89 Chapter 89
◎The fight started again◎
Ji stayed in the palace for a month before returning. Huiyin prepared 66 rolls of top-quality palace silk, 24 pairs of gold and silver ingots, 10 bottles of rose water from the Kingdom of Daqin, six boxes of jewels and jade, and six newly made books for Ji to take back.
However, Ji didn't know about Xu's situation yet, and happily distributed things to everyone. She also said to Cui Yuehuan: "The rose water is not from our country, but from outside the region. It is much more precious than what we sell in the market. You young people can take these and use them."
Cui Yuehuan saw that the most valuable items the empress appreciated were jewels and jades, all of which were made in the palace. She was astonished. It was not that she had not seen good things before, but it was probably rare to see such exquisite jewelry made in the palace. When she was in Xuzhou, she heard that the empress liked these exquisite objects very much, so the jewelry she made was all exquisite.
Ji only gave her one box of these and prepared the other box for Madam Xu.
Cui Yuehuan was afraid that her mother-in-law would be in trouble, so she told her the truth: "After hearing about this, the old man had people perform a water and land ritual to pray for the soul to be reborn. Only then did the old lady take my eldest aunt to Miaoyun Temple and come back."
It is conceivable that Madam Xu and Deyin must be angry. They will not vent their anger on Zheng Wuheng, but on Ji. Even if they don't say anything openly, who knows if they will take revenge in the future?
Ji was originally very happy. Her daughter was pregnant. Her son-in-law, as an emperor, not only did not have any affairs, but also tried his best to please her. Seeing this, how could she not be happy for her daughter? For those who love each other, it is easier to share adversity than to share wealth.
Unexpectedly, Xu was so unlucky. She sat down, holding onto the table in front of her. Cui Yuehuan hurriedly patted her back, but was stopped by Ji. "I'm not afraid of her cursing me, but I'm afraid she's cursing the queen in secret. If anything happens to the queen, my whole family will suffer."
Cui Yuehuan hadn't thought of this. She was young and didn't know the consequences. After hearing what her mother-in-law said, she was so scared that she broke into a cold sweat: "Madam, what should we do?"
"Don't be afraid for now. Call Song Dao Po and tell her that I have something to say." Ji thought to herself that she really sympathized with Deyin but couldn't. She knew exactly who Xu in red was cursing.
Cui Yuehuan knew that Xiaoji originally did not associate with these Taoist nuns. She heard that the Empress Dowager did not allow it, saying that such things could easily lead to being regarded as witchcraft, or at least supernatural powers, which would cause unrest in the family.
She came out of the main room and went to talk to Zheng Wuheng first: "The Queen Mother told us very clearly last time, but Madam is also worried and confused. She wants to fight poison with poison, but this..."
"Okay, okay, it's just in time that you told me about this."
"I saw you never taking care of household chores before, so I just wanted to tell you. I didn't expect you to pay attention to it." Cui Yuehuan knew her husband well. He was young and didn't care much about household affairs. They just talked about it occasionally when there was something wrong.
Zheng Wuheng said, "Mother is afraid that Xu will ask for your child, so she is too concerned. But if she asks those monks, Taoists and laymen to come and do something illegal, it will be bad if they set us up. Last time I went to the palace to see my sister, she told me about this."
If it were before, Zheng Wuheng would certainly not think it was a big problem. Older women all love to do these things, even Madam Xu. If they don't like someone, they like to use magic to harm that person. Or if there are women who are not favored, they will find these people to favor them.
Furthermore, Zheng Wuheng was the youngest in the family. When his sister usually talked to him about housework at home, he did not take it to heart. But after he grew up, he went to the palace to listen to his sister's teachings and felt that they were all valuable advice.
Zheng Wuheng said this to Ji: "When she was alive, she couldn't even defeat you, let alone now that she's dead. Take us for example, we have been cursed countless times by the enemy on the battlefield, but a defeated general is a defeated general."
She might not listen to what her daughter-in-law said, but she could still listen to what her son said.
The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is like this. Ji is considered a rare good mother-in-law. On the surface, she always supports her daughter-in-law and never makes her follow the rules, but in her heart, only her son is her own family.
"You said that, which shows that you have grown up. So let it go." Ji said.
Zheng Wuheng said: "Should you talk to your sister about this——"
"You absolutely can't do that. Your sister is pregnant, how could she hear such words? You are really blinded by greed, how can you say such nonsense." Ji scolded.
Zheng Wuheng knew, of course, that his mother would not tell his sister. In the past, when his sister got angry at home, his mother was a little afraid of her. He said this to attract Ji's attention.
His mother could easily deal with other things except the matter of Xu. The fighting in the inner house has continued until now, and even the old lady and the eldest sister are at home, so she is very uneasy. After all, there is only a thief who can survive for a thousand days, but there is no one who can guard against thieves for a thousand days.
When my elder sister was still at home, she was involved in almost all matters at home, big or small. She made decisions quickly and was a natural leader.
