In the winter morning of the 19th year of Daoguang, heavy snow fell in Chu Qing and the Forbidden City was covered with snow. Western jackdaw in the west is noisy on the dry branches, and people in Palace of Gathered Elegance are very busy. Princess Emerald, the master of Palace of Gathered Elegance, greeted the guests with a smile.

Suddenly someone outside shouted, "The Empress is coming!" Jade princess was taken aback. Jade princess has a good family in recent years. She just gave birth to a princess recently, just in time for her centenary birthday. The emperor made an exception and allowed her to hold a small banquet, and also allowed her family to enter the palace to congratulate. You know, Daoguang has always opposed extravagance and waste, and the queen's birthday party is rarely held once, and only one bowl of noodles is given to everyone, so the queen has been uncomfortable for several days after hearing about Jade Princess.

Originally, I didn't expect the queen to come today, but at this time, she suddenly came, which made Yu Fei's heart hang up.

Yu Fei rushed to the door to meet the queen and said with a smile, "It's really a sin for my working sister to come here." The queen's face was pale and she just wanted to go in.

Just then, two maids came in outside, followed by maids carrying boxes and boxes, piled up in the yard. It turned out that Yu Fei's brother, Yuan Wailang of the Ministry of Punishment, gave his wife a gift.

The queen went to the box and looked at it. Lady Yu knelt down and replied, "I know that the emperor and queen have always been thrifty and dare not give gifts, but I am afraid that I have wronged the queen, so my family sewed all the clothes." The queen turned it over, and it was all clothes, and the cloth was very ordinary, and nothing was too gorgeous. She nodded and said, "It is rare for the emperor to be so kind to his sister. It is really a face-saving thing! " In a word, Yu Fei felt uneasy and said with a smile, "It's windy in the yard, sister, come in quickly!"

Jade princess here a wink, ladies-in-waiting will carry the box into the house. Unexpectedly, the queen saw this scene, shook her hand and returned to the yard. She pointed to the box and said, "Don't move, look at what's coming in from outside."

Jade princess is still very patient, and she can't hold back her face at the sight of the queen. She said coldly, "Today is my sister's day. My sister is very grateful for your coming. This thing that entered the palace was inspected when it entered the noon gate. Why is my sister still picky? "

It turns out that opium has been banned since Daoguang ascended the throne, and Queen Niu Zhilu's husband sang along with his wife. She also made great efforts to ban smoking in the palace. This morning, the Queen received a tip from Jiang Youwei, general manager of Zhongcui Palace. Princess Yu's family will bring gifts and opium into the palace. If we don't check it now, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. She crossed her heart and gnashed her teeth. "I got a tip, and opium is hidden in this box." Open it and check it. "

When this statement came out, people in the yard looked at each other and didn't know what to do. Jade princess's face was white and red at first. She took out her handkerchief, covered her face and cried, "Your Majesty, male and female servants can only understand this heart when they are dead. You see, how can this be shameful! "

At this time, Lan Xiu, the big maid-in-waiting around the Queen, had taken people forward and knocked the box to the ground three times, five times and two times. Manager Jiang took the lead, picked up the axe and cut a hole in the bottom of the box with a few strokes. Sure enough, there was a mezzanine under the box, and everyone's heart hung up.

But when the whole bottom of the box was removed, the queen was disappointed. Although there is a mezzanine at the bottom of the box, it is all empty and there is nothing. Manager Jiang was dumbfounded, too

Jade princess has been sitting tight, he cried louder, and the queen is also panicked at the moment. Lan Xiu, the palace maid, is the queen's confidant. Look in your eyes and worry in your heart. She came over and looked at the clothes on the ground again. There is nothing strange about these clothes, so it is impossible to hide anything. Suddenly, looking at form's shoes, Lan Xiu's heart moved. Yufei is a woman who loves beauty very much. She hollowed out the wooden bottom of the flowerpot shoes, put spices in it, drilled a few small holes, and walked step by step, leaving fragrance all the time, but the soles given by Yufei's family were not hollowed out, which was obviously heavier to pick up.

Lan Xiu thought of this, grabbed a pair of shoes that fell to the ground and twisted the sole hard, which was disconnected from the heel. It turns out that the inside of the shoe is still hollow, but the difference is not perfume, but opium paste. Jade princess saw it, turned pale with fear and was at a loss.

