Chen Huang was stabbed as if he had been stabbed by a steel needle, his face was as pale as paper, and he bowed down and said, "How dare the minister ......" Jin Fu sighed and said, "Gege Mingcha." When the minister entered Beijing this time, the emperor summoned him three times, and twice talked about the matter of Khalkha, and there was something in the southeast of the country, and he could not take into account the northwest, so he had to deal with Geerdan. Speaking of this, the emperor was very emotional, and ordered me to control the Yellow River within a few years, ensure the transportation of water, in order to prepare for the urgent use of grain, and wait for Taiwan, that is, to wave the west! The Dzungar and Mongol vassals are different from Korea, Ryukyu and Nanyang countries, and have been the territory of our Chinese Celestial Empire for thousands of years. ”

"You're talking about...... It's true? Ah Xiu's voice trembled violently.

"How dare the minister speak falsely?" Jin Fu slowly stood up and lowered his voice, "...... The emperor has secretly instructed the cardinal to draft a map of the western expedition, this winter and next spring, the emperor will tour the north of Fengtian, contact Monan Zhumeng, and discuss the plan-" He suddenly stopped, the matter involved top secret, Kangxi instructed "the law does not pass on the six ears", he felt that he had said too much to comfort Ah Xiu. Ah Xiu smiled with tears, stroked his hair, and said: "You have to play the emperor, Geldan mined a lot of gold in Zhungar and gave it to the kings of Eastern Mongolia, don't let the emperor believe them easily!" Jin Fu hurriedly smiled: "Of course it must be played, and even Gege's ministers here must also be played one by one." ”

Ah Xiu bit her lip, glanced at the cramped and restless Chen Huang with resentment, and said, "Please leave my business aside for the time being, and wait until the matter with Chen Huang is over!" For a time everyone was silent. Jin Fu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Let's think about this matter in the long run...... and then opened the door and came out.

The people who ate wine in the patio had already stopped their glasses. Self-styled Zhiren closed the door and shut in, which had caused uneasiness among the entourage, and then listened to the sometimes loud voices inside, sometimes silent, and they all felt strange. When everyone was talking to each other and had no clue, they saw Jin Fu and Feng Zhiren coming out one after the other, all of them were pale. Standing in front of the stairs and looking at the sky, Jin Fu smiled and said, "It's getting late, and it's cloudy again." Let's go back to the post and leave Tianyi, his manuscript hasn't been found yet! "Saying that, he ordered everyone to return to the Linhaoguan Station.

The sky was drizzling, and only Chen Huang and Ah Xiu were left in the house. Since Jin Fu went, Han Liu was busy leading people to clean up the remnants, and they all retreated. Ah Xiu knew what she meant, and while sitting and eating tea without saying a word, Chen Huang felt that there were thorns in his body and fidgeted. After a while, I heard Ah Xiu say:

"Mr. Tianyi, you ...... When will you leave for the south? ”

"Don't dare," Chen Huang sat at the other end of the table, listening to Ah Xiu call him "sir", bowed and replied, "I'll leave tomorrow." Chen Huang is a scholar at the end of the year, and he is destined to know the county lord Gege, and he should always remember it in his heart. From then on, the cape of the world, people are on their own side, and they are good at ......"

Before he finished speaking, Ah Xiu interrupted him with a sneer: "I don't want you to call me 'Gege'!" After coming to the Central Plains for a few years, I have gradually understood that in Shaanxi, you rescued me, and it was just a matter of falling, in Huangliang Meng, you and I lived in the same room, you said the word 'name', and where did you put me? Chen Huang was also really emotional at this time, and sighed after a long time: "People are not plants and trees, who can be ruthless, you treat me like this, how can I be indifferent in my heart?" But Gege thought carefully, if you really follow me, will I go to Mongolia with you, or will you follow me to Jin Fu's subordinates to govern the river? The county lord can't forget revenge, Chen Huang wants to show his ambitions in the cause of river defense, nothing in the world is perfect, why should you and I do something useless? - As for these things in Shaanxi and Huangliang Dream, Chen Huang has forgotten it, that is, he will never mention a word to his father and brother and friends! Ah Xiu was silent for a long time, and said coldly: "Of course you are a gentleman, I can trust you - if you are looking for flowers and asking willows, will I Ah Xiu look down on you?" The emperor promised to raise troops to destroy thieves, I am more relieved, to tell you a word, you go all over the world, I will always look for you, follow you, I want to watch you marry someone else! As he spoke, tears burst out between his eyelashes.

