Chapter 30 6. When Guangxu got married, Li Lianying made money (2)

Li Lianying did not expect that the Empress Dowager Cixi would say such a thing. She regretted the polite words just now, and thought: Don't be polite this time, maybe you will be polite again. I didn't let it go either.So he reluctantly replied: "Okay!" Empress Dowager Cixi made up her mind, so she issued an order personally, asking the household department to raise five million taels of silver for the wedding.Weng Tonghe, Minister of the Household Department, thought that the appropriation was too much, but he did not dare to express his opposition. He had to consider it for the emperor.As the teacher of Emperor Guangxu, if he blatantly opposes Empress Dowager Cixi, he will be considered to be on the same path as Emperor Guangxu, which may have a negative impact on Emperor Guangxu.However, there was really very little silver left in the household department, so the provinces had to share the wedding expenses and send them to the capital within a time limit.

When the order was passed to Hunan, Wang Qixiang, the governor of Hunan, panicked when he heard it. The total silver in stock in Hunan was only 250,000 taels, but the apportioned expenses were as high as 300,000 taels.The 250,000 taels of inventory have already been allocated, but they have not been withdrawn yet.Ordinarily, an additional tax of 250,000 taels would have been enough, but Wang Qixiang levied an additional tax of 400,000 taels from the people. Fifty thousand taels of silver and one hundred thousand taels of silver wanted to bribe Li Lianying, and the fifty thousand taels were put into his own pocket.

After collecting the 400,000 taels of silver, Wang Qixiang personally escorted him to the capital.After the 300,000 taels were handed over to the account department, the 100,000 taels were temporarily stored in the inn. After Wang Qixiang found Li's residence, he said to the guard at the door: "Student Wang Qixiang wants to see Mr. Li, the manager, please let me know." "Our master is currently preparing for the emperor's wedding, and he is very busy. He hasn't come back for more than ten days." "Then when will the Master Manager come back?" "It's hard to say, maybe you won't come back for more than ten days. I don't know where you come from?"

"The governor of Hunan, from Hunan." Even though he was a governor, the servant didn't react too much when he heard it, because many officials who were much older than the governor often came to Li's residence to see Li Lianying.However, since he was a governor, the servant did not neglect him, so he said politely: "If you have anything to say, our master will tell him when he comes back." "It's just a small gift, please be rewarded by the manager." After Wang Qixiang finished speaking, he handed over his own gift list. When the servant saw that it was one hundred thousand taels of silver, he was taken aback, thinking that there were quite a few presents, and it was rare to see so much silver at once.

"Wait a minute, I'll go in and talk about it." After the servant finished speaking, he walked to the depths of Li's mansion. Li Lianying was indeed not at home, and the servant did not go to find Li Lianying, but the housekeeper. "Housekeeper, there is someone outside who claims to be the governor of Hunan Province, and wants to give the general manager one hundred thousand taels of silver. I think it's a pity to refuse, so I come here to ask the housekeeper to show me." The guard at the door said when he saw the chief steward of Li's residence. "One hundred thousand taels?" The housekeeper was surprised when he heard it, "One hundred thousand taels is really not a small amount, and it would be a pity not to accept it, but what should the manager do if the master is not at home?"

"It's better to go and find the master!" The servant came up with an idea. "Good idea!" The butler patted his thigh and said, "Go and tell the person who came, let him wait for a while, and I will go and ask the master what to do." The butler thought it was not too late, so he got into the car and quickly came to the gate of the palace, asking to see Li Lianying.The eunuch at the door saw that it was the housekeeper of Li's family who was asking to see the chief supervisor, so he didn't dare to neglect, and hurriedly reported to Li Lianying. At that time, Li Lianying was discussing with Princess Rongshou about how to send a bride price to the queen's house. Hearing that the butler was looking for him, she didn't know what happened, so she greeted the Rongshou sub-principal, and rushed to the gate of the palace impatiently.

When the butler saw Li Lianying, he took him to a secluded place and said: "Master Chief, now a man who claims to be the governor of Hunan has come to the house and wants to give one hundred thousand taels of silver. The master is not at home, and the younger one dare not make decisions, but I feel it is a pity, so I come here to ask Master Chief to show me." Li Lianying frowned slightly and said, "Governor of Hunan, which governor of Hunan? I don't know him at all. Why do you want to give me money?" "The little one doesn't know why he gave the silver to the master."

"Then what's his name?" Li Lianying had already forgotten about selling the official title. "What name? Because I came in a hurry, I even forgot to ask his name." "You, you, you are always so careless in doing things, even forgetting this, what use is there for you?" Li Lianying looked at the butler dissatisfied, and suddenly seemed to remember something, and asked anxiously, "Is his name Wang Qixiang? If I remember correctly, it must be him." "I heard from the guard at the door that he claimed to be the master's student." The butler said in a low voice.

