Cixi was so happy that she picked some cucumbers herself. The skin of cucumber is bright green, the shape of melon is straight, and there is a small yellow flower on the melon, which is relatively fresh.
Li, the general manager, praised the opportunity and said, "Thanks to the great blessings of Lafayette and the good weather in Daqing, this grain harvest has been achieved."
Cixi was relieved to hear this, and suddenly thought of one thing: "Xiao Lizi, I heard that the emerald cucumber has returned to the palace. If you go and get it right away, it won't reflect each other here. "
Speaking of this emerald green cucumber, it is also ill-fated. This is an official treasure. Later, Eight-Nation Alliance attacked Beijing, and Cixi took Guangxu and others to the Western Seas. Finally, there is no danger. But Beijing has been breached by foreign troops. The Forbidden City, the Three Seas, the imperial historical city and the Summer Palace were all looted by foreign soldiers, and many ordinary people also took advantage of the chaos to rob and took away many furnishings. Empress Dowager Cixi was furious when she heard about it when she got back. She can't cure the crimes of foreign soldiers, so she must severely punish those who take advantage of the chaos and plunder, so she asks those who take things to send them back quickly, or they will be beheaded.
At this time, a minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs stood up and said, "Calm down, Lafayette. If heavy penalties are imposed, how dare ordinary people send things back? They are sure to secretly destroy it out of fear. What a pity! It's better to post a notice saying that anyone who returns the palace objects will be rewarded with five taels of silver for one piece and fifteen taels for two pieces. "
Cixi asked inexplicably, "How come one piece is five taels of silver and two pieces are fifteen taels of silver?"
The minister explained, "Lafayette, you don't know those ordinary people. They all take it one step at a time. For five taels of silver for a thing, they will definitely sell one first, and then sell the other when there is no money. As soon as I heard two dollars and fifteen taels, I quickly took it out. "
Hearing this, Cixi felt that it made sense, so she asked the Minister of the Interior to do it. As soon as the announcement came out, people really rushed to return things. Although those objects are treasures of the palace, they are valuable, but because of this, ordinary people dare not buy or sell them openly. They can neither eat nor wear at home, and they have to take risks. It's better to exchange these ten or twenty taels of silver. When things are sent to the palace, someone must check and accept them. Li, the general manager, is an inspector appointed by the Queen Mother. A few days ago, Li Xiang showed a list of returned cultural relics, including this emerald cucumber.
In a short time, the emerald cucumber was served, green and exquisite. Coincidentally, there was a small piece of Huang Cui on the cucumber head, which was carved into cucumber flowers by craftsmen and put on the table with those cucumbers picked by Cixi. At that time, the eyes were full of green.
Cixi was in a good mood after reading it and said that she would call the ministers to the palace tomorrow to let them enjoy such beautiful scenery.
Cixi finished and went back to her bedroom to rest. Xiao Kou, a disciple of Li Rang, put the emerald cucumber in a brocade box and held it carefully all the way, intending to send it back to the warehouse. They heard a meow on the road and jumped off the branch with a white Persian cat. This Persian cat, originally a pet of Cixi, recently disappeared inexplicably yesterday, and I don't know where to chase the mother cat. Li looked for the eunuch all night, but suddenly jumped out.
Persian cat jumped directly on the brocade box in Xiao Kou's hand. Xiao Kou was frightened, his hand shook, and with a bang, the brocade box fell on the stone road. The little button quickly opened the brocade box and opened the lid. The whole person was like an ice room, only to see that the emerald cucumber had been broken into four or five pieces.
Xiao Kou turned pale and said in a trembling voice, "Master, now I'm going to die."
Xiao kou is only fifteen years old. Although he is a little man, he is very clever and deeply loved by Li. Li was frightened when he saw that his apprentice had made such a big mistake. However, he has been used to big winds and waves in the palace for many years, and his face is still in danger. After a moment of meditation, he told his apprentice, "You'd better catch this cat and take it back to the queen mother's bedroom before it disappears again. Leave this emerald cucumber to me and don't tell anyone. " Li said, grabbed the brocade box and walked quickly.
