Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1206 Epilogue : The Prince Consort’s Exclusive Equipment – ​​Golden Reins, Silver Saddle, Jade Whip

The day after Xie Yan was taken by his parents to meet Minister Chen, the house arranged for the Xie family to temporarily live in was delivered.

The address is in Xicheng District, Luoyang, and the original owner was the last prime minister of the Dingtai Dynasty.

The prime minister did not actually participate in the coup himself.

He is old, so even if he supports Prince Yong's coup, what benefit can he get? If it fails, it will implicate the entire family.

But he didn't stand up to stop it and kept pretending to be deaf and dumb.

He wanted to stay out of the matter and protect himself, but he also hoped not to offend the new emperor and leave some connections for his children and grandchildren.

During the period when Emperor Dingtai was seriously ill, the prime minister always claimed to be ill and could not go out.

He had a plan in mind: no matter who would become the new emperor, he would wait until the dust settled before recovering from his illness. After all, he was the prime minister, and he had to preside over the new monarch's coronation ceremony.

Moreover, no matter who becomes the new emperor, he, the old prime minister, will have to leave!

This guy has been staying in Luoyang pretending to be sick, just wanting to gain credit for supporting the new monarch before retiring and leave a sufficient political legacy for his children and grandchildren.

Then, he was betrayed by Prince Yong and his cronies.

Prince Yong concealed the news of the Crown Prince's escape, and hinted that the Crown Prince and his mother had been placed under house arrest, in order to deceive all the civil and military officials in the court to come and support him.

As expected, the Prime Minister was fooled. At the critical moment, he suddenly recovered from his illness and personally presided over the enthronement ceremony of Prince Yong.

On the second day after the new king ascended the throne, the prime minister submitted a letter of resignation to make room for the real confidant of Prince Yong, and in exchange for the promotion of his own son.

Before the trick of three requests and three resignations was completed, the Crown Prince and his mother sent a telegram from Chang'an to request the king's support.

The prime minister was completely confused, but he had no way out and could only follow Prince Yong to the end. He actively contacted civil and military officials across the country, announced that the crown prince in Chang'an was a fake, and promoted and granted titles to the generals leading troops in various places.

When Empress Dowager Ye returned with her son, the old prime minister committed suicide out of fear of crime before the army even approached Luoyang.

It is said that before he died, he cried out in tears: "I am ashamed of my life!"

Although the prime minister committed suicide, his family was implicated because he was considered the second most traitorous minister after King Yong. All his descendants, brothers, and nephews were executed. All his nephews, cousins, nephews, and nephews were exiled. All the women in their families were sent to serve as wives in the bitter cold frontier troops.

As for the property of the prime minister and his brothers and cousins, their floating assets would naturally be confiscated, but their fixed assets would be more manageable.

The same process was followed for the disposal of property of the other rebels who were beheaded or exiled: floating assets were confiscated and fixed assets were auctioned off. The real estate and land in the capital were taken over by the royal family. All other fixed assets were divided up by the new nobles of the court through "auctions".

To the upstarts, investigating the rebels and those who assisted them was like a feast for the tyrants!
Fortunately, those important cabinet ministers took the overall situation into consideration and were afraid of implicating too many people and causing chaos, otherwise, who knows how many "remnants" would be involved.

However, many people slipped through the net, such as the white gloves hidden by the rebels, who quietly embezzled certain assets. The rebels' hidden shares in some large companies were also embezzled by other shareholders.

Xie Yan also temporarily moved into the former prime minister’s private residence. This house belonged to the royal family and it was estimated that it would be bestowed on a prince in the future.

After the young emperor grants the marriage, the imperial edict will be sent soon.

Fast for three days, bathe and change clothes.

An imperial messenger arrived with eunuchs and officials. The three members of the Xie family burned incense and set up a table to receive the emperor's order.

"The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Fengtian Yingmin, proclaimed: The relationship between husband and wife is the most important human relationship. Marriage should be arranged at the right time, which is the most important thing in etiquette... I now order you, Xie Yan, to be the commander of the imperial son-in-law. You should uphold the principles of a husband, not show favoritism or disrespect, and always keep his family in good order, in order to show your love for him. Follow my words and do not be lazy..."

"I accept the order and thank you!"

This was the first time Xie Yan knelt down and kowtowed since he traveled through time, and he was kneeling down to the imperial edict on the incense table.

In addition to the imperial edict, there are also rewards for marriage (engagement).

A jade belt, a brocade robe, a set of horse harness, an official seal, millions of taels of money, and hundreds of pieces of silk.

Xie Yan must wear the jade belt and brocade clothes on the wedding day.

Horse harnesses will also be used on the wedding day, especially the golden reins and silver saddles to highlight the consort's status as a princess consort.

A huge amount of money is used to prepare the betrothal gifts.

Hundreds of rolls of silk and satin were used to sew clothes for the relatives of the Xie family to wear on the wedding day.

After the rewards were counted correctly, Xie Yiqin warmly entertained the team that came to deliver the imperial edict. He had already prepared many red gift boxes, which were said to contain tea, but actually contained silver dollars and copper coins.

Passengers, eunuchs, and officials each received a copy, and their attitude towards the Xie family became even more enthusiastic. They happily returned to the imperial city to report.

After the imperial edict team left, Wang Yitong grabbed the golden reins and silver saddle and touched them.

Women just like shiny things.

Xie Yiqun's attention was on the official seal of the son-in-law.

The Duke of Fuma was a second-rank official, equivalent to the first-rank official, and not a noble title.

If attending a formal occasion, the prince consort and the dukes and marquises would stand together.

They would have even more face during sacrifices, and the more favored princes-in-law would often even serve as the main priest on behalf of the emperor.

"Second rank!"

