It turned out that after the death of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, the dynasty gradually collapsed, and the royal nobles regained real power. In the later years of Daoguang, the sixth Prince Yi Zaiyuan was promoted to the position of imperial minister and gained the power to make decisions on military affairs by virtue of his hard work and easy-going personality.
Before Daoguang died, Zaiyuan became Emperor Daoguang's trusted minister, and he was highly trusted.
During the Xianfeng Dynasty, Zaiyuan was highly used, and when Emperor Xianfeng was dying, he once again became one of the ministers who took care of his life. However, Jaewon's relationship with Sushun, who was also a minister of Gu Ming, was tense, and there was little communication.
Despite this, Jaewon was eventually forced to commit suicide due to Sushun's relationship, which made both the clan and the ministers of the court feel too harsh, but no one dared to oppose it because of the situation.
After Zaiyuan's death, Cixi rewarded him with a funeral ceremony that did not enter the eight-point auxiliary state duke, and then awarded the title of Prince Yi to Zaitai, the descendant of Prince Zhuang Yunlu, but he did not let Zaitai stay in Prince Yi's mansion, but gave the palace to Xianfeng's ninth brother, so as to give a gift and keep Prince Zhuang's mansion.
Jae-tae didn't mind this, and was willing to live in the palace as Prince Yi. This courtyard survived the later "Gengzi Rebellion" and is the only courtyard of Prince Zhuang's Mansion that has not been destroyed, and it became the residence of ** after liberation.
After careful consideration, Zaitai decided not to inherit the books, calligraphy and paintings, rare treasures and manor acres in Prince Yi's mansion, but only accepted the title and fortune. This decision made the life of Prince Yi's descendants guaranteed, but at the same time, it also gave Pu Bin, the son of a loser, a chance to lose.
Pu Bin is the son of Zaiyuan, and he found that Zaitai had no interest in treasures, so he hurriedly moved all the books, calligraphy, paintings, and rare treasures to the newly purchased mansion. This mansion is located at the east exit of Dongsi Toutiao, just a few steps away from Prince Yi's mansion, and Pu Bin chose this place because of the ease and speed of moving.
Although Zaitai didn't take it, once the news reached the palace, Cixi might give another favor to the treasure stored in "Mingshantang", so Pu Bin quickly transferred the treasure in case something happened and the treasure fell into the hands of others.
Since moving into his new home, this luxurious Pu Bin has begun to ** treasures. For the forty years from the first year of Tongzhi to the Gengzi Rebellion, he continued to sell, most of which was sold to two bookstores specializing in rare books, "Sanhuaitang" and "Tonglizhai", located on Longfusi Street in Dongsi.
Because these two bookstores are very close to Pu Bin's home. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the scholar Weng Tongyi purchased many rare books from the "Sanhuai Hall" and "Tong Lizhai", such as Wei Guiting's "The Stone Valley of Houqing" and Wang Yungu's "Southern Tour Map", which are all copies of Prince Yi's mansion.
Sheng Boxi, the editor of the Hanlin Academy, who often patronized the "Sanhuai Hall" and "Tonglizhai", also bought a lot of treasures. The seventh grandson of Prince Su Haoge became a well-known collector in the late Qing Dynasty by acquiring the ancestral heirlooms scattered from Prince Yi's mansion.
Prince Yi's manor was supposed to be owned by his descendants, but in the past 40 years, Pu Bin has been selling his ancestral land. Some speculate that Pu Bin was initially worried that the imperial court would deprive him of the right to enjoy these fields exclusively, so he chose to sell them as soon as possible in exchange for silver taels.
Later, he became addicted to selling things, just like he was addicted to big cigarettes, and if he didn't sell it for a few days, he would be restless and unpleasant. Therefore, although Zaitai's compassion ensured the food and clothing of Prince Yi's descendants, it also provided Pu Bin with the capital of a loser.