Chapter 51 Section 51

Three days later, the last review was held, leaving eight out of fifteen, and the Empress Dowager Cixi ordered them to live in the palace, meaning to examine them carefully.Among the eight beautiful girls, apart from Guixiang's second girl, there are two pairs of sisters, one is the sisters of the De family, the other is the two daughters of Changxu, who have studied with Wen Tingshi, and the other is fifteen. years old, one is thirteen years old. These eight beautiful women live in different palaces.Guixiang's daughter lives in her aunt, that is, the palace of Empress Dowager Cixi, so of course everyone treats her differently.

The second is Fengxiu's daughter, who lives with her eldest sister in Shoukang Palace, and her eldest sister is Concubine Hui of Mu Zong.When the empress dowagers of the two palaces became Mu Zong's empress, there was a huge undercurrent. The empress dowager Cixi's favorite was Fengxiu's eldest daughter.Unexpectedly, Mu Zong obeyed the will of his aunt, Empress Dowager Ci'an, and chose Chongqi's daughter Arute, which finally caused a change in ethics.Fengxiu's eldest daughter was first conferred the title of Concubine Hui, and Guangxu ascended the throne. By the orders of the empress dowagers of the two palaces, she was conferred the title of Concubine Mu Zongdunyi and moved to Shoukang Palace, west of the Palace of Compassion.At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, this palace was the place where the Empress Dowager was cared for, and the concubines and concubines of the previous dynasty also lived together. .

When the sisters met, the imperial concubine Dunyi was both happy and sad, thinking of her days of desolation and sleepless nights, she burst into tears.However, I had to avoid people crying. What a joyful event it is to draft a girl and become a queen for Guangxu?I had to force myself to hold back my tears, act according to the rules of the palace, and listen to the maid's instructions on how to salute, how to address her sister, and how to answer her questions.Like a stranger who has never met before, she put up the airs of a royal concubine, asked a few words indifferently, and then ordered her to be taken out for dinner.

Each concubine's food has its own "provisions", calculated on a monthly basis, how many catties of meat, how many chickens and ducks, and bring their own maids to open a small kitchen.Fengxiu's youngest daughter has no identity at this time, she eats with the maids, until the key is released at the palace gate, only then does Emperor Dunyi send someone to call her younger sister to the bedroom, close the door herself, turn to look at each other, Before opening his mouth, two lines of hot tears have already rolled down. Seeing this scene, the girl panicked. When Concubine Dunyi entered the palace, she was still in her infancy. This elder sister had never seen her before, she was very strange, so she stood there in a daze and didn't know what to call her.

The Royal Concubine Dunyi knew that she was frightened, so she suppressed her tears, took her hand and asked, "Do you still remember what I look like?" "Can't remember." "Of course I can't remember." The Royal Concubine Dunyi said, "You were not yet one year old at that time. well!Fast forward sixteen years. " "Big sister!" Fengxiu's youngest daughter asked timidly, "How are you doing?" In one sentence, he asked about the sad part of Emperor Dunyi, and said in a low voice: "Why is Ama so confused? It's not enough to cheat me, why did you send you in?" "Grandma originally refused to sign up. Ama said , I have to report it, and if I don’t report it, I will be punished, so I reported it.”

"Hmph! This is what Ama himself said. If you don't plan to flatter, what can't you avoid?" Dunyi asked, "What is your plan?" "I...," the girl hesitated, unable to answer, it took a long time before she said two words: "I'm afraid!" "No wonder you are afraid, I don't believe that there is anyone who is not afraid in this kind of life." The imperial concubine Dunyi pointed to the pile of bits and pieces of silk and satin needlework and said: "There is endless work! One needle at a time, like being stabbed in the heart!"

"Hey, who is this for?" "Honor the Lafayette." Emperor Dunyi said, "I'm not alone, it's the same everywhere." Fengxiu's youngest daughter was puzzled, every concubine honored the Empress Dowager Cixi with female reds, how many should there be? "Does Lafayette wear it?" she asked. "Hmph! I don't like wearing it yet!" The imperial concubine Dunyi sneered mockingly at herself, "It's not like this, how do you spend your days? Little sister, you must not be buried here." The little girl is terrified!But what surprised her was her elder sister's bleak face, but she still couldn't feel the desolation of years of silence, long night, spring rain like tears, and autumn insects gnawing at her heart, so she didn't quite understand why her elder sister Has such a serious tone.

