During the reign of the Ching emperor Kuanghsu (1875-1909), a man named Li who lived close by the Summer Palace narrowly escaped confiscation of his property and execution when a string of tourmaline court beads worth a king's ransom, which he kept hidden in his house, aroused the envy of the court eunuch Li Lien-ying, who was all-powerful for a time.
清光緒年間就有一位住在頤和園旁的李姓人家，因家藏一串價值萬金的碧璽朝珠，遭當時權傾一時的太監李蓮英覬覦，差點惹來抄家、殺身之禍。