After Chongzhen ascended the throne, Princess Zhou was welcomed into the palace, respected as the queen, and lived in Kunning Palace. Then, in accordance with the royal etiquette system, presided over by the queen, some beautiful and dignified girls from good families were successively selected to enrich the six palaces, collectively known as concubines.

After Chongzhen ascended the throne, the most important and earliest selection of concubines was the selection of Concubine Tian and Concubine Yuan, and the Ministry of Rites drew up the ceremony of promotion, and the emperor issued a book to announce it to the world. Concubine Tian lived in Chenggan Palace, called Donggong Niangniang, and Concubine Yuan lived in Yikun Palace, called Xigong Niangniang. Later, Concubine Tian was gradually promoted to the title of concubine, the imperial concubine, and died of illness in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen.

After Concubine Tian died, Concubine Yuan was named the imperial concubine, and the Yuan family should have moved to live in Chenggan Palace, but she didn't want the emperor to be sad for Concubine Tian, so she resolutely stayed in Yikun Palace. Chongzhen originally loved her for her beautiful appearance, long figure, moderate fat and thin, face like a bright moon, red lips and white teeth, not fat powder and her own beauty, plus her temperament is gentle and virtuous, humble and retreating, never jealous in the palace, praised by all the concubines, and also loved by the palace maids around her. After she was promoted to the imperial concubine last year, she refused to move to Chenggan Palace, which moved Chongzhen deeply and loved her even more.

Recently, because of the situation, he rarely goes to Kunning Palace, and rarely meets with the imperial concubines of Yikun Palace. At this moment, when he was about to go to Fengxian Palace, he thought that because he could not keep the country, the queen and Concubine Yuan would die tragically at the hands of the traitors, and he couldn't help but cry secretly. At this time, Wu Xiang, the eunuch in charge of the Ganqing Palace, came in, bowed down in front of him and asked, "When will the emperor start?"

Chongzhen was afraid to whimper, so he didn't answer, and immediately stood up from the dragon chair. Wu Xiang hurriedly withdrew, and as soon as the eunuchs were waiting for the departure on the Danqi of the Ganqing Palace, Chongzhen had already walked out of the palace. He walked down from the Dan Majesty in a group of eunuchs and palace maids with more than a dozen lanterns, and when he arrived in the courtyard of the Ganqing Palace, Wang Chengen happened to come in.

As soon as Chongzhen saw Wang Chengen, he immediately stopped and hurriedly asked, "Wang Chengen, has my edict been sent out of the city?"

Wang Chengen bowed down and replied: "Back to the emperor, the slave maid found the factory minister Cao Huachun, discussed it, and then found Wu Mengming, the envoy of the brocade guard, to discuss secretly. In the Jinyiwei fight, there are three sects and nine streams, and all kinds of characters, so they selected two particularly shrewd and strong Jidong people, who are the most familiar with the road, and asked them to send the emperor's edict to Wu Sangui's army. Each person gave them fifty taels of silver as a settlement fee, and explained to them that as long as they sent the emperor's edict to Wu Sangui, they would have made a great contribution to the imperial court, and the country would reward them with exceptional rewards, so that they would be rich and prosperous in the world. ”

Chongzhen was quite touched by Wang Chengen's ability to act so faithfully at the current difficult moment, but he didn't say anything else, but just ordered Wang Chengen to go to the city quickly and urge the eunuchs and the soldiers and civilians to defend the city seriously. He sighed in his heart and said, "Even if the edict can be sent to Wu Sangui's army, it will be too late. ”

From Ganqing Palace to Fengxian Hall is to go out from the Rijing Gate, go south along the East Yi Long Street, and then go east from the front of the Inner East Yuku, and then go to the main gate of the courtyard of the Fengxian Palace. But out of the Rijing Gate Shunyong Lane was walking south, Chongzhen suddenly changed his mind, ordered to go to Kunning Palace, and instructed Wei Qinghui to go to Yikun Palace to send a message to the imperial concubine: Come to Kunning Palace quickly.

