Chapter 8 Chapter 5 Good or bad luck

Since then, the Summer Palace has become a power field that competes with the imperial palace of the Forbidden City. Cixi spends her life here in reputation, but her eyes full of power desire never stop staring at the Forbidden City... A sunny morning.The gates of the Forbidden City opened wide, "Crack! Crack! Crack!" After the sound of the whip three times, the drums played in unison, and a team of court drum bands came out from the palace. clear the way. Immediately afterwards came the royal guard of honor team composed of hundreds of people. They were dressed in red dresses and held five-color flags and dragon banners. Passing by with a canopy umbrella, I saw the golden Emperor Luanyu and the Queen Mother Luanyu, dressed in luxurious ceremonial clothes, carried by eighteen people, and then the queen Luanyu carried by eight people, and the concubine Luanyu carried by four people came in style...

Walking on both sides are mighty imperial guards equipped with bows, arrows, broadswords, and leopard-tailed guns. Behind Luanyu are eunuchs and palace maids holding golden furnaces, gold boxes, golden pots, golden pots, golden chairs... A hundred Imperial Guards, and finally five hundred imperial guards. The heavily guarded and majestic Royal Guards marched out of the Forbidden City to the Summer Palace with the accompaniment of the orchestra. The predecessor of the Summer Palace was originally a natural fault spring lake, which has a history of nearly 2,000 years. In the Han Dynasty, it was called "One Pool and Three Immortals" (One Lake and Three Immortals Island).The Summer Palace has a beautiful scenery, facing Yuquanyou in the west, and the beautiful West Mountain in the background. In the fifteenth year of Emperor Qianlong (1750), it was expanded and named Qingyi Garden to celebrate the 60th birthday of the Empress Dowager.

In the 10th year of Xianfeng (1860), it was burned down by the British and French allied forces. In the 14th year of Guangxu (1888), Empress Dowager Cixi embezzled naval military expenses to build it and renamed it the Summer Palace. Today's Summer Palace is newly decorated, colorful flags are fluttering, ready to welcome the noble Empress Dowager Cixi to move in. The mighty Royal Brigade went straight to the East Palace Gate of the Summer Palace, which is the main entrance of the Summer Palace. Along the way, the places where the royal palace passed and the surrounding area of ​​the Summer Palace had already been under martial law, and the imperial guards stood guard along the street.

The Summer Palace, the palace garden that symbolized the highest power in the late Qing Dynasty, finally came into view. The first thing that was displayed in front of people was a tall and golden archway carved with dragons and phoenixes. This archway means entering the holy place of the Summer Palace. Empress Dowager Cixi lifted the curtain from Luanyu to look at it and ordered: "Take a break from the sedan chair." "Stop the sedan chair." Li Lianying gave an order, and Jin Luanyu stopped. Li Lianying helped Empress Dowager Cixi out of the sedan chair, and the emperor also walked out of Jin Luan. All the attendants bowed their heads and remained still.The Empress Dowager Cixi saw the word "Hanxu" inscribed on the forehead on the front of the archway. She nodded and understood that this implied the boundless power of the people stationed in the Summer Palace. A smug look flashed across the Empress Dowager's face, and she looked at the back The inscription was the word "罨秀", and he pointed to the emperor beside him and said, "This points out that my great Qing general will be evergreen and everlasting."

"What the emperor said is true." Emperor Guangxu said. In fact, the original intention of the inscription is that Kunming Lake is vast and the Longevity Mountain is verdant and green. In Cixi's mind, even the scenery of lakes and mountains cannot be separated from the word power. After the Empress Dowager Cixi nodded with satisfaction, she boarded the Jin Yu. The sedan chairs of the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress passed through the main entrance of the archway, and the rest entered from the side.In front is Crescent Lake, which is shaded by pines, cypresses, peaches and willows. Entering the Palace Gate Square of the Summer Palace from the Yushi Bridge of Crescent Lake, you can see the majestic main entrance clearly.

