Fenghou

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your understanding of me!"

"Then there is your title, please come in, gentlemen."

Four ministers and two university scholars filed in and stood on both sides.

Zhao Gou took a red silk printing box, the lid was opened, and inside was a gold seal with a turtle button.

Zhao Gou said solemnly: "The governor of the capital, the emissary of Yue and E towns, knew the affairs of Yuezhou Chen Qing, wiped out the Dongting water thief Yang Yao, and made a contribution to the peace of the country. According to my promise to the world, I officially canonized Chen Qing as the Duke of Jing. Here it is!"

After speaking, Zhao Gou picked up the red silk printing box and solemnly handed it to Chen Qing.

Chen Qing hurriedly knelt down on one knee to take it, and said in a deep voice: "Thank you for your majesty's canonization, your majesty's kindness, I will remember it in my heart, and I will take serving the country as my lifelong ambition, expel the Tartars, and restore my Han family!"

"well said!"

Zhao Gou sat down in front of the case again, and asked with a smile: "The Dongting water bandits have been pacified, and the next step is to restore people's livelihood. Your army has completed its mission. I wonder what your next ambition is?"

Chen Qing pondered for a while and said: "The officers and men of this official are all from Shaanxi Road. This official hopes to return to the bitter cold land in the northwest, continue to fight against gold, and defend Sichuan and Shaanxi!"

Qin Hui gave Zhao Gou a wink, hoping that Zhao Gou would take this opportunity to announce the decision made two days ago and let Chen Qing go to Guangnan West Road to put down the Nanman rebellion.

At this time, Zhang Jun stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, the situation in Sichuan and Shaanxi is probably not very good. I suggest that Chen Dutong lead the army back to Sichuan and Shaanxi to reverse the situation in Sichuan and Shaanxi."

"Is there any bad news from Sichuan and Shaanxi?" Zhao Gou frowned and asked.

Li Hui took a step forward and said: "Weichen just received a letter from Feige from the Xuanfu Department of Sichuan and Shanxi, and the commander Fu Xuan surrendered to the Jin soldiers. Hechi County fell, and Dasanguan is facing a dangerous situation of being attacked by the enemy!"

"Dang!"

The teacup in Zhao Gou's hand fell to the ground.

Chapter 355

At night, in the small building of Lu Mansion's inner house, two young ladies hid barefoot outside the door and eavesdropped.

In the room, Mrs. Xu is teaching Lu Xiu the art of the house. Tomorrow, Lu Xiu will get married. According to the tradition, the mother must explain the art of the house to her daughter in detail the night before the wedding.

Lu Xiu's mother had already died of illness, and this responsibility fell on Mrs. Xu's shoulders.

In fact, Lu Xiu also has a biological aunt. Her husband is a Ph.D. in Yuezhou, and she is very close to Lin'an. However, her husband happened to be sick.

There were no antibiotics in the Song Dynasty, and if a slight illness was not treated in time, it would lead to serious consequences such as death. Therefore, whenever a family member was seriously ill, the whole family would be on the verge of a formidable enemy.

Mrs. Xu was Lu Jin's concubine in the fifth year of Zhenghe. She was originally a tea princess in Bianliang Fanlou. They all marry into rich families or officials and become concubines.

Mrs. Xu is Lu Jin's favorite tea princess. Every time she comes to drink tea, she orders the tea. She gave birth to a daughter, Lu Wen.

In the sixth year of Xuanhe, Lu Jin's first wife, Mrs. Pei, died of illness. At that time, Lu Yihao wanted to marry his son a widow from a famous family as a continuation, but soon the Jingkang disaster broke out, and the Lu family also began to live in exile.

Until the third year of Jianyan, the whole family fled to Lin'an. Mrs. Xu's persistence and meticulous care of the family finally won the approval of her father, Lu Yihao.

"At first, there will be a little pain and some blood, but don't be afraid..."

Mrs. Xu has already said the key point, not only Lu Xiu was blushing, but also the two young ladies outside were blushing. But his eyes were wide open, and he listened intently, for fear of missing a word.

It wasn't until Mrs. Xu spoke too bluntly that she herself was embarrassed and used the excuse of pouring water to avoid embarrassment, so Yu Ying slipped away like a thief.

Back on the bed, Yu Lian quit. She insisted on telling Yu Ying what she hadn't heard. Yu Ying added fuel and jealousy to her, and the two of them leaned on their pillows, giggling and laughing.

That night, not only Lu Xiu couldn't sleep, even Yu Lian and Yu Ying were tossing and turning, and it was difficult to fall asleep. It was not until four o'clock that everyone was too sleepy and fell asleep.

