After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times

Zhao Cheng lowered his eyes and said nothing.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hu’s eyes turned; was Zhao Cheng defending him just now?

Zhao Hanzhang stood up, adjusted her robe, and said, "You’ve come a long way to the palace, Uncle, you must be hungry. Let me make you a bowl of noodles."

With that, she got up to leave, taking Zhao Yunxin with her, and the maids attending the hall quickly followed them out.

As soon as they stepped outside, Zhao Hanzhang said to Zhao Yunxin, "Go and fetch the documents on the burnt houses, and don’t forget the land deeds."

Zhao Yunxin agreed.

Zhao Hanzhang then took Ting He to the side room, where there was a small kitchen typically used for brewing tea and making snacks for Zhao Hanzhang and the ministers.

Now the palace was poor, and the so-called big kitchen cooked for the guards and palace attendants; the meals for the emperor and Zhao Hanzhang were prepared in their respective small kitchens.

This small kitchen in the side room handled Zhao Hanzhang’s and the on-duty ministers’ lunches.

Of course, it’s hard to cook without ingredients, and the amount of funds Zhao Hanzhang allocated didn’t give the chefs much room to work.

The most sumptuous meal they’d had in the palace recently was noodles with two eggs.

At this moment, Zhao Hanzhang intended to serve Zhao Hu and Zhao Cheng with a bowl of these noodles.

The chef immediately prized open a jar, unveiling a cloth bag, and carefully scooped out over half a bowl of noodles, poured it into a basin, then opened another jar, scooping out a small half bowl of yellow bean powder, and poured that in too.

He mixed it a little, carefully adding some water, and his fingers moved rapidly, slowly moistening the flour before setting the water bowl aside to knead and squeeze the mixture.

Finding it interesting, Zhao Hanzhang rolled up her sleeves, washed her hands, and said, "Let me do it."

The chef hesitated for a moment but stepped aside.

Zhao Hanzhang started kneading the dough; she found it quite fun.

It’s quite the workout for the arms. Most importantly, with each press and pull, the surroundings fell silent, and her mind, muddled from a morning of governance, suddenly became clear.

Zhao Hanzhang became contemplative as she finished kneading the dough, then handed it over to the chef.

The chef rubbed a handful of dry flour on his hands before continuing to knead and pound. After a short while, the dough formed into a ball, and he glanced at the stove where the soup was boiling.

He immediately picked up a knife, swiftly slicing the dough sheets into the pot.

Zhao Hanzhang watched his almost seamless knife skills and smiled, "That’s impressive, I want to learn that too."

Ting He: "Earlier, Madam asked you to learn a few cooking skills, but you chose instead to spend time learning archery and martial arts. Now, you don’t need to learn to cook, so why the sudden interest?"

"There’s nothing wrong with learning a bit of cooking," Zhao Hanzhang said, "It comes in handy for filial piety in critical moments."

She observed the chef’s noodle slicing technique, and after he finished, she turned to the little eunuch tending the fire and said, "Let me handle the fire."

The little eunuch was startled, initially squatting, he knelt to the ground, bowed his head, and dared not speak, trembling.

Zhao Hanzhang smiled, patted his shoulder, and said, "No need to be afraid, I’m not unhappy with your fire tending. It’s just that when I said I’d make noodles for Seventh Grandfather, I shouldn’t only knead the dough, right?"

"In this kitchen, the only thing I can do is tend the fire."

The chef quickly urged the little eunuch, "Hurry and thank the Great General for her grace."

The little eunuch repeatedly kowtowed, "Thank you, Great General, thank you, Great General."

Zhao Hanzhang saw his head knocking on the ground, his forehead instantly smeared with black ash, yet it was swollen and red, thus appearing both black and red.

Her heart ached, but her face still carried a smile as she waved her hand happily and said, "Today, everyone in the small kitchen deserves credit. Tonight, I’ll reward each of you with an egg, two for the chef."

Everyone’s eyes lit up; a single egg is not to be underestimated, even Zhao Hanzhang herself only gets two eggs daily.

Everyone quickly knelt down to give thanks.

Zhao Hanzhang waved a hand, squatted by the stove, and carefully added wood to the fire.

The chef cooked the noodles, scooped them up, added the soup, beat two eggs to cook, and divided them into two bowls, then added a handful of greens...

Soon, two bowls of noodles with both meat and vegetables, half yellow and white, half green, were ready.

Regardless of the taste, the appearance and aroma were top-notch.

Even though Zhao Hanzhang had eaten not long ago, exhaustion from thinking quickly made her hungry again.

But she restrained herself, personally carrying the tray with the two bowls back.

Alas, even the landlord’s family lacked surplus food; this was for Zhao Hu and Zhao Cheng.

She smiled warmly as she headed to the side hall, only to encounter Zhao Cheng coming out with a solemn face.

Zhao Hanzhang’s smiling face immediately fell.

From the looks of it, Zhao Cheng and Zhao Hu hadn’t had a pleasant conversation.

After considering, she handed the tray to Ting He behind her and stepped forward.

Zhao Cheng had already stepped aside and bowed.

Although he was an elder, unless they were at the Zhao Mansion discussing personal matters or he needed to discipline her, Zhao Cheng never assumed the stance of an elder, always positioning himself as a subordinate.

Zhao Hanzhang said to Zhao Cheng, "There’s no need for formality, Uncle, when there’s no outsider present."

Zhao Cheng straightened up and cupped his hands, "I have no more business here, I shall take my leave."

Zhao Hanzhang stopped him, asking, "Did you argue with Uncle Grandfather again?"

Zhao Cheng remained silent.

Zhao Hanzhang then asked, "Were you trying to convince Uncle Grandfather to donate his wealth to me?"

Zhao Cheng emphasized, "Donate it to the national treasury, donate it to Great Jin."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, agreeing with his emphasis, then smiled, "Uncle Grandfather surely wouldn’t agree."

Zhao Cheng kept his face stern and said nothing.

Zhao Hanzhang laughed, "If it were me, I probably wouldn’t agree either. To Uncle Grandfather, wealth ranks only after Uncle Cheng and his immediate cousin. Great Jin neither granted him nobility nor promised future prosperity; why should he donate his wealth to the country?"

Zhao Cheng said, "Without the protection of the country, how could he accumulate this wealth? Now that the country is in difficulty, as a citizen, he’s obliged to contribute."

"He’s already done his part," Zhao Hanzhang said, "Uncle doesn’t know how remarkable Uncle Grandfather is; for years of war, his family’s taxes and donations alone have supported fifty thousand soldiers of the Zhao Family Army."

"Not just for one day, but for four years; just this time, the calculation money he paid saved an entire province, Youzhou," Zhao Hanzhang said, "I won’t hide from Uncle, the calculation money Uncle Grandfather paid accounted for a third of all collected this time."

Equivalent to the national taxation, where Zhao Hu alone contributed a third of the national treasury’s revenue.

She sighed, "To be honest, if Uncle Grandfather weren’t such a character, I’d fear he’d stir up great trouble. His taxes and donations over the years could have earned him a noble title."

Zhao Cheng, whose demeanor had softened, immediately said, "He mustn’t be granted a title!"

Zhao Hanzhang looked at him.

Zhao Cheng then bitterly smiled, "Granting him a title would be to harm him."