Second, the broken jade is reborn
The next day, early in the morning, Cixi invited ministers to the imperial garden to see the bumper harvest this year. The little button waited by, and when he saw that the emerald cucumber was broken, he could no longer hide it. His calf is shaking and he can't stand straight.
When I arrived at the Imperial Garden, I saw a large basin of fresh cucumbers on the stone table in the pavilion. To Button's slight relief, the Queen Mother did not order people to get the emerald cucumber, but waved and gave each minister a cucumber to eat while it was hot.
When the Queen Mother gave the order, the ministers did not dare to obey, so they quickly took a cucumber and took a bite with their mouths open. Eating and eating, I heard the gray-haired college student gnash his teeth and shout, "Why can't this cucumber bite!" "
It turned out that Cixi had let people quietly mix the emerald cucumber into the cucumber pot, which happened to be obtained by the university students. How can his old teeth be better than emerald cucumber?
Cixi smiled, and all the ministers couldn't help laughing.
The little button here is wide open and feels like a dream. How did the emerald cucumber, which was obviously torn to pieces by itself, remain intact overnight?
Just as the ministers praised the Queen Mother's skill, Xiao Kou grabbed Li's sleeve and whispered, "Master, are there two emerald cucumbers in this world?"
Li said with a smile, "such a treasure is hard to find. There is no second one in the world. " He told his disciples, "I have a good friendship with Master Liu. He has a secret recipe that can re-bond the broken jadeite without leaving a trace. " Chu Guang Branch is an organization that specializes in creating jewelry for harem concubines, and has handled countless jade jewelry. Master Liu used the secret recipe to completely restore the emerald cucumber overnight. Early this morning, according to the instructions of Cixi, Li quietly mixed the restored emerald cucumber into the newly picked tender cucumber and played a joke on the ministers.
Knowing the whole story, Xiao Kou was so grateful to Master Liu that he kept thinking about when he could repay him.
On this day, Xiao Kou paid a monthly payment and went to his fellow villager Xiao, intending to borrow some money from him and buy a good gift for Master Liu in return for saving his life. But before he could speak, Tiger got a job to Kunming Lake.
It turns out that the lotus flowers were in full bloom on Kunming Lake in the Summer Palace recently. Cixi sat on the original Shang Huashi and accidentally dropped a jade pendant she was wearing into the lake.
This jade pendant is also a rare treasure, transparent as ice. The most rare thing is that it has a gold dot on it. The craftsman used this golden point to turn the pendant into a phoenix sunrise, which looked like a sunset melting gold and won the favor of Cixi.
The queen mother's favorite thing fell into the lake, of course, what to salvage. Eunuchs who are good at water in the Forbidden City have been transferred to the Summer Palace and Kunming Lake as attendants.
The little tiger is walking in a hurry. Before leaving, he said to Xiao Kou, "Let's talk about it when I come back!" However, Xiao Kou didn't wait until Xiao came back-Xiao was entangled in aquatic plants and drowned while diving. In fact, this is the third eunuch who drowned trying to salvage the pendant.
Li came to Kunming Lake with a crying button to collect the body of the little tiger. When the eunuch in charge there saw Li, he couldn't help complaining: "Manager, it's not that we are ineffective, but that the water is too deep and there are many weeds. The pendant itself is green, which is tantamount to looking for a needle in a haystack!"
Li listened and sighed. At this rate, I wonder how many people will die. However, pendants can't be salvaged. When the Queen Mother gets angry, these people are afraid of death.
Just then, I saw a middle-aged man in his forties coming and Xiao Kou recognized him. This man is his great benefactor, Master Liu.
Master Liu greeted everyone, looked at the body of the little tiger covered with white cloth by the lake, shook his head and sighed, "What a pity! If only I had heard about it earlier. "
Li recognized his implication and asked, "Is there any way for Master Liu to salvage the pendant of the Queen Mother?"
