53 Chapter 53

◎Second update◎

After Huiyin and Li Cheng left Jianye, Concubine Wu moved in with Concubine Wei. The King of Wei really respected the two concubines, which made Concubine Wu very satisfied. Life in the Huaiyin Palace was not easy. Most of the people in the palace went to curry favor with Zheng, and her grandson almost only listened to Zheng. She was alone and helpless.

Now Concubine Wu feels that she is alive again. She gets up early in the morning and the two concubines Yin and Xu prepare meals themselves, while the Princess of Wei serves soup with chopsticks. This is the treatment the old Concubine Wu wants.

"Old sister, Jing'er's mother is good at making fish sashimi, and Zhi'er's mother is good at making snacks. Although they are not as good as those made by the chefs, they are still their thoughtful gifts." Concubine Wei was very good at speaking.

After hearing this, Concubine Wu became even more self-pitying. Not only was her own son not close to her, but her grandson was also gradually alienating her. However, she did not realize that Concubine Wei was very kind to her son's two concubines, and was even considerate to the Princess of Wei.

After Concubine Yin had served the two dowager concubines, she and Princess Wei left. Normally, they would stay and talk, but now that Dowager Concubine Wu had arrived, it seemed that the two old sisters had a lot to say, so they took their leave first.

Usually, Concubine Yin would go to Princess Wei's place and sit for a while, but she didn't go these few days because Prince Huaiyin refused to take the daughter of the Huo family as his second concubine, which made the Huo family lose face. Princess Wei was feeling uncomfortable, so it was not convenient for her to go there either.

Returning to her own courtyard, she picked up her needle and thread and began to work. Then she heard that her sister Yin Liyi was coming over, so she quickly asked someone to serve tea and prepare snacks. She guessed what her sister wanted to say.

Sure enough, Yin Liyi came in and said with a smile: "I heard that Miss Huo didn't marry into the Huaiyin Palace. That's great."

Concubine Yin was speechless: "How can you say that? The Huo family is very angry, but they are ministers, and the young prince is of noble status, so they naturally can't say anything. They all say behind his back that the Zheng family is jealous."

"What they said is not wrong. Xun Rou, a grown girl, was killed by her. Sister, I know you never say bad things about others. But the most important thing for a woman is chastity, but she only seeks chastity from ruffians and bad guys. Such people are living so well now. I think it's not that the time for retribution has not come yet." Yin Liyi also has a daughter. If her daughter was treated like this in the future, she would definitely not be able to bear it. It would ruin a person's life.

Concubine Yin Ci wondered if her sister was really upset because of this incident. She felt that it was not the case at all, but because everyone had grown up and no longer had the affection they had when they were little. When her sister was little, she was the most lively, and almost all the boys were around her. Princess Wu was also very kind to them, but the past time was gone forever.

She looked at her sister and said, "It's so hard to come here, don't mention these things."

Yin Liyi was stunned for a moment, and looked at the calm Concubine Yin with confusion: "Sister, aren't you jealous? The young prince refused to take a concubine because of her?"

"What nonsense are you talking about." After hearing this at first, Yin Lifang found it unbelievable. Under the standard of taking a concubine being as easy as drinking water, it would be beneficial for Li Cheng to take in a concubine, especially a beautiful and talented Miss Huo. But later she found that she was too superficial. The Huo family was the maiden family of the Princess of Wei. The King of Wei had been asking Li Cheng to take the girl of the Huo family to Xuzhou. Was he intending to monitor him?

But I can't tell these things to my sister because she is not someone who can keep things to herself.

So, she sternly warned Yin Liyi: "Just take care of your own mind and stop thinking about the little prince all the time. Aren't you afraid that your husband will be jealous?"

"Sister, I just acted on impulse, please don't blame me. By the way, although the marriage between the eldest princess and the Wei family will not take place until a few years later, my husband said it is a good thing for you." Yin Liyi was still very concerned about her nephew's status.

According to the rules, if there is a legitimate heir, the eldest son will be the heir, and if there is no legitimate heir, the eldest son will be the heir. Li Jing is the legitimate heir. However, the King of Wei is indecisive, which is really frustrating.

Concubine Yin Ci smiled and said, "It's okay. The prince wants to bypass Jing'er and establish Zhi'er, but there is a lot of resistance. The civil and military officials in Jiangnan don't agree, and there is nothing he can do."

The clan law is on her side. Her brother-in-law and the young prince are both on her side. Seeing that Xu was sending gifts to the Huaiyin Palace and trying to curry favor with Zheng, it was all useless. This shows that the young prince is still the one who has the final say in the entire Huaiyin Palace.

Yin Liyi was completely relieved. Even a month later, she saw that the Princess of Wei was preparing a rich supply of colorful satin headdresses to send to Xuzhou. She thought that the relationship between the Prince of Wei and the Prince of Huaiyin was still inseparable. Now Zheng had made a stupid move and allowed someone to seize Qingzhou. The Zheng family and the young prince were at a rift, and it just so happened that what the Prince of Wei wanted was for Li Cheng to seize Qingzhou back.

