Chapter 56
As they were talking, the three of them had already turned around the rockery and were walking under the garden's veranda. Zhou Yiheng caught sight of the two-story building with gray bricks and red walls to the west. He slowed down and asked, "Why is there a different house here?"
Li Chengshun glanced over there and said as he walked: "That is Ledao Hall, which was rebuilt behind Prince Gong. During the Xianfeng period, this was Prince Gong's study. Later, some Western things were added."
"It looks quite coordinated this way." Xiao Xiao raised the camera and took a few pictures from that angle.
Zhou Yi took a closer look. Although the small building had Western-style arched windows and was built with bricks, the corners still retained traditional Chinese eaves. He was curious, "Isn't Prince Gong a conservative?"
"People change all the time. There's even an unfinished Western-style building in the Forbidden City," Li Cheng said with a smile. "Besides, people are not so rigid. Prince Gong was a major supporter of the Westernization Movement. The Zongli Yamen back then had a lot of dealings with foreigners."
Monday stood there nodding.
Xiao Xiao put down her camera, her eyes suddenly brightening. She turned around and asked with a smile, "What would Heshen think if he knew his mansion had become like this?"
"What ideas can I have?" Li Cheng hammered his slightly sore thigh. After walking for several hours, the front of his thigh began to numb. He straightened his back and glanced at Zhou Yiheng in front of him, his eyes pausing briefly on his face. The sun enveloped the young man's tall figure, and he was immersed in the warm warmth from head to toe, blurring into a familiar outline. Li Cheng was stunned, and subconsciously thought of the words in his mind.
'Luckily Yang Ye didn't come'
'Luckily she didn't see this'
Li Cheng shook his head and sighed softly, "If I can't change anything while I'm alive, what's the point of dying?"
Xiao Xiao saw the carvings under the corridor and nodded in praise. "But these elements are added very well. They are well matched together and look quite comfortable."
Li Cheng said: "This is the strength of the design of the old craftsmen. They were able to absorb the advantages of Western elements without disturbing the original artistic conception."
As he left Prince Gong's mansion, Li Cheng glanced at his phone. It was 3:30 PM, a rather awkward time, neither too late nor too late. Dinner was still two or three hours away, and sitting down and waiting until dinner would be a real chore. He wanted to go somewhere else, but at his age, after an entire afternoon's walking, his knees and feet were numb and swollen, and he didn't have the energy to do much.
"Let's find a place to rest for a while." This is all Li Cheng could say.
"Okay," Zhou Yiheng responded straightforwardly. He had actually wanted to find a place to rest for a long time, but he was the youngest among the three of them, and Li Chengdu hadn't even complained of being tired, so he didn't feel comfortable speaking first.
They casually turned into the nearest coffee shop and sat down. The three of them almost breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. There were not many people in the shop at that time. Li Cheng stretched his legs forward and rubbed his knees. "The Prince Gong Mansion doesn't look big, but it's really tiring to walk there."
"How did those people walk in the past?" Zhou Yiheng stretched his shoulders.
Li Cheng pounded his thigh. "In the past, we would stroll around the garden, leisurely walking for an entire afternoon, watching the fish and playing with the birds. When we got tired, we would find a place to sit down and rest, and then have some tea and a snack. But here, we have to walk around the entire mansion in an hour and a half. How can we not be tired?"
Xiao Xiao lowered her head and flipped through the photos in the camera, deleting the ones that were blurry due to shaking hands and had repeated angles. She just saw the back of the rockery against the light and was about to zoom in to see the overall outline when she suddenly heard a crisp laugh. She looked up and saw three girls in cheongsams coming out of the clothing rental store opposite. The emerald cheongsams matched the bun hairstyles. They huddled together, talking and thinking about how to wear the armor on their hands to make them look good.
Her eyes lit up, and she nudged Zhou Yiheng, who was playing with his phone next to her, and suggested, "Hey, look at that dress, why don't we rent one and take some photos?"
Li Cheng drank the iced lemonade he had just ordered and politely declined, "My knee has just recovered a little, so I won't bother with you guys. You two young people go ahead, I'll watch your bag next to you."
Xiao Xiao persuaded: "Professor Li, try it, it looks good on you."
Li Cheng waved his hands and said with a smile: "Forget it, it would be weird to dress like that at my age. Let Zhou Yiheng go with you. He is young and good-looking, and he will definitely look smart in the clothes. Besides, it would be boring to take pictures by yourself with everyone around you."
Zhou Yi sat sideways in his seat and shook his head, "I don't want to wear it either, it's too weird."
"What's so strange about it?" Perhaps moved by Li Cheng's words, Xiao Xiao grabbed his arm and pulled him up. "Since we're here, it would be a shame not to experience it."
Zhou Yiheng looked embarrassed and said, "Oh, I really can't do this. I have never liked wearing colorful clothes since I was a child. I feel uncomfortable wearing them."
Xiao Xiao looked at Li Cheng for help. Li Cheng put down the almost empty glass of lemonade in his hand and said, "It's a rare opportunity for us to come here. Why don't you go with Xiao Xiao to have a look? What if there's a suitable one? Come on, I'll go with you. If they're all so fancy, you can come with me to show Xiao Xiao the bag. Is that okay?"
Zhou Yiheng could only nod.
Pushing open the door, adorned with a brass bell, a faint scent of camphor reached me. Inside the small shop, metal hangers stood crammed together, adorned with a vibrant array of ancient costumes, from cold-weather gowns to Ming and Qing dynasty-era jackets and cheongsams. Though the racks appeared completely full, the clothes were clearly organized into distinct categories. In the corner, two girls, freshly dressed, stood before a dressing mirror, adjusting the tightness of their belts, occasionally exchanging quiet words.
