Optimus One Pillar of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 10
"Congratulations to Mr. Wang Daoqiu of Huzhou Prefecture, No. 1 in the high school provincial examination"

This congratulatory message was replayed loudly and loudly by the two messengers. They also specially picked out the three words "No. 1" and shouted it several decibels higher, which means to emphasize it.

This allows everyone in the hotel lobby to hear clearly.After hearing it clearly, they all stared at it.Mad No.1, Jieyuan!Jieyuan is here. This is so enviable and jealous. What a beast!Ouch, ouch, why does Lao Zhi's heart hurt so much!
Everyone was heartbroken and stared in amazement at the animal that made them extremely jealous.When Wang Daoqiu heard the good news, he didn't look at the colleagues around him who wanted to eat him. He stood up with a smile, and walked up to the two people who announced the good news in an elegant manner amidst the gazes of the crowd. In front of the officer.

"Young Master is Mr. Jie Yuangong?"

"Of course."

"Oh, congratulations, I didn't expect Duke Xie Yuan to be so young. Duke Xie Yuan is a real genius. He was able to rank first in high school at such a young age. In the coming year, he will definitely win the national examination and palace examination..."

When the messenger announced the good news, he knew that the young man in front of him was the candidate for the Zhejiang Province Provincial Examination.The two of them were busy smiling and saying various congratulations to Wang Daoqiu, and at the same time, they covered Wang Daoqiu with red ribbons and big red flowers.

At this time, Wang Daoqiu also politely put the silver reward into the hands of the two messengers who announced the good news.They all won the prize, and they couldn't be stingy at this great time, so Wang Daoqiu gave the money very generously, which made the two messengers happy, and they said all kinds of congratulations more energetically.

Helping Wang Daoqiu put on the ribbons and big red flowers, the two messengers who announced the good news faced Wang Daoqiu and paid homage first.Then he said: "Mr. Xie Yuan, come with us to Gongyuan quickly. Master Tixueguan is already waiting there. Master Tixueguan said that he will personally write a personal confession for all the new candidates today!"

The so-called personal confession is similar to the diploma of later generations. It will state your name, home address, physical characteristics, and what academic title you passed the exam in. These materials must also be filed with the government.

Knowing that these were all rules, Wang Daoqiu smiled and expressed his gratitude to the two elder brothers for the reminder.Then he asked the two messengers to wait while he had something to say to the shopkeeper.

Wang Daoqiu was the dignified Xie Yuan Xianggong and also rewarded him. He asked the two messengers to wait a moment. Naturally, they would not have any objections. They all smiled and politely asked Wang Daoqiu to "do what he wants."

After thanking the two messengers again, Wang Daoqiu turned around and came to the innkeeper.

"Oh, congratulations, congratulations to the prince! The shop is really a blessing to you. I am lucky enough to be successful. From now on, this little old man will have a great time as an innkeeper in this area..."

"Thank you, shopkeeper, thank you shopkeeper. I am able to go to high school this time because of your good wishes this morning. Thank you very much. In addition, shopkeeper, my good friend missed the release of the results of the provincial examination due to some trivial matters, so I have to trouble the shopkeeper. Send someone to look for him, and when he finds it, ask him to take the good news and go to Gongyuan to write a personal confession. You tell him that this time he is the academic officer who will personally write the personal confession for us and other new candidates, so he must be there. "

After saying this, Wang Daoqiu winked at the shopkeeper and handed over the good news to the fat man.The damn fat man went to a brothel last night to have a romantic affair and didn't come back all night. Today, the shopkeeper also treated it as a joke and told it to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper knew about it.So now that Wang Daoqiu winked at him, he understood it at that time.

So the shopkeeper took the fat man's happy news from Wang Daoqiu, and then he pretended to be there, and said calmly, "Don't worry, Mr. Xie Yuan, I'll send a buddy to find Mr. Jiang. When I see Mr. Jiang, ask him to go to Gongyuan immediately."

"Thank you"

"Mr. Jie Yuan is so polite."

After explaining the matter about the fat man to the shopkeeper, Wang Daoqiu left the inn with the two servants who announced the good news and walked to the Gongyuan.

