Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Chapter 1016

The Ming Dynasty Code of Etiquette has very clear systems and regulations on the color, pattern and material of clothing.

First of all, the colors. Yellow, purple and red were exclusive to the nobility, while blue, green and brown were used by the common people.

Bright yellow was exclusive to the emperor and no one else was allowed to use it. In addition, bright red and purple were only used by officials and nobles.

Secondly, the patterns on the clothes, dragons, phoenixes, and patches (patterns on the chest and back of clothes) are strictly distributed according to social status.

Finally, the material. Silk and brocade are limited to officials and scholars. Merchants can only wear cotton or coarse silk and cannot wear high-end silk and brocade.

The inner garment on Gong Honghai's body was not only made of silk, but also of gold thread, and most importantly, it was sewn with patches.

At the same time, other clothes found in his home were also made of silk and also violated many taboos.

Especially the one that Gong Honghai casually threw on the bed, which was obviously the purple dress embroidered with gold thread that he had just worn.

Not only is the color of this dress taboo, it is also embroidered with gold thread, and the key is that the pattern is also prohibited.

Why does Gong Honghai wear this? Because it is his favorite piece of clothing and he often tries it on.

Maybe this is pathological! The more taboo something is, the more exciting it makes people feel, and the more they can't stop doing it.

It can only be said that Gong Honghai's luck was bad. He was found by Zhang Hai at this time and was discovered.

It was originally just a small matter. The younger generation in the family would just suffer a little, but they would not actually die in corvee labor.

But now, his matter is much more serious. Wearing illegal clothing privately is a very serious crime of usurpation of power.

As for how serious the consequences are, let’s take what happened in the ninth year of Hongwu as an example.

A seventh-rank county magistrate named Li was beaten with the cane sixty times for privately making an official uniform with gold thread. He was dismissed from his official position and his family was not allowed to serve as an official for three generations.

Afterwards, he was exiled to Yunnan, where he was sentenced to flogging, caning, imprisonment, exile, and death. Exile was the second most severe punishment after the death penalty.

Moreover, the crime of excessive clothing is a collective crime, and the maker is also guilty. He will be shackled for one month and his property will be confiscated.

The problem is that Gong Honghai's clothes were made in his own shop, which means he will be punished for two crimes.

People were exiled and their property was confiscated. One can imagine how miserable the fate of the Gong family would be.

But Zhang Hai didn't care about these. What he had to do now was to take the man back to the yamen and wait for Wei Wu's decision.

At the same time, when Zhang Hai was taking the Gong family to the government office, Shen Lin also began to take action.

This time, the two of them divided the work and cooperated with each other. Zhang Hai was mainly responsible for three wealthy business families in the city.

Shen Lin was in charge of the gentry and nobles, and these gentry basically lived outside the city, so it took time to travel.

Just when Zhang Hai was dealing with the Gong family, Shen Lin finally brought his men to the Zhang family residence outside the city.

Although it is outside the city, the Zhang family's house is no worse than the one inside the city, and is even better.

Because they don't have to worry about the city's planning, they can build their houses as big as they want because it's their own land after all.

Standing in front of the Zhang family residence, looking at the house with a tall gate and a large courtyard in front of him, Shen Lin smiled slightly and whispered to himself.

"The difference between the houses of these landlords and gentry and those of ordinary people is simply as great as heaven and earth!"

While Shen Lin was muttering to himself, a middle-aged yamen runner standing behind him suddenly interrupted.

"Sir, what you see is nothing. Among those gentry, it can only be considered above average."

"The real wealthy families have to look no further than the Zhou and Bao families. Their houses are truly luxurious."

The man who was talking was surnamed Bai. They got along very well along the way. Because he was older, Shen Lin called him Lao Bai.

Shen Lin was not surprised to hear what Lao Bai said. After all, Suzhou has always been famous for its wealth.