Chapter 40 The 40th Chapter of Emperor Qianlong's Bereavement

The weather in Beijing is extremely cold. After the first snowfall, it starts to freeze. The snow piled up on both sides of the street only melts for a while at noon, and then freezes again later in the evening, turning into dark brown uneven ice roads, covered with people's images. The footprints, the hoof marks of horses, donkeys and mules, and the wheel grooves where the snow water was about to condense were also frozen as hard as rocks in the night wind, making it extremely difficult to walk. Qian Du received two letters from Dun Min and Dun Cheng one after another, asking him to go to Zhangjiawan to see Cao Xueqin, but he didn't leave. First, it was a long way to go; "Is Cao Zhan Cao Xueqin?" and even let out rumors that "it's an obscene book and evil words." Seeing Cao Xueqin at this moment felt a little inconvenient.In fact, what he misses most in his heart is that Cao bustard brought his son. Will the pox spread in Beijing, but will it spread in Jiangnan?Is the Cao family involved in Yi Ying's case?I have to find a way to get rid of the child and get rid of this old bustard.These horrible things lingered in my mind all day long, and even the ministry's errands were perfunctory.It wasn't until the seventh day of October that he saw the list of bandits from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces to suppress the "One Skill Flower" from Huang Tang, the prison director of the Ministry of Punishment. One thousand and forty people, following the orders of Liu Tongxun and Yin Jishanxian, only detained 246 hall masters, Wei Tuo and elders and detained them in prison. , and then let out a sigh of relief.Huang Sitang is an old Beijing official who knows Qian Du very well. He joked, "Don't tell me that Lao Heng has had trouble with Yi Ying, Lei Jian and the others? Don't worry, I didn't catch any important ones. It doesn't matter if I catch any of them." Yes. Lao Liu and Xiao Yin Shengjuan are so good, they were all punished! But this time, the "Yijihua" has collapsed to the bottom, and there are no eggs under the nest. Liu Yanqing is not an incompetent person. You want Had 'that' with her, go report it as soon as possible!" Qian Du laughed and said, "Don't talk about your father's old man, I have something to do—I'll talk about it another day!" After finishing speaking, he went back to the yamen.But seeing Xiao Wangtou from Fu Heng's mansion come in, Qian Du was startled for a moment, and said: "Aren't you in Chengde with Liu Ye? Liu Ye is back?"

"Fu Xiang didn't come back." Xiao Wangtou, who was originally very easy-going, was trained to behave solemnly and neatly by Fu Hengjun's rule of law. He handed a letter to Qian Du with both hands in a serious manner, and said, "This is a letter from Master Xiang. Please write me a receipt. I came back to Beijing to bring medicine for my wife, and my young master is out of taboo. Fu Xiang got some precious medicine from a Mongolian doctor—yes, your name is signed here, okay, little one Farewell!" Qian Du said with a smile: "It's really a rule in military books. You don't even want tea money? Since Kang'er has acne, tell your mistress that I will come over tomorrow to say hello." Xiao Wangtou said: "Please come back later. Go, the mansion is offering sacrifices to the Goddess of Pox, even my family members who are away from home are not allowed to step through the gate, our old man guards the gate himself!" That's all.

Only then did Qian Du open and read Fu Heng's letter. In addition to reporting to Sheng'an, he asked him to allocate 200,000 shi of feed and grain to escort Wang Yetun.He also asked him to see Ji Yun, and put the amount of silver for the borrowed books on the booklet and submit it to the imperial court, and don't wait for Ji Yun to remind him.In addition, the governors and governors of various places are recommending scholars who should be erudite and erudite scholars, and the funds for vehicles, horses, sedan chairs, and boats should be prepared early, the distance of the road should be determined, and the price should be calculated according to the miles. The paper is all command tone.Before he finished, he asked: "Have you seen Xueqin? I really want to. You can go for me, or donate some silver. In this weather, I'm afraid she will be hungry and cold." Qian Du suddenly remembered Dun's Kunzhong's entrustment, and felt uneasy. .Immediately came out to call for the sedan chair, and carried it to Ji Yun's private house in Xizhimen.But was blocked from the door.Menzi said: "Our young master also has acne, please go back. Master will apologize in person in another day." Qian Du couldn't help being dumbfounded, and said in a daze: "This year's acne is so severe? I have important business to see Mr. Xiaolan !"