The queen breathed a sigh of relief, put a straight face, and said seriously, "The Jade Princess's family spread opium and violated the criminal law of the Qing Dynasty. Let's take it to the internal affairs office and investigate it according to law! "

At this time, someone suddenly said, "Today is a good day for Yu Fei. Why are you still trying this case?" The queen was a little confused at the sight of people coming. It turns out that the bearer is the queen mother today. Empress Dowager Cixi was not Daoguang's biological mother, but she helped him when he ascended the throne, so Daoguang respected Empress Dowager Cixi very much and was obedient at ordinary times. Smoking was forbidden in the palace, and the Empress Dowager was specifically told not to know, because she was afraid that she would not be able to ban opium for many years and wronged her. Today, the queen originally wanted to get rid of aliens with the handle of Jade Princess, but unexpectedly she shocked the queen mother, so she was in some trouble.

Jade princess just grabbed the straw, threw herself in front of the queen mother and cried, "I let my family bring opium in privately, not for myself, but to honor the queen mother!" "

When the queen heard this, she was furious and said, "You use the queen mother as a shield and think I dare not treat you?"

Yu Fei said confidently, "The Queen Mother understands that I just gave birth to a little princess who is 100 days old. Because my wet nurse is not good, I have been breastfeeding myself. How can I smoke opium? " The queen was speechless by this sentence, but she was unwilling. She tried to take countermeasures. Unexpectedly, the queen mother attacked. She asked, "Queen, is smoking forbidden in the palace? How do I know nothing about this? "

The queen faltered and didn't know how to explain it. At this moment, Daoguang came over. Seeing this situation, he was very angry, appeased the queen mother, and was not allowed to punish Yu Fei, leaving the queen alone. The queen is not reconciled and wants to say more. The emperor has helped Queen Luan drive back to the palace.

The empress dowager gave up smoking.

The queen thought she could please the emperor this time, but she didn't expect a hot face and a cold face. Since then, the emperor has been snubbing herself. This is what happened in the palace. When it falls out of favor, it is worse than a pig, worse than a dog, and so is the queen. Seeing that her prestige is getting worse every day, even concubines dare to push their noses and face. The queen is very angry, and she always loses her temper with the imperial secretary on weekdays.

Jiang Youwei, the manager, fell out of favor because of the last incident. He made a mistake and was removed from the position of manager. A few days later, I somehow got into trouble and was beaten with a hundred sticks. On weekdays, the little eunuch hates him for bullying others. These 100 sticks are not light, and they are already dying after being carried back to the room. Lan Xiu and Jiang Youwei were originally a vegetable farmer, that is, a lady-in-waiting and a eunuch married privately. Since Jiang Youwei got on the bus with the Queen, she has paid no attention to Lan Xiu. Now in trouble, Lan Xiunian missed the old love and fidgeted, sneaking into her room by moonlight. Jiang Youwei was dying at this moment. As soon as she saw Lan Xiu, she took her hand and said, "I'm sorry I let you down. Let's leave ourselves a way out in the future. Now that the queen tide has passed, don't put your life in it for loyalty. These masters didn't treat us like human beings. They used to throw it over the wall, even a broken rag! " Say that finish, I was dead when I inserted my eyes.

Lan Xiu also dare not cry, silently back to the room, * * *. Besides, Empress, in order to win back the emperor's heart, we have to work hard on the Empress Dowager and pay a visit every morning and evening. When the Queen Mother heard that smoking was forbidden in the palace, she made up her mind to give up smoking, setting a good example for the palace people. But she has been smoking opium for many years, she is old and weak, and it is not so easy to give up smoking. After a few days, she looked haggard, with a runny nose and tears, which was very painful. When the emperor saw this, he was deeply saddened and knelt down to ask the queen mother to smoke. Although the queen was angry with the queen mother and the emperor for their ruthlessness, after all, the queen mother was her aunt and she won the queen herself. Just because it is difficult to accommodate two masters in one palace, there is a contradiction between the two. Now they are afraid of the consequences they have caused.

After a long struggle, the Queen Mother finally gave up smoking, and everyone was very happy. The emperor also lost his temper with the queen and occasionally came to stay for one night. The queen's heart finally settled down and secretly continued to collect power to establish her position in the palace.

It was the birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi. The emperor and empress led the harem to the palace of Empress Dowager Cixi early to entertain guests. The scene is very warm. The queen has already prepared a special gift for the empress dowager: in those days, the empress dowager had a little Beijing bus, which was her favorite, but unfortunately she died of old age. This time, the queen specially ordered someone to find one with the same color as the original one and put it in her own palace, waiting for it to be presented today.

