83 Chapter 83
◎Two chapters in one◎
It is said that Jiang Bibo outside the palace had been giving alms in the name of Huiyin in the capital for a month, providing porridge, medicine, free clinics, and clothes. It can be said that his presence was great.
However, things were not peaceful in the palace, because there was a difference in etiquette between the Princess of Wei and the Second Princess of Yin. It was not that Huiyin deliberately treated them differently, but simply because that was the way it was in the etiquette, and there was a difference between wives and concubines.
Normally, when something is sent over, no one would go to ask questions about it. But the Grand Empress Dowager was a talkative person. When she heard that Huiyin had sent something, she asked the Princess of Wei and the Second Princess of Yin, "I wonder what the Queen sent?"
In order to show the goodwill of the Queen, the Princess of Wei of course told the Queen the total amount. However, because of this, the Second Princess of Yin felt very uncomfortable. She felt that it was okay in the past. When she was in the Prince of Wei's mansion, her status was indeed not as good as the Prince of Wei. But now that the Prince of Wei was dead, his biological son, the Prince of Yuzhang, was in charge. It was hard to say that the Queen's actions did not involve personal grudges.
But Concubine Yin is definitely not like her sister, who only cares about appearances. She is now just waiting to leave the palace. After leaving the palace, it is almost unnecessary to say whose son will be the head of the family and who will be the real mistress. Now she just has to endure it for a while, but she feels a little uncomfortable in her heart.
When she met Princess Jianjia again, Concubine Yin behaved as respectfully as she did in the royal palace.
This made Princess Jianjia completely confused. She went to her mother and said, "Concubine Yin is doing just as well as she was in the palace. Although I hate them for abandoning us, I heard that they were also in rags. If they hadn't met my father's former colleagues, I'm afraid they would have ended up like us."
After all, she was just a young girl. Although she had complained before, she lived a good life afterwards and the past events faded a lot. Moreover, she also knew that Prince Yuzhang was the biological son of Concubine Yin, and when she lived in the Prince's Mansion, she would have to deal with him.
The Princess of Wei was not as easy to fool as her daughter. She had been the Princess of Wei for many years. Some things were not easy to say in the palace. There were many eyes and ears here. You didn't know who heard it outside and caused unnecessary trouble. Therefore, she took her daughter into the inner room and whispered, "Mother has told you that you must be on guard against others and not trust others too much."
When Jianjia heard this, she became alert and was on guard. She was still young and could not hide her emotions on her face. Even if she tried hard to hide them, clues would show. Of course, Yin Lifang also saw the expression on Princess Jianjia's face and thought to herself that she had been tolerant enough towards the mother and daughter. They still acted like this, as if others had evil intentions towards them.
Not to mention the undercurrents on both sides, Huiyin just had her period, her waist was sore, her legs were weak, and she had sores on her forehead. She couldn't sleep all night, so she lay on the couch and read a book to rest.
The people serving now are all young palace maids. As the eldest aunt, Fugui has a different status and helps Huiyin deal with some important matters.
She was reading a book called "Natural History". After finishing reading, she turned over and felt her eyes were sore. She stood up and changed her menstrual belt. Her waist ached when she walked. She could only tap her waist and said to Nan's mother: "I was so busy those few days when I first came here that I didn't take care of my body. I just relaxed for a while and now I feel uncomfortable."
Nan's mother used a small wooden hammer to massage her shoulders. Seeing that she looked a little tired, she felt distressed: "My queen, you have too many things to do and you have been working non-stop, so you are so tired. You were already tired when you gave birth to the prince, and you can't always rest."
"I twisted it last time when I was riding. I haven't ridden for a long time, so I feel uncomfortable when I ride. I seemed to be fine after lying down for a few days. But I took a carriage to the capital these days and sat for a long time. I kept enduring it, and when I relaxed, I didn't know that I would be like this. To be honest, your majesty has worked harder than me. He is only a few years older than me, and he has been in the army for many years. I don't know how many visible and hidden injuries he has on his body." Huiyin became more worried about her husband when she said this.