"I didn't make it clear, our master is not at home." The door looked around, and lowered his voice: "There is a secret decree, tell the master to go to the Temple of Heaven to pray for the crown prince, the seventh elder brother (Yong Cong) is also producing flowers!" "real!" "Of course it's true!" the family member said mysteriously, "Long live has stopped the court since yesterday. He will not be in charge of politics until the crown prince's flowers are all bloomed. The Empress Dowager Lafayette of the Palace of Compassion and Peace went to the Temple of the Pox Goddess to drop incense. The emperor ordered Jiangxi Longhu Mountain and Beijing Dafo Temple to be used as Taoist temples at the same time. The name is to dispel the plague for the sick all over the world, but in fact it is for Qiye! The empress has already requested the order, and Yi ordered the release of minor criminals, even "a flower" Trials of such big cases have been suspended—you came all the way, and every house in Beijing hung red cloth amulets, pigtails, and crabs. In the Bean God Empress Temple, those who put money in the merit box have to go there the day before Queuing up to be numbered, incense ashes piled up to the point where you can’t even see the incense cauldron!——This is a catastrophe, it’s really unstoppable by iron walls, like princes and ordinary people!” After finishing speaking, the talkative doorman clasped his hands together again God, read: "Amitabha, my Buddha is merciful! Namo is merciful and merciful, saves the suffering, the mighty Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva!" When he was still babbling, Qian Du had already gone.

Since Fu Heng also wrote a letter, the matter of visiting Cao Xueqin cannot be taken lightly.Qian Du didn't go back to the yamen anymore, he went back to the mansion in a sedan chair, and took twenty taels of broken silver. Seeing that there was Ning silk brought back from Nanjing in the box, he also took out one, and ordered his family to stuff it into the saddlebags. He didn't call Congren, so he changed into plain clothes by himself, and only said "come back after dark", then rode a walking mule to the north, and rushed to Zhangjiawan to visit Cao Xueqin.Passing by the Dongdou Goddess Temple of the Yuhuang Temple, Qian Du watched from a distance from his mule, and saw a sea of ​​pilgrims crowded together. The street was more than a mile long, all selling gold and silver paper foil, and there were a lot of incense candles in front of the yellow-edged stalls. The crowd was full of people, most of them were old women and women who came from far and near the city, some made wishes, some fulfilled their wishes, some frowning and some smiling. The sound of chanting Buddha and Guanyin, healing illnesses and praying for blessings...Holding up the awning and sighing, I was about to go on my way, when I suddenly saw Fang Qing staggering over from the Bean Temple, Qian Du called out: "Sister Fang Qing!" up the mule.

"Yes...it's Master Qian!" Fang Qing didn't expect someone to call her here, she was startled, looked up and saw Qian Du, and asked: "I heard from your family that you went to Chengde and came back?" Then she squatted down.Only then did Qian Du see that Fangqing's face was blue and white, her eyeballs were bruised under her cheeks, as if she hadn't slept for a few days, and she seemed to have cried, her eyelids were dizzy, and her eyes were a little dull, because she said: "Xue Is Qin at home? Are the children okay? I'm going to your house!" Beckoning a sedan chair, he said: "Look at your frail body, why are you walking here? You're poor, why are you here? Please get on the sedan chair, and I will ride the animal and go together.”

"We don't know how to live, and the head of the house has no errands." Fang Qing lowered her head embarrassedly, looked at the sedan chair shyly - she really couldn't walk anymore - and said, "Newly moved to Zhangjiawan , everyone in the old Cao family has to take care of it, and there are neighbors...they owe a lot to others. It's not what it used to be, it's really poor..." "What are you doing all the way to the city? Borrowing money?" "I came here yesterday... Both the big and the little hairs have pimples, they can't get through the blisters, and they are hot all over. I... I came to the Dou Niang Niang to make a wish..."

