Five Rites
The six ceremonies are accepting the bride's proposal, asking for the bride's name, accepting the good news, accepting the betrothal gifts, asking for the date, and welcoming the bride.
The "nacai" (meaning "to propose") ceremony involves the groom's family preparing gifts and going to the bride's home to propose marriage. Although the imperial decree had already been issued, this step was unavoidable. Thirty kinds of gifts were offered, including live poultry such as geese, sheep, deer, and mandarin ducks, as well as lacquerware, cattail reeds, cypress trees, silk jewelry, wine, millet, and rice. These gifts were displayed by the proposer in the main courtyard of Prince Xuan's palace, where Prince Xuan and his wife received them.
After that, the name Naji was asked, which meant comparing her birth date and horoscope. While this would be done by the man in ordinary families, it was done by the Imperial Observatory here. After all, she was a princess of the imperial family. While not as prestigious as a princess in the palace, she couldn't afford to be careless. However, since it was done by the Imperial Observatory, they naturally took their time and meticulously, ensuring that every detail was flawless.
Nazheng, or "Nazheng," is commonly known as "betrothal" or "gift giving." Despite years of suspicion and oppression, the Qin Palace remained a wealthy family. On the day of the betrothal, boxes of gold, silver, goldware, jade, porcelain, lacquerware, silks, wild animal skins, spices, ancient books and paintings, tea cakes, jewelry boxes, eight seafood and three kinds of meat filled the main courtyard of Princess Xuan. Not only the courtyard, but also the main hall was filled with boxes containing various land deeds, coconuts, four kinds of fruit and four kinds of candy, and other auspicious items. Also included were fine horses from the Western Regions and sheep from the grasslands that had not been brought to the main courtyard.
The generosity of the betrothal gifts attracted people's attention. After all, the Minister of Rites read out the gift list for a long time, which was enough to show how much the Prince Qin's Mansion valued the princess.
The imperial family also has many rules for requesting a date. The Qin Wang Mansion requires "three requests" to show the sincerity of marrying the princess and to highlight the princess's nobility.
First, the Princess of Qin approached the Princess of Xuan and received a phoenix-patterned pendant, signifying the female family's agreement for their daughter's wedding. Then, the Prince of Qin approached the Prince of Xuan, and his acceptance of the dragon-patterned pendant signaled the head of the household's approval of his daughter's marriage. Finally, Zhao Fengming personally arrived with a gift letter. The two families agreed on a wedding date (which, of course, would also be set by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory). The phoenix and dragon-patterned pendants were combined into one, symbolizing the union of the two families. The Prince of Xuan's household replied with a letter of approval, and the pendant, along with the gift letter and the dragon and phoenix pendants from the man's family, was placed in a mahogany box. The date-assignment ceremony was complete.
Five of the six ceremonies have been completed, and now all that remains is to welcome the bride and groom for the wedding.
Knowing that Prince Xuan wanted to keep his daughter for a few more years, the Qin Palace also understood, so all of the above preparations were made carefully and methodically over the past few years.
Yu Jin had her coming-of-age ceremony after her fifteenth birthday, and her marriage-date ceremony at the age of sixteen. After the ceremony, Prince Xuan asked the Imperial Astronomical Observatory to calculate a good date, but he rejected all the ones in the past year and insisted on keeping his daughter until she was eighteen.
However, no matter how much they stayed, everyone knew that the two families were already in-laws. Gifts were always given during festivals, and whenever the two families had a banquet, each other would be the guest of honor.
At the beginning of this year, Li Qingping had good news. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the fifth son of Prince Xuan, Hexun, was born. Prince Xuan and his wife were overjoyed, and the emperor even sent someone to inquire about the matter. Seeing this, even though everyone was busy preparing for the new year during the full moon, they still actively put things aside to attend the full moon banquet.
Although Yu Jin's biological mother was recorded in the name of Princess Xuan in the Jade Book, everyone in the Prince of Qin's Mansion now knew the status of Madam Li in the princess' heart. It could be said that even mother and daughter were no different.
Therefore, apart from Prince Xuan's Mansion, the Prince Qin's Mansion was the most proactive in Li Qingping's childbirth. Gifts were sent in like water, and they also came early on the day of the full moon banquet. The Princess of Qin and the wife of the Prince of Qin had a friendly conversation with Li Qingping.
