Chapter 193 Visiting the Palace
Seeing Zhao Xing getting out of bed, Zhang Guifen hurriedly pulled the quilt to cover herself.
Zhao Xing did not continue teasing her. He put on his inner clothes and called the palace maid to help them wash up.
By the time the two of them had finished packing, it was already completely light.
The couple went to the palace in a carriage.
…………
"Greetings to the Emperor, Father, and the Empress!"
Inside Renming Palace, Zhao Xing and Zhang Guifen bowed and saluted.
"No gift."
The official waved his hand, looked at his son and daughter-in-law with a friendly expression, and said, "Fu'er, now that you have married, you need to be more stable in the future and have children for the royal family as soon as possible."
"Yes."
Zhao Xing murmured in his heart, wondering what was wrong with him.
The emperor said a few more words, and Empress Cao also gave a few instructions, then she called Zhang Guifen over, took off a blood jade bracelet from her wrist, and put it on Zhang Guifen's hand.
"Thank you, Queen Mother."
Since the elder gave the gift, the young dared not refuse, so Zhang Guifen could only thank him.
"I don't have much to do in the palace on weekdays. Fu'er has seldom come to see me since he moved to the East Palace. You have to come to the palace more often to talk to me in the future." Queen Cao said with a smile.
"Mother, you are wronging me. I wish I could pay my respects to you every day, but it was you who told me not to come here every day." Zhao Xing cried out in injustice.
In fact, he also knew that Empress Cao did not allow him to come to pay his respects every day because she was afraid that he would not get enough rest and did not want him to go back and forth.
As for Queen Cao's comment about being bored, Zhao Xing was thinking about figuring out a game of mahjong as soon as possible.
In fact, this thing first spread out from the palace, and it was suitable to be made for Empress Cao's entertainment.
Anyway, there are many concubines in the harem, so there is no problem finding someone.
If Empress Cao becomes obsessed and plays mahjong every day, she won't cause him any trouble in the future, and their mother-son relationship can be maintained.
Upon hearing this, Empress Cao glared at Zhao Xing in anger and said, "That's what I said, but can't you come and talk to me when you have nothing to do?"
"Yes, I will come here often in the future, as long as my mother doesn't bother me." Zhao Xing said with a smile.
After chatting and laughing for a while, Eunuch Zhu came to report that the meal was ready. Upon hearing this, Empress Cao ordered the meal to be served.
Although round tables had already been invented in the Song Dynasty and the separate dining system was no longer used in most cases, it was still basically practiced in the palace.
The same is true when entertaining ministers at ordinary banquets.
It's impossible for the emperor and his ministers to sit at the same table.
When the meal was served, Zhang Guifen went to serve Empress Cao.
Generally, when a new daughter-in-law comes home, she needs to serve her parents-in-law first, and can only eat after her parents-in-law have finished their meal.
This is also true in the royal family.
In other families, the new daughter-in-law has to wait outside the door and serve her mother-in-law at any time even when she is taking a nap, which is commonly known as the standing rule.
Situations like the conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in later generations, with sons and husbands being caught in the middle, did not exist in ancient times.
In ancient times, filial piety came first. Just like Madam Wang, even though Old Madam Sheng was not Sheng Hong's biological mother, she did not dare to be disrespectful on the surface. When Old Madam Sheng scolded her and punished her, she could only bear it and at most scolded her a few times in private.
Hualan was bullied by her mother-in-law at Yuan's house, but she had no choice but to endure it.
This is not a lack of means, but natural oppression.
Otherwise, there wouldn’t be the saying that a daughter-in-law becomes a mother-in-law after many years.
"Please sit down and have your meal. I have people to serve you." Queen Cao waved her hand.
Some mothers-in-law make things difficult for their daughters-in-law in order to make them understand the rules, while others simply have experienced difficulties with their mothers-in-law and want to get rid of the addiction.
However, there are also some tolerant mothers-in-law who will not deliberately make things difficult for their daughters-in-law.
Empress Cao had no intention of making things difficult for Zhang Guifen. After all, Zhang Guifen often entered the palace with her mother, and Empress Cao was very familiar with her.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Guifen looked at Zhao Xing. Seeing him nod slightly, she responded and returned to her seat and sat down.
After breakfast, the official went to handle government affairs.
Zhao Xing and Zhang Guifen stayed to talk to Queen Cao.
After chatting for a while, Empress Cao smiled and said, "I am a little tired and want to rest for a while. Fu'er, please take the Crown Princess to Yongning Palace to sit for a while."
"Yes, your son (daughter-in-law) will take his leave!" The two of them bowed.
"Are you nervous?"
After leaving the hall, Zhao Xing smiled.
"A little bit." Zhang Guifen nodded.
This was not the first time she had met the Emperor and Empress Cao, but their identities were different now, and she was afraid that she would not perform well and make them unhappy.
Zhao Xing squeezed her hand and said, "Father and mother are very kind. Just be natural. There is nothing to be nervous about."
"Yes." Zhang Guifen nodded and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
"Why call me Your Highness? It sounds too formal. From now on, you can just call me husband, Mr., in private." Zhao Xing said with a smile.
The meaning of husband and husband in later generations is similar.
Everyone can call you His Highness.
"Your Highness, it's not in accordance with etiquette to address him like that." Zhang Guifen shook her head. "What etiquette? At home, obey your father; after marriage, obey your husband. Isn't what I said the etiquette to you?"
Zhao Xing said: "I asked you to call me that in private, but I didn't ask you to call me that all the time. Listen to me, call me husband..."