Qian Du was taken aback: It's this again!But he has heard so much that he is no longer surprised.He only stomped his feet and sighed: "The weasel bites alone——blind! This Xueqin is also true, and also believes in this? Telling you a woman to go so far away to do such a useless thing!" Fang Qing said: "He didn't ask me to come, I said that Jincheng borrowed money to get the medicine to come out..." "Stop talking," Qian Du said, "Let's leave quickly!" So a sedan chair and a mule rushed to Zhangjiawan, Tongzhou. Qian Du only wanted to travel forty or fifty miles, but after passing Tongzhou, he asked Fangqing, and there were still twenty miles. Qian Du calculated, afraid that it would be before dark If I couldn't get to the sedan chair, I sent the sedan chair back, found another horse to ride by myself, and let Fang Qing ride the walking mule. Babaer, I finally arrived at Zhangjiawan at the beginning of the year.Fang Qing pointed at Cunbei Road with her hand: "Master Qian, that's it!" Then he left.Qian Du counted the money and came after him, only to see a small stone bridge on Tonghui Hehan, which was as cold as a mirror, and three thatched huts standing alone beside the birch forest, with the doors closed tightly, and the low grass There is a dark window under the eaves, and the dry thatch on the roof trembles in the wind.The rooster does not crow, the dog does not bark, and there is a dead silence.Suddenly, an ominous premonition came to Qian Du's heart. When he looked at Fang Qing, he also seemed to have a sense of terror, and he ran away and shouted: "Big Mao, Xiao Mao!" As soon as he stepped into the yard, he saw Fang Qing slid along the door frame and collapsed on the ground without saying a word!Come in quickly.Qian Du was also stunned.

What a miserable scene!The three cold huts didn’t even have a boundary wall, they were open, and a statue of the Kitchen God from last year was hung on the smoky wall. There are two sauerkraut vats on the wall, old porcelain bowls on the lids for leftovers, and a bowl of boiled black beans as a dish. The sour smell emanating from the vats still has a mild musty smell.Cao Xueqin was sitting on a broken plank bed against the wall, with a full beard and disheveled hair, as motionless as a puppet. The bed was near the "window" side, and two furs, one big and one small, were sleeping side by side, their faces covered with paper.The little toes are sticking up stiffly... The charcoal in the brazier has long been extinguished, except for the two flickering long lights at the head of the bed, there is no smoke, and there is a woman wearing patched clothes, silently sitting on the small stool beside the bed Sitting on the bed, stacking paper and foil ingots, he only looked up at Qian Du and then went back to his own business.

"Xueqin, Xueqin!" Qian Duhuo seemed to be in a scary empty temple in a dream, as if calling Cao Xueqin and trying to wake himself up from the dream, he yelled a few times and said: "I am Qian Du, Qian Du, Mr. Qian Heng! God, you...what's wrong with you?" While shouting, he dragged the half-paralyzed Fang Qing to the bedside, and said to the woman, "This kind sister-in-law is here to help, right? Hurry... think Find a way to get some hot water... This room is too cold, even the living can't bear it—" He stopped before he finished speaking, and he recognized that the woman in rags was Zhang Yu'er!The family lived outside the front door, and Qian Du walked over the threshold of her house many times, eating pork head meat, and drinking with Le Min and Cao Xueqin on pork liver.Le Min and Yu'er broke up in frustration, and Qian Du even intended to propose marriage to her... It's only been a few years, and the circumstances of each of them are so different!At this time, this place, this situation, and this scene, we meet again, good luck, fate, number... how to arrange it like this!