"It's him, that's right." Li Lianying said, "Go back first, tell him that you can send the money over there first, and tell him not to leave. Wait for a few days, and I will promote him again when I have a chance." "Yes, master!" The butler hurriedly stepped back and went back to follow Li Lianying's orders. After Li Lianying returned to the palace, she continued to discuss with Rongshou how to send a bride price to the queen's family. "Eldest princess, sending a gift to the queen's family is related to Lafayette's natal family. This time, I can't go against Lafayette's wishes. The issue of establishing a queen has already made Lafayette very unhappy. You see, let's talk to Lafayette first. How about discussing it with Buddha, how to give it and how much should be given?" Li Lianying said.

"Then you can find a chance to tell Lafayette. Although we are going to handle the wedding, the queen is Lafayette's niece. Maybe she will offend Lafayette when she doesn't do it well. It's gone." Princess Rongshou said. One morning, while combing Empress Dowager Cixi's hair, Li Lianying said, "Lafayette, the second day of November is the day to pay the bride price to the Empress's house. In your opinion, should it be prepared as usual or—" Li Lianying did not go any further. "What else?" asked Empress Dowager Cixi. "Or should we do more?" Li Lianying said hesitantly.

"What do you think?" Empress Dowager Cixi wanted to give her natal family a little more bride price, but it was just inconvenient to say so, so she asked Li Lianying instead. "The slave thinks that the Queen is both a member of the Lafayette's natal family and the niece of the Lafayette. In addition to the usual preparations, there is a little more, and others have nothing to say." Li Lianying understood what the Empress Dowager Cixi meant. He expressed his attitude, and gave the Empress Dowager Cixi an idea, prepare as usual, stop some people's mouths first, don't make irresponsible remarks, but in addition to preparing as usual, you can add a little more. "Good idea!" Empress Dowager Cixi said, "As for adding something more, you and Da Gege can figure it out." "How much more to add, I'd better ask Lafayette to give an amount." Li Lianying did not dare to do it herself, fearing that adding less would not be in line with Empress Dowager Cixi's wishes, so she thought it would be better to ask for instructions again. "How much money did it usually cost to prepare as usual?" Empress Dowager Cixi asked knowingly. "I heard from the eldest princess that it usually costs about 400,000 yuan." "Add another two hundred thousand taels, what do you think? Do you think the amount is a bit large?" "The servant thinks it's okay." "Then you can figure it out, but don't make too much noise about it." "The servant knows." When Li Lianying returned to her residence, she found Li Guihe, handed him the list of gifts that should be bought as usual, and said: "This is bought as usual, you go out to the palace with your subordinates to buy it quickly." Princess Rongshou handed over the more dowry gift list that Princess Rongshou had discussed, and said: "It is written on this list that more should be added. You can take care of it yourself, but the money spent on both should not exceed five hundred and fifty thousand taels." "Yes, master, I'll go out and buy with my subordinates." Li Guihe said, turning around to leave. "Wait a minute," Li Lianying stopped him again, feeling that there was still something to explain, and said, "But when you came back, you said that you spent six hundred thousand taels, remember?" "Remember, master, you can rest assured about everything." Li Guihe knew what Li Lianying meant, so he said comfortingly: "Let the younger one do it, and make sure there will be no mistakes." "I'm quite at ease with you." Li Lianying patted him on the shoulder and said, "Also, can you do well in three days?" "Don't worry, master, we guarantee that the betrothal gifts will be purchased within three days!" After Li Guihe went back, he asked his subordinates to pull a cart and led the bookkeepers to go out of the palace to buy betrothal gifts.Li Guihe said to the bookkeeper: "If you buy one, you will record the same, and record the money spent, summarize it at any time and report to me." This has been busy for three days.On the third day, the bookkeeper once said to Li Guihe, "540,022 taels of silver have been spent." "Okay," Li Guihe said, "you go back and make another account for me, and add the total to 550,000 taels." In addition, make another account and add the total to 600,000 two. " "What's the use of making so many accounts?" asked the accountant in puzzlement. "I told you to make it, so why ask so many questions!" Li Guihe scolded, "If you dare to say it, I will kill you!" The bookkeeper stuck out his tongue in fright, and dared not say anything more. In the evening, Li Lianying called Li Guihe to his residence and asked, "Guihe, how is the preparation for the dowry going?" "How much money did it cost?" "Master, please take a look!" Li Guihe said, and handed over the account book with a total amount