Wang Qiang's use of the story of the Three Kingdoms to "admonish" soon spread secretly among the government and the opposition, and his position in the hearts of the courtiers became more and more important. In the past, Wang Qiang went to the homes of the ministers of the palace to deliver the decree, and people would reward a "red envelope" as usual, two taels and one ingot of silver, called errand money, and generally gave ten taels to fifty taels when encountering good news, which was considered happy money. Since there has been the matter of "admonishment", the amount of red envelopes in various prefectures has invariably doubled, not only that, but the filial piety of foreign officials from all walks of life to the inner court personnel when they enter Beijing or celebrate the New Year has also put Wang Qiang in the head, which is very rich. Wang Qiang is a generous person, after receiving the property, he always has to take out some to distribute to the other eunuchs around him, everyone is happy, Rao is so, after a few months, Wang Qiang actually accumulated thousands of taels of silver.

In the blink of an eye, the early spring of the eighth year of Chongzhen, the weather began to warm, on this day, Emperor Chongzhen accompanied the Queen Mother to the temple in Xishan to make incense and make a vow, and gave Wang Qiang a day off. Wang Qiang followed the emperor for a long time, he felt very hard, he first slept a lazy sleep, after getting up, he took out the silver money he had saved, ordered two thousand taels of silver tickets wrapped in a paper envelope, and took a few ingots of silver in his arms, and set off with his entourage eunuch Xiao Lizi, he finally had a whole day of free time, and he had already calculated that he wanted to use this day's time to go around the palace and do some private things by the way.

Wang Qiang first went to the outer palace to find Gao Gonggong, he heard that Gao Gonggong had applied for a leave of absence, and he was going to leave the palace in a few days, Wang Qiang has always been grateful to Gao Gonggong for saving his life and leaving a "life" for himself, and wanted to repay him. Wang Qiang took Xiao Lizi to just walk into the road, just happened to meet Xiao Shanzi pushing the rack car to finish work, Xiao Shanzi saw Wang Qiang from afar, quickly pushed the rack car to the side of the road, knelt on the ground, and said: "Say hello to the prince." ”

Thinking that it had only been a few months, and his identity was already very different from the day before, Wang Qiang couldn't help but feel a little proud in his heart, and he laughed a few times before approaching Xiao Shanzi and said: "Get up, we are not outsiders, don't have so many rules." ”

"Yes." Xiao Shanzi got up and replied.

"Is Grandpa Gao in the room?" Wang Qiang asked.

"Yes, but I'm already packing up my things, and I'm going to leave the palace tomorrow."

Wang Qiang knew that Xiaoshanzi had a deep relationship with Grandpa Gao, and he was reluctant to leave Grandpa Gao, so he had a plan in his heart. The two chatted and walked out of the corridor, and after a while they arrived in front of the Gao Gonggong's house, Wang Qiang walked straight into the room, and saw that it was a mess, many items were packed, and Gao Gonggong sat on the chair and smoked with a gloomy face. Wang Qiang smiled: "Father-in-law Gao, Xiaoduozi has come to see you." ”

Gao Gonggong was bored thinking about his thoughts, heard Wang Qiang's voice, woke up suddenly, and hurriedly got up to salute Wang, Wang Qiang hurriedly stepped forward to support Gao Gonggong and said: "Old man, don't kill me, you are my savior, and take care of me in every way, I can have today, is it not thanks to your support, I am here to thank you." ”

Seeing that Wang Qiang did not forget his old kindness, Gonggong Gao was very moved, and hurriedly greeted: "Father-in-law, don't say that, you are now valued by the emperor, all relying on your own talent, our family has no credit, and you are serious." ”

The two sat down with greetings, Xiao Shanzi came in and made tea for Wang Qiang, because he had just come back from work, Xiao Shanzi still had that smell on his body, fortunately, Wang Qiang was familiar with this smell and didn't mind, but he didn't drink a sip of tea.

"Old man, I heard that you will be leaving the palace tomorrow, what are your plans for the future?"

