Chapter 12 1. A kitten can kill a queen

Although the kitten is small, it can force a queen to death... Li Lianying skillfully plays tricks on her hands... In February of the first year of Guangxu.Although it is almost spring, the fierce northwest wind is still howling.The wind blows the sand and blows on people's faces and necks, making people feel painful and itchy. The East Nuan Pavilion of Changchun Palace is like a spring in March.Since the reign of Emperor Tongzhi, the place has been overhauled twice. The gaps between the doors and windows are tightly sealed to block the cold air brought by the northwest wind. With the addition of four large red copper charcoal basins, it is warm throughout the room.Empress Dowager Cixi, who had just retired from court, was lying leisurely on the bed with one leg in Li Lianying's arms, allowing him to massage herself.From her smiling face, it is not difficult to see that she is in a particularly good mood today.

"Queen Mother, is there any happy event today?" Li Lianying, who is good at flattering, asked without losing the opportunity. "Let's just guess." "The slave has something in mind, but I don't know if it's right?" "Since I thought of it, why are you hesitating, but it doesn't matter." "Slave thinks it's about hanging the curtain." One sentence reached the heart of Empress Dowager Cixi.Yes, at this time she was intoxicated with the joy after the second curtain victory.Joy comes in power, and she's back after a year away from the throne, where she's rightfully calling the shots.Think about the scene of receiving three kneeling and nine kowtows from the ministers in the early court, and listening to the blessings of hundreds of officials; think about how she can be unhappy when she is fighting against the heroes alone.Suddenly, a dark cloud appeared on the Empress Dowager Cixi's face, and the smile on her face disappeared immediately.Li Lianying, who was waiting for the Empress Dowager to praise her with a smile all over her face, couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart. She hurriedly knelt on the ground and said repeatedly:

"The slave deserves to die, the slave deserves to die. It's all because the slave talks too much. Please punish the slave, the Queen Mother." Seeing Li Lianying's appearance, the Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't help laughing again, and said with a smile: "Get up, it's none of your business. I just thought of that little fox. When I think of her, I get angry, and I don't know what to do." I don't want to think about what kind of queen I am, and dare to fight against me." After hearing this, Li Lianying's uneasy heart was finally relieved, and she hurriedly comforted her: "The Queen Mother calms down, your body is important, don't get angry because of such a trivial matter." That's what he said, but he did not care about this matter. Keep it in mind, this is a good opportunity to please the Queen Mother, how can I miss it easily.

Who is the little fox?She is Empress Xiaozhe, the daughter of Emperor Tongzhi and Imperial Academy attendant Chongqi.It turned out that after the death of Emperor Tongzhi, the Empress Dowager Cixi, in order to listen to the government behind the curtain again, ignored the objections of the ministers and insisted on making Prince Jin's three-year-old son Zaiyan the new emperor as the heir of Emperor Xianfeng.Empress Xiaozhe, who was already in grief for her husband's death, heard the news, as if she had sprinkled another handful of salt on her bleeding heart, and fell into extreme grief.She was sad that her husband had no heirs after his death; she despaired that she was under the power of the Empress Dowager Cixi as a widow;She is not reconciled to being a queen but being slaughtered by others, so she resolutely goes to meet Cixi and wants to stop Cixi's conspiracy.

"Queen Mother, the Qing Emperor must not be left without a queen!" After hearing this, the Empress Dowager Cixi said with a gloomy and cold face, "Is it my fault? If you have the ability, the emperor will have a queen sooner!" These words pierced the deep pain in Empress Xiaozhe's heart like a sharp sword: Isn't it all because of you?Wasn't it because of your persecution that I couldn't stay with the late emperor, so I didn't have a son for the emperor?Thinking of this, she couldn't help feeling sad from her heart, she paused while crying and said:

"It's because I have no blessings, and I have failed the late emperor's favor. This crime cannot be redeemed even if I die. However, the concubine Li is now pregnant, and may be able to give birth to a crown prince to inherit the throne." When the Empress Dowager Cixi heard this, she said disapprovingly, "Don't you know that a country cannot live without a king? After all, how can you be sure that she will give birth to a boy?" Empress Xiaozhe thought that there was a turning point, so she hurriedly replied: "Then please ask the Queen Mother to set up a virtuous king to supervise the country temporarily, and wait for a while. If she really gives birth to a girl, it will not be too late to choose a new emperor."

