Chapter 77
◎Two chapters in one◎
"Eat slowly, slowly." Yin Lifang felt uncomfortable seeing her son wolfing down his food.
Xie Jiuyi was framed and defeated, so she immediately fled with her son and her guards. The days of fleeing were not easy, and she was afraid that she would be caught by Xu Cifei's men or Wei Duo's men, and there would be no way to survive. So she thought of Li Cheng. When King Wu died, King Wei took Li Cheng in. With this incense relationship, it was reasonable for Li Cheng to take them in.
However, before they even arrived in Xuzhou, they encountered many difficulties. It was only with great difficulty that they were taken in by her husband's old subordinates and were able to have a hot meal.
Li Jing picked up another piece of wild rabbit meat and said, "Mother, this rabbit meat is so delicious."
Yin Lifang smiled and said, "It's fine as long as you are used to it. There's also braised pork with pork belly. You used to think braised pork belly was too greasy, so you would boil it with high-quality tea leaves and blanch it to remove the greasiness. It tastes good now, right? Look, there are pickled mustard greens underneath."
…
What Yin Lifang and her son said reached the ears of Xu Shao, Xu's uncle. He said to his wife, "When the King of Wei was alive, the King of Yuzhang was a dragon and a phoenix. Now he is like a beggar."
Madam Xu said, "We need to tell the prince about this as soon as possible. We are from the same clan, so we should always consider the relationship between us."
"I'm just afraid that the prince will not agree. You know, many of Prince Huaiyin's subordinates were formerly subordinates of Prince Wei. If Prince Yuzhang comes, it will be difficult to choose between the old master and the new master?" Xu Shao also had his own considerations.
Unlike Madam Xu, they were knowledgeable. Therefore, Xu Shao said, "I will ask my brother-in-law to speak for us. If something goes wrong, it won't be our fault. If the King of Huaiyin is kind and righteous, he will definitely reward us."
Madam Xu smiled and said, "Concubine Yin said that she had a past relationship with the prince. I have asked someone to prepare some clothes for her. I want her to take good care of herself for a few days before she goes to see the prince."
Zheng Fang felt that he had gained a little weight recently. He yawned when he woke up early. He had no patience for fishing, but he had time for eating fish. Relying on the fact that he was the father-in-law of the King of Huaiyin, he had many banquets to entertain.
Today, he heard that someone prepared a fish banquet for him. After washing up in the morning, he was about to go out. Ji told him, "Don't be greedy. There has never been a good banquet since ancient times. If someone asks you for a favor, don't agree."
"You think I'm stupid."
"You are not stupid, you are just greedy." Ji said bluntly.
Zheng Fang was speechless: "What a fool you are, old woman. Yes, they hired me for the sake of their son-in-law, but I can also help to see what these people need and what they are planning. It is not impossible to tell my son-in-law. Besides, what am I greedy for? I have no power."
Ji looked at him and said, "You have no power, but your sons and sons-in-law do. If someone holds a handle against you and forces you to do something, will you not do it? I tell you the truth, it is my daughter who asked me to remind you. Otherwise, I would not care about you."
In the past, Ji relied on Zheng Fang for everything. Later, when her son grew up, he could talk to Zheng Fang on an equal footing without having to choose his words carefully. Now that her daughter is supporting her, she is not afraid of anyone.
Zheng Fang then turned around and looked at her: "Okay, okay, I ate the fish, so I'll pee right away, okay?"
"If you want to eat anything, we have everything at home. Why go out?" Although Ji said this, she also knew that he was a restless person, so she prepared a purse for him.
Zheng Fang pinched the small change in the purse, knowing that it was for him to reward people. Knowing Ji's good intentions, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will be back after I finish eating."
Ji knew that this old loach was brave but not strategic in battle, but as a smart person like a loach, so he didn't say anything.
After Zheng Fang left, his daughter-in-law Cui Yuehuan and her sister came to pay their respects. Ji quickly asked them to get up and said, "Second Madam, just accompany Auntie and have fun."
Cui Yuehuan smiled and said, "My sister has already found a house here and was about to say goodbye to us. I couldn't keep her here, and she wanted to say goodbye to you, Madam, so I brought her here."