A pair of mighty bronze statues stand on both sides of the main entrance, squatting on Xumizuo carved with white marble, symbolizing auspiciousness and stability.A large rectangular plaque hangs under the eaves in the middle of the East Palace Gate. The top and bottom are carved with Manchu characters in gold, and the blue background in the center is carved with the handwriting of "Summer Palace" inscribed by Emperor Guangxu. Yihe, which means nourishing harmony, expresses Emperor Guangxu's filial piety to the Queen Mother. When the Empress Dowager Cixi, the emperor, and the queen's father arrived at the palace gate, after three quiet whips, drums and music were played in unison, official guards stood respectfully, and eunuchs and servants lined up outside the official gate to wait for them.

The Empress Dowager Cixi, the emperor, and the empress's golden phoenix and phoenix can enter the palace gate in the middle of the Yunlongshi white jade steps carved with the pattern of double dragons playing with pearls that only the three of them can pass through. The rest of the concubines and officials can only pass through the two sides . Entering the courtyard in front of Renshou Hall, the Empress Dowager Cixi, the emperor, and the empress all dismounted from the sedan chairs. A burst of music played, and all the civil and military officials who had already lined up and stood on both sides kowtowed to the ground.

"Long live the emperor, long live the emperor." "Long live the Queen Mother." "The queen is a thousand years old." "I am exempt from courtesy." Emperor Guangxu waved his hand, and the entourage who knelt on the ground stood up and bowed their heads, holding their breath. No one dared or could look up at the Holy One and his party, but stood respectfully on both sides. At this time, the royal band played the music of the emperor's ascension to the palace. Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi slowly entered the palace along the red carpet, ascended to the throne of the Renshou Palace, and accepted another pilgrimage from civil and military officials: "Long live the emperor, long live!" age."

"Long live the Queen Mother." At this time, the Empress Dowager Cixi was proud of her spring breeze and her eyes were shining. She secretly swore that she would do this to the end. Don't think that she really wants to live for the rest of her life, but she just wants to change the environment. After the worship, the Renshou Hall gave a banquet to the ministers that day. The next day, Empress Dowager Cixi visited the Summer Palace accompanied by Emperor Guangxu, concubines, princesses and princesses. In front of the Renshou Hall, the Empress Dowager Cixi approached the unicorn squatting in the middle of the palace courtyard, and stretched out her slender hands with three long gold fingertips to caress the dragon head, lion tail, antlers, and cow hooves. : "Kirin, the mascot, squats in the middle of the court hall. It's really great. It means that our Qing Dynasty is auspicious and healthy."

Empress Dowager Cixi looked forward again... Two pairs of copper tripod incense burner pavilions stand on carved stone pillars in front of the Royal Palace, a pair of copper vats are on the outermost side, a pair of copper phoenixes are on the inside, and a pair of copper dragons are on the outside.When she saw a pair of bronze phoenixes standing in the middle of the gate of the temple, a trace of pride flashed across her face, which meant that women had the highest authority in this temple. exactly: Emperor Guangxu saw that the Empress Dowager Cixi was looking at the dragon and the phoenix and was thinking, so he pointed to the bronze phoenix and said, "Abba, my son and minister have swapped the positions of the bronze phoenix and the bronze dragon, is that so?"

