Chapter 281 Prince Gong's Mansion
The morning sun was warm, and a gentle breeze was blowing.
The corner of her shirt was lifted slightly, revealing her slender, white waist.
Ye Anning was completely unaware and pedaled her bicycle with all her might.
Lin Sicheng, sitting upright on the back seat, said, "Cousin Ye, how about I take your turn?"
“No need!” Ye Anning said lightly. “When I was in college, I would ride my bicycle to school and then go to the Forbidden City to visit my aunt after school, and then we would go home together.”
Lin Sicheng was taken aback: "It's more than ten kilometers from the Central Academy of Fine Arts to the Forbidden City. You're riding a bicycle?"
"Yeah, twice a day, five days a week." Ye Anning said with a hint of pride, "Aren't I amazing?"
Lin Sicheng looked at him strangely: No wonder your college classmates all thought your family was poor.
"Then why are you so useless now? When I ask you to go for a morning run, you act like it's your life's responsibility?"
"Lin Sicheng, what time do you go for your morning run? Six o'clock. Since starting university, I haven't gotten out of bed before eight o'clock..."
"Doesn't the Central Academy of Fine Arts have a 7 AM start time?"
Ye Anning grumbled, "I'm number one in every subject!"
Lin Sicheng was speechless: He was a poor student and had never received such treatment before.
After riding for a while, it was Lin Sicheng's turn. Ye Anning sat sideways on the back seat and casually put her arms around his waist.
"There are people performing the Chinese flag dance at Alishan Square, and an old lady playing with a diabolo. Do you want to go and take a look?"
"No way?" Lin Sicheng shook his head. "You'll complain about the heat again when the sun comes up later!"
Ye Anning slapped him on the shoulder: "Who said that?"
The two didn't stop and went straight to Qianmen Street.
It was only a little past eight o'clock, but there were already so many people, coming and going, bustling about.
The old-fashioned brick buildings stand side by side, and the bluestone pavement is worn smooth and shiny.
Steam rose from the braised pork offal shop as braised pork liver swirled in a brass ladle. A semi-solidified skin of milk clung to the rim of a blue-and-white porcelain bowl, and crispy duck glistened with oil.
Before even entering the alley, Ye Anning started swallowing hard, her Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
"You've been eating this since you were a child, haven't you had enough?"
"Who would complain about having too much good food?" Ye Anning replied, her eyes lighting up. "You haven't tried this before, have you? It tastes absolutely authentic!"
Lin Sicheng glanced at it: in the stainless steel bucket, the white and greenish soy milk was bubbling, and a smell of stale rags that had been stored for decades wafted into his nostrils.
He sighed: "You want to eat?"
"I'm already tired of it!" Ye Anning rolled her eyes. "But it's really delicious. People from other places who try it all give it a thumbs up!"
They'd probably curse even after eating it, right?
Lin Sicheng nodded: "Okay, if you eat, I'll eat!"
Knowing she couldn't fool him, Ye Anning shook her head: "Never mind then, this place has good fried food, I'll have a sugar-coated fried dough stick!"
It's inexpensive; a fist-sized pancake costs only 50 cents. It has a sugar coating on the outside and a soft interior. Take a bite, and it's crisp and sweet, with sugar crunching as it falls off.
"Cousin Ye, just one is fine!"
"Know!"
Seeing the fifty cents Ye Anning handed over, the shopkeeper gave the two of them a strange look. But she didn't say anything, took the money, filled a fried dough stick, and handed it over.
Ye Anning immediately tore it open, leaving only a small piece, less than a third, and gave the rest to Lin Sicheng.
She quickly stuffed it into her mouth, then pointed to the fried liver: "I want this too!"
Lin Sicheng nodded: "Big sister, give me five cents too!"
The proprietress rolled her eyes: "Not for sale!"
Lin Sicheng laughed heartily, and Ye Anning punched him lightly.
It's an old habit of Ye Anning's; she wants to eat everything she sees, but she only tries a little. If no one is with her, she'll take the rest home; if someone is with her, she'll stuff them into their mouths regardless of whether they like it or not.
Otherwise, how could Wang Youjian have grown so fat?
We ordered one serving, divided it into two paper cups, and the two of us slurped it as we walked.
