Emperor Yongzheng

Chapter 42
The city of Beijing was turned upside down. The prince was deposed and Yin Xiang was executed overnight. The officialdom and the people were panicked, but Wu Sidao didn't know it.Since he left Beijing in April during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, he asked for leave from Yin and traveled up the Yangtze River from Guazhou. He visited the Turtle and Snake Mountains in Huguang and climbed the Yellow Crane Tower. After a long journey, it was already the end of September when we arrived in Chengdu.He knew that Nian Gengyao and Li Wei were officials here, but he went out to travel because he was working hard day and night in Beijing, and his body was gradually tired. He went out to relax his muscles and rest up, and did not want to socialize with others. .While watching Du Fu's thatched cottage, the remaining 30 taels of silver were stolen by thieves. Wu Sidao thought about it and ran all the way to find Li Wei with crutches.

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan Province, a famous city in a large county, and the small county government is not very impressive in a city full of yamen. Xu Da is a shady place, if it weren't for the quiet avoidance sign erected next to the screen wall in front of the yamen, the drums and official boot boxes hanging in the gate hole, it would look like an ordinary gentry's house.When Wu Sidao arrived, it was not yet the right time card, and there were groups of scholars under the big locust tree, there were always four or fifty people, some whispered to each other, and some recited aloud.Wu Sidao knew that it was a scholar's annual exam, and thinking of himself back then, he couldn't help smiling.I asked the yamen servants, and found out that "Grandpa Li" was meeting guests in the signing room, and he didn't let anyone report it. From the side door, he went straight to the back of the second hall, and he heard Li Wei talking in the east room. When he glanced, the "guest" It was Dai Duo, who laughed outside, rushed in and said, "I never thought that Lao Dai would be here, it's true that we never meet again in life!"

"Ah! It's you!" Both Dai Duo and Li Wei were taken aback, stood up quickly, helped Wu Sidao who was covered in sweat to sit down, Dai Duo complained with a smile: "You just walked here? Are you tired? That's it! Don't you still need money now?" Wu Sidao said with a smile: "Look at my complexion, it's dark and red, if it's not lame, which one of you is better than me? To tell you the truth, I have heard that we Grandpa Li wanted to rule Chengdu to the point where he would not pick up any lost things, so I felt a little careless and asked the thief to take out my pockets in the court of the poet. I don’t have any money in my waist, so I don’t dare to run amok, so I just asked for the children to make an autumn breeze!”

While pouring tea for Wu Sidao, Li Wei said with a smile, "Whether you want to or not is one thing, but whether you can do it is another. Give me the governor's yamen in Sichuan and try it out! I catch thieves here, five or six out of ten." Some bosses came to clear the joints, and some even put down signs to let people go! Damn day, even thieves are in charge of officials in today's world, and officials are thieves, and thieves control officials. Everyone in the city knows that I am a two hundred and five county magistrate!" Dai Duo sighed with a smile: "I was not good in my past life, but I am a magistrate in this life; Just as he was talking, he saw a man dressed as a master in his 30s rushing in, nodded slightly to the two of them, and said to Li Wei: "Boss, all the scholars are here, so you can go."

"I can't help it, eat this meal, do this job, and be a monk for a day. You two sit down a little longer, and I'll come to the class for some time." Li Wei took off the wall hanging on the wall. He put his official hat on his head, stretched his waist, felt it in his arms, was startled, and asked the master, "Gao Qizhuo, do you have the exam questions sent by Xuezheng?"

Gao Qizhuo was also taken aback, and hurriedly said: "It is sealed, and I will hand it to you as soon as it is delivered. Why, I can't find it?" After groping for a breath, only dozens of Kangxi copper brothers were found. I was so anxious that I was sweating, but I couldn't find them.Gao Qizhuo laughed beside him and said, "Boss, are you in a hurry? You took it apart and read it, but it's just an exam question."

"I also forgot the test questions." Li Wei sat back, tilted his head and thought for a while, and said, "I just remember that there seems to be a word 'horse', who knows where it went!" Wu Sidao thought about it, This is a question for the province's academic, political, and general examinations for the province's scholars. There are dozens of scholars waiting outside. It's not fun to make a fuss, and they are also anxious for Li Wei. Just as he was about to say yes, Gao Qizhuo smiled and said: "Don't be busy, it is said in the fourth book The number of horses is limited. Is it 'the people hear the sound of the king's chariots and horses'?" Li Wei shook his head and said, "Grandma's, it's not this horse."

