A dull thunder rolled overhead, and a cold wind blew. He heard something strange in the woods, thinking that someone had entered the courtyard, but he shuddered, and quickly turned to look north.

The sky in the courtyard was brighter, he saw that the courtyard was empty, there was no one, due north was the Shouhuang Palace, the palace door was closed, there was no light in the window, because there were a few pine trees in front of the palace, it was even more gloomy. He was staring at the Shouhuang Palace, and there seemed to be some noise coming from the hall, and then there seemed to be a strange faint cry. Because the palace has often been haunted recently, he suddenly understands that this is a ghost crying, crying for his country, and crying for his martyrdom.

He turned to the south to see how the thieves robbed and killed people in the palace. As in the past, it was already dark at this time, but this morning because of the low clouds, it was still very dark in the long alleys in the palace courtyard. He suddenly stared in the direction of the Ganqing Palace, and could only see the shadow of the palace shrouded in dark clouds, and there was no figure in sight.

He asked in his heart: "The ministers have naturally escaped from the palace, can those palace maids escape?

A gust of north wind blew the cold rain into the pavilion, Chongzhen looked up to the sky and sighed, and suddenly choked up and said to Wang Chengen: "Ah, I understand! No wonder the sky was so gloomy this morning, the cold wind was miserable, and there were two light rains. ”

Wang Chengen sensed from some unusual voices that many of Li Zicheng's troops had entered the Forbidden City, and sensed that many people had fled from the Xuanwu Gate in a hurry, running westward, and some running east.

He stood up anxiously and said to Chongzhen: "Many thieves have already entered the Great Interior, the emperor must not delay any longer!"

He already understood that the emperor had decided to hang himself, and said: "Emperor, if the Holy Heart has decided to hang himself, this pavilion is on the main peak of the Coal Mountain, which is the highest place in Beijing, can he hang himself in this pavilion?"

Chongzhen did not answer. At this moment, he looked due south from the highest place where he was standing, not facing the Kunning Palace, the Ganqing Palace, and the three major halls, but at the Fengxian Hall in the Forbidden City and the Taimiao Temple outside the Forbidden City, and the towering halls and tall tree shadows in these two places appeared in front of his eyes. He believes that he has lost the country left by his ancestors, and should not hang himself in front of his ancestors' temples. He had chosen a place to hang himself, but he didn't say anything.

Although he has reached the moment of suicide and is very sad about the loss of his country, his mind is not confused, and he is thinking about many problems. He suddenly thought about it, as if he had a little relief from the sea of suffering, thinking that he had worked hard for the state for seventeen years, and only today did he get rest, and he no longer had to worry about going to the underworld. But this idea of liberation from the sea of suffering suddenly fluctuated again.

He recalled that the Ming Dynasty that he inherited from the age of seventeen was a mess of state collapse, so that no matter how hard he struggled, he could only extend the Ming Dynasty for seventeen years, but he could not see Zhongxing. When Wang Chengen urged him to hang himself in this pavilion again, he happened to think that he had dreamed day and night for more than ten years to become the master of Zhongxing in the Ming Dynasty, and now he had lost the country, and he sighed and said: "Seventeen years...... All fell short!"

Wang Chengen urged: "Where the emperor was martyred, please decide quickly, don't delay any longer!"

"Well, no more delays. You follow me, you follow me!"

From this time until he hanged himself, Chongzhen behaved as if he had just woken up from a big dream, and his attitude was unusually calm. There are no useless words of indignation, no more weeping and whimpering, no more sighs, no more tears.

He took Wang Chengen away from the main peak of Coal Mountain and went down the mountain to the east. After two more pavilions and about three zhang away, the path down the mountain was broken. During the Chongzhen period, only Chongzhen and the concubines came here to climb the height by chance during the Double Ninth Festival, so the path to climb the coal mountain was only one in the west, which had been in disrepair for a long time, and there was no road in the east, which was very secluded.

Chongzhen ordered Wang Chengen to walk in front, parted the branches with both hands for him, and walked to the foot of the East Mountain. Halfway through, his yellow satin hat was hung by branches, and his hair was hung even more messily. At the foot of the mountain, there is an ancient locust tree and a small locust tree, not far apart, which are sprouting. Around the two locust trees, a few feet away, there were many miscellaneous trees, as well as last year's dead grass mixed with this spring's new grass. Regardless of the rise and fall of the country and the vicissitudes of life, the royal plants and trees still sprout and turn green in the spring.

A few years ago, state affairs were not out of control. In the late spring of the year, the weather is mild, Chongzhen is happy for a while, and the concubines come to see the peony in front of the Yongshou Palace. After reading it, Zhou Hou sat with Concubine Yuan in the Shouhuang Palace to drink tea and gossip, he took Concubine Tian to the foot of the coal mountain to take a leisurely walk, found this place, liked this place is very quiet, and said to Concubine Tian.

