Ji Xiaolan: Kill Qianlong at the beginning

He Shen ignored Mo Li and continued, "Think about it again. You've been an official for so many years, and you always make the emperor unhappy. So far, you've rarely had the opportunity to be promoted, right? Do you know where the problem lies?"

Mo Li said, "Well, well, I'd like to ask Lord Yu He for advice."

He Shen said, "If you had been so humble and polite, how could you have ended up like this?"

Mo Li said, "Yes, sir, then what do you think is the root of my illness?"

He Shen said, "Do you really want to know?"

Mo Li said, “I really want to know.”

Ji Xiaolan also looked like he was listening attentively.

Heshen said, "Put this thing aside first." Mo Li immediately put the pipe aside.

He Shen said, "Listen to me, your problem is that you always think you're smart. Of course, you think you're smarter than me, right? I never care, I never will. But if you think you're smarter than the emperor? You're more far-sighted and insightful than the emperor. You're more discerning and clear-sighted. Then can you really be considered smart?"

Mo Li's eyes were dull and his expression was wooden.

He Shen continued, "You are being too clever for your own good. You are playing with fire, and you are trying to get something out of it. How can you not bring disaster upon yourself?"

Mo Li took a puff of his cigarette and said, "That makes sense. Listening to Master He's words is worth ten years of reading. Today, I finally understand Master He's way of being an official. Master He, since you are so experienced, please show me the way forward."

He Shen said, "If you can just hand over Cao Xueqin's original painting, the Qinxi Orchid Sketch, I can go to the Emperor and lobby for his favor. He might even be so pleased that he'll promote you. Then you'll be rich."

Mo Li said, "So, my Lord, you think the poem on the painting is a rebellious poem."

He Shen said, "Of course."

Mo Li said, "When the third and fifth days come, we will be reunited, and the bright light will protect the jade railing..."

He Shen interrupted him and said, "When the moon is lifted up from the sky, the people on earth look up and know it."

Mo Li said, "This is exactly what it means when every household plays flutes and pipes, every house sings and sings, while the bright moon overhead shimmers with vibrant colors. Cao Xueqin used the moon to express his feelings, a pure heart soaring between the constellations of the Big Dipper and reaching beyond the clouds. There's no hint of a counter-intuitive sentiment in this."

He Shen said, "Is that all? But I don't see it that way."

Mo Li said: "So, you still want to disobey the order?"

He Shen said, "I think this poem is about the bright moon in the sky, its clear light shining on the earth. Isn't this obviously a metaphor for the return to the Ming Dynasty?"

Qi Qi looked disapproving and said, "This is simply far-fetched reasoning."

He Shen stood up and said, "Mo Li, you can't speak without restraint."

Mo Li stood up and said, "Master He, Master He, you are stirring up trouble and trying to send me to hell."

He Shen said, "Mo Li, don't just blame me, think about yourself."

Mo Li was smoking by himself.

"Thinking back to the case of investigating the prescription in Linqing Prefecture, you almost took Heshen's life." Heshen said.

"You have been planning this for a long time, settling your personal grudges and putting the blame on me. Lord He, do you really want to kill me?" Mo Li said with a smile.

He Shen waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, think whatever you want."

The two of them sat down at the same time again.

He Shen said: "But then again, even if I had this idea, I don't have the courage."

Ji Xiaolan just sat there without saying a word.

Mo Li nodded and said, "Yes, yes, I have truly been enlightened. It's too late to regret now."