The cold light of the autumn sunset shone on the blood-red walls of the Forbidden City. The boxy enclosed city wall separates the inside and outside of the palace into two worlds. Many people, in their lifetime, have never had the opportunity to step into this cage of power.

In this magnificent city, most of the palace buildings have high eaves, yellow glazed tile roofs, blue and white stone bases, and are decorated with brilliant dragon and phoenix paintings. The dragons on the white jade carved railing have different forms and are lifelike. When no one is moving, it's unusually quiet, so quiet that it feels unbearable loneliness.

Thirty-nine-year-old Cixi is standing outside the Chuxiu Palace in the west of the Forbidden City at this moment. Cixi has a long face and a straight nose, and at first glance she is a flag man, she has a pair of eagle eyes, and there is an unshakable majesty in her eyes. Although her appearance is not outstanding in the beauty Ruyun Palace, to a certain extent, this has become her advantage: not to be envied! So she can be left and right in the palace, and she can also let the emperor think of things other than her appearance, such as her intelligence and her beautiful calligraphy.

Cixi stood outside the Chuxiu Palace, her graceful and luxurious gonfeng robe dragged to the ground, and on her feet were a pair of embroidered shoes, and the center of the sole was a wooden sole of four to six inches, making her figure appear more slender. Her hair is coiled around her head with a hosta, and a red peony is pinned to it. She wears a pearl necklace of good color around her neck. On her left wrist, she wears two heavy gold bracelets carved with orchid motifs. She looked at the carved doors and windows in Chuxiu Palace, the bronze mirror dressing table, and the sandalwood chair, everything was still the same as when she first entered the palace.

Cixi, who had just entered the palace, also dreamed of motherhood in the world. But this dream shattered very quickly. Before Emperor Xianfeng was on the throne, there was a woman six years younger than him, Niu Hulu, who was born with a noble yellow flag, an official family, gentle and virtuous, and generous, and the two were very affectionate. This concubine was canonized as empress in October 1852, and she was later the famous Empress Dowager Ci'an in history.

During the Spring Festival of 1853, Emperor Xianfeng and Empress Ci'an jointly presided over a large banquet in the palace, which was the only gathering of all concubines in a year, and Cixi met Emperor Xianfeng for the first time. But at the banquet, Cixi's eyes were all on the dignified and beautiful Ci'an, she was like sitting on pins and needles, looking at Ci'an's eyes, and she was really envious, jealous and hateful: "God is really unfair, how young she is, only sixteen years old, she is the queen, and she has achieved my dream without difficulty." ”

What made Cixi even more uncomfortable was that there were countless beautiful concubines in Emperor Xianfeng's palace, she had just entered the palace, she was just an inconspicuous Lan noble, not to mention Emperor Xianfeng, it was difficult for ordinary Baylor princes to see. Her only friend was the Ligui Tatara clan who entered the palace together, which was later the Liguifei. Even at the annual Spring Festival banquet in the early spring of 1853, Emperor Yanjing of Xianfeng did not look at her much.

It wasn't until later that Cixi gave birth to Emperor Xianfeng's only son, Emperor Tongzhi, that her mother changed her humble identity by virtue of her son. Cixi in 1874, who was already the Empress Dowager of the West, moved into Changchun Palace, but she still liked Chuxiu Palace very much, which was one of the six palaces in the West, and was the place where she lived when she entered the palace in early 1852.

Whenever Cixi was in a bad mood, she always liked to return to Chuxiu Palace, to the place where her dream began. Cixi sat in front of the dresser, looked in the mirror, Li Lianying stepped forward to help her comb her hair, looking at her long black and shiny hair, Cixi was very proud, but seeing that her forehead had more wrinkles, she couldn't help but sigh. Yes, she was thirty-nine years old, and as she grew older, her inner loneliness grew stronger, and she felt that the world was becoming less and less under her control, and her power and authority were being challenged.

First, five years earlier, her favorite eunuch An Dehai, who had been her secret envoy to Prince Gong in the 1861 Xinyou coup, had been killed by Yixin and Empress Dowager Ci'an. An Dehai's loyalty, there is no second eunuch in the palace to compare, Cixi sat and listened to the government for a long time, and for a while, she actually got hemorrhoids, every time before the medicine, An Dehai lay on the bed and licked her abscesses! Two years ago, in the battle for the queen, her biological son Tongzhi openly violated her will, and with the support of Ci'an, chose the Arut clan as the queen. Now, Emperor Tongzhi and Ci'an proposed to let Emperor Xianfeng's concubine Jingshou take over the Shenji Battalion.

