48 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!
吃完一塊糕點，李澄放了下來，又看着謝九儀夫妻道：“我聽說王叔準備把蒹葭嫁給衛铎的次子，可有這麽回事兒？”
果然，此話一出，他見殷麗儀眉毛豎起來了，謝九儀點頭：“是啊，衛铎雄霸中原，主公要和他結親也是理所當然，我們暫時也不便北線開戰。”
“這樣聯姻倒也有道理。”李澄想現在魏王無法和衛铎抗衡，還不如結交為上，那衛霄也是英才，配蒹葭也使得。
謝九儀不置可否。
倒是殷麗儀道：“小王爺，可是衛霄把正妻休下堂了，再娶蒹葭，這樣的人家——”
實際上這兩個月殷麗儀一直為這件事情想法子，但也不知道從哪裏突破，沒想到李澄居然也贊成。
李澄還沒等她話說完，就不悅道：“這可不是普通人婚嫁，這是政治聯姻，為了兩地之平安。就連我都要聯姻呢，更何況是蒹葭呢？”
若非看在謝九儀的面子上，李澄覺得他肯定說的話不好聽，不是他不心疼自己的堂妹，而是現在男女都是一樣，徽音還不是那麽遠都要嫁過來。
“這家國大事何苦讓弱女子承擔呢？”殷麗儀問道，她總覺得李澄和她們有童年情分，和別人不同，所以她在李澄面前更加自在。
李澄看她義憤填膺的，反唇相譏：“這話你不必和我說，你該和魏王說才是，你和我喊什麽。你看謝兄不也贊成嗎？你一個人反對沒用啊。”
朝誰發脾氣呢？我又不是你夫君，我可不會慣着你，跟羊癫瘋似的，有本事和魏王喊去。
殷麗儀洩氣道：“若我能說動魏王，何必和你們抱怨，我只是心疼魏王妃罷了！”
提起魏王妃，李澄的确覺得有些殘忍，但他也不願意和殷麗儀多說什麽。不過，殷麗儀對徽音不加掩飾的态度變差，讓他想到是不是自己的地位受到什麽影響，所以殷麗儀才敢這般。
但現在見她似乎是一孕傻三年，以前尚且能掩飾，現在越發的沖動不加遮掩，看來也問不出什麽來。
還有謝九儀似乎一直沒有說話，李澄就站起來撣了撣右肩膀上的褶皺道：“那我先去給王叔問安了。”
謝九儀起身相送，把李澄送出門後，才回過頭對殷麗儀道：“我知道你性子正直，又愛打抱不平，但許多事情不是咱們想怎麽做就怎麽做的。”
“可我知道你肯定有法子。”殷麗儀狡黠一笑，她知道丈夫很有能耐。
謝九儀搖頭：“你把我想的也太神乎其神了，我最愛你的赤子之心，但是有些事情，我也是無能為力。但我想蒹葭還小，這樁親事還有幾年才成行，如此這幾年內，時移世易，指不定又會有變化。”
殷麗儀一聽有轉機，又立馬高興了：“那可太好了。”
謝九儀想的是若魏王能夠靠李澄奪取青州，将來遲早再會北上，冀州鄭放不足為懼。将來魏王若是和衛铎對上，那麽蒹葭郡主未必還會嫁給衛铎的兒子。
見妻子不再糾結蒹葭的事情，他道：“我要去魏王府邸一趟，你在家中看好門戶。”
“好。”殷麗儀答應下來。
李澄去見魏王時，魏王說的也和謝九儀大差不差，甚至還主動道：“此事非你不可，你我叔侄如今替聖上牧民，聖上也不能虧待咱們。”
“王叔說的是，侄兒命小福薄，連徐州都治理的勉勉強強的，承蒙您不棄，還讓侄兒親辦此事。”李澄話裏話外都擡舉魏王。
魏王笑道：“此事舍你其誰了，這也是當年我們聯姻目的所在。”
李澄又留下來和魏王商量了一下細節，如此才回王府，他一回來，就和徽音說起此事：“太子想空手套白狼，但是我們也不傻。”
“嗯，不過你要小心太子之前還制造毒箭傷人，可見此人行事詭谲，切記要小心。”徽音叮咛。
李澄笑道：“現在說打仗還早着呢，我想這件事情我們得先去信太子，讓他拿出誠意來。”
李澄的信很快就快馬送到李珩的手上，上面說的是魏王說自嘉浒關以南讓太子的人撤出，他就同意和鄭放一起助力殺呂威。
“豎子……”李珩當然非常不爽。
何國舅卻已經被呂威軟禁了，他近來常常許諾鄭放，說起來他們也算是翁婿，可是鄭放卻跟他打馬虎眼。
