Emperor Qianlong: the beginning of his glory

Chapter 68 Protecting Weaknesses, Being Greedy, Arrogant and Handsome
Cui'er got up, squatted down another blessing to Qianlong, and sighed: "Li Wei's illness is getting worse. Originally, I couldn't get away these few days. I wanted to borrow the master's blessing to help him get rid of the disaster. I heard that the master also followed the queen mother. I’m really happy to go to bathe the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.” Qianlong’s heart sank: he planned to ask the queen mother to go there, but he couldn’t help hesitating—the husbands of these wives are all important officials on internal and external errands.Everyone wants to borrow their own emperor's favor, it seems inappropriate to spoil their interest too much.Thinking that he had changed his mind, he smiled and said loudly: "Look, I brought such a large group of princes, Baylor, and Beizi to pray for you, isn't that enough weight?—Come on, Tweety, you haven't seen Lafayette yet!" Right? Let's go in together."

In the hall, the Fucha family, Nala family and more than a dozen concubines, as well as Prince Zhuang, Prince Yi, Prince Li, Prince Gong, Prince Gao's Fu Jin and Zhang Tingyu, the wives of the ministers in the study room, were all accompanying the queen mother to talk about karma and retribution. The emperor was talking outside, and when he saw him bring a group of people in, they all knelt down in unison.Qianlong caught a glimpse of Tang'er before he knew she was in the hall.The eyes of the two people flashed and they understood.Qianlong knelt down to the queen mother who was sitting on the kang, and said: "My son takes advantage of today's good life, and wish mother a happy life and good health!"

"May the queen mother live in good health!" The princes echoed in unison like parrots.

Tang'er, who was kneeling under Nala's head, suddenly thought of the tryst under the moon that night, when Qianlong personally named the child in his womb "Fukang'an". She whispered in her ear: "Siblings, have you seen that the emperor's crochet bag needlework with golden thread is so good! It's the same as the one you made for your nephew last time!" He wanted to retort, but was afraid that it would lead to a new story, so he lowered his head and said nothing.The queen mother laughed and said: "Get up, the emperor, and his sixteenth uncle and tenth uncle. I recognize some of these juniors, and some I don't. Our royal family is like this. Speaking of grandpa, there are hundreds of grandchildren. What!" Turning to Qianlong again, he said, "Emperor, do all your brothers have errands?"

"More than half of them have no errands." Qianlong thought about what his mother said, probably he wanted to distribute errands to these clan brothers himself, which is absolutely impossible.He glanced at Prince Zhuang Fujin who was standing beside his mother, and said slowly: "However, the country has a system, and the prince's son, county king, Baylor, and Beizi's sons have monthly regulations. There is enough money and food—isn’t it Aunt Sixteen?” Fujin Shiliu had already seen the emperor’s eyes, and hurriedly echoed: “Lafayette is kind, the emperor’s kindness is higher than the sky! How can you be poor? Our Tian family's flesh and blood!" The queen mother smiled and said, "It's good to have it. Last time, I don't know which niece and daughter-in-law brought a little grandson in to say hello. I'm sorry to see that child eat some snacks, gobble it up, and say to me, 'I haven't had any in my life. I’ve seen such delicious food’. He said that his husband is not on a job. This is really distressing. Later, I told the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to arrange for him. I don’t know if it will be done. Sigh..."

Yun Lu was listening to these chatter, impatient and hard to say, hurriedly said: "I know about this matter, he is the nephew of the old Dongjun king, and he has been placed in charge of the Banner Affairs Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. When the time comes, the Queen Mother will also It's time to start driving, don't miss the ceremony." Unexpectedly, the queen mother smiled and said: "You don't understand Buddhism, I'm talking about serious things here. It has been almost 100 years since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, and we don't have the pre-school system of enfeoffment. There are more and more royal family members. If there are poor people, the ancestors will feel uneasy. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas see that we can't even take care of our own relatives, so you kowtow a thousand heads and burn ten thousand stone incense. Will you bless us?"

"Mother taught you very well!" Qianlong laughed, "This matter is not a trivial matter, and it is also related to the dignity of the country. My son will ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to draw up an order tomorrow, and I will take it to the upper study to issue an order, so the clan will not be poor. Today, my mother is happy, and my son will donate 10 taels of silver from the domestic currency first, which can be regarded as the son's filial piety and the mother's merit!"

