Seeing this, Hong Qing immediately asked, "What does Your Majesty intend to do now?"
He was initially worried that Zhen'er hadn't seen the note in the pearl, and he spent the whole night fretting about it.
Zhen'er looked around and, after confirming that no one was there, said, "I want you to exchange bowls and plates with Empress Dowager Cixi."
This is the fastest way. Even if the Court of Judicial Review investigates, it will eventually lead back to Empress Dowager Cixi.
“Alright, this humble subject is willing,” Hong Qing said, bowing with his hands clasped.
“But… this isn’t safe either, what if someone finds out…” Zhen’er expressed her concern.
Hong Qing chuckled and shook his head. "You saved my life, so what's wrong with doing this for you? Besides, since I was able to discover this, the substitution will naturally happen quietly."
Zhen'er nodded, but was still worried. "If things are exposed, just say it was my idea, and you'll have a chance to survive."
Upon hearing this, Hong Qing's eyes turned red, and he choked up as he said, "This humble subject will certainly live up to Your Majesty's expectations and will not let them find out."
He was convinced that if he were discovered, he would take full responsibility.
During this time, he witnessed Zhen'er's concern for the country and its people. Only with Zhen'er around could the people find a glimmer of hope.
Zhen'er was unaware of Hong Qing's thoughts. After giving him some more instructions, she left.
Without the help of a system, she became even more cautious in doing things.
The dishes are soaked in a slow-acting poison. Eating the food in them will initially cause no reaction, only a headache. However, as the poison accumulates, one will suddenly die one day.
After this incident, Zhen'er noticed that her headache had subsided over the next few days.
But Empress Dowager Cixi had a headache. In order to dispel Cixi's suspicions, she pretended to be concerned about Tongzhi's health and sent an imperial physician to check on him.
The diagnosis revealed mid-stage venereal disease, which was incurable under the medical conditions of that time.
Now even if Empress Dowager Cixi didn't have a headache, she would still have one, and she wouldn't even realize that there was something wrong with her food.
As the year drew to a close and heavy snow fell, Tongzhi's condition worsened. He began to regret his previous dissolute behavior, otherwise this situation would not have arisen.
But what's the use of regretting it now?
Just when everyone thought that Empress Dowager Cixi, an old woman with white hair, would be sending off her young son, no one expected that she would pass away first.
The Dali Temple wanted to investigate, but Zhen'er stopped them on the grounds of worrying about their mistakes.
With the support of Zuo Zongtang and others, Zhen'er held all the power.
The funeral for this Empress Dowager Cixi was simple and unpretentious, unlike the extravagant funeral of her previous life.
As she watched the last shovel of yellow earth cover the grave, Zhen'er sneered inwardly, "No one will ever rob your grave again in this life. You're lucky; you left peacefully."
Perhaps the sins committed by Empress Dowager Cixi in this life were not so grave!
Just over ten days later, Tongzhi also passed away. As history records, he only lived to be nineteen years old.
When the Tongzhi Emperor died and the Guangxu Emperor succeeded him, Zhen'er knew that this emperor was capable and agreed to give him half of his power, unlike the Empress Dowager Cixi in history who controlled him at every turn.
She agreed to his proposal for the Hundred Days' Reform, and the movement was no longer called the "Hundred Days' Reform".
As a result, the entire Qing Dynasty reached a new level.
She consistently assisted Emperor Guangxu, appointing capable ministers and using her knowledge of the future to plan ahead, thus preventing many wars and unequal treaties from being signed during the late Qing Dynasty.
For the past sixty-five years, she has been constantly worried, facing both external threats from Western powers and internal threats from the Taiping Rebellion.
But she was not afraid. She gritted her teeth, lived frugally, and used the money she saved to buy cannons, guns, and so on. For a time, no one dared to make any rash moves.
But she was human, and eventually she had to leave. When she celebrated her 100th birthday and ate her last bite of longevity noodles, she quietly closed her eyes.
She couldn't even open her eyes when Emperor Guangxu called out.
Her death plunged the entire nation into deep grief, while Western countries seized the opportunity to invade.
However, she had already planned everything that followed...
...
Mo Yuanyuan originally thought that her life was over, but she never expected that she would have the chance to open her eyes again.
This time, instead of the antique style, she lay on a soft Simmons mattress. She quickly got up and stood in front of the mirror, where she saw her long-lost true face.
Her eyes weren't large, but they were bright and piercing. She had a straight nose and slightly yellow skin. While she wouldn't be considered a beauty, she was certainly a charming young lady.
"I'm back? I can actually come back?" Mo Yuanyuan said in disbelief.
But then something even more unbelievable happened: her phone popped up with a message that she had earned 90 million yuan.
It also carried the system's voice: "Congratulations, Master, on completing one hundred tasks. From now on, you are yourself, no longer anyone else."
"What?" Mo Yuanyuan's eyes widened in surprise. "Didn't you say I failed the mission?"
The system chuckled, "It was a lucky accident. Although you disobeyed orders and insisted on changing history, you still fulfilled the original owner's wish and lived to be a hundred years old in the end."
Upon hearing this, Mo Yuanyuan grinned, revealing eight teeth, and lay on the bed, feeling lightheaded.
Seeing this, the system fell silent. This was truly the last time it would speak with Mo Yuanyuan.
When Mo Yuanyuan came to her senses and wanted to ask the system a few more questions, she received no response from the system.
After so many interactions, she had developed a certain affection for the system and felt somewhat reluctant to part with it.
But all good things must come to an end, and she quickly adjusted her mindset.
Then she realized something: since she had changed history back then, the situation now must be different.
So she quickly picked up her phone and started checking. In this life, not a single piece of territory had been lost. Because of her intervention in the Fushun Kingdom, those cruel things had not happened again. Now the country was in a developed state, and its military and economy were among the best in the world. Even the United States had to show some respect to it.
"That's great..." she said with a sweet smile after turning off her phone, she had never been so happy.
She then opened the window and looked at the tall buildings and bustling traffic outside, feeling incredibly happy. From now on, she wanted to be a wealthy, ordinary person.
(End of article)
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