Legend of Concubine's Daughter Minglan 知否知否 应是绿肥红瘦

C170. The Affairs, the Love, the People and the Silver of the Past (1)

Commander's mansion used to be an award which had been given to Marquis Zhongjing by Taizu Emperor Gao. Its location was near Marquis Ningyuan's mansion. Therefore, the avenue in front of the gate also called Avenue Zhong Ning. However, when Tai Zong Emperor had been on the throne, Marquis Zhongjing had been involved in the major mutiny case. After he had failed in the rebellion, his title had been deprived, his Tiequan had been destroyed (T/N: Tiequan is a credence for absolution which is given by the Emperor), his property had been confiscated and his family had been exterminated. After that, the mansion had been presented to the famous official of the Wu Dynasty, Officer Xiong Linshan and renamed as 'Cheng Manor'. After Officer Xiong had resigned, he had submitted a petition to the Emperor to return the mansion. The Emperor at that time, Ren Emperor, then had taken the mansion back and granted lots of manors and farmlands to Officer Xiong in his hometown.

Except for the mountain forests on the front and the back, Cheng Manor covered an area about ninety acres and could be divided into two sections.

The front yard was also called the outer manor, which was the place where men dealt with their businesses. The front gate consisted of three red paint doors while each of them had forty-nine copper nails on the surface. There were also two corner gates on the east and the west. The ground of the yard was paved with bright and clean huge slabstone. Along the pavement were four outer studies situated symmetrically in two rows. The stable, the garage and a few rows of the reversely-set houses with narrow yards in which lived all the maids and servants were outside of the study area. Through the Outer Rite Door, there were five spacious and huge council rooms being seated in the center with the warm houses, the side houses and the tea rooms by both sides.

Then, through three Inner Rite Doors, the inner yard appeared.

Due to lots of scruples and restrictions, Minglan was now sitting in a jampan which had light gauze curtains all around to glance over the front yard quickly. Gu Tingye pointed at some places to acquaint her with the mansion. As they entered into the inner yard, Gu Tingye asked Minglan to get off the jampan and walk with him. However, Minglan suggested politely that she was too weak to walk for a long time and preferred to stay in the jampan. Then, the expression in Gu Tingye's eyes turned strange right away. He approached to her ears while suggesting even more politely, "Is it because you want to save your strength to...?"

After thinking for a while, Minglan said, "I'd better just walk."

This man who had sharply cut eyes, straight nose and thin lips was now putting on a meaningful look in his eyes as if he was laughing at her quietly.

There were five spacious halls with wing-rooms in the middle of the front. On the horizontal inscribed tablet was written three words 'Morning Sunlight Hall', which were lively and vigorous in calligraphy. Minglan gasped in admiration inwardly and turned around, saying, "As an official who had stayed in power under two different emperors, Officer Xiong really was an respectable man who remained righteous and honest all the time. Since he was from a family of scholars, he didn't need to use any jubilant words. The two words, 'Morning Sunlight', are already enough!"

Gu Tingye looked at those three words and also nodded.

On the left of the Morning Sunlight Hall was a yard where Gu Tingye's inner study situated. On the right was a side hall with vegetation. Across a white stone paved path and a festoon door was a main yard with seven Jians and seven Jias. There were three wing rooms and three side rooms by the two sides. With three rows of Baoshas on the front and the back, the whole building contained more than twenty rooms, which looked splendid and gorgeous. At last, when looking up, three huge words on the horizontal tablet would come into view---- House of Auspiciousness. (T/N: Jian and Jia were the units of the ancient Chinese architect. Baosha was the house which surrounded the main house.)