Tianliangyuan

Chapter 279 Recruitment

After their conversation, Xu Zhaozhao and Xu Han had a general idea of ​​what their future life would be like.

For the time being, Xie Zheng will remain in Beijing.

However, promotions should still be earned through merit.

So, perhaps next year, her father-in-law will be transferred back, and at that time, who knows what the Xie family will be like.

Xu Zhaozhao hadn't really thought too much about it before her marriage was put on the agenda.

Because her wedding was approaching, Xu Zhaozhao was ordered to stay at home and was no longer allowed to go out freely.

The Duke of Huguo's mansion, also known as the Xie family, has already sent betrothal gifts, which are frighteningly generous.

It was perfectly normal for the future husband's family to send someone to propose marriage, but Xie Zheng came in person.

Besides Xie Zheng, his second uncle and aunt also accompanied him, which shows how much importance they placed on the future bride.

The Marquis's residence also invited several elders, which was considered a courtesy.

Xu Lin was truly envious when she saw so many betrothal gifts.

"This is far too much. Even when Jun Ting gave betrothal gifts to General Li's family, it wasn't this much. And when he gave betrothal gifts to Princess Anhe, it was also quite a bit less, wasn't it?"

The old lady was very satisfied with this; the groom's generous dowry showed how much he valued his future bride.

“Shut up! How can they be the same? The eldest son has three sons and needs to marry three wives, but the Duke of Protectorate only has one son and will only marry once, so it’s understandable that the dowry is more generous.”

Xu Lin pouted: "Mother, is this really possible? Besides, although Xie Xiaolin only has one son, there are quite a few young men in the Xie family. When Xie Dalang and Erlang got married before, they didn't have this much betrothal gift. I reckon that the two families combined didn't have as much as this one."

The old lady pinched her angrily: "If you can't speak properly, then shut up!"

If it weren't for the fact that today was an auspicious day, the old lady really wouldn't want her to come. But she was Zhao Zhao's only aunt, and if she didn't come, there would be gossip outside.

If Xu Lin really comes, she'll never hold her tongue; it's infuriating to hear.

Xu Lin knew the old lady was angry, so she slightly pursed her lips and remained silent for the time being.

It must be said that Xie Zheng's proposal was indeed a big deal.

Xu Zhaozhao was hidden in the back, and the guests outside could not see her.

But she was shocked to see such a grand spectacle just for the betrothal ceremony.

Moreover, she had personally witnessed the betrothal gifts given to her two sisters-in-law. Xie Zheng had indeed sent far too many things; the gift list was so long it dragged on the floor.

There were also so many mahogany chests, with big red flowers tied to them, that they were going to fill the entire front yard.

At this moment, Xu Zhaozhao seemed to have gained a deeper understanding of ancient weddings.

After all, it wasn't her who got married before, so she didn't care much.

But now that I see it with my own eyes, it always seems a little different.

The ancients attached great importance to weddings and marriages, believing that they served the ancestors in the temples above and continued the lineage below, that is, to continue the incense and reproduce offspring. Therefore, gentlemen attached great importance to them.

Xu Zhaozhao thought of all the books on etiquette she had read before, and felt tired even before getting married.

She found it too much trouble.

However, Wang Ruolan's explanation was quite insightful.

"Many of the elaborate rituals in a wedding are meant to highlight the solemnity and grandeur of the ceremony, emphasizing its importance. This is the essence of the ceremony. So many people hope their weddings will be grand and impressive, how come you're complaining about it? I think you're just an ungrateful wretch!"

Xu Zhaozhao shrank back as she thought of her mother's scolding last night; she didn't want to be lectured by her mother again.

Let's be honest.

Today's betrothal ceremony should actually be called a tax payment.

Nazheng, the fourth of the "Six Rites" in ancient Chinese weddings, is a traditional Han Chinese marriage custom. It involves the groom's family sending betrothal gifts to the bride's family, hence it is also known as Xiapin.

Kong Yingda's commentary on the "Book of Rites: The Marriage Ceremony of a Scholar" states: "The presentation of betrothal gifts is the presentation of the betrothal money. 'Preparation' means 'completion.' The betrothal money is presented before the marriage is completed."

The marriage contract is fully established through this ceremony.

In other words, without the betrothal ceremony, there would be no fifth or sixth of the six rites.

Families of the powerful and wealthy are particularly concerned about paying taxes.

The importance of betrothal gifts lies in the form rather than the quantity. In the eyes of many elders, the completion of betrothal gifts marks the end of the engagement stage and is one of the main signs of the establishment of marriage.

This is why some engaged couples, even though they have never held a wedding ceremony, have a woman observe mourning for the man after his death. This is because after the betrothal ceremony, it means that the woman is already the man's woman.

Although the betrothal ceremony is merely a formality and the amount and value of the betrothal gifts are not important, in reality, which family would not want their daughter to receive a generous betrothal gift from the groom's family?

The more generous the betrothal gifts, the higher the woman's status in her future husband's family and the more valued she is by her elders.

This is why Xu Lin and others were so jealous.

In fact, the imperial court's laws also made clear provisions regarding betrothal gifts.

If the families of the bride and groom are not well-off or of low social standing, the betrothal gifts will naturally be less.

However, Xie Zheng and Xu Zhaozhao are both of extraordinary status, and Xie Zheng is an only son who is marrying a county princess, so it is normal for the betrothal gifts to be more elaborate.

"Good heavens, Xie Sanlang actually went out of his way to catch Yanlai, which shows how much he cares about Miss."

After the previous dynasty, wild geese became increasingly rare and difficult to catch, so the term "goose" was later used to replace "wild goose" and became known as "goose-goose".

When the three sons of the Xu family got married, they all used geese.

Now that real wild geese have appeared in the betrothal gifts, it has naturally attracted a lot of onlookers.

It has been far too many years since I've seen a real wild goose used as a betrothal gift.

Even Wang Ruolan and Xu Han found it strange; Xie Zheng was truly capable.

Standing next to Wang Ruolan, Li said with a look of satisfaction, "This Xie Sanlang is a good man. He is willing to put in so much effort to catch geese, which shows that he really cares about our Zhaozhao. Sister-in-law is so lucky, and our Zhaozhao is so lucky to have found such a good husband. Sister-in-law can just wait to enjoy a peaceful life from now on."

Wang Ruolan was also happy.

After all, Xie Sanlang had always acted as if he cared a lot about Zhaozhao, but this time, his actions were different.

The amount of betrothal gifts seemed to be within the prescribed limits, but in reality, several items were piled up in one box. Otherwise, the Ministry of Rites would definitely find fault with them, and the censor would impeach the Xie family.

For example, pearls. If a family's dowry is insufficient, they will specially divide the pearls into several small boxes according to their grade, and then pack them into separate boxes to show that the dowry is large.

However, the Xie family did the opposite. The entire box was filled with pearls, and they had selected only the best ones, categorizing them by color, size, and other factors in small boxes.

If this were any other household, they would feel they were missing out if they didn't pack four or five boxes!