"Charter, are you ready?"
"Your Majesty, the preparations have been completed!"
"There is no court meeting tomorrow, so we can hold weddings for the chamberlains and maids of the palace!"
A certain prince handed over the marriages of the servants in the empress residence to Chu Xianzhang, the eunuch in charge of the various supervisory bureaus. All the supervisors under his jurisdiction, such as the Shangyi Supervisor, the Shangshan Supervisor, and the Sishe Supervisor, would cooperate wholeheartedly. ,
Asking the eunuch to hold a wedding for his eunuch is probably not much different. This is the first time in ancient times that the royal family has held a wedding for a eunuch next to him. Anyone who doesn't take it seriously is really stupid.
The specific marriage standard is that chamberlains have been employed in the palace for more than seven years, and maids have been employed in the palace for more than five years. Regardless of their position, all can enjoy this treatment.
All expenses for this wedding will be borne by a certain prince. The man and woman attending the wedding do not need to pay any fees and will receive a big red envelope on the spot.
People like Fang Zhenghua, the eunuch of the East Factory, Wang Cheng'en, the eunuch of Si Li Bingbi, and Li Fengxiang, the eunuch of the inner factory, are all old people and important ministers in the imperial palace, and their red envelopes have reached as much as five thousand taels.
It's just this once in a lifetime, and even if he takes another concubine in the future, he won't enjoy this treatment, so a certain prince is extremely generous.
The chamberlains below can also receive varying degrees of red envelopes, with the lowest being as much as two hundred taels, and one thousand couples being equal to two hundred thousand taels. Fortunately, the feudal prince contributed, otherwise a certain prince would have to use purple gold bonds to issue red envelopes.
However, in view of the limited number of houses in the rear residence, renovating it will be very time-consuming, so the marriage must be carried out in stages, otherwise the two parties will have to be separated after getting married.
Every married couple can be assigned a wedding room. Depending on the grade, the area may be large or small enough for both people to live in, and it will not be too cramped.
It was impossible to live outside the house. Only to the west of Deshengmen, the Huanyi Bureau, staffed by old and retired palace servants, was the only eunuch agency among the twenty-four yamen that was not in the imperial city.
Marrying the servants was one of the three treasures a prince used to win over and appease those around him. The other two were medical security and retirement benefits.
With these three treasures, most of the servants and maids in the palace will be stable. With the salary increase and reporting strategy, a handful of people with ulterior motives will be discovered, and a certain prince can rest easy in the future.
After asking Chu Xianzhang, a certain prince sent people to recruit all the powerful chamberlains to the East Palace, and publicly warned: "I am able to supervise the country smoothly, thanks to your strong support. I would like to thank you in advance and look forward to seeing you in the future." You all unite sincerely to solve the problems of this palace. I know that although the chamberlain is no longer a mortal, the feelings are still the same as that of a mortal, so I give you and the chamberlain and the maid who have served in the palace for many years the opportunity to get married. This is a red envelope for you, This is a token of affection from the Queen Mother and this palace, and there will be a reward at the end of the year. You don’t need to use it to buy purple gold bonds. In the second half of next year, you will have a house in Xincheng. You can use this red envelope plus the reward at the end of the year to buy a house in Xincheng. The houses over there will be much better than those in the old city. When it is time for you to retire, I will naturally not keep you here, and you can live your whole life in the houses in the new city!"
According to regulations, the retirement age for general chamberlains is fifty years old, and senior chamberlains can reach sixty years old. If you are in poor health, you can apply in advance, but you will not come back after you leave, and the benefits of early retirement will be discounted.
The words of the Crown Prince were sincere and reasonable, and won the hearts of the people. Even though the senior chamberlains present were much older than the Crown Prince, their eyes turned red when they were told that they had never met such a caring person for his subordinates. Good host. ,
Nothing can warm people's hearts more than such words. A group of colleagues around Li Jizhou Daitou, the eunuch of the East Palace Bingbi, responded: "Your Highness is so kind, but I can't repay it. From now on, His Highness will be ruined and go through fire and water!"
Chamberlains are also human beings, they also want to be promoted and make money, and they also have emotions and desires. But many times, neither their owners nor outsiders treat them as human beings. At best, they are just running dogs, and at worst, they are worse than pigs and dogs.
Not to mention such a happy event as marriage, even if you find a partner, you have to do it secretly, for fear of being known by outsiders, otherwise you will be alone for the rest of your life. You have to be conservative and humiliated, and be cautious to avoid being excluded. This is the so-called "once you enter the palace, you will be alone" Like the sea".