Seeing that Empress Xiaozhe, who was always submissive, dared to contradict her again and again at this moment, Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't help but sternly reprimanded: "This matter is up to me, there is no place for you to intervene! Don't think that you can criticize me in front of me because you are the empress. Tell me what to do, wait until you become the queen mother! If you dare to talk too much, you will be punished with capital punishment!" Empress Xiaozhe is usually peaceful and doesn't want to cause trouble. Although she has always been dissatisfied with Empress Dowager Cixi's domineering, she still treats each other with courtesy and rarely confronts her face to face.At this time, she couldn't bear it any longer. As a queen, don't I even have this right?A burst of resentment could not help gushing out, crying and protesting loudly:

"I don't regret my death. I just ask the Queen Mother to establish an heir for Emperor Daxing. This is what I should say." Hearing this, the Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't help becoming angry, and shouted hoarsely: "You vixen, you flattered my son to death, and you're mad at me again! Lianying! Give me a slap!" Just when Li Lianying was about to slap her mouth, Empress Dowager Ci'an, Wen Xun, rushed over in time and quickly stopped Li Lianying, finally saving Empress Xiaozhe from a severe beating.But how can the empress dowager Cixi swallow this breath?How can she tolerate a little queen domineering in front of her?From then on, she hated Empress Xiaozhe in her heart.

The northwest wind was still blowing strongly.The Xiushun Hall to the west of the Hall of Mental Cultivation was deadly silent.The wind slapped the door so that it squeaked non-stop, and the faint candlelight flickered because of the wind blowing through the gap between the door and the window.There is a small brazier in the center of the room, the flames are beating up and down weakly, as if they were also conquered by the fierce cold wind, people can't help but feel a sense of desolation when they see it.Empress Xiaozhe was sitting alone at the table, holding her snow-white cat in her arms.In this cold and lonely night, the cat became her only emotional sustenance.Looking at the faint candlelight, crystal tears could not help but flow out of my eyes: Isn't my own destiny just like this candlelight, which may be blown out by the cold wind at any time?Thinking about the scene when she met the Empress Dowager Cixi a few days ago, her heart was full of grief and indignation.Since I entered the palace, I have respected the Empress and loved my servants. Is there nothing wrong with that?Why does the queen mother always make things difficult for me; why can't she tolerate me, a weak woman?The Holy Majesty passed away, and a new monarch should be established according to his edict. I argued hard, what's wrong?

God!Why can't you show mercy and help me, a weak woman? "Queen!", a cry woke up Empress Xiaozhe from her melancholy thoughts.Looking up, it turned out to be Xiaofeng, his personal maid.This Xiaofeng entered the Chongqi Mansion when she was six years old, and grew up with Empress Xiaozhe. Although she is not very old, she is considerate. When Empress Xiaozhe entered the palace, she also brought her in.Seeing the queen's sad look, Xiaofeng couldn't help but shed tears: "Queen, it's getting late. You'd better rest early, your body is important." Empress Xiaozhe sighed and said, "I know. But I can't sleep! As soon as I lay down on the bed, I would have nightmares, and for a while I dreamed of the late emperor. He blamed me for not having an heir for him, which made it difficult for him to face his ancestors. Lie Zong; I dreamed of the Empress Dowager Cixi for a while, she..."

The clever Xiaofeng understands what the queen is thinking. How can she not understand after living together for so many years?He hurriedly comforted: "Queen, it's a done deal, what's the use of thinking about it? What's more, you have tried your best, the late emperor will not blame you, the days are still long, why don't you think about what to do in the future?" "In the future? What else do I want to think about? Let's live every day!" "The servant has thought of a way, but I don't know whether to say it or not." "You have been with me for so many years, why have I ever blamed you? Just say what you have to say." After hearing Xiaofeng's words, Empress Xiaozhe seemed to have a glimmer of hope in her heart, and hurriedly replied. "During these days, people in Changchun Palace have spread rumors everywhere that you, the empress, confused the late emperor, and that the death of the late emperor has a lot to do with you. Although it is a rumor, saliva can drown people. If this continues, it will be very bad for you. Now that the Empress Dowager Cixi is in power, you can see that those who are close to her, even the eunuch Li Lianying, are all living comfortably. So I think you might as well go to the Empress Dowager to get closer to her ,so……" "Shut up!" Hearing this, Empress Xiaozhe