Not seeing Mingzhu for three days in a row not only made Wei Dongting grumble in his heart, but Kangxi also felt depressed. In the past two years, Mingzhu stayed with him day and night, and the relationship between the emperor and his ministers gradually deepened. He gradually felt that Mingzhu, like Wei Dongting, was indispensable to him.
people.
Wu Ciyou once talked about how to get along with gentlemen and villains in a lecture. He compared water to gentlemen and oil to villains. He said: "Water has a light taste, its nature is clean, and its pigment can wash clothes. After boiling, water can be used to wash clothes."
Oil will not splash out, which is quite like a gentleman who is tolerant; oil has a strong smell, is slippery in nature, and has a heavy color, which can stain clothes. Adding water after boiling will cause it to splash everywhere, which is quite like a villain who is not tolerant."
This passage left a deep impression on Kangxi. He often used this theory to study the people around him. Naturally, the first thing that came to mind was Wei Dongting. He felt that he was loyal, witty, bold and hearty, as vast as the water of a river. What about the pearl? Sleek.
Tender, sweet and fragrant, it seems a bit like "oil". With Wei Dongting, he feels a sense of security. Wei Dongting handles everything carefully, and he enjoys the dignity and authority of an emperor; while with Mingzhu, he feels a kind of pleasure
When he heard the words, he felt a superhuman sense of superiority and glory. I remember one time when Wu Ciyou taught a class and asked everyone to write down an idiom with all four tones. This question, which seemed very simple at first glance, was actually difficult to answer for a while.
Wei Dongting thought for a long time and then said: "Thousands of times." Wu Ciyou only commented on the word "reluctantly". But Mingzhu raised her eyebrows and said loudly: "The emperor is a sage!" These two people were obviously in love with each other.
It's water. But since oil and water are incompatible and cannot mix, why are Wei Dongting and Mingzhu so close? It seems that Wu Ciyou has also taken things astray.
At this moment, he was sitting in the Hall of Cultivation of the Heart, holding the ink pen, reading the memorial sent from Obai, thinking about the way of the gentleman and the villain discussed by Wu Ciyou, with a smile on his face. Aunt Sumala was waiting on the pen and ink,
Seeing him smiling thoughtfully, for some unknown reason, he came up to add some incense and asked softly: "Are you thirsty, Long Live the Lord?"
Kangxi put down his pen, waved his hand, and suddenly asked with a smile: "Would it be good if all the emperor's people were gentlemen?"
"'A virtuous minister is dear to you and a villain is far away', this is the famous saying of Marquis Wu of the Han Dynasty." Aunt Sumala was a little confused, so she quoted a sentence from the "Execution List" and replied, "Of course!"
Kangxi shook his head slightly and said: "I'm afraid that may not be the case." He looked at Aunt Sumala's face and continued, "How many virtuous ministers can there be in ancient times? I think villains should stay away but not be eliminated. Because there are also versatile people among villains.
People whose talents can be put to great use should be put to good use. Even if it is oil, can you do without oil for three meals a day? Therefore, the way of the emperor is to make the gentleman and the villain each find their own place and make the best of their abilities."
These words made Aunt Sumala speechless. She thought about it for a long time, and finally felt that something was wrong, but she was unable to express her meaning in clear and concise words like Wu Ciyou. So she smiled and said: "Although
In this way, I still hope that the emperor will love gentlemen and ignore villains."
Kangxi did not answer, but lowered his head to approve a few lines of the memorial. Seeing that Aunt Sumala was still standing beside him, as if waiting for the next sentence, he raised his head and smiled and said: "Just like Qi Jinggong in the Spring and Autumn Period, if there was no Yanzi, who would be there to pacify him?"
Governing the country? If there is no Sima Jingju, who will resist foreign enemies? On the contrary, if there is no Liang Qiu to play with, wouldn't he be suffocated to death? Those articles of yours are of no use, and they are not enough for me! I'm sorry.
The Lord of the world, how can all the common people be gentlemen? The villain should also be given a place to deal with him. The talent of a villain is greater than that of a gentleman. If he doesn't use it, wouldn't it be a waste of natural resources?"
"Long live," Aunt Sumala said when Kangxi seemed to be smiling but not joking. "Long live, can treacherous villains like Oboi and Banbulshan be used by the Holy One?"
