Lin Sanqi touched his chin and suddenly thought, since there is only this sedan chair in this era, then could there be other sedan chairs in 1964?
After all, 1966 hasn’t arrived yet…
"Wait, let's do this, Mr. Qu. You can arrange everything else according to the plan. I'll think of a way to get the Wan Gong sedan chair. If I can't get it, we can settle for the next best thing and use the Qian Gong sedan chair in front of us."
Qu Xiaofeng suddenly became a little worried:
"Lin, Director Lin, stealing cultural relics from the museum is a serious crime, we shouldn't do that..."
Lin Sanqi rolled her eyes, but Yin Lianyi laughed so hard that she couldn't even straighten her back.
"Mr. Qu, don't worry. He's very capable. A small sedan shouldn't be a problem for him. Just wait and see."
Another time and space, January 1964, Capital West Suburb Airport
When Lin Sanqi got out of the Xinzhou plane, a northwest wind blew and almost froze him to death.
Several jeeps were parked beside the runway. When the green-clad soldiers on the runway saw Lin Sanqi coming down, they all saluted:
"Minister Lin!"
Lin Sanqi returned the greeting and asked, jumping up and down, "What's the temperature today?"
"Report to Minister Lin, the temperature today is minus 21 degrees Celsius."
Lin Sanqi glanced at the snow-covered area in the distance from the airport and thought that it was good to have snow, as it meant a good harvest. He wanted to avoid natural disasters like the previous three years.
"The colder it is, the better. It'll freeze the pests in the fields to death. Hey, let's go to the Palace Museum first. Please load the cargo from the plane onto a truck and send it to the Palace Museum together."
"yes!"
The Palace Museum, Xihua Gate.
Dean Wu Zhizhong tightly held the hand of Lin Sanqi, the God of Wealth, and smiled so much that his eyes became slits.
I thought that this gentleman had been working in the health system and the army before, and today it was finally his turn to come to the Forbidden City.
"Commissioner Lin, I've long heard of your name. Seeing you today, I can see you're truly a promising young man."
A gold star at the age of less than 30, according to the standards for awarding titles after 1955, is now the only one in the country. Lin Sanqi deserves to be the first among young people.
However, this number one person is not as good as he seems. Even if he has three stars on his shoulders, he is destined to never enter the core in this life.
Lin Sanqi did not dare to neglect the old dean with white hair.
The directors of the Palace Museum are all vice-ministers, of very high rank. Moreover, they are the leading figures in the cultural relics world. Lin Sanqi, a cultural relic smuggler, is completely incomparable to them.
"President Wu, you're too polite. I'm not an unwelcome guest. I'm just here to trouble you. Haha."
Dean Wu thought to himself, I’m not afraid that you’ll get into trouble, I’m just afraid that you don’t want to trouble yourself.
"Well, Commissioner Lin's affairs are the affairs of the Palace Museum. If you have any requests, please feel free to ask. We will definitely meet them if we can."
Lin Sanqi thought, can I drive my G-Class into the Forbidden City?
If Director Wu knew about this, he would definitely reply: Not to mention cars, you can drive big trucks as you like. The Forbidden City does not prohibit motor vehicles from passing through at this time.
Lin Sanqi still felt a little guilty, as he had only salvaged one cultural relic from the Forbidden City, which was a set of medicine cabinets from the Imperial Hospital.
However, the Imperial Medical Service was not located within the Forbidden City, but in a courtyard on Di'anmen East Street, and Lin Sanqi had only just managed to get a foothold there.
The cultural relics in the Forbidden City are not so easy to obtain. After all, my surname is Lin, not Aixinjueluo...
"Director Wu, there are 500 small radios on that truck behind us. Since Chinese New Year is coming soon, we're giving them to the Palace Museum staff as a gift."
Dean Wu was happy when he heard this, but he was not excited inside. Five hundred radios could not satisfy his appetite.
"Okay, okay, Commissioner Lin is really generous. Haha, then please come in and chat while you walk."
Lin Sanqi was not going to play dumb anymore. The old man might think he was here to borrow the dragon throne.
"President Wu, this is what I want to ask, do you have a sedan chair in the Forbidden City? I need it urgently."
"A sedan chair? The kind used for weddings? Oh, I need to think about that..."
Dean Wu fell into deep thought, and an old employee next to him reminded him:
"President, Commissioner Lin, we have two sedan chairs. One was used by Empress Longyu of Guangxu, and the other one is inferior. It was used by Empress Wanrong of Puyi at her wedding."
