During the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, two monsters appeared in the city of Shuaibin. One was a deer with a turtle neck, and the other was Quan Guanglin, who had a face full of pockmarks.
No one can call out Quan Guanglin's full name, so they all call him by splitting the word "ma" into two parts. This guy is an expert in antiques, and his mind is a thousand times more cunning than the pockmarks on his face. He is ruthless in bargaining for goods and asking for a very high price when selling. Others are shouting about what they sell, and they talk about their own business every three sentences, but he is trying to get into the officialdom, and he is bragging to the world that he is a cousin of the royal family. His grandfather is the brother-in-law of Emperor Yongzheng, and his father is the eldest cousin of the current emperor. In terms of seniority, the real dragon emperor is still his second uncle.
Quan Guanglin wanted to be an official after getting rich, but Lu Changbo wanted to get rich after being an official. He donated a lot of money to get this official hat, and he wanted to make a fortune after getting power. So, he let go and embezzled official money, digging holes and eating wild food like a mouse. Quan Guanglin figured out that Lu Changbo was smart and would rise to power sooner or later, so he clung to the thigh of this county magistrate and tried his best to smooth the way for the official, hoping to use his power to rise to the top.
On this day, Quan Guanglin visited Lu Changbo's mansion with a jade mouse in his pocket, saying that the government had taken good care of him and it was only natural to repay the kindness with a drop of water.
The deer stretched out the turtle's neck for more than a foot, stared at it with toad eyes for a long time: this jade mouse is not small, weighing half a pound, but no matter how you look at it, it is not a top-quality one. So he said coldly with a gloomy face: "Pockmarked, I have no shortage of common goods. If you have such a thoughtful gesture, you might as well buy a pot of good wine to moisten the relationship."
Quan Guanglin stroked the jade mouse in a mysterious manner and said, "Your Excellency, you may not know that this is my heirloom. It is not an exaggeration to call it a national treasure. You can stay here for a while. You can never imagine its mysteries even in your dreams. You will naturally discover its infinite mysteries as you enjoy it slowly."
Deer Long Neck was confused: "According to what you said, it is quite valuable. It is not a problem to exchange it for my huge fortune?"
Quan Guanglin raised his long, bumpy face and laughed: "Don't even mention your small belongings. Even if you pack up the entire city of Lubin and exchange it for banknotes, you can't exchange it for this old man." Before leaving, he repeatedly warned them not to let the news leak out, otherwise it would cause trouble and might even lead to death.
No one can figure out the details of the locals. Quan Guanglin's father was indeed a favorite of the previous dynasty, specializing in managing the tribute in the palace. Back then, someone selected the spiritual jade from the Jingjue Kingdom in the Western Regions, and carved the "official hamster" according to the artistic conception of Tang poetry as a tribute. The old predecessor dared to tamper with it and hide it. Later, the truth was revealed, the family was confiscated, the treasure was taken away, and he was exiled to the wild land of Changbai Mountain. What people don't know is that after Quan Guanglin's family settled in Shubin City, the tribute rat actually escaped from the Forbidden City and came to the door thousands of miles away. The whole family was afraid of causing trouble again, so they had to secretly hide the "fugitive".
Quan Guanglin was not full of nonsense. Ever since the treasure mouse entered the house, the jade collection has been missing one by one. Deer Long Neck turned the boxes and cabinets upside down, and even dug the mouse holes in the corners of the wall three times, but he couldn't solve the case. Suddenly, he remembered what Quan Guanglin said, picked up the jade mouse, looked at it, and weighed it. He found that it had grown a lot bigger and fatter, weighing more than a pound. It turned out that this jade mouse was a living creature, secretly eating its own kind. It was really a rare treasure.
At night, Lu Changbo placed the last pair of bracelets next to Yushu, turned off the light and lay on his back. At three o'clock in the morning, he was awakened by a series of "clicking" sounds. He was dazed and guessed that the greedy guy was taking advantage of the quiet time to eat a midnight snack again.
The next morning, when he opened his eyes, the jade bracelet had indeed disappeared without a trace as if it had grown wings, and the thief had also slipped away. He guessed correctly that the barbaric diners had run out of stock and expected a famine to come, so they scurried back to their lair.
The fat and plump jade rat returned home, and Quan Guanglin picked it up and kissed it. He couldn't keep it waiting, so he had to send it back anyway, as he was still counting on those four little hooves to find a way to do something big.
He carried out a huge jade box from the inner room, put the two objects into a leather bag, loaded it on his own horse, and took advantage of the deserted streets to enter the Lu Mansion under the starlight.
When he saw Quan Guanglin sending back the jade mouse, Deer Long Neck was so panicked that he waved his hands and said, "Forget it, forget it. The temple is poor and can't afford to support a rich god. That living ancestor eats and drinks lavishly without blinking an eye, and in the end he ran away from home against his conscience."
