Three hundred and ninetieth chapters wife and concubine
When they arrived at Xue's house, Zhang Qing and Mrs. Xue went to play cards. Guo Caiyue was led by the maid to the backyard.
Xue Xiaoxiao was practicing martial arts. When he saw Guo Caiyue arriving, he did not stop and continued to dance with his sword.
Guo Caiyue didn't bother and stood aside to watch.
After Xue Xiaoxiao finished a set of swordsmanship, he panted a little, put down his long sword, and said with a smile: "Sister Caiyue, what do you think of my practice?"
The Xue family passed down the halberd technique, and it was not practiced very much by Xue Xiaoxiao. Xue Rengui only taught her some boxing and kicking skills.
Xue Xiaoxiao's swordsmanship was taught by Guo Caiyue, so she naturally has the right to speak.
Guo Caiyue smiled and said: "Yes, in such a short period of time, you have already practiced well. But if you want to master it, you still need to practice hard."
"I know, I will definitely work hard." Xue Xiaoxiao said, waving her pink fist.
Guo Caiyue pursed her lips and said: "It's enough to practice martial arts and play. We women can't go to the battlefield. We will eventually get married."
Her parents died when she was young, and it was Guo Lanhua who raised her.
Guo Lanhua didn't want martial arts to be lost, so he taught Guo Caiyue martial arts, but he didn't want Guo Caiyue to wander around the world like her.
In addition to teaching Guo Caiyue martial arts, she also teaches her the three obediences and four virtues, as well as sewing and sewing.
"My mother said the same thing, but I like to practice martial arts." Xue Xiaoxiao stuck out her tongue and said.
The two chatted for a while, and Xue Xiaoxiao asked: "Sister Caiyue, how much older are you than me? Didn't your grandma arrange a marriage for you?"
A trace of uneasiness flashed across Guo Caiyue's face and she said, "Why do you suddenly ask this?"
"She's not my mother yet. She's been saying that I'm not young anymore and that she wants to find a husband for me. She's annoying me to death." Xue Xiaoxiao pouted and said.
"Women have to marry, Mrs. Xue does it for your own good." Guo Caiyue said.
Xue Xiaoxiao said unhappily: "But my mother chose all the generals in my brother's army. I don't like any of those people."
The Xue family is originally a family of military commanders, so Mrs. Xue naturally would not look down on military commanders.
When Xue Xiaoxiao reached the age of marriageable age, Madam Xue asked Xue Rengui to help search for him in the army.
Many generals in the military are already married, but there are very few generals who have not yet married at this age.
In addition, those people were much older than Xue Xiaoxiao, and their appearance, although not extremely ugly, was mediocre, so Xue Xiaoxiao naturally looked down upon them.
"Mrs. Xue will definitely not harm you. Although their status is not high now, as long as they perform meritorious service in the army, they will not have to worry about getting ahead. Maybe your future husband-in-law can also be granted the title of Marquis and Prime Minister." Guo Caiyue also said.
I thought Xue Xiaoxiao disliked the low status of those people.
Xue Xiaoxiao's face turned red and she whispered: "No, I just don't like them."
"Then what do you like? Maybe you already have someone you like?" Guo Caiyue joked.
"I hate it, Sister Caiyue, you are laughing at me." Xue Xiaoxiao twisted her body and said: "The Marquis of Jingyang County has a jade tree in the wind, and he is very skilled in martial arts. If my future husband is half as capable as the Marquis of Jingyang County, I will
Satisfied."
"I think you have feelings for my Marquis, right?" Guo Caiyue laughed and said: "But my Marquis is already the consort, even if you want to take a concubine, the princess must agree. Besides, Mrs. Xue
Can I agree to you being my concubine?"
The princes-in-law of the Tang Dynasty did not have as many restrictions as the later dynasties. They were not allowed to take concubines or hold official positions.
According to regulations, the prince-in-law of the Tang Dynasty could take concubines, but only if the princess agreed.
The status of concubines in ancient times was very low. In ancient times, Confucian etiquette was advocated, and etiquette clearly distinguished that in official families, the status of concubines was similar to that of maids. They could be bought and sold at will, and their family and social status were not high.
