79 Chapter 79
◎Two chapters in one◎
Even sitting in the carriage, Huiyin still couldn't believe it. Crown Prince Li Heng died just like that, and Li Cheng had already taken a shortcut to the capital, because news had also come from the capital that the emperor had died.
Whether in terms of etiquette or strength, Li Cheng is the undisputed candidate.
And she would soon be promoted from a princess of a vassal state to the empress.
"Mother, are we going to the capital? Where is the capital?" Zhan Ge'er asked in confusion.
Jing'er thought she had been there when she was little, and said to her brother, "Stupid, the capital is the capital, and there is the imperial city there. From now on, father is the emperor, mother is the queen, and I am no longer your brother, but your brother."
This long list made Zhan Ge'er even more confused. Huiyin recalled how she was shaken when she received the letter.
In the previous life, she painstakingly planned and finally became the Queen Mother from a concubine. Now she is the Queen, and it seems that she did not pay anything. Isn't it too easy? People who are often destroyed by fate always feel that happiness comes too suddenly and they don't deserve it.
Not to mention Huiyin herself, even Madam Xu, who had been on a hunger strike for half a year, couldn't believe it. She said to Luo's mother, "I think the second girl's hand is broken. She is so violent. How could such a person have such good fortune?"
Luo reminded her, "Madam, although the enthronement ceremony has not yet been prepared, the second young lady will be the empress soon. You must never say such things again."
People always have a fear and terror towards those who are truly in high positions. When Luo was even mentioned, she would unconsciously look around, fearing that someone would hear her.
Madam Xu remained the same as before: "I have nothing to be afraid of. I am her grandmother. The country governs the world with filial piety. What can she do to me? And Deyin is her sister. No matter what, as the empress, she cannot fail to save her sister."
Luo was a little worried: "Madam, please ask Madam to talk to the eldest lady."
"Yes, I asked Ji to say it. If she didn't mention it, I would have. It's a pity for Deyin's mother. She was placed in that nunnery. They were so cruel that they didn't bring her back this time."
Speaking of Xu, Mrs. Xu actually knew that there were some things that she was willing to do but unable to do. Could it be that Zheng Fang loved Ji too much that he was unwilling to do it?
No, it was because the Ji family and the Xu family were in opposition, and the Ji family raised a good daughter.
The son only turned to the Zheng family because he saw that the Ji family was more powerful. Apart from that, he was nothing.
There are too many unfair things in the world. The eldest granddaughter Deyin is so virtuous and beautiful, she is qualified to be a role model for the six palaces, but why did Huiyin take her?
Luo couldn't bear to see Madam Xu like this, and couldn't help but remind her: "Madam, it's too early to say these things now. You think that the second aunt suddenly rushed to the capital, with Wei Duo watching in front and Zhao Hong and Zhao Yong brothers behind. Besides, the emperor may also want to take concubines. To put it bluntly, our second girl is not a young woman anymore, and who knows what will happen when the time comes."
"Forget it, forget it. I'm not that malicious and don't want her to do anything bad." Mrs. Xu said this, but she believed it deeply in her heart.
Deyin's final outcome was because the Zheng family did not help the prince at all, so the prince was disappointed and felt bad for Deyin. As for Huiyin, it was because she had a good brother, and it had nothing to do with her personally.
Ultimately, it was all because of the Ji family thieves.
Despite Mrs. Xu's complaints about not being able to get out of her carriage, the rest of the Zheng family members who followed Huiyin were very happy, even Yin Lifang who went to Beijing with her.
She was originally ill, but now she is all well again.
"When we go to the capital, we will ask the emperor to grant us a fiefdom. The emperor is far away and no one can control us." Yin Lifang thought.
She was unwilling to stay in the capital. She was tired of living under someone else's roof these days. She could not get any good thing in the capital. Whether it was her nominal status or how people looked at her, she was keenly aware that she could not get any good thing.
But no matter what, Li Cheng's victory is better than Wei Duo's victory.
However, compared to the two of them who had different thoughts, Ji, Cui Yuehuan and Xin were all overjoyed. As long as Huiyin became the empress, all of them would benefit greatly.
As the empress's mother, I wonder how glorious Ji's future will be.
In the carriage, she also instructed her two daughters-in-law: "It may be inconvenient for the queen to take the two little princes in the carriage. When we arrive at the post station, you must serve them well."