Wei Qinghui replied: "Just now, Wu Wanrong came to ask the emperor about the dinner at the behest of the queen, and I heard her say that the imperial concubine Niangniang accompanied the queen to tears in the afternoon, and then went to the Yinghua Hall to pray together, and then returned to Kunning Palace for dinner, and has not returned to Yikun Palace at the moment. ”

The palace maids and eunuchs heard the emperor say to themselves as he walked, "Good, good. But Chongzhen still had an important sentence that he hadn't said, so even Wei Qinghui didn't understand what the emperor meant by the word "good, good".

After the frowning Zhou, he was sitting opposite Concubine Yuan in the Kunning Palace, and when he heard the eunuch's report that the holy car would arrive soon, he was taken aback, and couldn't help but beat wildly in his heart, thinking: "My God, something must be wrong." ”

She hurriedly led Concubine Yuan, the palace maid and the eunuch to the courtyard to pick up the car, everything was in accordance with the etiquette in the queen's palace, but it couldn't help but seem hasty.

Chongzhen was welcomed into the main hall of Kunning Palace, and after sitting down, he didn't speak for a long time. He had been unable to sleep for a few days, he could not eat, his face was already gray, his eye sockets were deep-set, but the young man who was just thirty-four years old had a few new gray hairs on his temples, which was very incommensurate with his age; in particular, the eyes of the queen and the imperial concubine were most familiar, which were originally bright and full of fortitude. Now that the compelling light was gone, not only was his face dim, his white eyes were bloodshot, but he also looked dull and desperate.

When the queen saw the emperor's unusual expression, her heart was sour, she didn't dare to look closely, and glanced back at the imperial concubine. Concubine Yuan lowered her head with tears in her eyes, and the queen asked in her heart, "Is the country really going to die?" She wanted to cry loudly, but she tried her best to endure it.

Chongzhen felt that he had a lot to say to the queen and the imperial concubine, but he felt that he had nothing to say. The queen is only thirty-three years old this year, and Concubine Yuan is thirty-two years old. Tonight, Chongzhen saw that they were all very haggard, as if they had aged ten years in a few days.

He didn't dare to look at the queen more, the queen's sad look made him very heartbroken, and even hated himself for being sorry for the queen, so that the queen would end up today. For seventeen years, there were many loving memories between him and the queen that he will never forget, especially an incident twenty days ago, which made him regret it now, and did not dare to look at the queen again, bowed his head and sighed deeply, and stomped on the ground.

I thought in my heart: "Alas, when I listened to the queen's words, why today?"

Zhou Hou was taken aback when she heard the emperor pause, and looked up at the emperor, but she didn't see the emperor speak, for seventeen years, she rarely saw the emperor lose his normalcy like this. Since she heard that the traitor had passed the Xuanfu, she had thought about it thousands of times in her heart, in case the city was ruined and the country was destroyed, as the mother of the country, she had no reason to endure humiliation and survive, so she was ready to die for the country at any time. Seeing that the emperor suddenly came to Kunning Palace, so deranged, I guessed in my heart, could it be that the emperor wanted to tell her that the time for martyrdom had come?

After waiting for a while, she couldn't bear it anymore, and asked Chongzhen in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, if you have anything to say to your concubines, please give it." ”

Chongzhen knew what the queen meant by asking this, but he lowered his head and didn't speak, just regretted that he refused to listen to the queen's advice about fleeing to Nanjing.

Twenty days earlier, the ministers of the court had suggested that he leave Beijing, flee to Nanjing, and then use the wealth and people of Jiangnan to reorganize the army, pacify the Central Plains, and return to Beijing. When Li Zicheng led an army of more than 100,000 troops from Taiyuan to Beijing, it was also the time when the debate in the court about whether he should go to Nanjing was the most intense.

