Emperor Yongzheng

Chapter 37
Nian Gengyao bloodbathed Jiangxia, Kan'er dogs made trouble at the pawn shop, and Prince Yong's mansion lost the stolen bills. A series of incidents made Prince Lian's mansion vigilant for a few days. On the opposite side of the big word "Dang", as soon as the pretense falls, the guards of the palace will be dispatched to intervene immediately.But for two months in a row, nothing unusual happened, so everyone in the whole family gradually relaxed.

In October, Beijing is already a winter scene with thousands of trees and deserted trees, and the Yongding River outside the city is already covered with ice.Even though the wind in the city is slightly warm, the moat under the Jinshui Bridge is also covered with fine ridges like spider webs. The moss on the tall towers has turned dark red, making it appear gray and gloomy. The sky is dim and thick clouds are gradually gathering, as if it is about to rain. Like snow, there is no life at all, only the remaining leaves on the trees are sparsely falling in the wind, as if telling something to the world, and as if they are shivering in the cold, adding a bit of desolation and loneliness.On October [-], there was a strong wind all night, tearing silk and tearing cloth all night long, and heavy snow fell all night long. When people got up in the morning, they found that Beijing was already a chaotic world wrapped in white.When Yin entered the palace to greet Yin and came back, he saw his fourteenth elder brother Yin already waiting in the mansion. He said: "In the past few snows, there were just a few scattered pieces, which melted before they even hit the ground. This snow is really refreshing. It’s great! You’re here, let’s meet up with a few people to have a fun day!”

"Here -" Yinxiang pouted at the table, "That was sent by the fourth brother. Today is his [-]th birthday. I'm afraid I have to disturb him!" Yinyi clapped his hands and said, "I said, in my heart I always think about one thing and can never think of it again! I have to go, so why don’t you be afraid of being empty-handed?" Yin smiled and said: "Fourth brother has a perverse temper and never accepts any gifts. We can’t make a fuss by trying to please him. So. I said, raise your shoulders and open your mouth to eat him! If you don't want to be dissatisfied, give him the Diamond Sutra you copied and keep him happy." Yin thought about it and it was indeed the case, and gave up with a smile. , the two of them took a large warm sedan together and went to Yonghe Temple in Andingmen to pay their birthdays.

Around noon, the snow became more and more falling in clumps and plumes, and more than half a foot of snow had accumulated on the street.There is no business in this kind of weather, so every shop is closed. At a glance, there is not a single pedestrian on the empty streets.Just at this time, a few big men drove two carriages to a stop outside the Wanyong Pawn Shop with a "huh!", unloaded a few large boxes, walked into the store with snow on their heads and faces, and puffed white mist in their mouths. .Several court officials were eating melon seeds by the fire at the counter. Seeing that there were still people going to the pawn shop in this weather, they couldn't help but stick their heads out.Li Zaixin frowned and asked, "What do you think?"

The leader was Monk Xingyin, with a fake braid on the back of the big dog fur hat, looked at the court officials with a half-smile, rubbed his hands and stomped his feet, and said: "A few boxes of hard goods, you will know when you come down and have a look!" Li Zaixin and a few others gave a wink and opened the door to the closet. When they opened a box, they saw an ivory western-style ship in a blink of an eye. They filled a box full. Inside are five flaming sabers and seven small horse guns neatly placed.Xingyin simply opened all the eight large boxes, and in the snowy light, he could only see silver and gold shining, such as large glass mirrors, coral beads, golden Buddha jade Guanyin, and various colors of tribute satin. those objects.No need to ask, these people who came here are all gangsters!
"We don't deserve weapons." Li Zaixin suppressed the panic in his heart, with fine sweat dripping from his head, he hesitated and said critically, "How much of the rest do you want?" Xingyin said with a smile: "Look at these weapons, They are embedded with precious stones, so why not? The total price of 20 silver is worth it? To put it bluntly, our Lord went to Beijing to accept donations, and now the Ministry of Officials has issued an order from the Fourth Lord to suspend official donations. These things Don't worry about keeping it by your side, it's not because of lack of money. It's a pity, but it's just finding a safe place to store it. So, you pay [-], right?" Li Zaixin sucked his teeth and took a breath, and said, "[-] It’s nothing to say. The owner just took the money away to Jiangnan to buy goods, how can the store afford so much cash at once? Thirty thousand! Just like this, we have to brave the snow to go to the bank to fight the famine.”