"Is that - is it 'As for dogs and horses'?"

Li Wei shook his head even more, and said dejectedly: "It's not this horse either. I only remember the first word is the word horse!" Gao Qizhuo tilted his head and thought for a while, then realized it, and smiled: "Got it." A few steps Seeing Gao Qizhuo's agility, Wu Sidao Dai Duo couldn't help secretly praising Gao Qizhuo, but Li Wei still shook his head and said, "I remember There are more than these words following behind the horse."

So far, even Gao Qizhuo was embarrassed.Wu Sidao was stunned for a while, and said: "You search your body again, don't worry, why did you lose the test paper?" Li Wei slapped his forehead and said dejectedly: "Because I don't like reading, I have been taught a lot by the fourth master. It’s still the same—” As if thinking of something, he reached out and touched the inside of the bootleaf, pulled out a roll of paper, and shook it open. Inside was a pawn ticket, and inside was a piece of Xue Tao note, Li Weixi De laughed and said: "Yes!" When he unfolded it, it turned out that it was "I don't know what the comer is now"-it turned out that he mistook the word "Yan" for the word "horse".Everyone couldn't help laughing, Li Wei wiped his sweat with a smile, and said to Gao Qizhuo: "Go, let's test them!"

"Have you seen those pawn tickets?" Wu Sidao sighed deeply, looking at Li Wei's back and said, "The dog has a good character and is smart. The fourth master told me that he only charges eight cents of fire consumption-in fact, that's the case. With a low fire consumption, you can’t afford to be a county magistrate. If you read some more books, you’ll become a great weapon in the future!” Seeing that Dai Duo was silent, he asked, “What’s on your mind? Why don’t you come here? Sichuan?"

Dai Duo heaved a sigh of relief and said, "I came the day before yesterday, and I have met Nian Gengyao. Zhangzhou is short of horses to transport salt, so I want to come to Sichuan to buy tea and change horses in Qinghai. Gengyao is very generous, saying it doesn't need to be so troublesome, So the army allocated [-] horses to me. I went to his counting room and saw that the yearly gift he gave to the eighth master and the fourth master was exactly the same in duplicate. I was very upset. I just found out that something happened to the Thirteenth Master!" Wu Sidao suppressed his smile, his eyes flashed suddenly, and asked: "What happened?" Dai Duo shook his head and said: "There is something even more terrifying, Nian Gengyao told I, the crown prince has been deposed again, and the imperial court wants to publicly elect the eighth master to Yuqing Palace!"

"Does he have a residence report?" Wu Sidao quickly calmed down from the extreme astonishment, leaned back, looked at the ceiling and asked in a deep voice, "Or the inner court has issued a secret decree, asking the governors and townspeople to prepare to save capital?" Dai Duo was dull He said calmly: "He didn't say anything, and I didn't ask. Nian Gengyao has become such a high-ranking official, who among us Qizimen can be more favored by the fourth master than him? Even he quietly walked into the eighth master's door, which shows the seriousness of the situation." Dangerous! Since you are here, I want to ask for a way out, should I report this to the fourth master?" Wu Sidao thought deeply, his eyes shining brightly, before he said after a long time: "You told me, is it to take I am a friend, and the way of friends is righteousness. Fourth master treats you well, and fourth master has always been a man who will repay you. From which side, you must not leave fourth master alone. But the matter of the year is trivial The most important thing is to stabilize fourth master's heart first! When the situation changes again, it will not be too late to report the matter."

Dai Duo stared at Wu Sidao. They had known each other for 20 years, and knew that Wu Sidao's intelligence was far superior to his own.After a long time, Dai Duo sighed and said, "I'll listen to you. But it's thousands of miles away, and the situation in the capital is unknown, so what can we do for Fourth Lord?"

