Ji Xiaolan: Kill Qianlong at the beginning

"I appreciate Uncle Fourteen's kindness, but Mo Li has an important responsibility in Yancheng, and I cannot leave him alone." Emperor Gai Zhang said righteously.

"I am a member of the royal family and only do royal things." The Fourteenth Prince said seriously.

"Yinzhen, you are rebelling." Emperor Gai Zhang said loudly.

The fourth girl said, "Let's go."

Emperor Gai Zhang looked helpless and followed the fourth girl.

They had only taken a few steps when Fu Kang'an appeared, deflected the fourth lady's sword, and said, "Your Majesty, please leave."

Emperor Gai Zhang said, "Fukang'an, I leave this to you."

Not long after he left, Fu Kang'an said, "Fourth Miss, listen to me, kidnapping the emperor is a serious crime of deceiving the emperor."

The fourth girl looked angry and said, "Don't meddle in my affairs."

Fu Kang'an said anxiously, "How can I ignore your affairs?"

The fourth girl thrust her sword at Fu Kang'an and said, "You...why didn't you dodge?"

Fu Kang'an said affectionately: "Fu Kang'an's heart can only be expressed with blood."

The fourth girl retracted her sword and turned away.

……

Liu walked into the Buddhist hall with a cane and noticed something strange in the room. The half of the gold lock on the table had the other half, and she was really shocked.

Liu picked up the two golden locks with trembling hands and choked with sobs, saying, "Buddha, Buddha... You have sent my son back. My son, my son... Where is he, where is he... Someone, come quickly."

At this time, a group of servants came in.

"Madam, what's wrong?"

Everyone asked hurriedly.

Liu said, "Look, do you know where this thing came from? Do you know where this thing came from?" She repeated the words twice.

Everyone hurriedly said they didn't know.

Liu said, "Then who did you see enter the Buddhist temple? Did you see who entered the Buddhist temple?"

Everyone hurriedly said no.

"No? No, he is in the house, he is right next to me. My child, my child, he is back, he is back."

Liu held two golden locks in her hands.

……

Liu Yong was sleeping in bed when suddenly someone pushed the door open. Liu Yong woke up immediately and thought it was an assassin. He clenched the dagger in his hand and waited until the man came to his side. He stabbed with the sword. Fortunately, he stopped in time, otherwise the sword would have stabbed Liu.

"Madam, why are you here?" Liu Yong asked in confusion. "I didn't expect you to be still awake at this late hour. I thought you were an assassin."

"Oh, I can't sleep." Liu said, "Look, someone put this half of the gold lock into the Buddhist hall tonight. You know the rules in our house are very strict. Ordinary servants can't enter the Buddhist hall casually."

Liu Yong said, "Then it can only be outsiders."

Liu nodded and said, "Yes, only outsiders can enter. In my house, you two are the only outsiders. I heard from the servants that you have been reading in your room today and have never gone out. I think it is only him..."

He was naturally referring to the Emperor of Stamps.

Liu Yong was startled and said, "Madam, what do you want to say?"

Liu said, "Tell me, who is that man who calls himself Xu Xian? I don't think he's your brother. You two don't act like brothers at all. You're so respectful to him. That's not the way a younger brother should treat an older brother."

Liu Yong said, "Old Madam, you've seen it all."

Liu said, "You said this golden locket is his, right?"

Liu Yong said with embarrassment, "Madam, I really can't say it."

Liu knelt down and said, "Little brother, tell me."

Liu Yong burst into tears. He supported Liu and said, "Old Madam, you really can't kneel, you can't kneel..."

Liu said, "I have waited for this half of the golden lock for decades. Over the decades, I have shed tears longer than rivers. God has mercy on me. Today, this half of the golden lock has returned. Little brother, I beg you, please tell me."

Liu Yong said, "Old Madam, please get up first. Let's talk slowly."

Liu shook her head gently, "No, I won't get up if you don't tell me."

Liu Yong said: "Okay, I'll tell you..."

Liu said, "Tell me, is he my son?"

Liu Yong said in a trembling voice: "He...he...he is."

Liu was so excited that she fainted.

……

The government prison.

Heshen paced back and forth in the cell.

At this moment, the prison door suddenly opened and Zhu Boping walked in.

"Zhu Boping, you are confused. He is really not Heshen, I am." Heshen said loudly.

Zhu Boping said, "I'm wondering if you're sick. You made a bet with Lord He, saying that if you could tell the truth from the ten words in the secret letter, you'd know who was lying. And Lord He has revealed them. So you should accept the loss."

He Shen asked, "Zhu Boping, I want to ask you, where did Mo Li go?"