"I am not a kind-hearted person. Anyone who violates the laws of the country and family rules will be severely punished. But as long as you serve me wholeheartedly, you will naturally have no worries about food and clothing in the future, and I can guarantee that I will reward you. All the money given to you can be taken out of the palace when you reach the age of retirement. I am not a generation of Xia, Jie, Shang and Zhou, and I am much younger than you. When you are old, I am far from dizzy. Your eyes are dazzled, so you can all escape safely. I would like to say three things to you, be loyal to me, be attentive when doing errands, and finally hope that you will be honest and self-disciplined. I believe that you are all well aware of other matters to note. Don’t waste your time here. Tomorrow is your big day, so go back and prepare, don’t delay.”
The cake has been drawn big enough, and can be turned into a real cake and eaten in the stomach. All the servants have already enjoyed the benefits of salary increases, and related medical security and retirement benefits have recently been implemented in the back house.
With such a large welfare measure, if there are still people who dare to go against the trend and commit crimes, they are actively seeking death. Naturally, a certain prince will not miss the perfect opportunity to kill others and warn everyone.
Appeasing the servants, controlling the government, and wooing the army are the three major strategies of a certain prince to supervise the country. None of them can be missing, especially if something similar to the Zhengde Apocalypse cannot happen.
The current situation is close to the period of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty. Although there is no widespread separatism of vassal towns in the north, it is most likely that the country is in dire straits. However, the imperial court will continue to use force on a large scale and is completely counting on the food and taxes from the south.
Wang Pu's rebellion in Datong has been suppressed by Yang Wenyue, Chai Shihua's rebellion in Ginsu, Zuo Maodi has no time to take care of it, and the main force of the army is fighting the rogue bandits led by Luo Rucai and Zhang Xianzhong in the Huguang area.
The Fifth Battalion of Gezuo relied on the Dabie Mountains in the Yinghuo Mountains to continue to threaten Nanjing's security. There was also Huang Taiji in the north who was sharpening his sword, which shows that the situation at the end was much worse than during the reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty.
It is difficult to say whether ZTE will achieve a long-term renaissance or a short-term comeback. We are walking on thin ice, but so far, we have not stepped on it without stepping on it.
As long as the back house stops, it will be easy to handle the things in the front. If the back house is not stable, it will really kill you in minutes.
What pleased a certain prince was that his beautiful biological mother, who usually disliked Aunt Tian, did not get angry immediately now. After all, she was a smart woman who understood the general situation and did not neglect her public duties for personal reasons.
In return for his beautiful biological mother, in addition to the routine tribute of silks, furs, and jewelry, a certain prince's annual salary for his biological mother was increased to ten thousand taels of silver, which was ten times the previous amount.
Other concubines Bin also received higher treatment, but not as much as Queen Zhou. Of course, the treatment enjoyed by their biological mothers and aunts was different.
It is estimated that most of the money of the beautiful biological mother was used to play mahjong, but with her wealthy biological son as her backer, it doesn't matter even if she loses some money.
The situation of the concubines is much better than when the father was in power. At least they have more money. However, they still need to be frugal and frugal when eating. Except for special circumstances, each meal only consists of four dishes and one soup.
In the opinion of a certain prince, this was pretty good. Two meats, two vegetables, and one soup, a combination of meats and vegetables, reasonable nutrition, and various snacks to eat in his spare time. This was not enough, but it was a bit too much.
Just grilled skewers, braised pork rice, teppanyaki, beef ramen and other ordinary things can make a group of younger brothers and sisters eat to the fullest and become as fat as pigs.
For only two to three taels of silver for a meal, a family including several aunts can eat well, with a wide variety of dishes, and many of the dishes are unheard of. This is something that I didn't dare to think of before.
The scapegoat knows that he has no money, but he still talks about being frugal and vegetarian. In the end, he makes a "matryoshka doll" and prepares a table of dishes, which is simply a "poor show".
After eliminating many moths in the back house, all expenses became more transparent. As a result, the support of the back house was greatly reduced, but the efficiency and benefits were improved to a higher level.
Considering that there was still a man lying in the palace, it would be rude to be so noisy, so the wedding was held at the Taiye Pond, turning it into an open-air wedding. ".
The wedding venue had been decorated with lights and colorful decorations, and was decorated in a joyous manner. There were trees wrapped with bright red silk everywhere, and a red carpet was spread on the ground, which made a certain prince feel dizzy.
As the "food and clothing parents" of the bride and groom, the beautiful biological mother and a group of aunts also attended as scheduled. A group of concubines did not want to steal the spotlight from the parties, and their husbands were still unconscious, so they made an appointment in advance, all wearing pink clothes. Jifu.
Since it was a collective wedding, even if it was held in batches, the number of the first batch of participants was 222 couples, which meant that good things come in pairs. There were people watching the excitement from three floors inside and three outside, and they were packed with people.
The bride and groom's wedding clothes were all made of bright red satin. At first, they wanted to use silk, but after counting, they found that the total was not enough, so they switched to satin, but the workmanship is not inferior to similar products on the market.