"I didn't want to see the young worker at first, but it seems that I have to." Wu Sidao frowned, slowly got up, walked to the window and looked at the clear autumn sky outside, and said, "You're going to I wrote a letter with two meanings. First, when you passed Wuyi Mountain, you met a man of high morals, and you asked him secretly as a master. Immediately return to Beijing to be a counselor in the government, and said that I am watching the sky at night, and that Si Ye has Xiao Er under his eyes, so please be careful and watch it carefully—the date of payment must be ten days earlier, so that Si Ye can believe that you don't know what happened in Beijing." Dai Duo stretched out the paper and soaked the ink, and said, "The letter is easy to write, how can I send it?" Wu Sidao said without turning his head, "Tell the dog to find a way." Dai Duo asked, "Then what's the matter with Nian Gengyao?" ?”

Wu Sidao suddenly turned around, and said coldly: "I want him to know that defecting at this time is tantamount to suicide. Let him know that Fourth Master has his deadly handle in his hands! I want him to send troops to escort me back to Beijing, Go back to Fourth Master!" Dai Duo still wanted to talk, but when he saw Li Wei walking in from the second gate with a smile on his face, he stopped and buried himself in writing.Wu Sidao didn't wait for Li Wei to come in, and said, "Dog, there is an urgent letter that must be sent back to Beijing within five days, is there anything you can do?"

"Yes." Li Wei replied without hesitation, grinning, "I pawned off the pocket watch that Si Ye gave me, and I just bought a Sichuan horse. Hey, I can walk [-] a day! Now I'm Jingpo, Cui'er complained..." "Okay!" Wu Sidao clapped his hands and smiled, "Just call your master! You call him, I have something to say!"

On the fourth watch of the night, Wu Sidao left Nian Gengyao and went to Chongqing, via Xiangyang Wanluo, and then went north to Beijing via the Handan ancient road.The dozen or so Goshhas who saw them off were all poor men who carried poles on the Sichuan Road, and walking was no problem, and they had never seen such a wealthy master as Wu Sidao. Every day, they were rewarded with 100 taels when they got up from the sedan chair, and another 100 taels when they got off the sedan chair. Yinzi, so I went to sleep early and rest late, not only did no one complain, but I became more energetic as I walked.Even so, it took about 20 days to reach Fengtai, a suburb of Beijing.

"It's finally here!" Wu Sidao was helped out of the sedan chair with difficulty, looked at the sun, and guessed that Zhou Yongcheng was still waiting at Zhengyang Gate as promised, so he called the escort and said with a smile: "I have received your trip, and the errands have been done well. You have already sent me to the place. But you can't stop here, and you can't go to Beijing to see the world at the feet of the emperor. You have to return immediately." The army leader looked at this The inexplicable guest smiled and said: "Nian Jun has a general order, and everything is under the control of Mr. Wu. Mr. said so, we will go south tonight. But Mr. must give us a word, so we can go back and make a proof of payment." Wu Sidao smiled. : "I thought of this last night. This letter is for you to pay back the young worker, and there may be a reward. I said it in the letter. Brothers go back to have a rest." After speaking, he took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to the The head of the army said again: "Don't worry! I'll get another two people to carry me, and I'll go into the city before dark."

Wu Sidao hailed a warm sedan chair from Fengtai's bar room, and set off towards the city in a meandering way.The bearers in the capital are no different from those in other prefectures and states. They have rules in how they move their hands and feet. They walk neither fast nor slow. .It is now the autumn season, the mountains outside the sedan chair are dyed with red maple, and the water is bathed in cold waves.Wu Sidao didn't want to watch it, he just thought about something in his mind: How can we make sense of such a chaotic political situation?Did Gao Qizhuo and Zhou Yongcheng catch up?If you can't see Zhou Yongcheng, should you go directly to Prince Yong's mansion, or wait another day? ...While thinking wildly, the sedan chair has already entered the city, and at first sight of the gray and gloomy Xibianmen Archery Tower standing among the westerly crows, Wu Sidao's heart couldn't help beating, but he stretched out his head and said, "Run to Zhengyangmen Guandi Temple. "

Wu Sidao got off the sedan chair in front of Zhengyang Gate, it was already dusk.The Guandi Temple here is connected to the Dalang Temple, and a large area to the north is the flower market, which is the most lively place. Looking back, I can see the sunset wine sales, the singing girls at the top of the building come and go, and the stars have gradually ignited a "death wind" The lights are all over both sides of the street, and there are people selling late snacks and people who are constantly passing by. Where is the shadow of Kaner?When I was looking forward, I heard someone laughing behind me: "Mr. Wu, tell me to wait!"

