37 Chapter 37
◎Two chapters in one◎
Li Cheng's rectification certainly cannot be attributed to Concubine Wu's housekeeper who messed up the situation. What he said to the outside world was that the servants in the palace blackmailed and deceived the Concubine, and he used these reasons to deal with all the people.
Although it is said that if the water is too clear, there will be no fish, but on the other hand, if the greedy are not eliminated, they will harm the non-greedy. These corrupt people, who doesn't want to drag others into the water so that they can cover their mouths.
After clearing out so many people at once, Li Cheng asked someone to transfer the personnel from Xuzhou over, leaving only half of them to guard the palace. He had brought almost all the important things with him this time.
Because Concubine Wu was slapped in the face for her subordinates' greed, she could not go out again, so she just kept fasting and chanted Buddhist scriptures at home. Huiyin helped build a Buddhist temple and converted a secluded house into a nunnery for the royal palace. She invited several nuns to liven up the palace and told others that she discussed Buddhism with Concubine Wu.
All these cost only about 1,000 taels of silver, but I also gained a good reputation. This is better than visiting the emperor every morning and evening. After all, it was real money spent, and no one could say anything.
She also said that some servants from Xuzhou were coming over, including Mama Chao and Yunhui. However, Huiyin had almost arranged the staff here, and she was unwilling to use Mama Chao and Yunhui, so she had to apologize to them first and said, "Yunhui, the housekeeper here didn't know you were coming, but we had already prepared people. The only place is that the newly renovated Wo Xue An is short of a housekeeper."
Mother Chao complained for her daughter: "My little princess, this is not appropriate."
Huiyin smiled and said, "Mom, I am doing this for your own good. I don't know how the money manager and the four major account offices got involved in the fraud. I thought you were the young prince's wet nurse, so I put the matter aside. The prince won't tolerate any grain of sand in his eyes. I will transfer the wet sister to a quieter place. I will talk to you later when the prince's anger has subsided."
Afraid that they would not believe it, Huiyin said to Nan's mother, "Bring over the signed pledge that Qian Guanshi said, and then bring over the private account that his nephew kept for verification."
Mother Chao didn't know that Jianye had undergone a major change. She saw Huiyin take out the evidence and show it to Yunhui on the spot. It doesn't matter. Mother Chao can't read, but Yunhui can.
Yun Hui picked up the entries on the account book and looked at the fingerprints of the money manager. It said that the money for the young prince's lamp oil was one hundred taels, of which less than two taels were spent, and ninety-eight taels were just as a filial respect to Mother Chao. This was just one item, not to mention the many items below.
In fact, Yun Hui knew very well that no one could withstand scrutiny. If someone wanted to get hold of you, they could easily find faults and even use her and her daughter to sell themselves to Li Cheng.
Apparently, Yun Hui understood current affairs better than Mother Chao, and immediately said, "We will do whatever the little princess says."
"What am I saying? I saved your lives." Huiyin didn't mind these things. She didn't like to fight against factions. She also admitted that Yunhui was indeed capable of doing things and was fair and impartial, so she gave her a chance. But this person not only met with Yin Liyi privately in Xuzhou and slandered her behind her back, but even worse, she received a letter from Xuzhou, and she painted her eyebrows, eyes and powdered her eyes to seduce the little prince.
Adding up all these things together, if they still don't deal with you, do you really think Zheng Huiyin is a dead person?
Mother Chao almost fell to the ground. Huiyin looked at her coldly: "If you want to make trouble, go ahead, but don't lose face for the rest of your life."
In the past, Mother Chao was never afraid of Huiyin no matter what, because she was a wet nurse, and there were people like the Concubine Dowager in the palace, and the Princess was just a young wife from outside. But now she was defeated.
After dealing with Madam Chao and Yun Hui's daughter, she promoted Nanny Fan's son to be the second manager. Nanny Fan became more and more open with Huiyin about everything she knew.
Even the lady Liu who had come up with the evil idea before was reported by Nanny Fan, and Huiyin dealt with her directly.
