Chapter 66 Chapter Two

Learn to watch words and expressions Soon after the death of Emperor Xianfeng, the empress dowagers of Ci'an and Cixi began to listen to the government behind the curtain, helping the young Emperor Tongzhi to assist the government.At that time, all major political policies were decided by Empress Dowager Ci'an nodding, because Xianfeng cared about Cixi's desire for power and mainly distributed the power to Empress Dowager Ci'an, and Empress Dowager Ci'an was the main palace, the queen mother of Emperor Tongzhi in law.But the Empress Dowager Ci'an had no intention of intervening in government affairs, and only hoped that the Emperor Tongzhi would take over the government as soon as possible so that she would not have to worry about it.On the contrary, Cixi, who is very happy, always wants to monopolize the power, do whatever she wants, and make her own decisions.However, due to various restrictions, Cixi has been unable to realize this wish, so she is very depressed. Every time she sees the empress dowager Ci'an who is very temperamental but has no opinion, she is very awkward.Empress Dowager Cixi, who was extremely jealous, felt more and more that Empress Dowager Ci'an was the biggest obstacle to her monopolizing power. As long as Empress Dowager Ci'an was around, she would not have a bright future.What's more, the Empress Dowager Ci'an holds the imperial edict of Emperor Xianfeng in her hand, which is a magic weapon to suppress herself, and it is also a lingering curse on the head of the Empress Dowager Cixi.

Not only that, the Empress Dowager Cixi also treats the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain, and is always suspicious of the Empress Dowager Ci'an, fearing that the Empress Dowager Ci'an will plot against her.Therefore, in order to keep track of the Empress Dowager Ci'an's movements, she often sent Li Lianying to the Zhongcui Palace to greet the Empress Dowager Ci'an, send snacks, etc., and took the opportunity to inquire about news. Because the Empress Dowager Ci'an is gentle, she doesn't know how to play tricks, and she is not good at manipulating power. She doesn't know that the Empress Dowager Cixi is cunning, and she thinks that she respects herself.Li Lianying was Empress Dowager Cixi's confidant eunuch. After arriving at the Zhongcui Palace of Empress Dowager Ci'an, Ci'an was always very kind to him and asked him to say hello to Empress Dowager Cixi from time to time.

At this time, because Li Lianying didn't understand the real intentions of Empress Dowager Cixi, she would report the truth every time she came back from Ci'an, always saying that Empress Dowager Ci'an was good.Li Lianying thought that by uniting the relationship between their sisters, she would definitely be appreciated by the Empress Dowager Cixi.Who knew that Cixi didn't say anything once or twice, but more often than not, when the Empress Dowager Cixi saw that Li Lianying hadn't figured out what she meant, she couldn't help but feel a little discouraged: Li Lianying was said to be quick-witted and clever, but nothing happened. I can't tell, it's a waste of his cleverness, it seems that he still needs to give him a reminder!

One day, the Empress Dowager Cixi sent Li Lianying to the Empress Dowager Ci'an as usual, and sent the special products of her hometown for the Empress Dowager Ci'an to taste.Empress Dowager Ci'an also expressed her gratitude to Cixi for her daily greetings as usual, and rewarded Li Lianying ten taels of silver.After Li Lianying came back from the Empress Dowager Ci'an, she still talked about how good the Empress Dowager Ci'an was.The Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't bear it anymore, before he could finish speaking, she slapped him hard on the mouth.Li Lianying had gained the trust of the Empress Dowager Cixi at that time, and no one dared to provoke him except for what the Empress Dowager Cixi usually said about him.Now that Empress Dowager Cixi gave her a big slap, her face turned red immediately, she still didn't understand what was going on, she just stood there in a daze, not knowing what to do.

Cixi asked sternly: Do you know why you were beaten?After all, Li Lianying was only a teenager, and he was afraid of being beaten, and he really didn't know why he was beaten, so he told the truth: the slave didn't know what was wrong. The Empress Dowager Cixi further instructed him and said: In the future, we must learn to be smarter.Then, gave him a meaningful look.Although Cixi didn't say anything further, Li Lianying, who was extremely clever, finally turned the corner, and finally understood the intention of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and hurriedly replied: "The servant understands."From then on, when Li Lianying went to the Empress Dowager Ci'an's Zhongcui Palace, she still respected her as usual, but when she returned to Cixi, she was always picky about the various behaviors of the Empress Dowager Ci'an, and never mentioned the benefits of the Empress Dowager Ci'an to him.

Through this incident, Li Lianying gained insight from being slapped in the mouth, and has been on the road ever since.He developed a habit of paying attention to everything, observing every move of Empress Dowager Cixi, trying to figure out what Empress Dowager Cixi was thinking, what he should do, and how to win the favor of his master.He got a revelation from his personal experience: the most important thing is that his master likes it, and it doesn't matter whether it conforms to the facts or not. In the court life for many years, Li Lianying accompanied the Empress Dowager Cixi all the time, and almost completely grasped the pulse of Cixi's thoughts and life.