Three books and six rituals, three matchmakers and six betrothals, eight large sedan chairs, ten miles of red makeup, phoenix crowns and garlands, and the matchmaker is marrying, it is a wedding.
In the middle of the afternoon, the sound of firecrackers exploded outside the Dongchang Yamen, and the suona and gongs beat loudly. The crowd watching the excitement knew that the groom was going to pick up the bride.
As expected, Wu Zhong and Song Luoshu, dressed in red robes and riding tall horses, led the sedan chair and the people who were waiting for their relatives. They walked out of the Yamen and walked along the root of the imperial city towards the front gate. Both sides of the road were crowded with people and soldiers watching the excitement, congratulations and cheers. Without stopping, the two groomsmen bowed their hands to the crowds on both sides and thanked them. The accompanying fans began to scatter candies to attract the children to chase them along the way.
But no one noticed that the little eunuch quietly followed him to Dong'anmen in disguise and went directly to the palace.
The streets and alleys around the Great World were also surrounded by water. Everyone knew that the two brides were getting married from here, and one of them was the princess of Qingzhou Palace.
Princess!
This is undoubtedly a great gimmick for the common people who always like to gossip, not to mention that when you get married, you need to spend wedding money, not to mention there are many refugees outside the city.
It can be said that the wedding organized by Dongchang for Wu Zhong and Song Luoshu has become the most lively event in the capital these days. To say that the whole place is empty is a bit exaggerated, but it is not far off.
"Give way, give way, everyone, you have to let the groom pick up the bride... He will enter the palace soon, so don't miss the opportunity..." The fans in the East Factory shouted loudly to clear the way.
In an elegant little courtyard in the big world, two brides were ready to go, with Fengguan Xiapei wearing a red hijab, quietly and excitedly.
Many people may wonder, isn't Fengguan Xiape available only to the royal family? Can it be used by ordinary people?
The answer is yes, it could also be used by ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty.
The phoenix crown is the crown ornament of emperors and concubines. In the Ming Dynasty, the phoenix crown was the ceremonial crown worn by empresses when they were enthroned, visited temples, and court meetings. Its shape was inherited from the Song Dynasty but was developed and improved, so it showed more graceful and luxurious beauty. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the colorful crowns commonly used by women as decorations were also called phoenix crowns, and were mostly used at weddings.
Xiapei is not a costume. Similar to the shawl of later generations, it is the attire of the palace ladies. The first and second grade xiapei are embroidered with gold clouds and clouds Zhai pattern (Zhai: long-tailed pheasant). The third and fourth grade embroideries are gold embroidered with clouds and peacock patterns. Yunxia mandarin duck pattern, sixth and seventh grade embroidery with cloud and magpie pattern, eighth and ninth grade embroidery with school pattern.
Obviously only the royal family or court wives can use it, so why can ordinary women also use it?
There are two reasons. Although the imperial court did not explicitly stipulate that Fengguanxiapei could be used by ordinary people, the use of Fengguanxiapei by women in private marriages was indeed tacitly allowed. To put it simply, it was neither prohibited nor promoted.
Secondly, according to the Chinese etiquette in the Ming Dynasty, great gifts can be considered as the best, that is, rituals, weddings and other occasions can go up a higher level, which is not considered transgression.
Besides, what people call phoenix crowns is actually colorful crowns, not real phoenix crowns, they are just meant to sound good and have good meaning.
But Zhu Yan and Song Luoyu are real phoenix crowns, which is specially allowed by Huangji. After all, one of them is the princess of Qingzhou Palace, and the other is the female general of Dongchang.
This is also an honor given by the royal family, which is enough to last a lifetime.
Come to pick up the bride and put her in the sedan chair. Some of the yamen's personal guards carried Song Luoshu and Wuzhong outside the courtyard and howled at the top of their lungs. The maids inside blocked the door and, under the leadership of Little Apple, made sure to make them scream. My sister is giving me money...
After a lot of fun, the two brides boarded the eight-carriage sedan. As soon as they left the big world, they were blocked by people watching the fun and asking for wedding money. The fans were not stingy. They opened their pockets and threw money out. Suddenly It caused waves of shouts and cheers, and the place where the sedan chair passed was overturned.
"Hey, good guy, Dongchang is really generous. Look at the candies and money being thrown around like they're free. You must have a lot of money just to celebrate. It is said that one hundred thousand yuan is prepared..."