couldn't help feeling angry. "I thought you had a good idea, but I wish it would be so! I am the queen of the Qing Dynasty, the mother of a country, how can I be like a villain like Li Lianying! As for the Empress Dowager Cixi, I can respect her, but I can't curry favor with her." Absolutely not. Even if I die, I must not do anything to offend the late emperor, do you understand?" "Empress, please calm down, this servant realizes his mistake." Seeing Xiaofeng's aggrieved appearance, Empress Xiaozhe couldn't bear it, so she took her hand and said, "Okay, how can I be angry with you. If you want to blame, you can only blame my bad luck. It's getting late, you should go back and rest too. " Xiaofeng agreed and withdrew, and the hall fell into deathly silence again. Empress Xiaozhe was still sitting at the table, crying endlessly... Nothing to say all night.The next day, the northwest wind that had been blowing all night actually stopped.The sun rose slowly from the horizon.The mellow sunlight shines through the clouds on the red and green glazed tiles, reflecting each other and making it even more colorful.Early in the morning, Xiaofeng got up and looked at the bright red sun outside the window, feeling very happy.After washing in a hurry, he went straight to Empress Xiaozhe's bedroom. "Queen, queen." Walking into the dormitory, I saw that Empress Xiaozhe had already got up.Looking at those red and swollen eyes like peaches, I couldn't help feeling sad again.Those eyes were so bright and beautiful before, but now... "Feng'er, seeing how happy you are, is there any happy event?" "Queen, the weather is very good today, the sun is out!" Empress Xiaozhe heard this, smiled lightly, and said: "Silly girl, why do you still look like a child when you grow up so big. The sun didn't just come out today, it's worth your joy." "Queen, you shut yourself in the room all day, washing your face with tears. If you continue like this, I'm really worried that you will... The weather is fine today, so you can go out with my servant to relax. By the way, let's go to the palace Garden, I just heard that some flowers are in bloom! Let's go and have a look. Please, Queen." yes!Ever since Emperor Tongzhi passed away, how could she have had a happy day?Staying in the room all day to wash my face with tears, I hope my plump body will become thinner day by day.If things go on like this, how can her slender body bear it?The concubines showed her face from time to time, and the maids and eunuchs became lazy when they saw her lose power.In such a huge palace, how many people care about her and love her?Only Xiaofeng, only this girl who grew up with her since she was a child, is still the same as before, giving her comfort and care all the time.Looking at Xiaofeng's slightly childish face, Empress Xiaozhe couldn't bear to brush off her kindness. "Okay, okay, listen to you. I don't need you anymore, you go out and let them prepare, and we will go later." After hearing this, Xiaofeng agreed happily, then ran out of the house, and gathered the eunuchs to prepare to go.After a short while, the master and the servant took a few eunuchs and went straight to the imperial garden. Let's talk about Li Lianying, after hearing what Empress Dowager Cixi said that day, she went back to her room and called a few close disciples to discuss how to deal with Empress Xiaozhe. Die for no apparent reason; some clamor that this is not acceptable, if something goes wrong, everyone will have to move their heads, and maybe they will end up with a family, so it is better to suggest to the Empress Dowager that she will hang herself as a next order .It can be said that there are different opinions, but there is no way to satisfy Li Lianying after yelling. Instead, he was annoyed by what he heard. He slapped the table and shouted angrily: "Stop arguing! It's a waste of raising you trash On weekdays, one of you is better than the other, but when it's time to use it, none of you are very useful. A bunch of idiots!" Seeing the master getting angry, the little eunuchs fell silent, what should they do?Did such a great opportunity just give up in vain?Li Lianying was so anxious that she kept pacing around the house with her hands behind her back.No, absolutely not!Such an opportunity is not easy to come across, how can you just give up like this?Think again, think again. But the usually alert and cunning head eunuch couldn't think of a feasible solution at this time, so he had no choice but to raise his eyes and look at his disciples again. Well, this kid is usually very alert. Looking at him like that, did he have any good ideas?who?It turned out to be his little fellow - Li Sanshun. "San Shun, do you have a good idea? If you have one, speak up quickly, don't just sit there dumbfounded." "Master, I do have one idea, but I don't know if you like it or not?" Li Lianying was elated when she heard this, and hurriedly urged: "Stinky boy, when did you learn to play a tactful accent? If you fart, let it go quickly. If you don't say it, how will I know if it's useful or not?" "Yes, master. As