"Okay, okay, that's great." The Empress Dowager Cixi said with a smile, but she didn't want to say what was good. Emperor Guangxu and Concubine Zhen knew it very well, and they smiled at each other. Guangxu pointed to the large plaque on the forehead of the main hall and said: "Abba Emperor, my ministers changed the name of the "Hall of Qinzheng" to "Dian of Renshou" to take Confucius' meaning of "the benevolent man lives long", and to wish the emperor's father a long life without boundaries. .” The Empress Dowager Cixi said with a smile on her face, "It's rare for the emperor to show filial piety, and the emperor's father appreciates it." Guangxu also smiled. In fact, his original intention of taking the Hall of Renshou was to urge the monarchs and ministers to only practice benevolent governance, so that the country can last forever. What a smart person Empress Dowager Cixi is, of course she knew Guangxu Qi's intention of enshrining the Hall of Renshou, and deliberately smiled and said: "The emperor's father also mentioned a plaque and the official residence." Li Lianying hurriedly ordered: "The pen and ink are waiting for you." The servant hurriedly set up his pen and ink, and Cixi inscribed the four characters "no heat and coolness". Emperor Guangxu secretly admired it when he saw it. Empress Dowager Cixi asked, "Who can decipher this allusion?" Empress Longyu and Concubine Jin quickly lowered their heads when they heard this. Concubine Zhen's eyes were shining, and Emperor Guangxu gave her an encouraging look. Concubine Zhen said, "Daddy Huihuang, this allusion comes from the Zhuzhuang of the Later Tang Dynasty. Zong lived in a high-rise building and was afraid of the heat. His minister Chongtao said: "Your Highness, if you think about the suffering of the cold and heat in the past, you will forget the heat of pleasure at this time." Monarchs and ministers, don’t forget the pain of starting a business.” "The Hadith of the Emperor." Emperor Guangxu praised the Empress Dowager Cixi. Emperor Guangxu saw the Empress Dowager Cixi smiled, looked carefully at Concubine Zhen, and then looked thoughtfully at the hall. Empress Dowager Cixi was thinking at this time, this concubine Zhen is really extraordinary, no wonder the emperor dotes on her so much, but if such a person influences the emperor, it will be a disaster. Empress Longyu turned her head and squinted at Concubine Zhen, thinking, what are you doing, Lafayette didn't praise you. The Hall of Renshou in the Summer Palace. The interior of the Hall of Renshou has been newly carved and lacquered. Bronze mascots such as elephants, phoenixes, and nine-dragon pillars stand around the platform, and there are also pairs of crane candlesticks and tripod furnaces around it, presenting a sign of auspicious heaven and earth. The Empress Dowager Cixi looked up at the large plaque of "Shouxie Renfu" hanging high, then looked at the throne and the imperial case in front of the screen, and thought: I want to live a long life, and I want to live a long life, but the purpose of longevity What is for power.Why is Wu Zetian still the emperor at the age of 80, and I haven't become the emperor yet... The Empress Dowager Cixi looked at the Holy See again, and secretly swore: Just watch, wherever I go, the power will also be transferred. After leaving the Hall of Renshou, the Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu came to the Zhichun Pavilion. Standing on the pavilion, the scenery of the garden suddenly appeared in front of you. , making people feel comfortable and happy. On the majestic cloud-dispelling hall at the foot of Wanshou Mountain in the north, the golden and green glazed tiles sparkle and reflect each other in the sun.Behind Paiyun Hall stands the Buddhist Incense Pavilion, where the world of fragrances and the sea of ​​wisdom "drift" under the blue sky and white clouds.To the west is the smoky lake and mountains. The white Yudai Bridge and the West Sixth Bridge connect the long West Causeway. Behind the shadows of dark green pines and cypresses, you can clearly see the graceful appearance of Yuquan Mountain. The two white pagodas on the mountain are like two graceful girl.The incense burner peak can be seen faintly behind the tower. On the stretching West Mountain, with long flowing hair hanging down, it looks like an ancient beauty lying on the Haidian field.Further on, surrounded by smog is the undulating green hills outside the mountains, and the Summer Palace becomes more and more endless... A seventeen-arch bridge in the south separates the East Lake from the South Lake, and the