91 Chapter 91

◎Escape from marriage◎

The little princess's full name has not yet been given. This child is the first daughter born to the emperor after he ascended the throne. Everyone dotes on her, and the more so, the more attention should be paid to her. So she is only given a nickname, Tong'er, which also has a kind of intimate meaning.

Huiyin got up early and read for too long, resulting in a sore neck. Zhan'er came over and immediately gave her a massage, and then used a small hammer to tap her back. Somehow, as he grew older, Zhan'er became more girlish in character, very sensible and filial.

"You must be tired from knocking. Can your mother ask someone to bring you a cup of your favorite walnut tea?" Huiyin said, holding her son's hand.

Zhan'er was really sensible. He shook his head and said, "Son, you don't have to. I just thought that your shoulders were always sore, so I came here. Yesterday, after running a horse, my body was sore, and it was the wet nurse who massaged me, and I felt better."

"So that's how it is. Where did you feel sore yesterday? Mother, can you take a look?" Huiyin knew that Li Cheng required her sons to be well-versed in both civil and martial arts. Fortunately, neither of her two sons was sick or weak. Even so, she didn't want to interfere with her sons' martial arts training.

Li Cheng has only been on the throne for a short time. If there is another war, he cannot let the court officials and generals lead him around. If the emperor is proficient in both civil and military strategies, the government will be stable within three generations. This is why Huiyin is still willing to have children, because their family really has a throne to inherit.

Zhan'er pointed to his thighs and back. Huiyin also put down the book in her hand and massaged her son herself. She also asked, "These days, your father has often asked you about your studies. Since your sister was born here, I have inevitably neglected you. If you don't understand anything, just talk to your mother."

"There is nothing that my son doesn't understand. If I don't understand, my royal brother will teach me. Yesterday, my royal brother even specially sent me medicine." Zhan'er said with a smile.

Huiyin nodded: "I am happy to see that you two brothers are still so harmonious, but you are also the son of the Queen Mother, you can't be so sensible, if there is anything, you must tell the Queen Mother."

When the children grow up, they can no longer live in the side halls, but must move to the prince's residence. This is the ancestral rule, and even Li Cheng cannot keep his sons in the same place all the time. Usually, boys from official families have to move to the outer courtyard when they grow up, not to mention the princes, who have to set an example for the world.

Zhan'er was very happy to hear this: "Mother, you can come to my palace when you are free. I still have a lot to say to you."

"Okay, mother will wait for you to get out of school tomorrow and then go to see you, okay?" Now there are three children, and they must be treated equally.

Zhan'er was sweeter than honey. Huiyin stood up and joined him in drinking. Soon Jing'er came. Huiyin smiled and said, "Your brother knew that my neck was sore. He remembered that he had massaged my neck after riding a horse yesterday, so he came to massage me. I was just asking when you would come over, and here you are."

"My son has gone to look for my second brother. We originally planned to come together, but I didn't know he would come first. Mother, I heard from my father that you were going to perform the wedding ceremony, is that right?" Jing'er asked.

Huiyin nodded and said: "The silkworm ceremony is nothing more than offering sacrifices to the silkworms, cultivating mulberry trees, and offering silk and reeling silk. These are all handled by officials from the Ministry of Rites. I will go to perform the ceremony when the time comes."

Jing'er obviously didn't come here to talk about these things, and seemed to be hesitant to speak. Huiyin dismissed the servants and asked, "What's the matter? Do you have something to tell me?"

"It's nothing. It's just that the other day, Prince Guo entered the palace, and I had a few words with him. He seemed to be quite resistant to the marriage with the Yuwen family. I don't know whether he wanted to pass a message to you through his son, asking you to stop this matter." Jing'er said.

After hearing this, Huiyin looked at her son with great satisfaction: "You have grown up and now you know that it is not about helping others first, but knowing the intention behind it. This is good."

Jing'er said hurriedly: "This is all because of what our mother taught us."

It is true that children in the palace are generally precocious. The younger son knew to come to her early to please her, and the older son showed his abilities by speaking his heart out. It is not a bad thing that they are so smart at this age.