At dawn the next day, Yu Lian and Yu Ying got up, they had a lot of things to do today, from now on, they will always be with Lu Xiu.

Originally, Lu Xiu had a personal maid, Chun Tao, who had gone home with her parents the day before yesterday.

There is a reason for this. The Song Dynasty was not the Han and Tang Dynasties. The maids in the Song Dynasty did not sell themselves as slaves. They just signed an employment contract and came to a rich family to work as maids. When they reached the end of their marriage age, they went home to marry.

Maids get wages every month, and the price is not cheap. A rough servant girl is thirty yuan a day, and an ordinary maid is fifty yuan a day. If she is handsome and fair-skinned, it will cost a hundred yuan a day in a big city. The family also has to take care of food, lodging and clothes, earning much more than ordinary bartenders.

If Chuntao gets married with Lu Xiu, it will be called a dowry maid. Most of the dowry maids are housemaids, that is, they live outside the master's bedroom. It is often difficult to avoid the master's intercourse, so most of the housemaids will eventually become Concubine.

But not all the parents of handmaids are willing to have their daughters to be other people’s concubines. In fact, most of the parents in the Song Dynasty are not willing. Concubines are lifelong slaves. People even hope that their daughters can marry people and be housewives in an upright manner.

It was because of this unspoken rule that Chuntao's parents did not want their daughter to be a dowry, so they took their daughter away and found another head of the household to be a maid.

Yu Lian and Yu Ying hid under Chen Qing's wings because both their parents died and they were homeless, and there were too many tigers and wolves coveting them outside.

Lu Xiu also got up, and the two of them briefly washed and washed her. Today, some professional bridesmaids will come to dress her up.

Yu Ying yawned wearily and said, "Girl, I heard that the wedding reception will be in the afternoon, and it's still very early, why don't you squint for a while longer!"

"You two, didn't you hear what you were talking about last night without sleeping, so excited!"

Yu Lian and Yu Ying were taken aback, "Girl, can you hear it from next door?"

"This wooden wall is not soundproof, and it's so quiet at night. I can hear what you guys are saying, but you can't hear the details clearly, and you still laugh so ambiguously."

In fact, Lu Xiu suspected that when Mrs. Xu was teaching her the art of the house, the two little girls were eavesdropping outside. She had an intuition that the two of them were too quiet at that time, which was unreasonable, but she had no evidence. It's not easy to explain this kind of thing.

"We were laughing at Chuntao last night. She obviously wanted to marry the girl, but her parents didn't agree, so she had to leave crying. We are glad that we have no parents and can make decisions for ourselves."

This was the content of their conversation last night, but it was by no means the main content. Those embarrassing words should not be heard by others.

At this moment, footsteps were heard from the other side of the stairs, and Li Mei walked upstairs.

"I guess you need help here, so come and have a look!"

Li Mei was also wearing a precious white jade bracelet, which was of course given by Lu Xiu. Li Mei was her best friend and her second sister-in-law. Of course, Lu Xiu wanted to give her a wedding present.

But Lu Xiu didn't know that her generous act had inadvertently helped her father a lot. Li Mei told her natal family that this expensive bracelet worth thousands was also a gift from the Lu family, and it could be regarded as saving the Lu family's face.

Lu Xiu pulled Li Mei to sit down, "It's fine now, just talk to me!"

She winked at the two young ladies, and they immediately ran to brew tea and pour water.

"I saw a bunch of boxes downstairs, are they your dowry?" Li Mei asked with a smile.

"It's not a dowry, it's all my personal belongings, mainly books and clothes. There are thousands of books alone!"

Li Mei sighed, "I really envy you. My dowry is too meager. My family made up a lot of things and gave me five hundred crowns. I expected to give me the dowry, but my father took it to my second uncle's house. It's dark."

Uncle Li Mei’s son was doing business in Mingzhou and rented a warehouse. As a result, his goods caught fire and burned the warehouse to ashes, along with other people’s goods. Finally, a lawsuit was filed. Lu Yihao confessed his love, and the warehouse was destroyed. Don't pay for it, but you must pay for other people's valuable goods, which is equivalent to three thousand coins.

The entire Li family was paying for this money, so that Li Mei's dowry was also used by his father to fill in this hole, which naturally seriously affected Li Mei's dowry.

Fortunately, the two families have been friends for decades and are relatives, so the Lu family didn't care too much about Li Mei's dowry.

"Speaking of which, your father has been an official for 20 years. The family shouldn't be in such a difficult situation!"

