Chapter 49
◎Two chapters in one◎
After the expansion of the territory, Li Cheng had already sent Yuwen Dang to guard Qingzhou, and Zheng Fang sent his adopted son Pei Shuo to occupy the north of Jiahu Pass. The two families were in-laws, so they lived in peace. But they got the land without spending a single soldier. Huiyin was happy for both her natal family and Li Cheng.
Although in the future when everyone has different opinions, there may be disagreements or even conflicts, this does not affect my current good mood.
Just like if Li Cheng cheated on her one day in the future, it didn't mean that they were not in love with each other now. If people only think about the future and lose their momentary happiness, it would be too pessimistic.
Li Cheng was also afraid that his wife and children would be left in Jianye and taken hostage, so he discussed with Huiyin: "Why don't I take you back to Xuzhou? Although Xuzhou is not as wealthy as Jianye, it is still within my sphere of influence."
"My husband, I really want to go back to Xuzhou with you, but I'm also afraid of making a fuss. Now that you have taken over Qing and Xu, the King of Wei may be jealous of you. Even if Jing'er and I go with you, what about your grandmother?" Huiyin certainly wanted to go, but was afraid that it would be too much. After all, Li Cheng was not at odds with the King of Wei, and on the surface, the King of Wei even supported him.
Li Cheng was also started when he heard this: "It would have been better if you and your son hadn't come to Jianye back then."
Huiyin smiled and said, "There were considerations back then, and there are considerations now. It's a different time now. I know you do everything for our family, but if something happens to you, how will we survive?"
"My virtuous wife is truly understanding. Well, okay, I'll often travel between the two places in the future, but it will be hard for you." Li Cheng said, holding Huiyin's hand.
Huiyin shook her head: "Why do you and I need to talk so much? The King of Wei is hosting a dinner party today and we have to attend. Don't be late."
Li Cheng wondered if this banquet was a good one. He had kept these things to himself before, and dared not reveal them to his subordinates, but now he told Huiyin the truth.
Huiyin comforted him, "You want to go back to the uncle-nephew relationship you once had, unless you keep working like a slave without any desire. But then again, if you are like this, who among your people will listen to you? Who is truly loyal to you?"
When you reach a certain position, if you are unwilling to work and the people under you work hard for you but get no benefits, it is easy for you to become rebellious.
Even if Huiyin disciplined the evil and mean slaves in the palace, she still had to pay the others extra monthly wages to appease them.
"I thought so too. Last time when Qingzhou was attacked, normally I should have been the one to go, but Uncle Wei skipped me and let Xie Jiuyi go. As expected, Xie Jiuyi lost the battle. Now I have taken it down without any soldiers, so naturally my troops will be stationed there. If it was someone else, the Jizhou army might have taken it all away." Li Cheng didn't think that his father-in-law was a man who kept his promises.
However, Lu Wei and He Guojiu are now powerless, the emperor's life will not last long, and the prince is just a commander without troops. It is hard to predict what his future will be like.
Zheng Fang had ambitions but lacked ability and strategy. The Jizhou Army of the Zheng family seemed to be able to carry out tasks with ease, but in fact, it had long been corrupt and defeated and had no fighting spirit.
But if these words were spoken, it would hurt his wife's reputation.
Huiyin actually knew this in her heart, and this was also the reason why Lu Wei did not intend to kill Zheng Fang. Zheng Fang's personal force was unstoppable, but he did not discipline the army strictly, and the morale of the army was low. Zheng Fang was also fickle.
Without mentioning this matter for the moment, Huiyin said to Li Cheng: "Oh, I have one more thing to tell you. Concubine Xu gave me a generous gift. Even when I went to pay my respects to Concubine Wei the other day, she seemed to meet me by chance, but in fact, she seemed to be waiting for me. What do you think this means?"
Li Cheng smiled and said, "Don't worry about it. It's just for the position of the crown prince. The last time Li Jing accidentally fell into the well, it was probably his doing. Now, someone has given birth to a son for the uncle of the King of Wei. Concubine Xu will eventually lose her beauty and love, and the status of her son cannot be determined early. She has also offended the Queen of Wei and Concubine Yin. She is probably the most anxious person to be crowned the crown prince."
