In the Fangzhai Hall behind the Heart Cultivation Palace, sure enough, according to Yi's will, there were cases in the hall and under the hall, less than ten steps apart.

Needless to say, the case in the hall is to set up the imperial meal, which is what the eunuchs are used to. The case under the hall is exquisite-because you can't eat with your back to the queen mother and the emperor, so a wide table is specially set up, and the alcohol king and Guan Zhuofan, together with the twelve Qianqingmen guards, sit on both sides of the table, with the closest place to the imperial case as the head, and naturally belong to the alcohol king and Guan Zhuofan to sit opposite each other.

As soon as a large group of eunuchs and palace maids and Jingqi Mama arrived, everyone stood up and bowed down to greet them-the guards on duty in the palace did not need to kneel and salute.

There is Jingqi Mama, because of Ci'an and Cixi, but she also brought a pair of sisters and brothers. The little one is that the emperor needless to say, when he saw King Alcohol, he called out to Uncle Seven, took the hand of the Empress Dowager Ci'an, and sat down. The one who was the elder sister, twelve or thirteen years old, with a pair of big eyes, looked very upright, dangled two emerald green earrings, but acted very steadily, gave a salute to the alcohol king, and also called the seventh uncle, and then sat solemnly.

This is called Heshuo Dunrou Gege, but it is not from Wenzong, but the second daughter of Prince Gong. Dun Rou Gege has been in and out of the palace since he was a child, Cixi is very fond of it, and after the coup d'état in Qixiang, he simply asked King Gong to come over, raised in the palace, and treated as a princess. The little emperor Tongzhi has the best relationship with this sister, and he has to look for it if he can't see it for a day, no matter where he goes, he is inseparable.

When everyone thanked them and started eating, they could see that Cixi's idea was really good. Such an occasion is like a family feast, not only does it not have to be like a curtain. It is covered by a veil. And you don't have to be as rigid as you are playing the right game. Much more active.

"Seventh Master, I heard that the team in your house has a new play?" Cixi asked with a smile.

The words are like pulling a family routine, but there is a difference between respect and inferiority, although the eyes are on Guan Zhuofan, but the first sentence must be said to King Alcohol, and Cixi and Ci'an. They are all theater fans, and it is also appropriate to start with this topic.

"Back to the Queen Mother's words, it's "Heroes Meeting"!" King Alcohol thought to himself, this was naturally what his Fujin and Cixi's sister told her. He is also a fan of drama, and replied energetically, "But it's not the team in my house, it's the 'Sanqing Class' that is transmitted, Lu Su of Cheng Changgeng, and Zhou Yu of Xu Xiaoxiang." are all good corners. ”

"Oh—" said Cixi enviously, "if you can listen to it at any time." That's good. ”

These are heartfelt words. Although the team in the palace is also a good character, compared with the famous leaders of the big team outside, it is naturally quite inferior.

"Yes, just wait for when the two queen mothers have leisure, and the minister invites the queen mother to the minister's mansion for a half-day rest."

"Well, let's talk about it." Cixi nodded, "Guan Zhuofan." ”

"The minister is here." Guan Zhuofan stood up.

"Sit down, don't make another match." Cixi said with a smile.

"Yes."

"When you were in Shanghai, you also listened to the opera?"

Guan Zhuofan said in his heart that he had heard a few words on TV in the past, but in addition, he would never mention it again.

"The minister doesn't know how to play," he replied honestly, "I can't hear it." ”

"Oh?" Cixi raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Actually, if you listen more, you will understand." However, you are busy with military affairs, and you don't have much time to spare, so you can use it to listen to the play. Or the local people in Shanghai don't listen to the drama much. ”

Her eyebrows raised slightly, Guan Zhuofan saw it in his eyes, thinking that he hadn't seen her for two years, but her complexion had not decreased slightly.

"Yes, in the past, there were many times for wars, and since Jiang Ning came back, there have been many times for foreign affairs. The opera garden in Shanghai County is not big, but the opera garden in the concession is both large and beautiful. ”

"In the concession?" Empress Dowager Ci'an, who had been managing the little emperor's meal, raised her head when she heard this, "Foreign devils also listen to the play?" ”

"If you go back to the Queen Mother, there are many Chinese in the concession." Guan Zhuofan replied respectfully, "But foreign devils also listen to dramas, I heard Bian Ning from the Telegraph Bureau say that there is a theater in Hong Kong, which is specially used for foreigners to listen to dramas." ”

"By the way," Cixi grasped the words and began to get down to business, "Guan Zhuofan, what kind of truth do you say about telegraphs?" For example, from Shanghai to Suzhou, two hundred miles away, a weishenme copper wire can be reached in an instant? ”

How can this be explained? Don't say that Cixi doesn't understand, even Guan Zhuofan himself also knows it but doesn't know why, Cixi asked him, and Shu was blind when he asked.

