Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1205 Epilogue : The Princess Deals with Her Parents-in-law
Although Wang Yitong spoke tough, she was actually scared when it came to meeting the princess.

He didn't even go to the real princess's house, but just visited the princess's suburban estate. He already started to feel uneasy when he approached the estate.

She was afraid that she would offend the princess and cause her son to suffer more humiliation after marriage.

"Is this all the princess's land?" Xie Yiqun asked.

Xie Yan explained: "Most of the land in the suburbs of Beijing is occupied by the descendants of the founding nobles. When the late emperor reorganized the army, he confiscated the property of some nobles who disobeyed the imperial order and exiled them, and all their houses and lands became the imperial property. Among them, 5,000 acres of land and a suburban mansion were given to the princess seven years ago. But the property rights of the land and houses belong to the royal family and will be taken back in the future."

Wang Yitong was amazed and said, "Five thousand acres of land in the suburbs of Beijing, the late emperor really doted on the princess."

"Indeed," Xie Yan did know about this, "Normally, at most one or two thousand acres are granted. Often, land is granted verbally, but the actual land is not visible at all. The rent income is converted into money and distributed, just like the food and property of nobles."

Wang Yitong felt even more depressed because the girl her son was going to marry was the richest princess since the founding of the Ming Dynasty!
How can I not have a bad temper?
As he spoke, the carriage slowly stopped.

Xie Yiqin asked: "Did we go the wrong way? This is the main entrance."

"When my uncle and aunt come to visit in the future, can they still go through the side door?" Xie Yan said with a smile.

Wang Yitong felt that she had gained face, and her impression of the princess slightly improved. She nodded and praised, "She is also a reasonable person."

When they just entered the village, someone had already gone in to report.

At this moment, Qingluan led the servants and stood at the door to greet them, and saluted the couple respectfully.

Xie Yan introduced: "This is the princess' personal maid Qingluan, who grew up with the princess. They are like sisters."

The couple hurriedly returned the greeting, not daring to show any disrespect or neglect.

Enter the gate and continue walking inside.

They entered another door and saw a woman with a golden crown on her head, a long dress that trailed on the ground, and a graceful and elegant temperament, standing there with several personal maids.

The princess actually went to the outer courtyard to greet him in person?

Xie Yiqin and Wang Yitong hurriedly stepped forward to bow and greet them. No matter what people had said behind their backs yesterday, they did not dare to have any other thoughts at this moment.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, they still had to kneel and kowtow, and it was only during the Ming Dynasty that the kneeling ceremony was abolished.

The kneeling ceremony is abolished, but the hierarchy remains, and other etiquette has been used to supplement it.

So the opportunists borrowed the allusions in Zuo Zhuan and invented a kind of worship called "bowing", which means squatting down with both hands on the ground, lowering the head, but not really kneeling.

To be honest, the posture is quite ugly.

But it satisfied the vanity of those in power, and so the custom of bowing became more and more widespread, especially among the common people when they met officials.

Forty years ago, a local official was summoned individually by Emperor Dingtai when he returned to Beijing to report on his work because of his outstanding political achievements.

This official was very interesting. He bowed when he saw Emperor Dingtai, and deliberately stuck his butt high, almost like a sprinter's ready position.

Emperor Dingtai was furious: "You are an official appointed by the imperial court, but you don't read the "Ming Dynasty Code - Li Lu"?"

The official said, "Only when the common people see the officials like this can the government's majesty be demonstrated. Only when I bow to Your Majesty can the majesty of the royal family be demonstrated."

"How can such an ugly bow be dignified? You might as well just kneel down!" Emperor Dingtai became even angrier.

The official said, "If I kneel down, it will violate the "Ming Dynasty Code - Etiquette Code". Nowadays, not only ordinary people bow when they see an official, but even subordinates bow when they see their superiors. When I was young, I was ignorant and did not bow when I saw my superiors, so I was hated for it. I have been in the officialdom for many years, and now I am much more stable. Today, I am fortunate to be summoned by Your Majesty, and I must not make the same mistake as when I was young."

