Chapter 143 Second History of the Qing Palace (10-1)

For three days in a row, except for the big wedding, Prince Jia En and the ministers in the inner court issued four edicts, neither the empress dowager nor the emperor summoned the ministers.The emperor still served the Empress Dowager Cixi every day and listened to operas in Shufangzhai. The empress and concubines Jinzhen were still in the deep palaces. They had to wait until the second day of February, when the empress had an audience with the empress dowager before they could move around. The two sisters of Yikun Palace have never met the emperor.Concubine Zhen is still waiting for the new year, and concubine Jin has not been able to fulfill her dream with the emperor.Wang Deshou waited with suspense every day, fearing that the emperor would come suddenly.So at the end of the month, it is estimated that the emperor will never come to Yikun Palace during these three days, because before the grand return ceremony, the emperor must fast for three days and live alone in the fasting palace west of Yuqing Palace. , must not summon lucky concubines.

Unexpectedly, when the key of the palace gate was about to be released on this day, the head of the respect room hurried over to inform: the emperor is coming to Yikun Palace, concubine Jin and concubine Zhen are going to see each other in full makeup. This made Wang Deshou panic, he reported to the two masters, and at the same time summoned the maids to serve Dazhuang.First wear the court gown with fragrant dragon pattern, then the next piece of "Eight Treasures Lishui", a court gown embroidered with Zhenglong on the front and back of the shoulders, put on a golden covenant, hang coral court beads, and finally wear Zhuwei smoked mink, which is full of jewels. To the crown, in addition to matching all kinds of jewelry.

Just as he was in a hurry to get dressed, he heard the sound of "get up—get up—" outside the palace gate, knowing that the emperor was coming soon. "Hurry up!" Pin Jin asked in a panic, "Where's my handkerchief?" "Don't panic, don't panic!" The oldest maid named Cuixi, who was well-informed and calm, said, "It's too late, it's too late!" Sure enough.Because the emperor came, there was a certain ceremonial note, and the sound of "qi-qi-" was constantly uttered from his mouth, warning the idlers to avoid the eunuch in the respect room. Twenty or thirty steps behind him were two eunuchs in charge, side by side. Walking on both sides, the task is to check the road, if there is anything wrong, you can be on alert as soon as possible.

Then, another ten or twenty steps away, came the emperor's soft sedan chair, walking extremely slowly.So it's not too late when the eunuch from the respect room arrives at Yikun Palace and the two concubines, Jin and Zhen, come out. This is the first time to meet the emperor. According to the official etiquette, you have to kneel at the palace gate to meet him, and you should sign up at the same time.When the emperor's soft sedan chair enters the palace, Fang Shi follows behind and enters the audience. After kneeling three times and knocking nine times, the emperor said, "Get up!"

"Yes!" Concubine Jin agreed, and stood up. Concubine Zhen followed her sister, who was only bolder than her sister, stood up, and looked at the emperor generously. On the contrary, the emperor was a little shy, and involuntarily turned his gaze to the side, so he naturally saw Concubine Jin. Concubine Jin is dignified and generous, and abides by the etiquette. At this time, she lowered her hands and lowered her eyes, so that the emperor could calmly look at him.Unable to just watch without talking, the emperor asked, "Where do you live?" "The servant lives in Qingyun Zhai in the east chamber."

"Oh!" said the emperor, "the Empress Dowager lived there the year before last." The year before last, the Empress Dowager Cixi moved here because of the renovation of the Chuxiu Palace. Although she lived here not long ago, there was a major repair beforehand, and Concubine Zhen immediately said, "No wonder, the east chamber is much newer than the west chamber." This is a very common sentence, but it feels unusual here and now.The rules in the palace are strict, especially in front of the empress dowager and the emperor, you must not answer indiscriminately, but the concubine Zhen seems to be in her own home, she speaks without fear, so that the concubine Jin is uneasy and the servants are surprised, but the emperor There is a sense of novelty.

