Chapter Seventy: Zhao Wei's Abacus

  Zhao Xun was unclear what Yuda Ye meant by his words, she just subconsciously didn't trust this person. In those years, Zhang Shi and Zhao Zhuo were deceived into going south, and Yuda Ye's contribution was indispensable. Although he repeatedly explained that he was also deceived, who knows? He was on the same boat as Zhao Zhuo back then, and when Zhao Zhuo refused to rescue Zhang Shi and Zhao Zhuo from their sinking ship, and later killed Pearl Sister who swam over for help, could Yuda Ye really claim ignorance and get away with it? The Zhao family was far away in Beijing, and no matter how much resentment Zhao Xun had towards them, she couldn't do anything to them. Yuda Ye was right in front of her, and Zhang Shi didn't pursue the matter because of his magnanimity as an elder, but Zhao Xun didn't have such good breeding. She tolerated him for Zhao Zhuo's sake, and not driving him out of the house was already giving him face.

  She immediately turned black in the face, and said to Zhao Yun: "I won't care about what happens next, I hope Brother Yun's people can help my uncle." The implication is that you don't make trouble, then she turns around and walks away, not even bothering to look at Old Master Yu.

  Wei Da Lao Ye was so angry that he puffed out his beard and glared, wanting to scold her for being disrespectful to her elders. However, the Wei family's power was weak, and the grudges from back then had not yet been settled. Zhao Xiu had Zhang Shi supporting her from behind, and now everyone in the clan was praising her for being kind and well-mannered. If he were to make a big deal out of this, he might not necessarily gain the upper hand, and instead risk being criticized for his past mistakes. So he could only suppress his anger and endure it silently.

  He walked to his son and said, "Tomorrow the young people from both families will set off northward. Let me take them along with me. Don't worry, I've instructed someone to pack their luggage."

  The luggage is all packed, why didn't you give your son advance notice? Zhao Yun couldn't help but complain: "Father had this intention, why not mention it earlier? Tomorrow we will set out on the journey, and now you speak up at this late hour. What about the family business? The affairs of the clan? Eighth Uncle wants to change the clan rules, and also needs your presence for discussion. Now that you're leaving, are you going to ignore family matters?"

  He rubbed his nose with a somewhat guilty conscience and argued strongly: "What's the big deal? I'm not going to be away for a year or two, just need to give County Magistrate a heads up. Although County Master has left, but now the acting county magistrate is in charge of government affairs, and our family has a good relationship with him, this kind of small matter can be solved with just one sentence, what's the fuss about? As for family matters, haven't you been taking care of them all these years? I'm idle at home anyway, going out to run errands for Xiao Er Fang, it's also our clan's responsibility. Paused for a moment, and scornfully curled his lips: "As for changing the clan rules, it's just your Eighth Uncle's nonsense. Just find some younger generation to accompany him to relieve his boredom, that's all. Do I need to go and play with him as the head of the clan?"

  Zhao Jiong heard this and became impatient: "Father! This time the change in clan rules, isn't it aimed at you, the whole clan agrees, all the house owners want to participate. Where is Eighth Uncle Hu causing trouble? If you don't show up, when the people from each house of the clan ask for the final charter to be established later on, and you're not there, will this charter still count or not?"

  "Of course, the old master wanted to say it didn't count, but when he got to the point of speaking, he swallowed his words and changed his tone: "Heaven knows how long they'll take to discuss? It's not too late for me to decide when I get back." He also said in a gloomy tone: "You don't have to worry too much. Why did your eighth uncle want to bring so many people together to change the clan rules? Most likely, he wants to plot against me while I'm away. This trick of his won't work without me here. Just wait until I find a way to deal with him, and see if he can still do anything!"

  Zhao Jiong suddenly thought of a possibility and stared at him in extreme shock: "Father, could it be that... you really plan to go to the capital to find Xia Changfang?!"

