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

In August of the third year of Yongzheng, the fourth master issued another order, that is, to move the imperial car to the Old Summer Palace. Since the fourth master ascended the throne, the garden that used to belong to the fourth master has already been named the Royal Garden. Fourth master also specially ordered people to carry out a large-scale expansion of it.After the expansion, the Old Summer Palace is like another Forbidden City, but the scenery of the Old Summer Palace is more pleasant, not as suffocating as the Forbidden City.

When he arrived at the Old Summer Palace, Su Wen took a closer look. Indeed, a lot of places have been expanded. At least now, the garden can be used to deal with government affairs. When thinking of the Old Summer Palace, one has to mention the plundering of the Old Summer Palace by the Eight-Power Allied Forces in the late Qing Dynasty. And destruction is really a very sad thing.

But in the team that came to the Old Summer Palace this time, almost all the women from the harem came, and even the sticks were moved. This time, Su Wen went up to recognize the door.

The location of the sticky stick is still kept in a secret place. Although the fourth master has become the emperor now, it is reasonable to say that the sticky stick no longer needs to be so secretive, but the sticky stick is in order to better serve the fourth master. Collecting information, most of the people inside are still out of sight, hiding their identities and doing things. When Su Wen arrived, it was still Li Baitang who came to receive him.

Li Baitang said politely: "Grandpa Su, don't come here, I haven't seen you for a long time. It seems that you haven't changed much, but I'm already old."

Su Wen hurriedly bowed his hand and saluted, and said with a smile: "Li Baitang was joking, you are now in your prime, but you are indispensable, this time the master asked me to come, firstly, to recognize the door, secondly , just to get some news."

As soon as Li Baitang heard this, he took him inside. The current sticky pole is located on the periphery of the Old Summer Palace, and it is more secluded here. There are many guards guarding the sticky pole. The ones specially selected by the fourth master are called the Yuanmingyuan Guard Barracks, including the "Eight Banners of the Old Summer Palace" and the "Three Banners Coated" by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.Their main duty is to guard the Old Summer Palace and ensure the safety of the fourth master when he comes out of the city and stays in the garden, so these guards are very serious about their work, patrolling and guarding day and night.

When Su Wen walked in this time, he realized that there were already three people sitting in the room. The middle one was an old man, about 50 years old, but his eyes were still extremely sharp, and he kept staring at him. Looking at Su Wen, the other two are young people in their 30s. Of course, at Su Wen's age, they really belong to the young group.

The two young men only looked up at him, then lowered their heads and continued to deal with the matter, while Li Baitang led him to the man in the middle and said, "Grandpa Su, this is our sticky stick deputy guard." Vice-collar Yan, the second person in charge, happened to have not left today, so let's get acquainted."

Su Wen didn't have too many thoughts. Although he is the fourth master's subordinate, he is still within the range of the sticky stick. The sticky stick's deputy guard is his boss, so he saluted politely and said, "Su Wen I have seen Deputy Chief Yan."

Deputy Leader Yan, as the 'Second Leader' at the sticky pole, knows the information of everyone around the emperor by heart. He has heard of Su Wen's name before, saying that he is very favored by his master. Now it seems that It's not bad, at least he didn't feel arrogance, Deputy Chief Yan didn't say anything, but just nodded to Su Wen.

Su Wen didn't know what he meant, but Li Baitang did. This Deputy Chief Yan almost never talked much on weekdays, and now he can nod to Su Wen as his approval.

Li Baitang took him to get the news that the fourth master wanted to use, Su Wen asked: "Why did you only see Deputy Leader Yan here, but never our leader?"

Li Baitang passed the news to Su Wen and said: "I have been worshiping Tang at the sticky pole for so many years, and I only saw the leader once. The leader's actions are very secretive, and he never sees people on weekdays.", Su Wen nodded casually, and left with the news.

Seeing the fourth master, he submitted the news. After the fourth master saw it, his expression was very serious, and he said after a long time: "Su Peisheng, go and spread my will to cut off all the official positions of last year's Gengyao, and order people to arrest Niangeng. Yao escorted him to Beijing for interrogation."

Fourth master's order also means that the capital is bound to undergo another change, and those officials who have been clinging to Nian Gengyao soon realized that fourth master has decided to deal with Nian Gengyao, so they all started Loyal ministers come, more loyal and patriotic than each other, and collect all the evil things that Nian Gengyao has done in the past, and give them to the fourth master.

Fourth Master threw the booklet in his hand on the ground, Su Wen hurriedly picked it up, well, this is another booklet to report Nian Gengyao, I don't know which one it is, it's actually Su Wen It seems that Nian Gengyao is indeed somewhat defiant, arrogant and arrogant, and has done many wrong things, but at least he is still a rare talent, how could he be so unusable as these people said?In fact, it's just that they are just throwing stones into the water.

At this moment, Su Peisheng walked in and said, "Your Majesty, Concubine Nian has fallen ill!"

Fourth Master rubbed his eyebrows, sat on the chair again, got up for a long time and said, "Go, go and see..."