When the Queen Mother saw Xiao Jing Baer's smile, she was so happy that she held her in her arms. However, the puppy was restless, sniffing around, and finally earned the arm of the queen mother and jumped on the dragon bed twice. There is a bottle on the table at the head of the bed. Knock it over and smash it to pieces.

The bottle broke on the ground, and everyone's eyes were straight. Isn't it just bags of opium? The queen mother's face suddenly changed, sighed, closed her eyes and said, "I'm tired of mourning. Let's all disperse."

The emperor was livid and led the people out of the palace gate. He swept over and scolded the queen, ignoring the royal Tianwei and failing to observe filial piety. Several major accusations overwhelmed the queen, who knelt down and wept bitterly. The emperor directly gave an order that all the affairs in the palace would be handled by the emperor in the future, which was equivalent to taking back all the power of the queen.

3. A glass of medicated wine

When the queen returns to the palace, she can't get sick. The emperor ignored her, and her heart was cold. On this day, the queen felt a little relaxed and let Lan Xiu get up and freshen herself.

Lan Xiu rushed over to serve, and when he saw Byakki Smoker, he couldn't help but feel sad and sighed: "The Queen has lost a lot of weight in just a few days."

The queen looked in the mirror and smiled faintly. "There is no need to argue about this. I am afraid that if this continues, my life will not be mine. " Lan Xiu began to cry. Just then, a maid-in-waiting came in. Just before kneeling down, a group of people came in behind.

It turned out that Empress Dowager Cixi brought all the concubines to visit the sick, which was unexpected by the Empress. She got up and wanted to kneel. Empress Dowager Cixi gave her a hand and sighed, "Poor son, I haven't seen such a thin body for days. Your mind is too heavy, queen. Everyone knows that you are bent on the emperor, but your temper is a little stubborn. Just be soft and coax the emperor. " The queen was full of anger at the queen mother. After hearing this, she realized that she had wronged the good man and could not help crying. The queen mother took out a handkerchief and wiped it for her, and called the maid-in-waiting behind her to say, "Bring the medicinal liquor that Ai's family brought to the queen. I made it myself. It's the most refreshing. Let the queen have a drink. "

When the queen saw the glass, she woke up a lot. Although the queen mother came to be nice, she couldn't help it. She beckoned Lan Xiu to come over and said with a smile, "Come and give me the wine given by the Queen Mother."

Lan Xiu took it from the maid-in-waiting and sent it to the back while it was hot. The queen breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Lan Xiu must have changed the wine. She took the wine and gave it up. The queen mother smiled and said, "You have a good rest and don't think about it." Say that finish and leave with everyone.

After such torture, the queen was tired, so she asked Lan Xiu to hold her and lie down. Somehow, as soon as her head touched the pillow, she felt dizzy and panicked. She hurriedly called Lan Xiu to ask questions, but she couldn't make a sound.

Lan Xiu smiled and tucked the corner of the quilt for her, and said softly, "The wine your lordship just drank is from the Queen Mother. Please accept the gift from the Queen Mother. " After that, she put down the curtain and went out, telling the little maid-in-waiting to say, "Don't disturb her when she is tired, let her have a good sleep."

Glared at the queen ruthlessly, want to call Lan Xiu back, but can't move lightly, so she doesn't understand why her confidant will unite with the queen mother to harm herself. On her deathbed, she suddenly realized that the difficulty of banning smoking was not a simple problem, but a contradiction between the upper and lower Qing Dynasty. She is just a summary of this line.

The next morning, the queen Niu Zhilu was found dead in Zhong Cui Palace. Daoguang gave the Queen a grand funeral and gave her the title of filial piety. The queen mother was even more heartbroken, but no one mentioned medicinal liquor.

Lan Xiu, the grand maid-in-waiting of Zhongcui Palace, hanged herself the day after the queen was buried, and buried her forever with her secret. In fact, on the first day when Niulu was brought into the palace, Lan Xiu appeared beside her, and the eyeliner placed by the Queen Mother was waiting for the right time. It was not until the queen and the empress dowager had a conflict that her chess pieces came in handy.

Jing Baer was instructed by the Queen Mother to receive training from Lan Xiu. When she smells opium, she will rummage through everything, deliberately making the emperor make up his mind to neglect the queen in this way. Later, when I brought wine, I also took advantage of the Queen's trust in Lan Xiu.

Lan Xiu knows that when the Queen dies, she will be martyred, and the Queen Mother won't let her live as a witness. Or Jiang Youwei put it well, in front of these masters, they are just old rags thrown away.

When she stepped on the stool with a smile, she thought that at least her parents in her hometown had been provided for.

Hougong Daqing