Chapter 84
◎Two chapters in one◎
"Your Majesty, the Emperor sent a few boxes of autumn plums. None of them looked damaged, so I took them all." Chief Steward Qin An said from outside.
Huiyin opened the box and asked someone to wash a plate for her to taste. The plums were deep purple with a hint of red, and tasted sour and sweet. It was exactly what they tasted like. After her period was over, she became energetic again, and her skin became better. Now, with the food that Li Cheng had specially sent over, she was in a very good mood.
Seeing the spirit deer bringing tea over again, she hurriedly said, "I just ate plums, so I can't drink hot tea, or I'll get a stomachache. You can take it and eat it. And here's the box of plums, keep it for me."
Linglu smiled and replied, "Yes, His Majesty is really good to the Queen. He even remembered that the Queen loves to eat plums. We didn't even know that."
"I love to eat these, but I love them too much, so I get stomachaches easily. I usually don't let anyone send them to me, but I didn't expect the emperor to still remember them. I seem to remember that they were from Lingnan. It's a waste of money and labor to do this. I'll write a letter to tell him not to worry about me in the future." Huiyin shook her head.
Linglu said, "If it were any other monarch, I wouldn't be able to guarantee it, but our emperor truly loves the people like his own children and will never waste their labor and property."
Plums are a trivial matter. Winter is approaching, and the palace has started to make winter clothes. Huiyin asked the people in the clothing bureau to make clothes for the people in the palace first, including clothes for the Empress Dowager, the Princess of Wei, the Second Princess of Yin, the Princess Jianjia, the Prince of Yuzhang, and others, as well as Jing'er and Zhan'er, and even Guo Xing who lived in the palace with them.
At the same time, Huiyin sent some cold-weather clothes to the imperial mausoleum: "They are guarding the imperial mausoleum and cannot go out. It is very hard for them."
Cui Yuehuan had thought that Huiyin wanted to let the people in the imperial mausoleum fend for themselves, but she had never thought that she would send cotton clothes and bedding to them. Ji Shi at home said, "Your Majesty is really too kind, in my opinion."
Madam Xu sat at the head of the table and agreed for the first time: "If you don't remove the roots, they will grow again in the spring breeze. Those people are the descendants of the treacherous crown prince, and they have made life miserable for the people. If I say she is young, Madam should also say something."
Addressing the Empress as "her" was something that only Madam Xu did.
Ji had been able to tolerate it before, but now she had to speak out: "Madam, please be careful with your words. The Empress is extremely intelligent and has the heart of a bodhisattva. How can we interfere with her?"
Mrs. Xu almost blurted out that she was the elder, but she thought that she was the empress, so her face turned red and white. Deyin, who was sitting on the side, knew that her grandmother was helping her, so she hated these people in the palace so much. Who asked Li Heng to drug her?
Therefore, she tried to smooth things over: "Madam, this is the tea I ordered myself, please try it."
Ji also took the opportunity to praise Deyin: "You are really good at making tea."
Deyin said a few humble words, thinking only of her poor health. It was Ji who helped with the treatment. She was no longer as hostile to others as before. At least Ji did not deliberately deprive her of anything. She even had a desperate impulse now, but when she really wanted to die, she still felt that it was better to be alive.
What's the harm in being a little bullied when you're eating and living at someone else's place?
Xin said, "I remember that my eldest aunt had a maid who was very good at making tea and could perform thirty-six kinds of tea operas."
That was Yunzhi, but she betrayed her in the end. Deyin no longer wanted to mention this person.
Imperial Tomb
Yunzhi got up early and emptied the toilet, then hurried back to her room, helped her daughter dress, and opened her clothes for her son to feed. After finishing these tasks, she was sweating all over.
When she left the palace, she had some small change in her pocket that she used for gifts. Empress Zheng did not allow them to bring anything out, but money makes the world go round. She used the money to buy her daughter a snack and had someone bring her some rice porridge. She herself had cornmeal porridge, a small dish of pickled vegetables, and a palm-sized steamed bun, and she was already very satisfied.
However, winter is coming soon, the bedding is too thin, and the jackets are just padded jackets, which don't keep out the cold at all.
