The little eunuch never thought that this man was so bold, and he had already said that the Son of Heaven had called him, but he didn't move. Suddenly discolored: "What's the matter?" Do you still dare to resist the decree? ”

Zhao Guanhou's face also turned cold, "The lower officials don't dare to resist the order, so they can't move." Lafayette called the lower officials, but without the queen mother's edict, I couldn't go anywhere, and I didn't dare to go. ”

"You...... You're just dumbfounded! "This little eunuch is not like Li Lianying and others, who are accustomed to wind and rain, have rich experience, and lack knowledge or cultivation. raised the name of the Son of Heaven, but Zhao Guanhou refused more severely, firstly, because he couldn't save face, and secondly, he felt that he couldn't explain when he went back, and his voice suddenly rose.

"Just a foreign official, dare to resist the decree? I see, you don't have a head! ”

Zhao Guanhou didn't seem to hear his shouts, his eyes and nose looked at his mouth, like an old Buddha in a fixed place, and he didn't answer a word. The little eunuch said hurriedly: "Talking to you, you didn't hear it." Long live it, you dare not go, don't say that I will call someone to take you! ”

"Who's yelling in this chicken cat? What is this place where you can be so presumptuous? Where have you learned this rule? A cold voice sounded from behind, the little eunuch hurriedly turned around, and a dark red top appeared in front of him first, and then he saw Li Lianying's old face.

Although the Queen Mother has returned to power, Li Lianying is still a legendary figure in the palace, after all, only he broke through the law of the Dajin ancestors, and was crowned with two products as a eunuch, and no one else. Even in the Summer Palace, the most powerful person is none other than him. His legs were weak, and he quickly knelt on the ground, "The chief manager is auspicious." The small one is ......."

"I know you, aren't you Li You from Yulan Hall? What's the matter, it's shaking now, and even the second-grade master said to take it. Don't say that I don't take care of you, people are going to do foreign affairs, take him, and you go and talk back to that Prussian prince? I don't know what to live or die! ”

Li Lianying did not have a good face in front of Zhao Guanhou in front of this little eunuch, his face was like frost, and his eyes were as cold as a blade. "Lafayette called Lord Zhao, what's the matter, you want to stop it? If you are busy with Master Li's affairs, then I will do it with you first, and I will go back and say to Lafayette, and say that Li You, let Lafayette wait! ”

"Archstave...... But this long live ......"

Li Lianying shook her head, "Useless minion, how did you do this errand?" Go back and say that people have already gone to see Lafayette, isn't it? I know, you are Pang Delu's apprentice, but in the palace, don't care who the apprentice is, you have to take care of your head first! ”、

Zhao Guanhou walked out of the room at this time, holding several gift boxes in his arms, "Chief Administrator, the lower official brought some special products to Lafayette, which is not worth much, it is filial piety......"

Li Lianying nodded, and instructed the eunuch who followed behind him: "Take it, this is a piece of filial piety from others, but you have to be careful, don't break it." ”

The place where the Empress Dowager Cixi summoned Zhao Guanhou was Renshou Palace, which was her sleeping place in the Summer Palace, and a beaded curtain was hung in the room to separate the inside and outside, and Li Lianying placed a kneeling cushion in front of the curtain.

The kneeling pad is said to be only provided to the military aircraft and Shangshu, and when it comes to the squire, it can only kneel raw, without a pad. And where to put the kneeling mat is also very particular.

If the eunuch deliberately makes it bad, put the kneeling cushion at the head of the door, and the minister is far away, the queen mother can't hear what she asks, and the people inside can't hear what she answers. The voice is loud, and there is a suspicion of roaring slowly, and the answer is always inappropriate, and it will be hated by the superior for a long time. As an official position of Zhao Guanhou, he was not qualified to use the kneeling mat, but Li Lianying deliberately gave him preferential treatment, and put the position very close to the bead curtain, which was obviously an intentional protection.

The Empress Dowager Cixi laughed behind the curtain, "Don't waste that energy, I have returned to politics now, I am an old lady with no position and no power, there is a young one to look at me, this is a personal heart." With this intention, I will be happy, and I will not talk about those old gifts. Move him a chair and let him sit and talk. ”

Set up a seat in front of the emperor, this is the treatment that only the governor and the ministers have, Zhao Guanhou was supposed to resign, but Li Lianying had already asked people to move the chair, "What Lafayette says, you can listen to it, that's right." ”

After the bead curtain, Cixi first asked a few irrelevant questions such as when he entered Beijing, his residence, and even the weather in Jinmen, just like at home, where the elders and juniors chatted. Then he asked, "I heard that you brought me a gift?" Two boxes of Yangcun cakes, a ruby hat flower, and a red agate ring, are you a relative of me? Don't you know that food outside the palace can't be sent to the palace casually? ”