Emperor Tongzhi, Empress Dowager Ci'an, Prince Gong, and even Prince Alcohol, their wings and wings have become fuller. Especially her son, Emperor Tongzhi, who had grown up to be a pro-government, Cixi strongly felt that her son was becoming more and more reluctant to listen to her. This year's Mulan Autumn Festival, she originally suggested that it be postponed to the next year, but the Tongzhi Emperor insisted on holding it as scheduled, not only invited the princes of various tribes in Mongolia and Tibet Province to participate as usual, but also asked the Prime Minister Yamen to invite foreign envoys and their wives in China to watch together, hoping to show that he was capable of pro-government. Empress Dowager Ci'an, Prince Gong, and Prince Alcohol also expressed their support, and she was not allowed to let herself fall into the grip of greed for power.

Thinking of these, Cixi's mood at the moment was a little anxious, and behind her, stood Princess Rongshou and the chief eunuch Li Lianying, twelve maids.

Princess Rongshou is the daughter of Prince Gong Yixun, born in 1854, when she was twelve years old, Cixi gave her the name Guerjia. Ruolan, the master refers to the marriage in the son of Efu Jingshou Zhiduan, when she was seventeen years old, Efu Zhiduan died of illness, she did not have children, no spiritual sustenance, so the surname is a little strange, has been with Cixi. She doesn't like Li Lianying, but she has a good relationship with everyone else in the palace. She is very close to Cixi and participates in some political discussions, but she never speaks for her mother's family, and she is devoted to Cixi, so she likes Cixi very much.

Cixi opened her mouth and asked Princess Rongshou: "Lan'er, you say, I am dealing with the government now, am I greedy for power?" Foolish people of the world, they can only see the jewel in my phoenix crown, and they can't see that I am also a woman who has been widowed for thirteen years. It's like they can only see Xianfeng as the supreme emperor, but they can't see that he is a man who is overindulgent and soft and sickly. For a woman, her husband is her heaven, my sky has long fallen, and now who can let me sleep in peace of mind except myself? ”

"The Queen Mother listens to the government and works hard for state affairs all night, and people who don't know you will say that you are greedy for power, in fact, you are forced by the situation and have to preside over the overall situation." Princess Rongshou stepped forward, saw a silver hair on Cixi's head, pulled it out and said, "Look, you have white hair." ”

Cixi plucked her white hair without hesitation, sighed and said, "You said it well. Without me, where can Jae-chun be the emperor? Without me, longhair and foreigners, I don't know how many times I have been killed. Why don't those civil and military ministers understand these truths? Now many ministers have written to ask me to return to power, and Jae-chun is becoming more and more nonsense, and recently he has transferred Jingshou to the Shenji Battalion, and I heard that he is also going to put him in charge of the Shenji Battalion. ”

This is probably what Emperor Tongzhi and Empress Dowager Ci'an meant. Prince Alcohol is loyal and honest, and will not make such a decision. Princess Rongshou said, "Now most of the ministers still support your opinion, like Li Zhongtang, who openly said that he only knows that there is a queen mother." ”

"You have a bit of truth in what you said, if it weren't for the support of the East Palace, Jing Shou wouldn't have been able to enter the Shenji Camp. Is there any new news about Mulan's autumn fortune? Cixi asked.

Princess Rongshou replied: "Back to the Queen Mother, Chief Rong said that the guards of Mulan Qiuqiu have been deployed. ”

"When the time comes, you will stay by my side and go and join in the fun." Cixi said.

Princess Rongshou nodded, "Thank you Queen Mother for your grace!" ”

"Speaking of Chief Rong, the servants recently heard a rumor that insulted the reputation of the Queen Mother, but recently this rumor has intensified, not only among the people outside the palace, but also in the palace There are also two palace maids whispering, I have ordered someone to cut off their tongues, I don't know whether to say it or not." Li Lianying knelt down and kowtowed a few times before saying.

"Speak." Cixi said.

