24 Chapter 24
◎Mrs. Xie◎
After the winter solstice, Li Cheng stayed only one more day before leaving for Huaishui to train his troops. Before leaving, he told Huiyin, "The rest of the families in Xuzhou are fine, except for the Xue family's wife. She was originally a member of the royal family, the daughter of Prince Xin, and was honored as the head of Linchuan County. I received an invitation from the Xue family yesterday, so you should go there on my behalf and prepare some generous gifts."
"Okay, you should be careful too. It's cold and the north wind is biting." Huiyin couldn't bear to leave him.
Li Cheng touched her face and said, "You don't have to get up early every day. Take a good rest."
He came and went like a gust of wind, but he still had the heart to look back and see that he was already fine.
Speaking of the Xue family, Huiyin had met someone from the Xue family once in the mansion before, and they treated her very respectfully. This time when Li Cheng came back, she came to their house specially, which was considered too respectful. She must be trying to please Li Cheng.
However, before Mrs. Xue's birthday arrived, the city of Xuzhou had already started to bustle. The Huaiyin Palace also welcomed a new guest. Huaihai Prefect Xie Jiuyi came to pay a visit with his wife.
Chief Clerk Guo Qishan introduced: "The Xie family of Huaihai Governor was originally from Chen County. The Xie family had been doing business here for several years. The King of Wei was able to successfully occupy Jiangnan because of the help of the Xie family. This Madam Xie and the King of Wei's Concubine Yin are sisters."
Huiyin had read the gift book before. In recent years, the families that gave the most gifts to the Huaiyin Palace were the Xie family and the Wei Palace. Although Princess Yin was not the principal wife, she gave birth to the eldest son of the Wei King and had a high status.
She was thinking about how to greet Mrs. Xie, but she didn't notice that Guo Changshi seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Since the male owner of the Huaiyin Palace was not at home, she asked the chief official to greet the male owner in front, and as for the female owner, she received her in person. Nan Madam also said: "This Madam Xie is not only the wife of the governor, but also the biological sister of the Princess Yin. She cannot be treated with disrespect."
"That's what I thought, but the little prince is not in the mansion, and I'm not very familiar with their relationship. I'm really afraid of treating others badly." Huiyin was also helpless.
The main reason is that the couple are not in the same place, so some things cannot be discussed.
Now she hasn't returned to Jianye yet, so the number of people she has met is already considered small. Once she arrives in Jianye, she will see the Queen Mother of Wei, the Princess of Wei, the Queen Mother Wu, and many relatives and officials of the royal family, which will be really numerous.
Some people even have grudges against her Zheng family. The reason why she wanted to get pregnant quickly was that she knew that the world would be in turmoil again next year, and she would have to give birth to a child. So if she made him the crown prince early, she would have something to lose.
Thinking of this, she said to Dongshun: "The fresh fruits stored in the ice cellar can be taken out now. Green plums, pears, cherries, tangerine peels, and rambutans must be served. In addition, lychees, grapefruits, loquats, and purple pears can also be piled on a plate."
Purple pears are precious and hard to come by, not to mention lychees. Huiyin herself was reluctant to eat some of them.
The colder it gets, the more valuable fresh fruits become, not to mention frozen shad and abalone. Whatever is rare is served as an offering.
Fu Gui said, "What should we have with our tea? Someone from our palace just sent us some preserved fruits, melon seeds, and they are all top-quality dried goods, perfect for making tea."
"No, just use plain tea. Mixed tea is the popular way of drinking tea. I just like it myself and am not so particular about it. But when guests come, we can't do that." Huiyin said.
Fu Gui got the order when she heard it. When they were in Marquis Zhaojie's Mansion, they only had to serve the young lady well. Now in the prince's mansion, they have to help the young lady manage the household. The four big maids have their own duties. If they don't succeed, their positions will be different when they get married in the future.
Especially since Fugui is ambitious, she wants to become the wife of the chief steward, so she has to do everything properly.
Huiyin was like facing a powerful enemy. She was not afraid of him, but she was afraid of being rude. After all, Li Cheng was backed by the King of Wei. Naturally, he could not be treated with disrespect.
Soon she met Mrs. Xie, who was completely different from the woman she had imagined. Mrs. Xie was about the same age as her, with a beautiful appearance, graceful and elegant look, high and winding hair, and a variety of hairpins. She gave people a feeling of being both humble and warm.
"Princess." Madam Xie bowed and greeted.
"Madam Xie, there's no need to be so polite." Huiyin looked over with a smile.
Mrs. Xie was slightly stunned. She had only heard that Li Cheng was married, but she didn't know that Li Cheng's wife was so beautiful. The only word she could think of was to describe Daji as "a beautiful face like a flower, charming and seductive, as beautiful as a fairy."
Some people are born with such appearance, almost to the point that people's brains go blank when they see her appearance. However, Zheng Shi has no intention of being proud of her beauty at all. Instead, she brags about herself: "I see that Madam Xie has a noble demeanor, elegant manners, and a fairy-like appearance. Her arrival in my humble home is truly a blessing to me."
"Your Highness, you are too polite. I have often heard that Yan and Zhao have many beautiful women, some of whom are as pretty as jade. Now that I have met you, Your Highness, I know it is true." Mrs. Xie also immediately began to compliment her.
Huiyin waved her hands: "I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it, please follow me into the living room and let's talk."
The two did not really know each other, but Mrs. Xie was quite frank: "I am a very good friend of Mrs. Xue's granddaughter. Her grandmother helped me a lot in the past. The Xue family and my husband's family are old friends, so we rushed over from Lanzhou."
"So that's how it is. My prince just came back from the winter solstice a few days ago and asked me to go to Madam Xue's birthday celebration. But I don't have much contact with them. Now that you are here, I have someone to talk to. How about you stay in our house?" Huiyin said with a smile.
While they were talking, the maids came in one after another. Madam Xie glanced over and saw precious fruits and delicacies. She couldn't help but nod secretly. It was good to have a mistress in this palace. It seemed that Li Cheng had let go of his own thoughts over the years. This was very good and good for everyone.
Seeing that Madam Xie was simple-minded, Huiyin could not help but ask, "When did Madam Xie and Governor Xie know my husband? I just got married, and the young prince is always training soldiers outside. I am afraid that I don't know these relationships and will offend people."
Mrs. Xie said a lot, nothing more than that her mother's family, the Yin family, was in the fiefdom of King Wu, and they had grown up together almost since childhood.
"When we were very young, we both studied under a famous scholar in Wuzhong. Your Prince seemed to be about three years older than me at that time, and I seemed to be only three years old. Brother Cheng was so picky. We all ate the food at the teacher's house, but he wouldn't eat. We took a nap together, but he wouldn't sleep either. He often criticized us. The first day he saw my handwriting, he told the teacher to kick me out, saying that I looked like a crow and it was impossible for me to become a phoenix. But I insisted. Do you think he was mean? Now, I heard that you and your husband are in harmony. I'm sure that the prince has changed a lot because of you. You are truly in love with him." Mrs. Xie really hoped to see that her senior brother Prince would be okay.
But her words made Huiyin's heart sink. Could it be that this Madam Xie was the one Li Cheng loved?
If it was her, then Lu Xiao, who was a bit more advanced, was enthusiastic, kind, and had some skills. Wouldn't such a person be harder to deal with than a bad guy? It was easier to deal with someone like Xun Rou who would always reveal her true colors, but how to deal with a kind-hearted person?