The daily life of the prime minister of the Qing Dynasty, thick black

Chapter 262
On both sides of the busy canal, there are so many ships coming and going, the flags of the companies are fluttering in the wind, and the water is rippling under the blue sky.

He is already gray at the temples, and when he recalled the time when his hair was not yet blooming, he was also a bitter and mean person.

Zhong Heng gave a low laugh, looked at the wine in the jug, and felt a little sentimental again.

On the ground of Weiyang, three thousand miles away, there is no such person as Shen Yang.

When Zhong Heng met Shen Chao, he was still an accountant, sitting in the mansion of a wealthy businessman from the Yang family in the south of the Yangtze River all day long, with his abacus shaking, all the money coming in and out was in his heart.

That was the time when Lin Hua thanked Chunhong too hastily. He entered the Yang family's residence because of business, and just after negotiating a deal, the housekeeper took the right card to the accountant to collect money and goods.Unexpectedly, when they arrived at the place, they saw Shen Qi.

However, Shen Qi at that time was not called Shen Qi, and people called him Mr. Sick, because this person acted a little unexpectedly, and often played cards out of common sense.

Many people think that this person is mentally ill, but at that time Zhong Heng remembered what his father said back then.

Only the Shen family made calculations like that, their indescribable gestures didn't look like simple calculations, they were enjoying the feeling of money coming in and out.

The abacus is like playing the piano. Sometimes when the sick man is in a good mood, he can still hear some tunes, which is not bad.

But at that time, who would have thought that in the crackling sound of Mr. Accountant's abacus, there was endless murderous intent hidden?

It is said that a person should keep a line, count thirteen bridges, only hit twelve bridges, and leave the remaining one bridge for others to fight.

But Shen Chao is a sick person, he counts as much as he has, and never leaves any room or way out for others.

Perhaps it was also because of such an extreme temper that he ultimately harmed himself.

But before such a scourge as he dies, the unlucky one will always be his opponent.

The Yang family is also a big family among the salt merchants, so what happened to the Shen residence back then may not have nothing to do with them.

Zhong Heng's father had worked as a long-term worker in Shen's family, because Shen Tianfu was a very nice person, he had run a family school and sponsored a private school, so his father knew a few words. He taught Zhong Heng how to read and break characters, and said that he would go to the exam to obtain fame in the future.

Before meeting Shen Chi, he always felt that the only thing in the world that is good at reading is like those stupid people who study, they are the only ones who care about it all day long.

But after all, he came from a low background, so he still helped people negotiate business.

The Shen family didn't end well in the end. Whenever he talked about the destroyed Jiangnan Shen family, his father always had a sad face.

Maybe, it's rare to see such a good master, right?
The Shen family is extremely rich,?In an instant, it was wiped out, not to mention the whole family was copied and cut, not even a blood was left behind.

Zhong Heng's father was a really good man, and he said that he was ashamed of the Shen family when he died, but he never thought that the opportunity to repay his kindness would fall to Zhong Heng.

Zhong Heng also always thought that he was repaying a favor, but after everything came to an end, he realized that the feeling he felt when he saw Shen Chao at that time was not to repay a favor, but to choose the master.

The familiar charm of the Shen family, the elegance that is dyed in the green and the red, and the style and shrewdness that belong to the Confucian businessman...

Naturally, there is also Shen Yang's unique indifference and arrogance.

This person has always been cruel. When he is happy, he smashes the jade ruyi and throws it in the pond to make it look good.

From the strands of his hair to his toes, is there one place where Shen Qi is not arrogant?
It was such an insolent person who directly stabbed the Yang family in the back and passed the news of him selling private salt to the head of the Cao Gang at that time. The Cao Gang and the Salt Gang had interests in cooperating from time to time, but if they encountered any disagreements, There are also many disputes.

He followed the head of the Yang family to Jining alone, and the Cao Gang intercepted the private salt of the Yang family on the way.

As a result, the matter became serious, and Shen Qi rebelled immediately.

The head of the Cao Gang threatened to take Shen Chong's head, but Shen Chong just shook his mind and said that he had a solution to all the remaining things.

The battle between the Cao Gang and the Salt Gang is not that simple. One has goods, the other has a way, and the two families are at odds. If there is a rift because of a small Yang family, it will be the businessmen in the entire Jiangnan who will lose money.

