What was the last thing Emperor Shunzhi said to Concubine Dong E before her death?

shi Lichou

As in previous years, winter always comes so early in the Forbidden City. As soon as the winter solstice passed, a thick layer of ice formed on the green lake of Nanyuan, and the flying snow scattered, slowly piling up layer after layer, just like the past events accumulated in the memory, only the past After a long time, it will melt, evaporate and disappear with the wind of time.

Fulin sat under the eaves of Chengqian Palace and asked the palace maid to sweep the snow off the plum blossoms to make wine while he looked up at the sky, quietly lost in thought. It has been a long time since it was so quiet. He suddenly stood up again. He couldn't bear the silence. He lowered his head and paced back and forth on the corridor. When I glanced at the pale and beautiful face in the silk tent through the carved wooden lattice window, I couldn't help but sigh secretly in my heart. "If Concubine E's illness doesn't improve after this winter solstice, I'm afraid she won't be able to survive for a long time..." The words of the imperial doctor were like thousands of knives stinging his heart at the same time, which was extremely painful. From then on, he His heart is riddled with holes. He yelled and roared like crazy, and even dismissed the so-called "quack doctor" because of this, but everything was still to no avail.

So he understood that he could only wait and pray. He had no thoughts about politics every day, just hoping to see her again after a short separation, for fear that one day, she would suddenly disappear. Concubine Dong E's illness has gradually worsened since she became ill. Sometimes she rarely wakes up a few times a month. Even if she opens her eyes slightly, she takes a few mouthfuls of soup and falls asleep again.

And today something incredible happened. When Fulin was walking alone in the corridor, he turned around and found Concubine E standing not far behind him, wearing a snow-white fox coat and leaning softly against the corner pillar at the other end of the corridor, smiling at him. She was so beautiful, it seemed like she had been there for several lifetimes. A smile I've never seen before. Fulin hurried over and carefully held this soft and petite body in his arms. "Why did you...?" "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I was just tired of sleeping. When I woke up in the morning, I suddenly felt very refreshed, so I wanted to go out for a walk. I never expected to meet you in this corridor." "You. "Is it really okay?" "Concubine, I feel much better now." "Okay, that's good. You really missed me." Fulin let out a long sigh. "Concubine knows that at this time every day, the emperor will come over. Concubine can feel what the emperor does and thinks even in his sleep." "Now that you understand my feelings for you, you should get better soon. Then, I will take you back to Jiangnan. Didn't you say that you always wanted to go back and see the misty rain in April? ""Your Majesty, I want to go out for a walk now, can you take me there?" Where do you want to go?” “Can you take me to see the snow? It’s so beautiful.” “Okay, shall we go to Jingshan or Nanyuan?” “I’m thinking of Cui.” The snow on the lake can sometimes be seen in my dreams. I remember that I only went there during the Lantern Festival of the year when I first entered the palace. Thinking about it now, it feels like it’s a lifetime ago. “Yes, since we were separated when we were young. It is true that we have never been to Nanyuan together, and I really want to go with you to see the heavy snow in Nanyuan."

I heard that the emperor and the imperial concubine are going to make arrangements for Nanyuan in person. The garden, the servants in the garden got out early as if celebrating the New Year. This was the only intimate trip in the life of Emperor Shunzhi and Concubine Dong E, but it really added a lot of popularity to Nanyuan, which had been deserted for a long time.

Finally, it was a sunny day. Most of the snow on Green Lake melted away, and the two of them could go boating. There was no one else on the boat, just a couple and a pot of warm wine. Outside the boat are the scenery of lakes and mountains, and endless rivers and mountains. Fulin couldn't help but feel: "This is the real place where beautiful people sit in the mountains and rivers. There are so many great people in the past and present, but none of them have such true love and happiness as mine." After saying this, he drank a glass of hot wine and hugged him. Concubine Dong E let out a long laugh. "I really hope that we can stay at this moment." "E Xue..." "Your Majesty, you haven't called me that for a long time, and now I feel unfamiliar." Concubine Dong E heard Fulin When I called her by her given name, I was inexplicably moved, and my eyes filled with tears. "E Xue, after so many years, I am almost no longer who I am, but you are still the same as when we first met." "Who said that, who said you have changed, you will always be my... Fulin. "E Xue, it's a good thing you didn't forget my name." Fulin was excited and hugged her tighter.