"I say you are really something. You can't even ask a question. You should say this: Lord Zhu, may I ask where you went?" Zhu Boping said angrily.

"Stop talking nonsense and tell me quickly." Heshen had a majesty that was intimidating even without anger.

Zhu Boping said, "Okay, I'll tell you. He said he had something important to do, and left the government office with Du Xiaoyue."

He Shen said, "It's over, it's over, it's all over now. He will definitely go to the emperor. You can just wait for death."

Zhu Boping said angrily, "Mo Li, are you cursing us? It seems that if I don't teach you a lesson, you won't know how to behave..."

He Shen was equally furious and said, "If you dare to hit me, I will pull out your tendons and peel off your skin."

Zhu Boping was just trying to scare Heshen. If the other party was really Lord He, he would be in big trouble.

"You wait." Zhu Boping said, and left.

……

Heshen just sat in the prison, not knowing what he was thinking. Time passed slowly and he felt that each day was like a year.

After an unknown amount of time, the prison door suddenly opened and Mo Li walked in.

It turned out that Mo Li had returned after finishing his work.

He wanted to talk to Heshen, so he went to the cell.

"All of you go down." Mo Li ordered.

Upon hearing this, all the jailers retreated.

Mo Li came to Heshen and sat down opposite him, holding two wine glasses and a pot of wine in his hands.

He said, "Here, sir, take it yourself." and handed over the wine glass.

Heshen reached out and took it.

Mo Li poured him some wine.

Heshen sniffed it.

Mo Li asked, "How is it?"

He Shen said: "Good wine, really good wine."

Mo Li said, "After all, it's Heshen. I know this is a good wine as soon as I taste it. To be honest, I brought this wine from the capital, and I have been reluctant to drink it."

He Shen said, "Come on, Lord Mo, with such good wine, how can you not honor the emperor? Come on, drink, drink."

The two men drank the wine in their glasses in one gulp.

Mo Li said, “To be honest, this wine can only be shared with soulmates.”

He Shen said, "Mr. Mo, your soulmate is in jail?"

Mo Li said, "During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao was drinking wine and discussing heroes. He told Liu Bei that the only heroes in the world were you and me. Tonight, I share the same sentiment. But then again, sir, how can the greatest villain and the greatest good be on the same level? I am only doing this reluctantly."

He Shen said, "Okay, okay, if you are loyal, I will be treacherous. If you are honest, I will be greedy. If you are virtuous, I will be evil. Okay?"

Mo Li smiled.

He Shen continued, "You have taken all the good reputation in the world, and I have taken all the bad reputation in the world. So how can we not drink a cup together?"

Mo Li said, "Okay, let's have a drink. But my Lord, you're talking as if this is your wine."

The two of them drank the wine in their glasses.

Mo Li said, "Sir, let's talk about some serious matters."

"Speak." Heshen looked as if he was listening attentively.

Mo Li said, "These corrupt officials in Yancheng have exchanged human food for bran and grass for livestock. Is your Excellency aware of this?"

He Shen said, "I know."

Mo Li said, "Then don't you feel ashamed, sir?"

He Shen said, "I feel very relieved."

Mo Li asked loudly: "Why?"

He Shen said, "Master Mo, you may not know that this one pound of rations can be exchanged for three pounds of bran. This means that the food that could originally save one person can now save three people."

Mo Li said, "But bran is for animals, not for humans."

He Shen disagreed and said, "Alas, are the victims of the disaster still considered human beings?"

Mo Li thought he had misheard and asked, "What did you say?"

He Shen waved his hand and said, "Don't stare so wide-eyed. Do you know this? People who are about to die of starvation are no longer human. They are just animals. As long as they can survive, they don't care about bran. That's good stuff. They can eat grass roots, tree bark, and soil."

Qiqihar seemed a little unconvinced and said, "Coming from the mouth of a great gentleman, this is truly shocking."

He Shen said, "Of course you are shocked. You are just like Ji Xiaolan, a scholar. You only know how to sit in your study, holding a book of sages, and scolding the people of the time."

Mo Li slammed the table and said angrily, "If the current ruler is unfair, we should criticize him."

Heshen said, "Why are you so angry? Come on, have a drink." Then he poured wine for Mo Li.

Mo Li said, "Master He, this wine is mine. How come it seems more and more like yours?"

As he said this, he picked up the wine glass and clinked it with Heshen's, making a ding sound.

The two of them drank the wine in their glasses at the same time.

He Shen said, "Mo Li, have you seen this person who ate Guanyin soil and bloated to death?"

Mo Li said, "What is Guanyin soil?" and then poured wine for Heshen.

