98 Chapter 98

◎Queen◎

Since Li Cheng got married, Huiyin knew that he was a person with too strong execution ability. In fact, such a person is very suitable to be a capable minister, someone who specializes in getting things done. But he became the emperor. Being an emperor requires balancing the overall situation, not being impatient and being mysterious, and not letting people know what you are doing?

Therefore, when he was desperate, he would come to Huiyin. Huiyin would personally make a bowl of lotus seed soup for him to drink, and ask people to send all the children away, leaving only the couple in the room.

Usually she would read a book or do needlework, or go to sleep. In any case, don't ask too many questions and don't bother Li Cheng too much.

This is exactly the kind of environment Li Cheng needed. If Huiyin asked a few more questions or was too cautious, it would make him even more upset. However, now that Huiyin was sleeping soundly, he didn't have to worry about Huiyin's emotions at all.

For example, at the Empress Dowager's place, he would either test her in various ways, not understanding but still asking questions, and even wanting to gain benefits for the Xun family. In the Duanming Palace, the servants also liked to spy on her, and it was unknown whether the people around him had been bribed.

Huiyin was sleeping soundly. Her period had come, so she needed to rest more. She was always meeting this person or that person, and had to host palace banquets and take care of palace affairs. She was very busy, so it was best to rest as soon as she had time.

When she woke up, she found that Li Cheng's forehead was sweating. She was shocked: "What happened to you? You were resting in Duanming Palace yesterday. I don't know if you slept well or not?"

Li Cheng gently waved her hand away: "It's nothing, I'm just anxious."

"That's right. In the past, when there were years of war, everyone only cared about how to unify the world. Now that you are the common ruler of the world, you want to govern the country well. However, it took you many years to come to the fore under the King of Wei, and it is the same now that you are the emperor. You have to proceed step by step. Don't be too hasty. You have too much internal heat now. Don't eat mutton soup in the evening. Eat mung bean soup instead." Huiyin said.

"Well, I was just thinking about eating ice cream, but they insisted on asking me to do it."

"You are worth a ton of gold now, so of course they have to be careful. Even though I'm advising you, I'm not without fear in my heart."

If Li Cheng gets an upset stomach, the first person who gave him food will be held accountable.

But Huiyin knew that he was just too irritable and too hot-tempered, and usual methods of persuasion would definitely be ineffective.

Therefore, in the second half of the afternoon, there was really mung bean snow water. Li Cheng drank two bowls in a row. Huiyin was worried about his stomach the whole time. Fortunately, he was fine, so Huiyin felt relieved.

Two months passed like this, until good news came from the capital that all the hidden farms and fields had been distributed to the people, and Li Cheng finally breathed a sigh of relief. Especially Wang Guihua's family, where they stayed last time, heard that they had been given six mu of land, and even Jing'er and Zhan'er were happy.

Li Cheng was not so anxious. He still wanted to accompany Huiyin and the children to go boating on the lake, feel the breeze, and think about the past. It seemed like it happened in the previous life.

"Lü Xiao and I were holding onto this rockery, and were later rescued by the deposed prince. He was really cunning. He rescued my elder sister here, and rescued Lu Xiao and me there." Huiyin shook her head.

Li Chengze said, "You obviously like her, but you deliberately treat her coldly. If it were me, I would never do that. Now you want me to treat you coldly, even if it's just for show, I can't do it."

These words touched Huiyin's heart: "I thought so too. When you met me and treated me as your wife, I felt that you were a good person."

Talking about the past, Li Cheng added: "Your Zhang Laosan ramen shop has been opening more and more. Let's go out to eat together when we have time next year. I was planning to take you out to eat last time, but then something like that happened."

"National affairs are the most important. I don't care about anything else." She leaned on his shoulder.

In fact, their married life was very simple. In the past, when they were in Xuzhou, she had to help him win over his subordinates, but now Huiyin didn't need that at all. But the capital that allowed her to act on her own accord was all given by her husband.

Becoming an emperor does not mean you can do whatever you want. The higher the position you sit in, the greater the responsibility you have.

Although Li Cheng is young and already a talented person, he still has trouble sleeping and eating.

After swimming in the lake, the whole family was in a good mood. This is why Li Cheng loves Huiyin so much. She is really able to understand others. For example, even if no one wants him to eat ice cream, she will take the risk and let him eat it, because only she knows her own body best.

"The engagement ceremony for Prince Yuzhang has already taken place, and the wedding will take place next year." Huiyin looked at Li Cheng and said.

Li Cheng sighed: "In the blink of an eye, Jing'er is getting married too."

"What about Jing'er? Jing'er isn't a child anymore. It's time for your son to choose his crown princess." Huiyin looked at him and said.

