Zhao Liben came to Beijing ahead of time just to get this done, so that Zhao Hao could inherit the fifth branch of the family. This would make Zhang Xianggong feel much more comfortable, and Ye would also have an explanation, which would be good for both of us.

The only one who was not happy was the eldest princess. After all, Li Mingyue's status was there, and the emperor granted her marriage, so no one could take her place as the legal wife. Now that she was divided into five, and everyone became the legal wife, the eldest princess, who had never suffered any loss, would of course feel that she had suffered a loss.

Therefore, Zhao Liben did not allow Zhao Shouzheng to go to Nanjing, and insisted that he go to Beijing together, so that his son could persuade that unreasonable and vicious woman.

Anyway, as soon as Mr. Zhao arrived in Beijing, he went straight to the Princess's Mansion, where he could sleep... oh no, where he could lobby.

He made full use of his strengths, was good at catching the princess's loopholes, was eloquent, explained things in simple terms, worked all night, and devoted himself to the cause... It is said that he was even whipped, but in short, he managed to overcome this difficult problem. The princess finally agreed to the plan of inheriting the throne, but her future grandson must be Zhao Lang's grandson, and there was absolutely no ambiguity about this!

Besides, he couldn't give her the cold shoulder and take her to meet his father-in-law...

Zhao Liben had never expected Xue Ying's child to inherit Zhao Shouzheng's lineage. As for the latter condition, he regarded it as a sexual bribe... and agreed to it.

This matter is certain, and the rest is just a matter of following the process...

~~

On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, the day before the wedding, Emperor Longqing dispatched several groups of people with ceremonial guards and imperial edicts to confer titles on the five brides-to-be.

The journey to the Princess's residence was personally led by the eunuch Meng Chong, who was in charge of the highest standards. He was accompanied by the Minister of Rites Gao Yi and the Imperial Academy Scholar Ding Shimei, who served as the envoy and deputy envoy respectively.

The three of them rode in a carriage and held the imperial seal, with drums and music at the ready, and arrived at the Princess's residence with a grand procession.

In the Princess's Mansion, Lady Liu and Eunuch Ji had already led the palace servants to prepare everything, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

The eldest princess, Li Mingyue and Li Chengen all wore court robes and went out to the gate of the mansion, facing north and bowing to welcome the angel.

The envoy then entered the palace and stood on the right in front of the Yin'an Palace.

The eldest princess and her children also followed in and stood on the left in front of the Yin'an Hall.

Then came the tedious canonization ceremony...

There were two imperial decrees given to Li Mingyue, one of which was an imperial decree to confer the title of Princess Yilan on her.

According to the rules, only the daughter of a prince could be given the title of a princess. Although the eldest princess was of the same rank as a prince, it was the first time in the Ming Dynasty that her daughter could also be given the title of a princess.

As the uncle of his only niece, Emperor Longqing would certainly not be stingy. It was understandable that he would raise Li Mingyue's status.

Li Mingyue knelt down and took from Meng Chong her silver book and the Juyi with gold embroidered 翟 patterns on the chest and back, the Xiapei with gold embroidered cloud and cloud 翟 patterns, and the Qi翟 crown decorated with pearl flowers... These were the princess's court dresses and also the dress she would wear for her wedding tomorrow.

The second decree was to grant marriage, and the elderly and sickly Gao Shangshu, wearing reading glasses, read out the decree tremblingly:

"In ancient times, it was called condescension, which is called intermarriage. When grace is bestowed, the etiquette also changes. Zhao Hao, the Imperial Academy Reviewer and Imperial Training Doctor, is a man of Chinese descent, respectful and kind, gentle, kind, and beautiful. We should order her to marry..."

~~

At the same time, Zhu Dashou, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Shen Shixing, the Left Vice Minister, also came to Dashamao Hutong as the chief and deputy envoys for the enthronement ceremony.