Nan's mother comforted him, "Don't worry, His Majesty is young and will be fine."
Huiyin knew that Xiaonan's mother couldn't say anything meaningful, so she smiled when she heard her comforting words: "Mom, for so many years, you have married me so far to Xuzhou, and now you are accompanying me to the palace. When the world is at peace, I will give you a house so that you can enjoy your old age."
As long as you are a human, you will have desires. Even your biological parents can be snobbish, let alone those who are not your biological children. If someone follows you and is loyal to you, it is because they are kind, but you must repay this loyalty.
Mother Nan, as the wet nurse, was not as happy as expected. Instead, she shook her head and said, "It is better than anything else that you allow me to stay by your side. You were the girl who grew up in my eyes, and now you are the empress who rules the country. I can't do anything, but it would be nice to be able to talk to you and relieve your boredom." In fact, how could Mother Nan not know that Huiyin was a sentimental and righteous person? The more this happened, the more Mother Nan didn't want to go out.
If nothing else, it would be better for her to follow such a loyal and righteous master than Shen Du.
Let alone anything else, look at Dong Shun, I heard that he must be regretting it. Not everyone can tolerate this gap when they go out. When they are with the Empress, even the Prince has to respect them, but when they go out, they are all masterless, and after a while, who will care about you?
These Southern mothers know this better than anyone else.
Nan's mother knew, and Huiyin knew, too, that freedom was important, but not everyone had the talent to survive outside. Even those who had achieved fame, had some background, and had some savings might not necessarily live as they wished. When people were unhappy, they loved to reminisce about the past.
The master and servant talked about some private matters, and Huiyin's mood improved a little. She even ate an extra bowl of water shield soup at noon. She used to dislike vegetable soup the most.
After the meal, Jing'er and Zhan'er came to pay their respects. Jing'er was young, and perhaps because he was crowned the crown prince, he looked much calmer. After paying his respects, he walked to Huiyin with smooth steps. Zhan'er followed behind his brother, and as always, he deliberately hid behind his brother and suddenly ran out to scare her.
"Come here, come here." Huiyin pulled her sons one by one, looking left and right, and felt love no matter how she looked at them.
Jing'er touched Huiyin's forehead like a little adult and said, "Your mother's forehead isn't hot, so it should be fine."
Huiyin chuckled, feeling relieved knowing that her son cared about her, but she still explained, "Mother is not feeling well because of the long journey in the carriage. She will be fine after a few days of rest. Don't worry."
With her sons by her side, Huiyin felt much happier.
The next day, she allowed Ji to visit the palace. When the mother and daughter met, Ji told them everything that had happened outside: "Your brother's wife went to Qinghe yesterday to inquire about it for you. Don't worry, Your Majesty."
Huiyin blew away the tea foam, then remembered that her period had come, so she put it down and said with a smile, "If I don't trust her, how can I leave things to her? I'll find something for her to do, so that she won't always think about other things."
"You, what are you doing..." Ji always felt that her daughter's words seemed to have a hidden meaning.
Huiyin shook her head: "I won't say more, are the places in the capital peaceful?"
"Be content, very content. The wife of the Marquis of Wuning has been giving alms everywhere for you. Now people outside say that you are like a bodhisattva. The rest of the mothers stay at home all the time, and no one would be ashamed to go out and socialize." People's hearts are hidden in their stomachs. Ji felt that those who smiled the happiest on the surface might have the most evil thoughts in their hearts.
Take Crown Prince Li Heng for example. When Ji Shi thought of this, she said to Huiyin, "You may not know this yet, but Deyin couldn't have a baby in the palace because she drank a lot of cold things. I heard that the pregnancy-maintaining medicine she drank after each sexual intercourse might have problems, and it might have been caused by the Crown Prince."
Huiyin said calmly, "Why did the prince give it to her?"