Li Lianying said, "It is rumored outside that before you entered the palace, the Queen Mother, had a relationship with Chief Rong in charge. He was afraid that Cixi would be angry, so he replaced the rumored "annihilation love" with "love affair".

At that time, Cixi was thirsty, and a maid offered a cup of ginseng tea, and when she heard the rumor that she had a leg with Rong Lu, Cixi's face changed abruptly, and she waved her hand and knocked the teacup to the ground: "Nonsense!"

Cixi hates this kind of gossip the most! There was once a infatuated general who did not know whether to live or die, relying on the credit of the Xinyou coup d'état in 1861, and was so bold that he dared to brag after a drunken time that Cixi had taken his hand and had affection for him. Cixi quickly found a reason to kill himself, and asked the executioner to cut off his head and hang it on the railing at the entrance of the vegetable market, so that crows pecked and wild dogs bitten him, showing the world.

This beheaded general is Shengbao, who was appointed as the right attendant of the military department in 1861, what he said is not exactly a rumor, Cixi did hold hands with him and looked at each other with tears, but that was when she had a conflict with Su Shun and other eight ministers who cared for their lives, and the lives of mother and son hung by a thread.

On July 17, 1861, Emperor Xianfeng died in the palace of Rehe Summer Resort, and left Prince Yi Zaiyuan, Prince Zheng Duanhua, University scholar Su Shun, and Ma Jingshou, as well as four of the original five military ministers, Mu Yin, Kuang Yuan, Du Han, and Jiao Youying, as "Zanxiang Minister of State", assisting the six-year-old Tongzhi Emperor. In addition, the two imperial seals engraved with "Imperial Reward" and "Tongdaotang" were given to the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces, and all the edicts issued by the new emperor thereafter must be printed with these two imperial seals to be valid. Xianfeng wanted the eight ministers and the empress dowager of the two palaces to check and balance each other.

It's a pity that Emperor Xianfeng underestimated Cixi too much, and her seemingly calm and fragile appearance hides a strong and power-hungry heart. She knows how to use her own means to get all the men who approach her, and make them willingly give everything, even their surnames, and the general Katsuho is just one of them.

In 1861, Shengbao held 100,000 heavy troops to exterminate the bandits on the border between Zhili and Shandong. He just drank a glass of Cixi's send-off wine on behalf of Emperor Xianfeng before he set out on the expedition, and he was impressed by Cixi's unique temperament, and would rather be born and die for her.

On July 17, after the death of Emperor Xianfeng, Shengbao felt that Cixi was orphaned and widowed and needed his own protection, so he ignored the ban of the imperial court and asked to go to Rehe to worship Emperor Xianfeng. In the palace of Rehe, when there was no one around, Cixi held Shengbao's hand, two lines of tears dripped from her face, and said to him, "The safety of our mother and son will have General Lao!" ”

At that time, Cixi was twenty-six years old, and her ripe charm was infinite, like a red apple about to fall to the ground. Every tear on her face made Katsuho think about it, and felt that it would not be a pity to die for her, even if she died by a thousand cuts.

On October 23, Shengbao, who was carried away by Cixi's tears, transferred the troops on the front line back, brought 50,000 soldiers to surround the Rehe Palace, and then escorted Cixi and the Tongzhi Emperor back to Beijing with 20,000 soldiers and horses.

In the coup d'état on November 8, Shengbao took the lead and made great contributions. After the coup was successful, Cixi also reciprocated by making him the secretary of the military department, which was a high-ranking member of the imperial court.

But in Shengbao's eyes, this official position is not as good as Cixi holding her hand in Rehe that night. He became more and more presumptuous, and at one point, he lost his words after drinking and told the truth. The Empress Dowager Cixi was very angry, and the consequences were very serious, so she asked her to collect Shengbao's ten major crimes, give him suicide, and let him abandon the corpse in the market.

In Chuxiu Palace, the rumor that she had an affair with Rong Lu evoked this memory of Cixi, and she was silent. At the most dangerous moment of Cixi's life, it was not Rong Lu who escorted Cixi and Emperor Tongzhi back to Yanjing from Rehe and returned to the palace safely, but Shengbao, the "Quasi-Soldier Servant" at that time, he brought 20,000 personal soldiers to escort Rong Lu before 1861, just a nobody, rumors that Rong Lu had a personal affair with her, pure nonsense.