But she also found out from Lady Liu that she had suggested to Concubine Wu, which was to let Li Cheng marry the girl from the Huo family, the younger sister of the King of Wei's wife. This was really hard to refuse. Although Li Cheng and the King of Wei were of different generations, it didn't matter to the Huo family. Being a concubine would also give her status and could promote the relationship between the King of Wei and Li Cheng.
"I plan to hold a flower banquet when the first snow falls. When the green plum blossoms bloom, it will be more elegant." Huiyin decided to put these things aside and actively expand her network in Jianye.
In the past, when she relied on men's connections or men to succeed, she was always afraid that someone would say she was not pure. Later, she figured it out. Why did Li Cheng stand up for her? In addition to liking her, he also recognized her ability and talent, which was also her own ability. Besides, men are much tougher than women when it comes to eating gigolos.
To put it bluntly, there are many people whose talents are not worthy of their positions. At least she is one of those who has the talents to match her position.
Li Cheng said: "That's great, you can arrange it."
"Well, our Jing'er is half a year old in the blink of an eye, and you have been here for two months. I wonder if we can celebrate the New Year in Jianye this year?" Huiyin asked.
Li Cheng smiled and said, "It's not up to me to decide. I'll be at your house whenever I'm free. By the way, the weather is getting colder, and Uncle Wei is going to go hunting. You ladies can go out and relax with us then."
Huiyin was also happy to hear this. She also heard about this matter when she went to pay her respects to Concubine Dowager Wei and Princess Wei.
Princess Wei smiled and said, "We thought that since you came from the north, you must be good at riding a horse. We Jiangzuo women are also good at sword dancing. We can have fun together then."
"Although I am in Jizhou, my horse riding skills are average. I just want to ask Auntie Wang what we should bring with us?" Huiyin felt that since Concubine Wu began to "concentrate on worshiping Buddha", her relationship with the Prince of Wei's Mansion had taken a step forward.
They used to be very familiar with Concubine Wu, and even now they praise Concubine Wu in front of me. Do they really not know who Concubine Wu is? No, she is a purely malicious person. Don't think that only the lords and aunts at the entrance of the village like to add fuel to the fire and kill people with borrowed knives. The noble princesses and royal family are all frivolous. Once the skin is torn off, everyone is the same.
Huiyin once had great respect for the so-called Empress and the Eastern Palace, but later she felt that it was nothing special. After people begin to disenchant with authority, they will start to judge it again with an objective eye.
Princess Wei talked about a lot of things. Concubine Wei asked about Concubine Wu's situation: "How is my elder sister these days? She never comes, and I miss her a lot."
"When the family holds a banquet, you and the princess will definitely be invited to attend, and then you can meet our princess dowager. She is now discussing Buddhism with several nuns in Wo Xue An all day long, and even our little prince rarely sees her." Huiyin said.
Concubine Wei knew that she was making up a lie. Concubine Wu was full of resentment when she was in the palace. She couldn't keep her mouth shut and couldn't stand not talking for a day. Now she was devoted to studying Buddhism. This was nonsense. But she couldn't expose it. No matter what Concubine Wu said, she was from the Huaiyin Palace.
So, Concubine Wei just said, "Okay."
Huiyin paid her respects to Concubine Wei and went to sit alone with Princess Wei. Princess Wei's eldest daughter, Princess Jianjia, was writing beside her. Although she was young, she was very proud of herself because she was the daughter of the first wife. This was not to say that she was bad. When Huiyin judged a person, she would first look at the environment she was in. Except for a few people who were not affected by the environment at all, most other people were almost shaped by the environment around them.
The Princess of Wei looks like a lady of wealth, but she must be anxious inside. After all, without a child, the position of Crown Prince will fall to someone else, so the eldest princess is so sensitive.
It’s not that Huiyin likes to judge others, but she feels that knowing yourself and knowing your enemy will help you win every battle. These people are both enemies and friends, so you have to observe others more.
"Sister-in-law." Princess Jianjia came over and saluted.
Huiyin smiled and pulled her hand, saying, "I haven't seen you for a few days. I think you are getting better and better. I heard from your mother that you are studying the Four Books now. That's great. Reading can make you wise. I also brought some Yulutuan and Touhuaci from our house. You can come and rest for a while while you are writing and have some snacks."
