69 Chapter 69
◎Two chapters in one◎
When Li Cheng came back, it was already the end of the year. Huiyin had been spending less time with him than with her since they got married, and she even had someone sleeping beside her, which made her feel uncomfortable.
In the middle of the night, she sat up in surprise, and only lay down when she found out it was Li Cheng.
Li Cheng thought Huiyin was having a nightmare, and asked with concern: "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare? Dreams are always the opposite~"
"No, I didn't dream. I'm just not used to it. I usually sleep alone. You know I'm afraid of ghosts." Huiyin leaned into her husband's arms and told him her troubles.
Li Cheng said emotionally: "I am back now, right? You don't have to be afraid."
It must be very difficult for a wife to take care of the palace and deal with social relations when she is alone at home. She is also a human being, not a god. I don’t know how many times she has pondered those things that seem to be easy.
"But you still have to leave." Huiyin told the truth.
Li Cheng said awkwardly: "If possible, I would naturally like to take you with me, but women are not allowed to go to the military camp."
She was just talking about her worries, but she didn't expect that he really wanted to go by himself. She was even thinking of a way, but Huiyin quickly stopped him: "I don't want to go to the army at all. That's not the place for me. I can neither charge into battle nor do I know martial arts. I would be a burden if I went there. I just want to spend a few days with you to get used to it since I have no one to accompany me on weekdays."
Every time she has to speak so clearly.
Li Cheng felt a little embarrassed and quickly changed the subject: "I never thought that the Guo brothers would take advantage of others' misfortune. They are really courting death."
"That being said, we probably spent a lot of money to defeat Wei Duo and completely take over Yanzhou this time, so we should rest and recuperate." Huiyin fully realized the importance of money and food in this battle.
We can't always rely on these merchants in the future.
It is not a good thing to have everything in the hands of others.
Li Cheng nodded: "Of course, but we have reclaimed a lot of land. You see, the land we occupy is from large grain producers. I will also build a few grain warehouses this time so that we can allocate them when the time comes."
"You know more about what's going on outside than I do, namely the Cao family and the Jiang family. I've thought of a way to reward them. What do you think? The Cao family is most concerned about their daughter now. In fact, I have met Miss Cao once. She is pretty and smart. She has even had her engagement broken off before. It will be difficult to choose a good husband for her that will satisfy the Cao family completely. I think we might as well make a list of three people and let the Cao family choose by themselves. They can choose by themselves, and even if the marriage goes wrong in the future, it can't be blamed on us." She is well versed in human nature. If you give her a candidate and she still feels that the person is not good enough or even has some problems, she will blame the person who promised her the marriage. But if you let them choose by themselves, no matter what, they will never blame others.
Li Cheng disagreed: "I have already given the profits to the Cao family, why do you have to do this?"
Huiyin shook her head: "I have always helped when I can. If I find it troublesome, I will not ask. This time, the Cao family gave 100,000 dan of grain without saying anything. Mrs. Cao was overjoyed when she heard that I wanted to help Miss Cao find a marriage. If I go back on my word, she will probably be even more angry. As the master, we don't need to care about other people's feelings, but as the saying goes, water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it."
"Come on, come on, come on. I just said one sentence, but you retorted so many times. Let me ask you, which three people do you plan to choose?" Li Cheng said quickly.
Huiyin smiled and said, "I have a girl who wanted to marry an ordinary man and take care of her husband and children. But she regretted it after getting married. Since ancient times, Chang'e has loved young men. If a girl wants to get married, firstly, the man cannot be too old or ugly, and secondly, the conditions in her husband's family cannot be worse than those in her family. Only in this way can she be satisfied."
Li Cheng's eyes lit up with interest: "There is such a saying." He made random comparisons, saying that his appearance and age were just right, and his title was higher than that of the Zheng family. It seemed that he was a good candidate for a son-in-law.
