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In early 1907, the Grand Preceptor Nalan Changshu successfully retrieved the Loulan luminous pearl from a cave in the Western Regions and presented it to Empress Dowager Cixi in Peking. The Grand Preceptor boasted that the cave was guarded by numerous Loulan warriors, and that he had led his troops in a daring charge, suffering heavy casualties in the process. He further told the Empress Dowager that the pearl would bring peace and stability to the country, ward off evil, and even ensure the preservation of her body after death! The Empress Dowager was overjoyed and issued an edict to richly reward the Grand Preceptor.
Empress Dowager Cixi often played with this luminous pearl. Although the Grand Master assured her that he had indeed seen it glow in the Dunhuang caves, she couldn't see how it could shine and began to suspect that the Grand Master was lying to her. However, she was wary of him because she worried that if she were to punish him, the Grand Master, with his superb magical powers, might secretly do something to harm her. At least he was still loyal for now, so Cixi could only put this suspicion aside for the time being.
As summer approached, for several nights in a row, the northern sky remained as bright as day. Empress Dowager Cixi, feeling uneasy, summoned the Grand Preceptor Nalan to inquire. Nalan Changshuo said, "A massive fire has descended from the north, destroying all living things. Even the power of the luminous pearl might not be able to withstand it. This is the will of Heaven, which cannot be defied!"
Decades later, the world gradually learned that the mysterious "Tunguska event" occurred in Siberia on the morning of June 30, 1908. Its power was equivalent to dozens of Hiroshima atomic bombs; over 60 million trees in an area of more than 2,150 square kilometers were uprooted and burned, and the rising flames were as bright as the sun, visible even in Europe. One theory about the cause of the Tunguska event is an impact from a meteorite, but no trace of a meteorite could be found on the ground.
Perhaps her last hope had been dashed. After the Tunguska event, Empress Dowager Cixi's health deteriorated rapidly. In November 1908, just days after her 74th birthday, a shadow of impending doom had already fallen upon her. One evening, as she was alone, playing with this luminous pearl, she noticed that her reflection in the pearl was suddenly obscured by a looming shadow. She felt that death was calling her. Turning around, she saw that it was the Grand Preceptor entering to pay his respects. At that moment, a thought suddenly occurred to the Empress Dowager.
On November 13th, the very night Empress Dowager Cixi summoned the Peking diplomatic corps to announce the investiture of Puyi as the Crown Prince, she secretly summoned the Grand Preceptor to the palace. As soon as she saw Nalan Changshu enter, she ordered all the eunuchs and palace maids to leave, and then said to Nalan Changshu: "Today I need the Grand Preceptor to do something for me. I wonder if the Grand Preceptor is willing?" Cixi asked Nalan Changshu, who was kneeling on the ground, in a cold tone.
"I have always been ready to go through fire and water for any task Your Majesty assigns me..." Nalan Changshu raised his head slightly and asked, "May I ask why Your Majesty asks this?"
"Imperial Preceptor, please rise and have a seat! The matter I need you to handle today is of utmost importance, so please listen carefully." Empress Dowager Cixi said, "I know I don't have many days left to live..."
"The Empress Dowager?" Nalan Changshu exclaimed in surprise.
Empress Dowager Cixi gestured for Nalan Changshu to shut up, then looked around and continued, "If I die, Guangxu and his cronies will definitely attempt a restoration. On that day, you and the veteran ministers will be finished. That's why I'm appointing the Crown Prince today. I hope you understand my meaning..."
Nalan, who possessed the ability to read minds, naturally knew what Empress Dowager Cixi was thinking. Seeing her hesitate, he suddenly stood up and said, "If Your Majesty cannot speak, this servant will dare to speak for Your Majesty. This servant wishes to send Emperor Guangxu to meet the ancestors before Your Majesty!"
Then he knelt down with a thud and said, "This servant is talking nonsense, please punish me, Your Majesty!"
Empress Dowager Cixi turned her head away and remained silent. Nalan Changshu secretly glanced upwards, and after a long while, Cixi said ambiguously, "What I mean is, everything must be for the sake of the Ch'ing Dynasty's destiny!"
Nalan Changshu breathed a sigh of relief: "Your Majesty, please rest assured! This servant knows what to do, and will certainly handle it swiftly and efficiently!"
Empress Dowager Cixi replied, "You may pay your respects; I am truly exhausted!"
Nalan Changshu then prostrated himself and kowtowed, saying, "Yes, sir!"
