78 Chapter 78
◎Two chapters in one◎
Zheng Fang personally accused the Xu family of repeatedly instigating Prince Yuzhang to secretly seize Prince Huaiyin's territory and misinterpreting Prince Huaiyin's original intention, and hoped that Li Cheng would punish them.
Li Cheng was thinking that killing a chicken to scare the monkeys last time was not enough. He had taken in Prince Yuzhang, and if he really ascended to the throne in the future, he would reward Li Jing with some fiefdom. But taking him in out of kindness did not mean treating him as a fool. Prince Wei had not yet become the emperor, but he was asking everyone to pledge allegiance to him.
"Come here, bring Xu Shao to the dungeon for me, and assign people to strictly guard him. No one can come out without my order. His son's position will also be revoked."
After saying this, he felt that this old guy Zheng Fang was really amazing. No wonder Lu Wei loved to use him back then.
The Xu family was his in-law, but he did not show any leniency and took the initiative to expose the Xu family's people. Li Cheng shook his head and continued to check the food and military equipment.
It's strange to say, Yin Lifang tried her best to please Concubine Wu, and Concubine Wu liked her. But when Yin Lifang came over today, Concubine Wu didn't give her a good face. Not only that, she was also weird in her tone, which made Yin Lifang very embarrassed.
Huiyin saw Yin Lifang come out in a huff, still not understanding why. After she came in to pay her respects, she heard Concubine Wu say, "If you ask me, Yin is just a concubine, not even the principal wife of the King of Wei. When the King of Wei was in power, he didn't give Cheng'er anything extra. Cheng'er came to Xuzhou by herself when she was little. Why do you treat Yin so politely? You treat her well, but she won't treat you well."
"What's going on?" Huiyin didn't understand.
Of course, Concubine Wu would not say it directly. It was not until Ji came to her house that she found out that Zheng Fang had passed the secret to Concubine Wu through someone around her.
It is said that the original words said that Yin Lifang brought her son here deliberately to seize the territory. Concubine Wu was a widow raising a son. She could allow her grandson to be liked by many people, but she would not allow others to seize the territory. Isn't this rude to Yin Lifang?
Huiyin couldn't help but say, "Mother, that's true, but it took me a long time to get the people around the concubine to listen to me. Where did father find them?"
"I heard that during a dinner, someone introduced a fortune teller who was very spiritual and often interacted with your concubine. I guess she might be the one who asked for help." Ji said.
Huiyin smiled and said, "My grandmother-in-law believes in ghosts and gods. So that's the truth. Then tell my father that he is very grateful for this time."
Ji did not comment: "That's how it should be."
Although her father is sometimes unreliable, he also does things that are really unexpected. I don't know how to evaluate him.
Yin Lifang thought that Huiyin was behind this. The only lifeline she could hold on to was Li Cheng. Concubine Wu had obviously liked him before, and Li Cheng had treated them with great courtesy. Suddenly, he deliberately made things difficult for those who were good to Li Jing, and put the Xu family into the water dungeon. Even Concubine Wu was not nice to her today.
She doesn't understand.
Qiaozhen had to comfort her, "Madam, it's okay. We're only staying here for a few days. It's better not to flatter her."
"That's what I said, but..."
Yin Lifang had lost the support of Concubine Wu, so of course it was difficult for her to make a living in the rear house. Even if Huiyin would not reduce her share or target her, the people in the Huaiyin Palace had eyes on her. If you are not liked by the masters, the servants will not like you either.
If it were Huiyin, she would definitely keep silent, read more books and calm down for a while, waiting for the future. She might even find a concubine and wait for Prince Yuzhang to take her out when he has a promising future.
But it is obvious that Yin Lifang is not such a person. She was able to keep her composure before because she gave birth to the eldest son and Mrs. Huo had to rely on her son. Now she is restless and confused, which makes her anxious. She even worries that someone is harming her every day.
That night, she had a nightmare. In the dream, Jianjia was standing beside her bed and shouting, "Empress Yin, why did you leave by yourself? We are so miserable..."
