"Are you saying that these rumors may be released by those foreigners themselves?" Cixi's voice was not high and fluttering, and she couldn't tell whether it was joy or anger.

"When the Empress Dowager returns to the Empress Dowager, the slave sent a lot of spies to inquire about it. Many people have seen foreign translators spread rumors in the market with their own eyes." An official knelt down and buried his head low. He knew that Empress Dowager Cixi was very annoyed by the rumors that had just appeared. If the result was a lack of eyes or a damn rebellion, Cixi still had a chance to vent her anger. But now it is such a result. He knew that Empress Dowager Cixi could not vent her anger with foreigners, and even those foreign slaves could not move easily. In this way, the Empress Dowager would be even more angry. If one is not good, he would have to vent her anger with himself.

A sudden burst of coughing sounds came from the steps, and then he heard Li Lianying's voice: "Mrs. Madame, don't be angry with these guys. It's not worth it..."

There were still continuous coughing sounds above. Listening to the sound, the Queen Mother seemed to be about to cough out her heart and lungs. After a while, the coughing sound gradually stopped, and Li Lianying's voice came from above: "Mrs. Madam, you can drink a ginseng soup to moisten it. This is the ginseng from Citigroup. It is different from our Changbai Mountain. It is the most moistening of the lungs..."

Without receiving the instructions from Cixi, the Qing Dynasty official was lying down and didn't dare to move. After a while, until he felt his knees and lumbar spine were sore, Cixi's voice came from above: "Don't you get out of here!"

...

All kinds of messy things have come out these days, which has made Cixi feel much worse. First of all, the cruel article of the rebellion party made the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager very scared; then the actions of foreigners and local governors made her even more resentful after the rumors appeared. They warned her in various ways not to try to establish another emperor. Now, she found that such rumors were actually released from foreigners! Obviously, these foreigners deliberately released such rumors to test her after seeing the article, and at the same time took this opportunity to warn her not to try to make any tricks.

"These robbers, these rebellions!" Cixi couldn't help but feel ruthless in her heart. She knew the intention of these people. The more unjust the court of the Qing Dynasty, the more beneficial it would be to these guys. For the governors, the weaker the court was, the more dependent on their support, the greater their power. As for the revolution, the court would have been injustice anyway, anyway, the court would have been to change its name. They were the bosses in the local area, and no one could accuse them of being unfaithful. For foreigners, a split China was better than a unified China in any case. Because they could provoke competition or even civil wars between the divided parties. Under such conditions, the value of their "aid" naturally increased, and the prices of various original things in China naturally decreased. In other words, at that time, even if the Chinese were selling the country, they could not sell it.

Originally, in Cixi's view, the idea of ​​establishing a throne for Guangxu first, and then respecting him as the Supreme Emperor, and allowing the crown prince to ascend the throne was almost the best way to ensure the legitimacy of the court. However, those foreigners actually took the initiative to spread rumors first, and then blocked the road without hesitation.

"This, this is...this is the end of the Qing Dynasty!" Cixi gritted her teeth, but now she had no choice but to give in. Because foreigners had half of the ways to make the Qing Dynasty unable to survive, while the Qing Dynasty did nothing to do with foreigners. The spread of rumors brought a lot of chaos within the court. In order to calm it down, Cixi, who was already in her seventies, had to constantly receive officials, reply to memorials from local governors, and appease them. For this reason, she sometimes had to work more than ten hours a day. Such labor itself was inappropriate for an elderly person in her seventies. In addition, these things were all things that made Cixi feel depressed and painful when dealing with it. Every time, it was a mental blow to Cixi. Such depression, coupled with the dry air in spring, and insomnia, Cixi's real sleep time every day could not be guaranteed, even three hours, which made Empress Dowager Cixi's physical condition began to deteriorate.

What's even more terrible is that at the critical moment, the imperial court or the royal family also had teammates. The princes and princes who were summoned naturally noticed Cixi's fatigue, but these guys did not say that they would share the worries of the Lady Buddha. Many of them were even secretly happy. Many princes and princes felt that Cixi had monopolized power for too long. If she really died, the power that was originally controlled by her might fall into their hands. Moreover, they also felt that they could do better than Cixi. For example, if it were herself, they would never allow those Han governors to be so domineering.

The more radical second. The forcemen thought that if they came to power, they would definitely be the first to send the domineering governors into the capital, then they would knock them off with one knife, and then send someone to take over their army and territory. Then the Qing Dynasty would be revived, and it would be tens of thousands of years.

