didn't see the pearl for three days in a row, not only Wei Dongting muttered in his heart, but even Kangxi felt depressed in his heart. In the past two years, Mingzhu has stayed with him, day and night, the relationship between the monarch and the minister has gradually deepened, and he gradually feels that Mingzhu is the same as Wei Dongting, and he is an indispensable person.

Wu Ciyou once talked about how to get along with gentlemen and villains in a lecture. He used water as a metaphor for a gentleman and oil as a metaphor for a villain, he said: "Water has a light taste, its nature is clean, its pigment can wash clothes, and it will not splash out after boiling, which is quite like a gentleman with tolerance; The oil has a strong taste, its sex is slippery, its color is heavy, it can pollute clothes, and after boiling, water will be splashed, and it is quite like a villain who has no tolerance heart. ”

This passage made a deep impression on Kangxi, and he often used this theory to study the people around him. Naturally, the first thing that came to mind was Wei Dongting, who felt that he was loyal and witty, bold and hearty, and as vast as the water of a river. And what about the pearl? Sleek and tame, sweet and fragrant, it seems to be a bit like "oil". Together with Wei Dongting, he has a sense of security, everything is carefully handled by Wei Dongting, and he enjoys the dignity and authority of the emperor; And with Mingzhu, there is a sense of pleasure, and hearing the words makes him feel a superhuman sense of superiority and glory. I remember once Wu Ciyou gave a lecture and asked everyone to write down an idiom, and they were all four. This question, which seems to be extremely simple at first glance, has stumped everyone for a while. Wei Dongting thought for a while and said, "A thousand turns." Wu Ciyou only commented on the word "reluctantly". Mingzhu raised his eyebrows and said loudly: "The Son of Heaven Sage! "These two people are obviously the same oil and one water. But since oil and water are incompatible and cannot be mixed, why are Wei Dongting and Mingzhu so close? It seems that Wu Ciyou will also take things astray.

At this moment, he was sitting in the heart cultivation hall holding the red pen, reading the music sent from the Ao worship place, playing with the way of the gentleman and villain that Wu Ciyou talked about, with a smile on his face. Su Malagu was waiting for the pen and ink, and when she saw him smiling thoughtfully, for some reason, she came up and added a piece of incense, and asked softly, "Long live the lord, are you thirsty?" ”

Kangxi put down his pen and waved his hand, and suddenly asked with a smile: "What if the emperor is a gentleman in front of him?" ”

"'Pro-virtuous ministers, far villains', this is the famous saying of the Marquis of Han Wu." Su Malagu was a little confused, and replied with a quote from the "Teacher Table", "Of course! ”

Kangxi shook his head slightly and said, "I'm afraid that may not be the case." He looked at Su Malagu's face and continued, "How many virtuous ministers can there be since ancient times?" I thought that the villain should be far away, but it should not be stopped. Because there are also versatile people among the villains, they should be reused. Even if it's oil, can you eat three meals a day without oil? Therefore, the way of the emperor is only to enable the gentleman and the villain to get their own place and do their best. ”

These words only made Su Malagu speechless. She thought about it for a long time, and finally felt that something was wrong, but she was unable to express her meaning in clear and concise words like Wu Ciyou. Then he smiled and said: "Having said that, the slave still wishes the emperor to be a gentleman and a villain." ”

Kangxi didn't answer, lowered his head and approved a few lines of music, and saw that Su Malagu was still standing beside him and didn't leave, as if waiting for the next step, so he raised his head and smiled: "Just like Qi Jinggong in the Spring and Autumn Period, if there is no Yanzi, who will govern the country in Anbang?" If there is no Sima Zhuo, who will defend against foreign enemies? On the contrary, if there was no Liang Qiu to play with him, wouldn't he suffocate him? Your strips are useless, and they won't be enough! I am the lord of the world, how can I be a gentleman in this life? The villain should also give him a place to dispose of. The talent of the villain is too gentleman, if you don't use it, wouldn't it be a tyrannical thing! ”

"Long live," Su Malagu saw that Kangxi didn't seem to be smiling, and these words didn't seem like jokes, so she said, "Long live, can traitorous villains like Ao Bai and Bamburshan also be used by the saints?" ”

