Chapter 48
◎Two chapters in one◎
"Why did you get into a fight with her? I've heard about your story. There's no need to lecture others on everything. Everyone has his or her own way of living." Yin Lifang felt that her sister was being unwise.
Yin Liyi said, "I think she has become more arrogant now that she has given birth to a child. I originally thought it had nothing to do with me, but the young prince is now very estranged from the King of Wei. What if the King of Wei finds out in the future? Outsiders haven't even come to attack us yet, but we're already fighting among ourselves."
Yin Lifang shook her head: "You think too much. How come I don't know these things?"
"I'm just worried. We are all friends. What good will it be if we fall apart?" Yin Liyi's husband Xie Jiuyi has a very good relationship with Li Cheng. They are close friends to each other. Isn't it great for them to work together for the King of Wei?
Yin Lifang looked at her sister and said, "You can't interfere with these things. We have to wear a hat that is as big as our heads. I am now in the Prince of Wei's mansion. Fortunately, I am cautious and can still protect myself."
Although Yin Liyi was a reckless person, she could only smile when she saw her sister's serious expression: "Okay, I don't care. Is that okay?"
Yin Liyi kept quiet for a few days, but Huiyin was invited by Madam Lu to a tea party, and she certainly enjoyed the moment. Madam Lu and Madam Gao saw that Huiyin was not afraid of the face of the King of Wei and the Xie family at all, and her attitude was tough, so they felt that they had made the right decision to join them.
Having achieved her goal, Huiyin decided to stop and started to sort out things at home.
First, she had to confirm whether the quota from Concubine Wu was enough. Although she didn't like her, she still had to do the face work. Fortunately, Concubine Wu now had a few nuns to talk to. The original troublemakers were sent away. Nanny Fan had long since joined Huiyin and spoke well of them on a daily basis.
After the confirmation from Concubine Wu, it became the family's internal account. The external account was collected by Li Cheng, and after entering the account, it was transferred to the internal account. All the big and small issues in the family that had not been resolved before were now solved in a unified manner.
"As for Mother Chao, even though she made some mistakes before, she is still the prince's wet nurse, so she should be given a share of the daily rewards. As for Yunhui, there is no need to mention her." Huiyin said.
Yun Hui is already at the end of her strength, so she can't be too cruel.
Little did people know that Yun Hui's life was also difficult. Although she was a widow in the mansion before, she was still the aunt in charge, in charge of many people, like the second master, and everyone respected her.
But now she is just a manager of a nunnery, living a hard life every day. She has only two maids to do the chores, and she has to do the work herself, especially when the weather gets colder. She has to fetch water to wash her hair. She caught a cold in the wind and kept coughing.
Concubine Wu looked kind and gentle, but she valued her life more: "Madame Fan, tell the princess that someone here is coughing non-stop, and ask her to move the person back home."
This matter did not need to go through Huiyin, and directly let the current housekeeper Liu Madam handle it, and Yunhui was quickly sent home. Chao's mother was a little considerate, and took out the medicine to prescribe for her daughter, but she could no longer enjoy the tea room in the palace.
"If I were still working in the mansion, the waiter would definitely bring me medicine, and also four kinds of dried fruits and four kinds of preserved fruits." Mother Chao sighed.
"Hehe, Mom, please stop talking. We can't do anything if others want to exclude dissidents. Fortunately, we have saved enough money for us to live." Yun Hui sometimes wanted to take revenge, but she knew very well that she needed to be more patient now, just like she did with Xun Rou at the beginning, after being patient, she had to proceed cautiously.
After the matter of the palace was settled, Huiyin began to rest, drinking water every day. To be honest, if you want to take care of your body, you should do it this way, don't think about anything else, and focus on taking care of your body.
When Li Cheng came back two months later, he saw Huiyin's face was as red as a peach, her complexion was very good, and her face was so tender that it seemed that water could be squeezed out of it. He touched his face and asked: "Did I get a lot darker from the sun?"
"As a man, you still care about these things! It's winter now, are you still going to Xuzhou this time?" Huiyin came in holding his arm.
Li Cheng took off his armor and changed into his casual clothes while saying, "It all depends on what Uncle Wei says."
"It's been a few months. How did you discuss Lu Wei's matter?" Huiyin asked.