After the Grand Preceptor left, Empress Dowager Cixi did not immediately go to bed. At this time, another minister was summoned in. It turned out to be Prince Su, Shanchi. Empress Dowager Cixi said, "I think I will not live much longer. Now I will dictate my will. You write it down!"
"Your Majesty? This…" Shanchi said in alarm, "Wouldn't it be more appropriate to summon the ministers tomorrow morning to discuss and witness this?"
"I'm just an old woman, the widow of the late emperor. Why should I bring family matters into the court?" Cixi said, "You're family, so it's more than appropriate for you to help me with this matter. Don't refuse! Here, there's pen and ink on the table..."
"Yes, thank you for your trust, Your Majesty!" Shanqi began grinding the ink on the table and moistening the brush.
"Very well! First, after I die, I will be buried in the Eastern Mausoleum, and this luminous pearl will be placed in my mouth as a funerary offering, as we have discussed before..." Empress Dowager Cixi said, "Secondly, the Grand Preceptor Nalan Changshu will be buried with me by secret decree!"
"The Empress Dowager?" Shanchi was shocked. He had long been dissatisfied with this wicked charlatan and was finally getting his comeuppance. He never expected that the decree would come from the Empress Dowager, who usually doted on him the most.
Empress Dowager Cixi continued, "We must be especially careful with Nalan Changshu's matter. You know he has magical powers, so the will must be made in two copies. The second copy must be kept strictly secret until it is announced and executed on the spot in front of the underground palace sealed . We cannot allow him any chance to resist or speak."
Empress Dowager Cixi held Shanchi's hand and whispered, "I entrusted my dying wish to you because I trusted you. Nalan Changshu, you must handle this matter cleanly and efficiently."
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty!" Shanchi knelt and hurriedly left.
Empress Dowager Cixi was very satisfied with her plan. She sent the Grand Preceptor to kill Emperor Guangxu to avoid being accused of regicide, and then sent Prince Su, a reformist, to silence the Grand Preceptor. Everything seemed perfect. However, she was also nearing the end of her life and didn't have much time left. Since this luminous pearl could not help her prolong her life, she would let it be buried with her, at least to ensure that her body would not decay for ten thousand years. Nalan Changshu knew, of course, that after Emperor Guangxu finished this matter, the Empress Dowager would definitely not admit it, which meant he could be sacrificed as a scapegoat at any time, and the crime of regicide was punishable by the extermination of nine generations of his family! Back at his residence, Nalan Changshu pondered how to get out of this predicament. Like a bat, he disliked the daytime; the night was when he was most active. In this cave-like room, candles were lit everywhere, and many strange ritual implements were placed around the room. The hazy atmosphere created by the incense added to the mysterious feeling. Nalan Changshu paced back and forth, deep in thought. "I cannot refuse the task assigned by the Empress Dowager. If I fail, I may fall out of favor, and many of my past enemies will surely take the opportunity to kick me while I'm down. But if I succeed, and the Empress Dowager takes the blame upon me, I will be unable to defend myself and will be charged with regicide and my entire family will be exterminated." Even the usually quick-witted, cunning, and resourceful Nalan Changshu couldn't come up with a good plan. The next afternoon, Nalan Changshu came to pay his respects to Empress Dowager Cixi again. Seeing her sitting on the veranda eating snacks and seemingly in a good mood, Nalan Changshu had a sudden inspiration. He knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Seeing Your Majesty's good health, I am truly at ease!" "You sly little devil, with such a sweet tongue, do you want to eat it too?" Empress Dowager Cixi said with a smile, "Just say so if you want to eat it, anyway I can't eat that much." Empress Dowager Cixi always had dozens or even hundreds of dishes laid out on her table, but she could only eat a little bit of it, and the rest would be taken away or given to someone else. "This servant wouldn't dare!" Nalan Changshu said, "This servant was just thinking of going to Yingtai to investigate. Would bringing some delicious food along be a good excuse?" "Hmm! The Imperial Advisor is quite right!" Empress Dowager Cixi was quite pleased with Nalan Changshu's diligent work in fulfilling his assigned task: "Take these pastries to His Majesty!"
Upon receiving the imperial decree, Nalan Changshu immediately ordered eunuchs to carry a box of snacks to Yingtai in the Chongnanhai, where Emperor Guangxu was imprisoned. On the way, he secretly added a specially prepared poison that showed no symptoms of poisoning. Nalan Changshu also deliberately announced in a grand manner that the snacks bestowed by the Empress Dowager had arrived, and of course, he entered Hanyuan Hall without any hindrance to meet Emperor Guangxu.
