The Ren family started out by leasing coal mines and operating coal kilns, and settled in the province of Youzhou situated in Yanbei1 for generations.
During the decades when the sixteen prefectures of Yan were trampled by the Liao hordes,2 the familyâs assets were scattered and the clan withered, but the Ren family did not leave the land to move South with the imperial court.
Later, the appointed fourth King3 of Yanbei, Xiao Qishan, did not disappoint the prestige of his ancestors and led a cadre of men to recover the sixteen prefectures of Youyan.4 He intercepted the Liao people outside the Jiajing Pass5 and returned the Yanbei region to the rule of the Da Zhou.
During that tumultuous time, the head of the Ren family, Bao Ming, took out the three gold bars his wife had hidden under the latrine compartment. Despite the opposition of his family,6 he âstaked everything on one throwâ7 and bought several barren hilltops in the Western Mountain outside Yunyang City in Youzhou.
Perhaps the Ren family was truly given a lucky break.8 The Western Mountain Ridge turned out to be a treasure trove for coal. The coal dug from the four or five hills bought by the Ren family were of particularly high quality. Although the annual output could not supply the entire Youzhou region, it could still be transported for sale to the cities around the prefecture.
The head of the Ren Family was extremely good at managing the business so it only
took a few years for the Ren familyâs coal stacks to be opened all over Yanbei.
With such abundance of wealth that bordered on vulgarity, from then on the Ren Family flaunted itself as one of Yanbeiâs aristocratic family.
After the initial settlement of Yanbei, âone simply couldnât tell how manyâ9 nouveau riche families had âsprung up like bamboo shootsâ10 in the Yanbei region overnight.
Besides the Yanbei Wangfu,11 who was the imperial household and uncrowned king that had guarded Yanbei for generations, some of the families that had emerged included the old northern families who moved back after the war. Among them were the Yun Family and the Su Family, the latter of which became famous after following the Yanbei King to the Northern expedition, and later the Ren Family who produced wealth through all sorts of luck.
The old nobility and new aristocrats were at odds with each other. The nouveau riche families disliked the old prestigious families who were obviously poor and pedantic, but still had âeyes higher than the crown on their headsâ.12 Likewise, the old prestigious families looked down on the upstarts for having shallow foundations and a lack of temperament that noble families should have. Both sides fought openly and maneuvered covertly, employing schemes that hindered each other.
It wasnât until the King of Yanbei mediated to the Yun Family and Su Family, that the heads of the two faction began to reconcile and only then did the situation in Yanbei stabilize.
Although there were still occasional disputes between the two factions over the next few decades, the majority of the nobility were able to peacefully coexist under the strong pressure of the Yanbei Wangfu, and as a result, many have become in-laws.
The wife of Yongheâthe current head of the Ren Family, was born from Jizhou Prefectureâs prestigious Qiu Clan. Although Qiu-shiâs father was not of the âmain lineâ,13 because the Qui Clanâs patriarch (the main branch head) was sonless so he adopted his nephew. Thus the patriarchal position eventually fell on this child. Therefore, the current Qiu Clanâs patriarch was actually Old Madam Renâs âblood relatedâ14 first brother. Qiu-shi also âstraightened up her waistâ15 in the family because of this layer of relationship. After all, even though the Ren Family could barely be included in Yanbeiâs aristocratic houses due to chance, but compared to the Yun Family, Qiu Family, and the old prestigious families, in the end they still lacked a great deal of foundation.
The main residence of the Ren Familyâs direct line was located in Baihe Town at the southern foot of the West Mountain, more than 90 miles away from Yunyang City. Even though Baihe Town couldnât compare with Yunyang, the first city of Yanbei, this prosperous and thriving city was situated at the boundary of the North to South transportation route which had become a battle ground where soldiers constantly fought.
The Ren Family main estate occupied a wide area, with richly ornamented buildings, pavilions, and beautiful kiosk gardens16 that were no less impressive than the gardens in the southern capital.
It was said that this residence was once the ancestral home of a prestigious family. The residence was sold at a low price when its owners migrated with the imperial family to the South. It was purchased later by the then head of the Ren Family and they moved in after renovating it.
Ren Yaoqi has lived here since her birth. Before she left her family residence at the age of sixteen, she went out very rarely. During that time, the house was infested by worms and ants had breeded there. But now, a new roof tile has been added to the once old and decadent house. The walls had also been painted and the entire area was renovated sumptuously.
After she recovered from her illness, Ren Yaoqi stepped out of Ziwei Courtyard for the first time. She walked under the âJuiqui cloisterâ17 and finally had a moment to take a look at the family residence with a different mindset.
To be honest, her paternal great grandfather, the previous Ren Patriarch, had had some vision when he purchased the residence. Putting aside the exquisite and elaborate house, the âfeng shuiâ18 of the whole estate prior to the renovation was actually excellent.
The Southeast was higher up than the Northwest, with the West Mountain at its back and the Xiaobai River at the front, coalescing to the âmomentum of heaven and earthâ sought after in feng shui. The long, undulating and winding West Mountain became the source of the residenceâs âvital energyâ, making the entire residence a place where wind and qi gathered.19
The pavilions were like clouds, with houses above and below in âpicturesque disorderâ,20 the main roads and paths conforming to the âeight points of the compassâ. The head of the familyâs main house and Ronghua Garden was located at the center, with its layout resembling the tai chiâs yin and yang fish diagram and the inner and outer courtyard formed a total of eight houses to form a Bagua appearance.21
If the land was good, then seedlings would flourish, and if the residence was lucky, then the people would prosper.
The person who built this residence must have been an unparalleled master of feng shui.
It was the kind of residence where even imperial descendants could live. Although the Ren Family could temporarily borrow its fortune but it wonât be able to suppress its noble qi for the longest time and might even be overwhelmed by its fortune instead, causing it to backfire.22
It was no wonder sheâd heard people talk about the decline of the Ren Family and the change of ownership of the residence a few years after she left the family.
Back then, she was no longer interested in inquiring as to where the rest of the people who lived in this residence had gone to.