81 Chapter 81

◎Second update◎

After Deyin returned home, she lived in a small courtyard with three rooms in front of Mrs. Xu's house. Everyone in the family was very polite to her, but no one took the initiative to come to her house to talk to her or make friends with her.

Except for her grandmother, everyone else in the family was alienated from her.

Grandmother said that after her mother returned to the Xu family, she was unwilling to come to Beijing again. Deyin was really ashamed. After entering the palace, she was not only physically and mentally exhausted, but also afraid of getting married. Even her mother could only avoid her sharp edge.

"Miss, please go to the old lady's place." said the maid at the door.

Coming out of the palace, all alone, Huiyin was really greedy. On the surface, she gave them dowries, but in fact, they were not allowed to take out any of their dowries. Take Deyin herself, for example, her dowry was very rich, but now it was all locked up in the palace. But who dared to ask for it?

Everyone has to praise the Emperor and Empress for their wisdom.

Looking at the little maid standing at the door, she was the new one assigned to her by the family. She was young but quite clever. There was some resemblance of Lian Zhi in this child. It was a pity that Lian Zhi was beaten to death by Li Heng.

She came to Madam Xu's place, where there were several pieces of new satin on the table. "Grandma, you just made some clothes when you came back? Are you going to make clothes again?"

Madam Xu smiled and said, "You can keep the clothes you made before for everyday wear, but you should prepare a few sets of clothes for going out."

Go out? Deyin quickly refused: "Grandma, forget it. I am a widow and don't need to go out."

"You are a widow? Why would you be a widow for that prince? Dress up well. You are still young. You can find a good marriage in the future. It is better than anything else. Look at your second daughter. She married into a good family and became the mother of a country." Mrs. Xu was actually very old. She had traveled a long way and was exhausted by boats and carriages. If it weren't for Deyin who was holding on to her life, she would not be here.

But Deyin was very resistant. In her previous life, she was married to Prince Huaiyin, who had Bai Yueguang and treated her very badly. When she was married to the Crown Prince, he tortured her even more. She was unwilling to marry any man in the world.

"Grandma, I will stay with you. I don't want to get married."

The marriage of just a few years was like hell.

Madam Xu scolded her, "If you don't get married, how can your family accommodate you? Now the head of the family is your brother and sister-in-law, and they are not easy to get along with. When I leave, how are you going to live in this family?"

"I only eat so little, how could they not tolerate me?" Deyin really didn't want to get married.

Madam Xu shook her head: "Do you think you will have to depend on your brother and sister-in-law or even your nephew for the rest of your life? That would not be easy. Marry someone, have a child, and you will have everything in your life. By the way, I have found a doctor, who will take your pulse and regulate your condition in a couple of days."

Deyin wanted to say something, but she didn't say it in the end. She knew very well that her grandmother was right.

She is now living in the Zheng family, isn't she living under someone else's roof? These good days were when her grandmother was still alive, but her grandmother is very old now, and she will be alone and helpless if she is not around.

…

Compared to Deyin who was easily persuaded, Huiyin started to check the servants and sort out the palace affairs, and was very busy all day long.

So much so that when he went to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager, he was almost late.

Although Concubine Wu was promoted to Grand Empress Dowager, she was stubborn by nature. Now that she was living with Princess Wei and Yin Lifang, she had some thoughts in her mind.

"You don't use the ready-made people, but you are busy as hell." The Empress Dowager nodded at Princess Wei.

She had different views on Princess Wei and Yin Lifang. Princess Wei was also a widow and had no son. When she lived in the Prince Wei's Mansion before, Princess Wei treated her well, so she naturally felt a little sympathy for her.

But before Huiyin could even open her mouth, Princess Wei immediately said, "Grandfather, our queen is so good at managing things. There is no one ready-made like her."

The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Your Majesty, your aunt is quite good."

Huiyin fought back in a neither soft nor hard way: "Look at what you said, how dare I bother my aunt? My aunt is a person who enjoys life. The emperor said that when the palace outside is repaired, the two aunts will move out and let Prince Yuzhang respect them well. You can't let your aunt do things for me now that you have the emperor to respect you."

"That's true." The Empress Dowager didn't know whether she was being led down the stairs or if she had just thought of this.

After greeting, Huiyin came out and helped Fugui's men down the jade steps: "I asked the Queen He in the palace before. These palace servants are short of food and clothing. Except for those who serve well, others don't have much money. This time, let's give them double the reward, so that they can have fun."

Fugui said: "That's a huge expense."

"That has to be done." This was why Huiyin didn't let them take the things in the palace out. For the families of enemy soldiers, it was good enough to give them dowries and let them go free and return home. But they wanted to take away all the things in the palace? That was impossible.

Now that Li Cheng has just ascended the throne, taxes have not yet been collected, so where will the expenses of the Manchu palace come from?

Within three days, not only did everyone in the palace receive double their bonuses, but the new empress also ordered the clothing bureau to make winter clothes for them, and even the thrifty methods that empress He had previously adopted were abandoned. The palace ladies were given an extra meal every five days, which had to include two meaty dishes.

Moreover, the new empress had her own rules for behavior. She would severely punish eunuchs who bullied palace maids or committed improper acts, but she would reward those who did a good job.

There are means and rewards, and everyone's life is obviously better than before.

When Ji brought Cui Yuehuan into the palace, she heard Huiyin talking about the bonus that had just been distributed in the palace, and hurriedly asked: "Is your Majesty still short of money? I still have some here--"

"What are you talking about, mother? You gave me all the money, and my sister-in-law is sitting next to me." Huiyin smiled and shook her head.

Cui Yuehuan didn't dare to say anything more, she just said: "The Queen's affairs are our Zheng family's affairs."

Huiyin looked at her and said, "You are very sensible, but you really don't need it. It is better to let Wuheng follow the emperor to do his job. By the way, the army will set out tomorrow."

If not for this, the Zheng family would not have handed in a sign.

Ji smiled and said, "Yes."

The families of military generals often look forward to making great achievements, but in times of peace and prosperity, there is no chance for military generals to come to the fore.

"It's a good opportunity for you to come to the palace. I have something else to entrust you with. There are several suspicious people in the palace. Please help find their origins. It would be best if we can control them. I originally wanted to let my sister-in-law to investigate, but then I thought that my sister-in-law and mother are living together. I can't let my sister-in-law take on all the things, or my sister-in-law will accuse me of being partial. In fact, whether a person is partial or not depends on their ability. I am partial to those who can do good things, and I love them all." After she finished speaking, she gave the stack of information she had written down to Ji and Cui Yuehuan.

Cui Yuehuan instantly became excited as if she had been injected with chicken blood, and she was ready to fight after leaving the palace.

Nan's mother waited until they left before asking, "When have you ever asked your grandmother to do anything for you?"

"That was just to scare her. You don't know that people in the same industry have always been enemies since ancient times, and the same goes for sisters-in-law. I found out that the two of them were not getting along in Xuzhou. I don't care whether they are harmonious or not. I just want to take advantage of the conflict and get our own things done." Huiyin said with a smile.

The Boling Cui family and the Qinghe Cui family were not far away, and sometimes even the officials could not find them, but it was very easy to find the local tyrants.

【Author’s words】

Second update