"Long live the Emperor!" Nalan Changshu knelt and kowtowed, saying, "These are pastries bestowed upon the Emperor by the Empress Dowager!"
"Why does Empress Dowager suddenly want to serve a meal at this time?" Guangxu asked, his face pale and his voice trembling. Actually, he was not worried about the meal itself, but rather that it was usually the chief eunuch who was in charge of escorting it. Why was it Nalan Changshu this time?
"The Empress Dowager cares about His Majesty's health; whenever there's something delicious, she thinks of him first," Nalan Changshu said sinisterly. "She even expects me to watch him enter so she can report back!"
At this moment, Emperor Guangxu already understood, but he ignored Nalan and went back inside to retrieve a portrait, which he hung on a pillar. Nalan Changshu was secretly astonished when he saw it: "Isn't this Zhenzhu'er? Who painted such a lifelike portrait?"
"Zhenzhu'er" refers to Concubine Zhen, the most beloved concubine of Emperor Guangxu. In 1900, on the eve of the Eight-Nation Alliance's capture of Peking and the imperial family's escape to Sian, she was executed by being thrown into a well by eunuchs sent by Empress Dowager Cixi.
Emperor Guangxu cried out in front of Zhen's portrait, "My life is over today!" But since it was a pastry bestowed by the Empress Dowager, Guangxu dared not refuse to eat it. He could only bow in the direction of the palace with tears in his eyes and then eat it. He died of poisoning at around 6 p.m. that evening at the age of 38.
The eunuchs serving around him saw that Emperor Guangxu had died after eating a pastry bestowed by the Empress Dowager, and they had a hunch. Soon, rumors were flying all over Peking. Nalan Changshu was very satisfied that everything was going according to his plan. When he left Hanyuan Hall, he casually hid Zhenzhu'er's portrait in his sleeve and took it with him.
The news of Emperor Guangxu's death was quickly relayed to the palace from Yingtai by Cixi's informants. The Empress Dowager was secretly astonished: "This servant Changshu is truly remarkable; he accomplished it in less than a day?" But she was unaware that rumors were circulating throughout the streets that she had poisoned Emperor Guangxu with pastries. Although it was her intention, she hadn't personally given the order. However, as she pondered this, the superstitious Empress Dowager felt uneasy again. Could Guangxu have become a vengeful ghost seeking revenge? While Guangxu was alive, imprisoned in Yingtai, everything was under the Empress Dowager's control, so she had never felt this way. Now that Guangxu was dead, she was free and out of control; perhaps his ghost was already on its way to the palace! Thinking this, a chill ran down the Empress Dowager's spine, and she immediately summoned Nalan Changshu to the palace. Nalan Changshu had just returned home from Yingtai when the sedan chair from the palace was already waiting outside the gate. Nalan Changshu had a guilty conscience and thought that Empress Dowager Cixi had discovered his plot to forge an edict and assassinate the emperor. On the way to the palace in the sedan chair, he kept thinking about how to deal with the situation. Suddenly, he found that he was carrying a scroll in his sleeve. It turned out that it was a portrait of Zhen that he had brought back from Yingtai that afternoon. He had forgotten to take it out when he got home and had been carrying it with him ever since. After meeting with the Empress Dowager, a distraught Cixi simply said, "Let's hold a Buddhist ceremony for the late Emperor in the palace tonight!" "Yes, Your Majesty! This servant will go and prepare immediately!" Nalan Changshu breathed a sigh of relief, already having made up his mind. He quietly said to Empress Dowager Cixi, "However, today's matter is rather special. Before the ritual is performed later, could you please ask Your Majesty to issue an order that all irrelevant people should avoid the area?" Empress Dowager Cixi certainly knew what Nalan meant when he said "today's event is rather special." After all the props for the ritual were arranged and placed, Cixi ordered all the eunuchs and palace maids to leave. "We must also have something that the late emperor loved most when he was alive!" Nalan Changshu said. "What is it?" Empress Dowager Cixi asked curiously. "This servant was prepared!" Nalan Changshu took out a scroll from his sleeve, held it high, and tossed it forward. The exquisitely painted and lifelike portrait of Zhenzhu'er, which he had brought back from Yingtai, was now displayed before the Empress Dowager. Nalan Changshu understood Empress Dowager Cixi's psychology very well. As he expected, the Empress Dowager reacted as if she had seen a ghost the moment she saw the portrait of Zhenzhu'er: "No...no...take it away..." Despite Cixi's trembling