Emperor Dingtai finally came to his senses and asked the official to stand up and speak, and rewarded him with a set of brocade clothes. The next day, he issued an imperial decree that no one was allowed to bow again, especially subordinates who met their superiors. Once the facts were verified, they would be dismissed directly.

What to do?
In addition to the three etiquettes of bowing, bowing and long bowing, there must be another etiquette to fill the gap.

So people made some modifications to the bowing ritual.

You don’t need to squat directly, but you need to bend your waist very deeply and bend your legs slightly. Your hands no longer need to touch the ground, but you need to raise them high and then bow very low.

Simply put, it is a bent-leg version of Changyi!

At this moment, Xie Yiqun and Wang Yitong, a couple, are performing this modified version of the bowing posture.

It is very common in official circles, but generally not used in formal occasions, and will not be used within the fifth rank, and it is strictly prohibited in public places in the capital.

Take Xie Yiqin, the prefectural magistrate, for example. He would usually only bow when he met the heads of the three provincial departments.

If it were an official with a strong personality, he would not bow to anyone. This has become a way for some officials to show their integrity, which is likely to offend some senior officials, but will also be widely praised by people.

Straight-legged county magistrate, straight-legged prefect...it means that they cannot bend their legs to bow.

If Zhu Ming could live to this day, he would probably be at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

"No need for such a big gift!"

Zhu Tangxi quickly asked the maid to help the couple up.

Xie Yan was speechless. He had already told his parents in advance, but he still bowed to the princess when he met her.

After the couple stood up straight, Zhu Tangxi bowed in a very upright manner.

Xie Yiqin and Wang Yitong both felt very honored when they saw this.

Because as a princess, she only needs to nod in return. If she bows slightly, it will show her respect.

At this moment, the princess performed a standard bow.

When Zhu Tangxi turned around to welcome them in, Xie Yiqin nodded quietly to his wife, and Wang Yitong also winked and smiled at her husband.

Xie Yiqin thought: As expected of a royal noble, he is so polite and doesn't put on airs at all.

Soon, they felt that their son was impolite.

After he sat down, Xie Yan seemed to be back home, leaning back in his chair and relaxing too much. "Ahem!" Xie Yiqin coughed twice, reminding his son to sit up straight.

Xie Yan didn't seem to understand. He ate the grapes brought by the maid and said, "These grapes are very sweet."

Zhu Tangxi said, "This is a fine variety grown in our own manor, imported from the Western Regions, and has just matured recently. If Liu Lang likes it, I will send more over, but it will take a few more days for a large amount to mature."

"That's great." Xie Yan said bluntly.

The couple finally realized that their son and the princess did have a good relationship.

Xie Yiqin said: "My son does not know etiquette. If I behave in a disrespectful manner in the future, I hope Your Highness will forgive me."

Zhu Tangxi smiled and said, "Your Excellency is overthinking. Liu Lang is very polite."

The princess actually called me "Sir"?
Xie Yiqin felt elated for a moment, his vanity was greatly satisfied, and he felt that this future daughter-in-law was too respectful to the elders!
The greetings just now took place in the outer courtyard, so the princess addressed Xie Yiqun by his title out of courtesy and addressed Wang Yitong as "Madam Wang".

Now that we are in the inner hall, we just call them "Sir" and treat them as our own elders.

Wang Yitong was also smiling at the moment. She didn't care if her son got bullied after marriage. As long as the daughter-in-law respected her parents-in-law, it would be fine. The princess was a good and polite child. If her son was disobedient, the princess should discipline him.

Qingluan brought two gift boxes.

Zhu Tangxi said, "This is our first meeting, and I don't know what you two adults like. I asked Liu Lang, but he didn't know either. I just took the initiative to choose two things, but I don't know if they will suit your tastes."

"Your Highness is interested."

The couple quickly stood up, took the gift and thanked him, but they didn't want to open it to see what was in front of him.

Zhu Tangxi added, "Yesterday the Queen Mother sent someone to announce that the wedding ceremony will be held as normal for the princess. When the time comes, the etiquette will be more complicated, so I would like to trouble you two elders to practice with the etiquette officer for two days."

"It's our duty. Such a great gift cannot be wasted." Xie Yiqin said quickly.

