"The possibility of children having problems when blood relatives marry is much higher than that of children born from non-blood relatives."
Everyone was waiting for her to say something, but when Xiao Cao said this, the waiting became very serious. The Queen Mother immediately put down the cup that she was holding in her hand and asked anxiously, "What do you mean?"
"Queen Mother, let me put it this way. This incestuous couple may have obtained part of the same bloodline from their common ancestor. If this same bloodline contains half of the bad factors, they themselves will behave normally, but their offspring may combine the bad factors of both parents into one complete child, and then the child will have problems."
As Xiaocao spoke, he also gave a simple demonstration using fruit.
"Obviously, the closer the blood relationship, the greater the possibility of the child having problems. Although sometimes, even if people who are not blood-related get married, the child born may have problems, but the possibility is much smaller, and in this case, it usually has nothing to do with blood inheritance. This person inherits the blood of both parents, but the same father and mother are still completely different, which shows that the blood is also variable, and some diseases may be caused by this change process.
I have been traveling around with my adoptive father since I was young. As my adoptive father said, he had already realized this problem decades ago. It was not just empty talk, but a conclusion he came to after observing the actual situations of countless large and small families.
When the child is born, those with obvious problems are mostly gone at birth, but most children with congenital diseases are similar to normal children at birth, and they will show various problems as they grow older. In addition, if the child is not good, or is mentally retarded, stupid, disabled or defective, it is usually regarded as a family disgrace, and every effort is made to cover it up, so that outsiders know less. However, as a doctor, the adoptive father has superb medical skills, so he can always gain more trust and naturally know more secrets.
When he was out and about, when he met some families, his adoptive father would remind them implicitly that it was best not to get close to them or get married. "
At this point, Xiao Cao paused and continued, "I personally think that the marriage between these first cousins is not much different from the marriage between first cousins in terms of blood relationship. The children of these two brothers are considered immoral because they have the same surname. But the children of these two siblings are not immoral because they do not have the same surname? But in terms of blood relationship, the nature is really the same."
The scene was so tense that one could hear a pin drop, but someone's heart was beating in his throat without showing it on his face.
After all, cousin marriage has been around since ancient times. Now, Xiaocao says that it is immoral and should not be done. If this is done, too many people will be hurt. You know, cousin marriage is quite common in the royal family. Although the people present and Emperor Xuanren have nothing to do with this, the late emperor's favorite concubine is his biological cousin.
"You are a very brave girl." Emperor Xuanren strode in from outside, breaking the silence in the room.
"The Emperor is coming, why didn't you let anyone know?" asked the Queen Mother.
"Greetings to the Queen Mother. - I vaguely heard the maid from the Wen family talking outside, so I might as well listen to her first." Emperor Xuanren sat down next to the Queen Mother, turned around and waved to the person who greeted him, "Sit down." Then his eyes fell on Xiaocao, but he did not rush to say anything on this issue. Instead, he asked if there were any other blood-related hereditary diseases, which was similar to the Queen Mother's previous question.
It was actually quite normal for Emperor Xuanren to ask these questions. He was an emperor of the Qi Dynasty and he would not be indifferent to the people's livelihood. The empress dowager had almost the same mentality. Although she was a wise woman, she was not ambitious enough to interfere in world affairs. She cared, but she just couldn't do it like an ordinary old lady who turned a deaf ear to the outside world. She just wanted to have an idea in her mind, that's all. Her son was very outstanding and did a great job. He didn't need her advice or help.
Later on, the topic naturally turned to the topic of marriage between close relatives.
"From the perspective of blood relationship alone, what Wenren girl said is not wrong." Emperor Xuanren actually nodded in agreement, and then changed the subject, "Are children born from close relatives more likely to die in infancy than in other situations? Are they more likely to miscarry in the womb?"
Xiao Cao nodded. This is obvious. Close marriages increase the chances of children inheriting genetic diseases. Once a child has a disease, he or she will be more fragile and can die if not careful. Problems exist from the beginning. Various problems often occur in the mother's womb, such as premature birth, miscarriage, and abortion.
Emperor Xuanren picked up the teacup and took a sip nonchalantly. "The late emperor's concubine was pregnant at least seven or eight times. She gave birth to four children. The first one didn't live past three years old, and the second one didn't live past three days. The third one barely survived, but the fourth one didn't live past half a year. Behind the scenes, my son should remember correctly, right?"
The Queen Mother glanced at Emperor Xuanren, said nothing, and nodded lightly.
Emperor Xuanren suddenly smiled and said, "At the earliest time, I seemed to be less than ten years old. It has been thirty or forty years now, but I still remember it so clearly. This shows that my memory is really good."
However, hearing this, Xiaocao felt a chill for no reason. Princess Fukang was silent, and the Queen Mother looked even worse. Thirty or forty years, even if it was one's own parents who died, what should be forgotten would have been forgotten. If one remembered it very clearly, it could only be said to be unforgettable. Emperor Xuanren mentioned it in this tone, so it seemed that the death of his brother or sister had nothing to do with him. However, he should have been involved, and the late emperor might have done something very excessive.
An emperor has three thousand beauties in his harem. No matter how many women try, they may not be able to get pregnant. If a woman can get pregnant two or three times, she is either very favored, or has great means, or has a strong family background. The previous emperor's concubine got seven or eight times. What does that mean? It is not an exaggeration to say that she is the most favored concubine in the harem.