Empress Yi'an and Empress Zhou knew from the mouths of the eunuchs in charge of the two palaces that the courtiers of the two factions were arguing, and there was no minister in the court who could really take on the important responsibility, so the emperor had been undecided. Empress Yi'an secretly told the queen that when it was convenient, she would persuade the emperor to make up her mind as soon as possible, so as not to be in a hurry for the time being.

One day, Chongzhen came to Kunning Palace to sit idle because he was in a depressed mood, and he sighed unconsciously, and Zhou Hou took the opportunity to say: "We still have a home ...... in the south."

Chongzhen didn't wait for her to finish this sentence, and glared at her sternly, so that she didn't dare to say any more. Since he ascended to the pole, in view of the disadvantages of the previous generation of concubines interfering in politics, the concubines were never allowed to inquire about the affairs of the imperial court, let alone talk casually, so they made such a stern attitude towards Zhou Hou on the matter of whether to move south. At this moment, he saw that Zhou Hou's face was haggard and unusually sad, and he listened to her inquiry, which made him feel so remorseful that he almost wanted to cry out loud. He tried to hold back, but at the same time he couldn't speak, for when he did, he would whimper, and then cry aloud.

Although the queen had already made up her mind that she should be martyred for the country, she thought it was a matter of course, but now when she was waiting for the emperor to speak, she couldn't help but tremble. She suddenly thought of her two sons, Prince and King Ding, and thought of her two daughters, Princess Changping and Princess Zhaoren, and her whole body trembled even more. Wu Wanrong quietly walked to the queen's side, so that she could support the queen at any time.

At this time, there was a burst of cannon sound from the side of Fuchengmen, at first there were three cannons that sounded powerlessly, and the subsequent cannons were particularly powerful and shook the heavens and the earth. Chongzhen and the palace dependents were startled, listened attentively, and then fell silent. Everyone knew that this was not Li Zicheng's army attacking the city, so they relaxed slightly.

According to the habits of life for generations, crows and sparrows in the villages in the suburbs of Beijing fly into the city of Beijing in flocks every evening and solemnly, resting on the branches and roofs of various places; they wake up at dawn and cry one after another, and then take off in groups, circle, and fly back to the countryside.

The particularly deafening sound of cannons behind this startled the tens of thousands of crows that were living in various parts of the Xicheng City, and they fled eastward in groups, some of which flew to Zhongnanhai and Beihai, and some of which flew into the Forbidden City, scattered on the branches of various palaces. A small number of them flew to the imperial garden behind the Kunning Palace, landing on the tall whitebark pines and Lianli cypresses, and a dozen more on the ancient acacia in the courtyard of the Kunning Palace. The crow that came to the courtyard of Kunning Palace, although it could no longer hear the sound of the cannon, was still suspicious, fell and took off, flew up and fell, and was quiet.

When the crows were silent, the Forbidden City returned to a terrible silence. Because there were clouds in the sky, the moonlight was unknown, and there were dim palace shadows everywhere, which made the palace even more eerie and terrifying.

In Kunning Palace, from the queen and imperial concubines to the palace maids and eunuchs, they all moved their eyes to the emperor. Because of the sound of cannons just now, the queen understood that Li Zicheng was about to attack the city soon, and the time for her to finish the festival with Concubine Yuan was approaching, so she couldn't help but ask Chongzhen in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, what do you command?"

Chongzhen hadn't raised his head yet, and there was a sound of wooden bangs beating the second watch from Dongchang Street. Every time he struck twice, an old eunuch called out in a hoarse voice: "The world ...... Taiping ......"

The eunuchs who fought on the shift went from north to south, passed through the polarization gate, and then passed the Yongxiang gate, and gradually moved away. Chongzhen sighed deeply and said to the queen: "I was originally going to Fengxian Palace, but I had just walked a few zhang away from the Rijing Gate, and suddenly I thought of you and Concubine Yuan. ”

Zhou Hou said: "Emperor, the matter has come to this, and the concubines and others are not afraid of death." If you have something to say, please say it directly, and the concubines and others will be martyred according to the order. ”

Chongzhen snorted hard, and then said: "I was going to Fengxian Hall to cry goodbye to the ancestor godmaster, but I suddenly thought of you and transferred to Kunning Palace. We husband and wife, seventeen years of sorrow and sorrow, there is not much time to see each other again. ”

He couldn't go on, first he whimpered, the queen and the imperial concubine couldn't help crying bitterly, some of the palace maids and eunuchs wept, and some whimpered. Chongzhen couldn't bear to see the palace family crying sadly, suddenly stood up, walked out of the main hall, and ordered the palace maids and eunuchs who were waiting for the Dan wave in Kunning Palace: "Start driving!"

