Three hundred and sixtieth chapters express their intentions
Lu Mansion.
Lu Yao knew that he had recently set up an arena and had no intention of preparing for a wedding. His father, Lu Xu, would definitely be suspicious. Coupled with his relationship between the court and China, if he didn't know about the Cao family's martial arts competition, Lu Yao would
Yao would never believe it. It’s just that maybe Lu Xu thought that Lu Yao didn’t need to know about it, so he didn’t tell Lu Yao. Maybe Lu Xu had already guessed it when he saw the arena that Lu Yao had created.
Yao's thoughts, as for the trigger, I'm afraid that Uncle Fu met the man who came to the house to deliver the mask. Although Uncle Fu usually obeyed Lu Yao's instructions, he actually listened to Lu Xu's words, so,
Based on Lu Xu's ability, it can be deduced that it should not be a problem for Lu Yao to participate in this martial arts competition.
Since he couldn't escape, Lu Yao decided that he might as well take advantage of Lu Xu's conversation with him to have a showdown with Lu Xu in advance to explain the matter between himself and Cao Han, so that he could get Lu Xu's help early, or in other words, see his father's attitude.
What exactly is it like?
However, even though Lu Yao had already decided in his heart that he must marry Cao Han, there were still some customs regarding concubinage in ancient times, and Lu Yao still had to abide by them. He couldn't help but start to recall some ancient concubinage laws.
The matter of concubinage.
There are regulations for taking concubines in ancient times: first, parents must agree; secondly, the eldest wife must agree; thirdly, the ceremony must be performed - holding a wedding. First, a small amount of property is sent to the younger wife's family, which is the "concubine capital". Then, a blue-clothed sedan chair is loaded with the younger wife.
, enter the house from the side door or the corner door, do not worship heaven and earth, parents, only kowtow to the eldest wife and drink tea. The name of concubine was first seen in "Book of Rites·Quli": "The emperor has a queen, a wife, a married woman, and a concubine.
, have a wife, have a concubine." With the development of the concubine system, concubines have many other names: junior wife, lower wife, second wife, concubine wife, side wife, junior wife, concubine, such as madam, young lady, side room, side room,
Xiaoxing, Pengjian, woman, arrested woman, deputy wife, deputy wife, little wife, etc.
The concubine's status is low, and if she meets a shrew who is the head wife, life will be very miserable.
Moreover, even if there is a concubine-taking quota, not all women can take in concubines: those who are on the run, those whose status and status are not worthy of their status, and women in the place of employment are not allowed to take concubines, especially female artists. Otherwise, they will be served by 60 bosses.
Gotta get a divorce.
But generally speaking, the bigger the official, the more concubinage indicators. Concubinage has become a mediocre reward for nobles and officials.
Any time you take a concubine, you must have an economic foundation. Being an official in ancient times means having economic conditions, so ancient people liked to be officials.
During the Yuan Dynasty, there was a supervisory official in Sichuan, Tan Cheng, who sympathized with the common people who were over forty and had no children. He wrote to the court, pleading for permission to take concubines and have children, and the court agreed.
Although the Ming Dynasty strictly controlled the relationship between men and women, during the Jiajing period, in order to develop the population and strengthen the national prestige, the people were allowed to take concubines, but they had to be submitted to the government for approval, otherwise they would be banned.
When high officials and nobles take concubines, it is a matter of rank, and they will have titles and so on. Naturally, strict regulations must be followed, but don't forget that there are also maids as dowries, maids as wives, and so on.
In ancient times, if you took a concubine on your own, you had to abide by these three rules. The first rule is that if the first wife does not give birth to a son, your parents will take the initiative to arrange for you; the second rule is that the first wife does not have to agree. If she has no children and does not agree to take a concubine, it will violate the seven rules.
Two of the principles (no heirs, no harm); the third is that having money is not a problem, and those who take concubines are basically from a good family background.
In ancient my country, the main purpose of keeping concubines was to reproduce offspring. The superiority of men to women was partly a factor. The main reason was that in ancient times it was a big sin to have no heirs.
