7 Chapter 7

◎Li Cheng◎

After passing the border of Qingzhou, it took only a few days to reach Xuzhou. Xuzhou has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. It was originally occupied by Lu Wei for a short time. When Lu Wei was young, he liked to be a knight-errant. He often performed chivalrous deeds in Liangzhou, Suzhou and other places, and was very popular with the locals. Later, he made many military achievements. When he was dismissed halfway, he was fortunately recommended by Cui Xun, the general of Boling, the uncle of the Huaiyin King. Later, he took advantage of the death of the previous emperor and the illness of the current emperor to quickly take control of the government.

As Lu Wei entered the capital, he sent his subordinate Wang Song to take charge of Xuzhou. Wang Song was a man who was even more wicked than the governor of Qingzhou. He treated the soldiers and civilians of Xuzhou like slaves, built new platforms, and plundered beautiful women, which aroused public anger.

The King of Wei took advantage of the situation and sent the King of Huaiyin, Li Cheng, to seize this place. Although Li Cheng was young, he had grown up in the army for many years and was good at using troops. He was also good at winning by surprise. After driving away Wang Song's army, he guarded this place.

He is twenty years old this year, and has been guarding this place for less than a year, but he is full of energy.

After Li Cheng settled here, he did not live in Wang Song's mansion. He felt that it was too luxurious and exquisite, and it was easy for people to lose their ambitions by playing with things. Therefore, he chose to live in the palace of the former Prince of Donghai. The Prince of Donghai was the brother of the previous emperor. Because he had no children, his country was abolished after his death.

Huiyin was helped down from the horse by Nan Mama and the servants, and walked in with her head covered, unable to appreciate the scenery. She was unfamiliar with everything here, and Nan Mama and the others were no better than she was, although the palace sent two maids to take care of them, saying that one was Li Cheng's wet nurse, Chao Mama, and the other was a maid next to Li Cheng's grandmother, Concubine Wu Wang, known as Nanny Fan.

They both said, "The young prince has been waiting for the princess to come here for a long time. Unfortunately, someone from Xia Pi attacked, so the young prince led his troops there. Yesterday, he sent a message saying that it might take some time for him to return to complete the marriage. Please ask the princess to stay at the mansion first."

Nan's mother looked embarrassed, but since she was already on someone else's territory, she had to follow her husband's family's arrangements in everything.

Huiyin then stayed in the palace. It turned out that the Prince of Donghai was a person who loved planting flowers and plants, and all kinds of flowers and plants could be seen everywhere in the palace.

She likes the view outside the north window the most. There is a large pear tree not far away. The pure white flowers are refreshing in the hot summer. There are a few emerald banana trees planted next to the pear tree. Perhaps to make it less monotonous, there are vibrant, gorgeous and elegant crape myrtles planted under the window, dotted with scattered hostas.

These so-called neglects were actually nothing to her. Although Mother Chao and Nanny Fan were not very enthusiastic towards her, they did not deliberately hostile or bully her. The daily rations were sufficient, and the servants she brought with her were also arranged properly.

Nan's mother was very anxious: "Miss, is your aunt still fighting in Xia Pi? What if he doesn't come back? There is no such thing as a couple in the world delaying marriage. If it doesn't go smoothly at the beginning, it may not go smoothly in the future."

"Mom, people should not have too many expectations of others. For example, when my mother and Pei Shuo got married, they were so loving to each other. My mother even rode a horse to save people when she was pregnant for him, but what happened later? How did Pei Shuo treat my mother? In the end, it came to such a mess. If you love someone too much, it is easy to develop a possessive mentality, and then it is easy to go crazy." Huiyin had experienced her past life. At first, she did not know Li Heng's purpose. She really thought he had a special liking for her and fell in love with her at first sight. Later, she realized that all this sweetness was poisonous, so she decided on her own plan without hesitation.

Nan's mother sighed: "Sister, you are still young, but your thoughts are clearer than many adults. But I think you are just starting now, maybe there is still hope. Not every couple is the same, and not every man is like General Pei."

Huiyin smiled and shook her head, and reminded: "In the future, you should be careful about how you address each other. In Wei, the King of Wei is called the Great King, and the King of Huaiyin is called the Little Prince. In the future, you should stop calling me Miss or Miss. Just call me Princess. Just call me Little Princess in front of the King of Wei."

The title is very important. Although she and Li Cheng have not yet held a wedding ceremony and performed the wedding ceremony, they are already husband and wife in name.

She doesn't talk much to the people in Huaiyin Palace now. Sometimes, if you remain mysterious, others can't see through you and are afraid of you. Once you start asking questions, it is very likely that your eagerness will be exposed.

No one is born understanding these things. Only those who have made mistakes know how to change.

Ten days had passed unknowingly. The servants from the Zheng family who came with them were a little absent-minded. Huiyin was leaning on the couch reading a book very calmly. For the first time ever, it was Mother Chao who brought food over today.

Huiyin stood up to greet him: "Why did you personally deliver it today? Just let my maid bring it."

It is said that this Madam Chao is the wet nurse who has taken care of Li Cheng since he was a child. She usually lives in Jianye like Madam Fan. Now they have come here together to take care of things because Li Cheng is getting married.