the saying goes: people's words are awesome! I think we will make a fuss about it. Didn't the Queen Mother call her a vixen? Why don't we gossip in the palace and say that she is a fox who deceives the Lord and charms her to death?" The first emperor. As long as this word spreads in the palace, then, how can she face the people, and what face will she have to live? This is so unnoticed..." Li Lianying thought for a while, anyway, she couldn't come up with a better solution for a while, so she might as well try it.Maybe it would really work, so he ordered: "Okay, let's do it like this. San Shun, you can lead them to do it. If it's done, I will reward you, Master." Rumors spread, but on the surface, Empress Hyocheol hasn't changed much.Now Li Sanshun was in a hurry.If you can't do this well, how should you explain it in front of the master?Thanks to this kid's quick brain, he came up with another idea as soon as he had an idea.What do you mean?It turned out that he had set his mind on Empress Xiaozhe's beloved cat. Thinking of this, he hurriedly went to discuss it with Li Lianying.A new conspiracy just kicked off silently. On this day, Empress Xiaozhe took Xiaofeng and a group of eunuchs to the Imperial Garden with joy.She didn't expect that a young eunuch told Li Lianying about it as soon as she left Xiushun Hall.Upon hearing the news, Li Lianying slapped her feet excitedly and shouted: "Great, the opportunity has finally come, Sanshun, hurry up and prepare the sedan chair, and go to Xiushun Hall." Not long after, a group of people came straight to Xiushun Hall.Following the strong, orderly steps of the bearers, the sedan chair swayed regularly. Li Lianying, who was sitting on the sedan chair, was really in high spirits at the moment, with a smug smile on her face and humming a ditty, as if The scene had won itself without a start.After a while, he arrived in front of Xiushun Hall. "Get off the sedan chair!" Following Sanshun's yell, Li Lianying stepped out of the sedan chair and walked straight into the gate.The eunuch on duty was cleaning the courtyard, and when he heard footsteps, he was wondering: Why did the queen come back so soon?Li Lianying has come over.Seeing Li Lianying, he was so frightened that he threw away the broom in a hurry, bowed and kowtowed. "The little one didn't know that the general manager was coming, and I was far away to welcome you. I hope you will always forgive me." "Get up, I don't blame you. Is the queen here?" Li Lianying asked knowingly. The eunuch didn't know what happened, so he replied cautiously: "The queen just went to the imperial garden, what's the matter with you?" "Empress Dowager Cixi has been feeling uneasy for the past two days. Let me hug the queen's cat to relieve the boredom. Since the queen is not here, you can go and carry it for me." Hearing this, the eunuch became anxious and thought: This is the queen's favorite thing, if the queen blames it, how can I explain it!Then he said with a smile on his face, "My lord, it's not the little one who refuted your old face. This cat is the queen's favorite. She's not around, so the little one really doesn't dare to make decisions. Would you like to rest in the room first?" Let's talk about it when the Queen comes back." "Hmm!" Li Lianying was annoyed by this, thinking: If the Queen comes back, won't I reveal my secrets?Then he said sharply: "You are out of your mind! How dare you let the old queen mother wait there, and you don't touch your grown heads. The queen mother blames it, can you bear it?" The little eunuch is in trouble now.One side is the empress dowager and the other is the queen, he can't afford to offend either.After thinking about it carefully, the queen mother's side was more important, so she went into the house, hugged the cat, and handed it to Li Lianying.Holding the snow-white cat in her arms, Li Lianying couldn't help but feel elated, thinking: Now your queen will look good on you. Return to Changchun Palace's own residence.Li Lianying couldn't wait to yell: "San Shun, hurry up and get the gown that the Queen Mother gave me a few days ago." When Li Sanshun got the gown, Li Lianying stuffed the cat into it and tied the two ends with a rope , threw it on the ground, and kicked it up with his feet.The cat couldn't bear the pain and rolled around in it. After a while, it couldn't help urinating in it.Seeing that the heat was almost ready, Li Lianying stopped and said, "Okay, you're done. Sanshun, don't let this cat suffer any more. Take it out and strangle it to death. By the way, don't forget to give it to me." Throw it back where it was." After finishing speaking, he lay on the bed and smoked opium leisurely.Originally, it was strictly forbidden to smoke this thing in the palace, but Li Lianying relied on Cixi to support him, so no one dared to say anything. But it said that Empress Xiaozhe and Xiaofeng had been playing in the Imperial Garden for more than half an hour.Feeling a little tired, he got up and drove back to the palace.As soon as he stepped into the gate, he saw a snow-white thing thrown