But if you can't answer, won't the image of a "foreign affairs expert" be greatly discounted? After thinking about it, in a hurry, he actually thought of a statement for him.

"This is like a suspensory wire diagnosing pulse, and the movement on the three veins can be transmitted from the silk thread." Guan Zhuofan said smartly, "It's the same with the telegram, if there is any movement at this end, the other end will hear it, so it is equivalent to an instant." ”

This explanation was clear and easy to understand, and the two queen mothers were very satisfied.

"Diagnosing the pulse of the suspensory filament, it has to be a famous doctor." Empress Dowager Ci'an said, "Those who listen to the telegram must also be specialized talents, right?" ”

"Yes, Queen Mother Shengming, it is not easy to train a telegraph operator."

From there, he began to talk about all kinds of telegrams, and when it came to charging fees, Guan Zhuofan reported every word, and he had to charge three taels of silver. Cixi and Ci'an didn't feel anything yet, and a eunuch next to them had already heard the gods, but now they heard that it took three taels of silver to pass a word, and they were surprised to say "ah".

At this sound, I was immediately shocked and knew that I was in trouble. Sure enough, Cixi's gaze immediately turned stern and swept over, and the eunuch's face turned pale with fright, he couldn't stand or kneel, and even his hands trembled.

When Guan Zhuofan saw him like this, he felt unbearable, so he opened his mouth before Cixi's attack.

"Because telegrams are expensive, everyone is extra careful about the number of words when they send them," said Kwan Zhuofan, who said with a smile. ”

The Empress Dowager Cixi's attention was indeed drawn back by him, and she asked curiously: "What is newsprint?" ”

"It's to print the new things of the day on a large piece of paper and sell them on the street. Anyone who buys it, whether it's drinking tea or eating, can use it to pass the time. ”

"That's almost the same as looking at the ancient records," Cixi and Ci'an both suddenly realized, "but in that small place in Hong Kong, how can there be so many new things?" ”

"It's not all about Hong Kong," Kwan explained, "and newspapers have 'journalists' who are sent to various places to send telegrams to the newspapers about the information they have collected."

The incident he was talking about was a "Cheng Kee" newspaper. Once, fishermen in the South Seas caught an extra-large sea turtle that was as long as seven feet long, which caused a sensation. At that time, all newspapers had reporters from the Nanyang faction, and they sent the news back one after another. The next day, when the newspaper went out on the street, other people's houses printed it were all "caught a hawksbill turtle", that is, the meaning of a turtle, but it was printed by the newspaper hall, which was "caught a turtle".

"That's a joke," the Empress Dowager Cixi laughed, "it's not the same thing. ”

"The Queen Mother is very right." Guan Zhuofan said with a smile, "The editor-in-chief of Cheng Kee Newspaper was naturally furious, and personally went to the telegraph office to send a telegram to question his own reporter. Because of the need to save the number of words, only ten words were written in total, and it became a joke in Hong Kong for a while. ”

"Oh? How did he write it? ”

"Everyone is a tortoiseshell, I am a tortoiseshell, why not?!"

The Empress Dowager Ci'an didn't hold back first, and snorted a sip of tea on the case, and Cixi also bent down and laughed breathlessly. The people around, only King Alcohol dared to hahadaxiao, the other eunuchs and palace maids, and the twelve sitting guards, all blushed, and tried their best not to let themselves laugh out loud, the strange appearance was extremely funny, and the queen mother of the two palaces saw it, and she couldn't stop laughing. Only the little emperor and Dunrou Gege, I don't know what happened to these people, so that this Guan Zhuofan was amused like this.

"Ouch, my stomach hurts from laughter!" The Empress Dowager Ci'an wiped the tears that came out of her laughter, and the palace maid rubbed it on her body for her, "It's been a long time since I've laughed so happily." ”

Guan Zhuofan looked at Ci'an, who was smiling and trembling, and his heart moved: he has always been amazed by the beauty of "Yi Guifei", and now he feels that the twenty-five-year-old Empress Dowager of the East Palace is also very handsome.

*(To be continued......)