Chapter 1489: Zhao Changyu (VIII)

When enough people talk about something, even if it is false, it will slowly become true.

Mrs. Wang was trapped in rumor; she even began to doubt herself. Perhaps to break out of this predicament, she held very tight rein over Zhao Erlang’s education. Her temperament gradually hardened and grew extreme; at the slightest stir of grass in the wind, she suspected others of mocking her for being unfilial.

Zhao Hezhen learned to read faces and hide her true nature in precisely such an environment.

From her mother, she understood how important reputation was; therefore she cherished her own feathers, always presenting a virtuous face to the outside world.

Zhao Changyu also attached great importance to the education of his granddaughter and grandson, not only because he had agreed to Zhao Zhi, but also because they were the future of the Zhao Family. And it was not only the sibling pair Zhao Hezhen and her brother; he educated Zhao Ji’s several children in the same way.

Only, in order to deal with Empress Jia, he seldom openly concerned himself with the education of those grandnephews; after all, his relationship with the Second Son was strained.

Zhao Changyu did indeed worry more over Zhao Hezhen and her brother.

From the time Zhao Zhi could speak, Zhao Changyu and Lady Wang used poems and prose to teach him. Of course, it was only reciting from memory; they did not expect him to be able to recognize the characters or write them.

Zhao Zhi was indeed bright; by the age of three he could already recite many poems and essays.

At that time Zhao Changyu asked a carpenter to carve some commonly used characters into wooden blocks, making them round in shape, and he personally drew pictures corresponding to the meaning of the characters on the other side of the blocks.

After Zhao Zhi had played with them for two years, by the time he was five and started formal learning, he was already able to recognize most of the common characters and enunciate them clearly.

He educated Zhao Erlang in the same way.

He even used exactly the same set of tools.

But where his father would point at the blocks in delight and clap his little hands while reading out the characters on them, he would only snatch up the blocks and fling them away as fast as he could. The farther he threw them, the happier he was. His little hands flapped like a dragonfly’s wings, almost leaving afterimages.

Zhao Changyu’s heart was choked with sorrow.

If not for the deep affection between Mrs. Wang and her son, and the fact that Zhao Erlang’s little face was like a replica of his father’s when he was young, he would surely have suspected that this grandson had been switched.

By contrast, in reading and recognizing characters, his granddaughter was very much like the Zhao Family.

Like Zhao Zhi, she could recognize most common characters by the age of five, and had memorized many poems and texts.

By the time Zhao Erlang turned five, Zhao Hezhen’s studies had already surpassed Zhao Yi’s; even Zhao Zhongyu could not help but look askance.

Since even Zhao Zhongyu paid attention to her, needless to say Zhao Changyu did as well.

At this time, Mrs. Wang was sunk deep in rumor. Zhao Changyu could manage what was out in the open, but not what lurked in the dark.

Since no one spoke of it in his presence, if he took the initiative to raise it, it would seem like a guilty conscience.

Seeing his granddaughter affected by this, growing ever more quiet, he purposely summoned her and said to her, “In your eyes, is your mother a good person?”

Without even thinking, Zhao Hezhen answered, “Mother is of course a good person.”

Zhao Changyu smiled. “Then do you think Grandfather is a good person?”

Though still young, even as skilled as she was at concealment, Zhao Hezhen paused for a moment before saying, “Grandfather is of course also a good person.”

But Zhao Changyu laughed and said, “You also feel that Grandfather is not quite a good man, only a good grandfather. Yet why is it that no one in the clan dares to spread rumors about me?”

This was a point that puzzled Zhao Hezhen as well, so she did not refute him. Instead she looked at him with a face full of desire for him to dispel her doubts.

Zhao Changyu said, “Because Grandfather is capable and powerful. They not only respect me, they also fear me.”

He spoke slowly, even pausing in the middle to give her ample time to think. “Third Lady, if you wish not to be the target of people’s slander, not to be swept along by rumor, then either you must have the reputation of a sage, or you must inspire fear in them and make them dependent on you so that they cannot help but bow to your authority.”

“If you cannot first have prestige and then have power, then be a person who has power first and prestige later. In this way, no one will dare to disparage you.”

Zhao Hezhen fell into thought; that day she remained in her grandfather’s study for a long time.

Not only did Zhao Changyu teach Zhao Hezhen the ways of survival and officeholding, he also spoke for the first time of Zhao Erlang’s mind that simply refused to open.

“I fear that Second Son will never grow enlightened in this lifetime. Fortunately he is healthy in body. In the future you siblings can support each other and should be able to live your lives in peace.”

Though Zhao Erlang was only five, from the time he started speaking to now, he had been studying for more than three years; yet to this day he still could not pick out even the simplest character “big.”

Though Zhao Changyu had not entirely abandoned hope, he had already begun to pave the way for their future.

If Zhao Erlang truly was dull-witted…

“In the future you will be his limbs and brain, and he will be your trunk,” Zhao Changyu said. “Through him you can make use of the Zhao Family’s resources and connections.”

His plan was excellent: the grandson’s stupidity did not matter, for the granddaughter was clever. Between them there was not only the bond of blood but also the tie of common interest.

This world is naturally inclined toward men, whether Zhao Hezhen admits it or not. Even if her younger brother is foolish, his voice in the clan carries more weight than hers. Externally, between her and her brother, her brother is also better able to represent the Zhao Family.

Therefore she could stand behind Zhao Erlang, remotely controlling him like an Empress Dowager listening behind the curtain.

Up to this point, Zhao Changyu still intended for Zhao Erlang to be the heir.

He still had confidence in his bloodline, thinking that even if Zhao Erlang was slow-witted, he should at least be able to recognize some characters and know right from wrong. The internal strife within the Zhao Family was not as violent as in great clans like Mrs. Wang’s; with the granddaughter’s cleverness, she ought to be able to keep things in hand.

Until his conflict with Zhao Zhongyu grew ever deeper, the play-acting at the beginning slowly became real. Or perhaps it had never been entirely play; there had always been some discord between the brothers.

Beyond that, what was more important was that Empress Jia died—but her death did not bring an end to the chaos of Great Jin. On the contrary, it made Great Jin even more disordered.

In Winter of the Ninth Year of Yuan Kang, Empress Jia unjustly killed the Crown Prince, but less than three months later, she herself was poisoned to death by Sima Lun. In less than a year, the three princes rose in rebellion against Sima Lun, and Sima Lun too was killed…

In a little over a year, the Capital City was plowed three times, three great upheavals, with over two hundred thousand dead and wounded. The renowned aristocratic families of Luoyang that were exterminated were beyond counting.

Even such capable and well-reputed men as Zhang Hua and Pei Wei were killed, their entire clans implicated.

Three times, Zhao Changyu hovered on the brink of death; only then did he overturn his original strategy.

In such times, if he entrusted the family estate to Zhao Erlang and Zhao Hezhen, could the siblings truly protect the family fortune, protect their lives, protect the Zhao Family clan?

There was almost no need to think: the emperors now being swept along, seized, confined, deposed were the very examples before his eyes.

The internal strife of the Zhao Family was not serious, but that was because he was there. If a foolish Zhao Erlang were put in charge instead…

Unbidden, Zhao Changyu thought of Emperor Wu.

While Emperor Wu lived, the court tended toward peace. But once Emperor Wu died, chaos arose among the lords. At the time he could see the disorder that would follow a foolish emperor’s accession; why then had he failed to see the future of his own family?

It was merely that the onlooker sees clearly while the one in the game is confused.

Zhao Changyu reflected on himself, and from that moment he began to entertain the idea of handing the family estate and his title over to the Second Branch.