The queen mother laughed and wrinkled her face: "What merits do I have? Why don't I beg the Buddha to bless the country and the people for you!" Seeing his mother's joy, Qianlong wanted to please her more. He glanced at Tang'er who was close in front of him, and said: "That's not true! I had a good dream last night. Let me say that Fu Heng brought hundreds of soldiers to a very dangerous place to suppress thieves. There are many layers of white Tai Chi pictures wrapped in all directions. Thief, I saw that there was black water against the waves all around, and there was a demon man with hair and sword using demon skills, trying to trap Fu Heng to death on Tuo Tuo Peak. My son was sweating all over. He couldn’t wake up even if he wanted to wake up—— I know it's a dream!" When he said this, the empress dowager's concubines were all stunned, Tanger's face was pale, she stared at Qianlong, moved her lips, wanted to ask, but didn't dare.The queen mother asked with concern: "Then what happened after that?"

"Later..." Qianlong was talking nonsense triumphantly, "...the son was sweating all over his body when he heard someone say: 'Master, don't panic. I can't hurt him!" The son turned his face to look, and there was a woman in white in the cloud for a long time, holding a bottle in her hand, swinging it like this with a willow branch, the water droplets spilled out, and a few drops fell on her son, it was really refreshing! Looking at Fu Heng, there seemed to be a flash of light, and the monsters fell to the ground one after another, and some fell into the Heishui River and struggled. The old thief was nailed to a chair and could not move. He was bleeding from all his orifices for a while, and he was dead. The son woke up with a start, and said loudly: "Fu Heng, take that thief!" He sat up and realized that it was midnight..."

Qianlong said, a group of women had folded their palms together and closed their eyes. He said something, and the queen mother recited a sentence of Buddha, and finally said solemnly: "Son, this dream is bad first and then good. , Punish the evil and reward the good, you are never happy!" Qianlong laughed secretly in his heart.Last night he watched the Shanxi Governor's Memorial to pay Fu Heng's money, because Fu Heng thought about Tang'er again, and meeting Tang'er in a dream, it is absurd to have sex.He made up such a story.Qianlong went on to say: "What's even more surprising is that Fu Heng received the news that Fu Heng stepped up to the red flag early this morning. Fu Heng was successful, broke through the enemy's stronghold, wiped out [-] enemies, and captured the bandit leader Piao Gao alive. He is coming to Beijing from Taiyuan— —Isn’t this incident closely related to last night’s dream?”

"Amitabha!" The Empress Dowager stood up with her palms together and chanted loudly, "Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva! This favor must be repaid. I will give 2 taels of silver, [-] will be donated to the Great Buddha Temple, and [-] will be given to the Bodhisattva to decorate the Bell Palace." Add incense!" Tang'er kowtowed to the queen mother and said, "Master, this dream is related to slaves and men. The slaves dare not stand shoulder to shoulder with the Lafayette, and they will pay [-] yuan to follow the Lafayette to receive blessings. They will stay in Zhongcui Palace and fast for a day to repay the Bodhisattva's blessing. !"

Seeing that his mother was trembling and about to go out, Qianlong hurriedly stepped forward to support her with both hands and went out of the hall together. All the women kneeling in the courtyard kowtowed and kowtowed.Qianlong asked the Empress Dowager cautiously: "Mother, go to the Great Buddha Temple first, or go to the Zhongcui Palace first?"

"Go to the Great Buddha Temple first to offer incense," said the Queen Mother, "come back to Zhongcui Palace, Fu Heng's family will make meritorious deeds, since it is abstaining from food, they will make fragrant soup for bathing Buddha in Zhongcui Palace—Tang'er, you have a body , Just sit there and watch, it’s all handled by someone, and it’s also a merit for you to talk about cause and effect with the aunts there.”

That night, Qianlong said that he was looking at the brochures, but he didn't turn over the sign to call someone. After waiting for a watch, Qianlong ordered Gao Wuyong to light a lamp, and said that he went out to relax. A big circle.Passing by Zhongcui Palace, Qianlong seemed to suddenly think of something, and said with a smile: "I almost forgot, yesterday the Dalai Lama paid tribute to ten Tibetan incense sticks, which are for the Bodhisattva here, you can go get them now, I am here in the bell Cui Gong is waiting—and the box next to the Tibetan incense, also brought here, I am useful—don’t let others know, understand?” Gao Wuyong followed Qianlong all day today, what is there that he doesn’t “understand”?He hurriedly agreed to go.Here Qianlong casually walked into Zhongcui Palace.

