Chapter 28 Learn the art of combing your hair in a brothel

In order to win Cixi's favor, Li Lianying tried his best to do whatever Cixi liked.A suave and handsome young man came to the Eight Great Hutongs in Beijing, and for a while, those kiln sisters who stood leaning against the door became energetic.This young man is Li Lianying, who was just in his youth.Why did Li Lianying go to the brothel?When it comes to this matter, we have to start with the Empress Dowager Cixi. The lives of eunuchs are not all painful and static. As long as the master is in a good mood, he may get unexpected rewards.And usually as long as you have served your master well, you still have more time for yourself. As long as you have good legs and feet and finish your duties, you can also go to the door room (a public place for eunuchs to rest and entertain after work) with other eunuchs small talk.Here, the eunuchs are free from the daily restraints. They can talk, grind their teeth and play chess. It can be said to be very comfortable, unlike the heavily guarded palace.

On this day, Li Lianying was joking with a group of eunuchs of similar age when Shen Yulan, the head eunuch of his hometown Changchun Palace, came in with a sad face.The head of the internal supervisor is a drudgery job with no real power, who specializes in messy things but can't be neglected at all.With his frowning look now, the big guys feel a little puzzled.Shen Yulan has developed an open-minded personality due to being in charge of trivial chores for a long time. She looks like an eggplant beaten by Shuang today. She must have hit a wall with the Queen Mother.Everyone stopped joking.

After Shen Yulan came in, she squatted silently on a small stool in the corner and smoked two bags of dry cigarettes, sulking all the time.His apprentice cautiously asked about the situation, and Shen Yulan sighed deeply, saying that she might have to leave the palace, go home to take care of herself, and would no longer be able to share her worries for the queen mother. Unable to stop everyone from asking curiously, Shen Yulan told the truth: It turned out that once Concubine Yi became the Empress Dowager Cixi who held great power, her mother would become more powerful because of her precious mother.Zaichun came to the throne, saying that the two palaces listened to the government behind the curtain, but Ci'an was honest, kind, and a good wife and mother, but he was not a good hand in governing politics, and it was difficult to make decisions when things went wrong.Over time, the power fell into the hands of the Empress Dowager Cixi.

Empress Dowager Cixi has long black hair that falls like a small waterfall.Empress Dowager Cixi cherished her black hair very much, and was very picky about the eunuch who combed her hair.This made the eunuchs in the combing room feel like they were facing an enemy, and worked hard to study the hair combing technology.In this way, every time she combed her hair, she still couldn't satisfy the Empress Dowager Cixi. It was common to be beaten and scolded, and she couldn't always do what she wanted.Especially those who accidentally lost her hair, it would be even worse, and they would have to beat her to the point of crying.

In fact, hair loss is a very normal physiological phenomenon. No matter how well you maintain your hair, you can't prevent part of your hair from aging and falling off.In this way, a burst of beatings is inevitable.At the beginning of the spanking, the eunuchs could afford some cushions, but later it was changed to spanking on the mouth, and now there is no way to hide it.The eunuchs in the entire hairdressing room were beaten into pigs in the end, and no one was able to go out.Later, no one dared to comb Empress Dowager Cixi's hair anymore. Shen Yulan was also in charge of the combing room, no one combed the Empress Dowager Xi's hair, as long as the Empress Dowager Cixi gave her an order, his head would move at any time.In the end, he really had no choice but to go to Changchun Palace tremblingly.Fortunately, he has good skills, and he didn't hurt Empress Dowager Cixi, and didn't lose her hair. Just about to thank God for blessings, but Empress Dowager Cixi felt that the flag head he combed was dull and ugly, and she looked unhappy.However, the head of the flag is the old practice of the court, and the other styles are one that no one can comb, and the other seems to be inappropriate with the family law of the ancestors.Although Shen Yulan explained in every possible way, the Empress Dowager Cixi didn't care about that, she called him a useless old thing, and told him to find a satisfactory hairdresser quickly, otherwise she would never let him go lightly.

Shen Yulan was always timid and fearful, but now she has no idea.He does not mean that.This incident touched one person, that is, the young Li Lianying.He fiddled with the little calculation in his heart: Only when the difficult things are done well can he show his ability.Only in this way can he get close to the Queen Mother and be able to stand out.I have been thinking hard for many years to find an opportunity. Isn't this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?Although I don't know anything about combing hair now, I still have more than half a month to learn it!If I can't even learn how to comb my hair in nearly a month, what will I, Li Lianying, do?Don't talk about getting ahead, I'm afraid you won't be able to live a mediocre life for a lifetime.

Li Lianying made the most important decision in his life. He took the initiative to ask Shen Yulan to comb her hair for Empress Dowager Cixi.Shen Yulan didn't want Li Lianying to die because of her hometown complex, so she repeatedly dissuaded her.Helplessly, Li Lianying insisted on finding this willow tree with crooked neck to hang herself, seeing Shen Yulan's repeated refusal, she had to exert all her strength to persevere. In fact, Shen Yulan liked this smart and clever little fellow very much, but he knew that going to comb Empress Dowager Cixi's hair would be dangerous, so she deliberately stopped him.If it weren't for the fellow, he might even come to his door to let him try.