Concubine, also known as "side wife", "little wife", "aunt", "ru madam", etc., is formed by some kind of marriage contract, and is a woman who has a similar marriage relationship other than the main wife. The concubine system in ancient my country originated very early In the early days, it emerged with the emergence of the patriarchal system in primitive society. For example, in my country's Dawenkou Culture (4300 BC - 2500 BC), the phenomenon of husbands being buried with their wives and concubines appeared.
There is an old saying in our country: "Three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines", which refers to the phenomenon of concubinage by our emperors. Legend has it that King Wen of Zhou had 24 concubines. After Qin Shihuang destroyed the Six Kingdoms, he used the palace of the Six Kingdoms to
Thousands of beauties were selected from various places and all were brought into Afang Palace. In the Han Dynasty, Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty favored 3,000 palace people, and Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty accumulated 5,000 beauties. By the time of Emperor Yan of the Jin Dynasty, the number of beauties in the harem exceeded 10,000. Emperor Chang of the Sui Dynasty
Although there were only 5,000 people in the harem, including the palaces in various places, the number of maids exceeded 10,000. The highest record holder was Emperor Ming Dynasty of the Tang Dynasty Li Longji. At that time, the number of maids from the capital palace to the palaces in various places reached tens of thousands.
After the Song Dynasty, the number of concubines in the emperors' harems began to decrease. This does not mean that the emperors are no longer lustful, but that they are more pragmatic than the previous emperors. According to Ji Xiaolan's records: Emperor Xizong of the Ming Dynasty sent people to all parts of the world to select women in the first year of Tianqi.
5,000 young beauties came to Beijing for an interview. The first test was to test their physical appearance. Only 1,000 people passed the test. 4,000 beauties were eliminated. The second test was to test their "private parts." Only 300 people passed the test. The third test was to enter the palace.
"Internship", after one month, only 50 people will be awarded the title of concubine, and then they can get the emperor's favor.
In addition to the emperors accepting beauties from all over the world, concubinage was also a common practice among the people in ancient my country. For example, Ping'er and Xiangling in "A Dream of Red Mansions" were both concubines. Even Hai Rui, who is known for his uprightness, was in his sixties. At that time, he bought two young concubines, which caused the wives and concubines to compete for favor, causing the two concubines to commit suicide at the same time. The famous saying "raise a glass to the bright moon, bow your head to think of your hometown" is already familiar to us. Li Bai, the great poet of the Tang Dynasty, was also a monogamous man. The "executor" of the polygamy system. Li Bai has a bold temperament, is charming, free and easy, and loves wine and sex the most. According to research, Li Bai not only married four wives, but also had too many concubines to count. Li Bai also wrote in his poems It has been fully expressed in the poem, such as "I am like a flowing duck, following the waves and enjoying the rest of my life. I have two young concubines, riding two horses", etc. In the late Qing Dynasty, the red-top businessman Hu Xueyan even had a group of wives and concubines.
In the Ming Dynasty, the law also clearly stipulated that any man who is over 40 years old and has no heirs is allowed to take concubines. This is because our country has the so-called ancient saying that "there are three types of unfilial piety, and having no heirs is the most important". Marrying several concubines is not a good idea. In order to continue the incense for the ancestors, this also found a good footnote for men in ancient my country to keep concubines, making concubinage a noble behavior. Of course, the phenomenon of concubinage is only reflected in wealthy families and official families, and poor people When the common people did not have three meals a day, how could they talk about having three wives and four concubines, and "riding on two horses"? In the era of feudal rule, one side was "the smell of wine and meat in the rich family", and there were groups of wives and concubines, while the other side was "the streets were full of people" "frozen to death", unable to marry a wife in his life, and died alone. So it can be seen here that concubinage is only a privilege for a few people, but for the majority of common people, concubinage is not allowed.