Li Mei shook her head, "You were born in a very good family, so you don't feel that kind of embarrassment. Let me tell you, my father has been a Xuanzan Sheren of the Eastern Palace for ten years. That was when our family was the poorest."

"why?"

"At that time, we rented a house in Bianliang, rented a small yard, and rented three yuan a month. This was the cheapest location. Then we hired a servant who did rough work and a maid, and the monthly wages of the two were also the same. It takes three pennies.

And my father’s monthly salary is only ten pennies, and it is Qingshui Yamen, there is no oil and water, and there is no land in his hometown, so he lives on his father’s salary, minus the rent and servants’ wages, only four pennies left, one for the whole family Monthly food and drink expenses were all spent from the four pennies, and life was really embarrassing that day. "

"That's not enough!"

"Of course it wasn't enough. My mother had no choice but to dismiss the maid, and ten years passed in a hurry. Later, when my father went to a local government to become an official, life was a bit easier. At least the rent was saved, and the staff subsidy could be used to hire servants, but there was no After a few years, how can you save thousands of coins? I don’t even have a wedding dress, and I will go to the shop with your second brother to rent one in the afternoon.”

Lv Xiu shook her hand and said with a smile: "You are not allowed to go anywhere in the afternoon. I will give you this dress later, so that you can get married in a good way."

While talking, Mrs. Xu shouted from downstairs: "Xiu'er, the makeup bride is here, can you come up?"

"Please come up!"

Not long after, there was the sound of going upstairs, and three young women with heavy makeup came up. They were Xi Niang who professionally put on makeup for the bride.

Chapter 356 Wedding

From early in the morning in Chen Qing's mansion, there have been people coming to give congratulatory gifts, and two hired servants acted as temporary accountants to be in charge of registration, and then several soldiers moved the gifts to the inner courtyard.

Generally, the man and the woman each send invitations and receive congratulations respectively, and this kind of favor will be returned in the future.

As for the expenses of the Fengle Building, Chen Qing will bear the cost, which is not cheap. Generally, it costs about a hundred guan for setting up [-] tables of banquets, and even a big restaurant costs only two or three hundred guan. Start with thousands of dollars.

Then Chen Qing spent a total of [-] guan for the green house, worship hall, decoration, bridal chamber and wedding ceremony, plus another [-] guan for decorating the mansion, and [-] guan for this wedding. Enough for the income of ordinary people for more than [-] years.

This is not counting the gift of five thousand strings and a box of priceless jewelry and clothes.

Since the morning, there has been an endless stream of gift givers. Many people who did not give invitations also gave gifts, such as Han Shizhong and Yue Fei. They are not in Chang'an, and some family members also sent gifts. The gifts are the same for both of them. They are all [-] guan, so it is estimated that they have been ventilated beforehand.

Zhang Jun also sent someone to send a gift of [-] pennies. These are high-level military officials, and they will be in touch in the future.

"Mr. Chen, Huyan's family is here to give you a present!" The accountant shouted.

Chen Qing quickly walked out from the atrium. The housekeeper of Huyan Mansion stood at the door. The housekeeper clasped his fists and said with a smile, "Congratulations to General Chen on his wedding. This is a congratulatory gift from my master. A mere thought is not a respect!"

"Thank you! Thank you for your hard work, the old man will go tonight!"

"I'm going. He said that he will definitely attend General Chen's wedding."

Chen Qing flirted with the soldiers, and the soldiers immediately stepped forward to give each of the two servants a bag of money, three hundred Wen, which is equivalent to the small red envelopes of later generations. The money is not much, and it is a celebration.

Generally, people only give ten or dozens of coins, but Chen Qing gave three hundred coins, which is already pretty good. The soldiers also stuffed a small bag for the housekeeper, but it was only one tael of silver.

The steward thanked him again and again, and left with two followers.

The accountant took the gift list and began to copy it. He was startled. It was 200 taels of silver and a pair of mandarin ducks carved with tortoise shell. Chen Qing gave his mother a white jade Guanyin.

The people of the Song Dynasty had a lot of contacts. The most important ones were weddings, funerals, and birthdays. Others included childbirth, full moon, promotion, promotion, house building, and moving. Several invitations were received every month. , people are overwhelmed, and the burden is heavy. The people at the bottom usually only pay one or two hundred cash for gifts, and relatives and friends can only spend a lot of money at most.

Middle-class people usually pay one or two pennies, and giving ten pennies is a deep friendship.