They had another bowl of tofu pudding, bought crab roe shumai from Dian Du Yi Chu, and then went to Bao Du Feng.
There were so many people; the restaurant was almost full before nine o'clock. But it was also really delicious. Lin Sicheng ordered one of each of the following: boiled, fried, tripe, and lamb tripe.
The two strolled around and ate, and around 10 o'clock, they rode their bicycles to Prince Gong's Mansion.
At the agreed-upon ten o'clock, Zhang Jindong and Bai Wan arrived fifteen minutes early, only to find that Lin Sicheng and Ye Anning were even earlier than they had anticipated.
But watching the two of them riding bicycles, one pedaling in front and the other eating behind, I felt that the scene was really strange.
These two seem to be dating, but that's not the point. The real issue is how different they are from the image of Lin Sicheng that we had in mind.
But then again, isn't the early twenties a time of youth, sunshine, and vigor?
While they were thinking, the two jumped off their bicycles, and Lin Sicheng greeted them with a smile: "Professor Zhang, Teacher Bai."
Zhang Jindong took two steps forward and extended his hand: "Teacher Lin, thank you for making this trip!"
"Professor Zhang, you're too kind!" Lin Sicheng said nonchalantly. "Where is the porcelain that needs repairing?"
"No rush, let me show you and Assistant Ye around first!"
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the four of them went up the steps.
The vermilion gate was wide open, and a straight bluestone path led inward, with pavilions and towers on both sides, adorned with painted beams and carved pillars.
After passing Xijinzhai, Lin Sicheng stopped and looked at the four large pillars in the main hall.
This is Phoebe zhennan wood, 1.06 meters in diameter and 6.2 meters in height, perfectly straight with no knots or burls.
If we had to give an estimate, each pillar would be worth at least two billion. And the Prince Gong's Mansion has sixty-eight such golden nanmu pillars, which shows just how luxurious it was when it was first built.
Unfortunately, after many calamities, very few of the original cultural relics remain, except for those like the pillars that are simply too heavy to move and cannot be dismantled.
As they walked inside, Zhang Jindong introduced the place:
In the 49th year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, the emperor bestowed a marriage upon Princess Hexiao (the tenth princess), who married Fengshen Yinde, the son of Heshen. Heshen built a residence here, which was historically known as the Tenth Princess's Mansion.
From the grand ceremonial hall to the smallest furnishings, from a single roof tile to a single brick on the ground, only the best and most expensive materials were used. According to research, Heshen spent over ten million taels of silver from start to finish; in today's terms, that's roughly 20 billion yuan, truly making it the most luxurious mansion in Beijing.
"After Jiaqing ascended the throne, Heshen was executed and his property confiscated. His residence was given to Prince Qing, Yonglin, and the Tenth Princess's Mansion was renamed Prince Qing's Mansion. It then passed through four generations and six owners before being given to Yixin in the second year of Xianfeng's reign. It was historically known as Prince Gong's Mansion."
It passed down to the third Prince Gong, Puwei. To help Puyi regain his throne, he first sold cultural relics and then land, selling everything he could. He then pawned one-third of the mansion to a French missionary for 80,000 silver dollars. The interest compounded, and within a few years it had grown to 500,000. In 1938, a lawsuit broke out, and the French missionary bribed the court, resulting in the entire mansion being awarded to the foreigner.
"After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was taken back and used as offices and dormitories for various units. Until 1962, the Premier approved the reconstruction of the Prince Gong's Mansion and opened it to the public."
Zhang Jindong didn't say anything more after that, but Lin Sicheng and Ye Anning both knew:
From 1950 to 1962, Prince Gong's Mansion was divided among eight different entities, housing more than 300 households. From 1962 until 2006, the last institution, the Affiliated Secondary School of the China Conservatory of Music, moved out, marking a period of more than 40 years of eviction.
With so many businesses and residents, the damage to the original buildings over the past forty years is unimaginable. Restoring them to their original state as much as possible is extremely difficult.
But no matter how difficult it was, it had to be repaired. Since the establishment of the Prince Kung's Mansion Restoration and Management Committee under the Ministry of Culture in 1987, restoration has been carried out while clearing out illegal structures, and it was not until June of this year that it was basically completed. In other words, the restoration took a full 21 years from start to finish.
This shows how much effort and cost were involved.
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