in from outside the wall. After he fixed his eyes, it turned out to be his beloved cat.I saw that the cat's head was broken, and the bright red blood was particularly dazzling under the sunlight.The joyful mood when I played just now was immediately replaced by anger, and shouted loudly: "Xiaofeng, go and find me the eunuch on duty!" The eunuch on duty was taking a break from his busy schedule at the moment, resting on the bed, when the queen called him, he hurriedly put on his shoes and ran out without waiting for Xiaofeng to come in.When he saw the dead cat in front of the Queen's feet, he was dumbfounded and thought: How could this happen?He quickly knelt on the ground, beating his head like a hammer and drum, and blood was already oozing from his forehead. "Master calm down, master calm down, this is not a slave's business. Just after you left for a while, Li Lianying, the chief eunuch of the Changchun Palace, came and said that Empress Dowager Cixi wanted to use cats to relieve boredom. The slave said that you are not telling him to wait a while, but He didn't listen. The slave has no choice but to let him take it. As for how this happened, the slave really doesn't know, not at all." "Okay, get up." Seeing the pitiful look of the eunuch on duty, Empress Xiaozhe couldn't bear it, so she said: "That's the case, then go and call Li Lianying for me, I have my own theory." Hearing this, Feng hurriedly persuaded: "Queen, think about it carefully again, now that the west is in power, it is better to have one less thing than one more thing, let's forget it." How could the angry Empress Xiaozhe listen to it now?How did she know that what she did was playing into Li Lianying's arms. Hearing Empress Xiaozhe call him over, Li Lianying was secretly happy: this scene is finally about to reach its climax.But after thinking about it, I couldn't help but feel a little worried.The queen is in a fit of anger, and I'm bound to be scolded, maybe even beaten up, what should I do?By the way, let this kid go, so he quickly shouted: "San Shun". Then Li Sanshun also heard about Empress Xiaozhe's anger, his heart was in a state of panic, he didn't know what to do, and when he heard his master calling him, he was so frightened that he lost his soul.What can be done?I had no choice but to bite the bullet and respond, and walked into the room. "San Shun, just now someone from the queen's side came to let me go. You can go for the master. If you ask me, just say that I am serving the queen mother and cannot leave. " "Master, this, this..." "What is this! If you are told to go, you can go. What are you afraid of? I will support you when the sky falls. Go quickly, and you will benefit from your boy when you come back." Li Sanshun followed the deacon eunuch into Xiushun Hall, and saw Empress Xiaozhe standing in the yard with an angry face, with the cat lying at her feet.Involuntarily, his feet softened and he knelt on the ground: "Slave please comfort the empress." "Where's Li Lianying? Why doesn't he come to see me?" "Queen, the steward is serving the queen mother at the moment, so he won't be here for a while, so I'm here to see what's going on?" Empress Xiaozhe pointed to the cat on the ground and said coldly, "What's going on here!" "You mean this cat? A while ago, a cat got into Mr. Steward's room. It not only messed up the house, but also urinated on the coat that the Queen Mother just gave to Mr. Steward. Mr. Steward returned to the room Finally, if he didn't get angry, he ordered the servants to beat the cat to death. The servants didn't know that it belonged to the queen. If they knew, they would not dare to beat it to death. I beg the queen to spare the little one. " Empress Xiaozhe looked at the eunuch on duty, and saw that he was shaking his head anxiously, and couldn't help being furious.I thought to myself: Isn’t this just talking nonsense?If your master bullies me, even you dare to be rude to me.That being the case.Well then, I'll let you know who is the best. "Come here! Drag it down for me to hit the 40th board again, let him remember it later." Xiaofeng next to him winked anxiously, but Empress Xiaozhe simply ignored her. Li Sanshun, who had received forty strokes, came back trembling.Seeing Li Lianying, she said dejectedly, "Master, I'm back. The queen beat me forty times." Li Lianying laughed a few times when she heard this, and said comfortingly: "Okay, don't think about it anymore, come with me to see the Queen Mother, she's pretty." In the Changchun Palace, the Empress Dowager Cixi, who had just had lunch, was smoking and playing with her snuff bottles.Empress Dowager Cixi likes to smoke, but she doesn't like to smoke dry tobacco, but to smoke hookah.This is a tribute from the south, and it is also called tide smoke. It is soft and comfortable to smoke.Looking at those snuff bottles, it can be described as dazzling.There are long, square, round and flat ones, and the materials range from jade, ivory, lacquer, coral, crystal, tortoise shell to wood and bamboo. They integrate various arts of painting, calligraphy, carving