A wife, "one who is equal to her husband", means that her status is the same as that of her husband, that of the master. The status of a concubine is that of a slave, and the way of service is to sleep with the master and have children.
Generally speaking, concubines were either married to the hostess, or bought by the male owner with money, without going through legal procedures at all. From this perspective, concubines were more like a commodity. According to history books
According to records, in addition to serving the male master in daily life, concubines also have three functions, each of which sounds humiliating.
The first function is to use it as goods for exchange. Many historical celebrities have done the ridiculous thing of exchanging concubines, such as Su Shi, the literary giant of the Northern Song Dynasty. Regardless of his good articles, he actually sold his concubines without any ambiguity.
On his way to Huangzhou for his appointment, Su Shi lacked money to buy a good horse, so he could only walk on his own feet and was exhausted. Finally, he decided to exchange his concubine Chun Niang for a horse. It can be seen from his poems
"Only because of the many dangers on the mountain journey, I exchanged my red pink for Chasing the Wind." It means that I had to exchange my beauty for a good horse because the mountain road was too bumpy.
The second function is to use it as a bargaining chip. A typical example is Xin Qiji. Once his wife suddenly became seriously ill. In order to stimulate the doctor's maximum potential and treat his wife with all his heart, Xin Qiji thought of an impossible method. He said to the doctor, as long as you can
If my wife's disease is cured, I will reward you with a beautiful concubine. When the doctor heard this, he was very excited and devoted all his energy to seeing the doctor. As a result, he cured Xin Qiji's wife in just a few days. It can be seen from this that,
The charm of using a concubine as a bargaining chip is quite great.
The third function is to serve as a service tool. There was a famous person named Huang Shiling in the Qing Dynasty. He kept an ancient mirror from the Han Dynasty in his home. This mirror was very rare to return to its original nature and was deeply loved by Huang Shiling. It happened that another person named Li Mingke also
He had a special liking for this ancient mirror. Unfortunately, no matter how much money he paid, Huang Shiling would not sell the mirror. Later, Li Mingke came up with the beauty trap and sent a young and beautiful concubine to wash Huang Shiling's clothes every day.
Cooking, rubbing shoulders and back. In the end, Huang Shiling fell in love with this concubine, so he gave up the ancient mirror and embraced the beauty.
Therefore, it is impossible for a decent family to let their daughter be a concubine for others.
Although women's status is not high, the ancients paid great attention to face. Unless the family really couldn't survive and sold their sons and daughters, they naturally wouldn't care about it.
Another possibility is that the other party has a very high status and is trying to curry favor with the other party.
"No way, I just said that I like someone as capable as the Marquis of Jingyang County." Xue Xiaoxiao defended, quickly changed the subject, and said: "Sister Caiyue, you haven't said it yet. You are older than me, so your grandma
Didn’t I arrange a marriage for you?”
"Of course there is. Grandma is so old, but she still comes to seek refuge with the Marquis because she wants me to marry into a good family." Guo Caiyue said.
She did not tell Xue Xiaoxiao that because Zhang Dayong and Cao Hu were highly valued by Lin Xuan, Guo Lanhua had intended to betroth her to one of Zhang Dayong and Cao Hu.
Although the two of them used to hang out in the green forest, they are now reused by Lin Xuan and have broken away from their previous identities.
Guo Lanhua has always been worried that after her granddaughter gets married, her family will look down on her because of her previous status. Since Zhang Dayong and Cao Hu have the same status as them, this problem naturally does not exist.
But she is really not interested in Zhang Dayong and Cao Hu.
"Does your sister have someone you like?" Xue Xiaoxiao was teased by Guo Caiyue before, so naturally she would not miss this opportunity now.
A figure appeared in Guo Caiyue's mind and she quickly said: "No."
Xue Xiaoxiao, who didn't get the chance, said with some regret: "It's a pity that my brother has already decided to get married. Otherwise, it would be nice for my sister to be my sister-in-law."
"What are you talking about?" Guo Caiyue was a little embarrassed and pretended to hit Xue Xiaoxiao.