Chapter 28 Section 28

Back in the palace, Empress Dowager Cixi was in another state of mind.In the past, when encountering major incidents, although she was able to appear calm and composed, she couldn't let go of her heart.Since his serious illness, he has accepted Xue Fuchen's advice: keeping in good health is mainly about eliminating worries, so he has developed a habit of putting state affairs aside when he does not summon ministers and workers or read memorials.She feels that she can enjoy herself in time when she is free, and keep a happy mood, and when the trouble comes, she will be able to deal with Yu Ru better.So the more difficult the state affairs were, the more she wanted to have some fun.

Of course, Lian Ying was the one to look for.When he asked if he was not in Changchun Palace, he said that the emperor had come to ask him. The emperor was fourteen years old, slender, pale, and looked "young and mature".Just like Mu Zong back then, before taking office, he served the Empress Dowager and summoned his ministers and workers. Only King Chun came to see him. Because he was the biological father, the etiquette between the monarch and his ministers was not easy to arrange, so the emperor avoided it.Many of the big plans made by the Empress Dowager Cixi and King Chun are not known, but they can hear a lot of words when they meet each other by military planes every day. In the study, the master inspires Wo at any time. opinion.

At this time, Li Lianying came here because he had something to say.The day after tomorrow is Wanshou, and the emperor's birthday is June 28. Because he wants to avoid the fasting period of "祫祭" on the first day of July, he moved forward two days and changed June 26 to Wanshou. It was the order of the Empress Dowager Cixi that the emperor could not call Li Lianying by his first name directly, but called him "Acquaintance" according to the example in the study. The emperor said: "Li Wenda, I want you to play back with Lafayette, don't sing opera tomorrow."

Why is that?Li Lianying asked in astonishment, "What's the matter?" "The situation is not good, foreigners bully us so much, where is the time for singing and dancing?" Li Lianying thought to herself, I don't know if I heard the words of the master in the study and came back to be nerdy?You can't do it without singing.However, the words of this "young master" cannot be refuted, so he has to think of a way to make him take back his words. "Long live Lord is really amazing! Concerned about the country and the people. I don't know how happy Lafayette would be if he knew what Long live Lord said."

A high hat complimented the emperor very proudly, "Then you go and talk about it!" He urged, "If it's settled, then the decree will be made." "However, Long Live Lord, there is a consideration here. Let the servant first ask Long Live Lord, Lafayette Longevity, should we sing an opera?" "Of course. Why do you ask that?" "Of course there is a reason. This year is Lafayette's 50th birthday, isn't it?" "Yeah! What do you need to say?" "Fifty life, it's more time to sing opera. Although the situation is not good now, it will be calmed down in October. At that time, Long Live Lord must be filial and lively for Lafayette, right?"

"of course." "That's it." Li Lianying said: "The truth is that mothers are kind and sons are filial. At that time, Lafayette thinks that this year, Long Live God will not sing opera, and he will definitely not want to teach opera. Think about it, Long Live God, how to persuade the law ?” "Ah!" The emperor nodded again and again, "You are right. Let's sing tomorrow!" "That's right." Li Lianying said, "Lafayette is busy with state affairs, and he has a moment of peace in his heart. Take advantage of the good life of Long Live God, sing an opera for two days, and coax the Master to have a good time. This is true filial piety."

"Yeah." The emperor nodded again, "Li Wenda, let me ask you. According to what you said, I still have to summon Lao Laizi according to the rules?" "It's the rule to get Lafayette's long life." Li Lianying took the opportunity to say: "Long Live only asks Lafayette to add two plays with excerpts, which is also a filial piety." "Okay! I'll tell you when I'm serving dinner today." So Li Lianying quietly retreated first.Back in the palace, Empress Dowager Cixi had to ask, what is the emperor's request?Li Lianying knew that she would not like to hear the emperor's reluctance to sing, but on the contrary, what the emperor asked was that the empress dowager was troubled all day long, so how should she think of ways to entertain her relatives?

"It's hard for him." Empress Dowager Cixi smiled and said, "What idea did you come up with for him?" "How dare the slave come up with random ideas. The slave only played back to the Long Live Lord: obedience is filial piety, and this sentence is all in it." Then Empress Dowager Cixi asked about the situation of "Nanfu" accepting the Wanshou Opera. The name "Nanfu" originated in the Qianlong period. At first, Emperor Gaozong loved Kunqiang. During his first tour to the south, he brought back a group of young Liyuan students from Suzhou, Songjiang, and Taicang to teach singing, and called it "Nanfu". .During the Daoguang period, Emperor Xuanzong was frugal by nature and was not good at opera. He believed that the Liyuan Music Department should not be called "Fu", so he decreed to change its name to "Shengping Department".However, unlike his father, Wen Zong was quite sensual, so the Shengping Department was prosperous again.It wasn't until Tongzhi ascended the throne that in order to show the world that he was working hard to govern, all the children of Liyuan were dismissed, and only the eunuchs played tricks.

