"Wei Chen has something to report!"
Lin Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites stepped forward holding the wat board.
"The ceremony of marriage is the main road of human relations. The emperor's wedding is a grand ceremony of the country. According to the ancestral system, all the kings of the royal family must choose to marry at the age of fifteen and live in the capital. Your Majesty is the emperor, sixteen years old. I have already invited the Queen Mother, For the sake of the succession of the ancestors and the basic plan for the prosperity of the country and the people, it is best that the wedding should not be overdue. The Empress Dowager kindly enjoins that the late emperor has left an edict and hopes that your majesty will fix the wedding date as soon as possible and choose an auspicious ceremony!"
Weddings and weddings all focus on the word "ceremony".
The wedding system of the Ming Dynasty strictly followed the traditional six rituals of "accepting gifts, asking for names, accepting gifts, accepting invitations, asking for dates, and personally welcoming". And this is only the process that needs to be done on the wedding day. In fact, there is still a lot of preparation work, such as the discussion of the age of marriage, the compilation of wedding ceremony notes, and the selection of the wedding date, etc.
For now, the wedding date can only be decided by the end of this year or next spring. Because the specific date depends on the woman’s birth date and then calculated.
These are all etiquette, and you can’t make a single mistake.
In addition, this matter must start with the Queen Mother's permission. Empress Dowager Zhang has no sense of presence in many things, but this does not include the emperor's wedding.
Parents to enrich people. Children must go through their parents to get married, which is part of filial piety.
The Emperor Yingzong at that time wanted to change the wedding date before getting married. In the end, he failed, so he had to say, "I follow the instructions of the Holy Mother to fix the wedding date in March next year."
Strict etiquette is not just talk.
According to Zhu Houzhao's current age, if this matter cannot be settled, there will definitely be a big problem. Because this is not only a major event in his personal life, but also an important political event.
Delays, overdue dates... it must be because of some special circumstances in the court. At that time, the officials are speculating, and they don't know what will happen.
However, the worries of the ministers can be avoided. Since the late emperor first started preparing to choose the crown princess in the 17th year of Hongzhi this year, Zhu Houzhao has never shown any resistance to this matter.
At most, it will be boring.
In fact, the weddings of emperors of the Ming Dynasty began with Ming Yingzong, who was the first person to marry as an emperor. The ministers at that time discussed and decided on the wedding ceremony.
Roughly speaking, it is to decide who should do what, which door the emperor and empress should enter through, which palace they should go to, what procedures should be prepared for people with different identities, etc...
This process is recorded in detail in the records of Yingzong. For Zhu Houzhao, he just had to follow it.
Therefore, he only glanced at Lin Han's memorial. He didn't bother to understand the specific marriage process. He just asked: "How far did you go in choosing a bride?"
The internal officials are responsible for this matter.
Liu Jin came out to report, "Your Majesty, there are a total of 5,000 women of the right age who entered the capital initially. The slaves and Miss Qiuyun have screened them one by one according to their appearance, body shape, talent and education. Now there are only 50 people left. According to the rules, next step They should be introduced into the palace by the old ladies in the palace, and the Queen Mother should be asked to take another look. At that time, Her Majesty can ask her to appoint a queen and two concubines."
Yes, the emperor's wedding is not about finding a queen.
Instead, find three people.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao did not have a strong sense of the sacredness of "spending this life as a pair with the one he loves" from the beginning.
"If your Majesty..."
"I have no other intentions. Just follow the rules."
Liu Jin was guessing the emperor's thoughts, because the person he was serving was different. This set of procedures would be a headache if the emperor was dissatisfied. But the emperor interrupted him.
Because Zhu Houzhao was not worried at all that he would marry someone he couldn't stand or kiss...
The selection of queens and concubines is very strict.
After these five thousand people arrived in the capital, the first step was to screen them for height, shortness, fatness, and thinness, followed by ears, eyes, mouth, nose, hair, skin, waist, collar, shoulders, back...
Even the pronunciation and accent need to be listened to. If you have a big tongue, slurred speech or stuttering, it will definitely not work. Not only that, but also those with a bad voice will not work. Others such as those with slumped shoulders, hunched backs, thick waists, withered hair, and dark skin will not be allowed. Anyone with obvious scars, birthmarks, or moles will be sent back.
