The wives of the concubines are empresses

The next morning, Shangguan Wanjun finished her court session, returned to the imperial study to rest for a quarter of an hour, and then started her class again.

In this era, when a man reaches the age of fifteen, it is called the age of hair binding. This is an important stage of growth, marking the transition from childhood to adolescence.

During this period, men not only had to tie their hair into a bun, but also learned various skills, which included not only cultural knowledge and moral cultivation, but also practical skills such as martial arts, agricultural skills, and handicrafts.

"The Book of Rites of Dai Da" mentions: "When a man's hair is tied up, he should go to university to receive education, learn important skills and moral norms, and prepare for his future social roles." This sentence shows that when a man's hair is tied up, he should go to university to receive education, learn important skills and moral norms, and prepare for his future social roles.

In addition, this era has a very rich variety of titles for men of different age groups, which mainly reflects the ancients' careful observation and profound understanding of age and growth.

For example, boys aged thirteen are called the "dance with the spoon", which means they start to learn literary dance; while boys aged fifteen to twenty are called the "dance with the elephant", which means they can go to the battlefield. This shows that men at this stage have begun to take on more social responsibilities and obligations.

After hearing what Master Yun said, Shangguan Wanjun sighed that life was not easy for men in ancient times either, as they had to learn so much.

"Your Majesty, you are fourteen years old. Normally, men of this age should start learning these things, but I taught you from the basics some time ago."

Shangguan Wanjun understood: "Teacher, I understand what you mean. It's okay now. Just keep teaching. Those who don't understand will ask you for help."

Taifu Yun bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

The two were not only teacher and student, but also monarch and subject, each performing their own etiquette.

After studying for nearly two hours, Shangguan Wanjun felt a headache coming on because she had absorbed too much knowledge.

She sighed in her heart: It is not easy to be an ancient person, especially an emperor.

Alas, she is fourteen years old and has a lot to learn, especially the art of being an emperor. It is so difficult that she even feels sorry for herself.

After class, Aunt Cheng walked in.

"Your Majesty, Lord An has arrived."

Hearing this, Shangguan Wanjun raised her eyebrows and looked at the teacher who was packing up the books.

"Teacher, please accompany me to dine with my grandfather. I'm afraid the age gap is too big and it would be awkward to just chat."

Upon hearing this, Master Yun pondered for a moment and bowed, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Lord An was already sixty-seven years old. When he saw Master Yun, he was stunned. Why did the Emperor come with Master Yun?

"Your Majesty, I greet you, and I greet Master Yun."

"Grandfather, please stand up."

Hearing the word "grandfather", Uncle An was a little moved. The emperor was willing to call him "grandfather" even though he had become an emperor, which proved that she had not forgotten the Zhang family.

Master Yun smiled politely and said, "Hello, Lord An."

After finishing the meal, Mr. An told the purpose of his visit.

"Your Majesty, I want to find a job for one of the clan members."

Shangguan Wanjun raised her eyebrows and looked up: "Errand?"

Shangguan Wanjun sneered in her heart: Oh, so her intentions are not pure. She really thought too much, where did all that emotion come from? She thought he was here to see her granddaughter, but it turned out that he was here to see the emperor's granddaughter.

"This kind of job is not something that can be found easily. Traditionally, it has to be obtained through the imperial examination or the military examination." She looked at her teacher, Master Yun.

Taifu Yun nodded solemnly, "Your Majesty is right. Generally speaking, there are two ways to obtain civil and military official positions. I wonder if any of the children of Lord An's clan have taken the imperial examinations or studied martial arts?"

Mr. An's face was embarrassed when he was asked: "No."

If that were the case, would he need to come to the emperor in person?

"Your Majesty, since you are new to the court, it would be a good thing if you have the help of your cousins. Besides, they all want to work for Your Majesty."

Taifu Yun looked at the emperor, wanting to see how she would respond.

"Grandfather, didn't you say that they have never taken the imperial examinations and none of them have learned martial arts? Then how can they help me do things?" What I want are talents, not mediocre people or fools.

The corner of Master Yun's mouth curled up slightly, but it only lasted for a second before returning to normal.

"This... Your Majesty, the Queen Mother Xigong both said they are quite good."

Shangguan Wanjun was about to die of laughter. If the aunt didn't say so, would it mean that they were bad? That would also be a slap in the face.

"Grandfather, I have to discuss this assignment with the court officials. After all, your family is my in-laws. If I show too much care for you at the beginning, it may damage my dignity and persuasiveness." Humph, old guy, he really knows how to make trouble for others.

How can I, an emperor, be controlled by you? It's a joke.

Mr. An returned home disappointed, looking unhappy.

Shangguan Wanjun personally escorted him to the door, watched his back as he left, then turned around and returned to the main hall to sit down.

She looked at the teacher who had been sitting quietly and suddenly became interested.

"Teacher, what do you think of the student's performance just now?"

Taifu Yun raised his lips slightly: "Very good."

Shangguan Wanjun also laughed when she heard it: "It's not easy to get praise from the teacher."

You have to know that she studied hard for several months, but she was only praised very rarely.

Taifu Yun was actually very satisfied with the emperor as his student. However, under special circumstances, he could not praise the emperor too much, so as to prevent the emperor from becoming proud and complacent. Fortunately, the emperor himself was very confident, humble and hardworking, which made him feel quite relieved.

Thinking of Lord An, Master Yun frowned slightly.

"What does the Emperor intend to do?"

"Is the earldom of my maternal grandfather lifelong or hereditary?"

"Lifelong, the late emperor did not attach importance to this aspect, but only because the Empress Dowager of the West Palace gave birth to you, he conferred a title on you."

In response, Shangguan Wanjun said that what her father left her was not entirely a mess.

"My grandfather came to look for me personally, but I didn't even show any respect. This also hurt my mother's reputation."

Master Yun nodded: "That's right."

Throughout one's life, one always cares about face and social etiquette, which is really not easy.

"Since that's the case, I will issue an edict to elevate my grandfather's title to hereditary. I will also arrange for someone to assess the Zhang family's children's literary and martial arts skills tomorrow. What do you think, teacher?"

"So good."

Shangguan Wanjun sent Liu Cheng to arrange for the concubines from various palaces to come to the imperial study to discuss matters.

Shangguan Wanjun felt a little sleepy because she didn't have a nap today.

Minglan suggested softly, "Your Majesty, why don't you just close your eyes and get some sleep?"

After hearing her suggestion, Shangguan Wanjun supported herself with her jade hands and leaned back on the phoenix chair.

The concubines entered the hall one after another. Shangguan Wanjun had not yet woken up. The concubines admired the beautiful woman leaning on the phoenix chair for a long time.

"Your Majesty, please wake up."

At the call of Lianhua and others, Shangguan Wanjun slowly opened her eyes.

"We're all here." She sat up straight and looked at the guests with sleepy eyes.

"Your Majesty, your humble servant."

"No need to be polite, just sit down."

The concubines sat down in order of rank, and then looked at the emperor who looked unhappy.

"The virtuous concubine will go to the Earl An's mansion to announce an imperial decree."

The virtuous concubine - Lord Lin was stunned. Is she alive?

"Yes."