The twenty-fifth chapter, Xiao Maozi was tortured to buy a favor, Huang Si
In the twinkling of an eye, the Double Ninth Festival is here. The blue sky, yellow flowers, red maple mountains, clear water, and the emotions of climbing up are alluring. The scholars in the capital are all carrying pots and wine to climb up to relieve the cold. Winter affairs in the palace are much better than among the people.
Prepared earlier, repairing the heated kang, setting up the fireplace, digging the cellar, everyone was very busy. On this day, Xiao Mao Ziyin got up immediately, wiped his face with cold water and hurriedly went to work.
When he arrived at the main room of Yangxin Hall, Kangxi had already woken up. He was busy putting a green felt satin crown on Kangxi. Seeing Kangxi open his arms, he quickly put on the brown silk Jiangsi brocade robe for him and put on the mask.
She bought him an azurite satin lambskin coat, tied it with a gold thread tie, put on soap boots, and finally put a string of beeswax upright and put it on Kangxi's neck, then stepped back and stood with his hands down.
In the past few months, it seemed that he didn't care much about Xiao Maozi and would show him off at every turn, so he also treated him with extra caution.
Fully dressed, Kangxi took Xiao Maozi with him. He first went to the Qin'an Hall in the harem to burn incense and worship, then went to the Cining Palace to greet the Empress Dowager, and then went to Yangxingzhai to meet with the newly transferred Minister of War, Moro Luo, who was newly transferred to the capital.
Zhu Guozhi and Fan Chengmo chose this secluded place because they had a lot to say to each other and could not explain it to outsiders. After a long discussion and reading the draft of the decree, Kangxi ordered to drive to Chuxiu Palace to have breakfast with the queen.
"The three ministers summoned today," Kangxi said while eating, "are just Mo Luo and Zhu Guozhi. For some reason, Fan Chengmo has a sad look on his face."
The queen took a chopstick of duck stewed in yam wine and placed it in Kangxi's bowl. She stopped her chopsticks and asked, "Didn't Long Live the Lord ask him?"
"No," Kangxi said with a smile, "This is just my suspicion. He will go back to the south tomorrow, and it is normal for him to fall in love with his family and his master." The queen smiled and said, "He and the Geng family are related by marriage. There are some things that Long Live should ask.
"." Kangxi was startled, then smiled and said: "There is no need to worry about this. Fan Chengmo is an upright gentleman and has been loyal to generations. He is different from Hong Chengchou and Qian Qianyi."
When the queen was about to speak, Xiao Maozi, who was standing beside him with a turban in his hands, suddenly laughed and said, "Long live the Lord just asked the master about the queen, but I know a little bit about the festival!"
"Huh?" After Xiao Maozi interrupted, Kangxi stopped eating chopsticks, turned around and asked with a half-smile: "What do you know?"
"A tiger ran into Mr. Fan's house a few days ago——"
"Nonsense!" Kangxi scolded with a smile, "Now is not the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Will there be tigers in the capital?"
"Really." Xiao Maozi smiled and said seriously, "Fan lives over there at the Jade Emperor Temple, which is very remote. I heard that the hunters found a nest of tiger cubs in Xishan a few days ago, and the tigress went crazy.
, went down the mountain day and night to look for trouble, and if he didn’t want to, he jumped into the garden of Mr. Fan’s house, surrounded him by his servants and beat him to death - the tiger even killed Mr. Fan’s donkey!”
"Is he unhappy about this?" Kangxi said, glancing at the queen.
"Later," Xiao Maozi continued, "Old Mrs. Fan looked for Monk Shui Yue to ask about good or bad luck. Shui Yue taught Master Fan a lesson and said, 'It doesn't matter.' She just told him one sentence: You can fight the big insects in the mountains, but you can't do it in the door.
Don't mess with the big insects - Mr. Fan must be unhappy when he comes back because he knows about it."
"What is a 'big insect in the door'?" the queen asked.
"I heard that Fujian is called 'Min'," Xiao Maozi said with a smile, "I'm not a big fan -"
Before he finished speaking, Kangxi unexpectedly turned around and slapped Xiao Maozi on the face with a "pop" sound! Xiao Maozi was hit so hard that he staggered, but thanks to his nimbleness, he staggered back a few steps.
With a plop, he fell to his knees and kowtowed his head repeatedly. The queen and the surrounding eunuchs and maids were all listening with interest. When they saw Kangxi's unreasonable anger, they were all stunned and turned pale.
