Me and Empress Dowager Cixi

Chapter 37
The train finally pulled into Tianjin Station, and the speed of the train had dropped to the minimum. The Empress Dowager slowly got up from the throne and stood on the floor of the carriage, facing outwards, standing near the window.Following Lafayette's instructions, everyone else stayed where they were.According to the convention, at this time, Emperor Guangxu should be beside the Queen Mother to accept the congratulations from all the officials, but at that time Emperor Guangxu was sleeping in his carriage, so the Queen Mother had to give up and did not send someone to wake him up.The queen mother let me stand behind her, I am naturally very happy, so that I can clearly see the situation outside.Just like when we left Tianjin, everything on the platform didn’t change much, the numerous officials, the soldiers of the brigade, and the lanterns arranged on the platform, and even Yuan Shikai’s kneeling position didn’t change. Kneeling half a step forward to show that he is different from ordinary people's leadership.The queen mother was obviously very satisfied with this scene, she smiled slightly at everyone, even so, this smile was still full of fatigue and bitterness.Although I was standing behind her, I could still imagine her facial expression from the lines on her mouth.It's a pity that not many people saw this smile at that time. The people outside the car window were all kneeling on the ground without looking up at all, and the people inside the car were not able to see it because of the bad position.This smile left a deep impression on me, and it is still clearly preserved in my mind.

When we went to Fengtian, Qingshan had borrowed a western band from Yuan Shikai in order to entertain the Empress Dowager. Now that we are in Tianjin, there is no reason not to return it.When we came back from Fengtian, the Western band did not take the same train as us, but on the second train.After arriving in Tianjin, the band and some soldiers stayed in Tianjin, and we continued on our way without stopping.In the first few days, this Western band really caught the attention of the Queen Mother, but after a few days, the Queen Mother got tired of the band, saying that the sound was too loud.By the time we left, the queen mother probably had forgotten the existence of this band, so when Li Lianying came to report, the queen mother was a little dazed, she just nodded vaguely, and didn't say anything.Tianjin was not very prosperous at that time, so the platform of Tianjin Railway Station was not big, and those officials knelt down to fill the entire platform.When the train passed those officials, the platform of Tianjin Station was over.

After leaving Tianjin Station, there are open plains on both sides, and a few small soil bumps can be seen from time to time.These scenes hardly attracted the Queen Mother's attention, and she returned to her throne.The speed of the train gradually increased. Judging from the magnitude of the vibration, the speed at this time was obviously faster than before arriving in Tianjin.Although the train was not as smooth as before, the speed had increased after all. The Queen Mother didn't say anything about it, as if she thought so too.Now, I can really feel the anxious heart of Lafayette, her desire for Beijing city has reached the limit.When we first left Beijing, it seemed that even the smallest things could attract our attention. Today, the scenery is still the same as it was ten days ago, but we no longer have the mood of the past.

Not long after leaving Tianjin, we arrived at Fengtai Station. Just like Tianjin Station, the platform was full of officials, big and small, kneeling on the platform.Fengtai is a small place, so naturally the Empress Dowager would not slow down again here, and Li Lianying also tactfully did not come to report.The train roared past Fengtai Station, and the figure outside the window disappeared in a glance.After leaving Fengtai, the city of Beijing was in front of us, and the train began to slow down slowly. Not far ahead was Yongding Gate, where the Empress Dowager boarded the train from the palace, and it was also the terminal of our return train today.The news of the Empress Dowager's arrival in Beijing must have already spread throughout the capital, so before we arrived at Yongding Gate, we saw a large group of people surrounded there from a distance, from the royal relatives to the eunuchs and maids in the palace. Anyone with a little relationship with the Queen Mother is unwilling to come to pick her up.When the Empress Dowager was leaving the palace, several old-fashioned ministers tried their best to oppose the Empress Dowager's eastward journey. Now seeing the Empress Dowager returning safely, they all came to pick her up cheerfully.It is difficult for these old-fashioned ministers to accept new things. After the Queen Mother left, they must have felt that the trip was a disaster. Now that the Queen Mother has returned safely, they don't know how they feel.

The train stopped smoothly at Yongdingmen. After the Empress Dowager got off the train, she didn't even show a smile on her face when she saw so many people who came to greet her. More than 40 years of monopolizing power has tempered the queen mother into a person who doesn't know what ostentation is. Things that ordinary people think are extremely grand, in her view, are very common.If there is no capital to monopolize power, I think the queen mother will definitely not be able to resist such a vain scene.I used to speculate on the queen mother's thoughts in private, how does she feel in her heart about these so-called power and ostentation?If the queen mother is transformed into an ordinary woman and allowed to live a peaceful and stable life, what kind of appearance will she present?Now, in the Empress Dowager's life, although it is filled with the satisfaction of monopolizing power, it is undoubtedly also full of pessimistic despair.