Kangxi's thoughts were settled, and he calmly smiled and said: "Obai is not a villain, but a hero today. When the late emperor was there, he was a good minister; after I came to the throne, he despised me and wanted to cause trouble for the people and the country, so he couldn't get along with me.
Rong——This is forced by the situation."
"My Lord Long Live must have said this, and I don't dare to reject it." The more Aunt Sumala felt that Kangxi's words were irrefutable, the more frightened she became. If the argument continued, she was afraid that the matter would become stalemate, so she said in a trembling voice:
"Just now, Long Live said that oil is indispensable. From today onwards, I will not eat meat or oil to avoid what I said today."
Kangxi didn't want her to be so serious, but found it funny, and said: "I just said a few jokes, but you are so serious, are you angry with me? Why is this necessary?"
"You have no joke!" Lagu Sumala said decisively, "I don't dare to joke, let alone get angry with my master. I have come to take refuge in my Buddha, so I might as well give up on these impure things."
Kangxi saw that she was suddenly so stubborn and unreasonable. He thought that something bad might have happened to him. He thought that she would be fine in a few days and stopped arguing. Suddenly, Zhang Wanqiang poked his head outside and asked hurriedly.
: "What's the matter? Is it time to eat?"
Zhang Wanqiang originally wanted to call Aunt Sumala to speak alone, but he didn't want to be seen by Kangxi, so he had to come in and said: "Long live my Lord, I can't go to school today. Just now, Xiao Weizi said that we need to find the pearl to start the class!"
"Mingzhu is a romantic and talented man," Kangxi said with a smile. "I didn't see him for four or five days a while ago. I didn't blame him, but he has become more and more lazy recently. Maybe he stumbled somewhere. Xiao Weizi has also become too
I'm a bit timid, so I won't even let him read the book."
"It's better to be cautious." Aunt Sumala interjected from the side, "The current situation is no better than before. It has only been a few days since the house was searched. Does this mean the world is at peace?"
"Forget it!" Kangxi sat down dejectedly, "I have some new insights in my studies recently, and I am about to ask Mr. Wu for correction. - Mingzhu is really a cunning thief, where did he slip away?" Then he turned around and faced him again.
Zhang Wanqiang said: "Tell Xiao Weizi to search carefully. I will go and see Mr. Wu tomorrow." Zhang Wanqiang had no choice but to agree and go down.
Mingzhu is currently tied up in an empty house in the garden of Aobai Mansion. Since she was kidnapped from Jiaxing Building that night, she was first imprisoned in Banbul's charity house. Banbul has a lot of good intentions, and the news may have leaked.
It was a disaster for him, so he sent him to Obai Mansion. At this moment, Mingzhu was lying on the wet ground in a daze with his head resting on a square brick that was used to cushion a flower pot. The sun was shining brightly from the roof in the west.
The ground was blinding. There was deathly silence all around, and from time to time he heard the plaintive whine of wild geese. He tried to move his body, but failed, and his lower body was completely unconscious.
When he was kidnapped to the Bamboulian Mansion, he made up his mind and was prepared to endure all kinds of torture and risk his life to keep his virginity.
But what kind of punishments were they? First they were beaten with fingers, then changed to leather whips, and then the tiger bench and sticks. Bumbleshan said this was called "eating sugar cane, the more you eat it, the sweeter it becomes." He fainted, and then
He was woken up by salt water. As soon as he woke up, he heard them ask again: "Where is Wu Ciyou?" "Where is the owner of Yuepeng Store?" He knew that they were tracing the place where the emperor studied, which was absolutely impossible to say. But this criminal law is the most extreme.
What was unbearable was that the urethra of the lower body was stabbed with boar bristles - this was truly an unprecedented cruel punishment. Mingzhu was in severe pain and couldn't help shouting: "Oh my god, hurry up, save me!"
Bambulshan, who was sitting on the sidelines watching the execution, sneered and said: "My class has read the biographies of cruel officials and is familiar with the functions of various criminal laws. Don't say it's you, even the immortal King Kong is here to speak." He motioned to relax the sentence.
, slowly walked up to Mingzhu and said, "You are a smart man, don't you hear, 'Keep the green hills there, don't be afraid of running out of firewood'? You fall into my hands, and if you don't tell the truth, no one can save you!"
"I really don't know..." Before she could finish her words, Mingzhu saw the plucked bristles trembling with blood in front of her eyes, as if she suddenly encountered a ferocious evil ghost in the wilderness under the moon. Mingzhu said, "Ah!
