In 1717, Empress Xiaohuizhang was critically ill, and at that time, the 64-year-old Kangxi's feet were so puffy that he could hardly walk. Wrapping his feet in a handkerchief, he rode to the Ningshou Palace by soft opinion, knelt in front of his mother-in-law's bed, held his mother-in-law's hand in both hands, and said, "Mother Eun, the Emperor is here." ”
Empress Xiaohuizhang, the second empress of Shunzhi, was also "a gift from her mother to Shunzhi". It was also a literal political marriage. In order to maintain the special position of the Mongol nobles in the palace and the stability of the Qing Empire, Empress Xiaozhuang once again searched for the next wife for her son from the Mongolian Horqin steppe.
This new empress was precisely the cousin niece of the last deposed empress. For Shunzhi, life is indeed full of all kinds of unexpected surprises and surprises.
Considering the lessons of the failure of the previous marriage, Empress Xiaozhuang also took pains when choosing an empress for her son. The woman she chose had a simple and loyal personality, was docile and kind, and had good conduct, so that Shunzhi would have no faults to pick.
But who would have thought that such a virtuous wife, after entering the palace and being enthroned, was immediately left behind by Shunzhi, and would not look at it, and the fourteen-year-old Xiaohuizhang Little Empress began her own married life in such cold violence.
The Shunzhi Emperor was rebellious, and he didn't like this woman. Empress Xiaohuizhang remained widowed in the palace for 7 years until the death of the Shunzhi Emperor.
In 1661, at the age of 8, Xuan Ye succeeded to the throne, and his mother Empress Xiaohuizhang was honored as empress dowager, while his biological mother Tong Jiashi was made empress dowager.
Unfortunately, Tong Jiashi only became empress dowager for two years before he died of illness, and since then, Kangxi has only one mother, Empress Xiaohuizhang. Empress Xiaohuizhang gave all her love back to the young Tianzi, and Kangxi was extremely dependent on and respected her.
In the nineteenth year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1680), empress dowager Xiao Huizhang was born on her 40th birthday. On this day, the Kangxi Emperor held a grand birthday banquet in the Ningshou Palace, and the four grandchildren of the Empress Xiaohuizhang, the Kangxi Emperor, the Emperor's eldest son Yin Zhen, and the Crown Prince Yin Junior gathered together to celebrate the birthday of the Empress Dowager.
The 4-year-old Emperor's third son Yin Zhi, the 3-year-old Emperor's fourth son Yin Qi, and the 2-year-old Emperor's fifth son Yin Qi were all held by their mother and grandmother to attend grandma's birthday. Foreign clans, baylors, beetles, beetles, eunuchs, gongs, taiji and ministers, bodyguards, concubines, wives, and concubines who came to Beijing for the new year all came to participate in the celebrations. Ningshou Palace was bustling with activity.
In the thirty-ninth year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1700), when Empress Xiaohuizhang was 60 years old, the Kangxi Emperor presented her with the "Longevity Without Frontiers", and also presented Buddha statues, corals, chiming bells, foreign mirrors, Eastern pearls, fur coats, various spices, agate, Song and Yuan famous paintings and other items. During the birthday feast, the imperial dining room is made of tens of thousands of grains of rice and "jade grain rice of all nations".
In the forty-ninth year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1710), the Kangxi Emperor held a grand 70th birthday banquet for Empress Xiaohuizhang at Ningshou Palace.
According to the "Records of the Ancestors of the Qing Dynasty", on the sixteenth day of the first month, the guests of the palace feasted and invited the drama team, and for a time the lights were red and green, and it was not lively. While the Kangxi Emperor accompanied the empress dowager to watch the play, while saying some auspicious words for the empress dowager's birthday, a play came down, and the 57-year-old Xuan Ye suddenly stepped onto the stage to dance a python dance for the empress.
Empress Xiaohui quickly stood up to dissuade the emperor, because the emperor was too old to dance. However, after the Kangxi Emperor excitedly congratulated the empress dowager on her birthday, he jumped up.
After the Kangxi Emperor finished this set of actions, the Kangxi Emperor's forehead was already slightly sweating, and the empress dowager stood up movingly and hurriedly said: "The emperor is filial piety, the heavens and the earth are zhaozhao, please rest, don't get tired." ”
The Kangxi Emperor served his mother-in-law for more than 50 years, always maintaining the daily etiquette of the family, all the practices came from the nature of heaven, and when encountering something that needed to be prayed, he also met two or three times a day; If nothing happens, there are cases where you don't go to see you every few days.
Later, every time the Kangxi Emperor went out, he always thought of his mother-in-law as he did his grandmother. Once, on his way out on a tour, the Kangxi Emperor sent an edict to the chief eunuch: "Fall to Boluo and Tun, do not expect the crucian carp to return..... Therefore, zhao xian incense fried fifty tails, gong into the empress dowager, and played this word. Once again, when he sent anchovies to his mother-in-law, he also gave a poem:
In ancient times, there were Shengjing feng old relatives, and the golden scales were first obtained by Shang Fangzhen.
Although the starry night is passing, it seems to be fresh out of the waterfront.
When her mother-in-law Xiaohui was more than 70 years old, her teeth were sore, and the Kangxi Emperor comforted her: "Empress Dowager, your grandchildren already have white hair and teeth will fall, not to mention that your grandmother enjoys such an advanced age?" The teeth of the elderly fall out, which is beneficial to future generations. This is a good sign that the empress dowager is kind and benevolent, and her life is long! Empress Xiaohuizhang was particularly relieved to hear this.
On the fourth day of the first month of December in the fifty-sixth year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1717), Empress Xiaohuizhang was critically ill, and at that time, the Kangxi Emperor himself was not in good health, and his feet were so swollen that he could hardly walk. Wrapping his feet in a handkerchief, he came to The Ningshou Palace by soft public opinion, and the 64-year-old Kangxi Emperor knelt in front of his mother-in-law's bed, held his mother-in-law's hand in both hands, and said, "Mother Eun, the emperor is here." ”
At this time, Empress Xiaohuizhang was extremely weak and could no longer speak. She opened her eyes, and a strong light made her unable to see things clearly, and she shaded the light with her hands before she could see the Kangxi Emperor, who was also tormented by illness. At the last moment of her life, she held the emperor's hand and looked at him for a long time, her eyes full of infinite attachment and gratitude to the Kangxi Emperor.
On the evening of the sixth day of the first month of December, Empress Xiaohuizhang completed the 77-year road of life.
For a month from the fourth day of December, two days before Empress Xiaohuizhang's death, to the third day of January of the following year, the Kangxi Emperor lived in the Cangzhen Gate and never returned to his palace.
On December 15th, he personally went to Ningshou Palace to pay tribute to the wine, and one scene after another of his past with his mother-in-law appeared in his mind, but in front of him was a thing, and he couldn't help but feel sad, and he cried and lost his voice before he began to read the sacrifice text.... After reading the altar text, I still wept incessantly.....
Judging from the final ending of Empress Xiaohuizhang, she was lucky to meet a good son who was filial piety. From the perspective of marriage, she is not a happy woman, not favored by her husband, and is considered an unhappy woman.
Putting aside all this, Empress Xiaohuizhang was the longest reigning empress dowager in the history of the Qing Dynasty, and she was also one of the happiest empresses.
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