66 Chapter 66

◎Second update◎

The time before the New Year is always the busiest, with the rent for the mansion, social interactions everywhere, and preparations for the palace's festival. Huiyin wishes she had three heads and six arms.

She was able to play with Jing'er before, but now she can't. It happened to be snowing, so Huiyin couldn't go to see her sons. She had to say to Fugui, "I have to settle the accounts today. Send a bowl of yam and beef soup to the Crown Prince and the Second Young Master, and tell their wet nurse to let the children rest early."

Fugui took the order and went down.

Huiyin thought of the Guo family's child and asked someone to send a bowl of walnut mutton soup. She continued to settle accounts. This kind of thing was done before. This year, the Cao family sent more gifts. The Cao family was really generous and sent a lot of jewelry. They said that it was designed by Cao herself. There was a crystal string in the middle with a jade fish in the middle. She liked it very much.

"I never thought Cao was so clever and skillful." Huiyin praised.

Mother Nan brought the ginseng soup and couldn't help but say, "In your eyes, everyone has their merits."

Huiyin took the ginseng soup, blew on it, and said again: "Mom, if people like you said don't look at others' strengths, but always look at their weaknesses, then no one can get along with them."

"Stop, stop, stop. Mom can never win over you." Seeing Huiyin drinking ginseng soup, Nan's mother was afraid that she would talk too much.

After drinking the ginseng soup, Huiyin felt warm. She yawned, asked someone to light the lamp, and continued to check the accounts. She didn't like to leave things overnight. If she didn't sleep, the servants didn't dare to sleep either. Fugui simply helped with the registration book, while Linglu and Lingjiu worked with needle and thread.

"You all go and rest first, I'll be here for a while." She urged the maids.

The maids all said no, so Huiyin had to let them open the snack box and eat what they liked while she continued to look at the account book.

It seemed to be snowing outside. The snow was as heavy as goose feathers. I wonder how cold it will be tomorrow morning? Huiyin thought that she might as well let Jing'er suspend her studies tomorrow to avoid freezing the child.

Even Xuzhou was snowing, and the snow in Beijing was even heavier. Deyin gradually became less talkative. At this time last year, Lianzhi and Yunzhi would accompany her to drink tea and enjoy the snow. Lianzhi was the most lively person, and she even made a small snowman and piled it in front of the door. Everyone gathered around the snowman and laughed.

Such days are gone forever, everything is gone, and no one seems to understand her loneliness.

Wei Liangdi is not so favored now. Now the prince is said to be fasting and praying, and the emperor is in poor health, so it is even more difficult for them to see each other. Her maidservant is pregnant and is about to give birth. She cannot tear her face with Yunzhi, otherwise people will say that she is incompetent in protecting the emperor.

Thinking of this, Deyin felt uncomfortable again.

Yunzhi was very happy. In the past, when she served others, she either stood, knelt or rested. The burning coal in the room was also the kind of black charcoal that made people feel irritated. Even for a close-fitting maid like her, life was not easy. Now she could lie comfortably on the couch, with a soft pillow on her back and a high-quality goose feather quilt covering her. She felt warm all over. Even if she died immediately, she would not feel any regrets.

Living like this now is a good life. Her life is tied to her belt. Even if it is taken away, it won’t matter. Think about the poor Lianzhi, who is really pitiful.

She touched her belly and thought that if she could give birth to a boy, it would be the best thing in her life.

Compared to Huiyin's busyness and Deyin's dejection, the Zheng family looked at each other in bewilderment.

When Ji saw the letter, she wanted to cry, but she held back her tears: "That's good, that's good. Fortunately, she didn't go to someone else. The Prince of Huaiyin is our son-in-law, not an outsider."

Zheng Wuheng stood up and said, "Brother, why?" After he said that, he sat down again. Even if he was the second in command here, he would not have much future if he did a good job. If he did not do a good job, he would be reprimanded.

People only live for a breath in this life. Recently, Huaiyin King Li Cheng's ambition has become more and more exposed. Not only has he seized Yuzhou, but now he is attacking Yanzhou. When Yanzhou's Song Laoer heard that he and the Wei family have been fighting fiercely recently, he wanted to suppress the Wei family.

"It's all my fault. I got angry when I saw that he couldn't even take down the bandits' lair, so the child died in anger." Zheng Fang still had a lot of feelings for Pei Shuo. After all, he had raised the child by his side for many years and he almost treated him as his own child.

Now that Pei Shuo is gone, he feels very regretful.

Ji sneered: "You must have been seduced by those little rascals. You can't even tolerate Shuo'er. It's better for him to leave. He won't bother you anymore."

Zheng Fang cried out that he was wronged: "I can definitely tell the difference between what is important and what is not. How could I be suspicious of Shuo Er because of others?"

Yes, he was worried that Pei Shuo would become too powerful and affect his son, but isn't this human nature? Pei Shuo was much older than Wu Hengda, and he was arrogant, so he must be unconvinced. In this case, he would naturally not praise him too much on weekdays.

But he really didn't make things difficult for Pei Shuo or scold him.

I really want to give up, but if I give up in this chaotic world, others will bully me. Only if I have a large territory and a lot of money and food can I raise troops and horses, and then I can become powerful.