"So," the emperor looked at Concubine Zhen and asked, "Do you live in the West Wing?" "Yes! The servant lives in the moral hall in the west wing." "I have been to Yikun Palace several times, but I have never been to Daodetang. I will go to your place to have a look." "Yes!" Concubine Zhen agreed, "The slave will lead the way." According to the rules, Wang Deshou should lead the way with his body sideways, but Concubine Zhen took it for granted and did not follow the law, but there was nothing she could do about it.Because the emperor didn't say anything, and at the same time, she acted so naturally, unrestrainedly, and indifferently, it didn't make people feel that she was wrong.

Just this one, those rigid rules were broken.Wang Xiang, Wang Deshou and the eunuchs in the respect room don't know what to do?Followed to the courtyard of the moral hall, they all stood still. Seeing that the concubine Zhen was in front, the emperor was in the middle, and concubine Jin was behind, they entered the house one after another. The maid who opened the curtain put down the cotton curtain to isolate the inside and outside. It's time to stand by outside. But the emperor felt very comfortable. For the first time, he got rid of the deacons and eunuchs who were always around. He felt relaxed and sat down casually.

"Your Majesty, please sit down!" Concubine Zhen said please. The above is a kang bed, which is suitable for lying down but not for sitting. Sitting facing the sky on both sides is worse than leaning on a chair for comfort. The emperor smiled and said, "It's very good here. You can pour a bowl of tea and I'll drink it!" The emperor always brought a special tea set with him when he went there. At the beginning, he was afraid that someone might poison him, so he sent someone to serve him. Over time, regulations were formed.Therefore, some court ladies waited to be ordered to "bring tea", but they were stopped by the emperor.

"Don't call them!" The emperor said to the court lady, "Pour me a bowl of the tea your master drinks!" "This servant drinks chrysanthemum tea." Concubine Zhen replied, "I'm afraid the emperor won't be used to it." "Chrysanthemum tea is very good for eliminating food and reducing fire." So Concubine Zhen went to make a bowl of chrysanthemum tea in person and held it in front of the emperor.The boiling water was freshly brewed, and the tea was still very hot, but the thirsty emperor couldn't stand it anymore. "It's too hot! Do you have something cooler?"