Most of the rich families have dinner parties of ten or twenty, but even so, official families like Li Mei can't afford it. Often, several people give a gift together, and people don't go to the banquet, but the family is rich and The relationship is close, and occasionally they will be around Baiguan.

But there are also those who give very generously. For example, the Huyan family in front of me actually gave 200 taels of silver, which is equivalent to a thousand coins, and there are also tortoiseshell mandarin ducks worth a hundred. This is not an ordinary gift. Hu Yantong's transfer to his own army has something to do with it.

At this time, Zheng Ping came with gifts in person. He is the best man today and will accompany Chen Qing to greet the bride.

"I'm not late!" Zheng Ping got off his horse and asked with a smile.

"It's just in time. The bride who puts on makeup has arrived and is getting ready."

Zheng Ping handed a gift list to Chen Qing, "My father gave me too much, so I won't give it to you."

Chen Qing took the gift list and couldn't help but sigh, "How can I pay back your father's gift in the future?"

Zheng Ping's father even gave a gift of 1000 taels of silver, [-] guan!This gift list is getting a little hot.

"He has plenty of money. To him, this amount of money is just a small amount of money. Don't think that he gives too much. My dad is buying favors! When he encounters danger in the future, he will definitely bring his family to your place to seek asylum. .”

Chen Qing nodded, "As long as I have an army, I will definitely protect him, even if it is useless to arrest him with an imperial decree."

Zheng Ping grinned and said, "Just say that my father's eyesight is very poisonous!"

At this time, the cook came out and invited them to have a simple lunch. Chen Qing said with a smile: "Eat first, and then start to make up after eating!"

After lunch, dozens of people came to Chen Qing's mansion. They were all arranged to do business. They began to lay carpets and spread them all the way to the lobby.

The welcoming team sent by Fengle Building also arrived at Chen Qing's Mansion, including an eight-member drum band, a luxurious carriage, eight dowry carts, nine coachmen, nine attendants, and a master of ceremonies. As well as Chen Qing's twelve personal guards, the team is indeed huge.

In the afternoon, when it was time for departure, Chen Qing and Zheng Ping came out of the mansion on horseback. The groom, Chen Qing, was naturally wearing a bright red wedding gown, with a gauze hat on his head, and a silk flower pinned to it. His face was carefully groomed, and he looked extraordinarily tall and handsome. , full of energy.

The best man, Zheng Ping, was also dressed similarly, but he didn't wear flowers on his head. This was the biggest difference from the groom, and he could be distinguished at a glance.

"This carriage is nice!"

Even Zheng Ping, who had seen the world before, also praised the big carriage. The two white draft horses were extremely tall, majestic and beautiful, with wide shafts, and the wheels of the carriage were as tall as a person. The carriage compartment was like a room, covered with gold leaf. The decoration is radiant and extravagant, with ten double-happiness flags inserted in front of the roof, one can tell it is a big wedding car at a glance.

The coachman smiled and said: "This is one of the three most luxurious carriages in Lin'an, except for the dragon chariot of the emperor and the phoenix chariot of the empress dowager, and then this is it. Usually, our proprietor doesn't even sit in it. It's only used to welcome relatives. Just looking at it, you can tell it's the wedding carriage of Fengle Building."

"The auspicious time is here, let's go!"

The master of ceremonies shouted loudly, and the wedding party set off in a mighty manner.

……

Chen Qing's mansion is actually not far from Lu's mansion, the straight line is only two miles, but the convoy has to go around the city. Circle on the line.

Although it was agreed in advance that the marriage should be simplified, there are some links that cannot be simplified anyway. The wedding ceremony is one of the most important links. What we call a beautiful marriage refers to this link.

Seeing that he was about to arrive at the Lu Mansion, Zheng Ping suddenly remembered something, and shouted loudly: "Oops!"

"what happened?"

Zheng Ping slapped himself on the forehead, and said with frustration on his face: "Arrange me to recite some opening poems, I have completely forgotten about it."

In the Song Dynasty, there was also a custom of knocking on the door when going to the bride’s house, but the Song Dynasty did not rely on brute force, but on poetry and money to open the door. Usually, the bridesmaid would recite a few doggerel poems, and then they would definitely not pass, and then money would clear the way, but everyone would speak poetry. If you can't sing well, but you will never say that you give too little money, using poems to cover up and ask for benefits, it can be regarded as a kind of fake elegance!

But if the bridesmaid can't sing even a poem, then he doesn't even have the qualifications to offer bribes.

Chen Qing smiled slightly and said, "I'll do it myself! I'm good at doggerel. I'll make up two poems temporarily. You are responsible for paying the money. If you pay more, they won't embarrass me."