[Romantic Anecdotes of the Qing Dynasty Court] [74] [Author: Xu Xiaotian]

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Chapter Seventy-Four: Preventing Consort Yi from Drafting Emperor Wenzong's Will to Establish Prince Yi and Su Shun to Seize the Imperial Seal. It is said that after the Yuanmingyuan, a vast garden of flowers and trees, was burned to the ground by Harry Parkes, it vanished into thin air. Of the four springs, Peony Spring had the best outcome. Crabapple Spring, having entered the garden, was consumed by longing for Jin Gongchan, and within a year, she died of melancholy, despite being Emperor Xianfeng's most favored concubine. Only Apricot Blossom Spring enjoyed the Emperor's favor the most, and she accumulated the most wealth. In the palace, she had no connections with anyone; whenever someone asked her to speak to the Emperor, she always demanded money. Therefore, everyone in the palace hated her. However, Apricot Blossom Spring's wealth grew day by day. She had 200,000 taels of silver, which she entrusted to her mistress to earn interest. In addition, she had smaller sums of 30,000 to 50,000 taels, which the chief eunuch deposited in banks. She also kept two or three thousand taels of gold in her own room, in addition to countless gold and pearl jewelry. Because she had always treated people poorly, on the day of the incident, the palace maids and eunuchs all fled for their lives, and no one informed her. When Xinghua Chun awoke at dawn, the Emperor was gone, and the garden was in complete chaos. Just as Xinghua Chun was about to get up to inquire, a group of elderly eunuchs and palace maids stormed into the room and, on the bed, strangled her to death, looting all her gold and jewels. The poor, beautiful woman lay there, her body rotting on the bed, and no one came to clean it. Now,
let's talk about Tuoluo Chun. Since entering the garden, she had been fasting and worshipping Buddha in a small nunnery every day. Everyone in the palace felt sorry for her, and on the day the Emperor was to leave, a palace eunuch secretly went to inform her. Tuoluo Chun, having long since disregarded life and death since entering the garden, remained calm upon hearing the eunuch's report and continued reciting her scriptures. After all the palace maids and eunuchs had left the garden, a young eunuch came to persuade her to leave, saying, "Now that no one is questioning you, you can go home without worry." Hearing that she could go home, Tuoluochun's heart stirred. She quickly packed some valuables and followed the young eunuch out of the nunnery. Looking at the desolate, dusty garden, she felt a surge of sorrow. She thought to herself, "My mother died in the palace because of me. Even if I wanted to go back, I would have no home. I was born with a tragic fate; even if I left the garden, I wouldn't have a good life."
She made a decision. Just then, she reached the bridge inscribed with "Peace and Harmony," and seeing the young eunuch walking ahead, she suddenly leaped into the middle of the pond. With a splash, her small body swung away, disappearing into the vast expanse of water. The garden was quiet; there was no one around, and nowhere to call for help. The young eunuch, exhausted, wept bitterly by the pond. Seven days after Tuoluochun drowned, the Yuanmingyuan Garden was destroyed by fire. The once-desolate garden was swept away by the raging flames, leaving nothing but ashes.