"Brother Cao, what this master said is true, I dare not sit down so hard." Yu'er stood up, put her hands on her waist, and said wearily: "This is the fate left in the previous life, it is fate. You just swallow it." Let's admit it. Those who have gone have already gone, and those who are alive will still live. In Zhangjiawan alone, more than 20 people have gone away in this catastrophe. God's will, what can people do? My sister-in-law is not a good person. Son, it's so bitter, why don't you cry... well, I'll bring you a pot of hot water when I get home..." After finishing speaking, he glanced at Fang Qing and Qian Du indifferently, and walked away on the remnant snow. Yu'er's house is only a few dozen steps away from Xueqin's house. As soon as she enters the door, she scoops water from the vat to the pot, draws firewood and makes a fire in silence, while her husband squats at the kang table and smokes a cigarette. Said: "I saw a mule at Master Cao's door, maybe it's a visitor? I just went to fetch water at the owner's house, and the shopkeeper gave some cakes. Take it when you deliver the boiled water-don't be angry with my sister-in-law, she is also everyone Just like Mr. Cao, if you have money, you will use it, and you don’t know how to live in a long stream... In such a cold day, running to Beijing city, she is a woman, and doesn’t care about men and children? You go first, and I will take the pig at home. Circle around, and go over to help with the cooking." Yu'er seemed to let out a long breath from the bottom of her heart, her gloomy face eased, and amidst the crackling sound of firewood, she said: "I am also angry with Fangqing's sister-in-law, and I am also angry with you." Angry at the third master of the Cao family, that godfather is always a family of brothers, a ancestral grave. At this point, Master Qin didn't even take care of him. Did Master Qin give them less when he came?! Damn, yes What!" She was a self-willed woman, and she threw the stirrer aside with a "boom" in anger.When the man saw that the water was boiling, Yu'er didn't move, so he hurriedly jumped off the kang, scooped water into the pot, and said with a smile, "Your temper is really helpless. Send the water!" "I'm not going! I want to go to you!" "I can't get on the stage..." Yu'er just got up, sighed helplessly, brought boiling water to Xueqin's house, heard Fangqing mourning and crying from a distance, Xueqin also let out howls of choking and comforting, and saw Qian Du comforting her when she entered the door, Yin sighed: "After crying, I feel relieved, and I am afraid that if I hold it in my heart, I will get sick... Alas... Big and small... What two treasures... Going away in a blink of an eye It's gone...Why is God so closed..." She also started to cry as she spoke. "Let's say this, there are still a lot of famine owed to people outside Qinyuan." Qian Du had something on his mind and was anxious to go back that day, Xueqin's current situation is not suitable for keeping guests, so he said: "This idea of ​​money, don't pay it back yet. I put the child into the soil first, and it’s almost the end of the new year. When I go back, I’m afraid I’ll have to go out of the gate to ask for some from Agui. Now that I’m a big official, I don’t even get a single foreign money—it’s always in the It’s on me. It doesn’t matter, they are all surnamed Cao, how can you not even worry about this? Look at you, even tears have dried up, and you have three disasters and two diseases, what should you do if you call Fangqing? I have to go back Although Liu Xiaolin has returned to the south, Zhi Yan and his wife are still in the western suburbs, so ask them to come and see you too. After this period of time, find another job, and slowly become alive again..." See Xueqin The whole family was in such a state of distress, Qian Du was emotionally moved, his heart became hot, and he also shed tears. He hurriedly said a few words of comfort, and went out to beat the mule, and left Zhangjiawan as if fleeing. Xiao Wang rode a fast horse to send back Tang'er's letter to Fu Heng. Fu Hengzhan read it and knew that "Kang'er's pox has come out, her body is not burning, and she can eat porridge. The doctor said that the danger is over."Immediately he was relieved, but Seventh Prince's acne did not come out, and he was still worried.My elder sister had been married to Qianlong since she was sixteen years old. She was dignified and virtuous. Not only did Qianlong respect and love her, but all the concubines and concubines in the Sixth Palace were respectful and respectful.The first gave birth to the second elder brother Yonglian, who died of illness at the age of nine and went to Huangquan.Finally, the seventh elder brother grew up to be two years old again. Seeing that he had smallpox again, he was pardoned and given relief. .His uncle just looked at him and couldn't help it.He was also worried about the relapse of Fucha's old illness, and was also faintly afraid of the replacement of