"Seventy thousand, no less!"

"forty thousand!"

"Seventy thousand!"

"Fifty-five thousand!"

"Sixty thousand!"

"Okay! Sixty thousand is sixty thousand. With such a great God of Wealth, I have to be more respectful..."

The two of them were bargaining hypocritically, and the five or six officials above were already dumbfounded.Li Zaixin said quickly: "There are actually [-] in the store, and I have to go out to borrow it. Please go to the counter and have tea at the fire, and I will ask the shopkeeper to prepare it for you!" After saying this, he gave up his hands and asked Xingyin and others to carry the goods. Go in, give a few people a wink, and say, "Serve me well!" Then I went inside and reported to Liu Renzeng.

"Okay! I'll stabilize them here. You can go to the Eighth Master's Mansion now and report to the Eighth Master." After hearing this, Li Zaixin trotted to Prince Lian's Mansion without saying a word.Hearing that Yin had gone to Si Age's Mansion, Li Zaixin stood and thought about it, and thought it would be better to report it in person, so he borrowed a horse from the concierge, jumped up, clamped his legs, and went straight to Prince Yong's Mansion in the wind and snow, and rushed there By then, his whole body was already like a snowman.

The elder brothers from Yonghe Temple were enjoying the snow and telling jokes, and they were in the mood for it.Yin has always been a busy man, with a cold face and a cold heart. He neither invites guests nor attends banquets. He is polite to his brothers but rarely interacts with them. It is rare for everyone to invite him because he comes in all directions.The third elder brother Yinzhi, the fifth elder brother Yinzhi, the sixth elder brother Yinzuo and Yinyinyinyinyinyinxiang Yinyinyinlu Yinli... all came, but the seventh elder brother Yinyou did not come because he had a cold. Four tables were set up in Wanfu Hall. The fire from the ground dragon made the whole room warm, but the windows were all opened, making it spacious and easy to enjoy the snow.Because of the drumming and passing flowers, it was Yinzhi's turn to tell a joke. Although Yinzhi was well-educated, he was not good at it. After thinking for a long time, he said: "I don't have the humor of the thirteenth and the fourteenth. The tenth is too rough. It's random. Tell me one thing, don’t be surprised if you don’t laugh! - Zhang Chuanxian was the governor of Dengzhou and took the examination for talents. He wrote "Bo Yi and Shu Qi" to do eight parts. There was a scholar who did two parts for "Bo" and two parts for "Yi"; "Uncle" Make two strands; 'Qi' makes two strands. Zhang Chuanxian was good-tempered and funny, and he commented on a few haiku, which was quite interesting." He stopped his cup and recited:

Mr. Lone Bamboo, weeping sadly.Call me my son!I only know that you were a starving ghost at the foot of Shouyang Mountain.Who would have thought that you would be made into an uneatable dish for eight yuan by a bastard!
"Okay!" Everyone applauded.Yin's face was so happy that he said: "Who said that the joke told by the third brother is not good? I will give you a drink and ask the third brother for another one!" Everyone immediately agreed, and Yin smiled and said: "It is indeed a witticism, and the third brother must get it." Please tell me one more thing!"

"Then I will obey everyone's orders." Yinzhi couldn't beat everyone, so he ate a glass with a smile, and said: "When I went to Suizhou that year, I saw a couplet written in a hotel that was ridiculous. Zheye'; the second line is 'Go out and shoot crooked'——if you force me to drink again, I really want to be 'crooked'!" After hearing this, everyone couldn't help shouting again.

Yinjiu was already eighty percent drunk. Hearing that Yinzhi called him "coarse", he felt dissatisfied. He shook his head and laughed like a rattle: "No, no, no! With all this snow, it would be a pity not to have any poems. Let me live up to it." God?" Yin was afraid that he would spoil the fun, so he said: "What Lao Shi said is that I, the third brother, the eighth brother, and the fourteenth brother have a couplet of poems. Each sentence is black and white. Black and white are clear. If the poem is not good, you will be fined three times. Big drink!" So he started to say:
Crows compete for plum blossoms for a piece of fragrance,

Yinzhi interface conveniently said:

There are thirteen lines of cold windows.

