The process of the coming-of-age ceremony remains unchanged throughout the ages.
After the ceremony, the host prepared a banquet to entertain the guests.
The banquet was harmonious, with everyone chatting and laughing, having a great time.
The Princess of Qing saw the wife of the Marquis of Anding and said, "Princess of Jin, come to think of it, you should call the wife of the Marquis of Anding sister-in-law."
"I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it." The wife of the Prince of Anding quickly waved her hands.
"Why shouldn't I be so unworthy? Princess Jin is the one who should respectfully address your sister-in-law as "sister". According to etiquette, she and your sister-in-law are sisters in name, and you should also address Princess Jin the same way as your sister-in-law."
The words of Prince Qing's wife were full of malice.
Everyone knows that Jiang Changning is the second wife of Prince Jin, and the second wife has to act like a concubine in front of the tablet of the original wife.
However, after Concubine Park died, the Prince of Jin's Mansion and the Marquis of Anding's Mansion almost cut off contact.
After Prince Jin remarried, he did not bring Jiang Changning to visit the Marquis of Anding's mansion.
Although the various mansions were not clear about what had happened between the two mansions, since Prince Jin ignored the Marquis of Anding's mansion and respected Jiang as his original wife, others also tactfully did not mention the terms "second wife" or "original wife".
As the saying goes, don't hit people in the face and don't expose their weaknesses when scolding them.
The Crown Princess of Prince Qing brought up this topic today in order to trample Jiang Changning to death.
Jiang Changning looked calm. She was the second wife to begin with, and not mentioning it would not change the fact.
As for performing the concubine ceremony in front of Concubine Park's tablet, although there are already three princes of Jin in the Prince of Jin's Mansion, they are still second-generation princes and are close to the emperor in blood, and there is no ancestral hall in the mansion yet.
The tablets of the old Prince of Jin and the former Prince of Jin were placed in the clan ancestral hall, while the tablets of Qiao and Concubine Park were placed in a quiet room in the mansion.
When Jiang Changning's grandson becomes the King of Jin and a ancestral hall is built in his mansion, their tablets will be placed inside.
By that time, it is uncertain whether Jiang Changning will still be alive, so how can she be a concubine
Of course, whether or not she could perform the duties of a concubine was one thing, but whether the Crown Prince's wife of Prince Qing was disgusting was another.
"Speaking of etiquette, I just happen to have something to ask the Crown Prince's wife." Jiang Changning put down the soup spoon in his hand and lightly pressed the corner of his lips with a handkerchief.
"The Prince of Jin is the Minister of Rites, so you still need to consult me on matters of etiquette." The Princess of Prince Qing guessed that Jiang Changning was going to bring up her son's concubine again, so she wanted to change the subject.
How could Jiang Changning do as she wished? He smiled and said, "I heard that your son's new concubine is the daughter of the Crown Prince's Consort's sister. I wonder if the Crown Prince's Consort and your sister are still relatives in the future?"
If the Crown Princess of Qing Prince insists on finding a relative for her, then don't blame her for making the Crown Princess of Qing Prince lose a relative.
This question is not difficult to answer, but the Crown Princess of Qing cannot say that my maiden family is not a relative.
Her elder sister was young and ignorant, and had an affair with a merchant's son, so she could only marry a lower class man. Now she is helping the Qing Palace to make money.
Originally, her sister had suspected that the concubine issue was planned by her. If she said in public that they were not relatives, no matter how she tried to remedy the situation, it would be useless.
The Crown Princess of Prince Qing remained silent for a long time, and the atmosphere was a little awkward.
The wife of the Marquis of Anding looked at the two of them. It was really a fight between gods and the little devils were suffering. While the two were not paying attention, she quickly and quietly walked away.
At this time, Princess Yi Ya came over and asked, "Why did you all stop eating? Is the food not to your taste?"
"How can it be unpalatable? The dishes are colorful, fragrant and delicious." Someone said.
With this step, Prince Consort Qing no longer needs to answer Jiang Changning's questions.
The wife of the Marquis of Anding had already left, and Jiang Changning no longer needed to call her sister-in-law.