"Don't worry about the affairs of my ministers. It's not good for you to take sides. You should always be the most decisive person in the middle, and don't get involved in trivial matters. Moreover, breaking up other people's marriages is not okay. I know you are a kind-hearted child, but his parents are such good people. Since they have arranged this marriage, they must have their reasons. As a royal family, you must not interfere in the family affairs of foreign ministers." Huiyin knew that the young man admired Qingai, but girls change a lot when they grow up, and it would be difficult for them to live like this in the future. There is a difference between the two sides.

Jing'er worriedly said, "Mother, what if you say Guo Xing ran away? He is so resistant now, and he can't get over his father. He is unhappy and will always do something extreme."

Huiyin touched her son's head and said, "Maybe this isn't a bad thing."

Jing'er was startled.

Huiyin said in detail: "The most important thing for the emperor is to check and balance the world. It doesn't mean to provoke them to fight among themselves, but if they are too united, they will point the spearhead at the emperor. So if they have some minor frictions, isn't it a good thing for us?"

"But Guo Xing grew up with his son, didn't he?" Jing'er felt that her mother was usually very caring towards Guo Xing.

Huiyin smiled and said, "If I were an ordinary aunt, I would certainly do my best to help him, but we are different, we are the royal family. He stayed in our house back then because of the emperor's mindset, and it is still the same now. What I said today has reached your ears, you should remember it in your heart, and don't tell anyone else."

When fighting for power, few people care about family affection. The Cui family is hesitant. Are they trying to defect? ​​This is still my uncle. The marriage between the Guo family and the Yuwen family may not be without the intention of being of the same blood.

Jing'er nodded secretly, then stood up and said, "Thank you for your teachings, mother."

"However, this is nothing more than a technique after all. As the crown prince, you should pay more attention to the people's livelihood. If you can suppress those people and make them blessed, then your decrees can be implemented in the future. This is the true way of being a monarch." Huiyin said.

The mother and son talked for a few more words. Seeing that Zhan'er had fallen asleep on the couch, Huiyin said to Jing'er, "Your father has something to ask you, so go first. Your brother will stay here with me and let him sleep a little longer. He felt uncomfortable riding the horse yesterday, so he wanted me to give him some comfort."

Jing'er originally thought that her brother was not kind enough to come here alone so early to sell things, but what her mother said made sense, her brother was still a child. Sometimes when he was wronged, he also wanted his mother to love him.

He added, "The son went there first."

"Go ahead." Huiyin waved her hand, and stood up to go to her son and tuck him in. It was still chilly in late February, and there was a floor heater in the palace. She saw sweat on Zhan'er's forehead, and she helped wipe it off. She couldn't help but bend down and kiss her son, who was so cute, and then she sat beside him, waiting for him to wake up.

The little girl was only one month old and still fell asleep after feeding. When she woke up, it seemed as if she was still very young and her mother was taking care of her.

"Erlang, let's go see your sister. Come on." Huiyin actually had a somewhat strange personality when she was a child, but she was lucky that none of her children were ignorant, so she was very patient with them.

The boy had just finished drinking milk and was sleeping soundly. Zhan'er whispered to Huiyin, "Mother, was my son also this small when he was a child?"

"It's the same. When you were a kid, you loved to blow bubbles, and I often asked your brother to come and watch." Huiyin mentioned the past and saw Zhan'er blushing, so she didn't say anything else.

During dinner, Li Cheng came over and saw the mother and son talking. He smiled at his son and said, "As expected, your mother is so affectionate. I was wondering why she didn't see you."

Zhan'er quickly bowed again, and Li Cheng motioned him to sit down.

"I thought His Majesty would not come. Since you are here today, I will ask the kitchen to add a few more dishes. What do you think?" Huiyin stood up quickly.

Li Cheng smiled and said, "I'll just have some rice porridge. I ate too much meat at noon, Yunnan's dishes from Jingong. I can't eat anything else now."

"In that case, I'll ask them to make some side dishes for the porridge. Please wait a moment, Zhan'er, talk to your father." Huiyin asked someone to go to the kitchen again.