"So I feel that the marriage that the Cao family wants must be one that will bring them honor, so I actually found a few people. One is the local wealthy family, the Liu family. This young master Liu's ancestors were royal family of the previous dynasty, and the great-grandfather and empress of this dynasty were also from his family. Later, his family fell into poverty and became a student of the Imperial Academy. He is the only son in his family. His family owns two shops facing the street and 50 acres of paddy fields."
Li Cheng thought to himself that this was a family whose ancestors had been wealthy in the past, and who were now barely living off their ancestors' glory, but whose fortunes were already on the decline.
Then Huiyin said, "The second one is the younger brother of Xie Qian, the governor of Wu County. Although he is from the Xie family of Chen County, he is a concubine's son. You also know that although the law states that all sons should share equally when a concubine's son divides the family property, in reality they don't get much. If he can marry a rich daughter-in-law, he won't have to worry about his next life."
A bastard's son and a merchant's daughter, who should not be disdained or abandoned? The woman married into a noble family and gained status, and the man married the woman and gained practical benefits, which was indeed good.
"The last one was also a concubine. His status was not as high as Guo Zhao's. He was a judicial officer in this state. His mother and I got along well, but Madam Miao told me that he killed his two wives."
Li Cheng nodded: "If I'm not mistaken, the one you really want to introduce is the one in the middle."
Seeing Li Cheng's words, Huiyin nodded secretly: "It all depends on what the Cao family thinks."
Mrs. Cao came here at Huiyin's invitation, so Huiyin and she certainly wouldn't tell her everything, but she also talked about the strengths and weaknesses of each of the three people. Mrs. Cao would of course discuss it with her family when she returned.
But he said that the Cao family was rich and was better at finding out about people than Huiyin. Soon, the information of the three people was presented.
The head of the Cao family said to Madam Cao, "These three marriages are indeed not bad. The first one, Young Master Liu, is a descendant of the royal family of the previous dynasty. He is very handsome and talented. His academic achievements are outstanding in the Imperial College. His uncle is a military officer in Xuzhou. However, his family only has two small shops and a few acres of thin land."
"If Young Master Liu is so handsome, it wouldn't matter if we give him a larger dowry." Mrs. Cao remembered that her daughter's engagement was broken off, so it was good for her to find a first marriage partner.
Then the head of the Cao family said, "The second one is the younger brother of General Xie, who became famous in the battle in Wu County. He is only eighteen years old. The Xie family is from a large family in Chen County. Young Master Xie is a child of an aristocratic family. He is very good-looking and is known as the Beauty of Wu County."
Mrs. Cao's smile deepened. Mr. Xie's conditions were better than those of Mr. Liu.
Finally, the head of the Cao family said, "The other one is a judicial officer of this state, also from a wealthy family, but he killed two wives, which is not good."
Madam Cao counted on her fingers and said, "The princess also told me that these few are not the best, but she can only choose these few."
Marriage is a union of two families. At least the three chosen by the princess are almost all sons of noble families. They are not like Jiang Bibo, who married into a poor family and became someone else's concubine.
The Cao family patriarch said, "I think the judicial officer is fine. I've had a drink with him before, and he's very free and easy to talk with. He's a decent person, but he's unlucky with his wife."
Mrs. Cao wanted to find one herself because Huiyin told her not to think that the introduction from the palace was necessary, as it was related to her daughter's life. She didn't consider the judicial officer anymore, so what about Mr. Liu and Mr. Xie? She said without thinking, "I think Mr. Xie is good."
"I think so too. The Xie family is stationed in Wu County. The Hu family of Wu County made such a generous move this time, isn't it all for business? If we marry into the Xie family, it will be easier for us to do business in Wu County. What's more, with our daughter's current reputation, she can marry into the Xie family of Chen County, which can be regarded as a slap in the face of Xie Jiuyi." The head of the Cao family was still a little angry when he mentioned Xie Jiuyi.
Madam Cao thought that although her daughter was a virgin, Master Xie was good-looking, a son of an aristocratic family, and a first-time bride, so her daughter had the upper hand. This was probably arranged by the princess. Otherwise, they would most likely marry into a poor family like Master Liu, and might not be as talented as Master Liu.