After a while, the sound of talking and laughing resumed, as if the unpleasant incident just now had never happened.
After the banquet, the guests said goodbye and went home.
Jiang Changning did not tell the Concubine Dowager what happened in the Princess's Mansion.
If she had a grudge, she would take revenge on the spot. There was no need to involve the concubine.
"The weather is a bit hot and humid. It might rain." Xiulan came in with a bowl of iced bird's nest soup. "Princess, drink a bowl to cool off."
"Such a small bowl is not enough, give me another one." Jiang Changning took the bowl, finished it in no time, and handed the empty bowl to Xiulan.
"Princess, you can't eat too much cold food." Xiulan went out with the empty bowl.
Jiang Changning lay down on the cool mat and lamented, "It would be great if there was air conditioning!"
In this era, it is destined to be a luxury to have free time to use.
All Jiang Changning could do was to put a few more ice basins in the room and bring in a crank fan.
The hot weather is quite unfriendly to the elderly.
Just one day before the birthday of Concubine Runan, an old concubine in the palace died at the age of 63.
This old dowager was a concubine of Emperor Xiaozong, and the emperor called her Emperor Zu Xiangfei.
The death of the old empress dowager was not a national mourning, but the emperor issued an edict: all families with titles were not allowed to hold banquets or music for a year, and common people were not allowed to get married for three months.
The birthday banquet for Concubine Dowager Runan could not be held.
Gu Zhongjiao's wish to marry Chen Dingding on the sixth day of August has become a luxury.
All the government offices packed up, changed into plain clothes, and went to the palace to mourn.
There are five princely palaces, five county princely palaces, eight princesses' palaces, four dukes' palaces, five county dukes' palaces, six marquisates' palaces, and dozens of other royal relatives, noble families, and officials above the third rank.
There were crowds of people and horses at the palace gate, but no noise. There was a loud noise outside the palace gate, which startled the emperor and was a serious crime punishable by beheading.
The carriages of Prince Jin's mansion and Prince De's mansion were lined up together. Princess De was a little fat, and she wore thin clothes in the mansion. She had to wear court clothes when entering the palace, and she was sweating profusely from the heat.
She wiped her sweat with a handkerchief and said, "It's so hot, the coffin can't be left there for too long, right?"
“But it has to be displayed for at least seven days. Back then, Concubine Qi displayed it for seven days.” The Princess Dowager of Prince Jin said, fanning herself.
"The Imperial Observatory checked the date and ordered the body to be kept for fourteen days." The Princess Consort of Prince De said in a low voice.
Princess De rubbed her forehead. She felt hot in her mansion, staying in a room with an ice basin. Now she came to the palace to mourn and burn paper in front of the basin.
For fourteen days, she wore such thick clothes and went to the palace to cry every day. She suddenly felt dizzy and wanted to faint.
But no matter how hot it is, you can't avoid going to the funeral.
If the King of Hell wants people to die at three o'clock in the morning, who can keep them alive until five o'clock
You can't complain that the old concubine died at the wrong time.
"The sedan chair is coming." There are too many people entering the palace.
Jiang Changning and Prince De's wife helped their mothers-in-law onto the sedan chair respectively, and then they each got on another sedan chair.
They soon arrived at the palace where the funeral was held. Jiang Changning got off the sedan chair and went forward to support the concubine.
Before they entered the hall, they heard crying.
When you enter the hall, you will see a circle of ice basins placed around the old concubine's golden coffin to prevent her body from rotting.
The smell of fireworks from burning paper money, the smell of incense and candles, and the scent of sandalwood mixed together to create an indescribable strange smell that makes people very uncomfortable.
Jiang Changning involuntarily covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, and the Dewang Crown Princess did the same.
The Princess Dowager of Prince Jin and the Princess Consort of Prince De acted as if they hadn't smelled anything, their expressions didn't change at all. They took the incense handed to them by the palace maid and walked forward to burn it.
Jiang Changning and Princess De looked at each other. As expected, they were still too young. They put down their hands, took the incense with expressionless faces like their mothers-in-law, and went to burn incense and offer wine in front of the coffin.
(End of this chapter)