Chapter 185: Chapter 180 Heartache
Zhao Song: "Just speak directly about Mrs. Wang, why beat around the bush?"
Zhao Ming: "Father, it’s good you understand. You and Seventh Uncle have never treated Mrs. Wang kindly..."
Zhao Song coldly interrupted him, "Even though I’ve improved my attitude, it doesn’t mean Mrs. Wang’s ill fate doesn’t exist. I’m doing this just to not make Third Lady uncomfortable."
He said, "Now Third Lady is the head of our family’s branch in Xiping County, and Mrs. Wang is her mother. Such a reputation has quite an impact on her."
Zhao Ming: "... So you know. But why don’t you consider, if Third Lady didn’t have her current achievements, how Mrs. Wang’s reputation would have a worse impact on her and Second Son."
Zhao Song got angry, "Do you think I don’t know? But can I not have my own likes and dislikes? Is her ill fate not a fact?"
Zhao Ming: "No!"
Zhao Song didn’t expect they would disagree on the fundamental understanding, angrily dismissing him, "I’m not discussing this with you. If you don’t believe me, go ask your Seventh Uncle. The monk’s assessment wasn’t wrong, it was very accurate. Several families in nearby counties have been guided by him."
Zhao Ming: "Seventh Uncle also said he would bury a living person for Uncle. Why do you, Father, so firmly believe in such absurd things?"
Zhao Song was stunned into silence for a while, and finally said angrily, "I’m discussing the matter, not the person."
"Then let’s discuss the matter. Back then..."
"Shut up," Zhao Song suddenly shouted, interrupting his words, "I won’t listen to your nonsense. Get out."
Zhao Ming: "You clearly can’t argue against me, so you won’t let me speak..."
Zhao Ming was eventually driven out by Zhao Song with a roll of bamboo slips.
Afterwards, Zhao Song regretted and went to pick up the bamboo slips, carefully arranging them.
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t have time to see Zhao Song yesterday, so she decided to go see him after breakfast today.
Early in the morning, as dawn barely broke, Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan led Zhao Erlang out of Wu Castle and started running along the avenue in the estate.
Zhao Erlang ran fast. Seeing his sister and brother-in-law jogging leisurely, he dashed ahead, not wanting to run slowly with them.
Zhao Hanzhang had sandbags tied to her legs, slowing her pace to accommodate Fu Tinghan’s speed.
Fu Tinghan knew she was carrying weight on her legs, and asked, "Did you add more weight?"
Zhao Hanzhang responded, "Sandbags are easier to use than stones. As your training increases, you can try it too."
Early in the morning, someone was carrying a hoe to the field and saw the three of them running back from afar, and was stunned.
Zhao Hanzhang had a good memory, recognized him, and greeted, "Is this Uncle Gui, going to the field?"
Uncle Gui responded blankly, "What’s Third Lady doing?"
He looked behind them but didn’t see anything chasing them, and it didn’t look like they were running for their lives. Why were they running?
Zhao Hanzhang had already run past, and casually replied, "We’re training."
As they ran far away, Uncle Gui stared at their backs, and another rumor spread in Wu Castle: the reason for Third Lady’s martial prowess was all due to running.
Zhao Hanzhang returned to the old house, untied the sandbags, practiced a set of military boxing, and a set of swordsmanship before stopping. By then, her clothes were soaked through.
Fu Tinghan sat on the railing watching. He only learned a bit of military boxing, then couldn’t bear it and stopped.
Zhao Hanzhang wiped her sweat with a cloth towel, saying, "The intensity is different. Once you adapt to the current intensity, we’ll slowly increase it."
Fu Tinghan said, "I’ve heard that medicinal baths can increase strength?"
Zhao Hanzhang paused, her motion of wiping sweat halted, "Yes, but they’re to relieve muscle pain. During intense training, muscle injury is the most painful. A medicinal bath can help the body better absorb the strength gained from training. How did you know about this?"
Fu Tinghan lowered his eyes uneasily, "There was a time when you always smelled of medicine. I heard that the yard often smelled of Chinese medicine, and I thought you were seriously ill."
Because the medicinal scent lasted for so long.
Zhao Hanzhang laughed, "I was rushing in my training then, so my grandfather found an old Chinese doctor to prescribe medicinal baths."
She pondered for a moment, "I still remember the formula. I’ll write it down later and see if we can gather the ingredients and try out the effect."
Fu Tinghan nodded, wanting to increase his training intensity too. Physically, he lagged far behind Zhao Hanzhang, which made him feel somewhat ashamed. He couldn’t always rely on Teacher Zhao to protect him in future violent situations, right?
Zhao Hanzhang rested for a while, pressed her legs to relax her muscles, and after her body cooled down, went to bathe and change clothes.
Mrs. Wang observed everything, feeling distressed. During breakfast, she kept serving them buns and meat pies, "I knew you worked hard, but didn’t realize it was this tough."
Getting up before dawn to run so far and then practice boxing and swordsmanship, not stopping even when drenched.
Mrs. Wang silently shed tears, becoming even more determined to stay, and solemnly announced, "I’ve decided, I’m staying in Wu Castle to help Third Lady."
Zhao Hanzhang choked, almost spurting out the sheep’s milk.
Fu Tinghan quickly handed her a handkerchief.
Zhao Hanzhang covered her mouth, regained composure, and asked, "Mother, what can you help me with here?"
Mrs. Wang glanced outside, leaned closer, and whispered, "Keep an eye on the clan members for you. If they defy you, I can inform you and, if I blend in well, possibly mediate for you too."
Zhao Hanzhang looked at Mrs. Wang, who was lively with excitement. The refusal curled around her tongue but was swallowed, and she nodded approvingly, "Mother, you’ve thought it through."
"Naturally," Mrs. Wang said proudly, patting Zhao Hanzhang’s thumb, "Don’t make such unseemly gestures. Though you are in charge now, you are still a lady. Daily etiquette should be observed."
Zhao Hanzhang looked at her uplifted thumb, "What’s unseemly about this?"
She said, "This is my thumb, not my middle finger."
Mrs. Wang wondered, "Why is the thumb fine, but the middle finger not?"
She patted Zhao Hanzhang’s hand and said, "They’re all the same to me. Stop making strange gestures."
Zhao Hanzhang could only accept it, picked up her bowl, and drank the sheep’s milk, "Alright, I’ll listen to you."
Mrs. Wang’s ambition waned a bit, and she grew some fear, "What about your Fifth Uncle?"
"I’ll go speak with him," Zhao Hanzhang said, "Soon I’m going to discuss matters with Fifth Uncle, I’ll settle this matter then."
She said, "Since you want to live in Xiping, will you reside in the county government or the old house daily?"
"Of course, the old house. Otherwise, how can I keep an eye on them for you?" Mrs. Wang said, "But I can occasionally stay at the county government."
She became excited, "I haven’t lived at the county government yet."
Zhao Hanzhang said, "In the future, I’ll let you stay at the Governor Mansion and Inspector Mansion too."
"I’ve already lived in both."
Zhao Hanzhang stopped talking, handed her mother a bun, "Mother, eat your breakfast. Later, please send a letter to Shangcai, asking Uncle Cheng to bring your belongings and servants to Xiping."
Mrs. Wang agreed.