It turned out that Brother-in-law Zhang had already found a house and was about to take Mrs. Zhang out. Although the Zheng family was a good place, it was a temporary residence after all, and Mrs. Zhang did not feel comfortable living there.
Ji tried to persuade her to stay a few more times and invited people to set the table again, as a favor to Madam Zhang.
But Li Cheng had heard that Yin's mother and son had come. He actually hoped that Yin's mother and son would find a chance to hide and live a good life. Because Li Jing did not have the ability to do anything, if Yuzhang Wang had come to him when Wei Wang died, he could have taken him in. Later, when Wei Wang died, Yin's mother and son wanted him to be a vassal. Now she and her son came because they were desperate, and they were eager to share food from him bowl. How could this be possible?
The King of Wei used him as a steward and let him manage the palace, and almost all the good things were taken by his relatives. Later, it was because his relatives were not rich that they sent me to take Xuzhou, and then forced me to marry into the Zheng family. Although Huiyin and I hit the jackpot, according to the King of Wei's own thinking, wasn't it that he first used the marriage with the Zheng family, and then knew that I hated the character of the Zheng family, so there would definitely be discord between husband and wife in the future.
He did not blame the King of Wei, because if they were in each other's shoes, the King of Wei would be afraid that he would become too powerful. Similarly, he did not want the King of Yuzhang to become too powerful.
Just when I thought of this, I heard that Zheng Fang had arrived. Li Cheng asked someone to invite him over.
Zheng Fang had come here after a fish feast, and his face was still reeking of alcohol. He just smiled and said, "I heard something new from the Xu family yesterday. I wanted to come and tell you earlier, but I was afraid that you would need to rest in the morning, so I came just now."
"Oh, what's the news? Father-in-law, please tell us." Li Cheng asked Zheng Fang to sit down.
Zheng Fang glanced at Li Cheng and just smiled and said, "It's strange, Xu Shao picked up a child on the road and said that he looked like Prince Yuzhang. He didn't dare to take the initiative and wanted to ask the prince to go over and identify him."
Li Cheng was about to refuse, but an idea suddenly occurred to him, so he smiled and said, "Prince Yuzhang? Last time I heard that he was missing in Yangzhou, how come he ended up in Xuzhou?"
Seeing that he looked relaxed, Zheng Fang couldn't help but say, "I don't know about that. In my opinion, this little kid must have been frightened by Wei Duo. You just need to send someone to send him back to Yangzhou."
Li Cheng knew very well what his father-in-law meant, which was to take over Yangzhou by taking advantage of the opportunity to send Prince Yuzhang, just as the King of Wei had done in the past.
However, what he wanted was not just Yangzhou, but the whole world.
"I know about this, and thank you, father-in-law, for telling me." Li Cheng raised his head.
Zheng Fang immediately looked for an opportunity to say goodbye.
Soon Li Cheng went to see Huiyin and told her about this matter: "What do you think?"
"If you send him away, it will be bad. After all, King Wei once took you in. If you abandon his son, you will be an ungrateful person. What's more, King Yuzhang is your cousin. If you stand idly by, how can your subordinates dare to work for you?" Huiyin said.
Just like if she treated the maids around her harshly, who would dare to work for her?
Now the area that Li Cheng is in charge of is large, and with a large area, there are more people, and with more people, it is easy for them to have mixed feelings. If someone were to instigate and say that Li Cheng is taking his relatives as his enemies, his subordinates would definitely think that he is a heartless and ungrateful person.
Li Cheng said, "You have always disliked the Yin sisters, but I didn't expect that you are more tolerant than me at this time."
"I know you came to ask me specifically because you care about my feelings. In my opinion, it would be most appropriate for Concubine Yin and her son to live in our house. However, they are the widow of King Wei, and King Yuzhang and we are not from the same faction. So, I would like to invite them to live in Shuixiu Villa. What do you think?" Huiyin said.
If we let them move in, Yin Lifang will not be a law-abiding person, and they are not normal relatives.
Li Cheng shook his head: "No need, I only told this to one person. Originally I wanted to use Wei Duo's brutal killing of the crown prince to start a rebellion, but I can't always wait to reap the rewards, so I thought of using Prince Yuzhang to use this incident to attack Wei Duo, and use it to take over Jianye and Yangzhou."
"Then what do you think?" Huiyin actually thought Li Cheng's idea was good.
