93 Chapter 93
◎Birthday◎
Huiyin's birthday was coming soon. Of course, now that she was the empress, her birthday should be called Qianqiu. In addition to the gifts given according to the rules, Li Cheng privately gave her a hairpin he had carved himself, and said with a proud tone: "This jade is of good quality. I think the magnolia flower engraved on the end will suit you. Don't reject it."
Huiyin immediately put it in her hair: "How could I dislike it? This is your intention."
As an emperor, he didn't have much time to rest. Li Cheng was a person who couldn't sit still. He got up early to wish his wife a happy birthday. Knowing that all the imperial edicts would be delivered soon, he just said, "Have fun today. I'm going to Duanming Palace first."
Huiyin wanted to stand up and see him off, but he stopped her. She had no choice but to let people start dressing. On a day like this, she had to wear formal clothes. If she wore simple clothes on a day like this, people would probably say something bad. When she was in Xuzhou, there was a year when she would dress elegantly even if she was poor.
This is also related to each person's personality. Some people are good at using the weak to bully the strong, using simplicity, pity, and weakness to make others loyal. But Huiyin believes that human nature is evil, she is willing to move people with benefits, especially since everyone has bad natures. At the moment, he will help you out of sympathy, but if you are tied together for a long time, you have to exchange benefits.
Even with her own family, she is like this. She has deep feelings for them, but she wants them to risk their lives for her just based on feelings. Even if they themselves agree, the people under them may not be willing.
Therefore, she always appeared in front of people in a glamorous manner, allowing everyone to see that the Queen's position was stable and the Prince's position was even more stable.
The first to come were her natal family, the Zheng family. Madam Xu did not come as usual. Huiyin kept saying that she was sympathetic to her age and did not need her to enter the palace, but in reality, they hated each other and Huiyin did not want her to make demands in public every day as a grandmother. Ji, Xin and Cui Yuehuan came together. They performed the state ceremony first, and Huiyin asked them to sit down.
Everyone has changed a lot in the past few years. Cui Yuehuan gave birth to a son and a daughter, and her figure has become much rounder than before. Xin also gave birth to another son, and even Ji has a few more fine lines on her forehead.
Ji couldn't help but ask the boy, "Why don't you see the princess?"
"She just grew up, a little girl who hasn't grown her hair yet, but she wanted to learn to wear hairpins like me. So I asked the people in the Clothing Bureau to make a hat for her, and pinned beautiful silk velvet flowers on it. She was very happy." Huiyin was puzzled. She was not the kind of person who particularly liked to dress up. Her daughter was completely different from her. She loved beauty at such a young age.
Everyone laughed when they heard this, but Ji took it very seriously: "Madam, I have a lot of headscarves here, how about presenting them to the princess?"
Huiyin waved her hand quickly: "Goodbye, keep your headscarf for yourself. She is still young and doesn't need it."
After a few jokes, Huiyin asked someone to take Sister Xian to play in Yu Garden. She couldn't help but sigh to Xin: "Children grow up so fast. Sister Xian has grown up to be a beautiful lady. I think she has the demeanor of my sister-in-law."
This was what Xin was most proud of. She tried hard to suppress the smile on her face. "Thank you for the compliment, Her Majesty. She only pretends to be naughty in front of others. She is also very naughty at home. In the future, I will need Your Majesty's guidance."
Huiyin smiled and said, "Of course, Sister Xian is my niece."
In fact, she had considered whether to take her niece to live with her, but later gave up. This would make others think that she preferred Sister Xian to be the queen. There are no relatives in the world who will last for thousands of years. Originally, Pei Shuo and the Zheng family have been rewarded. As long as she is there, the Zheng family will of course always be the top relatives. But when she is gone in the future, it depends on whether the Zheng family can produce any capable children. If not, that will be the business of future generations and has nothing to do with her.
Moreover, she later had a child. She could not even take good care of her own child, so how could she share her love with other children? Moreover, if she did something wrong at one time, she would be resented.
Before, Sister Xian was still young, but now she has grown up and become sensible. How could she not know the difference in treatment?
But even her own sons and daughters might not make them feel the same, let alone her niece, so Huiyin simply gave more rewards and did not bring anyone into the palace.
Xin was a little disappointed, but soon she heard that the Cui family and the Yuwen family were coming together, so she didn't care about her own thoughts. It can be said that Madam Yuwen and Jiang Bibo were as close as one person and often came together, but the two families came separately because of their children's marriages.
Everyone knows the reason, but no one will say it.
Soon, everyone was there. Huiyin was just talking as usual when Ji said to her, "The Cui family is having a happy event. No wonder Mrs. Cui and the eldest grandmother are so happy."
"Oh, I wonder what kind of happy event it is? My aunt is so happy." Huiyin asked.
Madam Cui glanced at Madam Yuwen and said, "It is our young man who wants to marry the girl from the Yuwen family."
It turns out that the grandson of the Cui family is going to marry the daughter of the Yuwen family. No wonder Mrs. Yuwen looked so angry today. The Cui family is a famous family among famous families. They are also the uncle of the emperor, and their title is higher than that of the Guo family.