Yin folds the fan and chants:

Delicate jade hand grinds fragrant ink,
Yin smiled and said: "Mynah is so affectionate, and I have one too—a little plum blossom falls into the inkstone pond!—I will say one more sentence: beautiful women and beautiful eyes look forward to each other,"

"We're busy playing Go and robbing." Yinzhi pushed Yinzhi hurriedly: "Third brother, what are you confused about? Hurry up!" Yinzhi smiled and chanted:

Ancient lacquer Yaoqin and new jade Zhen,
"Okay!" Yin raised his eyebrows, and was about to answer, when Yin made a strange voice:
Gutter overturned tofu soup!
Everyone couldn't help laughing loudly, and the fourteenth elder brother Yin came to pinch Yin's ears and said, "Good poetry will corrupt you to the point that you are not at all corrupted. If you spill the tofu soup in the gutter, wouldn't it mean that there is no distinction between black and white? I want to mention the penalty of drinking. Fill your ears with yellow soup!" Just then, Gao Fu'er hurried in, said a few words to Yin Fu'er, took a step back and bowed to obey the order, Yin suddenly blushed and said, "What do you say? The guards of the palace immediately cut this off. Take the thief!" Then he turned to Yin Xiang and said, "The things lost in my house have been found. The thief is now in Wanyong's pawnshop. You are now in charge of the punishment department, so I have to ask you to go to the punishment department and transfer a few government servants to be helpers." At this moment, everyone was stunned.

"Success! I'll show you another warming wine and beheading Hua Xiong!" Yin Xiang smiled and stood up with his sword, and said again: "Old Fourteen, wait for me to come back and throw another three hundred punches!"

When Yin heard the word "Wanyong", he shuddered all over. When he looked at Yin, he also glanced over. When his eyes met, Yin also stood up and smiled: "I am drunk, and I happened to be with Lao Shisan. Let’s go together. Thank you Fourth Brother for the birthday wine, I’ll return the feast another day!”

"No way!" Yin said with a smile, "It's rare to get together all year round, let alone this good snow! You broke up everyone's hearts when you left, and you also let down my heart - dog! What you brought here You and Kan'er greet everyone, the sedan chair is locked, and the door is sealed. You can only rest after getting drunk today! What's the matter? You can't stay at Fourth Brother's place for a night when you're drunk?" Everyone is also in high spirits, but how can they be willing? Let Yin go?They stood up one after another to persuade him to stay, and ordered him to drink wine as a punishment. Although Yin felt uneasy, he couldn't escape.

Yinxiang took more than 100 school lieutenants from the palace and rushed out of the city on horseback.Passing through the Chaoyang Gate, he saw Xin Yifei, a small officer who had been employed by the guard in the Ministry of Households. He stopped his horse and asked, "So you are here on business? How many people do you have under your command?" When he met Yinxiang, seeing that he was the benefactor, he laughed and said, "Master Thirteen still remembers slaves? There are not many soldiers here, only more than 100 people, and the old Qihua Gate is also under the control of slaves. Lord Thirteen wants to make people , the servant called over!" "[-] people is enough." Yinxiang wiped the snow on his face, "You quietly take the guards at the intersection around Wanyong's pawn shop, no matter who it is, it is not allowed to enter or exit, Wanyong There are thieves in the cell, if a mouse runs out, I will whip you Xin Yifei!" This was a very simple task, and Xin Yifei repeatedly agreed to the convener and assigned him to guard the intersection, and it took less than a bag of cigarettes to complete it. Seal the street near Wanyong's pawnshop.

"Okay! You know how to do things!" Yinxiang took out the gold watch in his bosom to have a look. It didn't take him even a quarter of an hour to walk. A cold grin flashed on the corner of his mouth. take!"

Liu Renzeng and the six or seven courtiers in the store, Fengzheng and Xingyin, chatted one after another, waiting for Li Zaixin to "take the money" back, when suddenly a row of storefronts fell down with a "crash", filling the room. Snow and dust rolled into a miasma, and dozens of military guards swarmed in, almost overturning the counter at Renlaigao!Liu Renzeng was very angry and funny, just said "the officers and soldiers are here", he was slapped twice in the face, his eyes were full of gold, and he shouted anxiously: "I took it wrong! I am a pawnbroker!"