News of the Yuanmingyuan's destruction reached the imperial palace, further aggravating Emperor Xianfeng's illness; he even fainted several times at his worst. The Anglo-French allied forces then threatened to attack the Forbidden City. Empress Dowager Xiaozhen, upon receiving this news, immediately sent an edict to Prince Gong, ordering him to negotiate peace as soon as possible. At this time, a Russian naval rear admiral named Puchatin saw an opportunity and persuaded the Russian minister, Igor Etiev, to mediate, urging Britain and France to negotiate peace with China. The treaty would be amended to include nine additional articles, and France would add ten, opening Tianjin as a treaty port. The treaty would also stipulate a war indemnity of 12 million taels of silver for Britain and 6 million taels for France. This treaty was presented to the imperial palace, and Emperor Xianfeng summoned Duanhua and Sushun to discuss it. Duanhua and Sushun, who had long been at odds with Prince Gong, exclaimed upon seeing the treaty, "If the prince is so incompetent, how can we expect to have a good life in the future?" Emperor Xianfeng was also undecided. Since Empress Xiaozhen and Consort Yi were usually involved in court affairs, he summoned them to discuss the matter. Empress Xiaozhen, a kind and honest woman, hesitated to make a decision on such a significant issue. Only the Imperial Concubine Yi dared to speak boldly, saying, "Now that the enemy is at the gates, the foreigners are not satisfied and will not give up. The fault lies with those scoundrels Qiying, Niu Jian, Guiliang, and Huashana. At the time, things were still manageable, but they blindly flattered the foreigners, misled the country, and feigned weakness to beg for peace, leading to today's grave mistake. Now the Emperor is in exile, the capital is in imminent danger, there is the threat of the Taiping Rebellion in the south and the Nian Rebellion in the north, and internal strife is not yet resolved. How can we withstand further external threats? It would be better to ask Your Majesty to make the decisive decision and approve the peace treaty. Firstly, the foreign troops can withdraw sooner, and secondly, Your Majesty can return to the capital sooner to recuperate in the palace. This is far better than being stuck in this inconvenient place." Her words struck a chord with Emperor Xianfeng. Emperor Xianfeng, who was ill and longing to return to the palace, immediately followed the Imperial Concubine Yi's suggestion and approved the peace treaty. On one hand, an imperial edict was issued ordering Prince Gong to tidy up the palace and repair the city walls. It wasn't until late autumn or early winter that the palace was finally secured, and the allied forces withdrew from Beijing. Prince Gong, still leading the effort, appealed to the Emperor and Empress to return. However, Emperor Xianfeng suddenly suffered a severe asthma attack and was confined to his temporary palace, unable to move an inch, forcing him to postpone his return. Consort Yi, along with Prince Zai Chun, served the Emperor's medicine and medicine morning and night. After this period of turmoil, Emperor Xianfeng, upon seeing Consort Yi again, recalled their past affection and forgot all his past grievances, gradually regaining his favor towards her. Consort Yi, seeing herself regaining power, was unwilling to miss this opportunity. She used her personal funds to contact the two chief eunuchs, An and Cui, and secretly asked Chief Eunuch Cui to contact his nephew, Ronglu. Now, it is said that Consort Yi's maternal family had a younger brother named Guixiang. When Consort Yi lived in the "Heaven and Earth Family Spring" and was at the height of the Emperor's favor, he was completely obedient to her. Consort Yi was pleased and wanted to promote her brother to a high-ranking official position in the capital, so that he could communicate with her outside. However, Guixiang turned out to be a fool. Although he became an official in the capital, he remained dull-witted and knew nothing of the ways of the world. Seeing that her brother was useless, Consort Yi changed her strategy and focused on promoting her nephew Ronglu. Ronglu was a clever and cunning man. After gaining fame, he cultivated relationships with everyone in the court. People naturally treated him differently because he was a relative of the favored consort. In just a few years, he rose to the position of Minister of the Imperial Household, wielding considerable power in the court. Seeing that Prince Gong was a confidant of the Emperor, he also befriended Prince Gong.
Prince Gong unknowingly fell into his trap, and the two became very close. Now that his aunt had sent Chief Eunuch Cui to contact him, the aunt and nephew's family members all offered their help. They tacitly understood each other, and Ronglu contacted Prince Gong, who then joined Consort Yi's faction.