Huiyin immediately reacted and congratulated them: "It's really a match made in heaven, a perfect couple, it's really a good marriage."
Everyone thought that she was worthy of being the Empress, as she was calm when she heard about this matter. Not everyone has this kind of tolerance. Jiang Bibo was also very upset. The daughter of the Yuwen family was now married to a wealthy man. Others might laugh at the Guo family for being blind to the truth.
The Yuwen family hid it very well, and now only the Ji family knows about it.
Congratulations rang out one after another in the hall, and Mrs. Yuwen felt proud. Cui Xiaolang was better looking than Guo Xing, and he was the youngest legitimate son. Although her daughter was a few years older, it would not be her turn to serve her parents-in-law after she got married. It was really a blessing in disguise.
Originally, it was Huiyin's destiny, but now there was an additional happy event. Even Li Cheng asked Huiyin when he saw her at night: "I heard that the daughter of the Yuwen family is going to marry my cousin."
"Yes, the Cui family is also very good at seizing opportunities. The person you trust the most is Yuwen Dang, so their family married into the Yuwen family. Fortunately, the Yuwen family also knows their limits. I heard that Prince Yuzhang seems to be interested as well." Huiyin chatted with these imperial edicts on a daily basis and could hear a lot of things.
Li Cheng frowned: "Prince Yuzhang?"
Huiyin said hurriedly, "Yes, but I only heard that she had the intention, but didn't say it out loud. It shows that the mother of Prince Yuzhang still knows her limits. Your Majesty, don't be angry. Come, my Shou noodles are waiting for us to share."
It was just a very simple bowl of shou mian, with just a few vegetables and an egg, but she waited for him to eat it together, and the couple enjoyed a rare warm moment.
"It's delicious." Li Cheng praised.
While he was eating noodles, his brows were furrowed. Huiyin knew that he had a lot of worries, so she didn't bother him. She just asked everyone to wait until he finished eating before clearing the table.
It is also said that after Jiang Bibo finished her meal at Ji's place, she was also preparing to go home. Ji was saying to her, "Don't think too much about it. There will inevitably be gossip about this matter these days, but everyone lives their own life. After a long time, it will be nothing."
Jiang Bibo came here specifically to seek sympathy from Ji Shi for her stepson's escape from marriage. She was worried that she couldn't really make friends with Ji Shi and others, but this incident brought her one step closer to Ji Shi.
"You're right. I'm young and have never experienced these things. I was always worried about how others would view us. Fortunately, you comforted me. I feel much better now." Jiang Bibo is also good at speaking.
Ji secretly thought that he had good eloquence and was quite proud of it.
After she left, Ji came back and said to Zheng Fang, "As a stepmother, she is really worried. What does this have to do with me?"
"That's a serious matter. What does her stepson have to do with her?" When Zheng Fang was in power, the situation was a mess. Now he has stepped out of the situation with a clear mind and a clear vision.
However, Ji did not understand: "Why?"
"You are silly. The marriage of the crown prince is the most important thing now. It is true that the crown prince is not yet of the age to choose a concubine. But doesn't everyone start looking for a concubine a few years in advance? As the empress's biological mother, who else should the empress ask if she doesn't ask you when she wants to choose a wife for her son?" Zheng Fang had helped his daughters choose crown princesses before. He knew the tricks involved. He had given a lot of money to Madam He's mother and sister-in-law back then.
Ji suddenly realized, "I have always thought well of everyone. I used to be cautious, but now that my children are well, I am no longer cautious. However, the queen is very opinionated, and I have no say."
"People outside don't know all this. They think the queen is very filial to you, so they think you have the final say." Zheng Fang yawned, his urge to drink coming back, and he sniffed.
Ji thought that she was actually a simple person. If she had not experienced so many hardships, she would not have been so scheming. Now that life was getting better, she relaxed.
She was relaxed, but the Yuzhang Palace was not. Yin Lifang heard that the daughter of the Yuwen family was not married. Although she had doubts, she also wanted to find out. After all, the power behind Miss Yuwen was too tempting.
The people in Yuzhang Palace seemed to be rich and idle, but they had no real power at all. The families with real titles in the capital actually looked down on her family. Concubine Yin did not want her son to be like a pig in the future. This generation still had the title of prince, but the next generation was just an ordinary royal family. All the people in this dynasty were descended from the throne, and in a few generations they would even be ordinary people.
But she didn't expect Xie Jiuyi to stop her. Now the news of the marriage between the Yuwen family and the Cui family is spreading like wildfire.
Yin Liyi could now see through her sister's thoughts, and she added: "Sister, it's a good thing not to marry into the Yuwen family. Since ancient times, the rich marry women and the poor marry women. You and the Princess of Wei have never been on good terms. Because of the dowry, the Princess almost emptied the palace. If you find someone with a lower family background and a smarter person, she will be on the same side with you in the future. If she has someone to rely on, she will be too well-behaved. How can she respect you?"