After all, Empress Dowager Cixi is a king. But this is not the impression you can see at a glance. The first time I visited Empress Dowager Cixi, she held my hand and asked questions like a rich woman, with a kind tone and a kind expression. I almost forgot that this person was the most powerful woman in the Qing Dynasty.
After a period of time, the Cixi in my eyes has become more and more complicated. She is similar to any old lady I know, but she is different in essence. I can't photograph the queen mother's personality with one click like her favorite camera, and I can't accurately describe the real Qing emperor.
I must record my most unusual day in the palace. Maybe you can tell me what kind of person Empress Dowager Cixi is.
(early) morning
This day is the first time I am responsible for waking up the Queen Mother. Many maids say this is not a good job. If you call early or late, or if you call too loudly and disturb the queen mother's deep sleep, you will be punished.
The day before yesterday, the Queen Mother said that I would get up in five and a half days, so I got up at four o'clock to get ready. Seeing that the clock outside the Queen Mother's bedroom just pointed to 5: 30, I carefully walked to the Queen Mother's bedside and shouted as softly as possible. Galeries Lafayette, it's already half past five. ?
The queen mother's voice became obvious: go away first, let me sleep again, and call me at six! ?
But when I called her again at six o'clock, she shouted, I'm so bored. Why are you so annoying? ? She turned around and saw that it was me, and her expression softened.
After Empress Dowager Cixi got up, a special little eunuch combed her hair. Today, it is a little special. The little eunuch who usually combs the queen mother's hair is ill, and a new man takes his place. But this eunuch is too honest. He won't hide the queen mother's hair like other eunuchs. He was at a loss when he saw that the queen mother's hair had fallen out.
The queen mother saw him in the mirror and said coldly, did you lose my hair? ? Little eunuch frighten hurriedly knelt down,? Yes, slave, damn it! ? The queen mother said, you put my hair back! ? The little eunuch began to cry, and the queen mother told him to get out.
But manager Li said savagely. Empress Dowager Cixi, why don't you just shoot this little fool? ? The queen mother didn't agree or object, and let Manager Li punish herself.
In fact, the queen mother is not always so cruel. Sometimes she is very kind and chats with eunuchs or maids who comb her hair, just like a family. However, if you ask me, everything depends on the mood of the queen mother.
Meet the emperor in the morning.
The queen mother is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, and she has the most things to dress herself up.
Every morning before dawn, the Queen Mother will dress herself up. She has dozens of bottles of different kinds of perfumes and countless soaps. After washing her face, she will spray water made of honey and petals on her face, and finally apply some pink powder, which tastes very fragrant.
The queen mother said, it must be funny to dress up when you are my age, but I just like to dress up myself. ? I told the queen mother that she looked young and beautiful, which made her happy and smiled like a child.
Then Empress Dowager Cixi will choose jewelry. The three walls of a whole room are shelves from top to bottom, filled with ebony boxes filled with all kinds of jewelry. She almost remembered what was in each box and told me which boxes to bring to her.
Finally, she chose a peony made of coral jade and a jade butterfly to wear on her bun. She also brought a beautiful pearl necklace that I had never seen before, and a gold bracelet inlaid with pearls and jade.
Empress Dowager Cixi is also very concerned about color matching, and her aesthetic level is very high. She always carefully matches the colors of court robes and jewels to make herself look solemn and young. In this respect, the most fashionable social butterfly in Europe seems to be inferior to her.
Emperor Guangxu came to visit Empress Dowager Cixi. This is a sad and handsome man. He knelt before the empress dowager. Pro-Amar is auspicious! ?
The queen mother always wanted to be a man, so she was asked to be a man in her address.
I met the emperor, and the queen mother gave me a complicated look. Maybe I shouldn't greet the emperor in front of the queen mother.
The court began in the morning, and we stood behind the screen, and we could faintly hear the voice of the court through the gap. The queen mother seems to be talking to the green prince. They exchanged views on the positions of some officials. Finally, the Queen Mother said that these things should be left to the Prince of Qing.
Finally, Empress Dowager Cixi always asked Emperor Guangxu:? Your Majesty, did I handle it correctly? ? And the emperor's answer is always two words, never changing? Is it suitable? .
Emperor Guangxu was always humorous and playful when he was alone with us, but as long as the Queen Mother was present, he became dull or even dull. I know very well that his life is not more free than that of us female officials. The passage between him and the queen's residence was blocked by the queen mother, and any remarks he made would reach the queen mother's ears, so he was always cautious and had few trusted eunuchs around him.
noon
At noon, eunuchs are responsible for setting the table for the queen mother's lunch. Three big tables, a group of little eunuchs arranged in two rows. They're like two rows of delivery guys? Conveyor belt? The exquisite lunch box was passed from the courtyard door to the door of the house, and finally four well-dressed eunuchs were responsible for serving.
I quietly counted that the Queen Mother usually has 150 different meals for lunch. Before lunch, the queen mother likes to have some dessert before dinner, and sometimes she gives us some. As an old lady, Empress Dowager Cixi has an amazing appetite. She ate a lot of desserts, but it didn't affect her appetite for the next dinner at all. I think it is understandable that she can eat so much, as the queen mother after a busy day.
