Xicheng District Willow Street!
In another 200 years, the He Mansion would become a national key cultural relic protection unit, a national first-class museum, and a national 5A tourist attraction. It was the largest palace complex in the Qing Dynasty.
The entire He Residence could be considered the most luxurious building in the capital, second only to the Imperial Palace.
The first half of the He Residence was a magnificent residence, while the second half was a serene and beautiful classical garden. It covered a total area of nearly 60,000 square meters. The mansion was solemn and solemn, simple and elegant, with bright corridors and ridges. It was second only to the palace where the emperor lived. The Cuijin Garden behind the mansion was surrounded by mountains, ancient trees towering into the sky, winding corridors and pavilions, rich and natural; The ever-changing scenery, opening and closing, is a model of Chinese garden architecture.
According to the existing literature, in this piece of land on the west coast of the capital, surrounded by the "Coiling Dragon Water",
In the Yuan and Ming dynasties, there was once a large monastery in the Feng Shui treasure land. Incense burned brightly, and tourists flocked to it. Even the emperor came here to offer incense. Around the middle of the 16th century, the monastery gradually became abandoned and became a supply factory for the Ming court. After the Qing Dynasty took over the capital, they built a number of courtyards of different sizes here for the internal affairs department and other ordinary people to live in.
Around the 40th year of Qianlong, He Shen, who was so popular in front of the emperor, took a fancy to this piece of land surrounded by water, connected to the Western Hills, and not far from the "Emperor's house". He bought many properties here at a high price and built the famous "He Di".
The identity of Liu Quan's nephew was still useful, and Liu Hao did not suffer much.
In front of the Prime Minister was a Rank-7!
This sentence was very reasonable. Although Liu Quan did not have any official position, the identity of He Shen's butler was enough to make countless bureaucrats in the country kneel down.
Liu Hao couldn't walk through the main gate of the He Residence, so he could only walk through the side gate.
"Nephew, you're here!" As soon as he entered the door, Liu Hao heard a familiar voice from his memory.
"Nephew Liu Hao greets uncle!"
Liu Hao hurriedly bowed. Although he was unhappy with the Qing Dynasty's complicated etiquette, Liu Hao also knew that if he wanted to survive in this era, he had to do things according to the rules of this era.
Then, Liu Hao raised his head.
This Liu Quan was different from the Liu Quan in the movies. First of all, he had very little hair. This guy's nickname was Baldy Liu, He Shen's butler.
Liu Quan was almost fifty years old. Although he didn't have any official position, he had the feeling of being pampered.
In the twenty-fourth year of Qianlong, He Shen and his younger brother, He Lin, were both admitted to the Xian 'an Palace's official school. It was also this year that He Shen's father, Chang Bao, died of illness in Fujian. In order to continue his studies, Heshen had to borrow money from his father's friends and colleagues for living and study expenses.
In the process of He Shen's loan, Liu Quan had always been by his side, following He Shen around and getting rejected again and again. At that time, Liu Quan did not leave or abandon him. It was obvious how loyal a servant was. This also laid the foreshadowing for He Shen to favor Liu Quan.
As the saying went, when one person attained the Dao, chickens and dogs would ascend to heaven. Because He Shen's "Dao" Liu Quan had also become the capital's number one nouveau riche. At that time, Liu Quan owned more than a hundred houses, a pawnshop, a medicine shop, and several accounting offices. He had more than ten thousand taels of silver.
In order to show off his wealth and status, Liu Quan was extremely extravagant in his life. There were even signs of extravagance and waste.
When He Shen fell from power, he was imprisoned at the same time as He Shen and was declared by Emperor Jiaqing to be the 20th of He Shen's 20 greatest crimes. He Shen committed suicide and was sentenced to exile in Heilong River.
Of course, Liu Quan was still at his peak. Qianlong favored him and He Shen protected him. Liu Quan's status was naturally extremely noble.
Liu Quan chuckled and casually sat on the chair."Liu Hao, I didn't expect that our Liu family would also have a scholar. Now, he's also a High Scholar!“
"Uncle is joking. If it wasn't for uncle's help, how could nephew become a High Scholar?”Liu Hao smiled. After which, he slowly opened his mouth and said,"In the future, I still have to ask uncle to help me!”
Liu Quan brewed a pot of tea and sipped it slowly. He nodded and said,"Yes, we have already told Lord He. Don't worry, our Liu family should have someone who studies and becomes an official. Alright, come with me to pay your respects to Lord He. This year's main examiner is Lord He. Now that you've passed the general examination and obtained Huiyuan, you have to go to the court examination. Lord He has to give you some advice!!”
Liu Hao muttered in his heart and scolded the person next door. You bastard, you've asked for a lot of money from me.
Uncle, do you want me to pay you?
Although he was cursing in his heart, Liu Hao still held back and did not say anything. Instead, he bowed slightly and said politely,"Then I'll have to trouble uncle!"
Liu Quan chuckled and was not in a hurry. He glanced at the clock in the room and said,"There's no need to be anxious. I'm still on duty with Daren.”
Liu Hao sat down and looked curiously at the clock in the corner of the room.
There were already clocks in the Qing Dynasty.
It was an artistic timer with a complicated structure, powered by machinery and made of precious materials.
China was the first country in the world to invent timers. However, since 1601, when the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci presented the first self-sounding clock to the Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, Western clocks were presented to the court one after another. Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty attached great importance to Western clocks as a new science. He stored Western clocks (also known as self-ringing clocks) at the southern end of Duanning Hall and named it the self-ringing clock office. He also established a clock office in the palace.
By the time of Qianlong, clocks and watches had become indispensable in the lives of emperors and empresses. Not only were they displayed in various palaces, but even the cars, sedan chairs, boats, and saddles that went out were also equipped with clocks and watches. Therefore, a large number of new clocks were used every year.
There were thousands of 18th and 19th century clocks in the Qing Palace. At that time, the production of each type of clock was very small, and some only produced one or two pieces. Coupled with the ingenuity of the materials and art, these clocks became artistic timers. Since 1840, the imperialists had burned and plundered several times, resulting in heavy losses. There were no clocks from the Kangxi and Yongzheng eras left in the Palace Museum, only a part of them from the Qianlong period.
The Qing Dynasty was trash, and the Eight-Nation Alliance wasn't anything good either!
Liu Quan estimated that the time was up and brought Liu Hao into the main entrance of the mansion.
Liu Hao followed behind Liu Quan cautiously.
Meanwhile, Liu Quan had been waiting at the entrance for a long time. It was only when a sedan chair appeared at the entrance of the He Manor that Liu Quan went up to it with a flattering smile on his face."Master, you're back!"
A man walked down from the palanquin. He looked slightly plump, but he still had some delicate features. It was none other than He Shen.
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