of 550,000 taels of silver to Li Lianying for review. "Very good!" Li Lianying looked at the account, and there was a total of five hundred and forty-nine thousand and eighty taels written on it. She couldn't help but cheered loudly, but suddenly she frowned again, "But—" "Master, please read again!" Li Guihe knew why Li Lianying was frowning. He was thinking about how to hand over the account of 550,000 taels to Princess Rongshou, so he hurriedly wrote down the total amount of the book to 600,000 taels. The accounts were taken out and handed over to Li Lianying. "Excellent!" Li Lianying was so happy that she almost jumped up when she saw this account, "Guihe, you know my heart best. After it's done, I won't treat you badly." "Serving the master is what a young person should do." Li Guihe said flatteringly, but he didn't know that he had swallowed nearly 10,000 taels of silver without telling Li Lianying. "The price of this betrothal gift is obviously so much higher than usual, the eldest princess will not fail to notice, if the eldest princess asks, what should she say then?" Li Lianying looked at the account of five hundred and fifty thousand taels Looking at the account, he looked at the account of 600,000 taels again, and asked Li Gui and said. "It's hard to say. The emperor's big wedding costs so much that the market has suddenly become tight. In order to make a lot of money, the merchants have raised the market price. Of course, the price of the bride price has also become higher." Li Guihe seemed As if he had already thought about it, he said incessantly.In fact, he had already thought it over. When he created the fake account with a total account of 550,000 taels, he had already thought about it in fear that Li Lianying would ask about it.Unexpectedly, it came in handy here, and was even praised by Li Lianying. "It's very thoughtful," Li Lianying said full of praise after hearing this, "Guihe, I didn't trust you in vain." The next day, Li Lianying saw Princess Rongshou, and said: "The dowry gifts for the Queen's family are all ready, please have a look at them." In the hands of Princess Shou. "It's all done so quickly?" Princess Rongshou asked a little surprised. "Who would dare not do his best to do things for the Lord Long Live?" "Do your best, hum, don't let them play tricks in secret!" Princess Rongshou said pointedly. "I don't think they will." Li Lianying replied a little uncomfortably. "Why is the price of the betrothal gift so high?" Princess Rongshou looked at the betrothal gift list, then at Li Lianying, and said, "It wasn't so high before?" "It's a little taller than usual, but I can't blame them." Li Lianying said in a murmur. "Who is to blame for this?" Princess Rongshou asked. "Those unruly businessmen should be blamed. Long live God's wedding costs millions, which makes the market tight. In order to earn big prices, businessmen have raised prices one after another." Li Lianying said Li Guihe's set The theory speaks out. "Who is so bold to drive up prices during the emperor's wedding? See if I don't kill them." Princess Rongshou said angrily. She also guessed that Li Lianying might be cheating. "It's not worth it, Eldest Princess." Li Lianying said hastily, "Long Live Lord's wedding is for auspiciousness, so why bother with those little people?" Is it clear and clear? "Yeah, the emperor got married, why bother with those villains?" Seeing Li Lianying defending those businessmen, Princess Rongshou understood a lot.But she didn't want to make things big either. On the one hand, it was because the Empress Dowager Cixi didn't want to make this matter too public, which she knew well; If you don't defeat him, you may shake your position in the heart of the Empress Dowager Cixi, so I found a way for myself by the way, and didn't pursue it further. Li Lianying just put fifty thousand taels of silver into her pocket. It was the twenty-fourth day of the first lunar month, and there was an excellent sun in the morning, and the alleys were empty with thousands of people, looking at the queen's dowry in the rising sun, there were a total of two hundred lifts, and they entered the palace in two days.The team, which was more than one mile long, started from Dongcheng Fangjiayuan, the queen's natal family.It meanders to Donghua Gate, Xiehe Gate, and the rear left gate, and is carried into the Qianqing Palace.Concubines Jin and Concubine Zhen also had their own dowry, but the number was not as large as that of the queen, and they could not enter the palace from the front. The dowry of the two families started at Chen hour in the morning and was not finished until the end of the afternoon.But at this moment, the weather suddenly changed. The clouds were thick for a while, and it snowed in the evening. It snowed all night, and the ground was full of vegetation. In the afternoon, the inch-thick snow completely melted, and the road was muddy, so it was easier to walk when it snowed.At night, the clouds are gloomy and the wind is howling, but there are lights shining in the clouds from time to time, especially in the northwest, if there is