The richest man in the late Qing Dynasty, the Chinese merchant king Sheng Xuanhuai, was a legendary figure at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and was the money bag of Li Hongzhang, the four famous ministers of the late Qing Dynasty. He was half official and half businessman, with an official seal in one hand and an abacus in the other, and he was in the late Qing Dynasty officialdom.
In his lifetime, he created the eleven firsts in China, founded the Steamship Merchants Bureau, founded Beiyang University (today's Tianjin University), Nanyang University (now Shanghai Jiao Tong University), founded the Red Cross Society, and so on. Later generations commented on him as "extraordinary people, extraordinary people who take extraordinary paths, and do extraordinary things."
Although Sheng Xuanhuai, who was born in Shuxiang Mendi, did not succeed in the examination, he entered the career from the staff, and had seven wives and concubines in his life, only one Diao Yurong was special, although it was a concubine, Sheng Xuanhuai was buried with the specifications of the main room.
Sheng Xuan cherished his people
The Sheng family is the ScholarLy of Changzhou, Sheng Xuanhuai's grandfather began to enter the career, his father Sheng Kang did the history of the government and Li Hongzhang had a friendship, after Sheng Xuanhuai tried to land, Sheng Xuanhuai went to Li Hongzhang as a staff member, assisted him in handling foreign affairs, Sheng Long Sleeves was good at dancing, doing things effectively, deeply appreciated by Li Hongzhang, and achieved the prefect level in a few years.
He was the master of his parents in his hometown, married the famous Lady Dong as his wife, Mrs. Dong gave birth to three sons and three daughters for him, the family's household chores were handled by Mrs. Dong, she was a perfect wife and mother, and the Sheng family praised her. Sheng Xuanhuai also had great respect for this wife, and the two respected each other as guests.
Sheng Xuanhuai was working for Li Zhongtang outside, and met a woman, who was young and beautiful and literate, and Sheng Xuanhuai was very fond of her and took her as a concubine. The original lady was generous to the old man's concubine.
Lady Diao was very favored in the Sheng family, which everyone knew, and even in the genealogy of the Sheng family, Sheng Xuanhuai had seven wives and concubines, and only Lady Diao had a special biography. In the biography, it is said that after Lady Diao was a famous and prestigious family, because of the war and the decline of the family, she came to Sheng Xuanhuai's side at the age of 18.
However, the descendants of the Sheng family said that the Diao family was born in the wind and dust, and was favored by Sheng Xuanhuai to redeem her and make her a concubine. Either way, Diao Yurong is a smart and capable woman.
After Mrs. Diao entered the door, she respected the Sheng parents and the original Lady Dong, assisted the old man in handling trivial matters, and was very good at being a person, and soon received unanimous praise from the Sheng family. She is smart and measured, Mrs. Dong manages the housework internally, and Mrs. Diao has been following the old master Sheng Xuanhuai in office to help him deal with external affairs.
Sheng Xuanhuai was doing foreign affairs outside, going south and north, and Lady Diao also followed along, taking care of his food, clothing, and living. One year, Sheng Xuanhuai fell ill outside the disaster relief, and Lady Diao took care of him inexplicably, so that he could quickly recover his health.
Sheng Xuanhuai gave her love to Lady Diao, but life was not satisfactory, Lady Diao has never had a son, she has only had one daughter for many years, in the feudal society big family, no son, born bad, the family does not allow her to be corrected.
Failure to straighten out
Mrs. Dong took care of the housework for many years, overworked, and unfortunately died, entrusting the family's large and small household chores to the virtuous Lady Diao before she died.
After the death of the original wife, Sheng Xuanhuai did not renew the string, and all the affairs of the family were handled by the second lady, Mrs. Diao, but Mrs. Diao has not been corrected, or an aunt, which is also the pain in Mrs. Diao's heart.
Sheng Xuanhuai also discussed with his parents to help the second lady to be corrected, the parents of the Sheng family made a request, if Mrs. Diao gave birth to a son, in order to help correct, the big family has to consider more problems, not by relying on the favor of the old man can do everything, Sheng Xuanhuai is also a member of the family, but also to obey the long-term development of the family.
Sheng Xuanhuai and Lady Diao have only one child together for more than ten years, Lady Diao has miscarried many times and failed to keep her son, only one daughter, her name is also different from other siblings, called Sheng Xihui, which shows Sheng Xuanhuai's preference for her.
After Lady Dong's death, Lady Diao wanted to raise Lady Dong's son by her side, but Sheng Xuanhuai's parents disagreed, believing that there was no precedent for how an aunt could raise the children of the main room well.
Buried as a chamber
Mrs. Diao understood that although outsiders called her Madame, she was an aunt after all, and over time she herself had also suffered from heart disease.
Sheng Xuanhuai has never remarried, and she is also very fond of her, the fate of women in the old society is in the hands of others, she is overthinking, coupled with the fact that she has been running away with her husband for a long time before, and her body has problems.
Sheng Xuanhuai's official fortune was prosperous, the official position had reached Sipin, a very popular subject, and his parents had always been Zhang Luo in his hometown, giving Sheng Xuanhuai a wife and a concubine, and asking Sheng Xuanhuai's younger brother to come to Shanghai to tell him that the family had already looked after him with two famous women, Zhuang And Liu, who had a son who was a wife.
Sheng Xuanhuai did not immediately agree, but the matter of the heir was a big thing after all, nor was it a matter of Sheng Xuanhuai alone, and he could not be a filial son.
When Lady Diao learned of this news, the five thunderbolts exploded, and she collapsed and fell ill at once, she could not resist fate, and after all, she was just a concubine.
Mrs. Diao will deal with letters from the family every day, and a letter from a junior generation calls her Aunt Diao in the title, which is like a thorn in her heart, making her illness worse, and the heart disease must eventually be cured, but there is no medicine to cure her situation.
Sheng Xuanhuai has been spoiling her since he married her, since Lady Dong gave birth to a son, Sheng Xuanhuai has not had a son for 23 years, he loves Diao Yurong, in the busy, he needs someone who understands him, let him rest for a while.
Diao Yurong at the age of 33, did not survive the past, left Sheng Xuanhuai forever, she came to the Sheng family for fifteen years, accompanied By Sheng Xuanhuai for fifteen years, at this moment Sheng Xuanhuai had great remorse in her heart, blaming herself for not being able to give her a name, so that she could eliminate the jade damage so early.
When Diao Yurong was buried, Sheng Xuanhuai, despite the objections of her family, buried her with the courtesy of Lady Stepmother, and made a will to be buried with Lady Dong and Diao Yurong after her death. He wants to be with his lover for the rest of his life.
brief summary:
Sheng Xuanhuai's life was magnificent, he experienced all the major events of the late Qing Dynasty, he handled various affairs with ease, and wandered among officials, shopping malls, foreigners, and officials. The sword takes the side and does extraordinary things, and is a person with a very large pattern who has done things that the ancestors have not done.
His seven wives and concubines, the marriage of his parents, there is no real feeling, only Diao Yurong, the woman who has accompanied him for fifteen years, he has paid for true feelings, Lady Diao has not been able to get rid of the curse of the old woman without a son, and she ended up depressed.