If the girl could send her some, it would be great. She is the elder sister of Queen Zheng, and she will definitely be treated well. At first, she did betray the girl, but she never hurt her, and even took the initiative to help her several times when she was in trouble.
But she was disappointed, because it was Empress Zheng, and her brother at that, who sent her the cotton-padded clothes.
When Huiyin asked Pei Shuo to send cotton-padded clothes, he had a task, which was to see how the Wei family girl was living. If she got these treasures, it meant that she was not used to it, and there was no one to help her during this period, but if she looked indifferent, dismissive, and there is even a better one in the room, which means that she is being helped secretly.
Wei Liangdi gave birth to the eldest son of the crown prince, so how could Wei Duo completely abandon him? It's not that Wei Duo loves his daughter and grandson so much. But now that he is emperor, the forces attacking him will be even greater, so he must use the name of Li's descendants. Wei Liangdi's son is the most important one to be monitored.
Yunzhi was already very happy to see the mattress, but she didn't expect to get a cotton-padded jacket. You know, cotton-padded jackets are not cheap. Although the cloth is indigo linen, it is already very good. She held her daughter's hand and said happily, "That's great, it's really great. We can have a good winter."
Wei Liangdi, who was standing by, saw this and her eyes were full of mockery.
The maid handing out the cotton-padded clothes said, "Mr. Wei, come and get it quickly."
Wei Liangdi was originally the daughter of a prime minister like Wei Duo, and the most important person under the Eastern Palace. Now she was treated like this. She angrily took the cotton clothes and mattress, went into the room, threw them on the floor and stomped on them: "One day, when my son becomes the emperor, I will beat you until you scream."
…
Pei Shuo really admired his sister. After getting the so-called investigation list, she did not immediately check these people according to the list, but took another approach, letting herself come first and investigate Wei Liangdi, and she actually gained something.
He pretended to lead the group back, but turned back halfway to observe the area.
However, after Huiyin got the list, she certainly couldn't believe it completely, just like the two items Huiyin asked them to verify this time, the first was whether it was consistent with the background they said, and the second was to see if there were any signs of an outbreak in their family recently.
However, these two items can also be falsified. She is just following them and does not trust them completely.
"Your Majesty, Madam Ma has brought in another sign." said Mother Nan.
This Madam Ma was Xun Rou. After Xun Rou returned to the capital, her father thought she was useless and wanted to marry her off to someone else as a successor because she did not have much dowry. However, her father passed away that year, and Xun Rou asked to observe mourning for three years. Later, the news came that the King of Huaiyin was annexing Qingzhou, Yanzhou and other places. Xun Rou used the tiger skin as a banner to make her stepmother dare not marry her Casually, so she chose a promising young man, Ma Sichu, the then Linzhou Sihu Canjun.
Actually, Xun Rou's life was not bad. Huiyin just made her taste the bitter fruit of her own scheme. However, her reputation was not spread back to her hometown. She was just sent back to her family on the grounds that she was old and needed to be engaged.
Since Li Cheng ascended the throne, Xun Rou had submitted petitions several times to enter the palace to visit the Grand Empress Dowager, but the palace affairs were all managed by Huiyin, who had the right to decide who could be seen and who could not be seen.
The Empress Dowager is a confused person to begin with, and Xun Rou is full of evil spirits. It is bound to be bad if these two are together.
"Leave the sign in the middle, don't pay attention to it." Huiyin said.
The Empress Dowager is also old, just like Madam Xu. She does not hold power, but has a high seniority. Everyone knows that they are old, so it is difficult to do anything to them.
Nan's mother was relieved to hear Huiyin say this: "That's how it should be. Xun Rou is not a good person. She has many tricks and many schemes."
Huiyin smiled and said, "I'm not stupid, why should I ask her to come? She is just the wife of a military officer, what qualifications does she have to ask for an audience? Oh, by the way, I saw that the prince's clothes were very well made yesterday, you can give me four taels of silver to reward the clothesman of the Shangfu Bureau for me."