The Zheng family was speechless for a moment.

At night in the Huaiyin Palace, there was a knock on the door. Li Cheng had set a curfew. He believed that if there was no curfew, the night would be filled with all kinds of people and no one knew who could sneak in.

At this moment, only with his own special warrant could the soldiers guarding the city open the door at night.

That night, lights suddenly lit up everywhere in the palace. When Huiyin saw Pei Shuo, she could hardly believe it: "Brother, I can't believe it's you."

Pei Shuo grinned, "Sister, I'm here to seek refuge with you."

He thought his sister would ask why, but Huiyin didn't say a word. She just said, "Brother didn't come to me to seek refuge. He came to help the prince. The prince has been eager to recruit talented people these years, and brother is one of our family members. He will definitely be valued by the prince in the future."

These words comforted Pei Shuo so much that the hardships along the way were really not worth mentioning.

Huiyin touched her nephew's head again and said, "It's getting late. I want to talk to my brother, but my sister-in-law and nephew are tired. Why don't we talk together tomorrow morning? It will be a good opportunity for your nephew to not have to go to school tomorrow. He must be happy. I will take care of you right away. Look, my brother's mouth is bleeding from blowing."

This group of people came from Jizhou with numerous difficulties and dangers. Pei Shuo sent people to contact Li Cheng who was fighting on the front line. Li Cheng was very quick to act. Even though he was fighting, he gave him a handwritten letter, asking him to settle down in Xuzhou first, and the two of them would talk again when he came back.

Soon, Huiyin had people clean up the yard, put out charcoal braziers, and boil hot water to be sent over. In short, she arranged everyone very properly.

Xin and the others were already tired and fell asleep as soon as they touched the pillow.

After they rested, Huiyin had actually guessed most of it, but she saved Li Cheng's face. In the past, the reason why Queen Mother Mi was so successful in Qin State was also inseparable from the support of her brothers. Originally, she was almost alone in Li Cheng's territory, except for giving birth to an heir, so she could only be driven by emotion towards Li Cheng.

If her brother and she support each other in the future, she won't have to live her life under the influence of men.

However, it is too early to say this.

Besides, Li Cheng was very nice to her and there was nothing wrong with it.

"Ask the kitchen to get two pig stomachs tomorrow morning, grind them clean, stuff glutinous rice and lotus seeds inside, and cook them until they are rotten. My brother loves to eat that, so you must make it." Huiyin ordered.

After giving the instructions, Huiyin lit a stick of benzoin and fell into a good sleep, thinking that she would have to get up early the next morning.

It was a dark night and before dawn, Huiyin began to count the furnishings in the warehouse, preparing to send them to her brother. She also asked the kitchen to prepare breakfast and was very busy.

When Pei Shuo's family of four got up, Xin received several fur coats. Nan's mother said, "Our princess hasn't worn this fox fur coat yet. It's made of Zhang fur. The princess said it's damp and cold in the south, so cold that it pierces your bones. She was afraid that you wouldn't get used to it, so she asked us to bring it here. This cloak was bought from the Sassanids. The princess said she wanted to give you something new to wear. We'll go to the flower hall to have dinner together later."

If Nan's mother was polite to Xin, Duo Peishuo was more familiar with her: "The princess had someone stew the pig's stomach last night. It's very rotten. I asked you to go quickly."

Pei Shuo was deeply moved by these heart-warming words, and he hurried over with his wife and children.

During the meal, Huiyin only encouraged them to eat and drink, and only asked about Ji's health.

"It has been a few years since I last came back from my mother's home. I don't know how they are doing."

Pei Shuo thought of his mother, his heart was like a knife, and he also had a trace of regret, but he thought that a real man should be brave enough to take responsibility for his actions, so why bother to be cunning, so he calmed down and said: "Dad and mom are in good health, and my sister-in-law has given birth to a boy, don't worry."

"Well, that's good." Huiyin didn't ask any more questions.

Pei Shuo's stomach was empty, so he ate two pig tripes in one breath, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and said, "This pig tripe is really well made."

"Yes, it's braised all night." Huiyin smiled and handed a foie gras spring roll to her nephew.

Seeing that the brother and sister were about to talk, Xin took the opportunity to take the children away first. Huiyin waited for Xin to leave before saying, "Brother, you came to seek refuge with the prince. As a sister, you and I live close to each other. I suddenly have someone to rely on. I am very happy. But..."

Pei Shuo came here full of enthusiasm, but when he heard his sister's hesitation, he became worried again: "Sister, is it possible that the prince is unwilling for me to seek refuge with him?"

"No, how could he not be willing? He is very willing. You are one of us, and you will be his confidant in the future, closer to him than anyone else. What I want to say is, brother, you have to show some real skills. The soldiers under our prince are all very strong, and they are good at both land and water. During these days, while the prince has not returned yet, you have to think about it yourself. By then, you will be capable and the prince's brother-in-law, so you will be very successful." Huiyin said with a smile.

Pei Shuo understood that his sister was trying to reassure him. She was afraid that he would get anxious waiting at home, so she let him have some time to think about how to gain people's trust.

Even if it's nepotism, you still have to have real ability so that you won't be looked down upon.