How could Xin and Cui Yuehuan not be unwilling? They quickly agreed.
After finally reaching the inn, the two sisters-in-law hurried over. Unexpectedly, Huiyin's face was not happy at all. Instead, she asked them: "Have the eldest brother and the second brother written to explain the situation? Is Wei Duo still in Yangzhou now? How did the prince die?"
Xin shook her head and looked at Cui Yuehuan again. The two of them were also completely unaware.
Although she became the queen mother in her previous life, she was reborn without overcoming the crisis. She was afraid that Li Cheng would not be able to escape the fate in this life.
"I don't need you here, you can go down first." Huiyin said.
Cui Yuehuan didn't dare to say anything and left with holding her breath. She was a straightforward person and seemed to want to say something when she returned to her room, such as that the queen seemed to treat her less courteously, but she still held her mouth.
Aunt Rong quickly advised, "Young lady, have some tea. This is the scented tea that was just delivered."
"Okay, I was just angry for no reason." Cui Yuehuan felt uncomfortable.
Nanny Rong said quickly, "Please don't tell anyone. As the saying goes, there is a difference between the emperor and his subjects. Now she is not just a princess, she will be the empress in the future. From now on, things will never be the same."
If you can't even handle this little bit of anger, what else do you expect in the future?
Cui Yuehuan certainly thought that if Li Cheng became the emperor, he would certainly bestow titles on the Cui family, after all, the Cui family was his maternal uncle's family, and the Cui family was proud at that time. Unexpectedly, Huiyin's attitude towards her was also ordinary. She was young and could not hide things, so she was a little unhappy.
These actions soon reached Huiyin's ears. Huiyin curled her lips and said, "What an uncle. He is like a turtle on weekdays, but he wants to run over to pick fruits when it's time to pick them. Now we don't know what the situation is in the capital, but these people's faces can no longer be concealed. If I don't use some powerful means, I'm afraid this journey will not be peaceful."
In fact, Huiyin has been quite calm in recent years, so calm that these people really want to fight with her.
Nan Mama and Fu Gui looked at each other. They knew that the princess was not really kind. She just had no conflicts of interest and she didn't like to always suppress others. But such a person was able to defeat all the concubines and the engaged Bai Yueguang around the Huaiyin King. She was not someone to be trifled with.
As a master, she must be able to manage her subordinates well. As the future queen of the Zheng family, she must also be able to manage her natal family well.
Otherwise, not everyone can withstand the sudden rise to power. If their temperament changes drastically and something bad happens, they don't know whether they can protect themselves in the future.
Furthermore, before Li Cheng came to power, not many relatives helped him sincerely. After he came to power, those people wanted to share this snack. Those who got less would definitely take it from those who got more. Who got more? Wasn't it the Zheng family and himself?
This is the Qingzhou Posthouse just outside Xuzhou. The postmaster has already learned of Huiyin's identity and is extremely respectful, preparing a meal with beef and mutton and drinking top-quality Jinhua wine, which is extremely thoughtful.
"Take these ten taels and give them to the postmaster as a reward for his meals. Also pick out two pieces of cloth to give to him as a reward." Huiyin knew that in some places cloth was hard currency and more useful than money.
Fugui hurriedly took the order and left.
Ji, who was sitting at the bottom, said hurriedly, "Your Majesty is still so honest and dedicated to her duties."
"Mother, as long as I am not crowned as queen, you'd better not call me empress." She said seriously, ignoring others' flattery.
Seeing that the people eating at the table were all her daughters and two daughters-in-law, Ji couldn't help but say, "They are all family, why should your majesty mind?"
Many people think they have self-control, so when they see someone in history become arrogant quickly, they don't realize that sometimes they will be even more arrogant when it comes to them. The Ji family usually seems to be quite calm, but now they have begun to take it lightly.
"Mother, preparation is the key to success. Without preparation, everything will fail. I have benefited the most from this matter, so why am I not so effusive in my words? It's not because I am pretentious, but because I know too well that we will become proud and arrogant after our success this time. As the saying goes, an arrogant army will be defeated. Is this the road to success? No, this is just another beginning. A slow move will lead to the failure of the whole game. I don't care what you were like in the past. If I am lucky enough to become the queen, you must stop being arrogant and impatient. Otherwise, I will hear what anyone does. Whoever makes me unhappy for a moment, I will make him unhappy for the rest of his life." Huiyin glanced at everyone and snorted coldly.