Li Cheng added, "I am also afraid that if I leave Prince Yuzhang in our house, some people will take advantage of my attack on Jianye and then lose the rear and set up another camp, so I will take Li Jing with me to the front. This way, I will feel relieved, and at the same time, it will prevent the Jianye gang from making any rash moves. As for Yin Lifang, why not send her to accompany the Concubine Dowager?"
After hearing this, Huiyin laughed and said, "You are very stingy."
Huiyin knew what Yin Lifang was planning, and Li Cheng seemed to know it too. Li Cheng was no longer in the palace, so Yin Lifang was just flirting with a blind man, and at the same time, her contact with the outside world was restricted.
Li Cheng thought for a moment and said, "I can't just sit back and watch. It's enough for me to recuperate now. This year, our granaries are quite abundant. I'm going out too. If I can take over Yangzhou and then go south to take over Jingzhou, I can directly become the emperor in the future."
"It's good that you have this ambition, but you must act with caution." Huiyin was a little worried.
Li Cheng smiled and said, "I always wear the breast protection you gave me, don't worry."
Living in a remote corner and without training for a long time, the people and soldiers have become unfamiliar with each other. Huiyin agrees.
It was also said that Li Cheng had asked the Xu family to send Yin's mother and son over that day. Yin Lifang put on yellow flowers in front of the mirror, changed into brand new clothes, and said to Li Jing: "Then you should get closer to your cousin."
Li Jing is no longer a child. He always feels that his mother's way of dressing is inappropriate and somewhat humiliating, but he cannot control his own life.
After the Xu family heard what Zheng Fang said, they didn't expect someone to come so soon. Xu Shao and his wife thought they were a rare treasure and treated Yin's mother and son even more affectionately and respectfully.
"Xu Sicheng, don't worry. As long as there is a day for our mother and son, there will be a day for you." Yin Lifang also promised the Xu family.
Now the only person she could catch was the Xu family. If the Xu family wanted to make a profit from the rare commodity, she would just give them the chance.
Ji also knew about the big fuss. She had just heard it from Zheng Fang. Madam Xu also mentioned that Li Cheng and Yin Lifang were originally engaged, which made Ji even more angry.
Xin and Cui Yuehuan were both sitting downstairs. Cui Yuehuan was really worried. They all depended on Huiyin. If her position was threatened, they would suffer as well. But Xin was sympathetic on the surface, but she felt happy in her heart. Ji had not helped her before with Dong's matter. Now that it was her daughter's turn, she became anxious. Didn't she deserve to be slapped in the face?
"Madam, don't worry. Our prince and princess have a good relationship. I think these words are just spread casually by others in the past." Xin comforted.
In fact, Cui Yuehua had heard about it before. Princess Wu and her family had mentioned it, but how could she bring herself to speak of it now? She only said, "Madam, why don't we go to the palace and take a look?"
"The princess values her reputation the most, so we should not make things worse." Ji knew her daughter well. She had her own ways and was unwilling to show weakness to others.
Cui Yuehuan said quickly: "Yes, Concubine Yin is still the elder of the prince. The prince is a man who will never let anyone talk about him."
"Yes, the prince is a really good person, he is so self-disciplined." Thinking of this, Ji breathed a sigh of relief: "My daughter is still very lucky. I know that the prince is a kind of person. Even the imperial examinations are very strict, and he will not show leniency to relatives. Some rumors are just to confuse us, you don't have to believe them too much." Ji thought it through and understood.
Cui Yuehuan smiled and said, "Yes, my daughter-in-law thinks so too."
After the two daughters-in-law left, Cui Yuehuan invited Xin to come sit with her. Xin said, "I have many things to do at home, so I won't stay any longer. I'm sorry, sister-in-law."
"Sister-in-law, what you said is just alienating me." Cui Yuehuan didn't expect Xin to really come over.
The two of them exchanged a few polite words and returned to their room. Nanny Rong had someone bring tea and said, "Your mouth has become dry from talking so much these days in the upper room. Drink some tea to moisten your throat."
Cui Yuehuan took the tea and couldn't help laughing, "I think the eldest sister-in-law is still angry with Mrs. Dong. She seems to be blaming the Madam too. She used to be so affectionate when asking the Madam for things, but now her attitude is much more distant."
