Chapter 1185 Postscript 41·Who is whose prey?
Starting from the Tang Dynasty, princesses and consorts often lived in separate houses, but it was completely institutionalized in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
At least this was not the case in the Song Dynasty, because the princesses in the Song Dynasty often did not have their own exclusive princess mansions and had to live with their consorts according to etiquette.
The specific operations are as follows:
After selecting the prince-in-law, he was given clothes, belts, silver saddles, silk ribbons and other items. When the marriage was approaching, he was also given thousands of yuan of wealth.
Before the princess gets married, a house is given to the princess and the consort to live in. In principle, the property rights of the house belong to the royal family, and the right to use the house is shared by the princess and the consort. It is usually taken back by the royal family after the death of the couple. However, in practice, it is often not taken back, or maybe
When the princess dies, she will take it back immediately.
The house where the consort and the princess lived together could not even be called a "mansion", but could only be called a "di".
The so-called Prince Consort's Mansion in the Song Dynasty was all built by the Prince Consort with his own money, and he only dared to call it "Prince Prince Consort's House" in the capital.
But if it is far away from the capital, it doesn’t matter. It can be built in a place far away from the emperor. For example, Xu Jue, the consort during the Yingzong period of the Song Dynasty, built the "Consort's Mansion" in his hometown in Chaozhou.
There are exceptions to everything.
Song Renzong only had one daughter, and he loved her very much.
Ignoring the opposition of all ministers, he demolished a large area of ​​residential buildings in Kaifeng, spent 700,000 guan to build a princess mansion for his daughter, and gave his daughter an additional 1,000 guan in pocket money every month.
Song Renzong took the lead in seriously violating the rules, which had a very bad impact on the atmosphere at the time.
Clan dignitaries and civil and military ministers naturally followed suit, and the people also began to violate the rules on a large scale.
In addition, starting from the Shenzong Dynasty of the Song Dynasty, the prince-in-law no longer "promoted". When the princess saw the prince-son-in-law's parents, she also had to call her aunt (father-in-law and mother-in-law). The status of the princess in the Song Dynasty was further reduced.
It was also during the Shenzong Dynasty of the Song Dynasty that princesses were required to call themselves "concubine", which corresponded to the princes calling themselves "chen". It was not a cheap title, it was purely for the sake of retrospect and etiquette. In the pre-Qin era, "chen" and "concubine" were synonyms.
Today's Ming Dynasty basically inherits the Song system.
For example, if a house is given to a princess, and the consort lives together, and it is not called the "princess house" but the "princess residence", the court can in principle take back the property.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the prince-in-law still needed to be promoted, but in the middle of Ju Ming's reign, he was no longer promoted. In other words, when facing the parents of the prince-son-in-law, the princess was a junior rather than an ordinary person. This was due to common human ethics considerations.
But Ju Ming's grandson did something. He prohibited concubines and commoners from taking concubines (except those who were over forty and had no children), and also stipulated the number of concubines for officials at all levels.
This is obviously an invalid law because it cannot be effectively implemented and was repealed less than 20 years after it was implemented.
It won’t work unless it is abolished. It has become a tool for some people to exploit and plunder!
For example, a local dignitary was eyeing a rich man's property, so he teamed up with officials to arrest him for the crime of keeping a concubine. Although this crime was not serious, it could be accompanied by other operations, and finally forced the rich man to sell his property at a low price.
A side effect of the ban on concubines is that the princes-in-law are more keen to build a new concubine's house. Then, in the name of raising singers, they secretly take in a large number of concubines in their own prince-son-in-law's house, and they often live separated from the princess.
…
Early in the morning, Xie Yan entered the city in a carriage.
The magnificent Princess House in front of you was once the private residence of Zhang Guangdao.
The head of the Zhang family was exiled by Emperor Dingtai, and his family property was confiscated. The largest house and a manor outside the city were given to his daughter by Emperor Dingtai.
The plaque on the gate is very long, with eight words engraved on it: The eldest princess of the State of Qin.
The eldest princess of the Qin Kingdom is a princess title given by the young emperor.
"Jing" is the princess's emblem given by the little emperor.
Generally speaking, princesses do not have emblems.
Now that there is an emblem, the natural scenery is infinite. So when people mention the eldest princess, they automatically identify her as the princess of Qin, not the other eldest princesses.
The reason for such an honor is simple.
Princess Qin was the only one who went to warn Emperor Dingtai to be careful when the coup was brewing. She was also the only one who went to the palace to report the news before the coup was launched, but she was kidnapped by King Yong and his consort on the way.
