Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 691

He Shen came out of Donghua Gate and got into the sedan chair, then took Liu Yin and a group of guards straight to Agui's mansion.A group of people walked along Dong'anmen Street and then passed through Dengshikou, and soon arrived at their destination.

Agui's mansion is in Dengcao Hutong, at the southeast corner of the Dongsi intersection, next to the donkey meat alley where Liu Yong's family is located in the north.Heshen has been here many times, the most recent time was more than ten days ago on behalf of Qianlong to visit a doctor, who knew that he had just opened the curtain at the entrance of the alley and could hardly recognize this place.

I saw that in the narrow alley, starting from the entrance of the alley, the entire wall was surrounded by white curtains, and coffin sheds were set up along the south wall of the mansion gate. Not a mile away, even the road on the east side of Dongshuang Street was trampled into mud and slush.

Seeing Heshen's sedan chair coming, everyone rushed to the base of the wall to give way to salute, and then looked at the sedan chair of this powerful minister known as the "Second Emperor" among the people with complicated expressions.

At this time, Agui's family members were all wearing hemp and mourning, some were carrying peace poles and entered through the side door, and some were setting up "deacons" outside the wall, setting up soul sedan chairs, setting up chair sedan chairs, and inserting "music and rhythm" on the deacon racks. "Flag", busy turning round and round, the chirping of instruments mixed with the sound of chanting from the flame openings of monks and Taoists in the coffin sheds on both sides outside the gate of the ceremony, creating a noisy and chaotic scene.

"Walking in the wilderness yesterday, I suddenly saw a big skeleton. There were no mounds in the grass among the thorns, the cold was swishing, the wind was blowing the lotus leaves, and the ghosts were crying and worrying. Skeleton! Skeleton! Sigh, you are waiting for a prime minister, you can only learn articles when you say something. Look at the warehouse full of gold and jade, which one does not throw the bones on the hill. Skeleton! Skeleton! The moon is used as a lamp, the rain is used as oil, watching the stars and watching the battle through the spring and autumn, wandering alone, making friends for friends, lamenting how many years have been lost Skeleton! Skeleton! Tonight, we are lucky enough to set up the Mingyang Society. Nine-day candles will shine, we will recite secret mantra scriptures, sprinkle nectar, and burn the incense of meditation and wisdom.

He Shen in the sedan chair felt a little irritated for no reason when he heard the sad "Sigh of the Skull".However, he quickly adjusted his mood, put on a solemn face, and got off the sedan chair in front of the horoscope wall. Because he had the imperial order, Liu Yin went to inform the deacon at the door to welcome the guests.

He Shen looked around, and when he looked up, he saw a Dulu flag more than four feet high, fluttering desolately in the wind.Because Agui is a Zhengbai flag, the entire flag is pure white, blending with the heavy snow in the sky, like a curling white smoke.

The shape of the "dulu banner" is the same as the big flag held on the stage, except that it is one foot long; the top is a lotus leaf treasure cover, and a satin embroidered film is hung in the middle. The official title of "Scholar of the Palace University", and below that is the large and wide streamer of the white inch python, which is also trimmed with velvet waist tassels, and white colored balls and streamers hang on both sides.

In the joke in another time and space, it was either Liu Yong or Ji Xiaolan who fought against Heshen; but in fact, the only opponent of Heshen in Qianlong's later years was Agui, but wherever he was, Heshen would not Too bad.

Now that the only political opponent is dead, He Shen feels quite elated.

Not long after, Agui's three grandsons—Na Yangui, Na Yanbao, and Na Yancheng came to the gate of the mansion in filial attire. Seeing He Shen in front of them, the three felt very bored.Especially for Addis's son Na Yangui, the enemy who framed his father was in front of him, which can be described as irreconcilable.

Among the onlookers on the sidelines, there were also people who felt concerned. Ah Zhongtang, who served the country and the people, was gone, and there were five or six of these huge corrupt and powerful officials alive. God really has no eyes!
However, He Shen came today with the emperor's orders, that is, imperial envoys. No matter how dissatisfied the three of them felt, they couldn't show the slightest bit of dissatisfaction, so they flicked their sleeves and all knelt in the snow.

"Slave respectfully invites Saint Ann!"

"Saint Gong'an!"

He Shen cupped his hands to answer on Qianlong's behalf, and then hurriedly stepped forward to help the three brothers up, and said with a sad face: "The three nephews, please express our condolences. He came here today because of the emperor's decree. The emperor has already rejected the Ministry of Rites. The posthumous name proposed before is changed from "Wenxiang" to "Wenzhong", and the officials of the Ministry of Rites will come with their orders tomorrow morning."

When the Yangui brothers heard this, tears welled up in their eyes, and then they knelt down in the direction of the Forbidden City and kowtowed again and again.When the three got up, He Shen said again: "The emperor also said, there is no need to rush to hand over the sign to thank you, and we will talk about it after the funeral."

After hearing this, the three of them bowed again and again, and after He Shen explained the business, he showed a sad look on his face, and cupped his hands and said: "I also ask the three nephews to lead the way, and He is going to put incense sticks on Wen Zhonggong to express his condolences." thinking."

