Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 51: Shaving Head and Changing Clothes
The capital is the place where one of the four great associations of the world is located. Wu Chengjian is one of the richest men in Guangdong. If the Guangdong merchants in the capital knew that he was coming to Beijing, they would probably come to pay him a visit. But this time he did not make a big fanfare and just entered the city quietly. Therefore, except for the manager of the Guangdong Guild Hall, many people did not know about this matter.
But Yihehang also had a store in Beijing, and when the shopkeeper in Beijing heard that the boss had arrived, he hurried over to meet him that night with a few trusted associates. Wu Chengjian comforted them with a few words, asking them not to make it public and just pretend they didn't know he had come to Beijing.
After the shopkeeper in Beijing left, Tietou Junba brought in a man, who was the one with the spread-handed five.
Wu Chengjian quickly bowed and greeted him: "Master Zhang."
Tan Shouwu knew what he was worried about, and after he sat down, he said without any nonsense, "I have fulfilled my mission and have met Master Zhou."
Wu Chengjian asked hurriedly: "How is Yijin?"
"Master Zhou has committed a serious crime." Spreading his hands, Wu said, "When I saw him, his condition was very bad. Fortunately, I found Master Ma Liu, a bone-setting expert from Cangzhou, who was an old friend of mine. He bought my face and rushed from Cangzhou to the prison to treat Master Zhou. Fortunately, after we spent money, the jailer followed the rules of the underworld and did not make things difficult for us. He allowed us to clean up the trouble and treat Master Zhou in the prison."
Having said that, a look of pity appeared on Tan Shouwu's face.
Wu Chengjian was anxious: "How serious is the injury?"
Spreading his hands, Wu sighed again and said, "Although Master Zhou is not in good spirits and his other ailments only need to be nursed back to health, the injury on his leg has been prolonged. Although it is not life-threatening, if he receives ordinary treatment, he will definitely be disabled after the injury heals. So Master Ma Liu asked him if he dared to take the risk and endure the pain. Master Zhou looks gentle, but he is so tough that he actually said he dared. So... So Master Ma Liu broke his leg again and reconnected it..."
When Wu Chengjian heard this, he let out a cry and dug his fingernails into his palms.
"This treatment went smoothly." He spread his hands and said, "But Master Zhou suffered a lot. The leg was broken and then reattached, which also took a lot of energy. Now he is recuperating and is very weak."
Wu Chengjian asked a lot more questions about Zhou Yijin. The more he asked, the more distressed he felt. Finally, he sent Tan Shouwu away.
Wu Qi said, "Officer Hao, shall we go see Master Zhou tomorrow?"
Wu Chengjian shook his head: "No, I have to go to Heshen's house first. If Heshen doesn't ask, I may not be able to see Yijin."
Wu Qi said, "Master Zhang has also gone in, so why can't we go in? At most we have to spend a few more taels of silver."
Wu Chengjian shook his head: "That's different." But he didn't explain any further.
Early the next morning, he came to see Heshen with an exquisite gift that he had prepared in Guangzhou.
The mansion where Heshen lived, later known as the "Prince Gong Mansion", is located in the Shichahai area, in the west of Beijing. The Guangdong Guild Hall is located in the south of Beijing, and the two places are not close.
Wu Chengjian was as arrogant as he could be in Shenxianzhou, but he tightened his tail when he came to Beijing. He didn't put on any ostentation. He only took Wu Qi and Tietou Junba with him, carried a small box, hired a carriage, drove to Xicheng, stopped far away, and prepared to walk to He Mansion.
After walking a few steps, someone suddenly said, "Hey, who is this? He looks so familiar. I'm sure you didn't recognize the wrong person, did you?"
Wu Chengjian looked in the direction of the voice and actually met an acquaintance - who else could it be but Guangxing.
Wu Chengjian was in Beijing, and he came here just to pretend to be the grandson. When he saw Guangxing, he bent his waist and said, "So it's Master Guangxing."
Guangxing looked Wu Chengjian up and down and chuckled, "It's really you! Life is full of people who meet each other everywhere! How did you become like this?"
Wu Chengjian at this moment was indeed completely different from the one he was in Guangzhou. If an acquaintance from Guangzhou had been here, he would definitely not have recognized this Yihe Xinghao official.
First of all, the clothes . The Qing Dynasty had strict regulations on what kind of clothes merchants should wear. Thousands of miles away from Guangzhou, no one cared much about it. But it was different in Beijing. Although Wu Chengjian donated money to become an official, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, he still only wore a cloth suit. He did not wear any silk, gold or jade, and looked gray.
But this was not the reason why Wu Chengjian's appearance had changed drastically. What had changed the most was his hairstyle - last night, Wu Qi asked the guild's manager, Lao Su, to invite a barber overnight to shave Wu Chengjian's head again.
The standard head shape that the Qing Dynasty required the people to shave was not like in later film and television dramas where only the forehead was shaved and the remaining hair was tied into a braid. Instead, the entire head was shaved, leaving only a plaster-sized patch on the top or back of the head, and then the remaining hair was tied into a very small braid. This braid had to be small enough to pass through the square hole of a copper coin, just like a rat's tail. This hairstyle was called "Golden Money Rat Tail" and it was extremely ugly.
The emperors of the Qing Dynasty also knew what was beautiful and what was ugly, so they themselves did not shave their heads like this. When Wu Chengjian was in Guangzhou, the emperor was far away and no one was so strict, so although he shaved his head and braided it, he did not shave it like this. But when he came to Beijing, the situation was like this, so in order to avoid being criticized, he followed the most strict rules and shaved his head into a rat tail.