"Don't say you can't be elected, just choose to be a queen. Do you think that life is a human life? The former Mongolian queen..." As soon as I said this, I only heard someone coughing heavily suddenly, and the little girl fell in without knowing it. She was so shocked that her face turned pale.However, the noble concubine Dunyi kept silent as if she was used to it, and only smiled wryly. "Who is it?" "It's Yushun." The noble concubine Dunyi said, "She's 'sitting night' outside the window". "Why are you coughing so much? It seems to be on purpose."

The little girl said it well.Yushun is the confidant of the imperial concubine Dunyi, he is cautious, afraid that the walls have ears and talk too much, so when the imperial concubine Dunyi complains and gossips too much, he always coughs to warn. It is inconvenient for her to tell her little sister about this, because she is afraid that she will worry about herself, so she just thought about it and said: "You can sleep with me today!" "Is that okay?" the younger sister asked, "The mother of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that there are rules in the palace, and everyone has their own identities, so you can't mix them up."

"It doesn't matter! You made the floor in front of my bed." So he called in the maid to make the bed.There are two floor bunks in front of the bed, and the younger sister sleeps with the maid.The two sisters couldn't talk deeply because of the lady in the palace, but they both tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. One had a problem with choosing seats, while the other saw relatives suddenly, which aroused thoughts of homesickness. In the middle of the night, the maid's snoring sounded louder, making people more and more disturbed, and the noble concubine Dunyi called softly: "Little sister, come to bed, I have something to tell you."