"Thank you, Mrs. Wang." Princess Jianjia looked happy.
Princess Wei asked her wet nurse to take her downstairs for some snacks, and then she said in a heartfelt manner: "I understand what happened in your mansion, but the Concubine Dowager has a good relationship with your Concubine Dowager, so I can't say anything."
This was a gesture of kindness to her. If Huiyin was really only nineteen years old, she would definitely be grateful, but now she just showed gratitude on the surface: "I have always known your feelings. I have already told our little prince about your kindness to me. He also said that when he was in the Prince of Wei's Mansion, everything depended on you to take care of him."
"It's nothing. Isn't it as it should be? I can't control what men do outside, but we women, especially the two of us who have such a close relationship, can't become unfamiliar and let outsiders laugh at us. To be honest, you see that I have medicine juice all over my body, I really envy you." Princess Wei was actually showing weakness. This method is the best way to narrow the distance between people. When you see people who are usually high and mighty complaining to you, of course you won't think it's fake.
I wonder what China will become in the future? But now, even if a woman is a princess, if she doesn't have a son, she seems inferior to others.
Huiyin could handle other matters perfunctorily, but she was helpless in this matter: "Auntie Wang, you are still young."
Princess Wei waved her hands and said, "If you could really give birth, you would have given birth a long time ago. Look how lucky you are. You gave birth as soon as you entered the house."
徽音連忙道：“這也不算什麽福氣，人家說人生無非是先苦後甜，或者是先甜後苦。王嬸貴為王妃，又生了那般懂事的大郡主，俗話說先開花後結果，将來是一定能生一位小世子的，您放心吧。”
“你這麽一說，我心裏輕松許多了。”魏王妃如此道。
二人又閑話了幾句，聽魏王妃身邊的蘇嬷嬷進來道：“王妃，殷錄事的夫人過來了，說是要來請安。”
魏王妃對徽音解釋道：“這是殷次妃的母親，她們住的離我們不遠。”
徽音卻想着殷次妃都生了魏王長子了，怎麽她爹還只是個錄事？她這麽想的，也就問出來了。
那魏王妃身邊的蘇嬷嬷笑道：“小王妃說哪裏話，此事我們王妃早和王爺提過，是殷次妃那邊堅決不許的，她說她知道她爹的本事，若是過高了，于他而言不是福氣，反而是栽秧。如此，王爺只賞賜了一些錢財給她家，如此，殷家才買了現下這座宅子。”
“原來如此。”徽音心想這殷次妃倒是難得的拎得清，看她的樣子也不像是沒苦硬吃的人，很有可能就是殷錄事确實才能有限。