In a word, the skin is as creamy and the waist is as restrained. What matters is the word "fair lady".
If you pass this level,
Then the eunuch will bring the remaining people into the palace, and the old ladies in the palace will conduct some more private screenings.
Even if there is a strange smell in a certain part, it is not allowed.
Ancient people already knew that some women would get sick there.
If such a person is allowed into the palace, how many clans will have to be killed if the emperor is infected?
As for what constitutes a strange smell, the ancients didn't say. We can’t rely on the ancients for everything, right? You have to work harder yourself.
In the end, those who stay will live in the palace for a while, so that they can see more about their temperament, talents, knowledge, and cultivation.
It can be said that this is much more difficult than taking the Jinshi exam.
According to what Liu Jin has reported so far,
The last fifty people are probably already in the palace.
Lin Han added fuel to the fire,
"In the seventh year of Zhengtong, Emperor Yingzong got married at the age of sixteen. Your Majesty is now sixteen. In addition, in the seventeenth year of Hongzhi, the late emperor had already posted a list of officials to choose good and good family girls. Therefore, I sincerely request your majesty to fix the wedding date in Zhengde Yuan. In the winter of this year, firstly, it is to meet the expectations of the subjects of the world, and secondly, it is the filial piety of His Majesty!"
"Is it too late?"
The main thing is that Liu Jin's side has to keep up.
Liu Jin has been having trouble dealing with civil servants recently, so he said: "As long as the Queen Mother and Your Majesty give orders, you will have time to choose the queen and concubine. However, I am worried that the person you choose will live thousands of miles away from the capital. , one of the etiquettes needs to be completed, I’m afraid I’m a little anxious.”
Lin Han glared angrily when he heard this, "It's only August now, and even Fujian and Guangdong can't make it in time. How can we be in a hurry?"
"This is just one of the reasons. The slaves used the ritual to meet men and women in mid-spring. If the time is determined to be spring, it means that the heaven and earth are in harmony and all things are mellowing."
Liu Jin's attitude was to confront him.
Zhu Houzhao actually has no preference. It can be done in winter or spring. Anyway, it will be done before or after the year before.
The Qianqing Palace was slightly quiet for a while.
But not long after, Li Dongyang swayed forward and said, "The taboos of the times are folk customs, and there are still some that are not fully tested. The emperor is the master of the hundreds of gods in the heaven and earth, and the hundreds of gods will be responsible for every move he makes. Is it possible to arrest someone with a small skill of yin and yang? Moreover, next year in the middle of spring, it will be the date of the great court meeting set by His Majesty. How can we hold a wedding again?"
When Zhu Houzhao heard this, he thought it was right. He was very busy in the spring.
"You don't need to say anything. I still have to follow my mother's instructions and set the wedding date as soon as possible. No one from Qintian Prison will come. Mr. Li Ge, please pass on my instructions later and ask them to choose an auspicious day in the winter of the first year of Zhengde. It’s set to be my wedding day!”
"I obey the decree. Your Majesty is wise!"
"Your Majesty, Holy Ming!
"
The emperor was not willful in this matter. He put the ancestral system first and the overall situation first.
In fact, when it comes to the word 'Xian', this is Xian. Because the emperor is not "unworthy" and is not unworthy, he is naturally virtuous.
However, there was a new level of hatred between the Supervisor of Ceremonies and the Cabinet.
Liu Jin felt that during the salt class, this group of people obstructed him at all levels, saying that the eunuchs were trying to disrupt the government, which would cost him his life. If the emperor really cares, then what can he do?
The cabinet felt that the emperor still favored the Chief of Ceremonies in the salt class, including allowing him to supervise the review. Today's episode is just to show these eunuchs that the cabinet also has weight!
Many ministers were also inspired by Li Dongyang. The chief minister was still different at the critical moment.
Zhu Houzhao pretended not to know this.
Wait until everyone has retreated.
…
He called Liu Jin over and asked, "Yizhi, can I see these remaining women at this time?"
Liu Jin thought about it and said flatteringly: "Of course...it's okay. Just leave it to the slave."
Liu Jin didn't care about the ancestral system of civil servants. He was never afraid that the emperor had any thoughts, he was only afraid that the emperor had no thoughts at all.