So even among the few people who could take concubines, in the early days of ancient society, there were obvious hierarchies. Moreover, the relevant dynasties also stipulated the number of concubines for officials. For example, according to the system of the Western Jin Dynasty, the Western Jin Dynasty once issued The order stipulates that a prince at the first-level can have eight concubines, a prince at the county level can have six concubines, a first-rank official, a second-rank official can have four concubines, a third-rank official can have three concubines, a fourth-rank official can have three concubines, and a fifth-rank official can have three concubines. There are two people in the sixth rank, and only one concubine in the seventh and eighth ranks. For another example, the "Six Codes" of the Tang Dynasty stipulates the system of the Tang Dynasty. According to the provisions of the "Six Codes" of the Tang Dynasty, the number of concubines for a prince in the Tang Dynasty is twelve. There are ten county princes and first-rank officials, eight second-rank officials, six third-rank officials, four fourth-rank officials, three fifth-rank officials, etc. Then these concubines are all recognized by the state, and they all have certain status. Titles and titles have certain privileges. According to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty, we can see from the Ming Dynasty's "Wanli Huidian" that it has such a regulation. It stipulates that the prince can have ten concubines, and the prince can have ten concubines. After marriage, if you have not given birth at the age of twenty-five, you can have two concubines. If you have not given birth at the age of thirty, you can have two more concubines, that is, four concubines at the level of a county king. That ends here, and there are other concubines at different levels. Yes, it also has different regulations. As for the common people, according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, they can only take concubines when they are forty years old and have no children.
Taking a concubine is not marrying a wife, it is not a formal marriage, and the concubine is not the man's official spouse. However, taking a concubine also has to go through certain procedures. There are two main points. One is that there is often a matchmaker to negotiate peace with the concubinage. The second is Even taking a concubine often requires the conclusion of a document, but the document signed by the concubine is not called a document, but a contract. It is actually a contract of purchase and sale. This purchase and sale relationship destined the concubine to have a low status in the feudal family. .
In the family, although the responsibilities of wives and concubines are to serve their husbands, manage the household, and bear children, concubines are similar to slaves to the head of the family. To maids and servants, although concubines should be masters, however, The concubine's rights in the family are very limited and very humble. The concubine cannot participate in the family's sacrifices, and the concubine is excluded from the family. The concubine's relatives cannot be included in the husband's family at all, and even the concubine's children cannot be included in the husband's family. The children of the concubine (that is, the concubine) must also recognize the official wife as the "concubine", and the biological mother can only be the "concubine". In this way, the children born to the concubine are the young master and the young lady, and the concubine's identity is a slave; the concubine calls her own The children are called young masters or young ladies, and her biological children only call them "aunts." For concubines, the husband can deal with them at will, beat and scold them, expel them, or even kill them. "Tang Code" and "Song Code" also It is just a punishment of exile. The "Qing Code" punishment is lighter, only "a hundred rods and three years of imprisonment". But if the concubine beats and scolds her husband, the punishment is much more severe than if the wife beats and scolds her husband, "for scolding the husband, eighty rods" .If you beat your husband, "regardless of whether he is injured or not, it will last a year or a year and a half."
At home, the wife can order her concubines, beat or scold them, but the concubine is not allowed to violate her wife. A concubine who violates his wife is guilty of the same crime as a concubine who commits a crime against her husband. Therefore, a concubine has no rights in a patriarchal family. She is the master in title, but in reality she is the master. They are no different from slaves. However, generally speaking, those who have given birth to children for their husband's family will tend to have higher status, status, and rights in the family. In addition, depending on the family status, the upbringing of the family head, etc., concubines The rights and interests of wives also vary accordingly, often creating a subtle relationship between wives, concubines and husbands.
Let’s talk about concubines in the Northern Song Dynasty. The court of the Northern Song Dynasty had a rule that when local officials took office, they could not bring their families. Therefore, many local officials purchased concubines to take care of themselves. In addition, there is another important point. Concubines were used to satisfy the officials.
Various desires. For example, some people take concubines in order to have children and continue their incense, some people do it to show their status, and some people do it because they are greedy for beauty. As a scholar from the Song Dynasty wrote, "Fantasy flowers are incomparable."
Ordinary beauty."
The source of concubines in the Northern Song Dynasty, first, was market purchase. The commodity economy in the Northern Song Dynasty was developed and a very mature "concubine market" was formed. Generally, the concubines were bought and sold through concubines (that is, intermediaries). The prices ranged from about 80 to 80 yuan.
You can buy a beautiful concubine. Second, you can give it to your friends. Concubines have a very low status and friends can give them to each other. Su Shi often gave them to others. Third, you can rob and plunder. This situation also exists.