Mother Nan took the order and left. It was said that this Zhong Siyi was the daughter of a wealthy family. Her elder sister had recently bought a three-story house, and her nephew had also married with a generous betrothal gift. The Cui family believed that there was something wrong with Zhong Siyi.
Moreover, Zhong Siyi used to be Empress He's man, so there were always problems with him. Ever since he was reprimanded last time, he has been working very hard in the Shangfu Bureau.
But Huiyin did not punish Zhong Siyi directly. Instead, she went to reward him with great fanfare. Was she trying to see what kind of person was behind the scenes?
If Zhong Siyi is not a spy, and someone knows that Zhong Siyi is on their list, will they send a blackmail? If something happens to Zhong Siyi at this time, or if she is reported and exposed, then Zhong Siyi's position is likely to be taken by a real spy.
However, Zhong Siyi was very happy to receive the reward from Huiyin, not because of the money, but because it represented the Empress' trust in her.
At their age, especially her, she had never married and had entered the palace to be a female official. She had finally made it to the position of Si Yi, so how could she bear to leave? People in the palace even respectfully called her Shang Gong, which meant she had all the face. In fact, she had a bad relationship with her elder sister. Her fiancé was taken away by her elder sister. However, female officials in the palace usually accepted widows. She lied that she was a widow and entered the palace to serve. She could not leave the palace to live with her elder sister.
Now that the new queen trusted her, Zhong Siyi received the reward money and asked someone to go to the kitchen to get some silver and prepare a few dishes of wine and drinks to treat the people from the Shangfu Bureau to a drink.
"The Queen gave me a reward today and said it was all my contribution, but it was also inseparable from the help of you all."
Having dinner with Zhong Siyi were two dressers, two head dressers and four female historians, all of whom were from the Clothing Department. There were four departments in the Shangfu Bureau now. Zhong Siyi had served as the acting Shangfu of the Shangfu Bureau and had the most experience, so she might be the Shanggong of the next Shangfu Bureau.
But the decision lies with the Empress, so she has to personally take care of everything related to making the clothes this time.
"It's all thanks to Si Yi. We were just doing some minor work."
Everyone laughed.
Another waiter sitting nearby said, "I heard that the Sishi of the Sishi Department is also interested in becoming a Shang Gong. The other day she received a bathing fragrance recipe, and the queen was very happy."
Zhong Siyi took a look at this Manager Cai and thought that this Manager Cai was recruited by her in the past, but his experience was still shallow. However, it was Manager Cai who was always keeping an eye on things for her, so he was like a confidant, unlike the two Dianyis under her who were eyeing her position covetously.
Little did they know that Cai Zhangyi was a hidden agent arranged by the Wei family. Before Wei Liangdi entered the palace, the palace recruited female officials, and Cai Zhangyi came in. However, she is still only the Zhangyi, not even the Dianyi. Zhong Siyi is a very serious and meticulous person. She has to do everything herself, and she manages the Shangfu Bureau so well that it is difficult for her to do anything.
I heard word these days that the Empress has started to suspect Zhong Siyi. If she adds some fuel to the fire and Zhong Siyi leaves, and the two new eunuchs who come up are not very careful and are eager for quick success, then some things will be easier to handle.
Children's skin is delicate. If they soak clothes in poison and then wear them, they may die for unknown reasons. This is not like in the kitchen where people test for poison before eating food. No one will test for poison on clothes before wearing them.
Cai Zhangyi secretly instigated, hoping that Zhong Siyi would fight with another Siyi.
Three days later, Pei Shuo asked for a meeting. Huiyin met her brother in a side hall and asked her confidant to guard the door.
"Brother, how is it?" Huiyin asked.
Pei Shuo said, "Your Highness, your guess is not wrong at all. On the surface, Wei looks no different from other women, but she wears furs and warm quilts, and the food she eats is carefully prepared. I was afraid that I might have misjudged Wei and wondered what would happen if she spent money, so I took advantage of her unpreparedness and had someone sneak into her room to search, but there was no money, and the fox fur came from Jinzhou and other places. At night, a night-scented maid would sneak in to deliver food. I followed her for two days before I realized that she was in disguise and had already been arrested."
"Okay, I'll have some ideas in a few days. If we can find their lair, it might be of other use." Huiyin said.