When Yin Lifang woke up, she found a large wet area on her back.
However, no one cares about these things anymore. Huiyin is packing Li Cheng's luggage for the war. She didn't understand these things before, but now she is an expert in them.
"This is the longest time you have stayed at home. I have packed the heart guard, alum, poison, antidote, medicine for bruises and some prescriptions. Just focus on the battlefield and don't worry about home." Huiyin said.
Li Cheng nodded, hugged Huiyin tightly, and walked out with big strides.
The trusted men who went with him this time included Yuwen Dang, who had always been by Li Cheng's side, as well as the brothers Pei Shuo and Zheng Wuheng, who were both good at fighting and loyal to him, and the generals who had been trained along the way.
He did not show favoritism in the army. Everyone was promoted according to their military merits. He did not make it too obvious like the King of Wei did.
The person sitting in the carriage behind was Prince Yuzhang. Li Cheng didn't take him to the battlefield to kill him, but he was afraid that some people would take the opportunity to cause trouble, so he didn't force him to ride a horse. Although Li Cheng thought that an eleven-year-old boy should be very skilled in archery and horse riding, Li Jing was not his child or his brother, so he didn't need to say anything to dislike him.
Besides, after Li Cheng and the others left, the women had some free time. Ji often brought Cui Yuehuan over to play mahjong, and Xin would occasionally come along. If she was not feeling well, she would ask Madam Miao or other ladies to come over.
Xin did come that day. The weather was getting colder, so she wore a brocade blouse with pearls all over the collar. Huiyin smiled and said, "These pearls look good."
Cui Yuehuan said quickly: "Princess, this is a gift from Dong."
"It turned out to be her." Huiyin thought that if Xin really didn't like Dong, she shouldn't accept these things from her, including the boxes brought by Yin, which Huiyin wouldn't even look at.
On the one hand, you hate others for stealing your husband, and on the other hand, you are greedy for these things from others. In the end, you have fallen into the inferior position, right?
Xin couldn't tell Huiyin's emotions, and seeing that she was the same as before, she thought that the princess might not even know Dong, and she felt relieved.
Huiyin certainly wouldn't blame Xin for all this. They were all adults, and no one liked to be lectured by others.
Everyone continued to play cards. Cui Yuehuan felt that she had just spoken too quickly and was a little annoyed. Huiyin found it a little funny to see her like this. This brother and sister-in-law were really reckless. They were both straightforward and showed everything they liked or disliked on their faces.
But this can easily lead to resentment. If you meet someone with a broad mind, they will naturally not care. But if you meet someone who already has ulterior motives, it will be easy to make enemies.
Look, Xin is now full of hatred towards Cui Yuehuan. As soon as she got on the carriage, she complained to her confidant: "Look, she deliberately excluded me in front of the princess today."
"You'd better hold back your anger. She has only been married for a few years and is still sweet to her. She really thinks she is Chang'e who has come down to earth." The servants had no choice but to comfort her in this way.
Xin smiled and said, "Forget it. Her good days are still to come. If she keeps teasing me like that, the princess will sooner or later get tired of her."
"Yes, you see, the princess is a very calm person. She doesn't seem to care about the rumors about Yin at all. I'm afraid she hates people like the Second Madam who are so noisy the most." The confidant said with emotion.
When the princess was in the palace, everyone always compared her with the eldest daughter, saying that the eldest daughter was a good family woman, while the second daughter had a somewhat strange temperament.
The so-called weirdness does not mean that her words and deeds are weird, but that she is a little different from ordinary people. She has sharp eyes, decisive actions, often keeps her word, and her way of doing things is often contrary to the secular world.
But she was indeed very beautiful. I remember someone committed suicide for her, but she didn't blame herself. Instead, she said that such a person was so fragile that he would commit suicide because others didn't love him. So in the future, if things don't go as planned, will he use this to kidnap others?