"After so many years, from entering the palace to being drafted to sadly marrying someone else, and from keeping vigil after my husband's death to returning to the old palace, I once placed all my dreams in my youth on the seemingly majestic Forbidden City. However, my naivety made me My dream was ruined, and the distance from you went from far to close, and then became far again. Just when I almost gave up all thoughts of seeing you again, fate brought me back to you. I want to love you well, because I know you are lonely, and sometimes I can read that loneliness on your face, but now, I seem to be a little powerless." Fulin was touched and grateful, tenderly. He said, "It was when we were young that we had the opportunity to talk quietly like this. At that time, I was leaning on your shoulder and listening to you sing the songs that only your Ama could teach me to sing. I always felt at ease when listening. , it seems that Huang Ama has returned to me. At that time, I secretly vowed that you can only belong to me. If you leave me, I will never love anyone else again." Concubine Dong E's eyes flashed. With a hint of uneasiness, he immediately said: "Didn't the emperor live a good life in those years before I entered the palace? My concubine was just a person in front of me, so the emperor said such angry words." "No, E Xue, I I'm serious. Remember every word I said today. If you leave, I will never love you again!" He said these words clearly and without any ambiguity. Concubine Dong E kept it in her heart. He shuddered. He knew her physical condition very well. Now that he said such decisive words, in addition to swearing, he also had a strong intention to retain her. It was not that she had not thought about staying and continuing to accompany him. After finishing this life, maybe it won't be too long. It was Fulin's deep love that allowed her nearly exhausted body to support her to this day again and again. But she understood that Fulin was finally Be disappointed. "Fu Lin, I believe you, but if I am so unlucky, I will naturally not blame God. But if one day you miss me, go back to my hometown, maybe I will wait for you there." Fulin felt unhappy. Answer, but didn’t ask any more questions. "Even if we meet and we don't know each other, our faces are covered with dust and our temples are like frost..." "Fu Lin, are you afraid that I will make you wait for another ten years? No, we will not become like that." After saying this, she coughed violently He got up, tears streaming from his eyes, and blood dripping from the white towel covering his mouth. "E Xue, E Xue, what's wrong with you, you...don't scare me!" She said angrily, "I still remember the year I entered the palace, when you and I were still young, when we first met in Nanyuan , the other princess ladies were all surrounded by the Queen Mother’s house to enjoy the lanterns. Only you silently looked at me who had been hiding in the corner for a long time. You held my hand and walked in front without saying a word. I listened to your laughter from behind. My face is full of tears. When I grow up, I know that the only way I can come back to you is through the draft, but I have no relatives and the most stubborn personality. I don't know how to get along with you, so I only rely on my talents. Of course I lost, and I lost because of my self-esteem. Amma regarded the fact that I was pointed out to Prince Xiang as a great joy, because I no longer had to go to the palace and suffer the harem life in vain. , but I felt that I had lost the last bit of faith in my life. It was not until you were declared dead that I suddenly discovered that the distance between me and this palace was no longer as far away as thousands of rivers and mountains. With such barriers inside and outside the red wall, we have grown up and are no longer the childhood sweethearts. People will change. I know that I will not belong here. Until now, I also want to leave and take you with me. "Come on, I understand you think so too, but we can't! But I didn't expect that I would spend my whole life like this...in the palace...all my life..." "I only blame me for being born in this imperial family." !" Concubine Dong E got emotional and stretched out her hands to hug Fulin's waist firmly. The two hugged each other and cried, never leaving. If only one of the tears an emperor shed in his life was true, it was this one.

In the afternoon, the sun shone lazily through the window of Concubine Dong E's palace, shining on her face. Her slightly narrowed eyes were smiling, and her forehead as smooth as white jade was covered with fine beads of sweat. "Why, it's not summer yet, do you feel hot?" Fulin took a wet wipe and wiped it gently on her forehead. She tried her best to prop up her body lying on the bed frame and shook her head. "I told you a long time ago that I want you to change the color of the bed curtains. You always prefer simple and elegant decorations in Chengqian Palace. Maybe changing it to a colorful one will make you happy." "Your Majesty!" She suddenly grabbed his wrist and said, Fulin felt that her hand seemed to be formed by condensing all the strength in her body. "Fu Lin" her expression suddenly became extremely sad again, "I dreamed about Brother Si." He trembled all over and the towel in his hand fell to the ground.