Arriving at the gate of Gongyuan, it was filled with red lanterns and various colorful ribbons.The list of the Zhejiang Province Provincial Examination has been posted at this time. Now the list is crowded with people looking at the list, and the sea of ​​people is very lively.

"Hey, the one wearing the big red flower is this time Mr. Jieyuan, right?"

"Yes, yes, only Xie Yuan Xianggong is qualified to wear the big red flower in the provincial examination."

"Oh, Mr. Xie Yuan is so young!"

"The future is terrifying!"

...............

The candidates who were looking at the list at the gate of the Gongyuan and the people who were eating melons were joining in the fun. When they saw Wang Daoqiu wearing a big red flower, he was led by two guards to the Gongyuan.Those who know the truth immediately know that Wang Daoqiu is the candidate for this provincial examination.

So the knowledgeable people spread knowledge about the imperial examination to the ignorant people, and then people at the gate of the Gongyuan surrounded him with cheers, treating Wang Daoqiu as a rare animal in the zoo.Then they made all kinds of comments about Wang Daoqiu. Fortunately, Wang Daoqiu was seventeen years old, invincible in youth, and the young man was quite handsome, so he was not afraid of others looking at him.

I endured hundreds of pairs of big searchlight-like eyes and all kinds of comments about myself.Wang Daoqiu imitated the appearance of later celebrities walking on the red carpet, always keeping a smile on his face and occasionally nodding to the fans on both sides.Under the protection of two elder brothers, he entered the gate of Gongyuan.

There was nothing new in the program in the Gongyuan. It was just a few officials exhorting and congratulating each other to show how close they were to the people.Officials play the role, Wang Daoqiu is also a social person, you play the role and I play the role, anyway, everyone understands in their hearts.

After going through the official procedures with nausea, Wang Daoqiu still didn't see the fat man's fat body.When the official finished his closing speech, Wang Daoqiu could only pray silently in his heart, you fat man, please wish yourself well!Then, worried about the dead fat man, he walked outside the Gongyuan.As soon as he arrived at the gate of Gongyuan, Wang Daoqiu was frightened by the scene in front of him.I saw almost hundreds of young men and women surrounding the gate of Gongyuan. They were all posing and gearing up. Their eyes were like hungry wolves, staring at the group of new candidates who were about to come out.Especially Wang Daoqiu, it can be said that he is now the main target of these hundreds of young people.

Seeing this posture, Wang Daoqiu was frightened. He didn't know what these young people were doing.At this moment, more than a dozen middle-aged and elderly newly promoted candidates came out from behind Wang Daoqiu. One of them looked like a middle-aged candidate who was about 40 years old. He said to Wang Daoqiu: "Mr. Xie Yuan, this is me. The glorious tradition of the provincial examination is to catch a son-in-law who is not listed on the list. We are old and they will not come to catch us. You young people, just let them catch you honestly, hahahahaha."

"Hahahaha"

"Hahahaha"

"Hahahaha"

...............

A group of old men smiled and walked out with their heads held high. As expected, the young men who gathered around the entrance of the Gongyuan did not catch them and allowed them to leave.

After the old men left, a group of men in their 30s and [-]s followed, shouting, "I am married," "I have three children at home," "I have four concubines at home," and so on. , rush out.

After these people rushed over, the forward was also let go. Wang Daoqiu took a look and decided to fish in troubled waters, otherwise he would not be able to escape after this large group of people passed by.

So he squeezed into the middle of the crowd rushing out, shouted in a loud voice pretending to be old: "I'm married", "I have a child", and then rushed out.

Wang Daoqiu played the role very seriously. He also bowed his body and lowered his head to prevent others from seeing his face, and his eyes were watching others' footsteps from underneath.

Wang Daoqiu Biao's acting skills are trying to fish in troubled waters.However, they are not the same, he is Jie Yuangong, he is also a little fresh meat, and he is the most handsome boy in the Gongyuan today.Those young men who were sent to catch the son-in-law, their eyes never left Wang Daoqiu's body from the beginning to the end.