At that time, they felt that the princess was extraordinary. However, after coming to Xuzhou this time, although they rarely saw the Prince of Huaiyin in the backyard, when they saw the couple, they felt that the princess was completely different from before. She became very gentle and charming, and with her outstanding appearance, sometimes she was gentle and affectionate, and sometimes she was charming and lovely. At first glance, you can tell that she is living a good life and the couple is in harmony.
As a prince, he doesn't have any concubines or even maids, but he is devoted to her, just like a rare thing.
However, the princess was also very capable. It was said that she was in charge of arranging food and military supplies in the rear. She was not a particularly sociable person, but she was able to bring together all the noble families in Xuzhou. I don't know how she did it.
The Xin family master and servant talked for a while and realized that they couldn't do anything to Cui Yuehuan anyway, so they advised themselves to be more open-minded and wait for the future.
After returning home, Dong and the other two concubines came to serve her. Xin was indifferent. She knew that if she really troubled Dong, Pei Shuo would not really divorce her. But in this way, the relationship between the couple would be weakened.
Moreover, in Xuzhou, the prince once said that even the bodies of slaves had to be examined by the government and no private disposal was allowed.
"Madam." Mrs. Dong was very obedient.
Xin waved her hand and said, "I am tired too. My sisters, go back and have a rest. Ziying, the princess sent me a few boxes of fruit-filled snacks. You can share some."
Everyone got a portion, including Aunt Dong. Wu'er, who was serving Aunt Dong, said, "Aunt, you don't know that the fruit snacks in our princess's small kitchen are famous in Xuzhou. Many dignitaries in Xuzhou are proud to eat them."