Chen Huang opened his mouth, but he was speechless, and the room fell silent for a while. At this time, the cold wind outside gradually rose, and the cold rain fell in the courtyard. In the dusk, the Xue Luo vines on the side of the wall swayed gently in the rain, making a rustling sound. These two people, one is a scholar in brown clothes and linen shirts, who has traveled all over the river and concentrates on river control, and the other is a noble woman who has a deep hatred, has left her hometown, and begs for food on the streets. Chance made them collide together, bumping out of this insoluble fate.

Chen Huang felt very sad in his heart, slowly got up and paced to the window, looked at the flowers and plants in the wind and rain wistfully, did not look back, and said slowly: "Ah Xiu, you said that you like me and want to marry me, why don't I Chen Huang love you?" However, if you think about it carefully, you and I are so far apart in terms of identity, foundation, ambition, and experience, if the two stars of the business are rare in the sky, like the two cows and girls looking at each other across the river! ”

What kind of "business", Ah Xiu only knew that the "cow girl" was the cowherd and the weaver girl, but he didn't know how to "participate in business", so he slowly paced over, stood side by side with Chen Huang, and looked out the window. The clouds in the sky were so low that they turned into a cloud of mist, and the drizzle was dripping, and the heavy drops of water on the plantain leaves fell to the ground like tears. Chen Huang looked into the distance through the rain curtain, and his voice was a little hoarse: "Sanxing and Shangxing are one east and one west, and they will never meet one after another......" Ah Xiu felt sour in his heart when he heard it, and he cried again, but he heard Chen Huang say again: "This is like Naihe, have you heard of it?" The Nai River does not build bridges for the living, it can only be crossed after people die. You and I are standing on the bank of the Nai River, how can we ......" He choked up and said no more.

Ah Xiu listened to his bleak and sad tone, and only then did he know that this scholar had a broad and deep heart without hesitation. Her heart was about to break, and she didn't say a word, but turned around and took down a gong hou from the wall, and it bounced up loudly. Chen Huang listened to her playing "Nanlu Yizhi Flower", and suddenly remembered Guan Hanqing's "Huang Zhongwei" that day, so he chanted:

I am a copper pea that is not steamed, cooked, cooked, hammered, fried, or exploded. Every person who teaches you to drill into his hoe is constantly chopping and unraveling, and he can't take off the slow-rising mille-feuille brocade pullover...... You have lost my teeth, crooked my mouth, lamely my legs, and broken my hands. God has given me such a bad symptom, and I still refuse to stop.

Ah Xiu sighed when he heard this: "You love the river so much, there is no way, you have sung Guan Hanqing's, but I also have a song "Liangzhou Seventh" Fenghe. Then the chords sang softly:

In a flash, the world is full of drums, who will play this gonghou?

It is difficult to cross the heavens, and the desert is full of sand and dust and rivers......

But where is the other side of the river, what is the gentleman who is alone in a lonely boat!

Why don't you say anything? Who will send the way home......

After singing, he fell down and cried: "The top two strings are the bell of the Gonghou Lingxiu, one for you, and one for me to leave ......" said and pulled suddenly, only listening to the two sounds of "ding ......" and "dong ......", the strings are absolute. The aftermath lingered for a long time.

