Seeing Zhu Chenggong kneel down excitedly to thank him, Zhu Cixiang smiled slightly, reached out and patted his shoulder and said:

"Hurry up and straighten your body, no need to be restrained, just feel free to do whatever you want!"

Even so, if Zhu Cihong was a minister and the emperor personally poured him wine, Zhu Cihong would definitely be flattered.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the wine!"

Zhu Chenggong hurriedly thanked Enping, then picked up the wine glass and bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, your Majesty!"

Zhu Cixiang picked up the wine glass and touched it lightly with Zhu Chenggong, and then they drank it all in one gulp.

"Your Majesty, please!"

…

Zhu Chenggong served Zhu Cixi three glasses of wine and food and sat down.

If there are other generals, it means that Emperor Shenwu is having a banquet with all the generals, and he is the only one today. Zhu Chenggong knows that Emperor Shenwu is definitely busy.

Judging from the opening of the sea and the trade negotiations between the four countries, Zhu Chenggong had already guessed the general result, that is, Emperor Shenwu might take back the military power of the Zheng family.

Zhu Chenggong is now the Marquis of the Ming Dynasty and the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy of the Ming Dynasty. It can be said that one person is inferior to ten thousand people, and he has absolute power.

To him personally, it no longer mattered whether there was a Zheng family navy or not.

But his father, Zheng Zhilong, had worked so hard to build a navy of nearly 100,000 people. He collected tolls in the Ming Dynasty and made a fortune every day. Is he willing to let go?

But one thing Zhu Chenggong knew very well was that once Emperor Shenwu decided to do something, no one could refuse, otherwise only destruction would be waiting for them.

As a pillar of the Ming Dynasty and a confidant of Emperor Shenwu, Zhu Chenggong had no choice. Once Emperor Shenwu decided to take back the military power of the Zheng family, he had no choice but to support it unconditionally.

Zhu Chenggong pondered for a moment, and just when he was about to ask the emperor about this, Zhu Cixiang raised his glass to him, and the two drank another drink.

Then Zhu Cixi slowly put down his wine glass and asked:

"Is Aiqing married?"

Zhu Cihong knew that Zhu Chenggong was married at the age of 18 in history. He is only 16 now and should not be married yet, but it is not clear whether there is a marriage.

When the emperor asked him if he was married, Zhu Chenggong hurriedly handed over his hands and said:

"Reporting to your majesty, I have never been married. A good man aims to pacify the world. Now that the Ming Dynasty has just established its navy, why is it home..."

Zhu Chenggong's meaning is very obvious. The situation around Ming Dynasty has not yet been settled, so he does not plan to consider marriage for the time being.

To be honest, as one of the youngest marquises in the Ming Dynasty and the heir to the Zheng family with a net worth of millions, Zhu Chenggong could find any kind of woman he wanted.

Having been wandering at sea with his father for many years, Zhu Chenggong knew the situation around the Ming Dynasty very well, especially the situation in the sea. He knew that the Ming Dynasty would go out sooner or later.

In order to follow Emperor Shenwu to pacify the world and colonize overseas, Zhu Chenggong will not consider personal marriage for the time being.

Hearing that Zhu Chenggong was not married, Zhu Cixiang's eyes suddenly lit up. He thought of Princess Baiyun Li Yun. Li Yun was seventeen years old and had been managing the Royal Group with Shen Wanwan.

If Princess Baiyun is married to Zhu Chenggong, it will not only make Zhu Chenggong more devoted to the Ming Dynasty, but also help Li Yun find a good family.

After Li Yun married Zhu Chenggong, Zheng Jing would not have been born, let alone have an affair with his little mother to anger Zhu Chenggong to death.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cixi smiled lightly and asked:

"Since I'm not married yet, shall I grant you a marriage?"

Upon hearing that the emperor was going to grant him a marriage, Zhu Chenggong hurriedly stood up and saluted:

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I will obey Your Majesty's arrangements in everything!"

Zhu Cixiang nodded and said seriously:

"Although the imperial sister Princess Baiyun is not the mother's biological son, her father, the emperor and the empress have long treated her as their own.

Your Majesty is kind-hearted, well-educated, and sensible. I want to marry you, and I will marry you personally. What do you think, my beloved?

The emperor's golden words, once spoken, would never be taken back easily. Since the emperor granted marriage and she was still a princess, Zhu Chenggong certainly would not refuse and hurriedly bowed and saluted:

"Thank you Your Majesty, Your Majesty has the final say in everything!"

Seeing that Zhu Chenggong had no intention of resisting, Zhu Cixiang was also very happy. He had finally found a good family for the emperor's sister.

As the saying goes, the emperor's daughter doesn't have to worry about getting married, but if it comes to the golden princesses of the Ming Dynasty, they really have to worry about it.

In the three centuries of the Ming Dynasty, a total of 92 princesses were born, but only 77 of them received the title of princess.

Including the sister and niece of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, there were a total of 81 women with the title of princess in the Ming Dynasty.

The reason why some princesses did not have titles was mainly because thirty-six of them died young at birth, so many of them were not canonized.

In terms of the status of children in the family, the title of princess is not something you are born with. Even if you are the emperor's daughter, you still have to work hard.