"That's right. Actually, the eldest lady's life is easier. Mrs. Dong brought such a large sum of money, but she has no children. So all the money went to the eldest master, and all the money from the eldest master was left to her son." Nanny Rong couldn't understand it either.
Cui Yuehuan said, "Maybe it's because Mrs. Dong is too good. She doesn't fight or compete. She just wants someone to rely on. If she has a hidden knife behind her smile, it's fine. I think she is really an honest person. My uncle is different from my husband. My husband is sincere and passionate about everyone. He went to train in the navy for half a year and didn't come back. My family prepared a girl for him, but he didn't like it."
Nanny Rong said, "But you can't blame the madam for this. The madam even went to the princess for this matter. The princess is a rare person who knows what's going on. Why would she care about her brother's bedroom affairs?"
"That's right. If she really didn't want to do it, why didn't she just talk to her uncle herself? She kept pushing this and that, and it made me upset."
Nanny Rong passed another ginger plum over and said, "Why bother with her? She thinks she is smart. Don't let the princess see through her."
Speaking of the princess, Cui Yuehuan said, "Mammy, tell me the truth, why do you think the prince wants to take care of the mother and son of the Yin family? Is it really because he is a good person?"
Nanny Rong knew very well that Yin Lifang and Li Cheng were real cousins.
But she couldn't tell anyone about this, so she just pretended to be deaf and dumb and said she didn't know.
It was also said that Concubine Wu had liked Yin Lifang when she was in the Prince of Wei's Palace. Now that she saw Yin Lifang and Li Jing's mother and son coming over, she personally asked Nanny Fan to help them up.
Seeing this, Huiyin said, "The prince said he didn't know that you and your son had fallen on hard times. I didn't expect that by such a coincidence, you were found by the Xu family."
"Yes, it's really fair. Fortunately, my mother and I met the prince and princess, and we have a place to live." Yin Lifang had come to Huaiyin Palace once a long time ago because of Prince Wei's persuasion. At that time, she had not looked at Huaiyin Palace carefully, but now she saw that it was not smaller than Prince Wei's Palace.
It was already night, but the place was brightly lit, with servants everywhere. Not to mention the carved beams and painted buildings, there were also glass lanterns, lotus candlesticks, crystal curtains, white jade steps, the finest light gauze embroidered screens with beauties, and famous calligraphy and paintings...
These were things she was used to. When she went to Yangzhou, it was not as good as Jianye. Living in Xu's house was even more cramped, not to mention the panic when rushing on the road. When Yin Lifang saw such a magnificent and extremely wealthy place again, it seemed like it was just yesterday.
Huiyin asked them to sit down and then invited Li Jing to go out for dinner.
Li Jing glanced at Yin Lifang subconsciously, and Yin Lifang said to him, "Go ahead."
There were all kinds of food on the table, and maids kept bringing in dishes. The most interesting one was crab stuffed with orange, which was cooked with superb craftsmanship.
Even that night, Yin Lifang stayed at Concubine Wu's place, which was very nicely decorated, with a high bed, soft pillows, and lingering fragrance. The beautiful maids who were called in to serve her were also pleasing to the eye.
"Here, this is a reward for the two of you." Yin Lifang was not stingy in this regard. She gave out two thumb-thick gold hairpins without blinking an eye.
The two of them didn't dare to take it, but Qiaozhen beside Yin Lifang persuaded them: "If the two sisters don't take it, our queen will be in trouble."
So they accepted it.
Yin Lifang asked again: "You don't need to keep watch today. Qiaozhen will be able to serve me here."
The two men also retreated very tactfully.
As she left, Qiaozhen said in a low voice, "Our Prince Yuzhang has gone to stay in the front yard. Princess, is there anything wrong?"
"Whether there is something wrong or not, we have already arrived at the palace. We are at the mercy of others. What else can we do? Jing'er will be able to get married in a few years. I think Li Cheng will definitely raise him in the same way as King Wei did back then." Yin Lifang thought so, and she felt much more at ease.
Li Cheng was someone she had known since childhood, it was impossible for him to have such a bad character. He was a hundred times better than people like Wei Duo.
Qiaozhen thought that Concubine Yin dressed like this but never met Prince Huaiyin, and was not worried about Prince Yuzhang at all. She even wondered if she was going to recommend herself to the prince.
