Me and Empress Dowager Cixi

Chapter 2 Sands Everywhere
In the spring of that year, the peach blossoms in Beiping City seemed to be more brilliant than in previous years.The wind blew the petals everywhere, and the ground seemed to be covered with a red blanket, and even the nose was full of the sweet aroma of peach blossoms.

That street at that time still remains in my mind to this day.It is covered with a layer of yellow sand, which glows golden in the sunlight.Our large group of people walked through it mightily. The whole procession was so neat and solemn that only the sound of small footsteps could be heard.

This is a dazzling team.The man on the horse is dressed in brocade clothes, and the hat is decorated with sable tails.The mount under his crotch is the best Mongolian horse, which is shiny all over, with long and neat mane, and looks imposing.Not only that, even the saddles and stirrups are extraordinary, not only decorated with patterns and other decorations, but also inlaid with precious jewelry.Each of these horses has a collection of several colors. Hundreds of them gather together, and they are as gorgeous as clouds in the sun.

Not far from these horses, a golden sedan chair followed slowly.The sedan chair is decorated with two golden dragons walking through the clouds, and the sedan chair is carried by sixteen eunuchs.The person inside the sedan chair has a solemn face, like a god above a temple. She is the Empress Dowager Cixi at this time, the ruler of the [-] million people.

Immediately following the big golden sedan chair were six red sedan chairs, each carried by eight eunuchs.All the attendants sat inside, including my sister Rongling and me.

The whole team moved forward slowly in a solemn and solemn atmosphere, not only people, but even horses seldom made a sound.Only the creaking sound of the heavy car bars turning, breaking the tranquility from time to time.Then there was Li Lianying, the well-known eunuch, who kept running back and forth, yelling at the people in the team.Although his voice was low, it was full of violence.Everything mentioned above was carefully arranged by him alone.

This road is an official road from the Summer Palace to the Rehe Palace, which is hundreds of miles long and covered with a layer of damp yellow sand, which is specially prepared for the Empress Dowager.Not only can ordinary people not walk on it, even if they look at this mighty team from a distance, they will be beheaded, so no one dares to take such a big risk to violate it.After turning a few turns, this golden avenue slowly disappears into the vast valley.

What was the Empress Dowager Cixi thinking at this time?Are you thinking about Jehol?It has been 50 years since she left there. She was so young and beautiful 50 years ago, but she was only a favorite concubine of Emperor Xianfeng.Later, Xianfeng died suddenly, and the two powerful ministers in the court actually began to conspire to pull her young son Tongzhi from the throne.They are Zaiyuan and Sushun. (Editor's note: The statement here is inaccurate. Zaiyuan and Sushun, as ministers of Gu Ming, inherited the edict of Emperor Xianfeng, and the six-year-old Tongzhi Emperor, who was the prime minister at the time, did not pull down the young emperor from the throne. The relationship between them and the Empress Dowager Cixi It was really a struggle for power.) At that time, Cixi was not familiar with the affairs of the court and China, let alone any special skills, but the situation forced her to find a way to fight against the two plotters.As a result, she rescued her son amidst many difficulties, and left Rehe along the yellow curved imperial road and returned to Beijing.At that time, it was Rong Lu who was responsible for protecting them along the way.When Xianfeng was not selected as a concubine, Rong Lu was her lover.Later, she became Xianfeng's favorite concubine, and Rong Lu became her loyal servant.The deep affection of the year has been put on hold since then, and who knows what it feels like?
Now, time has passed half a century, and at that time, the young and beautiful concubine has become the empress dowager admired by the world.Rong Lu has long passed away, and Cixi's beloved son Tongzhi also drove west of Hexi.Only the cunning and treacherous Li Lianying was left with her, and now she was following her back to Rehe along the road of the past.

The Forbidden City - that place of intrigue has become farther and farther away.Walking along this road paved with yellow sand, the road is still the same, but 50 years of ups and downs seem like a lifetime, and the people and horses of that year have long since disappeared.

This special team continues to move forward among the mountains and greenery, and occasionally adjusts a little in the pre-arranged temples.Finally, after a continuous long journey, I finally came to the open space in front of the Jehol Palace.

However, everything in front of him was as silent as death.The same palace, the same yellow glazed tiles, the same unicorn, dragon and phoenix painted on the beams and columns, but compared with the palaces in the Forbidden City in Beijing, these are a little less delicate and delicate.The female officials, eunuchs, and maids of honor all got off the sedan chair, followed the queen mother silently, and walked quickly.The Empress Dowager Cixi was a person who walked quickly, but at this moment, everything in the past seemed to be calling her in the dark, so she had to speed up her pace and walk through these desolate halls.She has walked almost all the footsteps of when she was a concubine.Finally, it stopped in front of an empty palace.

"Alas! This is the throne where Tongzhi was crowned. Now, he seems to be still sitting there, wearing the most noble dragon robe - everything seems to have happened yesterday."

She spoke suddenly, her voice low and lonely.In the quiet wind of Rehe, everything stopped, only her thoughts were surging.

Who would have thought that a coronation at that time would be the beginning of her three regencies.All the right and wrong that have been experienced since then flashed before my eyes like a cloud of smoke, so clearly discernible, as if it happened yesterday.At that time, she was standing here, right where she was standing at this moment.

She just stared at it intently, silent.Her eyes seemed to see the baby back then, and he was receiving the coronation ceremony on the throne in front of her eyes.At this moment, in her eyes, the mighty team behind her seemed to be empty, and everything seemed to have returned to the past.

Following in the footsteps of those years, she came to another palace.She said that this is where the coffin of Emperor Xianfeng was placed.She spoke this sentence so clearly that there seemed to be a dead Xianfeng lying there quietly.He let go, and the heavy burden behind him all fell on the weak shoulders of his beloved concubine.Now, everything seems to have passed away. The weak woman of that year has become the empress dowager who is respected by everyone, and has become a dying old woman.

Before I came here, I had already heard many stories from the Queen Mother about herself.At this moment, I am really standing here, the elegance, gentleness and happiness of yesterday, everything seems to be in front of me, and she points out to me one by one.And how many people know the sadness in her heart?However, the moment we left this place, returned to Beijing, and stepped on the land of the Summer Palace, all the sorrow disappeared in our minds, just like a history book has gently turned a lamentable page, and no one will turn it again look.

(End of this chapter)