female concubine

The words of Prime Minister Kuimen attracted a lot of discussion from the officials and family members on the seats on both sides.

"Two upstarts vying for a wife?"

"Fang Xiang is also an upstart, and Kui Xiang is really worthy of losing face."

Huo Qing looked at Zipao, frowned and said, "Have you handed over the marriage letter? I live next to Fang's house, why don't I know?"

"Should a scholar-official family marry a wife and report to Colonel Huo first?"

Staring at what was happening in front of the throne, Mrs. He smiled and said, "Ms. Zhang's attitude of exalting the high and trampling the low is really not reserved at all."

Tai Changqing stroked his beard, "The state emphasizes literature, and even the first emperor did not reverse this situation, which is why these literati and bureaucrats are arrogant."

Mrs. He laughed again: "Mr. Zhang's words have elevated the fight for wives to a confrontation between civil and military. Only the youngest of the four sons of Mrs. Zhang has not yet married. How can the officials not know that they are about to open their mouths? , is the attitude towards civil and military status in the future."

"You, a big girl, it's better to pay more attention to your beloved if you have nothing to do. You shouldn't worry about this kind of state affairs."

He Wenying picked up two identical cups, poured a cup of wine and a cup of tea, and then put the lid on them and switched them, "Daddy choose one."

Tai Changqing looked at the cup brought by his daughter, and reached out to pick a cup casually. When the lid was opened, the aroma of the wine overflowed.

The emperor listened to Prime Minister Kuimen's words, "The woman Huo Qing wants has already entered into a marriage contract..."

"Your Majesty, I am not convinced."

"Then what does Huo Qing want to do?"

"Unless Mrs. Fang is willing to marry Zhang Youshi herself."

"Your Majesty, the matter of children's marriage has been the order of parents and matchmakers since ancient times. Now that the marriage certificate has been issued, I refuse to accept this question."

"I don't want to ask Prime Minister Kui. What I want to ask is Prime Minister Fang's daughter. I don't know what qualifications Prime Minister Kui has to refuse for Miss Fang?"

"Huo Qing, you..."

"Okay." The emperor took a sip of tea, "I am a fair person, and I am tired of hearing too much about the orders of my parents."

The servant bowed and walked backwards from the emperor's side, and immediately went to the prime minister's tent, "Prime Minister Fang."

Fang Zhiyan took a deep breath and turned around, "Your Majesty calls you, your mother taught you etiquette and rules, go."

Fang's blessing came to his father, and followed the servants to the front of the imperial court, "Fang, the daughter of the virtuous minister of slaves, kowtow to Your Majesty."

Then the emperor glanced at the living room man standing beside the throne, "Zhang Qing doesn't need to be so nervous."

Zhang Hou held a thick book and raised his head slightly, "Your Majesty, I..."

"Hush," the emperor said with a hearty smile, "wait for the result."

The emperor turned to look at Fang, and asked: "Did you hear what Captain Shicai Yihui said?"

"Return to Your Majesty, I heard it."

"I'm going to give you a choice now. Guochao doesn't object to women remarrying within the marriage contract. You can choose between Living Sheren and Captain Yihui. Of course, you can choose neither. I don't force others to do anything."

"Your Majesty!" Zhang De was shocked when he heard this.

"Why, doesn't the servant under the door have confidence in his son?" When the emperor asked in a deep voice, he glanced at the officials sitting opposite each other.

Fang raised her head and glanced at the living room beside the emperor, "Return to Your Majesty, no one wants to choose slaves."

After Fang's words came out, there was a burst of chatter from the audience. Hearing Fang's words, Huo Qing was not happy or sad, but the Prime Minister of the Kui family was anxious, "Your Majesty, the Zhang and Fang families have handed in the marriage certificate." ..."

Seeing Fang's desire to speak was interrupted by Prime Minister Kui Men, the Emperor was very displeased and said, "Why didn't Prime Minister Kui wait for Fang Shi to finish speaking?"

Xiang Kuimen shook the hand hidden in his sleeve in panic.

After everyone shut up, Fang continued: "Since the lord has already made the master for the slave, why should the slave choose again."

Zhang Hou held the book and turned her head, raised her head with eyes open and then put it down in frustration. She could have refused the opportunity given by the emperor and thus gained freedom.