"The cold ones are the ones that the slaves drank, so I dare not give them to the emperor. Or..." Concubine Zhen put her fingers on her temples, tilted her head and thought for a while, then raised her eyebrows and said, "Yes, that's right." Honey water!" Her voice was crisp and crisp, and she really felt like the sound of a warbler singing. Coupled with her delicate and naive expression, the emperor was already sweet to his heart before drinking honey.But Concubine Zhen didn't wait for him to comment, she had already turned her waist and brought a small blue and white porcelain jar, which contained diluted honey water.At this time, Concubine Jin also helped out, forced out the tea juice in the tureen, and filled it with a third of the honey water, Concubine Zhen took it, wiped off the tea stains on the rim of the cup with a handkerchief, and then cupped it with both hands. "It's very fragrant!" The emperor took a sip, took another sip, and drank half of it quickly. "You tell them later, and you will serve chrysanthemum tea like this in the future." "Yes!" Sisters Jinzhen agreed in unison. "Last year, I had a bad throat and drank chrysanthemum tea. I thought it was not as good as this." "This chrysanthemum is from Hangzhou." "Oh," the emperor thought, "it must have been brought by Chang Shan. Isn't that right?" "Yes." The precious concubine Qi Ran, "it was given to me by my slave uncle. The chrysanthemum has arrived, and so has the telegram for the vacancy." "It's a pity for Changshan!" The emperor comforted her and said, "His son is very good. Is Zhi Rui the son of Changshan?" "No! It's the son of the slave's uncle, Chang Jing." Concubine Zhen replied, "When the slave's second uncle was the general of Guangzhou, Zhi Rui had been studying in Guangzhou." "It's said that when Changshan was in Guangzhou, he was elegant, hospitable, and quite talented. Here he is. Who are they?" "Wen Tingshi, the teacher who has slaves, has the greatest talent." "Is it your teacher?" The emperor felt it was very novel, and turned to ask Concubine Jin, "Is it also your teacher?" "yes." The emperor looked at the two sisters, the fifteen-year-old Concubine Jin, who looked like an adult, and the thirteen-year-old Concubine Zhen, who was still childish, and she didn't seem to have ink in her stomach, so he asked again: "Where is the surname Wen?" How many years have you been teaching?" "Not more than a year." Concubine Jin was afraid of being questioned by the emperor, so she hurriedly declared, "Sister slave, I only read a few words with Mr. Wen, and I dare not call it reading." "A famous teacher will produce a high-ranking apprentice. The surname Wen is talented. If you want to read your books, you must have read them very well." The emperor then asked: "Who were there at that time?" "As for Yu Shimei, he is from Guangxi, and both Zhirui and Hanlin were in the Imperial Academy in the sixth year of Guangxu. And Liang Dingfen.... " 'Oh, Liang Dingfen, I know.It belongs to Li Hongzhang! " "yes." "What was he doing after he was dismissed?" "In Guangzhou. Zhang Zhidong invited him to give lectures at Guangya Academy." "Where's Yu Shimei?" "I heard it's in the Beiyang shogunate." "Has the Hanlin surnamed Wen ordered the Hanlin?" The emperor thought for a while, "The Hanlin surnamed Wen has a Wenzhi, and he is a bannerman! I don't remember that the Han people have an Hanlin surnamed Wen." "He's not a Hanlin, but a Juren from Beiwei in the eighth year of Guangxu. Ding You won the exam. He didn't pass the exam until the twelfth year of Guangxu." Concubine Zhen said seriously, "It's not because of his knowledge that he failed the exam. Well, no way!" Seeing her expression of fearing that others would not believe it, the emperor found it innocent and funny, so he couldn't help laughing, "I know your teacher is a genius." The emperor said in a soothing tone, "When will I read his article." "The slave here has his poems." "Okay! Let me have a look!" Concubine Zhen agreed, and immediately went to open the drawer, but hesitated before the matter, and finally took a thin notebook and sent it to the emperor. "Ah, it's Gongci!" Hearing this sound, Concubine Jin immediately looked uneasy, but there was nothing she could do, she couldn't take the book back from the emperor's hand, and she only gave her sister a slight look. "I'll take it back and watch it slowly." The emperor got up to leave, and the Yikun Palace went up and down, kneeling to send Ruyi off.Returning to the palace, Concubine Jin pulled Concubine Zhen aside and complained quietly. "Mr. Wen's palace poems are all based on his ability. Why do you show them to the emperor casually! Are you afraid of causing trouble?" Concubine Zhen also regretted her recklessness, but she was always strong and refused to admit her mistakes, "The emperor is very kind and considerate." She