"The ground screamed and howled: "You beast! You kill me, you kill me!"
"If I want to kill you - use this bristle!"
"No, no, no - no, you use a knife!" Mingzhu opened her eyes wide and looked at the black and stiff bristles and shouted in horror.
"Since ancient times, doctors have not been punished," Bumble said with a smile. "How can I kill a nobleman like you with a knife? If you tell the truth, I will send you out of the capital and give you a sum of money - 150,000 taels."
Silver! Is that enough? If you don’t embarrass me anymore, I will never look for trouble with you again, and I won’t have to worry about it for the rest of my life!” After saying this, Liu Jinbiao waved his hand, holding the bristles and pricking them again.
"Oh my God!" Mingzhu yelled, struggled for a while, and then passed out... When he woke up again, he could only hear the second half of Bamboulshan's words: "...Since we are in Baiyun Temple, we don't have to worry about not being able to find Shangu."
Store. Don’t torture this man to death yet, send him to Aozhongtang!”
Lying here now, he thought of this terrible scene and felt his heart pounding. Oh my god! Did I really tell the place where the emperor studied while I was in a coma? Why didn't I bite off my tongue in the first place? Man,
If you had not fallen to this point, it would be difficult to understand the sentiment of this. After calming down and thinking about it, Mingzhu realized what a serious mistake she had made and what terrible consequences were waiting for her.
In the hallucination, he seemed to see Wu Ciyou's contemptuous eyes, and saw Kangxi, Lagu Su Ma, and Wei Dongting approaching with sneers. These people who usually spent time with him day and night were pushed to Jiuquan by his gentle words of "White Cloud View"
under.
Wu Ciyou does not believe in ghosts and gods, but he would rather believe in the existence of his pearl than in its nonexistence. With Wu Ciyou, who is loyal, upright, and full of knowledge, he is always a little wary in his heart. What should he do now? With these people under his breath, Wu Ciyou
When we met, how should we explain this?
"What would have happened to them if, during the first trial, I had crashed into a wooden pillar regardless of risk? Wu Ciyou would scream in the wind and compose a tragic poem to mourn himself. Aunt Sumala would sit sadly and weep.
Shi Longbiao will gnash his teeth and swear to avenge himself. During the Qingming Festival, Mu Zixu and Hao Laosi will silently add earth to their graves. He Guizhu, the stubborn donkey, will regret that he mistakenly saw a hero. Cui Gu will pounce on him heartbroken.
Come up and pick up the green grass on the tomb... What will Emperor Kangxi... do? He will sit in the Golden Palace and personally issue an edict, bestowing himself with the posthumous title of 'Zhongmei' - but what does this mean now? Alas...
…”
Just like this, Mingzhu was thinking so hard that her blood boiled for a while, and then she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, and her whole body felt cold to the bone. At this moment, she suddenly heard a "dong" outside the door, as if someone had fallen, and then there was no sound.
After a while, she felt the iron door move silently. When she looked carefully, she realized that it was already dark. After a while, the door was gently pushed open, and Mingzhu finally decided that this was definitely not a trance.
At this moment, I saw a shadow of a person in front of me, and a thin voice whispered in my ear: "Can you move around?"
"I'm afraid..." Mingzhu was so excited that she panted a little. She shook her head secretly and asked, "Who is this step?"
"Don't ask." The man whispered, "I'll carry you on my back!"
When he listened carefully, it vaguely sounded like Liu Hua's voice. He felt sour and hot in his heart, and he choked with sobs: "Brother Liu, why are you here at this time..." Liu Hua helped him sit up and said urgently in a low voice: "Don't say more.
It’s just nonsense, let’s leave quickly!”
"No!" Mingzhu's eyes shimmered in the darkness, "I can't do it. Leave here quickly and tell Mr. Wei to tell them to leave Baiyun Temple quickly!" As he said this, he held Liu Hua's hand tightly.
After shaking twice, he said, "This matter is urgent and serious, so we must not neglect it!"
As soon as he heard the words "Baiyun Temple", Liu Hua felt his head buzzing. Without saying a word, he took Mingzhu's arm, put one leg on his shoulder, lifted Mingzhu and opened the door.