attempts to avoid him, Nalan Changshu remained unmoved and continued to present the painting to her: "Your Majesty, this is exactly how the Emperor stared at the portrait of Zhen when he passed away!" The Empress Dowager glared at him, then immediately foamed at the mouth and collapsed to the ground, unable to get up. "Quickly summon the imperial physician! The Empress Dowager has fainted!" Nalan Changshu shouted, and before the eunuchs could rush up, he rolled up the scroll and put it into his sleeve. By the time the imperial physician arrived, Empress Dowager Cixi had already passed away. Her body was then moved to the Yiluan Hall in the Western Garden for preparation. The next morning, the court officials were summoned to an audience. Unaware of the situation, they thought the Empress Dowager was merely unconscious. It wasn't until the afternoon that the inner court announced that Empress Dowager Cixi had died at the age of seventy-four. Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi died on the same day. Because it was such a coincidence, the story circulating in Beijing that the Empress Dowager had someone poison Emperor Guangxu was easy to believe. But no one knows the truth, and this event has become a historical mystery. With the deaths of Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi, Nalan Changshu felt he could finally relax. On December 2nd, Puyi ascended the throne with the reign title "Xuantong," and Nalan began to look for opportunities around the new emperor. However, another deadly conspiracy was gradually approaching him.
(Figure 1-6-4) The coffin of Empress Dowager Cixi passed through the viewing platform set up for diplomatic missions. After Empress Dowager Cixi passed away, the lamas, following her will, placed a luminous pearl in her mouth and poured countless jewels into her coffin. After the funeral rites were completed, she was sent to Dingdong Mausoleum for burial. It was a cold winter day. The foreign diplomatic corps stationed in Beijing had been notified in advance to set up a viewing platform outside Dongzhimen. Sir Draken arrived early in the morning and did not witness until after 10 a.m. that the enormous coffin of Empress Dowager Cixi, covered with a gold silk quilt and adorned with blue crystals, was carried past the platform by hundreds of porters, followed by countless ceremonial guards and funeral processions. Since only members of the imperial family and ministers were allowed to accompany the emperor to the imperial mausoleum, the following account was given to Sir Draken by Prince Su himself. The funeral procession took five days to travel from Peking to the Eastern Tombs, with elaborate rituals performed every day along the way. These were all traditions passed down from their ancestors. Except for the final moment when Empress Dowager Cixi's coffin was placed into the underground palace, when Grand Master Nalan requested that a shamanistic ritual be performed in front of the tomb gate using his unique method. This was unprecedented. The princes and ministers kneeling beside them all frowned and muttered, "At this point, how can we allow this charlatan to run wild here?" Prince Su was prepared; he had arranged for several eminent monks and burly guards to stand by in the shadows. After Grand Master Nalan finished his ritual, Prince Su approached him and whispered, "Grand Master, are you finished with your ritual?" Nalan Changshu nodded, and Prince Su turned to the assembled officials and said, "The Empress Dowager has a second edict here, which I will now read aloud!" The kneeling officials all looked at him with surprise. Upon hearing the signal, the high monks and guards who had been waiting nearby rushed forward, captured the Grand Preceptor, covered him with talismans, and pushed him into the underground palace. Nalan Changshu, realizing he had been ambushed, gritted his teeth and shouted, "The late Emperor is the Empress Dowager…!" Before he could finish speaking, the high monk put a yellow cloth bag covered with incantations over his head and tightened it with a rope, leaving the Grand Master with only screams coming from his throat. Prince Su then began to loudly proclaim: "...The Grand Preceptor Nalan Changshu is deeply favored by the Empress Dowager, and is hereby granted the privilege of being buried with her so that she may serve her forever!" After the will was read, the tomb door was closed, and the craftsmen began to build the stone walls. Prince Su also instructed the high monk to put more talismans on the tomb door to suppress the evil spirits and prevent them from coming out to harm the world. At this time, a mournful scream could be faintly heard coming from the underground palace. 
(Figure 1-6-5) The Grand Preceptor Nalan Changshu was buried alive in the Dingdong Mausoleum of Empress Dowager Cixi.