Ji said, "Maybe he didn't want her to get pregnant. He was probably afraid that after your father saw the child, he would ask the emperor to order the princes to be executed."
But when she finished speaking, she felt something was wrong: "Then why is Wei Liangdi also pregnant?"
"I don't know about that, but it's a good thing that the former prince died, which is a relief to the people." Huiyin took the cherry preserves beside and ate them.
In fact, Huiyin knew this very well. At the beginning, it was the Lu and Zheng families who were fighting, but he was able to fool them for so long because Lu Xiaoxiao and Zheng Deyin could not find out. Wei Liangdi was a smart person. She found out but refused to drink. If she really had a child, the prince would not dare to do anything excessive.
But she couldn't say these things, otherwise it would be considered as superstition.
Ji nodded and said, "Yes, wait until your elder sister recovers and finds someone to marry. She is still young and it is not good for her to stay at home all the time."
Huiyin was very tolerant on this point: "She is like this now, let her be. If she is afraid of repeating the same mistakes, who can stop her from having a meal as a virgin?"
Ji thought that Huiyin had never been bullied by her sister-in-law and sister-in-law. If they bullied her, she would definitely fight back. But it was very difficult for Deyin. They had nothing to do with each other. Who would want to support an idle person? So, she said, "She is different from the queen."
"Back then, she was eager to arrange the prince's marriage, and together with grandmother, she tried to stop me from marrying the Prince of Huaiyin. Now, they have failed. I seemed to be lenient with her, but I was just too lazy to pay attention to her. Also, she didn't really commit a serious crime, so I gave her a way out. But mother is different from me. She is hard on the outside but soft on the inside. Don't really pity her. If our prince hadn't ascended the throne, could you have kept your position as Madam Zheng?" She was worried that her mother was too honest and really took Deyin's matter too seriously.
