Story of Yanxi Palace: Red Seal Spring Star

According to the emperor's "San Xi Tang Ji": "Wang Xizhi's "Quick Snow Tie", Wang Xianzhi's "Mid-Autumn Tie" and Wang Xianzhi's "Boyuan Tie" are all rare treasures in the world. Greenhouse, changed its name to "Sanxitang" to hide it." This is the origin of the name "Sanxitang".The three chilongs depicted on this tourmaline seal are the representatives of these three famous posts, and they are housed in dragon sons, which shows the emperor's deep love for these three famous posts.

Zhou Dunyi, a great Confucian in the Song Dynasty, once said in "Tongshu Zhixue": "Sages hope for heaven, virtuous people hope for saints, and scholars hope for virtuous people."This sentence inherits and exerts the spirit of "the unity of man and nature" in traditional Confucianism, and has become the basis for Confucian scholars to cultivate their moral character and settle their lives since the Song and Ming Dynasties. ", in addition to the collection of the three favorite rare post, there is also this meaning.

Concubine Rong knew that the first post "Quick Snow and Sunshine Post" was a gift from Concubine Gao. Although the emperor hadn't told her much about Concubine Gao before, the emperor often wrote "Quick Snow Post" and made it into a book. They are all covered with carved red lacquer, which is luxurious and elegant. Concubine Gao undoubtedly has a special place in the emperor's heart.Only now did I know the many reasons behind it, so I asked in a low voice: Do you feel better when you say it?The emperor hummed, and Concubine Rong asked again: How did she die?The emperor said: He was killed by someone.Concubine Rong asked: Who is it?The emperor still closed his eyes and did not speak.Concubine Rong suddenly understood...

The emperor sighed and said: "Ning Xin'er didn't tell me, because she didn't want me to pursue it. The past in the harem is the same as the matter of the empress's mother. If you continue to pursue it, it is unbearable to look back. And all these things are actually because of me, the emperor." My mother is also because of me.As he spoke, he briefly talked about the process of Concubine Gao being scalded by molten iron.

Concubine Rong thought to herself: What Yingluo told herself, including the suspicion that Concubine Gao pushed Rongyin to fall down the stone steps to miscarry, etc., I should not say anything.That day in Miyun, after Li Yu told her about Concubine Gao, she asked Yingluo some old things.At this point, she understood that Yingluo said that the emperor brought Nala to interrogate her, and believed that Concubine Gao's injury was related to her, but the emperor actually suspected that Concubine Gao's death had something to do with Nala, because Nala was also the one who was injured at that time. He is not very close to Nala, that's why when he was with An Jichen, he was suspicious of Nala and made himself the Queen Mother's "daughter".The Queen Mother didn't understand, even Li Yu didn't know why he didn't like Nala... If one day, the emperor found out that Nala was the culprit who killed Seventh Prince and the former Queen Rongyin, what would he do?She suddenly didn't dare to imagine it anymore, although she knew this from Yingluo when she was on the southern tour.

Suddenly the emperor said: "At that time, she asked me, 'Your majesty, you are so kind, why don't you love Ning Xin'er?" Concubine Rong suddenly felt sore in her heart, and said: Your Majesty, Concubine Gao has a secret knowledge. Seeing that you miss her so much and remember her words so clearly, how happy I will be!All the courtiers and concubines were moved!

The emperor sighed slightly, and said: "She is just a woman, she entered the palace because of the Gao family, but how could she influence the Gao family... So that year in Yangzhou, you know how scared I was.Concubine Rong immediately burst into tears. It turned out that the emperor was worried about herself at that time. Apart from Mrs. Qian, he also thought of Concubine Gao's biological mother.No wonder, later he pretended to be dizzy to scare him, and he returned the imperial decree in tears, so he said affectionately: Your Majesty, Shen Bi understands what is going on with a woman who is an emperor. I think, Concubine Gao also understands, she loves you so much , you don't blame yourself.

The emperor felt sad, and said: After Wan'er left, I decided not to give love to the harem, but to favor. I didn't expect to make an exception for you. People outside thought that I was bewitched by beauty.Thinking back to that night in Hangzhou that year, when Concubine Rong suddenly said that she loved him, he didn't even think about it, so she said those two words, and he himself found it unbelievable.No Manchu and Han people in the Central Plains would be so straightforward, only Shen Bi, who was also bewitched by her, such a beautiful woman said she loves you, how can you bear not to say that she loves her?What's more, he loved her in the first place... I and Shen Bi, I didn't expect it at the beginning...

