Tiger Guards

Chapter 728 Young Master Iron Can
Three days later, at dusk, Zhao Ji led his subordinates away from the mausoleum.

At the West Gate Pavilion outside the West City, the three hundred Tiger and Leopard Knights who served as Zhao Ji's vanguard arrived first.

Inside the courtyard where Ximenting had been guarding nearby, Zhao Ji's eldest son, Tieguan, was dressed neatly and being held by his wet nurse.

There were only twelve or thirteen maids or strong women inside and outside the courtyard, and everything had been swept and cleaned.

Two maids held up a bronze mirror, and Alan looked at her reflection in the mirror, trying her best to learn and imitate the noblewoman's attire.

She applied white powder to her face, covering the outline of her eyebrows, but instead drew two tadpole-like silkworm eyebrows an inch above the ends of her brows.

She then applied rouge to her lips, shaping it into a small heart.

Now that her status has risen, especially after giving birth to Zhao Tieguan, the relatives of her deceased father from her early years have also come looking for her. After living for so many years, she finally realized that she should have the surname Han.

In the eyes of the Zhao family and the people of Hedong, the Iron Jar Prince was the true eldest grandson and eldest son.

The title of "Iron Hammer Prince" given to Cai Zhaoji was merely a fabrication by Zhao Yuanming, who deliberately elevated the status of the Iron Hammer Prince out of his remembrance of his deceased friend Cai Bojie. Scholars in the Central Plains generally believed that this was a lie fabricated by the people of Hedong, intended to belittle the Iron Hammer Prince.

Neither side has held a wedding ceremony, so they cannot accuse each other of having a legitimate or illegitimate child. Now they can only fight over the status of the eldest son.

Under such fierce competition, Alan agreed to restore the surname Han, which would attract more people to help her. Even if she was slow to realize, she knew that this was not about competing for fame and position, but about participating in the competition so that she could live better with the support of her fellow villagers.

Without the protection of fellow villagers, the verbal attacks began.

Given her current position, she doesn't have a better way to deal with it.

As for moving away from Jinyang with her son... she couldn't bear to leave the living environment here, nor could she bear to leave the compliments and fawning from the female relatives who came to visit.

He was increasingly enjoying his current status and wished that lightning would strike down all the other women.

"Madam, the Duke's carriage has already crossed the Dragon Bridge."

A maid rushed over and reported urgently. Han Alan took a deep breath, held her breath, stood up, and spread her arms. Two maids on either side reached out to help her.

At this moment, Han Alan wore a wig with cloud-like hair, a white brocade dress with red trim, and wooden deerskin slippers. She tried her best to maintain her balance as she walked out, wanting to greet Zhao Ji in her best form.

However, Zhao Ji's chariot was fast, and by the time she arrived at the front yard, Zhao Ji's chariot was already parked outside the gate.

Zhao Ji got out of the carriage and looked at the timid little boy in the wet nurse's arms, then at the eight maids and wet nurses waiting. These people bowed their heads and trembled with fear.

So much so that, without a word being spoken, the little boy sensed the oppressive atmosphere and, perhaps influenced by the wet nurse's emotions, began to wail.

The wet nurse became even more nervous and hugged the baby even tighter, which made the baby cry even louder.

At this moment, Zhao Ji saw Alan, dressed in full regalia, who looked like a ghost bride to him... Through the thick makeup, Zhao Ji felt no sense of familiarity with this outfit.

But it was really too much to just walk away, so he turned to look at Gao Yanglong and said, "Bring the iron can over."

"Here."

Gao Yanglong agreed and cautiously stepped forward. He was over ten feet tall, with a broad and strong build. His face was so fierce that even the wet nurse was afraid of him, let alone Zhao Tieguan.

So she cried even louder and tried to turn around in her wet nurse's arms, wanting to bury her head in her wet nurse's arms.

