Russia suffered a great loss in the Japanese Southwest War, and its expansion in the Black Sea direction and the Balkan direction was also blocked, and it was seizing the time to seek development and accumulate strength, and now it would definitely be unbearable to start a war with Britain and Qianguo, so although the Russians were very tough in this incident, Sara knew that the Russians, who were very inward-looking, would not easily consider going to war. The British government has always been cautious in adopting a "strategy of checks and balances" www.biquge.info and if Russia retreats, Britain will not push Russia too much.

What worries Sara is the Great Qian Empire in the East.

The conservative forces in the Great Qianguo Empire were too strong, and they had always been blindly xenophobic, and when they encountered incidents, they were blindly arrogant and tough, just as Guo Yunxian, the former minister of the Qianguo State to Britain, said: "I say that China is for the Westerners, and it can be openly demarcated with it, but China is blindly afraid." Westerners must not be deceived, while Middle-earth is blindly deceitful. Middle-earth is full of events, and the Westerners are strong. Everything is reasonable, put an end to the germination of its rebellion, and not a little anger, and Middle-earth is blindly barbaric. He can speculate if he has affection, and he can be subdued if he is reasonable, but Middle-earth is blindly stupid. There's nothing to do! "Hearing that Russian spies were plotting to kill the envoy of the Great Emperor in England, the conservative ministers and Qingliu scholars of the Qianguo country would definitely not let go of such an opportunity to make a big fuss.

Now that Lin Yiqing is not in China, once the Qianguo government is swayed by the conservatives, a dispute will arise with Russia and Lin Yiqing will be blamed, and it is very likely that the second wave of xenophobia since the "Tianjin Teaching Case" will be set off! If that happens, it will greatly affect the implementation of the "Eastern Jerusalem Plan"!

"Honey, what's wrong with you?" Her husband, Chen Hong's voice, came from the door, interrupting Sarah's thoughts.

Seeing her husband walking towards her, Sara got up and greeted her.

"I'm worried that what happens in London will affect the situation in Beijing." Sara said to Chen Hong, "Have you been to Lin?" ”

"Yes," Chen Hong nodded and stepped forward to hold his wife's hand, "I just came back from him, and Lin said that he would definitely attend his father's birthday banquet." ”

"He didn't say if there was any news from Beijing?" Sara asked.

"I was as worried as you were, so I asked him if there would be anything unfavorable in Beijing," Chen replied, "Lin replied that he had not received any news yet, but he also told me that when he left Beijing, he had made proper arrangements, and no matter what happened, someone would help him deal with it, so there was no need to worry at all." ”

Listening to Chen Hong's answer, Sara couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

It seems that he has been prepared for a long time, and he has left a capable cadre to preside over the situation in Beijing. No wonder he's so relaxed......"

"I believe in Lin's ability, he has this ability, so don't worry too much, my dear." Looking at his wife's somewhat haggard face, Chen Hong comforted her softly.

Beijing, a suburb of the city.

At 7 o'clock in the morning, a two-wheeled moped carriage, escorted by several American cavalrymen belonging to the embassy guard, left the American legation.

In the carriage sat the painter Carol and the wife of the American minister to the country, Denby. Their destination was Qingqi Garden, and today was the day when Carol painted a portrait of the Empress Dowager Renxi of the Daqian Empire.

After leaving the city, the horse-drawn carriage travels between the fertile fields and the picturesque scenery in front of you. It had just rained last night and everything was fresh and pleasant. The damp white marble paved ground stretched forward like a glittering stream, and the cornfields and wheat fields lined the road with greenery, and the shadow of a clump of oriental cypress trees passed by, revealing the temple walls. In the distance, the mountains behind the Kiyoki Garden are beautifully set against a soft blue-grey sky, all of which make for a pleasing picture to the eye.

Soon after, a guard of honor sent by the Prime Minister of Qianguo Yamen to escort them to Qingqiyuan joined the embassy horse team that had been following Mrs. Danby's carriage.

After an hour and a half of driving, their car passed through a lively village, past the charred ruins of a sprawling lama temple, along the walls of the summer villas of several princes of the clan, and soon the beautiful valley and lake in the Qingqi Garden came into view. At the top of the hill there are tea rooms and temples, and the water of the canal laps against the white marble platform in front of the palace.

Like all Oriental palaces, beggars, lames, and blind sat on the gates of the outer court, and received generous alms from the nobles and their innumerable retinues who entered and exited the prime minister's yamen and the outer court of the imperial palace. During the period when the prime minister was stationed in Qingqiyuan (16 miles from the capital), the prime minister's yamen had an office on the left side of the gate for convenience.

They got out of the car in front of the Prime Minister's yamen, and several officials came out with their interpreters to greet them. After a short rest in the courtroom, they came out and met the chief eunuch who had come to greet them in the palace, and he led them to a sedan chair with a red cover, which was carried by six people each. They carried them through the central gate (which was reserved for the Empress Dowager and the Emperor), and entered through a gate on the left, which led to one of the sacred palaces of the Emperor Qianguo, within the walls of the Empress Dowager's favorite palace.