"You bastard!" Kangxi's face turned red with anger, "Where did you get these dirty words?"
"Yes, this slave is a bastard!" Half of Xiao Maozi's face turned red and his whole body was trembling, "This slave is a bitch, but what he said is the truth!"
Kangxi sneered and said: "Fan Chengmo came to pay his respects to your majesty, with a sad look on his face. I was just casually chatting with the queen, but you just said such a big thing! You are calling the internal supervisor to discuss politics, and you are slandering the big officials!"
"He said as he approached Xiao Maozi, "Now that he's not on the road, I'll ask you bitch to curse him!"
"I don't dare to curse Master Fan!" Xiao Maozi said aggrievedly, "It's really the lesson started by Monk Shuiyue!"
"Listen, what are the rules?" Kangxi said to Hesheli. He was so angry that his hands were shaking, "I am talking to the queen, why do you want to interrupt - drag him out and give him a hundred lashes?
See if he dares to talk back again!"
At first, the queen felt that Kangxi's sudden change of heart was unreasonable. Now after listening to Kangxi's reasoning and thinking that Xiao Maozi did have a habit of gossiping, she wanted to intercede for him, but she opened her mouth without saying a word.
"Why are you still standing there?" Kangxi glared and shouted: "Drag him out!"
At this time, the eunuchs standing at the door did not dare to neglect, picked up the tearful Xiao Maozi and left. Before Xiao Maozi left, he glanced at Zhang Wanqiang, who was standing next to the queen, with an aggrieved look on his face. Zhang Wanqiang felt soft in his heart.
, then he bowed and said: "Long live, may I go and punish you?"
"You don't need to go - look at me. Don't you know the tricks of your eunuchs?" Kangxi sneered and sat back down, picked up the chopsticks again, searched for a long time in the plate, picked up a piece of bamboo shoots and chewed it slowly, while facing the hall.
Everyone said, "Taizu Taizong has already established the family law. Because the queen and I have many things to do, we don't care about management. The eunuchs are getting more and more arrogant! Can we continue like this? - Pass the decree to
The Shenxing Division made an iron sign of Emperor Taizu's edict to "imprison the palace concubines and other people who interfere with the government and kill them" and put them up in the corridors of each palace!" Only then did everyone know that Kangxi was specifically targeting Xiao Maozi today.
He was as silent as a cicada.
At this time, executions were being carried out outside, and the sound of whips and people's howls came in. Xiao Maozi screamed in pain and howled loudly, interspersed with calls for help: "Master, mistress - oh, I don't dare to do it anymore! oh!"
There were dozens of eunuchs and maids in and out of the palace, some of whom had always been on good terms with Xiao Maozi and looked intolerable; some who were not on good terms with him on a daily basis, or who were envious and jealous, but felt attentive and had a bright face;
The "caihu" Mo Ju couldn't hear, couldn't be saved, couldn't stand, so she quietly went back to her room, covered her head with the quilt and sobbed.
The queen couldn't bear to hear this, and while adding food to Kangxi, she said with a smile: "Long live the Lord, you are right to teach me a lesson. But this little guy has always been diligent in his work, so out of this kindness, just give him a few whips. Besides,
Today is a solar term, no matter how big or small it is, so it would be more worthwhile for the Emperor to be angry."
"Look, you will give him thirty lashes!" Kangxi said with a blank face, "He still asked him to go back to the imperial tea room to serve Zhang Wanqiang, did you see it? Tell them to be careful: this is an example! The eunuch is making false remarks.
Those in government affairs and those who leak the secrets of the palace will be treated like Xiao Maozi!" After saying this, he stood up and left without even saying hello to the queen.
At the second watch of the night, Kangxi returned to the Yangxin Hall after approving official duties. Zhang Wanqiang silently removed the court beads for Kangxi, except for his robe and coat, and served him half-lying on the big pillow. When he carefully bowed and was about to retreat, Kangxi stopped him:
"Zhang Wanqiang - accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger - right?"
"Where... where?" Zhang Wanqiang looked at Kangxi and saw a smile on his lips. For the emperor he had grown up watching, he could no longer use the "smile" or "annoyance" on his face to judge his inner feelings.
He was happy and angry. Seeing that Kangxi's words were not kind, Zhang Wanqiang thought that he was looking for trouble again. He was so flustered that he didn't know what to do and stammered when he spoke: "Xiao Maozi is because he doesn't make progress and makes Master Long live angry. If he is not beaten to death, he is the master's
It’s grace.”