When people are in a hurry, they are bound to be cautious.
Huiyin snorted coldly, "The King of Wei is still so young, why is she so anxious? The future is still unknown. Instead of doing this, it is better to urge her son to study hard and practice martial arts. In this way, even if power falls into someone else's hands in the future, it will be easy to take it back. Even if he is a peddler, he can have food and clothing without worrying if he has a skill."
What's the big deal about harming children? If you have the guts, go after the adults.
Either the King of Wei makes up his mind to make his own son the heir, or she becomes the queen.
This statement was quite different, and Li Cheng was amused: "Since you already know it, I won't say more."
He thought that things would not be peaceful in the Prince of Wei's mansion. Concubine Xu was getting restless, the Princess of Wei and Yin Lifang were not pushovers either, and there was also the Prince of Wei's new lover...
Compared with the turmoil in Prince Wei's Mansion, the Eastern Palace was even more of a reshuffle. Lu Xiao was even put under house arrest by Empress He. Zheng Fang was also unwilling to let his daughter be just a concubine. In the past, when Lu Wei was there, he would have given up. Now that Lu Wei is gone, how could he let Lu dominate the Zheng family again?
The prince really hated Lu Wei, hated him for treating him like a puppet for so many years, hated him for repeatedly overstepping his authority, being arrogant and domineering, and not taking his dignity seriously. But at the same time, he also hated the Zheng family. During the Bingchen Rebellion, Zheng Fang was the General of the Tiger Guards and was originally guarding Concubine Xi, but when the Rourans attacked, he fled with his men, causing Concubine Xi to be humiliated by the Rourans and commit suicide.
Somehow, he came to Lu Xiao's palace. He usually came secretly late at night. He was not favored when he was a child, but Lu Xiao was Lu Wei's daughter. She smiled brightly and was the first person to share cakes with him.
Lu Xiao's father passed away, but she was unable to observe mourning. Even her entire family was liquidated, and she could do nothing.
After Grape reminded her, she realized that Li Heng had come over. She ignited hope: "Prince, I beg you, please let them let my family go. They are all innocent."
Lu Xiao's biggest worry was probably that being a Crown Princess had too many rules and regulations, and that she had no friends. But she had a good allowance in the East Palace, and if she didn't have enough money, her father and brother would give it to her. But now...
Li Heng helped her up and said, "Don't kneel. Your father committed a capital crime. He secretly kept the dragon robe. His crime is unforgivable."
"I dare not plead for my father, but my brother is innocent." Lu Xiao kowtowed and begged.
It would have been fine if she hadn't mentioned her brother. As soon as she did, Li Heng was furious, but he still held it back because he still liked Lu Xiao very much in his heart, so he forced a smile: "Okay, I promise you."
Seeing Lu Xiao's happy look, Li Heng winked at Grape and helped her up: "There are some things that even I can't do anything about."
Lu Xiao didn't know that her backer had fallen and her position was shaky. She was just happy that Li Heng had saved her family. Li Heng tried to comfort her for a long time, and after leaving, he arranged for his people to protect Lu Xiao. There was no other way. Lu Xiao didn't have any scheming. Now that Lu Wei had fallen, there was no telling how many people would sharpen their knives against her.
After leaving Lu Xiao, he went to Zheng Deyin's place. In fact, he didn't like to come to Zheng's place at all. But there was no other way. Zheng Fang had now gathered Lu and He's troops and was even stronger. He had to pull the Zheng family together.
Deyin was in a good mood. Madam Xu had come and said that the Zheng family was now more powerful and Zheng's father planned to let the prince depose Lu Xiao and make her the crown princess.
But she couldn't show it too much, so she just said something else: "My father brought in some fresh dried fruits, Prince, please try them."
It would have been fine if Zheng Fang was not mentioned, but after mentioning Zheng Fang, Li Heng simply hated this greedy, cowardly, and backstabbing villain.
But in his spare time, he had to grit his teeth and swallow: "No need, I just finished using it and came here, I just came to say hello. I'm busy these days, I'm going to the study to take a nap."
Deyin was stunned for a moment, then immediately said gently, "Yes."
