A Chronicle of the Growth of the General Manager in the Qing Dynasty

The 47th year of Kangxi came soon, and in April of this year, the court announced that Zhu Cihuan, the third prince Zhu Cihuan, a descendant of the Ming Dynasty, was captured in Wenshang County. After identification, the old eunuchs also said that they "did not know each other", so they judged Zhu Cihuan as a "counterfeit" and executed him Ling Chi, and all his sons were beheaded.

Su Wen got the news from Sticky Rod very early. He remembered that the Sticky Stick found out that the Third Prince Zhu was an old man in his 70s. The Third Prince Zhu has been keeping his name incognito, and has never participated in the "anti-Qing and restoration of the Ming Dynasty". treason charge.

Su Wen remembered that when he reported the news to the fourth master, the fourth master only said: "It is a crime to conceive a jade, and it should be beheaded." From this, it can be seen that the original conclusion of the fourth master was correct. The third prince is still dead.

"Fourth brother, don't be so stern, we are on the street now, your expression will frighten passers-by." Thirteenth brother has a very good life recently, and when he has nothing to do, he can Pulling fourth master to run outside.

The fourth master said without looking sideways: "What are you dragging me to the street for no reason?"

Elder Brother Thirteen smiled and said, "Fourth brother, there has been a strange scene in the capital recently. It is said that there is a person who has a very accurate look. The most important thing is that this person has seen only noble people, and almost no ordinary people have seen it. It seems that in just a few days, his stall has become lively, let's join in the fun."

The fourth master said: "Hmph, a villain who seeks profit, this kind of person is used to bewitching people, saying that they only show it to the nobles, but in fact they are people who cling to them."

Elder Brother Thirteen was poking his head to find the booth. Hearing this, he turned his head and said, "Fourth Brother, maybe he is really a strange person. Let's see and talk."

A group of people followed Elder Brother Thirteen all the way, and found it after turning two roads. The booth was placed in a small corner of the intersection, just a table. The man seemed very young, with a branch beside him , above the branch is a long cloth towel, on which are written: "Look at people, look at looks, and look at fortune".

After the group of people walked over, Elder Brother Thirteen seemed eager to try, Fourth Master hurriedly held him back and said, "Forget it, what a dignified prince is going to join in the fun, just find someone to try it out.", Fourth master gave Su Wen a wink after finishing speaking, Su Wen understood what it meant, hurriedly saluted and walked over.

When I got closer, I saw that there was a writing on the front of the stall: "Only look at the people who are destined, three trigrams every day". Almost all the people around this person's stall are passers-by, and they can be regarded as spectators. No one came forward to see the photoshoot, so Su Wen hurriedly squeezed into the crowd, walked to the front of the booth and said, "I want to try it out, what do you think, sir?"

The man raised his head and looked at Su Wen, with a strange light in his narrow eyes, he raised his hand and said, "This one please sit down."

Su Wen sat down in front of the booth, and he became interested. Although his body is a eunuch, his voice is still good, at least not as shrill as others, so at least this aspect should not be exposed, then The man said: "What do you want to see? Is it children, family or marriage?"

Su Wen breathed a sigh of relief when he heard his question, and said, "I want to know my own fortune, sir, why don't you take a look?"

The man asked, "I don't know what this person's name is?"

"My surname is Su, and my first name is Wen."

"Oh, Mr. Su, are you married now?"

"To tell you the truth, sir, I have no wife due to many reasons."

"What does Mr. Su do?"

"I'm just a poor scholar."

When the man asked about this, he picked up Su Wen's left hand and looked at it carefully, and looked at Su Wen's face from time to time. After a long time, he said, "The hairline on your forehead is low, which means that you have been growing up since you were a child." Do hard work, have no relationship with parents, have bad fortune in youth, face can be divided into three stops, the upper stop is above the eyebrows, the middle stop is from the eyebrows to the tip of the nose, and the lower stop is below the nose tip. If "Zheng" is tall, long, plump, square and broad, the main status is high. If "Zhong Zing" is long and fleshy, the host is rich and longevity. If "Xia Ting" is complete, correct and thick, the owner will be blessed in life. Looking at your three stops, the best fortune is between the ages of 40 and 50."

Su Wen was a little dizzy after hearing such a provocative explanation. He only understood that he meant that he was an orphan and his life was not good when he was a child. He would be a blessed person in the future, so he said: "Thank you for your good words .”

Just as Su Wen was about to pay and leave, he heard a man in his 40s walking in from the crowd. The man walked up to the stall and said, "This gentleman, follow me. Our master invites you to see a photographer."

The man didn't refuse. Seeing the matter, Su Wen hurriedly paid the hexagram money, walked back slowly, and told the story when he saw the fourth master. The thirteenth elder brother looked at Su Wen and said, "I didn't expect you to be a fool." Blessed people, but your chubby face really looks alike."

