Volume 1 Princess Taiping Grows Up Chapter 50: Hundred Family Names
The term "a family where marriage is forbidden" only appeared during the reign of Emperor Li Zhi.
Li Yuechen also knew something about this matter. In this era, because it was still an aristocratic political system, there were many families with a long tradition and profound foundation.
For example, the Five Surnames and Seven Families.
At that time, there was a man named Li Yifu, who was highly valued by his father Li Zhi and his mother Wu Zetian, and was eventually appointed prime minister.
He felt that he had become a powerful figure, but because his foundation was not strong enough, he wanted to marry into one of these aristocratic families to make his foundation stronger.
But these aristocratic families are all too proud. In their eyes, the Li royal family are just wild boys from the mountains and they look down on them. How can a mere prime minister like you be worthy of them?
So I refused without hesitation!
Li Yifu was so angry that he teamed up with his partners to file a complaint with Li Zhi.
In the end, Li Zhi issued an order, naming some aristocratic families, a total of seven surnames and ten families, and prohibited them from intermarrying!
After this order was issued, these named aristocratic families launched a craze of intermarriage before the order came into effect.
Many wedding procedures are streamlined as much as possible, in order to allow more people to marry each other as soon as possible before the order comes into effect.
After the order came into effect, these aristocratic families were not only not affected, but instead felt proud of it.
Outside, as long as I say that my family is a family that prohibits marriage, others will know that we are a noble family recognized even by the emperor.
It is said that dynasties come and go but aristocratic families remain unchanged. To outsiders, these aristocratic families are much more powerful than the royal family.
Many people would rather spend all their wealth to marry a woman from a wealthy family . You can imagine how deep the foundation of these families is.
It is said that the emperor's daughter will never have trouble finding a husband, but in fact, in this era, the emperor's daughter still has trouble finding a husband.
Because during this period, the first thought of talented young men was not to marry a princess, but to marry a girl from aristocratic family.
A talented woman’s first choice is not to marry a prince, but to marry a son of a noble family.
This is the current social trend.
Li Yuechen nodded and grinned: "It's okay, I'll find a chance to take revenge later!"
Liu Huang was stunned: "How to do it?"
"Do I need to teach you this?" Li Yuechen asked, "When that guy is walking on the street at night, put a sack over his head and hit him with a few clubs!"
Liu Huang's eyes lit up: "What a good idea!"
"Well, this princess didn't say anything!" Li Yuechen reminded.
"That's right!" Liu Huang laughed, "I just figured this out myself. I didn't even see His Highness today!"
Li Yuechen nodded with appreciation, waved his hand and ordered the Jinwu Guards who were driving the car to return to the palace.
Looking at the carriage going away, Liu Huang bowed slightly, then turned and left.
On the way back, Li Yuechen lowered his head and thought.
In fact, from her point of view, she also hates the feudal system and these aristocratic families.
But now she is a member of the royal family. Based on the principle of helping relatives rather than helping others, she now only hates these aristocratic families.
It’s not because of anything else, but because these aristocratic families really are not likable at all.
They are arrogant and domineering, look down on others, and regard bloodline and birth as the basis of nobility.
Although after years of suppression by Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, the political power in the court is no longer as strong as before.
However, his prestige in society remains the same as it was during the founding period and the reign of Emperor Taizong.
At this moment, Li Yuechen was thinking about a question: if these aristocratic families were allowed to continue to develop, would this country develop into a caste-like system in the future?
This is not an unfounded worry. Once these aristocratic families unite, they really have the power to overthrow the imperial power!
However, eliminating their influence will not be accomplished overnight.
The main reason is that these big families are like local tyrants in their own territories.
For example, in Taiyuan, you may not know who the emperor is, but you must know the Wang family!
It is this system that allows these aristocratic families to occupy their own territories, with money, people and weapons, and their influence can never be easily eliminated.
Now that Li Yuechen is a royal princess, she naturally has to think from the perspective of the royal family.
If they could deal with these aristocratic families, it would be equivalent to consolidating the imperial power. I believe Li Zhi and Wu Zetian would be very happy, right?
Although she certainly couldn't do that now, it didn't matter, at least she could think of a way to disgust them.
In this way, not only will I be happy, but Li Zhi and Wu Zetian will also be happier.
Once the emperor and his wife are happy, they will definitely like me more!
Thinking of this, Li Yuechen made a decision that he must do something to make the emperor happy.
…
Returning to Anfu Hall, Li Yuechen sat down, supporting his chin with both hands, thinking about what he .
In fact, there are many things that can be done, such as developing business, slowly destroying the businesses of these families, and then maliciously acquiring them.
