allonlinenovel Chapter 324 Southern Chu Dynasty
Chapter 324 Southern Chu Dynasty
Cui Ya was also dumbfounded, her mouth hanging open. It took her a while to come back to her senses and she agreed, "Yes, I've never seen such a beautiful place. This is not a cottage, it's a palace!"
Master Bai stood there, his brows furrowed, his face a solemn and complicated expression.
His eyes slowly swept over everything in the house, finally stopping on a huge mural.
The mural is brightly colored and depicts a grand court banquet with many characters, each with different expressions, and is lifelike.
Master Bai's lips trembled slightly as he whispered, "This is from the previous dynasty... This is a decoration from the previous dynasty's palace."
Liu Quanzhou also nodded and said, "Yes, I didn't expect that those remnants of the previous dynasty are still alive."
"Previous dynasty? What previous dynasty?" Mulan asked anxiously.
Master Bai sighed slightly and spoke slowly:
"The previous dynasty was the once-prosperous Southern Chu Dynasty. When Southern Chu was first founded, it was a prosperous nation with countless nations coming to pay tribute.
The emperor at that time built a lot of buildings, collected rare treasures from all over the world, and made the palace extremely luxurious.
These huanghuali woods, beautiful jades and gemstones were all collected from various places in those days.
The people of Southern Chu advocate luxury, and pursue the ultimate exquisiteness and splendor in architecture, clothing and utensils.
The furnishings in this room are all modeled after the specifications of the Nanchu Imperial Palace back then, and each piece is priceless.
But later, Nanchu was destroyed by war, and its former prosperity was gradually forgotten.
I never thought that I would be able to see the splendor of the previous dynasty here again today."
Lin Wanwan was also shocked when she looked at the palace. Madam Bai gently held Lin Wanwan in her arms and slowly paced around the palace, saying:
“I’ve heard before that the Southern Chu Dynasty was extravagant. Today, I see that it’s true. The Southern Chu Dynasty deserves it.
I heard that when the emperors of the Southern Chu Dynasty went on tour, they would ride in carriages made of pure gold, and the wheels were inlaid with gems the size of pigeon eggs.
The meals in the palace were also very particular. The emperor's meal would consist of hundreds of dishes, including rare fish just caught from the deep sea, fat and tender lamb sent from outside the Great Wall, and all kinds of unnamed delicacies from mountains and seas.
Those princesses were extravagant to the extreme.
The clothes she wore were all made of the finest silk, embroidered with gold and silver threads, and decorated with large pearls and agates.
He changes several sets of clothes every day. The money for one set of clothes is enough for an ordinary family to eat for several years.
There were too many jewels to count: rubies, sapphires, emeralds.
If you take out any one of them, it would fill up a whole room and provide an ordinary person with food and clothing for several lifetimes."
Lin Wanwan was drooling as she heard this. Isn’t this too exciting?
Madam Bai smiled and said, "Let's see what's left of the Southern Chu Dynasty..."
When the Great Qi army was at the gates of the city, the capital of Southern Chu was instantly engulfed in flames and the sound of killing was deafening.
The Emperor of Southern Chu realized that the situation was hopeless, and quickly arranged for thousands of elite soldiers to protect the terrified prince and help him escape.
Behind the team, several carriages loaded with porcelain, silk, calligraphy and paintings, gold, silver and jewelry accumulated by Nan Chu over the generations were moving forward with difficulty.
At the same time, the Emperor of Southern Chu had previously used his wisdom to hide a large number of treasures in caves in deep mountains and sink them into rivers, lakes and seas, and set up mechanisms to properly seal them.
During their escape, the soldiers avoided the main roads and took the small roads instead, sleeping in the open air and desperately resisting the search of the Da Qi army.
Eventually, this team disappeared into history, leaving behind only the legend of the treasure, which attracted later generations to compete for it.
The moment Lin Wanwan followed Madam Bai into the palace, she felt that the scene before her was so luxurious that it was breathtaking.
In the center of the palace stands a giant coral tree, at least two people tall, with branches stretching out wantonly, and every fork looks like a carefully carved work of art.
It is dazzling red and emits a charming halo under the candlelight in the palace.
The shelves around are filled with a wide variety of rare treasures.
The gold ornaments have various shapes, including a phoenix with its wings spread out, ready to fly. Its feathers are clearly visible, each one outlined with extremely fine gold wire, and inlaid with rubies for eyes, which is very eye-catching.
Not far away, a row of jade vases are neatly arranged. The jade is soft, smooth and delicate, and feels warm to the touch.
The bottle is exquisitely carved with mountains, rivers and stories of people, with smooth lines and lifelike appearance.
In the box next to it, countless pearls were randomly piled up, each one round and plump, as big as a quail egg, emitting a soft luster.
The paintings hanging on the wall are all authentic works of famous artists, with delicate brushstrokes and bright colors. Every frown and smile of the characters in the paintings seems to carry a lively aura.
The floor is covered with carpets from foreign countries, the weaving craftsmanship is intricate and exquisite, and every step you take feels like stepping on soft clouds.
Lin Wanwan felt her breathing become heavier. Master Bai was directing:
"There are boxes over there, put all these bottles in the boxes and wrap them up with something.
Ouch! Don’t use this cloth! Do you know what kind of cloth this is?
Huangmao shook his head. How could he understand these?
Madam Bai introduced softly, "These are all masterpieces of the Nanchu Imperial Palace's brocade weaving room back then. They use Nanchu's unique craftsmanship, which is rarely seen nowadays."
The brocade in front of you is mainly bright yellow in color, which is a color exclusive to the royal family and symbolizes the supreme imperial power.
It is embroidered with a pattern of nine dragons playing with a pearl using colorful silk threads. The nine giant dragons are of different shapes and look lifelike.
Their scales are outlined with extremely fine gold thread, and they sparkle brightly under the light.
The dragon's eyes are inlaid with rubies, bright and dazzling, just like burning flames, showing the dragon's agility and dominance to the fullest.
Look at the piece next to it, it is a royal blue brocade, light in texture and as thin as a cicada's wing.
Embroidered on it is a star map, with stars inlaid with pearls and tiny gems.
The embroiderers used a special needle technique to make the stars seem to twinkle and flow in the night sky, like a dream.
Back then, the brocade weaving room of the Southern Chu Imperial Palace gathered the best weavers and embroiderers in the world.
Within those high-walled and deep courtyards, they studied day and night and constantly improved their craft.
Each process is extremely complicated, from silk selection and dyeing to weaving and embroidery, and they have poured countless efforts into it.
A fine piece of brocade often takes months or even years to complete.
Today, Nanchu has become history, and this unique brocade craft has gradually been lost. These precious brocades have become the only remaining witnesses of that glorious era.
Mrs. Bai's face was full of smiles. Her favorite things were, first, medicine, and second, embroidery.
Master Bai smiled and said, "Let's put all these cloths away. They will be Wanwan's dowry when the time comes. Our Wanwan will have more dowry now."
Madam Bai scoffed and said, "How can this be considered a lot? These are all the leftovers from the Southern Chu Dynasty. How valuable can they be?"