"It's Mo Yu!" Wu Sidao turned around and saw that it was Mo Yu, the boy from Yin's study. He couldn't help but feel relieved and said with a smile, "Where have you been hiding? You asked me to stare at you here! Can't Zhou Yongcheng come out?" Mo Yu He was a little younger than Kan'er, but also very smart. He said with a smile: "Zhou Tou'er and I have been waiting for four days! I saw you as soon as you got off the sedan chair, because Gao Fu'er brought a bitch with him." Upstairs over there, I was afraid that he would see me, so I didn't dare to come out for a while." Wu Si said, "I don't want to see him either, let's go."

Mo Yu led the way to the east, and said at the same time: "It's all settled, and the Song family's old shop has wrapped up the innermost yard for you in the front. When you come back, you won't see Fourth Master, and you won't even touch Zhou Touer." Mind—how comfortable it is to live in the house!" Wu Sidao followed closely, and said: "You remember one sentence, adults are uncomfortable, and being comfortable is not an adult. If I want to be comfortable, I probably can't stand being poor even in business." As he said, he had already entered After entering the shop, Mo Yu told the shop owner: "Our master is here, boil some water, warm up the rice wine, and bring the dinner in—Master Wu, please, the landlord's room is warm, the kang is already heated." Talking about opening the door and lighting the lamp, Wu Sidao just sat down when a hot towel was brought up. While talking, the shop owner also brought over dinner—a pot of hot rice wine, a large bowl of mutton ramen, four The plates and side dishes are neatly arranged, and there are several sesame shortbread.

"You eat the rice wine and side dishes." Wu Sidao wiped his face, washed his feet and sat cross-legged on the kang, and said, "I only use this mutton noodles. I can't stay up all night when I drink alcohol - have you brought anything?" Mo Yu also Hungry, he ate voraciously, pointed to a package on the top of the kang, and said: "This month's residence newspaper, as well as the articles approved by the fourth master, and the memorials approved by the emperor, are all in it. Zhou Yongcheng said please The master is watching closely, and has to be sent back to the study during the day. It’s a big deal that the fourth master can’t take out any one he wants!” Wu Sidao nodded and smiled: “That’s natural, but with me in the bag, you won’t be at a disadvantage.”

After the two of them had dinner for a while, Wu Sidao read the package, took out the contents one by one, and pulled out the most important ones, and asked slowly: "How is the fourth master's mood recently, is he in good health?" Mo Yu rushed to the ground With a smile, he said: "You are really hard to guess! I thought you would ask this first sentence when you meet, and you didn't ask it until now!" Wu Sidao said coldly: "Then I am a mediocre person. What I am most anxious to know is This stack of documents!"

"Fourth Master is in good health, but he has a bad temper." Mo Yu sat sideways on the edge of the kang, picked his teeth and said, "When people are speechless, they always have a long face, which scares the family to see him far away. I just hid. The two masters of Xingyin and Wenjue also had sullen faces a few days ago. Last time in Qingyuzhai, I heard them ask the fourth master: "Does Mr. Wu have any letters?" The fourth master sneered and said: "You guys Ask me instead, what do you guys eat?'——I haven’t seen Si Ye like this before, two masters! It’s all your fault, why are you going out of Beijing? You don’t see Si Ye when you come back!” Wu Sidao didn’t answer, and his hands Holding the two papers and comparing them under the candle, it took a long time before he said, "Just say what else is there?" Mo Yu smiled and said, "Since I've been here with that tall thing, Fourth Master seems to be more at ease in his heart, not so much. It's fierce. I had a fever a few days ago, and I still had to go to the ministry to meet people. The fourth master chatted with the surname Gao for two hours, and even had dinner with him--I have been here for so many years. I haven't seen anyone who is so respectable! I found out later that you are coming back, and the strange fourth master has come to the door every day these days to ask if you have a letter-you are the backbone of this Prince Yong's mansion! Good Master Wu, you Come back quickly!"

