Dressed as Su Peisheng

Kangxi 48 years

On the sixth day of July, Prince Yong's Mansion

When the lamps were turned on, the darkroom changed from the deserted one in the past. The lights inside the house were brightly lit, and there were many people outside.

The servants outside the courtyard, who were poking around, gathered in every corner from time to time, pointing at the shadow cast on the window lattice.

Fujin Courtyard

Shiyao sent off the servant who reported the letter, and hurried back to Fujin's bedroom, with a smile on her face that she couldn't hide, "Master, I found out, not only Su Peisheng, but also Zhang Bao, Zhang Qilin, Wang Qin, who followed Almost all of us who came out of my elder brother’s office were involved. Now the darkroom is full of ghosts crying and wolves crying, crying for their father and mother. According to our people, the sound of whips and boards can be heard across the courtyard wall Be clear."

Fujin sat on the soft bed with his lapel on his back, still holding the scroll in his hand, his expression was not as obvious as Shi Yao's gloating, but he was slightly puzzled, "This is endless, why did the prince suddenly think of punishing the inner prisoner? The accounts of the Prince's Mansion were only checked in the first half of the year, so I haven't heard of any serious flaws."

"Hey, this is not a matter of accounts." Shi Yao stepped forward and tapped Fujin's calf, "I see from my servant's point of view, the prince has opened his eyes for a while, and he doesn't plan to reuse this group of eunuchs. Originally, which mansion is like that?" Just like our palace, the real power is held in the hands of a group of eunuchs. Just like that Su Peisheng, relying on his years of serving the prince, he has to participate in everything in the palace. Now, seeing that even the prince can't stand it anymore , so I found an excuse to take care of this gang of obedient and obedient ones."

Fujin bowed his head and thought for a moment, then tapped a finger on the scroll, "If I remember correctly, the prince came to the Ministry of Punishments today to execute a few eunuchs, and they seem to be with the princes."

"By the way, this servant also remembered." Shi Yao's eyes lit up, "The prince has been busy in and out these days, and seems to have something to do with Prince Cheng and the Fourteenth Lord. According to the master's mention, it's no wonder the prince suddenly asked I have dealt with Su Peisheng and the others, are you afraid of following in the footsteps of other princes?"

"It's taboo for eunuchs to interfere with the master's behavior, let alone serve the prince." Fujin raised his head slightly, with a slightly more gratified expression, "The prince has a clear mind after all. At this time, he abandoned a few slaves. It’s easy to talk in front of you.”

"Your maidservant doesn't understand the matters of the court," Shiyao pursed her lips, raised her head and leaned in front of Fujin and said, "My maidservant only knows that the big and small things in the palace should be decided by the princess. , long history, assistant manager. Earlier, the prince always thought about the relationship between master and servant with Su Peisheng, so we should not disobey him. Now, the prince has already understood, and the master can no longer be confused. The head of the Xipei courtyard, I don’t know how many eyes are staring ahead.”

the next day, early morning

The fourth elder brother was out of the house to do business, and he was accompanied by only a few bodyguards.The concierge brought the carriage, and a young eunuch who was sweeping the floor at the door hurried up to meet him, and was the first to lift the curtain for the fourth elder brother, bowed and saluted, "My lord, please get in the carriage."

The fourth elder brother stopped, turned his head to look at the little eunuch, and asked calmly, "What's your name?"

"Return to the lord," the little eunuch said with a flattered look on his knees hastily, "Xiao Xiangzi, my slave, just entered the mansion not long ago, and works in the miscellaneous department."

"Well," the fourth elder brother stepped into the car, and when the curtain was about to be lowered, he seemed to say casually, "You can wait on me today."

"Yes, thank you, my lord, for your appreciation," Xiao Xiangzi replied loudly, and he became extraordinarily energetic. He followed the driver and sat on the shaft of the car, and closed the door for the fourth elder brother courteously.

The commander of the guards, Fu Nai, who saw everything in his eyes, glanced at Xiao Xiangzi vaguely, and led a team of guards to follow on both sides of the fourth elder brother's carriage.

At noon, Xipei Hospital

Ling Xi hurried back with Nian's family's handwritten letter. When Nian heard the voice, she hurriedly got up and walked out of the house, "How is it? Any news at home?"

"Don't worry, my lord." Ling Xi took out the handwriting and handed it to Nian Shi, "This is the imperial edict issued by the emperor this morning. Our family just found out, and the master quickly asked the servant to bring it back for you."