The empress dowager's special Luanyu had already been prepared. As soon as she got off the train, she hid in the magnificent sedan chair, and the ladies of us immediately got into our respective sedan chairs.Maybe it was because they hadn't seen each other for a while, these little eunuchs seemed to be very excited, and the speed of lifting the sedan chair was much faster than usual.Through the gap of the sedan chair, I saw the yellow sand on the ground receding quickly, from which I can infer how hard the eunuchs were working.Ten days ago, we arrived here very quickly, but the mood at that time was completely different from this time. The mood of returning now is even more urgent than when we left.It didn't take long before I saw the open gate of the imperial city.The guards lined up took us in without hesitation. After our group passed, the gate immediately closed behind us with a bang.Although this is already the heart of Beijing, it is not the end of our trip, and Lafayette will not stop here as usual.To some extent, the Queen Mother did not like this place, and she has always had deep prejudices and misunderstandings about it.In the eyes of the queen mother, the whole imperial city is too dilapidated and simple. She has publicly expressed her dissatisfaction with this many times. She said: "In this palace, there is no other interesting thing except the tall and useless palace. The palace is It is so high that even if we make a little noise, the echo will hurt people's ears. In addition, the colors inside the palace are too monotonous, either yellow or red. Take the imperial garden with the best scenery Let’s just say, apart from the very gloomy and old trees, there are no other decorations, not even the flowers that often bloom. Anyway, this palace looks like a lifeless piece, with no vitality at all.”

The Empress Dowager spent most of her later years in the Summer Palace, mainly because she hated the Forbidden City I think.According to the royal rules, the emperor had just returned from a tour and had to go back to the Forbidden City. If it wasn't for this custom that restrained the Queen Mother, I think she would have gone straight back to the Summer Palace.Sure enough, during dinner, the queen mother suddenly said to me: "I don't think the emperor has anything to deal with in the past few days. The Taimiao ceremony will waste a lot of energy. We will go back to the Summer Palace tomorrow morning and rest there for a few days." The queen mother said This is inappropriate, the Taimiao Grand Ceremony is indeed four days later, but during these four days, it's not that the emperor has nothing to do, but the queen mother has nothing to deal with.After the queen mother said these words, I knew that I must get up early tomorrow.There is another deep-seated reason why the Queen Mother likes to get up early.About eight years ago, the Empress Dowager chatted with a prince who was in charge of the Qin Tianjian. She asked the prince about the best time of the day, and the prince told her that the best time is when the sun just rises every morning. Also the most auspicious.I don't know if the prince has any solid scientific basis. I only know that the queen mother has firmly remembered the prince's words. Whenever there is something to do, she will always get up very early to prepare.Although the queen mother's habit of getting up early originated from superstition, she has developed a good habit that is beneficial to health invisibly.

Early the next morning, just as the sun was rising, the Empress Dowager took a large group of us to the Summer Palace, including the Guangxu couple.When they were on the road, although everyone looked much more comfortable than when they returned to Beijing yesterday, they still seemed in a hurry.Under the protection of the guards, we entered the Summer Palace.I believe no matter who it is, as long as they see the beautiful scenery inside the Summer Palace, they will not regret getting up early in the morning.The last time we left the Summer Palace was the day before we went to Fengtian. At that time, the winter chill had not receded, and the Summer Palace looked a bit bleak, with only some evergreen pines and cypresses and budding flowers.Now back to the Summer Palace again, it is already real spring.Although it was only a short period of fourteen days, this place has become a sea of ​​flowers.All kinds of flowers are competing for splendor in the bright spring, decorating the entire Summer Palace very beautifully, and there are colorful and green everywhere, and being in it is like being in heaven.

Among the many flowers, the Empress Dowager likes peonies the most. Peony flowers are rich and honorable, which caters to the Empress Dowager's taste.Because it is the flower that the Queen Mother likes, so many peonies are planted in the Summer Palace, it can be said that there are everywhere.Under the sunshine of the spring day, those huge flowers are constantly swinging from side to side, as if welcoming the arrival of the Queen Mother.When driving to Fengtian, many eunuchs and court ladies could not accompany the driver to the east due to restrictions, so Li Lianying sent them to manage the Summer Palace.At this time, when those people saw us coming back with the queen mother surrounded, they all seemed very happy, and they came forward to kowtow one after another, their faces full of joy.

