Dressed as Su Peisheng

Kangxi 42 years

August

Gloomy clouds shrouded the capital city, and when a carriage drove past the long street, the hawkers on the side of the road were already packing up their stalls and preparing to go home early.

The carriage stopped at the corner of Dagu Alley, Zhang Qilin and Zhang Bao entered the alley one by one.

Xiaoyingzi stood at the door of an abandoned residential house, staring at the two people coming from a distance in a daze, holding unfinished steamed buns in her hand.

"Eat it quickly," Zhang Qilin walked closer and smiled at Xiaoyingzi, "it won't taste good when it's cold."

Xiaoyingzi mumbled his lips twice, but in the end he didn't say anything, and silently turned around and pushed open the courtyard door.

The yard was very cold, as if it had been deserted for a long time, Su Wei sat on the dilapidated window sill, holding a long grass in his mouth, his face hidden in the shadow could not see clearly.

Zhang Qilin sighed softly, went to the side of Su Wei and squatted down against the wall, his tone was very calm, "I underestimated the brothers".

Su Wei smiled coldly, turned his head to glance at Zhang Bao who was standing under the tree, turned his head and said sarcastically, "We should be the ones to say this, Grandpa Zhang..."

Zhang Qilin raised his head and glanced at Su Wei, and suppressed the casualness on his face, "I have never thought of harming you, and I have never done anything to be sorry to my brother, and I have never disclosed the relationship between you and the fourth elder brother. Anyone, even my master."

"Your master?" Su Wei raised his eyebrows, "Can you be a consultant?"

"Yes," Zhang Qilin replied, "Not long after I entered the palace, I was picked by the master, but the master has never taken me in public, so few people know about it."

"No wonder..." Su Wei took the grass from his mouth and folded it a few times in his hands.

Zhang Qilin pursed his lips, suppressed his voice and continued, "I was transferred to Zhengsan Institute, and I didn't wear eyeliner. When I was in Kunning Palace a few years ago, the master never visited me except occasionally. What special explanation. After entering Zhengsan, I always wanted to serve my master well and live a happy life with my brothers. Who knows, after the fourth elder brother built the mansion, the master found me," Zhang Qilin breathed a sigh of relief, and his expression was a little bit sluggish.Zhang Bao frowned and took a few steps forward.

"At first, the master just asked about Si elder brother's recent situation." Zhang Qilin held his chin and looked at the sky not far away. Tell me what time the fourth elder brother got up, how many pages of books he read a day, and how many times he went to the Zhuangzi..."

The rain gradually fell from the sky, Su Wei felt a little cold, and rubbed his arms.

Zhang Qilin hid under the eaves, and continued, "It didn't take long for the master to ask about Si elder brother's followers, the number of guards in the mansion, and how many ministers he interacted with, and I felt something was wrong..."

Su Wei glanced at Zhang Qilin, and Zhang Qilin sighed, "I started to hesitate and avoid Master's questions. However, my Master is a consultant... He didn't explain anything to me, and just took out the question. The token of the emperor, asking me if I know who is the master in this world..."

"When did it start?" Su Wei's voice was turbulent.

"After the fourth elder brother built the mansion," Zhang Qilin hung his head, "at the beginning, the master would ask me from time to time, but later he saw that I was obedient, so he asked me to report regularly. Try not to touch the matter as much as possible, but it is always necessary to mention it once or twice, so as not to arouse suspicion. Sometimes when something happens in the court, the master will send someone to ask me about the reaction of the fourth elder brother. That's all."

"What about the East Courtyard?" Zhang Baoju walked over, "How much did you say?"

Zhang Qilin stood up, and Zhang Baoding looked at each other, "Su Peisheng is most valued by the fourth elder brother, and he often serves by his side, but he is sloppy and not good at management. The major affairs of the house are still presided over by Wang Qin, the former general manager of the third office. This sentence, nothing else!"

Zhang Bao and Su Wei looked at each other, and Zhang Qilin frowned, "No matter what else, it's no good for anyone to tell about it, I'm not that stupid. If my master really knows something, he probably guessed it, Not sure. Or—" Zhang Qilin paused for a moment, looked at the two and said, "There are other people in the house who have contact with the palace."