Fourth Master glared at Elder Brother Thirteen and said, "In your opinion, this person's ability to read physiognomy is still not working."

Su Wen has become accustomed to being stimulated by the thirteenth elder brother, and when he heard the question from the fourth master, he hurriedly replied: "Master, according to the slave, this person is quite capable. He said that the slave has no relationship with his parents, and the luck of the boy is not good. , these two are correct, but after that, the slave feels that it is just the usual words used by people who read the physiognomy. The most important thing is that the fate of the slave is in the hands of the master, so it can be seen that the skill of reading the physiognomy is really not very good .”

The fourth master nodded in satisfaction, and the thirteenth elder brother smiled and said, "Fourth brother, did you see that? It was Puqi's servant who invited that person to see a physiognomist just now. It seems that this fortune teller is really famous."

Fourth Master got up and said, "Hmph, let's go."

The thirteenth elder brother saw that the fourth master got up and left, touched the bridge of his nose and followed, but he was thinking in his heart that he would never bring the fourth brother to watch the fun next time, what a shame...

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Zhang Mingde is also the person who looks at the physiognomy. He has only been in the capital for a few days. Of course, this person still has some ideas in his heart, but he has not learned it completely. When he came here, he knew that the master was a powerful person, so he became even more cautious.

Zhang Mingde spoke highly of Puqi, and Puqi admired his physiognomy skills quite a bit, and this Puqi also had other thoughts long ago, the current prince no longer has Suo'etu. The emperor began to alienate him a little bit, and the eighth elder brother is the most likely to ascend the throne in the future, so he said to Zhang Mingde: "The crown prince is very hateful, arrogant and violent, so let's join hands and kill him.", Zhang Mingde The person who is the most engaged in the business, he echoed, so Puqi recommended this person to the eighth elder brother Yinhu.

Zhang Mingde already knew the identity of the eighth elder brother, and together with what Puqi said about the throne, he said: "The eighth elder brother is rich, spiritual and elegant, benevolent and friendly, has a long life, and is sincere and honorable! The crown prince is violent. If If you meet me, you should assassinate him." He claimed that he had sixteen kung fu kung fu friends, and he only needed to recruit one or two of them to remove the crown prince's head without anyone noticing.

The eighth elder brother was also a little touched when he heard this, but he still called the ninth elder brother and the fourteenth elder brother. After discussing with the eighth elder brother for a long time, they said: "This matter is very serious. Who is he? Dare to say such treasonous words, is this person sick? He is such a humble person, could it be that someone is going to murder mynah, and it is better to drive him out." So Zhang Mingde was quickly kicked out out.

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The fourth master and his party were not interested in meeting each other at first, so they didn't pay attention to it. When they wanted to pay attention to this person, they got the news from the sticky stick, so Su Wen showed Zhang Mingde to the eighth elder brother. After the matter was revealed, Fourth Master knocked on the table and said, "Where is this piece of Mingde now?"

Su Wen replied: "Back to the master, this piece of Mingde has now been brought back to the mansion by the elder brother."

Fourth Master didn't say much, but told them to keep watching.

In May of 47, Kangxi toured outside the Great Wall, and the prince, elder brother, thirteenth elder brother, fourteenth elder brother, and fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth elder brothers also followed.

Su Wen remembered that the Eighteenth Elder Brother disappeared when he went out this time, and the Crown Prince seemed to have been abolished soon. Of course, the fourth master is also in a state of restlessness. This time, he was not on the list during his tour outside the Great Wall. , stay in the capital.

Just when the capital was quiet, news came from outside the Great Wall, saying that Elder Brother Eighteen was ill and had passed away. Not long after Si Ye got the news, he learned that the crown prince was sent back to Beijing in advance by the emperor. up.

The fourth master was shocked by this series of news, he found Wu Sidao, and discussed it, Wu Sidao thought for a moment and said: "Master, don't panic too much now, the prince must have made a big mistake this time to be treated like this by the emperor." Yes, but now the emperor's attitude is still a bit ambiguous, after the crown prince comes back, the master will still act as before." The fourth master thought for a while and nodded in agreement.

When the prince was sent back, the fourth master still respectfully welcomed the prince's return, but the prince seemed to have suffered a serious blow, and said to the fourth master: "Fourth, you said that I have been a prince for more than 30 years What's the meaning?"

The fourth master hurriedly said: "The prince is careful, Huang Ama is still on the prince's side."

The prince sneered and said with a smile: "You don't have to say good things, don't they all hope that my prince will fall? In this way, they will all have a chance. I have been a prince for so many years, and I didn't do it for nothing. They I know the thoughts of these people very clearly. Others say that the crown prince of me is an arrogant and lustful person who is becoming more and more domineering and unworthy of being a crown prince. What are they thinking? They think that the eldest brother is the eldest son, He has countless military exploits, so he should belong to the prince. As for the third child, the third child is a literati and is loved by scholars. Even though he follows me honestly, in fact, he also has hope in his heart. There is also the eighth child, Old Ba is the most powerful, you don’t know, at least half of the people in the court support Lao Ba, hahaha, I really want to see what Huang Ama’s expression will be when she finds out.”

