After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times

Zhao Hu walked into the Imperial Palace.

Although he was old, he still had to walk on his own to enter the palace; he wasn’t arrogant enough to be carried in.

This wasn’t his first time entering the palace. The first time he came to Luoyang, he had also visited out of curiosity.

But at that time, the palace was empty, left with remnants of a great battle and desolation, so he lost interest after wandering around the main hall.

For Zhao Hu, the palace was nothing special except for its large size at that time. It wasn’t even better than a villa he had outside the city. However, upon entering the palace this time, a sense of majesty subtly pressed on him from above, making Zhao Hu straighten his back and climb the steps step by step under the guidance of the guards.

He climbed until he was gasping for air and had to support his knee before reaching the front of the main hall.

Zhao Hu’s face turned dark with regret, thinking he shouldn’t have entered the palace. Waiting for Zhao Hanzhang outside the palace wouldn’t have been such a bad idea.

Zhao Hu stood still, took a couple of breaths, then followed the guard.

There were guards in front of the main hall too. Upon seeing Zhao Hu, one directly pointed to another side, saying, "The Great General is in the side hall."

The side hall also had guards, who respectfully stopped Zhao Hu, "Seventh Grandfather, please wait while I report." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Saying that, he quietly entered the hall to report.

Ji Yuan, Ming Yu, Xun Fan, and others were in the side hall, each with several memorials in front of them, all seeking Zhao Hanzhang’s decision.

Ming Yu had just finished reporting the matter and decided on the course of action, about to withdraw, but upon hearing Zhao Hu had arrived, he sat back down.

Now the national treasury lacked funds, and he still wanted to get a hold of Zhao Hu’s wealth. Conveniently, Zhao Cheng was also there. To his knowledge, this Zhao Ji was quite selfless.

Zhao Hanzhang had already smiled, laughing aloud, "Seventh Ancestor is here, please come in."

The guard retreated, inviting Zhao Hu inside.

Inside the side hall, the central desk was empty, with another desk set beside it. Zhao Hanzhang was sitting behind it, while Ji Yuan, Ming Yu, and others sat on either side below the steps, with Zhao Cheng sitting at the end.

As Zhao Hu entered, Zhao Hanzhang pointed to an empty spot above Ming Yu and said, "Take a seat."

Ting He immediately stepped forward with maids to set a seat above Ming Yu.

Seeing this, Zhao Hu proudly lifted his chin and walked forward with great satisfaction under everyone’s gaze.

Zhao Hanzhang stood, greeted him respectfully with a smile, and said, "Please sit, Seventh Ancestor."

Zhao Hu merely cupped a hand towards her before taking his seat.

Once Zhao Hu sat down, Ming Yu immediately reached out, grabbed his sleeve, and said, "Seventh Grandfather, isn’t it true that only those who have contributed to the nation sit in the hall, due to their official positions? I am the worst among them, yet I risked my life for the Great General. What merit do you have to sit here?"

As soon as Zhao Hu heard this, he huffed and glared, saying, "Third Lady allowed me to sit here; what, now that she has become successful, as her elder, I can’t even get a seat when visiting her?"

"It’s not that there isn’t a seat; it’s just that the Seventh Grandfather shouldn’t seek her here," Ming Yu replied. "This is the Imperial Palace, the place where the Great General works. If the Seventh Grandfather wants to see the Great General as an elder, he should go to the Zhao Mansion to do so."

Zhao Hu retorted, "I will see her wherever I want, what does it have to do with you?"

He tugged at his sleeve, finding he couldn’t pull it away, and angrily looked at Zhao Hanzhang, who had been silent the whole time, "Third Lady, your Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat is being rude, aren’t you going to manage him?"

Zhao Hanzhang was about to speak, but Ming Yu intercepted with a smile, "No need to complain about me, Seventh Grandfather. I truly mean well for you. You might not have had any merit to sit here before, but now you can create some."

Zhao Hu knew he was eyeing his family wealth and became furious, "Dream on if you want my wealth!"

Ming Yu sighed and shook his head, saying, "Why does Seventh Grandfather only see immediate interests? You’ve accumulated such substantial wealth because of the Great General’s support, and if you can help Great Jin through this crisis today, in the future, you will have a nation as your backing and can accumulate even greater wealth."

"You’re a smart man and should understand that to take, one must first give."

Zhao Hu snorted and turned away with an arrogant tilt of his head, adopting a ’not listening, not listening, like a turtle chanting the scriptures’ dismissive demeanor.

Ming Yu then turned to look at Zhao Cheng, asking merrily, "What does the esteemed Ji think?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hu instantly tensed, genuinely afraid Zhao Cheng might agree to donate, and quickly turned to glare at him.

Zhao Cheng didn’t look at him but addressed Zhao Hanzhang directly, saying in a deep voice, "Whether to donate or not depends on the head of the family."

Ming Yu asked, "Isn’t this your family?"

Zhao Cheng said, "My entire family fortune has already been donated to the national treasury, so those assets are not related to me."

Listening to this, Zhao Hu felt both relief and a bit of sadness.

He thought angrily that in the end, won’t this money be left to him and Zheng’er? How could it not be related?

Thinking about the stewards locked up in jail by Zhao Cheng, Zhao Hu started breathing heavily, his anger rising. Fine, since they think it doesn’t concern him, he’ll spend all the money, not leaving a cent for their father and son. Let’s see if they’ll be begging after his hundred years!

Though he thought this way, within three breaths, his anger subsided, comforting himself internally. Forget it, he’s a fool; why should he measure up against a fool?

Clearly, despite his extreme frustration, Zhao Hu couldn’t truly bear to leave Zhao Cheng with nothing.

Zhao Hanzhang laughed, "Alright, I know Mr. Ming is worried about the national treasury. This matter cannot be rushed. You may all step down now, allowing me to talk with Seventh Ancestor."

She and Zhao Hu came from Chen County together and had only been apart for two days. What old times could there be to discuss?

However, everyone still stood, bowed, and withdrew, leaving space for them.

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and left Zhao Cheng behind, and when Xun Fan, Jia Pi, and others were about to leave the side hall, she said with a smile, "I know why Seventh Ancestor is here; aside from those abandoned houses in the inner city, isn’t it about Uncle Cheng?"

Even Ji Yuan and Ming Yu couldn’t help but pause their steps, let alone Xun Fan and Jia Pi; the land in the inner city...

Zhao Hu’s expression looked a bit better, glancing at Zhao Cheng standing with hands lowered, he felt anger rising again and complained to Zhao Hanzhang, "Your acting County Magistrate of Luoyang County took my family servants without cause pretending to be publicly unbiased. You must have a good word with him."

Zhao Cheng’s face remained calm, his voice without fluctuation, "They bribed officials intending to misappropriate state funds, violating national law; they naturally should be punished."

Speaking to this point, Zhao Cheng finally looked at Zhao Hu with a somewhat steely complexion, "If it weren’t for the roads being cut off due to war, this case should have apprehended the main culprit."

"Alright, are you trying to arrest your father?" Zhao Hu exclaimed furiously, "You unfilial thing, do you think you can..."

"Seventh Ancestor!" Zhao Hanzhang interrupted what he was about to say, "Although this is a palace, walls have ears. Are you trying to have the news of Uncle Cheng’s unfilial reputation spread throughout Luoyang tomorrow?"

Zhao Hu opened his mouth and couldn’t utter a word.

Zhao Hanzhang continued towards Zhao Cheng, "I know Uncle Cheng is just, but you are too strict with Seventh Ancestor. In front of others, you can defend him. Why can’t you say a few soft words in private?"