When Ximen Qing was dead at Wuda and had a bright tryst with Pan Jinlian, he did not have any idea of marrying Pan Jinlian. At this time, in Ximenqing's heart, Pan Jinlian was just the first object.
But at the same time, Ximenqing married another woman.
Is that because another woman is better looking and more amorous than Pan Jinlian?The answer is no. It's because another woman is richer, which is why "Golden Vase Plum" is written yellow on the surface, but in fact, it is written gold, and even Ximenqing's marriage is more rich than colorful.
On this day, a matchmaker named Sister-in-law Xue went to the pharmacy to find Ximenqing. After seeing Ximenqing, he told Ximenqing that he was going to introduce a family business to Ximenqing. Who are you introducing?It is the wife of the late cloth merchant Yang Zongxi, the widow Meng Yulou. Sister-in-law Xue introduced the Jade Building:
This widow has a good penny in her hand. There are also two stepping beds in Nanjing. Four seasons clothes, I can't get my hands on them, and there are four or five boxes. Needless to say, there are thousands of taels of silver in his hand. There are also three or two hundred cylinders of good three shuttle cloth. Unexpectedly, he went to sell cloth and died outside. He has been widowed for more than a year, and he has no children around him, and he has a little uncle, who is only ten years old. Youth, what to keep him!There is a girl in his family who wants to advocate for him to marry. This lady is not more than twenty-five or sixteen years old this year, she has a long figure, a character, and she is dressed up as a lamp person. Graceful and handsome, hundreds of clever and clever, in charge of discipline, needle pointing female workers, backgammon chess needless to say.
Sister-in-law Xue seemed to know the habits of Ximen officials, and he first said that Meng Yulou was rich, and he had two beds, and he couldn't intervene in the four seasons with many clothes. There are a lot of jewelry, thousands of taels of silver, and three or two hundred cylinders of good cloth. After that, her age, appearance and talent were introduced.
Here we want to focus on the Nanjing step bed. Readers who have an understanding of the Ming Dynasty will know that the stepping bed is not just a bed, but actually equivalent to a small bedroom. The picture below is a pulling bed. This bed contains a bed, a dresser, a small chair, a small table, etc., and is a small confined space. And Nanjing here is not talking about the origin, but the brand. In fact, China already had brand awareness in the Yuan and Ming dynasties, and well-known brands abounded, such as Zhang Mingqi's hand stove. Zhang Mingqi is a brand, not just a craftsman's name, just like Pierre Cardin in the West, a personal brand. And Nanjing, which is a stepping bed, was also a famous brand at that time, and it was a place name brand.
After Sister-in-law Xue finished talking about Meng Yulou's conditions, Ximenqing was immediately tempted, and the two things that moved her heart were her wealthy net worth and her ability to play the Yueqin. Immediately, he begged Sister-in-law Xue to say goodbye. In ancient times, when women got married for the first time, of course, they proposed to their parents. But Meng Yulou is remarried, who should he kiss?Here, Sister-in-law Xue helped us answer this cultural common sense.
Sister-in-law Xue said that the first thing that has the right to speak is that it is her ex-husband's family, and the older generation of men with the same surname, such as her father-in-law, uncle and uncle, Meng Yulou does not have it. The second in line is a man of his husband's generation, such as an older brother and younger brother. In this order, Meng Yulou's ex-husband has a younger brother named Yang Zongbao, but he is too young, only a teenager to call the shots. The third in line is the woman with the same surname as his Yang family, such as Yang Zongxi's aunt or sister. And Meng Yulou's ex-husband has an aunt, that is, Miss Yang (two tones, aunt's meaning). The fourth in line is the elders of her ex-husband's family with different surnames, such as Yang Zongxi's uncle and aunt. Yang Zongxi also happened to have an uncle, surnamed Zhang, that is, Zhang's fourth uncle.
