The anti-Qing movement began with the looting of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

"Then I shall accept it without hesitation! Thank you, Lord Shen." Li Lianying rarely bowed with his hands clasped in a traditional greeting. He could refuse ordinary gold and silver treasures, but he really needed this perfume.

"What's in here?" Li Lianying asked, pointing to the last box.

“Godfather, I know this! This is tobacco that Lord Shen brought back from the West, a kind of imitation cigarette. This kind of cigarette is much better to smoke than our welding cigarettes, it has a fragrant aroma and is not harsh.” Before Shen Lian could speak, Xiao De Zhang interrupted.

"Ha! Looks like you got to enjoy it first, kid?" Li Lianying said with a laugh.

"Hehe! A few days ago, Lord Shen and the others came and brought a few boxes for my godfather. I tried them out for him first." Seeing that his godfather was in a good mood today, Xiao Dezhang boldly said.

"Hehe! You little brat, you've got some nerve!" Li Lianying laughed and scolded him.

"Manager Li, let's sit down and talk first! You can also try this cigarette."

"Good, good! Quickly serve Lord Shen and the others some good tea!" Li Lianying was in a great mood and hurriedly called to the young eunuch.

After puffing on his cigarette, Li Lianying squinted his eyes in satisfaction and said, "I must say, Lord Shen! You put a lot of thought into these gifts. I'm sure the Empress Dowager will like every single one of them; I couldn't stop her even if I wanted to! Hehe!"

"No matter how good the gifts are, we won't be able to get them into the palace without Chief Steward Li! We're counting on you." Shen Lian cupped his hands in greeting.

"Go back and wait patiently for news! The Empress Dowager should summon you to the palace soon." Li Lianying was quite satisfied with Shen Lian's respectful attitude.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Steward Li. I will never forget your great kindness. Please feel free to ask me anything in the future. I will also be doing some business in the capital. I hope you will take good care of me."

After chatting for a while longer, Shen Lian and his companion got up to take their leave. It was getting dark, and there was a curfew in the capital; getting caught would be troublesome.

"Alright! Then I won't keep you two any longer. Xiao Dezi, please see Lord Shen and the others out for me."

Outside the main hall, Shen Lian placed another pearl into Xiao De Zhang's hand. "Eunuch Zhang," Shen Lian said, pointing to Tan Ya, "from now on, while I'm not in the capital, Tan Ya will be handling the business. I hope you'll take good care of me."

"Of course, of course! Lord Shen is the son-in-law of General Nie, who in the capital would dare to cause trouble for him? Even if I wanted to help, it wouldn't be my turn! Hahaha!"

"Hey! Let's each keep our own business. My father-in-law and I hit it off immediately. The more we get closer, the more you'll know what kind of person I, Shen Lian, am! If there's anything you can't handle, just let Tan Ya take care of it!"

"Very well! Thank you very much, Lord Shen!"

Xiao Dezhang watched Shen Lian's carriage drive away with a smile, thinking to himself that Lord Shen was quite a nice person. Not only was he generous, but he also didn't look down on them, the eunuchs, at all. It seemed he could get to know him better in the future.

"Hey brother-in-law, what other treasures haven't you unearthed yet? Tell me all of them."

"You kept it a secret so tightly, you didn't even let me see the perfume first. Do you still have any left?" Nie Shuping asked as soon as she got into the car.

"What! Do you want to smell like the Empress Dowager?" Shen Lian looked at him with a half-smile.

"Then forget it!" Nie Shuping quickly shook his head.

The thought of the imperial palace reeking of floral water made Shen Lian want to laugh. He'd stumbled upon these bottles of floral water while shopping at the supermarket and bought them on a whim. It seemed they were proving very useful.

Back home, Shen Lian called Tan Ya and Shi Tou over; "You've run around the capital for the past few days, now you should move there! Hire a couple of servants or something to manage the house."

"I'm giving you a business opportunity: buying copper coins. We only accept coins from the Shunzhi, Kangxi, and Yongzheng reigns. We also accept large coins from the Xianfeng reign. For every coin you find, I'll give you two coins of silver."

This business opportunity was discovered by Shen Lian when he went to sell silver ingots last time. He didn't expect that these Qing Dynasty copper coins would be quite valuable. Originally, he wouldn't have cared about this amount of money, but it was perfect to hand it over to Tan Ya and the others.

"Use the money you earn for your expenses. I'll give you two thousand taels of start-up capital. This business will also make it easier for you to make connections with all sorts of people. Be generous and don't be stingy."

"Remembering that Xiao Dezhang is very important. You should get closer to him, and it doesn't matter if it costs you some money. Make sure he always remembers us."

"The copper coins you collect should be handed over to our shop. I have already made arrangements with the shopkeeper there, and he will settle accounts with you."

"Be careful when gathering intelligence; safety is paramount. Be discreet and try not to let outsiders know you're my people. If you encounter danger or something you can't handle, send me a telegram or go find Master Nie."

"From now on, our caravans will come to the capital regularly. You are to hand over the intelligence they gather to them and bring it back to me. Send a telegram if there is any major situation. Understand?"

"Understood!" Tan Ya and the other man knelt down and kowtowed to Shen Lian.

"Alright! Get up, go! Be careful." Tan Ya nodded, took the silver note, and turned to leave with the stone.

"Phew!" Shen Lian breathed a sigh of relief, hoping everything would go smoothly for them!

The next morning, Li Lianying entered the palace. Along the way, all the palace eunuchs and maids bowed and paid their respects to him.

Li Lianying waved with a big smile and walked inside. The eunuchs and maids were all secretly wondering if Chief Eunuch Li had found some silver. He seemed so happy today.

"Has the Empress Dowager gotten up?" Li Lianying asked the palace maid at the door of Ning Shou Palace in a soft voice.

"Reporting to the steward, they've already gotten up. They're looking for you!" Li Lianying nodded and hurried inside.

"Little Li is here? Come over here quickly, my hair looks really uncomfortable without you doing it." A lazy voice came from the inner room.

Li Lianying hurried inside and saw an old woman in a bright yellow cheongsam looking at her reflection in the mirror in front of the dressing table.

This elderly woman was none other than Empress Dowager Cixi, Yehenara Xingzhen, who ruled the Qing Dynasty. She was sixty-five years old. Although she was not young, her skin was well-maintained and fair, and she still had a head of black hair.

"Your Majesty, this servant is here to serve you!" Li Lianying shooed away the palace maids beside him, picked up a jade comb, and stood behind Cixi.

"Hmm!" Empress Dowager Cixi slowly closed her eyes. It would take her at least half an hour to comb her hair.

"Hey! Little Li, why do you smell so good today? I've never smelled anything like this before." A strange fragrance wafted over, and Empress Dowager Cixi suddenly opened her eyes.

"Well, I must ask Your Majesty's forgiveness before I can speak!" Li Lianying chuckled. He had served the Empress Dowager for decades, and their relationship was extraordinary. He usually spoke quite casually.

"You old fool, what are you up to now! Fine! I'll forgive you for now, just tell me!" Empress Dowager Cixi spat and said lazily.