He Shen said, "Look, you don't know. Let me ask you again, have you ever seen the bark of all the trees on this thousand-mile plain been eaten away? You've certainly heard of exchanging children for food, but that's just four words in history books. I saw it with my own eyes. This exchanging children for food is like a pile of meat in a pot."

Mo Li was stunned when he heard this and stammered, "You..."

He Shen said, "You think I'm completely devoid of humanity? You think I'm only interested in making money? I've personally been to the disaster area, and when I saw it, my heart sank. I realized that no matter how much food the court distributed, it would never be enough. If I hadn't found a way around it, you wouldn't have seen victims in the disaster area, but only bones."

Mo Li frowned and said, "This... the grain funds for disaster relief are not enough. We can ask the court for more."

He Shen said, "The imperial court? Do you know how much silver is left in the country? You don't know, you don't know at all. After conquering the Jinchuan and pacifying the Dzungar tribe, the national treasury is now empty. Do you know?"

Mo Li said, "But the imperial court still issued relief funds? I looked at their account books, and all the relief funds went into the bank of this Mr. Xue."

He Shen raised his index finger and said, "You can't say that. Boss Xue is a man of great power. One penny goes in, two cents comes out. Only then do I have enough money to help the victims."

Mo Li said, "I've looked at their account books. Officials, big and small, are all embezzling the grain funds for disaster relief."

He Shen said: "To save the people, we must first save the officials. If the officials can't survive, how can we save the people?"

Mo Li said, “Ridiculous.”

He Shen said, "This is the truth. Who will provide relief funds to the millions of disaster victims? You? Or me? It all depends on the officials, big and small, to feed them. Only when they are well fed will they be willing to work for me."

Mo Li said, "This is truly an absurd theory that has never been seen before. How can corruption and bribery actually be justified?" In his heart, he thought that what Heshen said did make some sense, but he still stood on Ji Xiaolan's side.

He Shen said, "This is the great truth gained through decades of official career. This is the golden truth gained through countless bloody facts, Lord Mo. How come he doesn't understand?"

Mo Li said, "I eat your salary and share your worries. Every drop of your salary is the people's blood and sweat, sir. How can you bear to take a grain of food from the mouths of these hungry people?" He slammed the table several times.

Heshen said, "Here we go again, okay, okay... drink, drink, drink..." He poured a glass of wine for Mo Li and also poured himself a glass.

The two clinked their glasses together.

He Shen said, "Be patient and drink."

The two of them drank the wine in their glasses at the same time.

Put the wine glass down at the same time.

He Shen said, "How do you write the word 'official'? It has two mouths, one above the other. You have to feed the upper mouth first before you can feed the lower one."

Mo Li said, "Song had Bao Gong, Ming had Hai Rui, and Kangxi had Shi Gong. They were all upright officials from generation to generation. I feel ashamed of them, Your Excellency."

He Shen said: "Yes, yes, honest officials are indeed respected, but they are also feared."

Mo Li said, "Master He, you are disrespectful and fearless. That's why you are lawless."

He Shen said, "Then let me ask you, throughout history, how many honest officials have there been? How many corrupt officials have there been?"

Mo Li said, "Honest officials are rare, while corrupt officials are like the sands of the Yellow River."

He Shen said, "Yes, if I don't rely on them, who can I rely on? As a Grand Councilor, I am nothing without their support. How can I have an easy life?"

Mo Li said, "Okay, okay, Lord He, come here." and poured wine for Heshen.

"Pour the wine, pour the wine." Heshen said.

"Drink, drink..." Mo Li also filled his own glass.

The two men clinked their glasses together, making a clinking sound, and drank the wine in the glass at the same time.

Mo Li said, “Since you, sir, think there are so many reasons for corruption, then why did you destroy the account book?”

He Shen said, "It doesn't matter whether you destroy it or not. You have the same photographic memory as Ji Xiaolan. If you destroy the old one, you can always write a new one."

Mo Li said, "Hehehe, that's easy. You can chop off my head, and then this account book will be completely destroyed."

He Shen said, "Do you think I haven't thought about it?"

Mo Li was stunned.

He Shen continued, "Still... my say doesn't count. Besides, I really can't bear to part with the head of Lord Mo, the most talented scholar in the Great Xuan Kingdom. To be honest, of all the civil and military officials in the court, the one I least want to offend is Lord Mo."

Mo Li said: "But the person I often offend is Master He."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Heshen said, "Doesn't this just go back to what you said? The only heroes in the world are you and Cao. I feel honored to have an opponent like you." He patted his chest.

Mo Li smiled upon hearing this and said, "Ah, it's really unfortunate for me, Mo Li, to be appreciated by the world's most corrupt official."

As he spoke, Mo Li poured wine for himself and He Shen.

The two of them said "Drink" at the same time, raised their glasses and drank the wine in them.