所以，看到德音送過來的銀耳蓮子羹的時候，他直接把碗摔了。
周圍的下人跪了一地：“太子。”
李珩壓抑住自己的脾氣，反正青州夾在魏王和昭節侯中間，他并不能完全掌控，而且那也只是何家的軍隊，與其如此，還不如先把人撤出來。否則，呂威下一步可能就要廢皇帝，自立為帝了，更別提他這個太子了。
他從牙縫裏擠出三個字：“我無事。”
入夜，他吩咐親信拿了他的令牌去青州了，沒辦法，就是知道別人在趁火打劫，也得同意，否則難以維持平衡。
半個月後，不費一兵一卒，何家退兵青州，李澄直接帶人駐紮。他還專門讓親信去冀州告訴鄭放，讓他千萬不要輕舉妄動，讓呂威起疑。然後趁着呂威不備，再下手。
……
在建業的徽音聽聞前線傳來消息說李澄已經順利占了嘉浒關，很為他高興，怪道前世太子奔赴徐州，死傷無數都沒讨到好，李澄的确謀略過人。
陸少奶奶也諸多誇獎，徽音笑道：“前線的事情說不定，我想還是低調一些的好。”
徽音心想爹前世幫李珩殺了呂威，可沒讨到什麽好，反而被綁在太子這輛戰車上，被他利用徹底了，這輩子可不能如此了。還好李澄出的主意很好，讓鄭放殺了呂威之後，迅速占領嘉浒關以北，但不必做太子的出頭鳥，而是先收攏呂威之兵馬才對。
這也許是李澄為何被鄭放信服的原因，只不過這輩子爹爹殺呂威能順利呢？
鄭放還真的很順利，他一直作為呂威簇擁，平日雖然有一股力量，但對呂威畢恭畢敬，且要刺殺呂威的人非常之多，幾乎數次都是鄭放幫呂威擋了下來。
正如現在，呂威準備稱帝，因此命鄭放夜裏幫忙看守。
就在如此尋常的一個夜晚，呂威正在試穿帝王的冠冕，卻沒想到背後被捅了一劍，此劍鋒利又快，很快鐵錘錘了過來，幾乎搗亂他的胸口，呂威倒在血泊中，指着鄭放道：“你，你為何如此對我？我……我不是答應等登了地位之後，就封你為異姓王嗎？”
鄭放笑道：“老賊，你騙鬼呢？恐怕你登上帝位，頭一個就讓我老鄭死。”
呂威還想說什麽，就聽鄭放道：“我老鄭沒什麽想法，也想稱帝……”
呂威未曾想到他英明一世，算無遺策，卻在鄭放這裏陰溝翻船。當年多少人要刺殺他，都是鄭放保護他，現在倒好，居然被此人殺了。
是的，鄭放看到這些冠冕，其實也很動心。
但想起女婿的吩咐，他還得按捺下來，先去找到何國舅被軟禁之處，那何國舅還以為鄭放來救他的，很是高興。
“昭節侯，你可總算是過來了。”
鄭放笑道：“是啊，你受驚了，呂威已經死了，只是這老賊的死訊我還沒放出去。等會兒恐怕就天下皆知了……”
何國舅喜上眉梢：“好好好，這可太好了，他這一死，就再也沒有人威脅太子了。”他都想到自己該如何吞并呂威的軍隊了，只是現在還不好說。
還得安撫住鄭放：“你是怎麽殺死呂威的？”
鄭放按照李澄教的，一字一句道：“國舅爺，明明是您殺死了呂威啊，怎麽是我呢？”
“這是什麽意思？”何國舅有些聽不懂。
鄭放不耐煩道：“意思就是老子栽贓給你。”
女婿說讓他不要冒頭，大家有意看到京中大亂，但若是誰做了出頭的椽子，恐怕各地又要打着清君側的名義對他不利，索性還不如推到何進身上。
如此，他鄭放既得到了青州的嘉浒關以北，還得到了何家的西北軍，還不會引起別人針對。
這一夜東宮歇息在德音這裏，卻翻來覆去的睡不着覺，德音不明所以：“太子可是有事？”
“無事，我就在想國舅被軟禁了，還不知道怎麽樣呢？”李珩随意扯謊，他現在勉強和何家捆綁在一起，若呂威倒了，他的威脅少了許多，至少何國舅還沒那麽大膽子，還得靠自己給他榮華富貴。
德音卻不知道想起什麽，前世聽聞太子和李澄打仗時，差點被毒箭射死，幸虧有鄭無恒擋毒箭，這輩子興許鄭無恒不會了，那将來……
她提醒李珩道：“太子，你可要小心我那位妹夫淮陰王，我懷疑他胸有大志，手段淩厲，日後必定成為大患。”
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.