Xie Yiqin gently stroked the official seal of the son-in-law of the emperor. This was his only chance to touch the official seal of the second rank in his life.

After stroking for a while, Xie Yiqin suddenly shouted, "Close the door and say goodbye to visitors! If any guests come to visit, just say you are busy buying betrothal gifts and will not receive any guests before the wedding."

A guest has arrived.

This private residence of the former prime minister had been uninhabited for four years, and it was suddenly cleaned up a few days ago. The neighbors, who were either rich or noble, would naturally send people to inquire about it secretly.

Today, a messenger came to announce the emperor's decree, officially granting the marriage, and people who bring gifts will arrive soon.

There was no need to make friends with other consorts, nor was there any need to make friends with them, but the consort of the Grand Princess of Qin was an exception. Who didn't know that Zhu Tangxi was the best friend of Queen Mother Ye?

Outside the side door, six or seven families who had sent gifts had gathered.

Those who hold official positions or titles usually do not show up in person, but instead send their servants to deliver gifts to avoid the embarrassment of being turned away.

If a wealthy businessman gives a gift, he often comes in person.

Xie Quan, the old servant brought by Xie Yiqin, posted a note on the door in front of the gift-givers: "I am busy and anxious preparing the betrothal gifts. I will not receive any guests before the wedding."

After pasting the note, the old servant bowed to the gift givers and said, "My husband appreciates your kindness. But I have been very busy these days. I hope you will forgive me for my impoliteness. Please take back your gifts."

Gifts can be taken back, but visiting cards must be accepted, otherwise it would be a slap in the other person's face.

One of the wealthy merchants said as he handed over the invitation: "I am a cloth merchant. If you want to buy a betrothal gift, you can come to my shop. We have all kinds of silk and satin."

The old servant took the visiting card and said, "I will definitely pass it on."

Another wealthy businessman sent a visiting card saying, "My family deals in furs. We have mink from the Northeast, deerskin from Taiwan, cashmere from the Great Wall, and carpets from the Western Regions. We have everything you need!"

"I will definitely tell you."

The old servant accepted all the visiting cards, bowed again to apologize, and sent everyone away with a smile.

The three wealthy businessmen asked their servants to take the gifts back, and they went to a restaurant to chat.

After entering the private room upstairs, they started gossiping before the food and drinks were served.

"I heard from an acquaintance in the Zongzheng Temple that the Grand Princess will hold the ceremony according to the first marriage ceremony this time."

"Hey, I heard that too."

"Doesn't that mean we have to move back to the palace for a while?"

"That's for sure."

"This Xie family's sixth son has really soared to the sky."

"My in-laws said it was a pity for Xie Liulang. He knew more news in the Ministry of Industry. Xie Liulang first discovered damping, and recently he seemed to have improved cement. Both of these were highly valued by the Ministry of Industry. My in-laws said that if Xie Liulang worked in the Ministry of Industry, he would probably not be a simple art official. His career will be ruined if he marries the princess!"

"I know about cement, but what is damping?"

"You don't even know about damping?"

"I read the newspaper, but I didn't understand."

"The carriage dealers in the capital have already asked their craftsmen to research carriage dampers. I heard that the principle is very simple, but it is extremely difficult to make it."

"I still don't understand."

"..."

At this time, the Ming Dynasty's four-wheeled carriage already had a suspension system.

Literally hanging!

That is, the bottom of the carriage is designed to be curved, and the multiple layers of leather are made into a shape similar to a car leaf spring to support the curved bottom of the carriage - the prototype of the modern car suspension system is the leather bottom support device of the American carriage.

With leather bottom and spring shock absorption, the Ming Dynasty four-wheeled carriage was relatively stable.

But when encountering rugged roads in the wild, it still seems a bit bumpy.

When Xie Yan first saw the leather suspension device of a carriage, he suspected that it was made by a predecessor who traveled through time and space and imitated it from a car.

Only half guessed right.

It is true that they are imitations of BMW car parts, but this was not done at the instruction of Zhu Guoxiang. Rather, it was the independent behavior of Zhu Guoxiang's disciples.

The three wealthy businessmen returned home drunk and soon learned more news.

However, it was the Grand Princess and the Eldest Princesses who had been stripped of their country's titles because they were suspected of treason. Empress Dowager Ye took advantage of Zhu Tangxi's upcoming wedding to restore their country's titles or grant them country titles.

In fact, they were all forced to join the rebellion, and many of them only paid homage to King Yong when he ascended the throne.

After four years of expulsion and punishment, it is time to restore the clan, otherwise the relationship between clan members will be very tense.

For example, the one whose husband was in charge of the Zongzheng Temple not only restored the country's name, but was also promoted to the Grand Princess of Jin.

The princes who had paid homage to Prince Yong had previously been suspended from receiving their titles and salaries, but now all of them had their titles and salaries restored. However, the Queen Mother was still very wary of them, and the princes all stayed at home and did not dare to make friends with officials.

It can be said that all the other princes and princesses benefited from Xie Yan’s marriage this time.

"Alas, I was always single in my previous life, and now I am getting married after only one year of traveling through time."

Xie Yan couldn't help but sigh as he sorted out the horse harness.

Of all the rewards he received, this set of horse harness was his favorite.

The reins are inlaid with gold threads, the saddle is partially inlaid with silver, and the handle of the whip is made of jade. This set of equipment is definitely cool when riding out.

All it needs is a fine horse.

When I have money in the future, I will definitely buy a good horse. Xie Yan has some potential as a ghost-fire boy.

After getting married, Xie Yan had to go to the Taimiao to offer sacrifices. He had heard that there were portraits of senior time travelers there, and he couldn't wait to see them.

Who knows, the time traveler is actually our schoolmate.

(End of this chapter)