Secrets of Yuqing Palace

The entire Guwalja Prefecture gradually stabilized, but there were also many happy events.

In May, Fu Cha and Shi Wenzhuo brought their three children to Fu Cha's house to attend the wedding of Li Rongbao and Jueluo.

This was the first time Wanyu met her aunt-in-law. She looked very gentle and dignified, and was very kind to her.

Wanyu has a very good impression of her aunt-in-law.

Not only because of the first impression, but also because of the little historical records she knew.

As far as she knew, her uncle Fucha Li Rongbao had nine sons and two daughters who survived.

From this we can see that this aunt-in-law is truly virtuous and is not pretending.

After my uncle’s wedding, my second sister Wanlin got married in June and became the concubine of the fourth prince Yinzhen.

Although the entire wedding process is not as good as that of the legitimate wife.

However, the marriage was arranged by the emperor himself, and he also bestowed the title "Mu", which can be said to be very respectable.

No matter who the Fourth Prince takes as a concubine in the future, her status will never be as high as Wanlin's.

Just based on the fact that the emperor personally arranged the marriage and bestowed the title on her, she could even be said to be the number one person among all the princes and nobles, second only to their legitimate wives.

To be more realistic, if Wanlin meets those unfavored princes' wives, she doesn't need to give them too much face.

It's easy to imagine how big of a shock her marriage into the Fourth Prince's harem would bring to the legitimate wife, Ulanara.

This is not only because the family's power is inferior, but also because of the respect given by the royal family.

Moreover, on the surface, even the legitimate wife cannot make things too difficult for a concubine like this.

What's more, the legitimate wife is only twelve years old and is still a little girl.

She hasn't even had her period yet, so she can't consummate her marriage with the Fourth Prince.

With such a huge mountain coming in, the pressure she felt was suffocating.

Of course, all this has nothing to do with Guwalja Prefecture.

After the masters of the Guwaljia Mansion sent the second princess to marry, they immediately began to prepare for the wedding of the third prince Shi Liha.

Originally, the wedding of Shi Liha and Amur was scheduled to take place in the 32nd year of Emperor Kangxi's reign.

However, with Wanyu marrying into the Eastern Palace, the time had to be moved forward.

Because Yinreng was eager to marry Wanyu into the Yuqing Palace immediately, he would go to the Qianqing Palace from time to time to ask Kangxi about the date of their wedding.

Especially the eldest prince Yinzhen, after the fourth daughter was born at 3:00 pm on July 21, the 31st year, the pressure became even greater.

Yinzhen already had four legitimate daughters, but Yinreng was not even allowed to touch a woman.

Kangxi was a little annoyed by Yinreng's urging, and he was indeed anxious to have a legitimate grandson.

With the emperor's personal inquiry, the Ministry of Rites naturally paid more attention to it.

After calculations by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, the final date was set at September 20th, the 32nd year of the Kangxi reign.

The wedding date of the Crown Prince and Wanyu has been set.

As an older brother, Shi Liha certainly cannot get married later than his younger sister.

So after discussing it, Shi Wenzhuo and his wife decided to advance the marriage of Shi Liha and Amur.

After obtaining the consent of Shi Huashan and Jueluo, the Guwaljia Mansion went to the Prince Wen's Mansion to express its intention, and the Prince Wen's Mansion immediately agreed.

Therefore, both parties quickly reached an understanding and began to prepare for the marriage of their two children.

According to the Zhou Li, there are six contents in a scholar's wedding: offering betrothal gifts, asking for the bride's name, offering good news, offering betrothal gifts, asking for the date, and welcoming the bride, which are called the Six Rites.

The six rituals have been passed down for thousands of years, and weddings in the Qing Dynasty also followed their principles, with three stages: marriage negotiation, engagement, and marriage.

Discussing marriage means choosing a partner, which is equivalent to offering a betrothal gift or asking for a name.

Engagement is the establishment of a marriage contract between a man and a woman, which is divided into small engagement and big engagement. Small engagement is equivalent to Naji, and big engagement is equivalent to Nazheng.

Getting married means holding a wedding ceremony, which is equivalent to welcoming the bride and groom.

The marriage proposal process was completed more than a decade ago, and now it is just a formality.

After the marriage proposal is successful, the engagement stage begins, and the first step is the small engagement.

The Guwaljia Mansion invited a very prestigious lady from the clan, and sent two jade ruyi as a small betrothal gift to Amur in the Wenjun Prince's Mansion, and the marriage was officially settled.