Kangxi had a fixed thought, and said with a calm smile: "Ao Bai is not a villain, he is a hero today. When the first emperor was there, he was a good minister; After I ascended the throne, he despised me and wanted to disrupt the people and bring disaster to the country, so that he was incompatible with my water and fire—this was forced by the situation. ”

"Long live the Lord must say so, and the minions don't dare to refute it." The more Su Malagu felt that Kangxi's words were irrefutable, the more frightened she became, and if she continued to argue, she was afraid that things would be stiffened, and said in a trembling voice: "Long live Fang Cai said that oil is indispensable, and the slave will not eat meat or oil from today onwards, so as to refrain from talking about today." ”

Kangxi didn't want her to be so serious, but he thought it was funny, so he said: "I am a few jokes, you are so serious, are you angry with me?" Why bother? ”

"You have no jokes!" Su Malagu said resolutely, "The slave doesn't dare to joke, let alone say that he is angry with the master, the slave has taken refuge in my Buddha and quit these impure things." ”

Kangxi saw that she was suddenly stubborn and unreasonable, thinking that maybe something unpleasant had happened, and he thought that she would be fine in a few days, and he would no longer argue with each other at the moment. Suddenly, Zhang Wanqiang poked his head out and hurriedly asked, "What's the matter?" Is it time to eat? ”

Zhang Wanqiang originally wanted to call out Aunt Su Mala to speak alone, but he didn't want to be seen by Kangxi at a glance, so he had to come in and say: "Long live Lord, I can't go to study today, just now Xiao Weizi said, I want to find the pearl to start the class!" ”

"Mingzhu is a merry man," Kangxi said with a smile, "I didn't see him for four or five days some time ago, and I didn't blame him, but I've been getting more and more lazy lately, and maybe I've stumbled somewhere." Xiao Weizi also became too timid, so he simply didn't even let him read the book. ”

"It's better to be cautious." Su Malagu interjected from the side, "It's not as good as before, it's only been a few days since the search for the mansion, so it's considered that the world is peaceful?" ”

"Then forget it!" Kangxi sat down dejectedly, "I have some new insights in my reading recently, and I am about to ask Mr. Wu to correct them." - Mingzhu is really a cunning thief, where did he slip away? Then he turned around and said to Zhang Wanqiang: "Tell Xiao Weizi to look carefully." I'm going to take a look at Mr. Wu tomorrow. Zhang Wanqiang had no choice but to agree.

Pearl is now tied to an empty house in the garden of Ao Bai Phu. Since that night, he was kidnapped from Jiaxing Building, and was first imprisoned in the Bamburshan Mansion. Na Bang Bu had a lot of good intentions, and he was afraid that he would leak the news and bring harm to himself, so he sent it to the Aobai Mansion. At this moment, Mingzhu was lying on the wetland with a square brick on his head for a flower pot, and the light from the roof was shining brightly and dazzlingly. There was a dead silence all around, and from time to time I heard the mournful chirping of geese. He tried to move his body, but was unsuccessful, and his lower body was completely unconscious.

When he was tied up in the Bamburshan Mansion, he made up his mind that he was ready to endure all kinds of torture and fight to the death to preserve his virginity.

But what kind of punishment are they! At first, it was used with a finger, then it was changed to a leather whip, and then it was a tiger chair and a clamping stick. Bamburshan said that this is called "pouring sugar cane, and the more you eat it, the sweeter it becomes". He fainted and was woken up by salt water. As soon as he woke up, he heard them ask again, "Where is Wu Ciyou?" "Where's the owner of the Joy Points?" He knew that they were tracking down the place where the emperor was studying, and he couldn't say it. But the most unbearable part of this criminal law is to stab the lower urethra with a pig's bristle - this is really a cruel punishment that has never been heard of before. Mingzhu was in pain, and couldn't help screaming: "Oh my God, hurry, help me!" ”

Bambulshan, who was sitting on the sidelines watching the execution, sneered: "My Ban has read the biography of cool officials and is familiar with the functions of various criminal laws. Don't say it's you, even the immortal King Kong is here, and he has to speak. He motioned for the punishment to be relaxed, and slowly paced to Mingzhu and said, "You are a smart person, don't you hear that 'stay in the green mountains, and you are not afraid of no firewood'?" You fall into my hands, and no one can save you if you don't tell the truth! ”

"I really don't know ......" Before he could say a word, Mingzhu saw the bristles pulled out with blood and trembling in front of his eyes, as if he had suddenly encountered a hideous evil ghost in the wilderness under the moon, Mingzhu "Ah! The earth howled, "You brute! You kill me, you kill me! ”

"I'm going to kill you—just with this bristle!"

