming without disdain, Fu Tinghan nodded, "Beautiful!"

"Beauty pales in comparison to fine wine," Zhao Ming poured himself another cup of wine, adding metaphorically, "The beauties in this world, one beauty for a cup. Think how many beauties a keg of fine wine could surpass."