Chapter 42
◎Two chapters in one◎
Huiyin felt that Li Cheng was actually quite young, but he was more responsible than countless other men, just like now he was playing with his son and holding Jing'er all the way.
At first Jing'er was only close to his mother, after all, he spent a lot of time with Huiyin, and now he will also reach out for Li Cheng.
"We will soon arrive at the next place, called Yangping. After passing Yangping, we will be one step closer." Li Cheng said to Huiyin with a smile.
Huiyin took away the county annals and the divination chart and looked at them. She originally couldn't understand the divination charts, but now slowly, if there is something she doesn't understand, she can figure it out by herself and even ask Li Cheng. It has become so clear now.
"Well, Yangping County seems to have a lot of mountains. You can see the terrain here is full of mountains. I think we should rest on the flat ground. Don't stop when you encounter mountains, just pass through quickly. I heard that there are a lot of bandits these days. These people occupy the land and make a living by robbing others." Huiyin said.
Li Cheng nodded: "Don't worry, we brought two thousand soldiers with us, all of them are elite soldiers, and they are very powerful."
Huiyin was still a little worried: "Let's be careful. It's better to be safe than sorry."
Li Cheng agreed, of course. The two of them had a very happy meal at a restaurant in Yangping County. They were not the kind of people who cared about show. Jing'er had egg and meat soup, and the little guy ate very well, but maybe it was because of the strong sun yesterday and the long journey, the child actually had diarrhea.
The accompanying doctor stepped forward and said, "This is diarrhea. If it is not treated early, it will cause dehydration."
Li Cheng said anxiously, "Please help treat him. His mother has brought all the medicines with her."
"Young Prince, in my humble opinion, you should stay here for a few days and wait until the prince is better before setting off. The carriage is stuffy and the floor is hot. If the prince's stomach is heated, his condition may get worse." said the doctor.
Huiyin looked at Li Cheng pleadingly: "Little Prince..."
Li Cheng nodded: "Okay, but we can't live in the inn. I'll find a house and we can live here for a few days." After that, he comforted Huiyin: "It's okay."
It was the first time for them to become parents, and they were always afraid that their child would suffer. Huiyin felt even more guilty because Li Cheng brought such a young child back just to satisfy her homesickness. If anything happened to the child, she would be blamed.
The little fat boy usually has the most strength, but today he has no strength because of diarrhea, which makes his mother heartbroken.
Fortunately, Li Cheng found a house in about half a day. Not only that, he even bought the food. Huiyin was stunned. She walked in and looked around. Even the ground was clean and dust-free. You have to know that this is the north, and the wind and sand are very strong.
"You are so amazing." Huiyin praised sincerely.
It is not easy to do this. It is not enough to have money. You also need to coordinate and coordinate. She whispered to Jing'er: "Your father is really a good father."
Jing'er had diarrhea due to heat, which means he had food accumulation or stomach upset, so the doctor prescribed medicine to clear away heat, strengthen the spleen, and stop diarrhea. However, he was not even one year old yet, and he vomited when he smelled the medicine. The doctor also said a folk remedy of fried flour, and sure enough, Jing'er's stopped diarrhea after taking this folk remedy, but Li Cheng and Huiyin still decided to stay here for two more days before leaving.
"It will be fine once we get to Jizhou. Jizhou is much cooler and I will feel at ease leaving the child at home then." Huiyin touched her son's head and always felt sorry for him.
Li Cheng's mother, Princess Wu, was a woman with a quick temper. She would often fly into a rage over trivial matters, causing him to grow up in an anxious environment. He would easily pass the buck and shift the responsibility to others when something went wrong. If it were his mother who encountered the problem now, she would definitely blame everyone and have a huge quarrel.
But Huiyin is not like that at all, she just feels a little self-reproachful and actively tries to find a solution and cooperate with herself.
"You are so nice." Li Cheng couldn't help but smile.
Huiyin was puzzled: "You are the best. In such a short time, you have found a house and a family. To be honest, you don't look like someone who can live a normal life, but you are quite good at it. I have found a treasure."