After Wu Sidao listened quietly, he put the Chinese book in his hand on the kang table, let out a long breath, and said, "Very good. You can't stay here for long. Go back and tell Zhou Yongcheng that he doesn't come here either, and ask Xingyin to turn the daily mansion I'll take a look at the newspaper. You, Zhou Yongcheng, and Wen Jue will spend more time with Siye, at most two days, and then I will go back home. I have to sort out these things and see Siye again." Mo Yu said with a smile: "Me and Zhou It was agreed by the boss that I will not go back when I receive you, and he will ask for leave for Gao Fuer on my behalf. You are handicapped, and you can’t do without a waiter around you. You will live in the back room, and I will sleep outside. "After that, he withdrew.Wu Sidao studied the court papers one by one in detail until dawn, and Fang Wai rested on the pillow for a while.

For four days in a row, Wu Sidao did not leave the Song family's old store. Wen Jue Xingyin ran around non-stop during the day, asking for news about the princes of various princes, and even who was performing what play, who was invited, and which emperor's grandson had a birthday. Details of who gave gifts were reported to Wu Sidao one by one for his reference. Zhou Yongcheng secretly directed the boys in the east and west study rooms of Prince Yong's Mansion to also go out to inquire about the news. He accompanied Yin to the ministry every day to handle affairs and meet people, which was quite rigorous.

On the sixth day, Wu Sidao had already made up his own mind. He woke up early in the morning, rinsed his mouth with green salt, and said to Mo Yu with a smile: "Find me a sedan chair, let's go back home today." Mo Yu longed for him to make this sound, go out in a hurry, and called a bright sedan chair wrapped in rattan, and said, "Mr. Feel refreshed too." Wu Sidao nodded in satisfaction, got on the sedan chair, but said: "Go out of Chaoyang Gate first!"

"Aren't you going back to Lama Temple?" Mo Yu was startled, and said, "Outside the Chaoyang Gate is the Eighth Master's Mansion!" Wu Sidao was all smiles, urging him to get up the sedan chair, and said, "I just want to see what the Eighth Master's Mansion is like." .” Mo Yu had no choice but to follow, but was full of suspicion.

When we arrived at the wharf of the canal outside Chaoyangmen, we didn’t pass the sign of Chen Zhengshi. Because the surface of the canal was covered with thin ice, there were very few people on the wharf. On the opposite side of the wharf, there was a lot of traffic in front of the majestic Eight Kings’ Mansion, with the crowns like clouds. Sedan sedan chairs, Ming sedan chairs, warm sedan chairs, mule carts, and sedan cars lined up far away from the door. Some servants of various households had tea and snacks under the shed in front of the screen wall, some gossiped and set up a long-standing battle, and some basked in the soft sunshine. , catching lice, all kinds of different grades.Wu Sidao came down from a distance, took a look at the side of the canal, and glanced at the sealed Wanyong pawnshop, with a gloomy smile flashing across his face, he silently stared at the gate of the Eight Princes' Mansion in Dan Yuyixin.Mo Yu said with a smile: "What's the point of his gate, Baba'er stands here and watches?"

"There is something wrong with the situation." Wu Sidao said thoughtfully, "Wen Jue said the day before yesterday that Master Eight didn't see any guests, why is it so lively? You can go and find out." Mo Yu agreed and walked around in front of the screen wall, then came back with a smile and said: "It turns out today It's the birthday of Ba Fu Jin. There are no officials coming to pay homage. It's all the wives, aunts and uncles from various prefectures who come to pay homage and flatter the horse." Wu Sidao smiled without saying a word, and as expected, he saw a group of gorgeous women saying goodbye from the gate. When they came out, some of them were still wearing official uniforms, and each of them brought a group of girls and old women, chattering and getting into the sedan, getting into the car, and rustling away.Wu Sidao stood and watched for a while, took a long breath and said, "Let's go back."Just as he was about to get back on the sedan, he saw a girl coming from the west with a bag in her hand. She walked straight to Wu Sidao, knelt down and asked, "Your surname is Wu?" Wu Sidao nodded stiffly. Asked: "Who are you? What's the matter?" "Our wife said that she looks at you like a relative of hers," the girl said, "Since your surname is Wu, you must have recognized the right person. Please take a step to speak. ." After saying that, he gave up his hand.Wu Sidao followed hesitantly, and saw a red felt sedan parked in front of him. There were only two old ladies beside the sedan. Before Wu Sidao could speak, the sedan curtain flashed, and a young woman in her 20s was wearing a rose purple jacket and an onion jacket. The woman in the yellow pleated skirt stepped out of the sedan chair, squatted down on her knees and called Wu Sidao timidly, "cousin."When Wu Sidao looked at it, he had apricot eyes, willow eyebrows, and a cinnabar mole at the corner of his slightly raised mouth. Who could it be if it wasn't Jin Fenggu? ——Immediately he was stunned, and after a long time he said inexplicably: "Is...is it you?"