"No matter who it is, take it down!" Yinxiang yelled as he pressed his sword, "Don't move! Bring the stolen goods here!" During the speech, dozens of military schools had already broken into the backyard, regardless of indiscriminate, male, female, young or old In an instant, they were all tied up like rice dumplings.Open the boxes brought by Xingyin and others, and inspect them one by one.Liu Renzeng didn't recognize Yinxiang, and when he saw how reckless he was, he shouted: "Master Jun, we are businessmen who report the crime—" Before he could finish his sentence, a guard next to him turned around and punched him heartily, scolding: "You Are there any rules? This is the Thirteenth Master! Don't talk!"

After the inventory was completed, everything was there, except for 24 yuan of Qixiu amber.Yin Xiangfang turned his face and asked Liu Renzeng: "What did you just say? You are the shopkeeper of this store? Why is there 24 pieces of amber missing? The fourth brother loves this the most!"

"Then ask the thief!" Liu Renzeng didn't know whether he was cold or angry, his face was green and pale, and he was shaking all over, he said: "Master Thirteen, even if you are trying the case, you have to find out the plaintiff and the defendant!" Yinxiang looked around. , Xingyin and the others had disappeared without a trace, because he spread his hands and said with a smirk, "Where is the thief? How can you tell who is good and who is bad at this moment? Without the amber, maybe it is hidden somewhere." After pondering for a while, a word popped out of his lips: "Search!" Liu Renzeng was really anxious, and he jumped on his feet and shouted: "This is the pawn shop of the eighth master!"

Yinxiang's feet were covered with snow and creaked. He paced back and forth, turned his head and said, "This is mynah's pawn shop? Why haven't I heard of it?"

"Eighth Master's Mansion is just across the door, Thirteenth Master will know it when he asks!"

"I'm too lazy to ask!" Yinxiang said with a nonchalant smile, "With your talent for killing, how could you be Bage's slave? I was having a drink with Bage just now, and Bage also knows that I'm here. Since it's Bage's property, Will he be silent?" "You——!"

"What's wrong with me?" Yinxiang straightened his face, and with a flick of his head, he said a simple word: "Search!"

So all the rooms in the courtyard were turned upside down immediately, doors were smashed, locks were turned, boxes were rummaged, and cabinets were rummaged. The soldiers were all stuffed in their waists, and searched the rooms happily. Yinxiang ignored it and just waited for what he wanted.After a long while, a guard with greasy face came out holding a stack of files, and said: "Master Thirteen, there is no Amber, it's all fucking ledgers!"

"Really?" Yin Xiangxin took a copy in his hand, opened it, and saw that it was all in small script of Zhong Wang's petite head, and it was densely memorized. Where to go, where to go, where to go, and where to go now... Prepare one by one.Yinxiang was relieved, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, shaking the account book and asked Liu Renzeng: "What is this? You are a businessman, and you copy the secret documents of the court, which are more detailed than those of the official department. What is the use of?"

Liu Renzeng's face was already ashen, and his hands and legs went limp behind his back. He knelt into the snow and said in a hoarse voice: "I don't know! I've never done such a thing! Thirteen Lord... The owner of this shop is Ren Boan, He has gone to the south of the Yangtze River...you can take him to Beijing and ask...just ask and you will know..."

"What a shop of thieves!" Yinxiang was furious, and shouted angrily with his sword, "It should be copied in full! This is a rare and major case in the founding of the Qing Dynasty! Copy it hard for me!"

The soldiers lined up to enter the store, ransacked and robbed it, and there were cries of ghosts and wolves howling inside and outside the store. Li Zaixin, who was standing guard in the distance, knew that something bad was going on, so he walked around like ants in a hot pot twice, thinking that Yinyin must be repaid for this matter no matter what. Before settling the accounts, he lost a piece of silver and went out to mount his horse and hurried back to Yonghe Temple.