Sister-in-law Xue then gave Ximenqing an idea, whether Meng Yulou remarried or not, Miss Yang had the most right to speak, but Miss Yang and Fourth Uncle Zhang were also worried about Meng Yulou's property, Ximenqing should focus on Miss Yang at this time, as long as the price given to Miss Yang was appropriate, Miss Yang naturally agreed to marry Meng Yulou, and Fourth Uncle Zhang naturally had no way to stop her.
The next day, Ximenqing prepared many gifts according to Sister-in-law Xue's strategy and came to Miss Yang's house to propose marriage. Miss Yang saw that Ximenqing was generous, and there was Sister-in-law Xue on the side, so she behaved very directly, she first said that her nephew and daughter-in-law had a family property of thousands of taels of silver, and Ximenqing would definitely not suffer a loss if she married her home. Second, Ximen Qing married Meng Yulou and went back, and she agreed to be bigger and smaller. Third, if Ximenqing could give him a coffin board and come to visit her during the New Year's holidays, he would agree.
After hearing this, Ximenqing immediately took out thirty taels of silver, and then said that he would give Miss Yang seventy taels after the matter was completed. And promised that he would come to visit Miss Yang during the New Year's holidays, and Miss Yang could also go to his house at any time. Sister-in-law Xue also helped on the side, saying that Ximenqing's family has money, and it is not worse than a relative of yours, and there will be generous guarantees in the future. Miss Yang was very happy, and immediately asked Sister-in-law Xue to take Ximenqing to see Meng Yulou, and then specially instructed Sister-in-law Xue to tell Meng Yulou what she said, you just said that I said, if you don't marry such a family, what kind of person will you marry!
Ximenqing got Miss Yang's promise and returned home happily.
The next day, Ximen Qing came to see Meng Yulou with "neat clothes and hats, sleeves and sleeves, riding a white horse, and two small servants followed by Ju'an and Ping'an". The subsequent dialogue shows that both Ximenqing and Sister-in-law Xue have superb deception skills.
Meng Yulou felt happy when he saw Ximenqing, so he asked Ximenqing's age, Ximenqing replied that he was twenty-eight, and asked Meng Yulou how old he was.
Meng Yulou said. The slave family is thirty years old.
At this time, we found that Sister-in-law Xue had already told the first lie, because when Sister-in-law Xue introduced Meng Yulou to Ximenqing again, she said that she was "twenty-five or six", which was obviously a concealment of her age.
But at this time, Sister-in-law Xue had already prepared her words, and Sister-in-law Xue said immediately.
The wife is two years old, and the ** days are long. Wife is a junior, ** accumulates like a mountain.
At this time, Ximenqing didn't plan to dwell on this issue anymore, so he continued.
The villain's wife has been dead for a long time, and she wants to marry a lady to manage the family, but I don't know what her respect is
This sentence is extremely clever, why do you think that Ximenqing has no wife (his wife has been dead for a long time), and marrying Meng Yulou is to be a wife (managing family affairs). But we obviously know that Ximenqing does not plan to marry Meng Yulou as his wife. However, you will find that Ximenqing did not tell a lie, he did have a wife who had been dead for a long time, but his original partner had been dead for a long time, and he later let Meng Yulou manage family affairs. Therefore, if Meng Yulou pursues Ximenqing afterwards, Ximenqing can completely say that he is telling the truth, as for understanding the management of family affairs as a wife, it is purely Meng Yulou's self-misunderstanding.
Meng Yulou not only likes Ximenqing's handsomeness at this time, but also has the wealth of Ximenqing touted by Xue's sister-in-law, and may also have the expectation of being a wife. So he agreed, and Ximen Qing also happily gave the dowry: two handkerchiefs, a pair of gold hairpins, and six gold rings. Widow Meng then begged Sister-in-law Xue to propose marriage to Miss Yang, and Sister-in-law Xue immediately conveyed Miss Yang's words. Soon after, Miss Yang personally sent someone to convey this passage again. It can be seen that Miss Yang is also very "concerned" about this family business, but she is afraid that Yulou will not agree.
After Ximenqing got the reply, he decided to marry Meng Yulou on the second day of the sixth month, and then said goodbye and left.