Li Cheng smiled: "We are not the ones who are most anxious at this moment, why should we be so anxious to jump up and down?"
The prince promised, but who knows whether it will come true? Also, killing Lu Wei is extremely risky. Without a big enough temptation, who would do such a thing? You are not stupid, even though you are just talking big.
"Yes, then let's spend a happy New Year in peace." Huiyin gave an order and asked for hot almond cheese to be served. When the weather is cold, hot drinks are the best.
After the servants brought in almond cheese, they also brought hot chestnut cake and peanut cake. Li Cheng drank them all in one gulp and felt much warmer. However, as soon as he felt warm, he wanted to sleep.
Huiyin also tolerated him like this. Home was her safe haven. No matter how tired and hard-working you were outside, home would always be the warmest and most healing place.
After Li Cheng had fallen asleep, he woke up and saw the orange light through the screen, which suddenly warmed his heart.
"Huiyin..."
As he called out, Huiyin walked in and said with a smile, "You woke up just in time. The food is ready. Let's eat together."
Eating mutton is the most nourishing food in winter. Today, they also had mutton hotpot. Li Cheng looked at his wife and said with some shame, "I don't know why I feel sleepy when I get home."
"Maybe home is the most comfortable place, so you fell asleep immediately. More sleep can keep your body healthy. I wish you could sleep more." Huiyin didn't care.
She was not the kind of person who was often empty, lonely and bored. Besides managing the household, she also read books, cooked delicious food, and attended banquets and social events; these were all things she was supposed to do as a mistress.
Huiyin never felt annoyed by these trivial matters. To her, if she couldn't even manage her own family, how could she manage everyone else? Besides, dealing with people every day would make her mind more active.
Li Cheng asked again: "Are you and your son doing well in Jianye?"
Huiyin laughed and said, "Other things are fine, but there is only one thing, that Madam Xie seems to have taken the wrong medicine." After that, she told the story of how Yin Liyi had gossiped about her behind her back and then openly targeted her at the banquet.
Finally, she said, "If you don't know, you might think she was taken away. Isn't that funny? How can I have anything to do with her? She used to talk to me, and although I felt she was a little naive sometimes, I never took it personally."
Li Cheng listened to it and said suspiciously, "Maybe someone said something."
"What do you think they said? Is it a problem if you accompany me back to my parents' home? She is not my mother-in-law, so she cannot be so lenient." Huiyin just wanted to complain.
Sometimes a woman wants to complain not because she really wants to, but because she has never lost in a verbal battle.
Li Cheng paused for a moment. "Before, I saw her being quite respectful to you, but now she's so arrogant. She's not a thoughtful person, so I'm afraid there's something wrong. It's okay, she'll be able to get some information out of you. I'll be at Xie's house tomorrow, and I'll know when I see her."
"Hey, don't say that I was the one who started it." Huiyin just wanted to complain and didn't think of asking Li Cheng for help.
Li Cheng thought it was funny: "Got it."
The couple's reunion was better than a wedding. After dinner, Li Cheng picked up Huiyin and walked to the bed. His hands were gently stroking each other slowly, and Huiyin hugged him tightly...
When he got up in the morning, Li Cheng saw that his wife had dark circles under her eyes and looked tired. He, on the other hand, was refreshed and in a good mood. He even leaned over and kissed Huiyin. Huiyin was afraid of being tickled, so she quickly turned over and left. He chuckled and said, "I'll go to Xie's house now, and then go to Uncle Wei's place. You should have a good rest at home."
Huiyin closed her eyes and waved her hands a few times: "Let's go, let's go."
Li Cheng was simply extremely pleased with himself. As people say, the wedding night and every night with Huiyin were the ultimate enjoyment.
When they met Xie Jiuyi again, they sat down according to their seats. "I came back yesterday evening and came to look for you early this morning. How is it? What does the lord think?"
As a senior aide to the King of Wei, Xie Jiuyi was able to tell Yin Liyi things that were carefully considered and not spoken casually. Now that Li Cheng came to his house so quickly, unlike before when he always respected the King of Wei, he slowly verified his guess in his heart.
"The land of Qingzhou has flown away like a cooked duck. Of course the lord wants to take it, but Donggong is right about this matter. Probably only Marquis Zhaojie can do it." Xie Jiuyi said.