"Did Captain Huo hear Miss Fang's words?"

Huo Qing took a deep breath, cupped his hands and said: "I heard it, and I am convinced."

Just when Huo Qing was about to step down, the emperor stood up from the throne, stretched out his hand and said, "Don't worry, fight with me again."

"Does Your Majesty want to personally?"

"The late emperor was fond of playing cuju, and often competed with the generals," the emperor said as he walked down the steps. "I hope you all understand and remember that I, like the late emperor, place equal emphasis on both civil and martial arts. All courtiers are treated equally regardless of their family background."

The courtiers on both sides stood up one after another, bowed to the emperor with folded sleeves and said, "I would like to follow your Majesty's instructions."

After the hustle and bustle in front of the throne dissipated, the Ju field re-entered the competition, and officials from the Department of Driving of the Military Department of the Shangshu Province led two black and white horses from the stable and sent a white horse to the Daming Hall.

At the south end of the Daming Hall sat a group of painters from the Hanlin Academy of Painting, who were painting pictures of "Qianyuan Killing Judgment". Xu Chongju took down the finished paintings and replaced them with new paper.

"If the officials want to tell them their attitude, they don't need to play by themselves." Xiao Youqing took the red skirt and tied it on her forehead for her.

"Take it as exercise. If I make a fool of myself, will my sister come to the rescue?"

"..." After fastening, Xiao Youqing turned around and picked up the armguard held by the servant, "What are the officials talking about?"

"Sister is asking something, girl Cuju," the emperor suddenly grabbed Xiao Youqing's wrist, "only in the inner court."

After grabbing it for a moment, Xiao Youqing stretched out his other hand to open it, and the emperor just stood still obediently.

"Aren't the officials afraid that tomorrow's case table will be filled with letters of impeachment and persuasion, saying that the queen has lost her manners?"

"Is my sister afraid?"

"Officials are not afraid, so there is nothing to be afraid of courtiers and concubines."

After wrapping up the tunic sleeves, the emperor held Xiao Youqing's hand and walked down the steps. Soon there were guards and generals booing together on the field.

"The official family and the sage are singing in harmony. Is the sage going to accompany the official family into battle?"

"You generals look at my outfit, I'm afraid I will hinder the officials."

"The sage is the queen of meritorious service. If Ken compares, I'm afraid it's not as good as other men."

The empress and the generals walked very close, which aroused the indignation of a group of civil servants on the left.

"Emperor Empress, what kind of body will become what kind of body?"

Han Bang poured himself a cup of tea and said with a gentle smile: "The royal family of the country is close to the people. Since Emperor Taizu. Let's have fun together, bow down and ask, how did this act of being close to the people and loving the people become unseemly in the mouths of the scholar-bureaucrats?"

The civil servants under the seat looked at each other and closed their mouths.

The straight scholar sitting next to Han Bang stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Han Jingming is like a fish in water for an official to win half of the imperial court."

Han Bang took out the hand in his sleeve and poured a cup for Zhi Xueshi, "Isn't this court belonged to the official family?"

The straight scholar's hand stroking his long beard stopped suddenly, and then he smiled dryly: "I have lived half my life and became a speechless person in front of Deputy Han Shu."

The emperor smiled at Xiao Youqing in the crowd of people in the Ju field: "Look, San Niang, the kindness is hard to refuse."

Xiao Youqing looked at the generals with embarrassment, and said to the emperor, "Do they want to see it, or do the officials want to see it?"

The emperor leaned forward and said with a smile: "Then...Of course it depends on who the saint wants to see with."

Hearing the whispers in his ears, Xiao Youqing stretched out his hand and gently pushed her away.

The soldiers booed and begged: "Your Majesty's valiant and heroic demeanor, I also want to pay my respects."

Unable to withstand the instigation led by the emperor, Xiao Youqing said helplessly: "The concubine has nothing to do with the official family."

Then Xiao Youqing went to the inner hall to change clothes, and the emperor ordered the driving department to lead the black horse to the Daming Hall. One white and one black were royal horses, which were the empress's mounts, and the queen's black horse was a sweat horse.

"Will Your Highness still perform a bow?" Huo Qing rubbed Xue Jin with his shoulder.

Xue Jinming looked impatient but still explained to him, "Do you know who the saint's father and grandfather are?"