"I dreamed that he was lying alone in a far away place, crying helplessly. We... what on earth have we done to deserve such retribution." After saying this, he began to cry miserably. Fulin felt a sharp pain in his heart, and scenes from the past emerged before his eyes. Ever since Concubine Dong E's fourth son died suddenly, childbirth had become a taboo in the harem. On every anniversary of their child's death, Fulin and Concubine Dong E would always go to the ancestral temple to worship Qi Fu and fast for a month. Concubine Dong E, in particular, was so thin because she was busy taking care of the sick Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang during her confinement period. The pain of losing her son made her so crazy that she couldn't control herself. She soon fell into all kinds of ailments, and even minor illnesses were incurable. , eventually becoming a serious illness. Today was expected by herself, Fulin, and others. "My child is looking for me. I heard him cry so desperately. When he was here, I couldn't take good care of him for a day, but soon, E Niang will make it up to you." Fulin begged while crying. , "I don't allow you to go, you have to make up for it, and you have to wait for me, let's go together." "But the child misses his mother, is this wrong?" She was already delirious when she said it, and she fainted as soon as she finished speaking. .

Fu Lin finally decided to go to the Ancestral Temple to save his beloved wife Qi Fu. Under such circumstances, he could not think of any other better way.

The thunderstorm at night violently struck the window lintel of Fulin's Taimiao Palace, and a dazzling lightning flash passed through the sky and shot into Fulin's bed instantly. He was awakened by this dream that seemed to be real. When he sat up, he realized that the close-fitting silk nightgown had been soaked with cold sweat. The wet aqua blue satin curtains were fluttering in the air amidst the sound of wind and rain, slowly and slowly, like those endless The resentful spirit that had found its home would sing long and sad songs every time he dreamed about it at midnight, making his whole heart shake violently. In the darkness, he saw the faces of those ghosts, including children and old people. They were smiling happily at first, but then they were crying ferociously. Those were not the prisoners who died in the literary prison, because one of his pictures Zhu Pi, hundreds of people were executed one after another. How many of them really violated the king's laws? Ever since the Literary Prison that year, Fulin always felt that he couldn't sleep well. He believed that the real murderer was himself, and that hundreds of lives were wiped out in an instant because of a piece of paper. He was often afraid. Because of fear, he couldn't feel at ease. At nights like this, Concubine Dong E should have been by his side, but she was not around. Now those innocent souls were trying to kill him, so he curled up in the corner of the bed. , cried quietly. From then on, he had the idea of ????escape into Buddhism. If Concubine E really let go, he would really do this. He believed that only the pure place of Buddhism can drive away accumulation. The sins in your heart, to atone for your past. Fulin had been doing this day and night for days and nights, not just to purify his soul. Fulin was more willing to believe that Concubine Dong E's critical illness was God's punishment for him and the consequences of all his sins. So he pinned almost all his life's hope and piety on such rituals, hoping that God would show mercy and at least not take away his E Xue.

However, Emperor Shunzhi's piety could not save Concubine Dong E's life. She died on a heavy rainy afternoon. Fulin was meditating in the Buddhist hall filled with fragrant mist as usual. There was a panicked sound of horse hooves, followed by the sound of the door of the lobby being hurriedly opened by an eunuch. His hands shook, and his mind immediately returned to reality. There was silence in the lobby, and that kind of silence made Fulin feel terrible. He suddenly had an ominous premonition that there might be such quiet loneliness everywhere in his future life. Nobushi's heavy breathing lasted for a while, and then he said, "Long live Qi Zhen, E... Concubine E, she... Sheila!" After saying this, he kowtowed hurriedly and cried violently. The beads in Fulin's hand had been broken, and they fell one by one on the marble floor. It sounded like a lonely echo to Fulin. "Don't be impatient. Get up and answer slowly." He didn't seem to have listened to what he just said at all. He just stood up calmly and walked to Nobuhiro. "I follow the order of the Empress Dowager and ask the Emperor to return to the palace as soon as possible to discuss the aftermath of the Imperial Concubine." "The Emperor...the Emperor's Empress came to me to tell me...who to bury?" Fulin's voice had already started to growl. Trembling. "Back to the Emperor, it's Concubine Dong'e who passed away in Chengqian Palace three hours ago." The chanting in the Buddhist hall began to come one after another, but the chanting became more orderly. Fulin felt that his vision was blurry, and he staggered back a few steps, and then rushed into the rain desperately, looking up to the sky and screaming, "No!" "Your Majesty!" The eunuchs kneeling in the corridor lined up to crawl to the In the rain, I kept trying to persuade them to retreat.

