Chapter 5 Chapter Two

A pair of red candles have been extinguished, but the bride and groom are still lying back to back, and thus began the tragic marriage tragedy of Emperor Guangxu... When spring returns, the earth is warm and Vientiane is renewed.Emperor Guangxu will hold a wedding celebration with Empress Longyu. On the twenty-seventh day of the first lunar month in the fifteenth year of Guangxu (February 27, 1889), the city of Beijing was full of joy, with red lights hanging high at the door of every house, and potted flowers competing to bloom. The inside and outside of the palace was painted new, colorful flags fluttered at the front and back of the main hall, two vases were placed in front of the hall, the central furnace was filled with incense and mist, and a new red carpet was laid on the jade steps.The eunuchs and maids put on new clothes and stood on both sides of the steps holding incense burners, all of them beaming with joy.

All the halls are hung with colored silk embroidered with double happiness.The imperial road from the Meridian Gate to Kunning Palace is paved with red carpets, and colorful flags are placed on the roadside. The majestic Hall of Supreme Harmony (Golden Luan Hall) is decorated in a very solemn style. The long jade steps are connected to the red carpet, and eunuchs in formal dresses stand on both sides. , the ceremonies holding the law enforcement and driving the book...the royal band is lined up under the east and west eaves of the main hall. The Hall of Supreme Harmony, also known as the Hall of Golden Luan, is the place where the imperial court holds court meetings and celebrations, including the enthronement of the emperor, the canonization of the queen, the expedition of famous generals, the palace examination on the gold list, palace banquets and reception of foreign envoys. It is the largest, highest, and most majestic temple in the imperial palace. .

In front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, there is the Gate of Supreme Harmony with glazed walls and golden tiles and the open square in front of the hall. In the center of the hall, there are three majestic white jade steps and the royal road for the emperor to ascend to the hall and retreat.On both sides of the imperial platform are a pair of bronze cranes, a pair of bronze tortoises and eighteen large incense burners with green tripods. Inside the hall, the ground is paved with shiny golden "bricks", and the roof of the hall is covered with yellow glazed tiles.In the center of the top is a splendid golden carved caisson. In the center of the algae, there are nine carved golden coiled dragons lying in a pan, with Xuanyuan mirror hanging from the dragon's mouth to ward off evil.Looking up at it, it is like opening a skylight, revealing a kind of sacredness.

In the middle of the hall is placed the supreme golden throne of the imperial court. The throne is placed on the white jade platform, which has the power of being king.Whoever sits on this throne is a symbol of imperial power. On both sides of the throne are bronze elephants, cranes, deer, vases and censers that symbolize the peace of heaven and earth. Sandalwood in the censer is bursting with smoke, which is both mysterious and sacred.The golden pillars and the seven gold-painted screens behind the throne complement each other, making the whole hall look resplendent, solemn and luxurious.The emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties held their enthronement ceremonies in this hall, and the Hall of Supreme Harmony deserves to be called the Golden Luan Hall.

At this time, the candle lights in the hall are all on, and the brand-new apricot-yellow curtains and high-hanging yellow mantles look more and more golden under the penetrating sunlight. There are festival cases, albums and treasure cases in the hall. Sections, volumes, and treasures. On the wedding table in the center of the hall, two golden dragon and phoenix candles glowed red, and the dragon throne in the center behind the wedding table was waiting for the officiant—the current empress dowager—the Empress Dowager Cixi to take her seat. The inside and outside of the main hall were lined up with princes, ministers and royal dignitaries who came to congratulate the emperor on his wedding.

Inside the hall are first-class civil and military officials, close relatives of the royal family, and envoys from various countries.Standing outside the hall were senior officials from the capital and dignitaries from all over the country. Civil and military officials all knew what an honor it was to receive an order to celebrate the emperor's wedding, so they each prepared rich gifts, such as pearls, agate, jadeite, BMW, rare antiques... and put on brand new court clothes, Everyone was elated and beaming. They lined up according to the rank of the old and the young, and whispered carefully, and some were greeting the officials of the frontier who hadn't seen each other for a long time.

Everyone is excitedly waiting for the Empress Dowager, Emperor, and Empress to visit. The emperor's wedding decree has been issued to the whole country. Of course, Kyoto has been decorated a lot. From the uncle's mansion of the great country to the imperial palace and the Forbidden City is the place where the empress, phoenix, officials and officials pass by.The center of the street was paved with yellow sand and sprinkled with clean water. The road was crowded with ordinary people who came to watch. The street was full of guards to maintain order. With the sound of music, the queen's phoenix came in honor. At the front were two wedding envoys holding talismans. They were officials from the Ministry of Rites. There are two rows of court ladies holding colorful banners and embroidered banners, guarding the queen Fengyu in the middle. In front of Fengyu are eight wives who clear the way, and behind are hundreds of eunuchs holding colorful flags...