Li Cheng looked at Huiyin and said, "Are we a couple living a life where you praise me and I praise you every day?"
"People should look at the strengths of others. What kind of person is he if he keeps focusing on their faults? Besides, neither of us is too worldly. You scheme against me and I scheme against you. It may work for a while, but over time, the couple will become estranged. Our own family is not even in order, so how can we care about things outside?" Huiyin thought at the time that if Li Cheng was a bad guy, then after she became pregnant, her son would be able to inherit the throne, so who cares about him.
But, unexpectedly, he was a nice guy, so Huiyin dared to talk to him a lot.
After coming out, the couple stayed together every day. Now seeing that the child had finally fallen asleep, Huiyin was taking a nap on the couch, and Li Cheng was reading a book beside her. He seldom took a nap, and seeing Huiyin fall asleep with a rosy face, he smiled.
Three days later, the couple set off with their child, this time heading for Pingyang County. As they decided not to rest on the way, they did not dare to give the child minced meat this time, and they were also afraid that fruit puree would upset his stomach, so he could only eat rice porridge.
In addition, there were two wet nurses feeding the child, so the child did not have any major health problems.
Unfortunately, it started raining when we were halfway into Pingyang County.
Li Cheng found a teahouse to take shelter from the rain. Huiyin came down carrying the child, still wearing a raincoat. Li Cheng held an umbrella over her all the way, so not even her hair got wet.
The shopkeeper brought hot tea over, and the aroma of tea filled the air. Li Cheng said to Huiyin, "Don't worry, I had someone brew this tea over me. I used the Yuquan water from the house."
"Yeah." Huiyin stopped hesitating.
This is also why Li Cheng was good at summarizing the previous experience of eating egg and meat soup, which was not clean and caused his son to have diarrhea. This cannot be done now.
It was perfect to have a snack with the aroma of tea, but Jing'er was greedy and wanted to grab some with her hands, but luckily Huiyin grabbed it away. Li Cheng just smiled when he saw this, and then looked over, he saw a woman with a big belly and ragged clothes staggering in the rain, as if she wanted to go to the teahouse.
There were waiters and soldiers who were about to go over to stop them. Li Cheng always felt that it was a bit strange that a pregnant woman appeared in a deserted teahouse. He always felt that it was a bit weird and wanted to chase her away, but he was afraid that his wife would say that he was cruel.
Huiyin was of course thinking the same thing. She thought that King Chu Sheng of Chu was a great king who was full of ambition, but was killed by thieves. One must always be on guard against others.
Probably, she will never be able to have that kind of empathy.
The couple looked at each other, and Huiyin said, "There are few people here, but a pregnant woman suddenly appeared. As the saying goes, there must be something wrong when things are out of the ordinary. We still can't let this person get close to us."
Li Cheng breathed a sigh of relief: "I thought so too."
It was said that the pregnant woman had escaped after being beaten by her husband. Huiyin said to Nan's mother, "Give her some food and money. You don't have to give them. Let the soldiers give them."
She knew that Nan's mother was soft-hearted, but now was not the time to be soft-hearted.
Tea Doctor went forward to pour tea, and said with pity: "The woman was from Xiagou Village. She originally sold wine here and saved a lot of furniture to go home and get married. Her husband treated her well at first because she had money. Later, after her money was all spent, her husband beat and scolded her. No wonder she was kicked out even though she was pregnant."
"Since she is so pitiful, I gave her twenty kan, which is enough for her to live for a year. People have to stand on their own feet. When she has a baby, the owner of the teahouse can hire her." Huiyin did not drink the tea poured by the tea master.
As soon as the rain stopped, Huiyin urged Li Cheng: "The rain in the north is short-lived, so let's get over it quickly."
They left as soon as they said they would. After all, those who followed Li Cheng were all soldiers who had been to war, and those around Huiyin were not idle either, so they were all very efficient.
