Zhao Ming in Chen County somehow heard about this matter, sent two sketches directly to Zhao Hanzhang, which were his drawings of wedding attire, without saying a word.

To her surprise, Zhao Hanzhang liked it at first sight, so she looked at Fu Tinghan.

Fu Tinghan was also stunned, feeling that this was the wedding attire he wanted, so he nodded repeatedly at her.

The two had no objections, but Mrs. Wang, Zhao Song, and her beloved courtiers had objections, even the Little Emperor in the palace quietly shared a small opinion.

Then the two sketches were not approved, and everyone started to make modifications on the sketches, during which Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan couldn’t get a word in.

In Ji Yuan and Ming Yu’s words, "A wedding ceremony is not just a union of two families, but also serves the ancestors and continues the generations. The lady now holds high status and power, seen and emulated by the aristocrats and commoners across the world, hence her wedding must conform to the customs."

Ji Yuan’s view is, "The lady drove out the Xiongnu, stabilized the country and its people, a feat worthy of creation, according to etiquette, the lady should perform the Duke’s wedding rites."

Ming Yu also thought so: "This is an opportunity to show the world, if the lady does not grasp it, wouldn’t she belittle herself?"

What does it mean to take an inch and ask for a mile?

Firstly, one must take an inch, Ming Yu and Ji Yuan both had different thoughts, naturally pushing her step by step upwards.

The rite of the Duke is what Zhao Hanzhang deserves.

Zhao Hanzhang thought what they said made sense, then said: "The sketch of the wedding attire that Uncle Ming gave is not the rite of the Duke?"

Ming Yu said with an unchanged expression: "I believe Governor Zhao’s understanding of the rite of the Duke is flawed, the proportion of black in the attire is too heavy, the proportion of red should be increased."

Ji Yuan agreed deeply and nodded.

Zhao Hanzhang: ... Don’t bully her for having read less, according to their modifications, it is infinitely close to the Emperor’s attire, already violating the customs.

Black and red are very special colors, representing people’s reverence for heaven and earth.

Heaven is sky, its color black, Zhao Hanzhang always thought black was the spark of creation during the opening sky and earth, black with a touch of red, the black of the sky, hence the color black;

While red is the combination of red and yellow, like the sunset mingling with the earth’s colors, brilliantly.

Earth is ground, its color yellow, but the earth has no fixed position, so it places in the south, south implies fire, fire is red, and with human longing and reverence for fire, hence added red, the mix of two colors is red.

In the "Zhou Li", these two colors are imperial auspicious attire colors, recorded wedding attire since pre-Qin was these two colors, until now, it is the mainstream wedding attire.

Where the new husband’s wedding attire is black clothes with red skirt, implying harmony of yin and yang;

And the new wife’s wedding attire is entirely black, only the trims and edges are red. What’s the trim? It’s the edge of the garment, this setting implies dedication.

But people can’t resist having complicated thoughts, when assigning these two colors to differentiate status, people believed different proportions of black and red represent different statuses.

Otherwise, why does the Emperor’s auspicious attire have a higher proportion of red than the Duke’s?

The sketch Zhao Ming drew for them, Fu Tinghan’s wedding attire colors are normal, just with some minor modifications on the pattern; 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

But hers is different from ordinary new wife’s wedding attire, modified similarly to Fu Tinghan’s attire, significantly increasing the use of red and yellow, almost akin to the Duke’s auspicious attire color scheme.

Ji Yuan and Ming Yu still thought it insufficient, wanting to add some more proportion, which touched Zhao Song’s bottom line.

He couldn’t help but block Ji Yuan and Ming Yu angrily, accusing them of malicious intent, "Third Lady is loyal and righteous, only for the king and the people, you two as the ministers of Jin, instead of advising her against improper behavior, you seduce her into violating and extravagance, your treacherous heart is blatant."

He scolds them "For selfish interests, you disregard the king’s grace, abandoning loyalty and righteousness."

Ji Yuan and Ming Yu remained expressionless and indifferent to Zhao Song’s insult, still insisting on modifying the wedding attire.

They are not ministers of Jin, they are Zhao Hanzhang’s ministers!

They perform official duties not for Jin, but first for the world’s people, then for Zhao Hanzhang, loyalty naturally aligns with her, what’s it got to do with the Sima family’s Little Emperor now sitting there?

The two maintained a firm stance, standing behind them, pushing Zhao Hanzhang towards that position, the courtiers naturally wouldn’t compromise, Ji Yuan and Ming Yu couldn’t retaliate, so they cursed them.

So, Zhao Hanzhang just received news that Zhao Song blocked Ji Yuan and Ming Yu, hadn’t arrived yet, the courtiers had angered Zhao Song to see the doctor.

Oh, carried away.

With the matter at this point, Zhao Hanzhang could no longer wait for them to argue a result, she must make a statement.

Indeed, political struggle always arrives in unexpected ways.

Who could have thought that she was just getting married, and a wedding attire’s color and style could incite such a big battle?

Even Beigong Chun in Bingzhou and Shi Le in Youzhou got involved.

Beigong Chun was a loyal minister, although he acknowledged Zhao Hanzhang as his master, he remained loyal to the Jin Court, and he genuinely thought Zhao Hanzhang was the same as him.

They both had a sincere heart, only that due to exceptional abilities, people misunderstand and guard against them.

He’s familiar with this encounter, so he first wrote to Zhao Hanzhang comforting her, asking her not to take the misunderstanding of the people to heart;

Then wrote to Ji Yuan, believing they’re forcing Zhao Hanzhang away from her original intention, using himself as an example, thinking the more they do, the less happy Zhao Hanzhang would be.

Ji Yuan and Zhao Hanzhang receiving the letter: ...

So simple-minded!

Shi Le was different, he directly incited Zhao Hanzhang to marry in the Emperor’s auspicious attire, saying, "You have the merit of pacifying the chaotic world, naturally comparable to the Duke, with superiority being the norm, why not use the imperial auspicious attire?"

"If not for the Zhao Family’s foolish loyalty, you should have ascended the throne already, that Sima family is not some renowned orthodox lineage, as long as one possesses capability, who couldn’t seize their territory?" Shi Le said: "And you have merit, virtue, and prestige, if you claim the throne, I, Shi Le, would be the first to respond."

Two letters arriving one after another, leaving Zhao Hanzhang speechless again, just putting down the letter, she received news that Zhao Song was so angered that he was carried away to see the doctor.

Zhao Hanzhang knows she can no longer leave them to quarrel like this, or disputes will spread from the capital to the provinces, at that time...

She suddenly feels, indeed, everyone is too idle, because it’s the end of the year, so everyone’s got nothing to do, having time to think about these haphazard things, huh?

Putting down the letter, Zhao Hanzhang hurriedly left the palace.

At the palace gate, she met Ji Yuan and others with worried looks.

Upon seeing Zhao Hanzhang, they all lowered their heads in a gesture of confession.

They knew Zhao Song’s special status, didn’t expect he could be so angered, just a few words actually made him faint out of anger.

Zhao Hanzhang shook her head at them, but still said: "I will handle this matter, gentlemen, attend to politics."

She hurriedly rode a horse to Zhao Song’s house.

Ji Yuan and others breathed a sigh of relief, watching Zhao Hanzhang’s back with some emotion, and a bit of guilt.