這倒是與她不謀而合，前世她父親用兵不錯，但實在是有勇無謀，往往就把自己弄到孤立無援的地步，若非最後她鸩殺李珩，最後衛铎也會針對鄭家的。
不一會兒就見一位美婦進來，她還帶了一位頗為清秀的小姑娘，看起來十三四歲的樣子，模樣清秀，舉止卻大方。
蘇嬷嬷正和她小聲介紹：“殷夫人，這是我們淮陰王妃。”
殷夫人連忙道：“妾身給王妃和小王妃請安。”
“快快請起，喲，今兒怎麽舍得把你家侄女兒帶來了。”魏王妃顯然和殷家很熟悉。
殷夫人感嘆：“這孩子守了她母親的孝過來的，她爹親早去了，唯一的兄長去了東萊，遂我們就把她接了過來，也算是我們家的女兒了。”
魏王妃又說這孩子的父親曾經是徽音公公吳王曾經的伴講的女兒，徽音讓南媽媽賞了她一對海棠花開的金銀锞子，又關懷道：“既是故人，還請殷夫人日後帶着三姑娘去我們府上說話。”
那殷夫人擡頭看了徽音一眼，見她着杏黃緞面底子紅白花卉刺繡交領長襖，整個人嬌媚豐潤，容貌精致，她竟不敢直視其容貌，只讷讷答是。
倒是魏王妃見她手足無措，等她請完安就讓她先離開了。
徽音繼續和她說着話，殷夫人那邊卻和殷麗芳歡歡喜喜的說起話來，殷麗芳拉着堂妹的手道：“麗君，既然來了我們家，我就當你是親妹妹看待。”
“大姐姐。”殷麗君自小就聽說她和堂姐生的像，所以她天然就對殷麗芳很有好感。
殷麗芳察覺到殷夫人有話要說，也先差人帶着殷麗君逛園子，如此，殷夫人才道：“方才，我看到了淮陰王妃，她還賞了麗君一對锞子。”
殷麗芳頓了一下：“娘，以前的事情就算了，人家現在有妻有子，夫妻感情也挺好的，您就別提了。”
“話雖如此，可淮陰王妃的位置差點就是你的了啊，就差了那麽一步。吳王妃親口允諾的，我當時多歡喜啊，只可惜吳王夫妻死的太早了，而你又被魏王看中了。”殷夫人無不遺憾的。
其實殷夫人一直以為吳王妃很喜歡二女兒，畢竟二女兒生的漂亮，性情又活潑，和男孩子們很能玩在一起，不似長女這般沉靜古板。她們家只是個錄事的官身，仗着的不過是孩子們小時候的交情，做次妃都難，吳王妃卻讓她們做正妃。
殷麗芳左右看了一眼，“娘，別說了，萬一被魏王聽見，他又怎麽想呢？再者，這話也不能和麗儀說起。”
殷夫人點頭，她知道大女兒一貫是持重的人，那李澄之前明顯是因為長女，所以對次女還算是照顧，沒想到麗儀有所誤會，她又更喜歡謝九儀，所以疏離了李澄。
母女二人說了閑話之後，殷麗芳說起宅子裏的事情：“大王更寵許次妃，原本我和許次妃相安無事，可她見我生了長子，在府中頗得人心，因此，總挑唆，連魏王妃都聽不下去了。”
殷夫人心疼不已。
如此，殷麗芳又說起即将行獵之事，她兒子也要跟着去，她也不得不早做打算，許次妃步步緊逼，将來若是她的兒子繼承了王妃，怎麽容許自己的兒子存在。
**
半個月之後，徽音便随李澄一起行獵，她最不放心的是兒子，故而留下南媽媽和福桂幾個可靠的心腹在。
“要不我不去了吧，孩子太小了，咱們倆剛剛整肅過府裏，萬一被有心人鑽了空子可不好。”每當這個時候徽音就想若是自己娘家再這兒就好了。
李澄聽她這麽一說也心有餘悸，但還是道：“不必擔心，這府裏我會留人手的。”
可兩人還是有些擔心，互相對視一眼，徽音道：“不如把孩子帶上吧，反正也就多一輛馬車，去那邊也不過一兩日就到了。”
與其擔心孩子舟車勞頓，夫妻更怕被人毒害，若吳太妃靠譜點還好，她又是個最不靠譜的人，李澄也點頭同意了。
“咱們哥兒也快七個月了，不妨事的，平日打噴嚏都很少。”徽音舍不得兒子，所以把孩子帶的非常仔細。
李澄和她說起行獵的人：“多半是建業本地的世族大家，她們的身份雖然不及你，但你也知曉，這些人有錢也有人才，我也需要那些人。”
徽音摟着他的胳膊道：“我懂，你的意思不就是說讓我收斂脾氣嗎？知道了。”
“不是，我是說誰惹了你，你不必直來直去，你是個直性子。”李澄知道自己的妻子是北方大妞，平日性情直爽的很，還有些好強，在自己這裏好強就算了，在別的地方，有些人面上不顯，私下可會整人了。
他記得殷麗儀就被人整過，當時還是他無意之間發現的，那些姑娘家們的手段也不遜色于男子們啊。
徽音歪着頭看向他：“多謝，我知道了。”
說完，她替他挂上一個香囊：“自從生了璟兒之後，又要忙于家事，好容易做了個香囊，都生疏許多了。”
李澄一看，見她用的石青色的緞子打底，上面繡的是富貴牡丹，刺繡十分精美，香囊以青藍色為主色，香囊上的繩子點綴了玉石做串珠，，既有榮華富貴之意，又雅致脫俗。
“這香囊竟然繡的如此之好，我聞聞裏面是什麽。”他解開後放鼻子上一聞，不是那種刺鼻的提神香味，也不是檀香，竟然很好聞，裏面似乎是用茉莉花、桂花、玫瑰花、薄荷、迷疊香這些，味道清新。
徽音解釋：“這樣的香囊在馬車裏用最好了，你也知道的，馬車坐久了，裏面那個味兒就難聞，所以這個香囊可以解臭味和憋悶之氣。”
她是那種不做就不做，只要做什麽就特別用心的，尤其是制香她本來是一竅不通的，但後來她出去交際被人嘲笑了，故而她就開始鑽研，甚至因為鑽研香道而開始學藥膳。