The brides all wear bright red silk unicorn sleeves robes decorated with cloud shoulders, sleeves and knee darts. On their feet are novel short leather high-heeled shoes. Their heads are covered by silk hijabs, and they can only follow the quilt. The groom led him slowly to the designated location.
"The good time has arrived, and the wedding has officially begun! Please take your places, bride and groom! Bow first to heaven and earth, second to the high hall and husband and wife!"
At twelve o'clock at noon, the wedding went on as scheduled. Since all the senior chamberlains became grooms, a certain prince took the initiative and asked Feng Quan, the Minister of Etiquette, to serve as the master of ceremonies.
This was the first time since the Qin Dynasty to host a wedding for an eunuch, let alone the Ming Dynasty. Feng Quan did not dare to offend the prince, so he had no choice but to accept the job.
A certain prince originally wanted his father-in-law-to-be, Xue Guoguan, to preside over the ceremony, but the minister of rites does not need to be in vain, and he is idle when he is idle, not to mention that he is a professional in this.
As a second-rank official in the imperial court, the Minister of Rites, his monthly salary alone is as high as two hundred and twenty taels of silver. A certain prince, who is ice-snow and smart, cannot let this money go to waste.
As long as Feng Quan is still the Minister of Rites, such matters will be entrusted to him in the future. Even if the Minister of Rites is replaced, the successor will have to take over this job. This dynasty must have the characteristics of this dynasty.
"On behalf of the Empress, I would like to congratulate you on your marriage. I hope you can live together and grow old together. These gifts are a token of my sincerity. Please ask the groom to wear them for the bride!"
The beautiful biological mother didn't say much, but she also gave practical benefits. As a "brother's family", she gave each bride a pair of jade bracelets, with different qualities. The higher the groom's position, the more valuable the bracelets the bride received.
Empress Zhou was initially resistant to her eldest son's desire to hold a wedding for the servants, but considering the current situation and the eldest son's persuasion, she reluctantly agreed.
But I felt the warm atmosphere at the scene and the smiling faces of everyone, and I sincerely hope that every couple can be happy. Especially as a woman, I feel sympathy for the bride in front of me to a certain extent.
If it weren't for a poor family, who would send his beloved to the palace to work as an errand? Marrying these people is not a great merit, but it is still a good thing after all. At least we can take care of each other in the future. Rely on and you won’t be lonely anymore.
When the groom puts a jade bracelet on the bride, there are people below to hold the tray as a base, so that even if the bracelet is suddenly taken off, it will not fall to the ground and be broken. "Broken and safe" sounds nice, but it is best not to " broken".
The bracelet fits perfectly because the bride's wrist size has been measured first. Today is just a formality. As the saying goes, sincerity leads to success. As long as the etiquette scene is reached, it is done.
The seven ministers, ministers, as well as the Duchayuan, Dali Temple, and Hanlin Academy, all officials of sufficient rank, including generals above the rank of general, were invited to watch the ceremony. The advantage was that they could eat and drink for free.
For the sake of a certain prince, no one dared not come today even though they were very tired yesterday. What's more, no one is stupid enough to offend so many high-ranking eunuchs at once, which is really a big deal.
When the eunuch was given the idea of a certain prince getting married, all the concubines came to congratulate him. Besides, it was only this once in his life. If anyone didn't open his eyes, it meant that he had done enough and planned to return home early.
A certain prince has stipulated that the dignitaries do not need to follow the ceremony. It is enough to brush their faces when they come. Moreover, the standards of the wedding meals are very high, especially the tables for entertaining the dignitaries, which are comparable to entertaining the vassal king. If you feel unhappy, you can eat it back.
"Today is a happy day for all the newlyweds. I wish you a happy marriage and a son soon, and I wish you a few adoptive children. I wish all the guests good food and drink!"
After a certain prince raised a toast, all the married couples had to return the toast, and then a group of people could eat and drink, especially the generals. They were just here to enjoy the meal. If they finally got the chance, they had to eat. Until it comes.
It's a sunny day today, with only a gentle breeze blowing on my face. It's just right to set up a table outdoors to eat and drink, and the place is big enough so it won't feel stuffy.
The mobile stove used by the royal chefs is parked nearby, and hot dishes can be fried and served immediately, saving the waiters the trouble of running errands from the chief chef.
With the crown prince's permission, a group of ministers and generals began to exchange cups, especially toasts to the groom. These high-level chamberlains were all celebrities around the crown prince, but they had to accompany them well.
Since there are no family members, the guests are all officials from the imperial court and colleagues from the imperial palace, so there are only a few tables for the general guest, and the groom will not drink too much for one table and one glass of wine.
There is no harm in drinking too much, after entering the bridal chamber11
