The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 535: "Cixi" recognizes the new master, "Xianfeng" wants to go to heaven
Three quarters past ten in the evening, Qiu Shui Pavilion in Prince Yu’s mansion.

The gilded Suanni incense burner spewed out green smoke of ambergris, hiding half of Luo Yaoguo's face in the misty green smoke. Wanzhen's knees were trembling slightly as she knelt on the Persian carpet, and she was kowtowing repeatedly to His Royal Highness the King of Wu of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in front of her.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

When he kowtowed for the fifth time, Luo Yaoguo's calfskin shoes just touched the blue brick on her forehead. Wanzhen looked up and saw the revolver holster with oriental pearls on his waist, and the gilded dragon pattern glowed golden in the candlelight.

"I hate to see a beauty with a scar on her forehead." Luo Yaoguo's fingertips brushed across the "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom-Later Jin Treaty" on the desk, and the silk scroll suddenly rolled down and opened at the text of "paying tribute and submitting to the country". Wanzhen knelt down and tried to pick it up, but he lifted the golden hairpin in her hair with a Xiangfei bamboo fan: "Your short shirt with a front opening is very unique, and it outlines your budding figure. Was it made by the tailor employed by the Qing court?"

Wanzhen's neck flushed red as Luo Yaoguo looked at her. She bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth. "My elder sister asked the tailor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to make two sets of clothes. She originally planned to wear these Han women's clothes with me and go out of Chaoyang Gate ten miles to kneel and welcome the king to show obedience."

"Oh, really?" Luo Yaoguo raised his lips, "Then why didn't I see her when I came to Beijing?"

Wanzhen bowed quickly: "Your Highness, so Wanzhen comes to you to apologize on behalf of her sister Lan'er!"

"Apology?" Luo Yaoguo raised his eyelids and looked at the little girl kneeling below him. "What crime has your sister committed?"

Wanzhen bit her lips so hard that blood oozed out. "My sister said she would kneel down to welcome the king at Chaoyang Gate, but when His Royal Highness Prince Wu led his troops into the city, she disappeared. Now she is setting up a camp at Dajue Temple in Xishan with Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guofan, trying to resist His Royal Highness's majesty. She also violated the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom-Later Jin Treaty without authorization, refused to submit to the Heavenly Kingdom, and still used the Qing Dynasty as the country's name. She really deserves death."

Luo Yaoguo sneered: "You girl know that I am soft-hearted and hate this kind of thing, so you confessed your crime first, thinking that I will definitely not punish you and your sister, right?"

"As expected, nothing can be hidden from Your Highness." Wanzhen's thoughts were exposed, her forehead pressed tightly against the blue brick, with a good attitude of admitting guilt and accepting punishment. "But Wanzhen's sister is also helpless. She is now most likely a puppet of Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guofan. She is controlled by others in everything and has no power to protect herself."

"You deserve it!" Luo Yaoguo said with a smile, "Your sister likes to wield power too much. She clearly has no ability to govern the country, but she clings to power tightly. Now, Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guofan, two people who should have been Qing Dynasty running dogs, are holding her hostage. I want to see how she fights those two living Cao Caos."

Wanzhen kowtowed three times to Luo Yaoguo, tears in her eyes: "Your Highness, although my sister is called the Queen Mother of the Qing Dynasty, she already considers herself your servant. You can't just watch her being harmed by Li Hongzhang, Zeng Guofan and the like."

Luo Yaoguo smiled and said, "That's true. You have to look at the owner before you beat the dog. Zhen'er, I asked you to come here just for this matter. Don't lie down, stand up and talk."

Wanzhen was delighted, she stood up, blinked her watery eyes and looked at Luo Yaoguo: "Your Highness is going to save my sister?"

"It's impossible to save her," Luo Yaoguo said slowly, "but I can help her. Help her to fight against Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guofan. As for whether she can win, it depends on her luck." He shook his head again, "But I don't think highly of your sister."

Wanzhen's heart skipped a beat, and she kowtowed to Luo Yaoguo again. Luo Yaoguo looked at her forehead, which was almost swollen, and said with a smile: "Okay, stop kowtow. If you kowtow again, your forehead will be broken. How can you help me run errands to see your sister?"

Wanzhen straightened up again when she heard this, and looked at Luo Yaoguo expectantly. Luo Yaoguo had already sat up from the couch and patted a sandalwood box on the table, "Take this box to Dajue Temple and give it to your sister. Tell her to work hard for me, and I will do my best to protect her. Even if her Houjin cannot be saved in the end, I will find a way to protect her and Zaichun."

Xishan, Dajue Temple.

The few Manchu nobles who escaped from Beijing, such as Naralan'er, Zaichun, Duanhua, Yuanbao, Ronglu, etc., are now a real "minority". Their number is less than one thousand at most. Surrounding them are more than one hundred thousand Hunan Army, Huai Army, Beggar Army and Senggelinqin's Mongolian soldiers, who have occupied all the valleys, villas and temples in the Western Hills, leaving only the Dajue Temple for these nobles from Beijing.

There were no people left around the Queen Mother Naralan'er, except for a few distraught Manchus and two Han ministers, Qi Junzao and Weng Xincun, who stared at Naralan'er and sighed. The monarch and his ministers were unable to say a word for a long time.