Who is more attractive, Princess Huaiyin or the Queen?
It's obvious.
Originally, the Zheng family was very happy, even ecstatic, but they didn't expect Huiyin to kill them directly.
Cui Yuehuan was almost frightened to tears. She suddenly felt scared, and Xin didn't dare to say anything more.
Fortunately, the next day, Huiyin was smiling and talking as usual. They even felt that Huiyin's anger that day was an illusion. But they didn't dare to get close to Huiyin as before. Nan's mother couldn't help but whisper the change in Huiyin's ear.
"What friends do I need? The higher you go, the lonelier you become. It's not just me, the emperor is probably even lonelier."
…
Li Cheng rushed to the capital at night. When the gatekeeper saw Shi Chong, he opened the door. Shi Chong was the prince's confidant. The prince wanted to take advantage of him and control the situation. He didn't expect that Li Cheng didn't do anything to Wei Duo and ordered someone to kill the prince.
Li Cheng had Shi Chong captured alive and told him that the crown prince had died, the emperor had also passed away, and that he was now the first in line to the throne.
At this point, Shi Chong could see that although Li Cheng's intelligence was not better than Wei Duo's, he was a legitimate descendant of the royal family of Daye, and was much more legitimate than Wei Duo.
However, it is said that Empress He in the capital had originally kept the death a secret, wanting to wait for the crown prince to return before inheriting the throne. Unexpectedly, when the news of the crown prince's death came, she planned to support Yunzhi's son to become the crown prince.
In such a chaotic situation, no one paid attention to Deyin. Deyin just watched everyone talking about Yunzhi, a slave, who would become the empress dowager in the future. She was really jealous and unwilling.
Compared to this, it’s worse than the previous life.
What they were looking forward to was really what they said. Someone broke into the palace and controlled them. Yunzhi, who had been appointed as a concubine after giving birth to a prince, had a plump face and was well-informed, but it was obvious that she was also distracted.
Deyin was puzzled: "What's wrong?"
Yunzhi looked at Deyin with a complicated expression and said, "I heard that the Prince of Huaiyin ascended the throne according to the emperor's decree."
"It's actually the Prince of Huaiyin." Deyin was delighted, but then she felt that the world was unfair. Why did her husband, who was also the Prince of Huaiyin in her previous life, die? She became a widow.
Yunzhi also felt that Deyin was still somewhat lucky. It was clear that the Zheng family had surrendered to the enemy, and Deyin was beaten up, but before she could do anything, the prince went to war. Now that the prince was dead, her biggest backer had come.
However, their lives were not so easy.
Yunzhi looked at Deyin and said, "Liang Di, please, for the sake of my having helped you before, please help me to say a few good words in front of the Huaiyin King and Huaiyin Princess. Then my life will be spared, and I beg you to take care of my son's life."
Not only that, he even knelt down.
Deyin didn't know what the situation was outside, so he simply nodded.
He also talked about how Li Cheng cleaned up the inner court, how he made the officials of the Ministry of Rites recognize his identity, and how he appeased the wealthy families in the capital. He put all the women in the harem under surveillance first and waited for Huiyin to come before punishing them.
After all, Huiyin is the empress, and she should be the one handling the affairs of the inner court.
The women in the harem were inevitably panic-stricken. Some of them were afraid of being taken away by soldiers in the future, so they secretly committed suicide. Some of them were restless, such as Wilhelmina, the daughter of Wilhelm. Now that Wilhelm's enemy had ascended the throne, how could she have a good ending? She even took the initiative to show her goodwill to Deyin like Yunzhi.
Deyin's feelings were very complicated. This was so similar to her previous life. At that time, she was in the fiefdom, receiving a salary and living a hungry life with the women. Suddenly, her sister became the queen and wanted to take her over. At that time, Xunrou and her group also begged her.
**
"Why hasn't the Queen arrived yet?" Li Cheng, who was dressed in Yanfu, couldn't wait any longer.
The war was still going on at the front line, but he would not feel at ease until Huiyin and the children came here legitimately.
However, Huiyin didn't know that as she followed the soldiers into Beijing, she was worried about Li Cheng. She didn't know whether he had secured his position, whether someone was plotting against him, or whether he was soft-hearted and let someone else go.