Now the second-in-command of the Ministry of Rites...Yin Shidan, the left assistant minister, resigned in anger, and no one has yet filled this position. Together with Shen Shixing, who is in charge of the Hanlin Academy, they came as envoys to confer the title, and even Zhao Hao didn't have the face to do so.

Yes, only Bu Gu has this face. But it's a pity that Bu Gu still has dark circles under his eyes, which is really embarrassing...

But as his daughter's life was about to begin, he had to show up, so he had to change into first-class court robes and let his wife put on some makeup to cover up his blemishes.

But the dark circles are still quite obvious...

"Your Excellency is suffering from overwork and lack of sleep." Fortunately, the two upright officials are very skilled in flattery and will never embarrass Lord Zhang.

Being flattered by two number one scholars at the same time, it was a very satisfying feeling. Zhang Juzheng was in a very good mood anyway, and laughed loudly, "What virtue have I had to trouble two number one scholars to confer the title on my daughter? Please don't kill her."

"Ah, everyone in Beijing knows that girls can't take the imperial examination, otherwise your daughter would definitely be the top female scholar." Zhu Dashou was the second in the joint examination and the first in the palace examination in the 35th year of Jiajing, exactly the same as Shen Shixing's results. With such a combination of canonizations, it's no wonder that Mr. Zhang was so happy.

So he asked Gu to call his daughter out to listen to the seal.

Soon, Gu, with the increasingly beautiful Zhang Xiaojing, came to the front of the hall and knelt to receive the imperial edict.

"The Emperor

The system says:

I have heard that the pure and kind are born from heaven, and that they are gentle and kind. They should learn the rules and precepts of history and should follow the chastity of the boudoir. Your daughter, the Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng, is named Xiaojing. She is virtuous and prudent, and is a model for the boudoir. It is appropriate to promote her virtues, and hereby grant her the title of a third-rank lady as a reward.

So decreed! "

Zhang Juzheng and his family were all shocked. Although the rank of a lady of noble birth was in name only and she only enjoyed the rank but not the salary, she was still flattered to be directly granted the third-rank imperial edict.

"Zhang Shuren, why don't you thank the emperor and accept his decree?" Zhu Dashou reminded her with a smile.

Zhang Xiaojing looked at her father, not daring to make her own decision. This year she has been acting like a good girl, as if the one who was crying, making a fuss, and going upstairs was not her.

"The reward is too great, my daughter cannot afford it." Zhang Juzheng declined.

"To tell you the truth, my husband, the ministry originally planned to give your daughter the title of a fifth-rank consort." Zhu Dashou explained, "Because the emperor has promoted your son-in-law to the rank of a fifth-rank training doctor. So according to the custom of following the husband, your daughter should be given the title of a fifth-rank consort."

"It makes sense." Zhang Juzheng frowned slightly and asked, "Why?"

"This is what your majesty and the imperial concubine want," Zhu Dashou replied. Imperial edicts and imperial decrees are first written by the Ministry of Rites according to regulations, and then given to the Hanlin Academy for writing after the emperor's approval, and then copied by the cabinet's secretaries, and finally sealed.

"Your Majesty said that if Young Master Zhao does not take up official duties, your daughter may not be able to become a first-rank lady in the future. It is better to give her a higher title."

Not all imperial decrees were about wives being honored by their husbands. The emperor could also directly confer titles on virtuous women to show his appreciation... Of course, the title of "virtuous woman" was totally inappropriate for Zhang Xiaojing. It was just an excuse to not be restricted by Zhao Hao's rank.

Zhang Juzheng was one of Longqing's most beloved teachers. If you don't look at the monk's face, look at the Buddha's face. Well, Zhao Hao's face is not small either, it's all made of real money. In short, Longqing praised Zhang Xiaojing and promoted her to the fourth rank of Gongren.

"But somehow the Imperial Concubine heard about this. She said that Mr. Zhang had made great contributions to the country and that the country would still rely on him in the future. How could the court be so stingy? As a result, your daughter was promoted two levels and became a third-rank lady." Zhu Dashou envied her by her real name, "My wife was just a lady..."