Mingzhu received a letter from Jin Fu, and it was nearly the Mid-Autumn Festival in August. In addition to the relocation of the Governor's Palace and the repair of Quy Nhon Causeway, the letter mentioned the matter of Ah Xiu, and he knew that the matter was very important, so he immediately asked Pegasus to go to Handan to pick up the princess. received a report in only two days, not only was the princess not in Cong Zun, but the Han Liu family also moved together. The neighbors only heard that they had moved to her eldest son in Anhui, but they did not know the exact address. Mingzhu thought that there was no way, so he took the letter and took a sedan chair to Caijia Hutong to find Gao Shiqi. During these days, Mingzhu knew that his cleverness could not go around in Gao Shiqi, and listening to Kangxi's tone, his trust in Gao Shiqi was actually above the ministers. Kangxi ordered Gao Shiqi to write the imperial approval, saying that he would let Xiong Ci rest and make time to teach the prince, but Gao Shiqi didn't care about the ministry affairs, and only counseled the cardinal requirements of each ministry, which was equivalent to dividing half of Xiong, Suo and his own powers to the surname Gao. This Gao Shiqi has another outstanding; can not eat, drink, pull or withdraw all day, pass the official documents at a glance, guard the emperor every step of the way, ask one answer ten - the Beijing officials of the six ministries and nine secretaries are the most adept. Seeing this, Mingzhu is not as self-dedicated as before, and he always has to deal with Gao Shiqi first.

As soon as the sedan chair fell, it happened that Gao Shiqi was wearing a neat court suit, and came out with light steps, seeing that it was Mingzhu who came to the house, he closed the fan in his hand "bang", slammed it to the ground, and said with a smile: "Ouch, it's Ming Gong!" What wind blows? Won't I just go when I say hello? ”

"Human," Mingzhu said with a grin, "Don't be so 'Ming Gong Ming', do you wait in the upper study - just call Lao Ming - it seems that I came unfortunately, you are so well-dressed, do you want to go out?" Gao Shiqi smiled and said: "You don't know if you dare to love, just check the cautious brother to pass the decree, the emperor gave a banquet in the West Garden, and I am afraid that I have rushed to the Zun Mansion to pass the decree." How about we go together? So saying, he called for the horses to be prepared. Mingzhu said: "Tell them to bring one more horse, and we will go together." ”

The two of them rode on the stones, and the first few servants also rode with them. Mingzhu looked around, and realized the beauty of Gao Shiqi's not taking a sedan chair: it was lofty and elegant, and there was spirit, because there were not many people, and there was no official faction. couldn't help laughing: "You are a person who is meticulous in all big and small things, which is enviable!" Alas...... I'm old. ”

"Dude," Gao Shiqi said honestly and unceremoniously, "only in his forties, how can he be old?" Suo Laosan is getting old! About sit in a sedan chair to see the riding height, ride a horse to see the sedan chair steady, this mountain looks at the mountain scenery is good, it is also human nature. He pointed at Mingzhu's four-person official sedan chair with a whip and smiled, "I refused to sit because I saw the pitiful three sedan chair men." Mingzhu asked in surprise, "Three?" Why three? Gao Shiqige smiled and said: "Look at these four palanquin drivers, the first one is like a minister who walks in the study - raising his eyebrows; Second place, like the imperial history - dare not fart ......"

Mingzhu laughed and asked, "Why don't you dare to fart?" ”

"I'm afraid of smoking the nobles in the sedan chair!" Gao Shiqi glanced at Mingzhu, and said, "-The third person can't see the road behind the sedan chair, as if he is confused--the sky is dark; The last one followed suit, and he was like a priest of the Ministry of Cao—he had no idea at all...... Aren't these three pitiful? ”

Mingzhu listened silently and thoughtfully. After a while, Fang smiled: "I'm a bit like the last sedan chair man - I have no idea at all." This is a letter from Jin Fucai, take a look. Gao Shiqi took the letter, frowned and read it, glanced at it and handed back the pearl, but there was no squeak, and then sighed: "There is no jade in the sea of evil, what a pair of idiots......"

"What?"

