Zhao Erlang stood at the door looking pitifully at Zhao Hanzhang, and Zhao Hanzhang pretended not to see him, instructing others to carry him out.
Mrs. Wang watched her leave, then turned around and pulled Zhao Erlang back into the house. "Come on, we're going to continue learning characters today, just three - no, two will do. If you can remember two characters, Mother will make you something delicious tonight and buy you a saddle. You can buy whatever you want."
Zhao Erlang wasn't happy at all, "Can't I learn to write my own name?"
"You've already remembered your name; what's the point of learning it? We're learning new characters!"
Mrs. Wang dragged Zhao Erlang back into the house, while Zhao Hanzhang rode a carriage out through the main gate.
The carriage was draped with curtains on all sides, with Zhao Hanzhang sitting comfortably inside. She could vaguely see outside through the curtains but disliked them blocking her view, so she straightforwardly told Ting He to roll the curtains up.
Ting He rolled up the curtains on the front and sides.
With the view now wide open, Zhao Hanzhang could see as much as she pleased.
The streets were bustling, with all the shops open, though there were only a few stalls, and not many people entered or exited the stores.
Pedestrians who noticed the carriage either stepped aside from afar, or definitively moved onto the main road to deliberately block it.
Zhao Hanzhang watched with great interest but didn't say a word, waiting for the Zhao Family's driver to deal with it.
The driver merely lifted his eyelids to glance over, pulled on the reins to slow down, leisurely following the person, neither urging nor pushing.
Zhao Hanzhang looked at Ting He, who seemed accustomed to it, thinking Third Lady wanted tea, and promptly brewed a bowl for her.
Zhao Hanzhang took a sip of the tea, looked ahead at the person who left uninterestedly, thinking the Zhao Family really showed modesty outwardly.
As Zhao Hanzhang was pondering, her peripheral vision suddenly caught something being thrown from the air. She instinctively leaned back to avoid it.
A flower branch passed in front of her, striking the teapot.
Zhao Hanzhang stared blankly at the vibrant rose, then turned to see where the flower had come from.
The second floor of the restaurant on the left had an open window, with a young girl leaning against the window sill, half her body extended outside. Seeing her look over, she shouted loudly, "Third Sister Zhao, why did you dodge? You didn't catch the flower I threw."
Seeing the young girl sparked relevant memories, Zhao Hanzhang adjusted herself, waiting for the residual headache to subside before slightly nodding to the girl upstairs, "Thank you for the flower."
She reached out to pick up the flower that had fallen onto the carriage floor and waved to Wang Si Niang, "I'll keep it."
No sooner had she spoken, the rose hit repeatedly, its stem broke and fell onto Zhao Hanzhang's dress with a thud.
Zhao Hanzhang: …
Wang Si Niang: …
Zhao Hanzhang promptly picked it up, pretending nothing had happened, and looked up at Wang Si Niang on the restaurant.
The two exchanged glances for a moment, then Zhao Hanzhang told the driver, "Let's go."
Wang Si Niang saw she wasn't stopping and instead continued onward, shouting angrily, "Third Sister Zhao, who are you going to meet? Weren't you coming out to see me?"
Of course not, Zhao Hanzhang was headed to the city gate, hoping to gather some information from the gate guards.
Wang Si Niang saw Third Sister Zhao truly didn't look back, slapping a window in frustration before turning to chase below.
The servants hurried after her.
Wang Si Niang chased all the way to the city gate, quickly spotting the Zhao Family carriage parked at the intersection. She muttered to herself as she jumped off her oxcart to run over, "Third Sister Zhao, what are you doing here?"
Zhao Hanzhang glanced at her, "I'm taking a stroll; why are you chasing me?"
Wang Si Niang hopped onto her carriage, touched the furnishings inside with admiration, "Your grandfather is so good to you, actually willing to prepare such a luxurious carriage, even horse-drawn."
"Oh, this isn't mine, it's my granduncle's. I saw it when leaving today and thought it looked nice, so I swapped it on a whim."
Wang Si Niang gaped, "You…"
She examined her friend up and down, slightly frowning, "You seem somewhat different."
Zhao Hanzhang didn't hide her unusualness, candidly asking, "Is it strange?"
Being a different soul naturally made the person different.
Wang Si Niang worriedly inquired, "Are you thinking of giving up your family business to the second branch?"
Zhao Hanzhang was surprised, "How did you know?"
Wang Si Niang sighed, "That's actually good; you're always competing with them, which scares me. This time you got hurt, it frightened me."
She said, "Not competing is also good. With your grandfather's ability, he will certainly arrange things well for you; losing the title is not a big deal. You yourself said that title placed on your brother is a death sentence."
Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "That's right, which is why I'm letting it go."
Wang Si Niang turned her eyes, grabbing her hand, "How about marrying into my family instead, letting us protect you and your siblings? We could become sisters-in-law; wouldn't that be delightful?"
Zhao Hanzhang instantly withdrew her hand, "I wanted us to be close friends, but you want to scheme me into being your sister-in-law?"
Wang Si Niang: "What's a close friend?"
"A intimate friend from the inner circle?"
With a clap, Wang Si Niang laughed, "That name is good. Can't sisters-in-law also be close friends? My brother has both character and talent, comes from a good family; isn't he a good match for you? If you're willing, my family will propose soon."
Zhao Hanzhang was surprised, "Can you decide your brother's marriage?"
Wang Si Niang: "Mainly because your virtuous name is well-known, and my father is open-minded; he wouldn't refuse."
After thinking for a moment, Zhao Hanzhang replied, "But I don't agree."
Wang Si Niang laughed and asked, "You've met my brother too; is it his character, or talent that doesn't match you?"
"He has good character and talent, but I don't like him," Zhao Hanzhang replied. "I'm not planning to marry; even if I marry, that's a matter for when I return. Right now, I must find Professor Fu."
She directly refused Wang Si Niang, "Let's not bring this up again."
Ting He arrived panting, seeing Wang Si Niang and promptly greeted her before reporting to Zhao Hanzhang, "Third Lady, we've heard that there were many casualties that day, even involving gentlemen from the Wang Family and Fu Family. However, recently we haven't heard of any gentleman losing memory due to injury."
"Fu Family?" Zhao Hanzhang leaned closer, "Which Fu Family?"
"The Secretary of the Secretariat Fu Family."
Wang Si Niang hurriedly added, "Also my family cousin, who happened to bring servants into the city that day, and was injured during the mob riot."
Zhao Hanzhang asked with little interest, "Was he seriously hurt? Can he still remember past events? Any changes in diet and lifestyle?"
Wang Si Niang: "...He is okay? Just eats lightly now."
Of course, an injured person eats lightly.
Zhao Hanzhang remained more interested in the Fu Family, asking, "Which gentleman from the Fu Family was injured?"
Based on her possession criteria, it could be inferred that Professor Fu's possession conditions should be similar.
Trying to find scientific theory in unscientific matters, this was an inevitable method.
After feeding people many treats, Ting He managed to gather, "It's said the eldest gentleman of the Fu Family was injured upon returning with servants from Chang'an Li but hadn't entered the city when the incident occurred."
Zhao Hanzhang: "Fu Changrong? What a coincidence."
Wang Si Niang noticed Zhao Hanzhang's expression change and asked, "You like Fu Changrong? Though he has talent and looks, how could he compare to my brother? My brother is as famous as Wei Shubao."