Chapter 40: Flying High and Unrestrained

  In the capital, in the Le Shou Tang of Yiheyuan, four large bronze incense burners were burning sandalwood incense. The Empress Dowager Cixi, who held the helm of the Qing Empire, was reclining on a purple sandalwood chair with gold trim, while a small eunuch named Li Zi carefully applied egg whites to her face. You can't help but admire Cixi's unparalleled beauty regimen, which would make her a true master of beauty if she were alive today.

  After a moment, Xiaolizi wiped the egg white clean with silk cloth and asked softly: "Old Buddha, do you want to take a bath?"

  Cixi nodded, and Little Li came forward to support her as she walked to a golden bathtub. The bathtub emitted a strong smell of human milk, which was not water but fresh hot human milk. Little Li helped Cixi undress and looked at her slightly smooth skin, and couldn't help but praise: "Old Buddha, your skin is even smoother than that of a newborn baby."

  Cixi stepped into the bathtub and laughed, saying: "You this slave, is just a sweet mouth, come give Lao Taitai a full body massage, this old man's whole body is uncomfortable."

  Li Lianying, however, had honed her skills and soon had Cixi relaxed and comfortable all over. Cixi let out a low hum and said, "You slave, why did you use so much force today? You've hurt me in some places."

  Xiao Lizi hastily knocked his head and said: "I deserve to die! This is a new technique that I learned from the Western country, if the empress dowager doesn't like it, then I won't use it again."

  Cixi closed her eyes and said, "That's not necessary, just be more gentle next time." Then she asked again, "By the way, I heard that Li Hongzhang has already entered the capital?"

  Xiao Lizi replied: "Lord Li is the one who moved into Xianliang Temple yesterday and is waiting for your summons, Your Majesty."

  Cixi frowned and said, "Nowadays, this Li Zhongtang is indeed very glorious. From Tianjin to the capital, I don't know how many people are holding his feet and singing his praises!"

  Xiao Lizi saw Cixi's displeased face and spoke with a sarcastic tone, "This Li Hongzhang is at most just one of your little slaves, Your Old Buddha Majesty. You can manipulate him however you want!"

  Cixi closed her eyes for a long time, suddenly flashed a cold light, and said: "The current Li He is just like Zeng who shaved his head in the past. This dog has been raised too fat, and it's unknown when it will turn around and bite you."

  Xiao Lizi still didn't understand Empress Dowager Cixi's meaning by now, she had begun to suspect Li Hongzhang. At present, Li Hongzhang's prestige was not decreasing but increasing, and his power was even more overwhelming, posing a serious threat to the rule of the Manchu people.

  Xiao Lizi followed Cixi's words and asked: "What does Your Majesty mean?"

  Cixi smiled and said, "In the past, I promoted Li Hongzhang in the Xiang Army. Now that the Xiang Army has fallen apart, all I need to do is promote another Li Hongzhang within Li's own army. Wouldn't it be interesting to see the infighting within the Beiyang?"

  Xiao Lizi hastily nodded in agreement, and Cixi continued: "Moreover, Li Hongzhang is not as clean as Zeng Guofan used to be. I've heard that he and his son have deposited their silver in a Japanese bank, isn't this treason? Furthermore, to preserve his own power, Li Hongzhang has kept the Beiyang Fleet in port, afraid to launch an attack, wasting countless opportunities. Isn't that old man by my side proud of being the leader of the 'Southern Qing Flow'? He and Li Hongzhang have a grudge, and he's told those self-proclaimed noble officials in the imperial court about Li Hongzhang's shady dealings. Wouldn't this be enough to make Li Hongzhang drink a whole pot?"

  Xiao Lizi praised: "The Empress Dowager is wise, but I don't know who the Old Buddha plans to promote?"

  Cixi said, "It's that Ye Zhiqi who was personally praised by Li Hongzhang as a blessing to the country. This time he has made great contributions and can rival Li Hongzhang in prestige. The imperial court must also reward those with merit, otherwise it would discourage others. As for how to reward him, that is up to me to decide."

  Xiao Lizi was puzzled and asked: "I still don't understand, isn't this person Li Hongzhang's trusted aide?"

  Cixi smiled and said, "If even you understand this, what's the use of me, the empress dowager? Not to mention that Ye Ziku is Li Hongzhang's confidant, but Zeng Guofan was also Li Hongzhang's mentor back then! What about that? After Ye Ziku entered Beijing yesterday, he visited Weng Tonghe and Li Hongzao. These two are not on good terms with Li Hongzhang, you know. Don't think I don't know, didn't he send a lot of silver to your place?"

  Xiao Lizi's face didn't change color, and he said sincerely: "The old Buddha is indeed wise and all-knowing. I was just thinking of reporting this matter to you and handing over the silver to the Empress Dowager. As a lone and helpless person, keeping it would be useless anyway."

  Cixi waved her hand and said, "Forget it, let's just say that I'm giving it to you as a gift. I've been paying attention to Ye Zhikui for a long time, and I've heard that he's good at fighting, but he's very greedy and even a bit arrogant and unreasonable. As long as I make a slight move, using both kindness and severity, I shouldn't have any trouble controlling this young whippersnapper. Pass down the order, I want to summon him tomorrow."