Guangxing called out to the people who were traveling with him and said, "Come on, come on, I have to introduce this to you. Do you know who this person is? This person is very famous! He is one of the richest people in the Qing Dynasty, a big merchant in the Thirteen Hongs in Guangzhou, and the official Hao of the Yihe Bank!"
Wu Chengjian had anticipated all kinds of humiliation and meeting all kinds of people when he went north this time, but he didn't expect to run into Guangxing first. At that time, Zhou Yijin was still imprisoned in Shuntian Prefecture Prison. He didn't dare to be willful. He lowered his head and bent his waist, saying, "Master Guangxing, you are joking. What money do we have? The Thirteen Hongs are a business done by the emperor. Money comes and goes. Even if we handle some wealth and goods, it is all the emperor's money. We are actually doing errands for the emperor."
"Oh my!" Guangxing said, "It's not easy to work for the emperor! We have to pay our respects to you." He pretended to bow to Wu Chengjian. This was not respecting someone, this was bullying.
Wu Chengjian hurriedly pulled him back and said, "Master Guangxing, you are going to embarrass me by saying this."
Seeing Wu Chengjian trying to help him, Guangxing suddenly raised his foot and kicked him, making him fall down, and shouted, "Take your dirty hands away! How dare you touch me! You are just a lowly merchant, and you dare to claim to be working for the emperor. You are not worthy."
Wu Chengjian seemed to be caught off guard and was kicked by him. Wu Qi was furious and was about to step forward, but was stopped by Tietou Junba. Wu Chengjian fell to the ground, his face covered with dust.
The people who came with Guangxing laughed, and Guangxing also laughed. He thought he could achieve great success when he went to Guangzhou, but he went south with pride and returned north with disappointment. After returning, he was ashamed to see people because he messed up things, so he hid at home for several months. It was a rare setback in his life. Seeing Wu Chengjian's embarrassment, he couldn't help laughing, which relieved his resentment. Because he was going to work at the Ministry of Rites, he didn't delay and left with a mocking smile.
Wu Qi quickly helped Wu Chengjian to stand up, feeling angry. He had never suffered such a loss in Guangzhou before. He said to Tietou Junba, "Why did you stop me just now?"
Tietou Junba said succinctly: "Hao Guan has eaten night porridge for several days., this script can be avoided.”
Wu Qi was stunned.
Wu Chengjian brushed off the dust on his body and said, "It's just a fall. It's not a big deal. It's better than entangled with him endlessly. Let's go."
Wu Qi then picked up the box and followed Wu Chengjian. After a while, he saw a long queue in front of him. Wu Qi asked curiously, "What is this for? Are there any delicious foods for sale in front?"
Guangdong people are the best, that was his first reaction, thinking that with such a long queue, the food must be really delicious. But when he got closer, he knew something was wrong, the people in the queue were all officials, some big and some small, some small, some sixth and seventh rank, some big, some first and second rank!
Wu Chengjian understood what was going on and whispered in Cantonese: "These are all people queuing up to see Heshen."
At this time, Heshen was at the peak of his power! The emperor retired and ignored the government affairs, and Emperor Jiaqing also retreated within a stone's throw. He, the "Second Emperor", controlled the government affairs and was almost the real prime minister! A regent without a title!
Wu Chengjian walked forward, but after only a few steps someone shouted at him, "What are you doing! Can't you see? Get in line!"
When he was in Guangzhou, especially after the "beasts sharing food" situation was settled, how could the great official Yihe and Xinghao have ever been yelled at like this? But this is Beijing. His "fifth-rank doctor" stands out among the Thirteen Hongs, but here he is not even a sparrow. The people who yelled at him are fourth-rank, third-rank, and a second-rank military officer.
Wu Chengjian looked at the long queue of people and thought that even if he revealed his name now, he would not be able to suppress everyone, so he said to Wu Qi: "Let's go and find the back door."
The three of them walked around for a long time and found the back door, but they saw that there were also a lot of people blocking the back door.
Wu Chengjian frowned and said, "Look for the corner gate."
Wu Qi said: "What corner gate?"
Wu Chengjian said, "The kind that servants go in and out of."
Wu Qi said, "Hao Guan, that... that's not possible!" He felt so wronged. Hao Guan was still a person of high rank, so why didn't he have the right to meet He Shen openly? But he had to go through the servants' passage...
Wu Chengjian said: "Even if I have to kneel on the ground and lick my boots, I must find a way to save Yijin."
Wu Qi was experienced and quickly found a small side door of the He Mansion, which was the passage for servants to enter and exit. There were also some people waiting outside, but there were no officials. They were all people of the lowest class, waiting to see if any oil leaked out from inside.
There was also a gatekeeper inside the small gate. Wu Chengjian said to Wu Qi, "Give me the box. You can go back now."
"This..." Wu Qi was worried.
Wu Chengjian looked at Tietou Junba, and Tietou Junba pulled Wu Qi away.
Wu Qi was pulled away for a short distance and couldn't help complaining: "Why let Hao Guan go in alone? What if something happens?"
Tietou Junba said: "This is the Prime Minister's residence. If something really happens, what can we do?"
Wu Qi said irritably, “If something really happens, I’d rather accompany Hao Guan to bear it together.”
Tietou Junba said: "I think that no one will necessarily die, but humiliation is inevitable. Do you like to see Hao Guan being humiliated? Or do you think Hao Guan likes to be humiliated by people he knows?"
Wu Qi stopped talking.