給她一口飯吃，份例不缺就成了，何必提點她太多，等人家真的過好了，還是會親近她的母親的。這些話說出來的确很自私，可她不會否認自己心裏真實的想法，這徐氏可不消停，成日在家裏作耗。
記得當時鄭放把殷麗芳的事情告訴李澄，是想讓他先下手為強，可徐太夫人和徐氏心思卻沒那麽簡單，辛氏說這兩人可是想着讓殷麗芳奪自己的寵愛。
她是不覺得殷麗芳對她有什麽威脅，可是外面的人又不知道，作為受益自己的人，還膽敢搞這樣的鬼，她怎麽能忍？
紀氏恍然：“是啊，有時候覺得她可憐的，但是這些可憐不也是她當初求來的嗎？”
知道母親聽進去了，徽音笑道：“娘好容易進宮一趟，今日尚食局的人進獻了幾道好菜，咱們一起用。”
紀氏喜道：“也不知她們做的什麽？咱們在外頭吃的多，宮裏吃的少。”
“一桌菜也只有那麽幾道是我愛吃的，旁的就像看菜就好些，還有些菜做的精雕細琢的，可吃起來沒味道。”徽音也只能悄悄的說，這是規矩，有些規矩你只能遵守。
果然，紀氏在用膳的時候發現桌子上擺的滿滿當當的，但幾十個人盯着你一起吃，多吃幾口碟子就會被撤下，還真是受罪的很。
飯畢，紀氏道：“娘娘成日這麽吃也受罪？”
徽音笑道：“也不是都這般吃，就是今日您正好碰上了，我這裏也有小廚房，小廚房都是我的廚子。但是總不能老用小廚房的人，讓大廚房的太閑了。”
紀氏想來也是，她在宮裏也不能久待，用完飯，知曉徽音還有月事，讓她多歇息，遂出了宮，這了宮，沒先回家，而是去了大兒子家裏。
這個時候裴朔剛從宮裏回來，正和辛氏用飯，二人還對飲了幾杯。
辛氏看着桌上的荔枝白腰肉：“爺多用些這個，這腰子切的薄，也入味。”
卻說這辛氏善飲，平日裴朔總和她吃幾杯酒，見她吃了幾杯就臉酡紅，微微笑道：“我也就吃這麽些了，你瞧你，又上臉了。”
辛氏正欲說話，外頭說太太來了，二人又趕忙漱口出去迎。
裴朔見了紀氏就上前扶着：“我的娘親，今兒怎麽過來了？兒子正與你媳婦吃酒，我讓您兒媳婦在廚下多叫幾個菜來。”這邊讓辛氏趕緊下去喊人弄菜，辛氏也慌的作勢走。
卻見紀氏讓他們不忙，“我方才進宮了，陪娘娘吃了些，這不剛從宮裏出來，就過來看看你們。”
紀氏對着兒子媳婦進屋，見她倆飯桌還未撤下，知曉自己若是不吃，他們肯定也不吃就陪着，遂也勉強吃了一杯酒，和她們一桌用飯。
三人坐定之後，紀氏先道：“我看娘娘近來身子不虞，她那身邊好些宮女太監都是前朝的人，也不知道她睡不睡的着，我這心裏擔心的很，連着我都睡不着了。”
敵人要不就在十步之內，要不就在萬裏之遠，那些前朝的嫔妃可以遣散，可是前朝的宮女太監，實在是太龐大了，不可能完全不用。有一個使壞，皇後娘娘身邊都會有事。
小兒子現在跟着皇上出征了，她也只好和大兒子說說。
裴朔沉吟片刻道：“您放心，我平日多在禦前一定會保護好皇後娘娘和太子的。至于您說的那些人，他們有的也無法近身伺候。娘娘還帶了不少王府的人過來呢，小廚房的廚娘和她身邊伺候的都是貼身的人。”
“有你這句話，我就放心了，今兒娘娘賞了幾件皮襖下來，我正要拿來你媳婦。”紀氏聽兒子說完重點了，又說起家常。
辛氏聽了心中歡喜，她也不是小門子出身，但賞下來的穿了體面。
況且，越是上等人家，看着排場大，其實主母們仔細着呢。
這三人說到最後，都默契的沒有提起董氏，裴朔不會在母親面前提起一個妾侍，辛氏就更不會提了，至于紀氏也不會當着兒媳婦的面去問一個妾。
但裴朔送走紀氏之後，還是去見了董氏，董氏讓人擰了帕子給他擦臉，又專門做了醒酒湯，忙前忙後的，歪在床上的裴朔見狀就道：“你還有身子的人，就別忙了。”
“我成日窩在房裏，什麽事情都沒有，又忙什麽。倒是爺您夠忙的，奶奶那裏都說您現下都在外頭忙。”董氏笑道。
裴朔搖頭：“這才是大事兒啊，有些人總要生事，我得把京畿重地圍的水洩不通，否則，萬一有人沖撞到娘娘就不好了。”
這些話就不是董氏能夠插的上話的了。
倒是崔月環去了娘家，想請娘家人幫忙，哪裏知道回來時，素來慈愛的父親卻大病初愈。她母親崔夫人道：“你父親被氣病了，他讓你哥哥從衛家回來你哥哥不許，還寫信過來說聖上苛待咱們崔家，讓咱們家去投奔衛铎。”