The little girl agreed, and tiptoed onto the bed, put her head on the pillow, and exclaimed involuntarily, "You're crying!" The imperial concubine Dunyi covered the pillow wet from crying with a silk scarf, and said to herself, "I forgot about it." Yes forget the pillow is wet.It can be seen that this is a common occurrence!Only then did the little girl realize that the life in the palace was terrible, she shivered, and stammered, "I hope I don't get selected." "It's not easy to be selected, but not difficult to be selected. However, don't overdo it. It's not a joke to get annoyed." "Elder sister, please explain clearly. What should I do? What can I do to not be too much?" It's easy to say, but it's the exact opposite of hiding one's clumsiness. Try to cover up your strengths, but you might as well expose your weaknesses.However, it should not be too much, otherwise it will arouse the disgust of the Empress Dowager Cixi and affect the future of their fathers. "For example." The imperial concubine Dunyi was afraid that my younger sister would not understand, so she gave an example to explain: "You can't wear the pink robe you wear during the day. You should wear blue." "why?" "Lafayette doesn't like two colors, one is yellow and the other is blue. The yellow one will make the skin look yellow, and the blue one is too dark and looks old-fashioned." "I see. I have a robe of sapphire satin embroidered with red flowers, and I will wear that one that day." "That's right! It doesn't matter if you have red flowers." The imperial concubine Dunyi asked, "Do you have a waistcoat of the same color?" "No." "I'll find one for you." The Royal Concubine Dunyi said again: "Lafayette likes to stand upright and look very energetic. Don't act like that. She will naturally put down the sign when she sees it." After teaching and discussing in this way, I was tired of talking, but I had a good night's sleep.But after only sleeping for an hour or two, she had to get up. The noble concubine Dunyi hurriedly washed and put on her makeup, and before she had time to eat, she went to Chuxiu Palace to pay her respects.Before leaving, I told my little sister not to walk or talk nonsense, and entrusted her to Yushun before going out. It took an hour to come back, but he was not alone.There was a beauty in her thirties who came with her. She was tall and tall, and her ivory-like skin was extremely delicate. Coupled with a pair of eyes that shone brightly when looking forward, she looked even more luxurious, and one had to look at it more often. "Sister Yushun," the little girl saw through the window and asked quietly, "Who is this?" "Respecting the imperial concubine Yi." "Ah! It's her!" The younger sister heard from family members that the imperial concubine Jingyi was first conferred the concubine Yu, her surname was Hesheli, and her father was a magistrate named Chongling.When Tongzhi was established, she was the one who crowned all the others.What Mu Zong respected back then was the empress, but what he loved was Concubine Yu. Just thinking about this, the noble concubine Dunyi has led the noble concubine Jingyi into the house, and the younger sister is also like Yushun, standing and waiting, and then when the eyes meet, please greet her. "This is your sister?" Imperial Concubine Jingyi asked this, waved her hands and said, "Little sister, come! Let me have a look." The little girl was a little shy, so the imperial concubine Dunyi said modestly: "Little child, I have never seen the world and don't know the rules." Then she ordered: "Come here, and greet the imperial concubine Jingyi." "No need, no need!" Concubine Jingyi grabbed her arm, stared at her with a smile, then rolled her eyes nimbly, looking at her from head to toe: "You look so handsome. Let me see your hand .” While holding hands and watching, they kept praising.The little girl knew that she was speaking politely, but she was still very happy in her heart, thinking her voice was nice.It is an honor to be praised by such a person. The younger sister also took this opportunity to take a closer look at Concubine Jingyi.It is very close at hand, and one stands and the other sits in a posture of looking down, without looking at it, without any scruples, so it can be seen very clearly.Looking from a distance, she looks very handsome, but when she looks closely, she is haggard, with dry skin and countless wrinkles, but it is hidden under the high-quality palace powder, and it is not easy to find it a few feet away. When she found out her true face, the little girl was secretly startled. She was just in her early thirties, and with such an old age, it was not difficult to know what kind of invisible torture she had suffered in the past fourteen years, and when the torture would end?It seems that the only way to get rid of death is to rest! If he was selected, he might look like this ten years later.Thinking of this, the little girl was sweating in the palms of her hands.Concubine Jingyi quickly noticed, "What's the matter?" She asked with concern: "You don't feel well there? Your palms are so hot." The little girl really couldn't bear it anymore, she just wanted to be alone and think about her thoughts, so she pretended to be dizzy with these words, "I probably caught a cold." She said, "My head hurts a lot, and I feel flustered." This action made the imperial concubine Dunyi panic and shouted "Yushun" repeatedly.There are a lot of proprietary medicines in the palace, and Yushun is in charge of medicines, so she naturally knows some medical skills. When she heard about her "illness", she brought some "Baohe Pills" and asked her to swallow them with "Dengxinshui".Then take her to the suite to lie down and rest. The little girl was in a mess, and it took a long time to calm down.Suddenly I heard someone whispering in front of me, "You have a bad idea." It was the voice of Imperial Concubine Jingyi, "You know she hates blue, but you let your little sister wear blue clothes, what would she think? Okay ! An Xin is coming against me!" Before the words were finished, the imperial concubine Dunyi exclaimed softly: "Ah! I didn't think of it, thanks to you reminding me. It's not right, it's not right!" "Of course