Su Wei pursed his lips, looked at the heavier rain, stood up and said, "Let's go back to the mansion first, at noon, the master can't be alone."

Zhang Bao nodded, Zhang Qilin was a little taken aback, Su Wei looked at him and said, "I will tell the master about your matter when I get back, and let him decide how to deal with it."

Zhang Qilin blinked and said in disbelief, "Do you believe me? Don't you suspect that I'm lying?"

"I don't know anything else." Su Wei rubbed his boots, turned and walked out the door, "You probably didn't say anything about the East Courtyard."

"Why?" Zhang Qilin straightened his mind again, and asked the bottom line without understanding.

Su Wei turned his head and glanced at Zhang Bao, "Why did you bring you here? Zhang Bao heard what you and the consultant said in Mingxiang Pavilion. If you mentioned the matter of the East Courtyard, the house now There should be someone who can't breathe."

Zhang Qilin's body turned cold, and he took a step back. Zhang Bao stood aside with his head tilted, without looking at Zhang Qilin.

"I have one last question," Zhang Qilin swallowed, and said to Su Wei, "Is it true that in the world, a slave should be loyal to his master. If it were you, Su Peisheng, what would you do?"

"Me?" Su Wei raised his eyebrows, "It's sad enough to be reborn as a slave, I only need one master in my life!"

Siyefu

In the study room of the East Courtyard, Zhang Qilin knelt on the ground, and the fourth elder brother sat behind the desk, and the room was silent for a while.

After a long while, Zhang Bao pursed his lips and took the lead to break the silence, "Master, this servant listened to the conversation between Zhang Qilin and the consultant in Mingxiang Pavilion. Zhang Qilin said that in order to prevent the slaves in the mansion from intrigue, the inner supervisor has always been in charge of the master's closeness, and no one else is allowed to intervene at will. He lives in the east courtyard by himself, so it is convenient to serve at any time. It can be seen that Su He did not mention the matter of his father-in-law to the consulting firm."

The fourth elder brother glanced at Zhang Bao, then looked at Zhang Qilin who was kneeling in the middle of the room, and said in a calm tone, "The consultants carry Huang Ama's badge, you are also acting according to the order, and you can't help others. Stop kneeling, get up. "

"Thank you, master, for your forgiveness." Zhang Qilin paused, then stood up slowly, and stood with his head down.

The fourth elder brother breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the tea on the table and took a sip, "Since you are thinking of the kindness that the master has treated you in the past, and you have not forgotten the friendship of your brothers, you should know how to explain to the consulting firm in the future. .”

"Yes, I understand," Zhang Qilin bowed.

The fourth elder brother nodded, put down the tea bowl, turned his head to look at Eunuch Su in the corner, and said softly, "You are all tired today, go down and have a rest."

"Hey," Zhang Qilin and Zhang Baoqi leaned over together.

"Wait a minute!" Su Wei walked out from the corner, holding a green porcelain bottle in his hand.

"Eat this," Su Wei poured out a pill from the porcelain bottle, and handed it to Zhang Qilin, "Swallow this, we are still brothers."

Zhang Qilin looked at Su Wei steadfastly, and after a while, he took the pill and swallowed it with his head raised.

Zhang Bao and Zhang Qilin leaned back and retreated, Su Wei suddenly became a little listless, ignored his master, turned around and went to the inner hall, and climbed onto the couch to lie down.

The fourth elder brother followed, reached out and touched Su Wei's forehead, took off his shoes and leaned against him, "Don't be sad, I guessed early on that there must be Huang Ama's people in our house. Now it seems that Mr. Zhang Qilin stronger than others."

Su Wei pursed his lips and did not speak.

The fourth elder brother bent his mouth and lay down beside Su Wei, "However, I have never doubted Zhang Qilin. You are usually on such a good relationship, how could you think it was him?"

"Maybe...it's because I'm still alive," Su Wei glanced at the fourth elder brother, his voice was dry, "there are only a few slaves in the mansion who don't want me to die, Zhang Qilin is probably the least like, but the most questionable."

"What's the problem?" Brother Si raised his eyebrows.