said, "There will be no trouble." "The emperor won't. I'm afraid that others will see it and spread it to..." Concubine Jin sighed, not daring to say any more, or even think about it. Concubine Zhen also realized.If the Empress Dowager Cixi sees those palace words, disaster will surely happen.But the matter has been like this, it is useless to be anxious, so he simply put on a calm look and smiled silently. ※ ※ ※ The emperor in the fasting palace had a good pastime this night, enjoying that book of poems.The booklet is bound with high-quality continuous history paper, with Zhu Si bounded by it, and a delicate and delicate lowercase script.It is conceivable that it was done by Concubine Zhen. The poems are twenty-one and seven unique.The title is "Imitating Ancient Palace Ci". The emperor heard from Weng Tonghe that all "imitating ancient palaces" often have other sustenance. It can be seen that these twenty-one imitating ancient palace poems are about current events.Thinking about it this way, the more curious I became, I drank tea under the lamp and read it line by line very carefully: "The hairpin is skillful in making Mengjia cicadas, and the lonely and stable clothes are still intact; why is it like a jade comb to leave a parting book, and the mirror stand is with you every year." The emperor was a little disappointed, and couldn't understand the first song.Let's read it further, and read the third song. I am very happy, and finally understand it. "Dinghulong has been gone for many years, and I see the chapter of Zhaogong edition again; cherish Huiling's pure filial piety, and the high officials will save water and balance money." Seeing the word "Hui Ling", the first word can be understood. "Hui Ling" refers to Mu Zong, so of course "Dinghu Longqu" also refers to Mu Zong. The combination of "Banzhu" and "Zhao Palace" refers to the Empress Dowager Cixi's construction of the West Garden and the Summer Palace, and the use of the word "revisited" means that Mu Zong had a proposal to rebuild the Old Summer Palace in Japan. That is to say, in order to rebuild the Old Summer Palace, Mu Zong made a few small actions and was infected with "smallpox" and died. After more than ten years of "Dinghu Dragon Quest", the past has been forgotten, and the hot samples and illustrations of the garden were seen again in the deep palace.Although some people dissuaded him, and officials like Yan Jingming refused to use the funds, Mu Zong's filial piety in rebuilding the Old Summer Palace in order to take care of the Holy Mother should be cherished and should not be stingy with the allocation of funds.The emperor remembered that the allusion of "Shui Hengqian" appeared in "Han Shu", and ordered the little eunuch to check the book, "Xuan Di Ji" Sure enough, there is a sentence in the book "use water to balance money as a house for Pingling immigrant people".The "Shuiheng Duwei" of the Han Dynasty was in charge of the royal family's private collections. "Shuiheng money" is like the income of the Ministry of Internal Affairs today, but Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty used it to build houses for "ling households".In contrast, repairing the Forbidden Garden seemed selfish. "Sure enough, he is a genius! This allusion is well used!" The emperor whispered to himself, and recited it twice again. He felt that these twenty-eight characters were more than a plethora of chapters, and the memorial to admonish the garden workers was just and solemn. more powerful. After this comprehension, the second song is also understandable. "The inner court announced that he was in Zhao's house, and he was the best at singing; Jiegu Hua slaves gathered their hands and listened to speeches by Cai Zhonglang." That was when the Empress Dowager Cixi was recovering from a serious illness.In order to relieve her boredom, the Ministry of Internal Affairs once summoned several girls from "Luozi Pavilion" to sing "Octagonal Drum" in Changchun Palace.For this, King Dun was very dissatisfied. One day, after having lunch and drinking in the court room of the House of Internal Affairs, he happened to be summoned by Yi, so he wore a small Gebu gown, put his braids on the top, and wandered into the palace humming the tune "I'm not busy". temple.Li Lianying turned pale with shock, but the Empress Dowager Cixi had no choice but to say: "The fifth master is drunk!" and ordered the eunuch to help him out.Knowing the meaning of King Dun's remonstrance, I no longer "listen to people's speeches by Cai Zhonglang". Thinking of King Dun's remonstrance, the emperor remembered another funny and happy past event.Once King Dun offered yellow croaker fish, and the eunuch in the respect room asked for it. When he was summoned, he personally brought a plate of fish and presented it to the imperial case.The Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't