Yes, Concubine Yin is still young and pregnant. Prince Huaiyin is a good fighter now. If he rules the world in the future, it won’t be a bad thing for her to follow him.
But she could only keep these words in her heart.
It was also the first time that Li Jing really spoke to Li Cheng like an adult. Li Cheng was saying to him, "You can stay here for now and read more books. You are old now and you need to move to the outer courtyard. The Concubine will naturally send someone to come."
"Yes, I will listen to my brother." The inside and outside of Yuzhang Wang Jian Li Cheng's home are clearly divided, which is better than when he was in Wei Wang's mansion, so he feels relieved.
Li Cheng smiled and said, "Then I won't bother you anymore. Just stay here peacefully. If you need anything, just ask your sister-in-law for it."
The two cousins said a few more words, and Li Cheng immediately called for his advisers.
Yin Lifang and her son settled down safely. Huiyin treated them the same as herself, and Ji, who was making a fuss, even came to visit.
"I heard the rumors about Xie, and I don't know whether they are true or not. I'm afraid you have been betrayed." Ji was most worried about her daughter.
Huiyin said, "Mother, Yin Shi has other uses. I cannot tell you what they are, but don't worry, I am not such a fool. The prince will treat me as always."
Huiyin still feels warmed by the care of her family, but there are some things that cannot be solved just by the care of family members.
Just like Yin Lifang, if she were in someone else's shoes, Huiyin didn't know what she would do. She was afraid of being betrayed if she hid herself, and she was afraid of death if she relied on others. She would face many difficulties. But she would never pin her hopes on others and ask others to help her restore her hope.
But Yin Lifang still thought so. She looked very content, as if she had someone to rely on, and even felt that this person could make decisions for her.
Madam Xu and others have been feeling very proud these days. Madam Xu had always been a bit left-wing in character, and now with Xu by her side, the aunt and niece would always try to stir up trouble out of nothing. They were hoping someone would come and embarrass Huiyin, so that Ji's arrogance would not be so overwhelming.
At noon, the two were sharing pears. Mrs. Xu liked pears, but pears were too cold, so she usually only ate a small piece of the pear. Fortunately, Mrs. Xu was there to share the pear with her.
"This pear is Emerald Jade Pear. We only have this one pear in our house. It's all here. My Lord, you are really filial." Madam Xu was in a good mood as she ate the juicy pear.
Xu smiled and said, "That's because the Marquis saw that the second girl was useless and tried to curry favor with our Xu family."
In fact, it was unpleasant to say this, but Xu knew that Madam Xu liked to hear it.
"Actually, I also hope that our family will be well, but if Huiyin comes to power, she won't help Deyin." Mrs. Xu sighed.
If Huiyin was willing to help Deyin, she wouldn't be so angry.
The aunt and niece were gushing over their meal, and they used a few fine silk handkerchiefs to wipe their mouths. Then they saw Madam Xu outside asking to see them. Madam Xu was surprised: "What is she doing here at this time?"
He came in such a hurry without any visiting card or sending anyone to inform me in advance.
Madam Xu said to Madam Xu Tai when she saw her, "Aunt, the prince just called up the troops and said he wanted to take back Jianye and Yangzhou, but that was enough. He also specially brought Prince Yuzhang to the front. As a former subordinate of Prince Wei, our eldest master went to inquire about it and heard that some of Prince Wei's former subordinates wanted to know if this place was for Prince Yuzhang. Prince Huaiyin was patient at the time, but today he found an excuse to beat him with thirty horse whips and let General Pei, the eldest son of your mansion, take his place."
"We are worried that the Prince of Huaiyin might deliberately use the Prince of Yuzhang to go to the front line, and at the same time let the Prince of Yuzhang die inexplicably at the front line, and forcibly seize the land of the Prince of Wei."
Madam Xu's aunt and nephew did not understand and were not interested in such calculations. At most, they wanted to make Huiyin feel uncomfortable, but they had no say in such a big matter.
Just as the air was stagnant, Zheng Fang suddenly came in and said, "Well, you guys are really stubborn. As the father-in-law of King Huaiyin and a direct descendant of King Huaiyin, I hate to see people attacking King Huaiyin on his territory. Today is the perfect time for me to kill my own relatives for the sake of justice."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