Consort Yi, seeing that everything was in place, slowly began to wield power before the Emperor. Empress Xiaozhen, originally not a talkative person, had Consort Yi read all the memorials to the Emperor. The Emperor was very weak at this time and had Empress Xiaozhen make all the decisions. Empress Xiaozhen, seeing that Consort Yi was more intelligent and talented than herself, consulted with her on everything. Later, Consort Yi simply decided to act independently, approving memorials herself before showing them to Empress Xiaozhen. Empress Xiaozhen disapproved, but had no intention of vying for power, so she let Consort Yi do as she pleased. A group of court officials, having learned that Consort Yi was involved in court affairs, took tens of thousands of taels of silver and went through the connections of the two chief eunuchs, An and Cui, to offer her bribes. Consort Yi, having received money from people to help them out of trouble, would also speak well of them to the Emperor. This happened occasionally, and the Emperor didn't seem to notice. However, later, seeing Consort Yi constantly praising the ministers outside the court, Emperor Xianfeng began to feel that this consort was unreliable and developed a dislike for her. At this time, Emperor Xianfeng's illness worsened day by day. Consort Yi, knowing the Emperor was beyond saving, thought of her future position and, clinging to her son, constantly nagged at the Emperor's bedside, saying, "Your Majesty only has this one son. After you pass away, it will always be this Zaichun who inherits the throne. Now, many ministers are advocating for the eldest son to be chosen. Why doesn't Your Majesty establish a new Empress Dowager now, so that my son and I won't suffer later?" Emperor Xianfeng knew Consort Yi was deliberately spreading rumors, but since he only had this one son, the throne would inevitably belong to him. So he happily agreed, comforting her, "Don't worry, the throne will eventually pass to your son, and you will become Empress Dowager." Consort Yi felt relieved after hearing these words. The
Emperor suffered from tuberculosis, his body growing thinner and his spirit weaker each day, but he was very perceptive. He secretly observed Consort Yi's actions during his illness. Feeling that the Imperial Concubine was relying on her future status as Empress Dowager, she gradually became arrogant, sometimes even arguing with Empress Xiaozhen and refusing to yield; sometimes when memorials were sent in, she would approve and submit them unilaterally without consulting Empress Xiaozhen. Emperor Xianfeng knew that this Imperial Concubine would become a formidable person in the future, and he was furious. When the Imperial Concubine was not around, the Emperor summoned Su Shun to his bedside. Empress Xiaozhen was also present at the bedside.
Emperor Xianfeng angrily said to Su Shun, "Consort Yi is extremely domineering. If she is allowed to live, she will surely become a great scourge to the royal family in the future. I intend to execute her before I die, thus eliminating this great disaster in the palace." Upon hearing the emperor's words, Su Shun was so frightened that he simply prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed without uttering a word. After a pause, the Emperor said again, "Otherwise, I will leave a will stipulating that after my death, Consort Yi should be buried alive with me." Empress Xiaozhen, being a kind and honest woman, felt sorry for Consort Yi after hearing the Emperor's words, and pleaded for her repeatedly, saying, "Consort Yi has given birth to a prince, and her status is elevated because of her son. Your Majesty has shown her extraordinary mercy and spared her.
If Your Majesty grants her death, how will the prince, upon ascending the throne, remember his birth mother?
" Empress Xiaozhen spoke with tears streaming down her face, and Emperor Xianfeng was also moved, saying, "I will spare her death now for the sake of the Empress, but Consort Yi is a treacherous and cunning person. After my death, no one will be able to control her; I must now write a will to prevent her from acting recklessly.
" As he spoke, he struggled to sit up from the bed, ordered Su Shun to bring him pen and ink, and wrote the will on the bed. The Emperor decreed: "To Empress Dowager Xiaozhen: Consort Yi, in accordance with the principle of a mother's status rising through her son's, must be honored as Empress Dowager; however, she is by no means trustworthy. Even if nothing happens, you should make the decision yourself. If she is indeed well-behaved and without fault, continue to treat her with kindness and courtesy; if her misconduct becomes obvious, you may summon the court officials, proclaim this decree of mine, and have her executed immediately to prevent future troubles. This is my decree.
" After writing this, the Emperor instructed the Empress to write her name on the edict, and also instructed Su Shun to write his name, before handing it to Empress Dowager Xiaozhen. Empress Dowager Xiaozhen was about to put it away when she suddenly returned it to the Emperor, saying, "This edict should also be shown to the officials outside the capital. Please have Prince Gong come here and write his name. In case of any future trouble, we can coordinate between the inside and outside." The Emperor listened to the Empress's words and agreed. He then issued an edict ordering Prince Gong Yifang to rush to the imperial court immediately, while temporarily keeping the edict by his pillow.