"No, no, no—no, you use a knife!" Mingzhu's eyes widened, and she shouted in horror as she looked at the black oily and stiff bristles.

"Since ancient times, you can't punish doctors," Bambulshan said with a smile, "How can I kill a noble man like you with a knife?" Tell the truth, I will send you out of Beijing and give you a sum of money - 150,000 taels of silver! Enough, right? If you don't embarrass me anymore, I will never look for your business again, and I won't have to worry about it for the rest of my life! With a wave of his hand, Liu Jinbiao pinched the bristles and was about to come again.

"Oh my God!" Mingzhu screamed, struggled for a moment, and fainted...... When I woke up again, I could only hear the second half of Bamburshan's words: "...... Both in Baiyun Temple, do not worry about not finding the Shangu store. Don't kill this person first, send Ao Zhongtang there! ”

Lying here at this moment, he remembered this terrible scene, and his heart felt pounding. Oh, my God! Could it be that I really said where the emperor studied in a coma? Why didn't I bite my tongue off in the first place? People, if they don't come to this point, it's really hard to appreciate this feeling. After calming down and thinking about it, Mingzhu realized what a serious mistake she had made and what terrible consequences were waiting for her.

In the hallucination, he seemed to see Wu Ciyou's contemptuous gaze, and saw Kangxi, Su Malagu, and Wei Dongting approaching with a sneer. These people who usually share with themselves day and night are pushed under the nine springs by their own gentle sentence of "Baiyun Temple".

Wu Ciyou doesn't believe in ghosts and gods, but he would rather believe in them than in them. With this loyal, upright, and wealthy Wu Ciyou, he is always a little scared in his heart on weekdays, what should he do now? How to explain this matter when you meet these people under the Nine Springs?

"What would have happened if I had been killed on a wooden pillar at the first trial? Wu Ciyou will howl in the wind and compose a tragic poem to mourn himself. Aunt Su Mala would sit sadly and weep. Sloanbiao will grit his teeth and swear to avenge himself. During the Qingming Festival, Mu Zixu and Hao Laosi would go to their graves to silently add soil and mud. The donkey and He Guizhu will regret that they mistook the hero. Cui Gu pounced on the grass on the grave...... Emperor Kangxi will ...... What will happen? He would sit on the Golden Temple and personally issue an edict and bestow himself on the title of 'Loyalty' - but what is this now? Alas......"

Thinking about it like this, Mingzhu's blood was boiling for a while, and for a while he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and his whole body felt cold through his bones. At this moment, I suddenly felt a "bang" outside the door, as if a person had fallen, and then there was no sound. After a while, I felt the iron gate move silently, and when I looked intently, I realized that it was already dark. After a while, the door was gently pushed open, and Mingzhu really decided that this was not a trance. At this time, I saw a figure flashing in front of me, and a thin voice was close to my ear and said, "Can you move around?" ”

"I'm afraid I can't do it...... Mingzhu was a little panting with excitement, and secretly shook his head and asked, "What are the steps...... Who? ”

"You ask." The man whispered, "I'll carry you away!" ”

When he listened carefully, it was vaguely like Liu Hua's voice, his heart was sour, and he choked up: "Brother Liu, it's hard for you to ......come at this time" Liu Hua helped him sit up, and said in a low voice and hurriedly: "Don't say more nonsense, let's go!" ”

"No!" Mingzhu's eyes flickered in the darkness, "I can't do it, you get out of here quickly, tell Lord Wei, tell them to leave Baiyun Temple quickly!" As he spoke, he held Liu Hua's hand and shook it tightly twice, "The matter is urgent and important, don't be negligent!" ”

As soon as he heard the word "Baiyun Temple", Liu Hua only felt that his head was "buzzing", and he didn't speak at the moment, pulled up one of Mingzhu's arms, put one leg on his shoulder, carried Mingzhu to open the door, and jumped out with an arrow step, but he was seen by a patrolman. The patrol turned the lamp and the bangzi together, turned around and ran, and shouted "There is a robber" like a pig! When he was about to shout the second sentence, Liu Hua took a step forward and slashed hard, and the man leaned over and fell.