Kangxi looked around and saw no one, and suddenly laughed happily: "You are so scared! I am a dragon, not a tiger! Haven't you heard people say, 'The dragon sees the head but not the tail'?"
"What Long Live Lord means..."
"What I mean," Kangxi said thoughtfully, stroking his newly shaved head, "is to get some ointment for golden sores and send it quietly to Xiao Maozi to see if he can come. If he can get up, bring him here - just don't call him
Others see it."
Zhang Wanqiang was so surprised that he opened his mouth wide and almost dropped the clothes he had just removed from his arms on the ground. He hesitated for a while and said: "I heard that the beating was very severe today. I'm afraid I won't be able to come. Even if I can come, I can hide it elsewhere.
, there’s no way the people in Yangxin Palace can hide it!”
"Well, that's right." Kangxi sat up straight, "Take me there!"
"Ah?" Zhang Wanqiang opened his mouth and was speechless for a long time. Looking at Kangxi's serious face, he didn't seem to be joking, so he hurriedly said, "Cha——"
Kangxi stood up, put on a big cloak, walked out of the palace, and said loudly: "Zhang Wanqiang, I'm upset, take me for a walk inside the palace!" After saying that, the two of them walked out of the hanging flower gate.
It was the time of Hai Zheng, half of the moon was hanging in the sky, trembling and appearing and disappearing in the flying dark clouds. The Forbidden City was silent, except for the eunuchs who kept watch from afar, shouting from a distance, "Be careful of the lights, be careful of the lights!" The eunuchs
They believed most in ghosts and gods. They would never leave their rooms at night unless they were on duty. They even had special porcelain pots for peeing. In order to save money, Kangxi eliminated a large number of eunuchs. There were only a thousand people in the huge Forbidden City, so there was already one outside at this time.
No one was seen, except for the flickering lights in the Qianqing Palace area, it was completely dark everywhere. A gust of wind blew, slightly chilling, which made Zhang Wanqiang's skin crawl. He heard the sound of Kangxi's boots behind him, and walked steadily and fiercely.
Thinking of what the storytellers outside said, "The Holy Emperor and the Hundreds of Gods help each other," my mind gradually calmed down.
After turning around several dark alleys, he saw a row of low houses in the distance, and heard the intermittent screams of Xiao Maozi. Kangxi stopped and asked, "Is there anyone there?"
"He just got beaten today," Zhang Wanqiang said hurriedly, "Who would want to get into his bad luck now? Don't worry!" Then he stepped forward and knocked on the window lattice, shouting in a low voice: "Xiao Maozi, Xiao Maozi!"
Xiao Maozi received seventy lashes, and the skin on his buttocks and back was torn apart. He was a very popular man, and he was beaten more willingly and less distressed. Today's unexpected misfortune wiped away all his face and body.
I didn't dare to complain about the pain, so I limped back to my original place in the tea room, found a bowl of old rice wine and drank it down. I was lying on the bed in a daze - my back hurt so much that I didn't dare to go to bed - Hum, I heard
Someone called outside. He raised his arms and raised his head and asked, "Is it Eunuch Zhang? The door is not bolted on the inside. It opens when you push it. Please come in yourself - ouch!"
Kangxi heard that there was no one inside, so he signaled Zhang Wanqiang to look outside, took the golden sore medicine, and gently pushed the door open. Under the solitary lamp, Xiao Maozi lay half on the bed with his eyes closed. His eyes were red and swollen, and his face was thin. Kangxi saw
He took two steps forward and stood in front of the bed in deep thought.
"Eunuch Zhang, sit down!" Xiao Maozi patted the edge of the bed with his hands without opening his eyes, "If you want to blame Mi Tai, there is a stool over there. How can it compare to the Yangxin Hall-ah? Your Majesty!" He said
His eyes widened, as if his pupils were about to pop out, and he froze on the bed.
"It's me." Kangxi smiled. Seeing Xiao Maozi struggling to get up, he quickly held it down with his hands, "Don't - just lie down, but does it hurt from the beating?"
"It doesn't matter!" Xiao Maozi's eyes shone with light. What a smart man he was. Seeing Kangxi come to see the sick in person, he knew that there was a reason for the beating he received today. Even if it hurts, he couldn't cry out for pain! Xiao Maozi bit
Zhu Ya sat up and said, "I know that Master Long Live treats me well and teaches me a lesson for my own good. Master is so gracious, and Xiao Maozi is willing to die!"
