The Prodigal Son of Zhenguan

"So soon?" Li Fu looked at the eunuch who came from the palace: "What does the palace need to prepare? I'll send someone to do it right away."

The eunuch bowed.

"In ancient times, there was no difference between men and women. Taihao first established marriage and used deerskin as a gift. What needs to be prepared in advance is a pair of deerskin. Before the engagement letter is issued, Your Highness needs to tell your parents that on the first day that the Queen Mother goes to the Duke of Ying's Mansion, Your Highness needs to worship the ancestors in the ancestral hall of the palace." The eunuch said.

"Okay." Li Fu nodded in response.

Deerskin is not difficult to find. Just go to the West Market and buy a pair.

"Your Highness needs to have three letters and six engagements before getting married. Only after the Queen goes to the Duke of Ying's Mansion to formally propose marriage can you offer the bride price. When offering the bride price, Your Highness needs to prepare a gift to go to the Duke of Ying's Mansion, including a pair of wild geese, sake for blessing, rice for nourishment, and auspicious bells, etc...."

After this ceremony, it is time to ask for the name. Later, the palace people and the Imperial Astronomical Observatory will go to the Duke of Ying's Mansion on a suitable day to ask for the woman's name and birth date for the Imperial Astronomical Observatory to calculate.

After the Imperial Astronomical Observatory's divination is over, the Duke of Ying's Mansion will be informed of the divination results and the preparations for the wedding. This ceremony is called "engagement", also known as "engagement". The so-called alliance of vows of love and oaths of love originates from this.

During this process, the man and woman can prepare the engagement token together.

This token is not a random object to use, but a gift specifically for engagement.

Jewelry, makeup, colored silk, and even livestock such as pigs, cattle, and sheep can all be used as tokens of engagement, so it is also called "sending engagement" or "engagement engagement".

The engagement letter among the three books should also be completed at this time and exchanged with the engagement token.

After the engagement, the betrothal gifts can be formally sent to the Duke of Ying. Together with the betrothal gifts, there should also be a gift book among the three books, which records the number of betrothal gifts, that is, a list of betrothal gifts, which is called "Na Zheng" in Zhou Li, and now it is called "Wan Pin" or "Guo Da Li" in folk.

In Zhou Li, after sending the betrothal gifts, Na Zheng is completed, but now this custom has changed. In the Tang Dynasty, the woman's family also had to return gifts to the south, return part of the food in the betrothal gifts, or give the man clothes, hats, shoes and socks, etc.

Whether it is sending betrothal gifts or returning gifts, the gifts are in pairs, most of which have auspicious meanings, and never send only one piece.

"When the prince has sent the betrothal gifts, the wedding date will be determined. Then prepare another gift and send it to the Duke of England's mansion to ask for the Duke of England's opinion. At this time, the gift should be simple and the wedding date should be set." The eunuch said, "When the wedding day comes, the last of the three books, the welcoming book, will be sent."

"Before the wedding, the Zongzheng Temple and the Ministry of Rites will handle the wedding ceremony for the prince. Therefore, the prince only needs to know these procedures and prepare the corresponding things on the corresponding day." The eunuch said, "When the wedding is held, there will also be a best man. The selection of the best man will still need your consideration."

Li Fu nodded.

It's the best man, who helps to block the wine, help to embarrass himself, and help to get beaten.

You have to find someone with thick skin and flesh.

After the eunuch finished speaking, he took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it to Li Fu with both hands.

"Your Highness, this is the auspicious date for various procedures calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Observation."

Li Fu took the paper handed over by the eunuch and opened it to read it carefully.

It clearly stated what procedures should be carried out on each day.

It would be half a year before the betrothal gifts were delivered.

That is, at the end of this year, the betrothal gifts would be delivered.

After delivering the betrothal gifts at the end of the year, the specific date of the wedding would have to wait until the next year.

The paper also recorded several days of next year, which should be the date of the wedding chosen by the woman.

This process really took a year.

High EQ: Full of ritual sense.

Low EQ: Complicated.

However, marriage has been like this since ancient times, and there are the same many things to prepare and do.

Fortunately, there are not many things that Li Fu needs to worry about. Even if there are things that need to be prepared, he only needs to make a list and let his subordinates prepare according to the list.

The simple little things in front are easy to say.

The important thing is that when the betrothal gifts are sent at the end of the year, Li Fu has to prepare them carefully.

The man has to prepare the betrothal gifts, and the woman has to prepare the dowry to ensure the life of her daughter in her husband's family.

Land, shops, cloth, clothing, jewelry, servants and various daily necessities are all for her daughter to get used to living in her husband's family.

As for the woman's dowry, it is not a small amount. After the dowry is brought over, the ownership is completely in the hands of the woman. No one can control it unless the woman speaks.You can't touch it, even if it's the husband, you can't touch the wife's dowry.

If a man forcibly uses his wife's dowry, he will definitely be looked down upon by the world.

Of course, if the wife takes the initiative to take out the dowry to help her husband and spread it, it means that the wife is virtuous and generous.

Some wealthy families love their daughters very much, fearing that their daughters will be wronged in their husband's family. Therefore, the dowry given to their daughters is very generous. When a girl gets married, the whole family will add dowry for her.

A generous dowry, food, clothing, housing and transportation, and finally a coffin, strongly tell the husband's family, don't bully our daughter. Although our daughter has married into your family, her lifelong food, clothing and expenses have been prepared by our family. We don't use yours, and we don't owe you anything. Your family had better treat our daughter well.

After listening to the explanation of the eunuchs from the palace, Li Fu had a general idea in his mind and knew how to prepare these things.

Most of the betrothal gifts sent by the man to the woman's home will be added to the dowry, so that the woman can take it with her to settle down in her husband's family.

Dowry is very important for a married woman. It is a sense of security in her husband's family.

"After two days, I will worship my ancestors in the ancestral hall at home." Li Fu said, "On the second day, I just need to wait for news at home, right?"

"Yes." The eunuch responded.

Li Fu nodded slightly: "Okay, I know, thank you."

Li Fu asked Zhao San to arrange for the eunuch to stay in the mansion first. The following procedures still need him to remind him, and the communication with the palace also needs him to run back and forth.

Li Fu was the only one left in the study, looking at the things he had just recorded.

Deerskin, wild geese, these are needed.

Just prepare according to the list.

There are also engagement gifts, engagement tokens, and the final betrothal gifts.

These three lists need to be carefully considered to show your respect for the woman.