However, there are still rules: first, the royal wife must agree; second, those who are on the run, those whose status is not worthy of their status, and the women of the people in the place where they work are not allowed to be concubines, especially female artists. If they violate it, they will be punished with sixty penalties.
Third, if the main wife has not left the house and does not agree to take a concubine, the parents can arrange for her to take a concubine; fourth, taking a concubine is different from marrying a wife, only a few silver taels are allowed, and a blue-clothed sedan chair is used to carry all the concubines.
The person who accepts the offer enters the house from the side door or the corner door. He does not worship heaven and earth, nor his parents. He only kowtows to the eldest wife and drinks tea. There is a world of difference between "accepting" and "marrying", but the same principle applies.
People don't need to have material things like dowry, they just need to get through the door.
How popular was concubinage in the Northern Song Dynasty? The husbands of Bao Zheng and Li Qingzhao were not exempt from the custom.
However, here we should talk about the situation of Wang Anshi and Sima Guang, a pair of mortal enemies. In terms of marriage, they were committed to marriage and never took concubines.
Wang Anshi presided over the reform, and his political enemies were all over the government and the public. Among them, there were many carping experts who looked for illness when there was no illness, and "wash away the dirt and seek scars". However, when it came to Wang Anshi's life, no one said a word "no". It is said that Mrs.
I bought a beautiful concubine for Wang Anshi, but Wang Anshi gave her back and reunited with her ex-husband.
Shao Bowen, the son of the famous Neo-Confucianist Shao Yong, wrote the book "Henan Shao Family Hearing and Seeing Record". Volume 11 records such an incident: Wang Jinggong knew about the imperial edict, and Mrs. Wu bought a concubine. When Jinggong saw it, he said:
"What is it?" The woman said, "Madam, please order the deacons." Anshi said, "Whose surname are you?" He said, "My husband is a general in the army. All the rice was lost in a boat, and all the family assets were gone. What's more,
I will sell my concubine to pay for it." The duke was surprised and said, "How much money will Madam use to get you?" He said, "Nine hundred thousand." The duke called his husband, ordered them to be a couple as before, and gave them all the money.
It can be seen that Wang Anshi is quite like Liu Xiahui, and he is a gentleman.
The situation of another Sima Guang was even more special: Sima Guang had been married for thirty years, and his wife had never had a wife. He felt ashamed, so he bought a beautiful concubine and put it in Sima Guang's room, but Sima Guang kicked her out. Later, his wife and mother-in-law had another relationship.
He bought a beautiful maid and put it into Sima Guang's room, only to be kicked out by Sima Guang. Throughout his life, Sima Guang had a harmonious relationship with his wife. Records say that his wife wanted to go out to look at the lanterns during the Lantern Festival, and Sima Guang was reluctant to leave her.
He said: "There are lights at home, why do we have to go to the street to see them?" His wife said: "Not only can you look at the lights, but you can also look at the tourists." Sima Guang said angrily: "Am I not a human being?" The husband and wife were harmonious.
, it can be seen.
After thinking about these things about taking concubines, Lu Yao began to think about his current situation. The reason why he wanted to settle the matter of taking concubines before his wedding to Han Yunyu was because he didn't want to wait until Han Yunyu came in.
To be with Cao Han, you have to get the consent of Han Yunyu, or her father Han Yonghe. Needless to say, Lu Yao also knows that Han Yonghe will never agree to Cao Han marrying Lu Yao. Therefore, this matter is best
It can be done before the wedding. In addition, those class constraints should not be a problem for Lu Yao. Although Lu Yao has always regarded himself as an ordinary commoner, in the eyes of others, he has never been anything like that.
An ordinary person. His father is a high-ranking official. Through his hard work during this period, Lu Yao has become a celebrity around the emperor. The new Cuju competition held now is also very successful. He will definitely enter an official career in the future and become a member of the court.
Officials, fighting on the battlefield. If a person of this status takes concubines, even if he is relatively young, it can prevent everyone from gossiping.
As for the emperor Zhao Zhen, Lu Yao felt that Zhao Zhen would not block such things in life, and would respect Lu Yao's wishes more. What's more, he married Han Yunyu, so Zhao Zhen had no doubts in his heart.
