The Queen Mother often fell into a state of thoughtfulness. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info and when the Queen Mother was thinking, no one dared to disturb her.

Carol might have been able to guess why the Queen Mother was bothered, and she had asked Song Quinoa these days, and this lively and lovely girl never spared everything she knew to satisfy Carol's curiosity.

According to what Ge Quinoa told her, the Empress Dowager's troubles may have stemmed from the recent resurgence of tension between the Great Qian Empire and the Russian Empire.

After the news that Lin Yiqing, the special envoy of the Qianguo State, had been assassinated by Russian spies in London, was sent back to China, the government and the opposition were in an uproar, just as some time ago when the officials of the Qing Dynasty had participated in the impeachment of Lin Yiqing, this time the government and the opposition were also divided into the "anti-Lin faction" and the "pro-Lin faction," and there was a lot of quarrel over the issue of Lin Yiqing's assassination.

The officials of the "Lin faction" wrote to the imperial court that it was Lin Yiqing's own inappropriate behavior that angered the Russians, and that "since the envoy to Europe, he has swaggered through the market and dictated his arrogance," and that "Russia is also a big European country, and it has made Europe without visiting Russia." This is why the assassination incident occurred, and as a result, the relations between Russia and the cadres and the country were tense, and that Lin Yiqing should be "severely reprimanded" or removed from his post as minister to Europe and recalled to China for punishment.

Officials of the "pro-Lin faction" believed that it was Lin Yiqing who "severely defeated the Russians" in Japan in those years, and the Russians had always held a grudge against him, so they would take advantage of his mission to Europe; although they did not succeed, Lin Yiqing was the emperor's envoy of the Great Qian's Empire, and he visited on behalf of the emperor, and the assassination of Lin Yiqing was equivalent to the assassination of the emperor himself, which was a great offense to "Tianwei." Therefore, the host country, Britain, would "ask the Russians to blame." Britain had come out of the way, and could it be that the Qianguo should fall behind Britain?

Some officials of the "Pro-Lin faction" also mentioned the incident in which Lin Yizhe was assassinated by Italy's Mazzini Party during his visit to Europe, and that the Great Cadre Empire showed an unprecedentedly tough attitude; with the strong support of the host country, France, the Italian Government was forced to pay reparations and apologize, and to arrest and hand over the murderer to Qianguo to be "shot in accordance with public international law." Since this is the same incident, it should also be "handled according to the usual practice."

In this fierce confrontation, the "Tinglin faction" obviously had the upper hand, and unlike the last impeachment storm, Shilin almost one-sidedly demanded that the imperial court ask Russia for its guilt, and the imperial court was worried about setting off another xenophobic storm, so it was still hesitating and did not make a final decision.

Carol guessed that the fact that the Empress Dowager looked so tired at the end of the court meeting just now was probably related to the quarrel among the officials. And now the Queen Mother seems uneasy because she has difficulty making decisions.

Through these days together, Carol has come to know the Queen Mother well, is full of sympathy for her difficult situation, and she sincerely hopes that she can help the Queen Mother if she has the opportunity to do so.

What Carol didn't expect was that such an opportunity would really come.

There are a number of boats moored at the bottom of the steps of the lake, one of which is an open boat with a blue silk canopy. Carol had never been on such a boat, so she picked it. When they set out, they were followed by several other boats, which contained eunuchs and snacks, as well as the necessary utensils to bring them on. Their leader, the eunuch, is one of the six highest-ranking eunuchs in the palace, and his mission is to take care of Carol and the "Holy Face". He was very intelligent and open-minded, loved Chinese art, and collected many ancient paintings and antiques of the Qianguo Kingdom. When he was young, he was one of the most favored actors of the Queen Mother, and he was said to have great theatrical talent, and he also had a good voice. The Qianguo people attach the most importance to their memory in terms of intelligence, and their memory has been highly cultivated. Many eunuchs were able to memorize entire pages of the scriptures, and some of them were very knowledgeable. The eunuch's voice was also very good, and his stories and poems were very infectious. As the ship sailed, he stood at the bow of the boat, reciting classical poems one after another, and telling stories of heroic times. His chanting was like a recitative—the rhythm was so distinct, the voice was so beautiful, it sounded like a pleasure, though Carol didn't understand the meaning.

Carol lay on her back on a mat as the boat glided gently across the water, passing beautiful palaces on the way. Lovely flowers are planted everywhere you can, and the trees hang low on the lake. The tall, well-dressed eunuch stood on the bow of the ship and told the story in a rhythmic melody that evokes the illusion and power of the Arabian Nights, which was indispensable to Carol as a child, and which today seems to have entered Carol's life.

It was not long before they came to a small island in the middle of the lake, where there was an unwalled temple with black marble steles carved with letters. Carol asked to come ashore to see that Mrs. Hurd's eldest daughter, Kate, who was very clever and well versed in Qianguo literature, translated the inscription for me. On the stele is a poem praising the ancestors, saying that he mercifully placed this small island that "bathes in the moon at night, and the pearls surround the green and sparkling waves" here.