favors, how could he be at ease?Because of lack of emotions, Fu Heng was afraid of making mistakes in his words, so he never received ministers in Chengde. He just wrote one letter after another, giving instructions to Beijing's six ministries and nine ministers. The old master asked the old master to read each letter carefully before sending it out. .Seeing that Zhang Tingyu had sent an invitation for Ann Zhezi, Fu Heng thought about it for a while, and then went to the Yanxun Mountain Hall of the villa to send a sign to see you. Just after passing the Yanyu Building, he saw the eunuch Bu Ti trotting over. The color is not the color, and he said while panting : "Master Liu! The master is at the lady's place behind the mountain pavilion, call me over!" "Brother Seven!" Fu Heng groaned in his heart. He didn't dare to ask, and followed in strides. Just after passing the Yimen of Yanxun Mountain Hall, he heard faint cries from the west hall of the Buddha Hall. Fu Heng's heart was pounding. He flinched, stepped on a piece of ice skating, staggered a few steps, almost fell on his back, staggered into the hall, and sure enough, he saw Seventh Prince Yong Cong lying softly in the arms of the stunned nurse, his eyes wide open. The eyes are wide open, as if staring at the algae well on the top of the temple, but the pupils are dilated.Several imperial doctors were so frightened that their faces turned pale, and they knelt straight at the entrance of the hall.Empress Fucha's face had no blood at all, she half-lyed on the big kang leading pillow, not speaking, not moving, not crying, her eyes were wide open, so dry that she didn't even have a tear.But Niu Hulu and Nala wailed loudly, their handkerchiefs were wet.Suddenly, the nanny suddenly woke up and came to her senses, her voice roared, drowning out everyone's sobbing and crying: "Hey ho ho... my little master...my little dear, my dear, my dear, my dear, my dear, my dear!" Lord...how could such a thing happen? What...I didn't even dare to take a step out of the palace door, who the hell brought the sickness in? Ah...I was worrying in vain , Worrying in vain... Hey-ho ho ho... I'll go with you, my charming master..." Qianlong was able to hold on originally, he only frowned and stared at his son, hearing her cry miserably, suddenly felt hot and sour, and tears rolled down like beads.With tears rolling in his eyes, Fu Heng ordered: "Take my brother down and put him on the bed. It's okay to make trouble here. The bodies of Long Live Lord and Master Mistress are ten thousand gold, so you can't hurt your feelings too much. The imperial doctors also kneel down..." The two noble concubines and Wang said: "My lords, please go back to your room to rest. You are crying so much, how can the master comfort the mistress?" Mrs. Cha each saluted and came out with his head down.Outside the gate of the hall, Nala took a peek at Niu Hulu, and Cha Niu Hulu also turned his face, looked at each other, and then avoided dodging. "Your Majesty," Fu Heng turned around and saluted the Fucha family, and called out softly.Seeing that Mrs. Fucha just blinked his eyelids, but his body didn't respond, he raised his voice a little bit boldly and said, "Sister! You shouldn't be so sad. You are the mother of the world, and the demeanor of the mother is also very important. Needless to say, the emperor loves you so much. Elder Brother returned, he was already in extreme pain, and he was still worried that your body would be ruined by the pain. If you don’t think about yourself, you have to think about the emperor... and brother, see you I can't bear it if you are like this, so you have to do an errand for the emperor, and you still think about my good sister..." He said, choked up so that he could not speak. Two big teardrops rolled down Fucha's cheeks to her ears.After a long time, she groaned and said: "Good brother...for the sake of the emperor, I will support myself." Fu Hengqiang endured his heartbreaking grief, and tried to comfort him for a while. He didn't dare to say Zhang Tingyu's greetings to such trivial matters, so he resigned in grief. .However, Qianlong followed him and took him to the small study of Yanxun Mountain Pavilion. After sighing and feeling sad for a while, he asked, "I heard that your family Fu Kang'an also suffered from smallpox. How is the situation now?" Fu Heng knew that Qianlong was sad at this moment. , how dare to tell the truth?Yin said: "Tang'er wrote a letter, it is also very dangerous! But I went to the Pox Goddess Temple and said that I got a good lottery, it just depends on his luck." "The governor of Zhili came to report that this time the plague spread, and 100,000 people died in the entire Zhili territory." Qianlong said in a slow tone, with a gloomy expression, "My beloved son is also... Alas! I think he is better than others." My son is different, but he is actually my prince. I still want to comfort the living, so I want to confer a title. It is inconvenient for you to come forward in