As an extremely special profession during the feudal dynasty, eunuchs mainly serve the royal family. They are in the slave class and it is difficult to have any good future. They basically have to stay in the palace for the rest of their lives. However, not all eunuchs are just slaves who are bullied. Some eunuchs are appreciated by the emperor's palace and the imperial concubines, and may have the opportunity to become powerful figures in the court, just like Wei Zhongxian in the Ming Dynasty, and in the Qing Dynasty in the Qing Dynasty .
Chapter 0 Li Lianying and Empress Dowager Cixi have a close relationship, which can even be said to be beyond the master-servant relationship. There are rumors that the two have some ambiguous relationships. Could it be that Li Lianying is not a real eunuch? Why do the many eunuchs beloved by him? The palace maids around him know the answer to this question.
Extraordinary master-servant relationship
In the late Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi was in power and controlled the situation in the Qing Dynasty. Emperor Tongzhi and Emperor Guangxu were all puppets in her hands. The reason why Empress Dowager Cixi was able to control the situation well was inseparable from the help of one person. is Li Lianying, the eunuch manager around him. It can be said that Li Lianying is the right-hand man of Empress Dowager Cixi. She can not only help her convey some information, but also handle some shameful things in secret, which also paved the way for Cixi to take power.
Although these two people are master-servant relationships on the surface, their relationship is not just like this in private. According to the rules of the palace in the Qing Dynasty, eunuchs are not allowed to be too close to the concubine or the queen. After all, eunuchs are still male in nature, so naturally they should pay attention to the difference between men and women. But Li Lianying is just the opposite. Not only can he take care of Empress Dowager Cixi close to her, but he can also enter and exit Cixi's bedroom. It is said that sometimes Cixi would call Li Lianying here if she couldn't sleep in the middle of the night, while other palace maids and eunuchs must stand outside the door and cannot listen to the conversation between the two.
Even when the two were walking and chatting together, Cixi would order the deep power and the eunuch to retreat several feet away, and they were not allowed to listen to the conversation between the two. Therefore, these signs indicate that the relationship between the two is extraordinary and there is a lot of private space. is also because of this. Later, there were rumors that Li Lianying was not a real eunuch, and that Cixi might be a lover with an underground relationship. Although this sounds ridiculous, it is not completely impossible. Is this true?
Can the identity of eunuch Li Lianying be faked
If the rumors are true, it means that the identity of eunuch Li Lianying is fake. Could this happen in the Qing Dynasty court at that time? Based on the actual situation and the regulations of the Qing Dynasty palace, the answer is no. firstly, Li Lianying entered the palace since she was a child, and anyone who is willing to be a eunuch is basically a poor child. Then Li Lianying naturally has no family background to bribe the people in the palace to prevent him from being purged.
In addition, eunuchs did not pass this level after entering the palace. They had two routine physical examinations in the palace every year. In addition to checking the physical condition of the eunuch, they also need to see if there were eunuchs who had missed the pass to avoid the existence of fake eunuchs in the palace. You should know that this is related to the stability of the harem and is also linked to the reputation of the entire royal family. If there is a fake eunuch who commits sexual intercourse in the harem, wouldn’t it be a joke for all the people in the world? So once discovered, it is a death sentence. In this way, even if Li Lianying has great skills, he would not be able to pass such strict screening, and he would not dare to risk his life to commit fraud.
Step back ten thousand steps, even if Li Lianying is not a real eunuch, Empress Dowager Cixi cannot have a lover relationship with him. First of all, Li Lianying is ugly, and even if she is extremely ugly, it is not an exaggeration. There are many pustules and acne marks on his face, which are not flat at all, and his facial features are also very ordinary, and no highlight can attract women.
Secondly, the hierarchy of ancient times was very strict. Empress Dowager Cixi was the empress dowager of the current dynasty, so she would not choose to demote herself and have an affair with a eunuch. Moreover, since the death of Emperor Xianfeng , Cixi has been widowed for many years. If something shameful happened, her reputation for this life would be ruined.
So no matter from any perspective, Cixi cannot have a different emotion towards Li Lianying. Then again, why did Cixi favor Li Lianying so much? He was willing to take him wherever he went. What was even more incredible is that later Cixi named Li Lianying the second-rank official of the dynasty, which was unprecedented in the history of the Qing Dynasty. You should know that the highest official position of eunuchs is only the fourth or fifth-rank official position. If it is the second-rank, it would participate in policy decisions, which would affect the development of the country.
The reason why Li Lianying is favored
In fact, the reason why Li Lianying was so appreciated and trusted by Empress Dowager Cixi was mainly because he had the experience and methods of dealing with people and life. This not only made him deeply favored by Cixi, but also made him wander in the officialdom. The palace maids beside him knew all this. After all, Li Lianying had to report to Cixi when doing anything. The two communicated very closely, and the palace maids naturally understood the truth when they watched from the side.
First of all, Li Lianying has many methods to serve Cixi. He once learned from An Dehai how to comb and braid her hair. It seems not difficult, but in fact there is a risk of beheading her head. Because Empress Dowager Cixi was very sensitive to her appearance in her later years and did not want her hair to lose her hair. Once a palace maid combed a lot of her hair and was executed immediately. So these servants did not dare to comb her hair. Only Li Lianying dared to comb her hair. And he also combed it very well. In fact, it was not that he had any way to avoid combing her hair, but instead combed the lost hair into his sleeves while combing it.
In addition, Li Lianying also tried every means to make Empress Dowager Cixi happy. He knew that Cixi learned to hum opera when she liked to listen to opera. Although it was not nice, she could also watch it as a musician. He also learned to perform when Cixi was in a bad mood. His strange looks and appearances always relieved the pressure of Cixi.
In the court, Li Lianying also made a modest approach. He never became arrogant because he was favored or had a second-rank official, nor did he do anything that violated the regulations. He was still as respectful to the prince and minister as before. This also made him lose many enemies and won the attention of many people. After all, who dares to offend such a scheming person?
Conclusion
Based on the above, Li Lianying was able to become such a famous figure in the late Qing Dynasty mainly because he had unknown abilities, rather than relying solely on Cixi to get to such a high position. Even if he and Cixi surpassed the relationship between master and servant, they were at most just friends. The two of them had been with each other for many years and knew each other too much. In the palace, there were too few people who could be loyal to each other, so such a close relationship emerged.
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