They were carried swiftly through the various courtyards and gardens, until they came to a large, rectangular courtyard filled with pots of rare flowering plants and many beautiful shrubs. The palanquin drivers put down the palanquin here. They got out of the sedan chair and walked forward between several eunuchs. The huge glass door in front of them, decorated with bright and bright vermilion "Shou", was silently opened, and they finally came to the throne room of the Empress Dowager of Qianguo.

A group of princesses and lady-in-waiters stood up to greet them.

They arrived at a quarter past 10 o'clock, so it took some time for the Queen Mother and the Emperor to appear. They came in simply, without any noise. Carol noticed a sudden silence, and hurried back to see a petite and lovely lady smiling and greeting Mrs. Denby very kindly. One of the palace maids whispered, "Her Majesty the Queen Mother." But even so, Carol still had difficulty connecting the kind-eyed, young-looking, and powerful lady in front of her with the supreme ruler of this ancient country.

An almost childish young man walked in with her, and this was the Son of Heaven, the emperor of the Great Qian Empire.

After greeting Mrs. Danby, the Queen Mother looked at Carol, who stepped forward and bowed.

The Queen Mother greeted her, stretched out her hand, and the smile on her face completely conquered her. She involuntarily lifted the Empress Dowager's elegant fingers to her lips. This is not in the etiquette, it is Carol's heartfelt praise for the unexpected strength of the Queen Mother. Then she turned her face away, stretched her hand to the Emperor in a polite manner, said "Emperor" softly, and watched her carefully as Carol made her formal bow to the Emperor. The Emperor bowed slightly in reply, a formulaic smile on his face, but as his shrewd gaze swept over her, she sensed that he was watching me closely, too.

After a while of talking with the maid, the Queen Mother called for Carol's painting tools to be brought in, and she herself stepped back to change into the robe she wore for the portrait.

After she left the throne room, Carol diligently surveyed the environment. The hall was tall and spacious, but the upper part of the windows was covered with paper, and there was no light at all. The only place where there is a little light that can be used for painting is in front of the glass door.

It's a big place, and it's really nothing for a painting. In order for the painting to shine as brightly as the person being painted, Carol would have to place her easel very close to the throne, which would be detrimental to the huge painting she was going to paint. Her heart sank when she thought that she was about to start painting in this place, and that she would have to finish this work on the same canvas as soon as she put down her pen.

The desire of the Queen Mother was, most importantly, that the portrait be large. Carol had been told beforehand that she would not understand the practice of starting small or drawing a few studies first—if she hadn't started with a large canvas, she would probably not have posed for Carol anymore.

In fact, it was this morning that they were told that the Queen Mother would only paint her twice, so there was no room for negotiation! There was no prior posing process, no sketches to choose from, only a few moments to choose a pose, and once chosen, it could not be changed - but she had no idea of the personality of her subjects or what poses she could pose.

Fortunately, she did not have much time to consider these unfavorable situations, and the Queen Mother returned soon after. She wore a bright yellow robe embroidered with life-like wisteria, densely decorated with pearls. This is the costume of the Bo people, with a beautiful style, dragged from the neck to the ground, using a whole piece of material. Right placket, jade button. The material of the robe is a stiff and transparent silk lined with a softer underneath, the same color and length. On the top button of the placket hangs a string of 18 large pearls, separated by a flat, crystalline jade. On the same button is a large carved pale ruby, with yellow silk tassels dragged down, and at the end of the tassels are two large pear-shaped pearls, which are rare in beauty. On both sides of the waist hangs a light blue embroidered silk handkerchief and a sachet with long black silk tassels. Around her neck was a pale blue two-inch-wide scarf, embroidered with large pearls strung with gold thread. The scarf was tucked into the placket at one end and hung down at the other. Her jet-black hair parted from the middle and pulled into a large, flat bun on top of her head.

In the past, the noblewomen of the Bo tribe who had beautiful hair pulled up their hair through a ring of gold and jade. The queen mother and court ladies replaced the gold and jade rings with satin, which was more convenient and less likely to mess up. Their hair was smooth as satin, and a bun was surrounded by a string of beads, with a large red agate bead in the center. To the right of the headdress hangs a string of eight beautiful pearls, which hangs down to the shoulder.

The Queen Mother's hands are adorned with elaborate bracelets and rings, with sparkling jade on her left hand and gold on her right hand, set with rubies and pearls.

The Queen Mother stepped forward vigorously and asked Carol where the throne of the Double Dragon should be placed. Carol explained the location, and after the eunuch placed the throne where Carol had said, she sat down. In order to avoid her knees appearing too high when sitting, she had to sit on a cushion so that she looked much taller when sitting than when she was standing. She took her usual gesture and told Carol that she could do whatever she wanted. But Carol had decided that posture and environment had to be as typical and personal as possible, and since she had no time to study them, she could only rely on her own judgment about the position of the Queen Mother and the furnishings around her.