Wu'er was a maid Pei Shuo gave to Concubine Dong. She was the daughter of his wet nurse and had previously served in the study. Later, Pei Shuo had no intention of hiring her, so he specially sent Wu'er to be a maid for Concubine Dong. Concubine Dong originally had two servants and brought two servants with her, but they didn't know anything about the Zheng family, only Wu'er knew a lot about it.
“原來是這樣，等會兒你們把它收好，等來人來再拿出來用。”董氏很珍惜。
五兒笑着應是。
這董氏在呂威身邊什麽好東西都見過，故而在餘大老爺那裏頗有面子，然而在裴家就不夠看了，裴朔也是高位頗為，兩位妹妹都結親皇家，英俊多才，見識不凡，她對他十分崇拜。
只是現下裴朔走了，日子難捱。
又說今日打完牌之後，徽音起身去裏屋的榻上躺着了，打牌也累，躺着更舒服。
當然了，躺着也容易頭暈。
好在不一會兒，璟兒和瞻兒哥倆也就來了，有孩子們在，一起用飯都暢快許多，今日桌上正好有八寶鴨和豆豉鴨，孩子們都喜歡吃這些有味的，璟兒今兒還上了騎射課，餓的前胸貼後背。
“娘，八寶鴨的鴨肉其次，但裏面的糯米和蝦仁好食。”璟兒挑了中間一大口的糯米。
這不是宴客，就娘三個用飯，桌上擺的都是他們各自愛吃的菜，璟兒也是自己用，不需要別人幫他們夾菜。
瞻兒道：“我和爹爹一樣，愛吃雞腿。”
“那這根大雞腿就給你。”徽音慶幸自己兩個孩子都不挑食，昨日見固哥兒非常挑食，蔥椒蒜不吃，沾一點肥肉就說惡心，連水晶蹄髈都嫌惡的緊。
她們娘三飯還沒用完，就見南媽媽進來道：“王妃，那殷娘娘似乎生病了。”
“替她延請大夫過來，好好診治，每次的病情都保存好。”徽音不意外殷麗芳生病，畢竟長途跋涉，內眷身子本就虛弱，又水土不服，這再正常不過了，就怕有人生事，所以看病的記載都要拿在手裏。
一個時辰之後，徽音聽說殷麗芳的病就是夢多，盜汗，多靜養就好。
徽音點頭：“讓她好生将養着。”
要說以前在魏王府時，殷麗芳總覺得自己委曲求全，恨不得早早扶植自己的兒子做未來的王爺，她也再也不必妻妾相争，兒子也不會出事了。
沒想到魏王死後，她的劫難來了，如今寄人籬下，看別人的眼色過日子，這是她以前從未經歷過的。
是，鄭徽音的确不曾短缺，可也并不親近，下人們都不敢做的太過分，正是因為她理家有方，處理事情公平公正。
巧珍端了藥來：“娘娘好歹喝些藥了好歇着。”
殷麗芳聞到苦汁子就不舒服，她道：“你說淮陰王這一仗能打贏嗎？我真擔心敬兒。”
“依照奴婢說肯定可以。”巧珍為了寬慰殷麗芳的心連忙道。
若是李澄也輸了，她們怎麽辦。
殷麗芳這些庸人自擾，在吃了藥之後，就睡着了。她之前帶着兒子投奔李澄，沒管霍氏母女，她覺得霍氏有霍家在，肯定不會出事兒的，但不知怎麽夢到蒹葭了。
……
殷麗芳這裏湯藥子不斷，吳太妃尤其厭惡，她上了年紀的人，不愛聽“病”或者“死”這樣的字樣，更不願意聞到藥味。
因此，她又要鬧着把殷麗芳遷走，徽音聞言，只好把西邊的院子辟出來，讓殷麗芳單門獨戶的住在那兒。
福桂見狀都忍不住道：“之前太妃總誇這殷次妃，現在看來嘛，也不過如此。”
“以前是為了打壓我，當然就這般誇她，反正誇別人又不用費什麽口舌，但如今這殷麗芳沒用了，可不就嫌棄嗎？”徽音道。
說完，她又想起若是李澄遭遇不測，自己帶着兒子們恐怕也是一樣，即便有父兄在，要真正掌握天下也是很難。
前線當然很緊張，因為衛铎這次不僅僅是帶着自己的人馬來，連太子也帶着石崇一起過來了。太子知曉這次衛铎若是勝利了，那自己很有可能被廢，而李澄勝了，那就更是能篡位了。
畢竟衛铎是外臣，李澄卻是吳王之子。
李澄得知太子也過來了，更是撫掌而笑道：“這可太好了。”
正好一鍋端了。
又說太子出征，最高興的人竟然是德音，那個壓迫她的人走了，衛良娣也消停了，雲枝這次生了個兒子，待遇頗好，都不會管她了。
沒有太子來，這後宮很是清靜。
就是飯菜沒以前那麽好了，宮女們怨聲載道，德音心想自己也算是虎落平陽被犬欺了。
前世太子多虧了鄭無恒才死裏逃生，後來勉強和李澄打個平手，這輩子不知道還是不是如此？
