met free Chapter 162 Double Happiness
Chapter 162 Double Happiness
Seeing Emperor Zhu's beaming face, Empress Ma, who was doing needlework beside him, asked with a smile, "What's making you so happy? I've seen you happy for most of the day. I've never seen you like this before."
Zhu Chongba chuckled, reached out and took the needlework from Empress Ma's hands, then grabbed her hand and said, "Let me tell you, sister, what I, as an emperor, want most in this life is for my country to be stable forever, right?"
Empress Ma nodded with a smile, and Zhu Chongba continued, "If you want your country to be stable forever, you need both civil and military achievements, as well as a reputation for loving your people like your own children. I, Zhu Chongba, believe that my martial arts skills are second to none, and I am second to none in loving my people like my own children. It is only in terms of civil administration that I am still lacking."
"There's nothing I can do. Our old Zhu was a cowherd and beggar since he was a child. He didn't study much, let alone learn how to be an emperor. How would he know what true civil administration is?"
"But our good son-in-law came up with a solution for us. After the completion of the vast 'Hongwu Encyclopedia,' who will dare to say that our old Zhu Wenzhi is incompetent?"
Empress Ma chuckled and said, "Anything else?"
Zhu Chongba smacked his lips, chuckled, and said, "Otherwise, it has to be you, sister, who understands me best. You know that I actually look down on Kong Xixue and his son, but due to the divide between the North and the South, I had no choice but to confer the title of Duke Yansheng on Kong Xixue."
"But things are different now. Our good son-in-law suggested that Nan Zong compile the Hongwu Encyclopedia. This is giving Nan Zong an opportunity. Once it is completed, even if Nan Zong is conferred the title of Duke Yansheng, even the scholars in the north will not be able to find fault with us."
"Now both the Southern and Northern Schools have been stirred up. Kong Xixue is working desperately to compile the 'Hongwu Great Dictionary,' even though he knows it's a trap he has to fall into. Meanwhile, the Southern School is working even harder to compile the 'Hongwu Great Encyclopedia' in order to seize an opportunity. All we have to do is hold onto the title of Duke Yansheng and keep them hanging on. Wouldn't you say this is a double blessing?"
Empress Ma smiled and said, "Yes, of course it counts."
Zhu Chongba hummed in agreement and continued, "And then there's that mushroom. We originally intended to give the mushrooms from Ningyang County the title of tribute so that the people of Ningyang County could earn more money. But who would have thought that the guy would actually try to exchange the mushrooms and bok choy for cashmere from the grasslands, thus enticing the Tartars to raise more sheep."
"Tsk tsk, sheep eat grass but they also eat the grass roots, which causes the grassland to degrade. This bastard is playing a destructive trick, how malicious."
"He also said he wanted to prepare various prescriptions, grind them into powder, and make it easier for people to buy medicine..."
After recounting all these miscellaneous matters, Zhu Chongba looked at Empress Ma and asked, "Tell me, shouldn't we also put Jin'er and Yu'er's marriage on the agenda? Our son-in-law..."
Just as Zhu Chongba and Empress Ma were discussing when to marry Jin'er and Yu'er to Yang Shaofeng, Magistrate Yang was strolling around the newly set-up clinic.
The clinic that Magistrate Yang arranged for Doctor Yang and Doctor Wang was originally a street-facing shop. After it was converted into a clinic, the original welcoming couplet was changed to "May all people in the world be free from illness, what does it matter if the medicine on the shelves gathers dust?" The main hall, which was originally used to receive guests, was also converted into a place for consultation and dispensing medicine. A row of medicine cabinets were lined up, with different medicine names labeled on each drawer. Dozens of cartloads of medicine delivered by the Chang brothers were piled up in the center of the hall, emitting a strong medicinal fragrance. Wang Hu and several apprentices were busy sorting and packing the various medicines into different drawers.
Yang Qing, who was standing beside Magistrate Yang, stroked his beard and watched all this. After a while, he smiled and said, "I have compiled dozens of prescriptions that Your Excellency requested. In another three to five days, I will be able to grind them all into powder. Then, I will pack them according to the dosage, and Your Excellency can arrange for people to test the medicine."
Yang Shaofeng smiled and nodded in agreement, saying, "That's truly double happiness."
Yang Qing was slightly taken aback and asked, "Double happiness?"
Yang Shaofeng laughed and said, "That's right, Brother Limpy Fifth and his family's marriage has finally been settled. The wedding will be held in a few days. Doctor Yang, you must come and have a drink at the wedding."
With the help of Liu Sanshier and other village leaders, the marriage of the bailiff Wu and other yamen runners was settled. Procedures such as matchmaking, exchanging betrothal gifts, matching birth dates, betrothal, and setting a wedding date had all been completed, and the wedding was to be held on an auspicious day a few days later.
On the day before the wedding, the brides-to-be would move from the two courtyards where they lived in the widows' village back to their respective homes. Those with maternal relatives would go back to their maternal relatives' homes, while those without would stay with relatives from their original village. If they had no relatives, they would find an elderly couple from their original village to act as their parents and stay with them temporarily.
The grooms, including the lame fifth son, were in a similar situation. However, these veterans had no relatives in Ningyang County, so they had to ask Liu Thirty-Two and his men to help arrange for an elderly man named De Shao to act as their parents and stay there temporarily.
Unfortunately, they couldn't find a bridal sedan chair even after searching the entire Ningyang County, so they had to decide that the groom would ride a horse to pick up the bride, while the bride would ride a donkey to leave for her wedding.
Magistrate Yang originally wanted to see how weddings were conducted during the Ming Dynasty, so he wouldn't be caught off guard and make a fool of himself when he got married. However, he was disappointed that he couldn't even see the bride getting into the sedan chair.
……
The four great joys in life are rain after a long drought, meeting an old friend in a foreign land, the wedding night, and passing the imperial examination.
However, many people don't know where the term "bridal chamber" comes from.
The term "bridal chamber" owes its existence to Emperor Ling of Han. According to legend, Emperor Ling ordered all palace maids to wear open-crotch pants so that he could have sex with them anytime, anywhere, and that's how the term "bridal chamber" came about.
Actually, it's because the bride and groom usually haven't met before their wedding night, and it would be quite awkward to be naked together on their first meeting. So, the bride's parents would give her open-crotch pants as part of her dowry, to reduce any psychological barriers for their daughter on her wedding night, and also to ensure that the groom wouldn't be too excited or shy and unable to perform normally on his first time.
These things were mentioned in a famous book called "The Futon".
Of course, the wedding night is not just about sex; more importantly, the newlyweds count red envelopes together, even in the Ming Dynasty.
"Five texts."
"Ten coins,"
"..."
Wearing her wedding dress, Xiu Niang sat on the wedding bed, slowly counting the wedding gifts. Lame Wu drank bowl after bowl of water and paced back and forth in the room.
After Xiu Niang finished counting the gifts and put them all into a small box, she glanced shyly at Lame Wu and called out, "Fifth Brother."
The lame man trembled, chuckled, and replied, "Wife..."