But if you think about it carefully, this is not something that can be accomplished right now; it needs to be developed slowly.
After all, the key lies in how to reduce their social influence and make the people realize that these so-called nobles are nothing without the emperor's support!
Li Yuechen propped his chin with both hands, looking at the Linbo Pavilion outside the palace, thinking and talking to himself: "Seven surnames and ten families, seven surnames and ten families... seven surnames... surnames ... a hundred surnames!"
Thinking of this, Li Yuechen suddenly raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
Yes, there will be no problem with the Hundred Family Surnames. Let their surnames be put behind Li, and the emperor will definitely be happy then!
Thinking of this, Li Yuechen picked up his pen and was about to write.
But before I could put pen to paper, I froze again.
She only remembers the first four sentences of the Hundred Family Surnames and can't remember the rest at all. How can she play this game?
After thinking about it, Li Yuechen wrote the four words "Li Wu Liu Yang" on the paper.
My father’s surname is Li and he is ranked first, my mother’s surname is Wu and he is ranked second, my grandmother’s surname is Yang, and for the sake of rhyme, I add my master’s surname Liu in the middle. Is that too much?
Li Wu Liu Yang, Zhou Wu Zheng Wang, doesn't this rhyme?
Feng, Chen, Chu, Wei, and then... Cui, Lu, Fan, and Zhang?
Having written here, Li Yuechen stopped writing, and she didn’t remember what happened next!
While he was scratching his hair and thinking about how to braid it next, Shangguan Wan'er happened to walk by.
Li Yuechen was slightly stunned. Yes, Shangguan Wan'er should be able to help, right?
You know, this is a talented woman in the future! She is known as a female prime minister, so she must be talented!
Thinking of this, Li Yuechen waved his hand: "Wan'er, bring the "Clan Records" here and help me!"
“Yes!”
Shangguan Wan'er agreed, lifted her little feet and ran to the bookshelf to look for it.
"Clan Records" is a book compiled during the reign of Emperor Taizong, which records different surnames and families. With this book, you can check what surnames exist today.
After a while, Shangguan Wan'er came over holding a large scroll.
Li Yuechen waved her to sit down and whispered, "Wan'er, there is something here that you need to help me with."
"Your Highness, please give your orders! As long as Wan'er can do it!" Shangguan Wan'er replied.
Li Yuechen nodded: "As for you, just follow my two sentences and compile the surnames recorded in the clan annals in this format. Remember to ensure that they rhyme."
"This..." Shangguan Wan'er looked a little hesitant, "I don't know if I can complete it..."
"It's okay, just do your best." Li Yuechen looked around and said, "If you can't make it, I won't punish you. If you can make it, I'll prepare a lot of canned food for you this year, eat whatever you want!"
Shangguan Wan'er's eyes lit up and she nodded: "Okay, I will do my best to complete it!"
"Great!" Li Yuechen reached out and rubbed her head.
"What does this stick mean?"
"You are just awesome!"
…
Seven days passed in a blink of an eye, and Li Yuechen went to the court to listen to the news as usual.
Nothing major has happened recently, except that Lu Chen, a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel, said that his son Lu Yuan was beaten while walking at night, but the murderer has not been found. He hopes that Your Majesty can order a thorough investigation and bring the murderer to justice.
If Li Zhi, who was sitting on the dragon throne, had not seen his daughter behind the screen, he would probably have been unable to resist throwing the health ball in his hand over.
What the hell? Your son was beaten up, and you're telling me about it?
So when you have a fight with your wife, should I help you mediate?
After scolding Lu Chen, Li Zhi announced that he would adjourn the court. He angrily went behind the screen, picked up Li Yuechen and left.
Lu Chen also felt wronged and had already reported the matter to the Dali Temple.
They did send people to investigate, but after looking into the entire case, they found that it was clearly a premeditated crime.
They put a sack over the man's head, but after a few beatings he ran away. He didn't rob anyone or rape them, so it was extremely difficult to track him down.
It was for this reason that Lu Chen brought the case to the court.
Moreover, if this case happened in the past, Li Zhi might have really paid attention to it and asked about it.
However, Lu Chen's father, Lu Chengqing, has passed away, and there has always been a tradition in the officialdom that people will be forgotten after they leave, so Lu Chen's words no longer have as much power as before.
There is a high probability that this matter will come to nothing.
However, Li Yuechen noticed that throughout the entire court meeting, his master Liu Rengui had his eyes closed and did not say a word, as if he was asleep.
…
After the court session, Li Zhi hugged Li Yuechen and played with her. The depression he felt in the court was swept away as he played with his daughter.