The wind had subsided by now, and the snow flakes were dancing all over the sky.Except for Yinyin and Yin, more than a dozen of the emperor's elders in Wanfutang were all drunk and confused.Yin's eyes were so full of food, he danced and laughed, and said: "No, no, no! What kind of bird poems did you make? It's fitting for a rough guy like me to be in the limelight. Listen to my snow poems!" Because he grinned widely, Loudly:

The north wind was cold last night, and Tiangong spit a lot.

On a red sun, it is Huatan Wan!

Before finishing the reading, everyone laughed out loud.Seeing Elder Brother Shi drinking madly, the servants of the Wang's House huddled together in the corridor to watch, pointing and laughing.

Yin Youyou, who was worried, saw Li Zaixin killing a chicken in the Changsui, wiping his neck, gesticulating and winking, saying "it's convenient", then got up and walked to the backyard.

"Good Ninth Master!" Li Zaixin came up panting, and said, "This slave is dying of anxiety, I just can't see the slave gesticulating! You are happy here, something big happened in the store!"

The snow on the ground was slippery. Yin swayed and almost fell. He staggered two steps before he stood up. His face became extremely pale and he murmured: "...There is no way to escape! The store...was robbed?" Li Zaixin said in a panic. "It's hard to say what the situation is like. Something is definitely going on!" Yin finally calmed down and said, "It's easy to copy. I have already said that Ren Bo'an will be responsible for everything. It's just that the plan is so thorough and the methods are so ruthless. , terrifying!...This place is no longer a safe place for you. You can go to my house and hide now. I will ask you again in the evening!" After that, he didn't relieve himself and walked back to Wanfu pretending to be nothing. Tang, with a forced smile, just said, "What other shitty poems does Lao Shi have, let me write again-" Before he finished speaking, he was shocked, and the hairs all over his body stood up. It turned out that not only Liu Renzeng was kneeling in the courtyard with his clothes tied, "Death" The imprisoned Ren Boan was actually escorted in by two soldiers!

The atmosphere in the courtyard has changed drastically. Geshiha, a member of the royal guard and Nian Gengyao Yue Zhongqi, was standing in the corridor and corridor, all of them banging their swords and pressing their swords with murderous intent.Yinzhi and other elder brothers all left the main room and sat on the chairs arranged in front of the eaves. Only Yinxiang seemed to have just come back. He was standing on the stone steps with one leg, drinking hot rice wine and talking quietly to Nian Gengyao. .Yin stopped talking and sat down next to Yin to watch what happened.

"You still dare to ask me 'what crime'?" Yin was wearing a black mink cloak and deerskin oil boots. He was walking in the snow in front of the steps. His face was so cold that it was covered with frost. He gritted his teeth and smiled: " Not to mention that you sold your official position and transportation rights, nor that you disrupted government orders with your private life. I have already known this in detail at the Ministry of Household Affairs. Just because you privately copied the files of hundreds of officials and blackmailed the government to collect people's wealth, you can't escape. ! I thought you were dead, but you’re still alive, that’s great! Tell me, you hired a dozen copywriters to secretly build the archives. Who was the instigator? What big thing are you planning to do by copying these things?” He pointed to the pile of things in the corridor. The twenty-some sacks said to Yin: "Old Jiu, open it later and open your eyes too! I have read 21 histories, but I have never seen such a treacherous giant beetle! It's really appalling, what he did The stuff from the official department is even finer than the stuff from the official department!”

Ren Bo'an just listened with a dull face at first. When he raised his head and saw Yin's eyes sweeping over him, he turned to stare at Yin and said with a smile: "My lord, please be patient. I have heard for a long time that you have a heart of stone. How can you be so angry? I have a sexual nature." Copying and writing, I want to make a "Picture of a Hundred Ugly Guan Ying" for future generations, so that future generations can see what officials like us in the prosperous Qing Dynasty are doing. I feel that doing this kind of thing is of great merit, and I don't need anyone to support me. ——I ordered you to rebel, are you willing? You are so angry, and I feel a little distressed! A real man only works for one person, and these people in the pawnshop are all under my orders, and they use my money to do things, and it seems that the fourth master does not have to It’s a waste of time trying to implicate others!”