Grandmother is right. The more you have to bear the position of Crown Princess, the more you have to hold on. Look at my sister Huiyin, a princess of a county, she looks so high-spirited because she is the principal wife and the mistress of the house. Even if I, a concubine, am favored, I still have to be Crown Princess.
Li Heng had already seen the determination in Deyin's eyes, and his face darkened. He would never let the Zheng family succeed, otherwise he would be another Lu Wei. No, Zheng Fang might be even more arrogant if he succeeded.
At this time, Huiyin also saw that Concubine Xu was determined to win. She was sitting at the King of Wei's family banquet, where there was toasting and elegant people in fine clothes. Li Cheng was dancing with a sword while drunk, and people on all sides were applauding.
Concubine Xu Ci did not watch like everyone else, but personally took the jug and poured a cup of wine for Huiyin, saying with a smile: "This is Gaochang wine. I always like to warm it up before drinking. Little Princess, try it too."
She had never thought that she would pour wine for herself. Huiyin hurriedly said, "Why do I need you to pour wine for me? Just let the maids do it."
The more she was afraid to accept it, the more attentive Concubine Xu became. She even said, "I wanted to make friends with the little princess before, but I was afraid that you would dislike my status, so I didn't dare to do so."
If you do this and humble yourself, I'm afraid you are asking for too much.
"You are too polite, Madam Xu. You are my elder, how dare I dislike you?" She was not stupid. How could she let Concubine Xu get along well with her? If then Concubine Xu said outside that they had a good relationship, outsiders would find it difficult to tell whether it was true or not.
Seeing that Huiyin didn't drink and just stared at the sword dance on the stage, looking quite distant, Concubine Xu left in a huff. After she left, Huiyin picked up the lychee meat beside her and put it in her mouth. Although it was no longer in season, it was still delicious.
But Li Cheng at the table had already started to move with great speed, as graceful as a flying dragon. It was the first time Huiyin saw him so high-spirited and energetic, and she couldn't help but smile at him. Li Cheng at the table seemed to have noticed Huiyin's gaze, and turned around, picked up a glass of wine with his sword and handed it to her.
Everyone was cheering, even the King of Wei was very interested. Huiyin also took the cup with her hands and drank it all in one gulp. Li Heng made a sword flower shape, knelt in front of the King of Wei and said, "My nephew cannot be in Jianye for the New Year this year. I hope my uncle will take care of my wife and children for me."
The King of Wei raised his cup and said hello.
Li Heng sat down, and another Hu Ji started to dance the Hu Xuan Dance. He whispered to Hui Yin, "Are you afraid when I'm not at home?"
He actually wanted to take his wife and children with him at all times, so that he could feel at ease when they were within his sight. But his wife was right. Even if his wife and children went, the imperial concubine would still be in Jianye. If the imperial concubine went with him, it would be too obvious. The imperial concubine would be threatened, and he would still be controlled by others. It would be better to create a false impression.
Huiyin frowned: "You know I'm not afraid during the day, but I'm afraid to sleep alone at night."
"There are no ghosts in this world, don't be afraid." Li Cheng comforted him with concern.
Huiyin said coquettishly: "Sometimes ghosts are not scary, but I am afraid of people. When you are not at home, I always feel the wind is cold and gloomy at night. I am the only one in such a big mansion, and I am afraid."
Li Cheng was speechless: "Then come with me..."
"No." Huiyin was firm on this point.
While the couple was talking, outsiders didn't know what they were talking about, but from their expressions, it was clear that Li Cheng was coaxing Huiyin. Yin Liyi sat next to Yin Lifang and couldn't help biting her ear: "Jizhou Zheng Fang now occupies the north of Jiahu Pass, and Xijing Division has also sent people to guard it. It's very powerful, no wonder the little prince has to be polite to her."
Seeing her sister like this, Yin Lifang couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with you? Why do you care so much about Zheng? Whether she's good or bad has nothing to do with us. You are Mrs. Xie now. Although your mother-in-law is in charge of the family now and you don't have to worry about other things, you can't just sit there and do nothing for the rest of your life."
