In the previous dynasty, when the barbarians entered China, many of the ancient rituals of weddings and funerals were abolished.
Since the founding of the country by Taizu of this dynasty, the Ministry of Rites has consulted ancient books and established new wedding customs. There are many six sections: asking for names, Nacai, Naji, Nazheng (also known as Nabi), asking for dates, and personal greetings, especially asking for names, Personal welcome is the most important thing.
However, folk wedding customs generally only include four etiquettes: accepting gifts, accepting gifts, asking for dates, and welcoming in person.
When the Xue family entered the officialdom again (the ancestors of the Xue family had sacrificed their lives for Ziwei, they were also considered to be officials), they naturally would not violate etiquette and make people laugh at them. Therefore, even if the two families tentatively decided to get married, they would make an appointment to find a good and auspicious day before hiring a matchmaker. Come to the door, replace the Geng post, and ask for the honorific.
It can be said that Baochai had a difficult life, and her marriage was full of twists and turns. After finally getting rid of the plot of his uncle Wang Ziteng, he didn't want to have all three Ding families die while asking for their names.
I don't know who spread the news about the Xue family's love affair with their daughter, and she immediately became the subject of discussion among various families.
There are those who regret it, and those who ridicule it are even worse. After another engagement was canceled, Mrs. Xue finally became angry and lay on the bed sighing.
"Madam, the Rongguo Mansion has sent me a message. My wife has recovered from her illness. Please visit me as a guest."
The maid sent a post that cheered up Mrs. Xue a little. Yes, her family had become a joke in Beijing, but her family could not always be a joke in Beijing.
Her son is a confidant of His Highness the Crown Prince, and her family also has in-laws with top martial arts titles such as Rong Guofu.
Go and beg the old lady. Her compassionate person will definitely be able to find a good match for Bao Ya. When the time comes, she will send an invitation to the people who humiliated the Xue family before, and slap them in the face!
Thinking of this, Mrs. Xue asked the maid Baochai about her situation, and laughed when she learned that she had been invited to a poetry meeting by some girls from Rongguo Mansion.
"When I first came to Beijing, I said I would live with my parents' family, but luckily I ended up living in Rongguo Mansion..."
In fact, Baochai was also happy at this time. He had met the Jia family who were going south in Huai'an Mansion. Once he met a nobleman, the family's bad luck was reversed.
Even though her marriage has become a laughing stock in the capital and she feels a little depressed, she still straightens her back and faces life with her head held high and a smile on her face.
"Brother has not been home for half a month. His Highness the Crown Prince asked him to select 500 cavalry from the six ranks in the East Palace. He will lead the training. He said that he will go to Jiubian for inspection next year and prepare to compete with the warriors of Jiubian. .”
The poetry meeting was just a cover. I was worried that Baochai would be sad, so I invited her to come over to relax and relieve her boredom.
"That was really a happy event, but it was a bit bitter. I heard from my second sister-in-law that my second brother went to Yansui Town once before and suffered a lot. When he came back, he was black and thin."
Even though Yingchun paid little attention to matters in the court, she still knew that Xue Pan, who was valued by the prince, would have a bright future.
The other sisters all agreed and congratulated Baochai. Perhaps it was because the sisters were chatting and laughing together, the last trace of boredom in Baochai's heart disappeared, and the smile on her face became even wider.
Baochai smiled like a flower and said gratefully: "If my brother has received divine grace, he must also thank She Gong, Second Brother Lian and Brother Cong. He was not like this before. Dad had a lot of headaches because of it when he was still alive. Time has passed. Yi, I don’t want my brother to become a general one day.”
"Third brother is also a general, and he is a very powerful general!"
Upon hearing Baochai praising her brother, Xiao Xichun immediately became unhappy and pouted her lips to praise her brother.
Everyone couldn't help but covered their mouths and laughed. Daiyu stretched out her hand and pinched Xichun's face, teasingly saying: "Your general brother is still writing big words in the study with his teeth gritted at the moment. Do you want to invite him to play?" ?」
Xichun immediately jumped off the chair and ran towards the courtyard gate on her short legs. She shouted loudly: "I'm going to see Third Brother. He also said he would make me a kite..."
Hearing Daiyu's words, Baochai couldn't help but be surprised: "Brother Cong just came back and didn't take a few days off to study?"
"There is no other way. Mr. Qingteng gave him an order to take a test next February and strive to win three tests and win the title of scholar."
Daiyu recalled how Jia Cong was "beaten" on the palm by her today and pressed on the chair to practice calligraphy, and she couldn't help laughing with crooked eyebrows.
Watching the little sisters pass by
While Baochai was envious of Daiyu's willfulness, she was also happy for Daiyu.
When I think of the skinny and little Daiyu when I was in Huai'an Mansion, compared with now, I am really moved.
"Sister Bao didn't know that he went to the palace to reply to the decree two days ago. The saint and your majesty both gave him rewards. After returning home, he almost cried. He kept mumbling something, 'Five years of college entrance examination and three years of simulation, saying it was a reward. How can anyone reward him for his homework? Isn’t this bullying him?”
