Chapter 33 Three, five girls commit suicide

In the palace, a court lady faces three relationships: the relationship with the master, the relationship with the eunuch, and the relationship with her companions.Their status in the palace is low, they have no independent personality, they are in adolescence, long-term closed and lonely, their hearts are distressed, and they have no place to vent. Suicides of palace maids happen from time to time. It tells about two rules about court ladies that outsiders don't know: one is "you are allowed to beat and not scold", and the other is "you can't hit someone in the face".Why "no scolding"?Because their ancestors all entered the customs from Longlong, it is not appropriate to scold anyone's hometown.Because scolding is not allowed, I can only vent my anger by beating.Why "don't slap your face"?Probably because the face is the capital of a woman, and most of the prosperity and wealth of a woman's life are on her face.Slapping the mouth is a common thing for eunuchs, but it is not allowed for court ladies, unless it is something despicable.The violent chestnuts (pimples) on the heads of court ladies are constant.It has become a rule in the palace to fight first and talk later.It is not an exaggeration to say that the maid was typed out. "It is allowed to beat but not to scold", and the result was that people were killed.In the Qianlong Dynasty, two five girls (with the same name) committed suicide due to beatings.

On the fifth day of September in the 15th year of Qianlong (1750), Wu Niu, a court lady of the nobleman Xisuoluo in Ningshou Palace, went to the eunuch Zhao Guobao's residence and tried to kill herself with a knife, and was later rescued.On this matter, Emperor Qianlong issued an edict: "Stop the eunuch Zhao Guobao with nine locks and hand them over to the head of the House of Internal Affairs." After interrogation, the eunuch Zhao Guobao confessed that he was from Dong'an County (now Langfang City, Hebei Province) and was 36 years old at the time. At the age of 9, he entered the palace cleanly and worked as an errand in the west office of Ningshou Palace.Wu Niu, a court lady, was in love with him and starched and washed his clothes for him.Later, the two sides had a quarrel, Wu Niu stopped washing, and the two turned against each other.First, in mid-August, Zhao Guobao was handed over to the chief eunuch for teaching because he quarreled with his master Luo Guiren. Therefore, he was dissatisfied and complained about Luo Guiren in private, but Wu Niu just heard him scolding his master.Zhao Guobao held a grudge for this and wanted to take revenge.On the fifth day of the ninth lunar month, Zhao Guobao informed Luo Guiren that Wu Niu was burning incense at the second or third watch every night. She might accidentally catch fire (fire is a taboo in the palace) and curse people by burning incense.He also told Luo Guiren that Wu Niu had stolen from the master.At the second watch of the night, after Zhao Guobao was on duty, he heard noises in the palace, and he was looking for the missing maid. He didn't know that Wu Niu had committed suicide in his room until he found Wu Niu in his room.

The confession of the court lady Wu Niu is not the same as that of Zhao Guobao.She was the daughter of Shen Changshao, Bai Tang'a (an errand) of the former Ministry of Internal Affairs, and she was 18 years old at the time. When he entered the palace in 5 years, he had nothing to do with the eunuch Zhao Guobao.Zhao's clothes were originally washed by the maid Bayanzhu for him. Later, Bayanzhu left the palace at the age of 25. Zhao Guobao asked Wu Niu to wash his clothes. People turn against each other.On this day, after hearing that Zhao Guobao accused her master Luo Gui of stealing and cursing people, Wu Niu was extremely frightened, because there had been an incident of a palace lady stealing her master Baixue before, and the palace lady was kicked out of the palace after being beaten eighty times. Door.In order to avoid the shame of being expelled, the helpless Wu Niu chose to commit suicide.On the fifth night of the ninth lunar month, she placed a horse's bed at the foot of the east wall of the West Palace, leaning against the steps, and put a small bench on top of it. She climbed up to the top of the wall, and slipped out of the palace wall along the jujube trees outside the wall, and came to Zhao Guobao. wiped his neck in the house.

The suicide of the five girls in the court violated the provisions of the "Existing Regulations in the Imperial Palace": First, court ladies and eunuchs are not allowed to have personal relationships.Forty-fourth year of Kangxi (1705) decree: Recently, eunuchs do not abide by the rules, and it is absolutely forbidden to get acquainted with women, relatives, uncles, and sisters in the palace.The eunuch Zhao Guobao and the court lady Wu Niu both violated the palace rules. Second, court ladies and eunuchs are not allowed to hurt themselves.Palace rules: "Any eunuch or woman who injures herself with a golden blade in the palace shall be executed; if she wants to hang herself and is rescued by others, she shall be hanged." It can be seen that Wu Niu risked her life and chose to commit suicide , After being extremely frightened, all thoughts were lost, and the deal was decided.

After Emperor Qianlong heard the play, he ordered the eunuch Zhao Guobao to be sent to Heilongjiang, where he was enslaved by men in armor, and Wu Niu, a court lady, was ordered by an old and sick court lady, and she was never allowed to leave the palace. At noon on March 16th in the fifty-third year of Qianlong (1788), Jiuniu, a maid of Chengqian Palace, was ordered by Na to look for Wuniu (the same as the above-mentioned Wuniu who did not die) Not alone), if he didn't find it, he told the chief eunuch Chang Jinchao to look for it everywhere. When he saw a cotton jacket and women's shoes by the well pavilion, he suspected that Wu Niu had thrown himself into the well.So I reported to the eunuch in charge that the stonemason was sent to pry open the side of the well, and the body of Wu Niu was salvaged, and Wen Po Wen Po was heard. Female autopsy.Wu Zuo, "Chinese Dictionary · Wu Zuo" Explanation: It has been done in Song Dynasty, and it was the one who examined male corpses in the old government office.Wu makes an examination of the male corpse, and Wen's wife examines the female corpse. (female autopsy), Wu (wu) as (male autopsy) to the scene of the autopsy.Experience: 17-year-old Wu Niu's complexion is slightly red, her eyes are blistered closed, water foam flows out of her nose and mouth, her left shoulder armor (scapula) has a blue and red wound, six points in length and three points in width, and a wooden wound.Stability test below the navel: There is a blue and red wound on the left buttock and left leg, measuring 5 cun 5 fen in length and 3 cun 2 fen in width, overlapping wooden wounds.There is a green and red wound on the right leg, measuring three inches long and two inches wide, overlapping wooden wounds.There is a blue and red wound near the lower part of the left calf, measuring obliquely one inch long and sixty centimeters wide, with a wooden wound.There is a blue and red wound on the right side of the right calf, measuring obliquely one inch long and sixty centimeters wide, with a wooden wound.His belly was swollen, his ten fingers were slightly bent, and there was sand and mud between his ten fingernails. He was tied to the body with wooden wounds and drowned to death.After the autopsy, Minister of Internal Affairs Yi Ling'a and others visited the site in person and asked about the eunuchs and maids of Chengqian Palace. In the report, there is no mention of the responsibility of the assailant and the person in charge.After Emperor Qianlong read the fold, he orally passed Zhu Zhu: I see.This is it.This is how the murder of a court lady ended.

Maids are people too.Their youth——the middle school and college stage of modern teenagers, their beauty, wisdom, dexterity and hard work, all serve the empress.I want to be as wide as Su Ma's concubine's burial ending, and I want to be as narrow as Wu Niu's suicide tragedy.Therefore, Lagu Su Ma and Wu Niu, who are court ladies, are not only two mirrors of palace ladies' life, but also two mirrors of ordinary life.