On this day, Taigong's birthday, many local officials came to pay homage and send valuable gifts, an old man sat in front of the gate to register his name, important positions and the number of gifts, and then entered the birthday banquet, including some important people in the capital. After the birthday banquet, visit the garden scenery and enjoy the mountain spring trickle. Climb aboard the boat and swim on the lake, with green hills and green trees on both sides, and overlapping houses like enjoying the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River. Crossing the promenade and pavilions into the pear orchard, sit in front of the stage and accompany the prince to enjoy the play. Everyone in the audience sat in front of the stage and looked at the stage, the stage played cards, the name of the play was "Zhao's orphan", and then the gongs and drums "Dong Dong", out of the phase, his father Zhao Dun stepped out, his singing was loud, and then three drums sounded, ushering in the thunderous applause of the audience.

Mrs. Tai sat next to the princess, accompanied by He Jiehao, Mrs. Chen and other family members, her eyes were fixed on the stage, pinching the melon seeds on the plate with one hand or taking a sip of the teacup, constantly applauding and applauding, it seems that this "Zhao orphan" is very popular with everyone. The success of the play "Zhao's Orphan" is inseparable from their efforts, which can be described as one minute on stage and ten years off stage.

Shaobai played the role of Zhao Wu, an orphan in the Zhao family, looked at Shuqian under the lookout and the maid standing beside him, smiled slightly, and felt more confident in his heart. In his heart, he just sang to Yu Shuqian alone, so he was even more intoxicated with this role.

After the play ended, Shaobai found the maid next to Yu Shuqian in the backyard. The maid saw Shaobai walking towards her, stepped forward, and said, "What are you doing in the backyard?" ”

Shaobai faced this maid's inquiry, and immediately apologized, saying: "Shaobai is rude, and please don't blame Xiaosheng." ”

"Are you the Qiu Shaobai on the stage?"

"It's Xiaosheng," Shaobai kept bowing to show his sincerity.

"Childe is polite, I don't know why Childe came to the backyard to find the slave?"

Shaobai took out a letter from his bosom, handed it to the maid's hand, and said, "Trouble the girl to transfer this letter to your young lady." ”

"Okay, I'll help you this time, then it's up to the young lady whether she wants to accept it or not. If you succeed, don't forget about me as a middleman," the maid said and grinned.

"Okay, you must be indispensable."

As night fell, these officials or local gentry who had been living in He Yuan gradually dispersed, and the courtyard returned to quiet, only the cold wind howled. The snow above the eaves gradually melted into water, and the ground was wet as it fell. Yu Shuqian entered her boudoir, sat in front of the mirror, looked at herself in the mirror, and breathed a sigh of relief.

A maid poked her head out from behind the screen and said, "Miss." ”

"Sister Luxiu, what are you sneaking behind the screen for? Come out. ”

The maid Luxiu walked out from behind the screen, came forward to make fun of her, and said: "Yo, today the slave maid found out that the young lady is so beautiful, she is simply a fairy descending to earth, which is not comparable to ordinary women, no wonder there is a man who is so infatuated with you." ”

"Sister Luxiu, don't make fun of me, who else might take a fancy to me?"

The maid Luxiu took out a letter from her bosom and said with a smile: "There is a handsome son who writes to you to confess." ”

Shuqian looked up at the letter in Lu Xiu's hand, a little curious, and said, "Who is it?" ”

"You'd better take it for yourself," the maid Luxiu handed the letter into Shuqian's hands. Shuqian took the letter and opened it, took out the letter and opened it, and saw that it was the letter written to her by the actor Shaobai. Shuqian looked at it for a while and closed the letter. The maid Luxiu asked, "What is written on it?" ”

"It's nothing," Yu Shuqian hesitated for a while, and said: "I'll tell you, his master, his father, forced him to practice opera every day, and if he couldn't sing well, he was not allowed to eat or even be punished, and the pressure was very heavy, so I chatted with him for a while to relieve the pain in his heart, so I wrote a letter of thanks." ”

The maid Luxiu just nodded and exited Shuqian's room. After the maid Luxiu withdrew, Shuqian opened the letter again, looked at it for a long time, pulled out a letter from the side of the desk, and replied to the letter.