When they arrived, the imperial physicians were gathering together to discuss the prescription, and the fourth master excused them.One of the imperial physicians stepped forward and said: "Return to the emperor, the imperial concubine's illness is severe this time, and because of the dystocia before, the situation is not optimistic."

Su Wen remembered, it seemed that Kangxi had just passed away at that time, and as the fourth master, as the heir, his female relatives also had to cry seriously, and Nianshi was pregnant at the time, and later had a difficult delivery. Now it seems that the root cause of the disease is early already exists.

The fourth master said: "You just do your best." After finishing speaking, he walked in. The imperial doctors looked at each other for a long time, and then gathered together to discuss the prescription again.

As soon as she walked in, Nian's eyes lit up, and she struggled to sit up. The fourth master hurriedly stepped forward and sat beside her. After looking at the fourth master for a long time, Nian's tears fell involuntarily, and said: "The emperor I'm afraid that Chen Qie will die, Chen Qie's elder brother made a mistake, but he was born and died for the emperor after all, the emperor will spare his life..."

Before the fourth master came, he expected that Nian would definitely use this to ask him to spare Nian Gengyao, so he said: "You can take care of yourself now. As for Nian Gengyao's period, it belongs to the scope of the government. It's up to you to ask, so don't interrupt."

When Nian heard that Fourth Master rejected her, she couldn't stop coughing. A few days ago, her sister-in-law came to the palace to beg her, and she also wanted to save her brother. After all these years, she also knew in her heart that She was able to be favored all the time, and gave birth to children for the emperor one after another, part of which was because of her brother, but she never thought that the emperor would really make up his mind to deal with his brother this time.

"Your majesty, this is the first time a concubine begged you. Even if my brother did something wrong, what he did for you in the past should be able to make up for his mistakes. How about you just spare his life?"

It's okay if Nian didn't say anything, at least fourth master still pities her in his heart, but when she said this, fourth master's face turned cold. The reason why he secretly hated Nian Gengyao was that Nian Gengyao was too domineering, Beyond his bottom line, the most important thing is that Nian Gengyao had shown off to his friends and disciples many times, saying that he was able to ascend to the throne at the beginning thanks to Nian Gengyao's stability in Sichuan and Shaanxi. What happened in the end, when the fourth master knew what Nian Gengyao said, he really wanted to kill him on the spot. He had endured for so many years and cultivated many people secretly, and it finally worked out. Now it is all thanks to Nian Gengyao Yes, it is really hateful.

The fourth master stood up and said, "You don't have to think about these things anymore, you just need to take good care of your body and don't forget the rules of the harem not to interfere in politics!" After hearing the fourth master's warning, Nian knew that he was self-defeating , had no choice but to send fourth master away with a wry smile.

Maybe it's because Nian's request played some role. Since Nian Gengyao was arrested in the capital, Fourth Lord has never convicted him, but just locked him up. In November, it will be the third anniversary of Kangxi's death. On the memorial day, Si Ye, as his son, had to pay respects to Emperor Sejong of Jingling Mausoleum, so he drove from the Old Summer Palace to Zunhua, Hebei.

This time, at least Kangxi's sons followed as long as they could. When they arrived at the destination, the fourth master rested for a day, and the next day he led the people to start the memorial ceremony. In ancient times, three The anniversary belongs to the great sacrifice, and the concubines in the harem and the families of the elder brothers also have to follow the crying spirit.

However, Su Wen, who was waiting on the sidelines, could also feel that the fourth master was in a bad mood. Although the fourth master had not shed tears, he knelt straight in front of Kangxi's spirit, burning paper money, and the other elder brothers also followed suit. This act.

After the big ceremony, because the fourth master was going back to Beijing to preside over the Winter Solstice Ceremony, he went back very quickly, almost without stopping. After returning to the capital, Fourth Master did not go to the Old Summer Palace, but returned to the Forbidden City to handle the affairs of the Winter Solstice Ceremony.

Su Wen rubbed Si Ye's shoulders behind Si Ye's back, Si Ye thought of Su Wen's body, squinted his eyes and said, "I'm really exhausted recently, Su Wen, how is your body?"

"Your Majesty, don't worry, the servant's body is fine, but your Majesty has been running back and forth this time without stopping. After returning, he has started to busy himself with official duties again. You must be exhausted, right?"

Fourth Master was very satisfied with Su Wen's concern for him, and said, "It's okay, these things have to be dealt with, it's just..."

"Your majesty..." Su Peisheng interrupted the fourth master before he finished speaking. The fourth master opened his eyes and said, "What's all this fuss about?"

Su Peisheng lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, there's news from Yuanmingyuan that the imperial concubine is about to die..."

Hearing this, Su Wen also stopped what he was doing. It seemed that Nian Shi was really going to die this time. Su Wen couldn't tell what kind of mood he was in now. He said that he liked Fourth Master, but he occasionally saw When Si Ye was with those women, he wasn't jealous at all, at most he just felt uncomfortable, but he didn't have much emotional reaction, maybe he didn't like Si Ye, but he was always being teased and got along with Si Ye At that time, I still felt a little sweet in my heart, and Su Wen fell into deep thought for a while.