not. Maybe others don't know how to avoid wearing blue, but you can still say that your little sister can't do it! Even if it's unintentional, it's intentional in her eyes. Aren't you looking for trouble yourself?" "It's Eke," said the empress and noble concubine Dunyi in a worried voice, "We have to find another way! One of our family has already suffered here, so we can't trick another one." "Don't worry! I'll give you an idea. Concubine Jingyi said, "This matter must be entrusted to Da Gege." Big Gege is Princess Rongshou.Mentioning her, the noble concubine Dunyi also remembered that she had heard that the eight beautiful girls who stayed in the palace, except the daughter of Gui Xiang's family, were all assigned to Princess Rongshou to test their speech and conduct.If we can get rid of it from her, it will be the best way to get rid of the bottom line. "It's a good way." The noble concubine Dunyi asked, "What do you think?" "That's easy. Just say that your little sister is not in good health. It's inconvenient for you to speak, so I will speak for you." "That would be very grateful." Hearing this, the little girl suddenly felt refreshed, sat up straight, and then thought, why not pretend to be asleep, and listen to their words more. "What do you think?" It was her eldest sister who asked, "Whose hands did that gold inlaid jade Ruyi fall into?" "It's hard to say." Concubine Jingyi said, "Until now, there has been no word from above." "What do you think?" "According to my opinion," Imperial Concubine Jingyi suddenly pulled away, "Han people pay attention to the relationship between relatives and relatives, and marriage between Chinese and foreign cousins." Her point of view was very clear.Fangjiayuan is the emperor's uncle's home, and Guixiang's daughter should be chosen after the Empress Dowager.But would the emperor be willing to build a golden house for his cousin like Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty did to his cousin Chen Ajiao?Naturally, it is something that the noble concubine Dunyi is deeply interested in. Saying that she is interested is worse than saying that she is concerned, which can better express her mood.This kind of mood is also shared by Imperial Concubine Jingyi and another noble concubine Zhuanghe, the aunt of the Mongolian Empress Arut.Because although they were concubines of previous dynasties, they are of the same generation as the current emperor, and they are like sisters-in-law with the future queen.The empress rules the six palaces, so she naturally has proper courtesy to the former emperor's concubines, but if they are of the same generation, they will be respected by the middle palace, and they will be restrained in the future.In this way, whether the temperament of the future queen is peaceful or strict will have a lot to do with them. "Sister Yu," that's what the imperial concubine Dunyi called her when she moved to Shoukang Palace together after the death of Mu Zong, "Is the empress chosen by Lafayette, or the emperor himself?" "Who knows? I've heard Lafayette keep saying that the emperor needs to judge with his own eyes." Concubine Jingyi lowered her voice very softly, "Who doesn't know that this 'master' is duplicity?" The noble concubine Dunyi remained silent for a while, and then said after pondering for a long time: "I think there is another reason for keeping the eight of them in the palace for a few days. They are named eight, and the emperor can see them. There is only one, and this one will naturally take advantage of others." Concubine Jingyi nodded deeply: "You see it very clearly, that's what happened." "Let's," Imperial Concubine Jingyi said enthusiastically, "I'll go to pay my respects tomorrow morning, so I'll take a closer look and see what the Emperor is doing to his cousin?" "I'm afraid I won't see anything! In front of Lafayette, the emperor dare not take a step or say a word. Even if he likes him, he doesn't dare to show any frivolity!" "That's not to say, if a person has a shadow of someone in his heart, he will not be able to control himself. Those eyes are simply irresistible. He said he would not look at it, but he glanced over it again." "Really!" Imperial Concubine Jingyi laughed. "Where did you get this set of knowledge?" "It's not what you taught." "I taught it?" Imperial Concubine Jingyi was still smiling, but it was a horrified smile, "Isn't this a matter of nothing!" "As soon as I say it, you will understand. No matter where the Lord Long Live is, as long as you are there, just look at his ecstasy! Wherever your shadow is, where his eyes are, even if you are afraid Talking to the two empress dowagers, they can suddenly turn their faces to look at you." Sure enough, think about it!Concubine Jingyi had unexpected joys, but more desolation.Back then, the favors of the six palaces were all in one body, only because the Empress Dowager Cixi failed to fulfill her wish, but because of the "Concubine Hui" in front of her, she regarded the Mongolian queen as a thorn in her eyes, and even herself suffered a lot.Unexpectedly, the "Concubine Hui" who was jealous and feuding in the past can now talk about her past hatreds as a joke without any grievances. It is really comforting, but if "Long Live Lord" is still alive, "Concubine Hui" There would be no such energy.Thinking of this, the comfort I felt in my heart immediately turned into infinite melancholy and sorrow. "Alas!" Imperial Concubine Jingyi sighed, "Why are you still mentioning it? Everyone is miserable." As he spoke, his eye sockets became moist. "It's my fault," Imperial Concubine Dunyi said apologetically, "for making you sad. Let's talk about other things!" So the topic turned to Empress Dowager Cixi's longevity, and she should be filial.The concubine's birthday gift is nothing more than needlework, which is really nothing to talk about, and the two of them talked tirelessly, should they turn their heads for the deer in the pattern of "Deer and Crane in Spring"? We talked for more than an hour, but there was no result. The little girl who was locked in the suite, in her impatience, had a realization, how could she pass the time if she didn't chat like this for a long time in the palace?