At this time, Meng Yulou also wanted to confirm one thing, that is, whether he was going to be a wife or not, so he asked Sister-in-law Xue.
But I don't know if there is anyone in the room (Ximenqing).
Sister-in-law Xue's answer was as blameless as Ximenqing's.
Good grandma, there are people in the room, and that one is a brain?
This sounds like saying that there is no one in the Ximen Qingfang, because the subjunctive tone is used, "there is someone", but it is true that there is no one in the Ximen Qingfang of Meng Yulou, and it will be difficult for Meng Yulou to investigate in the future. It can be seen that Sister-in-law Xue is also a master of cheating.
Here, the news of Ximenqing and Meng Yulou's marriage quickly reached the ears of Fourth Uncle Zhang, and this Fourth Uncle Zhang also wanted to get a piece of the pie from Meng Yulou's property.
Fourth Uncle Zhang wanted to keep the woman's things, and he was bent on protecting the son of Shang Tuiguan in the main street.
Fourth Uncle Zhang wanted to marry Meng Yulou to a man surnamed Shang, and wanted to leave Meng Yulou's family property. However, when Shang Juren heard that Ximenqing had already booked this family business, he knew that he was the one who controlled the government, so he couldn't move.
It can be seen that Ximenqing's power in Qinghe County is a man who does not dare to be hot.
But Fourth Uncle Zhang didn't want this huge family property to leak out, so Fourth Uncle Zhang decided to make a move. Fourth Uncle Zhang's first wave of offensive was Wendou.
Fourth Uncle Zhang ran to Meng Yulou and said
He (Shang Juren) is a poet family, and he has a lot of land, and he is quite passable, as good as marrying Ximenqing. That guy has been in charge of the government for many years, and he is a thief.
Fourth Uncle Zhang expressed two meanings: First, Shangju is a scholar, which is better than Pi Ximen Qing. Second, the property of the Shangju family is land, so they are landlords, and Ximenqing's economy is business and lending, and landlords are better than businessmen. This is a cognition in the context of a society that values agriculture and suppresses business.
Then, this Fourth Uncle Zhang said:
He saw that there was a lady in his family, who was the daughter of Wu Qianhu's familyBesides, there are three or four wives in his room, not counting the girls who are not above. When you go to his house, there are many people, and some of them are angry!
At this time, Meng Yulou should have accurately learned that she was going to be a concubine, and Sister-in-law Xue actually deceived herself.
However, at this time, Meng Yulou had been fascinated by Ximenqing's romance, and he also realized that Fourth Uncle Zhang was not really for his own good, and it was just to occupy the family property, so he said directly:
Since ancient times, there are many ships that do not get in the way. If he has a big lady in the family, I would like to make him his sister. Although there are many people in the room, as long as the husband is in charge, if the husband likes it, it doesn't matter. If the husband does not like it, he will have a hard time with only one of them. Besides, there are not four or five of the rich and noble families.
I don't know if readers are familiar with this?The famous writer Ms. Qiong Yao has similar words in many **, such as Wang Xueqin in "Smoke and Rain" when she went to be the ninth aunt.
Seeing that Meng Yulou did not care that the Ximen Qing family had a wife, Fourth Uncle Zhang added:
It's not just this one. He is most accustomed to beating women and wives, and he is in charge of provoking human trafficking, and if he doesn't like it, he makes the matchmaker sell it. Can you stand his anger?
Fourth Uncle Zhang tried to create an image of Ximenqing's domestic violence and human trafficking.
Moreover, this reveals another social phenomenon in the Ming Dynasty, that is, the intermediary who abducts and sells women is the matchmaker. And the matchmaker in "Golden Vase Plum" has mainly done three things at this time: helping Ximen's relatives**, helping Ximen Qing to take concubines, and helping people sell women. It is no wonder that in ancient society, the profession of matchmaker was widely criticized.
And Meng Yulou's reaction to this was:
Although a man has interests, he does not beat the wife who is diligent and trouble-free.