徽音也看到李澄來信回來，這字體連筆帶鈎，看起來很是潦草，應該是很快給自己來的信。上輩子李澄就攻打徐州，當時徽音還很詫異李澄打的那麽艱難，就連弟弟也差點折戟于此。
而如此局勢完全反轉過來了，李澄帶着她兄弟們打太子和衛铎。
人生之事，真是難以預料。
她姐姐以為她前世母儀天下，是因為找的男子對，殊不知，也是要靠自己努力的。
那邊李珩也帶着兵馬一起前來，衛铎對這個太子不甚喜歡，覺得他是故意為之，屢次趕他走，他也不走。
“你們說太子領人前來，所謂何事？”
“估摸着是想對付李澄，上次石崇兵敗，那厮心胸狹窄，撺掇太子過來的。”
衛铎卻摸了一下胡須：“我看太子是想鹬蚌相争漁翁得利，你看我們都打了一個月了，他才過來。”
周圍的謀士不免聽着很好笑，太子這是在急什麽？鹬蚌相争漁翁得利，還不如在京中好好做太子。
李珩就是不願意再做所謂的傀儡太子了，所以這次必須得拿下地方，震懾周圍才行。
前線緊張，徽音在後方也就沒功夫準備花宴那些，倒是鄭放依舊該吃吃該喝喝。
原本他主管冀州的時候，常常輾轉難眠，現在壓力不在他身上了，他才沒有任何壓力，中午睡了一覺，起來還打哈欠。
徐氏又重新被送進了姑子廟，至于徐太夫人據說是氣病了，這個時候他才邁着步伐去看他娘。
徐太夫人正鬧絕食，好容易趁着李澄離開，她是想讓鄭放把人放出來，如果鄭放不同意她就一口水都不喝。
“怎麽，太夫人還是滴水未進嗎？”鄭放站在徐太夫人門外問道。
羅媪哭喪着臉道：“是啊，侯爺，奴婢就求求您了，求您答應太夫人吧。”
鄭放也為難的很：“那是王爺定的，正所謂國有國法，家有家規，我怎麽能夠擅自去水牢放人，更何況我初來乍到的，連水牢在哪裏都不知曉。”
在裏面絕食的徐太夫人聽了更是絕望，兒子不僅不救自己的女兒，連她的娘家人也不救，甚至還出賣，簡直是狼心狗肺。
如此，就讓她死了算了。
想到這裏，沒想到闩好的門被推開了，徐太夫人許久沒曬到太陽，一擡眼，見是那個不孝子進來，她指着兒子的鼻子罵：“好你個畜生，當年我生你的時候，你爹就說此子畢竟會禍亂家族，如此看來果真是這般。”
“娘，以前您還誇我呢，現在就罵我了。”鄭放深知和他娘是說不通的，他也懶得浪費口舌了。
直接對外人喊道：“給我上午膳在這兒，什麽好吃的都跟我上上來，我陪着太夫人吃。”
徐太夫人又叫嚷着她不吃。
鄭放撇嘴，你不吃我吃，我就不信饞不死你。
不一會兒，桌上一道道菜上上來，徐太夫人原本沒什麽家世，最愛吃的東西就是紅燒肉，鄭放也是如此，因此第一道菜便是紅燒肉鹌鹑蛋。
紅燒肉燒的噴香四溢，入口即化，鄭放夾着一塊方塊大的紅燒肉，對着徐太夫人道：“娘，這紅燒肉燒的也太地道了，咱家以前哪裏吃得上紅燒肉啊，還是兒子在陸霁那裏做主簿之後才能打打牙祭。”
“喲，真彈壓，還有這鹌鹑蛋，那叫一個入味。”
“不對，我得喝一口酒，喝酒再吃點下酒菜，這個佐的鱿魚也實在是香。”
徐太夫人本來肚子就餓，現在聽鄭放咬的嘎嘣脆，更是肚子裏腸鳴陣陣，忍不住罵鄭放缺德。
鄭放似乎了解徐太夫人所想，還不由得道：“您說您拿您自己的身體和我們置氣，這家裏還不就我關心您，您在，我多少對徐家人有所顧忌。您若不在了，那我就更不必顧忌了。喲，還有荔枝肉呢，下頭的人也太知曉我想吃什麽了，您看荔枝肉和咱們紅燒肉的口味還不一樣呢。”
這桌菜鄭放吃的歡，吃完行了一禮就走了，羅媪本來還想勸徐太夫人，想讓人熬些米粥來，不料徐太夫人坐起來道：“我要吃紅燒肉，這家裏也只有我在，德音徐家才能讨好，我可不能就這麽去了。”
……
徐太夫人的絕食結束，紀氏只把這事兒當笑話說給徽音聽。
“祖母一大把年紀了，總愛這麽折騰。”徽音搖搖頭。
紀氏笑着說了幾句，自然又跟徽音打聽起裴朔和鄭無恒來，徽音道：“我還是一個月前收到王爺的信，現在前線如何我也不知道。”
二人談到這裏都有點沉重，因為戰場上一切都很難說，要天時地利與人和才行。
Ji had no choice but to go back in disappointment.
Three months later, Ji came to talk to Huiyin again. The mother and daughter could no longer laugh or joke, after all, they really didn't know what the future would hold.
But Fu Gui came in hurriedly: "Princess, the prince sent someone to deliver a letter."