The Empress Dowager Cixi didn't like Kunqiang, but loved Pihuang the most. It was not convenient for the "Four Great Hui Troupes" to be sung in the palace, so she often visited the mansions of the three kings, Xingdun, Gong, and Chun, under the pseudonyms, and passed on meals and listened to operas to enjoy the day.Since the death of Mu Zong's "Son of Heaven from Small Pox", the origin of the theory is that Wang Qingqi's "White Gate Tower" was listened to at Xuande Loutou, and he was praised by the festival, thus creating an unprecedented meeting of monarchs and ministers. The mystery of "Book" has turned into a great misfortune.Thinking about it layer by layer, in the final analysis, it is the word "drama", which is afraid of touching the scene and hurting the feelings, and cuts off the strings.In fact, Mu Zong and Empress Jiashun's great funeral "Eight Sounds Contain Secret", the palace could not sing opera for two or three years, and they couldn't hear it even if they wanted to.

After recovering from a serious illness, on the one hand, he was dealing with a lot of things and needed silk, bamboo and pottery writing. On the other hand, the old-fashioned and upright Empress Dowager Ci'an died of a sudden illness. He was not afraid that anyone would say disappointing words of advice, so the Shengping Department was revived again, and another new one was published. In the same way, famous actors were summoned to work in the Shengping Department, which was called "Inner Court Teaching and Learning", and outside it was called "Inner Court Enshrining".