Xiao Xiao walked to the mirror full of Manchu dresses, skillfully pushed aside a few clothes that were close together, and looked at Manchu dresses of various styles and colors. She took out a light pink one and compared it to herself.
The clothes were embroidered with a few half-opened peonies, with pink and white petals curled at the edges, and the stamens outlined with gold thread shining in the light.
"I'll choose this one," she turned around and asked the clerk who had just collected the clothes, "Do you have this size?"
The clerk came over and looked at the label on the collar, then looked at Xiao Xiao's figure. "Yes, they have normal and large sizes. You can wear a normal size."
Zhou Yiheng, by contrast, felt like he'd wandered into a place completely unrelated to him. Standing before the rows of shelves, he looked a bit uneasy and flustered. He stared at the elaborate, ancient costumes before him. The hems of his official uniforms reached down to his ankles, and the azure gowns had inexplicable tassels dangling from them. No matter which piece he picked up, he found it odd.
"Do you need help?" The clerk gave Xiao Xiao the pink cheongsam and the matching inner garment that she had chosen. Turning around and seeing Zhou Yiheng who was still hesitating, he smiled and asked.
"Yeah, let them help you choose one." Li Cheng didn't really see any of the options, but when he heard the clerk say that, he quickly agreed.
The clerk noticed that he was not very interested in these Manchu suits, so he asked: "Why don't you try our new Zhongshan suits, which are in the style of the Republic of China and more suitable for boys?"
"What kind of Zhongshan suit?" Li Cheng asked.
"Here," the clerk led them. A few dark-colored Zhongshan suits stood out among the pile of Ming and Qing dynasty-style clothing. Zhou Yiheng casually glanced at them, then suddenly his interest caught his eye. He picked up a navy blue suit. It was simple, with a embroidered pattern of emerald bamboo leaves where the chest met the shoulders. The collar and shoulders were ironed flat, and the metal buttons on the collar and cuffs shone warmly under the fluorescent light.
"This one is made in the style of the Republic of China, with a touch of neo-Chinese style, and the shape is very good." The clerk took down the clothes he had just seen.
Xiao Xiao had already put on the Manchu dress. She came out of the fitting room while tying the belt around her waist. "You haven't chosen yet?"
"Yeah," Zhou Yiheng responded and took the clothes from the clerk.
Seeing the Zhongshan suit in his hand, Xiao Xiao's eyes lit up, "Hey, this one is nice"
"Your friend thinks it's good too," the clerk said enthusiastically. "The men's fitting room is over there. We also have matching glasses and fans. You can try them on later. Miss, why don't you come over here and I'll do your hair for you."
"Sure," Xiao Xiao nodded happily.
After closing the fitting room door, he first took off the loose sweater he was wearing. He slipped his thin cotton-padded arms into the sleeves, the delicate silk lining still retaining the warmth of the sun. He buttoned the collar, the curves of the left and right lapels were just right, the stand-up collar fitted the curve of his neck, the shoulders were straight, the waist was upright. He looked at the suit, which was so precise that it seemed as if it had been tailor-made for him.
Zhou Yiheng turned around twice in the mirror. He didn't know if he was dizzy or if the lights in the dressing room were too bright, but he suddenly felt that the person in the mirror seemed to have changed his temperament. The dark blue fabric showed faint dark patterns under the light, and even his usual lazy attitude seemed to have a sense of calmness. His glasses were a little dry, and Zhou Yiheng blinked, vaguely seeing in the mirror that there seemed to be a few wrinkles at the corners of his eyes that didn't belong to his current age. But when he looked more closely, the mirror reflected his current youthful appearance.
"Hasn't she come out yet?" Li Cheng went outside to answer a phone call. When he came back, he saw Xiao Xiao sitting alone in front of the makeup mirror. The clerk was combing and pinning up the little girl's hair next to her.
Seeing Li Cheng coming over in the mirror, Xiao Xiao opened her phone and checked the time. It was almost half past four, and it would be too late if she didn't go and take the picture.
"I don't know what he's hesitating about, go call him."
Li Cheng walked to the fitting room. The door was still closed. He raised his hand and knocked twice. "Xiao Zhou, how are you? Do you need help?"
There was a rustling sound at the door and the door of the fitting room was opened. Li Cheng was about to speak, but when his eyes fell on the man at the door, he was suddenly stunned.
His pupils suddenly tightened and his Adam's apple rolled up and down unconsciously. Li Cheng said nothing, but just stared at him.
Xiao Xiao had just finished fixing her hair when she turned around and ran into Zhou Yiheng coming out of the fitting room. She paused and the words she wanted to say to urge him to hurry up were stuck in her throat.
Zhou Yiheng felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by the two. He raised his hand and tugged at the collar of his Zhongshan suit, and asked in a low voice, "Am I being weird?"
"No, no," Xiao Xiao walked quickly to him, looked him up and down carefully before exclaiming, "Oh my god, you really suit this outfit. I didn't recognize you just now."
Zhou Yiheng was so overwhelmed by her straightforward praise that his ears turned red at a visible speed. "I just changed my clothes."
"You know what it means to be a man, clothes make the man," Xiao Xiao smiled and reached out to pat the bamboo leaf on his chest, then asked Li Cheng, "Professor Li, do you think he looks good in this outfit?"
Li Cheng only realized what was happening after she reminded him. With a barely perceptible nervousness in his voice, he nodded mechanically, "Indeed, it is indeed very suitable."
But his eyes were fixed on Zhou Yiheng and he couldn't move them away.
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