She took out pen and paper from the room, wrote a name on the paper, and showed it to Mrs. Zhao.
Mrs. Zhao looked at it, quite confused.
"Ni'er, is it really okay to use this character? It's rarely used in names."
"I just want to use this character to warn myself."
It was also a warning to Mrs. Zhao.
One can't submit to others' whims all one's life. One should learn to say no.
Zhao Luoning gave the new name to Guisu. Guisu didn't open it until she got on the carriage.
There were three characters written in Zhao Luoning's delicate handwriting on it.
"Jun Zhifou."
Guisu passed the name to Yuchi who was driving the carriage in front.
"Is this what the lady calls a name? Jun Zhifou, Jun Zhifou. It sounds a bit strange."
"The lady is highly educated. How can we understand her intentions?"
Guisu thought for a while, put away the note, and gave a simple - minded smile.
"True. If it were me, I'd probably name them Jun Cuihua or Jun Goudan. My mother said that a humble name makes it easier for a child to grow up."
Yuchi said, "Well... When you get married and have children in the future, you'd better ask the lord and the lady to name them."
Guisu pouted and said, "I don't want that. I don't understand the names they come up with, and they don't roll off the tongue. No way."
Yuchi: "..."
He didn't continue this topic with her. After all, with Guisu's muddled personality, it was uncertain whether she could get married.
Yuchi asked, "Did the lady give any other instructions?"
"Yes!" Thanks to Yuchi's reminder, otherwise Guisu would have forgotten. "The lady said she wants to eat Three - Layered Duck."
"Three - Layered Duck?" Hearing this name, Yuchi was so startled that he tightened the reins.
The horse braked suddenly, and Guisu almost fell out of the carriage.
Yuchi confirmed again.
"Are you sure it's Three - Layered Duck, not Three - Treasure Duck?"
Guisu nodded.
"Yeah, I even asked. But why are you reacting so strongly? It's just a duck. At most, we can stir - fry it before stewing. The lord can even cook a good fish soup. Can't he handle a duck?"
Guisu spoke casually, not knowing that Yuchi was already silently mourning for Ji Shisu in his heart.
"Three - Layered Duck is not as simple as just stewing it."
"At most, stir - fry it in a pan before stewing. Can a duck be cooked in some miraculous way?"
Yuchi thought it was necessary to let this country girl Guisu gain some knowledge, so he gave her a lesson about Three - Layered Duck.
"This Three - Layered Duck is a famous dish in Yangzhou. You debone a fat duck and a salted duck, then stuff the salted duck into the fat duck and steam it until it's extremely tender. Then serve it whole. That's what's recorded in the book. The Three - Layered Duck in Huangcheng is even more troublesome. You also need to stuff a wild pigeon into the domestic duck. I was lucky enough to taste this dish once when I was out with the lord on business. The lord gave me a duck leg. I have to say, it tasted really good."
All these details left Guisu stunned.
"Goodness! Three ducks and one pigeon in one dish?!"
"Yeah. Now you know how difficult it is! The lord is in trouble." Yuchi murmured with a sigh.
While he was mourning for Ji Shisu, Guisu beside him kept muttering. He couldn't help asking, "What are you muttering about?"
Guisu raised her hand and counted on her fingers for him.
"Look. I only dare to splurge after I get my monthly salary. It's already a luxury for me to eat a duck in a month. The lady is going to eat up three months of my salary in one meal. Oh, and there's also a pigeon. Wild pigeons are more expensive. It's worth two months of my salary."
The more Guisu calculated, the more shocked she became. "My goodness! One meal costs five months of my salary."
"The lady and the lord are the masters after all. This dish isn't that expensive. You don't have to be jealous. Next time I get my salary, I'll treat you."
Guisu wiped her mouth and said, "It's not jealousy. I'm just drooling. A duck worth five months of salary. How delicious it must be!"
Yuchi said, "You just think about eating all day. Aren't you worried about the lord's situation at all? He'll probably be busy in the kitchen all night again."
Guisu stared at Yuchi with her innocent big eyes and asked, "Why should I worry about the lord?"
"The lady is clearly making things difficult for the lord!"
Just casually ordering a dish like this requires a lot of effort.
"But no matter how the lord cooks it, the lady will eat it. And as long as it's what the lady wants to eat, the lord is happy to cook it. The fact that the lady has the mood to make things difficult for the lord is a good thing. It means there's a possibility for them to reconcile. It was so scary like the previous few months."
Hearing this, Yuchi looked at Guisu with some admiration.
"Hey, it turns out you're not so stupid."
Guisu rolled her eyes at him angrily.
"I'm not stupid at all. I'm just humble. A really smart person won't let others know how smart she is."
"Yes, yes. You're a genius."
"Hey? Why do I feel there's something wrong with what you said?"
"I'm complimenting you!"
"I don't believe it!"
...
The two of them returned to the mansion while laughing and joking.
After Ji Shisu received Zhao Luoning's new name, he took the imperial edict and went to the county government office.
The county magistrate was so frightened that he quickly knelt down to receive the edict.
With the imperial edict, they didn't dare to be negligent. They immediately prepared a new household registration card for Zhao Luoning, or rather, Jun Zhifou.
At this time, Ye Hua, the former magistrate of Huangcheng and now the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, happened to come back to Huangcheng to pick up Mrs. Ye and take her to the capital. The county magistrate didn't dare to handle such an important matter related to the imperial edict, so he quickly sent someone to invite Ye Hua.
Fortunately, Ye Hua was easy - going. As soon as he heard that it was the imperial edict for the conferment of the wife of the White Junior - Secretary, he readily agreed.
Moreover, he kindly told them what kind of sedan chair should be used for the conferment of a third - rank imperial - order lady.
The county magistrate carefully took notes and quickly sent someone to make the arrangements.
The grandeur of a third - rank imperial - order lady was no small matter.
As soon as the county magistrate gave the order, the news spread throughout Huangcheng.
Ordinary people didn't know the content of the imperial edict, nor did they know the background of this suddenly - emerged third - rank imperial - order lady. Since they only heard that it was Ye Hua who issued the imperial edict, they all thought it was Mrs. Ye who was being conferred.
This news soon reached Zhao Luoyue's ears.
A third - rank imperial - order lady.
Not only in Huangcheng, but there were also very few in the capital.
This was the highest honor a woman not from the royal family or noble lineage in the current dynasty could enjoy.
Zhao Luoyue was envious and jealous. But now she also knew that this imperial - order title was no ordinary thing. It wasn't like before when she could get whatever she wanted by pouting to her father.
This was an honor that Zhao Luoyue didn't even dare to dream of.
However, since this imperial - order lady was in Huangcheng, she must be related to the noble - lady circle in Huangcheng.
Zhao Luoyue thought of the birthday gift that had made her heart ache for almost half a month.
If it weren't for the fact that Mrs. Jiang was a well - informed person in the noble - lady circle and had introduced many people into it, Zhao Luoyue wouldn't have been willing to spend so much.
Mrs. Jiang had taken her money but hadn't given any useful information.
Zhao Luoyue wasn't someone who would let herself be taken advantage of.
She called her maid, rented a set of clothes and jewelry from a shop, and rushed to the Jiang Mansion.
It was time for her to find out some information from Mrs. Jiang!