Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 571
The Empress Dowager Cao agreed to the Fan family's purchase of the island, and Fan Ning naturally agreed to the marriage. Two or three months.

Naturally, Fan Ning's second uncle, Fan Tiege, was in charge of the etiquette planning for the Fan family, so Fan Ning didn't need to stay in the capital.

But before Fan Ning left the capital, Cao Yi made a request. His daughter Cao Xiu wanted to see Fan Ning.

There is nothing wrong with this, the two families are married, and it is normal for newcomers to meet. Fan Ning also wanted to see the daughter of the Cao family, so he agreed.

The place where the two met was arranged at Fayun Temple in the south of the city.

In the early morning, in a beautiful building in the back residence of the Cao family, the morning glow came in from the window, dyeing the whole room purple.

This is a girl's room, simple and tidy. There are nearly a hundred books on the bookshelf. On a desk near the window are several recent "Letters". Author of the same series of articles, 'Interview with Xiao Fan Xianggong'.

At this time, a young girl came out from the back room. This is the perfect embodiment of a classical beauty. She has a pair of arched thick black long eyebrows, a slightly oval face, plump cheeks, and fair skin. Delicate, the eyes are not very big, but very eye-catching, the pupils of the eyes are dark and shiny, like two black gems, the eyes are calm,

She combed a double-ringed bun, and her curly hair hung down her face, which made her calm and playful.

She was wearing an emerald green half-sleeved beige with a pleated skirt inside. This kind of dress was a bit old-fashioned, but it also properly supported her tranquil temperament.

This girl is Cao Yi's third daughter, Cao Xiu, the first daughter of his first wife, and the young niece of Empress Dowager Cao, who is also considered prominent among the younger generation of the Cao family.

But it can be seen that she is not very happy. Just the day before yesterday, her father told her that the queen mother made the decision. The family unanimously decided to promise her to Fan Ning as the third wife, and the queen mother will canonize her as the county lady.

Cao Xiu was shocked by this decision, and felt ashamed at the same time. She actually went to be someone else's wife, which was only slightly better than a concubine, and it was the transactional marriage she disliked the most.

But soon she reluctantly accepted it, and there was only one reason for her acceptance, that is, Fanning was still young, only 27 years old, and she was not the old man she was most worried about.

Facing the unchangeable facts, she only made one request, let her meet Fan Ning, this legendary man in Beijing and Song Dynasty.

The meeting was this morning, and Cao Xiu was a little nervous, but she still stubbornly maintained her dignity, never put on makeup, and went to meet Fan Ning just like that.

Cao Xiu walked slowly to the table, picked up a newspaper and looked at it, "Xiao Xianggong!" She shook her head and said to herself, "How old are you that you dare to call yourself your husband?"

"Girl, the carriage is ready, let's go!" Her personal maid urged outside the door.

"Is it too early to go now?"

"It's getting late, the appointment is at the right time, and there is less than half an hour left."

"Okay! I'll go to Fayun Temple to make a wish!"

Cao Xiu picked up the white satin shawl on the chair and got up to go out. Today, besides her personal maid, her sister-in-law, Mrs. Pan, accompanied Cao Xiu to Fayun Temple.

There are also four guards and a steward. The steward is responsible for managing the monastery and contacting Fan Ning. He knows Fan Ning. Originally, the clan brother Cao Shi also wanted to accompany her, but she flatly refused.
The three daughters got into a large carriage, and the steward and servant rode on horses, guarding the carriage and driving slowly towards Fayun Temple in the south of the city.
In the carriage, the eldest sister-in-law Pan saw that Cao Xiu was frowning, so she persuaded her softly: "The so-called name is only for outsiders to see, and the status in the family is determined by the natal family. If the natal family is strong, the status of the family is high. I heard that Fan Ning's second wife is Ouyang Xiu's eldest daughter, she has already given birth to two children, she is no different from a housewife in Fan's residence, don't listen to those rumors in the neighborhood."

Cao Xiu said nothing, and Pan smiled and persuaded: "You have to think in a better place. Fan Ning is only 27 years old. He has already been named the Duke of the county. The official is the third-rank doctor Jin Ziguanglu. Most of the young officials of his age are still there. You are struggling at the ninth rank, and it is also your blessing to be able to marry a young and promising high-ranking official."

Cao Xiu sighed, and said in a low voice: "I married him only for the purpose of profit. I am afraid that he will look down on me and neglect me, and the days to come will be sad."

This is what Cao Xiu really thinks in her heart, and this is what she is most worried about.

Mrs. Pan was silent for a moment, and said slowly: "To put it bluntly, which of the marriages of us aristocratic children is not a marriage of interest? Marriages that fall in love with each other and stay together for life are rare, even if it is the marriage of the bottom class. , It’s just an exchange of property, how many of them met before marriage, and the two were in love? After a long marriage and a child, there will naturally be feelings.”

Cao Xiu was right when she thought about it. The knot in her heart was slightly untied, and her heart was no longer as melancholy as before. She nodded and smiled and said, "I see, thank you sister-in-law for your enlightenment."