  Li Hongzhang had not been summoned, but Ye Zhiqi was summoned first. This is the first step in provoking and alienating them. Why did Cixi say that Ye Zhiqi was rough and unreasonable? Let's take a look at Ye Zhiqi's behavior over the past two days!

  On the morning of November 10, Ye Ziku entered the capital from Anding Gate and happened to meet a beautiful woman when passing through the city gate. Ye Ziku was infatuated with her at first sight, went forward to flirt with her, but the woman ignored him. Ye Ziku actually molested her in public, which was witnessed by the soldiers guarding the city gate and the passing civilians.

  In the afternoon, Ye Zhi-kui took a woman to a jewelry store, fancied a bracelet, but when buying it, he slandered the owner for selling fake goods. Not only did he not pay, but he also asked the owner for compensation.

  At night, Ye Zhi Kui was having dinner at a restaurant. After eating and drinking his fill, he threw a fly into the remaining soup and asked the boss why there was a fly swimming in his bowl. The shopkeeper had no choice but to compensate him for it.

  Others, such as not helping a seventy-year-old elderly woman cross the road, snatching a three-year-old child's lollipop, and so on, Ye Zhikui has done countless times. Fortunately, Ye Zhikui does bad things without leaving his name, otherwise, if people knew he was that famous Guo Zifu, wouldn't they be shocked to death? It's indeed true that hearing about someone is not the same as meeting them in person. However, these behaviors were seen by countless "well-meaning" people, and the information was passed on layer by layer until it reached Cixi's bedside.

  Deep in the night, outside the Cold Palace, footsteps were heard. The old eunuch on guard was startled awake and rushed out to see a figure. He couldn't help but scold, "Who's there?" But when he saw clearly, his face changed and he quickly knelt down, flustered, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty!"

  It was Guangxu who had arrived, and he hastily said "no need for formalities" as he tried to head inside. The old eunuch stood up and blocked his way, saying: "I beg your pardon, Your Majesty, but the Empress Dowager has forbidden anyone from seeing Consort Zhen!"

  Guangxu's eyes changed, and now even the eunuchs in the imperial palace don't take him seriously. He angrily said: "You damned slave, as the Son of Heaven, is there anywhere I cannot enter?"

  The old eunuch hesitated, unsure what to do. He thought of the Empress Dowager's ruthlessness and gritted his teeth, refusing to budge. Guangxu drew out a dagger he was carrying with him and said, "You slave are truly looking for death. Is my knife not sharp? If you let me pass today, this matter will only be known between us, and I won't let it reach the ears of your master. Otherwise, I absolutely won't let this drop."

  The old eunuch hesitated for a moment and quietly walked away. As Guangxu grew older, he naturally developed an air of imperial authority.

  Guangxu walked up to a room at the westernmost end, opened a window and looked inside. There was a woman sitting stupidly on the edge of the bed.

  Guangxu's nose turned sour, thinking that he couldn't even protect the woman he loved, and tears fell from his eyes. He softly called out: "Ai Fei, I've come to see you, I let you suffer."

  The woman inside heard the voice, raised her head, and was indeed elegant and refined. No wonder Guangxu couldn't forget her. She ran to the window, grasped Guangxu's hands, and cried out: "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have colluded with the eunuchs and accepted bribes to sell official positions. Your Majesty, please let me out, I'm so scared being alone in here."

  That woman was Zhen Fei, a very tragic figure in history. Firstly, she was favored by Guangxu because of her cute and lovely appearance, which made Guangxu neglect the famous Empress Longyu, who had a horse face and a humpback. Coincidentally, Cixi discovered that Zhen Fei had accepted bribes and sold official positions, so she was banished to the Cold Palace; after being released for not long, she again became active in the Wuxu Reform, her relatives were all "Emperor's Party", which led to the failure of the reform and her second banishment to the Cold Palace. When the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China and was about to enter the Forbidden City, Cixi ordered eunuch Cui Yugui to push Zhen Fei into a well, where she died.

  Looking at this woman he doted on, Guangxu steeled himself and said: "Don't worry, my dear concubine. When I take control of the empire, I will definitely release you. Have you seen this sword? It's called Muramasa, and according to Ye Aiqing who presented it, this sword is the nemesis of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan. The Meiji Emperor of Japan rose to power by defeating the shogunate through revolution, and I want to follow his example by implementing reforms and making our great Qing dynasty stronger. By then, I will be an emperor for the ages, and who would dare oppose me?"

  Guangxu, having lived under Cixi's tyranny since childhood, was always deferential to her, making three daily visits to pay his respects. However, as he grew older, the contradictions between them increased, and he longed to take personal control of the empire.

  After the Sino-Japanese War, the contradictions between the emperor and the dowager became more acute. In 1888, Emperor Guangxu had already proposed reforms to the Empress Dowager Cixi, writing two books that laid the theoretical foundation for reform. He also witnessed Japan's gradual strengthening through reform, which even dared to challenge China, the "Celestial Empire". The Japanese emperor was in a state of glory, while Guangxu himself was living in misery and despair.

  One wants to seize power and dominate the world through reform; another wants to leave a name in history and get rich through reform. Kang Youwei and Guangxu are just like Ximen Qing meeting Pan Jinlian, their illicit affair is getting more and more intense.