Master Liu nodded and said to the eunuch in charge, "Let's stop first. We shouldn't go into the water during the day. "
"You shouldn't go into the water during the day. Do you want to salvage at night? " The eunuch in charge disagreed. "This lake is too deep, even in broad daylight, it is difficult to see the clear bottom. At night, it's all blind! "
Master Liu smiled and said, "We don't have to argue any more. Since general manager Li is in charge here, let him give us a witness. I will definitely catch the pendant tonight. "
Third, the moonlight shines.
In the evening, a bright moon hangs high in Kunming Lake, and the moonlight is bright and sparkling. Master Liu, a southerner, is good at water. He personally took several apprentices and sneaked into Kunming Lake at night.
Xiao Kou and Li, as well as the eunuch in charge, waited anxiously on the shore, watching Liu Jiangshi float up and sink from the water many times, but failed every time.
Late at night, just when everyone thought that Master Liu would definitely break his word, he suddenly heard an exclamation. One of Master Liu's apprentices emerged from the bottom of the water and kept waving to everyone. Kou has a good eye. After carefully looking at the things in the man's hand, he cried in surprise: "Pendant! The pendant is found! "
When the pendant was sent ashore, everyone carefully identified it, only to see that the pendant was clear and blue, with a touch of gold on the top, which was the phoenix sunrise of the Queen Mother.
When Master Liu went ashore, Xiao Kou couldn't help asking, "Master Liu, how did you find the pendant that you hadn't fished for several days in one night?"
Master Liu smiled and told everyone: "This is the characteristic of jade. If it is a good jade work, it can reflect moonlight when it is in water, so it is easier to identify at night than during the day. "
I see. The eunuch in charge was so grateful that he went to do a job with joy and joy, holding a pendant that was salvaged.
The queen mother was in a good mood when she saw the pendant was recovered. When she heard about it, she specially rewarded Master Liu and his apprentice, several drowned eunuchs, and gave a generous pension.
After this incident, Xiao Kou is more appreciative and grateful to Master Liu. However, shortly after the reward, Master Liu resigned from the palace on the grounds that no one was waiting on his mother at home.
It rained several times during this time. On this day, Xiao Kou saw that the weather was fine and wanted to help Li wash the bedding. Li has a special position. He lives in a small yard with only one house. Most people can't get into his house. Only a small button has a key.
Li unbuttoned the small buttons under the bedding, went to the box to get a clean bedding, rummaged through the box, and suddenly touched a hard thing, which turned out to be a burden. When I touched it, it was crunchy. Li was deeply loved by the Queen Mother, and he usually gave a lot of things. Xiao Kou didn't think much, but he was young and curious after all, and wanted to see what strange things were, so he untied the baggage. He was confused at first sight. It turned out that it contained a pile of emerald fragments, that is, the emerald cucumber!
Just as Xiao Kou was full of doubts, the door was opened and Li came in. As soon as he saw the little button with the bag, he understood what was going on and quickly turned and closed the door.
Xiao Kou asked suspiciously, "Master, what the hell is going on?"
Li's face is as cold as ice. He snapped, "This is a big deal, so put your things away quickly! Never mention this again! "
Four. Jade carving Guanyin
A few months later, on the tenth day of the tenth lunar month, on the birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi, ministers sent all kinds of precious gifts. Among these mountains of treasures, one item is particularly eye-catching, that is, a large jade carving given by Emperor Guangxu-Cihang Pudu. Master Guanyin stood in the wind with a clean bottle in his hand and a carp in his foot. The whole object is about five feet high, carved from a whole piece of jade, sunny and smooth, ice green. Look at Guanyin's face carefully, a bit like Cixi. Carp has a long nose and a long head, and the antlers on its forehead are already obvious. Yao Ming has jumped over the dragon gate and will become a dragon at any time.
Cixi was very happy to see the gift. However, she knew that Guangxu, as the son of heaven, was worth a lot, but in fact, his life was very poor. Where did he get the money to buy such a big piece of jade?