Gao Gonggong sighed and said, "Hi! What else can I plan, after I go out, I will buy a house in the countryside, buy a few acres of land, and then have a child, and ask for a stable and comfortable life, I am very content to have such a result. Alas, I have been in the palace all my life, and I look forward to going out every day, but when it comes to leaving, I am really reluctant. ”

Wang Qiang was also very emotional, and saw Xiao Shanzi standing with a bitter face on the side, so he said: "You are not young, I am afraid that it is inconvenient to be alone outside, you have to leave a caring person to take care of you, it is better to take Xiao Shanzi out together." ”

"That's a good idea!" Gao Gonggong said, and then his eyes darkened and said: "But Xiaoshanzi can't get out of the palace now, this is the rule of the palace." ”

Wang Qiang said: "I'll talk to the steward and eunuch in the palace about this matter, just find an excuse, it shouldn't be difficult!" ”

"With you to take care of him, I really want to take him away." Gao Gonggong said expectantly.

Xiao Shanzi listened, fell to his knees, tears flowed down his eyes, and said, "Thank you for saving the princess!" I don't know whose hand it fell into when I left Gao Gonggong, anyway, life is not good, I can go out with Gao Gonggong, but it saved my life, Xiao Shanzi kowtowed to you. After saying that, he kowtowed.

Wang Qiang hurriedly picked up Xiaoshanzi, took out the paper envelope containing the silver ticket from his arms, put it on the table, and said: "Old man, your life-saving grace is unforgettable in the next life, this bit of silver, I am filial to you, you go out and settle down, you must give me a letter, and there will be a good response in the future, I have no home in this world, and I have no relatives, you will be my home in the future, you are my relatives." After speaking, Wang Qiang's heart was hot, and he knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Gao Gonggong three times. Gao Gonggong was moved by the old tears, and his lips trembled and he didn't know what to say.

Wang Qiang got up and left with tears in his eyes, and as soon as he walked out of the house, he heard that his father-in-law Gao had already cried loudly.

Xiao Lizi has been following Wang Qiang's side, and he is very moved in his heart, feeling that Wang Qiang is affectionate, and he is very blessed to follow such a master. In fact, this little Lizi is a spy sent by Dongchang to secretly monitor Wang Qiang, and every day Wang Qiang's every move must be reported to Dongchang, and the chief eunuch of Dongchang will record Wang Qiang's behavior, write it into a clip and submit it to the emperor for future reference, if there is any change, you can also directly report to the emperor, which is the supervision system established by the emperor of the Ming Dynasty in order to control the main positions around him. Wang Qiang usually behaves well, is kind and equal to his subordinates, and Xiao Lizi has a deep good impression, so when he reports, he is naturally full of gossip.

Wang Qiang found the chief eunuch who was responsible for the transfer of eunuchs in the outer palace, and told Xiaoshanzi straightforwardly, the chief eunuch knew that Wang Qiang was the emperor's popular person, and he didn't dare to offend, so he had no mouth to accept it.

After finishing the affairs in the palace, Wang Qiang left the palace and went straight to Qianmen Street. He had been planning to buy a few gifts for Cai Ling'er and Zhu'er, and today he finally got his wish.

Qianmen Street is the most prosperous area in Beijing, with shops on both sides of the street, including silk villages, grocery stores, restaurants and restaurants, and the streets are also bustling with people. Wang Qiang passed by here several times when he went out of the palace to pass by the decree, but he passed by in a hurry, and today he can finally take a walk around calmly and digest the silver in his pocket. Wang Qiang went directly into a jewelry store, bought a string of pearl necklaces for Cai Linger and Zhu'er, he saw a purple jade bracelet placed in the cabinet, crystal clear, very luxurious, he couldn't help but pick it up and watch it carefully, he felt that this bracelet and Concubine Li's fair skin were very compatible, and he had the heart to buy it for Concubine Li, but after thinking about it, since he was transferred, Concubine Li deliberately avoided every time she saw herself, thinking that someone was the emperor's concubine, and now she is pregnant with a prince, and her status is respected, and she doesn't want to continue to play with herself, which is also reasonable, I couldn't help but feel stunned for a while, and I sighed and put down the jade bracelet.

Coming out of the jewelry store, Wang Qiang was no longer interested, so he went to a few more stores to buy some daily things and handed them to Xiao Lizi to carry, and calculated that he had spent less than one hundred taels of silver in total. Wang Qiang came out of a grocery store and was about to go to the silk village opposite, when suddenly a middle-aged man dressed in a long dress approached and bowed and said, "May I ask if you are the prince in the palace?" ”

"Yes, you are?"

"Princess, you are auspicious, my master wants to invite you to talk, please be sure to appreciate the light."

