In the hit Qing Palace drama "Yanxi Raiders", the eunuch Shou Xi and the palace lady Linglong were sent to the Prudential Punishment Department for punishment because they were married to the heroine Wei Yongluo, stealing chickens and not eating rice.
The Prudential Punishment Department was the institution responsible for disposing of illegal eunuchs and palace women in the Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty.
The Prudential Division is a formal body of the Ministry of the Interior. Originally named Shōkataji, it was renamed Shōkata-in in 1655. In 1677, it was renamed the Prudential Division. The Prudential Punishment Division has langzhong, yuanwailang, chief, commission chief, pen and post, scrivener, etc. It has jurisdiction over the Fan Gong Department, which is also a staff member of the Ministry of internal affairs, and has 4 chief and deputy leaders and 40 Fan Gong, who are responsible for arresting criminals.
So, what are the responsibilities of the Prudential Division?
In short, it is 7 words: the name of the three flags in the palm of the hand. This means that all cases within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are handled by the Prudential Punishment Department in accordance with relevant laws.
Obviously, the Prudential Punishment Department is equivalent to a judicial body set up within the palace, and its power is quite large. Palace women and eunuchs entered the Prudential Punishment Department, and often they would shed their skin even if they did not die. Therefore, the palace maids and eunuchs were afraid of the Prudential Punishment Department and regarded them as "ghost doors".
The Guangxu Emperor was very fond of Concubine Zhen and snubbed Empress Longyu, much to the displeasure of Empress Dowager Cixi. After the "Penghu Reform Law," Empress Dowager Cixi not only put emperor Guangxu and concubines under house arrest, but also handed over a group of eunuchs under emperor guangxu and concubines to the Prudential Punishment Department, and each of them was severely beaten 200 boards on the charge of "forming a party for personal gain."
This meal came down, and there was almost no one.
However, if it is a relatively serious case, such as one that may involve the killing of the head, the Prudential Criminal Division will not be able to manage it, and it must be transferred to the "Three Laws Division", that is, the Punishment Department, the Dali Temple, and the Metropolitan Inspection Bureau. ”
In the late Qing Dynasty, there was a young eunuch in the imperial palace named Kou Liancai. Kou Liancai was intelligent and capable, meticulous and prudent, and quite literate, and was loved by Empress Dowager Cixi, and her treatment was very generous. When Kou Liancai was ordered to serve the Guangxu Emperor (in essence, surveillance), he served the Guangxu Emperor properly, and from time to time was rewarded by the Guangxu Emperor.
As we all know, the relationship between Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor was very stiff. Kou Lian was able to get the likes of both of them at the same time, which was indeed superior.
Kou Liancai was not an ordinary eunuch, he was worried about the country and the people, and he had a sense of justice. In 1896, Kou Liancai, feeling the defeat of the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War and the calamity of the "Maguan Treaty", disregarded the Qing Dynasty's ban on eunuchs interfering in government affairs, imitated the practice of Kang Youwei and others "writing on the bus", and gave Empress Dowager Cixi a twist, putting forward 10 suggestions, such as "the Summer Palace is not suitable for stationing", "stop the reconstruction of the Yuanmingyuan Project", "It is not appropriate to make the emperor close to the sun", and "Please establish a prince".
Empress Dowager Cixi was furious when she saw the recital and handed Kou Liancai over to the Punishment Department instead of the Prudential Punishment Department. According to The will of Empress Dowager Cixi, the Ministry of Punishment drew up a "beheading decision" on the basis of the imperial example of "beheading those who are internally in charge of the affairs of the internal prisoners" and adding the crime of "fornicating outside the palace and revealing the affairs inside the palace". Soon, Kou Liancai was sent to the Jingcai Shikou Execution Ground for execution.
If the harem concubines broke the law, would they also be sent to the Prudential Punishment Division to be punished? The answer, of course, is no. According to the Qing palace system, harem concubines were administered by the empress. They broke the law and were handed over to the Empress.
If the case is more serious, it will be tried by the emperor himself.
The Qianlong Emperor had a concubine, who was cruel and moody. In 1778, Concubine Huan once beat a palace maid alive, causing an uproar in the court. After hearing the case himself, the Qianlong Emperor issued an edict stating that "concubines should be demoted to concubines as a sign of punishment; and ordered concubines and other empresses to take this as a warning, not to follow the same mistakes, and to commit their own sins."
However, just a year later, the Qianlong Emperor ordered the restoration of her status as a concubine. The palace maid was dead.
[References: "Qing Shilu", "Great Qing Huidian", etc.]