The fourth master closed his eyes for a while, and then said: "The decree is to make Nianshi the imperial concubine, and because of Nianshi's serious illness, the family members of the clan will be exempted from the worship ceremony."

Su Peisheng hurriedly walked down to deliver the decree, while the fourth master on the other side noticed that Su Wen was absent-minded, and said, "Su Wen, what are you thinking, why are you distracted?"

Su Wen regained his senses, continued to rub Si Ye's shoulders and said, "I didn't think about anything." But he knew it himself, just now he was carefully recalling the movies and TV dramas he had seen before and those love novels, recalling those When reading the classic clips and texts, I suddenly felt that the way I got along with Fourth Master was actually not quite right. If it was really a relationship, I should be in a state of jealousy now, and it would be better to make a fuss , but now he really doesn't feel any jealousy, and he doesn't want to mess around with fourth master.

Even if the relationship with the fourth master was confirmed before, when he occasionally saw the fourth master entering the rooms of those harem women, and he was just guarding the door, he would not feel too uncomfortable. When I didn't go to the harem for a long time, I made fun of him. Su Wen really didn't think there was anything wrong before, but now he realized that everything was wrong. His feelings for Fourth Master might not be as deep as he imagined , should face fourth master in his bones and still retain the previous duty as a master and servant.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but think of the scene where he was punished, framed, forced to kill, and even almost died at the hands of the fourth master. He has never forgotten this scene. It is also deepening, but the past things have existed after all, and it is impossible to be obliterated at will. No matter how immersed and sweet Su Wen is, every time he dreams back at midnight, he will still be shocked by the past things. I was covered in cold sweat.

Now that he thinks about it carefully, he can't even tell if there is any fear mixed in his love for Fourth Master, and he doesn't know whether part of the reason why he agrees to Fourth Master's feelings is because of a subordinate... Man's compromise and self-preservation with his master?

The fourth master closed his eyes and didn't know what Su Wen was thinking, and on the second day, he also rushed to the Old Summer Palace. At this time, Nian's family was dying. When the fourth master walked in, the imperial doctors shook their heads and knelt down. On the side, fourth master waved them away.

This is the first time that Nian Shi didn't smile at Fourth Master, and he was very calm all the time. Before Fourth Master came in, he seemed to be looking back. He asked the maids around him to change into new clothes, and said to Fourth Master, "Your Majesty , Chenqie just asks you, did you love Chenqie before because of your elder brother?"

The fourth master stopped walking, and said after a long time: "You are not wrong to think so. After all, Nian Gengyao was a man of many talents at that time, and he had good control over the Sichuan-Shanxi area, and even controlled the food and grass escort of the Northwest Army. question."

Nian suddenly smiled, and with this smile she seemed to be many years younger for a while, she said: "Thank you, the emperor, thank you for not cheating on the concubine before he left."

The fourth master looked at Nian, but there was no reaction. Nian's eyes were a little lax, as if he was lost in memory, and said: "I used to be the youngest daughter in the family, and I was always the most favored, and I was also very proud. It was only during the draft that I found out that there are countless people who are better than me, not to mention that I am only from a Han army banner. Compared with those noble girls, I really don’t deserve to be mentioned. Those who came down, were finally rewarded to you as a side Fujin. At that time, I was also full of expectations. Later, I was favored by you, so I became even more unscrupulous, and started to compete for favor and use tricks, but now I think about it. It's just like a dream, a dream I wove, you dote on me for my brother, for the loyalty of the Nian family, hehe, it's ridiculous, in fact, you never said anything to me from the beginning to the end, it's just my own self-righteousness That's all."

The fourth master fell into deep thought after listening to her words. In fact, it was very difficult for him to refute. He was just telling the truth. In the beginning, his love for Nian was partly because of Nian Gengyao. It was because Nian Shi did fit the image he liked at the time, with a kind of frailty and talent unique to Jiangnan women. It was normal for him to be attracted, but he also understood that it was just a man's love for a woman, and it had nothing to do with it. to deeper emotional issues.But Su Wen was different, he could just look at Su Wen, he didn't need to do anything or say anything, just looking at him would make him happy from the bottom of his heart.

Nian turned his head and said to Fourth Master: "I know that my brother will not be able to escape the word 'death' sooner or later. I just want to ask you to give him a decent way to die, is that okay?"

The fourth master nodded, and did not refuse Nianshi's request. Nianshi went to bed and lay down, looked at the swaying tassels on the top of the bed and said, "I have tried my best in this life just to get a little love, but in the end it was just a dream. One time, I only hope that in my next life, I can meet a true person, and I will be a couple with me for the rest of my life, Your Majesty, I really hope that we have never met before, in this way, I will not..."

Before he finished speaking, Nian had closed his eyes. Fourth Master didn't go forward to check, but just sat on the chair and stared blankly into the distance. He couldn't tell what kind of mood he was in. Nian's impression has not been very good. He is very clear about Nian's private actions and some methods of fighting for favor, so he is a little disgusted from the bottom of his heart, but now he feels that maybe death can really take everything away. At least now, he doesn't feel any disgust towards the dead Nian, only a tinge of melancholy.