Following Fengyu is the Minister of Internal Affairs in auspicious clothes, wearing flower feathers on top, and riding a horse with a beautiful saddle and bridle. Finally, there are two teams of royal guards on tall horses, and a hundred imperial guards in armor and armed with spears and knives. . At three o'clock in the afternoon, when the auspicious time for the wedding ceremony came, the officials of the Ministry of Rituals issued an order, and after three quiet whips, the palace bands set up under the east and west eaves of the Hall of Supreme Harmony began to play special songs for the empress dowager, the emperor, and the empress. Zhonghe Shaole.

The deacon officials of the Ministry of Rites sang: "The empress dowager is promoted to the palace." The court string music started to play, and the Empress Dowager Cixi came in from the inner door of the main hall in high spirits. After she was seated on the dragon chair, the music stopped abruptly, so the officials inside and outside the hall, as well as those who came to the wedding ceremony, No matter the relatives of the emperor or the foreign envoys, they all knelt on the ground under the accompaniment of the Danbi band, and shouted: "Long live the empress dowager, long live."

"Free of courtesy, flat body." Empress Dowager Cixi waved her hand with a smile, and the music stopped suddenly. The Empress Dowager Cixi is dressed in a court dress and a smoked sable crown on her head. On the top is a unparalleled oriental bead.Wearing a bright yellow dragon robe edged with golden thread, around the neck is a plate of oriental beads pierced with bright yellow, a plate of coral, a plate of Buddha head, and a plate of jewels. Yellow embroidered dragon pleated skirt and embroidered flowerpot-style flag shoes on the feet. The Empress Dowager Cixi seemed very happy today, because she supported the young emperor with one hand. Since she was brought into the palace at the age of four, she treated him as carefully as her own son. The ninth emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

