Chapter 41: A Unique Longevity Gift

  After Ye Zhikui entered the capital, he moved into a courtyard in Beijing where the Ye family lived. Since other members of the Ye family lived in Hefei, this place was quite deserted. Ye Zhi-chao was eager to visit old friends and could hardly see each other except for occasional meals. After arranging the accommodation for everyone, Ye Zhikui took several bodyguards to the US Embassy in China.

  At that time, the US Consul in China was Tian Xialie. Tian Xialie was a Californian, a typical western young man who spoke very rudely and directly without restraint.

  After the two sat down, Tian Xiaolie had someone bring up two cups of hot coffee and said in his arrogant tone with a strange accent: "General Ye, this is the coffee that we Westerners drink. You may not see it often in the Qing Dynasty."

  Ye Zhi Kui didn't respond, first taking a sip of cold water, then using a coffee spoon to add sugar cubes into the cup, gently stirring it with the spoon to cool it down, slowly savoring it. This set of actions was done with such fluency and familiarity that Tian Xia Li, who had just wanted to show off, immediately shut his mouth.

  Ye Zhiwei put down his cup and frowned, saying: "Still, Chinese tea is better to drink." Then he asked again: "Mr. Tian Xiaoli, has the thing I bought from America arrived?"

  As early as in Korea, Ye Zhiqi had contacted the US Minister to China and asked him to help contact American companies to prepare some gifts for Empress Dowager Cixi's 60th birthday. Before returning home, Ye Zhiqi learned that the goods had arrived at the US Embassy in China, which were bought by Ye Zhiqi at a high price, so he rushed to find them as soon as he entered Beijing.

  Tian Xiaolie shrugged and replied, "General Ye, there's no problem with these things. I didn't expect a Qing dynasty person like you to know about our American novelties. It's not simple, but General Ye has had it in our embassy for a long time. We've spent a lot of money maintaining it, so General Ye must pay us the maintenance fee."

  Ye's thumb stood upright, grass, wanting money can be so open and aboveboard. But thinking that he might still need to borrow from him again, he could only say: "Let me go confirm first, no problem we'll talk about other things later."

  "Since that's the case, General Ye, please! The Edison Company is afraid you won't be able to operate it, so they've sent over a few technical personnel. Let's go take a look together." Tian Xialai was so eager to get his hands on the money that he couldn't wait any longer. What else could the Far East have besides money? Otherwise, why would he come all this way?"

  The leaves were in good condition, and after trying them out, the effect was not bad. Overjoyed, he rewarded several technical personnel with dozens of taels of silver, and then had people carry them back to their residence in a grand manner.

  Of course, Tian Xialiu's maintenance fee was not forgotten, but when he woke up the next day, embassy staff rushed to report to him that many feces had been thrown on the walls of the embassy gate, and the stench was overwhelming. Tian Xialiu ran out to take a look and found that there were filthy things everywhere, it was simply uninhabitable. After taking another glance, he couldn't help but let out a loud "wow" and vomited on the side.

  On November 11, the sixtieth birthday celebration of Empress Dowager Cixi was still ongoing. On this day, a ceremonial procession for Empress Dowager Cixi was set up from Ning Shou Gate to Huang Ji Gate. The officials from the Ministry of Rites led Emperor Guangxu into the middle gate of Ning Shou Gate, where he knelt down and presented a memorial to Empress Dowager Cixi, congratulating her on her birthday with the palace's "Dian Shi Zhai Painting Report" - "The Sacred Longevity of the Empress Dowager".

  An attendant received the document on his knees and placed it on a yellow table beside the throne. The Guangxu Emperor walked to the Ning Shou Gate, bowed down on the cushion and stood up, leading the princes and ministers in performing the ritual of three kneels and nine knocks. After the ceremony, Li Hongzhang led the Korean generals to present the original copy of the Treaty of Pyongyang and also presented congratulatory gifts. The Empress Dowager sat happily on her throne, watching as the officials brought in the gifts one by one.

  The eunuchs read out the list of gifts from each official, and the officials were secretly calculating their gains and losses. When they heard about some rare treasures, they burst into applause, while the person who sent the gift smiled with a nonchalant expression, as if what he had given was something insignificant.

  Standing in the front row closest to Cixi were some high-ranking princes such as Prince Li, Shizeng and Prince Qing, Yiku; followed by Grand Councilors, Imperial Academy students, and ministers of the capital, including Weng Tonghe, Li Hongzao, and Sun Yuwen; next came some high-ranking officials in charge of territorial administration, governors-general and generals of various provinces, among whom was Li Hongzhang.

  Ye Zhui was standing at the very back of a group of military officers, and because he was relatively young, he stood out among them. People who didn't know him were guessing his identity. Ye Zhui, however, remained calm and composed, exchanging greetings with familiar generals. Before long, the eunuch in charge of ceremonies read out Ye Zhui's name on the list of officials to be rewarded.

  A sharp, yet drawn-out voice echoed through the great hall: "Commander-in-Chief Ye Zhi-kui of Shanxi Taiyuan Town presents a congratulatory gift to the Old Buddha: 9 stalks of thousand-year-old Korean ginseng and a film for the birthday celebration of all nations."

  As soon as the voice of the host fell, everyone began to discuss it. Although the thousand-year-old ginseng is precious, it has lost its color in front of these rare treasures today. But what is this "Wàn Guó Zhù Shòu" movie?