Quan Guanglin smiled evilly and bowed repeatedly: "I'm really sorry for making you spend so much money. Now you know what a living treasure is, right? You should slowly make some money first, and I'll give you a big warehouse to support you for a while. If we can't even keep a mouse alive, won't people laugh at us if we tell others about it?"
Although he was very angry about losing money, Lu Changbo really wanted the jade mouse. The guy looked simple and honest with a crooked mouth, which was quite funny. The food storage that accompanied it was exquisitely carved with soft colors. The yellow rice grains seemed to emit fragrance, which made people hungry at first glance. There was also a famous Tang Dynasty poem engraved on it: "The mice in the government warehouse are as big as a bucket, and they will not run away when people open the warehouse. The soldiers have no food and the people are hungry, but who knows that they will eat the emperor every morning."
The long-necked deer stared at the "granary" and suddenly realized that it turned out that hund and the mouse were a pair. The mouse was the soul of hund, and hund was the lifeblood of the mouse. Only when the mouse and hund form a partnership can they be the unparalleled king of treasures.
This time the master was relieved. With a rich rice warehouse to guard, it would be strange if the little thing didn't settle down and take root. He accepted the gift with a smile on his face, patted his chest and made a promise that he would make good words and recommend him to the higher authorities, and one day he would let the rich man wear a splendid official robe.
Lu Changbo knew that he could not just sit there and eat the food, he had to take a long-term view and not accumulate food and cause famine. He asked his master to spread the word that when the gentry and the rich came to do good things, they should only present jade ornaments, and other gold and silver treasures would not be accepted.
When the greedy mouse saw that there was another delicious meal to fill his stomach, he opened his mouth and relaxed his belly to gobble it up. Soon, he had eaten most of the food stored in the old master's storehouse. In order to protect the original warehouse and trap the little beast, the long-necked deer buried the grain storehouse three feet deep and used the new food as appetizers. Not long after, the face of the big man deer was filled with worry again: he had been well fed and well fed and had become more than three pounds, but where could he get so many delicious foods to feed himself?
In desperation, the deer decided to limit the food supply, as long as he was not starving to death, he would save a little. Seeing that the new master was always angry and could not fill his stomach with three meals a day, the prodigal little ancestor started to make trouble again. At night, he would run around, toss and turn, scream, scratch the furniture and tear the bedding. Once, he got angry and bit off a large clump of the official's beard, which made his master embarrassed to go to court for half a month. Finally, he couldn't bear the cruelty and scorn, so he dug a hole through the wall and ran away.
The abominable jade rat caused harm to the county magistrate and then escaped. Quan Guanglin was at a loss this time. He thought about it and didn't know how to deal with it. The original couple is good, and the original things are wonderful. Back then, it was because of the flesh and blood jade hoard in the family that it always pulled its heart and soul, so it traveled all the way from the capital to the remote border to find its roots. This ghostly spirit looks kind and innocent, but in fact he is unpredictable and hard to fool.
The Jade Rat defected again, and Deer Long Neck could not eat or sleep. He closed the door and pondered for three days and three nights. He always felt that there was something going on in the pockmarked den, and there was still something that the rat spirit could not let go of. So he summoned Quan Guanglin into the mansion, made a bunch of big wishes, pointed out the serious relationship, and used both soft and hard methods to not only take back the little goblin, but also forced him to give up the house.
After acquiring the Quan family's old house, Lu Changbo went to great lengths to search for treasures. During the day, he went to the government office to do his job, and at night he picked up a shovel and dug all over the house, digging the ground, lifting the kang, removing the stove, and digging the cellar. In the end, his efforts were in vain. It seemed that there was no more suspenseful thoughts at all, but that the divine mouse valued friendship and loyalty, and lost the fun of leaving his old master, and he also had deep affection for his old nest.
In fact, after the whole family committed a crime, they took advantage of the fact that the court was unaware of the inside story and set a trap to hand over the jade rat and hide the jade storehouse. Later, the little thing got tired of the beautiful jades and thought of the original storehouse. Taking advantage of the chaos in the palace after the old emperor passed away, he ran out of the red wall and headed straight for the northern foot of Changbai Mountain.
Because they are all natural stones, connected by tendons and bones, and their essence is flowing through them, no matter how the mice chew and gnaw, the "imperial grain" in the treasure bin is always full, and it grows as much as it consumes, and it never runs out. If the big bin is damaged, the mice will die and die in the ground, and if the hamsters are broken and die, the bin will turn into a pile of dust and floating soil.
At this critical moment, the emperor in the Forbidden City was preparing a grand treasure competition and ordered government offices at all levels to collect rare treasures to add luster to the prosperous times. Lu Changbo was so happy when he received the official document that he jumped up and down. He saw that the opportunity to flatter and show off his wealth had come, so he forgot Quan Guanglin's good advice and hurriedly set off with all the treasures, riding his horse southward and entering the customs.