So, seeing his mother's gentle tone, he smiled and said, "I was reckless. What would my son do without his mother?"
"I don't have to worry about your elder brother. He is a considerate person. You have been raised by your sister and me since you were a child. You became more sensible after you got married, and you don't know much about household affairs on weekdays. Now that you have grown up, I feel much more at ease." Ji was very pleased.
Not to mention how Ji was doing at home, it was also said that Huiyin's reaction to her third pregnancy was more serious than the previous two. She did not have morning sickness when she should have, but when other people's babies are usually stable after four months of pregnancy, she felt uncomfortable. For some reason, everything she ate smelled fishy.
The kitchen brought a bowl of sweet soup, but she drank half of it and couldn't finish it anymore. Li Cheng was anxious and said, "What should we do? You can't stop feeding. If you keep going like this, what will happen to your health?"
"It's okay, don't worry about it. Didn't the imperial physician say that as long as you take the medicine to preserve the pregnancy on time, three doses will be enough. Although I'm not feeling well now, I will take more when I feel better later, so don't worry." Huiyin shook her head.
Li Chengze said, "Last time when you were pregnant with Zhan'er, you liked to eat green plums. Why don't you eat them this time?"
Huiyin covered her mouth and laughed, "Every pregnancy is different. This time you might be carrying a little princess. Aren't you also looking forward to having a princess? Don't worry~"
Li Cheng sat down and sighed: "It would be great if I could stop being so anxious. You have been having trouble eating and sleeping these days. I want to bring your mother into the palace to take care of you for a few days. It's always better to have your mother by your side."
"Goodbye, she has been uncomfortable in the palace for a month. The palace has a lot of rules and regulations. We two don't feel it, but I see that she is restrained, which is not good. Besides, I am the empress and I have to set an example. Didn't you see that my mother had been in the palace for a month and the empress dowager called her relatives into the palace to talk? Besides, with my health condition, I better rest quietly." Huiyin understood all this very well. They were not foolishly filial, but the status of the empress dowager was here. The higher you are in the emperor's position, the more people will watch your every move.
Li Cheng leaned back, smiled and shook his head, saying: "Before I became emperor, I always thought that being an emperor should be the proudest thing in life. Little did I know that the higher we go, the more restrictions we will be subject to."
"It's easy for you to talk without any pain in your waist. At least no one can threaten us now." Huiyin always mentioned "us", which not only implied closeness, but also a sense of power sharing.
Li Cheng only felt that Huiyin was always thinking about him, and the Xun family was nothing. But if the Zheng and Xun families started it, everyone would go everywhere to make plans. Who would be able to work seriously? He took Huiyin's hand again and said, "I only hope for your well-being. I don't think about others anymore. I took this position to protect our family."
Huiyin stroked her belly with a smile. She would not bother with others for the moment. Taking good care of herself was the most important thing. Once she was well, she would definitely not be polite to the Xun family.
During this month, there was more laughter and joy in the Empress Dowager's palace. She bought new clothes and made jewelry. The Empress Dowager treated the eight-year-old Xun Jiying better than she had treated Xun Rou before.
One day, when Li Cheng came to pay respects to the Empress Dowager, she even wanted to reward the girl, but Li Cheng rejected her suggestion: "Now that the new dynasty has just been established, I have already given her many favors for the Empress Dowager's sake. As the saying goes, there is no reward without merit. Now that you have the reward, you should do your job well. How can you always think about getting benefits from the harem?"
In fact, this is already very polite, the Xun family is actually quite decent, this is simply the Empress Dowager herself easily misjudged her own status. Seeing that Huiyin was not feeling well these days, the palace was not so strict, and many people came to her to flatter her. The Empress Dowager also saw that Li Cheng often came to pay respects, so she blurted it out.
Seeing that he disagreed, although he was humiliated, he was not upset: "This has nothing to do with them. I just thought that this girl is young but very filial. We can't treat her badly. That's why I said this. If the emperor disagrees, then forget it."
This is not the grandson of a prince anymore. At that time, even she had to flatter Concubine Wei. Although she was nice to the grandson, the person she could rely on was the Prince of Wei. Now, the person she completely relies on is her own grandson, so her tone is much softer.
Li Cheng, however, was a person who would not tolerate any persuasion and loved to argue. Normally, he could only conceal his anger when Huiyin was around, but now that he saw the Empress Dowager acting as if he was making a fuss over nothing, he could not help but argue again: "It's not that I don't agree, but there is no rule that this is the case. The daughter of a princess must have a great favor to be named a princess, not to mention the daughter of a marquis, who wants to be named a princess by favor? It's not in accordance with the rules, and it's even more against etiquette."
He was about to recite the system of rites and laws of enfeoffment, which even frightened Nanny Fan beside him. Why was the Emperor talking about this with the Grand Empress Dowager? The Grand Empress Dowager could hardly read, and she was listening to these profound things. Wasn't it like chanting sutras to a turtle?