"Nothing." Gao Shiqi shook his head and smiled and let the horse move forward, "In my opinion, this matter can be seen by you when there is no one, quietly play the emperor." The emperor doesn't want to provoke Geldan at this time, and he may not be willing to publicize it! Mingzhu thought for a moment and said with a smile: "In this case, it will be successful if you are not busy playing." ”

The two of them walked while talking, and when they arrived at the forbidden land of Xiyuan, they saw from a distance that the six departments and the banquet officials black crows were standing in a large area, gossiping and discussing, but they didn't see Suo Etu, so they dismounted together and rested in the Dragon Pavilion at the gate of the garden. Mingzhu suddenly remembered today's banquet, the emperor must be a monarch and a poem, and he couldn't help but feel apprehensive in his heart, seeing Gao Shiqi looking around at the scenery, looking indifferent, Mingzhu was really envious and jealous, thought for a while, and finally said: "Alas! Maybe I have to get a piece of writing today, where is the poetry, but it is difficult! If you don't care about it, you're going to be ugly again! Gao Shiqi knew that he begged for himself, smiled, and said with a fan in his palm: "These hymns are probably nothing more than using Bailiang style, and they can't go wrong if they don't violate etiquette, don't violate them, and can't make mistakes!" If you don't dislike it, I'll be a gunman for you. However, the emperor will not be difficult for you today - Suo Sanye has taken a long sick leave, and there are only two or three people in total, and he is still counting on supporting the emperor's face! ”

Mingzhu was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong with the third child, is he seriously ill?" Kurabal took a long sick leave - I didn't even know it! He remembered what Gao Shiqi said, "Suo Lao San is old", and he was surprised and delighted, and he couldn't tell what it was like. "I also heard what He Guizhu said, and the emperor hasn't approved it yet. It's about the same - we just came, didn't you see the Guanglu Temple, the Household Department, the Criminal Department, and the Ministry of Industry, how did the speakers look at you? They were originally the third people, and now you Lao Ming told them to lick and suck the carbuncle, but I'm afraid that there are people who are willing! With that, he raised his face and laughed. Mingzhu chewed Gao Shiqi's words, and couldn't reply for a while. But I saw Xiong Cilu and Li Guangdi coming over with the Ministry of Works' squire Isang'a, Hubu Langzhong Cui Yawu, and Ilaka. Gao Shiqi saw that these officials looked smiling, and knew that they had changed their doors to join Mingzhu, so he only said "sue me", then got up and walked out of the Dragon Pavilion, beckoned an official, and said with a smile, "I remember meeting in Shuntian Mansion, your name is Song Wenyun, a member of the Criminal Department, right?" ”

"Zhongtang has a good memory," Song Wenyun squinted with a smile, "The lower official is Song Wenyun!" ”

Gao Shiqi pondered for a moment and said, "I want to ask about the case of Fang Lan and the Hu family, I don't know what's going on?" You have to deal with this matter fairly! Song Wenyun didn't expect this prominent Zhongtang to ask this, rubbed his hands and said: "This case is not over yet, the old man of the Hu family is a Taoist, he refuses to withdraw from the marriage, his son died of tuberculosis, and he insists on asking this girl from the Liu family to be a ghost kiss." The Liu family didn't know whose power it was, but they refused, Old Man Hu went to Shuntianfu several times to complain, but was blocked back, and he was so angry that he whimpered......" Gao Shiqi listened with a blank face, and said coldly: "To tell the truth, the Liu family relies on my strength." Liu Fanglan, a yellow flower girl, why did she jump into the fire pit alive? She is also a human being, think to herself, is this in line with the way of the saint's forgiveness? ”

"Who's to say it isn't!" Song Wenyun was extremely clever, and sighed with a change of tone, "Poor thing, my own son has to be a big living person, this is unreasonable!" Originally, this matter was over, but our court official said that this matter was related to famous religions, and it involved the members of the imperial court - presumably you are old - for fear that someone would gossip. Seeing Gao Shiqi sneering gloomily, he hurriedly said, "But now that the Hu family has died, several clansmen are making noise, and it's not for money!" As long as these bastards are settled, who will come to sue them? - Zhongtang doesn't need to worry about it, I'll do this tomorrow, and I'll go to the house to give a letter, and I'll say goodbye! Gao Shiqi smiled when he saw that he was so interested. Nodding his head, he was about to speak, when he saw Zhang Wanqiang, the eunuch of the Six Palaces, come out of it with a knotty in his hand, stand at the door, and preach: "The holy car has come to the regimental hall, and all the ministers and erudite Hongru will perform the salute in turn!" At the moment, Gao Shiqi didn't care about saying much, so he followed Xiong Cixu and the others inside.