help asking in surprise, and King Dun replied: "The eunuchs in the respect room want red envelopes, and they won't let them in. I don't have money, and I can't give it to them if I have money, so I have to bring it myself." The Empress Dowager Cixi was furious. The eunuch in the respect room is handed over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is said that King Dun is not good at Shengmo, but he is actually a good king.The emperor was thinking in his heart that among the relatives and nobles, the Empress Dowager Cixi was only afraid of King Dun.Now that she died, no one would dare to speak out in front of her. Covering the book with a long sigh, after being sad for a while, the emperor opened the book of poems again, and the sixth poem was also very easy to understand. "The fish key of the thousand gates is heavy and strict, and Dongyuan Guanfang is twice as real. It has been hardworking and frugal for 20 years, and it is ashamed to write light dust with no rafters." This is to praise the Empress Dowager Ci'an.From the curtain hanging in the eleventh year of Xianfeng to the sudden collapse in the seventh year of Guangxu, it took a total of twenty years.If the Empress Dowager Ci'an was alive, what would be the situation today?Will the Summer Palace appear?It's hard to say. The emperor was startled when he saw the eleventh poem. This poem can be used as a lament for Empress Jiashun. "Who will be rich and honored for a long time? Poor girl who has no skills to beautify! Da Xing has not been buried in the Yao coffin, and the middle official has been sent to withdraw from the dining room." The emperor couldn't remember what Empress Jiashun looked like.In the past ten years or so, I have rarely heard of her.It is only vaguely heard that Empress Jiashun died of a hunger strike, but judging from this poem, it seems that this is not the case. "Daxing" is the abbreviation of Emperor Daxing, referring to Mu Zong. The "Yao coffin" is the white jade coffin. The emperor remembered that it was the story of Wang Qiao in the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty".Shizu also died of smallpox, so Wen Tingshi's use of the words "Yao coffin" is more stable, and it is even more suspicious that he alludes to the collapse of Mu Zong. A funeral is a funeral home.This line of poem indicates the time when Mu Zongchu died and Zi Palace has not yet been moved to the Guande Palace Funeral Palace east of the Shouhuang Palace in Jingshan.From this point of view, Empress Jiashun died on a hunger strike there, and she was actually forced to death for Empress Dowager Cixi. Thinking of this, the emperor shuddered, and at the same time refused to believe such a thing. So he turned around and told the little eunuch who was serving the incense case: "Look for Zhang Yiying!" Zhang Yiying is naturally also a eunuch.This eunuch came from a different background, he was originally a scholar, he didn't pass the provincial examination, he studied hard, and after three years, he came back to the imperial court, he was very proud of himself in the field, he felt that if he was able to write with the help of a god, he would be sure to hit the mark.Unexpectedly, ink smeared the test paper in the third round, so the "blue list" was posted.Zhang Yiying was angry and "self-palace", unexpectedly he did not die, but became a useless person.He was from Dingxing, and there had been eunuchs here since the Ming Dynasty, and someone quoted him to enter the palace, filled in the eunuch's name, and sent him to serve Mu Zong to study in Qianqing Palace. Emperor Guangxu came to the throne, and Zhang Yiying was still working as an errand in Qianqing Palace.Because he was born as a scholar, he became "expert" invisibly. During the two years when the emperor first entered the study, he often turned to Zhang Yiying for help when he returned to the palace to study his homework.Later, he became the emperor's chat partner, and the emperor heard many stories in the palace from him. At this time, when he was called to come to the imperial court, the emperor asked bluntly, "How did Empress Jiashun die back then?" Zhang Yiying was taken aback for a moment, and then asked back: "Why did Long Live Lord remember to ask this?" "Just ask. Don't worry about it! You just say it." "Empress Jiashun..." Zhang Yiying lowered her voice and said, "She died by swallowing gold." "How do you say she was on a hunger strike?" "Actually, it doesn't matter if you go on a hunger strike or not." "How do you say that?" "Grandpa Tongzhi controls the honored guests, and Empress Jiashun cried to death. From then on, she doesn't plan to live anymore. Where is the heart to eat and drink?" "Is there a diet?" "Of course there are." Zhang Yiying said, "The back family also often eats food." As soon as the emperor heard this, he immediately asked: "Why does