After that, the wedding was settled. The Guwaljia Mansion sent the betrothal gifts to the Prince Wen's Mansion and discussed the wedding date. They set the wedding date on October 20th and then informed relatives and friends.

The two had decided on their marriage more than a decade ago and were slowly preparing for it.

So nowadays, the ceremony is very quick.

After the Golden Awarding Festival, on October 20th, Amur married into the Guwalja Prefecture.

She became the eldest daughter-in-law of the second branch of the Guwaljia family and Wanyu's sister-in-law.

The happy events in Guwalja Prefecture are not over yet!

On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, Guwaljia Prefecture became bustling again.

Today is the coming-of-age ceremony of the third lady of the mansion, the future Crown Princess Guaerjia Wanyu.

In fact, the Manchus did not have a coming-of-age ceremony for girls.

However, Shi Huashan's branch always used the Chinese surname "Shi" when dealing with external parties.

I have come into contact with many Han people and Han culture, and have been deeply influenced by it, so I also attach great importance to Han etiquette.

Especially the coming-of-age ceremony for girls.

Therefore, the Guwalja Prefecture also attached great importance to the princess's coming-of-age ceremony.

The first ray of sunlight in the morning shines through the carved window lattice and falls into Wanyu's exquisite boudoir.

She was dressed in a gorgeous Manchu dress embroidered with intricate peony and phoenix patterns, and wore a headdress inlaid with pearls and gems. She looked like a newly blooming peony, delicate and charming.

After Yinreng learned about this, he specially arranged for the most skilled embroiderer in the palace to tailor this Manchu clothing.

Following a clear ringing sound, Xia Lian took the lead.

A group of maids dressed in silver-red jackets, blue satin vests, and white silk pleated skirts entered one after another.

They held a variety of exquisite dressing supplies and dress accessories in their hands, their movements skillful and orderly.

Wanyu sat in front of the dressing table, letting the experienced old nanny dress her up.

It was the cold winter season, so the coming-of-age ceremony was held in the flower hall of the main courtyard of Guwaljia Mansion.

There are many heaters and other heating tools in the flower hall.

Therefore, even though it was freezing cold and snowy outside, the hall was as warm as spring.

Although the Guwaljia Mansion intended to keep a low profile, there were still many guests attending the coming-of-age ceremony because of the emperor's decree granting the marriage.

The ceremony began with the solemn sound of drums and music.

Wanyu was dressed in a gorgeous dress and walked slowly into the center of the flower hall with the help of her maids.

Every step she took was steady and dignified.

Although there were some jealous people who whispered disparagements, most people gave him compliments and envied him.

The core part of the coming-of-age ceremony is the ceremony of adding the hairpin.

An old lady of high esteem in the clan, holding an exquisite and beautiful jade hairpin, slowly walked up to Wanyu.

This jade hairpin was personally delivered to Guwaljia Mansion by Zhang Xi (Xiao Xizi), the eunuch in charge of Yuqing Palace, who was sent by Yinreng in full view of everyone.

Although he could not be there in person in the palace, his importance to Wanyu could not be ignored.

This move gave Wanyu and even the Guwaljia Prefecture enough respect.

It also allowed Zhang Xi to recognize the future hostess of Yuqing Palace in advance.

So after Zhang Xi arrived in Guwaljia Prefecture, he kept a very humble attitude.

He did not become arrogant and look down on others just because he was the first person around the prince.

The old lady first prayed for Wanyu with auspicious words, and then carefully inserted the jade hairpin into her bun.

Watching this solemn moment in front of them, the whole audience was silent, everyone stared with bated breath, as if even time had stopped.

After the ceremony of adding the hairpin, Wanyu knelt down to pay her respects to her parents and elders to thank them for raising her.

Afterwards, she bowed and thanked the guests, showing the demeanor of a legitimate daughter of the Guwaljia family.

After the ceremony, the banquet officially began.

The table was filled with all kinds of delicacies, including the exquisite delicacies of imperial court cuisine and the unique flavors of folk cuisine.

The guests were toasting each other and laughing, and the whole compound was immersed in a joyful and peaceful atmosphere.

Because the Manchus did not have this custom, this was the first time for many people to watch a woman's coming-of-age ceremony, which gave them many novel experiences and topics to talk about.

It also allows them to experience the cultural heritage of Guwalja Prefecture.

The happy events in Guwalja Prefecture did not stop.

After the Spring Festival, with Shi Wenzhuo being promoted to the third rank of Guanglu Temple Minister, the entire Guwaljia Prefecture became lively again.