The feast is very rich, compared to the Tiren Pavilion, although the quantity of each is not large, but the category has greatly increased, and the color is made by the master of the imperial dining room. According to Gao Shiqi's arrangement, there are a total of 80 tables, each table is 8 people, and the number of 8 people is taken. The huge golden bowl holds Lala and puts it in the middle, what bird's nest hanging duck, game hot pot, hibiscus bird's nest, apple fat chicken, soup duck, Esksen deer tail sauce, chopped pheasant, red braised lychee fish, steamed shark fin, deer tail plate, sheep and bird barbecued venison, roasted wild boar...... One by one, they came up.

Kangxi and the crown prince Yinren sat at the same table, only Yinzhen sat next to him, the third elder brother Yinzhi and the fourth elder brother Yinzhen, carried by their respective nurses, each ate a small cup of milk and hugged it, which is considered a "salty and great gift". More than 600 people stared at the chief Kangxi, and when they saw him smiling and raising the chopsticks, Fang Yi picked up the chopsticks together, and ate them slowly. Gao Shiqi, who originally wanted to feast on it, realized that no matter how rich the royal banquet was, it was just a false appearance. After the complicated ceremony, Kangxi looked casual, stood up and said with a smile:

"The lake here is clear and blue, and the willows on the shore are like smoke. It's autumn and the scenery is pleasant, you are all Wenzong Shuo Confucian, you should have good ideas. The champion article is eternal, and it is very boring, so why not care about the monarch and the poem? Then he groaned:

The golden wind is refreshing!

When Mingzhu heard that it was indeed Bai Liang, he couldn't help but smile, pretending to get close to Gao Shiqi inadvertently, but he heard Xiong Ci walk and say:

Shao Le Shengping bows to him.

Gao Shiqi hurriedly muttered in a low voice, Mingzhu's body was raised, and he raised his eyebrows and said:

The head of state is brilliant!

"Mingzhu is only afraid of hiring a gunman, right?" Kangxi smiled when he heard this, "Li Guangdi, you come to renew the knot." Because in front of so many people, Li Guangdi listened to the single point himself, his face was naturally bright, and when he looked left and right, there were eight pieces of "a bucket of evergreen" next to the throne, and he hurriedly left the seat and bowed down and said:

Unify the eight directions for ten thousand years!

Kangxi laughed: "Such a ready-made scene is for you to pick up and use - give wine!" Because he instructed, "Everyone is free, you don't have to sit cramped, depending on how you do, you will be rewarded for making good poems!" ”

All of a sudden, everyone evacuated, some leaned on the railing, some hung their heads to meditate, each painstakingly digging out their minds to sensationalize. Kangxi sent a decree to Shi Runzhang, and returned the manuscript of the poem that was asked to Pu Liuxian during the banquet of Tiren Pavilion, and said: "This person has a deformed talent, and his poems and essays are considerable, but he is too depressed, and he is not a person who lives a lot." is not yet fifty years old, why is it 'lustful and white-headed to ask Miao, can you send a boat to the spiritual platform'? It's too depressing. I'll just take this one of him—" he said, pointing with his fingers. Xiong Cilu, Gao Shiqi and Li Guangdi all came over busily, but when they looked, it was a long and short sentence:

The sky is vague, and the earth is also vague, what do you say to know things? I don't see a gentleman capturing a villain, it's like fighting a jackal with bare hands; The villain traps the gentleman, and it is easy to be like a storm sweeping the earth. The dragon killer centipede, the elephant killer rat, its reason is difficult to name, and its feelings are invisible-this life has been a mistake for creation, how can you be a Feng woman!