Xie Yan walked around the gate and came to the side door and handed over a greeting card: "Please let me know that Xie Yan is here to visit."
The disciple had already been informed, and when he saw Xie Yan's enthusiasm, he opened the door very respectfully and bowed: "Xie, bachelor, please come in quickly!"
Not only was Xie Yan respectfully introduced into the inner courtyard, but the two followers he brought with him were also arranged to drink tea and eat cakes in a small hall.
I met many servants along the way, and they all looked at Xie Yan secretly with curiosity and vigilance.
When the consort was still alive, he also brought his servants to live in the house. He did not dare to do anything to the princess, but he often lost his temper with the princess's servants.
In the beginning, the princess would protect her servants and even quarreled with her consort because of this.
Gradually, the princess became a licking dog, always asking her servants to tolerate it.
This caused the prince-in-law's servants to become more powerful and make things difficult for the princess's servants. Even some of the princess's servants completely went to the prince-son-in-law's side.
After the prince consort was executed, the servants loyal to the princess cheered.
Now it seems that another consort is coming. The servants are happy for the princess, but at the same time they feel deeply worried.
What if Xie Yan also treats the princess badly?
"Long blessing to Mr. Xie family!" Qingluan, the chief female envoy, came to greet him outside the courtyard in person.
The eldest princess, you should be more reserved.
Xie Yanzuo bowed and said: "Sister, you are polite."
Compared to the late consort who had a gloomy face all day long, Qingluan especially liked Little Bachelor Xie. Little Bachelor Xie loved to smile, which made people feel very sunny, and his mouth was also lovable.
Qingluan said: "I call you Qingluan."
Xie Yan immediately said: "Sister Qingluan is a good name, it sounds fairy-like."
Qingluan was even more happy to be called out, and said with a smile: "Master, please come in with me, the princess is in the garden."
This house is so big. Xie Yan walked from the outer courtyard to the inner courtyard, passing two corridors on the way. He passed through the door and then turned around and walked to another corridor. Inside were walls and a moon arch. After passing the moon arch, it suddenly became clear what was inside.
It is actually an exquisite garden.
Within the garden, there are pavilions, pavilions, flowers and trees, rockeries, lotus ponds, and gurgling water.
The private residence given to Zhang Guangdao by Ju Ming was not that big, and his descendants expanded it, forcing all nearby merchants to leave.
Xie Yan was looking at the garden scenery at the moment, with only one thought in his mind: I have a bad stomach and want to eat soft food!
He didn't know yet that the property rights of this house belonged to the royal family, and the eldest princess only had the right to use it.
"Dong dong...dong..."
A burst of guqin sound came from inside.
There are walls and doorways ahead, and the garden is actually divided into several areas.
If Qingluan hadn't been with him, Xie Yan might have been lost.
The eldest princess pretended to be playing the piano in the pavilion, listening to the footsteps outside.
A maid trotted over and whispered: "It's coming, it's coming!"
Several maids gathered around the princess, standing intently, but their eyes kept glancing in that direction involuntarily.
Qingluan led Xie Yan outside the pavilion, bowed and saluted: "Your Highness, Bachelor Xie has arrived."
The eldest princess stretched out her hand to press the strings that were still vibrating, nodded and smiled at Xie Yan, and then slowly stood up.
Xie Yan stepped forward and bowed: "Meet Her Royal Highness the Princess."
The eldest princess bowed in return, invited Xie Yan to sit in the pavilion, and asked, "What kind of music does Xie Liulang like?"
Xie Yan didn't know anything about Guqin music, so he could only avoid it and said, "As long as His Highness plays it, I like all the music."
The eldest princess was teased without any warning, and her heart was beating fast. She glanced at him and complained: "Xie Liulang is a romantic young man. Do you usually talk to your daughter's family like this?"
Xie Yan has no experience in dealing with this kind of proposition.
He was so anxious that he wisely said, "I only know two women very well, and I haven't spoken much to other women."
As expected, the eldest princess’s attention was diverted: “I wonder which two ladies are they?”
Xie Yan said: "One is my mother, and the other is my sister-in-law. I am never polite when talking to my sister, and I especially like to tease her. But when I talk to my mother, I have to be careful, just like I just talked to His Highness."
The eldest princess couldn't laugh or cry after hearing this, and continued to give the gift question: "So in Xie Liulang's eyes, I am actually an elder like the royal family?"
Xie Yan looked like he was thinking: "Your Highness is just like my mother, majestic and kind. While I feel scared, I can't help but want to get closer. But there is something different. After all, my mother is the elder, and Your Highness is like a
A big sister among our peers."
To be continued...