By this time, Consort Yi had already planted spies around the Emperor. Seeing that the Emperor's attitude towards her grew increasingly cold each day, she sensed something was amiss and secretly instructed the two chief eunuchs, An and Cui, to keep a close watch. That day, Chief Eunuch Cui overheard the Emperor's private discussion with the Empress and Su Shun outside the window, but dared not linger for fear of being seen. Therefore, he didn't hear everything the Emperor said. Knowing it was unfavorable to Consort Yi, he hurriedly went to inform her. Consort Yi was terrified upon hearing this, unable to fathom what was happening, and filled with anxiety, she couldn't sleep for several nights. Just then, an opportunity arose. The Emperor had been ill for many days, lying in bed, emaciated, feeling great pain, and longed for someone to massage him. At that time, a royal physician named Lu, who knew massage, pressed acupoints and massaged the Emperor. The Emperor remained unwell. Later, the chief eunuch summoned a eunuch named Li Lianying to massage the emperor. Li Lianying was skilled in massage techniques, and as he massaged the emperor, the emperor felt extremely comfortable in the areas he touched. When he massaged the emperor's chest, the emperor fell into a deep sleep. From then on, the emperor greatly favored Li Lianying, insisting on having him massaged in the palace every day. Li Lianying also became quite astute. While the emperor was asleep, he would raise his head to observe the room. He noticed a corner of paper peeking out from beside the emperor's pillow, containing the phrase "This person is absolutely not trustworthy." He knew this piece of paper was related to someone with whom he had a conflict of interest. He immediately thought of Consort Yi. Could this be referring to Consort Yi? He boldly reached over and pulled the corner of the paper out, reading the entire edict.
At this moment, a man stood behind Li Lianying—Chief Eunuch Cui. They were in cahoots, so Li Lianying didn't care and was just about to steal the imperial edict. Suddenly, Empress Xiaozhen entered the room, and Chief Eunuch Cui lightly kicked him with the tip of his boot. Li Lianying quickly withdrew his hand, covered the edict with a handkerchief, and hurriedly went to tell Consort Yi.
It turned out that Li Lianying was a close confidant of Consort Yi. Although he hadn't been in the palace for many years, he was deeply favored by her. He was originally from Hejian and worked as an apprentice in a tannery shop, where he was known as "Tanker Li." His family was very poor and often went hungry.
Many people from Hejian worked as eunuchs in the palace, and Chief Eunuch Cui happened to live nearby. Sometimes, he would see Chief Eunuch Cui taking leave to go home, bringing back large amounts of gold and silver, and talking about how fun and powerful the palace was. At this time, Li Lianying was only sixteen years old, but very brave. Hearing that the palace was so fun, he secretly cut off his genitals, causing him to faint from the pain. His parents consulted a doctor, who applied medicine to stop the bleeding. He slept in bed for three or four months until he recovered. He rushed to the capital, found Chief Eunuch Cui, and begged him to take him to the palace to become a junior eunuch. Chief Eunuch Cui let him stay in his quarters, waiting for an opportunity. A few days later, Consort Yi wanted to hire a young eunuch to work in the hairdressing room, so Chief Eunuch Cui brought Li Lianying into the palace. Consort Yi was pleased with his handsome face and quick wit; she even asked him to try combing hair. Li Lianying was used to working with women, and he served them with tenderness, consideration, and charm.
Now, on his first time combing Consort Yi's hair, he was exceptionally careful. Consort Yi cherished her hair and was afraid of hurting her scalp, so Li Lianying used his nimble skills to comb her hair so that not only did it not hurt her scalp at all, but not a single hair fell out, and the hairstyle was exquisite. What pleased Consort Yi most was that he could change his hairstyle every day, and each new look was more handsome than the last. Each hairstyle had an auspicious name: the "Endless Wealth and Prosperity" hairstyle, the "Peace Under Heaven" hairstyle, the "Harmony and Unity" hairstyle, and the "Dragon and Phoenix Double Happiness" hairstyle. Consort Yi loved auspicious things, and hearing so many lucky names, she couldn't help but be delighted. Li Lianying also had a silver tongue; when he had nothing to do, he would tell stories from the countryside and village tales, which suited Consort Yi's tastes perfectly. Consort Yi loved listening to stories, and when she was bored, she would summon Li Lianying to her room to tell her tales. Li Lianying had a vast repertoire of stories; he told them every day and never seemed to run out. He was also very clever, able to improvise any joke or story on the spot. When he told them, Consort Yi would laugh so hard she would be doubled over, then reach out and slap him, calling him a little devil. Li Lianying was naturally charming; no matter how much you beat or scolded him, he would always smile and be all smiles. When Consort Yi was angry or distressed, she relied on him for comfort.
