When Zhao Hanzhang heard this, the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but curl up. "What a coincidence. Go tell Mr. Fu to wait a moment..."

After thinking for a bit, Zhao Hanzhang said, "I’ll go myself. You send someone to Mr. Ji and Mr. Ming’s residences. The Cheng Country mission has arrived—tomorrow have them go out of the city with me to greet them."

This time the Crown Prince of Cheng Country was personally coming to deliver the national letter, which was a very high level of courtesy. Naturally, they had to show corresponding sincerity on their side as well.

Zeng Yue agreed and withdrew with a bow.

After putting on her wedding robes, Zhao Hanzhang stood in front of the full-length mirror. Her wedding attire was a dark upper garment and light-red lower skirt. The collar and edging of the dark robe were also a pale red, embroidered with auspicious clouds, making it truly seem as though she were wrapped in clouds.

On the sleeves was embroidered a phoenix motif, using thread in similar shades. From afar it was not obvious, but up close, one could vaguely see a phoenix intently watching. When she walked and the sleeves swayed slightly, the phoenix seemed to soar.

Mrs. Wang led Qing Gu in, and the moment she entered she saw this scene. Her eyes lit up, and she strode forward quickly. "This embroiderer truly is capable. The one your Seventh Ancestor recommended is indeed good—she finished the pattern so well in so short a time."

Zhao Hanzhang turned her head and said to Ting He, "Reward the embroiderer, tell her to take good care of her eyes. I’ll be using her again later."

Mrs. Wang said, "That embroiderer belongs to your Seventh Ancestor."

"Ask Seventh Ancestor if he’s willing to let me have her, and also ask the embroiderer if she’s willing to follow me. If she is, I’ll hire her at a high price; if she’s a registered servant, I’ll redeem her."

Mrs. Wang didn’t understand. "You’re not that picky about clothes, the embroiderers at home are enough for you. Why fight with your Seventh Ancestor over someone?"

Zhao Hanzhang said, "I want to open an embroidery workshop, and set aside a place in it specifically to teach embroiderers their craft."

Mrs. Wang said, "That’s a trade secret. At most you pass it on to disciples. How could it be spread so openly to everyone like you’re thinking?"

Zhao Hanzhang said, "I’ll give her an official post. Would she still be unwilling?"

Mrs. Wang was shocked. "An embroiderer can be an official too?"

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Not only embroiderers, but weavers and carpenters and such can as well. I plan to set up a Hundred Crafts Institute under the Ministry of Industry to recruit master artisans from all under heaven, specializing in research and teaching in their respective trades."

She shook out her sleeve, caught it in her hand, and said with a smile, "An embroiderer like this is exactly what the Hundred Crafts Institute needs."

"Moreover, when teaching in the embroidery workshop, I don’t need her to pass on all her trade secrets. As for the true legacy skills, that naturally depends on their own wishes—whom they choose to pass their mantle to."

She only meant to gather talent for the Hundred Crafts Institute. What they did in the future would be up to them. What she could provide were all kinds of teaching conditions and support for inheritance. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Mrs. Wang mused, "Then this embroidery workshop you’re opening is for the court?"

Zhao Hanzhang nodded. "Of course it’s for the court. I’m using the court’s resources right now."

Put plainly, these were state-owned, because the costs of recruiting talent, the land, materials for constructing the workshops and so on all came from the national treasury’s accounts. Naturally, the money they earned would also belong to the national treasury.

Mrs. Wang then said, "Then what do you think about me opening an embroidery workshop too?"

Zhao Hanzhang raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "Mother, how did you think of opening an embroidery workshop?"

"Not only an embroidery workshop, I want to open a weaving workshop too," Mrs. Wang said. "Whatever makes money, I want to open it."

She sighed. "The household doesn’t have money now. You and Second Son need to scrimp and save for everything you spend. What I can give you is limited. I see Seventh Uncle doesn’t really manage much either, but he can still earn a lot of money, can’t he? I also want to earn more, so in the future if you siblings need money, I can help out a bit."

Hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang immediately encouraged her. "Mother, go ahead and do it. Start with a weaving workshop. Let me tell you, in the next two years, doing business in grain and cloth is the least likely to lose money. Just go ahead boldly and do it."