The more he talked about it, the more interesting it became. Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xiangyun, who knew about it, all laughed along with Daiyu.
Even Baochai could imagine what Jia Cong looked like at that time, with his eyes bent like crescent moons.
Laughing but laughing, everyone in the room actually hoped that Jia Cong could win consecutive battles and report victory in the boy's test in the next spring.
"Brother Ai told me that he also plans to take the first exam?"
Um?
Xiangyun's sudden words shocked everyone. Baoyu also wanted to take the imperial examination? Isn’t he the most intolerant of reading sages’ books?
Especially Tanchun, his eyes almost popped out of his head.
"This is real?"
Xiangyun nodded proudly: "Brother Ai said that Brother Cong has gone to take the exam. If he doesn't come back as a scholar, my second uncle won't beat him when he comes back."
Pfft...
Everyone couldn't hold it back and burst into giggles in unison.
It was for this reason that they thought Baoyu had really changed her temper.
"What are you laughing at?"
Jia Cong lifted the curtain and walked in. Behind him, Xichun grabbed Jia Cong's hand and shook it, muttering nonsense about flying kites.
He picked up Xichun and placed her next to Daiyu, then sat down on the chair next to the window edge.
When he learned that it was Baoyu who wanted to go to the Shuntian Prefecture Boy Examination with him, he not only did not laugh at Baoyu, but he said firmly: "Don't laugh at Brother Bao, let alone a scholar. With Brother Bao's talent, he won't be able to pass the imperial examination." What a difficult thing."
The Wenhua Qi of Ning and Rong Houses actually fell in love with three people. The first one was Mr. Jing, who passed the second-class Jinshi examination.
The other two came from the second room of Rongguo Mansion. Jia Zhu, the eldest son of Mr. Zheng, entered school at the age of fourteen. He won the title of Scholar in the Intermediate Court Examination at the age of sixteen, and he ranked third in the Shuntian Mansion Provincial Examination at the age of eighteen.
At that time, everyone said that Uncle Zhu of Rongguofu was very talented, and he was rated as one of the ten young masters in the capital by Shi Lin, which shows that he was very civilized.
In fact, Bao Erye's talents are really no worse than Jia Zhu's, and are even better in some aspects. For example, if he concentrates on something, he can often forget himself.
It's a pity that he doesn't like fame and wealth by nature. If Jia Cong didn't have the extra "natural wisdom", he really wouldn't be able to compare with Baoyu.
At the beginning, Baoyu was enlightened by Yuanchun. He was literate at the age of four and could write poems at the age of seven. He almost made Master Pardon angry to death.
This is not to say that Mr. Pardon doesn't like Baoyu, but he likes Baoyu so much. When he thinks that the future of Rongguo Mansion is ruined by "being born with jade", he is so angry that he wants to throw Mrs. Wang into the well.
Regardless of whether Baoyu's enthusiasm was spur of the moment this time, Jia Cong still responded with hope.
Regardless of what the future will bring, if Baoyu can really achieve fame, it will be a great joy. There is a huge difference between having fame and not having fame.
With fame, Baoyu will have no income in the future and will have to sell homemade rouge and gouache, which is also a scholar's brand and a juren's brand rouge, and his worth will definitely skyrocket.
Too far away...
"Since Brother Bao is really going to take the exam, Sister Yun will ask someone to pick up the Four Books I have with commentaries by great Confucians. If Brother Bao and I win the scholarship together next year, we will definitely put them on a flowing mat for three days. His twenty thousand red firecrackers.”
Xiangyun was naturally happy that Brother Ai had received Jia Cong's approval and stuffed the plate of plums in his hand.
Jia Cong took the plate, threw a plum into his mouth, and made fun of Xiang Yun. Then he said with a smile: "A plate of plums is not enough. Sister Yun is good at needlework. How about sewing a schoolbag for me?" ? The teacher will return to Beijing in a few days, and I will go to his home to study. It is really inconvenient not to have a schoolbag."
"Schoolbag? What is that?"
She had heard of book boxes, but Xiang Yun had never heard of a school bag.
Jia Cong patted his head, picked up the pen on the table and drew the image of a schoolbag on his shoulders in his memory.
"It's best to sew two pockets on the sides and outside. It looks like this. I can put the inkstone and ink sticks specially... Well, it's best to use strong cloth, not fancy, but practical and durable. "
Daiyu and others were surprised. Compared with the commonly used bookcases nowadays, the schoolbags mentioned by Jia Cong seemed to be more convenient.
Especially Baochai's eyes became brighter and brighter.
She asked Jia Cong in a low voice: "Brother Cong, I wonder if this item may be made by my shop..."
Not to mention the gathering of scholars in the capital, next year will be the 70th birthday of the Supreme Emperor, and the court is already planning for Enke. By then, scholars from all over the world will gather in the capital, and novelty items such as schoolbags will not have to worry about sales at all.