In this biography, my father recounted the relationship between Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu. Emperor Guangxu, Zaitian, was the second son of Prince Chun, Yixuan, and his mother, Yehenara, was Cixi's sister, making Cixi Guangxu's aunt. Prince Chun, Yixuan, was the son of Emperor Daoguang and the younger brother of Emperor Xianfeng. Although he himself never had the opportunity to become emperor, his family had produced two emperors, thus giving him a higher status than ordinary princes.
Politically, Yixuan consistently sided with Empress Dowager Cixi. During the Xinyou Coup of 1861, in which he assisted Cixi in killing the regents, Yixuan distinguished himself and earned Cixi's deep trust. In 1874, when Zaitian was designated emperor by the Empress Dowager, Yixuan, as his biological father, relinquished all his official positions as per custom. In 1884, he took up the newly established "Office for the Management of Naval Affairs," where Li Hongzhang assisted in building the Beiyang Fleet. He also held important and crucial positions as the head of the Royal Firearms Battalion and the Imperial Household Department.
Although Yixuan was outwardly a confidant of Empress Dowager Cixi, their relationship was fraught with irreconcilable conflict due to his son's ascension to the throne. Knowing Cixi's suspicious nature, Yixuan began to act cowardly and overly cautious, even to an exaggerated degree, a stark contrast to his valiant demeanor during the Xinyou Coup. In 1888, when Emperor Guangxu married and was obligated to assume personal rule, Yixuan surprisingly led the petition requesting Cixi to continue governing. He even abused his positions as head of both the Naval Affairs Office and the Imperial Household Department to divert naval funds for the construction of the Summer Palace, secretly hoping for Cixi's early retirement. This act became one of the main reasons for the Beiyang Fleet's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War.
Yixuan's forbearance was nothing more than his desire to wait until Emperor Guangxu could effectively assume power and become the Retired Emperor, at which point he could reach the pinnacle of politics. It's not impossible that Empress Dowager Cixi was five years older than Yixuan, a fact she was well aware of. However, in January 1891, Yixuan, just 50 years old, died young, leaving no Retired Emperor. Cixi became the sole controller of Emperor Guangxu, and rumors circulated in Peking at the time that Yixuan's death was not without reason.
In 1898, influenced by Kang Youwei and others, Emperor Guangxu launched the "Hundred Days' Reform," attempting to force Empress Dowager Cixi to abdicate and allow him to rule in his own right. However, he was betrayed by Yuan Shikai, the coup failed, and Guangxu was imprisoned by Cixi in Yingtai. In 1900, the Eight-Nation Alliance captured Beijing, and Cixi took Guangxu with her to Xi'an. Otherwise, the powers might have supported Guangxu's rule and placed all the blame for the Boxer Rebellion on Cixi. In fact, the Allied forces had initially demanded that Empress Dowager Cixi pay with her life.
In 1907, Empress Dowager Cixi, knowing her days were numbered and that Emperor Guangxu had no heir, again sought a successor from the Prince Chun's residence. After Yixuan's death in 1891, the title of Prince Chun was inherited by his fifth son, Zaifeng. Zaifeng's son, Puyi, was designated by Cixi as the Crown Prince. After Emperor Guangxu's death in 1907, Puyi ascended the throne at the tender age of three, becoming the last emperor, Xuantong. This young emperor had many entanglements with my life.
These inside stories were told to my father by Prince Su, Shanqi, after the establishment of the Republic of China. Shanchi also said that although everyone sympathized with Emperor Guangxu, he was hardly a good emperor. He was impulsive, handled matters haphazardly, and was indecisive, as evidenced by his actions during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95. Empress Dowager Cixi had already retired to the Summer Palace, but Guangxu, incited by a group of ignorant young people, staged the "Hundred Days' Reform," even threatening to kill Cixi and court elders. This led Cixi to completely abandon any possibility of Guangxu ruling in his own right, and she even wanted to eliminate him before her death to prevent future troubles. Shanchi indirectly confirmed that Guangxu was poisoned on Cixi's orders, but it was Nalan Changshu who carried out the act.
Shanchi also mentioned Concubine Zhen, saying that outsiders believed Empress Dowager Cixi was jealous of Emperor Guangxu's favor towards her and therefore wanted to kill her to vent her anger, but this claim has no basis. The truth is that Concubine Zhen insisted on not leaving Peking because she fantasized that Emperor Guangxu, who remained in Peking with the support of foreigners, would become Empress. Based on this, she made arrogant remarks to the Empress Dowager, and was ordered by the enraged Empress Dowager to be thrown into a well and executed on the spot. She truly deserved what she got.
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