"Put the embroidery workshop on hold for now. Wait until I test the waters, and if it works, you can go in."

Encouraged by Zhao Hanzhang, Mrs. Wang gained a bit more confidence and nodded repeatedly.

She opened the box in Qing Gu’s hands and said to Zhao Hanzhang, "This is the phoenix coronet Mother had made for you."

After Zhao Hanzhang finished trying on the phoenix coronet and confirmed what needed to be altered, she changed her clothes and said to Mrs. Wang, "Mother, Princess Hongnong and the Prince Consort have reached the outskirts of Luoyang City. They’ll be entering the city tomorrow."

Mrs. Wang’s heart tightened, and she grew a bit nervous. "Then... then do I need to go and greet them?"

Zhao Hanzhang smiled. "No need. Ting Han and I will go receive them. But with my wedding date with him approaching and his parents having returned, I’m afraid he won’t be able to stay at our house anymore."

Mrs. Wang thought for a moment, then nodded. "That’s fine too. You were supposed to separate and prepare for the wedding anyway."

The Fu Family’s residence had burned down, and the court had prepared another house for Fu Tinghan, which had been chosen by Zhao Hanzhang herself. It was not far from Zhao Mansion.

Leaving the back gate of the Fu Family house and walking north a little over two hundred meters was the main gate of Zhao Mansion. If she didn’t feel like going through the gate, she could just climb over the wall from outside directly into the Fu house.

Ahem, in short, it was very close.

But Fu Tinghan had few people around him, and setting up a household was very expensive, so he had never really moved in.

This time for the wedding, they only prepared two courtyards: one was the main courtyard, and the other, a spacious and bright large courtyard some distance from the main quarters, was prepared for Princess Hongnong and Fu Xuan.

As for the remaining areas, they merely hung up red lanterns symbolically, and the courtyard gates were all locked.

Mrs. Wang had already planned that after a month of marriage, the two of them would still move back to Zhao Mansion. That side had nothing—there weren’t even enough kitchen utensils in the kitchen. How could they live there?

But now that Princess Hongnong and Fu Xuan were back, she felt her plan of having her daughter and son-in-law move home was going to fall through.

Mrs. Wang was a little bit disappointed, but she didn’t show it.

Well, she thought she didn’t show it. But who was Zhao Hanzhang? How could she not notice the change in Mrs. Wang?

She smiled and said to Mrs. Wang, "Mother, after we’re married we’ll still often come back to live at Zhao Mansion. Don’t you start finding us annoying."

Mrs. Wang’s spirits lifted, and she said at once, "How could I? This is your home. Your courtyard and the main courtyard are both kept for you. You can stay as long as you like."

Zhao Hanzhang lived in her own courtyard, while the main courtyard was used to handle various affairs. Ji Yuan and the others usually met her there to report matters.

You could say Zhao Mansion was a miniature second court; many government affairs were dealt with here.

After the wedding, Zhao Hanzhang did not intend to change this, so she and Fu Tinghan would still live here most of the time.

As for what Princess Hongnong and Fu Xuan might think, Zhao Hanzhang wasn’t considering that for the time being.

Fu Tinghan had never actually met Princess Hongnong and Fu Xuan; he only had vague impressions of them in his memory, and he had no desire to live with them, so he had no objection.

He got along harmoniously with Mrs. Wang, partly because of her tolerance.

Perhaps because she had Zhao Hanzhang and Zhao Erlang as prior examples to learn from, Mrs. Wang rarely interfered with her children.

She mostly just did her own thing. As for the children, if she didn’t see them for three to five days she wouldn’t be angry, nor would she interfere in what they were doing.

They ate breakfast separately; lunch was eaten outside; only occasionally could they gather for dinner. In front of her, Zhao Hanzhang was already considered "rules and propriety," which meant there were basically no rules. So Fu Tinghan got along very well with this mother-in-law.

But judging from the memory of how Princess Hongnong had gotten along with the original host, he felt it would be very hard for him to live as comfortably with Princess Hongnong.

So when he stood at the city gate with Zhao Hanzhang to receive them, Fu Tinghan was very uneasy inside.