Li Cheng clapped his hands and said, "Since we are afraid that Donggong will go back on its word, we should occupy Qingzhou first. Then my father-in-law can make up his mind to fight to the death. If Donggong really wants to give up Qingzhou, he shouldn't fight with us. As for Lu Wei, if my father-in-law wants to occupy it, he will naturally quarrel with Lu Wei."
Xie Jiuyi smiled and said, "Then who do you think will lead the charge? I can't do it. I lost the fight last time. You won't let me go for a while."
Of course, his implication was that Li Cheng was the one who got involved, but how could Li Cheng easily say what he wanted? He just said, "Everything will be arranged by Uncle Wei."
The two smiled at each other. Li Cheng drank another cup of tea. Seeing Yin Liyi bringing out the tea and snacks, Li Cheng tasted one and said, "Sister-in-law's cooking skills are getting better and better."
Yin Liyi was very happy to hear people praising it: "This is a pastry made with milk, with red and green grapes from the Western Regions on top. It must be delicious. Even if there are some outside, they are not as pure as this."
"Hmm." Li Cheng thought that it was impossible for Yin Liyi to target Huiyin for no reason. After all, there was a difference in status. Even though the Xie family was the close ministers of King Wei and the brother-in-law of King Wei, their status was lower than his. He was still a prince now!
After finishing a piece of cake, Li Cheng put it down and looked at Xie Jiuyi and his wife and said, "I heard that Uncle Wang is planning to marry Jianjia to Wei Duo's second son. Is that true?"
Sure enough, after he said this, he saw Yin Liyi's eyebrows raised. Xie Jiuyi nodded: "Yes, Wei Duo dominates the Central Plains, it is natural for the lord to marry him. It is not convenient for us to start a war on the northern front for the time being."
"Such a marriage does make sense." Li Cheng thought that since the King of Wei was unable to compete with Wei Duo now, it would be better to make friends with him. Wei Xiao was also a talented person and could be a good match for Jian Jia.
Xie Jiuyi did not comment.
Yin Liyi said, "My young prince, Wei Xiao divorced his wife and married Jianjia. For a family like this—"
In fact, Yin Liyi had been thinking of a solution for this matter for the past two months, but she didn't know where to make a breakthrough. Unexpectedly, Li Cheng also agreed with it.
Before she could finish her words, Li Cheng said unhappily, "This is not an ordinary marriage, this is a political marriage for the sake of peace in both places. Even I want a marriage, let alone Jianjia?"
If it weren't for Xie Jiuyi's sake, Li Cheng felt that what he said must be unpleasant. It's not that he didn't feel sorry for his cousin, but men and women are the same now, and Huiyin is not so far away that she has to marry him.
"Why should such a weak woman be responsible for the affairs of this country and family?" Yin Liyi asked. She always felt that Li Cheng had a childhood bond with them and was different from others, so she felt more at ease in front of Li Cheng.
Seeing her full of righteous anger, Li Cheng retorted: "You don't have to say this to me. You should talk to the King of Wei. Why are you yelling at me? Look, Brother Xie agrees too. It's useless for you to oppose it alone."
Who are you angry with? I am not your husband. I will not tolerate you. If you are crazy, go and yell at the King of Wei.
Yin Liyi said angrily, "If I could convince the King of Wei, why would I complain to you? I just feel sorry for the Princess of Wei!"
Speaking of the Princess of Wei, Li Cheng did feel that it was a bit cruel, but he was unwilling to say anything more to Yin Liyi. However, Yin Liyi's undisguised attitude towards Huiyin deteriorated, which made him wonder if his status was affected, so Yin Liyi dared to do this.
But now it seems that she becomes stupid three years after pregnancy. She could hide it before, but now she becomes more impulsive and does not hide it. It seems that nothing can be asked out of her.
Xie Jiuyi seemed to have remained silent, so Li Cheng stood up, smoothed the wrinkles on his right shoulder and said, "Then I'll go and greet Uncle Wang first."
Xie Jiuyi stood up to see Li Cheng off. After sending Li Cheng out the door, he turned around and said to Yin Liyi, "I know you are upright and like to stand up for the weak, but there are many things that we cannot do as we please."
"But I know you will definitely find a way." Yin Liyi smiled cunningly, she knew her husband was very capable.