Pei Shuo asked, "Should we report this matter to His Majesty?"
Huiyin shook her head: "Don't tell His Majesty yet. He is fighting a war and might be distracted."
The brother and sister chatted for a few more words before leaving.
Then Huiyin went to pay her respects to Empress Dowager Xun and said, "This is a milk cake made by the kitchen. I found it soft and tasty. I am offering it to the old ancestor."
Empress Dowager Xun, who was so old, liked to eat food that was easy to digest. When she saw the box opened and the snow-white, soft pastries exposed, she couldn't help but say, "Do the Crown Prince and the Second Prince have some? They like to eat these."
"Don't worry, they have them all there. I wonder how the old ancestor is doing recently? The weather is getting colder, so you must take good care of yourself." Huiyin said with a smile.
Empress Dowager Xun nodded.
The two exchanged a few polite words, and Huiyin took her leave. When she left, Empress Dowager Xun grumbled, "People from the Zheng family always come to see her, but few people from our Xun family come to the palace, and even if they do, they just follow the crowd."
Nanny Fan has been Huiyin's person for a long time. She thought to herself that Xun Rou had done that kind of thing under your orders before, and now you are thinking about her again. And the marquis ladies of the Xun family are all grandchildren of Empress Dowager Xun. What kind of relationship do these people have with the Grand Empress Dowager?
But that's not the right way to say it. Nanny Fan said, "I heard that the Empress wants to reward people every time they come to her place. Even the Empress has complained privately that there are not enough things in the storehouse. The Xun family is doing this because you are now a marquis. If you ask for rewards or official positions after entering the palace, you won't agree. Even if you agree, you have to wait until the Emperor comes back before you can talk."
Empress Dowager Xun's focus was strange: "Are you saying that the Empress is also short of money?"
Nanny Fan nodded, "That's right. The emperor needs money to fight outside. The inner treasury has been used up before, so now he has to come to the palace. There are many people in the palace, and they all have to be given quotas. The meritorious officials outside have to be rewarded. Even the Princess of Wei who live here have to be helped to build houses. In winter, the whole palace is making winter clothes. In order to show the kindness of the new court, I heard that the queen also said that her family members don't have to come to the palace in the near future."
Empress Dowager Xun's private treasury was quite rich, so it was fine to give some of it to her family, but if the empress was short of money, and she gave a lot of it to her family, what if the empress asked her for money? What should she do?
For a while, Empress Dowager Xun stopped her actions.
**
In the middle of the night, Huiyin looked at the list of names: Zhong Siyi, Jiang Sishan, Peng Neishi from the Gongde Hall, and the palace maids from the flower room of the Linde Hall. The first four of these five were from families that suddenly became rich, but the last one was from a completely wrong place of origin.
"Fugui, the maid in the flower room named Rouer seems to be already twenty years old." Huiyin asked.
Fu Gui said: "That's right, this person is twenty years old this year."
"How's your work going?"
"She is quite meticulous, gentle and silent, and doesn't talk much. Everyone likes her."
"Tomorrow, have someone find an opportunity to go to her room and look around. If there is a large sum of money or medicine or powder, just give it to her."
She had to first publish the most obvious one according to the list, so that those people would think that she believed Cui Yuehuan's list, and then they would naturally start to send the so-called evidence to her. And those who sent evidence had a chain of relationships, and no one on this chain could escape.
Fugui acted quickly. She first asked Narou to deliver a few pots of flowers to Empress Dowager Xun, and then searched her residence, but found nothing. She asked Lingjiu to restore the things to their original state and erase the footprints, and asked her to guard it here.
It is also said that Rou'er came back with the flowers and her body was covered in mud, so she just needed to change her clothes. Lingjiu was hiding on the beam and saw her take off her outer clothes and change into new ones. She took advantage of Rou'er's absence to touch her again, but still found nothing.
Lingjiu came back and told Huiyin: "I don't see anything unusual. I can't feel anything on her body."
"Is she wearing any jewelry on her head or body?" Huiyin narrowed her eyes.
Lingjiu thought for a moment and said, "Yes, it is a thin silver hairpin with honey wax on it."
