After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times

Treat everyone equally, no, it was Zhao Hanzhang, who was presiding over justice, sitting calmly in the chief seat with a smile, listening to the people on either side below her fiercely accusing each other.

She took a sip of tea, extracting useful information from their quarrel. For example, the person who was quarreling fiercely with the Seventh Ancestor was not from Xiping, or even from Ru Nan County, but from Lu State.

So the question arises, what is a person from Lu State doing here?

Naturally, they came to do business with Zhao Hanzhang. Hearing that there was a shortage of food and cloth in the five counties of Yu State, this person from Lu brought some cloth from their own estate to sell, while also experiencing the renowned Zhao Family Winter Solstice Banquet in Central State.

"To my surprise, while the Zhao Family is indeed skilled in business, the rumored hospitality and ceremoniousness are false. This old man, relying on his status as the ancestor of the magistrate, arbitrarily bullies outsiders. I came to deliver cloth to the magistrate; if it were an ordinary traveler, wouldn’t it be much worse?"

Zhao Hu was furious upon hearing this. He immediately slapped the table and stood up, pointing at the other’s nose and cursing, "What of my bullying you? This is my Xiping, you..."

Zhao Hanzhang coughed twice and gently soothed, "Seventh Ancestor, you see, you’re talking emotionally again, aren’t you? We haven’t figured things out yet, so why are you assuming you’re the one bullying?"

The person from Lu sneered, "Does the magistrate mean that I’m bullying him?"

He said with a face full of humiliation, "If the magistrate determines it that way, then I have nothing more to say, I..."

"Hey, righteous man, hold on, don’t be so hasty, sit down and have a cup of tea to relax," Zhao Hanzhang said with a smile, "I am indeed the inspector, but this is Ru Nan County. Such disputes should be taken to County Magistrate Chang."

Sanjin, who had been standing, found something to say and immediately added, "Snow fell last night, and I heard Triangle Village is trapped by it, with houses collapsing under the weight, so County Magistrate Chang left for Triangle Village early this morning."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded and asked, "Then what about Governor Zhao? If the county magistrate is absent, the case can be brought to the Governor Mansion."

Moreover, Zhao Ming would be most suitable; he also oversees family affairs, and Zhao Hu is afraid of him.

Sanjin lowered his head and said, "Mr. Ming is also not here. I heard he left early this morning for some business."

Zhao Hanzhang shifted her gaze to the left, and Fan Ying stepped forward and whispered, "Governor Zhao wanted to take another look at the iron mine, so He Heng took him there."

The He Family holds that large iron mine in Ru Nan County. Although Zhao Hanzhang wanted to manage it personally and appointed people to oversee it, as long as the mine is within Ru Nan County, it inevitably has some relation to Governor Zhao Ming.

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t shy away from involving Zhao Ming in this matter and was willing to share some of the interests with him.

Mainly because she had limited personnel on hand, and some issues regarding the iron mine still relied on him.

Zhao Ming didn’t refuse, feeling that there wouldn’t be any major issues at the Governor Mansion for the next few days, as Zhao Hanzhang could handle things, so he cheerfully went with He Heng to inspect the iron mine again.

Just coincidentally, at present, the one in charge of Xiping has become Zhao Hanzhang again.

Of course, she could decline to handle it. Such a small case could even be resolved by the County Magistrate. Why bother reporting it to her? It’s just that the individuals involved have somewhat special identities, and the County Magistrate, out of consideration, felt unwilling to handle it and awaited her to set the tone.

One is an elder from her clan, and the other is an outsider noble claiming to help her, so which side should the County Magistrate favor?

Of course, the County Magistrate would prefer to side with Zhao Hu, after all, local officials can’t compete with current leaders, and this is Zhao Family’s territory, plus Zhao Hu is the inspector’s uncle.

But knowing Zhao Hanzhang’s character and personality, the County Magistrate dared not proceed that way, so the case was pushed to Zhao Hanzhang.

Because he believed that even if he judged without bias, the matter might not be resolved peacefully.

Now Zhao Hanzhang felt the County Magistrate’s difficulty. Considering the current situation of the two individuals, even if the County Magistrate made a just ruling, they would still refuse to accept it. And as long as the parties involved believe the judge is biased, then in the eyes of the world, the case will appear biased, and it’s just a question of favoring whom.

Zhao Hanzhang gently tapped her knee. Therefore, how this case is decided indicates her attitude towards her kinsmen and other nobles.

This would directly affect the clan’s view of her and the perception of those seeking refuge with her.

Zhao Hanzhang smirked. This case appeared at just the right time.

She smiled and said, "How very unfortunate, neither the county magistrate nor the governor is here. Since that’s the case, I will judge this case myself. Have the two of you decided to lodge an appeal?"

The other party was taken aback, while Zhao Hu already shouted loudly, "Appeal! I’m appealing right now!"

Zhao Hanzhang nodded and said, "Alright then, the government office has a set procedure. Fan Ying, you will act as my clerk today."

Fan Ying agreed, and having attendants set paper and ink on her desk, started grinding ink and waiting.

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and asked the two, "Please first report your place of origin and names."

The person from Lu: ... Was all the arguing with Zhao Hu before just in vain?

Although Zhao Hanzhang didn’t follow the protocol of having them stand up to respond, still smiling and allowing them to remain seated, even turning to let her maid serve them tea, the person from Lu dared not oppose her procedure when facing Zhao Hanzhang’s icy gaze.

So after a brief pause, he said, "I am Fang Jing, from Lu State..."

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Zhao Hanzhang leaned forward, appearing to listen intently. After he introduced himself, she smiled warmly at him and then looked at Zhao Hu.

Zhao Hu stared at her with wide eyes.

Zhao Hanzhang smoothly informed Fan Ying, "This one is the Seventh Grandfather from the Zhao Family, his origin is right here in Xiping, make a note of it."

Fan Ying bowed with a smile, "Yes."

Fang Jing: ... Is this bias not obvious?

Zhao Hanzhang allowed Fan Ying to jot it down and turned to ask, "On what grounds are you quarreling?"

Although it had already been stated once, Zhao Hu was still very agitated, eager to speak again. Zhao Hanzhang suddenly smiled and pointed at Fang Jing, "Let Fang Jing speak."

Zhao Hu pursed his lips in displeasure, but since it was Zhao Hanzhang’s decision, he didn’t speak further and sulked in his seat.

Fang Jing swallowed his saliva, feeling nervous under Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze, and said, "When I was at the Treasure Pavilion, I took a liking to a house made entirely of glass. The clerk mentioned it was called a glass greenhouse, and only one team of craftsmen could build it. So I placed an order for craftsmen to come, only for the Seventh Grandfather Zhao to suddenly cut in, wanting to build a glass greenhouse before me."

He said, "To be honest with you, magistrate, if it were anything else, I would let it go. But the reason I want to build the greenhouse is that I have several rare flowers in my possession, including a few pots of precious orchids. I can’t bear to let them freeze, so I am adamant about building the greenhouse, and I absolutely cannot yield on this matter."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded slightly and turned to ask the now furious Zhao Hu, "Seventh Ancestor, do you agree?"

"Agree my foot, I was clearly the first to enter the Treasure Pavilion, I was the first to inquire about the glass greenhouse, and I was the first to place an order!"

Fang Jing was displeased and said, "Seventh Grandfather Zhao, I was clearly the first to place an order. I even paid the deposit, did you?"

Zhao Hu’s face turned red, Zhao Hanzhang quickly reached out to stop the two of them, smiling as she said, "To see how things really are, just call the clerk from the Treasure Pavilion."