Jin Fenggu stared at Wu Sidao with a black and ferocious gaze. For a long time, she lowered her head and sighed silently, tiptoeing and said: "Well, I heard that my cousin is at the fourth master's house?"

"Ah."

"My cousin looks fine."

"Well."

The two were at a loss for words again, and both stared at the chilly canal.After a long while, Jin Fenggu murmured again: "There is something I've always wanted to ask, you...how did it rain so hard that day...and left without saying a word?"

"Are you asking this?" Wu Sidao sneered, "Because you have to run for your life! The fish on the anvil also has to jump - why, you are still a little unwilling? What do you want me to do now, I'm afraid it's not that easy. You I am a person who has given my life to others, and I am also a person with a master. What do you want to see me for?" Jin Fenggu lowered her head, with tears in her eyes, and said: "...I will never be sorry for you in this life. , I don’t want to ask you to forgive me. I don’t know anything about you men, and I don’t dare to ask. But I know that Fourth Master is not someone to be trifled with. My cousin’s family is not poor. I just want to persuade my cousin to go back to farming and study. , and settled down safely. The city of Beijing is deep in waves and deep pools, which is not a good place to live - your body... is already disabled, what are you still... for? If you don't have money -" Before he could finish his words, Wu Sidao suddenly raised his head to the sky. He laughed and said: "You want a gift to send me back to Wuxi? Thank you for taking care of me! I am just a disabled person. There is one more me and one less me in the world. It doesn't matter to anyone. The fourth master raises me and the eighth master raises me. In short, it's nothing. It's just a chat to relieve boredom while grinding ink and holding inkstones. Don't worry, even if Fourth Master brings trouble to the whole family, he won't be able to implicate Qing Ke."

Jin Fenggu lowered her head, knowing that Wu Sidao was puzzled by her resentment, in front of Mo Yu, she couldn't talk deeply, so she sighed and said softly: "Cousin take care." After a blessing, she got on the sedan chair silently and left.Seeing Wu Si saying goodbye, Mo Yu turned her face away, leaned on her crutches and just looked at the river, and said, "This is Mr. Cousin? Whose wife is it?"

"She is a freak. A woman, if you marry a chicken, you will follow the chicken, and if you marry a dog, you will follow the dog. What can I say?" Wu Sidao smiled coldly, glanced at the sedan chair that was getting further and further away with his cold eyes, and said : "Go, go back to my Fengwan Pavilion."

Yin returned to the mansion from his study room in the afternoon.Originally, the emperor had finished his breakfast and the political affairs had been discussed.According to the usual rules, after the discussion, he had to go to the Ministry of Household and Criminal Affairs to listen to the official's affairs and arrange his official duties for tomorrow before returning home. Today, however, he was feeling particularly agitated. He was in the study room with Zhang Tingyu, Ma Qi, and his third brother. Yinzhi, the ninth elder brother Yin, and the fourteenth elder brother Yin wrote the draft draft one by one according to Kangxi's order. Yinzhi talked at length about the "Collection of Ancient and Modern Books" compiled by him. Everyone listened with interest, and Yinzhi asked three questions. Daosi and Yin were making jokes, both looking very proud and excited. They couldn't sit still, so they resigned and returned home early.Seeing that several of the chief attendants gathered in the doorway to play bird cards, Yin dismounted from the horse and stepped down from the stone, leaving the reins to Zhou Yongcheng and walked over, standing outside the circle, silent and gloomy.Zhou Yongcheng knew that he was going to be furious, so he shouted from the side: "You are all dead dogs! Didn't you see the master come back? When did the Yongwang Mansion have such rules for card games in broad daylight?"

