What happened to Cui Yugui, the eunuch who pushed Concubine Zhen into a well?

After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the eunuch Cui Yugui once visited the home of He Ronger ("The Palace Maid's Talk" was dictated by her and recorded by Jin Yi and Shen Yiling) and talked about the promotion of Concubine Zhen. Entering the well finally revealed the truth about Concubine Zhen's death.

Giving Death to Concubine Zhen

Cui Yugui is a popular figure in front of the Empress Dowager Cixi, second only to Li Lianying in status. He is both the Empress Dowager Cixi’s ears and mouth. love. At noon on July 20, the weather was extremely hot. After finishing lunch, Cixi told Cui Yugui that she would summon Concubine Zhen at the wrong time and ask her to wait at the Yihexuan.

According to the regulations of the Qing Dynasty, summoning a concubine is a job for two people. One person cannot take the concubine out of the palace alone. This is the rule of the palace. Cui Yugui kept an eye out, and in order to avoid making mistakes, he approached Wang Dehuan, the manager of Yihexuan, and asked him to go with him to deliver a message to Concubine Zhen. At that time, Concubine Zhen had been imprisoned in Beisan Institution for three years, which was the so-called cold palace.

Northeast Sansho and South Sansho were the places where wet nurses in the Ming Dynasty took care of their elderly. The wet nurse is a meritorious person. When she is old, she cannot bear to let them leave the palace, so she lives in these places, so this place is not desolate. The place where Concubine Zhen lived was Beisan House. She was imprisoned in the house and was not allowed to leave the house. Her meals and washing were handed in through the window by servants. She was not allowed to talk to anyone, and eunuchs were sent to monitor her in turns every day. On every holiday, death anniversary, first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, the old eunuch would reprimand the Queen Mother on behalf of her, pointing at her nose and listing her sins. After the scolding, Concubine Zhen would have to kowtow to express gratitude.

When Concubine Zhen arrived at the Summer Palace, there was not a single maid in the Summer Palace. Cixi was the only one sitting there. After Concubine Zhen came forward to say hello, she kept kneeling there. Cixi said bluntly:? Foreigners are about to invade the city. It's a mess outside. I don't know what will happen. We are all members of the royal family. If we are insulted, it will be a disgrace to the royal family and a disgrace to our ancestors. You are young and can easily get into trouble. We need to avoid you. It is inconvenient to take you away.

Concubine Zhen said: "You can avoid it, but the emperor cannot leave. He should stay in the capital to maintain the overall situation." These words really touched Cixi's heart. Cixi immediately turned her face and yelled, "You are about to die, yet you dare to talk nonsense." Concubine Zhen said, I am not guilty of death! Cixi said: Regardless of whether you are guilty or not, you must die. Before her death, Concubine Zhen asked to see Guangxu, but Cixi refused. So Cui Yugui was ordered to push her into the well. Poor Concubine Zhen died, but Guangxu knew nothing about it.

After returning to the palace in Xi'an, she was kicked out of the palace

After Cixi returned from Xi'an, in order to appease Emperor Guangxu, she sent people to fish Concubine Zhen out of the well, put her in a coffin, and buried her in a coffin. In the name of "Zhenlie Martyrdom", she was buried in Enji Village outside Fuchengmen, and Concubine Zhen was posthumously named Precious Concubine.

Cixi blamed Cui Yugui for the death of Concubine Zhen, saying that she was just angry at the time and said such angry words that it was Cui Yugui who pushed Concubine Zhen into the well. When he saw Cui Yugui, he felt sad and angry, so he drove Cui Yugui out of the palace. According to Cixi, Cui Yugui was entirely responsible for the death of Concubine Zhen. Such a crime should be a capital crime. However, Cui Yugui was only removed from his position as the Second Manager and sent back to Prince Qing's Mansion.

After all, the death of Concubine Zhen made the foreigners aware of the commotion. At this time, Cixi was no longer the old Buddha who insisted on making foreigners kneel down. She needed to save face, so she pinned all charges on Cui Yugui was put on the head, but Cixi was a person who could distinguish between public and private matters and did not silence Cui Yugui. Soon after, Cui Yugui returned to the palace as an errand, which further proves that the death of Concubine Zhen was actually Cixi's order.

After the death of Guangxu, Cui Yugui left the palace and lived in the Guandi Temple in the western suburbs of Beijing. After all, he was an errand next to Cixi. He had a lot of savings in his hands and lived a comfortable life. He usually also I like to go to teahouses and listen to storytelling. "Who's Who in China" records that one time Cui Yugui went to the Guangqingxuan Teahouse in Gulou, Beijing to listen to storytelling. When everyone saw Cui Yugui present, they asked him to tell the story of how Concubine Zhen fell into the well. Cui Yugui liked to show off, so he started talking immediately, but As soon as he finished speaking, the people in the teahouse began to curse, pointing at Cui Yugui's nose and saying: "You are so wicked, how dare you kill Concubine Zhen!" Cui Yugui said without any sign of weakness: "Can I violate Lafayette's will?"

Cui Yugui lived until 1926, and later died of gangrene in the Guandi Temple. He was later buried in the Jinshan Treasure Temple Cemetery in the western suburbs of Beijing.

Reference material: "The Past of the Palace Maid"

(This article is the original work of Yu Ji. Plagiarism will be investigated. The picture comes from the Internet. If there is any infringement, please contact us to delete it)

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