and mosaic, especially those Jade is crystal clear, bright and refreshing, white like fat, yellow like new chestnut, purple like rose, red like rouge, green like tender willow, blue like the sky, under the sunlight, it looks even more gorgeous.At this moment, Li Lianying walked in with Li Sanshun, carrying the gown. "Slave pays respects to the Empress Dowager." "Get up and talk. What's the matter? Can't you leave me alone?" Seeing Li Sanshun's depressed face, Empress Dowager Cixi felt uncomfortable. Seeing this scene, Li Lianying was really filled with fifteen buckets to fetch water—up and down, thinking: Should I talk about it at this time?In case the Queen Mother....At this moment, the Empress Dowager Cixi urged her to leave again: "If you have anything to say, hurry up and say it, what's the point of dawdling?" "Queen Mother, calm down, this servant didn't want to disturb you, but when I thought about it, I couldn't get angry, so... Early this morning, suddenly a cat got into the servant's room. The servant chased it, but who knew it was in the Queen Mother's room. You pissed on the coat that you rewarded the servant. The servant was angry and beat it to death. Who knew that the queen just sent someone to say that the cat belonged to her, and it was the fault of the servant who killed it. As soon as the servant heard this, he quickly let Sanshun Go and explain. The Queen not only refused to listen, she even beat San Shun up, and said that her cat was the only thing that mattered at how much a tattered gown was worth..." After Li Lianying added fuel and vinegar, it seemed that he had suffered a great grievance. Even though the Empress Dowager Cixi knew that Li Lianying had done something wrong, she lost her temper without asking carefully, thinking: You are against me, this coquettish vixen; Do you still have me in your eyes?If you don't take this opportunity to punish you, you might cause me some trouble in the future.So Li Lianying was ordered to prepare a sedan chair and go to Xiushun Hall. After beating Li Sanshun severely, Empress Xiaozhe seemed to have vented the depression that had been suppressed in her heart for a long time.Back in the room, drinking the freshly brewed Biluochun, I felt much better.Seeing Xiaofeng's expressionless face, he couldn't help wondering: She should be happy!Then he asked Xiaofeng what's the matter.At this time, Xiaofeng expressed the worries in his heart.Empress Xiaozhe woke up like a dream after hearing this, yes, why did she forget that Li Sanshun is from Changchun Palace.Originally, the Empress Dowager Cixi thought she was not pleasing to her eyes, but now... "Empress Dowager Cixi is here!" How come so fast?Hearing the shout, Empress Xiaozhe hurried out of the room and knelt down to pay her respects.Looking at Empress Xiaozhe kneeling in front of her, Cixi asked loudly: "Why, your wings are stiff, and you want to ride on my head? Tell you, there is no way! Stop your idea of ​​being a queen mother early, and dare to cause trouble again. See how I deal with it! It seems that your meal is pretty good, and you have a cat, which will be reduced by half from tomorrow!" Empress Xiaozhe, who was kneeling on the ground, didn't even dare to answer a word, but just swallowed her breath in her stomach, feeling very uncomfortable.Thinking of the tragedy, she couldn't help but burst into tears, the Empress Dowager Cixi scolded her, but seeing no response, she led a group of eunuchs away. Constant torment!Constant torture!How can the fragile Empress Xiaozhe bear it?Numbness is the best way to get rid of pain, but how can she be numb!Yellow tiles, red walls, the walls of the Forbidden City are so high and thick, they press down on her like heavy plywood.There is no room for her in such a huge palace, even a small eunuch dares to be rude to her!Empress Xiaozhe returned to her room, the more she thought about it, the more sad she became, and the more she cried, the more sad she became, thinking: Instead of being angry all day like this, it would be better to die and be clean.It turned out that the Qing court had a regulation: no queen can hang herself or take poison, because the queen is the mother of a country, which is detrimental to the dignity of the royal family.If the queen hangs herself or takes poison, the queen's parents must commit a serious crime.Thinking of this level, he had no choice but to hold back for the time being. There was nothing to say all night.The next day, Empress Xiaozhe saw that everything had been arranged for Emperor Tongzhi's funeral, so she asked Xiaofeng to pass the news to her parents to enter the palace.Na Chongqi, a native of Zhenglan Banner in Mongolia, used to be in charge of the Ministry of Industry, with mediocre skills.His father, Sai Shang'a, was highly appreciated by the emperor during the Jiaqing and Daoguang years. He was promoted to a cabinet bachelor, walked on the military plane, and co-organized a bachelor. In the first year of Xianfeng, he became a bachelor of Wenhuadian.At that time, during the peasant uprising of the Daping Heavenly