Unexpectedly, when they were far away, the kind-looking tea doctor threw away the toothpick he was using to pick his teeth and said to the pregnant woman, "Phoenix, your trick doesn't work."
The pregnant woman who had a miserable face just now was now slamming the table fiercely: "I waited so long for a big fish, but I didn't expect them to be fooled at all. The people following that man are almost all tough guys."
Dr. Tea took a look at his tea. They didn't use their own utensils to make tea. He finally squeezed forward and poured a glass of water, but the woman didn't drink it.
The woman named Fenghuang said, "But don't worry. They brought a lot of things. Even the white jade hairpin on that woman's head is huge and has a great origin."
Dr. Tea quickly put down his crossed legs and said, "We can't let such a big fish go. I'll send a message to my brothers to set up roadblocks and rob them directly. If we make this deal, it will be enough for us to eat for several years."
…
Huiyin asked someone to wipe off the water stains on the outside of the carriage. Fortunately, the sky cleared up after the rain.
Li Cheng was riding outside when he suddenly knocked on the car door. Huiyin opened the curtain and asked, "What's the matter?"
"We have entered the mountains now. I always feel that something is wrong here. Huiyin, don't panic. You and the child just stay here. I will take care of everything, okay?" Li Cheng said.
Huiyin certainly wouldn't cause any more trouble. She didn't know how to fight, so why would she go out and cause any more trouble? But she also had a trick up her sleeve, so she quickly said, "Wait, I have something for you."
Li Cheng asked in confusion: "What do you have for me?"
Is it a talisman?
But Huiyin took out the white jade head from her hairpin, and took out something wrapped in red paper from it. She said, "This is a deadly poison, colorless and tasteless. If the opponent is difficult to deal with, just press it into his mouth."
"Is this poison?" Li Cheng was shocked, remembering that it was a good thing he had never offended Huiyin, otherwise he would not know how he died.
Huiyin pouted: "What's wrong?"
He was about to get angry, so he ran away quickly.
They were in the carriage. Nan's mother was frightened, but Huiyin smiled and said, "It's okay. We have to trust the little prince."
However, she warned the nurse and maids in the carriage: "We must not run down and cause trouble."
As Li Cheng expected, there was an ambush ahead. Li Cheng did not underestimate these bandits. The bandits first prepared to throw stones down from the mountains, but they were killed by arrows in the ambush instead. Li Cheng saw that some people in the front wanted to rush up. They tried to trip their horses with ropes, but Li Cheng used his spear on the horse and threw several people directly to the ground.
There was a loud sound of fighting outside. Mother Nan was terrified, but Huiyin was very calm and covered her son's ears. Jing'er thought his mother was playing a prank on him and reached out to touch Huiyin's face.
Perhaps it was the child's laughter that eased the tense atmosphere in the carriage.
Less than an hour later, Li Cheng came over. He knocked on the car door as usual, and Huiyin quickly opened it and showed her head. Li Cheng didn't expect her to come out so soon, and whispered, "The person has been taken care of, let's go."
"Are there any injured soldiers?" Huiyin asked.
Li Cheng shook his head: "These people are just a bunch of bandits, there is no need to bother with them, we need to hurry on."
Huiyin looked at him and said, "Wait a minute, calm the soldiers down, then we can talk."
Li Cheng loved talking to Huiyin the most, and also loved listening to her the most, he couldn't help but nod.
Perhaps because Li Cheng had written a letter to Jizhou in advance, when he arrived at the border of Qingzhou and Jizhou, he saw a young man waiting there, and Li Cheng's heart moved.
The young man was tall and mighty with an imposing bearing, and his eyes were bright and there was a hint of friendliness in the way he looked at her.
"Excuse me, are you the Prince of Huaiyin in Xuzhou?" the man asked.
Li Cheng clasped his fists and said, "Yes."
"Brother, husband, that's my brother." Huiyin heard her brother's voice and quickly got off the carriage.
When Pei Shuo saw his sister, he glanced at Li Cheng again and hurriedly greeted him: "General Pei Shuo of Jianwei pays his respects to the young prince."