The few family members heard this sound at first, and saw this cold-faced prince who was feared by everyone in the government and the public standing in front of him. They were suddenly numb from fright, holding cards with a scorched face, and did nothing in a panic.After finally regaining consciousness, they threw the cards into the brazier and knelt down together.Si Yan's old yellow head kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Fourth Master, it's been a long time since I've been fine, but I forgot Fourth Master's rules, we dare not do it again!"

"Don't you dare anymore?" Yin snorted, "You have already dared, and you want to do it again? - Where is Gao Fu'er? Call him!" The boys on guard at the second gate kowtowed when they saw the chiefs at the gate. If he couldn't reply to Yin's words, he hurriedly ran over and knelt down and said: "The executive's family went out after breakfast. They said they went to buy books for the prince, but they haven't come back yet!" Yin was about to speak, but he saw him coldly. Hongshi, Hongzhou, and Hongli brothers came out of the Moon Cave Gate of the West Garden, tiptoed to avoid themselves and headed to the east study. They were both angry and funny, so they shouted: "Stop! Come here!"

The three brothers looked at each other and had no choice but to stop, come over and stand with their hands down.Yin sneered and said, "That's great! I'm busy with state affairs outside. My family is playing card games, strolling around the gardens, strolling down the street. There's no king beeer anymore!" Hongli saw his two brothers. His face turned as pale as a chill, and he knelt down to apologize and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you wrongly blamed us. We were all studying in the east study, and Mo Yu came to tell us that Wu Shibo is back. Your Majesty is not here, and we are afraid of neglecting Wu Shibo, so let's go over..."

"Mr. Wu is back?" Yin perked up and immediately forgot about everyone's faults. He shook his brows slightly, waved his hands and entered the moon cave door without caring about everyone's shortcomings. Zhou Yongcheng made a face at everyone and hurriedly followed. Got in.

Yin hurried into the garden and walked through a bamboo forest. He had already seen Wu Sidao waiting in front of the steps of the pavilion.He stopped, looked carefully at Wu Sidao, who had a calm look in his eyes, took a step forward, murmured what he wanted to say, then stopped, smiled reservedly, nodded, and said, "Mr. Wu, it's been a long time! He seems to be stronger than when he left Beijing."

"Greetings, Fourth Master!" Wu Sidao cupped his hands. He was also examining Yin carefully. He was still clean and tidy from head to toe, but his face was paler and his eye circles were a little dark. He smiled and said, "The fire has just been lit in the house. The charcoal gas is too heavy, how about I walk in the garden with Fourth Master?" Yin nodded and motioned to Zhou Yongcheng to help Wu Sidao, and together they walked among the fallen leaves of the weeping willows.Both of them are very deep people, relying on each other, and they both have a kind and down-to-earth feeling, but they didn't speak for a long time.After walking two arrows, Yinfang let out a sigh of relief, and Wu Sidao asked, "Fourth Master, do you have a lot of worries?"

Yin broke a wicker, looked at the silver carp swimming slowly in the pond, and said seriously: "In the past, there was a couplet between scholars in Donglin, 'The sound of wind and rain, the sound of reading, the sound reached my ears; the affairs of the country, family, and the world, I cared about everything.' The situation is so difficult, how can I not be anxious? Sigh... To tell you the truth, these days have been like years for me, and it's like walking alone through a dark alley, with no one to talk to, no one to ask, no one to point out the puzzle, and no one to talk to. I don’t know where the end is. The wind is blowing, the sky is cold, the road is dark... How am I feeling?" After that, he let out another long sigh, "I am really afraid that you will never come back, or -"

"Or he is afraid of difficulties and refuses to come back, is it?" Wu Sidao laughed dumbly, and sighed: "The lord treats me with friendship, and being torn to pieces is just an ordinary reward, how dare we live with it? I have been back to Beijing for five days!"