any light.Then such flames also appeared in the east, south, and west.At midnight, the light concentrated in the sky, and then scattered in all directions in an instant.Some people say that this is called "Heaven smiles", while others say it is "Heaven opens eyes".I don't know the master He Xiangduan? The next day—the twenty-sixth day of the first lunar month, it was the day when the queen was proclaimed.Before noon, all the officials gathered; at three o'clock in the afternoon, the emperor ascended his seat in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Amidst the crisp sound of "cracking fire whips", the princes and officials performed three kneeling and nine kowtows. The officials of the Ministry of Rites read out the imperial edict for the canonization of the queen, welcoming the envoy Elehebu, the scholar of Wuyingdian University, the deputy envoy, Shangshu Kuirun, and the ten ministers and ten members sent by the special envoy, kneeling and listening, and waiting for the emperor to return to the palace. His Majesty was in the middle of the lower hall, escorting the queen's money books and jade treasures, out of the Taihe Gate, across the Jinshui Bridge, through the Meridian Gate and the Daqing Gate, and finally turned east, and walked slowly through the Hou Mansion. It's not that the queen is immediately welcome into the palace as soon as she arrives. According to the time selected by the Qin Tianjian, the queen will not be respectfully accepted until midnight when the twenty-seventh son is handed in.Then Zizheng left the back residence, from Fangjiayuan via Shijia Hutong, Dongtai Street, Chang'an Pailou, Bingyu Street, Chejiangmi Lane, and entered Daqingmen.At this time, the Jingyang bell at the Meridian Gate rang loudly, and the sound shook the nine cities.The people under the emperor's feet all knew that the queen had entered the palace. As soon as the queen's phoenix entered the gate of Qianqing, twelve eunuchs, holding incense burners in their hands, led them into the Jiaotai Hall of the Qianqing Palace, carried the phoenix over the brazier, and stopped outside the gate of the palace. , was supported by four female officials into the hall, and after paying homage to the heaven and earth with Emperor Guangxu who was waiting there, they were both led into the bridal chamber of Kunning Palace behind the Jiaotai Hall, and then all the officials quietly retreated. The queen sat on the edge of the dragon bed with her head down, just waiting for the emperor to come and share the bed.Unexpectedly, the emperor just stood by the window, staring blankly at the dark night outside, without saying a word, it seemed that he had infinite unspeakable secrets. The queen just kept her head down and waited, but she didn't hear any movement from the emperor after waiting for a long time, so she couldn't help but looked up at the emperor secretly.Seeing the emperor just staring out the window blankly, an indescribable melancholy rose in his heart. "I am not the emperor's favorite person, can I live with the emperor well in the future?" The queen couldn't help asking herself, but she couldn't answer it herself, and no one could answer it now. The queen quietly stepped down from the dragon bed, went over to plug in the bolts of the bridal chamber, and then sat on the dragon bed quietly. Seeing that the emperor was still staring out of the window, she couldn't help but let out a low cry: " emperor!" Emperor Guangxu didn't answer or move, as if he didn't hear the queen's cry at all. "Your Majesty!" the Queen couldn't help calling out again. "En." The emperor agreed softly, still motionless, with an indifferent expression. "It's getting late, let's go to bed early." "Understood, you go to sleep first, let me stand alone for a while, maybe this is better." If the emperor didn't go to bed first, how could he go to bed first?Thinking of this, the empress gently stepped down from the dragon bed, came to the emperor's side, gently took his hand and said, "Is there anything you can't think about tomorrow? Go to rest early today!" The emperor shook his head when he heard this, and suddenly a warm current surged through his body, and he immediately returned to his original state. "She is the biggest insider placed by Lafayette's side, and her attitude may be pretending." Emperor Guangxu's instinct was telling him such a fact.But no matter what, Emperor Guangxu followed the queen to the edge of the dragon bed.He didn't care what the queen thought, so he took off his dragon robe and lay down with his clothes on. The empress ignored all this, and took off her clothes, lay down beside the emperor, stroked his face, and whispered, "Do you know what day is our day today?" Emperor Guangxu just nodded and said nothing. "Then what are you still doing?" the queen said, hugging Emperor Guangxu's head, and slowly put her lips against it. "Wait!" Emperor Guangxu stretched out his hands to cover the empress's lips, and then broke his head out of the empress's clinging hands and said, "I'm too tired, I'd better take a good rest." After finishing speaking, Regardless of how