Chongzhen put down the memorial in his hand, picked up the hot towel from the maid's tray next to him, wiped his face, and hummed comfortably. I also learned this from Yang Fan.
The Empress heard that Yang Fan's house provided hot towels for wiping his face at any time. I immediately started to learn from others. Now, this has become the standard in the palace.
Now there is a separate hot towel room in the palace, with two young eunuchs and a palace maid responsible for providing 24-hour hot towel service to the harem.
The high-quality towels purchased by the palace from Xinghe Supermarket were steamed in the steamer. Whenever there is a need, I will send it to His Majesty and the ladies.
In the winter, it’s so comforting to wipe your face with a hot towel.
Chongzhen lay back, leaning on the back of the chair, covering his face with a hot towel. I was also sighing in my heart, Yang Fan would still enjoy it. There are so many eunuchs and maids serving people in the palace, why no one thought of it.
This kind of ringed towel was brought by Yang Fan. Before the Ming Dynasty, there were only plain cloth towels, not such fluffy towels. Not to mention, this product is really good for wiping your face and is super absorbent.
"My dear friend, what is Yang Fan doing?" Chongzhen has always been more concerned about Yang Fan's movements.
"Long live my lord, Uncle Dingyuan gave the training to Zhou Yuji. He is researching a car that can drive on its own without horses. What kind of car did he name it? Yesterday, he drove this car home from Nanyuan. There were many cars along the way. People gathered around to watch, and I heard it was packed to the rafters."
"Well, Yang Qing likes to play with these weird and cunning things. But let's not forget that everything he comes up with is useful and agrees with people's needs. He has made all the money in the world." Chongzhen said with emotion.
It's so difficult to get some money yourself. But there is simply no reason for Yang Fan to make money. He makes money in everything he does, as if money comes to him on its own initiative.
After a while, he felt that the towel was cold. He took it off and felt that the skin on his face was very comfortable. Chongzhen saw Wang Chengen holding a red notebook in his hand.
"Well, eldest companion, what are you holding in your hand?" Chongzhen asked curiously.
"Your Majesty, this is what the Queen has just sent. It is said to be a new-style villa that Uncle Dingyuan paid tribute to Your Majesty."
"The villa, is it a courtyard in Xishan?" Chongzhen took it and opened it to take a look.
Yang Fan had a bad taste and made the house deed look like a real estate certificate for future generations. It states the property rights of the house, as well as drawings of the building and yard. The property deed issued by the government was pasted on the last page, folded and pasted on it. The house deed is also stamped with the seal of Shuntian Household Branch.
"Your Majesty, it is a new type of building that was developed in the entire community. It is called Nanluoguxiang Community, just outside Di'anmen. It is said that it has installed glass windows and heating systems, as well as water supply and drainage. The community has a garden design, and the environment Beautiful." Wang Chengen introduced.
"Oh, I've never seen this before. After dinner, I took the queen and the two concubines over to have a look." Chongzhen said.
Now, Chongzhen often sneaks out to visit privately incognito.
Jin Yiwei has already reported to him about the Huangcheng North Street and the first residential area developed by Yang Fan. He also wanted to see what these houses looked like.
Princess Le'an came to visit him the day before yesterday. I heard from her that she and her consort also bought a house in that community.
It also said that there is running water, a shower head and an enamel bathtub, hot water for bathing, a private toilet, heating, and a kitchen with an oven and a briquette stove.
The kitchen and bathroom are decorated with ceramic tiles, and the floor is paved with solid wood flooring. He felt itchy to say what Chongzhen said. The queen and two concubines who were sitting with her also had their eyes shining brightly. No matter what age, women are always interested in good houses, decoration and furniture.
Now that the weather is getting colder, the princess and the consort have moved into their new home. Enjoy the full warmth, comfort and comfort of modern life.
With the arrival of winter, heating has started, and now this kind of community and new-style buildings are completely popular.
The first batch of purchasers were mainly businessmen and some officials below the third rank. They could not afford several courtyards in the deep house compound.
However, they also have housing needs, and it has been difficult to live in the capital since ancient times. Housing prices here have always been very high.
There are hundreds of thousands of people living in rented houses in the capital. They are mainly businessmen, middle- and lower-level officials, and students from the Imperial College.
These people have a small amount of wealth, but they still cannot afford a big yard. Therefore, after the community opened, Yang Fan found that suites with small areas were especially popular. Ten three-bedroom apartments (one room is 10 square meters) are very popular.
Yang Fan has noticed that the demand for small apartments is getting stronger. Currently, he is developing a community with a pure wing building, a floor area of 30 square meters, and one bedroom and one living room.