Fourth Uncle Zhang had to come up with a new plan:
He also has a fourteen-year-old unmarried daughter at home, and I'm afraid that if I go to his house, what's wrong with three nests and two pieces?
Meng Yulou said:
Treat the children well, not afraid that the men will not be happy, and the daughters will not be filial. Hugh said one, even ten.
Fourth Uncle Zhang continued to persuade:
This person stops the indebtedness and sleeps in the willows outside.
And Meng Yulou said:
He is a young man, and it is common for him to do some romantic deeds outside.
Fourth Uncle Zhang had to say:
Ximen Qing) is empty and real, and few people are in debt.
That is, Ximenqing owes a lot of foreign debts.
Meng Yulou said: As the saying goes: There is money and things in the world, and it is a long and poor family
This is really in response to the old saying "I am willing to buy if I have money".
Fourth Uncle Zhang found out that he couldn't move Widow Meng, so he decided to fight.
The day before Meng Yulou's wedding, Ximen Qing borrowed more than a dozen officers and soldiers from the garrison to help move furniture and boxes. Letting the soldiers of the garrison come to help also shows that the words of Ximen Qing in charge of the official government mentioned above are true.
At this time, Uncle Zhang brought his neighbors to stop him. Fourth Uncle Zhang's reason is that you, Yang Zongxi and Yang Zongbao, are both my nephews, and Meng Yulou can't take the money that Yang Zongxi earns, so he has to leave it to Yang Zongbao.
Widow Meng immediately pleaded:
and he had laid up a few taels of silver, and put them all on this house. I didn't take the house with me, I left it all with my uncle. Household work and other pieces, untouched. That is, there are three or four hundred taels of silver in arrears outside, and the paperwork and contract have all been handed over to your old man's house, and they have been begged to come to the house one after another. And what silver will come?
Yang Zongxi bought a house with all the money he earned, and the house was left to Yang Zongbao, and all the furniture was left to him, and the IOUs of the debts owed to Yang Zongxi outside were left to Uncle Zhang, **What other silver?
And Fourth Uncle Zhang insisted that Meng Yulou must open all the boxes for him to check. As soon as Meng Yulou heard that he was going to open the box for inspection, he said with a smile
Mo Bunu's shoes and feet can't be seen
This sentence actually reflects Meng Yulou's level of speaking, because as we have said before, in ancient times, the feet were the second sexual organ of women, similar to the current chest. Then the modern counterpart of this sentence is, "You still want to open the box?".Do you want me to show you ***?”
At this point, everyone was deadlocked. When she was embarrassed, Miss Yang came on the field. Miss Yang came out and said:
First, Yang Zongxi and Yang Zongbao are both my nephews, and I will not favor one niece and daughter-in-law and hurt the other.
Second, Yang Zongxi really has no money, even if he has money, it is not the turn of Fourth Uncle Zhang to ask for it.
Third, should the dowry brought by the niece-in-law's maiden family also be kept?
Fourth, Fourth Uncle Zhang, as an elderly man, stopped his young and beautiful niece and daughter-in-law from remarrying, perhaps because he had another plan.
These sentences are very clever, the first sentence shows that he is out of public intentions, of course, we readers know that this is actually just Ximenqing's greed after promising a hundred taels of silver. The middle two sentences show that Meng Yulou did not take away the property of the Yang family, but took away the dowry of the mother's family. The last sentence changed the nature of Uncle Zhang's obstruction, and changed it to Uncle Zhang's covetousness of Meng Yulou's beauty. Fourth Uncle Zhang's moral stance immediately became very low.
After hearing this, Uncle Zhang became angry and immediately quarreled with Miss Yang, and the more the two argued, the more excited they became, until they fought. And the clever sister-in-law Xue took advantage of the chaos to take the soldiers, carried the box and ran away.
The next day, Ximen Qing married Meng Yulou home and paid the remaining seventy taels of silver to Miss Yang. Because Ximen Qing has his wife Wu Yueniang and his second wife Li Jiao'er in front of him, everyone in the family is called Meng Yulou's third aunt.