But what makes Cixi uneasy is that the emperor has become a little full-fledged recently, and it can be seen from the selection of the empress that he doesn't want to listen to me very much.However, the queen is a poor mother in a country, and she is also the middle official empress who commands the six palaces. Of course, she must be someone who can agree with me. The Empress Dowager Ci'an of the Eastern Palace appointed Empress Arut of Emperor Tongzhi back then, so she always disagreed with me, which made my own son, Emperor Tongzhi, not agree with me... This lesson must not be repeated. My niece is the daughter of my younger brother, Deputy Governor Guixiang, who is of my Nala family lineage, and was chosen by me personally. The emperor was born to my younger sister, and the queen's mother is my younger brother's Fujin. It can be said that the kiss is more intimate, how can they not turn to me. ...Thinking of this, a lightness flashed across the Empress Dowager Cixi's face. It's time for the wedding ceremony, and with the deacon and eunuch's cry of "playing music", the court string music played in unison, and the queen Fengyu, who had been waiting outside the official gate, entered the palace through the middle gate of the Meridian Gate. When the new empress passed the Meridian Gate on a phoenix luan, she gently raised the curtain to take a peek. Looking at the solemn and holy middle gate, she was very excited. She knew that only the emperor could enter and leave the middle gate of the Meridian Gate, and the empress could only get married. You can enter once per day.In addition, only the No. 1, No. 2, and Tanhua titled on the gold list are allowed to enter and exit once. As for the princes and ministers, they can only enter the palace through the right door, and civil and military officials can only enter the palace through the left door. It shows how honorable it is to pass through the middle door today. .Her eyes were shining, her pink face flushed with excitement. At this time, the groom, Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, came to the jade steps of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in a sedan chair, followed by two rows of eunuchs carrying palace lanterns and incense burners.The bridegroom, Emperor Guangxu, wore a sable gold dragon crown hat, and on the top layer was a huge and priceless pearl, which was shining brightly.He is wearing a bright yellow golden dragon court robe, a golden orange embroidered dragon collar, a bright yellow auspicious belt around his waist, and three circles of court beads composed of 108 east beads tied with a bright yellow ribbon around his neck. Wearing a pair of court shoes inlaid with beads looks very noble and elegant. When Jichen arrived, the deacon and eunuch shouted: "The character of the emperor, the empress is promoted to the palace." Immediately, the palace music played in unison with the Shao music. The emperor and empress followed the main and deputy envoys side by side. Behind them were two rows of eunuchs holding lanterns, dragon books, dragon pavilions, and censers. They walked up from the red carpet on the jade steps to the main hall. Emperor Guangxu's face was expressionless at this time, and he had no feeling of newlywed happiness. He only felt that he had completed the task.He has to sit on this dragon chair every morning and accept the worship of civil and military officials, so there is nothing to be excited about.Even so, on such an occasion, the dissatisfaction in his heart must not be expressed, so he still smiled at the courtiers. The new queen is wearing a red silk embroidered gown with eight dragons and phoenixes, and a phoenix crown on her head, which is a hat inlaid with expensive pearls, jade and gemstones.In front of the forehead is an eight-inch-long bead curtain hanging from the phoenix crown, just covering the bride's noble face. The queen had a very dizzy head today. From her shining eyes, it could be seen that the queen's eyes were not beautiful, neither big nor double eyelids, but they were very energetic.She took a peek at His Highness, civil and military officials kneeling down on her and the emperor, feeling very excited.Yes, the current empress dowager's niece, Prince Qing's Gege, has never seen any big scenes since she was a child, but it is the first time in her life that she sits on an equal footing with the emperor and accepts the civil and military worship of the Manchu Dynasty like this.This means that she is already a queen who is under one person and above ten thousand people. She also thought that the reason why she was chosen as queen was the great kindness of her aunt, Empress Dowager Cixi. Without her aunt, she would not be where she is today, so in this life, she must repay her aunt and always stand by her side.From now on, even if the emperor doesn't love her, as long as she sits firmly on the throne of empress, she won't be afraid.It is the aunt and queen mother who can keep this phoenix chair for her, not the emperor.The queen repeated this sentence in her heart. The emperor and empress were seated in the hall, and all civil and military officials knelt three times and kowtowed nine times. "Long live the emperor!" "The queen is a thousand years old!" At this time, the Grand Scholars of the Hall of Valor awarded the festival to the principal and deputy envoys, and the officials of the Ministry of Rituals read out the golden booklet, and then under the guidance of the chief and deputy envoys, the deacon officials held the gold booklet and the queen's seal and put it in the Dragon Pavilion. The line book is completed, and the line is handed over. The deacon officials sang: The first obeisance, newcomers obeisance to heaven and earth. Therefore, the emperor and empress bowed three times and kowtowed nine times to heaven and earth. Second worship, newcomers worship their parents. The emperor and empress kneeled three times and kowtowed nine times to the Empress Dowager Cixi together. At this time, the Empress Dowager Cixi was naturally elated. She looked at the emperor whom she personally supported and the Empress Yun whom she had chosen, thinking that she would be safe from now on.However, she never expected that even so, the emperor's wings became more and more rigid, and later developed to the point where she would be imprisoned and seize power. Emperor Guangxu glanced at the Empress Dowager when he kowtowed and stood up. Seeing the beaming look of the Empress Dowager, his heart was very complicated. He was grateful to the Empress Dowager for giving him today's throne, but he was dissatisfied with her monopoly, and even more angry with her persecution on marriage. Therefore, in the eyes of Emperor Guangxu, Empress Dowager Cixi suddenly looked like a benefactor and loving mother, and then changed into a domineering queen mother. As for the empress, she passed through the Meridian Gate and the Qianqing Gate through the middle gate, and was promoted to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. She was worshiped by all civil and military officials, and was able to worship heaven and earth on an equal footing with the emperor. The Zhongguan empress.Although the days of the beauty pageant brought her unhappiness, today's pride finally washed away the shadow that had been covering her face for many days. She smiled so brightly that the deacon and eunuch sang: "Third prayers!" , When the