"In the future, the war will subside, see the peace again, I will build a small pavilion in the middle of the two locust trees, a few feet in front of the planting of a few bushes of green willows, the time of all opportunities, and you come to this pavilion to rest, play chess and play the piano, and enjoy the fun of peace and quiet. ”

Since he and his beloved Tianhuang Guifei walked here, this thing, this place, and this wish have always been kept in mind in his heart, so he chose to die here today. Came to the bottom of the ancient locust tree, he told Wang Chengen that he could commit suicide calmly here, and then untied the silk silk and asked Wang Chengen to tie it to the branch of the locust tree for him. ”

Chongzhen is just because a horizontal branch to the south is relatively thick, only more than one person high, and it is more convenient to hang himself, and there is no other meaning. But he and Wang Chengen both thought of the allusion of Nan Ke's dream at the same time. Wang Chengen's heart moved, and he didn't dare to speak. Chongzhen smiled miserably, sighed and said: "Today's death of the country is out of the will of heaven, not my sin. After 17 years of dismal operation, I always think of ZTE. However, the number of great bright qi has been exhausted, and everything has backfired and cannot be recovered. Seventeen years of ZTE's wish is just a dream of Nanke. ”

When Wang Chengen heard this, he deeply sympathized with the emperor and was very sad in his heart, but he did not make a sound, and quickly found a few bricks from the wild grass to put his feet, tied the yellow silk silk to the branch of the locust tree to the south for the emperor, and untied the green silk silk silk around his waist, and tied another hanging rope noose on a small locust branch next to him.

At this time, Wang Chengen heard a noisy voice coming from above and below the Xuanwu Gate, and what particularly frightened him was that the Shaanxi accent asked Chongzhen aloud outside the Beimen Gate where Chongzhen had fled. Wang Chengen didn't understand and urged the emperor to hang himself quickly, he bowed to the emperor and asked, "What else does the emperor have to order?"

Chongzhen shook his head and smiled miserably again: "It's okay." The queen is waiting, it's time for me to go. ”

He really had no fear of death at this time, and there was no extra words to pour out, and he knew that the thieves had already occupied the Forbidden City, and some of them went out of the Xuanwu Gate and the North Gate in order to search for him, and if he took a step forward, he would enter the Coal Mountain Courtyard, and he must not delay any longer. So he looked calm, turned around and walked to the ancient locust tree, held the tree with his hand, and climbed the pile of bricks on the foot.

He pulled the apricot yellow silk silk on the horizontal branch, felt very firm, and was about to hang himself, Wang Chengen shouted: "Emperor, please wait, let the slave maid sort out the emperor's hair." ”

"Forget it, let the hair be on the face, I have no face to see the two ancestors in the ground. ”

Chongzhen simply let more long hair spread over his face, then inserted his head into the silk ring, kicked down the bricks with both feet, let go of the hands holding the silk silk, and fell, and the hanging body shook violently, never moving again.

Wang Chengen saw that the emperor had lost his breath, so he knelt down and kowtowed to the dead corpse three times: "Emperor, please wait for a while, and let the slave and maid go with you." ”

Facing east again, he bowed to his mother three times, then got up and hanged himself from a branch of a small locust tree not far away.

The light rain stopped, the north wind stopped, the birds did not chirp, and the branches did not move. The compound of Coal Mountain was as quiet as usual. Suddenly, a Shaanxi accent came from outside the Xuanwu Gate, saying that many corpses floated up in the moat of Xihuamen, and maybe Chongzhen threw himself into the water and died.

After Chongzhen left the Xuanwu Gate, the news immediately spread from the Ganqing Palace and the Kunning Palace to several adjacent palaces, and then spread throughout the Forbidden City. At that time, except for a few palace maids such as Wei Qinghui in the Ganqing Palace, they didn't know that the emperor went out of the palace to commit suicide and martyrdom, and the general palace maids thought that he had escaped from the palace.

The court maids of the Ming Dynasty were elected to the palace, generally before the age of ten. Most of them are from various prefectures and counties in Kifu, and once they enter the palace, they do not have a day to see their parents and family members again. Unless there is a national anniversary, out of the emperor's grace, some of the older palace maids are released from the palace, brought back by their families, and married on their own, but such opportunities are rare, and most palace maids can only be closed in the palace for life until they die of old age. Due to their special circumstances, once they die, there is no way to escape.

Wu Wanrong of Kunning Palace and Wei Qinghui of Ganqing Palace, not only because they are the palace maids in charge of the emperor and queen respectively, but also because they are plain and well-versed in Dali and decent, they are deeply respected by all the palace maids. After Li Zicheng broke through the Juyong Pass, the warning news came, and they agreed with each other when they met that once Beijing was lost and the emperor and queen were martyred, they would follow the festival and never steal their lives and be humiliated by thieves.

They are all from good families, they were elected to the palace at the age of eight or nine, grew up in the palace, read and read in the palace, regarded loyalty as the highest principle of righteousness, and regarded women's chastity as more precious than life. But on the matter of chastity, they had a different idea about the emperor. According to their moral standards, a woman's body is not allowed to be touched by any man unless she is her husband, but the palace ladies do not have such a concept of chastity for the emperor.

