that Empress Dowager Xu Xi ate the thigh of the eunuch Lianying to cure a terminal illness?

The Sohu news website published an article explaining the relationship between Empress Dowager Cixi and Li Lianying. It is an anecdote about loyalty, willingness to sacrifice for Li Lianying's master.

Having been consul of Great Qing for more than half a century, Empress Dowager Xu is often referred to as one of the most powerful women in Chinese history.

When it comes to the anecdote of the Old Buddha, the secret that makes posterity wonder is why the woman who "screamed fire" of the Manchu Qing dynasty for decades trusted only one person, the eunuch Lianying.

The old history records that Empress Dowager Xu Xi broke the rules many times because of the eunuch Li. She even ignored the legislation stipulating that eunuchs could not be more than quaternary officials, directly elevating Li Lianying to the second rank. In the last years of her life, Empress Dowager Xu remained attached to Li Lianying as shown with the shadow.

It is worth mentioning that the eunuchs in the imperial palace are not few, but those who want to win the favor of the Old Buddha are countless, but why is it that only Li Lianying has been favored for so long?

During her errands in Xu Xi Palace, Li Lianying discovered that the powerful woman attached special importance to beauty, especially combing. Understanding this point, Li Lianying practiced his hairbrushing technique day and night, begging many palace girls every day to give him the opportunity to practice. In the end, the eunuch surnamed Li managed to forge a "mastery" of combing his hair without breaking even a single hair. Not only possessing the "sublime" combing industry, Li Lien Anh also knows how to make many beautiful hairstyles.

For someone as sophisticated as Empress Dowager Xu Xi, this talent will naturally have "martial arts land". Indeed, after once appointing Li Lianying to serve his combing, Empress Dowager Xu Xi fell in love with the eunuch's workmanship. Again, Li the eunuch was impersonated, spoke skillfully, and always cheered the words "Old Buddha" that made her extremely satisfied. Ever since he had Li Lianying with him, Empress Dowager Xu Xi's combing had always been designated as a job reserved for him. But the words "Old Buddha" often praised by the eunuch surnamed Li have become Empress Dowager Xu Xi's favorite name for decades.

But if you only rely on the skill of combing your hair and speaking skillfully, I am afraid that Li Lianying has been "felled" early in the imperial palace, there will never be a shortage of new people.

Before the outbreak of the Armor War, Empress Dowager Xu Xi suffered from a serious illness, which was still not completely cured. It must be said that the Old Buddha was a very superstitious woman, so she immediately sent people to find all four esoteric remedies to cure diseases. Among the folk remedies transmitted to Empress Dowager Xu Xi's ears, there was a "horror" remedy that stated that eating the flesh of the thigh of the person closest to her would cure the disease.

Empress Dowager Xu Xi heard this, and immediately sent his son Emperor Guangzi to his palace, vaguely bringing this matter to the king. However, King Guangzi heard it and "pretended to be a suit" and did not do it. Li Lianying had just heard this, and without hesitation cut the meat on his lap to offer Empress Dowager Xu Xi. After some time, Empress Dowager Xu Xi's illness finally went away.

No one was sure if Empress Dowager Xu Xi's condition had improved because of Li Lianying's "thigh meat" medicine scale. But everyone in the palace at that time saw clearly, since this incident, Empress Dowager Xu Xi became more and more fond of the eunuch surnamed Li, and Li Lianying's career also "flourished like a kite to the wind".

Discussing the harem anecdote, some people thought that Li Lianying donating meat to Empress Dowager Xu Xi was not something to praise. Since the status of the eunuch had robbed the man of his most precious things, losing another piece of meat would not have been a big deal. Someone calmly assessed that Li Lianying had been with Empress Dowager Xu for more than 50 years, and he himself knew the Empress Dowager's temperament best, so his actions were not too surprising. But whichever way posterity sees it, no one can deny the fact that Li Lianying was the most favored eunuch of Empress Dowager Xu Xi during her reign.

Even before her d.eath, Empress Dowager Xu Xi did not forget to instruct Empress Dowager Longyu to "favor" the Li eunuch. Even until Empress Dowager Xu Xi's d.eath, the washing of Empress Dowager Xu Xi's face and hair was still personally handled by Li Lianying. Even the coffin filled with her treasures was hand-picked by the eunuch surnamed Li, each of the hallows, and placed with his own hands.

From this, it can be seen that Empress Dowager Xu Xi's favor for Li Lianying early on transcended the bond of the feudal master-slave relationship, which was like the affection of rare soulmates for each other in the harem.

This is also the reason why stories about Empress Dowager Xu Xi's affection for her trusted eunuchs are still the subject of discussion by posterity in times of posthumous tea...

An Dehai: The handsome, favored eunuch who had his own c.hild with Empress Dowager Cixi? Keng15:53:15 05/03/2024Among the subordinates beside Xu Xi, besides Li Lianying, An Dehai was the one who was most popular and close to this empress dowager. It is said that An Duc Hai was a eunuch who entered the palace to serve the Empress Dowager.