After Mrs. Cao made her selection, Huiyin sent someone to pass the message to Xie Qian's wife, Mrs. Zhao, and then she selected a pair of jade ruyi, and an official sent them over with an ice mirror for Miss Cao to add to her makeup.
Both sides were very happy. Madam Xue said to Xue Huanhuan at home, "This princess is really smart. I heard that Xie Qian's wife, Mrs. Zhao, always felt that her younger uncle spent too much, but Xie Qian didn't say anything because of the brotherhood. But Mrs. Zhao was very dissatisfied. Now that the second son of Xie is getting married and has a rich wife, she can't spend as much money as them. She is not very happy. Although Miss Cao's previous marriage was broken off and it had nothing to do with her, her reputation is still bad. Now she can marry the younger brother of General Xie, who is talented and romantic, which can be regarded as a good marriage."
Xue Huanhuan couldn't help but say, "That's true, but the daughter of the Cao family used to be someone's concubine, but now she's the wife. Isn't that a pity?"
"Who made the Cao family rich? The last time the prince attacked Yanzhou, the Cao family made great contributions several times. Our princess is just returning the favor. Besides, if she gave Miss Cao to the prince as a marriage, or married her to her brother, it would be unworthy of the position. But the one in question is the second son of the Xie family, who is a concubine's son, and no one else would be biased." Mrs. Xue analyzed.
Jealousy is a bad thing. Often the person involved doesn't think it's a big deal, but people around her think she has a problem.
The princess also has a group of people around her who would be dissatisfied if they saw her being too friendly with a merchant girl.
Xue Huanhuan said: "Then I would like to thank our Xue family for taking me here."