The current Emperor Qianlong loves to collect treasures, study porcelain, and is the world's biggest jade player. When he saw the "official hamster" who caused a stir in the city reappear, he was furious: "You bold servant, how dare you use the stolen goods lost by the previous dynasty to ask for a title and reward? This is an unforgivable crime punishable by the death penalty of the whole family!"
Lu Changbo was put in a heavy shackle and thrown into prison, where he cried and shouted and confessed the real culprit. Not long after, Quan Guanglin was also taken to the capital to be interrogated.
The emperor fell in love with the treasure from the bottom of his heart, and wanted to watch him eat and sleep with him in his arms. He thought that the criminal was also a royal relative, his family was confiscated and he was exiled, and he could not justify killing him, so it was boring to go through the old imperial calendar to settle the old scores. He also heard that the criminal's eldest nephew was also a jade expert and was loyal to the national treasure, so he immediately pardoned the crime and issued an imperial decree to summon him in person.
Quan Guanglin knelt under the dragon case, crying with snot and tears, and kept complaining about the hardship of escaping war to protect the imperial treasure. The emperor was moved to tears and nodded repeatedly: "If it weren't for you and your son hiding it, who knows who would have gotten this treasure. It's really hard for my beloved nephew." Speaking of the past, the emperor kept complaining about the foolishness and rashness of the officials of the Ministry of Justice of the previous dynasty, and praised his deceased cousin for hiding the treasure and abandoning the rat, his far-sightedness, and his great scheming. No matter how poor and miserable he was, he never destroyed the treasure and sold the jade. There were too few wise and virtuous people like him in the court.
Then, the two of them watched over the treasure and appreciated it, and commented on its charm. Quan Guanglin spoke very logically, and the emperor saw that this man was not a criminal hiding treasures, but a bosom friend and a rare genius!
The treasure show in the imperial city was opened, and officials above the fifth rank all brought their best treasures to join in the fun. The "official hamster" was invited to take the main seat, and the emperor showed off the bizarre and wonderful treasures handed down from generation to generation , while asking civil and military officials to carefully watch and appreciate the realm, and also recommended the common people who came from afar to share their insights.
Quan Guanglin said seriously: "This set of jade carvings is calm and profound. It mocks those officials who steal from the public warehouse, just like corrupt rats who ignore the law and embezzle the national treasury. It warns the subjects to be loyal to the court…"
The emperor took over the conversation and shouted: "From now on, I will be a clever cat. I will catch the 'official hamsters' who embezzle official funds and withhold tributes. No matter who they are, from the kings to the common people, I will not spare any of them!"
After the banquet and drinking the imperial wine, the imperial edict came down, commending Quan Guanglin for his great contribution in protecting the treasure, and awarded him the title of fourth-rank official with a hat and a flower feather, and was in charge of the political affairs of Binhe and eight counties, and was responsible for recommending tributes for the royal family. After he made some achievements, he returned to the capital for an important position.
Quan Guanglin rescued his accomplice and went to Bincheng in style, entrusting Lu Changbo to serve under his nose and continue to guard the county government and build Zhangjing Mansion. This time, Master Quan had to work hard to save him, and he had to sacrifice his life to repay his kindness.
On the day of the completion celebration of Zhangjing Mansion, the city was more grand than the New Year's Day, with lights and decorations, yangge dance and opera performances, and Quan Guanglin was full of pride and looked very happy.
Suddenly, a group of fast horses rushed into the city and rushed into the government office. They first seized the jade from the cellar, then stripped him of his official robes like a wolf, put on prison clothes, put on shackles, and escorted him to the horses. The crime was the same as his father's: hiding national treasures and deceiving the emperor.
Quan Guanglin never dreamed that this day would come faster than lightning. It turned out that after whetting the appetite of Lu Changbo, he imitated his father's generation to create a fake, using the large piece of raw material he received to imitate a jade hoard that was exactly the same as the original, and sent away the money-grubbing layman without anyone noticing. In order to show off, the corrupt official was so desperate that he exposed his tracks, forcing him to bite the bullet and take advantage of the situation. He thought that there were mountains of jade in the palace, and the big-bellied rat was favored and enjoyed a good life, and he would not miss home even when he grew up. He never expected that it would get tired of eating and playing, and miss the delicacies in the warehouse in its hometown, jumping up and down and being restless, making the deep palace a mess. Old man Qianlong felt that something was wrong, and summoned the imperial craftsman to investigate together, and then he realized that he was being played by his nephew again.
Quan Guanglin was on his way. This trip to Beijing was not to seek glory and get a higher position. He had to settle old and new accounts at the same time, and end up losing his head. Until he was on the road of no return, he still complained about his material possessions and complained about being cheated by the damned living treasure. In fact, he could only blame himself for all this, because it was all caused by greed and evil heart.