Nian opened the handwritten book, glanced at it, and gradually frowned.

"My lord?" Ling Xi tilted her head, she didn't know what was said in the oracle, and she didn't quite understand why the young lady asked her to go back to the Nian Mansion because several eunuchs were punished.

"The emperor told all the scholars, eunuchs, etc. not to pretend to be authoritative, and kill them immediately when they happen! I was in the imperial age, and it was only 20 years since I went to the Ming Dynasty..." Nianshi held a family letter and read slowly, "The Lord will not come out, listen to the government Ministers and officials are all afraid of eunuchs, so they make mistakes. This generation has a different temperament from ordinary people, and it is only enough to prepare the ears of the palace. The power of the world is only controlled by one person, and it cannot be left alone. How can we allow this generation to pretend?"

After Nian finished reading, he sighed softly, "Sure enough, the errands that the prince has been busy in the Ministry of Punishment these days have involved the disaster of the eunuchs of the former Ming Dynasty."

Ling Xi rolled his eyes, his eyes suddenly brightened and said, "Your lord, what you mean is that the prince is afraid of being involved in the eunuch's disaster, so he dealt with Su Peisheng and the others in advance? If this is really the case, it will be a good thing for us." It couldn't be better. The slaves just said, no matter what Su Peisheng is, he is just a eunuch, how can the prince be sincere to him? After that, without him, it won't take long with the young master's affection for the prince. He must be the one on the cusp of the prince's heart!"

Ling Xi spoke excitedly, but Nian Shi was extremely calm. The letter in his hand was folded and folded, and finally thrown into the censer, and a fire burned it to ashes.

Darkroom

There was a row of benches in the outermost cell, and the eunuchs Xiao Erge, Chang Qing, Ruan Lu, Yang Yi, and Wang Yicheng each had one bench, and the running boards were knocked down, and there were no people nearby to count them.

En Chuo sat at a square table beside him, drinking tea leisurely.From time to time, someone poked their heads outside to check, but the guards inside and outside the house didn't seem to notice them, and they were allowed to circle around the darkroom's yard.

"Hey, ah, Brother Enchuo!" Xiao Erge, who couldn't bear the pain, stretched his neck, "Hey, we used to get along pretty well, hey, you, you can't be like this!"

Zhaojia's Enchuo didn't speak, just looked at Xiao Erge and smiled, shook his head and continued to drink tea and eat snacks.

"You, you, you can eat it too, oh, take it easy!" Xiao Erge kicked his legs, looking at En Chuo with eyes that could eat people, "30 years in Hedong, ah, 30 years in Hexi ! To be a human being, you have to leave a way out for yourself, hey—”

"Stop yelling!" Chai Yu, who was next to Xiao Erge, turned his head and glared at him, carefully moved his butt that was being spanked, and said, "Don't you know where the darkroom is? We stayed here for a day It's been a night, you better be honest."

Xiao Erge gritted his teeth and cracked his mouth for a long time, and finally lowered his head powerlessly. The sound of crackling boards lasted for another quarter of an hour before stopping intermittently.

In the evening, Xipei Hospital

Shiyue walked back and forth in the bedroom, with an anxious expression on her face, the handkerchief in her hand was wrung out of shape, only then did Xu'er's hurried footsteps come from outside.

"How is it? Is the prince back?" Shiyue walked out of the room quickly and grabbed Xu'er's hot hand.

"I'm back," Xu'er's face flushed red, and her eyes rolled back and forth in their sockets. "I saw that the lord has brought a little eunuch who doesn't look familiar to the East courtyard..."

Shiyue froze in place for a moment, and after half a quarter of an hour, she managed to calm down, "I'm going to the East Courtyard to meet the prince, you go to Hongpan's place first, and say—"

"Little master!" Xu'er bent down and knelt in front of Shiyue, "Although I don't know what happened, but now, everyone in the palace is in danger, it's really not a good time to plead with Su Gonggong. Think clearly and don't do anything stupid."

"Xu'er, you don't understand," Shiyue patted Xu'er's head, her gaze was erratic but firm, "I have to go, you listen to me, go to Niu Hulu Gege first. If I have something to do, she will at least I can protect you."

"No, I can't," Xu'er stood up and directly stopped Shiyue's waist, crying like a child with tears streaming down her face, "Master, I will go, and Xu'er will go with me, and Xu'er will not be separated from me—" —”

"What's going on this big night? Who bullied Xu'er?" The master and servant in the house were deeply affectionate, and Niu Hulu just lifted the curtain to enter, "There was no one to inform me outside, so I came in directly, sister -"

Niu Hulu still wanted to ask, Shiyue quickly turned around and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"What's wrong with sister? What's wrong with Xu'er?" Niu Hulu rushed forward and pulled Shi Yue to sit on the couch.