After He Jiehao was busy with these things, he stepped into the grandfather's room to greet his father and mother, and said, "Father, mother, are you okay today?" ”

"Hao'er, we are all fine, we all know your concerns. Hao'er, you and I, father and son, haven't chatted alone for a long time. ”

"Yes, Hao'er also has something in her heart that she wants to say to her father."

"Okay, you and I can go into the study and talk."

Taigong got up and walked slowly into the study, followed by Jie Hao. After the father and son entered the study. Taigong turned to face Jie Hao and said, "Hao'er, please sit down." ”

"Father sit down first," Taigong sat in front of the desk, and Jie Hao sat aside. At this time, He Jiehao was worried, and he didn't know what He Jiehao was thinking about at this time. The maid served tea and placed it on the table in front of them. He Jiehao stared at the teacup on the desk. Taigong, who was sitting at the desk, said to the maid standing next to him, "You go down first." ”

"Yes, slave and maid leave," the maid withdrew from the prince's study, and closed the door of the room as she withdrew. He Jiehao picked up the teacup on the desk and put it down on the desk. Taigong, who was sitting at the desk, had been looking at He Jiehao's restless appearance, and said, "Hao'er, since you entered the house, I have seen your restless appearance, what makes you so worried. ”

"Father, the child is worried about his father's birthday banquet, and the imperial historians in the court will definitely take advantage of this to make a big fuss."

"What do you mean by that?"

"At present, the imperial court is thrifty, and even the diet of the saint is two dishes and one soup, and the court clothes of the previous dynasty do not know how many patches have been made, and the officials are also following suit. The father's birthday banquet was so luxurious, which was completely different from the frugal style advocated by the imperial court, and the child was worried that a catastrophe was about to come, and the blessings and disasters depended on each other. ”

"Hao'er's worries are not unreasonable, so what should we do to reassure the emperor."

"The war in the northwest is tight, we can donate all these silver taels for longevity for the northwest military salary, so as to encourage the military spirit of the northwest, end the war as soon as possible, this is a contribution, and we can show our loyalty to the Qing court, block the mouths of the people, and burn these lists to ensure the peace of my family."

"Okay, let it be up to you."

Then He Jiehao called the housekeeper Gou Cai and said, "Gou Cai, go to the account room and get the list of shou people." ”

"Yes, the minion is going to get the list."

The housekeeper Gou Cai went to the account room to get these lists of longevity and handed them over to He Jiehao. He Jiehao took the list of people who did shou and said, "You can step down." ”

"Yes, the minion will retire."

After the housekeeper Gou Cai exited, he closed the door of this study, He Jiehao opened the list of those who have made longevity, and sighed: "Father, come and see, this is the people's fat and people's ointment they have scavenged, each is more generous than the other, and an official's annual income is not so much." ”

Taigong took the list and sighed: "Yes! ”

He Jiehao pondered for a long time and said: "Father, this list can't be burned, maybe these lists can protect my He family at a critical moment, and I hope that my father will keep this list well." ”

This was really said by He Jiehao, and in the imperial court, the imperial historians were impeaching He Jiehao. Emperor Daoguang sat on the throne, and an old imperial historian stood up to face the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the old minister has something to play." ”

"What's the matter? Hurry up and bring it up. ”

"The old minister wants to impeach the governor of Jianghuai, Lord He, and use his father to make a birthday to ask for a million taels of silver, such luxury is unprecedented, in addition to Heshen and Guangxing, I am another big corrupt official in the Qing Dynasty, and such corrupt officials must be removed."

"He Aiqing is filial piety, human nature," Cabinet University Shi Qishan made his debut.

"Your Majesty, Lord He took the opportunity of his father's birthday to accept bribes and bribes, such corruption should be eliminated by the emperor, He Jiehao is not afraid that the wind of corruption will rise again, and the honesty and dedication advocated by the emperor will become a dead letter, and the Qing Dynasty is in danger, the emperor."

The officials behind him all stood up and said, "The ministers seconded it." ”

"Okay, don't argue here, this is a million taels of silver donated by He Aiqing, but you persuaded me to kill him who was so loyal to me, you mediocre officials, I really should have killed you," After finishing speaking, he threw down the piece written by He Jiehao.

When the officials saw the thrown cantata, their legs trembled, and they knelt down and said, "The emperor is angry, and the ministers are guilty." ”

"Guilty, you are all guilty, even if you have twenty heads, it is not enough to cut off, okay, let's all be even."