The name of Zhongcui Palace is "Palace", but it is actually a small Buddhist hall specially set up for the Empress Dowager and Empress.During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Aunt Su Ma practiced here. Since she passed away, there has been no monks.In order to make this place like a place of Buddha, Kangxi ordered some gentle and peaceful maids to come here to serve as errands in his later years. They still eat vegetarian food, do Buddhist ceremonies, and still dress as nuns. go home.Therefore, although it is a bit poor, everyone is willing to come.The person picked is naturally smarter.Several big "nuns" in charge led the crowd to beat the fish and chime for evening class. Seeing the emperor suddenly coming alone, they panicked, stopped the ritual ceremony to greet him, and offered tea and refreshments.Qianlong smiled and waved his hands, and said, "I'm happy if you do your homework. I'm here this morning. I didn't have to look at the Buddha statue properly. I'm a little restless. I'll go to Guanyin and make a wish—go!" Those court ladies had no choice but to obey their orders and go to the Xipei Hall to chant sutras and make offerings.Qianlong rinsed his mouth with tea, thought for a while, and brought a plate of silver-thread crispy rose cakes into the Buddhist hall, but saw that the yellow curtains that had been darkened by the smoke in the past had taken on a new look. The seats, kneeling mats, futons... the pillars and the terrazzo floor are all scrubbed spotlessly.Standing on the lotus platform, a white jade Guanyin as tall as one person is holding a willow bottle in one hand and snapping his fingers in the other. With kind and dignified eyes, he watches the cigarette curling up in the furnace with a mysterious smile.At a glance, Qianlong saw Tang'er sitting on the futon with her eyes closed.He tiptoed over, gently placed the plate of cakes on the tea table beside her, stepped back carefully, and stared at the Guanyin statue with folded hands.After a long time, I muttered a prayer: "Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, bless me with immeasurable dharma power, Daqing, the country, the people, the river, Qinghaiyan, bless me to become a perfect person through the ages..."

"It's the emperor, you're here!" Tang'er heard a man praying, and opened her eyes to see that it was Qianlong.His eyes flashed with joy, and when he was about to get up to worship, Qianlong had hurried over and put his hands on her shoulders.Qianlong smiled and said: "I know you are fasting here today to pray for blessings. I can't sit still over there, so come and have a look." Tang'er blushed, glanced at Qianlong, then lowered her eyes and said, "Zuo is just an ordinary Woman, what do you want to see?"

Qianlong held her by the shoulder with one hand, stroked her forehead, cheeks and warm lips with the other, heaved a sigh of relief, and said, "Tang'er, I love you...I love the son you are carrying..." Tang'er's eyes Tears rolled down, and he murmured: "I confess my sins in front of the Bodhisattva today... But my child, he is not guilty..." "You are not guilty either." Qianlong sighed, "If you have to sin , of course it’s me. Don’t say that I’m the Son of Heaven, even if I’m an insignificant husband, there’s absolutely no reason for a woman to bear it——Listen to me, it’s impossible not to eat. Eat, count as my son's food..." His eyes were also a little moist. "You didn't eat it, it was my son who ate it..."

"Master..." Tang'er was dizzy for a while, and fell into Qianlong's broad and strong arms all of a sudden, "I am really guilty, sometimes I think I am really blessed, my heart is bitter, sweet, sad and happy... what you said today That dream, thinking about the things I heard, I was terrified—” As he was speaking, Gao Wuyong came in, Tang’er struggled to get away, but Qianlong held it down, “No, that’s fine ——Gao Wuyong, put that bag of things here, you will light Tibetan incense for me, and retreat outside to wait on you."

After Gao Wuyong withdrew, Qianlong smiled and said: "What are you afraid of them? Their life and death are honor and disgrace in my mind—are you afraid that Fu Heng will die for the country?" Pushing the big paper bag again, he said , "This is donkey-hide gelatin brought in by the governor of Shandong Province. It uses real well water and real Yimeng donkey skin. The gelatin is boiled by the real heir of the Hu family's donkey-hide gelatin! Go back and eat slowly..."

"I'm not afraid of him dying for the country," Tang'er shook her head with a wry smile, "The baby is about to be born. As soon as he is born, I'm not afraid of Fu Heng killing me."

Qianlong smiled and said, "Hey! You are not even afraid of death, what are you afraid of?"

"Gossip." Tang'er's face turned pale, "There are a lot of gossips outside. They said that the late emperor died uncomprehendingly, that you were not filial, and that you wanted to kill Fu Heng and occupy me—"

Qianlong's hand trembled suddenly, and when he was about to ask carefully, Gao Wuyong hurried in and said, "Master, the imperial concubine is here to offer evening incense, and she is almost at the gate of Zhongcui Palace!"

Tang'er pushed Qianlong away and sat back to the original place, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, go quickly!"

"It doesn't matter, why are you afraid of her?" Qianlong patted the top of Tang'er's head lightly, and said with a smile, "It's true that Nala is a little jealous, and I can't say anything else. I will give you justice in front of her today, see How is she?" After saying that, she sat on the chair beside the futon, hugged Tang'er who was trembling with shock, gently stroked her hair, and said in her mouth, "Is there me? I'm not afraid..."

(End of this chapter)