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Even The Royals

Empress Dowager Cixi of China Part 2: Villain Era | 5

Even The Royals

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.4844 Ratings

🗓️ 22 January 2024

⏱️ 50 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In Part One, Cixi went from concubine to all-powerful Regent, thanks to her bestie and a savvy political coup. But while she was wielding her new found power, Cixi’s enemies were plotting her demise. Now that they’ve executed the man she loved, Cixi wants to even the score… and then some. But she’ll find out the hard way that revenge, and power, come at a cost. 

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Wonderie Plus subscribers can listen to Even the Royals early and ad-free right now.

0:04.1

Join Wonderly Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.

0:07.7

A quick note about our show.

0:09.2

We do a lot of research for our stories, but we also aren't your boring high school history class,

0:13.5

so some details and scenes are dramatized.

0:16.5

And keep in mind today, we're talking about women's rights and women's wrongs.

0:20.6

So this episode does feature some violence.

0:23.1

Please be advised.

0:28.1

It's a summer morning in 1900, and a warm breeze moves through a courtyard in the forbidden city.

0:38.3

Empress Dowager Tsashi stands at one end wearing a yellow robe inlaid with shiny pearls.

0:44.3

She eyes the doors at the other end of the courtyard.

0:47.3

She's so tired, but she knows that today of all days, she cannot show any signs of weakness. Suddenly, the doors to the courtyard are thrown

0:56.4

open, and Sashie sees eunuchs come out, dragging a young woman behind them. The woman kicks and

1:02.8

screams as they carry her towards a well at the center of the courtyard. She looks over and notices

1:08.0

the Empress Dowager. She stops screaming and begs Sashi to spare her life.

1:13.8

The young woman swears that she thought she was doing the right thing for China. For a moment,

1:19.4

Sashi can relate. Like this woman, Pearl, she also risked her life for power. But Sashi has come

1:25.8

too far to let anyone get in her way. She turns to the

1:29.7

eunuchs and tells them to throw Pearl down the well. Wow. Okay. So not women supporting women.

1:37.2

Got it. Yeah, yeah. At first, no one moves. So she starts to sweat. She knows this looks bad.

1:45.4

But she has no choice.

1:47.0

There's only one way to stop this ambitious woman from undermining her authority.

...

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