"One hundred thousand Wen is not worth a hundred taels of silver." Someone took a breath of air and said, "Dongchang is really not short of money."
"Hey, can people be short of money? What does Dongchang do? It's impossible to be short of money from top to bottom..." There was a bit of sourness in someone's words, which made some people on duty next to them unhappy when they heard: "I Our yamen is really not short of money. The governor said that in the future, whoever in the yamen will have all their wedding expenses paid for, do you think it is annoying or not... He said and glared at the person who spoke, in our yamen is You have money, but it’s all earned through hard work, and you guys don’t like to hear such weird things like this!”
Oops, sir, you really misunderstood, I really didn’t mean that...
The suona was loud and the gongs and drums were noisy. The two newlyweds, surrounded by the crowd, slowly and difficultly passed through the front door and entered the Daming Gate and then walked towards the palace. This immediately caused some people who didn't know what was going on to wonder, how did they go to the palace?
"Hey, you don't know yet, but the emperor is officiating the wedding today!"
"Hey, it's so big," someone exclaimed.
"It's not as good as that. I heard that the two grooms are the confidants of the great eunuch. The bride is a princess from Qingzhou and the other is a female general from Dongchang. They must not give face..."
Amid the discussion of the common people, two large sedans landed outside Chengtian Gate. The groom helped the bride into the palace under the guidance of the eunuchs in the palace. This was the second time for Wuzhong to enter the palace, but it was the first time for the other three people. , the excitement in my heart is self-evident.
There was a red carpet in front of the Huangji Gate. Emperor Chongzhen and Empress Zhou were sitting on it. Many eunuchs, maids and officials from the Ministry of Etiquette were standing in a row around them. Chang Yu, Wang Chenen and other powerful eunuchs were waiting beside them. There were shouts in the distance as the newcomers entered. Palace face saint.
Everyone looked around and saw the two newlyweds helping each other through the Meridian Gate and kneeling down in front of the Huangji Gate to greet Emperor Chongzhen and Queen Zhou.
Qingzhou Heng Wang Zhu Youtong and Emperor Chongzhen were of the same generation, so Zhu Yan was considered Emperor Chongzhen's niece. The other one was Song Luoyu, known as the female general of Dongchang. He was a hero, and was appreciated by Princess Kunxing. Her husband was a guarding gatekeeper with one sword. He was granted the title of Wuzhong, who walked with a sword in front of the emperor and was rewarded with a red tassel sword.
Generally speaking, they are not outsiders. Coupled with Chang Yu's relationship, Emperor Chongzhen is also really happy today. Even if it is not his own son and daughter's wedding, he is still happy. Looking at the two newlyweds in front of him, he can't open his mouth with joy. It's even like seeing the true faces of the two brides, but the bride's red hijab can only be opened by the groom during the bridal chamber at night. Even if he is the emperor, he cannot be opened by others at this time.
The so-called officiant is similar to the witness of the marriage in later generations. He told the bride to obey her husband and raise her children with the three virtues and the four virtues after marriage, and the groom to settle down and have a good career. Afterwards, Queen Zhou each gave the bride a set of jewelry, and Emperor Chongzhen rewarded him with the jade Ruyi. , this thing is similar to the certificates of later generations, not worth much but of great significance.
This process was grand but quick, and it was over in less than three seconds. The two newlyweds knelt three times and kowtowed nine times to thank the emperor for his kindness, then left the palace, got on the sedan chair, and headed towards the usual residence, where the wedding banquet was held.
"Today is a great event for your yamen. Don't delay here. Go out and get busy." After Emperor Chongzhen walked through the scene, he was still a little unfinished. He was thinking in his heart whether it was time to arrange the wedding for the prince. But he urged Chang Yu to leave the palace quickly.
Chang Yu hurriedly resigned and hurried out of the palace. Emperor Chongzhen asked Wang Chenen on his way back to Qianqing Palace: "Did Chang Yu say before that he would arrange for the prince's marriage after Xi'an is recovered?"
Wang Chenen nodded: "It seems that the emperor has said that he can't wait to have his grandson..."
Haha Emperor Chongzhen laughed: "I'm a little anxious, but we have to wait until Chang Yu captures Xi'an... Hey, don't you go out of the palace to have a wedding banquet today?"
"Isn't this old slave serving the emperor..." As soon as Wang Chenen finished his words, Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand: "Go quickly, it's been half a year since I finally came across that kid's own happy event, and I went to make a fuss about it."