Li Cheng quickly dismounted and helped him up: "We are all family, why bother talking about status? I will just call you brother. My name is Yunzhi, may I know your name?"
Pei Shuo saw that Li Cheng was indeed as good as his brother Zheng Wuheng said, and he was as happy as drinking a bowl of honey. The key was that he was a man of affection and righteousness, and he was so good to his sister. His sister wrote to him saying that he wanted to bring her back to visit her parents, and how hard it was for this trip and how he squeezed out time. He already had a good impression of this brother-in-law, and seeing how close he was to him, Pei Shuo was very happy.
"My courtesy name is Yuanpu, so you can just call me Yuanpu, Lord." Pei Shuo said with a smile.
The two exchanged a few pleasantries. Pei Shuo was not polite when he saw his sister: "Look at you, you don't look like a lady from a rich family. You even ran out of the car. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by the prince?"
"Brother, I got off the carriage as soon as I heard your voice." Huiyin felt that she came back alive after reaching Jizhou.
"Sister, did you have a smooth journey? I originally wanted to pick you up in Qingzhou. The He and Lu families have to give face to father, right? I didn't expect you to come so soon."
"Brother, you asked so many questions in one breath, I don't know what to answer. I'll tell you slowly when we get home."
Li Cheng, who was standing aside, watched the two siblings talking affectionately and felt quite envious. After all, he was the only son in the family. In order to have more friends for him, his mother brought the Yin sisters and many other children of the same age into the house to be his study companions.
From here to Jizhou, the soldiers no longer needed to dress up, and everyone returned to their original attire.
The day before they arrived home, they were arranged to wash and dress in the inn. When Li Cheng came in, he saw Huiyin had just put on her pajamas and was sitting in front of the dressing table to dress. He couldn't help but be attracted to her and leaned over her shoulder, "We're going home soon? Are you happy?"
"Of course. We women marry so far away and never see our families. If you hadn't brought me back this time, I'm afraid it would have been difficult for me to see my parents and brothers again." Huiyin rubbed his cheek with her face, unconsciously getting closer, and her voice became much softer: "I didn't know if I could go back to my parents' home before, so I didn't tell you about our family affairs. Now I should tell you, so that you don't know the relationship between our families when the time comes."
Li Cheng actually knew a little about Zheng Fang's family. He even complained about it before marrying Huiyin. But now that Huiyin told him this, he felt that his wife had no secrets from him, so he happily said, "Then tell me."
Huiyin stood up and said, "My father came from a humble background. His grandfather died early, and he was raised by his widowed mother, Xu. He was originally a lieutenant under Lu Ji, the governor of Gannan. Later, he made military achievements and was trusted by Lu Ji. My father was also rewarded and held a high position. At that time, he married the daughter of Xu from Donghai, who was also my grandmother's niece. Later, Lu Ji rebelled, and my father killed Lu Ji, but was killed by Lu Ji. My father was being chased by his subordinates. We arrived at Gaoyang at that time. My mother was looking for a husband. My grandfather was the garrison commander of Gaoyang. Mrs. Xu deliberately let my father marry my mother to save himself. She even asked to be divorced. I didn't expect that my father and mother would be together. So, in my family, except for my brother and my younger brother, the older sister who married into the East Palace and I have a different mother. She is the daughter of the divorced Xu. "
"Oh, so that's how it is." Li Cheng pretended to listen.
Then I heard Huiyin laugh and say, "My brother Pei Shuo was born to my mother and her first husband, Hedong Pei Ye. My mother and Uncle Pei had a deep affection for each other, and they had a covenant not to take concubines. Uncle Pei was in danger once, and my mother was pregnant and tried to save him, even losing her child. The doctor said she would never be able to have children, but she didn't expect Uncle Pei to have a mistress. When my mother found out, she took my brother and divorced. A few years ago, Uncle Pei passed away, and wanted to leave all the family property to my mother and brother. The illegitimate sons and elders of the Pei family refused, so my mother and father helped my brother get the family property back. Now my brother works under my father, but my mother is afraid that he will feel uncomfortable, so she bought a house for him and divided the property among him."