In Yin Lifang's opinion, the King of Wei may not like the Princess of Wei, but he still has to show his deep affection in certain occasions! Isn't this the marriage of the upper class? The relationship between husband and wife is not based on affection, but on interests.
The fact that the King of Wei was able to easily conquer Jiangnan was also due to the contribution of the Huo family.
Yin Liyi was also suddenly awakened when she saw her sister reminding her: "Well, this matter really has nothing to do with me. My sister reminded me."
Yin Liyi is a person who shows her anger on her face. Yin Lifang thinks that her sister is like a transparent person. Why does Xie Jiuyi like her? Maybe he thinks she is like a blank sheet of paper. But when you are young, you will think it is cute. When you grow older, if you are still like this, you will be regarded as a fool.
"It's okay. Don't be impulsive if you have any problems in the future." Yin Lifang looked at her sister tenderly.
Yin Liyi nodded: "Don't worry, sister."
After she finished speaking, she hesitated to speak again, but still reminded her sister: "I see that Concubine Xu is very flattering to Zheng Shi, I'm afraid she is after the position of the crown prince. Sister, what should we do?"
Although there was no evidence last time, everyone knew that it was definitely done by Concubine Xu Ci. Not only did they fail to avenge their nephew, but they also had to watch their enemy running around everywhere, which was really infuriating.
Yin Lifang glanced at her sister and said, "Don't worry, the young prince won't listen to her."
"Why?" Yin Liyi just felt that it was easy for men to change their hearts. Zheng was charming and lovely, and even if she had some true feelings for her sister, she might be moved.
Yin Lifang smiled and said, "Just believe me."
After appreciating the Hu Xuan Dance, it was time for the Jiangnan Cai Lian Dance. Huiyin felt a little tired and a little hot. She wanted to go out for some fresh air, so she told Li Cheng.
Li Cheng glanced at her and said, "Come back soon."
"Okay." Sweat broke out on her forehead. After she came out, a cool breeze blew and she felt refreshed.
I don't know why she is the only one who feels so hot today. Is it because she is wearing too many clothes? Huiyin saw a stone bench outside and simply sat here to rest for a while. Firstly, it is close to the door and there is no danger. Secondly, the wind is not strong here.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she sat down, a round-faced maid came forward and said, "Little Princess, would you like me to bring you some fruits and wine?"
"No need, I'll be in soon." Huiyin said with a smile.
The round-faced maid seemed very enthusiastic. Seeing this, Huiyin couldn't help but ask, "Did your princess ask you to come and serve me?"
She shook her head, "That's not the case. When the young prince was in charge of the Prince of Wei's mansion, my father was in debt and my mother was ill. It was the young prince who gave me 20 taels of silver to help my family get better. Now my parents are fine and I have become the head maid here. My whole family is very grateful to the young prince."
"So that's how it is. What was the prince like before? I didn't even know." Huiyin sighed.
The round-faced maid smiled and said, "The young prince was still young at that time, and the people in the palace did not respect him at first, but he was able to do everything our king gave him beautifully and shut up those people. We all say that the young prince is the best among men, and Yin Nvguan is the best among women."
"Is Lady Official Yin the current Second Concubine Yin?" Huiyin was alert.
The round-faced maid nodded: "Yes, that's her."
As if she felt that the answer to this question was not very good, she changed the subject.
In the hall, Concubine Xu Ci came in with a pot of wine warmed up. The singing and dancing had ended, and the Prince of Wei was discussing present and past events with Li Cheng, Xie Jiuyi and others.
The King of Wei was quite good at calligraphy and painting. He asked people to take a painting and admire it. He also said to the crowd: "I heard that you can see different things in this painting from different angles. Come and take a look for me."
Li Cheng saw a horse. He smiled and said, "I think this horse is as good as my Dayuan colt..."
Xie Jiuyi asked, "Why does it look like a carriage from where I am?"
The King of Wei laughed and said, "You two are looking at this, but I am looking in the middle and I see a beautiful woman."
"Uncle Wang, are you thinking about beauties?" Li Cheng deliberately joked.
The King of Wei pointed at Li Cheng and said, "You really dare to say anything."
Princess Wei also pretended to be jealous: "What kind of beauty does the king want, and he is hiding her."
