Changing court robes three times a year seems incredible to others.
This is not to say that Zhang Shou jumped three major ranks in one year, but six minor ranks. Because court clothes are different from official clothes and daily clothes, there are no cranes and pheasants, they are more solemn red, with a complete set of tops, skirts, knee guards, etc. Even if the rank is upgraded, the clothes, shoes and socks are almost the same, with only a few changes in the leather belt and ribbon.
At most, it was a crown with a crossbar, nothing more. In this case, a set of court clothes could be worn for many years by frugal officials. After all, at the beginning of the founding of the country, the annual clothing allowance for officials was quite generous, but after a hundred years, prices rose, and silver was expensive while copper was cheap. The little money given now was not enough to buy clothes and change clothes.
Moreover, Zhang Shou entered the government as a seventh-rank official, and was later promoted to the sixth-rank. The seventh-rank and sixth-rank officials originally had the same crown and clothes, even the crown, leather belt and ribbon were exactly the same. It was not until the fifth-rank that a beam was added. The reason why he made three new court clothes in one year was simply that he had grown too much taller in the past year.
During this year or so, because of the good economy, his daily range of activities increased significantly. He even went to Cangzhou. As a result, the busier he was and the more he traveled, the better his appetite became. Moreover, his diet was more complete than in the village, and he had a constant supply of goat's milk and cow's milk. Zhang Shou's height really grew very fast. Although his height was not measured in the village, he had grown at least two or three inches taller than when he came to Beijing!
Therefore, according to the rigid standards of today's court dress, the hem of the red silk skirt should be one inch off the ground and the red silk top should be seven inches longer than the waist, not to mention the court dress, even his official uniform, which he had not had the chance to wear many times, had to be remade again and again as his body size changed. He even suggested that the size should be loosened to avoid waste, but was stopped by Zhu Ying.
Miss Zhu's reasoning was convincing: "You can afford clothes, so why do you have to save money? There are many people in this world who only care about clothes and not people. Instead of wearing ill-fitting clothes and letting those mean people point fingers at you, it's better to tailor your clothes to your body! Qiansi Pavilion, the most famous clothing workshop in the capital, is my family's property. Just let them make clothes for you. Good materials will rot if they are stored!"
"Besides, the material of these clothes cannot be washed. Once washed, they will rot and fade. I don't want you to mend them for three years, three years, and then three years. Now is not the time when Emperor Taizu was in trouble at the beginning of his rebellion!"
At this moment, Zhang Shou looked at the entire set of clothes in front of him and saw that the crown had changed from the original two-beam crown of the seventh rank to the current three-beam crown of the fifth rank. There were more silver-carved patterns on the silver leather belt. The original yellow, green and red brocade ribbon had also been changed to a yellow, green, red and purple brocade ribbon with carved patterns. The silver ribbon ring had also been changed to silver-plated gold. The only thing that remained unchanged was the entire set of clothes.
The entire outfit was placed on a spacious clothes hanger that was almost as tall as him. There was not a single wrinkle on it. Considering the ironing technology available today, it must have taken a lot of effort.
Zhang Shou couldn't help but smile as he thought about it. He lifted the sleeve of the robe and took a casual look. He suddenly found that the stitching was different from the ones sent by the Duke of Zhao's Mansion in the past. He immediately asked, "Mother, who sent this thing?"