The private salt had to be handed over to the salt government for investigation. Although the leader of the Cao gang was powerful, the governor of the water transport at that time and the patrolling salt censor were at odds.

It is really difficult to solve the matter of Yang Fu.

Nine provinces were transported by water, and Jining pinched the pulse. The gold and silver that flowed in the river was the lifeblood of the Qing Dynasty.

Shen Chi at that time was just a small accountant, what was a person compared to a river?
Life is as cheap as grass, without roots.

He was at ease, and he didn't tell the leader of the Cao Gang how to solve this matter, he only said that he would handle it himself, depending on whether the leader of the Cao Gang dared to bet.

This is the reason why Shen Yang and the Cao Gang established a relationship.

Many people didn't know that Shen Chao had a relationship with the leader of the Cao Gang, and it wasn't until Mrs. Zhang's second wife fell into the water that some people gradually became aware of the abnormality.However, few people know that Shen Qi did not connect with the Cao Gang after he became well-off. He had already dared to do business with such a powerful figure when he was still a poor accountant.

It was also from that time that Shen Chong took the bottom line, calculated all the secret accounts of the Yang family, and secretly stabbed them to the government.

Originally, Shen Chao was only in charge of keeping accounts and hadn't touched the core account books, but his most powerful skills were still in the abacus.

He said "Shen Tie's abacus" in a human way, only thinking that he was stingy, but he didn't know that his hands were so powerful that they dared to compete with ghosts and gods.

As a result, the Yang family was razed by the government within half a month, and at the same time, countless family properties were confiscated.

On the night when the Yang family disappeared in the south of the Yangtze River, Hao Hao also drove an ox cart to the house of the leader of the Cao Gang, and Shen Qi met this important person.

After coming out, he got three requests.

The wealth of the Yang family is really nothing to Shen Yang.

He was ruthless and merciless, planning to ruin the Yang family, but he didn't get any benefit, so it probably didn't hurt others or benefit himself.

but……

Are you really not selfish?

Zhong Heng thought about it, Shen Chao never did anything unprofitable.

It's like he often talked about saving Gu San as a loss-making business. It doesn't matter how much money he usually has, the most taboo thing is to lose money in business.

It can be seen from this that it is impossible for him to benefit from the business of the Yang family.

From then on, Shen Qi began to do business alone, and Zhong Heng had no contact with this person during that time, because he hadn't confirmed yet.

Until, a year later, Shen Qi reappeared in Yangzhou, already the owner of a wealthy cloth shop.

Carefully counting the money in Shen Yang's hands, it seems that there is nothing wrong with it. Buying cloth in the south and selling it in the north is indeed profitable. Shen Yang has a brain, opportunities to make a fortune are everywhere.

But Zhong Heng's intuition told him that Shen Chao's money was wrong.

When the Yang family ransacked the house back then, the money was less. Although some of it was used to bribe the Cao Gang, there was no problem on the books, but Zhong Heng just felt that Shen Chao must be "thiefs never leave empty space" here.

It was only after he followed Shen Yang that he gradually found out.

As early as when he was the accountant of the Yang family, Shen Yang had already made up such a plan. Three years of accounting as an accountant was enough for Shen Yang to find out all the details of the accounts, and to cover up Chen Cang to smooth out the rest of the accounts.

As a result, he had already evacuated most of the Yang family like a big mouse, but there was not even a single mistake in the books.

Afterwards, seeing that the time was ripe, Shen Chao made the Yang family look down on him, and finally gave the superficial wealth to the Cao Gang in exchange for three favors, and helped the government find out everything.

However, neither the Cao Gang nor the government knew that half of the Yang family's property was in the pockets of the "little man" at the time.

Shen Chao brought down the Yang family in one fell swoop, and gained favors from the Cao Gang, connections from the government, and wealth from the Yang family. He was so proficient at killing three birds with one stone.

He had the instincts of the keenest businessman, philistine and mean, and stalking like a viper.

Zhong Heng saw him for the second time in the teahouse.

At that time, Zhong Heng already had the reputation of a scholar and was about to take the provincial examination, but Shen Chao said, "I know you."

I know you.

Thinking about it carefully, Zhong Heng also felt a smile.

At that time, Shen Qi was still a very interesting person.

Right after that sentence, Zhong Heng also asked about the Yang family.

Unexpectedly, Shen Qi told him without any scruples, so Zhong Heng knew that he was out of luck.