So as soon as Wang Daoqiu and others were more than ten meters away from the gate of Gongyuan, the young men passed through the crowd of other newly promoted candidates from three sides and came straight towards Wang Daoqiu.Each one of them waved their Nine Yin White Bone Claws and looked at Wang Daoqiu's eyes, just like the White Bone Demon looking at Tang Monk.

Seeing himself facing a bunch of claws flying in the sky, Wang Daoqiu knew that he couldn't run away today.Since you can't run away, then just don't run away. Anyway, the so-called "catching a son-in-law under the official list" is actually just a blind date as long as you don't want to or your parents don't agree.

Marriage in the Ming Dynasty was unlike that of later generations. As long as a man and a woman were willing and old enough, they could go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and become a legal couple in a few minutes.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were many special laws and regulations regarding the marriage of men and women.For example, regarding the age of marriage, the Ming Dynasty's Household Order stipulates that all marriages between men and women have their own time, and those who involve cutting off the skirts of their shirts to become relatives are also prohibited.

The meaning of this law is that men and women must reach the legal age to get married, and they are not allowed to enter into marriage under the age. It also prohibits parents of both men and women from making private arrangements for their children to marry when they are young.

In addition to the age requirements for marriage in the Ming Dynasty, it also stipulated various tedious procedures that must be completed before officially becoming a legal couple.

The Ming Dynasty Law and Household Law stipulates that men and women must "write a marriage certificate and betrothal in accordance with the ceremony" before they can conclude the marriage.This means that men and women in the Ming Dynasty had to exchange marriage letters with each other before getting married, that is, getting engaged first, and then the subsequent marriage.If you get married immediately without getting engaged first, you will be subject to lawsuits.

Before a formal marriage in the Ming Dynasty, one must first be engaged, and the engagement in the Ming Dynasty required many conditions.

First: We need a matchmaker. Since ancient times, there have been ancient sayings in China that "men and women will not ask each other for names unless they have a matchmaker", "men and women will not make friends without a matchmaker", and "a woman will not marry without a matchmaker".From these words, we can see the position that matchmakers occupied in the ancient marriage system.

The Ming Dynasty Laws stipulates that if a man and a woman want to get engaged, a matchmaker needs to participate in every step. "The signature of the matchmaker is a necessary condition for the validity of the engagement document." If the marriage document does not have the signature of the matchmaker, it will be considered invalid.

Second: Engagement in the Ming Dynasty requires the exchange of red stickers with the birth dates of both parties, and let the parents of both parties approve the horoscopes.Only when the parents of both parties believe that both parties are compatible and agree to the engagement, can the engagement proceed to the next step.

Third: When getting engaged, the elders of the family need to come out to preside over the engagement, which is the so-called "parents' order and the matchmaker's words".The marriage laws of the Ming Dynasty attached great importance to the orders of parents.The Ming Dynasty Household Order stipulates that for all marriages, grandparents and parents will preside over the marriage.If there are no grandparents or parents, Cong Yu’s relative will officiate the marriage.

This means that in the Ming Dynasty, the government did not recognize marriage contracts without "parental orders", and if an engagement was made against the wishes of the elders, both men and women would be subject to criminal punishment.

The above is just the first step of marriage in Ming Dynasty, engagement.And the official marriage in Ming Dynasty was a set of strictly regulated procedures, which was extremely troublesome.Therefore, the kind of marriage that is concluded in ancient costume dramas is not called marriage in Ming Dynasty, but concubinage or elopement.

The marriage laws of the Ming Dynasty were so serious, so people in later generations thought that the kind of catching a son-in-law who was under the official list was actually not like that at all in the real Ming Dynasty.What people call catching a son-in-law is actually just a blind date opportunity, and they are still far from getting married!
Otherwise, how could the government ignore this blatant robbery?And if it is true, whoever grabs it belongs to whoever, then why should everyone like Wang Daoqiu and the others, who already have the status of cadres, want to grab it?Then after every provincial examination, there must be tens of thousands of people waiting at the gate of Gongyuan to snatch brides?

So when it comes to so-called bride-robbing, what they are actually robbing is an opportunity to have a blind date with a newly promoted candidate.

(End of this chapter)