"I'm fine." Shiyue bent down to help Xu'er up, and pushed her to Niu Hulu's side, "my sister knows that I am humble, and there is no one to rely on in this harem. There is only my sister, regardless Status and status, sincerity and friendship with me, until now, I can only entrust Xuer to you. I hope that my sister can arrange a stable job for her, so that she can live a safe life."

"What did my sister say?" Niu Hulu looked stunned, "We'll be fine in the back house, why does my sister suddenly seem to be about to explain the funeral?"

"Please ask Gege to persuade my little master." Seeing that Shiyue seemed to have made up her mind, Xu'er bent down and knelt down again, "My little master values ​​friendship, because he was favored by Su Gonggong earlier, but now he knows With regard to the matter of the East Courtyard, I completely disregarded my own safety, and insisted on going to the prince to intercede with Eunuch Su!"

"What? Sister, you're confused!" Niu Hulu stood up abruptly, "Now it's spread all over the capital. Lord Long Live personally decreed that eunuchs are not allowed to take power. This move by the prince is also to abandon the car to protect the commander. Liberated from confinement, he must not be caused by a few slaves again! I know that my sister has a certain friendship with Su Gonggong, but it is different now, for the sake of the prince and our palace, the sister must not be sentimental. "

"Sentimental?" Shiyue raised her head with tears in her eyes, "Yeah, how can there be sentimental people in this palace? I'm too stupid..."

"Sister," Niu Hulu grabbed Shiyue's hand, but Shiyue gently pulled her away.

"Today," Shiyue stood up, "I must go to see the prince. The days in this back house are lonely and long, and you and I will be together for a few years. Now, I have nothing else to ask, but you, after I leave, Help take care of Xuer."

"Sister!" Seeing that Shiyue was about to go out, Niu Hulu sighed helplessly, and quickly stopped Shiyue's way, "Sister, I don't know, and I don't want to know, why you have to take this risk today. However, you and I have been sisters for many years, if you have any faith in me, just listen to me and stay in the Xipei courtyard. Mr. Su, he will be fine."

Darkroom

In the innermost cell, only one candle was lit, and a few people sat by the flickering firelight.Water drops seeped on the cold stone walls, and most of the dry grass on the ground was wet.

En Chuo took two guards and walked to the outside of the cell step by step. Two benches with invisible colors were placed in front of them.

Someone sighed, and two guards stepped forward to support the two of them, and the thick staff knocked on the ground, making a blunt sound.

"Grandpa Su," En Chuo walked around the executioners, walked up to Su Wei who was sitting in the innermost place, and slowly squatted down, "It's cold on the stone wall, and a bed is prepared for you outside, you can go and rest first .”

"No," Su Wei turned his head and put his hands on his knees, "When it's my turn, hurry up and say hello, there's no need to fix these stupid things."

En Chuo smiled helplessly, waved his hands at the guard behind him, and the sound of crackling boards came to mind again.

night, outside the dark room

All the courtyards had already released the keys, but two figures suddenly appeared behind the rockery in the northeast corner of the darkroom.

Fu Nai picked up the lantern that was only illuminated with black gauze, and watched the road under his feet carefully for the fourth elder brother, "Master, do you want your subordinates to wake up En Chuo, Mr. Su suffered a crime today, and he should not be asleep at this time. "

"No need," the fourth elder brother walked out of the window of the darkroom. It was dark inside and he couldn't see anything clearly. "That person will not lose himself. He must have fallen asleep early in the morning because of the pain in his body."

At the same time, in the innermost prison, Zhang Qilin, who was rubbing his buttocks, looked at Grandpa Su who was snoring loudly, and his chest felt tight with jealousy.

"Although the emperor issued a decree to reprimand him today, he did not clearly indicate how to deal with it. Perhaps, it was just a warning," Fu Nai said to the fourth elder brother, "the prince has dealt with the eunuchs in the mansion with great fanfare, and there should be no further investigation by the Lord Long Live." Bar."

"Huang Ama didn't go on a killing spree, it's really a blessing in misfortune," the fourth elder brother sighed, and frowned slightly, "It's just that my heart is always not at ease. Su Peisheng has been with me for more than [-] years. In [-], the Lord relied heavily on him, and he also strived for success. He was sought after by people inside and outside the house. I didn't notice it on weekdays, and I thought he deserved the praise. But I didn't expect that once the eunuch's disaster was mentioned, the Lord would be very respectful. His favor has become his life-threatening talisman."