The rule of enshrining is that operas are sung in the outer city opera garden on weekdays, but on the first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, during festive seasons, or when Empress Dowager Cixi is in the mood, if she wants to listen to an opera, she will pass it on and on, just like singing at the most grand church meeting.Naturally, there is a reward every time, and the reward is usually twenty taels of silver. This class of "inner court teaching" was selected in April last year.At first everyone didn't know what was going on, and thought that once they entered the palace, they would not be released again. They were afraid that their wives and children would be separated, and that their salary would not be enough to support their families.As a result, the group of people selected was not very outstanding, which made the Empress Dowager Cixi quite disappointed and also annoyed. This matter was not handled by Li Lianying in the first place, but after listening to Empress Dowager Cixi complaining many times, he took care of it himself.However, he does everything well and does not want to offend others. He can no longer pick a good role in Beijing, because the Empress Dowager Cixi will have to ask: Why didn't you pick him in the first place?This shows that the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are ineffective. With this scruple, he can only spread the word: If there is a good actor who is new to Beijing, don't miss it.In this way, I picked a few one after another, but they were still not very good.However, a newly picked student who is also a samurai can be boasted about. "Talk to Lafayette," he said, holding Huang Ling's play list, "Is the three-day play suitable or not? Please ask Lafayette for his order." Empress Dowager Cixi knows most of the people listed on this drama list, and at least one such person.Halfway through, I found an unfamiliar name, and couldn't help being surprised: "Who is this Yang Yuelou?" It was this person that Li Lianying wanted to boast, "He is Zhang Erkui's apprentice." He said, "Now it's Sanqing's class leader." When mentioning Zhang Erkui, the Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't help thinking of the joys of the early years of Tongzhi, when King Dun was often on business, and every time he asked for instructions to summon those famous actors, Zhang Erkui was always a must.He has a great appearance, he is the best at singing the "King's Hat Show", his voice is loud, his appearance is excellent, and he is good at workmanship. Compared with Cheng Changgeng's calmness, he is almost old-fashioned. Yu Sansheng's ups and downs, Empress Dowager Cixi always feels like listening to Zhang Erkui The best.It's a pity that I didn't hear about it for a few years before I heard that he had passed away.So at this time, when I heard that Yang Yuelou was Zhang Erkui's apprentice, I first had a good impression of him. "How does this Yang Yuelou sing?" Empress Dowager Cixi asked, "Have you always heard it?" "Yes! The slave has heard of it. Otherwise, I would not dare to recommend it to the Lafayette. But the Lafayette has a high vision, and the slave said yes, but the Lafayette may not be pleasing to the eye." "He is Zhang Erkui's apprentice, so he can't be far behind." The Empress Dowager Cixi added, "This "Beating the Golden Branch" is a good play by Zhang Erkui. He doesn't have much ability and dare not do this play." "The servant has not caught up with Zhang Erkui." Li Lianying said with a smile, "What a good way Zhang Erkui is, I beg Lafayette to tell the servant, and let the servant learn more." This is to see that the Empress Dowager Cixi is in good spirits and intends to make fun of her.Sure enough, the Empress Dowager Cixi described how Zhang Erkui sang "Beating the Golden Branch" back then, and how every move he made was purely like a king.Li Lianying listened intently, with an expression of infinite yearning on her face, which made the Empress Dowager Cixi talk more vigorously. So when it came time to pass on the meal, we were still talking about the Wanshou drama that will start tomorrow.The emperor who served the meals had been taught a long time ago, and when Li Lianying gave him a wink, he said, "It's rare that Lafayette is in a good mood these days, and my son wants to ask Lafayette to add two plays." "Let's see it tomorrow!" "Long Live Lord's filial piety." Li Lianying interjected, "Why didn't Lafayette fulfill Long Live Lord?" "Alright!" Empress Dowager Cixi asked, "You say Yang Yuelou sings well, so let him do a double." "Yes!" Li Lianying replied: "Yang Yuelou is also called 'Yang Houzi'. He is a master of both Xu Sheng and Wu Sheng, and the monkey play is the best." "Then add "An Tianhui"." The Empress Dowager Cixi said again: "Yang Longshou is also a double release, and add "Exploring the Mother"." This is one of Empress Dowager Cixi's favorite plays.However, this play is a "Kui Pai" play. In order to praise Yang Yuelou, Li Lianying sent him to play "Exploring the Mother" on the first day of Wanshou.At the same time, he also disliked Yang Longshou a little bit, and when he played two together, it happened to hurt one Yang and benefit the other, forcing Yang Longshou's double attack to be dismissed.Another "inner court enshrined", Xusheng Li Shunting, nicknamed "Big Li Wu", was sent to sing. On the second day, the emperor did not go to the study, but the Empress Dowager Cixi summoned the military aircraft as usual. The foreman, Li Wang, did not want to delay her time, and suppressed all the important and troublesome government affairs that required detailed presentations and elucidations.Therefore, before eight o'clock, they knelt down and left.Empress Dowager Cixi no longer went back to her bedroom, and drove directly from the Hall of Mental Cultivation, out of the Yuehua Gate, passed through the Qianqing Palace, passed through the Cangzhen Gate, entered the Wuhe Gate, and arrived at the Ningshou Palace. Ningshou Palace is located in the northeast of Da Nei, and the entire area is larger than the entire area of ​​the "East Six Palaces". It was rebuilt in the 36th year of Qianlong, and it took 15 years to complete. The scale is completely modeled on the main palace of the inner court. , the Hall of Mental Cultivation is just like the Hall of Mental Cultivation. This is because Emperor Gaozong has decided to move here after returning to power, the place where the Supreme Emperor Yan rests, and the system cannot be disrespected. Since the death of the Supreme Emperor in the fourth year of Jiaqing, there has been no emperor living in Ningshou Palace. For more than 80 years, although it has not been dilapidated, it has been desolate.The only exceptions are Changyin Pavilion and Pavilion Shilou. The Sui Xiu of the House of Internal Affairs dare not be careless at all, so they are as gorgeous as before. Changyin Pavilion is a stage. It is located in the east of Yangxingmen, facing north and facing south. There is a royal seat in the middle. It was the warm pavilion where Emperor Gaozong watched operas.The stage of Changyin Pavilion is huge, second only to the one in Rehe Palace, and the eunuch called it "Second Master".The stage has three floors, and there are organs that can move up and down.The strangest thing about the structure is that there are five large wells under the platform, which are extremely useful. The first is to gather sound;There are three kinds of titles in the inner court drama, which are performed on a monthly basis, called "Yueling Chengying"; .There is a scene of "golden lotus springing from the ground", in which the golden lotus is hidden in the well, and winched to the platform with a winch, where the petals open, and five giant Buddhas appear.There is another scene that is even more spectacular. It is a reenactment of the story of the Arhat crossing the sea. There is a kind of carp that can hide dozens of people. It can spray water from its mouth, so it is naturally well water.When Emperor Gaozong was in Japan, he loved Western fountains the most. Teyan, an Italian Catholic priest, designed and manufactured them in the Old Summer Palace, known as the "Great Water Method".This carp is a legacy from that year. The Empress Dowager Cixi was interested in playing plays on this day, but most of the ministers who were ordered to "take a seat to listen to the opera" and officials who had the opportunity to work in the Changying Pavilion while walking in the inner court wanted to watch these auspicious plays.Because first-class famous actors can hear it by spending money outside. Only these big dramas with lively scenes, ingenious construction and exquisite costumes can only be feasted on if they come to the palace and happen to be lucky. According to the custom, whenever you meet Wanshou, you should sing the "Nine Nine Days", which is a reenactment of fairy tales.The most interesting one is "Three Changes of Fu Lu Shou", a three-story stage full of gods. At first, Fu lived on the upper floor, Lu lived on the middle floor, and Shou lived on the lower floor.Every time there is a change, the sheng and reeds are played in unison, the chorus sings the Northern Song, the fish and the dragon proliferate, dances and sings, and everyone in the audience is delighted. Only the Empress Dowager Cixi is not at a loss. She has been tired of watching these plays for 30 years. Another person who was not very interested was the emperor.His temperament is opposite to that of his cousin Mu Zong, who doesn't like drama.Listening to an opera is a hard job for him, because standing beside the Empress Dowager Cixi takes most of the day.Especially at this time, foreign aggression is becoming more and more urgent, so how can we talk about singing and dancing?So his eyes were on Changyin Pavilion, but his mind was on Jilong Mawei.