Chapter 22 Section 22

After returning to the bedroom and passing on the meal, the Empress Dowager Cixi took a walk to digest food as usual, which was called "Zuowaner" in the palace.There were only a few people following her.But there must be chief supervisor Li Lianying, or second chief supervisor Cui Yugui, and usually both Li Lianying and Cui Yugui follow, because she often thinks about things on her mind when she is going around the corner, and when she thinks of what to do, she will explain it right away. What I was thinking about that day was the recommendation of a doctor by the French minister.Although Rong Lu tried his best and provided a guarantee, she always felt that she couldn't rest assured. If a foreign doctor diagnosed the pulse and said that the emperor was not sick, once the news spread, there would be no excuses for the future abolition, and the political training in front of her would not be the same. It has become a fake name!

"Look," Empress Dowager Cixi said as she walked, "what would a foreign doctor say when he sees the emperor's illness when he enters the palace?" Li Lianying and Cui Yugui are both people who have figured out the thoughts of Empress Dowager Cixi thoroughly.The difference is that Li Lianying knows her heart and has to think about others, but Cui Yugui only knows that "Lafayette" can do whatever he wants.Therefore, it seems that Li Lianying's thinking is not as sensitive as his. After waiting for a while and seeing that the chief executive did not open his mouth, Cui Yugui answered without hesitation: "If you are sick, it is difficult to think that you are not sick! Isn't it easy to think that you are sick when you are not sick?"

Empress Dowager Cixi thought, this is not bad!But in the end it is the status of mother and child, she is inconvenient to say clearly: then try to make the emperor sick, so as to hide it from the eyes and ears of foreigners.He just nodded and said, "You send a message to the Minister of Internal Affairs to tell them to be careful." "Cha!" Cui Yugui agreed loudly. "I heard Lafayette's words clearly!" Li Lianying knew that Cui Yugui's actions would be disregarded, and his edicts would inevitably be entangled with his own will, so he specially told him: "Take good care of him! Don't be reckless and cause trouble."

As soon as Cui Yugui left, Empress Dowager Cixi sat down in the stone pavilion behind Yiluan Hall.When encountering such a situation, there is generally something to say to Li Lianying, and what is said is nothing more than confidential.Therefore, all the eunuchs and court ladies stood at a distance after drinking tea, and never dared to approach unless there was no gesture to greet them. "I think that matter should be done in time for the next year!" Empress Dowager Cixi said expressionlessly: "It also saves foreigners from trivial matters." "Yes!" Li Lianying replied, "Outsiders are also very concerned about this matter. People often come to inquire about news with my servant, and my servant replied to them: I don't know anything about it."

"It's those people!" "It's no more than people in the palace." Li Lianying said, "Don't ask Lafayette, just make a big decision!" "It's so difficult to come up with this idea!" Empress Dowager Cixi thought for a while and said, "Anyway, the fifth, sixth, and seventh houses will not work." This means that King Dun of the fifth line, King Gong of the sixth line, and King Chun of the seventh line, these three "Zai" characters are all adults and are not considered.Therefore, Li Lianying said a sentence that had been stored for a long time, and said it lightly: "Then only the boss of Prince Qing's family is qualified!"

To be eligible to inherit the Datong, there must be two conditions: first, a close family member; second, a minor.Xuanzong's lineage, of course, there are Pu Lun and Pu Tong of the long house, and further push up, Renzong's lineage, there are also Xianfeng and Zai Run, the two grandsons of Prince Hui Mianyu who were called the "Old Fifth Lord" during the Tongzhi period. , Zaiji, but they are all under forty and over twenty, all of them are unqualified.In this way, the so-called "near branch" must be counted as the Gaozong lineage. Emperor Gaozong had many children. For the emperor, there were also relatives and estrangements. The closest one was Prince Qingxi Yonglin.Because both Renzong and Prince Qingxi were descended from the pure Empress Wei Jia of Xiaoyi, they were siblings of the same father and mother, so they were naturally close to their half brothers.Prince Qingxi's only grandson is Prince Qing Yikuang.