towering pines and cypresses on the west peninsula hide the Dragon King Temple where the emperor prays for rain. . Looking at the rippling Kunming Lake, the Empress Dowager Cixi said to Emperor Guangxu: "Don't you always blame me for misappropriating the navy's military expenses! Isn't it good to set up a naval academy here and train sailors in the lake?" "The emperor's father is wise, and my son obeys the order." Emperor Guangxu didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he heard that the Empress Dowager Cixi was going to train the navy in Kunming Lake. A navy that resists the stormy sea.well!A trace of melancholy flashed across Emperor Guangxu's eyes. Concubine Zhen cast a sympathetic look when she saw it... At this time, the Empress and Concubine Jin were cheering with Empress Dowager Cixi by pointing at a flock of water birds flying down on the lake, so they didn't pay attention to them expression.Cixi said with great interest: "This pavilion is full of spring, so it should be called Zhichun Pavilion. Standing here and looking at the Summer Palace is the most poetic." So everyone enjoyed the lake view around them with spring breeze on their faces. exactly: Empress Dowager Cixi and her party left Zhichun Pavilion and walked to Yulan Hall. The magnificent decoration here has always been the residence of Emperor Qianlong and Emperor Jiaqing. Emperor Guangxu followed Empress Dowager Congxi.Empress Dowager Cixi asked Emperor Guangxu: "How does the emperor rest here?" Emperor Guangxu replied: "Hui Huang's father, the Yulan Hall is next to Kunming Lake, and you can overlook the West Mountain after leaving the hospital. Empress Dowager Cixi smiled when she heard this. However, Emperor Guangxu would never have thought that this was the place where he was imprisoned later. Emperor Guangxu once summoned Kang Youwei and Tan Sitong here to plan the Reform Movement of 1898, which shocked China and foreign countries. He also summoned Yuan Shikai here, who betrayed the emperor and buried the reform. Empress Dowager Cixi and her party entered Leshou Hall, Empress Dowager Cixi's bedroom, through Yiyun Hall, the queen's bedroom in the backyard. As soon as you enter the courtyard of Le Shoutang, several blooming magnolias make the Empress Dowager Cixi very happy. The Empress Dowager Cixi’s baby name is Magnolia, so she loves Magnolia since she was a child. Planting Magnolia trees in her dormitory is of course her most pleasing sight. .At this time, she smiled and looked at the orchid as white as jade, and her poems began to rise. She turned around and asked the three concubines, "There are magnolias and sea clothes in this courtyard. You might as well write a poem first, and wait for the peony to bloom." How about holding a garden poetry party at that time?" "Okay, Father Huang." Although Empress Longyu was not good at reciting poems and composing Fu, she didn't want Concubine Zhen to stand out, so she spoke first. Emperor Guangxu pointed to the three pairs of bronze cranes, bronze deer, and bronze vases standing on carved stone pillars in front of the Le Shoutang and said to Empress Dowager Cixi: "Papa, please write the first couplet, and my sons and ministers are on the second couplet." The Empress Dowager Cixi walked over and touched the copper crane, copper deer, and treasure vase with her crescent eyebrows lightly raised, and said with a smile: "Well, the emperor's father also showed his talents. Listen: Liuhe is peaceful, and national affairs and family affairs are flourishing." Everyone applauded in unison, and then all turned their attention to Emperor Guangxu. Just waiting for his second couplet, Emperor Guangxu deliberately embarrassed him for a while before saying: "The emperor's father is very talented. How can my son be the emperor's father's opponent? If you don't want to spoil the emperor's father's happiness, you have to make a fool of yourself." Empress Dowager Cixi said with a smile: "The emperor is right." Emperor Guangxu looked at Yulan and Haishang, his eyes lit up, and then he continued the text in a soft voice: "The Yutang is rich and honorable, Fu Changshou Changle Shoutang." "Okay." The Empress Dowager Cixi was delighted. "The emperor is worthy of being a filial son." Entering the main hall of the main hall, Cixi looked around and saw a rosewood carved throne and imperial case in the main hall. Behind the throne was a glass mirror screen inlaid with gold rims with the word longevity, on both sides were a pair of peacock feather palm fans, and on both sides of the imperial case were Bronze deer, cranes and vases symbolize the