The second one is more secure. The local governors and governors felt that they were all stupid. As long as they were given the title of military minister, they could let them give up their power obediently. Then they could send those Manchus to the local area, not only to serve as local chief officials, but also to serve as the No. 1 commander of various new troops. Then the Qing Dynasty naturally lasted for another ten thousand years, and then everyone could continue to eat hard-core crops.

As a result, from the mouths of these teammates, Empress Dowager Cixi was in poor health and always coughed, afraid that she would not live long, and the rumors of nose and eyes spread again. Although the Empress Dowager Lao Fu ordered a strict investigation, to be honest, the police system of the Qing Dynasty, especially the police system in Beijing, was filled with a large number of Eight Banners who could not do anything. There were many people, but there were not many people who were honestly catching people like Wu Xiangzi and Song Enzi. In addition, those who spread rumors were often guys who could not afford to offend Wu Xiangzi and Song Enzi, so in various teahouses, including Wang Lifa's teahouse, all kinds of rumors were almost everywhere.

Manager Wang Lifa also posted things like "Don't talk about state affairs, just keep your clothes and clothes" in all the eye-catching places in the teahouse. But to be honest, the effectiveness of this thing is the same as the bars that the bars in Baidu Tieba in later generations that demand patriotism, or the bars that prohibit water stickers in sophomore bars are simply decorations. But it is not for spreading rumors, not for having some fun, not for giving boring life a bit of a topic. Why do the Eight Banners children have to spend time in the teahouse from morning to night? Speaking of which, the teahouses in that era are somewhat similar to the bbs and even post bars in later generations. This situation naturally made Empress Dowager Cixi become more and more angry.

...

The summer of 1908 finally came. When the weather was hot, Empress Dowager Cixi's already bad health became worse and worse. She was now as thin as a skeleton. Even Li Lianying knew that Cixi had not had much time left.

On that day, Cixi got angry at her teammates twice. After finishing her work and having dinner, she asked Li Lianying to help her walk around the yard.

"Empress Dowager, please wait." Li Lianying helped Cixi and walked slowly along the corridor.

"Honey Li, you have been with the Ai family for decades, right?" Cixi asked.

"When I go back to the Queen Mother of the Holy Mother, I have been serving the Queen Mother of the Holy Mother since the third year of Tongzhi, and it has been forty-four years now."

"Forty-four years have passed, these years are like flowing water. In the blink of an eye, forty-four years have passed. I remember that at that time, husband Li, you were still a child, and the Ai family called you Little Li. In the blink of an eye, you are old and the Ai family is old." Cixi seemed to be quite emotional.

"I am old, but the Queen Mother of the Holy Mother is not old, she is still young and very energetic." Li Lianying replied.

"Haha, the Ai family is old, and I don't know if they can survive this year." Cixi seemed to care less.

"The Empress Dowager Madonna live forever and can live for ten thousand years." Li Lianying said hurriedly.

"Hey, you are talking nonsense to the Ai family. When will anyone in this world live ten thousand years? Even the turtle turtle can't live that long. Husband Li, thank you for your hard work with the Ai family for years."

"The Queen Mother, I can serve you for life. How dare I take the word "work hard"?" Li Lianying was shocked and said hurriedly.

"Whether it's hard, the Ai family naturally knows it." Cixi smiled, "Honey Li, the Ai family is not a good person to get along with, and the Ai family itself knows this. You have always been very smart and never do things that are arrogant because of your favor. Apart from collecting some money, you never do anything that is taboo."

"The Queen Mother, I am..." Li Lianying quickly knelt down, "I deserve to die for ten thousand times, I am..."

"Honey Mr. Li, get up." Cixi said, "It's not a big deal. Besides, in your position, collecting money is in accordance with the rules. The Ai family still knows this. Get up. If the Ai family even wants to be punished, there will probably be no one with a brain left in the palace. Get up..."

"Yeah." Li Lianying quickly stood up.

Cixi stretched out her hand and asked Li Lianying to support her, and continued to walk along the corridor.

"Honey Li, I'm afraid the Ai family is not too long. Don't kneel down again and support the Ai family! Listen to the Ai family!"

"Yeah!"

"The Ai family thinks how long the Qing Dynasty can last after the trip, and the Ai family is really clear. Husband Li, one emperor and one minister, at that time... Alas, Husband Li, you'd better find someone who is reliable, sell a house in the concession in Tianjin, and then put valuable things into the bank in the concession in Tianjin. At that time, it's also a way out... Only the Ai family, there's no way out."
Chapter completed!