Guangxu did not dare to hide it, and reported: "The emperor's father does not know. This is nitrate Guanyin. I asked European experts to cooperate with the connecting craftsmen of Guangzhou Storage Company to imitate the texture of jade. " Nitrate, also called feed, is an early kind of Nie glass. Although its appearance is similar to that of jade, its price is much lower.
Cixi knew that Guangxu always liked foreign things. No wonder she had such an idea. But Cixi praised Guangxu's filial piety.
After the court, Guangxu thanked Li again and again: "Thanks to Ang Lee for teaching me this method, otherwise I would not be able to send a decent birthday present, and the emperor's father was afraid that he would have deeper feelings for me."
It turned out that European glass experts were introduced to Emperor Guangxu by Li. How did Li, who has lived in the palace for a long time, invite European experts?
In fact, this is all thanks to the Minister of the Interior who came up with the idea of using money to buy cultural relics in the hands of ordinary people.
Among all kinds of utensils that the minister bought, there is one thing that he never forgets, and that is the emerald cucumber. In order to keep the treasure for himself, he quietly invited European experts to make a nitrate cucumber according to the appearance of emerald cucumber. Although the appearance is almost the same, he is guilty after all, so he sent a gift to Li, who is in charge of the inventory, asking him to show mercy when checking the inventory.
With short hands, the nitrate cucumbers collected by Li are authentic.
After the little button broke the nitrate cucumber, Li had to leave the palace overnight to ask the minister for the real emerald cucumber in order to save his apprentice's life. Although the minister did not give up, it was not convenient to refuse directly. It is agreed to take the real thing to solve the urgent need first, and then quietly make a nitrate-seeded cucumber for the real thing.
Xiao Kou suddenly realized, "It turns out that Master Liu doesn't have any secret recipe at all, so is it the credit of Master Liu that the pendant was salvaged later?"
Li said with a smile, "When the moon comes out at night, you can take a piece of jade and put it in the water. Just try it. "
It turned out that after Li Taihou ordered the salvage of the pendant, he couldn't bear to see the eunuchs lose their lives for a pendant, so he hit it again. The pendant was carved by Liu Jiangshi. He is very familiar with the shape and structure of the pendant. He was entrusted by Li to draw these drawings, and then Li took them out of the palace. European experts made glass pendants according to the drawings. Then Master Liu made up a story about jade shining in the moonlight. Before the launch, the glass pendant was quietly stuffed at the waist.
Afterwards, Li was worried that Liu Jiangshi would leak the news, so he gave him a large sum of money to leave the palace and return to China.
Xiao kou finally figured out the ins and outs of the matter, but what was the purpose of the master introducing European experts to the emperor?
Li sighed and said, "When the Minister of the Interior saw the imitation of nitrate, he became more and more courageous. All the jade and precious stones he brought back were replaced with imitations. If this continues, there will be no real thing in the Forbidden City! " But he has taken bribes, and if it is made public, it will be dragged down. Seeing the Queen Mother's birthday approaching, Guangxu once complained to him that he didn't know how to give him a birthday present. Li thought, why not borrow the hand of the emperor and break the posterior path of this fake minister!
Sure enough, since the Empress Dowager Cixi received the glass Guanyin, it is no longer a secret to imitate jade with glass, and that minister never dared to make money in this way again.
The smashed nitrate cucumber is the handle left by the minister in Li's hand, and it is useless now. Taking advantage of the bleak night in the Forbidden City, Li asked Xiao Kou to dig a deep pit in the yard and buried the nitrate tablets with the secret.
After filling in the soil, the little button seems to sigh and ask, "Master, if one day I succeed and someone gives me a gift, do you think I will accept it?"
Li Youyou smiled: "It's up to you!" After a while, he still said, "You can accept the money entrusted to filial piety and don't do anything harmful."
After listening to this, Xiao Kou thought, What Master said may not be right, right?