In front of the island, there is a temple that catches Carol's eye. There was no place to go ashore, and the temple was being renovated, but the chieftain, the eunuch, seeing that Carol was eager to go up, brought the boat close to him, and brought a ladder, which they stepped on as best they could.

It was one of the temples that the British and French forces ruthlessly destroyed and unnecessarily desecrated during the attack on Beijing. They walked through the monk's garden (which had lost its former glory, only flowers and vegetables remained) and walked on, past a beautiful cross-shaped arborvitae tree, all of which were hundreds of years old.

Then they came down to the courtyard of the temple. Even if it is in a state of restoration, there are workers there to tidy it up, it is still beautiful, which shows that it must have been an outstanding representative of Qianguo temple architecture before this. The monastic house where the lama lived was now empty, and there was no head of the house. Workers are rebuilding and gilding the Buddhas, and most of the Arhat statues and personified statues of various attributes line the aisles, waiting for the hall or shrine where they are housed to be completed. The interior of the main hall is well-proportioned, filled with dim and mellow tones. The carved wooden ceiling is vaulted with a quadrangular dome reminding Carol of what she had seen in the Alhambra, but the intricately carved ceiling is much richer in color than the Moorish white structure, and creates a warmer, deeper harmony in the temple. Behind the high offering tables, the various halls are separated from the main body of the temple and from each other by beautiful carved wooden fans, which are lined with magnificent emerald green (the color of the Buddha) brocade, which peeks out from the empty space of the barrel fan.

These separate halls are used to store sutras and robes of the monks, and also serve as changing rooms and rest rooms for monks before and after the ceremony. They are similar to the sacristy of the Catholic Church in Europe.

Behind the offering table is a semicircle, leading to a semicircular white marble platform, 30 feet high, and the parapet is decorated with a lotus motif that was always loved by the architects of the Qianguo Kingdom. From the platform, they saw the beautiful coal mountain, the pavilion that marked the suicide of the last emperor of the previous dynasty, and the strange pagoda that had always been famous in the view of the imperial city. At either end of the platform is a powerful octagonal pavilion where mages can rest and meditate, and enjoy the beautiful scenery while praying silently.

After admiring the beautiful scenery on the platform for a while, they passed through the comfortable and spacious monastic houses, and at last came to the courtyard with dappled sun and white marble floors, where they sat down under the low hanging branches of a mother-in-law's elm tree, and the eunuchs brought them a table and brought them tea and refreshments.

Then they disembarked again until they came to a high wall above which was covered with thick green arborvitae trees.

Carol was stunned to hear that this was another temple, because it was more like an ancient castle than a tranquil temple dedicated to the Buddha. They pulled the shore on the beautiful white stone bridge that spanned the narrow part of the lake and were carried up a steep, winding slope by sedan chairs. It's a very unusual road. When they came to the highest place, they saw the temple lying peacefully on the high ground of the tiger's eye, and they suddenly realized that the trip was worthwhile.

In front of the temple is planted a field of arborvitae trees. This kind of tree seems to be dedicated to temples and cemeteries in Qianguo, because all the temples in Qianguo that Carol visited were either built in the forest of arborvitae trees, or there were always some arborvitae trees nearby. The Greeks regarded the arborvitae tree as a tree of life and a symbol of eternal immortality, and it is not known whether their name for this evergreen tree and their concept of it came from the Qianguo people. There is a large white jade Buddha in this temple, with gems on the girdle and cuffs. The expression of contemplation and kindness on his face is typical of the Qianguo style. When Buddhism was first introduced from India to the Qianguo, the Buddha was in the Indian style, and it was not until this religion was firmly rooted in the hearts of the people that its gods were transformed into the earth and showed national characteristics. The large white jade Buddha was draped in a bright yellow summer satin shawl and wore a flower-embroidered Bo style hood, just as Carol had seen in the morning at the Queen Mother. Large candles, new flowers and fruits, and smoking incense burners were placed on the offering table, indicating that there had been a Buddhist service that morning, which strengthened the religious atmosphere in the temple. That Buddha should be the emperor's sacrifice to his ancestors.

The main hall compound of the temple is hidden among tall cypress trees and solemn elm trees, which is the most visible among the three seas. In the middle of the courtyard there is a huge well with a patina color, coiled by an intricately carved dragon. The well is covered with a white marble portico whose pillars support a bizarre concave copper roof. This roof used to be a cooking utensil in the palace, and it used to cook food for almsgiving, so it is so unusually large. When it was worn out and could not be used for cooking, it was placed under the dome of the temple well and used as a lining. So that the poor and the weary could rest under it and drink from the well in which it was sheltered. The temple also has a monastic house and a separate room for the monks. But just as they were sitting in the shady courtyard looking across the lake, the sky suddenly became cloudy, so they got back into the sedan chair and hurried up the steep stone path that led from the temple to the lake. When they arrived at the lake, they did not take a boat, but were carried across the beautiful white stone bridge in a sedan chair. Right in front of them, the tower of Beijing's first Catholic cathedral built since ancient times stands out. The church was built on land given to Catholics by the Emperor, but when it was completed, it was discovered that its towers overlooked the palace, so the Emperor bought the church. Later, the clergy were given another piece of land and built another church. The first cathedral is now within the walls of Sanhai, which can be seen from any part of the two palaces in Beijing. It seems strange that an Eastern monarch, one of the Buddha's representatives in the mortal world, should have this church of Jesus Christ in his inner court.

