After the provincial examination and before the palace examination, Zhao Zongquan wanted to stabilize his position.
He began to help his Yuzhou gang arrange marriages with dignitaries in the court.
The people of the Zhou Dynasty observed filial piety for the old emperor for one hundred days and were forbidden to marry within one hundred days.
Nobles, officials, etc. do not have fixed deadlines like the private sector.
After all, they are all holding the imperial court's job, so it is understandable that the requirements should be higher. When the deadline is due depends on the attitude of the new emperor.
The emperor began to take the lead in arranging the marriages of the clan, royal relatives, and relatives, which meant that marriages in the families of noble officials could begin to return to normal.
In a house of noble officials, it is certainly a good thing to observe filial piety for half a year only for the old emperor.
But Zhao Zongquan inevitably seemed a little ruthless towards his cheap father.
Although Zhao Zongquan was known to the courtiers and consolidated his position, the Yuzhou gang had an urgent need to integrate into the court.
But after getting the throne for nothing, Zhao Zong was not willing to take advantage of his father. It would be a bit ugly to stay in power for a longer period of time.
Of course, if the ban on marriage is lifted as soon as possible, everyone will benefit from this matter. We all have sisters, daughters, and granddaughters who need to discuss marriage.
So I just slandered him in my mind, and not many people expressed their opinions to the emperor in person.
After the emperor arranged marriages for several clans, he began to reveal his true purpose.
The first is to let his brother-in-law marry the daughter of the British military boss.
Then he arranged for his Yuzhou old man to marry different noble generals according to different grades.
The ability of noble generals to stand in the court depends entirely on the trust of an emperor.
In order to continue to be reused by the new emperor, I don't mind moving closer to Zhao Zongquan.
After all, the nobles who did not move closer to Zhao Zongquan were really punished a lot by Zhao Zongquan's use of King Yan to force him into the palace.
With both kindness and power, Zhao Zongquan successfully poached many of the Queen Mother's enemies.
The situation of one emperor and one courtier is still very obvious. The new emperor cannot adjust the civil servants for a while.
But for the noble generals, the difficulty of adjusting to the new emperor is not that high, and the replacement of the old with the new is obvious.
During the old emperor's time, a group of nobles and nobles, many of whom were involved with King Yan, were either wrongly placed and succumbed to Zhao Zongquan, or they lost their rights and retreated to the second line.
When the old emperor was in power, nobles who were not reused were settled in shabby households such as the Yuan family of Zhongqin Bofu.
But he was favored by Zhao Zongquan.
Affected by this, Sheng Changbai's cheap brother-in-law Yuan Wenshao was directly promoted by two ranks and got a bargain.
Hualan's life in the past two years has been quite smooth.
The mother-in-law was busy fighting with the concubine at home and had no energy to embarrass Hua Lan.
The husband was promoted to a high official, gave birth to a boy, and had an heir. Apart from having to use his dowry to support the Yuan family, he had no worries at all.
The emperor of the old Zhao family had the art of balance engraved in his bones.
It’s not just about balancing among nobles, royal relatives, foreign relatives, eunuchs, civil servants, and generals.
Even within each group, the Emperor of the Zhao family also likes to strike a balance.
In order to prevent a family from becoming big, it will not easily happen that a family has been prominent and occupied a high position for generations.
It's the same whether it's for civil servants or military generals.
No matter how the emperor poached the Queen Mother, it would not affect the Sheng family.
After the emperor's influence on the Sheng family was taken the lead in discussing the marriage, the marriage between the three orchids of the Sheng family could continue to move forward.
Although He Hongwen was very interested in Minglan and took the initiative, the marriages of the three Lans still had to be done one by one.
Although there is no rule about getting engaged and getting married according to the age of the children in the family from oldest to youngest.
But Mo Lan is already sixteen, and has reached the appropriate age in this era.
If Lan is fifteen, she will soon have haircuts and will be old enough to get married.
Minglan is only fourteen, so even if the marriage is decided, it is impossible to get married.
What's more important is that both Wen Yanjing and Li Yu have passed the provincial examination. If they fail to get into the top few in the palace examination, they will inevitably end up being exposed.
In a few years, it may even take twenty years like Sheng Hong, and it is even more likely that he will not be transferred back to Bianliang in his lifetime.
Therefore, when it comes to marriage, of course, we must first focus on Mo Lan and Ru Lan.
At this time, both parties are in the capital, and the marriage should be decided as soon as possible if the time is convenient.
After the two passed the provincial examination, they wrote letters to their families, one to announce the good news, and the other to ask their elders to come to Beijing to make decisions about their marriage.
After the results of the imperial examination were released, Wen Yanjing's mother and Li Yu's parents also arrived in the capital.