Li Lianying didn't give up until he achieved his goal. He analyzed the pros and cons to Shen Yulan, and said that he was absolutely capable.What's more, if no suitable candidate is found within a month, his old life will be lost. Cixi is notoriously right-handed.The old eunuch in the palace once commented on Empress Dowager Cixi that she is as beautiful as a flower and has a heart like a snake, which is absolutely true. Seeing that Li Lianying was very determined, Shen Yulan had no choice but to make up her mind and agree to Li Lianying's request.But I still have to tell him to learn the technique of combing his hair well so as not to make Empress Dowager Cixi angry.Li Lianying was overjoyed when she heard that Shen Yulan let him go and let him have a try.He immediately used the money he had saved from living frugally to buy off the chief eunuch, received the palace entrance and exit badge, and gave two small ingots to the guards of Xihua Gate.He bought some new clothes at the market, as the so-called man depends on his clothes and his horse depends on his saddle, he immediately looked much more energetic.

It was not easy for Li Lianying to go out of the palace, so she went home to reunite with her family first, and then began to think about how to learn how to comb hair.Li Lianying thought about it and thought that among the women, the girls from Fireworks and Willow Lane should be the best at dressing up. Firstly, they come for professional needs, and secondly, they also lead the trend. It is definitely right to learn to comb their hair from them. Li Lianying knew that time was not waiting for me, so she did what she said, so she went to a grocery store and bought a small bamboo basket. In the basket, there were some ladies' dressing things such as hair tonic, palace powder, rouge, velvet flowers, and tonic grass. The Flower Street and Willow Alley in the Hutong is haunted by brothel fans.

After a period of time, as long as the girls were dressing up, Li Lianying would carefully observe their hairstyles under the pretext of selling rouge pollen.Some are like magpies climbing branches, some are like peacocks spreading their tails, some are like clouds in the sky, and some are like shadows in water.Li Lianying couldn't help admiring, if she could master all the styles, Empress Dowager Cixi would be very happy. Li Lianying was smart in the first place, and because of his handsome appearance, he was deeply loved by the girls. They didn't mind Li Lianying watching them comb their hair and dress up.Li Lianying carefully observed and figured out those hairstyles, and memorized them one by one.Sometimes, through the crystal curtain, you can carefully watch the techniques of girls combing black silk and coiled hair.Soon, he almost saw and learned all kinds of hair combing styles in the brothels in the capital.