"Speaking of which, this banquet today was hosted by the princess, wasn't it?" The wife of the Prince of Qin sighed, "When I first married into the mansion, I was only about the princess's age. I was completely clueless about these matters. The princess is so capable now, not only because of your good education, but also because she is extremely intelligent. Thankfully, my mother taught me step by step, which has helped me find peace of mind."
Yu Jin was now working as a housekeeper beside Princess Xuan, which was a bit of a practice run. She had also single-handedly organized today's full moon banquet. Although Princess Xuan still had to review everything and confirm everything was correct, it was undeniable that Yu Jin had made every arrangement properly.
Li Qingping smiled and responded with a few humble words.
The Princess of Qin had just been looking at the Crown Prince's wife with a smile, and now she turned to Li Qingping and said, "But I just noticed that the princess seems to have lost some weight. Has she been too busy lately? I have some dietary recipes suitable for young girls to nourish their bodies. Several girls in the family are using them. I'll have someone send them to the princess later. Madam, you know that girls of this age are still growing, and they absolutely cannot be damaged."
Li Qingping thanked her and sighed helplessly, "There's nothing I can do. Although I've been learning housekeeping from her mother for several years, this is my first time organizing a banquet like this. I'm very excited, but I'm also afraid of making mistakes. I have to keep an eye on everything, big and small, and I'm exhausted. The princess and I have tried to persuade her, but the little girl is so strong-willed, so I can only make up for it elsewhere."
The Princess of Qin clapped her hands and said with a smile, "That's right! But a girl with this kind of temperament is good! She won't be easily bullied when she goes out!"
The most satisfying thing about the Prince Qin's Mansion is that they never talk about marrying a princess often, and they never act like a mother-in-law or in-law to Yu Jin and them. They just treat each other as good friends, and they also love Yu Jin as a junior of their good friends.
It wasn't that they didn't value it; on the contrary, they took it very seriously. Even though they were already engaged and had gone through the five rituals, if the man's family kept spreading rumors about it, it would be disrespectful to the girl! A good girl, not yet officially married and the apple of her parents' eyes, why should she bear the name of her fiancé's family? Therefore, the Qin Palace's approach was just right.
As they were talking, Yun Su lifted the curtain and said with a smile, "Our eldest princess is back."
Yu Jin rushed in wearing a peach-pink jacket and a pearl-colored brocade skirt with a ruyi pattern, but her demeanor was dignified, so she looked very chic. As soon as she entered, she greeted the elders: "Aunt, aunt, and the Crown Prince's wife are all well."
The Princess of Qin and the wife of the Crown Prince of Qin both responded with a smile, and the Crown Prince's wife even turned sideways and returned a half-salute.
Li Qingping hurriedly had tea served to her, and personally wiped her sweat with a handkerchief. He said with a smile, "Didn't you just go out to play with those two naughty kids, Ping'an and Cancan? How come you're back so soon?"
Yu Jin's clear voice rang out, hinting at jealousy. "On the way, I met the second, third, and fourth sisters who happened to be going to visit the sisters of the Emperor's uncle! How could those two heartless little girls see so many sisters at once? They immediately forgot about me, the eldest sister! It was clearly them who dragged me out to play in the first place!"
Li Qingping smiled and pointed at her, saying to the Princess of Qin and the other two, "Look how childish she is, even jealous of her own sisters."
Princess Qin smiled lovingly and said, "The princess has a good temper."
Li Qingping asked Yu Jin, "Have all your uncles arrived? Is the banquet about to begin?"
Yu Jin knew everything very well: "The Crown Prince came and left after a while. The Crown Princess didn't come either, saying that she was too busy at the palace to leave. Instead, she sent her personal maid to bring gifts. Eighth Uncle didn't come either. He caught a cold a while ago and was afraid of being sick, so only Eighth Aunt came. The only one who hasn't arrived is Sixth Uncle, but he lives far away, and it's snowy outside, so carriages and horses can't move fast. I guess he'll be here soon."
Li Qingping nodded. The Crown Prince wasn't surprised; the palace was busy with New Year's Eve. It wasn't a big deal that the Eighth Prince, Prince E, wasn't ill. It seemed that even at the end of the year, everyone still gave face to their eldest brother, Prince Xuan.