He immediately ran to the window sill to look, and sure enough there were people guarding outside.

Shen Chao said, someone Shen intends to ask Mr. Zhong to help him as a think tank, I wonder if Mr. Zhong is willing?
willing?

At that time, Zhong Heng just wanted to squirt blood on his face. Is there anyone like you who wins over his staff?

He should have known, but curiosity killed people.

From the moment he asked about the Yang family, Shen Qi had no intention of letting him go.

Knowing Shen Chao's secret, are you still going to be alone?

impossible.

There are actually only two paths left for Zhong Heng: one is to help Shen Chao, and the other is to help Shen Chao.

Both paths are the same, because Zhong Heng doesn't want to choose death.

After hearing the cruel things Shen Qi did to the Yang family, Zhong Heng knew that this was a master who turned his face and refused to recognize anyone, so he didn't even think about whether he could persuade him.

With Shen Chao's personality, once he made a decision, he seldom regretted it.

More often, he likes to use the wrong method to get the result he wants.

As for whether the result is correct, Shen Qi rarely thinks about it.

Because there are too few times when he can't get it.

It wasn't until he met Gu San and stumbled several times in a row that he realized that some things cannot be solved with money and brains.

At that time, Zhong Heng fell into the den of thieves.

As a result, he changed suddenly, from a scholar to Shen Chao's guest, and even began to gradually take charge of things.

It's like Wu Sidao later, but Wu Sidao is a master, and Zhong Heng is still in business.

Gradually, he felt that doing business was also very good.

Shen Chao's business was growing day by day, and he also used up the first request with the Cao Gang at the right time.

It was a very stormy day, and the tea ship of Shen Chong's biggest competitor had already sailed to the Gaoyou gate, and as a result, all the ships were bottomed out that night, and all of them were sunk.

Shen Chao took advantage of the situation, and with the help of the Cao Gang, he successfully sold the tea he had prepared to the north, so on the day when the Wanqing Guild Hall was established, he came to Shen Chao lightly. If the light didn't flash, a large number of people had already been forced to defect to him.

At that time, Liao Fengyuan and Shen Yang were almost in a stalemate, but after all, they were gradually tied together because of the interests of the guild hall.

Think back then, which of those things was not thrilling?

That was almost the most glorious time for Shen Yang.

Who doesn't call him "God of Wealth" in Jiangnan, and there is a saying "Shen Wansan is the second".

The fate of Shen Wansan, a wealthy man in the Ming Dynasty, was not good. At that time, Zhong Heng felt displeased, but Shen Qi listened to the piano boy playing the piano while drinking tea, and said nothing happened. He never believed it.

But I don't know, there are days.

Shen Chou is not Shen Wansan's second, because he is Shen Chou.

However, he had the same fate as Shen Wansan, even more miserable.

Gu San, that is, Mrs. Zhang Er at that time...

Without this catastrophe...

No.

Even without Gu San, Shen Qi would still end up that way.

As Shen Chao's loyal servant and best friend, he was one of the few people he could trust when he died. Zhong Heng has always disliked Gu San. When I met Zhang Tingyu, those eyes were like the eyes of a pair of people.

However, Shen Qi fell in love with such a pair of eyes, such a person.

Gu San is heartless.

As a bystander, Zhong Heng had already seen through it, but Master Shen had always been obsessed with it.

Perhaps, in Shen Qi's eyes, his Gu San is still a man with a heart.

It was probably because Zhong Heng didn't see that Gu San had a heart, so he didn't fall into this beauty, and Shen Chao saw that Gu San had some other flavors, so he didn't know it by drinking poison to quench his thirst.

What a chilling woman that is?
Unexpectedly, Master Shen is a fool who loves her, loves her, harms her, saves her, and hurts her.

It is doomed that he will not be able to embrace a beauty, and opportunities will flow to him time and time again, but he will let him go without hesitation.

If Shen Qi still has any conscience, maybe it's all on Gu San alone.

Shen Yang stole Gu San's son, and Gu San took away Shen Yang's last confidant.

Zhong Heng is a person who believes in destiny. For example, a master once said that people are between the seven emotions and six desires, love and hate are intertwined, they come and go alone, and they have good and evil.

The Shen Chao he saw had almost no real "goodness", and the purest kindness he had seen belonged to Shen Chao, all of which belonged to Gu San.