He jumped out, unexpectedly being spotted by a patrolman. The patrolman put down his lamp and bangle, turned around and ran away, shouting like a pig, "There are robbers"! When he shouted the second sentence
, Liu Hua took a step forward and slashed hard, and the man leaned over and fell down.
With just this sound, the camp in Aobai Mansion exploded. Waihu, who was guarding the second gate, whistled at the mouth of Waihu, dozens of selected Gesheha from the banner camp and several underworld friends Waihu brought from the village.
, with a "swipe" sound, he jumped out of the door. Waihu jumped forward with a horizontal knife in his hand and shouted: "Don't mess up, the thief is in the garden!" With that, he called on forty Goshiha.
They patrolled around the house and blocked the way out; they used more than a dozen people to seal the garden door to prevent thieves from jumping into the inner house; they brought twenty-five or six people with them, lit torches and entered the garden to search. When Obai heard the alarm, he had already
Get ready, take a chair and sit at the garden gate to catch the thief.
Seeing that the situation was over, Mingzhu whispered in Liu Hua's ear: "Put me down, kill me with a knife, and then tell me to run away... don't... don't... I don't hate you!"
Liu Hua said nothing and turned around with Mingzhu on his back, but he felt that there were voices and lights everywhere. In panic, he heard Mingzhu murmur again: "It's important to deliver the message...it's about the emperor's safety...you, you
Let me go alone!" Seeing that Liu Hua still refused to let go, Mingzhu opened her mouth and bit Liu Hua's shoulder, "What's wrong with you? I tell you, if you are also captured, you have to shout as loudly as you can to Baiyun Temple.
'When someone goes to report the news, please remember..." He fainted before he finished speaking.
When I was in a dilemma, I saw lanterns and torches getting closer and closer, and people were on the parapet of the garden. Dozens of glass hurricane lamps illuminated the inside and outside of the garden wall like daylight. The people searching the garden did not shout or speak, but only used knives to poke.
The grass knocked on the trees, and they were advancing step by step. Suddenly someone shouted: "Liu Hua, it turns out to be you!"
Liu Hua stopped, put the pearl gently on the ground, raised his sword and inserted it into the crack of the rockery. With a "click", he immediately broke into two pieces and said with a smile: "Crooked tiger! What are you bluffing? I don't know."
What did you say? As a man who dares to do things, I will go with you to see Aozhongtang."
Seeing how calm he was, everyone was stunned by his momentum and fell silent. Seeing that he had broken his sword, Waihu also put the sword back into its sheath, cupped his hand and said with a smile: "Brother Liu is a good man! Neither do I."
I'm here to make things difficult for you, Ao Zhongtang is already waiting over there, go and explain it yourself!" After saying that, he shouted: "You are still waiting for Mr. Liu!" Several Geshiha swarmed up, tied Liu Hua up, lifted him up, and left.
.
When they heard that the thief had been caught, everyone in the Ao Mansion was surprised and rushed to see. Dozens of candles as thick as arms were lit inside and outside the Heshou Hall. Ao Bai sat on the couch with his sword pressed when he saw Wai Hu and the others come in.
He didn't say anything, just stared at Liu Hua. Liu Hua didn't flinch, stiffened his neck and stood in the court, looking at Obai. After a long while, Obai smiled coldly and said: "I said in the back garden
Why is it so haunted? It turns out to be you! Your name is Liu Hua?"
Liu Hua curled his lips and smiled, turned away and refused. Seeing him like this, Waihu came up and slapped his face, causing half of his face to become purple and swollen, and blood oozed from the corners of his mouth: "Master is asking you a question, are you mute?"
At this time, Liu Hua only wanted to die. He turned around and spat a mouthful of blood on Waihu's face, asking: "Who is my master?" At this time, more than a hundred people in the court saw this usually very easy-going man.
People dared to be so rude to Aozhongtang. Everyone was so frightened that their faces turned pale. Inside and outside the hall, family members, servants, guards, and attendants stood around, holding their breaths and falling silent. But Liu Hua held his head high and said nonchalantly, and slowly said:
"I am a sixth-grade captain of the imperial court. My master just asked me to work with him. Now I have become his slave?" When I was about to continue talking, I heard a "pop" sound, and this half of my face was hit again.
A crooked tiger's palm.
Waihu had no fame, so Liu Hua's words were particularly unpleasant to his ears. He felt that he was the most honorable person in Ao Mansion, and today he was eliminated by Liu Hua because of Ao Bai. He was immediately furious, and his neck looked even more crooked and sinister.