Concubine Rong laughed, put down the comb, pointed at his nose and said: Are you bewitched by beauty?But it's not just for me, fourth master?The emperor knew that she was teasing him and Yingluo again, so he took her hand and gave up with a smile.

After getting up, the emperor asked Li Yu to bring the comb to Concubine Rong.Concubine Rong saw that Li Yu was holding two jade combs, one was dull and the other was bright, both slightly longer and flatter than her original gold comb.

The dull one is a burnt ancient jade, the jade is bluish-white, imitating the part that has been exposed to redness, and it is semi-circular in shape. The back of the comb is a dragon head. Both the front and the back are decorated with the same pattern, and both are engraved with cloud patterns with thin Yin lines, and there are nearly thirty comb teeth of different lengths on the bottom.

The brand-new overall shape is a Ruifeng, the thin inscribed lines and the hidden curved surface echo each other, tactful and smooth, delicate and smooth in the hand.

The emperor said: The jade comb should be given as a gift to the beauties. Sitting in the boudoir, the jade comb and the green silk are in harmony with each other.Li Yu smiled and said, "Madam, these two combs were custom-made for you years ago by the Long Live God. It's like the style of Zhan Han, saying that it must be delivered on the first day of the lunar new year at the latest. They were two days early, and they delivered it yesterday.

After that day, Concubine Rong wrote a letter to Yingluo, telling her about Concubine Gao's family affairs.

After breakfast, the two put on their cloaks, and the emperor took Concubine Rong's hand and walked along the lakeside.The snow had stopped, and after walking for a while, seeing the court painter Jin Tingbiao kneeling by the side of the road to pay his respects, Concubine Rong looked at the emperor in surprise.The emperor smiled and said: I admired your Zhaojun cloak this time, so I asked him to draw a snow scene.Then he said to him: flat body.Then he and Concubine Rong continued to walk forward.Concubine Rong knew that the emperor was happy to have the emperor's grandson, so she congratulated the emperor again. The emperor approached her and laughed in a low voice: You have grandchildren... Li Yu behind also laughed.Jin Tingbiao respectfully followed the three of them, keeping a certain distance.

The Beihai, Zhonghai and Nanhai are connected together and are called "Taiye Pool", also called Xiyuan and Xihaizi. They are separated by two bridges on the ground. In the South China Sea, Zhonghai is between the two bridges.The emperor once said, "Yechi is just a lake, which is divided into three seas in the Ming Dynasty."

Yingtai is located in the center of the South China Sea. It was first built by Zhu Di, Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty, and was built twice during the Shunzhi and Kangxi years of the Qing Dynasty. Emperor Shunzhi bestowed the name "Yingtai".The mountains, rocks, flowers and plants on the island, the water and the sky are the same color, the pavilions and pavilions are resplendent and resplendent, a fairyland on earth.The emperor used to study here when he was young, and he inscribed the word "Yingtai".After going to the island, pass through the Xiangluan Pavilion and enter the Hanyuan Gate. In the middle and facing south is the Hanyuan Hall and the east and west side halls.Hanyuan Hall is the place where the emperor entertained guests. There are two supporting halls in the north of the hall, Qingyun Hall in the east and Jingxing Hall in the west.To the east of Zaoyun Building are Butong Study House and Suian Room, which are the emperor's study, and to the northeast are Daiyuexuan and Jingguang Pavilion.To the west of Qisi Building are Changchun Bookstore and Shufangrun, surrounded by promenades named "Bayinkexie" and "Huaibaoshuang" pavilion.In the south of Hanyuan Hall is Xiangyan (yi3, 扆 is an ax-shaped screen embroidered between households in ancient temples) Hall, which is built on a slope. The north of the hall is a single-story building, and the south of the hall is a two-story pavilion, also known as "Penglai Pavilion".

The two walked up to the tea room on the second floor of Penglai Pavilion, overlooking the lake, and could see a row of majestic two-story pavilions in Baoyue Tower opposite.

