My father is Emperor Wu of Han, how can I be different from him?

Chapter 173 Is Cao Cao Wrong?

Taiwong.

In the side hall, Liu Ju handed a copper seal and a black silk ribbon to Zhang He, and instructed him, "When I am not here, you should go to the Three Officials for inspection more often."

"Yes!"

Zhang He took the bronze seal and black ribbon with both hands.

From today on, Zhang He will no longer serve as the Shanglinling, but will be promoted to Shuiheng Duweicheng, with a salary of 1,000 stones.

The Three Officials, namely the Shanglin Three Officials, the Bell Official, the Skill Official, and the Bronze Official, were responsible for the specific matters of coin minting.

"After the imperial court takes back the right to mint coins, all copper coins will be issued by the Water and Water Commissioner in the future. The money involved and the benefits that can be handled are countless."

Liu Ju looked at Zhang He and said solemnly, "In the past, local county officials used coinage to cut corners and seek personal gain. I don't think the officials in the capital are so noble."

“Wealth and silk touch people’s hearts!”

"You are one of us in the Prince's Palace. Keep an eye on them for me. If I catch anyone doing something dishonest, I will not show any mercy!"

Zhang He bowed his hands in a deep voice: "Don't worry, Your Highness. I know what to do."

"it is good."

Liu Ju nodded, "You go now."

Zhang He bowed and turned to leave. At this time, Wei Xiaogong, who had been waiting beside him, stepped forward and reported: "Your Highness, the Grand Chamberlain is here."

Liu Ju raised his eyebrows and looked over. Without him asking, Young Eunuch Wei automatically explained, "It's not a private matter. The Grand Chamberlain is doing this on the orders of the Queen."

Business?

The Prince's Palace and the Grand Chamberlain had always had some private dealings. The old eunuch would usually pass a small note to Liu Ju, and Liu Ju would return the favor.

After so long of trying to win over the other party on a private matter, this is the first time I’ve encountered him wanting to do something official.

However, Liu Ju's doubts soon disappeared, because his attention was drawn to another thing...

"Your Highness, the Queen asked me to bring you the portrait. Please take a look and see if there is anything wrong with it." The Grand Chamberlain bent over with an auntie's smile on his face.

He dared to ask, and Liu Ju dared to answer, "Why are there only two portraits?"

Liu Ju held a pair in one hand and scanned them up and down. After confirming that there were only two choices, he looked at the old eunuch in confusion, "No more?"

Hey, that's what I said.

The Grand Chamberlain had a strange look on his face, and his face trembled. He tried to smile politely and said, "Your Highness, you choose a concubine. His Majesty and the Queen each picked one."

"These two are the ones in front of you. As for the others..." the old eunuch replied with an expression that everyone understood, "Hehe."

Do you think we are really asking for your opinion when we ask you if it is okay? You are overthinking. We are just asking you to take a look so that you can be mentally prepared.

Good guy, he even picked...

Liu Ju had no idea what the Grand Chamberlain was thinking, but he understood what the other party wanted to express, and his face immediately fell.

The old eunuch guessed what the prince was thinking and laughed softly, "The queen said that your highness is still young and shouldn't have sex too much."

"When you are older, you can select more palace maids."

cough cough.

Liu Ju hurriedly coughed twice and looked at the two portraits again.

Judging from the brushwork alone, the two women in the painting... well, it seems more appropriate to describe them as "girls", as they don't look very old.

But this is in line with the national conditions of the Han Dynasty.

In the early days of the founding of the country, Emperor Hui issued an edict: "If a woman is aged 15 to 30 and does not marry, she will be sentenced to death."

If a woman is between fifteen and thirty years old and has not married, she will be fined five times the tax.

Suanfu, a kind of poll tax.

In order to avoid being punished, girls usually get married at around 14 years old, and boys usually get married at around 15 years old. This is true for the common people as well as the royal family. Emperor Wen had a son at the age of 15, which was not too early.

"Your Highness."

Seeing that the Crown Prince had nothing wrong to say, the Grand Chamberlain continued, "His Majesty has sent a message that the selection of the Crown Princess will be discussed later."

"The two chosen this time, the daughter of Li and the daughter of Shi, are both granted the rank of 'Liang Di'. Please see..."

Liu Ju raised his head and snorted, "Will you take a look?"

Does he think it’s useful?
Useless.

Even from an inner perspective, Liu Ju really wants to make some suggestions, for example, can we find a few more mature ones?

Well, I have to clear the name of a certain person named Cao here. From the perspective of later generations, Prime Minister Cao’s preferences are actually quite normal.

In the Han Dynasty, girls usually got married at the age of fourteen or fifteen.

There are many women who get married at the age of seventeen or eighteen. Twenty-five or twenty-six is ​​definitely a young woman, and in the early thirties, it can also be a middle-aged woman. When you are nearly forty...

No, not forty.

In the Han Dynasty, a man of forty could call himself "old man", and a woman of forty could call herself "old woman".

By this calculation, there's nothing wrong with Cao Cao liking girls who are 17, 18, 20 or 30 years old, right?
Anyway, Liu Ju thought there was nothing wrong with it.

Unfortunately, he was in the evil era of arranged marriages, and the Emperor and Empress had no intention of discussing it with him...

Seeing that the Crown Prince had "no questions", the Grand Chamberlain accepted the portrait with satisfaction and returned to the Weiyang Palace to report.

After both parents reached an agreement and the prince had no objection, the matter naturally proceeded to the stage of picking up the people. He directly read out the imperial edict and brought the two concubines into the prince's palace. That was the end of the matter.

Yes, it's that simple.

Under the system of monogamy and polygamy, the wife of the crown prince is the crown princess, while the concubines such as Liangdi and Ruzi are all concubines.

For example, the emperor’s wife is only the empress, while the ladies in the harem, beauties, and good men, etc., strictly speaking, are all concubines.

The treatment and standards for wives and concubines are completely different.

E.g.

When the emperor enthrones the empress, he will choose an auspicious day and there will be a grand ceremony. The three dukes and nine ministers, as well as all civil and military officials must be present. At the same time, there are also strict rites for enthroning the empress.

But ladies, beauties, etc., no matter how much the emperor favors them, are still concubines after all. The current emperor's inclusion of Madam Li into the harem is a good example.

If you like, just bring the person back and place him in the Yilan Palace without any complicated ceremonies or rituals.

The same applies to the prince.

No matter if they were daughters of the Li family or daughters of the Shi family, their entry into the prince's palace could not be considered 'marriage' but 'taking in', so there was no need to make a big fuss.

An evening with a gentle breeze, a moment that must be an auspicious day.

Wuyanghou Mansion.

At the gate of the mansion, the Grand Chamberlain smiled sweetly and said in a shrill voice, "Please stay, Doctor. The Crown Prince's selection of a concubine is a joyous event. It is not appropriate to cry."

"Yes Yes."

Li Guang nodded repeatedly with red eyes, retracted his worried gaze towards the carriage, and then glared to the side, shouting: "Who told you to cry?"

Li Gan rolled his eyes wildly after being scolded for no reason. He didn't know who had been dreaming of becoming a relative by marriage, but when the day finally came, he was so timid...

As a son, he has to behave like a son in front of his father, so Li Gan didn't say what was in his heart.

But what he didn't say, someone else can say.

"Grandfather, don't worry." The young man who spoke was about 20 years old and directly exposed Old Man Li's thoughts. "My sister has always had her own ideas. There will be no problem."

As the eldest grandson, Li Guang was willing to listen to Li Ling's words, and he took them to heart. He muttered to himself for a while, and looked at the carriage driving away reluctantly...

(End of this chapter)