"You can prepare some bamboo shoots, fish jerky, and three fruits stir-fried with soy sauce. Remember, you don't need to peel the hazelnuts. Also, we have imported a lot of sweet cabbage from Jizhou. I like it very much. You can ask them to make some steamed buns with Chinese cabbage."

After I finished giving instructions, she came in. The three of them played some games for a while, and when all the dishes were served, they started eating together. It was true that when you feel sick, you will feel very good just eating something sweet. You usually hate the smell of vegetables, but you actually ate two. The porridge was not thick, just like drinking water. Li Cheng ate two more bowls before stopping.

This is sweet, but the Guo family has their own thoughts. Guo Xing was raised by Huiyin for many years, and his behavior is different from others. Because when he was in the Huaiyin Palace, the queen, who was still the princess at that time, respected her two children very much. She listened to the children's opinions on everything, from what to study and what not to study to what to eat.

In their family, the father was the one who had the final say and would scold him at any time. The stepmother was very polite to him and always obeyed his father.

"Prince, please eat a few more bites. You haven't touched the food at all." The servant who had been serving Guo Xing since he was a child felt uncomfortable watching this.

The prince, with such good character and appearance, is going to marry a girl of no value. It is really a disaster for the uncle.

Guo Xing put down his chopsticks and said, "I'm going out to race horses. Please have someone bring my horse over to me."

The horse was given by the Empress. He placed his hopes on the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince could say a few good words for him in front of the Empress and help him cancel the marriage, how great would that be? Although the hope was slim, it would be great if he really agreed.

He was thinking this, but Jiang Bibo was talking to Madam Yuwen. The two of them were compatible and it was said to be a match made in heaven. The two ladies were having dinner together and were very affectionate with each other.

Madam Yuwen smiled and said, "I am not as close to the Empress as my sister is. We don't live in Xuzhou originally. Even if I met the Empress before, I don't know how to flatter her. I hope my sister can teach me more in the future."

"From what you said, the Empress is the most amiable person. Our two families have been old friends for a long time, and now we are relatives. If you have any questions, I will tell you everything I know." Jiang Bibo thought to herself that she herself didn't know what kind of person the Empress was.

She used to think that the Empress was the Emperor's wise wife, or a caring person, but it seemed that was not the case. There was no way to define who the Empress was, and she was completely unpredictable.

Other women need to complain, vent, or even be jealous, or even be greedy for money and power, but the Empress has everything. In terms of appearance, she is the best, and her husband only wants to marry her, not even a maid. She also gave birth to a son smoothly. She is not greedy for anything, and the Emperor is sent to her.

A person like this has everything she needs, so who could possibly impress her?

But she couldn't tell all this to Lady Yuwen. She had no father or mother and no background. Although she was a lady of an earl, she was walking on thin ice. Fortunately, she was the Empress's godsister and interacted with the Zheng family a lot. Because of this, people outside treated her with respect.

Mrs. Yuwen was satisfied when she saw that Jiang Bibo was so considerate despite her status. As a daughter-in-law, the husband is secondary. The most important thing is to find a good mother-in-law. If the mother-in-law is good, then you can live comfortably. Mrs. Guo is young and kind, and never takes on too much. She is just a stepmother, so she shouldn't control too much. Her daughter will definitely have a good life in the future.

As the old saying goes, brothers working together can accomplish great things, and the same is true for a family. If they have different opinions, there will be chaos sooner or later.

It is also said that on the third day of March, Huiyin dressed up and went to perform the silkworm-bringing ceremony. Almost all the princes and officials came to watch the ceremony. She moved in two days in advance, spun silk herself, and took it back to spin it so that she could make a dress herself.

Li Cheng also hired a painter to paint a picture specifically for this silkworm wedding, which was of a very large scale. From then on, when he was working in the Duanming Palace, he would occasionally call Huiyin over and personally teach her how to handle official business.

However, in the process, Huiyin also discovered her own shortcomings. She said to Li Cheng: "I found that I don't really like to organize others. If you give me something, I can definitely do it well, but if you ask me to go home and deal with people all day, I find it troublesome."