Zhao Guanhou hurriedly left his seat and knelt down, "The minister is guilty!" The minister came from a humble background, didn't know how to be polite, and only thought that once he entered Beijing, he should prepare a filial piety, but he didn't know what to give. The fried cakes and buns in Jinmen can't be put down, and they are brought by the train, so I am afraid that they will inevitably deteriorate, and only this dried cake can be stored, so I bought two boxes. If there is anything wrong with it, please forgive me. ”

These things are the credit of Sai Jinhua last night, she also has some connections in Beijing, and she raised them overnight, and actually sent two boxes of dried cakes and these two pieces of jewelry overnight. These things are of limited value, and they are not valuable in Cixi's eyes.

However, Zhao Guanhou himself is not a big official, and he has been in office for a short time, so if he gives a heavy gift, he will arouse the suspicion of the Queen Mother. These gifts are genuinely heartfelt. Let Cixi feel that this person is indeed real and has no scheming. For example, this dried cake was a gift from relatives in the countryside, but Cixi felt that Zhao Guanhou regarded him as an elder, but he was quite satisfied.

Li Lianying's guidance also played a big role in it, Cixi's heart disease in her life was that she was not the queen of the main palace. The customs of the Jurchens at this time were no different from those of the Han people, with the main room wearing red and the concubines wearing green. For her heart disease, which has never been positive in her life, she is particularly fond of red, good at foreign affairs, and Zhang Yinheng, who has been appreciated by the Queen Mother many times, is because a piece of emerald fell out of favor with the Queen Mother, and the curtain is not there. Although the two gifts given by Zhao Guanhou were of limited value, they were both red, which greatly satisfied Cixi's heart.

"Come on, sit down and talk, I don't blame you. There are many officials in Jinmen, and if you want to buy two boxes of dried Yangcun cakes as gifts, you are the first. I don't eat outside food in the palace, Suyun, you take it away and taste it, and tell me what it tastes like. ”

It turned out that behind the bead curtain, there was another person, who was Miao Suyun, a Qing guest who was very favored by Cixi's side. The woman thanked her, and said with joy: "It is a person's heart that melon seeds are not full, in your heart, there is an old lady like me, this is very good, and I am also very happy." But I heard that you were in the pantry just now, and you fought with the people around Banzai, which is not good. The anger of being a military general is great, but it also has to be divided into places and occasions, and how dare you be presumptuous with the people around you? ”

"The minister is guilty!" Zhao Guanhou took off the top and kowtowed on the ground, while Li Lianying said on the side: "Li has that bastard, and the errand is more and more serious. Knowing that Lafayette called Zhao Guanhou, but asked him to go to see Banzai first and let Lafayette wait here, what kind of reason is this? ”

"Li You? Newly promoted, right? I haven't heard this name before, little minion, I still owe a little discipline, and I have to pick it up before I can use it. This person, no matter inside or outside the palace, everything is the same, he wears new shoes and raises his feet at first, he used to be a small role, but when he made a fortune all of a sudden, he feels that he is majestic, he is a character, and he doesn't look at people in his eyes. If he was still in the past position, he wouldn't dare to borrow his guts. Now I think I'm a character, how can I take others seriously. Zhao Guanhou, what do you think, why did you call you up, do you dare not go? ”

"The minister is not so bold, but since the queen mother called the minister, the minister has to come to the queen mother first. Slow to say that it is in the palace, even at home, the mother and son, naturally the mother is more important than the son, when the son, always let the mother do everything, otherwise, what kind of home is it called? ”

What he said happened to scratch the itch of Cixi, and Cixi behind the beaded curtain gently patted the armrest of the seat, almost blurting out a good word. She was originally a very authoritarian person, but she was tired of her age, her energy was declining, and she was unable to take over the power again, so she had to return to politics completely.

But after she delegated power, what she was most worried about was whether the minister who used to defend herself would change her course, and from then on she only knew that she had a son, but not a mother.

In particular, the newly released Baoguo in Beijing has fierce rhetoric and radical views, and in terms of position, it is completely supportive of the Son of Heaven and ignores the Empress Dowager. Once they develop wings, their influence in the court will gradually be eliminated and eventually disappear. If before returning to politics, these people make a fuss, she doesn't take it seriously, but can be used as a tool to balance each other, but after returning to politics, she is more and more interested in gaining and losing, and she really cares about the attitude of the people below.

