The twelfth elder brother was very obedient and didn't say anything else, but he kept this in mind.
From now on, when giving gifts to Ninth Brother and Ninth Sister-in-law, you should give them in pairs, which not only have good meaning, but are also valuable.
Brother Ten had already arrived. Seeing that the two of them hadn't come out yet, he came in and said, "Are you going to be busy for a while longer?"
Brother Jiu shook his head and said, "I'm not busy anymore. Let's go."
Not only is he not busy today, he also doesn't plan to come tomorrow.
I said before that I wanted to check in at the park, but I ended up running here every day these days.
Shiqi Gege has already moved the palace at noon, and the layout of Chengqian Palace is waiting for the royal news.
He stretched and said, "I've been really busy for a while."
The twelfth elder brother walked beside and glanced at the ninth elder brother.
Is the seal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs too heavy?
It’s just a stamp of approval all day long. It doesn’t even last half an hour, and you’re already tired?
The tenth elder brother said: "Then will the ninth brother be in Changchun Garden from tomorrow? Then I won't come either. The clan house has been busy these days, so I'm afraid of nagging..."
"ha?"
When Brother Jiu heard this, his ears immediately became sharp and he said, "Is there any other news in Beizi Mansion?"
It has only been a few days. Are these Eight Banners old and young men tired of hearing the news about Beizi Mansion?
Endless.
The tenth elder brother shook his head and said: "It's not Beizi Mansion, but in other clan mansions. There are two people who sued the brother and sister-in-law, saying that they didn't share the dowry of their biological mother when the family was separated; there were also people who sued the stepmother, saying that they had secreted the dowry of their biological mother. Several All the lawsuits are related to dowry."
There are few clans in the clan that are not divided into families like Beizifu, and most of them are based on titles.
In the past, in addition to the imperial title, there was also the ennoblement. One was knighted at the age of fifteen, and then the Ministry of Internal Affairs prepared a residence according to the grade.
Later, after taking the exam, the age of separation reached twenty.
After being awarded a title, the family will basically be separated.
Brother Jiu said: "Ha! You were a big fool before, why didn't you say anything when you suffered a loss?"
Brother Ten said: "We all have to be decent. We don't want to expose our family ugliness to anyone, and we don't want to show off our faces. Now there is an example in Beizi Mansion. I think it's better to have good looks than face."
Brother Jiu asked: "Can the clan be compared with ordinary banner people? Even if they are not rich, they should not be very poor if they have industry to support them, right?"
The tenth prince shook his head and said: "Not necessarily, the noble clans are not well-off. The worst general, Feng'en, only has a salary of 112 years and 110 dendrobium meters a year; the idle clans are paid according to the fifth-grade civilians. The annual salary is eighty-five taels of rice and forty-five hu of rice. Many families have no money to marry."
In his opinion, eighty-five taels of silver was indeed too little, and it was difficult to use it for the whole family.
No family can live alone. In addition to wives, concubines, children, and other members of the household, they all need to eat it.
When this son gets married, the betrothal gift can be smaller, just look down.
But when a daughter gets married, the dowry is difficult to deal with. Nowadays, old girls are popular in the clan.
It's not that parents cherish late marriage, but they don't have the money for dowry.
Many people have been delayed for a long time and have no choice but to work as stepwives to fill houses.
Brother Jiu heard that something was wrong and thought of the old Duke who disappeared last year. He was the bastard of the same family.
But it sounds like you have to pay outside money even if you are not qualified to take the exam.
No wonder they dare to give birth and give birth to many children.
Ninth Prince Digu said: "Is there still a small number of fifth-grade nobles? There are so many errands in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and there are many fifth-grade ones. As a result, they give birth to a waste, and they can receive so many..."
Having said this, he paused and said: "It doesn't look like there are many right now, there seems to be more than 400 yellow belts. With the title examination, the number of titles has been controlled, but what's the use? I'm just sitting around here. The clan works hard to make a living, and if the family earns enough money, they can support the father-in-law. If you don't care about it, this will be the bulk of the expenses in the future."
The Tenth Elder Brother said: "The jade certificate is revised every ten years. By then Khan Amma will be able to see how the population is growing and will be able to deal with it."
Brother Jiu said: "Anyway, we have to take care of it. Otherwise, it's really not possible. We can arrange more vacancies for the clan, but we can't just hang around and wait to die. If we are not trash, we will become trash."
The twelfth elder brother followed the two elder brothers, feeling confused in his heart.
Isn’t it a good thing to have more children and more blessings?
But when it comes to Brother Nine, it becomes a bad thing?
However, the emperor's father is very fertile and has more than a dozen sons now. If the princes were like this, the number of their grandchildren would be more than 200...
Half an hour later, the group arrived at Brother's place.
The ninth elder brother took the twelfth elder brother back to Beifu, while the tenth elder brother went back to his own home to change clothes.
The residence of the twelfth elder brother is still located in the study room in the front yard.
There is an ice basin and a pot of bamboo in the house, which are full of greenery.
Brother Twelve saw this last time, but he didn't bother to ask.
I saw him look twice more.
Seeing this, Brother Jiu raised his eyebrows and said, "This is the famous 'Guanyin Bamboo'. People are asking for it for hundreds of taels a pot. I'll keep this for you and give it to you on your wedding next year."
The twelfth elder brother hesitated for a moment and said: "Ninth brother, is it next year? The thirteenth brother is not old enough, will it be the next time?"
He doesn't really want to change his current situation. It's good to live alone in five houses now.