It began to rain, and the palanquin drivers did not stop and rushed back to the palace in one go. It wasn't long before they were called to the throne room overlooking the small theater for dinner. There are two theaters in the three seas, one for winter and one for summer. The latter was built on the water surface of a canal. The stage was built on the water and was thought to give the actors' voices a special musical resonance, softening the sound and making it more beautiful.

After having dinner in the beautiful summer throne room, the queen and the ladies said goodbye to the queen mother in turn to the sound of running water coming from the window, walked out, boarded the boat again on the beautiful lake, and headed for the outer gate of the palace on the other side. The sun is setting. The piers of the White Stone Bridge are a beautiful violet color, and the water shimmers like gold across the banks of the lake. The distant sky shines through the gaps in the leaves, and this glorious backdrop strongly sets off the towers of the old Catholic church. The view is so ideal! A pleasant tranquility envelops everything, and the regular reciprocating motion of the oars in the lake makes this silence stronger and more rhythmic.

Although they were very nostalgic for the beautiful scenery here, Carol and Mrs. Hurd knew that it was time to leave, and they were about to say goodbye to the Queen Mother, but the Queen Mother said something to keep them.

"Don't go yet, talk to me for a while." The Queen Mother said to Carol and Lady Hurd, "I have something to tell you. ”

Carol and Mrs. Hurd were surprised, but they didn't ask more, but sat down again.

As if knowing that the Queen Mother was going to have some intimate words with these foreign women, the eunuchs and maids withdrew from the throne room after the refreshments, and the only room was the Queen Mother and Carol, Lady Hurd and her daughter Kate, and the interpreter.

The Empress Dowager first expressed her gratitude to Mrs. Hurd -- the news that Britain was willing to stand up for the Qianguo and did not hesitate to send a fleet into the Baltic Sea to deter Russia had already been reported by the British Minister in Beijing to the Prime Minister of the Qianguo Yamen, but before that, Mrs. Hurd had already preemptively told the Empress Dowager the news through this informal channel, so that the Empress Dowager could take the initiative in handling this matter, and today's invitation shows the gratitude in the Empress Dowager's heart.

After thanking Mrs. Hurd, the Queen Mother turned her gaze to Carol.

"Dear Carol, I want to ask you a few questions, and you must answer me honestly, can you?"

Carol didn't expect the Queen Mother to ask her this, and after listening to the translation of the song, she seemed a little surprised, but she nodded firmly to the Queen Mother.

"I will give you the most honest answer, Your Majesty the Queen Mother."

"Well, let me ask you, have you ever been betrayed by a man?" The Queen Mother quietly asked an extremely sharp question.

It was as if a needle had stabbed Carol in the heart, and some of the past came flooding back to her heart and quickly receded.

"Yes, Her Majesty the Queen Mother." She took a deep breath, nodded, and met the Queen Mother's gaze.

"Is it emotional or financial?"

"Yes, Her Majesty the Queen Mother."

"It's a bad feeling to be betrayed by a man, isn't it?" The Queen Mother looked at Carol with a gentle glint in her eyes, as if she was looking at her own daughter.

"Yes, Your Majesty the Queen Mother, that taste is too painful, and I can't forget it for so many years." Carol replied.

"I'm sorry for reminiscing you about the pain." The Queen Mother said apologetically, her kind look made Carol feel warm, and the pain caused by the past was dissipated.

Have you ever experienced such a painful ordeal? Her Majesty the Queen Mother? Carol had the audacity to ask, startling the song so much that she hesitated for a moment as she translated it.

"I'm going through a similar kind of pain right now." The Empress Dowager sighed and said, "That's why I asked you like this......"

Hearing the Queen Mother's sigh, Carol's eyes widened in surprise along with Lady Hurd, as well as Kate.

"What happened? Her Majesty the Queen Mother? Carol asked.

"Dear Carol, I would like to ask you, in the United States, what happens to an important high-ranking official who frames his colleague and tries in every possible way to kill him?" Instead of naming the source of her pain, the Queen Mother asked Carol another question.

"Your Majesty the Queen Mother, although I am not a law professional, common sense and my education tell me that if this kind of thing happens in the United States, it is an extremely serious crime and will be severely punished by the law." Carol immediately replied, "The punishment will depend on the consequences of the offender, and if the consequences are so severe that they lead to the death of the victim, then he will also pay with his life." ”

"What if he had been hiding behind the scenes and hadn't made a direct move?" The Empress Dowager asked, "There is only some evidence that can indirectly prove that there is a connection with him." ”

"No matter what kind of evidence, as long as it can be proved that he is manipulating the crime, although he did not do it directly, he is also an undoubted criminal, and he will be punished by the law." Carol replied firmly.

"I see......" The Queen Mother looked at her and nodded approvingly.

"I want to know, Her Majesty the Queen Mother, why does such a despicable person hold a very important official position in Qianguo?" Mrs. Hurd asked. (To be continued.) )