Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 176: The Prince's Consort and the Child Bride
Although he was sad at first, and had lost the impassioned spirit he had just shown in front of his parents, and felt frustrated that no matter how he jumped, he could not escape the palm of Tathagata, but Lu Sanlang's greatest strength was that he did not dwell on trivial matters, and his emotions came and went quickly. When he heard Zhang Shou say that he would go to the Liu family with his father to propose marriage tomorrow, he was immediately delighted.
"Luckily I met him tonight, otherwise I would be in the dark and might even have rebellious thoughts! And if I hadn't been there, maybe the fourth young lady of the Liu family would have run into the second prince, and then there might not be a kind-hearted man like me to come to the rescue!"
Seeing the complacent Lu Sanlang again, Zhang Shou couldn't help wanting to poke the fat boy's face to see if his skin was as thick as pig skin. Thinking about how Lu Sanlang had protested before that people shouldn't be hit in the face, he gave up the idea and changed the subject thoughtfully: "But since your father arranged for me to stay with you, I also have something important to ask you for help."
If someone else suddenly interrupted with something serious while they were enjoying their sweet dreams, they would definitely feel uncomfortable and keep complaining, but Lu Sanlang immediately perked up, rolled up his sleeves and asked, "Young Master, have you come up with other clues? Tell me quickly, I will help you think about it and try to solve it tonight!"
Then tomorrow morning he can go to Jiuzhang Hall to show off his abilities as the head monk!
Zhang Shou couldn't help but tap the fat boy on the forehead, then lowered his voice and said, "You go to find the Weinan Earl, and it would be best if you can see if Ah Liu has returned from the Liu family, and ask him to go with you. You confronted the Second Prince in the street today, and you have attracted too much attention. You have to be careful that someone will get angry and do something to you. When you see the Weinan Earl, ask him about this matter first..."
When Lu Sanlang excitedly slipped out of his courtyard to look for Ah Liu, the empress dowager in Qingning Palace, who usually went to bed early and got up early, did not go to bed early for the first time. Because just after the Qingning Gate was locked, the emperor suddenly knocked on the door with Zhu Ying. This granddaughter whom she always liked was hiding behind the emperor, as if she was in trouble and dared not face her.
The Queen Mother had long been accustomed to Zhu Ying's occasional trouble-making, and at this moment she was too lazy to get out of bed. She ordered the maid Yuquan to put a large pillow behind her, and she leaned there and asked unhappily, "Yingying, tell me, what trouble have you caused again?"
"It's not me who caused the trouble!" Zhu Ying poked her head out from behind the emperor with confidence, and then she coughed dryly and said, "But it has something to do with me!"
"It doesn't matter. You wouldn't go to the palace to see the emperor in the middle of the night, and then come to see me!"
Although she was angry, the empress dowager didn't take it too seriously. Because the emperor was still smiling at this time, it shouldn't be a big deal. Sure enough, she only heard Zhu Ying say seriously next: "Lu Sanlang was worried that his father would mess up the relationship, so he anxiously begged Ah Shou to find me to find a suitable match for him. It just so happened that the fourth daughter of Minister Liu of the Ministry of Works was quite interested in him, so I helped to make some connections."
"It was definitely not a private transaction, but a public meeting between the two of us."
The Queen Mother knew that Zhu Ying was just fooling around, but she would not talk nonsense in such an important matter. She glared at her angrily and said, "You have been bad because you often hang out with your third aunt! It's nothing, it's just a meeting between us, it's not a big deal..."
Zhu Ying coughed again, and then whispered, "But then... Then the Second Prince suddenly brought his men over aggressively."
Seeing that the smile that the Queen Mother had just revealed had instantly frozen on her face, she simply told the whole story. However , she naturally weakened Lu Sanlang's toughness by a few levels and increased the arrogance of the Second Prince by a few levels. Finally, she said: "Later, the eldest prince also came and scared the Second Prince away with a few words, and the matter was settled."
"Two evildoers, these two evildoers!"
Since the Queen Mother had once ruled the country from behind the scenes, she naturally had a deep understanding of people's hearts, so how could she not know the tricks? At this time, she cursed twice in a rage, and seeing that the emperor looked calm, she couldn't help but stop talking. She didn't know whether the emperor just thought this was a trivial matter of brothers fighting, or was simply heartbroken, so she could only take a deep breath and forcefully change the topic.
"The Ministry of Rites has only just released a preliminary list for the selection of concubines. Perhaps they were misled by someone..."
"Your Majesty, you don't have to speak for them. How dare the second brother say that the daughter of the Minister of Works is not noble enough? Besides being my son, what else can he show? Is he talented enough to be the best in the world, or is he good enough in military strategy to rule the country? Or is he good enough to win people over? Emperor Taizu made the painstaking decision that the princes should not be given the title of king at will, but it seems that they have long forgotten it!"
The emperor sneered, then said coldly: "Besides, back then, it was proposed that the concubines and wives of the royal family be selected from the people to prevent the interference of foreign relatives in politics, but Emperor Taizu refused."
