plumnovel Chapter 43: The Birth of the Big-Faced Baby, the Wedding Ceremony
Chapter 43: The Birth of the Big-Faced Baby, the Wedding Ceremony
Lin Ruhai was very suspicious after receiving the imperial decree, wondering why the empress would bestow a marriage upon him.
Prince Chung-cheng, however, treated it as an important matter.
He found a matchmaker to propose marriage to the Rongguo Mansion, and the Rongguo Mansion had no reason to refuse, so the marriage was quickly settled.
Of course, the three letters and six rites cannot be completed in a short time, but there is no rush.
Lin Ruhai only learned the reason when Xia Chengzong returned home on his day off.
It turns out that the Rongguo Mansion took the initiative to request the Empress.
Jia Min, the daughter of the Rongguo Mansion?
Lin Ruhai suddenly thought of the girl he had glimpsed briefly, and felt a sense of loss.
Enough, enough, I'm afraid we're destined to be together but not to stay together in this life.
The next day, Prince Zhongzheng's mansion hosted a banquet for the top scholar Su Wenyuan, with Lin Ruhai, the third-ranked scholar, in attendance.
It was only at this point that Xia Chengzong belatedly learned of the situation.
It turns out that this top scholar, Su Wenyuan, was actually the grand-nephew of the princess's family. Although they were not from the same lineage, they were very close.
This piqued Xia Chengzong's curiosity.
He knew that the princess's surname was Su, but he did not know the extent of the Su family's power.
After all, no one had mentioned it to him, so he couldn't very well ask.
At least, after the Prince's Mansion was reopened, no one from the Su family came to visit.
The princess had never returned to her parents' home—at least not before he entered the main hall to study, otherwise he would have known.
At the time, Xia Chengzong even speculated that perhaps the princess's family had declined, otherwise, why would they no longer have any contact?
Xia Chengzong never expected that the Su family would produce a top scholar.
The top scholar was a few years younger than Uncle Lin.
When the princess saw Su Wenyuan, she took his hand and wept with joy.
Su Wenyuan was polite and his demeanor was that of a great man.
However, Xia Chengzong could sense the arrogance of this top scholar, and even see the occasional flashes of disdain in his eyes.
This guy actually looks down on the royal family?
Xia Chengzong was immediately incredulous.
What is your background? How dare you look down on royalty?
Well, ancient families with a thousand-year-old tradition really have the right to look down on nouveau riche royal families.
For example, the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families of the Tang Dynasty looked down on the imperial Li family. When the royal family wanted to form a marriage alliance with the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, they resolutely refused.
Could it be that the Su family is also a family with a thousand-year-old lineage?
Xia Chengzong discovered that this top scholar was quite close to Lin Ruhai, the third-ranked scholar.
They also treated this child prodigy with some respect.
It seems that he only looks down on his father.
This is quite difficult to assess...
Xia Chengzong was still a child and not old enough to drink alcohol, so he did not need to accompany him.
In his own courtyard, Xia Chengzong began to ponder.
This Su family seems to be quite extraordinary; I should probably do some research on them.
He is still short of manpower, and the only people he can really use are the four eunuchs from the east, west, south, and north.
These four young eunuchs were not fully trained and did not have the ability to stand on their own.
After thinking it over, Xia Chengzong decided to get straight to the point and simply ask his father for the information.
That evening, Xia Chengzong went to see Prince Zhongzheng.
After dismissing his servants, Xia Chengzong inquired about the Su family.
Prince Chung-cheng said, "Even if you hadn't asked, I was just about to tell you about the Su family."
"The Su family is a powerful clan in Guanzhong. Back then, your grandfather arranged this marriage with the Su family in order to win them over in order to build up the Northwest."
"The Su family was actually unwilling to go through with this marriage and even delayed for some time, but in the end they had no choice but to agree."
"Of course, your mother is an excellent person, incomparable to the Su family."
"The Su family is extremely arrogant, and they even look down on my father."
"After our Prince's Mansion was unsealed, the Su family did not send anyone to visit, nor did they send any gifts."
"And this is probably related to the Crown Prince's attitude towards my Prince's residence."
"The Crown Prince is cold towards my palace. They probably fear that they will be implicated after the Crown Prince ascends the throne, so they have begun to distance themselves from us."
"This time, if it weren't for your mother's repeated invitations and the fact that your Uncle Lin is staying at our house, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to invite this top scholar!"
Hearing this, Xia Chengzong finally understood the whole story.
First, the Su family is a powerful and influential family in the Guanzhong Plain.
Secondly, this is a political marriage, a forced union.
Third, the Su family looked down on the father and judged that he was definitely not destined for the throne.
The father has now become a marginal figure, and in order to avoid being resented by the new king, they have simply begun to distance themselves from the royal palace and sever ties with it.
For now, this information is sufficient.
Xia Chengzong kept these things in mind and then instructed Xia Bei to secretly search for information about the Su family.
A few days later, Lin Ruhai bought a three-courtyard house and bid farewell to Prince Zhongzheng.
Even the best of friends and relatives shouldn't stay at someone else's house for too long.
Otherwise, the nature of the problem would change.
After achieving the third-highest rank in the imperial examination, Lin Ruhai entered the Hanlin Academy as a compiler. As an official in the capital, he naturally had to reside there for an extended period.
Therefore, after achieving the third-highest rank in the imperial examination, he sent someone back to bring his uncle to the capital.
Furthermore, a house is needed for marriage in the future.
Therefore, Prince Chung-machi did not try to persuade him to stay.
He gave Lin Ruhai many things and sent people to help him settle into his house.
……
During this period, Xia Chengzong settled down and became more at ease.
On this day, he heard something interesting.
In the Rongguo Mansion of the Jia family, when a boy was born, he had a piece of jade in his mouth, which was quite unusual. People said that he was destined for great fortune.
Upon hearing this, Xia Chengzong couldn't help but smile knowingly.
This is the birth of a baby with a big face!
A few days later, Uncle Lin Ruhai was brought to the capital.
Prince Zhongzheng chose a day when Xia Chengzong was on leave and took several children to visit the Lin family.
Unexpectedly, his uncle, being elderly, contracted typhoid fever during the bumpy boat ride and fell ill.
Prince Chung-jung helped to summon a royal physician, but it was still no use.
Before his death, his uncle only wanted to see Lin Ruhai settle down and start a family.
Therefore, Lin Ruhai had no choice but to send a matchmaker to his door, hoping to marry Jia Min as soon as possible to bring good luck.
In this era, the act of "chongxi" (a type of auspicious event) has two meanings. The first is when an elderly family member is seriously ill and unable to recover.
Getting married and celebrating a happy occasion might just bring good luck and perhaps things will improve.
Secondly, once an elder passes away, the man must observe mourning and cannot marry, so as not to delay his marriage.
Therefore, it would be better to marry him before he dies, so as not to waste several years.
The Jia family was not very willing to accept this.
But for the sake of his daughter's happiness, he finally agreed.
Prince Zhongzheng stepped in to help him with the arrangements, and half a month later, Lin Ruhai officially married Jia Min.
On this day, Xia Chengzong again begged Emperor Yonglong to let him go see the excitement.
Emperor Yonglong agreed.
Xia Chengzong witnessed the spectacular scene of wealthy families marrying off their daughters in this era.
The Jia family truly doted on their youngest daughter. When she got married, they provided a dowry of 128 loads, a truly magnificent procession stretching for miles.
Such a grand display is rare even in the capital.