On this day, Empress Dowager Ci'an suddenly thought of a piece of ink pen belonging to the late Emperor Xianfeng in Zhongcui Palace. She dismissed the palace maid, took out an envelope from the box, and then took out a jade pendant tied with gold wire. Carved on the jade pendant is an animal with a body like a seahorse and a head like a phoenix. The surface of the jade pendant is delicate and smooth, and the whole body is translucent. Emperor Xianfeng once told her that this animal is called Haimafeng.

Empress Dowager Ci'an stared at the jade pendant for a long time, then slowly took out a piece of plain paper from the envelope. Over time, Zhu Yu's handwriting has turned yellow. She counted silently in her mind and couldn't help but exclaimed: "It's so fast, it's been 20 years."

Twenty years ago, she was still a queen. That happened in the spring of the eleventh year of Xianfeng. One day, the critically ill Xianfeng called her to the bedside and said in a weak voice: "Lan'er is getting worse and worse."

Lan'er was the nickname of Empress Dowager Cixi, who was still the Empress Dowager at that time. Concubine Yi.

Xianfeng continued: "Sushun once told me that he wanted me to imitate Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who killed his mother at the end of his life."

"What does it mean to kill his mother at the end of his life?" Ci'an asked.

So Xianfeng told her about the famous "witchcraft disaster" during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Queen Wei Zifu and Prince Liu Ju were framed by Su Wen, Jiang Chong, Han Shuo and others and could not explain themselves. He raised an army and committed suicide after the defeat. After that, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty never established another prince.

Xianfeng said that after the witchcraft disaster, there were four people who could inherit the throne: King Liu Dan of Yan, King Liu Xu of Guangling, King Liu Sui of Changyi, and Liu Fuling, the son of the Zhao family. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty wanted to make Fuling the prince, but because of his young age, he was worried that the Zhao family would seize power, so he hesitated. A few days later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered people to send Zhao to the palace prison. Soon Zhao died in Yunyang Palace.

After Xianfeng finished speaking, he asked: "Do you understand what I said?"

Ci'an said in surprise: "Yes, but how can the emperor be so cruel? "

Xianfeng nodded sadly and said, "What Sushun said makes more sense the more I think about it." Xianfeng took out an envelope from his pocket and handed it over, "Open it and take a look."

The envelope was unsealed. Ci'an took out the plain paper inside and saw what was written in red pen: "On the fifth day of the third month of the eleventh year of Xianfeng's reign, I told the queen: I am worried about the affairs of the country and have developed a chronic illness. I know that my end is approaching. I have no choice but to abandon the people in the world, but fortunately I have a son, and the emperor will continue to do so. Although he has succeeded to the throne at a young age, he has loyal ministers who are dedicated to assisting him. I can't be relieved that Concubine Yi will give birth to a prince. As a mother, her son is precious and she cannot but respect her as the Queen Mother. However, I really cannot trust this person. If she can only abide by the law from now on, I will show you this edict and order all my ministers to follow this edict and get rid of her. Your Majesty, I appreciate this!" Ci'an already burst into tears after reading it.

"Stop crying." Xianfeng said, "Put it away and don't take it out until that day."

"Yes." Ci'an cried back He said, "I really don't know who to look for when the day comes."

"Just look for Sushun, he is the most reliable." Xianfeng took out a jade pendant from his pocket and handed it to Ci'an. "In case the imperial edict is gone, there is still this jade pendant. Sushun will fight to save you as soon as he sees it. This is the agreement between me and him. Seeing jade is like seeing me. This jade pendant is a pair, and this one is called Haima. "Feng, there is another one called Haimalong. I gave Haimalong to Lan'er. Only the combination of dragon and phoenix can have the highest power in our court." Ci'an took the jade pendant and asked, "What are Haimaphoenix and Haimalong?" /p>

Xianfeng said that Haimalong and Haimafeng are related to Nuwa. Legend has it that after the Empress Nuwa created humans, she saw a dragon and a phoenix flying in the sky, so she was inspired to divide the created humans into male and female, and let them create their own offspring. She summoned the dragon and phoenix from the sky, designated the dragon as male and the phoenix as female, and combined the dragon and phoenix to perform it for humans to see. In this way, human beings have continued from generation to generation, and women have taken on the important responsibilities of pregnancy and childbirth.