this matter. I have ordered Ji Yun and Zhang Tingyu to discuss a posthumous title and make him a prince. .You know it well.” "Yes... This is the emperor's extraordinarily generous kindness. The seventh master, Jiuquan, knows it, and he will definitely Mu Enhuaide..." Qianlong sighed: "Don't say such things, it's just to comfort the empress's heart." He paused for a moment, hesitant to speak, but in fact, he had a faint feeling in his heart that someone had tampered with the smallpox infection.First in the Shunzhi Dynasty, some people brought smallpox patients' clothes into the palace in an attempt to harm Kangxi.This time the palace guards were very cautious, but they still couldn't escape this catastrophe.The Wang family and the Niu Hulu family have no children, so it is beyond doubt.But doubting Nala, Nala's son Yongxi also contracted smallpox, and is still in danger, she can't do such a bad thing... Thinking about it, she shook her head.He said again: "I haven't listened to the government for more than ten days. From tomorrow, I will have to watch the court. When I start doing things, my mood will gradually improve. You are the most trustworthy and close relative of me. In addition to running errands, you also need Come in and talk to the Empress more often, distract her, and she will breathe slowly." "Save it for the slave, don't worry the master!" "... Kneel down!" "yes……" Qianlong servant Fu Heng withdrew, and Fang slowly walked back to Fucha's room. Seeing that Lainiang was feeding ginseng soup spoonful by spoonful to the queen, he felt relieved.The queen drank half a small bowl, and when she saw Qianlong coming in, she stopped drinking and said in a weak voice: "No need, Lai Niang will help me." Qianlong hurried up, put his hands on Fucha's shoulders, and said: "No, what do you and I say about this etiquette? You just lie down and we talk." "Yes, I will follow the order..." For a while, the couple were silent relative to each other. "Queen," Qianlong looked at the winter cloudy sky outside the window, and his voice seemed to come from a long distance: "A few days ago, I approved the memorial to Liu Tongxun and Yin Jishan for self-impeachment, and I said 'perfect people are rare'. Now it's my turn, I have to reflect on myself. Not only ministers and slaves, but also kings and masters, it is impossible not to regret it!" The queen frowned slightly, and asked with concern: "Liu Tongxun and Yin Jishan also made a mistake? What kind of punishment?" "Small demotion, it's not a big deal." Qianlong replied, following his own thoughts: "Nowadays, the population of the world is more than twice that of the ancestors, and the annual income of the imperial court is more than ten times higher. Although it cannot be said that the country is rich and the people are prosperous, and the households are well-off, it can be said that it is a rare wealth since the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The Siku Quanshu is being repaired, the erudition and Confucianism are about to be opened, and there are no robbers and bandits all over the world. Shoulder to shoulder. Wenzhi will be even better in a few years, this is the overall situation that has been settled." He patted the back of the Queen's hand, clenched it tightly, sighed, and said: "But I also have regrets, one is The rich and the poor are uneven, the rich are too rich, the poor still rely on relief, and the people's career is still unstable; second, the use of troops is ineffective, and Qingfu is defeated again and again. Big and small Jinchuan are still restless, let alone the Western Regions; the third one is...you." The queen opened her eyes wide and said in astonishment: "Me?..." "Yes!" Qianlong let go of her hand, and nodded heavily: "You have to be counted, you are still young, and you can still give birth to an elder brother, but you can't be established as a prince, you can only be crowned king as a son - just like Cong My son, I only chase after you as a prince—why? I saw you like this today, and I thought a lot about it. I ruled from Taizu Taizong, and none of the legitimate sons of Empress Yuan inherited the throne. I violated it by force. God's will, to do what the ancestors failed to do, to invite the great blessings that the ancestors could not obtain-this word Shizong Ye once said, but I didn't really listen to it, so that the Duanhui Crown Prince Yonglian died prematurely, today It's not my fault that I ruined the seventh elder brother again: I also tortured you to death, and my heart is restless all day long, so why bother!" The queen lowered her eyelids, pondered for a long time, and said: "The emperor is really thinking of me. I can't be ungrateful. However, I feel that my hard work has been done, and there is no need to think about reborn elder brother. The emperor said I don’t understand the big things about you, but the world is getting richer and richer, and the blind can see it. If I can live a few more years, it depends on which general you send to