It was nearly 11 o'clock.

In any case, this money has to fall. Every painter knows a feeling of almost awe that infinite possibilities provoke in him when the blank canvas appears in front of him as white and flawless as a virgin. The responsibility is too great, and Carol can't make up her mind about how to begin. This blank canvas can become a masterpiece that fully expresses her thoughts, or it can reduce her efforts to a distorted, fragmented mess.

Today, in an unfamiliar environment, and subject to those rare and unfavorable conditions, Carol hesitated more than usual, for whether or not she could continue this portrait depended entirely on the beginning of the stroke.

Carol's hand trembled, and the Queen Mother's mysterious eyes stared sharply at her, which also made her heart flutter. But at this moment, the eighty-five bells in the temple began to tell the time in eighty-five different ways.

The auspicious time has arrived.

Carol held up her charcoal pen and dropped the first strokes on the canvas of the first portrait of the empress dowager and powerful woman of the Great Qian Empire.

The princess, the lady, the eunuch and the attendant stood silently, watching Carol's every movement, for everything related to the Queen Mother was a solemn ceremony.

For a moment, the slightest tick of the eighty-five bells sounded like the bells of the cathedral ringing in Carol's ears, and the charcoal fell on the canvas sounding like a giant saw sawing wood. Then, fortunately, Carol's interest came to her senses, and she was oblivious to everything but her subjects and her work.

The time for Carol's work to progress steadily seemed to be extremely short, and it didn't take long for the Queen Mother to turn her face to the translator, saying that she had done enough today, that all the conditions had been met, and that the portrait had been written at an auspicious time. She also said that she knew that Carol must be tired after working and driving so many miles from the capital, and told Carol to rest well and ask them to use some snacks. Then she stepped down from her throne and came over to look at the drawings.

Carol had sketched her entire body and painted her face in some detail. The Queen Mother's personality is strong and distinct, and Carol has managed to blend it into a lot in this rough sketch, which looks quite similar. After looking at it critically for a while, she said she was very happy about it, and complimented Carol on her art. But Carol's instinctive feeling was that it wasn't so much that she was expressing her true thoughts, but rather that she was trying to put her at ease. When she had seen the painting, she beckoned Mrs. Denby and the princesses to come and look at it, and discussed it together for a while.

At this moment, a eunuch hurriedly walked in and whispered a few words to the chief eunuch, who came to the side of the queen mother, and saw the chief eunuch step forward, and several princesses and female officials stepped aside.

The chief eunuch whispered a few words in the queen mother's ear, the queen mother's eyebrows seemed to move, and then she closed her eyes and nodded slowly, which seemed to mean that I already knew, and the chief eunuch immediately retreated, and several princesses and female officials gathered around again.

Then the Queen Mother turned to Carol and said that she was interested in the painting and wanted to see it continue. While looking directly into Carol's eyes, she asked Carol if she would like to stay in the palace for a few days so that she could sit and let Carol paint when she was happy.

Carol was delighted by the invitation. She accepted the invitation so graciously extended by the Queen Mother without hesitation, thinking that in doing so she would make a good start to obtaining a high-quality portrait of the most interesting and striking woman. Carol was even optimistic about the idea that she might be able to get away with the entire portrait being completed in the palace.

The Queen Mother seemed very happy when she saw that Carol agreed, and said that she would do her best to make Carol happy. Then the Queen Mother left.

Carol and the others were treated to a palace lunch.

The Queen Mother has always eaten alone. When there is a guest, the princess of the clan acts as the head of the female officials of the court as the host. The host and guest were arranged to her left and right. This time the guests were the princesses, the Lady of the Decree and her two noble women, Lady Danby, and Carol.

The table is decorated with flowers and fruits, and is overwhelmed by the abundance of Qianguo dishes. Foreign dishes are served in the French way. The delicious taste of the dishes immediately attracted Carol, but she was told that there was a process of adaptation to them. In addition to dry national drinks, there are also French mineral water and wine on the table. They ate all these delicacies, tasted every dish, and learned to use chopsticks, although they also had knives and forks in front of the guests.

After lunch, the Empress Dowager and Empress (wife of the late Emperor Tongzhi) walked in. The Empress Dowager revealed the Empress to them with the same grace she had introduced the Emperor in the morning, while explaining her identity. The queen was followed by several concubines, and the queen mother also introduced them.

Then the Queen Mother told Madame Danby that the actors she had called were still on the stage that day, and invited them to the play.

The Queen Mother and Lady Danby walked forward, followed by Carol and the Queen and the Princesses. They passed through several courtyards full of flowers, and finally came to the largest one, which was the courtyard where the theater was located.

The stage protrudes into the center of this rectangular courtyard, with a roof and a door for the actors to get on and off the stage, and the other three sides face the audience. In front of the theater building, across the flower-filled courtyard with several magnificent brass animal decorations, is a building that can be called a "royal box". (To be continued.) )