The prince suddenly approached the fourth master again and said, "What about you, fourth son, tell me the truth, what do you think of me as a prince, do you have any other thoughts?"

The fourth master was forced to take a step back by the prince. The prince smiled and said: "Look, am I talking nonsense again? You have always supported me. Since I was a child, you have always helped me with things. Whenever I make a mistake, you will help me to improve it later, and when you have credit, you will always credit me. Speaking of which, for so many years, besides your uncle, you are the only one who has supported me wholeheartedly. with my..."

Hearing this, the fourth master felt very guilty. He didn't know how to face the prince like this. In the fourth master's heart, the prince was excellent before. There is no doubt about it. After all, he was cultivated by the emperor. , but in the heart of the fourth master, he is jealous of the prince. Although the prince is born without his mother, he has the love and protection of Huang Ama in every possible way. These are things that other elder brothers can't hope for. Later, later on, the prince gradually changed, becoming eager for quick success, becoming extravagant and lustful. Huang Ama knew that among his sons, the prince was not the only one who was excellent.

Before that, the death of Suo'etu made the relationship between the prince and the emperor gradually worsen, which also made the fourth master have other thoughts. He knew the position of the prince in Huang Ama's heart, so he didn't act rashly. After being sent back to Beijing, the fourth master was really happy in his heart, because judging from what he knew, this incident was very serious, and Huang Ama would not continue to appease him any longer. It's useless, but after hearing the prince's words today, he really felt guilty. He didn't dare to look the prince in the eye, and he felt that he had betrayed him.

The prince didn't care about the fourth master's response. He just wanted to vent all the grievances accumulated in his heart. He sat on the chair, took out a jade pendant and said, "This jade pendant was left to me by my uncle. My uncle doted on me since I was a child. I actually knew that my uncle had done some bad things, but my uncle really cared for me. When I felt resentment, it was my uncle who helped me relieve it. When I did something wrong, it was my uncle who dissuaded me and helped me to correct it. I don’t understand, I don’t understand why Huang Ama wanted to execute my uncle. The corrupt minister of Mingzhu back then, the person who did many wrong things, Huang Ama He even spared him from dying, and later treated him kindly in every possible way, even when Ming Zhu died this year, Huang Ama sent the third child to pay homage to him, but he directly executed his uncle."

Seeing that the prince was getting more and more wrong, the fourth master persuaded him: "Prince, you should know that the matter Suo'etu is involved in is very big. His hand is too long, and he has already touched Huang Ama. Huang Ama Ma has to be beheaded, you should understand Huang Ama's painstaking efforts. You shouldn't alienate Huang Ama because of an outsider."

The prince smiled and said: "Huang Ama loves me, my uncle is indeed my 'outsider' to Huang Ama, but since Huang Ama loves my son, why does he let other elder brothers come to fight for me as the prince? As for the position, the eldest brother is unreasonable in front of me time and time again. I am a prince, and I am his king, and I have the right to punish him, but he is my eldest brother. I cannot disrespect my elder brother, Huang Ama Yes, he knew, but he let it go. What about Lao Ba, Lao Ba has grown very fast in the past few years, how many ministers he secretly recruited, Huang Ama still let it go, my prince is really It's optional, I really don't know why Huang Ama would do this, and even more I don't understand whether Huang Ama still wants me as a prince now?"

The fourth master looked at the prince who had gone mad, and didn't know how to speak, let alone how to persuade, but at this time the prince stood up and smiled: "Actually, it's good to think about it, anyway, this time the prince Ama will definitely destroy me when she comes back, I, the crown prince, should have made it, and I don’t have to be as trembling as before, haha, the prince has finally made it..."

The fourth master looked at the prince who walked into the inner room with a big smile, and his heart was quite complicated. He didn't know whether he should be sad or happy now. Su Wen and Su Peisheng, who were standing outside, saw the fourth master walking out with a distraught look on his face. , my heart couldn't help tightening, I lowered my head and followed fourth master.

After returning to Si Ye's mansion, Si Ye didn't go to Wu Sidao to discuss countermeasures, but just drove Su Wen and Su Peisheng out, locked him in the study room by himself, and didn't come out all day.

Su Wen and Su Peisheng were full of anxiety when they were outside. The two of them walked back and forth, not knowing what to do. When it was late at night, the door of the study finally opened under their expectation, and the fourth master left. When they came out, Su Wen and Su Peisheng looked at each other for a while, and were very surprised. The fourth master was still very decent when he entered the study, but when he came out, his face was haggard. Although his expression didn't change much, But it feels like I've aged a few years after being hit hard.