I'm sorry, in fact, these are all anecdotal stories and malicious speculations about a widowed woman. Nothing is really based on evidence. Cixi Lafayette needs someone to wait on him when he sleeps. There are five people in all. However, she is not false eunuch, but a serious maid-in-waiting.
So how do these ladies-in-waiting distribute their jobs?
Such a thing is recorded in detail in "Palace Maid Talk".
At eight o'clock in the evening, the palace began to play music, and eunuchs without errands needed to leave the palace. After eight o'clock, the palace door was locked and the key was handed over to the worship room. If you want to take the exam again, you need to register.
Therefore, it is not very reliable for a lean person to enter Palace of Gathered Elegance, Cixi.
How many people does Cixi need to sleep with? The old maid-in-waiting told the truth.
Next, the big eunuch Li gave the assignment. Generally speaking, there are basically eunuchs on duty outside Palace of Gathered Elegance, and there are ladies-in-waiting, which means that eunuchs don't enter the queen mother's bedroom at night. When you go in, an indescribable event happened.
How to allocate work in the palace?
First of all, these five ladies-in-waiting are the most capable ladies-in-waiting in Palace of Gathered Elegance, and entering the palace is tantamount to political review. Getting started requires training, and you need to go through these rough work exercises before you can be selected into the vigil team with good performance.
At nine o'clock, close the main entrance first and leave a small door to deliver water or something.
Then, two maids stood outside the door. Outside the bamboo curtain in summer, you can stay inside the cotton curtain in winter, which is quite humanized. The two of them are mainly responsible for guarding the door, and no one is allowed to enter unless ordered by Cixi. The intruder must cut it off.
In addition, they have snacks, sometimes porridge and sometimes steamed buns, but most of the ladies-in-waiting don't eat them, because if they do, they may have to go to the toilet, which is very troublesome. Ladies-in-waiting are not allowed to be convenient in the Queen Mother's Hall. So I had to endure not eating.
When Empress Dowager Cixi sleeps, she needs five maids to wait on her at any time.
As soon as you enter the door, it is the locker room. There should be a person here who is responsible for paying attention to the situation of Cixi's bedroom.
In the quiet room where Cixi usually worships Buddha, a person should also be arranged, also for the convenience of keeping an eye on the movements everywhere.
These people will send a felt mat, and they can sit or lie down and have a rest. After all, it is hard to stay up late.
There is also the most critical person. This man's name is Shishi. She stayed in Lafayette's bedroom. She is the closest person to Lafayette at ordinary times, and she is also the one who can chat with Lafayette. He is also the foreman of the five-person sleeping team. She said, if outsiders can't do it, wait. When we go back to the girls' dormitory, we will smoke with bamboo poles.
However, she is also the hardest. She doesn't have a blanket, because Lafayette can't have a second bed in her bedroom. She can only sit on the ground and always pay attention to everything about Lafayette, such as whether she snores, how many times she turns over, how many times she gets up at night, how many times she coughs and so on. All these things should be written down. Because the Ministry of Internal Affairs or Imperial Hospital may ask questions, especially during Cixi's illness.
How many people does Cixi need to sleep with? The old maid-in-waiting told the truth.
This is the specific division of labor of five people. Besides, there are some rules. For example, people on duty at night are not allowed to lie on their backs, they can close their eyes, but they are not allowed to snore. You can't be convenient in the main hall, you can't sit in the chair and pit where the queen mother sat, there must be two people at the door, and so on.