For thousands of years, how many women have lived like this in a deserted harem, and how many women have been forced to accept the teasing of fate and spend their lives as beautiful as flowers and pure as jade. "In the faded old palace, peonies were red, but no one came to see them. The ladies-in-waiting are already white-haired and arguing about the grand occasion of Tang Xuanzong. " Yuan Zhen, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a five-character quatrain called Palace. In just 20 words, it vividly tells the tragic court life of ancient maids. However, looking at the harem of emperors in past dynasties, there is only one heroic talented woman who is unwilling to spend her life as beautiful as flowers and pure as jade in this way. After spending eight years in the miserable harem, she resolutely chose to commit suicide, ending the waste of life and the imprisonment of the palace with a soft white silk. This talented woman is Mrs. Hou of Yang Di's harem.
In fact, Mrs. Hou was just an ordinary maid-in-waiting when she hanged herself. After her death, she was named Mrs. Hou by Yang Di. At that time, Emperor Yang Di built a "Fan Bao". There are thousands of families in this "mysterious building" with a winding path leading to a secluded place. Outsiders strayed into it and couldn't get out all day. There are thousands of beautiful women selected from all over the world in the building, and Mrs. Hou is just one of them. Therefore, whether in Yang Diyan's Family or Lost Palace, Mrs. Hou's appearance only began after her death. Her beauty, her talent, her life and her existence will not be known to the world until the day she dies. On that day, she hanged herself with a piece of white silk under the beams of the Sui Palace. This year, she just passed the flower season of 24 years old.
Mrs. Hou's fragrance died, which shocked the harem for a while. Yang Di learned that a maid-in-waiting in the "Lost Building" committed suicide with anger and went to see her. Although Mrs. Hou has passed away, her appearance has not changed. The wanderer was as beautiful as a peach blossom, but he flew into a rage. After scolding Xu Tingfu, the eunuch in charge of the beauty pageant, she still felt that she could not get rid of her anger. In a rage, she threw the eunuch into prison with her greed and dereliction of duty, and gave her a chance to commit suicide.
At that time, a eunuch found three desperate poems from Mrs. Hou's kit. One of the poems began with special sadness: "Nagato hasn't seen the king for seven or eight years. Resolutely die and go back to the ghost town. " In just 20 words, she recorded her forgotten 8 years and damaged short life after entering the palace.
Mrs. Hou, formerly known as Hou, was born in an official family with a scholarly family. My ancestors were civil servants of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and my father was deeply rewarded by Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. After entering the Sui Dynasty, he lived in seclusion in the countryside and lived a quiet life. This Hou has read many poetry books since he was a child, and his poems are also very beautiful. Gentle and demure, beautiful and dignified, she was selected at the age of sixteen and was named a gifted scholar! As the saying goes, people are like the sea, but Yang Di, a luxurious emperor, plays very strangely. In order to gather all the beauties in the world, he built a "Lost Building" by decree, in which Xiyuan has sixteen courtyards, and Emperor Yang Di is the most favored lady among the sixteen courtyards, all of whom are luxuriantly dressed, vying to invite pets for credit. In order to please the emperor, these concubines are clever and try their best to be women, hoping to get the glory of raising dogs to heaven!
However, poor Mrs. Hou, who prided herself on being beautiful and versatile and strong-willed, disdained to bribe Xu Tingfu, the eunuch in charge of selecting beautiful women for the emperor, and ended up in seclusion for many years. As the owner of this "lost building", Emperor Yang Di was naturally familiar with this road. He often plunged into it and stayed outside for a whole month. Even so, there are still quite a few maids who have never seen the emperor. Over time, the tragedy of Mrs. Hou's anger and suicide came.