"Emperor Taizu said at the time that women from small families would often pass on their small-mindedness to their children, which could easily lead to bad behavior. It is also inappropriate to hand over the princes and princesses to eunuchs or even foreign officials, and separate them from their mothers, as this would often lead to serious character flaws. Furthermore, mother and child are natural, and this dynasty would not kill the mother and save the child."
"So, since the reign of Emperor Taizu, the imperial consorts have generally been selected from officials of the third rank or below."
Although she knew that she shouldn't interrupt in such occasions, Zhu Ying couldn't help but muttered quietly: "The compassion of Emperor Taizu has changed over the years. In the past, it was officials of the third rank and below, and later it was the first and second rank, or even the noble dukes' families who were selected. When the princes wanted to marry, it all became a competition of the wives' family backgrounds. It was a mess."
Seeing the empress dowager's face darken immediately after hearing this, Zhu Ying immediately hid behind the emperor, but then she only heard the emperor laugh: "Yingying is right. So, the second son made rude remarks in the street and humiliated the daughter of the Liu family. This is of course to be severely punished, but I want to discuss one thing with my mother. From now on, the prince can only marry from officials below the seventh rank, juren, xiucai, and students of the imperial court. Open-minded scholars such as the family."
The emperor raised his lip and said calmly, "There are several princes at a time. Select several girls around twelve years old. If you are worried about problems in the middle, it is okay to select more. Then send someone from the palace to teach them classics, history, etiquette, and how to control subordinates. Then look at their character, temperament, and bearing. After three or four years of teaching, select the right one to marry the prince."
The Queen Mother immediately took a breath of cold air. Marrying a prince's wife, and teaching her for three to four years? She subconsciously glanced at Zhu Ying, and seeing that this self-willed girl was also stunned, she knew that the emperor might have already made a plan.
Knowing that the emperor might have been thinking about this in his heart ever since he became dissatisfied with the queen, she was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "Maybe it will be feasible in the future, but now the brothers are already old, they can't wait for three or four years."
"Three or four years is not enough, but they can still wait two years. What's more, my queen loves her sons, and they are not without women around them. I ascended the throne when I was young, and my mother taught me strictly. I had never touched a woman before I was fifteen, but those two have seen countless women since they were in the Thirteenth Department. The only thing missing is to give those beautiful women a status."
Knowing that the emperor looked calm at this moment, he was actually extremely angry, otherwise he would not be so strong in trying to change the purpose of selecting concubines, the empress dowager thought again and again, and finally nodded and said: "Well, let's do it this way. Let Yuquan, who is beside me, and Chu Kuan, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and those officials of the Ministry of Rites go to select together. Don't disturb the people too much. In the end, three or five people will be enough."
"As for those who are not chosen in the future , they will be given to the royal family as wives, so as not to humiliate them."
Seeing that the Empress Dowager finally nodded, the Emperor, who had expected this outcome, was still tense on the outside, but was quite satisfied in his heart. Therefore, when he saw that Zhu Ying looked confused, he smiled and said, "In fact, I learned this trick from Yingying's father. However, it's just that it takes too long to raise a child son-in-law from scratch. I can only reluctantly raise my daughter-in-law for three or four years."
"It can be considered another kind of child bride. In fact, I would prefer to raise a girl from the age of six or seven."
Obviously, this was a serious matter involving a wide range of matters, but the emperor said it in such a joking tone, and the empress dowager was immediately choked. Zhu Ying was even more angry and protested: "Your Majesty, what nonsense is this? When did Ah Shou become my father's child son-in-law? My father only paid a little money at most. He was self-taught with the books of Grandpa Ge. My family owed him and his son!"
"Okay, your Ah Shou is not a child son-in-law... He is your fiancé, okay?" The emperor stroked Zhu Ying's head as he did when he was a child, and then said with a smile, "Yingying came to complain tonight. The second brother, who knew he had caused trouble, has gone to Kunning Palace to cry to the queen, but his eldest brother has also gone there. I'm afraid that the queen mother will not sleep well tonight."
How dare you say that?
When the empress dowager was getting angry, the emperor said calmly, "Pass the order to close the gate of Qingning Palace. I will chat with the empress dowager tonight. Even if the sky falls, we can talk tomorrow! Yingying can sleep in the empress dowager's east warm room. It's not good for girls to sleep late."
He respected his wife so much that he didn't touch other concubines in the first two years of their marriage. Even when the queen was pregnant, he often stayed with her in Kunning Palace. However, after the queen gave birth to the second prince, she seemed to feel that her position was secure. From then on, concubines were blamed for everything, and the palace maids were even more terrified. When she finally ordered a personal maid to be beaten to death for a trivial matter, he could no longer bear it after hearing the news.
After asking the eunuchs to examine the palace maid, he eventually expelled her from the palace, and the imperial physician he sent to treat the queen was also driven out by her. After that, he rarely went to Kunning Palace, and often visited the concubines who had once stayed alone in their empty rooms. Among them, Concubine Yu, who liked martial arts and horse riding, was the one he liked the most .
Now, the two princes have been raised by the queen as if they were her lifeblood for many years. Although he often calls them in to give her instructions, he can see that they obey her in public but have other plans behind her back. But she also took great pains to select the teacher, and then the ministers recommended him. He thought he was an old scholar, so he agreed with his eyes closed, but he ended up like this!