Khalkha, and it depends on your Wufenglou military parade , depends on you hearing the red flag to report victory, and the grace spreads all over the world! So I don’t want to die. I just want to accompany you to see Jiangnan again. Yin Jishan’s previous booklet talks about Nanjing so well, I really want to go!” She His eyes shimmered, and he suddenly smiled and sighed, "I'm afraid I won't be so lucky, and I won't be able to see the moon on the stone city! It's the same sentence, I want a posthumous title of filial piety, and I will die—" "Don't say these things!" Qianlong covered her mouth with one hand. It was almost the end of the new year when Liu Xiaolin rushed back to Beijing from Jiangning.The northerners pay the most attention to Chinese New Year. Since the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the kitchen gods are given away. No matter rich or poor, families are busy with the New Year, posting Zhong Kui, making rice cakes, cooking sacrificial meat, cleaning the house, steaming panlong steamed buns, hanging holly and cypress branches, making a lot of noise. It wasn't until the 29th year that I rushed to Zhangjiawan and brought a lot of new year's goods. Only then did I know that since the death of Da Mao and Xiao Mao, Cao Xueqin had a fever, didn't want to eat, and had been bedridden for more than a year. moon.Into the twelfth lunar month, added the symptoms of hemoptysis.Liu Xiaolin himself is also an elderly person. Seeing that Fangqing is helpless and has to deal with the uncles and brothers of Cao's family who come to ask for bills, he feels uncomfortable anyway. Last year, I bought some incense candles and Buddha statues, fresh fish and fruit, lamp grass and stove firewood, and watched Yu'er help Fangqing chop meat and slaughter chickens.The people of the Liu family were already waiting impatiently, and sent his brother to take him back to Beijing in a car, and then they came to say goodbye to Xueqin. "Xueqin," Liu Xiaolin asked Fangqing to move the brazier against the bed, told his younger brother to wait outside, sat beside Cao Xueqin, and said, "Today is New Year's Eve, the store is closed, and your place is like this again, I have to go. You have such a great knowledge, you don’t need me to find cheap words to comfort you, you really have to take care of yourself. People, there is a time when you get lucky in your life. I think you have reached the bottom of the pot now, and you are walking in any direction. They are all going up...I saw you look bad yesterday, and I was really a little scared. Today, I look much more energetic, and my face has blood. It can be seen that this is a temporary disaster. I owe them the few taels of silver It’s nothing, Fangqing just keep it in the way, seven or eighty taels won’t make me poor now. After the Lantern Festival, I’ll make an appointment with Weng Jihu and the others to come and see you.” Cao Xueqin's eyes were sunken, her bony arms were hanging outside the quilt, she stared at Liu Xiaolin with dry and dull eyes, and said in a muddy voice: "Don't worry about it here, Fang Qing is taking care of it, and Yu'er and his wife over there said Come and eat New Year’s dinner with me. I’m not lonely, I’m not sad... It’s so far away, and it snows from time to time, so I’m telling my friends not to come. If I don’t die in spring, I’ll go back to the city, and our Peach Blossom Poetry Club will still Let's go on... Lin Daiyu is Lin Daiyu, Cao Xueqin is Cao Xueqin, your boss likes to talk together." Cha Yuer came in with a basket of frozen pears, put the basket on the ground, and said, "Sister-in-law, the red candle I brought Put it outside the doorstep, and there are dried eggplant stalks, you take it in and put it on the candlestick, and it is snowing outside again, it seems to be wet-I said Master Cao, old Tanhuaer, you can’t pick up auspiciousness Said: New Year's Eve, death and life, bare mouth and white teeth, what are you talking about? The more you live, the more confused you are! " Liu Xiaolin, who is also familiar with Yu'er, said with a smile: "Yes! You said that Yes, let’s not talk about it!” He leaned down and said, “That bag contains the whole copy, including our criticisms. The copy I copied is left in Nanjing. The owner of Yongmao Bookstore, Mr. Jia, is very grateful. I value this book so much that I even transcribed the comments, saying that it should be printed exquisitely, so that the master can become famous and earn a fortune. However, books are being collected everywhere now, and the governors of several provinces have issued notices, Most bureaucrats do not dare to print novels. To print such a large book, it is even better. It will cost three thousand strings of money, and it will not be able to raise it for a while, so you have to wait for a while. You don’t have to be anxious at all. When you recover from illness, I will tell you to read a neat sample booklet!" Cao Xueqin swallowed dryly while listening, nodded slightly and said: "I understand, I'm