After drinking the tea and returning to the Zaoyun Tower, Desheng happily went up and down and said: "The imperial concubine Ling just came to deliver her own picture scroll in person, saying that it is to congratulate the emperor and Prince Rong!"The emperor walked to the desk and saw a vertical scroll with a gray background. The branches of a thick plum tree were covered with snow and the plum blossoms were blooming. Two black and white magpies were sitting on the branch, looking up to the right. with blue-green bamboo leaves.The inscription on the side: Aoshuang fights the snow, happy with Meishao.The winter solstice of the 25th year of Wei Mei Qianlong.The picture is clean, with a sense of prosperity in the cold winter.Concubine Rong immediately praised her, and the emperor nodded with a smile: "Her paintings are getting better and better. Jin Tingbiao is indeed a talent."

It turned out that this Jin Tingbiao was Wei Mei’s teacher. During Qianlong’s 22nd Southern Tour, he went to the south of the Yangtze River to draw a painting of Arhats. The emperor liked it and asked him to enshrine in the inner court. the one in.Later, he painted "Pleasure in the Palace", "Playing in the Ice", "Traveling in Autumn Mountains" and so on for the emperor.A month later, he presented the sketch "Treading the Snow and Looking for Plum Blossoms". In the painting, Concubine Rong was standing sideways in the snow, wearing a red-haired cloak covered with snow beads, her hair was combed in a high bun, with white and yellow Zhaojun set, with a sky blue cat's eye stone embedded in the center, surrounded by small sparkling silver gemstones, looking down slightly at a branch of pink plum blossom in his hand.There are rocks and plum trees behind her.In fact, Concubine Rong was wearing Kunqiu on her head that day.

The emperor told Li Yu to pass him on, saying that the painting was good, but he taught him to change the plum blossom into a pipa, remove the plum tree and leave only the rocks, and change the name of the painting "Zhaojun Out of the Frontier", also known as Adding Three Beauties, Concubine Rong is painted as "Xishi Huansha", "Drunken Concubine", and "Diao Chan Worshiping the Moon".After the four paintings were finally presented, the two monarchs and ministers had a good time to appreciate them. Jin Tingbiao respectfully said: Concubine Rong is indeed the crown of beauty, the beauty of the north is rouge and the beauty of the south is combined into one, and being able to paint for the empress, the humble minister is really three lives Fortunately.The emperor was very proud, while looking at the painting, he smiled and said: Well said! "Beautiful and beautiful decorations, bright Han Palace", "Looking at it from a distance, it is as bright as the sun rising in the morning glow; when observing it by force, it is burning like a flower out of Lubo", "One look at the city of Qingren, and then look at the country of Qingren".

Jin Tingbiao thought to himself: How can Long Live be so forgetful and outspoken in front of him?It seems to trust myself.I was happy in my heart, but I lowered my head and dared not answer.After he came to work in Beijing, he heard that there were many secret affairs between the emperor and his favorite concubine. It was said that Concubine Rong seduced the Lord with her singing and dancing. On this small island of Yingtai.

He had met Concubine Rong a few times, and wanted to copy it for her. The distance was considered close enough, and he could faintly smell the fragrance of her body. He saw her soft, tender and pure appearance, her posture was relaxed and calm, and her voice could not even be heard. She is husky and sweet, and she is very devout to Allah. She has a reserved and introverted nobility, which has nothing to do with a beautiful woman. The emperor is also serious and dignified, with a keen mind and eyes like lightning, which cannot be believed.The female relatives in his family said that he didn't understand, and said that this is the real "lustful|flashy" lady, who is still a beauty from a foreign land with a family background, how can the Wildflower Liuying be worthy of the status of the Long Live Lord.

And he also didn't understand the concubine Ling and the emperor, he didn't want the concubine Ling to have children one after another in the harem, and in just a few years, she became the imperial concubine Ling, surpassing concubine Rong in status and second only to the empress.He also heard about the affair between the emperor and Fu Heng's wife.After listening to the emperor's words at this time, it seems that the emperor really did.

The beauties in the painting only use the face of Concubine Rong, which is soft, plump and heroic, but the figure and attire of the four beauties are in their own styles. The emperor thinks that he is better than Castiglione’s portrait of Concubine Rong, so he hangs "The Picture of Four Beauties" on Zao In Yunlou's own bedroom, Jin Tingbiao was given two more glasses of Yingtai wine, and Jin Tingbiao was even more flattered.