Kangxi smiled slightly and said: "I have something important to entrust to you. If you don't do it this way, you have no complaints and you can be considered a loyal minister!"
"The slave knows!" Xiao Maozi was excited for a while. He was hit on the buttocks and grinned in pain, "Zhou Yu beats Huang Gai. If the whole family is willing to be beaten, the whole family is willing to suffer. I just tell the slave first, wouldn't I feel better?"
some?"
"You are very smart." Kangxi said with satisfaction, "That's what I mean. Without beating Huang Gai, can Cao Cao trust him? Originally, I wanted to do this three months ago, but I was afraid that it would be too hasty and arouse suspicion, so I postponed it until today.
——You have to feel better, I'm afraid it won't be like this anymore." Xiao Maozi rolled his eyes and thought, and said with a smile: "Three months ago, it must have been the Niujie incident! Many eunuchs in the palace believed in that clock.
Sanlang, you want your slaves to go in and find the leader - that must be Wang Zhenbang, Asan, Huang Sicun and the others!"
"How could I let you suffer like this just because of them?" Kangxi said with a smile, "They can only be regarded as Chiang Kai-shek! I intend for you to defect to them and find the great Cao Cao. What is your mission?"
"Master believes in me and sends me to do what I want to do?" Xiao Maozi was in a very good mood at this time, "I will do it even if I die!"
"Okay!" Kangxi said, "Xiao Maozi, I know that your brother is not a talented person. You are also an eunuch with an empty mind. It is very pitiful that you can't achieve success. However, you only need to do this job well and don't do anything else.
Worry about it. On your mother's side, I will assign people to help you from time to time. After the matter is completed, I will choose one of your nephews to adopt you. As for your mother, wouldn't it be glorious to give her a royal title?"
Xiao Maozi was the most filial to his mother. He became a slave because he had no money to treat his mother. After hearing that Kangxi was willing to show such kindness, he got up and kowtowed on the bed. He couldn't think of any good words to express his gratitude, "Wow."
"He cried with a cry that hurt his liver and moved his intestines. He was very sad. Just as Kangxi was about to be comforted, Zhang Wanqiang stepped in from outside and hurriedly closed the door:
"Long live Lord, someone is coming!"
Xiao Maozi was startled, and then cried even louder. While crying, he scratched the quilt with his hands, punched and beat him, and put his head on the pillow. There was a whisper in the cry: "The key is on the bench... Wu——
Long Live Lord felt aggrieved and sat inside... Ouch, my Lord Buddha! - Don't make any noise..." Zhang Wanqiang didn't wait for him to finish "crying", grabbed Kangxi, and got into the dark room.
Tea utensils warehouse.
The visitors were Ah San and Huang Sicun, and Xiao Maozi knew these two people very well. That year, Xiao Maozi stole a piece of Jun kiln porcelain from the imperial kitchen because his mother was taking medicine to pay off a debt. Ah San, who was in charge of the imperial kitchen, asked him to do it.
Dani Mo went to the teahouse to search, but was locked in by Xiao Maozi, causing a stir. After Namo was executed, Ah San was kicked out of the imperial kitchen, and someone's wooden clock was adjusted again.
Back to the Royal Tea Room - Xiao Maozi has been promoted to serve in the Yangxin Palace. As soon as Ah San saw him, he said a lot of words of repentance to his grandfather and grandma, and Xiao Maozi treated him leniently. Huang Sicun was originally Xiao Maozi
Xiao Maozi's friend, his position was superior to Xiao Maozi's, but Xiao Maozi couldn't take advantage of it when Obei was in power, and the two of them could still have a few private conversations. Later, Xiao Maozi was promoted and became a first-class celebrity. He was jealous, and talked about Xiao Maozi again.
He said a lot of unpleasant things to him. Xiao Maozi, who was becoming popular, did not take him seriously, so the two of them fell apart.
Huang Sicun and Ah San, one lit a watermelon lantern and the other came in with a bag of sore medicine. Seeing Xiao Maozi lying on the bed crying and covered in sweat, Huang Sicun blew out the light and put it on the ground.
He sat on the edge of the bed, told Ah San to "put the medicine on the table," and then comforted Xiao Maozi and said, "Hey! No wonder you are sad. I will go visit your mother later this afternoon. It's a pity that she doesn't know yet.