"Empress Dowager," An Dehai suddenly pushed open the paint-chipped palace door, the whisk in his hand waving constantly, "Changmao. Someone is coming from Changmao's side, it's him!" Before he finished speaking, Wanzhen's voice came from outside the door, "An Dehai, what are you talking about? That's the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven!"

When Na Lalan heard her sister's voice, she immediately perked up: "Wanzhen is here? Come in quickly!"

Before she finished her words, Wanzhen, wearing a double-breasted jacket and a horse-faced skirt, rushed in, holding a sandalwood box. She didn't kowtow to Na Lalan'er, but kept looking around. "Yuanbao, Xiao Anzi, you go out and guard." Na Lalan'er waved her hand and sent Yuanbao, the "Minister of the Imperial Guards", and An Dehai, the "General Manager of the Imperial Household", to guard the gate. Yuanbao and An Dehai's official positions sounded not small, but there were few people under them to manage, and they were almost alone. Fortunately, there was a check between Li Hongzhang, Zeng Guofan, Du Han, and Kong Fanhao, so that no one minister would dominate, and there was still some freedom for the Qing Dynasty.

After seeing Yuan Bao and An Dehai leave the hall, Na Lalan nodded to her sister. Wanzhen then placed the sandalwood box she was holding on the table in front of Na Lalan: "Sister, this is what the master King Wu asked me to bring to you!"

Her tone was not pleasant, and Na Lalan'er looked a little unhappy: "What good stuff is this?" She reached out to open the lid, but Na La Wanzhen pressed the lid down, "Sister, this is a good thing given to you by the master, you have to kneel down to receive it!"

"Kneel down to receive it?" Na Lalan was a little unhappy when she heard it, but she immediately thought that she was not the only one who was "connected with Wu" in this hall!
"Okay!" Thinking of this, she immediately stood up from the couch, knelt respectfully in front of the wooden box, and then stretched out her hands.

Wanzhen smiled and said, "This is more like it. Take it. It's not in vain. Sister, once you see what's inside, you will know how good our master, the King of Wu, is!"

How good? Na Lalan thought: Is he good to you?

Although she thought so, Na Lalan still respectfully opened the lid of the box. Inside was an enamel tobacco box, a letter, and a jade seal. Na Lalan first put the enamel tobacco box away, then took up the jade seal and opened it. There were four seal characters engraved on it, two of which were "Zhi Yin", and the other two were not recognized by Na Lalan at once.

"This seal is engraved with 'Seal of Empress Dowager Cixi'," Wanzhen said, "Cixi is the title bestowed upon you by your master."

"Cixi." Nara nodded, thinking that this title was good and pleasant to the ear. Then she opened the letter again. This was Luo Yaoguo's handwritten letter. Nara took a few glances at it and a look of surprise appeared on her face.

Wanzhen, who was standing by, seemed to have known that she would be so happy, and asked with a smile: "How is it? Is the master treating you well?"

"Good!" Nara was so happy that she almost cried, "What's so good about the master?" She was shocked again, "Xianfeng, Xianfeng has been captured, and he is going to ascend to heaven with Hong Ni, no, Hong Tianwang? Zhen'er, what is going on?"

Wanzhen smiled and said, "Sister, you don't have to think so much. It's only by the grace of the master. There are still nearly 300,000 bannermen in Beijing. The master has given them all to you! As for Xianfeng, he will also ascend to heaven in full view of the public - he will go to see the Father with the King of Heaven and will never come back! From now on, sister is the supreme Empress Dowager Cixi Khan of the Later Jin! Sister, tell me, is our new master good?"

"Good, that's great!" Nara actually felt that Luo Yaoguo, her "master", was a very nice person.
"Zhao Si, Zhao Si, wake up quickly, don't sleep any more!"

In an abandoned brothel on Pi Tiao Hutong in the outer city of Beijing, Emperor Xianfeng was sleeping on a soft bed when he felt someone shaking him and shouting "Zhao Si"? Who is Zhao Si? It seems to be me!
Xianfeng quickly sat up and saw a dark face with regular features. It was none other than his senior fellow student who had taken him to the lecture class the day before, named Lei Shiba, nicknamed Lei Lao Hu.

"Tiger, this is..." Xianfeng looked confused.

"It's time for something big!" Lei Lao Hu said, "The Heavenly King and Emperor Xianfeng are going to ascend to heaven together!"

"What?" Xianfeng was suddenly shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. The king ascended to heaven with him. Was he discovered? Was he going to be beheaded?

Lei Lao Hu hadn't noticed that Xianfeng's face had changed drastically, and he was still talking to himself: "The Heavenly King came down to the earth to destroy the Qing demons. This time he has accomplished his mission, and we can take Xianfeng back to heaven to report to the Heavenly Father! All the students in our lecturer class must participate in this Heavenly King Ascension Ceremony. Although you are new, you can already recite the True Covenant, and the Heavenly King Gan said that the Heavenly King Praise you wrote was good. So you must perform well in this Heavenly King Ascension Ceremony. If the Heavenly King Gan is happy, he might give you an important task!"

Fortunately, it was not me who was going to ascend to heaven, but another Xianfeng.

Xianfeng sighed slightly and immediately asked, "What is that important task?"

Lei Lao Hu laughed and said, “Of course, he is the young bishop who was sent abroad to serve as a true member of the Yue sect!”

(End of this chapter)