This is not enough, Li Lianying heard that there is an oiran named Xiao Yufeng in the capital that everyone knows. However, the brothel where Xiao Yufeng works is the most heavily guarded in the capital.Most people, let alone seeing her, even approaching a brothel are wishful thinking.Li Lianying could not be bothered, he pretended to be a relative of the emperor and sneaked into the brothel, and refused the girls called by the old bustard with various reasons.Either she is too short, too fat, her face is too round, her mouth is big, her eyes are small, which is unattractive, or her head is small, her face is small, her eyebrows are mouse-eyed, and there is a big canine tooth in her mouth, which is annoying, or her skin color is too dark. It's not that Li Lianying has high vision, it's just that he doesn't want to drink, so he came here after Xiao Yufeng.Sure enough, seeing that Li Lianying was so picky, the bustard led him up to the second floor to meet Xiao Yufeng. Xiao Yufeng really lived up to her reputation, she was about seventeen or eighteen, with a melon-seeded face, willow eyebrows, red phoenix eyes, thin lips, shallow dimples, less artificial, mostly elegant and refined.Especially her hair is unique and outstanding. Li Lianying was also impressed by Xiao Yufeng's beauty. They talked about chess, calligraphy and painting, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, and the sea and the sky were very open.Li Lianying used the skills she learned in the palace, drawing and writing, plus he cheered up and dressed himself up like a nobleman, Xiao Yufeng was really moved, and she was ready to throw herself into her arms .During this period, Li Lianying saw Xiao Yufeng's bun style clearly, and in the middle, she heard Xiao Yufeng give a lecture on combing her hair. If you dare to delay for a long time, you will quit with an excuse. Li Lianying mastered all the popular hairstyles in the capital, and practiced them with ease on other people, she thought she was 100% sure of winning the favor of the Queen Mother, so she went back to the palace to meet Shen Yulan.Li Lianying bragged about the skills she had learned, three parts true and seven parts false, and she spoke miraculously.Shen Yulan almost knelt down and kowtowed to him, thanking him for saving the emergency.Immediately, he explained the essentials of how to comb the Empress Dowager Cixi's hair and how to meet her, and Li Lianying wrote them down one by one. Early the next morning, Shen Yulan arranged for Li Lianying to comb Empress Dowager Cixi's hair.Li Lianying went to the palace full of confidence. After all, it was a matter of life and death, so she couldn't help being a little excited. He entered the door lightly, and hastily stepped forward to kowtow to pay his respects.I saw the Empress Dowager Cixi sitting in front of a crescent-shaped dressing table. The dressing table was extremely exquisite. It seemed to be made of red sandalwood, with a faint woody fragrance. There were hollow patterns carved everywhere on the table, and a large piece of glass was inlaid in the middle. Small pieces of glass are inlaid on the top, bottom, left, and right, and the joints of the glass are extremely tight, like a whole.The Empress Dowager Cixi was busy dressing herself all the time, so she didn't care about Li Lianying who was kneeling on the ground.Li Lianying knelt like this for a long time. Seeing that his knees were numb, Empress Dowager Cixi asked him to get up. Empress Dowager Cixi asked some questions, and then asked him if he could comb his hair.Li Lianying confidently said yes.Next, of course, it's time to comb your hair.At this time, a eunuch had already brought a rosewood fragrant wood carving treasure box.Li Lianying cheered up and figured out Cixi's appearance.Then, he carefully tore open the long black hair of the Queen Mother, and combed it gently with a comb.After combing for a while, I dipped the silk cotton into the scented hair tonic and popping water, using Xiaoyufeng's gestures, circling left and right, lifting the back hair, and combing a lotus flower upright. Divide the eyebrows into two sides to form the water temples. After combing, a hibiscus blooms on the head. Cixi couldn't wait to come to the dressing table to take a photo. She saw herself in the mirror dignified and elegant under the background of her hairstyle. This hairstyle is really beautiful. From a distance, it looks like a pair of phoenixes facing the sun. Up close, it looks like a hibiscus coming out of water. There are two finely carved silver hairpins embellished with pearls inserted obliquely on the top of the back of the head. It is really a jade pillar on a dragon plate, which is quite royal.Not only that, the long face that is usually regrettable can't be seen against the backdrop of this hairstyle.Cixi was elated, she stood in front of the big mirror and looked left and right, from a distance for a while, and a close up for a while. After so many days, she finally had a satisfactory hairstyle. It took a long time for Cixi, looking at the mirror, to find that Li Lianying was still standing with her hands down, and happily asked him how many hairstyles he knew. Li Lianying knew that the hairstyle she had done must satisfy the Empress Dowager Cixi, otherwise she would not be so happy.Now that she asks this question, of course she has to behave, maybe she will always be by her side in the future, and she said that she knows more than 30 different styles. Cixi was even more delighted to hear that, and asked which one was the best.Li Lianying happened to show off the hair combing knowledge she had learned recently.He further said: The styles of hair buns in the past dynasties are different. The most popular ones are the falling horse bun, the spirit snake bun, and the door sweep bun. These buns have their own strengths.To be specific about the kind of good-looking, in fact, it should be determined according to the specific person.Everyone is different in height, fat, thin, age, and facial features. Comb your hair according to your appearance, so as to maximize your strengths and avoid weaknesses, and increase your charm.In addition, the season also has a relationship with the hair style. In hot summer, it is better to be loose, and in winter, it is better to be compact. Li Lianying spoke clearly and logically, and Cixi was very happy to see that he had such research on combing hair, and asked him which style was most suitable for her. Li Lianying seized the opportunity and quickly flattered Cixi, saying that the Empress Dowager Cixi has a full heaven and a wide land, which integrates auspiciousness and wealth into one body.With these words, Cixi was touted as ecstatic, very carefree. The Empress Dowager Cixi intended to try Li Lianying's skills, and pretended to issue a military order to him, ordering her to comb her hair every day for a month, otherwise she would be careful. Li Lianying knew that it was Cixi's intention to keep him by her side to serve her, so she quickly confessed her loyalty, and she was willing to be punished if anything happened.In fact, Cixi was reluctant to punish him, or someone would comb her hair! From then on, Li Lianying combed Empress Dowager Cixi's hair every day, once she was born, and twice when she was familiar with it. Become a good name.Cixi also had to appreciate the exquisiteness of her heart.In this way, Li Lianying won the favor of Empress Dowager Cixi by virtue of her handsome appearance and combing hair, and was finally favored by Cixi and became an indispensable figure in the combing room.Soon, he was promoted by Cixi to be the head of the combing room and the head of the respect room, and a close servant of the imperial court.Since then, Li Lianying has also been among the celebrities in front of Cixi.He had a premonition that his dream of becoming a success would soon come true. During her relationship with Cixi, Li Lianying found that Cixi was capricious and unpredictable.Therefore, the clever Li Lianying set up a set of rules for himself: first, he should try his best to do whatever the master likes;He bound himself with these two rules, and he kept repeating these two rules in his heart all the time.More importantly, he wanted Cixi to feel that he, Li Lianying, was someone she couldn't live without for a moment.To achieve this level, one must have a comprehensive understanding of all Cixi's laughter and scolding. Not only that, Li Lianying also figured out the various preferences of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and tried her best to please her hobbies.He found that the Empress Dowager Cixi liked to listen to stories, so he tried his best to collect all kinds of stories and tell them to the Empress Dowager Cixi.Since then, Cixi's respect for Li Lianying has changed from appreciation to love.Li Lianying, who is quick-witted and quick-witted, understands everything and is even more determined to work for Empress Dowager Cixi.