Yin suddenly stopped and looked at Wu Sidao in surprise.Wu Sidao said slowly: "When I learned about the changes in Beijing in Sichuan, I immediately started collecting newspapers and court documents. After returning to Beijing, I read all the files in the fourth master's study. Yongcheng, Mo Yu, Wen Jue, and Xing Yin all moved around like a revolving door. I'm looking for information, and I already know everything about the court situation! Today, the imperial decree announced that Hei Shuozhe, the disciple of the Eighth Master, was appointed as the Minister of Rites, Zhang Tingshu, who had saved the Eighth Master, was re-emphasized as the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Kuixu was granted the title of Censor of Zuodu, and the Third Elder Brother His disciple He Shou became the governor of the south of the Yangtze River - Fourth Master returned home so early, are you worried about these things?" Yin was startled for a moment, shook his head and said: "These are common things in the officialdom, except for conferring orders and deposing, and they have nothing to do with me. It hurts. But he didn’t take care of me before going to the study, and he didn’t ask for my opinion afterward. He just put it there like a deaf ear. I’m such a tasteless prince in charge!” Wu Sidao chuckled and said: “Fourth Master’s daily price You keep saying you want to be an 'idler', but now you seek benevolence and get benevolence, don't you feel comfortable?" Yin also laughed at his teasing, and sighed: "Although I have no ambitions, I still want to live a straight life, let alone be called a rat. They laughed at me."

"It's too dark." Wu Sidao said suddenly.Seeing Yin staring at him, he added: "What Fourth Master just said about walking through the alley is very interesting. In fact, Fourth Master has already walked out of the alley. It's just that it's too dark and you can't see your fingers. You thought you were still in the alley! Fourth Master, I don't know. Unconsciously, the emperor has changed his mind, can't you see it?" Yin suddenly stopped and looked at Wu Sidao in surprise without saying a word.Wu Sidao intertwined his slender fingers and said calmly: "Long Live has taken over the imperial power. All holy bows are dictatorial. All elder brothers have stripped away their counselor powers, leaving only the power to do things. They only follow orders when they go to the study." It's just about dealing with court affairs. Otherwise, the court situation will be difficult to stabilize!" Yin nodded and said: "I can see this, but this is not a 'reform'. This was what Kangxi was like 42 years ago." "Yes. The difference." Wu Sidao smiled and said, "The previous time he delegated power, it was to train the prince; this time he took the power, it was to test the character, knowledge and talents of all the elders. Long live, he is determined not to establish a prince!"

Yin's whole body was shaken, as if a very bright light flashed through his mind, and he immediately fell into deep thinking.

"There are at least three advantages to doing this." Wu Sidao walked slowly, and said slowly, "First, the imperial power can be monopolized, and government affairs will not be obstructed; the crown prince established is incompetent, which will damage the emperor's governance; the crown prince established is smart and capable, and it is easy to compete with the emperor. It is not good for the emperor, the imperial court, the country, and the common people to fight against the etiquette in different courts."

"Well."

"Second, it can prevent the Agora from forming cliques and forming cliques for private purposes. If there is no crown prince, the courtiers will not know who will succeed the general in the future, so they dare not easily get involved in the struggle between the Argos' factions. In the future, when the new ruler will be in power, it will be easier to unify affairs and powers."

"Ah."

"Three," Wu Sidao's eyes sparkled, "the emperor has Fang Bao on the inside and Zhang Tingyu and Ma Qi on the outside to assist in government affairs. You can rest assured that the elder brothers can do their own errands. He stands on a high place and carefully observes the character and talent of the masters. , choose the most satisfied elder brother to take over this Ninth Five-Year Lord!"

At this point, Yin felt like he was enlightened, his heart and eyes were filled with clarity, and he laughed and said: "That's so true. It's ridiculous that the old man is so infatuated that he is planning to enter the Yuqing Palace! From this point of view, whoever becomes the crown prince has a stronger heart, and whoever It's going to be a big misfortune! It goes against the essence of a Buddhist saying - fighting means not fighting, and not fighting means fighting!"

"What a wonderful thing to say!" Wu Sidao raised his hands and sighed, "I can't think of these eight words. After all, Fourth Master has a special liking for cleverness! Please rest assured, Fourth Master, destiny is destined to be determined, and no one can reverse it!" Yin smiled and then became depressed again. He thought of his thirteenth elder brother, Yin Xiang.Wu Sidao only said: "The fourth master thought: If the prince is really established, how can everyone in the study be so at ease? The edict has been issued long ago! What is the fault of the thirteenth master? He was imprisoned! Aren't you afraid that he would be outside? Are you going to 'fight' for Fourth Master?!"

This was a hit, and it hit Yin's deepest worry. One day, the dark clouds completely disappeared. He was startled for a while, and then said after a long while: "Today I broke through the side door and saw the bright moon!"

(End of this chapter)