"Drink! Someone else asked me to say, who is the master of your family? ”

"Ah, this, my master is waiting for you in that Dongsheng Restaurant, you will know as soon as you go." Chang Sui pointed to a restaurant next to him and replied.

Wang Qiang is strange, he has no acquaintances in the capital, if any minister wants to see him, wouldn't it be over if he was invited directly to his home, and besides, the emperor forbade the internal eunuchs to interact with the ministers, so who is it? He was curious, so he rushed to the long with a little chin, long with the head to lead the way, Wang Qiang followed the back to the Dongsheng restaurant, before the time to eat, the restaurant was empty, the long with Wang Qiang to a private room on the second floor, only to see a middle-aged man in his forties standing at the door, the middle-aged man is not tall, with a fat head and big ears, dressed like a wealthy businessman, a pair of small eyes dripping around, very interesting. When the middle-aged man saw Wang Qiang coming, he hurriedly stepped forward and bowed and said: "Oh, Wang Gonggong, I have been looking up for a long time, Zhang Xiaodong, the Bosi of Suzhou City, happened to see my father-in-law on the street today, because I admired your name, so I took the liberty to ask for a talk, and I hope my father-in-law will forgive me." ”

When Wang Qiang heard this, his brain teaser was quick, and he had already guessed Zhang Xiaodong's intentions, which was nothing more than to thank himself for his "admonition" at the beginning, and take the opportunity to set up a relationship with himself, which is somewhat inappropriate, the emperor originally forbade eunuchs to collude with foreign officials, plus he had contributed to Zhang Xiaodong's promotion in disguise, once the emperor knew, something would happen if he didn't get it. Thinking of this, he deliberately raised his voice and said: "Oh, it's Lord Zhang, I have also admired your name for a long time, but I have never met, and I don't want us to meet on the street, what a coincidence, haha." ”

Zhao Xiaodong has been in the officialdom for many years, he is very slippery, and he also knows the rules of the palace, seeing Wang Qiang answer like this, he secretly admires the steady and clever of this little eunuch, and he also said with a smile: "Princess, I know the rules of the palace, and the internal supervisor is not allowed to make friends with foreign ministers, this is the emperor's wisdom, and prevention is better than prevention." But today I am visiting you as a wealthy businessman in Suzhou, I have stepped down from the Suzhou City Bo Division, this time after entering Beijing to see His Majesty, I went to serve as the prefect of Suzhou, so I am now a grass people, and I have a relationship with you, and it is not a violation of the emperor's rules. ”

When Wang Qiang saw Zhang Xiaodong say this, he was embarrassed to refuse again, and as he entered the private room, the servant came in to make fragrant tea, and the two of them drank tea and chatted. Because they are not familiar with each other, and there are outsiders, and there is no deep talk, Zhang Xiaodong asked Wang Qiang for some problems in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Wang Qiang asked Zhang Xiaodong to learn about the customs and business methods of Suzhou, seeing that it was time to eat at noon, Zhang Xiaodong saw that Wang Qiang was cautious, so he gave up the idea of inviting him to dinner, took out an envelope from his sleeve, pushed it in front of Wang Qiang and said: "Wang Gonggong, this is the five hundred taels of silver that I am honoring you, and I know that you have always been honest and self-disciplined, but life in the palace is hard, and you are doing things by the emperor's side, The cost is naturally not small, and I hope you will accept it. You can rest assured, in the next family, this official is to spend money to donate, and being an official is only for the glory of the ancestors, and he is not greedy for ink, so this money does not hurt the incorruptibility, even if the emperor knows it, he will never blame it. ”

Wang Qiang thought about it, and it was a reward of tens and one hundred to which mansion he went to, and it was estimated that the emperor would not care, so he said: "Okay, since Lord Zhang is so bold, then I am not welcome, and when His Majesty sees him in two days, we can still meet and say goodbye." As he spoke, he got up and bowed his hand.

"Oh, yes! I almost forgot, I also brought a few engraved copies of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" with me when I entered Beijing this time, and I know that my father-in-law has a lot of attainments in this area, so I have a copy for you, please accept it. When you get back, let's take a closer look at each page. Saying that, Zhao Xiaodong took out a wooden box, handed it to Wang Qiang, and knocked it heavily, Wang Qiang guessed that there must be something strange in this book, and he didn't say much, so he took the book and left casually.