No one else knew what she was worried about. Cui Yuehuan muttered quietly, "It's such a happy event, why are you so sad?"
After finally passing Jizhou, Jing'er and Zhan'er were eagerly waiting.
"Mother, when can I see father?" Jing'er asked.
Huiyin smiled and said, "It's still twenty miles away, and we'll be there in less than an hour."
The children were secretly happy to hear that it was so fast, but then they heard someone riding a horse outside. Huiyin was secretly wondering if it was the soldiers sent by Li Cheng to pick her up. She lifted the curtain to look, and saw Li Cheng standing next to the carriage.
"Husband."
"Huiyin, I'm here to pick up my queen."
"Originally, I heard that you were coming, so I rode here specially. Did you have a safe journey?" When Li Cheng saw Huiyin again, his eyes were shining with excitement and joy, and there was also a feeling of reunion after a long separation.
Huiyin smiled and said, "I'm safe, but I find it unbelievable, but I'm also worried about you."
Li Cheng knew it well. He told all of this to the couple as they rode in the carriage together: "Originally, I wanted to deal with Wei Duo. The prince was watching from the sidelines, waiting for the two of us to fight each other. But we only fought a few small battles in a month, and our strength was similar. Neither of us dared to move forward rashly."
"The prince knew that the emperor was in poor health, and was afraid that Wei Du would hear that the emperor had passed away and kill him, so he led his men here to support Wei Du's grandson. I thought it was a good opportunity, so I pretended to attack Wei Du, but actually attacked the prince, because as long as the prince was gone, I didn't have to usurp the throne, and the world would be mine."
Since ancient times, the son inherits the throne after the father dies, and the younger brother inherits the throne after the elder brother dies. Prince Wu is the eldest brother of the late emperor who just passed away. The late emperor had only one son, the crown prince. Now that the crown prince is dead, of course Li Cheng is the closest blood relative.
Huiyin was horrified and couldn't help asking, "How did the prince die?"
"He was shot to death. By the way, I also met the widow of King Wei, the mother and daughter of the Huo family, in Yangzhou. They were wandering among the people and were almost defiled. Fortunately, they met me. I have asked someone to send them to the capital, and they will still live in the capital. There will be no more fiefdoms, and the county system will be completely restored, and everything will be under my jurisdiction." Li Cheng was very proud when he said these words.
"Women are pitiful in war. And what about Wei Duo? You came back like this, but what about him?" Huiyin was most concerned about this.
Li Cheng whispered in her ear, "He was competing with me in walking speed. We both wanted to get to Beijing as quickly as possible, but I ambushed him halfway."
Sometimes, in addition to the deployment of troops, fighting a war also depends on the momentum, that is, whether the momentum is on your side.
However, he said, "I should have gone there earlier, but I thought I would lead the troops to fight after you arrived. I will rely on you at the rear."
The two of them were discussing arrangements along the way. After finishing their official business, Huiyin nestled in his arms again: "I'm really worried that it's just a passing fancy. I'm also worried that you'll be framed when we get to the capital. I'm also worried that you'll go to war and your home will be taken over by others."
"Everyone around me is happy, but you are the only one who truly cares about me." Li Cheng knew that Huiyin was worried about her.
Huiyin smiled and said, "Because we are the only couple who are one. Others have a way out. At worst, they can find another wise master, but we have no way out. However, I am still proud of my husband. With you, our Daye will definitely not fall apart."
There was chaos in the harem before, but now that Huiyin came, Li Cheng first asked the Ministry of Rites to complete the ceremony of conferring the title of Empress as quickly as possible, and then issued an imperial decree to confer the title of Crown Prince to the Crown Prince, Li Jing.
Huiyin, holding her two sons, followed Li Cheng into the palace step by step. This palace felt both familiar and unfamiliar to her. It was her second time entering the palace after her rebirth.
The first time she was in the palace, she was just the Princess of Huaiyin and she kept a low profile for fear of attracting other people's attention.
Now she is about to become the owner of this entire palace.
She was a person who would not leave things unfinished overnight. For example, for Empress Dowager He and the concubines of the previous emperor, except for Empress He herself, those young concubines who were willing to leave would be returned to their families if they had relatives, and those who did not would be given 20 taels as travel expenses. If they had no home to return to, they could go to guard the imperial mausoleum.
