77 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 his 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 us mother and son, there will be a day for you." Yin Lifang also promised the Xu family.
現在她能夠抓住的人也就是徐家了，徐家想奇貨可居，她就給他們這個念想罷了。
如此大張旗鼓，紀氏也知曉了，她剛剛已經從鄭放嘴裏知曉，徐太夫人還說道什麽李澄和殷麗芳原本有婚事，更是氣的紀氏頭腦發昏。
辛氏和崔月環都坐在底下，崔月環是真的擔心，她們一身都系在徽音身上，若她的地位受到威脅，那她們也是一損俱損。可辛氏一面面上同情，心裏卻覺得痛快，之前紀氏在董氏的事情上可沒幫她，如今到了她女兒這裏，倒是急了起來，這不就是活該打臉嗎？
“太太，您別急，咱們王爺和王妃的感情好着呢，這些話我看不過是以往別人随意傳的。”辛氏安慰道。
實際上崔月華當年是有所耳聞的，吳王妃和娘家人提起過的，但現在她怎麽能把這件事情說出來，只道：“太太，不如我們去王府看看？”
“王妃最好臉面，咱們可別去幫倒忙了。”紀氏還是很了解自己的女兒，她有手段，不願意示弱于人。
崔月環連忙道：“是啊，那殷次妃說起來還是王爺的長輩呢，王爺是何等人，從來不會讓人說嘴的。”
“對，王爺的為人真的是沒得說，何等的潔身自好。”紀氏想到這裏，又舒了一口氣：“我女兒還是很有福氣的，王爺那樣的為人我平日就知曉，連科舉都把持的嚴，對親眷都不會網開一面。有些流言蜚語，就是讓我們自亂陣腳，你們也不必太信。”紀氏想清楚，也明白了。
崔月環笑道：“是啊，兒媳也是這麽想的。”
兩位兒媳退下，崔月環又請辛氏去她那裏坐坐，辛氏道：“家裏還有許多事就不多坐了，弟妹得罪了。”
“嫂子說這些可就是與我生分了。”崔月環也沒指望辛氏真的過去。
二人客氣幾句就回了房，那榮嬷嬷讓人上了茶來：“您去上房這些日子，口都說幹了，快喝些茶潤潤嗓子吧。”
崔月環接過茶水，忍不住笑道：“我看大嫂子還在氣那董氏呢？倒像是也埋怨上了太太。以前跟太太讨要東西的時候，怎麽那樣親熱，現在一時不到态度疏離了許多了。”
“可不是，說起來大奶奶的日子其實也好過，董氏帶來那麽一大筆錢，又沒個一兒半女的，還不是都歸大爺得了，大爺的還不都是留給她兒子的。”榮嬷嬷也想不通。
崔月環道：“興許也是那董氏太好了，不争不搶，只是尋個依靠，若笑裏藏刀也就罷了，我看她還真是個老實人。大伯這個人和我夫君不同，夫君為人赤誠，對誰都是滿腔熱血，去操練水軍半年不回來就不回來，我家裏替他備下個女孩兒，他還不受用。”
榮嬷嬷則道：“但怎麽也怪不到太太的頭上，太太為着這事兒還去找過王妃，王妃是難得拎得清的人，怎麽會管自己娘家哥哥的房中事？”
“就是，她若真的不情願，怎麽不自己和大伯說，又是撺掇這個出頭，又是撺掇那個出頭，看的我心煩。”
榮嬷嬷又遞了一塊姜絲梅子過去：“您何必和她計較，她自以為聰明，別到時候讓王妃看出來她。”
提起王妃，崔月環道：“嬷嬷，說老實話，你覺得王爺為何要照拂殷家母子呢？真的是因為他為人很好麽？”
榮嬷嬷心知肚明，殷麗芳和李澄可是貨真價實的表親。
但這事兒她不好說出去，只裝聾作啞，推說不知曉。
又說吳太妃當年在魏王府的時候就喜歡殷麗芳，如今見殷麗芳和李敬母子過來，她親自讓範嬷嬷扶起她母子來。
徽音見狀道：“王爺說不知曉你們母子已經落難，沒想到這般巧，倒是被徐家找到了。”
“是啊，真是天公地道的，好在讓我們母子遇到王爺王妃，也有栖身之處。”殷麗芳還是很早之前為了魏王勸說李澄來過一次淮陰王府，那個時候她都沒有仔細看過淮陰王府，如今一見倒是不比魏王府小。