If the Xue family wasn't a big local family, how could she have come from Jianye.
再說曹姑娘隔着屏風見了謝二公子一面，見他的确不愧美郎稱呼，又有世家子的氣度，心中滿意了十分，這次自己可是去做正頭娘子的，那小妾被退的羞辱，仍舊是她的錐心之痛。
謝二公子原本心中有三分不願意，那曹姑娘再有錢，曹家如今被淮陰王授予官商稱謂，到底有瑕疵，可他遠遠見了拿着白纨扇的曹姑娘一眼，骨頭都酥了半邊，又見曹家家主手闊，曹家之氣派，也就同意了。
兩家如何熱鬧的結親，如何滿意暫表不停，徽音這邊在年後開春了，在李澄的陪同之下騎馬散心，沒想到許久不騎了，把腰扭了。
“輕點，輕點，我都不能動彈了。”徽音平躺在床上，起身就疼。
李澄本來還想夫妻暢快騎馬一場，畢竟當年徽音騎馬他是看在眼中的，只是沒想到出了意外，他一邊烤着膏藥，也是覺得妻子其實很柔弱，只是她很少在自己身邊示弱，旁人常說久病床前無孝子，他得好好表現一二才行。
哎，不對，他不是孝子，是好夫君。
膏藥貼上之後，徽音捏着鼻子：“好臭，平日我屋裏的人若是貼膏藥，我都不讓她們近身服侍，就是有這股怪味，特別薰鼻子。”
“那不貼不成啊，我說請大夫過來替你正骨，你又不願意。”李澄還把已經貼緊的膏藥又按了一下。
被徽音打掉他的手：“力氣太大了。”
李澄倒是難得好脾氣，正欲說話，外面說裴朔過來了，他又拍了拍徽音的手，立馬出去見內兄。
這裴朔來了一年左右，每次李澄交代的事情他都是竭力完成，從不在自身的毀譽，也不拿架子，和宇文當他們這些李澄曾經的屬下也相處融洽。
“坐吧，怎麽有事過府來？”李澄道。
裴朔則拿起一封信過來道：“這是家父來信，冀州告急。”
李澄挑眉。
鄭放也沒想到這些土匪後面的人是石崇，土匪們已經是此起彼伏，到處串聯，怎麽都無法消滅。他猜測背後之後有石崇的影子，但太子對石崇一味偏袒，鄭放現下有些心力交瘁。
“我總覺得就是石崇，可他是怎麽鼓動那些土匪的呢？”鄭放想不明白。
鄭無恒卻是年輕，敢想敢幹：“爹，現下您在冀州主持事務，兒子親自去剿匪，我還不信我對付不了這些人了。”
對兒子鄭放是不希望他冒險的：“你哥哥這一走，倒是跟着你二姐夫立了大功了，你二姐夫又把兖州占了。他有他的前程，我膝下卻只有你一個兒子，爹再去就是了。”
“爹，兒子怎麽能讓您老去，兒子又不是瓷娃娃，若您總這般，将來兒子還會被人瞧不起。”鄭無恒自從裴朔離去，人也着實成長許多，無論是庶務，還是武藝兵法都是翹楚。
鄭放心中總有個想法：“兒子，不如咱們也去投奔你姐夫算了。”
他當然有雄心壯志，尤其是在殺了呂威之後，似乎有統領天下之決心，但現在卻是力不從心起來。
所以，才能脫口而出此話，畢竟李澄的确有能力，居然把衛铎都打跑了，況且李澄也是宗室，皇上看着就不成了，太子繼位，位置也不知道能不能坐穩，自己得先下手為強。
鄭無恒羞恥道：“爹，我們坐擁冀州這麽一塊好地，卻棄舍下之民不顧，去人家那裏做臣屬？這是何道理？我們冀州在，也是給姐姐撐腰，一股腦兒的都去了，難免讓姐夫看輕。”
被兒子這麽一說，鄭放也不惱，他是道：“你姐夫乃吳王之子，手握實權，當今天子早已命不久矣，那太子登上皇位也不知道能不能坐穩，與其如此，還不如咱們另投他人。”
鄭無恒總覺得父親這樣說不妥，俗話說寧為雞頭不為鳳尾，若姐夫有難，需要相助，他也願意幫忙，可幾個人好好地，卻非要去投靠人家，簡直就跟那等好手好腳還去要飯的人強。
于是，他不聽父親之言，特地點兵去絞殺這些人。
鄭放無法，不放心兒子，也要一起前去。好在鄭無恒雖然年少，但卻是有勇有謀又仔細之人，如此故意誘敵深入，弄了幾個活口回來審訊，才知道是石崇的人。
鄭放想到這裏，當然提溜着人去見石崇，那石崇哪裏敢認，非說是鄭放記恨石崇搶了他的差事故意誣陷。鄭放和鄭無恒又去見太子李珩，李珩裝聾作啞，他已經得知鄭家父子被賊匪鬧的不安，甚至損兵折将，他早欲奪取冀州，此時嘴上安撫，其實心底早已準備行動。
當下，鄭無恒不妨卻被人軟禁，鄭放仗着一口氣突出重圍，寫了一封信，讓親衛送去徐州。
他又吹了吹哨，冀州軍過來，救下鄭無恒回去。戰事一觸即發，李珩命石崇奪取冀州，石崇早已躍躍欲試，鄭無恒卻覺得是奇恥大辱，因此在和石崇對陣時，奮力搏殺。
……
又說德音這裏，雲枝因曾經是鄭家舊仆，鄭家對其有恩義，她此番又有了身孕，也打聽到外頭的事情，故而悄悄來告訴德音。
德音見雲枝過來，心情就不好：“你如今有了身孕，若是在我這裏出了何事？我也擔待不起。”
