China's new emperor arrested his father's favourite five days after the old emperor died, let him hang himself, and seized a fortune put at up to 800 million taels

Heshen was born in Beijing in 1750 and was a palace guard when the Qianlong Emperor noticed him in 1775. Within a year he was a Grand Councillor. He ran the Board of Revenue and then the Board of Personnel. In 1780 the emperor betrothed his six-year-old youngest daughter, Princess Hexiao, to Heshen's son, Fengšeninde, and granted Heshen a palace for the couple. Heshen spent at least four years building it. The princess married into it in 1790. Qianlong abdicated in 1796 but kept ruling, and died on 7 February 1799. Five days later the Jiaqing Emperor had Heshen arrested. An edict of 15 February condemned him to death by slow slicing on 20 charges. On 22 February the emperor let him hang himself instead, out of respect for the princess and his father. His house was searched and his property confiscated. Published lists include 58,000 taels of gold and 5,830,000 small silver ingots. Estimates of the total run from 60 million to 800 million taels, against annual state revenue of about 40 million. The historian Daniel McMahon argues the emperor inflated the figures. Fengšeninde lost his ranks but was not executed; he later rose to duke and died in 1810 without a son. The palace went to Prince Qing, Yonglin, and the princess was ordered to move out. In 1850 it was given to Prince Gong. It is now the Prince Gong Mansion museum in Beijing.