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.
"So that's how it is. You can keep it away for a while and take it out and use it when someone comes." Mrs. Dong cherished it very much.
Wu'er smiled and replied.
This Dong has seen all the good things around Lu Wei, so she has a lot of face in front of Master Yu. However, it is not enough in the Pei family. Pei Shuo is also in a high position. His two sisters are married to royal families. They are handsome, talented and knowledgeable. She admires him very much.
But now that Pei Shuo is gone, life is difficult.
He also said that after playing cards today, Huiyin got up and lay down on the couch in the inner room. She was tired from playing cards, and lying down was more comfortable.
Of course, lying down can also make you dizzy.
Fortunately, Jing'er and Zhan'er arrived soon. It was much more enjoyable to have the children around. There happened to be eight-treasure duck and duck with fermented black beans on the table today. The children all like to eat these delicious foods. Jing'er also had a horse riding lesson today and was extremely hungry.
"Mom, the duck meat in Eight Treasure Duck is second to none, but the glutinous rice and shrimp inside are delicious." Jing'er picked a big mouthful of glutinous rice in the middle.
This wasn't a banquet, just the three of them having a meal. The table was filled with their favorite dishes, and Jing'er also served herself, without needing anyone else to help them pick up food.
Zhan'er said, "I love eating chicken legs just like my father."
"Then I'll give you this big chicken leg." Huiyin was glad that her two children were not picky eaters. Yesterday she saw that Gu Ge'er was very picky about food. He refused to eat onions, peppers and garlic, and felt disgusted if he had a little bit of fat on him. He even disliked crystal pig's trotters.
Before they finished their third meal, Nan's mother came in and said, "Princess, Empress Yin seems to be ill."
"Invite a doctor to come over for her and treat her well, and keep a good record of her condition." Huiyin was not surprised that Yin Lifang fell ill. After all, it was a long journey, and her wife was weak and had difficulty acclimatizing. This was normal. She was just afraid that something might happen to her, so she kept all the medical records in her hands.
An hour later, Huiyin heard that Yin Lifang's illness was frequent dreams and sweating, and that she just needed to rest more.
Huiyin nodded: "Let her take good care of herself."
When she was in the Prince of Wei's Mansion, Yin Lifang always felt that she had to compromise and wished she could help her son become the future prince as soon as possible so that she would no longer have to fight with her wives and concubines, and her son would not get into trouble.
Unexpectedly, her misfortune came after the death of King Wei. Now she lives under someone else's roof and has to live her life according to other people's wishes. This is something she has never experienced before.
Yes, Zheng Huiyin was indeed not lacking, but she was not close either. The servants did not dare to do anything too excessive, precisely because she managed the household well and handled things fairly and impartially.
Qiaozhen brought the medicine and said, "Your Highness, at least take some medicine and rest."
Yin Lifang felt uncomfortable when she smelled the bitter juice. She said, "Do you think the Prince of Huaiyin can win this battle? I'm really worried about Jing'er."
"According to what I said, it is definitely possible." Qiaozhen said quickly to comfort Yin Lifang.
What would they do if Li Cheng also lost?
Yin Lifang, these mediocre people, made trouble for themselves. After taking the medicine, she fell asleep. She had taken her son to Li Cheng before and ignored the mother and daughter of the Huo family. She thought that the Huo family would be fine with the Huo family around, but she didn't know why she dreamed of Jianjia.
…
Yin Lifang kept making medicine soup, which Taifei Wu hated. As an elderly woman, she didn't like to hear the words "illness" or "death", and she didn't want to smell the medicine.
Therefore, she wanted to make a fuss about moving Yin Lifang away. Upon hearing this, Huiyin had no choice but to clear out the west yard and let Yin Lifang live there alone.
Seeing this, Fu Gui couldn't help but say, "Before, the Concubine Dowager always praised this Concubine Yin, but now it seems that she is nothing more than this."
"In the past, she wanted to suppress me, so of course she praised her like this. After all, praising others doesn't require much effort. But now that Yin Lifang is useless, won't you just abandon her?" Huiyin said.
After saying this, she thought again that if something happened to Li Cheng, she and her sons would probably be in the same situation. Even with their father and brother around, it would be difficult to truly control the world.
The front line was of course very tense, because Wei Duo not only brought his own troops this time, but also the crown prince brought Shi Chong with him. The crown prince knew that if Wei Duo won this time, he would most likely be deposed, and if Li Cheng won, he would be able to usurp the throne.
After all, Wei Duo was a foreign official, while Li Cheng was the son of King Wu.
When Li Cheng learned that the prince had also come, he clapped his hands and smiled, saying, "That's great."
Just finished one pot.
It is also said that the person who was most happy when the prince went to war was Deyin. The person who oppressed her left, Wei Liangdi also calmed down, and Yunzhi gave birth to a son this time, who was treated well and no one cared about her anymore.
Without the prince, the harem was very quiet.
It’s just that the food is not as good as before, and the palace maids are complaining. Deyin thinks that she is like a tiger in plain water being bullied by a dog.
In his previous life, the prince escaped death thanks to Zheng Wuheng, and later he managed to fight Li Cheng to a draw. I wonder if it will be the same in this life?