Mother Chao smiled and said, "Princess, it is only natural for me to serve my master. I came here today to tell you that our young prince has sent a message that he will be back to get married within three days."

"So the little prince is coming back." Huiyin smiled, but she added, "Mother Chao, you are the little prince's wet nurse. If he has any reservations, you must tell me, so that I don't accidentally offend him."

Mother Chao had a kind face and spoke in the gentle voice of a southern woman, but her words were full of ulterior motives: "Don't be ridiculous, little princess. Our prince is not only magnanimous, but also a man who keeps his promises. Don't worry, I hope that you and your husband will live happily together."

Huiyin did not ask much, but simply said: "Then I will accept your good words."

Mother Chao originally thought Huiyin would ask a few more questions, after all, the little prince was very popular among all the girls and women in Wei. Some women even deliberately ate beans and farted to make him look at them. But the little princess didn't seem to be as interested in the little prince as she had imagined. She thought it might be because Zheng had never seen her own little prince.

If you see it, you will definitely be fascinated by it.

Lunch consisted of Xuzhou local dishes, especially a delicious Pengcheng fish ball soup. Huiyin was from the north and usually didn't like river fish, as she always thought they had a strong fishy smell. Even when eating the squirrel mandarin fish, the meat must not be too tender, otherwise, she would always feel that there was a fishy smell inside.

But these fish balls taste very refreshing. I heard that they are made from silver fish and have no fishy smell at all.

She drank one more bowl. Mother Chao, who was eating at the small table below, also secretly observed the little princess's etiquette. Seeing that she was not at all pretentious when eating, and ate with good manners, Mother Chao could not help but nod.

After Mother Chao brought the news, Mother Nan and others were obviously relieved.

Although Li Cheng was supposed to come back in three days, Huiyin didn't think he would come back on time, so Chao Mama and Fan Mama started to decorate the room. First, the bed was replaced with a red and gold wedding curtain with a four-happiness ruyi embroidered with a unicorn delivering a child. The four corners were decorated with pearls and long tassels were hung. There were several ruyi on the table, and a peony-painted gold dressing table next to it. The armchair and ottoman were covered with a wedding cloth with auspicious dragons and phoenixes.

A pair of copper crane lampstands were decorated with two dragon and phoenix candles as thick as a baby's arms, and even wedding cakes were bought.

"The little prince is back, the little prince is back..."

Huiyin was sitting aside reading a book when she heard the servants of the palace running around to tell others that something had happened. A moment later, Mother Chao came in and said, "Little Princess, please wash and dress up. The young prince will hold a ceremony with you tonight."

Mother Nan asked Le Yun and Fu Gui to come over and help her to do her makeup again. Perhaps the wedding date had been postponed for too long, and the people in the Zheng family had been holding back for a long time. They must let Li Cheng see that their daughter's identity as the most beautiful woman in Jizhou was not for nothing.

Her black hair was all tied up, with a pearl-inlaid golden dove in the middle of her bun, and gold-threaded gemstone swaying pendants on both sides, with pearl coral tassels and jasper tassels hanging down, making her look even more charming. After she stood up, she was helped by her servants to change into a bright red python brocade double-layered wide-sleeved shirt with large sleeves, and the cuffs were decorated with gemstone-like pomegranates, and a Hundred Birds Greeting to the Phoenix shawl, with twelve pieces of Hundred Children and Hundred Blessings Liuxian skirt, the tail of which was about five feet long and decorated with various colored rice beads, and the pendants on her waist made the pendants jingle when she walked, which was very pleasant.

…

It was a hot summer day. Li Cheng came back for a while and took off his armor after giving instructions to his subordinates.

Since the beginning of the march, Li Cheng has always been the first to charge into battle. This time, he was hit by an arrow on his right shoulder. Fortunately, the wound was not deep, but because he had been running all the way back, the wound was soaked with sweat and had rotted a lot. He gritted his teeth and asked the military doctor to come over and change the bandage for him.

The military doctor was once the royal doctor. Seeing this, he reminded him, "Young prince, the wound must not come into contact with water, and don't wear such heavy armor. Now that you have returned victorious, you can rest for a while."

Li Cheng hesitated for a moment and said, "I will take note of what you said, sir."

The military doctor saw the red decorations all around and whispered, "Young Prince, it's best not to drink alcohol, and don't have sex until you're well again..."

Li Cheng was stunned when he heard this.

After the military doctor left, Mother Chao came in.

Apparently, Mother Chao heard what the military doctor said, and hurriedly said, "Young Prince, can you let me talk to Madam Zheng? She should understand. You should focus on your health. Originally, this marriage was requested by the King of Wei, and you were not willing to marry her."

In Mother Chao's opinion, she had observed Zheng in the past few days and found that she was quiet and silent and not nosy. However, Zheng was not as good as the little prince who was raised by her breast.

Unexpectedly, Li Cheng said, "Mom, marriage is not a joke. I can have many women in the future, but she only has me as her husband. The wedding has been postponed for a few days. If she doesn't have sex yet, how will others see her?"

【Author’s words】

Chao (second tone)