A Generation of Seductive Empress

The story of the enchantress took place after Empress Dowager Cixi, during the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, suppressed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement with the help of foreign forces. She then extorted two silver taels from Zeng Guofan through An Dehai. Emperor Tongzhi fell in love with a palace maid named Guilin at first sight. An Dehai, who had designs on Guilin, informed Cixi. Guilin would rather die than comply and was sold to a brothel in Tianqiao. Tongzhi, harboring resentment, secretly visited the Tianqiao brothel and took the opportunity of An Dehai's southern tour to issue an edict to the Shandong governor Ding Baozhen to execute An Dehai on the spot. The rift between Cixi and Tongzhi deepened. Tongzhi contracted syphilis, and Cixi forbade the empress from bearing children. Tongzhi died with regrets. Soon after, the empress committed suicide, and Cian also mysteriously passed away. Guangxu ascended the throne, and Cixi once again became the revered mother of the nation.