When she entered the "Lost Building", Mrs. Hou was at the age of sixteen. She hears the singing of Xiyuan every night, and the nightingale is always in her ear, and the wind of dancing sleeves bursts into her nose. However, my youth flies, my years are wasted, and I have not touched a drop of grace. I ended up lying on the cold curtain bed, letting my beauty fade and my black hair wither. I couldn't help wandering in the night, looking at Leng Yue and lamenting: "There is no jade mark in the court, and the grass is gradually becoming a nest. I vaguely heard the drums beating, which was a blessing. "
Sixteen-year-old girl is alone in the "lost building". Her courtyard was smashed by the emperor's jade and grass grew into a nest. There was a faint sound of flute and drum in the wind, and the concubines in the harem were bearing the rain and dew of the emperor and singing heartily. However, no amount of rain and dew can spill on her head, and she, a talented woman and a beautiful woman, has to endure loneliness and can't help but shed sad tears: "I want to cry without tears." The court was full of flowers and much ado about nothing. "Sad, faint hatred, tears fall like rain, sad songs like pottery. Although the spring flowers in the yard are in bloom and there is no good plan, what's the use of complaining about spring?
Every spring is the season of life. According to the court practice, the emperor always sent eunuchs to the pavilion of the "defeated building" to select beautiful women to go to Xiyuan. At this time, Mrs. Hou will dress herself up like other ladies-in-waiting and look forward to the emperor's favor. Her "Spring Looking at Plums" expresses this faint vision: "Although the snow has been built for a long time, it will wrinkle when rolling the curtain. Mei Ting has pity on me. Show her the branches first. "
Mrs. Hou was shut up in a secluded palace. When the winter snow had not disappeared, she suddenly saw a small plum blossom blooming in the wind, which made her feel very happy. The plum blossoms on the branches should bring spring news to the women in the secluded palace! But the fire of hope is always extinguished by ruthless cold rain. She couldn't help feeling sad and lamenting that she was not as good as those idle weeds: "Spring sounds are boundless, how about going it alone?" . Less idle flowers and more rain and dew. "
The lofty and aloof poems of a generation of talented women flowing from the bottom of my heart are not suspected of embellishment, nor are they criticized by moaning without illness, but are full of tears and blood. He is young, affectionate and unwilling to be lonely. After enduring loneliness, he finally had the heart to die. After she wrote a desperate poem in anger, she resolutely died: "I will enter tomorrow and report it to Weiyang. Nagato has not seen the king for seven or eight years. Joan Hinton is penetrating, living alone and worrying about vacant rooms. Walking down the court, Huai Kong was sad. I cherish it on weekdays, but I treat myself well. Color beautification is abandoned, and life is thin. Your kindness is alienated, but my intentions are confused. There is no flesh and blood in the family, and it is old and North Hall. How can this body build a high wall without wings? Life is important, giving up cutting will hurt. Zhu Dong hanging on silk is like boiling soup in his stomach. Take care of yourself by the neck, and have a little concern. Resolutely die and go back to the ghost town. " From this poem, it is not difficult to imagine how a sad and lonely harem talented woman struggled in the face of poverty and death.
Mrs. Hou, a beautiful and quiet harem beauty, was heartbroken. She lingered under the courtyard, thinking about the eight years since she entered the palace. She looks forward to your kindness with the feeling of expressing gratitude every day, but she never thinks of your face. Seeing that youth is getting old, loneliness erodes her heart that loves spring. Does she really not cherish life? Is she really not afraid of death? It is better to die in the palace and get a clean name than to live hopelessly like this!
Mrs. Hou hanged herself, her arms dangling, and the palace poems hidden in the middle, which caused the emperor's infinite sadness. He immediately posthumously awarded Hou as his fourth wife, juxtaposed with the concubines of the Sixteenth Academy, and made an exception and wrote a eulogy for Mrs. Hou: "Five years have passed, and Leng Yue has cold smoke; Who will pity the princess if she doesn't meet me? The princess didn't pick me up and slept alone in the morning; If you don't meet a princess, you hate Jiuquan; I am still alive after my injury. "
What's the use of this seemingly injured eulogy for Mrs. Hou who is buried underground! Three thousand harem beauties. How many talented women's palaces live a lonely life like Mrs. Hou? All this is undoubtedly the tragedy of women under the imperial power.