The queen led the palace dependents to send the emperor to the courtyard, and then took Concubine Yuan's hand, returned to the Xinuan Pavilion of Kunning Palace, which was the dormitory, and sat down, wiped away her tears, and choked up with the housekeeper who came in: "Wanrong, tonight's spirit of the emperor is a little abnormal, I am very worried, you take a few people to the Fengxian Palace to wait with you, and come to me at any time to show me anything." ”

After Wu Wanrong led several palace maids to chase the emperor with lanterns, the queen instructed the other palace maids to set up incense tables on the Danqi and said, "I want to pray to the sky with the imperial concubine." ”

Coming out of Kunning Palace, Chongzhen ordered Wu Xiang, the eunuch in charge of the Qing Palace, to cross the East Yi Long Street directly and go to the Chenggan Palace first. Most of the eunuchs and palace maids who originally waited for Emperor Tian's concubine in the Chenggan Palace are still kept, and for the emperor to come to see Concubine Tian's former residence, they clean everywhere every day, water flowers and weeds, and carefully raise parrots.

Beijing was besieged tonight, the situation was very bad, and the emperor suddenly came to Chenggan Palace, which surprised everyone. When the eunuchs and palace maids rushed out one after another, kneeling beside the passage to pick up the car, the white parrot hanging under the porch, although through the black velvet pet cover, also felt that the emperor had arrived, and shouted excitedly in the cage: "Take over!

Chongzhen walked into the main hall of Chenggan Palace, paused for a moment, and looked at a famous Jiangnan painter who was waiting for the edict of the Hanlin Academy and was good at portraits last spring with the oral description of the palace maids, and painted a secluded pipa picture for Concubine Tian, as if Concubine Tian was alive in front of his eyes again. Then he walked into the Dongnuan Pavilion as Concubine Tian's bedroom, and looked at it with teary eyes, all the furnishings were still the same, neat and tidy as if Concubine Tian was in the sun.

On the long case of the south window, there are the relics of Concubine Tian, the four treasures of the study room and a copy of Song Ta's "Luo Shen Fu". The goldfish bowl and Jiangnan bonsai are still on board, and on the wall are a guqin in a brocade bag and four banners of flowers, grass and insects painted by Concubine Hui. Chongzhen walked into the room again, and the tables, chairs and bed furnishings were still the same as in previous years. Chongzhen sat down on the chair, looked at the bed with dull eyes, and many loving memories between husband and wife appeared in his heart, and then seemed to see Concubine Tian, who was sick, sick and weak, leaning on the bed. She knew that she would die soon, her eyes were full of tears, and she knew that she had many words in her heart. Chongzhen wiped away his tears and looked at the bed again, but it was only an empty bed.

He nodded at the empty bed and whispered sadly, "You died early, died well." You luckily died more than a year early, so I don't have to worry about you. You wait in the mausoleum, I'm about to see you......"

Chongzhen's words were not finished, he couldn't cry, and he was followed by Ruifen, the queen of the personal palace who was originally beside Concubine Tian in Chenggan Palace, and the four palace maids, Wei Qinghui and the other two palace maids in the Ganqing Palace, as well as Wu Wanrong and two palace maids who chased from Kunning Palace to wait, and the rest of the palace maids and eunuchs Some stayed in the outer room of Concubine Tian's bedroom, and some waited under the window porch. At this time, when everyone heard the emperor's words, they couldn't help choking up and crying.