Kingdom, Sai Shang'a, the Minister of Military Affairs, served as the imperial envoy to supervise the military affairs of Guangxi.Because of his incompetence in scheduling and improper rewards and punishments, he was "dismissed from office and arrested in Beijing for punishment". Since then, his family has declined.Chongqi was also implicated and was dismissed from her position as head of the Ministry of Industry. There is a golden house in the book, and there is Yan Ruyu in the book, which cannot be said about Chongqi. Just because I was bored, I simply buried my head and read the books of sages and sages. Unexpectedly, I hit the right track. In the palace examination in April of the fourth year of Tongzhi, I won a first grade and a top scholar, and was awarded a lecturer in the Imperial Academy. . Chongqi and his wife have also heard a little bit about their daughter's recent situation in the palace. Among the several children, Chongqi and his wife loved this daughter the most, not because she became a queen, but because she was intelligent, virtuous and considerate since she was a child.After hearing the news, Mrs. Chong was very anxious. Ever since her daughter entered the palace, mother and daughter have never seen each other again, so I don't know what's going on now?So he kept urging Chongqi to go into the palace to have a look, but how could this be so easy?Just when the couple were in a hurry, the daughter summoned them to enter the palace, so she hurriedly brought some things into the palace. Seeing her parents, Empress Xiaozhe couldn't help but shed tears and cried bitterly.Mother and daughter are connected, seeing her daughter like this, Mrs. Chong also burst into tears.For a while, there was a loud cry in Xiushun hall, Chongqi saw this, and hurriedly played: "Please don't be sad, empress, take care of your body, it is important to handle the funeral of the late emperor." "The late emperor's funeral has been completed. There is only one matter that remains unresolved, so I invite Ama (the Manchus call her father Ama) and Erniang into the palace to think of a safe solution for her daughter." "Since the funeral of Emperor Daxing has been completed, I don't know what other difficult matters you have to deal with, Empress?" Chongqi and his wife asked in tears. "Ama, Erniang, you also know the grievances suffered by the daughter when the late emperor was here. Ever since the late emperor left, the Empress Dowager Cixi has been looking for her daughter many times. Yesterday, the eunuch Li Lianying and others used the empress dowager's name to arrest her. The cat that the first emperor sent to his daughter was beaten to death for no reason. The daughter was so angry that she beat the eunuch. I didn't want the Empress Dowager Cixi to come and scold her and ordered her to restrict her meals. There is no place for my daughter, and my daughter wants to follow the late emperor instead of being angry all day long. But I am afraid that my parents will be troubled, so I have sent you to come in and see if there is any good way." Flesh and heart!Looking at their daughter, Chongqi and his wife couldn't help being distraught, and wept bitterly, how could they bear to see their daughter go away like this?So she cried and persuaded, "Queen, don't be sad, such a big event must not be done hastily. You are the mother of a country, how can you do such a thing lightly? Every family has hard-to-read scriptures, so just bear with it. I will come back and think of a better solution." At this moment, Xiaofeng walked in and said that the Empress Dowager Ci'an had arrived.Chongqi and his wife gave a few more words of advice, and hurriedly retreated out. Empress Dowager Ci'an, also known as Empress Xianfeng, was honored as Empress Dowager Ci'an after the death of Xianfeng.This day I also heard about Empress Xiaozhe being blamed, so I rushed over to have a look. Walking into the room, seeing Empress Xiaozhe crying so much that her clothes were all wet, she hurriedly persuaded: "Why is the empress so sad, take care of yourself." Looking at Empress Xiaozhe again, she suddenly threw herself down in front of Empress Dowager Ci'an, choked up and said: "From now on, forgive me, my daughter-in-law can no longer serve your old man. My daughter-in-law has decided to die for the king." After all, he covered his face and cried again.The Empress Dowager Ci'an couldn't help shedding tears when she heard this. After crying for a while, she comforted her and said, "Why is the queen doing this? It is impossible to say the words of aspiring to die for the emperor. All in all, as long as I am here, I will protect you for a day, so you can rest assured." Let the eunuchs go to the Empress Dowager Cixi, and let Empress Xiaozhe eat as usual.Immediately helped the queen up, and earnestly persuaded her, before returning to the palace.The Empress Dowager Ci'an thought too simply, since Cixi had already made up her mind, how could she change it so easily?She agreed on the surface, but secretly asked Li Lianying to cut off the queen's meal. When Chongqi