With a "whoosh", he pulled out the soft steel whip from the back of his waist, and with a "wu" sound, he hit Liu Hua hard on his waist.
"Waihu!" Obai shouted suddenly, "Back off!" Waihu stared at Liu Hua fiercely, coiled up his whip, and stepped aside angrily.
Obai chuckled, stood up and came to Liu Hua's side and said: "Liu Hua, you knew I wouldn't let this matter go. However, I pity you are a man. As long as you tell who ordered it, aren't you a sixth-grade person?"
, how about I promote you to the fourth rank?" Liu Hua snorted and turned away. Oboi said again: "If you think you can't afford to offend me, it doesn't matter, I will give you a sum of money.
How about finding a quiet place to be a Tao Zhu Gong and enjoy the happiness?"
Liu Hua made a "poof" sound and spat on the ground and said: "No one instigated you. You made a man and put it in the back garden. I want to see what's going on." After that, he remained silent.
"How do you feel about it?" Obai asked coldly.
"Not necessarily," Liu Hua raised his voice and said, "His name is Mingzhu, and he is now the emperor's bodyguard, working at Baiyun Temple!"
Hearing this, there was a slight commotion inside and outside the Heshou Hall. Aobai knew his intention, suppressed the anger in his heart and sneered, "You go ahead! You will destroy my Heshou Hall, and Baiyun Temple will also collapse."
You won’t hear me!” He turned around and told Waihu, “From now on, we will patrol inside and outside the mansion for twelve hours. If anyone forces his way out of the mansion without my personal permission, you will kill him!”
"That doesn't necessarily mean it's blocked!" Liu Hua immediately said something forcefully. As soon as he finished speaking, Ao Bai stretched out his hand to Liu Hua's left side and lowered it a little. Liu Hua immediately felt numb and trembled all over.
His whole body was itchy and unbearable, and his chest was so congested that he couldn't breathe. Ao Bai looked at his face twisted in pain with a smile on his hands behind his back, and asked: "Liu Hua, how did you know that there was someone locked up in the back garden? In the mansion?
Who else is your ally? Tell me! I have tapped your innate acupoints. It is bearable at this time, but in a short time your eyes will burst, your skin will burst, your intestines will be broken, your lungs will be torn, it will be more uncomfortable than peeling off your skin!"
Liu Hua collapsed to the ground, gasping and saying: "Untie, untie the acupuncture points... I, I'm just saying..." Xiao Qi, Xiao Zeng, Xiao Wu and others had their faces turned pale with fear and hid behind others.
Oboi bent down and patted him on the back gently, and said: "Okay, I'll untie it for you, you tell me!" Liu Hua lay still and said: "The rope is tied too tight, I'm too lazy to tell."
Obai then raised his lips to signal Waihu to untie him. Waihu hesitated and said, "Zhongtang, is this possible?" Obai sneered and said, "With his little effort, I can make him use his bare hands! Untie him!"
After the rope was untied, Liu Hua stood up slowly, moved his hands and feet, pulled up a chair and sat down, rubbing his hands together without saying a word.
Oboi asked: "How come your words don't count?"
"I'm a famous drunkard," Liu Hua said. "The things I'm talking about are so big that I have to give him a bowl of wine to drink!"
"Okay, let me help you!" Oboi ordered, "Come and pour him a bowl of the Kweichow Moutai given by the emperor!"
The wine was poured. Liu Hua tremblingly picked up the bowl, hesitated for a moment, raised his head and drank it all with a "gu dong gu dong". Obei said "good" without saying a word, and suddenly heard the sound of "sun" from the wine bowl.
He smashed it in the face. He had excellent eyesight and did not dodge. He stretched out his left hand and smashed the bowl into pieces in the air with a "pop" sound. He stepped forward and reached out to touch Liu Hua's Chiyuan point. Who knew Liu Hua
In a flash, he pulled out a four-inch long dagger from his arms and threw it at Obai.
Everyone on the steps screamed in surprise, but the rescue was too late. Waihu looked at it clearly and threw a dart, hitting Liu Hua right in the middle of the eyebrow. Liu Hua didn't even make a sound, and fell heavily to the ground and died.
Obai's face turned pale, he rubbed his hands together and said with a forced smile: "Aside from the house thief, it's a big blessing!" (To be continued)
