In spring, peach blossoms are blooming everywhere inside and outside the city of Peiping like a beauty spot; a gust of wind blows, and the fallen flowers are all over the ground, as if supplemented by a scarlet carpet; a strong fragrance can be smelled in the air at any time. On a certain street, the ground is covered with yellow sand like gold, and a large group of people is marching forward.The ranks were so neat and serious that apart from the light rustling of people and horses trampling on the sand, nothing could be heard. Many people in splendid costumes straddled horses and wore hats decorated with sable tails, forming a splendid team.The horses they sat on were all the best Mongolian horses, with smooth coats, long and neat manes, shining brightly from time to time, the saddles were all inlaid with precious jewels, and the stirrups were also decorated with nice decorations. There are at least four or five different colors on each horse. When hundreds of horses gather together, coupled with the reflection of the sun, it becomes a spectacle like clouds and brocades!

Behind the dust kicked up by these horses, at a distance of about ten or twenty steps, there is a glorious sedan chair full of gold.On both sides of the sedan chair, there are two golden dragons with teeth and claws drawn.The sedan chairs were carried by sixteen eunuchs.Inside this sedan chair, like the gods molded in temples, sitting still, is the empress dowager at that time, Cixi, the ruler of China's 400 million people. Behind this Luanyu, there are six large sedan chairs all painted red, and each large sedan chair is carried by eight eunuchs.This is what the attendants ride, my sister Rong Ling and I are one of them.

The orderly procession is moving forward in an extremely quiet atmosphere. Both men and horses seldom make a sound. Occasionally, you may hear a few rattles, which are the sound of heavy sedan chairs turning on the shoulders of the bearers. .Other than that, there was only Li Lianying, the world-renowned great eunuch, who walked back and forth from time to time, shouting at the people in the team with a low but fierce voice, because these guards of honor and these processions were all in advance. It took him a lot of time to arrange it all by himself, so everyone had to obey the orders of this terrible devil.

From the gate of the Summer Palace to the gate of Rehe Palace, on this official road that is hundreds of miles long, the ground is covered with golden moist yellow sand.Ordinary people, not only are not allowed to walk on this imperial road, but even if they stand at a farther place, they will be killed immediately when Liao Wangluan passes by here, so no one has ever dared to violate it boldly. Walking again and again, this royal road like a yellow snake gradually turned into the dark green valley.We are secretly guessing what kind of feelings the queen mother is harboring in her heart at this time?It has been almost fifty years since Yi left Rehe, and that place can be regarded as the birthplace of Yi.At that time, Yi was still an extremely beautiful and young woman, but Yi's status in the palace was just a favorite concubine of Emperor Xianfeng.Because of Xianfeng's sudden death, it immediately aroused the conspiracy of two powerful officials in the court. They wanted to depose Yi Na's young son-Tongzhi-as a commoner and rob him of the throne.

Although Yi was not very familiar with all the situations in the court at that time, and Yi did not have any special experience, but the environment forced her to use a very ingenious strategy to deal with the two conspirators—— Yuan and Sushun.Later, full of anxiety, Yi snatched Yi's son out of the tiger's mouth, and fled back to Peiping from Rehe on the imperial road like a yellow snake.It was Rong Lu who protected Yi on the road at that time.Rong Lu was Yi's lover before Cixi chose Xianfeng to be his concubine; later Rong Lu still fulfilled his duties as Yi's loyal servant.The love between the two of them was sacrificed painfully.

Up to now, almost half a century has passed, and Yi herself has been honored as the empress dowager by others; Rong Lu is dead, and Yi's beloved son, Tongzhi, is long gone.All that is left is the most treacherous Li Lianying, who is still with Yi.From this same road, go to Rehe, the birthplace of Yi. Leaving the Forbidden City - that place full of ambitions - step by step, the empress dowager's large troop kept marching on this yellow sand road; It's like a passing cloud of smoke and can't see you again. Onward, onward, over those green hills, occasionally resting in a few pre-arranged temples, ... and onward again.This beautiful procession finally took root in the large open space in front of the Rehe Palace.Everything here is as still as dead.

Although the roofs of these palaces are also covered with yellow tiles, and the beams and pillars are also painted with unicorns, dragons and phoenixes, but these projects do not look as good as the palaces in the Forbidden City of Beijing or the palaces in the Summer Palace. It's so exquisite; it must be the skills of the earthworkers here, and it is indeed not as good as the craftsmen in Beijing. Groups of female officials, eunuchs, and maids of honor followed the queen mother silently, walking quickly.The Empress Dowager's walking was originally very brisk, but at that time, Yi seemed to be anxious to recall the former realm, so in these desolate palaces, she seemed to walk faster.Yi visited almost all the places that Yi had been to when she was a young imperial concubine.

Later, when he arrived at an empty and closed palace, Yi suddenly sighed alone in a very low voice.Because I followed closely behind Yi's shoulder, I could listen to what Yi said without any effort: "This is the throne on which our Son sat at the coronation! We seem to see him sitting there to this day.--the scene is the same as yesterday--and he is in all his noblest attire. " Yi's exclamation is so serene, but Yi's thoughts are affected by this commemorative coronation, which is the starting point of creating the third regency.This situation is almost the same as yesterday.And the place where Yi is standing now is also the place where Yi was standing yesterday!Yi stared intently at the throne on which Yi's baby was being crowned, and did not make a sound for a long time, nor did she turn her head to look at the line of attendants lined up behind her.Yi just lowered her head, and brushed past the first female official, and even the last little eunuch, and went to another hall.

Yi pointed to another palace and told us that this was the resting place of Xianfeng after his death. Yi said it was very real. We seemed to see a dead Xianfeng lying on the place pointed by Yi; He has no choice but to let his delicate concubine bear the burden of a thousand gold. — This is the gentle old woman now. Before coming here, the queen mother had told me a lot about Yi's own history; now, Yi pointed out to me one by one the places where the most prosperous and happiest events happened that day.How sad this is for Yi!But when we left the Jehol Palace and returned to Beijing and walked into the gate of the Summer Palace, these sad traces were thrown out of our brains without any trouble, just like turning over a page of history; And from then on, no one will ever read this part of history again!