the empress family have to eat food?" Zhang Yiying replied expressionlessly: "That is also a common thing." "There must be some reason?" Zhang Yiying didn't answer.Rolling his eyes twice, he replied slowly: "The slave doesn't know why." This is deliberately not to say.Of course the emperor also knew that he was being cautious.But in the past, I was just curious about Empress Jiashun's story, and after listening to it, I just sighed, but now I don't know what to do, I feel very concerned, if I don't ask, I can't feel at ease. Helplessly, Zhang Yiying has realized that talking too much is enough to cause harm, so she pretends to be deaf and dumb even more.The emperor wanted to inquire deeply, but was unable to speak, so he had to give up. Look at the next one: "The Haizi Bridge near Jinxiudui, the westerly wind and the yellow leaves are different from the front; the red wall circles the back and the back is broken, and the ten hectares of lotus flowers lock the jade." This poem has the exact name of the place. The emperor had read "Xiaoting Miscellaneous Records" and "Tianzhi Ouwen", which talked about the changes and anecdotes of the capital, and knew that "Haizi Bridge" was the three-turn bridge on the Shichahai Sea outside Di'anmen. Not far to the north of the bridge is Prince Gong's Mansion, which was originally He Shen's mansion.In the last years of Qianlong, the emperor privately discussed the reserve position. The seventeenth son of the emperor, Belle Yonglin, said: "The world is the most important thing, why dare to think about it? I only hope that one day I can live in Heshen's house, and my wish is fulfilled." Afterwards, Yonglin The sixteen sons of the same mother's brother, the emperor, received inner Zen, that is, Jiaqing.In the fourth year of Jiaqing, the Emperor Taishang passed away, and Heshen was imprisoned and ransacked his home. There was a rumor that "Heshen fell and Jiaqing was full".And that huge house was given to Yonglin who had already been named King of Qing County.In the early years of Xianfeng, Fang gave it to King Gong. But playful poetry, but it seems to have something else to say.Although Prince Gong kept a low profile in recent years, when he was in power, he never expanded the mansion, and the so-called "Zhu Qiang circles behind the wall" has no meaning.Moreover, since it is a palace poem, it should not talk about the mansion. If you think about it carefully, it may refer to the demolition of the Canchikou Church and the expansion of Xiyuan.Sanhai was called "Sanhaizi" in the Ming Dynasty, also known as "Xihaizi". Haizi Bridge probably refers to a certain bridge in Sanhaizi.That area was originally quite desolate. Compared with the present and the past, it is naturally "the westerly wind and yellow leaves are different from the previous dynasty." Once the church at Canchikou was demolished, it was designated as a forbidden garden, and pedestrians could not reach it.However, "Ten Hectares of Lotus" is about the summer scenery of Zhongnanhai, but who does "Yujiao" refer to?The emperor couldn't figure it out. What I want to understand is this one: "Nine layers of immortals gather fairy peaches, jade girls and concubines gather in court; who is the last to accompany the queen mother to the banquet? Yannian's younger brother is the most enchanting! " This refers to Li Lianying's younger sister, who is shrewd and good at serving people. She is often called into the palace by the Empress Dowager Cixi, and will not be let out for ten days and a half months.Last year, when the Empress Dowager Cixi Wanshou summoned her family members to give a banquet, she was surprised to accompany the last seat. The emperor felt that the most interesting thing in this poem was that he compared Li Lianying to Li Yannian of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Identity match.Li Yannian is good at understanding rhythm, and Li Lianying is also good at singing Pi Huang, which is similar.Li Yannian was favored by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but Li Lianying was even worse.Wen Tingshi compared the two Lis to each other very cleverly. The most coincident thing is that both of them have a "voluptuous younger brother".Li Yannian's younger sister was Mrs. Li. After she died of illness, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty forgot to sleep and eat for her, and summoned the alchemist Qi Shaoweng to summon her soul.So will Li Lianying's younger sister become Mrs. Li? The emperor felt that this self-question was unimaginable and really funny, so he put it aside and read another poem. The beginning of this poem used the story of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. "The golden house was not built back then, and the moon was born by the Ying'e pool; what is Yuqing chasing and discussing? Take Luo Yi personally and ask her nickname. "