Xie Jiuyi shook her head: "You think too highly of me. I love your innocent heart the most, but there are some things I can't do anything about. But I think Jianjia is still young, and this marriage will take a few years to complete. In these few years, times will change, and there may be changes."
When Yin Liyi heard that there was a turn for the better, she immediately became happy: "That's great."
Xie Jiuyi thought that if the King of Wei could rely on Li Cheng to seize Qingzhou, he would go north again sooner or later, and there was nothing to fear about Zheng Fang in Jizhou. If the King of Wei confronted Wei Duo in the future, Princess Jianjia might not marry Wei Duo's son.
Seeing that his wife no longer bothered about Jianjia, he said, "I am going to the Prince of Wei's residence. You stay at home and watch over the door."
"Okay." Yin Liyi agreed.
When Li Cheng went to see the King of Wei, the King of Wei said the same thing as Xie Jiuyi, and even took the initiative to say: "This matter has to be handled by you. You and I, uncle and nephew, are now herding the people for His Majesty, and His Majesty cannot treat us unfairly."
"Uncle Wang is right. My nephew has a small life and poor fortune. I can barely manage Xuzhou. Thank you for not giving up and letting my nephew handle this matter personally." Li Cheng praised the King of Wei in every word.
The King of Wei smiled and said, "Who else but you can handle this matter? This was also the purpose of our marriage."
Li Cheng stayed to discuss the details with the King of Wei before returning to the palace. As soon as he came back, he told Huiyin about the matter: "The prince wants to get something for nothing, but we are not stupid."
"Well, but you have to be careful. The prince once made poison arrows to hurt people. This shows that he is cunning. Remember to be careful." Huiyin warned.
Li Cheng smiled and said, "It's too early to talk about war now. I think we should first write to the prince and ask him to show his sincerity."
Li Cheng's letter was quickly delivered to Li Heng, which said that if the King of Wei asked the prince's men to withdraw from the south of Jiahu Pass, he would agree to help kill Lu Wei together with Zheng Fang.
"Vertebra..." Li Heng was of course very unhappy.
However, Uncle He has been placed under house arrest by Lu Wei. He has often made promises to Zheng Fang recently. In theory, they are father-in-law and son-in-law, but Zheng Fang is playing tricks on him.
So, when he saw the Tremella and Lotus Seed Soup that Deyin brought over, he threw the bowl down.
The servants around him knelt on the ground and said, "Prince."
Li Heng suppressed his temper. Anyway, Qingzhou was sandwiched between the King of Wei and Marquis Zhaojie, and he could not fully control it. Besides, it was only the He family's army. Instead of doing that, it would be better to withdraw the people first. Otherwise, Lu Wei might depose the emperor and establish himself as the emperor next, not to mention him as the crown prince.
He squeezed out three words from between his teeth: "I'm fine."
At night, he ordered his confidant to take his token to Qingzhou. He had no choice. Even if he knew that others were taking advantage of the situation, he had to agree, otherwise it would be difficult to maintain the balance.
Half a month later, without any soldiers, the He family retreated to Qingzhou, and Li Cheng directly led his men to station there. He also sent his confidant to Jizhou to tell Zheng Fang not to act rashly and arouse Lu Wei's suspicion. Then he would take advantage of Lu Wei's unpreparedness and strike again.
…
Huiyin in Jianye heard the news from the front that Li Cheng had successfully occupied Jiahu Pass, and was very happy for him. No wonder the prince in the previous life went to Xuzhou and suffered countless deaths and injuries but still ended up with nothing good. Li Cheng was indeed a man of extraordinary strategy.
Madam Lu also praised her a lot. Huiyin smiled and said, "It's hard to say what's going on at the front line. I think it's better to keep a low profile."
Huiyin thought that her father had helped Li Heng kill Lu Wei in his previous life, but he got nothing good in return. Instead, he was tied to the prince's chariot and was used by him completely. This cannot happen again in this life. Fortunately, Li Cheng's idea was very good. After Zheng Fang killed Lu Wei, he quickly occupied the north of Jiahu Pass, but he did not need to be the first to take action for the prince. Instead, he should first collect Lu Wei's troops.
This may be the reason why Li Cheng was convinced by Zheng Fang, but was it possible for his father to kill Lu Wei smoothly in this life?