the queen felt, she turned over by herself and turned her head to one side. The queen lay there blankly, unable to tell whether she felt regret, hatred, sadness, or anger in her heart, but felt two streams of tears dripping silently from her eye sockets like clear springs. However, in Yikun Palace at this time, the two sisters Jinpin and Zhenpin were even more bored, bored almost to the point of boredom. "What should we do?" The young Concubine Zhen asked her sister Concubine Jin. Concubine Jin couldn't answer her sister's words, because she didn't know what to do, or even who she was, and whose good day it was. "Let's just sit like this?" Concubine Zhen asked, "What are you waiting for?" Are you waiting to meet the Empress Dowager?no!Even the empress had to wait until the second day of February before she could go to the Palace of Compassion and Peace, and the concubines in the second palace naturally fell even further behind. Are you waiting for the emperor to come?I'm afraid not.Of course the queen had to be allowed on the first day, but on the first day when life's major events were settled, there was no "bridal chamber" night that no girl didn't pay attention to.Concubine Jin sighed silently, got up and went back to her room. However, Concubine Zhen didn't think as much as her sister, she just felt bored and flustered.There is nowhere to go, nothing to do, and no one to talk to.This has to be sitting there upright all the time without driving people crazy, "No!" she said to herself, "I have to find a way to distract myself, at least I can find someone to talk to. Thinking of this, he waved to the maid standing outside the window with a smile. Two court ladies came in, greeted Ann, stood up and stood with hands down, waiting for her to ask questions.However, before Concubine Zhen could open her mouth, she found that there was a mess of people in the courtyard, with hurried footsteps. She thought it was the emperor's arrival, so she raised her heart and felt a little uncomfortable. Someone came, but it was not the emperor, but Li Lianying. "Master, please come out of the palace to listen to the announcement. Lafayette has a reward." Wang You hurried over and said to Concubine Zhen, "It's really a matter of face to send Mrs. Li, the special manager, to deliver the decree. Master, please go out quickly." It turned out that it was Li Lianying who came to preach the decree. "It is said that Li Lianying can cover the sky with one hand in the palace, and even some princes and ministers call him brothers and sisters in private." Concubine Zhen thought to herself, "Isn't he the head of the eunuch? What's the matter!" With this kind of thinking, she ignored Wang You's words, deliberately walked out of the moral hall and entered the main hall, and suddenly found that the scene changed. There was a row of court ladies and eunuchs, completely silent.On the top of the steps stood a tall eunuch in a third-rank suit, looking up at the front and above, with a look of arrogance. Seeing Li Lianying like this, Concubine Zhen felt a little angry.In terms of status, he is second only to the queen, and here he does not need to be humble to anyone except his sister.Li Lianying's attitude obviously had the meaning of looking down on her sister. "No," Concubine Zhen thought to herself, "I have to suppress his arrogance first, lest he make me look down on me later." Thinking of this, Concubine Zhen straightened her back, looked straight at her eyes, approached the steps calmly, then stopped, raised her right arm, looked back slightly, and the maid behind her hurriedly Taking a step forward, he held her right arm behind his back and carefully helped her down the steps until he stood beside Jinpin. Li Lianying looked at Concubine Zhen's posture, although she felt a little angry and could not get used to it, but she still had some fear in her heart. "It seems that although this little girl is not very old, she is not necessarily easy to provoke. If she can live in peace with me in the future, I'd better not provoke her." Thinking of this, Li Lianying felt half of the anger in her heart dissipated. Seeing that Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen were ready to receive the decree, she said, "Follow Yi's decree." Then she stopped and waited for Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen to kneel before she said loudly : "Lafayette's face-to-face instruction, I will appreciate the concubine Jin and the concubine Zhen's happy meal, thank you!" "Thank you Lafayette for your kindness!" Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen kowtowed to the north. "Congratulations to the two masters!" Li Lianying waited for the two sisters to get up together, and hurried forward and said to them, then turned around and said to Wang You, "Give me a prayer mat." This is to kowtow to congratulate.Concubine Jin didn't know the rules in the palace, whether eunuchs kowtowed to their masters, did they have to find a mat first, only thought that the rules of aristocratic families were to respect the superior and respect the inferior.However, since Li Lianying is a person who is particularly favored by Cixi, she thinks it is better to be more polite. "Don't dare to do it, don't dare to do it. You don't need to kowtow!" Jin Bin said. "Then respect is worse than obedience!" Li Lianying replied immediately, having no intention of bowing down to the pair of sisters. "Wait a minute!" Jinpin's natal family had already prepared rewards for their sisters, the heaviest of which was two hundred taels of silver, which was specially prepared for Li Lianying.At this time, the palace lady had already brought the reward silver, and Concubine Jin shouted to the palace maid: "Give the reward silver to Mr. Li!" "The two masters have rewarded too much!" Li Lianying said with a smile after receiving it, and then invited another Ann, and then left. The rewarded meal is prepared by the Imperial Dining Room, which is located south of the Hall of Mental Cultivation and north of the Military Aircraft Office.It's called a table, but it's actually more than one table. There are five tables in total. There are also a dozen red lacquer food boxes, which were carried by a team of well-dressed eunuchs into the Yikun Palace and placed in the main hall of the Yikun Palace.Of course, Wang Youlai was responsible for arranging the dishes.After everything was settled, Fang came to invite Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen to take their seats. Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen entered the hall to take a look, and only then did they realize what a royal grandeur is. There are at least fifty or sixty dishes on the two large rectangular tables.The table utensils are all porcelain covered sea bowls with red letters, or large plates with a diameter of nearly a foot.There is a silver plate on each plate, which is designed for anti-virus.If poison is put in the food, the silver medal will turn black as soon as it touches it. After Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen sat down, four or five eunuchs quickly took off the lids of the bowls one by one, put them in a large wooden box and took them away. Wherever the eyes of the two sisters went, they reported the names of the dishes. This way of eating is undreamed of by the two sisters.Especially Concubine Zhen, under the gaze of so many people, I feel a little embarrassed, let alone go to eat again. "The reward from Lafayette," said the cautious and cautious Concubine Jin to her sister, "eat more." As a result, Concubine Zhen had to work hard to add food, but the food was too rich, even if she tasted it lightly, she would not eat a third of it, and she felt extremely full.But the meal time took a full hour. The next night, as soon as Emperor Guangxu returned to his bedroom, the Empress greeted him affectionately and called out: "Your Majesty, my servant greets you!" "Hmm!" Emperor Guangxu agreed indifferently.Seeing the queen, his mood became disturbed again. "Your Majesty has been tired all day, this slave should beat your back." The Empress still said flirtatiously. "Forget it, I don't have back pain." Emperor Guangxu said.He thought of Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen, "I've been busy the past few days, and I've never seen these two sisters before." The emperor thought to himself, "I don't know what kind of heart these two sisters have. Since I look at the queen Not happy, why don't you take this time to visit these two sisters?" Emperor Guangxu made up his mind, and said to the queen: "Stay here by yourself for a while, I still have some things to do, I need to go out and do it. Maybe I will come back very late, if not, you can go to bed first!" "What's so urgent, can't we do it tomorrow?" the queen asked. "I've made up my mind, so don't say it." "Since the emperor insists on going, and the servants won't stop you, go." The queen said, "I'll wait for the emperor to come back!" "No need to wait, maybe I will come back very late. Why bother?" The emperor walked out after finishing speaking. After the emperor left, the queen thought more and more that something was wrong, "Could it be that the emperor has gone there?" she said to herself.She was wondering if the emperor had gone to the two sisters of Changxu's family. "Jin Sheng!" "The servant is here, what orders does the Empress have?" Jin Sheng responded and said. "Come here!" After Jin Sheng came over, the Queen whispered something in his ear, and Jin Sheng led away. The queen guessed well.After the emperor came out of the palace, he said to the eunuchs: "Hurry up and tell the eunuch, the head of the respect room, that I'm going to Yikun Palace to see the two sisters, Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen." The two sisters of Yikun Palace have never met the emperor.Wang You reckoned that it would take at least a few days before the emperor came to Yikun Palace, so he didn't have much preparation for these few days. Unexpectedly, just as the gate of Tiangong was about to be locked, the eunuch, the head of the respect room, rushed to inform that the emperor was coming to Yikun Palace soon, and the two sisters, Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen, were