But that woman, she is not rare.

The things that Shen Chong regards as treasures are worthless in her eyes.

Because she has.

Gu San does not lack a single Shen Yang, not to mention all his love, all his thoughts that he took out and held in his hands, and Shen Yang's most precious things are only these.

This is also the saddest part of him.

A person whose whole family was beheaded, a person who had nowhere to pay homage during the Ching Ming Festival, a person who sat all night during the Chinese New Year, a...

Lonely Shen Yang.

He used the abacus to calculate countless people, maybe he thought he could calculate Gu San's heart, but he just pushed people further and further away.

To say that Shen Chao loves someone is better to say that he is so sad that he doesn't even know how to write the word "like".

In all fairness, Zhong Heng hates Gu San.

But if he felt his heart, Zhong Heng also had to say that there was no other woman in the world worthy of being tortured and missed by Shen Qi except her.

Beauty is the first, dark heart is the second, intelligence is the third, and lack of access is the fourth.

At first it was beautiful, then it was black-hearted and intelligent, and in the end it was unattainable.

So caught in an endless loop.

The more you can't get it, the more you want it, the more you want it, the closer you get, the closer you get, the harder it is to extricate yourself.

Shen Chao's self-torture was always seen by Zhong Heng.

Sometimes, Zhong Heng also wondered if he also met such a woman that he loved so much.

In the end, Shen Chong sat behind the desk and just threw the thick account book in his face: "You are old, no matter how much you like you, you will fade away."

So Zhong Heng said: "If Master Shen met Zhang Er's wife five or ten years later, I'm afraid it won't be as painful as it is now."

Shen Qi remained silent, and said after a while: "When will I be in pain?"

All the time without pain.

This was Zhong Heng's answer in his heart, but he didn't dare to say it.

Shen Qi is just such a poor person.

poor guy?

No.

Poor thing.

It was very late to check the accounts that day, and Zhong Heng almost forgot what he had asked.

But Shen Chi, looking at the candle that was about to burn out, took tears from the candle in his hands, and in the dim and flickering light, with his back turned to him, suddenly whispered: "Even if it's 20 years later..."

Then, the light was blown out by the wind coming in through the window he pushed open.

When Zhong Heng left, he could only see the darkness of the room, and there was still only Shen Yang in it.

The wind outside the window was cold and icy, and a wisp of green smoke could be vaguely seen floating up, and then disappeared quickly.

Until now, Zhong Heng didn't know what the second half of Shen Yang's sentence was.

Maybe it's "even if it's 20 years later, I've met her now", or "even if it's 20 years later, my grandfather will still like her".

Which one it is, Zhong Heng thinks about it, it is not a good word.

So he never asked in front of Shen Qi.

One is an established tragedy, and the other is a tragedy that will eventually happen.

There is no difference.

I heard that the first meeting between Mrs. Zhang and Master Shen was very interesting. On a day when Master Shen was in a state of embarrassment, an extremely stunning beauty appeared.

At that time, Luo Xuanwen betrayed him, and Master Shen was pulling out dangerous chess pieces around him, when he met Zhang Tingyu who came to play him.

At that time, they were still friends rather than enemies.

So, Shen Qi fell in love with Gu Sankou's fat red, begonia green, and suet white. Hearing her soft words, her smile melted...

Master Shen has too many women, Zhang Tingyu only has that one, but Master Shen thinks that he lacks that one, and wants to pick Gu San, a stone, by his side to inlay it.

So, he played tricks on Gu San, and was also played tricks by Gu San.

Sometimes I see him wandering by the koi pond in Kuixia Garden, or in the listening theater building near the water, or among the water pavilions on the lake...

In this way, he became drunk and dreamed of death.

I still remember that Su □□ at the time, because Master Shen didn't know the name of Mrs. Zhang at that time, and he couldn't ask for it. He only knew something from Su □□ dancing on the abacus.

At that time, Su □□ was punished by Master Shen, and he pampered him after returning home.

Because Aunt Lu solved the question left by Mrs. Zhang Er, she also got Shen Yang's favor.

But they may not know that these "likes" are worthless in Shen Qi's view, he only prefers Gu San, and takes pity on everything related to her.

Loving people is also a disease.

Shen Chou's illness became more and more serious.

He even made a second favor with the Cao Gang when Gu San fell into the water.