With just one sound, the camp was blown up in Aobai Mansion. The crooked tiger guarding the second gate whistled in his mouth, and dozens of Goshha selected from the flag camp and a few underworld friends brought down by the crooked tiger from the cottage jumped out of the door with a "brush". The crooked tiger leaped forward, and shouted with the horizontal knife in his hand: "Don't mess up, the thief is in the garden!" So saying, he sent forty Goshha to patrol the outside of the house and seal the way out; Seal the garden door with a dozen to prevent thieves from jumping into the inner house; Twenty-five or six people with them lit torches and searched the garden. When Ao Bai heard the alarm at this time, he was already on guard, and took a chair at the garden gate to take the thief.

Seeing that the general trend had gone, Mingzhu whispered in Liu Hua's ear: "Put me down, hack me to death with a knife, and then say that I will run away...... Don't you ...... Other...... I don't hate you! ”

Liu Hua didn't say a word, and turned back and forth with Mingzhu on his back, but he felt that there were voices and lights everywhere, and in a panic, he heard Mingzhu muttering again: "It's important to send a letter...... It is a matter of the emperor's safety...... You—Leave me alone! Seeing that Liu Hua still didn't let go, Mingzhu opened his mouth and bit Liu Hua's shoulder, "What's wrong with you?" I tell you, if you are also captured, you must call out loudly to the 'Baiyun Temple', and if someone goes to report the news, remember to ......" before the words are finished, and he has fainted.

When I was in a dilemma, I saw that the lantern torches were getting closer and closer, and there were people on the female wall of the garden, and dozens of glass windproof lamps illuminated the inside and outside of the garden wall as if it were day. The people who searched the garden did not shout and speak, but only used knives to pluck the grass and knock on the trees, pressing forward step by step. Suddenly, someone shouted: "Liu Hua, it turned out to be you!" ”

Liu Hua stopped, gently put Mingzhu on the ground, lifted the sword and inserted it into the rockery, and immediately broke it into two with a "click", and said with a smile: "Crooked tiger!" What's the bluff? Can I not know about you? The eldest husband dares to do things, I will go with you to see Ao Zhongtang. ”

Seeing him so calmly, everyone was stunned by his momentum for a while, and they couldn't make a sound. Seeing that he had broken his sword, the crooked tiger also put the knife back into the sheath, and said with a smile: "Brother Liu is a good man!" I won't come to embarrass you, Ao Zhongtang is already waiting over there, you can go and talk about it! After that, he shouted: "Don't wait for Liu Ye yet!" Several Goshha rushed up, tied up Liu Hua, set it up and left.

Hearing that the thief was captured, the people of Ao Mansion were all surprised, and they all rushed to take a look, and dozens of arm-thick candles were lit inside and outside the Heshou Hall. Ao Bai sat on the couch with his sword, and when he saw the crooked tiger coming in, he didn't say anything, only staring at Liu Hua with his eyes. Liu Hua did not flinch, stood in court with his neck stiff, and looked at Aobai with his eyes. After a while, Ao Bai smiled coldly: "I said how haunted the back garden is, it turns out to be you!" Your name is Liu Hua? ”

Liu Hua pouted and smiled, turned his face away and did not agree. Seeing him like this, the crooked tiger walked up and slapped his face, beating half of his face to purple swelling, and the corners of his mouth oozed blood: "What about the master asking you, are you dumb?" Liu Hua only had the heart to die at this time, turned around and spat on the crooked tiger's face, and asked, "Which master is he?" At this time, more than 100 people in the court, seeing that this usually very easy-going person dared to be so rude to Aozhongtang, they were so frightened that they turned colored. That Liu Hua held his head high and didn't care, and said slowly: "I am the sixth-grade captain of the imperial court, but the master asked me to follow him on an errand, so I will become his minion?" Before he could say anything, he only heard a "snap", and this half of his face was slapped with a crooked tiger.

The crooked tiger has no fame, and after listening to Liu Hua's words, he felt extremely unpleasant. He felt that he was the most faceable person in Aofu, and today he was buried by Liu Hua for Aobai, and he was suddenly furious, his neck looked more crooked, and he pulled out a steel wire soft whip from behind his waist with a gloomy face, and Liu Hua stopped his waist and jerked it over with a "woo".