  Master Zhao's whole body shook. He hurriedly smiled and said, "How could that be? That day I was momentarily confused and spoke nonsense. It was the people of Xiaochang House who deceived me back then, which led to our ancestral house being unable to hold its head up high. How could I possibly trust them again? I truly wanted to help Xia'er House, so I planned to take this trip. In recent years, although you and your wife and two children have a good relationship with Xia'er House, with me in the middle, there is always a thorn in the heart of Xia'er House's ancestors. If I can make some effort for them, just like you said that day, helping Zhao Wei obtain the title, the grudges between the two houses will naturally disappear. Our Zhao family will have another marquis, and all members of the clan can bask in the glory. Why not do it? What does Xiaochang House count as? Their family has long been unable to turn things around."

  Zhaoye listened, and it seemed to make some sense. However, he couldn't be sure if his father really thought that way, or if he was just being paranoid. If his father had always harbored resentment towards Xiaochangfang, then why would he say something about seeking her help on that day?

  Rui Dalao saw that his son was wavering, so he added more fuel to the fire: "Jing'er, your father knows that I did something wrong in the past and didn't fulfill my responsibilities as the head of the clan. I have been feeling guilty about it. However, we are still a part of the Zhao family after all. Now that the three branches are closing in on us, I don't want to do anything to offend our elders either. If things continue like this, we'll really be trampled under their feet. If I can resolve my grudge with the second branch and help our Zhao family gain another marquis title, wouldn't that be a great contribution to our clan? By then, my position as head of the clan will also be more secure."

  It sounds like something Old Master Yu would say. After taking a deep breath, Zhao Jiong also couldn't come up with a reason to oppose his father's trip, so he had no choice but to agree. He even went to find the county magistrate that night to get a travel permit for Old Master Yu and asked his wife to pack more luggage for his father. Old Master Yu is not young anymore, and since he wants to go on a long trip, he can't be as casual as young people, so there are many things to prepare.

  Rui Dalao still felt that it was inconvenient for no one to serve on the road, so he brought his newly acquired concubine and four other attendants.

  After learning the news, Zhao Xun felt powerless to stop it, but she didn't plan to intervene. Zhao Jing knew what kind of person his father was, and he wasn't going to stop him either. Why should she play the villain? Moreover, Grandmother Zhang was very tolerant, having lived so close to the ancestral house for many years, even on its grounds. Even if they moved to the capital, what could be done about it? He left, and the Eighth Elder's side happened to have finalized the new clan rules. According to the new rules, when a decision needed to be made within the clan, each household only needed one representative to participate in the vote. The ancestral house had Zhao Jing as its representative, and the new rules didn't explicitly target Grandfather Rui. Therefore, it was impossible for Zhao Jing to cast an opposing vote. Once the rules were set, even if Grandfather Rui wanted to back down after his return, he wouldn't be able to.

  As long as the new family rules are established, in the future, whether it's Old Master Ye or his second wife, wanting to take it out on Rulan or Xiao Changfang is a matter of minutes! In order to gain the support of Old Master Ye and the third house, Zhao Xiu will not stop them from making things difficult for Rulan, after all, the matter won't implicate Zhao Ju's husband and wife.

  Yu Da Lao Ye set off with two nephews from the clan, as well as his attendants and servants, taking a boat north. Life for the Zhao family continued as usual. The Eighth Elder brought a group of household heads to meet with Zhao Yun every day to discuss and plan to establish new rules for the clan as soon as possible, so they could report to their ancestors at the Mid-Autumn Festival in July.

  The new clan rules are actually based on the old clan rules, with a few more articles about the public decision of the whole clan. The basic proposal of Zhao Xiu was adopted, but the specific implementation procedures were made much more rigorous.