"Everyone says that the late emperor and the imperial concubine were deeply in love, but God seems to be blind and made it difficult for this couple to have children. The late emperor and the imperial concubine both thought that everyone in the harem couldn't stand the imperial concubine getting along well, and they harmed her time and time again, either causing her to have a miscarriage or causing her child to die. The imperial concubine is almost going crazy, and the late emperor is about to go crazy too."
"The late emperor protected the imperial concubine like an iron barrel. No one can harm her." The empress dowager said coldly.
"The late emperor had a strong control desire and would not allow anything to go out of his control. As a result, the imperial concubine got into trouble time and time again. Not only did he become paranoid, but he also began to doubt his own abilities." Seriously speaking, Emperor Xuanren actually had great respect for his father, who could be considered a man of great talent and strategy. Unfortunately, he was often confused about the imperial concubine's affairs. The palace maids in the imperial concubine's palace had to be replaced frequently, and the other concubines, princes and princesses all suffered. Fortunately, because there was no conclusive evidence, the entire harem was not plunged into bloodshed. Of course, even so, there were still many concubines who suffered, and it was not easy for those who survived.
To be honest, the late emperor's concubine was in good health, and she was obviously easy to conceive as she got pregnant time and time again. Under normal circumstances, it was unreasonable for her to have problems with the children. Naturally, these accidents aroused suspicion. People wondered if the concubine had done something against the will of heaven and earth, and that was why she was punished. Many people cursed her behind her back and said that she deserved it.
Those who experienced those things at the time were trembling with fear, including Emperor Xuanren. However, now that this unsolved case has been solved, they find it a little ridiculous. "Mother, if I remember correctly, the Royal Grandmother and the father of the late Emperor's concubine are twins, a boy and a girl, right?"
"Well, the blood relationship couldn't be closer."
"If they knew that the reason they couldn't raise their children was indeed because they were immoral and would not be tolerated by Heaven, I wonder what their reaction would be?" Emperor Xuanren said with great interest.
The Queen Mother knew that her son was deeply resentful towards his father, the Emperor, but, "Your Majesty, he has been dead for more than ten years." The Queen Mother was equally resentful, but her resentment dissipated when her son became the final winner.
If you argue with the dead, you will only get yourself angry.
Emperor Xuanren also knew that he had lost his composure, but before today, he had not discovered that there was still a knot in his heart. Although it continued to exist, it was not a big deal. However, at least at this moment, he felt relieved.
The strange aura on Emperor Xuanren's body dissipated and returned to normal. Xiaocao's heart, which had been beating a little fast, also calmed down. With her thick nerves, she could not bear it just now. Looking at the others, they were really quiet as chickens.
Emperor Xuanren returned to normal, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
However, the chance of genetic diseases increases when close relatives get married. But this is just a high chance, not a 100% chance. The late emperor and his concubine had so many pregnancies, but they could only keep one. Is their luck really that bad? Or maybe there is still some human factor in the middle? However, this question is just a thought.
"Girl Wenren, is it true that as long as there is a blood relationship, there may be problems with the children of the younger generation?"
"Of course not. Even if the child is born between close blood relatives, it doesn't necessarily mean there will be problems. This is actually known to everyone. If you are lucky, the child may be healthy."
"Yes, that's right. I was worried and confused for a moment. In your opinion, if we prohibit marriage between close relatives, what kind of boundary should be used?" asked Emperor Xuanren.
Xiaocao's heart couldn't help but beat wildly when she heard that. At this time, she proposed that "inbreeding can easily lead to blood inheritance", and her purpose was naturally to prevent inbreeding. This kind of thing is definitely not so easy to achieve. After all, marriage between relatives is a better way to bind interests together. If it is blocked, the scope of involvement will be very wide.
In the entire Qi Dynasty, there are only a few people who are truly in the top circle. If you look closely, seven out of ten of them are relatives by marriage. When Xiaocao opened his mouth, he was already prepared to make tremendous efforts and even thought of the possibility of failure in the end.
But now, Emperor Xuanren, the supreme ruler, actually brought it up himself! The surprise came too fast and too intensely, so Xiaocao couldn't recover immediately.
"Why, girl Wenren, is this question difficult to answer?" Emperor Xuanren raised his eyebrows.
"No, Your Majesty," Xiao Cao felt that Emperor Xuanren was simply the cutest person she had ever seen. How could he be so considerate and wise? "Three generations, blood relatives within three generations are prohibited from marrying."
There is no need to add direct and collateral relatives. Those who are blood related for three generations are prohibited from getting married. That is enough.
"Three generations? I thought it should be at least four or five generations." Emperor Xuanren meant that three generations were too close.
"That's not necessary. Three generations is enough." This leaves a little room for those who are closely related - in her previous life, although they were direct and collateral relatives within three generations, those who were related by blood were basically treated as relatives, and relatives basically would not get together - if it was five generations, in the upper circle, it would be very rare to get married, which means that it would be basically impossible to find a partner of equal status, how terrible!
Emperor Xuanren nodded, "As the saying goes, everyone has their own expertise. Since you proposed this matter, you must have your reasons. However, if this matter is to be implemented, the law must be amended. However, this law is related to the foundation of the country, and any amendment must be serious enough. I cannot arbitrarily make changes. I must have reasons and evidence to convince the court officials. There are always some pedantic people in this court. It is not a few words or a few special cases that can make them agree. In this regard, Wenren girl, do you have any appropriate suggestions?"
"Your Majesty, how about spending a little more time and conducting a census?"