For dessert, the Queen Mother will drink a little tea with honeysuckle and rose petals, which has a faint fragrance. After tea, the Queen Mother will begin to have lunch.
The empress dowager sits at the head of the table. Everyone has to eat standing up except her, including the emperor and queen. The Queen Mother once said: If foreigners know our rules, they must think we are barbaric, but I will never let them know. ?
The Empress Dowager had a sumptuous lunch, but there was no beef, because the court thought it was sinful to eat beef. Meat dishes are mainly pork, mutton, poultry and all kinds of wild animals, such as stews stewed with chicken and duck's shark's fin, and boneless roast chicken and roast duck stuffed with pine needles, which have a unique taste. One of the Queen Mother's favorite snacks is sliced pork skin fried, which is a bit like a European bacon roll.
Lunch also includes all kinds of porridge. The empress dowager pays great attention to health. Every time after lunch, she will drink some porridge, and even if she is full, she will order us to drink some porridge.
But when the queen mother is in a bad mood, she will become very picky about food and send someone to punish the chef because some dishes are not delicious enough. Besides, the queen mother hates flies very much. If flies land on food, she will order all the food to be dumped and redone.
afternoon
After lunch, the Queen Mother sometimes lets us play games together. She made her own dice game. Eight immortals crossing the sea? Eight pieces made of ivory represent the Eight Immortals respectively. The game map is the territory of the Qing Empire, with the names of the provinces marked on it.
Play with four people, each controlling two immortals, roll the dice to decide which province to go to according to the points, and the winner will travel around the country first. The Queen Mother always lets me play with her, because most of the maids around her can't read and don't understand the rules of the game at all.
We often play for an hour or two, and the Queen Mother always wins. She smiled and said,? You can't catch up with my fairy, no one can beat me. ? Indeed, the queen mother's luck is always bursting. Of course, even if I can win, I will always make a deliberate mistake and fall to the second place, so that I can get a reward.
Empress Dowager Cixi didn't know to take pictures before. Once she saw the photos I took in Europe, and she was very surprised. She thinks these paintings are too good, true and beautiful. I told her that it was a photo and asked my brother to go into the palace to take a photo of the empress dowager.
The weather was fine that afternoon. Empress Dowager Cixi looks around the camera like a curious girl. She was very surprised when she saw a eunuch standing on his head through the lens. She also asked me to look at her from the camera. Empress Dowager Cixi waved to the camera. I said I saw the queen mother waving. She is very happy, and she smiles happily.
The Queen Mother asked her brother to take many photos of her, especially one, which was a photo of the Queen Mother dressed as Guanyin and two eunuchs dressed as attendants. The queen mother said that she would use this photo to control her emotions. It seems that the queen mother herself knows her uncertain temper.
One afternoon, the Queen Mother suddenly remembered the past when she fled Beijing. She said to me with a sad face: Some people say that I escaped by pretending to be an old lady and driving a broken mule car. I don't know who made the rumor. I can't dress like that! Many slaves had fled the palace before we decided to leave the capital. I decided to ask how many people would like to go with us. As a result, there were only 17 eunuchs, 2 spinsters and a maid-in-waiting named Zhu Shou. ?
We left Beijing. I prayed all the way, but the emperor was silent. An accident happened that day. It rained heavily, and the bearers escaped, killing several mules. It was hot, but we survived. In the 28th year of Guangxu, when we returned to Beijing, I was deeply saddened to see the Palace again. Oh, my God, this palace is completely out of shape: a large number of precious antiques are either stolen or destroyed. The valuables in Xiyuan were looted, and the white jade bodhisattva I worship every day was also broken. Some foreigners sit on my throne and take pictures. ?
At that time, I even felt that Lafayette in front of me didn't seem to be relaxed, and her strength didn't seem as great as we thought.
evening
The queen mother loves cleanliness. She doesn't allow anyone to sit on her bed. Once, the wife of a foreign ambassador recklessly sat on her bed and special chair, and she threw them away.
Every day, a special eunuch uses a broom to clean the carved wooden bed of the Queen Mother, which is covered with bright yellow silks and satins, embroidered with golden dragons and blue auspicious clouds.
Empress Dowager Cixi also has many different pillows, some of which are filled with tea, which is said to improve eyesight. There is also a pillow with a pit seven centimeters square in the middle, which is full of dried flowers, and anyone who walks into the bed of Empress Dowager Cixi can hear it.
One of the biggest characteristics of the Queen Mother is that she wants to know everything, and she doesn't want anyone to guess her heart.
Before going to bed, the Queen Mother will drink some sugar water, which she thinks is very helpful for sleeping. The empress dowager is Manchu. She used to sleep in breeches and tie a bright ribbon around her knees, but when she got up the next morning, she always put on new clothes.
After the queen mother falls asleep, there must be more than a dozen people on duty all night. Outside the Queen Mother's bedroom, six eunuchs are in charge of vigil. They couldn't sleep all night. There are two eunuchs, two maids and two old ladies in the bedroom. They also have to work all night. These two ladies-in-waiting are responsible for massaging the queen mother's legs, two ladies-in-waiting are specially monitoring ladies-in-waiting, two eunuchs are responsible for monitoring ladies-in-waiting, and sometimes two female officers supervise everyone.
This is probably the most complete monitoring system I have ever seen. For the queen mother, the most important thing is safety.