Huiyin also saw the letter from Li Cheng. The handwriting was very sloppy, and it must have been written very quickly. In the previous life, Li Cheng attacked Xuzhou. At that time, Huiyin was surprised that Li Cheng fought so hard, and even his brother almost failed there.
But the situation was completely reversed, and Li Cheng led her brothers to fight the prince and Wei Duo.
Things in life are really unpredictable.
Her sister thought that she was so successful in her previous life because she found the right man, but she didn't know that it also required her own efforts.
Li Heng also came with his troops. Wei Duo didn't like this prince very much and thought he was doing it on purpose. He tried to drive him away several times, but he refused to leave.
"You said the prince brought people here, what is it about?"
"I guess he wants to deal with Li Cheng. Last time Shi Chong was defeated, that guy was narrow-minded and instigated the prince to come here."
Wei Duo stroked his beard and said, "I think the prince wants to take advantage of the conflict between the snipe and the clam. Look, we have been fighting for a month and he just came here."
The counselors around him couldn't help but laugh. What is the prince in such a hurry? The fisherman benefits from the quarrel between the snipe and the clam. It would be better for him to be a prince in the capital.
Li Heng simply did not want to be a so-called puppet prince anymore, so this time he had to take over the place and shock the people around him.
The situation at the front was tense, so Huiyin had no time to prepare a banquet in the rear, but Zheng Fang still had to eat and drink.
When he was in charge of Jizhou, he often tossed and turned and had trouble sleeping. Now that the pressure is no longer on him, he doesn't feel any pressure. He took a nap at noon and yawned when he got up.
Xu was sent back to the nunnery. As for Mrs. Xu, it was said that she was sick due to anger. Only then did he hurried to see his mother.
Madam Xu was on a hunger strike, and she finally took the opportunity when Li Cheng left to ask Zheng Fang to release the person. If Zheng Fang disagreed, she would not drink a sip of water.
"Why, Madam, you still haven't had a drink?" Zheng Fang asked while standing outside Madam Xu's door.
Luo said with a tearful face, "Yes, Lord, I beg you, please agree to my wife's request."
Zheng Fang was also in a dilemma: "That was decided by the prince. As the saying goes, a country has its own laws and a family has its own rules. How can I go to the water dungeon to release someone without permission? What's more, I'm a newcomer and I don't even know where the water dungeon is."
Mrs. Xu, who was on a hunger strike inside, became even more desperate after hearing this. Not only did her son not save his own daughter, he also did not save her own family members and even betrayed them. He was truly a cruel person.
In this case, let her die.
Just as she was thinking this, she suddenly realized that the bolted door was pushed open. Mrs. Xu hadn't seen the sun for a long time. She looked up and saw that the unfilial son had come in. She pointed at his nose and cursed, "You beast! When I gave birth to you, your father said that this child would bring disaster to the family. It seems that this is true."
"Mom, you used to praise me, but now you scold me." Zheng Fang knew that it was impossible to reason with his mother, and he was too lazy to waste his breath.
He shouted directly to the outsiders: "Give me lunch here. Bring me whatever delicious food I want. I will eat with my wife."
Mrs. Xu shouted again that she didn't want to eat.
Zheng Fang curled his lips and said, "If you don't eat it, I will. I don't believe I won't kill you."
Soon, dishes were served one after another. Mrs. Xu originally did not have a good family background, and her favorite food was braised pork. Zheng Fang was the same, so the first dish was braised pork with quail eggs.
The aroma of the braised pork filled the air and melted in the mouth. Zheng Fang held a large piece of braised pork and said to Madam Xu, "Mother, this braised pork is so authentic. We could never have braised pork before. It was only after my son became the chief clerk for Lu Ji that we could have a taste of it."
"Wow, it's really delicious. And the quail eggs are so tasty."
"No, I need to have a drink and then some snacks. The squid with this is really delicious."
Mrs. Xu was already hungry, and now after hearing Zheng Fang chewing the food so crunchily, her stomach started to rumble even more, and she couldn't help but scold Zheng Fang for being a wicked man.
Zheng Fang seemed to understand what Madam Xu was thinking, and couldn't help but say, "You said you were using your own body to get angry with us, but I am the only one in this family who cares about you. When you were here, I was somewhat cautious about the Xu family. If you are gone, then I don't have to be cautious. Hey, there is also lychee meat. The people below know what I want to eat. You see, lychee meat tastes different from our braised pork."
Zheng Fang enjoyed the food on the table, bowed and left. Luo was about to persuade Madam Xu to cook some rice porridge, but Madam Xu sat up and said, "I want to eat braised pork. I am the only one in the family who can please the Deyin Xu family. I can't just leave like this."
…
Mrs. Xu's hunger strike ended, and Ji told Huiyin about it as a joke.
"Grandma is already very old, but she always likes to make trouble like this." Huiyin shook her head.
Ji smiled and said a few words, and naturally asked Huiyin about Pei Shuo and Zheng Wuheng. Huiyin said, "I received the letter from the prince a month ago, and I don't know what the situation is like at the front line now."
Both of them felt a little heavy when talking about this, because everything is unpredictable on the battlefield, and it depends on the right time, place and people.
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."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