"Don't call me the emperor. Without E Xue, I will no longer be the emperor from now on!"

He still did not give up his idea along the way. E Xue must not be dead yet, she She must still be waiting in Chengqian Palace. Her illness is just due to the accumulation of fatigue over time. As long as he takes good care of himself and adds some tonics to replenish the weak energy, it won't take long before his E Xue will definitely be alive and kicking again. Besides, E Xue would not leave him alone, and she was reluctant to let him go. The more Fulin thought about it, the more he felt that the truth should be like this. As long as they arrived at Chengqian Palace, they could cuddle up and talk for a while.

Long white strips of cloth were hung outside the huge Chengqian Palace. The wind gradually ruffled these strips, forming a vague barrier in the corridor, which made Fulin's eyes tremble. It's hard to move forward even half a step with your feet. There was a faint cry from the side of the dormitory at the end of the corridor. His mind was blank, and his body fell heavily to the ground. Tears covered his face at some point. He didn't even remember how he stood up later, and then How did he have the courage to reach out and open the curtain leading to E Xue's bedroom?

He would never have thought that a short separation would lead to an eternal farewell, and now that we see each other again, we will be separated forever. He looked at her lying on the bed unusually peacefully, her flawless white face still retaining the innate sadness and elegance that could never be erased, as if she was sleeping with a smile on her face again. "E Xue, I'm back." He said softly, reaching out to hold her hand. "E Xue, how long will you sleep again this time? Every time I am waiting for you alone, waiting alone. Unexpectedly, now you have left me alone in this empty world. I don’t know how lonely I will be in the future.” After saying that, she choked and cried. Wu Liangfu, the chief eunuch on the side, looked anxious and said quickly, “The Queen Mother fainted from crying here just now, and now she has returned to Ci. Ning Gong has gone to rest. Long live my Lord, you are tired from the journey, why don't you... go back and rest before you come back. There are servants here." Fulin waved his hands sadly and said, "The one who always follows Concubine E is called Feng. Where is Qi's little girl? "Call her here." After a while, a pretty girl about 20 years old came to Fulin and bowed, "Slave Feng Qi, please see me." "Yes." "Come on. Tell me, did you tell me anything before you left?" "I just asked Long Live Master to pay attention to the dragon body, and don't miss her too much." "That's all." I muttered a sentence, "If you don't take a breath, where will you stay?" "If you don't take a breath, where will you stay? Where are you going, and where will I go?" Fulin sighed deeply. He took a breath and said, "How does the empress treat you on weekdays?" The servants immediately shouted in unison, "Very good!" "Yes." Fulin nodded and said happily, "Now that the empress is gone, the palace is also It's vacant. If you stay, you'll only miss the emptiness. Why don't you all go with her!" "Minions thank the Holy Dragon for his kindness!" After the sound of gratitude, there was a faint sound of crying. "Wait, you'd better stay, Feng Qi. If I miss her, I can find someone to dig into my heart. For my own selfishness, I will temporarily wrong you." Feng Qi was startled, but she was still indifferent. Kowtow to express gratitude.

In August of the 17th year of Shunzhi, Concubine Dong E passed away in Renyin, and more than a hundred of Concubine Dong E's personal attendants, large and small, were buried in the Qian Palace. For this reason, Emperor Shunzhi even wrote a poem in memory of Dong E. The article "The Deeds of Empress Duanjing" in E's life officially made Dong E the empress. The words in the article are true and touching, showing Emperor Shunzhi's true love for Concubine Dong E. At the same time, future generations can also see the peerless elegance, virtuousness, filial piety and courtesy of this imperial concubine with Han ancestry.

"In August of the 17th year of Shunzhi, in the eighth month of Renyin, the empress Xiao Xianzhuang and Zhide Xuanren Wenhui Duanjing died. Woohoo! The internal governance of the virtuous, the praising of Xiang and the helpless, the eternal words of virtue, the devastation of the poor. But the nature of the later generations is pure, and it can serve as a model for future generations. It is not me who expresses it, but how can I know it? When we meet