Zheng Fang was really successful. He had always been Lu Wei's assistant. Although he was a powerful person on weekdays, he was very respectful to Lu Wei. There were many people who wanted to assassinate Lu Wei, and it was Zheng Fang who helped Lu Wei to block them almost every time.
Just like now, Lu Wei is preparing to become emperor, so he orders Zheng Fang to help guard at night.
On such an ordinary night, Lu Wei was trying on the emperor's crown, but he was stabbed in the back by a sword. The sword was sharp and fast. Soon, the iron hammer came over and almost messed up his chest. Lu Wei fell in a pool of blood and pointed at Zheng Fang and said, "You, why did you do this to me? I...didn't I promise to make you a king of a different surname after I ascended to the throne?"
Zheng Fang laughed and said, "You old thief, are you kidding me? I'm afraid that when you ascend to the throne, you'll kill me first."
Before Lu Wei could say anything, he heard Zheng Fang say, "I, Zheng, don't have any ideas. I also want to be emperor..."
Lu Wei never thought that he, who had been a wise man all his life and had made all kinds of plans, would be defeated by Zheng Fang. Many people wanted to assassinate him, but it was Zheng Fang who protected him. Now, he was killed by this man.
Yes, Zheng Fang was actually quite tempted when he saw these crowns.
But remembering his son-in-law's instructions, he had to hold himself back and first went to find the place where Uncle He was under house arrest. Uncle He thought that Zheng Fang had come to rescue him and was very happy.
"Marquis Zhaojie, you are finally here."
Zheng Fang laughed and said, "Yes, you are shocked. Lu Wei is already dead, but I haven't announced the death of this old thief yet. I'm afraid that the whole world will know about it soon..."
Uncle He was delighted: "Great, great, this is great. With his death, no one will threaten the prince anymore." He had already thought of how he could annex Lu Wei's army, but it was hard to say now.
He had to comfort Zheng Fang: "How did you kill Lu Wei?"
Zheng Fang followed Li Cheng's instructions and said word for word: "Uncle, it was you who killed Lu Wei, how could it be me?"
"What does this mean?" Uncle He was a little confused.
Zheng Fang said impatiently: "It means I gave it to you."
The son-in-law told him not to stand out. Everyone wanted to see the chaos in the capital, but if anyone stood out, he might be harmed by other places in the name of clearing the emperor's entourage. So it would be better to put the blame on He Jin.
In this way, Zheng Fang not only obtained the area north of Jiahu Pass in Qingzhou, but also obtained the Northwest Army of the He family without attracting targeting from others.
Donggong rested at Deyin's place that night, but he tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. Deyin didn't understand why: "Is there something wrong with the prince?"
"Nothing, I was just wondering what's going on with the King's Uncle being placed under house arrest?" Li Heng lied casually. He was now barely tied to the He family. If Lu Wei fell, his threat would be much less. At least the King's Uncle He wasn't that brave, and he had to rely on himself to provide him with glory and wealth.
Deyin didn't know what she was thinking of. In her previous life, she heard that the prince was almost shot to death by a poison arrow during the battle with Li Cheng. Fortunately, Zheng Wuheng blocked the poison arrow. Maybe Zheng Wuheng wouldn't do that again in this life. What about in the future...
She reminded Li Heng, "Prince, you must be careful of my brother-in-law, the Prince of Huaiyin. I suspect he has great ambitions and is ruthless. He will definitely become a serious threat in the future."
Li Heng thought, just wait for Zheng Fang to kill Lu Wei, and then he will take the opportunity to let He Guojiu kill Zheng Fang, and directly seize Jizhou in his hands. Zheng Fang is a brave man, but he is soft-hearted and has no strategy, so he is easy to deal with. As for Li Cheng, although he should not be underestimated, he has fought against Qingzhou before, so why should he be afraid?
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard the eunuch report urgently: "Prince, it's bad. Uncle He discovered that Prime Minister Lu wanted to usurp the throne. The two of them died together."
"What? Uncle He is dead too?" The prince couldn't believe it.
Outside the capital, Zheng Fang had already run out of Lu's mansion, feeling very happy. The method of Li Cheng, the son-in-law, was really wicked, no, it was smart, and he really liked it.
The next morning, he would take the lead in incorporating the armies of the Lu and He families in the name of stabilizing the capital.
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