As for the crown prince, except for those with offspring who went to guard the imperial mausoleum, those without offspring returned to their families. If they had no families, they would also be given twenty taels of silver as travel expenses.
Except for personal belongings, nothing else in the palace was allowed to be taken out. She knew very well that every time this happened, many people would steal antiques and paintings from the palace and sell them.
…
Huiyin almost prepared the plan first, and then discussed it with Li Cheng at night, and Li Cheng agreed. The two of them stayed in Duanming Palace together. This was the place where she had poisoned Li Heng. Now that Li Cheng was here, it was not cold but warm.
"Where are you going to place the King of Wei's family?" Huiyin asked.
Li Cheng smiled and said, "In the future, there will be no more fiefdoms, and all the princes will live in the capital, and their ranks will be lowered and their titles will be reduced. When my uncle, the prince of Wei, gave me the palace, there was no horse farm because he was afraid that I would learn to ride horses. Now I am doing the same thing, and I will give him a more exquisite palace."
"I'm just afraid that the Huo family will instigate the Huo family to seize the palace." Huiyin was most worried about this.
Li Cheng waved his hand: "Don't worry, it won't happen for the time being. The power of the Huo family is in Jiangnan. When Wei Duo attacked Jianye, the Huo family was looted. It was all fake. If his family really succeeded, how could the Huo family and Jianjia end up living among the people?"
"We still can't take it lightly." Huiyin squeezed his hand.
Li Chengze said, "That's true. Don't worry, I'll leave the capital to your elder brother."
"Why is it my eldest brother?" Huiyin laughed.
Li Cheng told the truth: "Your brother is very hardworking. No matter what I tell him to do, he will do his best. Besides, you are his sister. To put it bluntly, although they came to me, I would never use them if it weren't for you. Your brother can be granted a title legitimately, but he wants to be second. I have already told him that if he can protect you, I will give him the same title as your brother."
In this world, relatives are reliable, but with the reinforcement of interests, they are absolutely reliable.
"Thank you for considering me and thank you for giving my brother this opportunity. He has lived a hard life for so many years and has to pay more than my brother to achieve such success." Huiyin spoke to him from her heart.
Seeing that the people in the palace had left tactfully, Li Cheng couldn't help but jokingly asked, "How are you going to thank me?"
"It's up to you. You can do whatever you want today." Huiyin tapped his broad chest.
Not to mention how the couple is so infatuated.
In the morning, Huiyin returned to her palace, which was still the Linde Hall. The Linde Hall was the largest palace in the Daming Palace, and she happened to live in the middle hall of the Linde Hall.
She wore a phoenix robe decorated with a pheasant pattern and a jewel-like head ornament with twelve flowers and trees. She first conveyed the empress's decree on how to deal with the concubines of the previous emperor and the former crown prince and his concubines.
Afterwards, Deyin was invited over.
After all, Deyin is her sister, so she should at least give her something as a reward for her to take back.
Things are changing, but the only thing that remains unchanged is the same scene, kneeling to the same person.
Qin An, who used to be the chief eunuch, was now serving Huiyin. She looked at her sister, who was dressed in the queen's clothes and looked elegant and noble. She seemed to be in better spirits than in her previous life.
She gnashed her silver teeth and knelt on the ground.
But unlike the previous life when Huiyin treated her warmly, this life, her sister said calmly: "I have already told His Majesty that the concubines of the former imperial concubine who have children will go to guard the mountain mausoleum, and those without children will be sent back to their families."
Deyin didn't know how to reply. Qin An frowned over there. Why was the sister of Queen Zheng so dumbfounded? It was already extremely merciful to let all these concubines go home, and even give them dowry money.
After a while, Qin An was about to speak when he heard Deyin say, "Thank you, Her Majesty, for your kindness."
Huiyin waved her hand: "Go down."
…
When Deyin came out, the young eunuchs from the palace followed behind her, holding twelve pieces of colorful silk, a pair of white jade ruyi, and a string of sandalwood prayer beads. These were gifts from Huiyin. She didn't want to see them at all, but she couldn't show any objection along the way.
Only when she got on the carriage and saw Madam Xu, she couldn't help but burst into tears: "Grandma, I do everything according to your instructions. Why can't I succeed? But she always succeeds?"
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