husband and wife prayed to each other, she didn't hear it, but the princess beside her reminded her. "Both newcomers enter the bridal chamber!" The music played again. The bridal chamber is located in Kunning Guandong Nuange, which is the wedding room of the emperors and empresses.A large palace lantern with the characters of double happiness hung high outside the palace, the characters of double happiness were pasted on the palace gate, couplets of congratulations and happiness were hung on both sides, and the characters of longevity were written on the door. In the bridal chamber, the red pillars on the wall were freshly painted with silver bead tung oil. On the wedding table were two red candles shining brightly. Behind the table was a golden lace with the words "Double Happiness" written on it. On the bed, there is a red satin quilt stacked on top of a red satin bed sheet embroidered with the words "Dragon and Phoenix Double Happiness". On the head of the bed is a bed curtain embroidered with a picture of a hundred sons of "Dragon and Phoenix Double Happiness". The horizontal plaque of Shengyueheng.On the kang table is a treasure vase with fresh flowers, on the head of the bed is a jade cabinet with precious treasures, on which there is a golden engraved flower inlaid with precious stones, and there is also an emperor's throne in the room... The festivity candles were flickering red, and the copper burner was bursting with sandalwood, making the whole bridal chamber bright red and full of joy. Royal weddings are not allowed to have a bridal chamber, and there is no banquet on the night of the celebration, and congratulations from princes and ministers can only be given on the next day. Only eunuchs, court ladies and princesses are waiting on the new house.After entering the bridal chamber, the empress took off the red dragon and phoenix gown with the help of her servants, and put on the azurite dragon and phoenix gown. The lapel of the azurite silk was embroidered with eight patterns of dragon and phoenix, seawater, river cliffs, and eight treasures to symbolize great fortune and great nobility.The emperor wore a bright yellow dragon robe to show the auspiciousness of the dragon and the phoenix, flying together.The bride is supported by four Fujin wives selected from the royal relatives and sits on the dragon and phoenix bed. Emperor Guangxu sits on the left and the queen sits on the right. Then the four Fujin and princesses serve the newly married emperor and queen for the banquet. A couple of newlyweds sit side by side on the new bed, which symbolizes the unity of the husband and wife. Then they drink a cup of wine, eat their children and grandchildren, and enjoy the feast.This feast consisted of a hundred kinds of rare delicacies, and two square tables were filled with dishes, and the eunuchs and maids, regardless of whether the newcomers ate or not, tried their best to add vegetables to their dishes, all kinds of fine wines, Everything you need. After the banquet, the maids, eunuchs, two older princesses, and the four Fujin wives retreated to the outer room, and the bridal chamber suddenly became quiet, so quiet that a needle could be heard falling on the ground. After a whole day of tossing around, the two newcomers were exhausted, being at the mercy of others from morning to night, Emperor Guangxu had reached the point of being almost numb. At this moment, he felt a dull pain in his heart. Zun is the supreme emperor of the Qing Dynasty, but he is always controlled and manipulated by others. Emperor Guangxu sighed deeply. He has no interest in this person who will accompany him for the rest of his life.She is not beautiful, but she is not ugly either. Emperor Guangxu knew that he hated her not because of her appearance, but because she was a watcher placed by the queen mother beside him. When it comes to the emperor's wedding, Emperor Guangxu has always opposed the election soon.Because he has never met his beloved since he was an adult at the age of sixteen. The ideal person he hopes should not be dominated by anyone, but only agrees with him. The kind of beauty that lives, the kind of beauty that makes people's hearts beat.That's the kind of heartbeat when I first met Miss Zhen!The touching eyes of Miss Zhen appeared before Emperor Guangxu's eyes... As for the cousin in front of him, Emperor Zhao Xu had already peeked at her a few times: she is tall, fair-skinned, and oval-shaped, and there is nothing else to count. lifelong.well!Destiny... The more Emperor Guangxu thought about it, the more angry he was, how could there be any interest in kissing the bride? Even though the red candle was dying, and even though the bride looked up at him from time to time, he just sat still. The new empress is the niece of Empress Dowager Cixi, the empress dowager who wields great power. Of course, she knows that the choice of empress is very important, and she does not have the same heart with herself in the selection. Then, the efforts made on Emperor Guangxu in the past nineteen years may be completely in vain.Therefore, picking the daughter of one's own brother is naturally more reassuring than picking anyone else. The queen has already seen that the emperor is not interested in her. After the election, his attitude was flat, and the night of the bridal chamber was so indifferent, ah... Is my life destined to be with someone who doesn't love me?The queen's eye circles were wet... But she thought again, now, I have worshiped the world with him, and I am already recognized as the Queen's Empress by the Qing court, so what's the matter if he doesn't kiss me? The four Fujin and several maids who were waiting outside saw no movement in the bridal chamber for a long time, they all looked at each other, they put their ears in the crack of the door and listened anxiously... Seeing that the red candle was about to end, the queen took a peek and saw that the emperor was still sitting awkwardly. The pampered and self-willed Gege suddenly stood up, quickly took off his coat, and got on the luxurious dragon and phoenix by himself. bed.She didn't say a word, pulled the quilt away, lay down on the inside with her clothes on, then turned over and turned her back to Emperor Guangxu.She felt very wronged in her heart, but she didn't cry, she just listened secretly to how Emperor Guangxu reacted. The emperor saw that the new empress had gone to bed by herself and turned her back to him, but he ignored it and still sat still.After a while, a red candle went out, and Emperor Guangxu sighed. well!Destiny, why is it so unfair to make me suffer this unhappy marriage? The emperor of the Qing Dynasty, who is supreme and respected by the nine tripods, is lamenting! The queen turned around when she heard a sigh, and saw that one of the candles had gone out, but the emperor was still sitting with a frosty face, so she turned her back in a rage. The red candle on the right was about to go out, and Emperor Guangxu suddenly heard two "coughs" from the crack of the door. He knew that the person sent by the Queen Mother to inspect was hinting at him. Emperor Guangxu stood up angrily, quickly took off his robe, and lay down with his bride and clothes on his back... A pair of red candles have been extinguished, and the bride and groom are still lying back to back. From then on, the marriage tragedy of discord between the emperor and the empress began...