This is specifically for single Imperial College students in the capital, young Hanlin Academy officials, and petty officials in various yamen. The price is not expensive, usually less than one hundred taels.
During the meal, I heard that His Majesty was going to take them out of the palace to play. Queen Zhou, Concubine Tian and Concubine Yuan were very excited.
At this time, Queen Zhou's lower abdomen was slightly bulging, and the child she was carrying was Chongzhen's eldest son Zhu Cixiang. Historically, he was born in the second year of Chongzhen (1629), and he was named the crown prince the following year.
The three of them are under twenty years old this year, and they are at the age where they love to play.
When Your Majesty was in Prince Xin's Mansion, he was still young, but he kept a straight face and pretended to be an adult all day long. But now that he has become the emperor, he has become more and more humane.
This was the first time that I took them out to play in private, and they were all very happy. In this era, once you enter the palace, it is as deep as the sea. Under normal circumstances, you will never have the chance to leave the palace in your life.
Chongzhen put on the clothes of a scholar and put on a precious sable fur cloak. The concubines also put on the clothes of young folk women.
Women's tops in the Ming Dynasty mainly had styles such as collars, tube tops, jackets, bijia, and paddy clothes.
After Zhou Hou and the two noble concubines carefully dressed up, they wore acacia skirts. In the Ming Dynasty, the peplum skirt developed into a system with sleeves, so it was also called the "main waist".
Wear a gown made of precious silk outside. Coifs are not only worn by prominent women, but also among the people.
Finally, he put on a snow-white mink fur outside. Looking at the bright eyes and white teeth, I understand people. Chongzhen was very satisfied with going shopping with such beautiful scrolls.
Although it was cold, Chongzhen still held a folding fan in his hand, deliberately showing off the coolness of a romantic scholar.
"Your Majesty, please put this on."
Wang Chengen presented a pair of sunglasses. This stuff is sold in Xinghe Supermarket, and it's super expensive.
A pair of black toad mirror costs ten taels of silver. But young men in the capital flocked to it and snapped up every new style.
Wang Chengen gave Chongzhen sunglasses mainly because he was afraid of being recognized. It caused unnecessary trouble and ruined the interest of Long Live Lord.
After finishing dressing up, Chongzhen and his three wives took photos in front of the coat mirror for a long time, and then set off happily.
He brought three women, a slave Wang Chengen from his hometown, and seven bodyguards. Dressed up as a rich man. Leave the palace from Xuanwu Gate.
At this time, the north gate of the Forbidden City was still called Xuanwu Gate. It was not until the Kangxi Dynasty that it was changed to Shenwu Gate to avoid tabooing Xuan Ye.
Not far after leaving the palace, we bypassed the military camp on the back of Jingshan and arrived at Di'anmen.
When we came out of Xuanwu Gate, it was already dark. There were no street lights in the palace or the imperial city. They were all dark and only lit by lanterns at the guard gates.
Originally, all the Di'an gates were closed and locked. But when Your Majesty comes, how dare the gatekeepers Baihu and Zongqi refuse to open the door.
As soon as I went out, I saw a wide east-west street in front of me. The street is brightly lit, and every ten meters there is a wooden street lamp pole with carbide lamps hanging on it. Light up the road as bright as day.
"Wow, it's so lively here." Concubine Tian couldn't help but exclaimed.
Although it was already dark, it was different from the desolation of other streets. There are many horse-drawn carriages on the road here, and there are also many pedestrians.
On the west side of Di'anmenwai Street is the huge three-story building of Xinghe Supermarket. There was a bright light coming from the window. In the square in front of the supermarket building, people were coming and going, and it was as bright as day.
In the Nanluoguxiang community to the east, the outer walls facing the street are all shops. At this time, the lights are brightly lit and the business is open. There are people on the road. Bargaining with the shopkeepers. Many people are shopping with family coupons. Since the curfew has changed to midnight, Tingzikou here in Gulou has become completely lively.
Chongzhen looked towards the north. Carbide lamps were hung around the four corners and top floor of the Drum Tower. The upper part of the Drum Tower illuminated was very majestic, as if it was floating in the air. This is a lighting project specially carried out by Yang Fan in order to improve the taste of the community.
From Di'anmen to Drum Tower, this street has become a bustling commercial district. All kinds of shops are doing business with carbide lamps hanging on them, and they are working hard and shouting. The street lights on this road are also brightly lit.
For a moment, Chongzhen was confused. Is this still the capital in his memory?
