Chapter 39 Fleeing to the west to offer cakes and receive great rewards

In the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu (1900), the Eight-Power Allied Forces launched an attack on Beijing.When the artillery was raging all over the sky and the capital was in a hurry, Li Lianying and Cixi fled to Xi'an like frightened birds.Although Li Lianying said that she was on the run, she never forgot to serve the Empress Dowager Cixi, and she was more attentive than in the palace, because she usually did not have such an opportunity to express herself. Because Cixi fled in too much haste, she didn't bring anything to eat. It was past noon and she was even more hungry and thirsty when she was walking among the mountains.At this time, Li Lianying's nephew Li Futing secretly gave Li Lianying two big cakes with white sugar in them.For those on the way to escape to the west, this is really a timely help.

Li Lianying thought it was too rare, and asked him where he got it, and Li Futing told him that he had it with him when he was going out the night before.Li Lianying immediately smiled, very happy, promised him that he would be rewarded a lot in the future, and immediately asked him how many more.The answer is no, there are only two left. Li Lianying immediately praised him and said: Good boy, you are promising.To tell the truth, Li Lianying was so hungry that she was dizzy at the time, so she wolfed down a piece and drank two sips of water without saying a word.Only then did I think about dedicating the remaining one to the Empress Dowager Cixi who was also hungry all day, and I would definitely get the reward that is hard to get at ordinary times. Of course it is not material, because I didn't bring much.It is more important than anything else for the Empress Dowager Cixi to remember that she shared weal and woe with her.

So Li Lianying caught up with the car that the Empress Dowager Cixi was riding in two steps at a time, held the big cake in both hands and offered it, and said in a low voice: "Lafayette, here is a big cake, which my nephew brought out from home. Just such a piece, willing to dedicate to the Queen Mother, I wonder if I can eat it? Under the scorching sun, the Empress Dowager Cixi, who was bumping and shaking all the way, was already thirsty and hungry. When she saw Li Lianying coming to present the big cake, she didn't care about eating or not, so she grabbed it and ate it.After eating, I drank some water and regained some energy.

Empowered Cixi was grateful for Li Lianying's benefits. She still thought of her at such a difficult time, and offered her big cakes to satisfy her hunger, and expressed that she would reward Li Futing for offering the cakes.Although it is impossible to honor it while fleeing, after the disaster, it will definitely be rewarded heavily. There are detailed records in "Two Years in the Palace". In 1904, the Empress Dowager Cixi herself expressed her position on the escape to the west: I hate this thing the most, so I don't want foreigners to ask about it. I think I am the smartest person in the world, and no one can compare to me. My life is not over yet, and no one can predict what I will do in the future.Maybe one day I will be able to do something unusual and surprise foreigners.Therefore, no one has ever dared to mention the so-called gengzi's luck in Xi'an in front of the Empress Dowager Cixi.

In 1905, Li Lianying's nephew Li Futing wanted to remarry because of his wife's death.Li Lianying wanted to take the opportunity to ask the Empress Dowager Cixi for a reward, so she told about the offering of cakes on Xixing Road that year.The Empress Dowager Cixi did not blame Li Lianying for mentioning this matter, and she was generous and fulfilled the promise of the year very readily: a reward of one thousand taels of silver, a pair of jade Ruyi, a scroll of Dafu Shouzi, and a big seal of the imperial pen. . Later, Empress Dowager Cixi thought of this again, and told Li Lianying that on her birthday, she would reward the couple to go to the garden to listen to a play.After Li Lianying went back, she quickly told them the good news, and specially ordered a young eunuch to teach Li Futing and his wife the etiquette in the palace, such as how to say hello, thank you, kneel down, etc.Let them study for more than a month.

On the tenth day of October, Li Futing and his wife were ordered to go to the garden to listen to the opera.According to Li Futing's wife's later recollection of this incident: On the day she entered the garden, she was worried, fearing that she would break the etiquette and cause disputes.At that time, when I saw the Queen Mother, I was sweating from fright before I kowtowed.I entered the Summer Palace early in the morning, first went to the Le Shou Tang to say hello to the Empress Dowager Cixi, and after a while, followed Ge Ge, Fujin, and the wives to pay their respects to her birthday one after another.After paying homage to the birthday, the Empress Dowager Cixi said, "It's the first time for you and your wife to enter the garden. If you don't understand the rules in the garden, you can be casual and then go to the theater."At noon, Empress Dowager Cixi gave another banquet.When we returned home in the evening, we went to say hello to Empress Dowager Cixi, and Cixi rewarded her with a colorful cheongsam. We kowtowed to express our gratitude before exiting.Empress Dowager Cixi was very happy and said that you can come to play in the garden again in the future.Her memories showed us a different Empress Dowager Cixi, without the usual cruelty, she just felt like a kind old lady next door.

Soon, the Empress Dowager Cixi issued a decree to reward Li Futing with a four-rank Hualing crown and the same title.It can be said that the big pie that Li Futing gave on the way to escape to the west not only earned Li Lianying enough trust points in front of Cixi, but also secured a good future for herself, which can be described as rich returns.