Zhao Jun didn't have many friends in the Song Dynasty. Fan Zhongyan was one, Yan Shu was one, and as for Lu Yijian, they were actually both enemies and friends. The others, such as Wang Zeng, were half colleagues and half friends. After all, the age gap between the two sides was too big, and they could not have a close relationship.
As for the one with the best relationship, it is undoubtedly Zhao Zhen.
Zhao Zhen strongly requested to leave the palace to attend the wedding, on the grounds that Zhao Jun had no relatives, and as Zhao Jun's collateral ancestor, he should be the elder of the man's side instead of Zhao Jun's parents.
certainly.
This reason was given to the Constitutional Council, and the reason given to the outside world was that Zhao Jun was an important minister whom he relied on, and he attached great importance to his wedding.
But the emperor leaving the palace was a big deal, and there was an uproar in the court for several days, with many people trying to dissuade him.
In the end, it was Empress Cao who made the decision and ordered the Imperial Guards to seal off Qingtai Street for about an hour in the evening when the wedding was taking place. The Emperor and the Empress then came to the venue to attend the ceremony.
Anyway, Qingtai Street is just outside Xihuamen, and you can reach it after leaving the Imperial Palace. Moreover, most of the shops on the street are closed in the evening.
Although this is still a bit ostentatious and wastes money, the cost is not as high as leaving the city.
At 9:00 in the morning, the Zhao Mansion was decorated with lights and there were several tables set up in the small courtyard outside. The guests had not arrived yet, so the main focus now was on setting up the venue.
Because the marriage ceremony at that time was not called a wedding, but a wedding ceremony, which was held in the evening.
So we often see in TV dramas that wedding scenes take place at night, and the banquet is prepared during the day.
Xiangdinglou has been booked and the ingredients are being prepared now.
Zhao Zhen sent the imperial chef from the palace to Zhao Jun's mansion, and the standards were very high.
By the afternoon, Zhao Jun was wearing a red robe, which was scientifically called a "zhanjiao futou", a round-necked official robe, a short shirt, trousers, a long shirt, a leather belt, and black leather boots. It was similar to Zhao Zhen's dragon robe and was quite dazzling.
Surrounded by Cao Xiu, Di Qing and other imperial guards, he rode a tall horse, brought large and small bags of betrothal gifts, and headed towards Cao's mansion in a grand manner.
The Cao Mansion was also bustling with activity early in the morning. Not only did they have to prepare their dowry, but Cao Miaoxin also had to wear a dress and put on beautiful makeup.
Unlike the later belief that people wore phoenix crowns and bridal robes at ancient weddings, wedding attire varied from dynasty to dynasty.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, brides' attire was primarily black, but gradually evolved to black and red by the end of the Han dynasty. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern dynasties, the attire became white. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, it became cyan.
At that time, there was a saying that "wears flowery hairpins, green skirts, green clothes, leather belts and leather shoes".
The Song Dynasty inherited many of the Tang Dynasty's customs. The bride also wore a dark blue dress, which required her to wear "a long-sleeved skirt, made of blue, a plain gauze inner garment, a knee-covering, a large belt, a leather belt, shoes of the same color as the skirt, a flower hairpin, a hairpin, two bobs on her temples, and adorned with gold, silver, and other precious stones."
It was not until the Ming and Qing dynasties that the phoenix crown and red robe began to be worn.
Because the clothing styles of the Tang and Song dynasties were rather complicated, Cao Miaoxin spent the entire morning getting dressed at home. She hadn't eaten anything by noon yet, so the maid had to prepare a plate of pastries for her.
In the afternoon, Zhao Jun came to pick up the bride. Cao Cong, as the only elder of the Cao family still alive, came out to greet him in person.
The two sides exchanged greetings, and the guards carried in boxes of betrothal gifts.
Zhao Jun was actually quite poor. Although he traveled around the world and confiscated property without mercy, he took away the wealth of many high-ranking officials.
But most of it was handed over to the national treasury to support the wars against Western Xia and Liao.
The rest was put into the Imperial City Bureau’s funds.
Today, the Imperial City Administration has spread all over the country, selecting elite soldiers to serve as guards, and tens of thousands of people have gone to various roads, states, and counties across the country to establish strongholds.
These all cost money like water.
The officials were against the funds being taken from the national treasury, but Zhao Jun was too lazy to argue with them and raised the funds on his own.
For example, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has established many state-owned enterprises and organized trade with Japan and Goryeo in Hangzhou, Ningbo, Nantong and other places. In addition to using the money earned for enterprise development, it must also be turned over to the imperial treasury, which will be used to support the construction of the Imperial City.
So he himself did not have much money on hand. After all, he was the only one who could feed the whole family and his expenses were not too high. The salary he received every year was either used to help the poor or to be deposited in the imperial treasury.
However, he has many valuable antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and treasures on hand.
It was not obtained through corruption. Most of it was a reward from Zhao Zhen, and some of it was given by Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng and others. It was easy to calculate that the value was over one million strings of cash.
Therefore, although he doesn't have much money, giving these things is more prestigious than giving money directly.
At this moment, guests from inside and outside Cao's mansion gathered to offer congratulations. At noon, they were about to have lunch at Cao's mansion. When the officials heard Zanli singing something over and over again: "Han Gan's "Imperial Horse Painting"!"
"A South China Sea Jade Crystal Coral Bead!"
"A gilded jade Buddha from the Southern Liang Palace!"
"Three pieces of calligraphy written by Yan Zhenqing himself!"
"Ten pounds of Dragon and Phoenix tea!"
.
All the guests were stunned.
What kind of family?
Such a priceless thing is used as a betrothal gift?
The court is really generous.
Only Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng and others sitting in the main seats looked at each other.
Tears welled up in my eyes and streamed down my face like raindrops. I fainted in the toilet.
Those are all their treasured treasures!
It's all my fault.
But it was obvious that Zhao Jun was too lazy to care about them.
Cao Cong happily welcomed Zhao Jun in and held a welcoming ceremony.
By the end of the afternoon, when the guests had almost finished eating and the ceremony was over, the bride was carried out and sat in the sedan chair.
At this time, the Cao Mansion was bustling with activity inside and outside, and neighbors from all over came to ask for money.
Cao's servants kept throwing out red envelopes and copper coins, and everyone scrambled to grab them.
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