Yikuang has two sons.The second son Fang was in his infancy, and the so-called "boss" in Li Lianying's mouth was named Zai Zhen. He was fourteen years old and often entered the palace with his mother. His appearance was mediocre and his mouth was very sweet. stop.Empress Dowager Cixi's heart moved, and she asked hesitantly, "Don't you think it's a little far away?" "No more!" Li Lianying answered crisply. Empress Dowager Cixi thought for a while and asked, "How old is Xiao Zhen this year?" "It's not thirteen, it's fourteen."

"The age is just right." The Empress Dowager Cixi thought to herself, after three or four years of hard work, there will be harvest, and the more motivated she is. Having said that, he does not want to make a hasty decision. "Let's take a look again! It's a big event, so we can't be too careless!" She changed the subject and asked, "What's good about this time?" Longevity is approaching, Li Lianying has discussed with the Minister of Internal Affairs many times about summoning the famous actors of Liyuan to accept the first big "hall meeting", and immediately replied calmly: "The new actors are Sun Juxian, Xiao Jiaotian, and Red Eye." Wang Si, Long Changsheng, the dan roles are Shi Xiaofu, Chen Shitou, Xiang Jiuxiao, Yu Zhuanger, Shisandan..."

"Ah, I remembered. Some people said that there is a man named Qin Wujiu, who is very good. Do you know this person?" Of course Li Lianying knew about Qin Wujiu—Qin Zhifen.Even if you didn't know him before, you should have heard of him this time.Because Qin Zhifen recently performed a righteous deed, comparable to Wang Wu's escort of An Weijun to the garrison.It turned out that since Zhang Yinhuan was issued a strict decree to change the control of local officials in Xinjiang, his fellow villagers in Guangdong dared not talk to him for fear of trouble. Interrogation, business affairs, merciless.After finally passing through the Ministry of Punishments, he still had to go to the Armory Department of the Ministry of War to interrogate and receive the official document "sent to the military station to serve". Back to the Ministry of Punishments.Seeing that Zhang Yinhuan went to prison and then went to prison again, he was embarrassed and had tears all over his face. Fortunately, Chen Kuilong was in charge of the party secretary to rush to deal with important business, so he got the letter to come and take care of it for him.

Once on the road, it was Qin Zhifen who took care of her, took care of her up and down, entrusted her in many ways, and delivered it to Zhangjiakou in person, and left with tears.Back in the capital, Du Men rested his shadow and had already reported to the government office to be dismissed.It was inconvenient for Li Lianying to explain why, so she had to answer like this: "If you are not in the capital, your skills may not be very good." "Forget it!" The Empress Dowager Cixi remembered something again, "The wives of ministers from various countries are coming to pay my birthday greetings. I have already promised them that they will come to Xiyuan for a day. Foreign women like to break the casserole and ask the bottom line. What should I do about those two heartless things?"

"Two unconscionable things" refers to Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen.The younger sister was sent to the cold palace, her clothes were not warm, and her food was not enough. The older sister also lived in seclusion in Yongxiang, and she went to work every day, and the Empress Dowager Cixi didn't even look at her.These situations are not humane, and naturally it is not appropriate to let them meet with foreign guests, so as not to show their feet, so they have to find a way to prevaricate. Li Lianying was not troubled by this, she thought for a while and replied: "Lafayette Wan'an! This slave has an idea." But he didn't say what it was. On the day when the wives of ministers from various countries met, Li Lianying found two court ladies, posing as Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen.Fortunately, there is a language barrier, so as long as we understand the two sisters Deling and Longling who are in charge of interpreting, the talented scholars of the Eight Banners, and Yu Geng, the minister in Japan who has recently returned from his post, we may as well point out the deer as a horse. Then the doctor recommended by the French envoy entered the palace to "examine" the emperor's illness.His face is pale and his language is humble. To foreigners, of course, he cannot be regarded as healthy.The princes and ministers who were watching were sweating with apprehension, fearing that the emperor would complain and say he was fine, and finally he was fine. Longevity is over, and the trouble that the Empress Dowager Cixi is worried about that foreigners may bring to her has also passed. The year is coming to an end, and as early as the New Year's plan, it is time to change the emperor!