李澄一聽就更喜歡了，又見徽音讓人帶面粉，他還驚喜道：“難道你是打算給我做拉面嗎？就是在徐州的時候做給我吃的那種。”
徽音捂嘴笑道：“怎麽？你覺得我難道還不夠重視你嗎？”
李澄聽了這話低着頭：“我只是覺得你對我的喜歡，沒有我對你的多。”
“別計較這些了，你我是夫妻，有一輩子的功夫相愛呀！那種一開始愛的死去活來的，我反而覺得假。”
幾句話又哄的李澄高興。
出行這日，天朗日清，璟兒力氣愈發大了，徽音覺得自己都抱不住他了，還好路面寬敞的緊。一日的功夫就到了行獵之處，男人們騎着馬早就忍不住女沖鋒陷陣了，女人們則是先去休整一番，等會兒再騎馬松快。
李澄今日騎的正是徽音送的大宛駒，簡直如有神助，早早就沖進林子裏了，魏王見他如此，大喊一聲“痛快”。
不知今日李澄收獲如何，徽音打算今日先把孩子安頓好，自己睡一覺，明日也出去騎馬玩玩兒，她也許久沒騎馬玩耍了。
幫璟兒沐浴之後，母子兩人在床上睡的是昏天暗地。
等起來時，剛到魏王妃門口，就聽說此處出事了，魏王長子李敬不見了。魏王妃和殷次妃都急的不行，殷麗儀見徽音進來就道：“小王妃，你有見到過敬哥兒嗎？”
“沒有，怎麽他身邊跟着許多人，還不見了？”徽音都覺得是不是孩子自己貪玩，躲到哪裏去了。
殷次妃則道：“他想要學騎馬，我說他年紀太小不讓騎，他就去找謝師傅了。後來就找不到人了……”
說着說着，殷次妃就掩面哭了，立馬就要哭着出去找。
But then someone came in noisily from outside. Huiyin saw that it was Prince Wei and Li Cheng who came in together. Before she could even greet them, Concubine Yin ran up to her and said, "Your Highness, Jing'er is missing. What should we do?"
Princess Wei also said anxiously: "Yes, we sent servants to search the entire manor just now but couldn't find it."
"Where did the child go missing? Don't worry, I will send someone to look for him." The King of Wei felt distressed when he heard this. Although he preferred Concubine Xu, he also loved Concubine Yin and his eldest son.
Just as the voice fell, a servant came to report: "The king, the princess, the second princess, the eldest prince fell into the crying well. The well is too deep, it seems to be a hundred meters deep, and it is covered with moss. No one dares to go down."
Huiyin thought that the child had fallen into the well, and was surrounded by moss. Even if she rescued the child, he would probably be in danger, not to mention that she might die. Who would be willing to take the risk?
Look, even the King of Wei hesitated.
His generals were sent to fight in the wars, not to mention that he also had his beloved son Li Dun. How could he possibly send out those generals who had real kung fu skills?
Just as I thought of this, I heard Li Cheng say, "Uncle Wang, Aunt Wang, there is no time to waste. I'll go."
Huiyin quickly looked at her husband. She didn't expect him to come forward at this time and be so anxious.