going to meet the emperor. This time Wang Youke panicked.On the one hand, he reported to the two masters, and on the other hand, he summoned the maids to wait for the two sisters to get dressed. The two sisters were just getting ready, and the emperor had already arrived at Yikun Palace.The two sisters rushed out to welcome the emperor, and when they saw the emperor, they knelt down three times and kowtowed nine times, and said, "My servant, please greet the Lord Long Live." "Get up!" Emperor Guangxu said. "Yes!" Concubine Jin agreed and stood up.Concubine Zhen followed her elder sister's example, stood up, and looked at the emperor gracefully. Seeing this, the emperor felt a little uncomfortable, and involuntarily shifted his gaze from Concubine Zhen to Concubine Jin. Concubine Jin is dignified and generous, and abides by etiquette. At this time, she lowered her head and looked at her front and bottom, so that the emperor could calmly look at her. "How old are you?" the emperor asked Concubine Jin. "The servant is fifteen years old this year." Concubine Jin replied. "Where do you live?" asked the emperor again. "The servant lives in the East Chamber and celebrates to go to fast." At this moment, Emperor Guangxu turned his attention to Concubine Zhen, and seeing Concubine Zhen was also looking at him, he asked, "How old are you this year?" Concubine Zhen didn't answer, but said playfully, "Your Majesty, guess." Long live Lord asked a question, and instead of answering quickly, he even said to let people guess, which is disrespectful.Concubine Jin was frightened when she heard this, and coughed again and again. However, Emperor Guangxu was not only not angry when he heard it, but felt refreshed.Emperor Guangxu lived in the oppressive atmosphere in the palace all day long, and no one had ever spoken to him in such a relaxed tone, so he said with great interest: "Your sister is fifteen years old, and I think you are only thirteen at most." Four years old?" "Your Majesty guessed right, this servant is thirteen years old." Concubine Zhen said happily. "And where do you live?" "The slave lives in the moral hall in the west wing." Concubine Zhen replied, "It just doesn't look as new as the east wing." "There is no new East Chamber." Emperor Guangxu had never heard such words before, but he was not surprised, "The empress dowager lived there because of the repair of the Chuxiu Palace the year before last. However, before living in it, it must go through some repairs.I'll go to your place later to have a look. " "Yes!" Concubine Zhen agreed. A group of people then headed towards the moral hall.After arriving at the moral hall, the emperor waved to the crowd and said: "You all stay here." After speaking, he only entered the room with his concubines Jin and Zhen. The emperor got rid of those deacons and eunuchs who were always around, and suddenly felt a sense of relief from the shackles in his body, and his speech became more casual. "Do you think I live comfortably?" the emperor asked Jin and Zhen. "As the lord of a country and the lord of ten thousand chariots, there is no reason for the emperor to live uncomfortably? The servant thinks that the emperor lives very comfortably." The elder concubine Jin hurriedly said, and at the same time looked at her younger sister, signaling her not to Talk a lot, lest you make mistakes by talking too much. Concubine Zhen didn't seem to understand her sister's painstaking efforts, so she said innocently: "The servant thinks that the emperor is not living comfortably." "Oh?" the emperor said in amazement, "Then tell me why?" "It can be seen from the fact that the emperor chooses the empress that the emperor is not comfortable in life." Perhaps because of her young age, Concubine Zhen is not very sensible, but she actually talked about the matter of choosing an empress. "Sister!" Jin Bin heard that her sister actually mentioned the matter of choosing a queen. Not only did she feel embarrassed, but she also felt that this matter should not be said, so she said to her sister: "Stop talking nonsense!" The emperor looked at Concubine Jin, waved his hand to stop her, and at the same time said to Concubine Zhen: "Speak again. Don't worry about it. There are only three of us here, and we won't spread the word if we talk about it." "Are you satisfied with the empress chosen by the emperor?" Concubine Zhen asked. The emperor shook his head silently, and at the same time heaved a long sigh. "Of course the empress who is forced to be elected by others will not be satisfied." Concubine Zhen said, "When the emperor chooses the empress, I saw everything in his eyes, maybe other people lowered their heads and dared not look at it. The slave was really the emperor at that time." I feel bad!" One sentence touched Emperor Guangxu's sore spot, and made him think of his unsatisfactory situation, and he couldn't help but burst into tears. Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen were terrified when they saw the emperor's appearance; especially Concubine Jin felt that a catastrophe was imminent, so she knelt down and kowtowed to the emperor to plead guilty: "It must be that the child spoke inappropriately, which made the emperor angry, please forgive me!" Concubine Zhen saw that her elder sister was kneeling down, so she quickly knelt down and said, "This servant must be talking too hard, and this servant deserves to die. Please don't worry about it, Your Majesty." Emperor Guangxu helped them up one by one and said: "It's because I think too much, it's none of your business." Then he stroked the young concubine Zhen and said, "Although you are the youngest, you are the only one who understands my heart the most. ." The two sisters looked at each other without saying anything. "Okay, it's getting late, I should go too." After Emperor Guangxu finished speaking, he wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeve, so as not to let people outside see that he had shed tears. The emperor got up to leave, and the Yikun Palace went up and down, kneeling to send Ruyi off.Returning to the palace, Concubine Jin pulled Concubine Zhen aside and complained quietly. "I didn't let you talk nonsense from the very beginning. Look at this time, it almost caused a big mess." Concubine Zhen also regretted that she spoke too rashly, but she was always competitive and refused to admit her mistakes: "You see, the emperor is very kind and considerate!" Pin Jin didn't think anything happened, which was good, but she was still worried, and reminded her younger sister, "You should be more careful in what you say in the future." But Jin Sheng listened to the queen's orders and followed the emperor quietly to see where he was going.Later, seeing that the emperor had arrived at Yikun Palace and hadn't come out for a long time, he went back to report to the queen. "Sure enough, I went there." The queen yelled after hearing Jin Sheng's words, "I will clean up these two foxes sooner or later. And this emperor is too bullying. Okay. , let's read the libretto on a donkey—we'll see!" Simultaneously with the grand wedding of Emperor Guangxu, the issue of Empress Dowager Cixi's return to the emperor was going on.Of course, while handling the emperor's wedding, Li Lianying did not forget to take some time to ask about it. "Lafayette is going to return to politics now, do you have any plans before returning to politics?" Li Lianying asked Empress Dowager Cixi. "Intention? There is a point." Empress Dowager Cixi said, "But I haven't told the emperor yet." "What's the plan? Tell the servants to know, so as to give Lafayette an idea." "That is, it has been more than 20 years since I listened to the government behind the curtain for the first time. Now I am going to return to the emperor, and it can be said that I have retired. But in the past 20 years, I have done a lot to the country Those who are powerful must have an explanation." "There should be an explanation, not only the living should have an explanation, but those who have gone should also have an explanation." "Those who have gone should also have an explanation, so how to explain to the Fa?" "It's not easy, just build a ancestral hall, or just set up an altar." "That makes sense!" "Did Lafayette hear that there is a governor in Hunan named Wang Qixiang who has done a good job in Hunan." "Really? Why haven't I heard of it?" "Lafayette may not have heard of it. I know that this person is very humble, and he will not make a big show when he has made achievements. But since he has made achievements, even if he does not say it himself, others will see it and also会说出来的。" "那你说，对这样的人，是不是应该好好地褒奖一下？" "那自然了，对做出成绩的人进行褒奖，也是对别人的一种鼓励。" "好，那时候我向皇帝提一下。" 这天慈禧太后召见军机，光绪皇帝也在场。慈禧太后对皇帝说道："我垂帘听政了二十多年。在这二十多年中，我经历了多少大风大浪，也很有些人为国家出了力，也算是帮了我的忙。如今我可以说是就要功成身退了，想想如果不对为国家出了力，帮过我的忙的人有个交代，也确实对不住他们。皇帝，你说呢？" "是！"光绪皇帝建议道，"可以开出单子，用皇额娘的名义通令褒奖他们。" "说得也是，世铎，这单子就由你们来开了。不过我还要建议几个。" "第一个应该是醇亲王。" "是！"世铎答道。 "恭王现在虽然被罢黜了，但以前确实出过很大的力，也应该开上去。还有从咸丰十一年冬到现在的军机大臣，都开上去。现任的在前，以前的在后。" "是！"世铎又答道。 "曾国藩、左宗棠两人为国家出生入死，驰骋疆场，也要特别褒奖。" "去世的人也要褒奖？"世铎不解地问道。 "对，去世的人也要褒奖。"慈禧太后说道，"这也是对生人的一种勉励。" "是，遵旨。"世铎不敢再辩了。 "另外，湖南巡抚汪祺祥，听说在任上做得不错，也要特意提出褒奖。" "是！"世铎答道，但心里却感到非常奇怪：这个汪祺祥，只听说在湖南贪污受贿，搞得民怨沸腾的，只不知老佛爷从哪里听说他做得很好，真是邪了门了！不过他觉得也无所谓，反正对自己也没多大关系，让嘉奖就嘉奖吧，说不定一争再争出个差错来，那样反倒不好了。 "那剩下的你们就看着办吧，不过不要漏掉了好人！"慈禧太后最后一句话说得很重，意思大概是多多益善。 世铎回到军机处，与同僚商议着，一共开了九张单子，这些人有醇亲王、僧王、头品顶戴赏花翎的总税务司赫德。另外还有现任及前任军机大臣；现任及前任军机章京；各国驻京公使；殉难的将帅及一二品大员；现任各省封疆大吏；以及已经去世的大学士、督抚、将帅。总数有三百人之多，生者加官晋爵，赏赐珍物；死者或建祠堂、或赐祭坛。真是恩惠普施，泽及枯骨。 慈禧太后一切准备就绪以后，便于二月初三在太和殿为光绪皇帝举行了正式"亲政"典礼。 巳时三刻，慈禧太后对光绪皇帝说："午时一到，亲政典礼就要开始，到时候你就要自己来处理一些政事了。你还有什么话要说的吗？" "亲爸爸住在颐和园后，儿臣每天去给亲爸爸请安！" "难为你的一片孝心，有你这话，我就放心多了。" "儿臣自己独立处理政事，只怕有些事会处理不好。"光绪皇帝诚惶诚恐地说道。 "小事你就自己处理，有拿不准的大事，你就到颐和园去，让我给你拿个主意还是可以的。" "是！遇有大事，儿臣自然要秉命办理。就怕有时候逼得儿子非立即拿主意不可，会有些把不住分寸。" "这也是实话，我也遇见过这样的情形。"慈禧太后说道，"这个时候，只要你心硬一点就行了。不然，那怕是至亲，也会有意见。" "心硬？" "对了，心要硬。国事是国事，家事是家事；君臣是君巨，叔侄是叔侄。别把这一切都搅和在一起，做起事来就会有分寸了。" 这几句话，皇帝听了有一种惊心动魄之感。怪不得满朝文武亲贵大臣，正直的也好，有才干的也好，都对慈禧太后那么畏惧、那么驯顺？而慈禧太后说的话、做的事，也有极不高明的地方，却何以不伤威信？大概也就是因为能硬得起心肠，该当运用权力的紧要关头，毫不为情面所牵扯，尤其对有关系的人物，更不容情，就像两次罢黜恭亲王奕那样。 "儿臣一定按照亲爸爸的话去做。"光绪皇帝若有所悟地说道。 "好，你懂这个道理就行了。"慈禧太后说道，"午时快到了，你快去太和殿吧。" 光绪皇帝急匆匆来到太和殿。刚在御座上坐稳，午时的钟声便已经敲响了。于是由军机大臣世铎向百官宣读亲政诏书，然后光绪皇帝便在众王公大臣"吾皇万岁、万岁、万万岁"的山摇地动般的呼声中正式亲政了。