and his wife returned home, thinking of their daughter's current situation, they couldn't help crying again.How heartbreaking is it that the dignified queen of the Qing Dynasty and the mother of a country can't even get enough to eat!Seeing her helpless husband, Mrs. Chong couldn't help but get angry: "Thanks to you, you are still the number one scholar. If your daughter doesn't have enough to eat, you can't come up with a good idea. Could it be that you can't help but watch your daughter starve to death?" Chongqi doesn't want her daughter to live well, but what can he do to think about it.On the contrary, Mrs. Chong had an idea and came up with a way: secretly deliver food to the palace for her daughter.Chongqi, who had nothing to do, couldn't think of any better way for a while, so she agreed. One day, two days..., nothing happened.Unexpectedly, when Xiaofeng was going to Xiushuntang with a lunch box that day, Li Lianying saw her and hurriedly reported it to Empress Dowager Cixi.When Cixi heard that this happened, she couldn't help being furious, and severely reprimanded the eunuch who was guarding the gate, and ordered her to watch over the gate.In this way, Chongqi and his wife, who secretly delivered food to their daughter, could do nothing.Finally think about it, alas, it is better to ask the Empress Dowager Cixi, maybe she will show mercy, it must be my daughter-in-law! After seeing the Empress Dowager Cixi, Chongqi carefully expressed her thoughts: "Empress Dowager, the Empress is young and ignorant. If she has made any mistakes, please forgive her. Already, I don't think about food and drink, I wonder if I can ask the Imperial Dining Room to cook some delicious meals?" "She is my daughter-in-law, don't I care about her? It's just that after the emperor Daxing left, the queen is determined to die for the emperor. What can I do? Why don't I let her go with the emperor!" Cixi threw out An indifferent remark. The last glimmer of hope was dashed.Chongqi finally understood: the queen mother must let her daughter die.Walking out of the Changchun Palace, Chongqi thought that instead of fighting pointlessly, it would be better to accept her fate, at least she could keep her official position and the lives of her family.So he asked the eunuch to send a box to his daughter.Empress Xiaozhe opened it and saw that there was nothing inside, so she asked the eunuch what was going on?The eunuch couldn't tell why, only that it was like this when Lord Chong handed it over to him.So Empress Xiaozhe asked Xiaofeng to take out the box and ask about the situation.Not long after, Xiaofeng came in again carrying the box.Empress Xiaozhe took the box and looked at it, only to see a line of small characters written on the bottom of the box: "Shengming has no faults queen." She finally understood that her father could not save herself, and it was time to go.So she turned around and went back to the house, and when she came out again, she had a burden on her hands, and she held Xiaofeng's hand, choked up and said: "There is no room for me here. I decided to go with Emperor Daxing. You Follow me, I don’t have anything left for you, you take these things, wait, wait for me to go, you go out of the palace and find a good family..." "No, no", Xiaofeng couldn't help throwing herself into the queen's arms: "I will not leave you even if I die." The master and servant cried for a moment.Empress Xiaozhe tried to persuade her repeatedly, but Xiaofeng just refused, so she had to give up. Since then, Empress Xiaozhe has stopped eating and drinking next to Emperor Tongzhi's Zi Palace.The eunuchs and court ladies had long since fallen out of favor because of her, and were not favored by the Empress Dowager Cixi, so they alienated her one by one.This time the queen went on a hunger strike and did not eat, and they were even more quiet.孝哲皇后一连饿了五日，这天午时，慈安太后不放心又来瞧她，见到孝哲皇后四肢无力，脸色憔悴，睡在同治皇帝的梓宫旁边，连哭也不能了，颇感诧异，急问发生了什么事。孝哲皇后只是一言不发，连爬起来行礼的力气都没有，刚要爬起，又倒了下去。慈安太后连忙上去扶住她，催问究竟是怎么回事？孝哲皇后这才断断续续地答道："臣媳已立志殉君了。"慈安大惊，忙劝不可如此。再招来那些太监宫女一问方知皇后已绝食五日之久，赶紧去找慈禧太后商量法子。 听到孝哲皇后绝食殉君，慈禧脸上不由露出得意的笑容，心想：这个祸根终于算是除掉了。遂对慈安说道："人各有志，谁又勉强的来，只怕劝也不顶用。"可耐不住慈安太后一个劲地催促，便一起来到休顺堂。孝哲皇后见两太后一起来了，便想爬起来行礼，可两条脚象棉花一般地软，怎么也爬不起来。 慈安见状，忙挡住。这时的慈禧太后真象换了个人似的，和颜悦色道："皇后，什么事都想开些，一定要保重身子。你如果有个三长两短，让我们怎么向死去的大行皇帝交待？"孝哲皇后听罢，想说又不能，只是用眼睛死死地盯着她，直看得慈禧太后毛骨悚然。众宫眷和各府福晋命妇听了消息，纷纷赶到宫中，哭泣相劝。可这时的孝哲皇后已气息微弱，连说都说不出来了，慈安太后看了，知道大势已去，忙哭着命人用吉祥床把皇后抬回寝殿。 光绪元年二月二十日，距同治帝崩逝仅有两个多月，饱经折磨的孝哲皇后终于含恨死去，终年２２岁。不久，宫里传出谕旨，全文如下： 两宫皇太后懿旨：孝哲皇后孝敬性成，淑慎柔嘉，壶仪足式，侍奉两宫皇太后，承颜顺志，孝敬无违。兹于本日寅刻，遽尔崩逝；距大行皇帝大丧，末逾百日复遭此变，痛何言哉！著于寿康宫行敛奠礼，择期移至永思殿暂安，所有一切事宜著派恭亲王奕会同恭理丧仪大臣，暨各衙门查照例案，随时妥筹具奏。 直到此时，众王公大臣们方知孝哲皇后已经崩逝，虽然对皇后的死感到突然，但慑于慈禧太后的权势，谁也不敢多问什么。就在人们为皇后的突然驾崩而悲痛之时，却有两个人高兴的喜笑颜开，那就是慈禧太后和李莲英。听到孝哲皇后崩逝消息的慈禧太后竟高兴地连声道："死的好！死的好！ 早就该死了！"然后就携着李莲英等人去了北海。只有那慈安太后抚尸痛哭一场，口口声声赞叹皇后的节烈，又忙里忙外，安排着殡殓事宜。 转眼间到了出殡的日子。俗话说：人死百事了。谁曾想那慈禧太后又来为难。原来清廷大凡皇后均是从"大清门"迎入。而慈禧太后出身宫嫔，自然无法从大清门迎入，那日里孝哲皇后与她理论时，曾说了句："我是从大清门迎入的，死了也能从大清门出殡。"这无异于在揭慈禧太后的老底，因而这时她想让孝哲皇后的金棺从后门出宫，以此作为对她说"从大清门出殡"的报复。倒是那慈安太后此刻据理力争： "按我朝家法，皇后崩逝，金棺必须从大清门出宫。这是历代相承的规矩，不可随便更改变动。"慈禧听了无言以对，不得不允许孝哲皇后遗体从大清门出殡，总算使孝哲皇后的葬礼得以顺利进行。 再说那小凤，在办完孝哲皇后的丧事后，亦在房中悬梁自尽，随皇后而去。