Discerning people's hearts is the most tiring thing, and the exchange of interests during the process is indeed tiring.

Li Cheng smiled and said, "You know my dilemma, right? I'm in the same situation as you. Sometimes when we're marching, one person swears that this is the truth, and the other person swears that that is the truth. People say that people should be decisive, but it's hard for people to know everything. So we have to talk to each other again and again, and I'm afraid that people will see through my ignorance. It's really frustrating."

"It seems that both of us are free and unrestrained people in our hearts, but there is nothing we can do. We have to take care of ourselves." Huiyin covered her mouth and laughed.

Li Cheng held her shoulders and said, "You don't have to be so cautious every time you come here, or be afraid of hearing something. You will learn how to do things from me in the future. You will learn by watching and hearing. You didn't start handling government affairs when you were young, and I won't force you to learn so much. Anyway, just listen first."

"Yes." Huiyin used to deal with internal affairs, and at most she would prepare for external affairs in advance and give some advice. But when it comes to managing a country, it is simply a matter of thousands of things to do, and it is simply a matter of taking a hundred steps before taking one step.

Seeing Huiyin being so obedient, like a schoolgirl, he lifted her chin in a frivolous manner: "How are you going to thank me for being so sensible?"

"I have been out of confinement for three months and I am fully recovered now. You can come over today."

Let's not talk about how they enjoyed sex. In the daytime, Huiyin's eyes were full of spring water and her cheeks were naturally pink. Li Cheng couldn't help but be moved again, but he didn't dare to do anything reckless. When they were young, they often enjoyed sex in bed. Young people are greedy for sex. At this age, they are still young and intend to accompany each other all the way, so they are very restrained.

Li Cheng stood up and said, "Recently, I am planning to set up a secret office that belongs to me. It will be responsible for spying on everything for me and will belong to me only. What do you think?"

"This is a good thing. It belongs only to Your Majesty. No one below dares to hide it from you." Huiyin said.

Li Cheng nodded: "I think so too. I will not make groundless speculations about the ministers in the court. After all, people have seven emotions and six desires. How many officials in the world do not serve themselves, but for the people. But as long as this person is useful, it doesn't matter if he has some flaws. But you can't just brag about yourself and not do anything, or go too far."

Officials in the officialdom protect each other. If this continues, government orders will not be implemented and the emperor will have to find a solution himself.

It took Li Cheng almost a year to build up his own internal security team to gather intelligence. By this time, Tong Jie'er was just one year old, and was at the age of learning to speak.

Huiyin sat on the carpet, watching her daughter stumbling towards her, and quickly stretched out her hands. Her daughter fell limply into her arms.

"Mother..." the child called in a baby voice.

Huiyin pinched her daughter's arm, which was as thin as a lotus root node. "You call me mother, and it almost melts my heart."

"Why haven't I seen my father yet?" The boy looked around.

Huiyin sighed: "I take care of you every day, and your father only comes to see you once every few days, but you miss your father."

She had some feelings, but the nurse beside the child said quickly: "My queen, the princess is still young and doesn't know these things."

"Don't take it personally. I'm just expressing my feelings occasionally." Huiyin wasn't angry with her daughter. Blood ties are just so magical sometimes.

The wet nurses and maids all smiled along. It was very important for the masters they served to be liked by the Empress. Although the Emperor seemed to be very good to the princes and princesses, he listened to the Empress very much.

People in the palace are like this. In fact, they can imagine too much from any random words, so Huiyin acted as usual and didn't say anything more.

At lunch, Jing'er and Zhan'er came to eat. Jing'er was talking about Guo Xing's marriage: "He will be getting married this month. Mother, please allow me to leave the palace for a while."

"You are so excited, why don't you go and tell your father?" Huiyin shook her head.

Jing'er smiled and said, "How dare I argue with you, father? You are my favorite."

"Don't talk nonsense." Although Huiyin said this, she still told Li Cheng on his behalf.

However, Jing'er came back within an hour after leaving the palace, and brought an explosive news: "Guo Xing ran away from his marriage."