"Sixth-rank eunuch," Su Wei touched the patch on his clothes, "It's not easy to keep places like Kunning Palace. I checked the records in Wang Qin's hand, and looked around. After inquiring about everyone's background, even though Zhang Qilin didn't lie about his past, he still had to panic because of concealing something. I asked Zhang Bao to keep an eye on him secretly, and when he went out early in the morning, I knew I was right... ..."

The fourth elder brother stretched out his arms to embrace Su Wei, and kissed him next to his ear, Su Wei lowered his eyes.

"What is that medicine?" Fourth elder brother hesitated for a moment, then asked.

Su Wei curled his lips, took the cushion to cover his face, and replied muffledly, "Crotou!"

Beside the hut on the East Road, Zhang Bao leaned against the tree trunk holding his nose, and raised his voice after a while, "You still have to breathe, you won't die inside, right?"

"Zhang Bao, you're making trouble," a pale hand rested on the door, "I don't know what Su Peisheng gave me, it made me so tired that I couldn't get up, come and help me!"

"I'm not going," Zhang Bao took two steps aside, "You've been squatting inside for over an hour, I'm afraid I'll faint from the smoke."

"Can you be a little sympathetic?" Zhang Qilin leaned on the door frame with trembling legs, "If I had known this, I might as well be strangled to death by you? Then Su Peisheng is the same, small belly, I have told the truth, and he still engages in this kind of thing, just hit me It's a meal!"

Zhang Bao glanced at him, and snorted coldly, "Eunuch Su is a person who values ​​friendship, so it's cheap for you. But you'd better listen to him honestly in the future, who knows what that medicine is? It might really kill someone.”

Zhang Qilin shuddered, and there was another rumbling sound in his stomach, "Oh my god, it's endless..."

At night, Su Wei went back to the backyard alone, and put a dark green bottle into his wooden box. The sound of the lid falling lightly caused the chill in the dark.

On August [-]th, Niu Hulu's family was taken into Si Ye's mansion, and the lanterns were lit for several nights in the Xipei courtyard, which was considered to be enough face for Lord Kangxi to pass down the imperial decree.

However, the fourth prince's love is obviously not good.Niu Hulu's family followed the etiquette of a lady from an aristocratic family, but her speech and behavior were somewhat similar to the Song family's.As a result, it didn't work for a few days, and the Xibei Hospital became quiet again.

In Shiyue's courtyard, Xu'er trotted in, and leaned over joyfully to Shiyue, "My lord, the little lord of the Niuhulu family is here to see you."

Shiyue was taken aback, put down the embroidery in her hand, hurriedly got off the bed and said, "Come in, please."

"My sister has met my sister," Niu Hulu came in afterward and saluted Shiyue.

Shiyue hurriedly avoided, and helped Niu Hulu to sit on the couch, "I was born as a maid, so I dare not accept my sister's gift. My sister should not be so polite, let's sit down and talk."

Niu Hulu nodded a little shyly, "I have not been in the mansion for a long time, and I am dull. When I saw Fujin, I felt that my sister was kind. Today I am brave enough to come here. Didn't I bother my sister?"

"No," Shiyue curled her mouth and shook her head, "I'm also idle and bored, thinking of pulling a piece of fabric to make a jacket."

Mrs. Niu Hulu carefully picked up the embroidery on the table and looked at it, her eyes were slightly bright, "My sister's craftsmanship is really good. I have been learning from female celebrities for many years, and I have always been invisible. Eniang always said Why am I stupid with my mouth and my hands are not dexterous."

Shiyue smiled and asked Xu'er to serve tea, "I love you so much, my mother used to scold me a lot, sister, don't take it too seriously."

"Sister said that." Niu Hulu picked up the tea bowl and scraped off the tea dust, "Now that I'm married into the Baylor Mansion, I really want Er Niang to blame me, and I have nowhere to listen."

Shiyue pursed her lips and patted Niu Hulu's arm comfortingly.

The two chatted for a whole afternoon, and when it was time for lunch, Niu Hulu left in time.

Seeing Niu Hulu's going out, Xu'er turned her head and praised Shiyue, "My lord, this Niu Hulu's Gege is a very friendly person, and he doesn't seem to hold his identity at all."

Shiyue bent her mouth, lowered her head and touched the half-embroidered Hanmei, but didn't answer.