Wang Qiang and Xiao Lizi found a noodle restaurant to eat fried noodles, bought some things, and returned to the palace at three o'clock in the afternoon. Xiao Lizi placed the things that Wang Qiang bought one by one, and then walked up to Wang Qiang, and said after a long time: "Princess, what are you going to do with this matter today?" ”

"What's the matter?" Wang Qiang asked in surprise.

"It's about meeting with Master Zhang." Xiao Lizi replied.

Wang Qiang was surprised by Xiao Lizi's attitude, and asked suspiciously, "What's wrong with this?" Ahem, if you have anything to say, just say it, we've been together for so long, we don't have to babble. ”

"Yes, don't hide it from the prince, the emperor supervises the people around him very strictly, like the matter of your meeting with Lord Zhang today, the emperor will definitely know, although Lord Zhang has no position now, but he is still an official of the imperial court, the emperor knows, I am worried that it will be unfavorable to the father-in-law. You have always been kind to the small, so the small one has to remind the adults that once the emperor asks, there must be an explanation. Xiao Lizi said.

Wang Qiang listened to the words and distinguished, he had already guessed the identity of Xiao Lizi, he pondered for a while, he already had a plan, he got up and patted Xiao Lizi on the shoulder and said: "Xiao Lizi, good brother!" Thank you for reminding me, I know what to do, you can do whatever you want, I didn't plan to hide this from the emperor. After speaking, he took out a silver ingot and stuffed it into Xiao Lizi's hand, and Xiao Lizi went with a thousand thanks.

Wang Qiang sent the gifts he bought for Cai Ling'er and Zhu'er to Zhong Cui Palace, and he wanted to see Concubine Li, but when he arrived, he learned that Concubine Li went with him, and Cai Ling'er also accompanied Concubine Li, so he had to give the gift to Zhu'er. He revisited his old place, thinking of the romantic days with Concubine Li, and he couldn't help but feel a little stunned.

That night, in the dead of night, Wang Qiang opened the wooden box given to him by Zhang Xiaodong, a thick ink fragrance wafted out, it smelled very good, he took out the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", turned the page, and saw a gold leaf in it, and then turned it page by page, there were a total of twenty gold leaves in the book, which was a lot of wealth, Wang Qiang thought about it again and again, and finally hid the gold leaf carefully, put the book back in the wooden box, and went to bed.

Sure enough, early the next morning, Emperor Chongzhen got a secret report from Dongchang, and knew the details of Wang Qiang's gift to Gao Gonggong and Yinliang the day before and Zhang Xiaodong's meeting, but Chongzhen did not take it to heart, but felt that Wang Qiang's gift to Gao Gonggong and Yinliang was not forgetting the old master, and knowing the kindness and retribution, which shows his loyalty; And to meet Zhang Xiaodong, it was also Wang Qiang that Zhang Xiaodong took the initiative to find, and the two did not know each other in advance, and there was no suspicion of accepting bribes and requests, and it was normal to accept five hundred taels of silver, he knew that foreign officials often sent money and gifts to the eunuchs in the palace, but they just wanted to take care of them, not any other intentions of internal and external collusion.

In the afternoon of the same day, after Chongzhen met with the minister, he approved the excerpts for a while, feeling a little tired, and he beckoned Wang Qiang to tell him "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Wang Qiang came to Chongzhen, knelt down and kowtowed, and said: "Long live Qiyu, the slave and maid are guilty, please deal with it with the emperor." ”

"Oh, what are you guilty of?" Chongzhen asked in surprise.

"Yesterday, the slave maid went out of the palace to go shopping, met the Zhang Xiaodong in Suzhou at the front door, and received him five hundred taels of silver, at first the slave maid thought it was no big deal, after coming back, the slave maid thought about it and felt uneasy, this is a foreign official, accepting bribes, breaking the emperor's rules, the slave and maid know that they are guilty, please deal with the emperor." After speaking, he bowed his head.

Chongzhen didn't expect this little eunuch to be quite sincere, and he actually took the initiative to explain his problems, and he was very relieved, he suddenly had a childlike heart, and wanted to scare this little eunuch, so he deliberately said with a straight face: "Oh? To have such a thing is a capital offense! In addition to these, I'm afraid there are other problems, you recruit me from the truth! After saying that, he slapped the book case.