The wet nurse dared not dodge or refuse, and could only pull Zhao Tieguan out of her arms. In fear, Zhao Tieguan's little hands grabbed at her clothes, tears and snot streaming down his face, but he was no match for her and was forcibly pulled away by the wet nurse. Alan also came out at this moment. At this moment, she only had Zhao Ji in her eyes. Although her son's crying made her very worried, she only glanced at him.

When Gao Yanglong took Zhao Tieguan from the wet nurse, Zhao Tieguan cried even louder. Gao Yanglong had never raised a child before, and he almost clasped his hands together as he presented Zhao Tieguan to Zhao Ji, saying, "Your Excellency."

Zhao Ji took out a specially made rattle drum from his pocket and waved it in front of Zhao Tieguan. The sound of the rattle drum failed to distract Zhao Tieguan, who continued to cry loudly.

Zhao Ji glanced at the wet nurse with annoyance, which frightened her so much that she knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

At this moment, Zhao Tieguan sprayed out a strong stream of water. Zhao Ji suddenly turned his head to dodge, but Chang Mao, who was standing behind him, got sprayed in the face.

Chang Mao raised his hand to wipe his face expressionlessly, then picked up a corner of his cloak and wiped his face again. Then, as if nothing had happened, he rubbed his right hand repeatedly behind the cloak.

Zhao Ji glanced back at Chang Mao, and after the water source was turned off, he reached out and gently flicked Zhao Tieguan's small faucet, and couldn't help but laugh: "Yu Chun, come and hug me."

"Here."

Chang Mao agreed and stepped forward to take Zhao Tieguan from Gao Yanglong's hands. With practiced ease, he lifted Zhao Tieguan's buttocks, held him close, buried his face in front of Gao Yanglong's chest-covering robe, and gently patted Zhao Tieguan's shoulder and back with his other hand.

With his view blocked and in a relatively safe and comfortable position, Zhao Tieguan's crying quickly stopped. Perhaps he was tired from crying, and he soon fell asleep under everyone's watchful eyes.

Unlike Gao Yanglong, the youngest son in the family, this guy had no experience in taking care of children.

Chang Mao had taken care of his younger siblings since he was a child, so he knew how to coax children.

Seeing that the child had fallen asleep and stopped crying, Zhao Ji said to Alan, "I'll take the child to see his grandfather. Later, a carriage will come to pick you up."

"Here."

Despite her reluctance, Han Alan dared not speak to stop him. She could only watch Zhao Ji turn and leave, and then turn her gaze to Chang Mao. Chang Mao was also carrying the child and slowly boarded the chariot. He took another cloak to cover the child so that it would not be exposed to the wind.

As Zhao Ji turned to board the carriage, twelve guards carried six large boxes into the courtyard in pairs. They contained nothing of value, but rather various exquisite household utensils captured from the Liangzhou battlefield, mainly bronze and lacquerware.

As the tank started moving, Zhao Ji turned to Chang Mao, who was boarding the tank and holding the child, and said, "This wet nurse doesn't love children. When faced with my orders, she knew perfectly well that A Long's ugly appearance would frighten the child, but she still handed the child over. I don't like people like that."

Chang Mao turned his head and asked softly, "Should we change the wet nurse? What does Madam Han think about that?"

"Go and visit the meritorious officials and select five new wet nurses to take turns caring for the child. When they come here, have them bring their children with them as well, and find more siblings for Iron Can."

Zhao Ji glanced at the Jin Canal and the reeds growing on both banks, and continued, "A thousand acres of paddy fields were allocated to the west bank of the Jin Canal to build manors, which were then given to these five families to cultivate and manage. After paying the land rent, the profits were divided equally among the five families and Tie Guan."

"Here."

Chang Mao listened attentively and agreed. Compared to military orders and tactical instructions, the orders Zhao Ji gave him were very simple.

Zhao Ji continued to think and then said, "Let's select another disabled Hu Ben from Pingyang to be the steward for Tie Guan. The future is too far off; we should assign him a steward for now."

"Yes, Your Majesty understands."

Chang Mao grasped Zhao Ji's intention and said, "Your subject knows what kind of person to choose."

"Okay, I'll feel at ease if you do it."

(End of this chapter)