It was already the end of Shen's time when He Shen came out of Agui's Mansion and returned to He Mansion in Shichahai.At that time, the snow in the sky was much smaller. Liu Quan led his family to do a busy job of patting the snow and blowing the mud. He Shen was clustered up to the second gate, and the ground in the inner courtyard was swept clean. The second aunt, concubine Su Qinglian, Doukou, Nalan and others were already waiting in the courtyard with a group of old ladies and maids. Seeing him coming in, Mrs. Feng took the lead in performing a blessing ceremony.

He Shen helped his wife up, held her hand like a jade carving, and said with concern: "It's so cold, why did you come out, hurry back to the room and talk."

Feng frowned and smiled, "It's okay. Don't look at Xueda today, it's not too cold."

The couple have been married for more than 20 years. Although He Shen is romantic, they respect and love this wife.The two had a daughter and two sons together, the eldest daughter married Baylor Yongjun, the eldest son Fengshen Yinde married the tenth princess of Qianlong, and they lived apart in the mansion, and the younger son died very early.

He Shen went into the house to change clothes, and then the family went in to eat around the table.Needless to say, the hot soup and hot porridge are delicious and delicious. He Shen drank a bowl of yellow rice porridge first, and then drank a few cups of boiling rice wine.After dinner, he had a conversation with Mrs. Feng, then put on a cloak, took Liu Yin, and walked northward along the corridor on the right side of Jiale Hall to the back building.

In an ordinary courtyard house, the row of houses located behind the main house and parallel to the main house is called the back room, which is usually the servant's room or warehouse.For example, Zhao Xin put a lot of sundries in the back room of the "Prince's Mansion" in Beihai Town, and many of the things he bought from the South were stored there.

However, not to mention Zhao Xin, the back-story building of Hefu, even Prince Heshuo of the Manchu Qing Dynasty can't compare; the whole building is more than 183 meters long, and there are 111 houses in it, commonly known as "99 and a half rooms".Traditional culture pays attention to the "fullness means loss". Even if there are [-] to [-] rooms, you can only take nine, and you must not say an integer.

He Shen walked along the corridor of the back building to the end of the westernmost side, and came to an independent two-story building with ten bays.However, the strange thing is that this building has no door at all, but a hole as high as a person is opened in the wall, and there are many Taihu stones of different sizes inlaid around the hole, which looks like a cave.From the two exquisitely shaped glazed lamps hanging on the wall of the cave, it can be seen that the winding path inside is secluded, and there is a trace of moist water vapor faintly coming out, and it is not known where it is.

Don't get me wrong, this is not Heshen's treasure house, but an indoor landscape garden, which is specially used for enjoying the scenery in winter, which is unique in Beijing and even in the world.If Qianlong knew, he would probably die of envy.

Just as He Shen was about to enter the cave, he suddenly heard a man's voice behind him: "He Zhongtang."

He Shen was taken aback at first, but he suddenly realized that this is in his own home, which bastard slave dared to play with himself like this!
"Who?! Dog slave, get out!"

Liu Yin, who was at the door, was also terrified. He hurriedly turned around, lifted the lantern and looked around, and vaguely saw a tall figure standing under the wall more than 20 steps away.

Suddenly, a ray of light far brighter than a horse lantern lit up from where the man was, immediately blinding Liu Yin and He Shen, and hastily covered them with their hands.

Liu Yin was about to yell "Come here", when the black shadow said in fluent Beijing dialect: "My lord, Chaoyin Temple has been gone for so many years, you are such a noble person who forgets things."

He Shen was taken aback for a moment, Chaoyin Temple?this voice.
Immediately afterwards, the two saw the light that was originally aimed at them turn upwards suddenly, and then a thin, beardless face that was half black and half white was revealed under the light and shadow.

"Mommy! Ghost!"

Liu Yin's legs went limp, and he fell to the ground with his buttocks, and fell all over the place.Although He Shen was also frightened by the two wars, but the aura he had cultivated in a high position for many years made him calm down quickly.

"Who is your Excellency? Playing tricks and playing ghosts in the middle of the night, don't you know how to restore the sky net, and it's not leaking!"

"Hehe." The man sneered and said, "As the saying goes, don't do bad things in your life, and don't be afraid of ghosts calling at your door in the middle of the night. But you and Zhongtang have done so many bad things, why are you pretending to be a big clove of garlic in front of me!"

In the blink of an eye, He Shen suddenly remembered who the other party was, his head buzzed, his ears rang loudly, his heart was beating wildly, and white sweat broke out all over his body.

At this moment, He Shen's mind is full of one sentence: God! ! !What is he? !
The dazzling light was extinguished, and the other party walked out of the night slowly, stood five steps away from He Shen, and said with a smile: "He Zhongtang, it's so cold, why do you let me stand like this? I heard that your room The Shuifa Tower is the only one in Beijing, not even Qianlong. Tsk tsk, you are welcome, I will go in and have a look, I can't come all the way for nothing, can I?"

With the light of the lantern that fell on the ground, He Shen finally saw the face of the other party clearly. His eyes were frightened and his mouth was wide open. He stood still like a stone man, unable to speak.After a while, he said with difficulty: "Zhao, Zhao, Mr. Zhao."