“爹，娘，那衛铎名為大邺的丞相，其實是大邺的賊人，這種人是想竊國的，他對哥哥有知遇之恩不假，但哥哥也得棄暗投明啊。皇上是您的外甥，難道他還真的會虧待您啊，不過是因為哥哥的緣故讓皇上不好封咱們家了。”崔月環聽了都急的很了。
崔訓把帕子放在自己的額頭上，只道：“咱們是咱們，你哥哥是你哥哥，皇上對咱家也太狠了。”
“若皇上封了咱們，你大哥見皇上确實待咱們崔家好，怎麽可能不回來呢？”
這崔訓還在生氣，也是覺得沒面子。
崔月環也知道娘家人頗有怨言，但她嫁到鄭家去了，封不封的她說了不算。但她也不能這般說，只好道：“如今聖上出征，許多事情也顧不得了，我聽說便是荀家，若非太皇太後幾番去皇上那裏，皇上也不會這麽快封的。”
崔夫人看了丈夫一眼，又對女兒道：“你爹可是皇上的親舅舅，荀家還隔了一層呢。還有鄭家，是咱們家的姻親，也不幫咱們說說。是，你爹當年沒去徐州，可那不是你爹年紀大了，不是派你二哥去幫忙了嗎？”
她說這話，連崔月環都聽不下去了：“娘，鄭家是拿冀州土地去投靠的，哥哥是淮陰王收服冀州之後才過去的，本來科考沒考中，還安排做了官。即便是皇上心中存着氣，難道您還能跟皇上犟，連我公公都跪的利索的很，在皇上面前從不拿大呢。”
局面一時僵住了，還是崔夫人幫忙緩頰，又故意打岔問起崔月環近來何事，如何回家了？
崔月環這才說正經的：“近來娘娘新入宮，身邊的人不知道底細，特地着我來查探一二。我想爹娘在這裏熟悉，若你們能幫忙就再好不過了，到時候娘娘為咱們家說一句話，比旁人說十句話都好使。”
其實崔月環說這話是沒底的，她也怕爹還真的置氣了，家裏的徐太夫人就是這樣的老人，若不是有個長輩的身份在，她可不喜歡太夫人。
沒想到崔訓起身正色道：“這事兒交給我，我正經跟你去辦，把他們的身家背景保管調查的清清楚楚的，我這就去。”
這一把讓崔月環目瞪口呆的：“爹爹，您不是才大病初愈嗎？”
“大病初愈就得好好活泛，要不然人都養出病來了。”崔訓到手的爵位沒了，他現在混的比荀家都差了，這怎麽能成呢？
見她爹答應了，崔月環也高興了。
殊不知背後也藏着陰謀，衛铎那邊正聽崔大郎道：“我父親那邊正好有消息傳來，居然是幫李澄之妻鄭氏查探宮內這些人的背景，如此倒是便宜咱們了。”
衛铎當然也打聽過，說李澄那小子打仗剽悍，詭計多端，但是只有一樣值得人稱頌，據說是對其妻鄭氏一往情深。那鄭氏聽聞是個國色天香之美人，原本就是冀州第一美人，無數男子拜倒在她的石榴裙下，只是美女那麽多，偏這個鄭氏還能轄制李澄。
他做事素來都是不擇手段，怎麽能夠把這件事情完成好就會怎麽做？若鄭氏出了個好歹，還有李澄一雙兒子，全部都趁機擄走，那李澄不會不繳械投降。
“好好好，長卿，這個消息來的很及時。”衛铎捏須而笑。
崔大郎君含笑：“這名單，家中的眼線已經抄錄了一份過來，怎麽安排就看丞相的了。”
他這麽避嫌，也是怕出了岔子，衛铎怪他。衛铎當然也欣賞他上道，着意去安排，衛铎為何這麽多年能勝，也是因為他打探情報很有一套，當時把謝九儀這邊的人都全部瓦解了。甚至當年還能把李澄的糧草都全部燒了，現在少不了要發揮功效了。
數日之後
麟德殿中，徽音見崔月環一個月就辦好了此事，連忙誇獎道：“沒想到弟妹做事如此利索。”
“妾身算不得什麽，有的人也是托我娘家人幫忙查的，娘娘只管放心。”崔月環趕緊把崔家的功勞說了出來。
Huiyin of course understood the meaning of the song: "Thank you very much, I understand, I will tell the emperor when the time comes. It just so happens that I have a few pieces of white silk left for you to take back and make a quilt. You can come to the palace often to talk to me in the future. I am sorry to bother you with this matter."
Cui Yuehuan happily stood up and bowed to express her gratitude.
【Author’s words】
I broke my promise today and will update twice a day. I am not feeling well, so I will give everyone a red envelope.