Wang Qiang trembled in fright, and said in a trembling voice: "The slave and maid should be damned, yes, yes, there are other problems." Slaves and maids, slaves and maids to the mansions to spread the decree, but also received a lot of red envelopes, as well as the New Year's money sent by foreign officials, anyway, quite a lot, the first slave and maid did not dare to ask, and then heard that other fathers-in-law have collected, and they also accepted it, the slave and maid are guilty, and the slave and maid are willing to hand over the money to the emperor, and the slave and maid do not want a cent. "I'm going to cry when I finish it.

Chongzhen saw that Wang Qiang was frightened like this, and felt funny, and asked, "Hehe, how many silver taels have you saved now?" ”

Wang Qiang listened to Chongzhen's tone had eased, knew that there was no big problem, and his heart settled down a little, and said: "Don't dare to deceive the emperor, I originally saved a few thousand taels, and then the slave and maid gave some to others, and I didn't pay any details, I guess there are still two or three thousand taels." ”

"It was given to the high father-in-law of the outer palace, wasn't it?" Chongzhen asked in a smug tone.

"Huh? You know all about it! Wang Qiang looked up at Chongzhen, pretended to be surprised, and complimented: "Your Majesty, you are really clever, you have passed Zhuge Kongming, you can't hide anything from the emperor, Gonggong Gao has saved the life of the slave and maid, and he is very concerned about the slave and maid, and he is about to leave the palace, so the slave and the maid sent him some silver taels." ”

"Well, the gratitude was originally good, it can be seen that you still have a conscience, rush this, I will spare you this time. I am not thin on you, and you will have to repay your kindness in the future, so get up. Chongzhen said in a relaxed tone.

Wang Qiang pondered, since he was doing a play, he simply did enough play, he raised his head and said: "The slave and maid thank the emperor for not killing him, and the emperor will not abandon him, and select the slave and maid by his side, you have the grace of reinvention for the slave and maid, and the slave and maid are willing to dedicate all the silver they have saved to the emperor, I hope you can accept it." ”

"Huh." Chongzhen was amused and said, "I have the four seas, what can you do with that little silver?" ”

Wang Qiang knelt down, straightened up and said: "Don't hide it from the emperor, before the slave maid entered the palace, I thought that the emperor was extremely respectful, majestic, and the harem was beautiful with three thousand, and you could do whatever you wanted, but now that you are by the emperor's side, you know the hardships of being an emperor, you are worried about the country and the people, for the sake of the country and the people, you are heartbroken, the food is not fragrant, and you can't sleep day and night to work on state affairs. In the words of the common people, it is really not easy for you! The slave and maid saw it in their eyes and was anxious in their hearts, but the slave and maid were a waste person, and they had no ability to solve problems for the emperor, but they begged the emperor to accept the slave's silver, although it was small, it was also a little loyalty of the slave and maid! As he spoke, he burst into tears.

Wang Qiang's skillful words deeply moved Emperor Chongzhen, he grabbed the armrests of the dragon chair tightly with both hands, his eyes were a little red, and he sighed in his heart: Only this little eunuch in the Manchu Dynasty knows his suffering! Thinking that he ascended the throne at the age of eighteen, he inherited a mess, Wei Ke's eunuch party controlled the government, and his relatives were each king's king and did not obey the government order, and he deliberately eradicated the eunuch party and controlled the court situation, but then there was a series of wars and disasters, the north was the Manchurians frequently entering and plundering, the south was constantly harassed by the Japanese invaders, and the peasant riots in the northwest rose one after another, and there was no peace for a day. In order to save the crisis, he exhausted his mental strength with painstaking efforts, and he was about to vomit blood, but the situation was still deteriorating, and these civil and military ministers around him were all corrupt and corrupt, fighting for power and profit, and they were singing and dancing all day long for pleasure. Thinking of this, Chongzhen was discouraged for a while.

Chongzhen silently looked at Wang Qiang kneeling in front of him, and felt that this little eunuch was his own intimate person, and he was not thin, and he was loyal to himself. Chongzhen thought about it, breathed a long sigh of relief, and said: "It's enough for you to have this loyalty, you keep the little silver yourself, and when you can use it in the future, you can take the silver that others give you in the future, anyway, their silver is also greedy for ink, don't do it in vain, as long as you are loyal to the master, I will not treat you badly!" Get up. ”

"Long live thanks." Wang Qiang got up, deliberately bowed his waist and said: "Long live, the slave has to ask you for a while, I have to go back and change my pants, the one I was scared just now, this pants will be wet." ”

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha! Chongzhen's tears of laughter came out, and the little melancholy just now was swept away.