Wu Zetian also knew that Li Zhi had disliked them for a long time, so she didn't show any anger today. Instead, she played around with Li Zhi and Li Yuechen.
After lunch, he called his youngest son Li Lun, and the four of them played mahjong together.
Li Yuechen played until the evening before returning to Anfu Hall.
Walking barefoot on the wooden floor of the hall, the hot feeling finally dissipated a lot.
Just as he was about to lie down and rest for a while, Shangguan Wan'er came running over with a "dong dong dong" sound: "Your Highness, I'm done!"
"oh?"
Li Yuechen turned his head and said, "Bring it here and let me see it!"
Shangguan Wan'er handed over a folded scroll of scriptures, and Li Yuechen opened it and began to read.
Li Wu Liu Yang, Zhou Wu Zheng Wang. Feng Chen Chu Wei, Cui Lu Fan Zhang. Zhu Cao Lu Hua, Fang Xie Kong Jiang...
Overall, the layout is neat, the sentences are rhymed, and it is extremely smooth to recite!
Li Yuechen opened his arms and hugged her, patting her on the back: "Haha, Wan'er is awesome!"
Shangguan Wan'er stood there in a daze for a moment, her cheeks turned red, and she raised and put her hands down, not knowing whether she should hug Li Yuechen as well.
But she obviously didn't think so much. After letting go of Shangguan Wan'er, she grinned and said, "Remember to prepare writing materials for me tomorrow. I will copy it and show it to my parents!"
“Yes!”
Li Yuechen, in a good mood, waved his hand and said, "Come on, prepare the grill, we're going to have a barbecue tonight!"
Then he took Shangguan Wan'er's hand and said, "Let's go and grill together today!"
…
This barbecue did not attract much attention. After Li Zhi found out about it, he just smiled and did not go to eat for free.
The next morning, Li Yuechen got up early to practice martial arts as usual. After lunch, he carefully copied the Hundred Family Surnames compiled by Shangguan Wan'er, then rode his tricycle straight to the Renshou Hall.
Arriving at Renshou Hall, Li Yuechen greeted Zhang Chengxin at the door and ran into the hall.
He ran to the table, pushed himself up with his hands, and jumped over the table, landing next to Li Zhi.
"Oh, Chen'er seems to be in a good mood today." Li Zhi said with a smile.
Li Yuechen sat directly on the armrest of his rocking chair: "Grandpa, Wan'er and I made up a jingle together."
"Wan'er?" Li Zhi was stunned for a moment. "Oh, your palace maid who was studying with you...what kind of jingle did she make up?"
Li Yuechen lay down directly, resting his head on his chest: "I read the "Clan Records" compiled by the late emperor, and compiled the different surnames into a jingle called "Hundred Family Surnames"!"
As he said this, he got off the rocking chair and handed the sutra scroll in his hand to Wu Zetian: "Grandpa's eyesight is not good, please take a look at it, madam!"
In fact, Wu Zetian had no interest in things like rhymes, but since it was handed to her, she thought she might as well open it and take a look.
When he opened it, his originally nonchalant expression gradually turned serious after reading a few sentences.
Li Zhi, who was sitting in the rocking chair, turned his head and took a look: "Mei Niang, read it out loud for me."
Wu Zetian nodded and began to read it slowly.
Li Zhi originally just wanted to listen for fun, but as she started reciting, his expression gradually became serious.
Li Yuechen pretended not to notice it. After Wu Zetian finished reading, she came to Li Zhi with a proud look on her face and said, "Grandpa, how is it? Is my child capable?"
Wu Zetian asked from behind the desk, "Is this written by Chen'er?"
"The first part was written by Haier, and the second part was written by Waner. We completed them together!" Li Yuechen replied.
The main reason why Li Yuechen answered this way was that she didn't want her parents to think that she was really talented in literature, so she started to force herself to study the Four Books and Five Classics.
Therefore, he gave half of the credit to Shangguan Wan'er, saying that his talent was just average and he was not suitable for studying the Four Books and Five Classics.
Li Zhi narrowed his eyes slightly, swirled the health ball in his hand twice, reached out to take it from Wu Zetian, and looked at it himself.
Wu Zetian asked, "Why did Chen'er put my grandmother's surname after Liu?"
“Isn’t this for the sake of rhyme? That’s why Master’s surname Liu is placed in front.” Li Yuechen replied.
"right!"
Li Zhi, who was watching from his rocking chair, suddenly laughed: "Chen'er put their last names at the end just for the sake of rhyme! For the sake of rhyme!"
Seeing that he had reacted, Li Yuechen also smiled.
That’s right, this princess wrote this for the sake of rhyme, and has no intention of smearing any ulterior motives at all!
