Chapter 1490: Zhao Changyu (9)

Zhao Changyu had never been a hesitating, indecisive man; once he realized that with his granddaughter and grandson inheriting the family estate it would be like a child hugging gold through a crowded market, he began to make arrangements.

He would split off a portion of the estate to serve as the capital for his grandson and granddaughter to survive on; the rest would all be passed on to Zhao Ji.

Only at this point did Zhao Changyu begin to understand his own father.

Back then, he had squandered his wealth in such a grand, ostentatious fashion, yet not a single plot of land nor the old family house was touched; it was not without the consideration of protecting him.

At that time, Zhao Changyu was only fourteen, Zhao Zhongyu barely ten, orphans with a frail mother; even though he already had some reputation, the title of Shangcai Marquis and that fertile fief still stirred the envy of all.

The Shangcai Marquis had been a clean and honest official; once he gave away all his wealth in a single stroke, the whole world knew, and the eyes of the people were upon him. Thus, although the dynasty changed, the newly enthroned Emperor Wu still very quickly allowed Zhao Changyu to inherit the title.

No matter how many people had once cast covetous eyes on the Zhao Family’s glory and fortune, after the Shangcai Marquis gave away all the shops and ready cash, what they could show on the surface was only benevolence.

Zhao Changyu hoped that he too could leave a pure land for his grandson and granddaughter.

Therefore, he did not intend to give them too much money.

Only land, and a few scattered shops: as long as they were diligent, they could live in comfort like prosperous households; with books in the family, the descendants would always have a chance to rise again.

He had given up hoping for Zhao Erlang; he could only pin a little hope on his son.

He planned it very well, but had not anticipated that the conflict between the main branch and the second branch would grow more and more serious.

Mrs. Wang seemed to have gone down a blind alley: she was unwilling to accept the reality of Zhao Erlang’s stupidity, and therefore unwilling to relinquish the title that by right should belong to the main branch.

Because of her, Zhao Hezhen seemed gentle on the surface, yet secretly confronted the second branch head‑on.

What displeased Zhao Changyu most was the conduct of the second branch—Zhao Ji and his wife and their several children.

However bad Mrs. Wang and the two children were, it was because they had suffered losses; some resentment was normal. If the second branch could not resolve it, so be it, but they could not even manage the most basic forbearance and generosity.

Though in front of him all seemed peaceful, in private they fought each other constantly.

At this time, it happened to be the period when Luoyang was at its most chaotic, with court struggles at their most intense.

In Luoyang City, every few months there would be a battle; colleagues who had been discussing state affairs face to face with him just yesterday would today have rebel troops break into their homes and hack them to pieces.

Yesterday the emperor was in Sima Lun’s hands; today he had fallen into Sima Jiong’s, and after Sima Jiong’s year or so of triumph, the emperor was snatched away again by Sima Yi…

Each time the Regent King changed, the faction of the previous Regent King would be exterminated to the third degree of kin.

And the criteria by which they determined someone to be a faction member were capricious. One Imperial Censor, merely because he was present when Sima Jiong failed to pay respect to the emperor and did not speak up to admonish and correct him, was deemed one of Sima Jiong’s party.

After Sima Jiong’s defeat, more than three thousand of his supposed associates were prosecuted, all exterminated to the third degree of kin, and more than sixty thousand people were implicated…

And that was not even counting the Soldiers killed on both sides in battle…

Several times, Zhao Changyu’s name was put on the lists, and then struck off. In order to be struck off every time the regime changed, Zhao Changyu exhausted his wits, and in addition he had to protect as many of the common people of Luoyang as possible, and protect the muddle‑headed emperor who was being seized and snatched—wasn’t he worn out enough?

Every time he returned home from outside, all he wanted was to close his eyes and sleep, yet the household was still in utter disorder.

With state affairs and family affairs entangled, Zhao Changyu’s health worsened day by day.

Uncle Cheng had said more than once, “My lord is simply worked to death.”

Fatigue combined with anger made Zhao Changyu’s body decline with each passing day, and at the same time he came to see ever more clearly that the second and main branches probably could not coexist peacefully.

If the estate were handed to Zhao Ji, in future Mrs. Wang and her two sons would have nothing to rely on from them.

Should he let the main branch suffer a bit more loss but live on, or let the main branch shine brilliantly for a moment and then drag the entire family to its death?

Zhao Changyu knew what he ought to choose; was not the present chaos of the realm precisely because Emperor Wu could not bear to let the Crown Prince be wronged?

He forced himself to endure the heartache, ignored Mrs. Wang’s fury, and began to cultivate Zhao Ji and Zhao Yi.

Yet…they truly were mud that could not be shaped into bricks; Zhao Ji was even worse than his father.

At this point, Zhao Changyu at last found Zhao Zhongyu a bit more pleasing to the eye; though he was lacking, he was still far better than his son.

At this point, he began to find his sister‑in‑law displeasing; were she not already dead, he would definitely give her a thorough scolding.

But though she was gone, Zhao Zhongyu was still here.

So Zhao Changyu said to Zhao Zhongyu, “Mother was wrong when she proposed this match for you back then, Jizhi—rotten wood cannot be carved.”