Directly facing the Longevity Mountain is Kunming Lake, which is like a pearl inlaid in the Summer Palace. Under the sunlight, it constantly shines like silver.Many small fish were stocked in Kunming Lake. At this time, they seemed to know that their master was back, and they jumped out of the water one after another. Occasionally, some even jumped two or three inches above the water surface, but immediately fell down again, and the moment they sank to the bottom, A circle of ripples were stirred up, slowly spreading out like threads.

Seeing the vitality in the Summer Palace, the Queen Mother was very happy, and couldn't help saying: "Look, the scenery here is so beautiful!" Following her soft admiration, I echoed: "Yes, the old ancestor , it reveals a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere everywhere in here!" When I said this, I didn't mean to be flattering at all, it was indeed admiration from the bottom of my heart.I myself don’t understand why I, who hated the Summer Palace very much earlier, suddenly have such deep affection for this place, and feel as if I cannot do without her.In the Summer Palace, the biggest advantage is that you can often breathe fresh air. No matter which house or pavilion in the Summer Palace, there is very good air, and it is suitable for two or three friends to sit down and talk. There is nothing to say, we can also sit in the house, or sleep for a while.In the Summer Palace, we had a very comfortable sense of ease, without any sense of anxiety and disgust like in Fengtian Palace.I think the queen mother must have the same idea as me.After admiring the beautiful scenery of the Summer Palace, she raised her head and looked eastward for a long time. The distance beyond her gaze was Fengtian, which we had just fled from. Now it was as strange as another country.Although we just came back from there for only 20 hours, it seemed like [-] years had passed, and no one wanted to bring up the painful past and dusty memories again.Personally, I prefer to view my time at Fengtian as a nightmare.No matter how deep the relationship between the three provinces of Northeast China and us was before, we are all unfamiliar with it now, and I have a vaguely bad premonition: that place is no longer ours, and we will never go back.

Now I'm a little glad that the Queen Mother didn't live that long. This is really her blessing. If she sees those useless descendants later, she will definitely have the idea of ​​hanging herself.Many years later, Puyi was hijacked by the Japanese to the three eastern provinces, where he became the puppet emperor. This is a shame and a shame!If Lafayette knew about this, the sky would probably fall down. Fortunately, God did not give her the ability to foretell, otherwise Puyi would never be able to be the emperor of Xuantong, and it would be difficult to save her life. In fact, Puyi has not yet been born at this time.

The beautiful scenery in the Summer Palace is enough to wash away all sorrows, and all the historical sorrows are blocked by the beautiful scenery of the Summer Palace.All kinds of flowers that the queen mother likes are blooming wantonly, which is enough to make the queen mother's inner dissatisfaction gradually dissipate.The breeze blowing from the west mountain gently caressed our cheeks, making us feel very comfortable and happy.Not only that, the breeze blows all the flowers and plants in the garden, sending all kinds of strange fragrances from time to time.No matter from which point of view, the Summer Palace is a good place, otherwise the Empress Dowager would not choose this place as her comfort zone.With such a place for the Empress Dowager to take care of her temperament, what is there for the Empress Dowager to be dissatisfied with?People who live here can completely put aside the turmoil of the mundane affairs outside and indulge in the scenery of lakes and mountains.In the Queen Mother's life, there are only three situations that can make her feel happy: gorgeousness, tranquility and contentment.If the queen mother can return the government to Emperor Guangxu and stay in the Summer Palace to spend her old age, she can always enjoy peace and contentment. As for gorgeousness, the queen mother has been dealing with this word all her life. Which one does she use? Isn't it gorgeous?
After arriving at the Summer Palace, we all felt extremely happy, and everyone wanted to forget everything that happened in Fengtian as soon as possible.Obviously, Lafayette has been completely intoxicated by the beauty of the Summer Palace. Although we can't have her leisurely mood, it is enough to make us happy, at least we don't have to look at those strange corner lamps every night, and we don't have to smell them. Uncomfortable floral scent.Personally, I prefer to forget about that old palace and the eerie aura filling those palaces as soon as possible.

Long before returning to Beijing, the queen mother was thinking about the spring silkworms we raised.As soon as she entered the garden, Lafayette asked again, she wished that those little white things could spin and cocoon quickly.Usually, these little things gave the Queen Mother a lot of fun.

(End of this chapter)