Li Cheng didn't expect Ji to be so decisive. She turned out to be a woman of great passion and emotion, unlike what the Xu family said about her being a fickle woman.
Ting Huiyin said: "After my mother married my father, my grandmother and Mrs. Xu were very hostile to her. After all, Mrs. Xu felt that my father married my mother just to play a trick, but she didn't expect it to become true. She thought my mother was shameless. Fortunately, my mother gave birth to me and my brother, and later she stood firm. Our family is divided into two factions, my grandmother and eldest sister are one faction, and my mother and I and my brothers and sisters are another faction. So, if my grandmother says something about me in front of you, you should be more tolerant and don't get angry. It's good that you know what kind of person I am."
She was giving a warning first because she was afraid that if her grandmother, Madam Xu, saw that Li Cheng was too nice to her, she would feel uncomfortable and say something. Who would think that what your own grandmother said about her own granddaughter was false?
Li Cheng heard something ambiguous, such as why the Zheng family did not help at all when the prince went south to fight. It was probably because of family disputes. Huiyin's brothers were all in the army, and they had a bad relationship with Xu's mother and daughter. How could they help the Eastern Palace?
Li Cheng didn't know about this, and thinking of Huiyin's warning at this time, he was probably afraid that Madam Xu would say something gossipy. He said calmly, "Don't worry, no matter what she says, I won't take it seriously."
Huiyin snuggled into his arms and said, "In the past, we were together less than we were apart, but you always protected me at your husband's house. Now that you are at my parents' house, you must remember that if anyone bullies you, you should ask me to help you vent your anger. This is my territory."
If Li Cheng had been like that in the past, he would have been too arrogant to let a woman protect him. But now, hearing these words, he felt so sweet. He hugged Huiyin and said seriously, "I'm a live-in son-in-law now, so you must protect me!"
His behavior made Huiyin feel a little uncomfortable. This man usually spoke loudly and rarely spoke in such a flirtatious manner.
She quietly tickled him because she knew he was afraid of itching. Li Cheng clamped her hands and they had a wild and wild time.
Little did she know that the Zheng family was also in a turmoil. Every time Mrs. Xu saw Deyin, she saw that she was getting thinner and thinner, so she wanted Zheng Fang to take his daughter back to recuperate, but Zheng Fang and Ji Shi disagreed. Zheng Fang meant that unless the prince came back with her, Deyin was not the principal wife, so how could she go home at will? Mrs. Xu was of course very depressed when she heard this.
Deyin was unable to return, but Huiyin went home to visit her parents. Ji was so excited that she brought her daughter-in-law Xin to decorate the new courtyard: "Sure enough, our Huiyin is blessed. Look, the prince personally accompanied our daughter back this time. I don't know if the arrangement here is appropriate. I'm really worried that the aunt will not like it."
Xin felt a little sad, after all, her mother-in-law had never been so kind to her family, but when she remembered that her aunt was the Prince of Huaiyin, all her grievances disappeared, and she took the initiative to say, "Mother, I think this screen is too heavy, and it makes the bedroom too dark. Why not change it to one with a lighter color?"
Ji clapped his hands and said, "Really? You young people have good taste. I have a fan made of huanghuali wood with orchid embroidery. The color of huanghuali wood is lighter than that of red sandalwood."
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law talked for a few more words. When she heard Mrs. Xu calling her, Ji asked her daughter-in-law to go back first, and she went to her mother-in-law.
In fact, Ji knew very well that the reason why Madam Xu asked her to go over was simply because she was angry and couldn't stand the fact that Huiyin and her husband were about to come back, so she always took it out on her family members, and she, as the daughter-in-law, was the biggest scapegoat.
As expected, as soon as she entered the room, Madam Xu scolded her, "Don't you feel bad that Deyin is not your daughter? The palace is not safe now, so what if you bring her back? After all, you have watched her grow up."
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