The carriage slowly stopped in front of the gate of Fayun Temple. The female guests put on gauze hats and followed the Zhike monk to the gate. When they reached the main hall, the steward whispered, "Mr. Fan is in the main hall!"

Pan stopped in her tracks and smiled at Cao Xiu: "Just take the maid, I'll wait outside, give me the veiled hat."

Cao Xiu hesitated for a long time, then took off the veiled cap and handed it to his sister-in-law, then walked into the main hall, and saw a tall and straight young man standing in front of the Buddha, the young man was Fan Ning, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a Ping Ting The girl walked in, turned slightly sideways, and waved her hands as a gesture of invitation.

Cao Xiu was shy for a while, but she still stepped forward and knelt down on the futon, praying secretly in her heart, "May the Buddha bless the little girl with a happy marriage and harmonious husband and wife. In the future, the little girl will definitely come to reshape the golden body for the Buddha!"

Fan Ning also knelt down on the futon, clasped his hands together, and kowtowed three times. At this moment, the two turned their heads together and looked at each other. Fan Ning's eyes lit up. , but there is a kind of national beauty and heavenly fragrance.

Cao Xiu blushed with shame, she got up and walked outside, her heart was pounding, and there was a tinge of joy in her heart, was this heroic man her husband?
At this time, Cao Xiu felt a little regretful. She should have put on makeup and left the most beautiful side to the other party, and shouldn't have come here with a plain face like this.

When she got to the door, she stopped again, turned around and gave Fan Ning Yingying a blessing, and then left in embarrassment.

Fan Ning walked to the door and watched Cao Xiu and her family leave with a smile on his face. Although he was rather disgusted with the essence of this marriage, this girl was very nice, dignified and beautiful, exactly the type he liked, and she could be considered unintentional. willow.

At this time, Cao Xiu walked to the gate of the temple, turned her head and saluted Fan Ning Yingying, Fan Ning waved to her with a smile, Cao Xiu pretty blushed and left the temple,
After getting into the carriage, Pan smiled and said, "I didn't lie to you, did I! There are so many young ladies who want to marry him, but you finally got them."

"Don't talk nonsense, you're not a regular wife." Cao Xiujiao said angrily.

"Three wives are also wives, there are only three of them!"

Cao Xiu bowed her head and remained silent, and Pan also knew that she was joking too much, so she smiled and stopped talking.

Cao Xiu looked out the window, wondering when that day would come?
Two days later, Fan Ning left the capital and returned to Quanzhou. At the same time, the Zhizhengtang came up with the first draft of private overseas land purchases, which listed hundreds of regulations, mainly divided into three categories: land purchase, land purchase and island purchase. Partly, the land is to buy land in the state capital established by Dasong. At present, Dasong has only released the two state capitals of Ryukyu and Luzon.

The purchase of land refers to the purchase of land within the three continents. The land purchaser enjoys all the resources on the land and does not need to pay taxes to the court, but the land purchaser must abide by various laws of the Song Dynasty.

The conditions for purchasing an island are relatively strict. First of all, you must be qualified. According to the area of ​​the island, you must have at least the title of earl or above, or an officer above the guard, and you must make a major contribution to the Song Dynasty.

The second is the restriction after the purchase of the island. It is allowed to have autonomy and is not bound by the court and the laws of the Song Dynasty, but must be loyal to the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, and no arrogance is allowed. .

After the first version of the land purchase draft was put forward, it aroused intense debates within the imperial court and in the newspapers. The content of the debates mainly focused on three aspects, the status of the mainland, the status of the people of the Song Dynasty living on the islands, and the canonization of overseas kings. question.

During the heated debate, various opinions gradually became unified. The Empress Dowager Cao rejected the draft and revised it. Three days later, the second land purchase draft was issued. The following four items were mainly revised. Garrison and jurisdiction.

Second, the island is nominally the territory of the Song Dynasty and is directly under the jurisdiction of the emperor, but the island owner has autonomy.

Third, the people on the island are protected by the laws of the Song Dynasty. The island owner is allowed to hire the people of the Song Dynasty as labor by contract, but they are not allowed to abuse, enslave, kill or bully at will. The people have the right to leave the island at any time.

Fourth, the island owner has the ability to stay and develop the island, and can deliver supplies to Song Dynasty. After ten years, his title can be upgraded to one level, and his descendants can inherit the title.

The fourth rule is that after ten years, the overseas king can be appointed as appropriate, and the king can inherit it.

The second version of the land purchase draft was finally approved by the Empress Dowager Cao and the Zhizheng Hall, and it was promulgated to the world. At the same time, it was announced that the Overseas Economic and Strategy Office will organize the first batch of overseas inspection teams in early February next year, with a quota of [-] people. Take five followers.

One stone caused a thousand waves. Although the applicants were required to have a family property of more than ten thousand guan, the applicants were still extremely enthusiastic. In just two days, the first batch of inspection places were filled.

(End of this chapter)