  Cixi also became curious, and it's said that she was quite fond of novelties. The Ning Shou Palace was allegedly the first place in China to use electric lights. Cixi whispered a few words into Little Li's ear, and he bellowed in his characteristic eunuch tone: "The Old Buddha summons Ye Ziku to come forward for an audience."

  Ye Zhiwei, a two-star general, was relegated to a minor role here. Standing far away from the main hall, he was suddenly shouted at by Little Li, and many princes, ministers, and university scholars widened their eyes in surprise as Ye Zhiwei, who had won three victories against Japan and was known as the "Lucky General of the Nation", stepped forward one step at a time from behind.

  Ye Zhiwei walked slowly through the crowd, amidst admiring or envious glances from onlookers, and stopped at a designated distance. He bowed to Cixi and wished her longevity before waiting for her to speak.

  Cixi sat high above, looked at Ye Zhiwei and said: "Lift your head up, let me take a closer look at our Great Qing Dynasty's 'National Lucky General'." Cixi's words "National Lucky General" completely confirmed Ye Zhiwei's future title, instantly raising his prestige by several levels. All the ministers were guessing the deeper meaning behind this.

  Ye Zhi Kui couldn't guess why Cixi would say that, could it be that bribing Little Li had succeeded? These thoughts only flashed through his mind for an instant as he looked up. Ye Zhi Kui glanced at Cixi, and compared to the photos of her in later generations, there wasn't much difference; she looked quite majestic and awe-inspiring. However, thinking about some of the things she had done made him feel uneasy, and he didn't dare look again for fear of revealing his true feelings and getting into trouble. He hastily lowered his head once more.

  Cixi said slowly and calmly: "Hmmm, you're quite handsome. What's this 'International Birthday Wishes' film of yours?"

  Yeh Ch'i-wei hastily composed himself and replied: "This thing is a recent invention of the Westerners; it contains the good wishes of the people of the Western countries to Your Majesty on her sixtieth birthday, forming a picture of people from all nations congratulating Your Majesty. All that Your Majesty needs to do is to move to the Yueh-shih Lou (where Tz'u-hsi watched plays) and view it."

  Cixi nodded slightly without indicating approval or disapproval, saying: "I have become curious, and after the birthday banquet, I've invited some actors to perform at Yuexi Tower. At that time, let me take a closer look." Then she waved her hand to dismiss Ye Zhenkui.

  Ye Zhihuan slowly turned around and walked back, with all the officials looking at him with envy. The birthday gift that had piqued Cixi's interest was indeed rare.

  After the gift-giving ceremony, Cixi bestowed a longevity feast, and all the high-ranking officials began to drink and eat meat. This was the perfect opportunity for them to form alliances. Many officials, big and small, came to chat with Ye Zhiwei, who wore his emotions on his face and occasionally blurted out a few rough words, making everyone think he was just a bold and straightforward roughneck. As a result, people became even more enthusiastic about him because this type of person is easier to manipulate, not to mention that Ye Zhiwei seemed destined for greatness! In an instant, Ye Zhiwei had become the life of the party.

  After the longevity banquet, Cixi took an eight-person sedan chair from the Le Shou Hall to the Yue Shi Building to watch a play. All the ministers followed behind her, and Ye Zhiwei had already arranged for Edison's company personnel to set up their equipment and wait for Cixi to watch the play.

  Before long, the crowd arrived at the Ning Shou Palace. The Empress Dowager Cixi, Emperor Guangxu and their consorts entered the Yue Shi Lou, while the high officials gathered in the corridors, all curiously waiting to watch the movie. The scene suddenly became quiet, with only a few foreigners setting up the projection equipment on the Chang Yin Ge, and several others turning the handle of the hand-cranked generator. Before long, a beam of light shot out from the projector onto the black-and-white screen.

  Cixi only saw a large group of foreigners suddenly appearing on the screen, and she was frightened. Fortunately, these foreigners were all dressed in formal attire, holding couplets with words such as "Longevity comparable to Mount Nanyue". Soon the scene changed again, turning into a group of Japanese people wearing kimonos dancing, after finishing they knelt on the ground shouting something, although there was no sound but from the actions on the screen, it's not hard to imagine that these people were saying some congratulatory words.

  Silent films continued, these rough and tattered things that seemed so coarse to Ye Qiu, yet made the officials of the Qing Dynasty cry out in amazement.

  Every time the scene changes, a country's name appears first, and then people from that country use various forms of cheers to wish the old lady a happy birthday. Some are like Chinese people holding firecrackers, some write down a few big words of blessing. Ye Zhi Kui took one look and felt fake, this group of actors is not qualified enough, it's full of loopholes everywhere. Some actors have appeared three or four times, sometimes they're British, sometimes German, and then they become African again. Although you changed your hairstyle a bit, I remember that old face of yours very clearly.

  But this novelty has really amazed the officials of the Qing dynasty, and more importantly, it is so delightful and meaningful. Don't you see? The foreigners from America, France, and other Western countries are all kowtowing to Empress Dowager Cixi to wish her a happy birthday! Cixi was delighted, and when she saw a dolphin tossing a ball in the water to celebrate her birthday, she couldn't help but laugh with joy, her face filled with smiles.

  The nearly twenty-minute silent film was finished under the stunned gaze of officials from the Qing government, and some ministers who didn't understand it even ran up to the screen and pulled open the curtain to look for the foreigners in the movie, thinking they were hiding behind it. Yeh Zhi-kui could only shake his head silently when he saw this.

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  Brothers and sisters, recommend and collect more! Even if you're raising them, you have to feed them occasionally.