"Then take apart this silver hairpin and see if there is anything inside." Huiyin said.
Lingjiu nodded, and within a day, she came back to report: "Your Majesty, you are truly amazing. The powder in Rou'er's hairpin is dried vine powder. The imperial physician said that if it is placed on flowers, adults will vomit if they inhale it, and children may die if they inhale it. No wonder we all said a few days ago that you love flowers the most, why don't you let people send you flowers, and why don't you easily let people send you flowers."
Huiyin sighed, "It's hard to guard against it. I'm not omnipotent. Fortunately, Rou'er is not too crazy. We can't keep her alive. Expose her crimes to the public and let the palace internal department investigate. It's best to find out who is behind it. If no one is found, don't let her commit suicide. But after she commits suicide, we should claim that she committed suicide too quickly."
After the order was passed down, the palace internal department quickly used torture, but Rou'er's name sounded gentle, but her temperament was tough, and she kept silent. It was not until Huiyin gave an order that she was told that her defense was broken, and then she confessed that it was Xiao, the eunuch who was in charge of the laundry department and was bullied for many years, who passed the message on her behalf.
Eunuch Xiao and Rou'er were executed on the spot for plotting to murder the royal heir and being Wei's spies, and their heads were hung for three days.
This incident shocked the whole world. The Empress had been known for her benevolence before, and now she had a ruthless hand. Looking at the head hanging on the city wall, Cui Yuehuan shrank back.
"The Queen should be able to scare those people now."
Even Yin Lifang and Princess Wei came to Huiyin's palace after hearing about this. They comforted Huiyin but were also a little surprised. Yin Lifang was not surprised. Her sister once said that Zheng was very rude to Xun Rou and had no bottom line at all. That was only to her love rival. Now she was even less polite to the person who really wanted to poison the prince.
Not to mention Xun Rou. Her life had been better. She even wanted to go to the palace to visit Empress Dowager Xun and take the opportunity to take revenge. But when she saw the head, she fainted and her heart started beating wildly.
Be good, just stay at home obediently.
Madam Xu also shut up. Deyin usually didn't like violent people. Li Heng, Huiyin and Li Cheng were all cruel and ruthless people. No wonder Li Heng and Huiyin were a couple in their previous life, and Li Cheng and Huiyin were also a couple in this life.
…
Cai Dianyi spied on the situation secretly and saw how the empress treated the maid who wanted to harm the prince. Taking advantage of this excitement, she began to use her connections. She first wrote a black letter and had someone throw it into the gap under the door of the Linde Palace late at night. She also put a packet of poison under Zhong Siyi's mattress.
She knew clearly that even if the Empress wanted to check, she would not be able to find anything on her body, as there was nothing on her body now.
At night, she secretly thought that if this matter was accomplished, the Wei family would never let her down, nor would they let her family down. Her father was over fifty years old and had always been depressed. If the Wei family took care of him in the future, his future would definitely not be so bumpy.
Unexpectedly, at dawn, the person standing at her door was Zhong Siyi, who looked at her coldly: "I never thought that you are a spy of the Wei family and you want to frame me."
Cai Dianyi hadn't put on her clothes yet, and she felt very confused: "Si Yi, what are you talking about?"
Shouldn't the Empress take her? After all, Rou'er only used poison, and the Empress beheaded her.
Zhong Siyi said, "Siyi Department has a person like you, and you want to frame me. Your accomplice has been arrested. The Queen Mother said that your family members have also been controlled by General Pei, and the woman Qiao you contacted outside has also been arrested. If you know what's interesting, the Queen Mother may let you meet your father. If you don't know what's interesting, your fate will be the same as Rou'er's."
Cai Dianyi's rank is higher than Rou'er's, and all the ten hidden stakes placed by the Wei family were pulled out.
…
Afterwards, Ji entered the palace and asked, "I didn't expect that Zhong Siyi was not the one. How did you know that there was something wrong with Cai Dianyi?"
Huiyin laughed and said, "The emperor reminded me of this, but I already knew what to do. It's ridiculous that Wei Duo has lost his wife and his army!"
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