In the history of the late Qing Dynasty, apart from Cixi, Zhen Fei was the most legendary and eye-catching concubine. Although she only lived for 25 years, people still talk about her story. In the eyes of the world, Zhen Fei has always been a victim who was hated by Cixi for helping Guangxu to reform and reform, then fell into the cold palace and finally died tragically. This is a positive image with a deep sense of honor. Both literati and folk people who wrote books expressed sympathy for the love between Zhen Fei and Guangxu, and lashed out at Cixi's bullying and cruelty. However, the historical truth is not so simple. The 92nd edition of Selected Literature and History Materials of China People's Political Consultative Conference, written by a celebrity in the late Qing Dynasty, gave us a different one, that is, the one who sold officials and went to prison with Cixi.

Zhenfei is open-minded and likes new things. This kind of character is especially uncommon in the palace with many rules and strict etiquette. The stubborn Cixi gradually became disgusted with the behavior of Princess Zhen. Zhenfei likes taking pictures very much. She asked someone to buy a camera, "no posture, no clothes", not only in her own Ren Jing Palace, but also in the emperor's hall of mental cultivation. It is said that Princess Zhen secretly instructed a eunuch named Dai to open a photo studio outside Donghuamen. Cixi heard about this and reprimanded Zhenfei for "what maids should not do". The photo studio was sealed up and eunuch Dai was killed. In addition, Zhen Fei loves to walk around the palace in men's clothes, which makes Cixi even more incomprehensible and thinks that she has humiliated the royal family.

Photography and men's wear are just the beginning of Zhen Fei's dislike of Cixi. What really disgusted Cixi was that Zhen Fei participated in the official selling activities that were inconsistent with her identity. In True Qi Fei, Shang Ying tells the reason and process of selling officials and titles. Zhen Fei flew away to sell officials mainly because of insufficient pocket money. At that time, the salaries of different levels in the palace were different. For example, the queen's annual salary 1200 silver is gradually decreasing. Speaking of concubines, the annual salary has dropped to 320. This expense is more than enough for ordinary people, but Zhenfei has no habit of saving money since he was a child. She is used to spending money generously, and she will give some small favors to the eunuchs in the palace if nothing happens. After a long time, the deficit is increasing day by day, and we must find other ways to make money to make up for the perennial shortage of expenses. As a result, Zhenfei started a part-time job of accepting bribes from the acquirer to earn extra money.

In addition to Zhen Fei, this small official selling group also includes Zhen Fei's brother Zhicong and a group of young eunuchs. The general process is as follows: the first step is to collude with the eunuch department, which is the place where eunuchs communicate with court officials. They will ask if there are any vacancies, and then tell Zhicong and others to come forward to find buyers. The role of Zhen Fei is to find a suitable time to put in a good word in front of Guangxu. After success, everyone will make money.

Zhen Fei even sold a Shanghai Taoist priest in her official career. According to Hu Sijing's "Chinese Northern City", "Liu Boyang paid 40,000 gold to Zhen Fei, and Zhen Fei spoke to Dezong, so he simply put it on Shanghai Road". Although Liu Boyang bribed the official position of the Shanghai Taoist priest, he was impeached and dismissed by Liu Kunyi, Du Jiang in less than a month. Selling an official is something that is difficult to do again and again. The fact that Zhen Fei is diligent as an official will still be revealed before Guangxu. Princess Zhen recommended a man named Yu Ming to Guangxu as the head of Sichuan Salt Law Department. This man is very important in Sichuan. However, this jade seal lived up to expectations and was exposed in an interview with Guangxu. When asked where Guangxu Yu Ming used to be a policeman, Yu Ming replied that he was a policeman in a timber factory. Guangxu was stuck on the spot, and then asked Yu Ming to write a resume, but Yu Ming couldn't write it for a long time. He is practically illiterate. Guangxu had to take Yu Ming home, but did not pursue the Zhen Fei who recommended Yu Ming.

Speaking of it, it is not illegal to donate officials in the Qing Dynasty, but a way of selecting officials recognized by the government. The donation system was officially promulgated in Kangxi until 190 1. During this period, many celebrities made their careers by donating money to buy officials. For example, Xu Shou, Zheng and Xue Fucheng, who played an important role in the Westernization Movement, Deng Shichang, who died in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, and even Tan Sitong, one of the "Six Gentlemen of the 1898 Movement". In other words, it is not illegal for a princess to sell an official, but it violates the ancestral training that the harem should not set foot in politics, and also offends Cixi.

In the Qing Dynasty, Hu Sijing's Guo Wen recorded a story: Li asked Cixi for his four adopted sons, hoping to find a job in the court. Cixi summoned the minister of punishments, Ge, and asked him to provide convenience. As a result, Ge retorted on the grounds of "filling the vacancy and following the rules of the Ministry", but Zhen Fei got four "Taoist priests" for others through Guangxu. How can this stop Cixi's antipathy to Zhen Fei? After Cixi's 60th birthday that year, Zhen Fei, who had already been promoted from concubine, was demoted to nobility. Although Cixi punished Zhenfei for attacking the emperor, Zhenfei did violate the ancestral law by selling officials, and she recommended her teacher Wen Shiting to Guangxu, which influenced the emperor's decision. This kind of "interference in state affairs" is naturally intolerable to Cixi.

As for the official Princess Zhen of Cixi, she rebuked Princess Zhen for breaking the patriarchal clan system. Unexpectedly, the stubborn Zhen Fei retorted to Cixi: "The ancestral court system also has its own bad precedent. How dare my concubine? The teaching of the Queen Mother is also. " It means that it is against the ancestral system for you to listen to politics alone, otherwise how dare I do it? I learned it from you when I took bribes to sell officials! The most disgusting thing about Empress Dowager Cixi is that she listens to politics behind the scenes. She was furious on the spot and ordered her to strip off Zhen Fei's clothes, "naked." In the history of the Qing Dynasty, it was the first time that a concubine was punished in this way. This incident is recorded in the archives of the Qing Dynasty, and Puyi is also recorded in My First Half Life.

Later, Zhen Fei was imprisoned by Cixi in Baizimen Prison, the second long street of Gongxi, and was strictly guarded by the eunuch general manager. From then on, she broke off contact with Guangxu and could not meet each other. According to this, Shang wrote: "In October, four years before the Reform Movement of 1898, Zhen Fei was claustrophobic. If it is rumored that she is guilty of sponsoring the New Deal, it will prove all the historical facts and nothing will happen. " In other words, Zhenfei was sentenced to take bribes to sell officials, instead of helping the New Deal. Moreover, after 1894 and 10, Zhenfei could not get close to Guangxu, and the Reform Movement of 1898 really began after 1895. At this time, Zhen Fei can't participate in it, let alone be convicted of political reform.