Member-only story
They lived within view of the Forbidden City.
Its confines were reserved for royalty, which moved within its vast dimensions without hesitation or restraint. They lived there with their households for over 500 years.
Consisting of 8886 rooms in 980 surviving buildings, it was valued in 2018 at $70B, making it the most valuable real estate in the world.
Built from 1406–1420, it is a large rectangle, 3153 feet north-south and 2470 feet east-west.
Its perimeter contained 26 feet high walls and a 20 feet (deep) x 171 feet (wide) moat.
The penalty for unauthorized entry was immediate execution.
Joseph F was a tax collector and herbal physician. As such, he (and, by extension, his family) was accorded favor with the royal court and he could move freely in circles that most commoners could not.
His wife was shorter than he.
Both were handsome people.
And devout.