Jia Cong looked at his sisters who were looking curiously at the drawings, and raised the corners of his mouth slightly: "Yes, yes, but I have a condition..."
It is not difficult to imitate schoolbags, but the difference is in materials and craftsmanship. Naturally, they are not as good as money-making items like pearls and jade.
But with the brand of the Xue family, the imperial merchant, it is not a problem to make eight thousand taels of silver every year for the shops in the capital.
Jia Cong drew several more commonly used schoolbag styles, including single and double shoulders. These drawings were given to Baochai in exchange for five shares, which were given to Sanchun, Daiyu and Xiangyun.
Of course, this is only the revenue share of the states and counties in Gyeonggi Province. Each person can get about one or two thousand taels per year.
For a wealthy family, this money is not even enough to buy an oiran. But for the girls at home, this stable source of money will definitely allow them to live without worries.
You must know that Master Pardon's official salary and benevolence combined are only two thousand taels of silver a year, even though he has been fined ten years later.
Of course, for a prince like Mr. Pardon, the salary is just a supplement. The real income comes from the food and property given by the court and the family farm property.
With that little salary, how could he afford to raise a concubine with eighteen rooms?
Jia Cong didn't attach much importance to money, so he distributed all his sudden gains among his five sisters.
Yingchun is now a little rich woman, not to mention Daiyu, she belongs to a rich family. Xichun is the only legitimate daughter in Ningguo Mansion, and there are only a handful of people in the entire capital who can compare with her.
Tanchun and Xiangyun are different. They have no worries about food and clothing, but the money on hand is not as good as other sisters.
Especially Xiangyun, who has no father or mother, but the old lady allocates twenty taels from her monthly salary to support the poor little girl.
"Brother Cong..."
The careless Xiangyun's eyes were red now, and tears fell down as soon as he finished speaking.
This girl is also a thoughtful person now. Jia Cong held back the sigh that surged into his throat, waved his hands and said, "Sister Yun, please don't do this, it's just a little gold and silver. Look how powerful Sister Bao is, let's follow If he learns, he will open hundreds of shops in the future and earn hundreds of millions of dollars."
puff……
Xiangyun, who was not amused, was immediately amused by Jia Cong's words and laughed out loud. Daiyu raised her hand and tapped Jia Cong's head lightly.
"Again, it's so easy to open a shop with hundreds of shops?"
Daiyu took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears on Xiangyun's face. Instead of whispering a few words, Xiangyun's eyes immediately brightened and she nodded heavily.
Then he left Jia Cong behind and invited Yingchun, Tanchun and Baochai to whisper, and there were endless voices of doubt and admiration.
Xichun was busy eating fruits and couldn't bear the gold and silver. Jia Cong squeezed in and wanted to eavesdrop, but was pushed away by Daiyu gently.
"No, don't abandon me~"
"You are not allowed to listen to the whispers of our daughter's family!"
Daiyu raised the round fan in her hand and fanned it in the direction of Jia Cong. She said a few words silently, and Jia Cong immediately understood.
Several people were discussing in low voices, and Jia Cong suddenly picked up Xiao Xichun and said, "Sister Xi, let's go. People dislike us brothers and sisters, so my brother will take you to make kites~"
Xiao Xichun showed two little tiger teeth and gave Jia Cong a critical blow: "Sister Xi is the favorite of the group, so my sister will not dislike me. The only third brother in this house is a boy, so I only dislike you."
After saying that, Xiao Xichun raised his hand and touched Jia Cong's head, looking pitiful for you: "But for the sake of Third Brother wanting to make a kite for me, I won't dislike you, Third Brother. I'll accompany you." you play!"
This kid...
It’s getting better and better!
The atmosphere in the capital has become increasingly depressing. A few days ago, the Chief Minister deposed Prince Zhongxin Liu Wei in anger. Almost all the dozens of civil and military officials attached to Prince Zhongxin's palace, including the concubine Zhen, were demoted and punished.
Although the Kong Lin case has not yet been fully investigated, every time an official involved in the case is identified, it is like pulling out a carrot to bring out the mud, often several or even a dozen people will be pulled out.
Officials from various ministries and bureaus in the capital, as well as from Shandong, Henan, Liaodong, Southern Zhili and other provinces were involved in the case.
Official documents have been arriving from the Literary Selection Department of the Ministry of Personnel and the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War every day in the past few days. Officials from many yamen have been kidnapped by the sudden arrival of the Dragon Guards. The yamen are almost paralyzed and they are short of people.
So the Ministry of Rites petitioned the cabinet to ask whether Enke should be granted in the coming year.
Qi Bohan looked at the memorial of the Ministry of Rites in hand and hesitated for a long time but still did not dare to directly approve it. Although he was on duty as a cabinet minister today, Wei Qinghe's strength that day really scared him.
"Come here, prepare the car, I am going to the Wei Mansion to visit the Grand Prime Minister!"
?Monthly ticket??Recommended ticket?