"I just casually mentioned something about painting, but you all suspected that I was here?" The King of Wei smiled and shook his head, looking calm.
In fact, the King of Wei wanted any woman he wanted, so how could the Princess of Wei be jealous? What she cared about most now was whether she could still get pregnant. She was still taking the pregnancy medicine, hoping that the King of Wei could come more often.
"I just want to say that each of us stands at a different angle and sees things differently. The painting itself is correct."
There was a lot of meaning in King Wei's words, and Li Cheng understood it. What King Wei meant was that from your perspective, Li Cheng, you conquered Xuzhou and the areas south of Qingzhou. I can understand that you are unwilling to share them with others, but I also have my own stance. There are some things I don't want to do but have to do.
This was also the reason why Li Cheng defected to the King of Wei. This uncle was calm, far-sighted, and ambitious. If others knew that he had such thoughts, they would probably be eager to kill him. However, the King of Wei was willing to maintain such peace because the King of Wei needed him now, and at the same time, he could not be completely independent for the time being.
But he couldn't speak right away, and that was the point.
Xie Jiuyi also understood. He was surprised. He didn't expect that King Wei still valued Li Cheng so much. It turned out that King Wei was worthy of everyone's support. If Li Cheng was forced to rebel at this time, it would be a loss.
Li Cheng had already said in advance that he would leave his wife and children in Jianye, which showed his true feelings. He was also the only person under the King of Wei who was both civil and military.
At this moment, Huiyin walked in. She noticed that the atmosphere was very subtle and didn't know what was going on. She just smiled and said, "I never thought that on such a cold night like today, there would be a bright moon."
Everyone started to compose poems under the moonlight. Concubine Xu Ci even had someone send moon cakes up. The moon cakes were filled with vegetables and meat, and they were surprisingly delicious. The King of Wei ate two moon cakes in particular. Huiyin thought he must like salty food, because he didn't eat any of the desserts in front of him.
Thinking back to her usual visits to Princess Wei, Princess Wei loved sweets and seldom cooked such common delicacies. For Concubine Xu to be favored, she must be an extraordinary person.
Li Cheng saw Huiyin eat a moon cake and an orange, and couldn't help asking, "Why do you have such a good appetite today?"
"I deliberately ate less at night, thinking I could lose some weight, but I'm hungry after sitting for so long. The aroma of this moon cake makes me salivate." Huiyin wrinkled her nose.
Li Cheng couldn't help laughing, but luckily he managed to hold it back in public.
Concubine Xu had been shuttling between the two. When she heard Huiyin's words, she felt relieved. It was worth it that she arranged for someone to deliberately tell Zheng about Li Cheng's past with Concubine Yin. Last time, Li Cheng saved Li Jing. If it weren't for him, Li Jing would have died long ago, and her son would have been the crown prince long ago.
After all, Zheng is young, and if she is provoked a little, she will not agree even if Li Cheng helps Yin Lifang.
But as soon as they got on the bus, Huiyin asked Li Cheng: "Did you ever save a round-faced maid named Aguo? You gave her father money to pay off his debts, and you gave her mother money for medical treatment?"
Li Cheng has a good memory: "It seems that this happened. Why?"
"What else? This guy treats his relatives as enemies?" Huiyin snorted coldly.
Li Cheng looked at her: "Where did you get this from?"
"I went out for some fresh air just now and met a big girl. She talked about how you helped her family and casually mentioned the matter between you and Yin Lifang. She just mentioned it briefly as if she wanted to provoke my anger. Fortunately, I kept my composure. Now that I have no secrets from you, I won't believe these nonsense." Huiyin disdains such childish tricks.
Li Cheng hugged Huiyin and knew who was behind this: "You said their methods were not very clever, so why do they like to do this?"
Huiyin shook her head: "You are wrong. If you and I were at odds with each other or I lost my temper and started to make trouble, wouldn't there be a gap between us?"
The key is that the couple now have no secrets from each other and are very frank with each other, so they won't be provoked by anyone's words. If they were a couple who were suspicious of each other, it would be a different story.
Li Cheng now feels that it is a great blessing for him to marry Huiyin.
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