"It's an interesting word." Kangxi said with a smile, "Although it is written as a story of the previous dynasty, how is it useless to govern the Tao in this world?" ”

Xiong Cixu's heart couldn't help but sink: An emperor is willing to remember this matter from time to time, how can there be a country that is not governed? But Kangxi often said that the way to control the ministers is to make the gentlemen and villains get their own place, not only to prevent the gentleman from being falsely accused, but also to use the talent of the villain. Why did Suo Etu quit the study, and Kangxi took out this word to show the people who stayed? He is the most sincere and upright Taoist, who cultivates himself with "prudence and independence", but in the past few years, he has been torn between Suo and Ming, and he is also the prince's master, so he has been squeezed a lot. Xiong Cixu knew in his heart that if it weren't for Kangxi's absolute trust in his loyalty, he would not agree with the "Three Feudatories", and he would have been crushed by Mingzhu long ago...... Suo Etu withdrew from the study, obviously to avoid the suspicion of weight, but did Kangxi approve it or not? A few days ago, Suo Etu even played a concert, impeached several feudal officials, and transferred several ministers of ministries and courts, of course, among them, there are righteous people and villains, Kangxi Benben is allowed, and the holy family is very grand, why is this? …… was thinking wildly, but heard Kangxi say to Shi Runzhang: "Pu is your protégé, you can comfort the gentleman with his life - repair another letter to Shandong old Yu Chengchan, and ask him to take care of this person." I want to explain that this is what I mean, otherwise, Yu Chenglong is not a good person, and he wants to use this to join you. After that, a few people dispersed.

Gao Shiqi did not leave. He was condescending behind Kangxi and looked at Haidian by the railing. Some people in the DPRK and China have already said that he is speculative and has no practical learning, and he is holding back his strength and is bound to chant poems that cover the sages. A few hearts were not satisfied, and he was searching for dry intestines, twisting his eyebrows and gritting his teeth, Kangxi turned his face and saw it, and said with a smile: "I don't allow you to be in the limelight today, and I have another mission for you!" Gao Shiqi was full of breath, and said with a smile: "The slave has this talent, and he has no hope of being in the limelight." What is the master's will, is it to ask the slave to help read the poetry papers? ”

Kangxi trembled with a stack of poems handed in, and said with a smile: "Evaluating the merits of poems, I am confident and have a little eyesight!" It was another messenger who went into the palace to see Aunt Su Mala. ”

"Look?" Gao Shiqi asked, feeling a little unbelievable. Kangxi burst into tears, looked at the long blue waves stupidly, and said slowly: "You probably know that I have an enlightenment master named Wu Ciyou, and now he is a monk. Gao Shiqi was secretly surprised when he saw Kangxi so emotional, and hurriedly replied: "The slave heard He Guizhu say a little, Mr. Wu has a good character and pure academics, and he once assisted his master to learn the holy way, and later——"

"You know, you don't have to talk about it later." Kangxi cut off Gao Shiqi's words, "He became a monk, and there are many reasons, and he can explain it clearly in a few words." Speaking of the roots, it is still for my young maid Su Malagu, and now her name is Hui Zhen, and she leads the practice in the palace. ”

Gao Shiqi knew that there were many taboos in this matter, so he had to bow his head and say: "Yes, as soon as you say it, the slave will understand." Kangxi's tone was heavy, slightly sentimental, and said: "I heard Mingzhu say that you are quite proficient in medicine. Now that Aunt Su Mala is seriously ill, I would like to ask you to go for a consultation. Alas, I have been closest to the palace people the most since I was a child, one is Wei Dongting's mother, and the other is her. Now one has gone to Nanjing, and the other is so sick, in case there is a bad one, but what will happen? Hearing that it was this messenger, Gao Shiqi's heart had already let go of half of it. But after a little thought, I thought that I couldn't be too obvious that my medical skills were too high, first, to attract jealousy, and second, to make everyone look for their own diseases, and they couldn't resist. After thinking for a while, Gao Shiqi smiled and said, "The master commands, dare not be unsatisfied?" But only the slave is only slightly good at regulating qi stagnation, and the ability to treat other symptoms is very usual. ”

How did Kangxi know that Gao Shiqi had moved so much in an instant, wiped the corners of his eyes, looked at the manuscript of the poem sent to him, and said: "Go ahead, pass the decree to Wudan, and ask him to take you into Zhongcui Palace." ”

Gao Shiqi hurriedly withdrew from the Dragon Pavilion outside the regimental hall to find Wudan.