Fu Nai bowed his head in silence for a moment, and when he raised his head again, it seemed that he had made a lot of determination, "My lord, my subordinate said something very disrespectful to you today."

The fourth elder brother turned his head, and Fu Nai continued, "In our palace, Eunuch Su is indeed an out-of-the-ordinary existence. The lord praises Eunuch Su too highly, and puts the masters of the back house too low. Even if Eunuch Su doesn't want to Authoritarian, but in the hearts of the entire government, Su Peisheng is still one person under one person and above ten thousand people. There is a prince in the palace, and Su Gonggong is safe, but once exposed to others, especially if the Long Live Lord knows. Then I am afraid that all the achievements made by Eunuch Su before will turn into acts of sycophancy and bewitchment."

The fourth elder brother turned his hands behind his back, his face hidden in the darkness couldn't see clearly, "Then, in your opinion, what should we do now?".

"The prince must have a plan in mind," Fu Nai lowered his head, "Right now, almost everyone in the house thinks that the prince's handling of Eunuch Su and the others is because he doesn't want to be blamed by the Long Live Lord for the eunuch's affairs. That's it. Perhaps, this is a good opportunity for the prince. Let Eunuch Su completely stay away from power disputes, and let the prince have no worries from now on."

Changchun Garden, Qingxi Bookstore

Lord Kangxi came back from the Queen Mother, Wei Zhu followed behind, and waited for Lord Long Live to slip his boots on the bed, and asked in a low voice, "It's getting late, why should Lord Long Live rest earlier?"

"Northwest just sent a brochure, I'll go to sleep after reading it," Master Kangxi stroked his forehead with one hand, and asked Wei Zhu to brighten the candle even more.

Wei Zhu lit up the candlestick, and moved the stack of memorials on the table to Lord Kangxi intact.

Lord Kangxi flipped through the pages one by one, until he found a memorial from the Northwest, he paused slightly, "Wei Zhu!"

"The slave is here," Wei Zhu was sensitive to the change in the emperor's mood.

"Pass on Longkodo."

"Hey," Wei Zhu saluted swiftly, and took the order to leave.

Lord Kangxi watched Wei Zhu walk out of the house all the way, then slowly lowered his head, and took out a red braid that shouldn't be there at all from the middle of the memorial that was just opened.

Two days later, Prince Yong's Mansion

"Ouch, Eunuch Wan Xiang," Zheng Qi just entered the back door of the row room with a food box, when Wan Xiang walked towards him with a few young eunuchs.

"Zheng Qi, I'm going to deliver food again." Wan Xiang was friendly, greeted Zheng Qi, and headed east.

Zheng Qi stretched his neck to look around, and saw several young eunuchs behind Wan Xiang holding salute packages of various sizes.

"Don't look," Sun Laoer from the chaifang came out of the house, patted Zheng Qi on the shoulder and said, "Wan Xiang moved to the back of the prince's bedroom. This is really a turn of events."

"That Eunuch Su really can't come out?" Zheng Qi followed Sun Laoer into the woodshed.

"What do you think the darkroom is?" Sun Laoer sat behind the firewood, looking as if he was going to work, and didn't want to talk too much with Zheng Qi.

Zheng Qi rolled his eyes, opened the food box in his hand, and took out a jug of wine.

"Ouch," Sun Laoer's eyes lit up immediately, and he held the jug with both hands and said, "You really have a lot of good things, this wine is good wine when you smell it."

"Hey," Zheng Qi laughed twice, looking very simple and honest, "I kept it specially for you, thanks to you for taking care of me."

"Look at what you said, let's stay under the same roof. If I don't take care of you, who will take care of you?" Sun Laoer held the jug and did not let go, "It's thanks to those eunuchs. Desong, otherwise we wouldn't dare to drink casually. You don't know, the wine worm in my stomach is about to go crazy."

"I knew you liked it, come, come, let's sit down and drink, I have a plate of fried peanuts here," Zheng Qi beckoned Sun Lao Er to sit down, and the two had a good drink around the square table.

"Why do you think that little Xiangzi who has no roots and no roots has the favor of the prince?" Less than half an hour later, the slightly drunk Sun Er Er opened up, "You didn't take a good look at his little face. , Whoops, that is white and clean, so tender that you can pinch water!"