clear in my heart... It's hard for you to scrape together a few extra money from our family, let's go here A trip to Nanjing. The money is not enough... It was expected, and there are many unexpected things, and I am clear-eyed. Do you remember Yiquan's poem? That's just a temporary thing, a temporary feeling. I'm afraid, what do I have for a while—" He glanced at Yu'er who was putting the fruit on the god's table, "—unexpected things, this sentimentality, so I just have to 'Cuidikong Mountain is cool at night'." Liu Xiaolin smiled wryly, and said, "I'm older than you, so I don't want to think so wildly. It's good to have a baby, and I'll be here soon." After a few words of comfort, he went out to take a car and go. "Xueqin, we can't stand it, but we still have a few good friends." Fang Qing peeled the cabbage gang in his hand, looked at the cart going farther and farther in the snow, sighed, and said: "As long as we will If you can make money, you won’t be a drag on Yu’er and your family.” Yu’er dipped her face in both hands, and said with a smile: “What are these words—scoop out the hot water from the pot, and sit on the basin for a while It’s easy to get angry—Master Qin is a great talent, and you have also read a lot of books to be a female talent, this is what it takes to be a human being! We are the people of grass and trees, and our lives are hard——Don’t pour that little water, let’s take it while it’s hot Beating the batter and brushing the door gods——I just look at the way you read and recite poems at a regular price, and I feel sorry for you and angry at you when you see that the life you could have turned upside down, that's all." Fang Qing was stirring the batter—— —Put the batter in a small frying pan, just said, "It's really thanks to you two", and then stopped suddenly, with a look of panic on his face, looked out of the courtyard, and said to Xueqin: "Third Uncle It's coming again!" Xueqin also fell silent.After a long while, he sighed deeply and said, "Fang Qing goes to meet him, please come in, and I will talk to him." Yu'er didn't wait for Fang Qing to stand up, pressed Fang Qing, and said, "Don't go out, I'll come!" Grabbed the door god painting on the divine table, took the paste basin, and hurried out.Cao Xueqin listened carefully: "Hey! Isn't this the third uncle? You are in such a good mood, you will give your nephew a New Year's greeting on New Year's Eve! — Be careful, be careful, look, the paste is thrown on the robe, isn't it?!" Uncle Cao muttered a few words, and then came Yu'er's crisp laughter: "Look, the evening banners of Fanyin Temple have been hung up, is it still early? Are you talking about me? When Master Qin and I were neighbors, we still I don't know where your uncle's door is facing! Uncle is going to have a hard time in the next year, and tonight there will be a fire in the Xushi Temple..." After saying that, I couldn't help giggling.Hearing what the third uncle said bitterly in a low voice, Yu'er said loudly: "This door god was posted by my aunt! - What kind of virtue do you have? You are not good enough to carry shoes for Master Qin! This is Zhangjiawan, not Caojiawan, it is better than you to find a man who is worthless! If you dare to touch the corner of the paper, I will shout out! Our old man is the patriarch. If you don’t want to celebrate the New Year, go to Zuojiazhuang to transform people Is it?" Then I heard Yu'er's spitting and Cao Sanshu's footsteps staggering away.Fang Qing clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, breathed a sigh of relief, and said softly, "Amitabha!" Cao Xueqin, who was lying on the bed, heard all this outside. He was upset for a while, and then he felt cold all over his body. It was as cold as being immersed in a glacier, as if he was thrown naked in an empty snowy field.He struggled desperately, wanted to move, wanted to speak, but the cold air seemed to be pouring into his limbs, slowly but without hesitation, soaking into his internal organs, freezing his heart, and everything in front of him was getting stronger and stronger. The more blurred and ethereal, the statues of the Kitchen God and Zhong Kui on the wall, the inkstone paper and pens on the table, the dazzlingly bright snow outside the window and the poplar forest in the snow all turned upside down, and even the busy figures of Fangqing and Yu'er It was also spinning and drifting away, he only had time to sigh slightly, and murmured: "It's so cold..." Then there was no more words or movements. The bell of Fanyin Temple rang, melodious and deep, echoing in the snow curtain.The muddy twilight and velvet of the Tongji River land quietly amidst the bells.Zhangjiawan, filled with supper, seems to melt into this bleak and joyful New Year's Eve.As the bell rang, children who had escaped the smallpox plague chased and played in the streets and alleys, shouted happily, and set off various firecrackers to celebrate the arrival of the Guiwei Year of Qianlong. September 18, 1994 morning ugly time