Zhong Heng never expected that such a relationship, which cannot be bought with a thousand dollars, would be used on a woman.

Master Shen is confused.

But he knew that Shen Chao was not confused because he was sick.

When you are sick, you can lose your temper and do whatever you like.

When he was dying of illness, he was even willing to spend all his wealth and be imprisoned, just for the sake of a happy ending.

As a bystander, Zhong Heng felt that he shouldn't think so much.

Like a low-flying dragonfly in front of his now dim old eyes.

It is going to rain.

A little bit of skylight fell on the overlapping branches and leaves, and Zhong Heng was full of peace.

He suddenly remembered that when Li Wei was kneeling outside the Shen Garden, maybe Master Shen also looked at the sky with such eyes?

At that time, Shen Chao, did he ever think that one day, Li Wei would be cultivated by him alone, and he would be sent to hell with a piece of official document?

"Mr. Zhong, it's Mid-Autumn Festival again, my son invites you to eat crab roe."

The young man in front walked quickly and walked all the way to Zhong Heng, and smiled.

Zhong Heng waved his hand and said: "Now who is in charge of the house, we should call him son-in-law."

Turning around the corridor all the way, passing by the koi pond, Zhong Heng looked back, but he let out a long sigh.

After Shen Chi's death, the new emperor ascended the throne, all the grievances of the Shen family were wiped away, and Shen Che also became part of the Shen family, and has nothing to do with the Zhang family ever since.

If Zhang Tingyu is also a wonderful person, his own son can turn a blind eye.

Everyone has their own retribution, it's not that they don't repay, it's just that the time has not come.

The Shen family was overthrown by a disaster, and Shen Qi also led to the overthrow of the Yang family. In the end, the family business he built by himself was also returned to the national treasury.

I really don't know who plotted whom, and who punished whom.

Shen Qu, three thousand words.

The weak water is three thousand, and Shen Chi only takes one scoop to drink.

The autumn wind is cold, and the moon is full in the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Zhong Heng walked a long way with his hands behind his back, still in a trance, still on the same road as before, but he has changed.

Shen Chi's shadow seemed to be still standing in every corner of Shen Garden, but he disappeared in a blink of an eye.

This is a place full of memories, whether it is Zhang Tingyu or Gu San, every time they come to Jiangning, they will never step into this place again.

Zhong Heng badly thought that it was guilt.

Turning out the five copper plates in his hand, he sighed in a low voice: "It really is not as unforgettable as Master Shen..."

These five copper plates were given by Qing Dai, the servant girl next to Mrs. Zhang, at the noodle stall at the entrance of the capital.

It's a pity that Luo Hua intends to be ruthless.

Zhong Heng couldn't help cursing in a low voice: "People who follow the master rarely meet a good end..."

As soon as the words were finished, another maidservant came to report: "Mr. Zhong, Aunt Lu committed suicide by throwing herself into a trap. Look..."

Aunt Lu committed suicide.

This is the one that has followed Shen Yang for the longest time.

Zhong Heng was silent for a while, then stood under the porch, listening to the pattering autumn rain, and said, "What did she say before she died?"

The little maid shook her head, as if she was a little panicked.

"The burial is enough."

The people in Shen Yang's backyard have long since disappeared, but Aunt Lu is still very affectionate.

In the backyard, a woman who had long since lost her former color was hanging on a three-foot white silk with her eyes closed calmly.

She knew that Shen Qi had never loved her, and it was only because of another woman that she could stay by Grandpa's side for so many years.

What she couldn't get, Shen Qi gently gave it to this woman, but this woman easily stepped on it.

When Zhong Heng entered the flower hall, Shen Qu was already sitting with some business friends.

Seeing him coming, he stopped playing with the porcelain coin in his hand and smiled at him.

"Uncle Zhong came late, three glasses of wine as fine."

Zhong Heng only said: "Master Shen is becoming more and more difficult to deal with, but he will never get drunk?"

This Lord Shen is not that Lord Shen.

Shen Ju was a little dazed, and finally said: "Father never gets drunk for a thousand cups, and he only gets drunk once in this life, and he never wakes up once drunk."

After finishing speaking, he saw red beans painted on a pair of vases in the corner.

Then, he suddenly remembered the lovesickness that fell like scattered beads on the dark and damp ground of the prison of the Ministry of punishment that day.

(End of this chapter)