已經是晚上了，四處卻燈火通明，仆從林立，雕梁畫棟且不提，就說那琉璃風燈，蓮花燭臺，水晶簾兒，白玉階，上等的輕紗美人繡屏，還有名人字畫……
這些原本是她司空見慣的東西，等去揚州之時就不如建業，在徐家住着更憋仄，更別提趕路時的倉惶，再見這樣富麗堂皇，富貴至極的地方，殷麗芳還有些恍若昨日一般。
徽音請她們坐下，外頭又請李敬出去吃飯。
李敬下意識的看了殷麗芳一眼，殷麗芳對他道：“去吧。”
桌上是水陸畢陳，不停有丫鬟魚貫而入的上菜，最有趣兒的是一道蟹釀橙，手藝精湛極了。
甚至這一晚上，殷麗芳住的地方在吳太妃這裏，收拾的也是極好，高床軟枕，香味袅袅，撥來伺候的美婢也是賞心悅目。
“來，這是給你二人的賞錢。”殷麗芳在這個方面不吝啬，兩根拇指粗的金簪送出去眼睛都不眨一下。
那兩個都不敢要，還是殷麗芳身邊的巧珍勸道：“兩位姐姐若是不拿着，咱們娘娘可就要惱了。”
如此，她們收下了。
殷麗芳又問道：“今日不必勞煩你們守夜，我這裏有巧珍伺候就行。”
那兩人也極其有眼色的退下了。
她這麽一走，巧珍用氣聲道：“咱們豫章王去了前頭院子裏住下，王妃看有沒有事？”
“不管有沒有事，都已經到了王府了，人為刀俎我為魚肉，咱們還能如何？敬兒還有幾年就可以成婚了，我想李澄肯定也是和當年魏王培養他一個做法。”殷麗芳如此想着，她心裏也安定許多了。
李澄是她從小就認識大的人，不可能真的人品多壞，比起衛铎之流好百倍不止。
巧珍卻心想殷次妃如此打扮，卻沒見到淮陰王一面，又完全不擔心豫章王，她都懷疑她是不是要自薦枕席了。
是啊，殷次妃到底還青春，肚子也争氣，淮陰王如今打仗一把好手，若将來坐擁天下，她跟了他也不算壞。
但這些話她也只能埋藏在心裏了。
李敬也是頭一次真正和李澄仿佛大人似的說話，李澄正和他道：“你且先安心住下，平日可以多看書。你年紀大了，要搬到外院住下，太妃那裏自然會派人前來。”
“是，我聽王兄的。”豫章王建李澄家中內外分明，倒比魏王府的時候還好些，心裏也放心了。
李澄笑道：“那我就不打攪你了，安生些在這裏住，缺什麽短什麽，只管找你嫂子拿。”
堂兄弟二人又說了幾句，李澄則立馬召集謀士前來。
殷麗芳母子平安住下，徽音待她們份例和自己相同，鬧的紀氏還專門上門來了。
“我聽了謝風言風語，也不知道是真是假，就怕你被人背叛了。”紀氏最擔心的還是女兒。
徽音道：“娘，殷氏另有用處，具體有什麽用處我不能說，但是您放心，女兒不是那麽傻的人，王爺待我一如往昔。”
家人的關心，徽音還是覺得很溫暖，但是有些事情不是家人關心就行的。
就如同殷麗芳，易地而處，徽音也不知道自己會如何，躲起來怕別人出賣，投靠別人也怕死，困難重重。但她絕對不會寄希望于別人身上，讓別人幫忙複辟自己的希望。
可殷麗芳還是這麽想的，她看起來很安分，是覺得有了依靠，甚至覺得這個依靠能給她作主。
徐太夫人等人這些日子可算是得意了，本來徐太夫人性情就有些左，如今有了個徐氏在身邊，姑侄二人是無事也要生非，巴不得來個人為難一下徽音，這樣紀氏的氣焰就沒那麽嚣張了。
中午，兩人正分着梨子吃，徐太夫人喜歡吃梨，但梨子又太寒涼了，所以她常常是吃梨只吃一小塊，還好現在有徐氏和她分着吃。
“這梨是翠玉梨，咱們府上統共也只得了這一簍，都在我這裏了，還算侯爺孝順哦。”徐太夫人吃着水潤的梨子，心情大好。
徐氏笑道：“那是侯爺看出來二丫頭不成事兒了，巴結讨好咱們徐家呢。”
其實這話說的違心，但是徐氏知道徐太夫人喜歡聽。
“其實我也盼着咱家好，可那徽音得勢了不會幫德音啊。”徐太夫人感嘆。
若是徽音肯幫德音，她也不會這般生氣了。
姑侄二人吃的汁水四溢，又換了幾條上等絲帕擦了嘴，卻見外頭有徐夫人求見。徐太夫人還奇怪：“這個時候她來做什麽？”
又沒拜帖也沒打發人提前說一聲，就這麽匆匆上門了。
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."