"Hey, her instant success was a reward from the Emperor and the Empress, but your wife earned it step by step, so it's different." Zhang Juzheng waved his hand in a good mood and said, "Besides, if she follows that boy, her life as a virtuous woman will end. Your wife, however, will receive a first-class imperial decree in a few years, which is the real success."

Mr. Zhang is too Versailles because the lady next to him, Gu, is a first-rank lady.

However, he had already vaguely guessed that the reason why the Imperial Concubine suddenly showed her kindness to him was definitely not because he was handsome, but because of her good friend Feng Bao.

"I wonder what that guy is up to?" Zhang Juzheng was a little distracted, and suddenly remembered that Feng Bao had gone to Zhaojia Hutong to deliver the imperial edict. He thought to himself that maybe he would tell that evildoer about it...

He was so lost in thought that he didn't even pay attention to the imperial edict granting the marriage.

I don’t want to listen either!

~~

Zhaojia Hutong.

Feng Bao had already finished reading the imperial edict promoting Zhao Hao to the rank of fifth-rank Fengxun doctor, and then he said with a smile, "Please ask the bride to come out and receive the title?"

"Okay, I'll listen to you, eunuch." Zhao Hao nodded and whispered a few words. The guard then quickly went out and invited Jiang Xue in.

After she knelt down in front of the incense table, Feng Bao read out the imperial edict granting her marriage and making her a concubine. He also gave her a jacket and shawl with cloud and mandarin duck patterns, a mandarin duck bun, and a gold-plated and silver-plated flower pendant, as a fifth-rank formal dress for the auspicious occasion tomorrow.

After Jiang Xueying thanked the emperor calmly and left, it was Ma Xianglan's turn to step forward and receive the title.

Sister Ma's face was calm, but Zhao Hao could see the fear in her eyes...

Zhao Hao gave her an encouraging look, and Ma Xianglan smiled sweetly. She looked elegant and calm, but in fact she was still very nervous.

The factory manager had a sharp eye. Feng Bao could see Ma Xianglan's panic at a glance.

He knew more about Zhao Hao than Zhao Hao imagined. He knew that Ma Xianglan was originally a prostitute on the Qinhuai River, and that Zhao Hao had followed him since he was fourteen years old, and that she had walked step by step to the present day and was conferred the title of a noblewoman. It was indeed like a dream and lacked a sense of reality. Even if she had extraordinary psychological qualities, she would still be terrified...

Feng Bao put away his thoughts and read out the imperial decree granting Ma Xianglan the marriage and the title of the sixth-rank Anren. He also gave her a jacket and a shawl with cloud and sparrow patterns, a mandarin duck bun, a silver pendant with inlaid flowers, and other formal attire for the sixth rank as auspicious attire for tomorrow's wedding.

After Ma Xianglan thanked her and left, the last person to come in was Qiaoqiao.

Qiaoqiao's awkwardness was written all over her face. She stood outside the door, unable to move her legs. She had to wait for Zhao Hao to hold her hand before she dared to go into the house.

'A breakfast vendor...' Feng Bao couldn't help but sneer secretly, thinking that Master Zhao's menu was quite broad, ranging from royal families and young ladies to female businesswomen, famous Qinhuai prostitutes and beautiful girls from ordinary families. He really had a broad mind.

But on second thought, isn't this exactly where he can make friends? 'Change wives when rich, change friends when noble' is the norm. How many people can remember their friends from the poor and never divorce their wives?

Thinking of this, he smiled what he thought was a gentle smile. But the old spy's smile was even more terrifying, so it was better not to smile...

After Qiaoqiao knelt down under the guidance of Zhao Hao, Feng Bao read out the imperial edict granting her marriage and conferring her the title of seventh-rank lady, and then gave her a formal dress, which was the same for the sixth and seventh ranks.

In this way, Mr. Zhao’s five wives were all registered as ladies of honor by the Ministry of Personnel.

Oh, no, the little princess is from the royal family...