"After the gate..."

"The leader of the 24 heroes in the Huixun Pavilion, his family is even more outstanding than that of his relatives in the heyday of the Northern Liao Dynasty, the Xiao family."

"No wonder, officials can't even compete with swords..." Huo Qing stopped subconsciously, then smiled and said: "I'm talking nonsense, just pretend you didn't hear."

Xue Jin just glanced at him, and then turned his head to stare at the emperor not far away.

A quarter of an hour later, the palace people who surrounded the queen and left returned to the court, but Xiao Youqing changed the red clothes for the banquet into scarlet military uniforms, combed her hair again, and was taller than a woman. Yes, it is simple and clean, and it looks like a general from a distance.

Looking at the heroic woman on the field, He's hand holding the cup froze, "Are you willing?" Putting down the cup, he raised his eyebrows and said, "It's still helpless."

Tai Changqing didn't look back at her daughter's expression, but just stroked her beard and said with a smile: "If Her Royal Highness is a man, she must be an outstanding general."

Xiao Youqing walked up to the emperor and saw her startled look, "What's wrong?"

"Sister really looks good in anything."

"As long as officials can speak."

The servant led the two imperial horses into the bowing arena. The emperor stepped forward and touched the black sweat horse, "These two horses have been trained and have not been ridden yet. I don't know how they are tempered."

"The driving department said that black horses are more docile than white horses."

"That's good."

The emperor helped Xiao Youqing get on the black horse, and then he got on the white horse himself, took the crescent stick ball from the servant and drove the horse to the side of the court near the throne, "Can Zhang Youshi know how to perform the bow?"

Zhang Hou didn't dare to bully the emperor, so he bowed and said, "Return to Your Majesty, I'm afraid I won't be able to get on the stage if I don't study well."

"It's okay, today's competition is just for entertainment."

Zuo Shi, who was not on duty in Japan today, walked from his seat to Zhang Hou's side, took the daily note and said with a smile: "Envoy Zhang You, don't worry."

Holding the reins, Xiao Youqing stroked the neck of the bloody sweat horse and drove it to the emperor's side, "Since it's for entertainment, why don't the officials call a living roomer a woman instead."

"Okay," the emperor turned his head, swept across the seats of the ministers, and paused when he saw Mrs. He beside Tai Changqing.

Xiao Youqing stretched out his hand and put it on the back of the emperor's hand pulling the rein, "Isn't there a fiancée in the daily life, who is good at both civil and military skills, and the concubine heard that Mrs. Fang is also good at both civil and military skills after the general, especially when he is married General Zhang Huai will fight one or two, and his daughter should not be bad."

Since Taizu opened the dynasty, Cuju became popular, and gradually became a favorite entertainment activity of the court and scholar-bureaucrats. Most of the sons and daughters of the gentry family would be able to do it, but they did not show it in front of others. The emperor called out: "Fang Xiang."

Fang's temperament followed his mother's, and he was not the kind of person who would sit quietly and obediently. Fang Zhiyan bowed to the emperor, "I obey the order."

Mrs. Fang walked out of the tent, changed clothes with the palace servants, entered the Jujuba, and said to the two people on the horse: "All blessings to the official family, all blessings to the saints."

Zhang Hou took off his official uniform and put on a narrow one, "This minister's game skills are really bad."

"Don't worry, I do too," the emperor drove his horse to Zhang Hou's side, leaned down and whispered, "Otherwise I wouldn't have thought of calling you here."

Zhang Hou looked like a gentle gentleman, but after hearing the emperor's whisper, he raised his head and asked, "Official?"

The emperor straightened up, "It's fine for you to be as you please, and you don't need to be too rigid. There are only enemies and ourselves in the arena, and there are no emperors, queens and courtiers."

"Yes." Zhang Hou led a horse and walked up to Fang, "I will definitely not win, if you don't mind..."

Fang covered her mouth and said with a smile: "I never thought of winning."

"I'll help you get on the horse."

The author has something to say: Your Majesty wants to brainwash Xiao Zhang! (probably not washable)

Women's cuju was very common in the Song Dynasty. There were special teams and women in the court.

Before the rise of Neo-Confucianism, it was quite good, and there were relevant laws to protect human rights (although it is not comparable to modern times)