If they receive a little emotional affection from the emperor and are looked at by the emperor with a smile in his eyes, they will think that it is the emperor's grace from heaven; if they are occasionally held by the emperor's hand or held in his arms, they are considered to be a rare favor; if they are called to Yangdezhai to stay with them for one night, such a thing is called summoning luck, and the eunuch who is still sleeping must register this matter in the yellow silk book, and may be titled soon, or at the latest after giving birth to a child.

Wei Qinghui had been favored by the emperor before her death, but she was not fortunate to be called. She knew in her heart that if the country did not die, she would be summoned by the emperor and get the title. This hazy favor made her even more determined to die.

Last night, when Chongzhen rode out of the noon gate, the queen didn't know what had happened, and ordered Wu Wanrong to come to the Qing Palace to ask Wei Qinghui what was going on. Taking advantage of this meeting, Wu Wanrong whispered: "Sister Qinghui, the outer city has fallen, I heard that the defenders of the city opened the city gate themselves to welcome the thieves into the city. The inner city could not be defended, and it was expected to fall into the hands of thieves. Once the inner city falls, we are all deeply favored by the emperor, and there is no reason to steal life and lose moderation. Three palaces and six courtyards, big and small, are all looking at you and me. Once the thieves enter the Forbidden City, the palace is in a panic, you are the housekeeper of the Ganqing Palace, and your prestige is the highest, at that time, Sister Wei, you have to make up your mind for everyone. ”

Wei Qinghui held Wu Wanrong's hand tightly and whispered, "Wanrong, you are very right. When it came time to die in the country, thousands of us were sisters and sisters, and there was no way to live. The people of the capital are different from the eunuchs, the eunuchs can escape from the palace, there is a place to stay temporarily, and there is no humiliation and disgrace. These thousands of sisters were all selected into the palace before the age of ten, the younger ones were in the deep closed palace for nearly ten years, and the older ones were in the deep closed palace for more than ten to twenty years, and they never saw their parents and family members again, and they didn't know what relatives and fellow villagers they had in Beijing. ”

"They have nowhere to hide, they will be humiliated if they stay in the palace, and they will be humiliated when they go out of the palace to meet bad people, and it is better to die than to be humiliated. The sisters of Duren were unfortunately entrusted with their daughters, and they were unfortunately elected to the palace, and they unfortunately encountered the tragedy of losing the country......" She suddenly couldn't speak, and couldn't help but whimper.

Wu Wanrong couldn't help but burst into tears, and said in a trembling voice: "Sister Wei, say it quickly, I can't leave the queen's side for too long." ”

Wei Qinghui continued: "I already thought about it a few days ago. The city is broken, the emperor and the queen will be martyred, and we will all die together for the emperor and the queen. All palaces and courtyards are full of sisters, and those who are ambitious can do their best with us, but not reluctantly, you will come to me when the time comes. And Fei Zhen'e also talked to me about the festival, don't look at her young age, but she understands righteousness and is quite strong. You must call Fei Zhen'e to come along, I will wait outside the door. ”

Wu Wanrong said: "The palace maids of Kunning Palace and Shouning Palace are deeply considered by the queen on weekdays, and they are all willing to do their best when the time comes. Zhen'e is knowledgeable and reasonable, and talks with me privately on weekdays, I know that her mind has been decided, and she has no hesitation in doing the trick, of course I want to ask her to come to Qingmen to find you. ”

Wei Qinghui said again: "Zhen'e is a person who went out of the Qing Palace, her appearance is outstanding, and she is deeply loved by the emperor. We must not leave Zhen'e to the thieves. ”

Wu Wanrong nodded and said, "I understand, I understand." Just to repay the emperor's special kindness, the tip must also be exhausted. ”

After this conversation at the time of the third watch last night, the two palace maids never had a chance to talk again. Today's fifth watch, after Emperor Chongzhen left the palace from the Xuanwu Gate, Wu Wanrong really left only four older palace maids to guard the queen's body, and all the rest of the palace maids followed her to the Ganqing Gate and joined the Ganqing palace maids who followed Wei Qinghui. Immediately, most of the palace maids from Shouning Palace, Zhongcui Palace, and Chenggan Palace came.

Yikun Palace Because Emperor Yuan's concubine did not die, the palace maids couldn't bear to leave their masters and didn't come. Some palaces and courtyards do not have much contact with Ganqing Palace and Kunning Palace on weekdays, and the news is closed, and many palace maids do not come. Before dawn, there were about 300 palace maids gathered at Ganqingmen.

Fei Zhen'e came with some of the palace maids of Shouning Palace. She stood beside Wu Wanrong, waiting for Wei Qinghui's instructions, and she was so nervous that she couldn't breathe. Suddenly, Wei Qinghui stood on the steps of the Ganqing Gate and said loudly to everyone: "Duren sisters, we are blessed by the royal family, born as Ming people, and died as Ming ghosts. As a woman, chastity must not be lost. The moat outside Xihua Gate, the river water is clear and deep, which is a good place for us. The thieves are about to enter the Forbidden City, and all the aspiring sisters are coming with me. ”

Wei Qinghui jumped down the steps, holding Wu Wanrong with her left hand and Fei Zhen'e with her right hand, and ran south from the front of the inner right door.