Song Gexing

Chapter 79 Candidate for Princess Wei

The ancient rules for selecting concubines for crown princes were to select a group of people at sea and send them to the palace to participate in palace etiquette training. Then five people were selected from them, and the final decision was made by the queen or concubines.

Normally, one main concubine is selected, and two concubines are added. The two unsuccessful ones will be sent back, and it is rare for all five to stay.

A prince's selection of a concubine is different from that of a prince. Normally, the emperor directly issues an order to select the daughter of a minister for him. It doesn't matter which minister you like.

To put it bluntly, the prince's marriage is also a political marriage, and even the prince's is the same, but there are more candidates.

The Song Dynasty has never chosen a concubine for the prince, because all the princes before this were appointed as princes after they became fathers, and there was no case where the prince was unmarried.

Zhao Fang is very special now. In terms of title, he is not a prince, but both the emperor and the ministers treat him as a prince.

Therefore, Zhao Zhen had a headache after receiving the list. Should he decide directly by himself, or should he select people to enter the palace and let the queen and concubines decide.

Helpless, he could only ask several important ministers for advice. Unexpectedly, the arguments of several ministers made him hesitate even more.

"I think it's better to ask King Wei to avoid causing trouble again in the future."

Pang Ji struggled for a long time and expressed his opinion cautiously.

Yan Shu said displeasedly: "What Chun Zhi said is wrong! The matchmaker is ordered by his parents to decide the matter of marriage. How can he make the decision himself?"

This is true, but after Pang Ji glanced at Zhao Zhen, he sighed and said, "The official family is kind and gentle, but the King of Wei is not. I am worried about the turmoil after his dethronement!"

Zhao Zhen suddenly blushed, and Yan Shu and others were dumbfounded, but everyone immediately understood that this was not about Zhao Zhen's current treatment of Concubine Zhang, but a hint about Empress Guo's deposedness.

Empress Cao was not Zhao Zhen's first empress. Before her, she was Empress Guo, the daughter of general Guo Chong. Zhao Zhen did not like her at that time, but liked Shang Meiren.

But Liu E fell in love with Empress Guo and did not give him a chance to choose. As soon as Liu E died, Zhao Zhen had thoughts of deposing the queen, which caused many disturbances that year.

To say that Empress Guo was domineering and was deposed, in fact, there was a lot of frame-up in palace fighting. Empress Guo was indeed not as virtuous as Empress Cao, but she was not domineering to that point.

It's just that she has a strong and impulsive personality, and is easily taken advantage of. That's why she beat up Shang Meiren in front of Zhao Zhen, and scratched Zhao Zhen's face as evidence.

With a character like Zhao Zhen's, he could even cause trouble. Zhao Fang's temperament is much stronger than his. If he is not satisfied, he may cause even greater trouble.

Therefore, Pang Ji's concerns are right, and everyone is right. We can't let the emperor fall into the harem turmoil, otherwise many important affairs of the court will be delayed.

"Then ask King Wei?"

The mature Fan Zhongyan said hesitantly, while the others looked at each other and nodded helplessly in agreement.

Zhao Zhen was even more helpless, but when he thought about what happened to him back then, he felt sorry for his son: "Yes, we can't let Fang'er be like me and marry someone I don't like."

Thinking of this, he made up his mind to let his son choose by himself, and went to Prince Wei's Mansion with the list and information the next day.

……

"Dad, did you say that the daughter of the Pan family is named Jinlian?"

Zhao Zhen didn't understand why his son had such a big reaction to this name. He simply jumped up, his eyes widened, and he couldn't close his mouth.

She looked at him in confusion and said, "That's the name! Why, does the name sound bad, or is it bad?"

"No... My son is just curious. What is the correct name for golden lotus? Are there golden lotuses..." "Strong words."

Zhao Zhen glanced at his son helplessly, but what could he do if he didn't explain.

Zhao Fang's heart was in turmoil at this time. Pan Jinlian, who can withstand this? Moreover, he is still a big man. This joke must be too big.

"No, the time doesn't match up. Besides, there's no telling whether there will be another Pan Jinlian."

Finally, Zhao Fang figured it out, but he was still very curious about Pan Jinlian. He hesitated and pointed to the words on the list and said, "How about letting my son meet?"

Zhao Zhen smiled, slapped his hand away and said, "You are under grounding. If you want to see me, I can only hold a banquet at your place, but what will you do without a mistress?"

People in the Song Dynasty were actually very open-minded. Men and women could not meet each other before marriage. Only those who were engaged did not meet before marriage. As for those who were not engaged, they could still meet at various banquets and entertainment venues.

But you don't have to be rich to hold a banquet. If it's just between men, it doesn't matter. Once there are women attending, the mistress of the family must come forward to invite them.

There is no mistress in Prince Wei's Mansion, and it is impossible for his mother to live here. Han Xue is only a concubine and cannot be a mistress, so this will be difficult.

"How about... why don't dad lend me your mother for two days? It's just two days."

Zhao Fang was really curious, so he couldn't help but to please his father, which made Zhao Zhen laugh. The depression of the past few days was gone today.

"It just so happens that you, Miao Niangniang, and Zhu Niangniang miss their second and third brothers. Father intends to let them go out of the palace to live for a while, so let your little empress come to your place."

Although Zhao Zhen was happy, he didn't want to irritate him anymore. When he said this, Zhao Fang smiled happily and kept praising his father as a good man.

As he was talking, his expression suddenly changed and he said, "No, dad, didn't the second and third sons go to the palace to say hello?"

Zhao Zhen smiled and said: "He has a heavy workload in school and is not as smart as you. He doesn't have time to go to the palace for ten days and a half. Dad also asked them to put their studies first."

"Dad is confused. You can read as much as you can. They are princes and do not need to take the imperial examination. It is important to visit their parents more."

Looking at his son who was suddenly talking to him, Zhao Zhen was in a daze. Was he so old?It seems that my son has grown up.

There was a time when the little brat was precocious and talked about important national issues, but he had never spoken out in such a serious way.

Even when discussing military and national affairs, most people were still as angry as children, but now it was suddenly different, which made him happy and a little sad at the same time.

"Fang'er"

Zhao Zhen opened his mouth and called out a name that was rarely called like this. Zhao Fang was stunned for a moment, thinking that he was going to intercede for his younger brother. He waved his hand and said: "Don't worry, dad, my son will not punish them, but an elder brother should be like a father." Education is still needed.”

He immediately made Zhao Zhen laugh. How could he say that his elder brother is like his father in front of his father?

But it did not dampen his enthusiasm. Zhao Zhen smiled and said: "Dad, I believe that the second and third brothers have listened to you the most since childhood."

A few days later, Mrs. Yu came, bringing with her more than twenty maids and officials to Prince Wei's Mansion. There was nothing we could do, there were many men in Zhao Fang's family, but not many women.

To hold a banquet, you need enough manpower, but Zhao Fang was not very young when he left the palace, so except for a few people around him, the rest were older palace maids.

In the past two years, they have been getting married gradually, and the rest of their lives have been arranged for them. There are not many left in the Wei Palace.

(End of this chapter)