Li Lianying also possessed another endearing talent: a beautiful voice he had learned from a young age. He could sing folk songs from both the north and south, as well as operas from Beijing and Shaanxi, and his singing was melodious and captivating. This further appealed to Consort Yi. Consort Yi already loved to sing, and since Li Lianying came into her life, she would sometimes learn a few lines from him, sometimes listen quietly to him sing a few lines of Beijing opera, and when she was happy, she would join in the singing. The room would be filled with the sound of their singing. Li Lianying was also exceptionally perceptive of women's psychology; he understood all their hardships and personalities. When he talked with the palace maids, every word he uttered resonated with their hearts, and thus, all the palace maids, from top to bottom, were on good terms with him. Li Lianying was skilled in massage, and whenever Consort Yi experienced joint pain, she would summon him to massage her. Strangely enough, his massages were incredibly soothing, making her feel completely comfortable, even closing her eyes and mouth. Because of this, Consort Yi doted on him, keeping him by her bedside every night and chatting with him about everyday matters when he was awake. Li Lianying was always accommodating and compliant in his responses. Consort Yi's affection for Li Lianying caused her to neglect Chief Eunuch Cui. Grateful for Consort Yi's kindness, Li Lianying always helped her.
Now, having found the imperial edict by the Emperor's bedside, he rushed to inform Consort Yi. Consort Yi, upon hearing this, was at a loss for what to do. Learning that the Emperor's illness was very serious, she began bringing her princes to sit by the Emperor's bedside every day, hoping to monitor the Empress's actions. At this time, Prince Gong Yixin also visited the temporary residence and signed the imperial edict. In reality, Prince Gong had already secretly joined Consort Yi's faction, so he secretly told Ronglu the news.
At this time, a group of ministers, including Grand Secretary Su Shun, Prince Zheng Duanhua, Imperial Minister and Imperial Son-in-Law Jing Shou, Grand Councilor and Minister of War Mu Yin, Vice Minister of Personnel Kuang Yuan, Acting Vice Minister of Rites Du Han, and Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud Jiao Youying, secretly discussed the matter daily. Fearing that Consort Yi might seize power by relying on her young son, they planned to persuade Prince Yi Zaiyuan to succeed Emperor Xianfeng after his death. Zaiyuan knew that Consort Yi had given birth to a prince, and fearing that the ministers would not accept his usurpation, he claimed that the prince was too young and that the current emperor had left a will appointing him as regent. However, Su Shun and his group refused, and before the matter could be settled, Emperor Xianfeng died in the Yanbo Zhishuang Hall. With the Emperor's death, Su Shun and his cronies, not content with their current actions, went all out, declaring themselves Ministers of State Affairs. They claimed the late Emperor's will appointed Prince Yi, Zaiyuan, as the successor, changing the era name to Qixiang Year 1. They also issued an edict to the princes, ministers, Prince Gong, Ronglu, and others remaining in the capital, stating they need not attend the funeral, but will soon return to the capital with the coffin. Meanwhile, Consort Yi, having anticipated Su Shun's scheme, had hidden the Imperial Seal of the
State after the Emperor's death. Su Shun went to the palace to demand the seal from Empress Xiaozhen. Seeing Su Shun's aggressive approach, Empress Xiaozhen, fearing something might go wrong, also helped Consort Yi, coaxing Su Shun, saying, "The Imperial Seal of the State was already taken to the capital by the Sixth Prince." Hearing that the seal wasn't in the temporary palace, Su Shun became anxious to go to the capital. Seeing the urgency of the situation, Consort Yi, holding Prince Zaichun, knelt before Empress Xiaozhen, begging for her help. Empress Xiaozhen, seeing Consort Yi's pitiful state and considering that she had given birth to a prince, and that the throne should ultimately be inherited by a prince, helped Consort Yi up and promised to help her. Consort Yi then wrote an edict, affixed the imperial seal, and secretly sent the head of the imperial kitchen, Xi Liu, to the capital overnight to deliver it to Prince Chun, Prince Gong, and Ronglu, instructing them to act according to the plan. Meanwhile, Su Shun wanted to leave the Empress and Consort in Rehe while he escorted the coffin to the capital, but Empress Xiaozhen refused. Su Shun had no choice but to ask Empress Xiaozhen to take the coffin with her to the capital. To find out what happens next, please read the next chapter.

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[Romantic Anecdotes of the Qing Dynasty Court] [74] [Author: Xu Xiaotian]

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