Chapter 88 - Inquiry

Chapter 88: Chapter 82 InquiryZhao Hanzhang returned fully loaded, and many people came to see them off.

It was clear that Zhao Changyu had considerable prestige in the clan and was well-liked. Although he had passed away, his legacy could still protect them.

Many people held her hand and cried, asking her to find time to take her mother, brother, and fiancé to visit home.

Zhao Hanzhang agreed to each of them, then took the twenty-nine new servants she had acquired, along with various chests and boxes gifted by the clan members, and left.

In the end, they did not choose to leave but decided to follow Zhao Hanzhang.

They were caught without cause, and when under Zhao Hu’s supervision, they constantly thought of escaping, but upon reaching Zhao Hanzhang, when she truly offered them a chance to leave, they hesitated.

Leaving meant they could be captured and sold at any time again, and the next owner might not possess Zhao Hanzhang’s character.

Indeed, although they had only exchanged a few words, they were convinced Zhao Hanzhang had integrity, at least treating them as human beings.

Hence, after discussing with their families, none of the eight families chose to leave.

Zhao Hanzhang, accompanied by servants and assets, headed imposingly towards Shangcai.

Oh, and Zhao Ming, given the chaos outside, although it’s close from Xiping to Shangcai, Zhao Song was uneasy, so he assigned Zhao Ming to escort them with guards, ensuring that they safely reach the estate in Shangcai.

Zhao Hanzhang gladly accepted, as she had matters to discuss with Zhao Ming.

She rode alongside Ji Yuan, positioning Zhao Ming between them, curiously asking, "Uncle Ming, what is the relationship between our family and the County Magistrate in Shangcai?"

Zhao Ming replied, "It’s quite good. Your grandfather was titled as Shangcai Marquis, and his fiefdom was all in Shangcai, hence the local County Magistrate naturally treats us with courtesy."

Zhao Hanzhang asked, "Do you think I should pay a visit to the parents of the officials? You know, I gathered some refugees on my way here and need to register them."

Zhao Ming contemplated briefly and then said, "You’re observing mourning and are a young lady, so it’s unnecessary to personally make an appearance; you could let the estate’s stewards handle the errands. However, since you’ve decided to observe mourning in Shangcai, you’ll depend on the County Lord for many things in the future, so you might consider sending some tokens to the County Lord’s wife and daughter."

Zhao Hanzhang then asked her primary question, "Regarding the registration of the refugees I gathered, should I register all of them, or..."

Zhao Ming gave Ji Yuan a meaningful glance and said, "It depends on how many people you think you can support. The court’s taxes are quite high now, and they increase every year. By the way, last year they added a new one called the cow dung tax."

"Your estate is so large you must have many cows, so the tax won’t be low," seeing Zhao Hanzhang seemed to have more to say, Zhao Ming added, "If you don’t have cows, five households per mile count as one cow, so the tax is shared among tenants and household servants accordingly."

In other words, for families without cows, a cow dung tax must be collected every five households.

Zhao Hanzhang: "...Is it possible that human waste will also be taxed in the future?"

Zhao Ming chuckled, "I’ve heard the governor is indeed considering it."

Zhao Hanzhang then decided to register sixty percent of the refugees she had gathered, while forty percent would remain hidden from the registration!

This was outrageous, managing people’s food and drink was one thing, but even regulating their waste was going too far.

Ji Yuan heard everything as well; he always stayed by Zhao Changyu’s side, only understanding the more specific local matters and rules from documents and letters. He needed to ask locals for more specific insights.

And Zhao Ming was evidently the perfect candidate.

Fu Tinghan rode on a horse alone behind, his gaze sliding over the road and nearby mountain fields, and Zhao Erlang kicked his horse to run up and curiously watch, "Brother-in-law, what are you looking at?"

Fu Tinghan turned and smiled at him gently, "Looking at the road and the landscape’s pattern. I want to adjust the map a bit."

Zhao Erlang wasn’t interested in this, bypassing the topic to ask his own question, "Brother-in-law, are we going to live in the estate from now on?"

Fu Tinghan nodded, "Yes."

"So, after a year, will you take my sister away?"

Fu Tinghan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who told you that?"

Zhao Erlang pursed his lips, unhappily saying, "My new friends told me. They said you would take my sister away, and I’d have to return to the Wu Castle to study and live with them, but I don’t want to study or let you take my sister away."

Zhao Erlang asked, "If I don’t call you ’brother-in-law,’ does it mean you can’t take my sister away?"

Fu Tinghan: "...No."

Zhao Erlang glared, looking fiercely at him.

Fu Tinghan smiled and said, "Don’t worry, if your sister doesn’t want to leave, I won’t be able to take her away." But if she wants to leave, he naturally wouldn’t stop her either.

Hearing this, Zhao Erlang was happy and called him brother-in-law again.

Seeing him foolish and naive, Fu Tinghan reached out to pat his head and said, "When we return to the villa, I’ll give you a test."

"What’s a test?"

"It’s like playing some games," Fu Tinghan smiled, "Very fun games."

Upon returning to Shangcai, Zhao Ming stayed for only one night before heading back to Xiping, leaving behind several Zhao Family invitation cards for Zhao Hanzhang, for her convenience.

Zhao Hanzhang saw Zhao Ming off with a smile and immediately joined Ji Yuan; they planned to go to Yu Yang to bring back people and belongings.

Fu Tinghan didn’t go as he wanted to review Zhao Hanzhang’s current fields and properties, then compile everything and map it out for her, so everyone could arrange for the people coming back.

There were many people in Yu Yang, as well as belongings, vehicles, and horses. Such a large convoy leaving Yu Yang was already eye-catching, let alone when entering Shangcai.

Just as they entered the estate, the Shangcai County Magistrate heard of it.

A government official came to report, "I heard there are at least one thousand people in the convoy?"

"That many? Are you exaggerating the numbers?" The County Magistrate asked, "A thousand people would be like a clan migration. Has the entire Xiping Zhao Family moved here?"

"But the people didn’t come from Xiping; they came from Yu Yang."

The County Magistrate frowned, "Yu Yang? If it’s not relatives from Xiping, then are they gathered refugees?"

The County Magistrate shivered in alarm and asked, "Could the Zhao Family be planning a rebellion?"

The strategist paused for a moment and hurriedly said, "County Lord, don’t panic; it might be a misunderstanding, and there might not actually be a thousand people. Mr. Zhao is highly reputed, and the Zhao Family has been loyal officials for two generations; they likely wouldn’t do such a thing."

Seeing the County Magistrate still worried, he lowered his voice and said, "Besides, Mr. Zhao only has one granddaughter and one foolish grandson, who would lead a rebellion?"

Upon hearing this, the County Magistrate felt relieved and snorted, turning to scold the government officials, "You must have seen it wrong or deliberately inflated the numbers. It’s just a lady with a foolish brother; how many people could she have? You’re exaggerating the situation just to curry favor with me and take credit, right?"

The County Magistrate, feeling alarmed by their exaggeration, berated the officials and sent them out.

The official left with an unpleasant expression, and when out of sight, he couldn’t help but spit, dammit, even if he overestimated, the number was still considerable; so many people with cars and horses stretched for quite a distance before seeing the end.

To say there were not a thousand would still mean seven or eight hundred.

In fact, with the addition of original estate tenants and long-term workers, Zhao Hanzhang now had nearly fifteen hundred people under her care.