peace of Liuhe. The large blue and white fruit plates on both sides of the hall contain various fruits, making the hall full of fruit fragrance.Surrounding the imperial case are two pairs of gold-plated nine-peach large copper stoves, the sandalwood burning in the stoves and the fruit aroma on the plate are refreshing.All kinds of handicrafts made of ivory, pearls and agate, as well as various western clocks and watches and foreign ships are placed on the carved cabinets and tables around. Cixi is very happy to see it.She touched her favorite clock with joy.Emperor Guangxu asked with concern: "The emperor is tired, please sit down and rest for a while." "Well, I'm tired, please sit down too." Li Lianying hurriedly helped Empress Dowager Cixi sit down on the throne, the emperor and empress also sat down on both sides of the empress dowager, and concubines Jin and Zhen stood aside.Sitting in the middle, the Empress Dowager Cixi showed a satisfied expression, thinking, don't look at this as the Summer Palace, I will make it better than the Forbidden City. The Empress Dowager Cixi was very happy, so she ordered the food to be passed on, and said: "Girls have a good gathering today." "Pass the meal." Li Lianying gave an order. Soon, the eunuch in charge set up two carved tables with eight immortals in the west suite, and after hearing an order, the eunuch in charge came in one after another holding the imperial meal box in his hand, after a while all kinds of delicacies filled the two tables, and then stood by the table . As usual, there are 100 kinds of main dishes, including meat dishes and vegetarian dishes. Meat dishes are cooked, fried, fried, steamed, steamed, and stewed. Monkey brain, scarlet lip, deer tail, shark skin, soft-shelled turtle...everything. At night, the moonlight melts, and the magnolia plants are more and more charming under the moonlight. Empress Dowager Cixi happily enjoyed flowers in the courtyard with Emperor Guangxu, Empress Longyu, Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen. Empress Dowager Cixi smiled and said: "How about it, such a beautiful moonlight, let's compose some poems too." Empress Longyu, who was following Empress Dowager Cixi, complained bitterly in her heart, but said flatteringly: "Okay, my child is willing to accompany the emperor to compose poems." Concubine Jin, who can recite poems but doesn't like to compose poems, had no choice but to say: "Jin'er is willing to accompany the emperor's father to recite poems." When the two of them finished talking, Concubine Zhen also said: "Zhen'er is also willing to serve the emperor's father." The Empress Dowager Cixi, who has a special relationship with the magnolia tree, said happily: "Okay, now you each recite a poem to praise the magnolia tree." Empress Longyu finally figured it out, and hurriedly chanted: Empress Dowager Cixi smiled at her and nodded, thinking it was hard for my niece. In any case the poem is not cheesy.Then she smiled and looked at Concubine Jin. When Concubine Jin saw the queen mother looking at her, her heart skipped a beat, and she almost forgot the sentence she had thought up. She blushed and chanted: After Concubine Jin finished singing, Empress Dowager Cixi also nodded approvingly, and then looked at Concubine Zhen, Concubine Zhen then chanted: "Good." Emperor Xu praised. Empress Dowager Cixi was shocked, she nodded to Concubine Zhen, and sighed in her heart: This Concubine Zhen is not only beautiful but also has an extraordinary temperament, a bit like her own youth, no wonder Emperor Guangxu dotes on her so much, as long as she doesn't turn against me, Then I won't embarrass her. When Empress Longyu saw that Emperor Guangxu only called Concubine Zhen's poems good, she couldn't help being jealous, but she couldn't get angry in front of the Empress Dowager, so she had to swallow a few mouthfuls of saliva to suppress the anger in her heart. Empress Dowager Cixi saw that Empress Longyu lowered her head, and thought that it would not be difficult for her. Besides, she was tired, so she said: "Everyone is too tired today, so let's all go back and rest. There will be plenty of time to enjoy flowers in the future." "yes." Since then, the Empress Dowager Cixi has lived in the Summer Palace for a long time. The well-known Royal Garden has become a power field competing with the Forbidden City Palace after becoming the residence of the Empress Dowager Cixi.Empress Dowager Cixi lived here for the rest of her life in terms of her reputation, but her eyes full of desire for power never stopped staring at the Forbidden City for a single day.