To be honest, Huiyin also thought this matter was very strange. The area north of Jiahu Pass was occupied by the Zheng family, and these areas were originally occupied by the Lu family. The area south of Jiahu Pass was occupied by Li Cheng. Li Cheng had arranged enough people for defense and patrol, and all of them were soldiers he brought with him. His father had originally gone to the northwest to suppress the rebellion, but at this moment, he suddenly went south.

She held her belly and asked Li Cheng, "I always feel that this matter is difficult to understand. I know my father's character. He knows your strength and doesn't dare to use force lightly. As the saying goes, weapons are ominous tools, and they should be used only when necessary. He is not crazy."

Could it be that her father was bloated? Huiyin thought that was not the case and had to find out.

Li Cheng also thought so: "If it were the same as when I was a kid, I would just fight whoever it was, but I also want to find out the truth. Your father suddenly subdued so many soldiers, these people may not be convinced, I'm afraid he might deliberately make trouble."

"Well, as long as you know it in your mind." Huiyin said.

At this time, if Huiyin said that it was because he was her father and she should not hit him, Li Cheng might not listen. However, when she analyzed it from a practical point of view, saying that Zheng Fang was already in a state of panic and fighting on both the north and south fronts, which was totally inconsistent with the actual situation, Li Cheng could listen to her and felt that it made sense.

Life is so unpredictable. She had been in Jianye for so long and nothing happened, but as soon as she arrived in Xuzhou, Qingzhou was in crisis.

Li Cheng smiled and said, "Don't worry, you are so considerate and you are thinking about me wholeheartedly. I will definitely not let you down."

"This is a private conversation between us. You should focus on the important matters. I will also write a letter to my brother to ask him about the specific situation." Huiyin knew very well that if she wanted to improve her status, she still had to rely on Li Cheng.

If her father really became the emperor, she would at best be a princess, and her children would still have to take her husband's surname, so she would still be a woman from a different family and would have no power at all. But if she were the empress or the queen mother, she would still be the person with the highest status.

She didn't know what Li Cheng was thinking before, but now she is more and more certain, so of course she has to stand on his side.

After the two men had discussed it, Li Cheng ordered the soldiers guarding Jiahu Pass to restrain themselves and just defend.

This move made the King of Wei very dissatisfied. According to his idea, no matter whether Zheng Fang was sincere or pretending to fight, he should kill him while he was sick. What was Li Cheng doing?

Xie Jiuyi lowered his eyes and said, "Perhaps the young prince found this matter very strange and wanted to find out the truth. After all, the Zheng family and he are relatives."

From a friend's perspective, this sentence should not be said, but from a strategist's perspective, this sentence is necessary to say. From a man's perspective, he can understand, after all, the Zheng family is the young princess's family, but from the perspective of Jiangnan, if he has the power, he should try to kill Jizhou and divide the land.

The King of Wei was very pleased with Xie Jiuyi: "You are right. I don't think Yun Zhi is such a person, but he is too loyal and righteous."

"How about this, you go to Xuzhou in person and persuade him to start fighting directly."

Xie Jiuyi shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, I still have to go and guard Bohai. I was defeated there before in Qingzhou. If I go, I'm afraid Yunzhi will think I'm eager for revenge."

The King of Wei suddenly thought of someone.

**

The weather started to get hot. After Jing'er had dinner with Huiyin, Li Cheng took his son for a walk in the garden.

"After your son digested his food, he became hungry again..." Li Cheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Huiyin smiled: "Fortunately, I still have a small cookie here. I originally prepared it for myself to eat in the evening. Now I'll give it to him."

Jing'er took it and started eating it. He looked very nice while eating. But Huiyin saw a lot of dead skin around his nails and said to Li Cheng, "Your son is very strong. I saw him playing with those little toys. I couldn't even get them together, but he just pressed them in with his hands."

Both husband and wife like to talk about your son when they talk to each other.

Li Cheng actually didn't take the turmoil at the Jiahu Pass border seriously. In his opinion, it was clear that Pei Shuo wanted to surrender to him at that time. Zheng Fang was soft-hearted. When he became powerful in the future, he might be able to get his father-in-law to surrender to him. Otherwise, both Qing and Xu were his personal soldiers. Last time, Xie Jiuyi brought the King of Wei's troops. Now he wanted his people to confront his father-in-law. Li Cheng didn't move for the time being.

Furthermore, if Zheng Fang fails in Xiliang this time, he may not have the strength left, and he will have to fight me then. It would be even better if he surrenders to me.

If you start a war now, you will be the one who suffers.

Both husband and wife understood this truth. War is not just about fighting and killing. They also understand all kinds of psychology.

But Li Cheng still wanted to pay close attention to the war situation, so he went to the study first, but saw the King of Wei's confidant Hua Gan visiting. This person naturally advised Li Cheng to send troops as soon as possible.

Li Cheng said, "It's just a minor friction at Jiahu Pass. It's not to the point of panic. Please go back and tell the lord that the matter at Jiahu Pass has been settled. I have already written to Zheng Fang of Jizhou to see if it was his instigation or his subordinates acting on their own. Originally, there were people from the Lu family here. Maybe he was trying to stir up discord between the two sides. Let the lord wait a little longer."

Hua Gan thought that he was indeed powerless as the King of Wei had expected. Fortunately, he invited another person. He clapped his hands and saw a man in black clothes and a hooded man come in. Li Cheng looked up.

It’s her!

【Author’s words】

The second update is here.