I was thinking that tomorrow is your birthday."
The mention of his mother touched Xiao Maozi's pain point even more. The fake howl turned into real crying. Suddenly he burst into tears, hoarse and choked. His face turned red, he coughed and blew his nose. In the warehouse next door.
Zhang Wanqiang couldn't help but chuckle to himself and whispered: "Long live my Lord, this little guy is so unambiguous!" Kangxi shook his head secretly: "It doesn't look like he's pretending, it seems like he's really angry." The two were discussing in low voices when they heard the little guy outside.
Zi gradually stopped crying and said with sobs: "Fourth brother, third brother, when others see that something has happened to me, they can't hide, but you come and look at me - what do you think of this person's friendship?"
"This is how you see your loyal ministers when the world is in chaos, and heroes when you are in chaos!" Ah San smiled so hard that his eyes were squeezed into slits, and said, "Xiao Maozi, since that time, I have taken a closer look at you. You are really a conscientious person, not like that one."
Wu Liangfu, who was beaten to death by Long Live, bullied others as soon as he gained power... How can anyone not admire his character?" Huang Sicun saw the golden sore ointment next to Xiao Maozi's pillow and laughed and said, "Ah San, that's quite true.
It’s true! Look at this packet of medicine. Apart from Yangxin Palace, it can be found in Chuxiu Palace. Where can I get it from? If you are not a good person, who would be willing to deliver medicine at this time!"
This question shocked even Kangxi and Zhang Wanqiang in the warehouse.
"This medicine..." Xiao Maozi stroked his back, grinning and wanted to cry again, but held back, "This is what Mo Ju in front of the empress asked Xiao Hong to get in the evening - Long Live Lord these few months
He was very angry, so I was even more cautious, and I didn’t know what evil I had done, but I still got into trouble with him.”
After hearing what Xiao Maozi said, Kangxi secretly shook his head: "I can't hold myself back."
Huang Sicun said: "Mo Ju is an honest girl with a good heart. It's a pity that you are a eunuch and can only be a couple with her."
Xiao Maozi leaned over and sat up with difficulty. He grabbed a towel and wiped the tears on his face. He took a shaky breath and said, "Actually, Long live the Lord and the Queen treat me well. I don't know who is under there."
A wildfire has broken out - you are not inside, and you don't know what is going on inside, so you are evil! Not long ago, even Eunuch Zhang was dissatisfied, and the mistress almost sent him back to Cining Palace to serve!"
"We were having wine and playing cards with Wang Zhenbang just now," Ah San said with a smile, "That's what he said too - Long Live the Lord treats you well, and Eunuch Zhang is taking care of you, so he might even ask you to come up and wait on you!"
Xiao Maozi rubbed his eyes, nodded and sighed: "Maybe, it's hard to say. Eunuch Zhang was originally from Lafayette, and there was someone taking care of him. I'm a single person, just an aunt Sumala, who left home; Wei Weiwei
My mother, Grandma Sun, is a good person. She wants to be here to ask for love. The emperor promised to give her face, but he took her home again - we have to wait until the emperor's anger subsides before we can think of anything else.
It's a turn!" Listening to Xiao Maozi's analysis, which was very reasonable and flawless, Kangxi couldn't help but nod and smile.
How could these two people be Xiao Maozi's opponents? After a few words, they got into Xiao Maozi's circle. Huang Sicun and Ah San exchanged glances, then stood up and said with a smile: "It's getting late, we should go -
-This is how things are in the world. Whatever it is, just take it one step at a time. Who can predict what will happen next? For example, Mr. Ao was an evil spirit the first day, but he took it the next day and could only stay in the yard.
Look at the sky from all directions - you take good care of yourself, your body and bones are the most important thing." After saying that, he lit the lamp and went out. Ah San turned around and said, "Don't worry about your mother, we have a plan, and you won't worry about it in advance.
Tell her, just say that something is going on inside and you can't leave. You can go back and enlighten her after you recover in a few days!"
"Thank you very much!" Xiao Maozi felt anxious as he listened to their chatter, but he smiled and said, "Now that you guys have said this, I feel relieved: Isn't that what people are like? You can't kill someone but fall on your head, and you can't be stabbed.
What's so big about the big scar on the bowl? I'd like to thank you and your father-in-law for visiting my mother diligently these days. I can't thank you enough." (To be continued)