She earnestly said, "Please do your best to bring him back, and if you can’t, find a way to keep him in Luoyang. Once the wedding is over, we’ll go invite him personally."

Ji Yuan gravely agreed, and as he turned around, his expression changed. Since the lady wasn’t seeking predictions of future fate or other such illusory matters, Guo Pu truly needed to stay; he was indeed a talented person.

Ji Yuan changed his mindset and didn’t delay further, leaving the city at once.

Zhao Hanzhang watched Ji Yuan walk away, and just as she was about to turn back, she suddenly noticed that there weren’t many people around. She glanced at the household servants guarding the door, tentatively lifted her foot to step over the threshold, but before she could set it down, a gentle voice said from behind, "Third Lady, where are you going?"

Zhao Hanzhang retracted her lifted foot, turned with a smile, "I wanted to see where Erlang is. It’s really something, guests are here with gifts today, and he hasn’t returned yet. He should be punished!"

"I’ve already sent someone to look for him. You don’t need to worry about it; go back inside and sit. The relatives and friends will arrive soon."

Zhao Hanzhang obediently agreed and quietly returned to her room.

Around 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., guests began arriving at the Zhao Family’s residence, both men and women. Overall, the ratio of men to women was nearly even, which was a rare sight in the realm of gift exchange, as it’s customary for female representatives of the family to present the gifts. This time, however, there were many men present, which was unprecedented.

Zhao Hanzhang received a set of pearl jewelry from Ming Yu. Although she didn’t think she could wear it, the pearls were perfectly round, large, and shiny, of high quality, clearly war trophies from Ming Yu’s collection.

Upon seeing the set of pearl jewelry, Zhao Hanzhang mentally began calculating its value.

The court was slowly closing today, with only a few people still busy with official duties. As a secretary, Zhao Yunxin was naturally among the last to have time off. However, today she changed out of her official robes to accompany her parents for the gift exchange.

Aunt Dong, after opening a set of gold jewelry for Zhao Hanzhang, handed it to Ting He, then sat beside her, complaining, "With Third Lady getting married, your mother can finally rest easy. Unlike me, with three children, only your cousin is married off. Bo Rong is far away in Qingzhou, and I can’t urge him, but Yunxin, she’s not young at all and doesn’t want to talk about marriage."

Zhao Kuan had reached adulthood long ago but hadn’t yet taken a courtesy name. When he was appointed Qingzhou Governor, his father Zhao Dong brought presents to the Imperial College, where Zhao Cheng gave Zhao Kuan the courtesy name Bo Rong. ’Bo’ because he was the eldest in the family, and ’Rong’ derived from ’Kuan’, as Zhao Cheng hoped he would be a broad-minded, magnanimous person, unlike his teacher...

Zhao Dong was very satisfied with this name and thus accepted it for Zhao Kuan.

And so, Zhao Kuan obtained his courtesy name.

Zhao Hanzhang told Aunt Dong, "Bo Rong indeed needs to marry. Introduce him to some ladies; maybe he’ll find one he likes. Yunxin is still too young, no rush."

To the side, Zhao Yunxin looked gratefully at Zhao Hanzhang and, after some thought, quietly removed her bracelet and placed it in the box Zhao Hanzhang was holding, offering it to her. "Great General... Third Sister, this is my gift for you."

Zhao Hanzhang accepted it, smiling warmly, "Thank you, Yunxin."

Aunt Dong scolded, "She’s been of age for a year now, still young?"

"She’s only sixteen. Look at me; didn’t I get married at this age? I asked the Imperial Physician and he said it’s best for women to marry and have children after twenty."

"Where did you hear that? Our parents used to urge us to marry early."

Zhao Hanzhang sighed, "That’s why so many children didn’t make it. The ’Inner Canon of Huangdi’ says that at four cycles of seven, women’s muscles and bones are firm, hair growth is complete, and the body is at its strongest, the best time for conception. She has twelve years before reaching that stage."

Aunt Dong was dumbfounded, and Zhao Yunxin was so moved that she almost cried. Just as she was about to speak, a gentle cough interrupted them.

Everyone turned to see Wang Hufeng standing at the door.

The ladies in the room immediately stood up, even Mrs. Wang stood up and greeted Wang Hufeng with a slight bow, "Lady Wang is here, please come in."

Wang Hufeng smiled, "I’ve come to give a wedding gift to the Great General."

Seeing that Wang Hufeng seemed to have something to say to Zhao Hanzhang, Mrs. Wang invited everyone to the side room to enjoy some tea and snacks. "My Third Lady can eat most anything, yet she comes up with so many peculiar dishes. Recently, a meat cow was sent from the plains, and after slaughtering one at home, Third Lady took some meat to Seventh Ancestor, guiding his cook to use various spices to craft a few pieces of beef. She brought one back, and it was quite good. Last night, I had the kitchen make some. Everyone, please have a taste today."

"I know, Taotie Building sells it, and it’s not cheap. Is it really Third Lady’s recipe?" Aunt Dong immediately asked Mrs. Wang for the recipe.

Mrs. Wang smiled, diverted the topic, "Sister-in-law, try it first. If you like it, feel free to take some home. The spices required are many, and it’s no easy task to prepare the dish frequently. Why waste the expense?"

The original recipe was indeed Third Lady’s, but her first attempt didn’t taste very good. Zhao Hu spent a lot on spices, trying bit by bit to perfect it in the kitchen.

Honestly, spices are so expensive, and seeing Zhao Hu figure out the recipe and return it to them, even occasional deliveries of marinated meat made Mrs. Wang hesitant to share it.

She glanced outside, showing concern, "It’s getting late, is Your Majesty coming soon?"

At her words, the ladies in the room immediately grew excited, asking eagerly, "Will His Majesty really come to give Hanzhang a wedding gift?"

"Of course," Mrs. Wang proudly replied, "Grand Tutor Xun personally came to inform the family; how could it be false?"

Mrs. Wang felt that having the emperor attend the wedding was a great honor. Most of the women in the room shared her sentiment, except for Zhao Yunxin and a few other female officials who seemed unimpressed.

Hearing the commotion outside about officials coming to give Zhao Hanzhang wedding gifts, and learning they were being entertained in the front, made Mrs. Wang uneasy. She got up immediately, "Hasn’t Erlang returned yet?"

After last night’s heavy snow, Zhao Erlang, as County Magistrate of Luoyang County, had gone out early in the morning with a team to check for any houses collapsed under the snow or any people frozen to death.

Seeing Mrs. Wang heading to the front, all the female guests followed, leaving only Zhao Hanzhang and Wang Hufeng in the room.

Once everyone had left, Wang Hufeng said, "I inquired. There are no objections from the courtiers regarding your wedding. However, they are strongly opposed to making this wedding a standard under the ’Rites’ and promoting it nationwide."

This meant that this special privilege could only be enjoyed by Zhao Hanzhang, not to be implemented nationwide.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang slightly raised her eyebrows, not angered, but rather pleased. "It’s alright. I will try to persuade them."

The atmosphere in the front was lively; all the officials in Luoyang who were not on duty had come, and with just this gift exchange, Zhao Hanzhang would garner quite a lot.

The gift exchange, unlike other forms of gifting, required opening the presents, feeling much like a court celebration.