Wen Yanjing and Li Yu's imperial examination results were actually quite good. They were both ranked in the top 100 of the more than 300 new scholars. It can be said that they both still have some future.
Although this ranking is not like the top ten or even the imperial examination Sandingjia, it can give people a starting advantage in the officialdom.
But at least their rankings will not be a hindrance to their careers.
You will not be unable to hold some noble position above the court because of a poor ranking in the imperial examination.
Because both families had the intention to do so, the first three ceremonies of the wedding, Nacai, asking for names, and Naji were all carried out very quickly and smoothly.
The Sheng family's harvest was six pairs of wild geese. Fortunately, not all families insisted on using wild geese for the six ceremonies.
Otherwise, when a couple gets married, the first five of the six rituals require wild geese, and a couple needs ten.
If everyone really needs it, the wild geese can be hunted to extinction.
Molan and Rulan's six rites process can basically be done at the same time.
The first three of the six rites do not require much money, and there is nothing to compare between the two.
But when it comes to the fourth item, when the job is presented, the gap between the Wen family and the Li family is completely revealed.
"This is really going to make me laugh to death. The Wen family has prepared such a small betrothal gift, how can we get it out of the way!"
After sending the two families away, Wang Ruofu looked at the betrothal gifts from the two families and laughed proudly.
The Li family has prepared a complete set of things, including the "three golds" that everyone must have, including gold necklaces, gold bracelets, and gold pendants. There are also essential items for an official's home: gold sleeves, gold skirts with yellow ruffles, and satin. Red long skirt, special bun with pearls and jade, crown with pearls and jade, four-season crown of flowers, rows of pearls and jade rings, fine colorful satin and silk, plus scented tea and fruits, reunion cakes, sheep, wine and so on.
The betrothal gift sent by the Wen family was a bit simpler. The necessary "three golds" were also made in Duoduo, a gold-plated silver necklace, a bracelet, and a pendant. The rest were five gold coins, four taels of silver, and four colored satins on the outside and inside.
Thirty pieces of miscellaneous silk.
This standard is slightly lower when employed by ordinary citizens in Bianliang.
Seeing the Wen family's strength, Sheng Changbai somewhat understood Lin Zongshuang and Mo Lan.
Wen Yanjing's family situation is such that they only rely on their salary to live. If they don't engage in corruption, and Mo Lan is married, the family will indeed not be able to live a good life.
If there is corruption, there is a huge risk of being dismissed from office and having their homes confiscated. This is the situation that Lin Zongshuang and Mo Lan are least willing to face.
"Mother, brother of the Wen family, comes from a poor family. To be able to give out so many betrothal gifts, he has spent all his money. Although the Li family has many betrothal gifts, these gifts are not as good as the Li family's wealth. It is clear at a glance who is more considerate between the two.
, Mother really shouldn’t laugh at me like this.”
Sheng Changbai still hoped that Wang Ruofu could restrain himself and stop irritating Lin Qige's mother and daughter.
If it weren't for Sheng Changbai's influence, it would be Wang Ruofu who received such a betrothal gift. How could Wang Ruofu still be in the mood to laugh at others?
"Come here, please bring Mo Lan's betrothal gift to Lin Qige. As my aunt, I will not covet a concubine's betrothal gift." Wang Ruofu suppressed some of the pride on his face and said.
"Mom, since both families have sent betrothal services, it's time for the family to prepare dowries for the two younger sisters."
Compared with getting married, marrying a daughter is more expensive.
For an official family, marrying ten daughters-in-law is not as expensive as marrying off one daughter.
And when getting married, although a large portion of the bride price is given up, the bride will basically bring the bride gift back when she comes in.
Although the bride price given out will become the dowry on the woman’s dowry list.
Logically speaking, the man has no control.
However, women in this era received traditional education. If the man does not want to lose face, it is not difficult to control these properties through the woman.
Even if the woman keeps the property in her hands, it will be left to her children. According to the divorce rate in this era, this bride price will actually be passed down to the man's family in the future.
"Both of them are going to get married one after another. How can I prepare to come? The man from Lin Qige asked your father to prepare for it by himself."
Since the two families had sent all the betrothal gifts, of course they hoped to get married as soon as possible.
When the name is placed on the gold medal list, the night of flowers and candles in the wedding room is a continuous process.
After the two families came over to give the betrothal gifts, they also agreed on a date to come over for marriage.
The wedding of the two Lans arrived without much preparation.
Although the Sheng family is not as particular about marrying a daughter as the Hai family, they have to prepare all kinds of things.
Since the birth of my daughter, I have started to store ten or twenty pieces of precious wood, and asked masters to customize furniture to prepare a complete set of supplies for my daughter from birth to death.
But there are also a lot of preparations for cloth, clothes, jewelry, various daily necessities, and decorations.