In the early Ming Dynasty, it was usually rigid to give the princess a title two days before she got married. Later, the policy was finally flexible, but it was usually not until the princess came of age.

And if you take a closer look at the marriage rate of these 81 princesses, it is an unsatisfactory figure. A total of 57 people got married, which is just over 60%.

Among them, those who got married to a good husband as they wished, became increasingly rare as the Ming Dynasty progressed.

During the reigns of three generations of emperors from Zhu Yuanzhang to Zhu Di, the husbands of princesses were mainly selected from among the noble sons.

However, as time went by, the selection of a princess's son-in-law gradually became institutionalized during the Zhengtong period of the Ming Dynasty.

The selection of the consort was also conducted through auditions, and children of civil and military ministers' families were prohibited from participating.

Hosted by the Ministry of Rites, the candidates are ordinary officials in Beijing who are 14 to 16 years old and have a household registration in the capital, as well as children of good families.

It is required to have a good appearance, dignified behavior, clean family, and good education.

If the capital cannot find a suitable candidate, the selection will be expanded to Shandong, Henan, and Hebei. Three people are usually selected through auditions, and then the emperor will look at each other and select one of them.

The lucky ones who are lucky enough to be selected will not be able to marry the princess immediately. On the contrary, they must first attend the consort class held by the Ministry of Etiquette, and only after passing the exam can they become the consort.

For ordinary people, the allure of the prince-in-law is very great. The full name of the prince-in-law in the Ming Dynasty was the prince-in-law Duwei.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! You can live in a mansion donated by the state, and enjoy a high salary of two thousand shi lumi per year. There is also a lot of unplanned income every year, such as land donations and rewards from the court.

The son-in-law's father also benefited from this, and could be granted the post of commander of soldiers and horses and enjoy a salary. His son could also become a hereditary commander of the royal guards, a department-level cadre.

Of course, from an administrative level, the prince-in-law is still a subordinate of the princess. When he meets his wife, he must kneel down to her as a courtesy.

When the princess is eating, the consort must stand aside, that is, the princess eats while the husband watches, and the princess stands while the husband kneels.

Compared with the generous treatment given to the Prince Consort's family, these are considered the price of happiness.

For this price of happiness, every time it is time to recruit a prince-in-law, good young people from all over the country flock to her.

Theoretically speaking, with such strict and conscientious selection criteria and such attractive conditions and treatment, there seems to be no problem in choosing a good consort for the princess.

This is true in theory, but in practice everything is different.

The first is the evaluation of the Prince Consort. In addition to evaluating the Prince Consort’s own conditions, the Prince Consort’s family life experience has also become a focus of the evaluation.

As a result, sometimes a good marriage can easily get burnt.

Princess Yongchun, the daughter of Zhu Houcong, Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty, is such a "cup".

At that time, Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty was looking for a consort for his daughter. He originally selected a young man named Chen Zhao. This young man was a well-educated and well-educated man. At first, Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty liked him more and more, so he decided to get married.

But later it was learned that Chen Zhao's background was not clean and his mother was just a concubine of the family. Now Ming Shizong quit and decisively broke off the engagement for his daughter.

But the princess's wedding date has been set, so she had to seize the time and audition again. In the haste, the selection was wrong this time.

It was not easy to choose Xie Zhao, who had an innocent family background, but after looking at him, he realized that, not only was he ugly, he was also bald.

Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty wanted to regret his marriage, but the wedding was imminent, and the royal family had no choice but to knock out his front teeth and swallow it - get married!

What is even more flawed is the audition process for the consort. Just like the emperor selecting his wife, the princess selects the consort. The initial auditions are also conducted by eunuchs.

Because of the lack of supervision in the middle, as long as they dare to stuff money, even cats and dogs can get away with it.

Princess Yongning, the sister of Emperor Wanli Zhu Yijun, suffered this big loss.

At that time, Emperor Wanli made great efforts to choose a prince-in-law for his sister. After going back and forth, he finally picked one, a young man named Liang Bangrui.

He was a wealthy businessman and had good looks, and the eunuch in charge praised him as a flower, so Emperor Wanli approved of it.

But on the day of the wedding, something was wrong. This guy was wearing a wedding robe, but he had a nosebleed on the spot, which scared all the guests present.

At the critical moment, the eunuch still spoke up and said flatteringly on the spot:

"Blood is red at a wedding, so it's auspicious!"

Emperor Wanli was right to think about it, so he didn't think too deeply about it. Unexpectedly, just one month after the wedding, the princess came back crying.

This Mr. Liang is actually a tuberculosis man. He was very ill when he participated in the audition.

He got in by giving money to the eunuch. After being sent to the bridal chamber, he was so weak that he could not even live as a couple. He died before the honeymoon was over.

Poor Princess Yongning, who is so precious, she married a woman first and then became a widow.

It was the middle and late Ming Dynasty at that time, and the so-called feudal ethics had long been ignored among the people. But when it came to the life of the royal family, they were still very strict.

When a princess is a widow, she must remain a widow to the end. Within a few years, Princess Yongning, a widow to the end, died in depression.

A lifetime of happiness was ruined by a superstitious brother and a money-obsessed eunuch.

And even if the son-in-law is satisfied and the marriage goes smoothly, the married life of the princess's consort is still full of "the price of happiness".
To be continued...