"Okay, what you said is so good!" Yin stared at Ren Bo'an with a sinister look, and said with a vicious smile: "But I'm afraid you may not be so calm under the three trees! There is only one level where you are wrong. You are just a despicable clown. You are a scoundrel. I am the royal nobleman of the royal family. You are worthy of being angry with me!" After saying that, Gao Fu'er ordered: "Send him to the prison temple!" Seeing that there was a gap in words, Yin sneered and said, "Fourth brother "Why don't you send such a thing to the prison? Isn't it too cheap for him to be sent to the temple?" Yin smiled and said: "I'm a little worried in Nanya, I'm afraid that he will suddenly die of a sudden illness after eating so much. I’m asking him not to live or die!”

The people were taken away, the soldiers also withdrew, and the brothers woke up from the wine.Everyone returned to the warm Wanfu Hall with their own thoughts, and looked at each other, not knowing where to start the topic.After a long while, Yinzhi smiled and said: "I never thought that the fourth brother's banquet was hiding a military opportunity, and this encounter is worthwhile! The strange prisons of the Ministry of Punishment are so incomprehensible that there is such a big article in it! It's just such a big case , how do you plan to cook?"

"I'm having a hard time making up my mind, and I'm just about to listen to the opinions of my third brother and brothers." Yin became very melancholy, slumped in the easy chair and stroked his forehead and said, "To tell you the truth, for this reason, I I just invited you here..." Yin poured himself a glass of wine, drank it in one gulp, and said, "I don't understand what Fourth Brother said. Since ancient times, people have killed people to pay debts and pay back money. There is king's law, and it is done according to the "Laws of the Qing Dynasty" That’s it, what’s the trouble?”

Yin looked at Yin, sighed and said: "Silly brother, do you want me to explain it word by word? I have no personal motives in doing this. I want to get rid of this national beetle, so even the prince has no intention. But Ren has been operating miserably in Beijing for decades and has committed countless crimes. He dare not and cannot do it without anyone to support him! It is hard to say that my brothers and sisters are not involved. This matter is contrary to human feelings. , I don’t want to kill the mouse and damage the vase. So I have to have a perfect plan." He lowered his head sadly and murmured: "Of course, maybe I am suspicious, it is best that I am wrong, but I will not try this case. . It’s so complicated. I don’t believe that Third Brother would do such a thing, so I want to ask Third Brother to handle this case. Third Brother must be considerate of my feelings. I will fix the watch for Amma and go to the palace to see the Prince. Please They give you instructions.”

Everyone was moved by what they said. This jealous elder brother actually had such a deep brotherhood.When Yin saw that he was both a pilgrim and demolishing the temple, he wanted to kick Yin and Yin Xiang to death. He also knew that opening his mouth would definitely arouse suspicion, so he just folded the folding fan in his hand and opened it again, looking as if nothing had happened.

"I can't do such a big thing." Seeing that he was going to stuff this hot ball of red charcoal into his arms, Yinzhi couldn't help laughing secretly, frowned and said: "When the emperor sees your memorial, he must also think about it, why is it called?" The third child is here to run a business? According to my knowledge, the eighth and the ninth are well-versed in the punishment department, so it's best to leave it to them!"

Yin glanced at Yin, made up his mind, and said: "What the fourth brother just said was from the bottom of his heart. I almost cried when I heard it. My thoughts are the same as the fourth brother: this case cannot be ignored, nor can it be handled in a big way. If you can trust me, I will do it!"

"Then it's my ninth brother's fault." Yin looked at the snowy sky outside the door, frowned and said, "That's it. To understand my feelings, I will take some responsibility first - Gao Fuler!"

"exist!"

"Pile the pile of sacks under the porch into the middle of the yard, and burn them down!"

"what?"

"Well?!"

"twitter!"

The bright red flames burned in the ice and snow world, making booming noises from time to time, and the flying paper ash hovered weakly in the air, and was wet by the snow again, sticking to the roasted snow.The elder brothers stared blankly, their hearts cleared for a while, and they were a little confused. They didn't know what it was like in their hearts. They didn't stand up until they burned into a pile of black wet mud.

"Yinxiang, please stay for a while." Yin said as he saw everyone off, "I'm tired and a little uneasy. Please stay with me for a while." Yinxiang nodded and accompanied Yin to send everyone out of the ceremony gate. When I came back, I saw Wu Sidao smiling and standing under the pomegranate tree full of berries in front of Wanfu Hall.

(End of this chapter)