Later, Empress Nuwa came to the west of the earth and saw seahorses. She saw that the male seahorse actually became pregnant and gave birth to the female seahorse, and she felt it was very special. Soon, Jiang Gong and Zhuan Xu competed for the throne. *** Foreman touched the mountain of Buzhou, which caused the pillars of heaven to break, the earth to be in ruins, the four poles to be destroyed, and the nine states to be torn apart. Seeing that her people were in disaster, Nuwa was determined to refine stones to mend the sky.

Moreover, she carved the remaining jade scraps into a seahorse dragon and a seahorse phoenix, combining the three animals of dragon, phoenix and seahorse to show that human men and women are harmonious and equal. This is the origin of the seahorse dragon and seahorse phoenix jade pendants.

Thinking back to this, Empress Dowager Ci'an couldn't help but sigh with emotion, and at the same time she was deeply confused. Why did she trust Ci Xi so much at that time and actually help her get rid of the "most reliable" Su Shun? In the past 20 years, although Cixi inevitably took power sometimes, she was not as bad as the late emperor feared. In the past few years, Ci'an tolerated and gave in to everyone, and Cixi also treated her with courtesy. Now that Cixi is almost 50, what else can happen?

Thinking like this, Ci'an felt that the late emperor's concerns were unnecessary. Instead, he kept this edict. If it was leaked, it would cause great trouble, so it was better to destroy it. Although she thought so, she was a little reluctant to let go. She felt that no matter what, Cixi must know the late emperor's painstaking efforts and her sincere attitude towards him.

So Empress Dowager Ci'an took the edict and jade pendant to visit Changchun Palace at night, and explained the whole story in detail with Empress Dowager Cixi. Finally, Ci'an said: "We sisters have been together for so many years, there is no need to keep this thing anymore." As he said this, he burned the ink pen edict with candlelight. After hearing this, the Empress Dowager Cixi's face suddenly turned red to the root of her neck, her heart was beating wildly, and she could not say another word except "Thank you, sister" in a low voice.

Empress Dowager Ci'an understood her mood, stood up and said, "If something is burned, just treat it as if it has never happened before. @This seahorse and phoenix jade pendant was originally given to me by the late emperor to save my life." Yes, now that Sushun is gone, the jade pendant has lost its function. I will keep it as a thought, so I leave." After Ci'an left, Cixi thought to herself. She never expected that the late emperor gave her the seahorse dragon, which symbolized imperial power, but gave the seahorse phoenix to Ci'an. The ancestors left behind a legacy: Only when the dragon and phoenix combine with each other can one possess the imperial power. The late emperor separated the dragon and the phoenix, one for each, just because he didn't want her to ascend the throne! She can only listen to politics from behind the curtain for the rest of her life.

Thinking of this, a line of clear tears flowed from Cixi's eyes. She took out her seahorse jade pendant and rubbed it. The seahorse has an elegant figure, with a body like a seahorse and a head like a dragon. Of course Cixi knew the origins of Haimalong and Haimafeng, so Emperor Guangxu always said "good luck to my dear father" every time he greeted her, indicating that in a patriarchal society, women were not inferior to men.

I have been competitive all my life, but there is such a fatal handle in the hands of others. Things are burned, but they cannot burn away the thought that people despise themselves from the bottom of their hearts. This was even more uncomfortable for Empress Dowager Cixi than Ling Chi. Moreover, the dragon and the phoenix must unite in order for her to realize her ambition. Thinking of this, a murderous intention gradually emerged from the heart of Empress Dowager Cixi.

In March of the seventh year of Guangxu's reign, the 45-year-old Empress Dowager Ci'an died suddenly in Zhongcui Palace. There were many rumors about the cause of Ci'an's death at that time, and it became a palace mystery.

After Ci'an died, the seahorse and phoenix jade pendant naturally fell into Cixi's hands. Although the dragon and the phoenix were united, Cixi knew that the late emperor did not want her to proclaim himself emperor, so she could only be called Lafayette, and she did not dare to proclaim herself emperor until her death.

In 1908, Cixi died in Yiluan Hall and was buried in the Dingdong Tomb in Putuoyu. Among her large number of jade burial objects, there is a pair of seahorse dragon and seahorse phoenix jade pendants that symbolize imperial power.