It is impossible for Lu Yao to become a member of the Han family in the future. However, if Lu Yao marries Han Yunyu and Cao Han at the same time, Zhao Zhen will understand that the Han family and the Cao family are originally sworn enemies, and Lu Yao will marry Han Yunyu and Cao Han at the same time.
The acquisition of Han Yunyu and Cao Han means that he will mediate the relationship between the two families and will not join any of their factions. This is something Zhao Zhen is very willing to see.
The only thing Lu Yao is worried about now is, firstly, the martial arts contest, and secondly, how he will tell Lu Xu about it. Speaking of exceptions, Lu Xu is actually a special case. His father is now in a high position, although his mother said
In the past, Lu Yao was kind to his father and kept him company, but Lu Yao still envied his parents' current loving relationship. At the same time, he felt a little strange that his father had not taken a concubine for so many years. After all, this was the Song Dynasty in its most prosperous era, and
Not in our modern times, a person can only marry one wife.
Therefore, Lu Xu's situation is actually quite difficult, and as long as he has the support of his father, Lu Yao feels that he should be able to handle it when the time comes when he faces the Han family.
How should he persuade his father? Lu Yao thought to himself. After all, he was still not old enough to have a concubine. The most important thing was that everyone knew that the relationship between the Cao family and the Han family had always been at odds, and he himself
She is still preparing for her marriage to the Han family.
When Lu Yao thought of this, he simply closed his eyes and said that it didn't matter, he could just tell his father what he thought in his heart. No matter what, it was impossible for him to spend his whole life with a girl he didn't like at all.
Lu Yao entered the study, and Lu Xu stood with his hands behind his back. When he saw his son coming in, Lu Xu turned around and said, "I heard that you asked someone to get you an iron mask?"
Lu Yao nodded and said, "Not bad."
Seeing Lu Yao's firm eyes, Lu Xu didn't intend to be vague and said directly: "Are you going to participate in the martial arts competition held by Cao Yan? As far as I know, not many people know about this matter. How did you know?
of."
"I do want to participate. As for how I know, dad, don't ask too much." Lu Yao said with a smile.
Lu Xu sighed and said: "Well, it shouldn't be difficult for you to know. I just want to ask you, are you going to participate in this contest to have fun, or do you really want to participate?
Prove your skills, or do you want to win?"
Lu Yao smiled and said: "Dad, since I made this mask, I want to compete and win. Naturally, you also know that the winner of this competition can marry Cao Han, the young lady of the Cao family."
"You mean, you want to marry Cao Han?"
"Yes."
"What about your marriage to Han Yunyu now?"
"I have thought about it. Miss Han must marry her. After all, we had a marriage contract with them before. I broke it and then restored it. If we cancel the marriage now, people will gossip about it. However,
I want to ask my father for permission to take Cao Han as my concubine."
Lu Yao said so many words in one breath because he was not sure what Lu Xu's attitude was towards him marrying Cao Han. Instead of talking about it, it would be better to express his thoughts directly.
Let's see what his father's reaction is.
What Lu Yao didn't expect was that Lu Xu did not show anger. The expression on his face was very calm, but he was silent for a moment and said: "You mean, you like Cao Han more than Han Yunyu."
?Why do I remember that the relationship between you two was incompatible before?"
Lu Yao smiled and said: "Indeed, but if you argue, you will become emotional."
"Then what's your attitude towards Han Yunyu, who broke off the engagement and then resumed it?"
"Ms. Han is a generous lady. She is completely different from Cao Han. However," Lu Yao paused at this point and continued, "her personality is not suitable for me."
"Suitable? That's an interesting thing to say. You two have only met a few times. Please tell me how you feel about the two young ladies from the Cao family and the Han family."
Lu Yao did not hide it, and directly told Lu Xu his feelings about Han Yunyu and Cao Han. During this period, Lu Yao naturally would not tell anyone about the fact that "The Story of the Stone" was not his own. He just said that he
I want to find someone who shares my mind, not someone who admires me because of my literary talents and who eventually becomes my wife.
"Marriage is a lifelong matter." Finally, Lu Yao added.