The visitor was none other than Zhao Xin.

He smiled and said, "Hey~~ That's right, old friend! Back then I entrusted someone to give you the medicine, how is it? It's so neat?"

medicine?What medicine?The co-author knows the master?Even if you know each other, you can't break into the back house in the middle of the night!
Liu Yin, who was on the side, had just regained his composure. He stood up against the wall, stood in front of He Shen, stared at the big tall man opposite him, and said softly without turning his head: "Master, do you want to call someone?"

"No need." He Shen shook his head slightly, and said in a cold tone: "Go to the porch and watch, no one is allowed to come over. If anyone wants to ask, just say that I am thinking about something."

Everyone has come to the front, and taking your own life is like crushing a bedbug to death, it won't work for anyone!Besides, if he dared to come to Beijing, he might have many people around him!Not to mention, the nursing homes in the mansion must have been cleaned up quietly, and now there might be a few quick guns on the roof aimed at his head!
Thinking of this, He Shen felt at ease, a smile appeared on his face, swept away the previous panic, and cupped his hands at Zhao Xin: "Mr. It's an honor. The little water law building can enter the eyes of Mr. He, which is enough to make the entire Hefu flourish. Please!"

Zhao Xin followed He Shen, walked into the narrow and long cave on the rough stone surface, walked more than ten steps cautiously, suddenly felt a bright light in front of his eyes, and saw dense bamboo forests all around him, and the sky above his head was blue. There is a pavilion built outside the steps; and at the end opposite the pavilion, a waterfall gurgles down from the rocks several meters high, falling on the water like an echo of the valley; the trickle finally merges into a small pool in front of the pavilion, a The golden carp leaped out of the water with a "chush", and fell back with a "snap", splashing a few drops of water.

I rub!

But Zhao Xin quickly realized that the sky above his head was painted on the roof.Because on both sides of this room, there are several pillars painted vermilion, and on top of the pillars, there is a circle of observation decks that only allow one person to pass through, surrounding two-thirds of the area of ​​the room.

"Mr. Zhao, this place is where He Xun spends his leisure time in winter. There are so many lonely places, I'm laughing at you." Although He Shen had an amiable face, his tone was very proud.

"It's okay, but it's too cramped. My lord, your roof is too fake! In my opinion, it should all be replaced with glass."

He Shen's heart twitched when he heard it, and when he looked at Zhao Xin with a depressed face, he found that the other party didn't look like he was talking big, so he couldn't help being very curious.I thought to myself, did this guy also build a bigger one than his own in Beihai Town?Then he said with a sneer: "You can't compare with Mr. Zhao, how dare the light of the firefly compete with the bright moon."

What he didn't know was that his water magic building would only cover an area of ​​[-] square meters, while the largest indoor garden the other party had ever been to had an area of ​​[-] square meters. There was no comparison between the two.

Zhao Xin smiled. He stood a few steps away with his hands behind his back, looked at He Shen, and said jokingly, "Master He, I really admire you. Is your current family property worth [-] million or [-] million? Guarding so much The greedy people, the fat and the people, can still eat enough, sleep and play well every day, what a tsk tsk!"

He Shen's face turned livid, he didn't expect Zhao Xin to go straight to his property without saying a word, it seems that he must have a plan.He glared at Zhao Xin nervously and said, "What is your Excellency's intention here? Do you want to win over someone? I advise Mr. Zhao not to wishful thinking!"

"Don't worry, my lord. You said that this is a nanmu hall and an indoor garden, not to mention tens of thousands of farm land and hundreds of shops. I'm curious, waiting for a hundred thousand North Navy After entering the customs, how much can you take away?"

He Shen was so angry that he almost yelled, saying that it would not be cheap for you if I set fire to it!
"Your Excellency came all the way from outside the pass, is it just to make fun of a certain? Let's not talk about it!"

"Don't mind! I just said a few words, and you are angry. Is the prime minister so generous?"

Zhao Xin shook his head with a smile, stepped on the stones, walked to the pavilion and sat down, tilted his head to look at the one-foot-long golden carp in the water, and thought about whether it was delicious braised in red or dry, before turning to Looking at He Shen, he said, "Master He, how long do you think you can live if Qianlong dies?"

　1937. In history, there is no male direct grandchildren of Heshen's blood. He and the youngest daughter born to the eldest second aunt married Guiqing of Fucha's family.The two's direct son, Ruixiu, was the prefect of Jiaxing, Zhejiang at the highest level.However, because he was the supervisor of the Baoyuan Bureau, he was sentenced to be executed for embezzling more than [-] slings of silver, which is really like a grandfather.Afterwards, the stolen goods were distributed, and Jia En was released and returned to Beijing. There was no further news.Interestingly, this person also has a half-sister who is married to Belle Yiheng's fifth son, Zaichong, who is Mr. Qigong's great-grandfather.[-]. In [-], following the death of the last King Gong Puwei in Changchun, the palace was also sold to Fu Jen Catholic University by later generations. It was dismantled and a second-floor partition was built.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)