On the first day of the lunar new year, when it was time to pass in the morning, due to the hustle and bustle of the New Year's Eve and the annual holiday, everyone in Prince Rong's Mansion was still sound asleep. Yingluo and Haishi, wearing cloaks that covered their heads, came in through the side door, and Yongqi was already at the door After waiting for a long time, he immediately led them to the Jingu Garden on the West Road where Yiboer lived, and then closed the courtyard door tightly.Both Haishi and Yingluo came here for the first time, and they saw a plaque hanging outside the main hall with the four characters of "Xiao Yan Sunny Day" in the emperor's imperial pen, and the courtyard flower garden is full of hollyhocks.

Hollyhock, also called Yizhanghong, is Ibor’s favorite flower. When the wheat matures in June, it happens to be the season when its flowers first bloom. Therefore, people regard the flowering period of its full bloom as an auspicious day for wheat harvest, and also call hollyhock "Barley cooked".There is also a kind of purple-red hollyhock, which can be used to make tea, which can make a light blue tea soup, which will turn pink after a few drops of lemon juice.There are red and purple hollyhocks planted in the courtyard, and every summer when they bloom, they are bright red and purple, beautiful and beautiful, and Ybor ordered purple flowers to be used to make tea.

It is said that hollyhock flowers are also delicious in dishes. It is recorded in "Plant Names and Facts" that "in Jinghua, the white ones picked by the cooks are used as noodles and eaten with oil. It is very beautiful." The young leaves of hollyhock flowers are also edible. It is said that it "can prepare vegetables and vegetables, and can prevent famine and thrift".Ybor had never tried it.

On the hall of the Ming Dynasty hangs a seven-foot-long scroll of "Spring Mountain Picture" by Shang Qi in the Yuan Dynasty.In the distant view, the peaks and ridges are emerald, shrouded in smog; in the close view, the jungle is full of trees, and the spring is green;In the close view, the mountain rocks are first outlined with thick ink, and then the stone surface is smudged with juice green, which not only shows the texture structure of the rocks, but also overflows with the spring spirit of the mountains and rivers.The peaks in the distant view are mainly smudged with thick and light ink or blue and white, and the vast mountains set off a majestic and magnificent momentum.The signature "Caonan Shangqi Defu" is the only surviving signature of Shang Qi.The emperor's jade seal is engraved on the upper right.This picture was given by the emperor.

On the right side of the painting is a piece of vertically recorded running script, which is "Huang Yinger" by Liu Yong:

Who is the master of the garden on a sunny day and spring.The warm rhythm is latently reminding, the valley is peaceful, the oriole is dancing, and the fragrant tree is at first glance.Watching the dew wet strands of gold clothes, the leaves reflect like a reed.When dawn comes, the branches are slender, and it seems to whisper the deep meaning of the heart.

No evidence.When the warm smoke came out, I took advantage of the wandering bees to go.Unrestrained traces, calling each other in twos, and finally singing in the fog and dancing in the wind.When the willows in Shangyuan, the flowers in the other hall were deep.At this time, Haiyan is partial to forgiveness, and they all share Shaoguang with them.

Yongqi told the two that it was written by Yi Boer himself, and both of them were amazed, because the font was round and smooth, and it looked beautiful, but it didn't look like a woman's handwriting.

A bronze hollow bean and a bronze double-eared tripod are placed on the high table against the wall under the calligraphy and painting.

Beans are a kind of ritual vessel, popular in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods. At the beginning, they were used to hold grains such as millet and millet, and later they were used to hold condiments such as pickles and meat sauce. Soybeans and meat and rice." That is, "a glass of wine, one bean and meat and one rice".It is more than one foot high, tall, large body with deep belly, ring-shaped ears, three lying beasts on the cover as buttons, and taotie (tao1tie4) patterns are hollowed out on the cover and the upper part of the plate body.

Yingluo wanted to laugh when she saw this, thinking that it was because Ibor liked to cook that she chose this arrangement.

The bronze tripod is only half the height of the bean, with a round belly and round ears.Three hooves and high iron feet, the body of the tripod is covered with cloud and thunder patterns, separated by small drum nails, and the strange thing is that the cover is divided into thinner three legs, making it look like three legs stand up and down, with inscriptions engraved in between.

These two are dull but thick and stable, quiet and solemn.

In front of the case, there are three lively and unique small pieces on the generous table with red sandalwood and passionflower patterns.