"this…"
Zhang Guifen hesitated when she heard this. It was indeed against etiquette to shout like that, but what Zhao Xing said was not wrong.
The Three Obediences and Four Virtues originated from the Book of Rites. Today, they have not yet formed absolute obedience. For example, a wife has the responsibility to support her husband and raise children.
The so-called "assisting the husband" means assisting the husband, just like a prime minister assisting the emperor, and it also means giving advice.
Women in the Song Dynasty were not as submissive to men as they were in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but generally speaking they still had to obey their men's wishes.
Although it was somewhat against etiquette for Zhao Xing to ask her to call him husband, it was still acceptable if she did it in private.
Zhang Guifen's face flushed as she said coyly, "Husband...husband..."
"Haha, just call me that in private from now on." Zhao Xing said with a smile.
Zhang Guifen started calling her husband, and the couple became closer.
After chatting all the way, we arrived at Yongning Palace.
Concubine Zhu was very happy to see her daughter-in-law. She asked a few questions with concern and gave Zhang Guifen a lot of jewelry.
"Fuer, your cousin has been working in the local area for several years. My sister-in-law came to the palace to see me a few days ago, and she expressed her longing for him very much. Can you see if you can transfer your cousin back?" asked Concubine Zhu.
"Mother, I am only the crown prince now, so how can I interfere in the transfer of officials. It will be beneficial for my cousin to work in the local area. Now that my uncle and aunt are in good health, there is no rush for my cousin to be around to fulfill his filial duties. Let's wait a few more years." Zhao Xing said.
Zhu Jingyu was a Jinshi who passed the imperial examination in the same year as Su Shi and others, but only ranked third.
Zhao Xing gave a secret signal and was sent to Jiangnan to serve as a county magistrate.
The reason for doing this was to train him and also to let him serve as an official in Jiangnan so that he could understand the situation in Jiangnan.
The secret guards can investigate some situations, but they may not be able to understand the real situation in the officialdom.
Although Zhu Jingyu's official position was not high, he was at least part of the circle. He had received good evaluations the year before last, and with Zhao Xing's help, he has now become a county magistrate.
"You are the prince after all, this is not a big deal." Concubine Zhu was somewhat dissatisfied with her son for not helping her.
Although she was in the palace, she knew some things and didn't think this was a big deal.
Zhu Jingyu is the eldest son of the Zhu family, so naturally she wants to help her mother's family.
"Mother, please ask my aunt to write a letter to my cousin. If he is interested in returning to Beijing, I will think of a way. How about it? After all, this matter depends on my cousin's own wishes." Zhao Xing said.
When Zhu Jingyu left, Zhao Xing had a deep conversation with him and it was probably his aunt's idea that this matter happened.
It is even possible that this was just his mother's intention. His aunt seems to be a smart person and may not say this.
However, as a mother, it is normal for her to show some longing in her words after not seeing her son for a long time.
No matter whose intention it is, Zhu Jingyu will probably not choose to come back.
"Well, I'll ask your aunt later." Concubine Zhu nodded with satisfaction.
After having lunch at his mother's house at noon, Zhao Xing took Zhang Guifen away.
After leaving Yongning Palace, Zhao Xing said, "Before, there was no Crown Princess in the Eastern Palace, and no female relatives came to visit. Now that you have entered, there will be people visiting you in the future, and similar things like this will not be rare."
Before, Zhao Xing had not married a concubine, so there was no hostess in the Eastern Palace and naturally no female relatives visited.
Now that Zhang Guifen has entered the house, it is certain that the officials' families will come to visit, whether to please them or for some other purpose.
"Your Highness... Don't worry, my husband. I won't agree to it." Zhang Guifen said.
"That's not what I meant. You can't just refuse some things outright. Some things can be refused, but some are hard to refuse. I tell you this to remind you that in this situation, you should neither refuse nor agree. It's best to be ambiguous." Zhao Xing said.
Just like what happened to his mother just now, he directly refused and her was unhappy, but he couldn't just agree.
Not only will he encounter this situation, but Zhang Guifen will also encounter it.
The Zhang family is also a large family, but the main line of this generation died in battle and there are no male heirs.
But there are definitely a lot of relatives, and it is normal for someone to come to you for help.
Zhang Guifen nodded thoughtfully and said, "I understand."
The two of them were riding on a sedan chair and had just left the harem when they ran into Eunuch Liu.
"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess." Eunuch Liu bowed.
"Is there anything I can do for you, Eunuch Liu?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Your Highness, His Majesty asked Your Highness to accompany the Crown Princess to the Duke of England's Mansion the day after tomorrow." Eunuch Liu said.
"I understand." Zhao Xing nodded.
The day after tomorrow is the day to return to the parents’ parents’ home. He is the prince, so he can go back or not.
His father asked him to accompany Zhang Guifen back home, which was to give honor to the Zhang family.
Even if his father didn't say it, Zhao Xing planned to accompany Zhang Guifen back.
"My husband is very busy with official duties, so there is no need for him to accompany me back home. I can find time to go back by myself in the future." Zhang Guifen said.
"I haven't had much to do recently. My father has already said that he will continue to send wedding gifts to the Eastern Palace in May. I also want to ask my father-in-law for advice on something." Zhao Xing said with a smile.
Although Sheng Shulan was pregnant, she was a concubine's daughter after all.
In order to have a legitimate child as soon as possible, the emperor not only stopped sending wedding gifts to the Eastern Palace, but also reminded him before the wedding to put the Kaifeng Prefecture affairs aside after the marriage.
(End of this chapter)