"Crooked Tiger!" Ao Bai suddenly shouted, "Stand down!" The crooked tiger stared at Liu Hua fiercely, coiled up the whip, and stepped aside stupidly.

Ao Bai Gege smiled, got up and came to Liu Hua's side and said, "Liu Hua, you also know that I can't stop today." However, I pity that you are a man, as long as you tell whose instructions, aren't you the sixth grade, I will promote you to the fourth grade, how about it? Liu Hua snorted and turned his face away. Ao Bai said again: "If you think you can't afford to offend over there, it doesn't matter, I'll give you a sum of money, find a quiet place to be a Tao Zhu Gong, and enjoy Qingfu, is that good?" ”

Liu Hua spat on the ground with a "phew" and said, "No one instructed me, you got someone to put in the back garden, I want to see what is going on." After saying that, he was silent.

"What do you see?" Ao Bai asked coldly.

"It doesn't necessarily matter," Liu Hua raised his voice and said, "His name is Mingzhu, and he is now the emperor's bodyguard, and he is on an errand in Baiyun Temple!" ”

Hearing this, there was a slight commotion inside and outside the Tsurujudo Hall. Ao Bai knew his intentions, and forced the anger in his heart to sneer and said, "You shout! If you shout at me, the Crane Shoutang, you won't hear it! Turning his face and commanding the crooked tiger, "From now on, twelve hours of continuous patrols inside and outside the mansion, without my personal permission, no matter who forcibly leaves the mansion, you will kill him!" ”

"That's not necessarily blocked!" Liu Hua immediately stiffened his head. As soon as he finished speaking, Ao Bai stretched out his hand to Liu Hua's left flank, Liu Hua immediately felt a sudden numbness, trembling all over, and suddenly his whole body was itchy and unbearable, and his chest was so breathless that he couldn't breathe. Ao Bai looked at his distorted face with pain with his hands behind his back and grinned, and asked, "Liu Hua, how do you know that there are people locked up in the back garden?" Who else in the house are your comrades? Speak! I have ordered your congenital acupoints, at this time it is bearable, and after a while, the eyes are violent, the intestines are broken, and the lungs are cracked, which is more uncomfortable than peeling the skin! ”

Liu Hua had already collapsed to the ground, panting and said, "Solution, solve the acupoint...... I, I'm talking about it......" Xiao Qi, Xiao Zeng, Xiao Wu, and a few people were already frightened, and they hid behind people.

Ao Bai bent down and patted him lightly on the back, and said, "Okay, I'll solve it for you, you can tell it!" Liu Hua lay still and said, "The rope is tied too tightly, I don't bother to talk about it." ”

Ao Bai bowed and motioned to the crooked tiger to untie him. Crooked Tiger hesitated: "Zhongtang, is this possible?" Ao Bai sneered: "With his little effort, the old man can let him be white-handed with his bare hands!" Untie him! ”

The rope was untied, Liu Hua slowly stood up, moved his hands and feet, pulled over a chair and sat down, rubbing his hands together without speaking.

Ao Bai asked: "How can you talk not count?" ”

"I'm a famous wine owl," Liu Hua said, "The matter I'm talking about is too big, I have to give a bowl of wine to drink!" ”

"Okay, just fulfill you!" Ao Bai instructed, "Come, pour him a bowl of Kweichow Moutai given by the emperor!" ”

The wine is poured. Liu Hua picked up the bowl tremblingly, hesitated slightly, raised his head and drank it cleanly. Ao Bai didn't shout "good", and suddenly saw the sound of the wine bowl "day" smashed in the face. He has excellent eyesight, and he doesn't dodge, he stretched out his left hand and smashed the bowl in the air with a "snap", and reached out to Liu Hua's Chiyuan acupoint in one step. Who knew that Liu Hua flashed, and actually pulled out a dagger more than four inches long from his arms and pounced on Aobai.

Everyone at the bottom of the stairs exclaimed that they couldn't help, and the crooked tiger looked at it clearly, shook his hand, and hit Liu Hua's eyebrows, Liu Hua didn't snort, and fell heavily to the ground.

Ao Bai's face turned pale, rubbed his hands together, and forced a smile: "Except for the house thief, a big deal!" ”