Although Wang Yitong often scolds her husband, she behaves gently and virtuously when they are out. Her husband usually does all the talking while she listens quietly beside him.

A normal princess's wedding would be to leave the palace and go directly to the princess's house to get married.

The ceremony was very grand, usually the empress or concubine, led by the imperial concubines in the capital, personally escorted the princess out of the palace. Then a noble concubine (the highest-ranking concubine) led by the imperial concubines in the capital, escorted the princess from outside the palace to her residence.

But it is much simpler for a princess to remarry.

Because the princess who remarried no longer lived in the palace, there was no need for the queen and concubines to see her off from the palace.

The current situation is that Empress Dowager Ye gave Zhu Tangxi enough face and held a grand ceremony as a princess's first wedding. Before the wedding, Zhu Tangxi had to move back to the palace to live, and the various procedures of the wedding had to change accordingly.

It was our first meeting and I didn’t know what to talk about.

Xie Yan could only make some small talk to warm up the atmosphere, and the couple just listened with a smile most of the time.

Soon they went to the dining room. At Xie Yan's request, this lunch was not grand. Only a table of home-cooked dishes was prepared, and no gold, silver or jade items were used.

Low-key, yet luxurious.

Because those porcelain dishes and rice are more valuable than gold, silver and jade!

Zhu Tangxi subconsciously wanted to pick up some food for Xie Yan, but just as she was about to do so, she came to her senses and pretended nothing had happened and put the food back into her own bowl.

Xie Yiqun didn't notice this action, he was observing the table full of porcelain.

It was just celadon and white porcelain, and looked very plain and elegant. But Xie Yiqin knew what was good, and he had seen similar porcelain before, and the owner of the porcelain had even introduced it in detail, as if to show off.

Wang Yitong, however, always paid attention to the princess and was very aware of her every move.

Zhu Tangxi put the dish back into his own bowl and looked guiltily at Xie Yan's parents, and happened to meet Wang Yitong's gaze.

At this moment, both women laughed.

After lunch, the princess took a rest and talked about the betrothal gifts. She would not interfere with the Xie family's gift list, but would send a useful person to help the Xie family buy gifts in Luoyang.

In the afternoon, Xie Yan took his parents and said goodbye.

He returned to the Li family's courtyard, while his parents returned to the inn.

There were many things to do next. First, he had to visit Minister Chen's home. After all, Xie Hong and Xie Yan had lived in the Minister's residence for a while. By the way, Xie Yiqin went to see Minister Chen to do some official business.

Preparing the betrothal gifts also takes a lot of time.

The couple couldn't wait to open the gift box in the carriage before returning to the inn.

The gift Xie Yiqin received was quite heavy, in the physical sense, as there was a set of books in the box.

After carefully reading the title page, Xie Yiqin's eyes lit up instantly, and his voice trembled: "It's a copy of the Collected Works of Fan Wenzheng from the end of the Song Dynasty! Although it's not copied by a famous calligrapher, this calligraphy and appearance... You can't buy it even if you have money!"

Wang Yitong was also playing with the gift she received, a golden and jade crown.

"There is really not a single flaw in this princess." Xie Yiqun sighed repeatedly.

Wang Yitong smiled and said, "Liu Lang will be blessed in the future. He hasn't even gotten married yet, but the princess is acting like a young wife. Did you see during the meal that the princess wanted to pick up some food for Liu Lang? She must have done that often and is used to it, just like a mother taking care of her son."

Then he said with some jealousy: "How can this be called marrying a princess? This is marrying a mother."

Xie Yiqin laughed: "After all, the princess is older, how can she take care of others? Now you are not afraid that your son will be angry, right?"

Wang Yitong sighed, "I'm afraid that he'll have a new mother and forget his old one. The son I've raised for more than ten years will be given away for nothing. He can only live in Princess House in the future, and the whole family can't live under the same roof."

"How can you take all the good things in the world?" Xie Yiqun said.

Thinking about how her son could win the princess's heart and even how the princess treated her with respect, Wang Yitong felt proud again: "My son is really promising!"

(There is only one update today.)
(End of this chapter)