  Zhao Xun remained somewhat concerned about this matter, but more attention was focused on her own family affairs. She signed a land transfer agreement with Zhao You, the nephew of the outer fifth house, gave 100 taels of silver, went to the government office to file, and then sent someone to clear the forest on the 30 mu of land. The fruit trees were all reserved, miscellaneous trees were cut down for firewood, and grass was also removed. Then came the soil preparation. After buying the fruit tree seedlings, dig holes for the trees. Now the weather is unpredictable, digging early will only accumulate water.

  Due to the continuous rain a while ago, the price of firewood on the market has risen sharply and is now selling for 80 or 90 cents per bundle. Many families in Fengxian County are struggling to afford it. Zhao Xuan's family is doing well, they have always had enough money, and now they have cut down a large piece of forest, with hundreds of trees inside. They chopped them up and dried the branches in the sun for two days, then transported them to the woodshed and piled them up. The old house originally had a large woodshed, but it couldn't hold even a quarter of the firewood, so Zhao Xuan had two more empty rooms opened near the kitchen and filled them with firewood, enough for the whole household to use for three months. Only then did they send the remaining dozens of bundles to some poorer families in their clan.

  The homes of the elderly and widows were given priority, followed by those with children who were studying but from relatively poor families. Although each household only received a maximum of ten bundles of firewood, it was still a great help to them. In the eyes of their clansmen, Zhao Xiu's reputation improved even more. Some people drew a connection between the eldest son of the outer eighth house and Zhao You of the outer fifth house, who had gone to sell land one after another, but the results were vastly different, leading to a conclusion: Xiao Er Fang's Xiu sister was originally a kind-hearted person, as long as you really have difficulties and sincerely ask for help, she will definitely lend a hand. However, if you want to take advantage of others' kindness to benefit yourself or deceive them with ulterior motives, Xiu sister is not someone who can be easily taken advantage of.

  At this time, the outer six rooms had almost gathered all the young men from the clan, most of whom were illegitimate sons, only a few were legitimate third or fourth sons. They were neither the favored eldest son nor the pampered youngest son, and they didn't have the talent for studying. Staying at home was just idle, so they might as well go out and make a name for themselves, perhaps there would be new opportunities waiting to be discovered.

  Some of them were clever and had already heard that they might be sent to a place, so they started thinking. Songjiang cloth sells very well, and there are also exotic goods from the Western world circulating in Nanhui Port from time to time. Fengxian is close to both places, why not stock up on some goods and take them to other places with Liu Fang's ship, and make a profit by selling them? Liu Fang is best at doing business, seeing how clever they are, maybe he can shorten their apprenticeship period and promote them to be the manager of a branch store early.

  In order to get some capital, they learned from Zhao You and sold all their valuable items to wealthy relatives or peers in the clan. Zhao Xiu was naturally the most attractive gold owner among them. Even if she wasn't interested in their things, she might sympathize with their miserable situation and be willing to lend them a sum of money.

  They peddled interesting trinkets on the streets, sold medical books and ancient tomes that had been passed down through generations, and even dealt in antiques and real estate. The descendants of the outer ninth house of the Zhao clan were all followers who came after the founding of the country, relying on the prestige of Old Duke Zhao, and they made a big splash for a while. Among them, there were those who had made their fortunes, and it was not uncommon for their later generations to own one or two good antiques. They didn't know the value of these items either, so they would casually name a price, and no one dared to haggle. Zhao Xiu would buy whatever caught his eye, and even if he didn't like something, he would give the other person a pouch containing two gold ingots worth ten or twenty taels. Everyone was happy, and the clan's evaluation of Zhao Xiu became even higher.

  Zhaoyuan was most interested in the ancient books sent by her clansmen, and she was rather indifferent to the fields and houses. With those thirty mu of orchard land, it was enough for her to toss around. After days of hard work, that piece of land had been sorted out more or less, and she began to worry about where to go to get good fruit tree seedlings.

  Just then, a shocking piece of news arrived.

  The crown prince, who had been rumored to have been bedridden for a long time, surprisingly asked to abdicate.