Chapter 53: Who is this beauty?
Chen Yi withdrew his gaze and looked at the eunuch with a self-conceitedly stern expression, then straightened his chest and headed towards the city gate.
It was the imperial palace, heavily guarded. Chen Yi, although he had entered the palace on the emperor's orders, still underwent a thorough search. The package containing his medical equipment was examined repeatedly, and Chen Yi had to explain the function of each instrument at length, with additional explanations from the eunuchs, before being allowed to pass.
Chen Yi, who had just undergone a rigorous inspection, was tense and sweating, and also became worried. What if one of the violent guards suspected him of plotting something and made an excessive move?
However, after entering the palace, Chen Yi, who was shocked by the grand architecture of the Daming Palace, soon threw away his worries. All he could do was to gaze at the magnificent architectural structure of the Daming Palace with curious eyes, like a tourist who came to worship and forgot his emotions.
In later generations, Chen Yi had visited the Daming Palace Heritage Park in Xi'an, strolling around for two whole days, looking at many restored models and computer simulations of the palace. He remembered the layout and main buildings of the palace vaguely. However, what he saw back then were only models or computer-generated images on TV or movies, which couldn't give people a real sense of grandeur. Now, seeing the actual Daming Palace, the actual temple buildings, the shock it brings is beyond comparison to what he experienced in later generations.
In front of me, a huge palace stood on a high platform of over ten meters, with grand halls and majestic momentum, giving people a sense of oppression from afar. Chen Yi knew that this was the most famous building in the Forbidden City, and also the main hall, the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The magnificent Hall of Supreme Harmony looked almost identical to its later reconstruction. In front of the hall stood two pavilions, Xiangluan and Qifeng, while on either side were the Bell and Drum Towers, with flying corridors connecting them in a "凹" shape.
Xiangluan and Qifeng, the two-story building has a winding dragon-shaped path that rises from the wall. The Hanyuan Hall is composed of large halls and high pavilions on a "concave" flat surface, echoing each other, with a majestic momentum, open and brilliant, extremely rich in spiritual shock. "Like the birth of the sun", "like being in the sky", Chen Yi can still think of these words of praise quoted several times in the documentary record of the Ming Palace at this time!
"Master Chen, please follow me this way!" The leading eunuch reminded him in a low voice, seeing that Chen Yi was dazed.
Chen Yi withdrew his gaze, smiled and nodded, following the eunuch who led the way, walking from the left dragon tail path, along the side of the auxiliary palace towards the deeper part of the palace. As they approached the Huanyuan Hall, Chen Yi naturally stopped in his tracks, admiring the increasingly majestic and oppressive Huanyuan Hall that made one feel a little breathless.
The architectural style of the Hall of Supreme Harmony is very grand, but its color and decoration are quite simple. The colors used are mostly white and vermilion, with white walls and vermilion pillars. Although these two simple colors outline a magnificent hall, it is more majestic than the Forbidden City in Beijing, which has a complex tone. The intricate brackets on the eaves, the dark green glazed tiles, and the upturned flying rafters on both sides are all made by the most skilled craftsmen, and later generations have basically been unable to imitate them, leaving one with a sense of awe.
Being able to take a close look at this palace that has been talked about by later generations, Chen Yi felt an irrepressible excitement.
Standing near the Yuan Hall, looking at other parts of the Ming Palace, you can find that there are many buildings in the palace, and your line of sight is blocked, so you can't see far. From what I can see, Chen Yi estimates that he cannot estimate the size of this palace city, but the castle towers and walls around it are solid and tall, and the architecture of the palace buildings is magnificent and majestic. People in it give a shocking feeling that is even more intense than the Forbidden City. Because of its serenity, this feeling becomes even stronger.
Inside the Da Ming Palace, these are all standard Sui and Tang Dynasty buildings that have disappeared in later generations. The exterior of each hall in the palace city is basically similar, with high eaves, inverted bird's beaks on the roof, and large dougong, which is a prominent feature of Tang Dynasty architecture. Under the eaves, there are dense wooden rafters, and the doors and windows have various grid patterns embedded in them. At the bottom, there are cloud and dragon patterns as well as other flying birds and beasts, and at the joints, there are bronze leaves with carved dragon patterns. The color and decoration of each palace, outlined by white and vermilion, appear majestic and simple, with complex dougong, dark green glazed tiles, and rolled-up bird's beaks, which bring out a grand atmosphere. Everywhere is filled with the confidence and inclusiveness of a great nation.
In this grand palace complex, Chen Yi once again felt that sense of smallness and helplessness, and quickly followed closely behind the leading eunuch. With someone standing nearby, the feeling of confinement in his heart was slightly alleviated.
Chen Yi was also thinking that in ancient times, the emperors built such a large and majestic palace, apart from making themselves comfortable, another reason might be to show off their national strength and imperial power. In such a grand palace, not to mention outsiders, even the officials who attended court meetings every day would feel a sense of intimidation and self-doubt. At least at this moment, Chen Yi felt uneasy all over, without any confidence, and lost his composure while walking, feeling a bit flustered, he guessed that his face must be full of surprise and awkwardness.
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After entering the palace, they had walked a considerable distance, passed through several gates, and crossed many bridges. Dizzy from all the twists and turns, Chen Yi didn't know where he was. However, seeing more things was also good, and mentally he was adapting, the fear and shock he felt when he first entered the palace slowly faded away. His footsteps slowed down and became more relaxed, even his posture straightened up.
The eunuchs who led the way had changed, and the eunuchs carrying luggage were not the same ones as before. The eunuchs serving in the previous and current dynasties were not the same group of people. Wu Zetian lived in the rear palace, and the eunuchs on duty inside must have been different from those of the previous dynasty. Although Chen Yi had a deep understanding of the affairs within the imperial palace, this point was easy to understand.
It's unknown how many turns they made, and how many palaces they passed by, before finally arriving at their destination. Behind a grand and majestic hall, the eunuch leading the way stopped and turned to Chen Yi, saying: "Young Master Chen, please wait here for a moment, I'll go in and report."
Chen Yi nodded and said something, then stood outside the hall with his hands hanging down.
Before long, the eunuch who had gone in was seen following a pretty palace maid out of the hall.
The palace maid was quite tall, with beautiful eyebrows and eyes, a full chest and slender waist, a standard beauty. Under the not very subtle palace attire, many parts of her body were extremely attractive to men's eyeballs. Chen Yi looked at her twice before recognizing who she was. It was the palace beauty who had accompanied Wu Zetian in disguise to the inn that day, seen through the small hole in the window. Because he saw her again, and having been given a cold shoulder by her when he peeked last time, Chen Yi couldn't help but take a few more glances at this lovely palace maid.
Who is this? Chen Yi only knew that there was a famous maid named Shangguan Wan'er beside Wu Zetian, but he knew that the current Shangguan Wan'er was still young and had just learned to walk, it was impossible for her to be by Wu Zetian's side. Who could this palace girl with an extraordinary temperament and exceptional beauty be?