那雲枝聽她這樣說，也不生氣，只是道：“我是來告訴良娣，太子派人去打冀州了，良娣這些日子可要警醒些。”
“什麽？你莫不是哄我的吧？”德音不敢相信，前世父兄可都是幫太子打李澄的啊，怎麽現在全部反過來了。
雲枝見德音這裏的宮女進來，就笑道：“那就多謝良娣叮咛我了，我一定好好照料肚子裏的孩子。”
德音其實是已經相信了雲枝的話，到了下半晌，衛良娣又借故教訓了她的兩名宮人，那些譏諷敲打的話，讓德音都完全麻木，只能裝沒聽到。
如今她過的甚至不如雲枝了，雲枝有女兒在何皇後那裏，又懷了孩子，自己沒有子嗣，如今倚仗的家世也沒有了，甚至寵愛都沒了。
她突然想起前世父兄去打李澄，李澄仿佛也沒讓人作踐過自己，他只是不寵她，但是沒有針對她。
她想她要是有嫡親的兄弟就好了，若沒有，就不該嫁給太子，還不如嫁一登對的世家子弟，可惜這般想來已經晚了。
……
又說徽音養傷時，璟兒倒是很孝順，時常過來，小兒子瞻兒也過來她這裏玩兒。
璟兒今年快六歲了，他已經開始學騎馬了，正興致勃勃道：“娘親，爹爹教兒子騎馬，舅舅在旁邊護着，兒子以為自己會摔下來呢，沒想到穩穩當當的。”
“你怕不怕？”徽音掰了一瓤橘子給璟兒。
璟兒立刻搖頭：“兒子才不怕呢，兒子要好好騎馬，将來跟爹爹一起打仗。”
“好兒子，有志氣。”李澄進來，摸了摸兒子的頭，又對身邊的乳母道：“把世子帶下去吧，我和王妃有事要說。”
腰扭到，躺了三天，她其實已經好的差不多了，這期間李澄真的是鞍前馬後，比下人還周到，甚至伺候她吃喝，扶着她出恭，她都不好意思，他卻甘之如饴的。
這時間李澄神情肅穆了一些，徽音不免道：“你這是怎麽了？”
李澄只好道：“太子說是你父親剿匪不利，以至于百姓受苦，讓你父親交出權來，你父親不肯，讓石崇攻打冀州。”
“什麽？”徽音有些擔心，她看着李澄道：“你是緣何知曉的？”
李澄就說是鄭放讓親兵送給裴朔的，他正道：“我與你家結秦晉之好，你家被打，原本我該去的，但是我若不告你父親兄弟，帶着兵前去，別人恐怕還以為我是貪圖土地，故意以救援之名而長驅直入。”
“那不如我寫一封信，若他們要援助，咱們再派人過去也不遲？”徽音知道他的言下之意了。
此時，李澄根本都不知道鄭放早已想投靠于他，他錢糧倒是足夠，去歲三家富戶購買的糧食還有許多。
但是他幫一次算白幫，若日後，他也不能總為人家的土地去奮戰。
李澄聽徽音說完，回過神來：“好，你寫吧，我讓人快些送過去。”
嘉浒關對徐州現下經商是開放的，兩家畢竟是姻親，與別家不同，徽音讓親兵帶着自己的信交付給鄭放或者鄭無恒手上。
鄭放很快就收到徽音寫的信，見女婿仁義，還說過來自備糧食，需何處支援，他立馬就把信給鄭無恒看。
鄭無恒拿着信道：“父親，姐姐的意思是說姐夫來幫我們嗎？”
“是啊，淮陰王真乃仁義之人，這個女婿我是真的沒看錯。”鄭放如此道。
李珩早已眼饞冀州許久，如今派石崇來，又串聯盜匪裏應外合，鄭放和鄭無恒只覺得來勢洶洶，父子二人苦戰倒也成，但是軍民損傷不可避免。這些鄭放不在意，但是他又聽聞衛铎也要幫太子過來，父子二人稍稍合計之後，就帶兵直接與李澄會合。
Li Cheng originally planned to go to Qingzhou from Xuzhou very quickly, and he specially sent Pei Shuo to be the vanguard just to help. However, he did not expect to meet Zheng Fang and his son on the way, and behind him were the family of Madam Xu of the Ji family and many soldiers.
Before Li Cheng could say anything, Zheng Fang dismounted and knelt, saying, "My lord, I, Zheng Fang, am willing to offer Jizhou to you. I wish you to achieve your great cause soon."
This father-in-law seemed too savvy and too skilled at this. Li Cheng seemed to have not yet reacted.