In ancient Chinese feudal society, emperors were supreme beings, and their every move attracted much attention. And as the daughter of the emperor, the princess also enjoys extremely high treatment. However, princesses also faced a common dilemma, and that was to marry, especially during the Qing Dynasty.
The princesses have lived in the deep palace since childhood, and not only have no worries about food and clothing, but also enjoy the best education. But their fate is not entirely in his own hands, and the emperor has the right to give them to powerful people with different surnames as bargaining chips to win over wealthy families.
Therefore, when the emperor meets his trusted minister, he will often directly marry the princess to the other party's son. Some princesses were also sent to the frontier areas to marry those foreign chieftains, and became victims of political marriages. It can be seen that the fate of the princess is far from being controlled by them.
The emperors of the Qing Dynasty attached great importance to the marriage of their daughters, not only hoping that their daughters would marry talented and personable young talents, but also hoped that these future horses would be healthy and could add prestige to the royal family. Therefore, the Qing emperors developed a unique way of selecting sons-in-law - testing the qualifications of the concubines through trial marriages.
First of all, talent was an indispensable condition for those young people who dreamed of becoming the emperor's son-in-law. They are often the champions and jinshi who were born in the imperial examination, or the children of high-ranking elders and meritorious ministers in the imperial court. These young people must not only be outstanding in literature, but also in appearance in order to be qualified to enter the emperor's field of vision.
However, these conditions are not enough. The emperor also had extremely high requirements for the physical condition of his future son-in-law. Because the princess will definitely be honored and favored in the future, if she marries a weak "waste material", I am afraid that the princess will suffer a lot.
Not only do they have to make sure that the pony is physically strong and free of any disability or disease, but they also have the ability to produce healthy offspring. To this end, the emperor devised a strange "trial marriage system", using other women to test the physical weight of his son-in-law for the princess. And this woman is the princess's future personal maid.
The maid had to live with her son-in-law for a period of time in order to check whether the prospective son-in-law had any physical defects or hidden diseases. If the prospective son-in-law is not "capable" in some aspect, the palace maid will return to the emperor.
This kind of trial marriage system is a great torment for both the palace maid and the princess. The ladies of the court had the opportunity to leave the court when they reached a certain age, get married, have children, and lead a normal life. However, once they are chosen as the candidates for the trial marriage, they lose this opportunity and become the princess's maids when she marries, accompanying her for the rest of her life.
And for the princesses, this trial marriage system is equally unbearable. Although the emperor loved his daughter and considered the health of the horse, what woman would like to watch her future husband share a room with other women before her wedding?
The emperor designed this absurd system in order to choose a perfect husband for the princess, however, behind it is hidden the helplessness and pain of the palace maid and the princess, which shows the cruelty and ruthlessness of this system.