Lin Sanqi became interested: "What's your surname, master? Since they are all queens, why are there any differences in the sedan chairs?"
The old man smiled and said:
"Miangui, my surname is Jin, and my ancestors were from the Imperial Household Department. I know everything about the palace, so I have been working in the Forbidden City since liberation.
The difference between Longyu and Wanrong is actually very simple.
Longyu was the last empress of the Qing Dynasty to be carried into the palace through the Daqing Gate. When Wanrong married into the palace, the Qing Dynasty had already fallen, so she did not go through the Daqing Gate. The ceremony was simpler, and the sedan chair was naturally simplified.
Lin Sanqi was a little surprised: "Master Xu? Is there something special about going through the Daqing Gate?"
Old Man Xu chuckled and continued to explain:
"The difference is huge. The one who enters the palace through the Daqing Gate is the empress. Her legal status is very high, almost equal to that of the emperor. Do you remember Empress Arutai of Tongzhi?"
Lin Sanqi nodded:
"Yes. It's said she was a miserable person. After the death of Emperor Tongzhi, Empress Dowager Cixi forced her to commit suicide by swallowing gold. She was pregnant at the time. Later, it was said that tomb robbers cut open her body and looked for gold."
Master Xu laughed and said:
"Arutai didn't actually commit suicide by swallowing gold. According to the Qing palace archives, she actually died of illness. But we all know that Arutai was indeed forced to commit suicide by Empress Dowager Cixi, but she committed suicide by hanging.
Because at that time she had a deep conflict with Cixi, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, the girl was young and hot-tempered, and she scolded Cixi, saying: Those who did not enter through the Daqing Gate cannot depose the queen who entered the palace through the Daqing Gate.
What she meant was that she was scolding Cixi for not marrying into the palace from the Daqing Gate, but being a concubine and a mistress, whose status was far below that of the empress.
This humiliation naturally made Cixi furious. How could she tolerate this daughter-in-law? Naturally, she tried every means to kill Arut.
The reason I tell you this story is actually to tell you that it is the rule to go through the Daqing Gate. The entire ceremonial procession and sedan chair used by Emperor Guangxu to marry the empress were of the highest quality, the most luxurious, and "unprecedented".
Wanrong, who came later, did not enjoy this treatment.
Wanrong was at least a nominal queen.
As for the marriages of the children of high-ranking officials in the Republic of China, they were even less worthy. They were all descendants of self-boasting famous families, so how could they be worthy of a sedan chair?
That's why I say Longyu's sedan chair is the best. Besides that, the last empress to enter through the Daqing Gate was Empress Xiaochengren of Emperor Kangxi, Hesheli. Those were 300 years old. How could they still be used?
Longyu?
Lin Sanqi smacked his lips and thought that if he had a choice, he really didn't want the old lady's sedan chair.
After all, this woman was unhappy throughout her life and was never favored by Guangxu. It is said that the two never slept together until their death. She died of depression and was also a tragic figure.
After all, getting married is just about getting good luck. Even making the bed can only be done if the woman has both sons and daughters, a harmonious marriage, and living parents.
Several people walked towards the warehouse area while chatting.
When everyone was about to cross the square in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony and head towards the three warehouses in the south, Lin Sanqi suddenly stopped.
Lin Sanqi visited the Palace Museum in both eras, but neither time did he enter the largest palace, the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony is very impressive. It is the supreme golden palace in the Forbidden City. What ordinary people call the "Golden Throne Hall" actually refers to this place.
In the movie "The Last Emperor", there is a last shot where Puyi finds a cricket nest he used to play with as a child from under the dragon throne, which is in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
In the 1960s, visitors could walk through the gate of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, but they were only allowed to see the dragon throne at the door.
As of 2016, a fence was built directly outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Tourists could only look inside through the gate and squeeze in with other people.
Today is Monday, and there is not a single tourist in the Forbidden City. Lin Sanqi's eyes turned and he asked cautiously:
"President Wu, can I, can I go inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony and take a look?"
Dean Wu said without thinking:
"Of course, as long as Commissioner Lin is interested today, it's fine even if you want to stay overnight in the Yangxin Palace."
Lin Sanqi suddenly became excited:
"Come on, let me experience what it's like to sit on a real dragon throne today."
This super VIP feeling is much better than driving a Mercedes-Benz G-Class to the Hall of Supreme Harmony Square. (End of this chapter)
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