Since everyone was almost there and ready to start the banquet, the Princess of Qin and the Crown Prince's wife also stood up and took their leave and returned to their seats.
After seeing them off, Li Qingping said to Yu Jin, "Since that's the case, you should also carry your fifth brother to the front, so that they don't have to make another trip later."
He Luo looked like Li Qingping and had a good personality, which made him very lovable. Yu Jin's eyes lit up and she agreed. She quickly instructed the wet nurse to wrap the boy tightly so that he could not get any wind. Then she happily carried He Luo in her arms and left.
Li Qingping looked at them helplessly and smiled. He straightened his clothes and hair and went to join the women at the table.
Since Yuxi's birth, the Prince Xuan's mansion hadn't celebrated a child's wedding in years. The original mother hadn't conceived, and the three new arrivals hadn't shown any signs of pregnancy. Forget about anything else, even a pregnancy pulse hadn't been diagnosed once. Everyone except the three Li sisters was worried, and the demand for pregnancy-preserving medicine at the mansion had increased significantly, but still no good news.
The old ladies were fine, all of them had children, and they knew they were getting older, with Prince Xuan rarely visiting their rooms. Pregnancy was certainly a surprise, but not being able to was simply not fate. Putting aside the princess's status, only Madam Wan and Concubine Li could afford five, six, or seven days of sex each month; everyone else, including Li Qingping, could only get one or two. But everyone had their own children, so for a while, they were happy.
The later selections of Bai, Xiao Liu, and Qian weren't so optimistic. They couldn't match the seniority and favor of the previous ones, and weren't necessarily favored much more. This wasn't going to last long! Furthermore, before they entered the palace, the prince's sons arrived one after another, but after they entered, there was nothing left. How would the outside world view them?
But Li Qingping said that they were still thinking too much. Ever since the rumor came out when Yuxi was one month old, Prince Xuan made a scene and went to the emperor to make a scene. Who would dare to talk bad about Prince Xuan's mansion now?
Over the years, Li Qingping had finally come to understand that Prince Xuan was a very fair person. As long as you behaved well and didn't cause trouble like Concubine Yang, he would give you one child each when the time came. He guaranteed you would have children and grandchildren to enjoy for the rest of your lives. Honestly, Li Qingping felt that meeting a lord like Prince Xuan was quite good. Perhaps it was because he had been raised by the Empress Dowager for a few years as a child.
Calculating the timeline, it seemed like it was about time for Bai and her family to have a child. Li Qingping calculated, and sure enough, one day, he found an excuse to change the spices for Bai and her family. The spices they'd used before weren't harmful, but they weren't conducive to pregnancy. Prince Xuan had the imperial physician specially adjust them, so it wasn't easily visible to outsiders. This was also something Prince Xuan's wife had privately revealed. Back then, not just Li Qingping, but also Concubine Li, Lady Liu, and Lady Zhang were all like this. Lady Wan and Lady Zhao didn't have them when they gave birth to He Yan and Yuzhen, but only later. From beginning to end, only the main courtyard remained unused, a sign of Prince Xuan's respect for his wife.
After Li Qingping found out, he didn't complain, but just sighed. For the royal family, these tactics were nothing.
But unexpectedly, before the Bai family received good news, Li Qingping, who had been watching over Yu Jin and Yu Xi and living a peaceful life, felt dizzy when he stood up to say goodbye one morning.
She collapsed and when she woke up she was told that she was two months pregnant.
Thinking of how the Bai family members had to smile and congratulate her with stiff faces that day, Li Qingping felt that it was God's will.
I hope Prince Xuan will do more to help these girls get pregnant quickly, and stop looking at her with such envy and jealousy. She already has a princess who is about to get married, so stop staring at her belly like that!
However, with the presence of Princess Xuan and Concubine Li, Li Qingping was not affected and stayed at home to take care of her pregnancy.
When she was pregnant with Hexuan, she was different from when she was pregnant with Yuxi. She had all kinds of minor ailments, and felt dizzy, drowsy, and weak in her hands and feet all day long. Princess Xuan and Concubine Li were so scared that they wanted to tie the imperial physician to the house and watch over her day and night to make sure nothing happened to her.
Fortunately, the child got out safely. What a little debt collector, it hurts his mother so much.
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