But he felt uncomfortable thinking about having to separate two-thirds of the courtyard to go out, and having several strangers come in later.
Brother Jiu snorted coldly: "Next time? Forty-three years? Then, you and the Thirteen people guard the two princesses' concubines. Before Fujin comes in, the eldest concubine and the eldest concubine's daughter all come out. This Do you think you are living a peaceful life?"
Following the lessons learned from the fifth elder brother and the seventh elder brother, the younger elder brothers would not arrange a late marriage.
The twelfth elder brother shook his head and said: "Don't be disobedient..."
Brother Jiu looked him up and down, his expression became serious, he glanced down his waist, waved his hand and sent the little eunuch at the door to go down, saying: "Honestly, do you have something to hide? There really is something wrong. , shouldn’t you hide your illness and avoid medical treatment?”
The twelfth elder brother was a little confused and didn't react for a while.
Brother Jiu put it bluntly and said: "Have you never read the "Huangdi Neijing"? My husband is twenty-eight, the kidney qi is strong, the sky is guizhi, the essence is overflowing, and the yin and yang are combined, so you can have children. You are sixteen. , it is the age when the energy is overflowing, isn’t it..."
Having said this, he thought about the fact that the twelfth brother's birthday was in the twelfth lunar month, a small birthday, and he was only fourteen and a half years old now.
Or maybe it’s really nothing like that…
Do the numbers 7788 in the Huangdi Neijing refer to virtual age or real age?
The laws of the previous dynasty set the age of marriage for men and women at sixteen and fourteen. This should be a reference to the "Huangdi Neijing".
The years in the law are calculated as false years. Can it be calculated that the "Huangdi Neijing" also states false years?
The twelfth elder brother's face turned red, all the way to his neck, like a red date steamed bun.
He stared at Brother Jiu and was speechless. He really couldn't think of why he could say this calmly.
Brother Jiu hummed and said: "It's all written in the book, what's there to be ashamed of? If you have something wrong, tell me and see the imperial doctor early. If you are embarrassed to say it, I will arrange someone for you. It doesn't matter. Just don't think about those evil spirits." Heretic!”
The twelfth elder brother hurriedly said: "Don't worry about it. My brother is fine, but he is impatient and annoyed by the crowd."
Brother Jiu couldn't laugh or cry, and said: "Who can live alone? No matter what age you are, you will always grow up."
For example, the Fourteenth Prince, who is three years younger than the Twelfth Prince, has long been thinking about marrying Fujin.
The difference between this younger brother and his younger brother is really big.
Shu Shu was in the main room. He had already received the news and knew that the twelfth elder brother was coming, so he ordered Walnut to say: "Ask the kitchen to prepare a fruit plate and send it over, and send two plates of cakes as cushions."
Walnut responded, went to the dining room, packed the food box and sent it over.
When the twelfth elder brother saw his sister-in-law sending someone over, he looked at the ninth elder brother and wondered whether he should go over to pay his respects to his sister-in-law first.
Brother Jiu waved his hand and said, "No, let's see you later when we go out. To save you the hassle, you can eat two pieces of melon and take a rest. We'll set off for Nanwu Institute at the second quarter of the first day of the Lunar New Year. There's still half an hour left."
The twelfth elder brother listened to the arrangement honestly.
Brother Jiu returned to the main room.
Shu Shu was looking at the two brocade boxes, seemingly hesitant.
Brother Jiu leaned over and said, "What are they?"
Shu Shu pointed to the left and said, "A new riding crop and a Mongolian knife were both gifts I received during my northern tour the year before last!"
They are all good things, inlaid with gems and gold, which will suit the preferences of the Mongolians.
Princess Kejing keeps it and can reward others.
Brother Jiu shook his head and said: "Don't give these, give me foreign goods, Gurkha knives, perfume, mirror Korean ginseng, etc..."
After hearing this, Shu Shu couldn't help stroking her forehead and said, "It's me who's done it."
Things are rare and valuable.
These objects received on the grassland may seem like good things to me, but to the Mongolian prince, they are nothing.
On the contrary, Western objects, which are thousands of miles away and have traveled across the ocean, are precious.
Shu Shu said: "Then give me the Gurkha knife. When the princess leaves the capital, prepare Korean ginseng and others."
This is also a courtesy exchange.
When the princess came back before, she sent a cart full of furs. There were no impure furs, they were all mink furs. They came in rolls and were well prepared and could be made into clothes directly.
This car's materials are expensive.
Shu Shu's temperament was that she would rather suffer than take advantage, so she had already thought about returning the gift.
After being married for several years, Brother Jiu knew about her behavior. After thinking about it, he said: "The return gift from Fourth Sister does not have to be formal, otherwise it will look awkward. We have nothing to do. We are afraid that she will feel uneasy..."
Shu Shu nodded and said, "Yes, I understand."
In the past, the princess was a princess and her consort was Prince Doro. Naturally, the princess had the highest status between the couple.
Now the prince-in-law is Tushetu Khan, who has become the most powerful person in Khalkha. The situation of the princess and her prince-in-law is reversed.
This should also be the reason why the princess returned to the court.
Shu Shu said: "With the relationship established, we can wait until Princess Qianqiu sends people over to give gifts, or wait until the princess gives birth to a baby and prepare birth-birth gifts."
Brother Ninth nodded and said: "That's better. For us, it's just a little troublesome. For Fourth Sister, it's also a comfort to be in a foreign land..."