Today, the conflict between Zhao Guanhou and the people around the Son of Heaven was originally a great impossibility, and the military generals should be cut off, otherwise it will be a big disaster sooner or later. But when he heard his words, he valued his mother over his son, not because he had no king, but because he was still loyal to the queen mother, but he made Cixi's doubts disappear and he was overjoyed.

"You are a man, two words: confused! The servants in the palace also know that they are red and white, and now they are in power, why don't you understand? Your dark red top, can you wear it, or obediently change it back to Nirvana, isn't it all a matter of long live a word? For the sake of my wife, let Banzai be angry, aren't you afraid, let your nirvana not be able to wear, and then change back to the white top? ”

"Back to Lafayette's words, thunder, rain and dew, all are Jun's grace, and the minister has nothing to say. But the minister's future is a reward from the Buddha, and the minister has never forgotten this. ”

What do you say...... Not bad. If all of us Dajin people talk about conscience like you, there will be hope for the country. Sit down, I have something to ask you. Lian Ying, don't let him talk there, prepare a bowl of water for him. ”

The tea was ready-made, and Zhao Guanhou thanked him, so he heard Cixi ask inside: "I heard that you understand foreign affairs, can speak foreign languages, and can dance foreigners' dances and talk to foreigners." This is all an excellent thing, our Jinguo suffers, and many times, it suffers from not understanding foreigners. I don't even know whether people are happy or angry, and what kind of foreign affairs are they doing. Zhang Shaoquan, Zhang Qiaoye, these are all people who are old in foreign affairs, and they understand the affairs of foreigners very well. It's just that you can't ignore this, don't think that there are many ministers with a higher grade than you, standing in front of you, you only waving flags and shouting behind and waiting for the merit to be shared, if you think so, I won't spare you! ”

"Don't dare! Since he came to the edict, he should do his best to serve the court. ”

"Since you understand foreign affairs, then tell me, can I see the envoy of the foreigner, or can't I see it?"

Zhao Guanhou was stunned for a moment, and he didn't know where he asked like this, but then he came to his senses, I am afraid that there is a contradiction between the two palaces at work. The Queen Mother handed over power, but she wanted to brush up her sense of existence, and Prince Henry came, mostly to summon him and prove that he was still an important figure in the empire. However, the imperial party naturally did not want to see her continue to exert influence on the government, and did not know what reason to find to persuade Cixi not to meet with foreign envoys.

This kind of persuasion will definitely make this old woman who is obsessed with power dissatisfied, but she is helpless, after all, it is not good to be angry about this matter after handing over power. He figured it out and hurriedly said: "Back to Lafayette, the foreign envoy comes, you can naturally see it, and the minister has the courage to play, this person should see." ”

"Oh? What do you mean by that? You must know that since the founding of our Dajin country, there has been no precedent for palace dependents to meet foreign envoys. ”

"Lafayette, although there is no precedent, there is a reason to be found. The family and the country are in order, and the son's friends come to the house as guests, and the son's self-esteem allows the guests to come to worship the mother, and the mother always sees the guests first, so that the two brothers can talk to themselves. If you don't meet your mother, won't you let your son have a reputation for being unfilial? It was the ministers who thought that if the Queen Mother did not see Prince Henry, it would inevitably arouse the dissatisfaction of the Prussian side, either that we despised their prince, or that our Majesty did not respect his mother enough. Either way, it's not what we want to see. ”

Cixi behind the curtain was stunned for a moment, and the Miao Qingke beside her saw that the old woman's face actually showed a bright smile. Since the handover of power, she has had a lot of leisure, but her face has always been serious, but she has not seen her smile so brightly for a long time.

It's just that although she has a smile on her face, her tone is a little unhappy: "You guys, no one understands my situation, I'm old, my energy is not as good as before, and I can't manage so much." I just don't want to take care of things when I remove the curtain, I want to play cards, listen to the play, and enjoy a few days of happiness. It's better for you to put so many things on me, isn't it for my wife's life? The foreigner had red hair and green eyes, and he couldn't understand what he was saying, and I didn't plan to give him a face-to-face. ”

"But when you say that, if I don't see him, the foreigners will be unhappy. It is a matter of diplomatic relations and the face of the emperor, and this will not be done if you don't see it. It's just for me to find trouble. Forget it, let's see it, let go of this old bone, and I have to talk to the foreign devil. But I'm going to say ugly things ahead, you have to be a translator that day, you push the old woman out, don't want to hide yourself, I have to put some burden on you. Lian Ying! Send him to Yulan Hall to see the emperor, and then pass a message for me, some little eunuchs can't speak, they have to teach the rules well, otherwise, this Summer Palace will not be able to live in people. (To be continued.) )