On the left is a small gold-plated Western copper bell, and a delicate and beautiful gear-shaped round clock rolls on a pink velvet slope.The ramp is less than two feet long, and no matter where the bell is on the ramp, the positions of 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock on the dial always remain vertical.

In the center is a small eel-yellow-glazed straight-neck bottle, and a small chinchilla hovers over the shoulder and neck, vividly.

On the left is a cloisonné enamel pomegranate statue in the shape of a pomegranate with five petals at the mouth.With sky blue enamel glaze as the ground color, it is decorated with red, blue, white and green four melon butterfly patterns, the glaze color is bright and golden.From the composition of the enamel glaze color and melon butterfly pattern, it can be inferred that it is a late Ming vessel.

The author has something to say:

[Sketches] There are strict regulations on the content of the works in the Imperial Academy of Painting. All works must be drawn with sketches, and the eunuchs will submit them to the emperor for review.The first-class painters of Emperor Qianlong paid eight taels of money, grain and silver every month, and two taels of public expenses, which exceeded one hundred taels a year, which was more than three times the annual income of ordinary people, which was already a good level.Qianlong had more respect for court painters. Castiglione also conferred Fengchen Yuanqing with a third-rank crown, and posthumously gave him the title of servant, who was a second-rank official.Compared with many court officials, these painters, who can be regarded as poor, have been known by later generations because of their works.In history, Jin Tingbiao entered the white book of Arhats during his southern tour in 25 years and was ordered to be enshrined in the inner court.His paintings have a wide range of subjects, and he is good at painting figures and landscapes.

[Beautiful and beautiful decorations, bright Han Palace] From "Book of the Later Han Dynasty? Biography of the Southern Huns", describing Zhaojun. [Looking at it from a distance, it is as bright as the sun rising to the morning glow; observing it by force, it is burning like a flower coming out of Lubo] from "Luo Shen Fu".

[Yingtai wine] In the tenth year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1745), Zhang Guangsi, the governor of Guizhou, brought a caravan to Beijing with wine, and met Emperor Qianlong at Yingtai, Xiyuan, and asked to dredge the Chishui River.Qianlong declined because it would cost a lot to build the river.Zhang Guangsi presented Maotai Shaochun at the right time, opened the altar and filled the hall with incense.Qianlong was delighted after drinking it: "Gaiqian people are good at brewing, suitable for the climate, its fragrance is deep and sweet, and it is incomparable with other kinds."So Maotai Shaochun was listed as a year-old tribute.In the spring and summer of the following year (1746), the Chishui River was open to navigation, merchants gathered, the wine industry flourished, and brewing techniques improved.In the Mid-Autumn Festival of the same year, Emperor Qianlong held a clan banquet in Yingtai, where he used Moutai to make spring wine to feast on the emperor's relatives and relatives. The guests were all intoxicated by its sweetness. Maotai Shaochun seems to be too vulgar, and it is difficult to enter the elegant hall. Today, the banquet is given in Yingtai, why not change its name to Yingtai wine after the imperial name of the ancestor Shunzhi Emperor?" Then the imperial pen inscribed the word "Yingtai", and the stone tablet was erected. On Yingtai Island.He also asked the court painter Zhang Hao to paint the "Yingtai Banquet Picture" to record his victory, seal the "Sanxitang Jingjian Seal", and store it in the Sanxitang of Yangxin Hall.

Order Jingdezhen official kilns to make a pair of imperial yellow grilled flower peach plum vase and carmine red grilled flower lotus plum bottle to hold Yingtai wine, and store them separately in the Yangxin Palace of the emperor's bedroom and the Changchun Palace of the empress' bedroom for appreciation.As a result, Yingtai wine became famous.Yuming, Yubi, Yugong, Yuci, Yujiu, and Yingtai Liquor are famous all over the world for their "Five Uniques".Yingtai Liquor, adhering to the royal manufacturing concept of "skillful craftsman, no expense spared", inherits the intangible cultural heritage skills of "returning sand in season and aging in stone cellars" of national brewing. The fairy aura of mountains and rivers is formed by stepping on music at the Dragon Boat Festival, throwing grain at Chongyang Festival, taking wine in seven rounds, and brewing for five years.Yingtai wine has elegant sauce, delicate and smooth, harmonious and plump, full-bodied and long-lasting, refreshing and intoxicating. It is known as "the best wine in the world", which has been mentioned in the previous chapters of the novel.