Wang Ruofu said he was not prepared for Mo Lan, which was just an angry talk.
Preparing betrothal gifts is a very complicated matter. Sheng Hong has to go to work in the Yamen, so it is impossible to prepare these small items for Mo Lan personally.
What Sheng Hong prepared for Mo Lan was a heavy dowry, a farm, a shop, gold, silver, and copper coins.
"Changbai, do you still remember the Yaren who were looking for a house for Changwu? Let them come to your house if you have time."
"Father, do you want to buy a house in the capital for Mo Lan?"
It's not that Sheng Changbai hasn't thought about Mo Lan's house, he just thinks that Wen Yanjing is going to take a new job. At least in the near future, there is no possibility of being transferred back to the capital within ten years, and there is no need for a house at all.
The amount of dowry Sheng Hong can give to Mo Lan is still limited.
After all, the Wen family is not the Li family. They have rich family assets. If the dowry is given to the house, other aspects will definitely be reduced.
Mo Lan married into the Wen family, which was not financially well-off to begin with.
It is better to buy a house in Bianliang than to invest in a farm, and the profit from the shop will be greater.
The Li family didn't need to consider profits, it was simple. Li Yu became a Jinshi, gained status, and wanted to marry a daughter of the Sheng family.
It’s similar to the situation of Mr. Sheng from the Sheng family who won the prize among the fairies and asked to marry Mrs. Sheng.
The Li family, just like the Sheng family, directly set up a house in the capital.
Although the location of the house is not that good, it is already close to the outer city and not far from Hua Lan's house, but the third courtyard is quite spacious.
Even Li Yu's parents moved to the capital and could barely live there.
"Miss Mo Lan, I don't want Mo Lan to leave the capital, so it is necessary to buy a house for Mo Lan."
"Father, Brother Jing's mother wants to move from Hebei to Bianliang?"
"Brother Jing's mother and brother naturally still want to live in their hometown in Hebei." Sheng Hong replied.
"Father, after my fourth sister got married, she neither followed her husband nor returned to her hometown to serve her elders. Isn't this inconsistent with etiquette?"
After a woman in the Zhou Dynasty got married, she either lived with her husband or lived with her elders. There was no rule that she could live close to her natal family without getting in the way of either.
"Mo Lan and her mother-in-law have been begging me for a long time. Mo'er was originally unwilling to marry, and I also want her to be happy. As a father, I can bear a little gossip."
Sheng Hong said with some embarrassment on his face, knowing that what he was doing was irregular.
"Father, it's good to know what's going on. After a few days of rest, I'll tell them to call Yaren to the house."
After some deliberation, Sheng Changbai agreed to the matter without any further persuasion.
After Mo Lan gets married, Mo Lan will join the Wen family.
Even if Mo Lan wants to cause trouble, the main impact will be on the Wen family.
A married daughter is just like water thrown away. The Sheng family no longer has such a big responsibility towards Mo Lan after she gets married.
If Mo Lan wants to implicate the Sheng family, it will not be as easy as before.
Buying a house for Mo Lan is not that difficult.
Without the requirement to buy a big house, the small courtyard with two entrances in the outer city of Bianliang still has a large circulation.
Before the wedding of Wen Yanjing and Mo Lan, Sheng Hong bought a yard for Mo Lan and arranged for craftsmen to start repairing the yard.
I'm not that anxious to use this yard.
Although the Sheng family would buy a house for Mo Lan, it was naturally impossible for Wen Yanjing to marry Mo Lan in Mo Lan's dowry yard.
I still rented a courtyard and planned to marry Mo Lan in the small courtyard.
The sixth day of April was the day when Wen Yanjing married Mo Lan.
Wen Yanjing's marriage to Mo Lan is roughly a replica of Sheng Changbai's marriage to Hai Chaoyun.
They are all married to the daughters of senior civil servants from civil servant families.
In terms of some details, the Wen family may have made things a little simpler, but the process is still the same.
Overall, Mo Lan's wedding was quite lively.
There were many guests in the Sheng family. Wen Yanjing had also studied in Bianliang for several years and was a new scholar. He became friends with many literati in the same year.
The number and status of the guests are not bad.
On Mo Lan's side, the Sheng family has no shame, and Sheng Hong does have a preference for Mo Lan's daughter.
Sheng Hong still prepared a dowry of sixty-four tons for Mo Lan, which proved that Sheng Hong's love for Mo Lan was not just verbal.
The richness of this dowry has exceeded 99% of the women in the Zhou Dynasty.
Sheng Hong also really spent a lot of money, which was enough for Mo Lan to be a strong person after getting married.
Mo Lan's dowry was not as good as Hua Lan's, and the difference was due to Wang Ruofu and the old lady's private subsidies. The money paid by the Sheng family for Mo Lan was only more, not less.