The couple never cared about their daughter-in-law's family background, because their son was already a prince, and his family was not like Li Heng, a prince who had to rely on his marriage.

When it comes to such topics, adults always make jokes, but children are shy. Even Jing'er, who is so naughty, ran away after hearing this.

Zhan'er was naturally following Huiyin's orders to find out what his brother was thinking. He only had time at dusk. The brothers had to study during the day and go riding and shooting in the afternoon. Even Jing'er had to attend government affairs in the morning and only had time to spare at dusk.

However, when Zhan'er came over, Jing'er was still writing, so he hurriedly greeted him: "Brother Crown Prince, I greet you."

"You're doing something weird again. Come here quickly. What's the matter? What do you want to talk to me about today?" Jing'er grew up with his younger brother. He knew that the position of the crown prince was his. His younger brother was full of talent and was as smart as him, so he naturally had to show his elder brother's demeanor.

Zhan'er said, "It's nothing, I just came to sit with my brother for a while. Today, my mother took my sister to pay respects to the Empress Dowager, and the old ancestor left a meal for me, so I have nowhere to go."

Jing'er smiled and said, "If you have nowhere to go, just practice calligraphy. Why don't you bring your homework here and we can practice calligraphy together."

"Don't worry, brother. I have finished my homework. I heard that Miss Yuwen is going to marry our cousin, and Uncle Prince Yuzhang's wedding will be soon, so I was wondering if we could go out for a drink?" Zhan'er was also smart. He would never get straight to the point when asking something.

Speaking of attending weddings, Jing'er was not polite at all: "Last time I went to Guo Xing's wedding, the groom ran away and is still at the border. I don't know when he will come back. I won't bother going anymore in the future."

Zhan'er also laughed after hearing this: "Yes, brother, you are not a child anymore. Last time, mother said she would choose a concubine for you. Mother couldn't ask you, and then asked me. How would I know what you like? You should tell me in detail, so that I can tell mother, and she won't just pick one you don't like."

"Did mother ask you to ask me?" Jing'er said.

Zhan'er laughed but said nothing.

The two brothers looked at each other again, and Jing'er said, "Marriage is a matter of great importance. It's up to the parents and the matchmaker to decide. How can I say anything about it?"

After he said this, Zhan'er was just a young boy, so it was not appropriate to ask more questions.

Since Huiyin didn't get the answer, she didn't ask any more. There was no need for her son to get married too early. Li Cheng was around 20 years old when he got married, so he was more mature. At the age of 15, everyone was very picky and always liked to compete with each other in things they didn't like. The Crown Princess must be from a wealthy family, which would be bad for the future.

However, Xun Jiying had been in the palace for one or two years and rarely saw the prince.

The Xun family didn't know about this, they just felt that Xun Jiying was more secure in the palace, the Empress Dowager also thought so, so she didn't let Xun Jiying go home. Besides, she usually needed someone to serve her, and Nanny Fan was old, Huiyin saw that she really couldn't serve, so she showed mercy and let her go back, and the Empress Dowager was angry for a long time because of this.

Huiyin could control Nanny Fan, but she couldn't do anything about it when the Empress Dowager insisted on keeping Xun Jiying to accompany her.

Li Cheng was almost exhausted by the affairs of the previous dynasty. The Shengping Office had been abandoned for a long time, and she couldn't bother her husband with such a small matter. Fortunately, she also had relatives, and Ji also came to the palace to talk to her.

In recent years, Ji Shi has been living a life of luxury, but she is getting old. Huiyin used to be particularly afraid of getting old, and always felt that people would despise her when she got old. However, her mother's spirits were enviable, and she even said to her, "I drank a large cup of wine at home yesterday, and I slept very comfortably."

"You're in better health than me." Huiyin said with a smile, but she didn't have the time to do that.

Ji held her daughter's hand and said, "It's all thanks to you. Your Majesty, please take good care of yourself. I've noticed that your Majesty has become more and more emaciated in recent years despite being in a high position."

Huiyin said, "I am not as plump as before, but I am in better spirits. When I was in Xuzhou, the emperor was never at home, and I was the only one who took care of everything at home. Sometimes I didn't have time to eat, and when I was too hungry, I didn't eat. When I wanted to eat, I ate a lot, so I naturally gained weight."

Being in a high position has its own sufferings, and Ji Shi knew it well.

Just like her son, when mentioning Zheng Wuheng, Ji said: "Your brother is becoming more and more promising. Now he is helping the emperor and took the initiative to ask to go to Jiangnan for work. You said he is so young, he can fight in the war, but I am really worried about him working as a civil servant."

"I am worried too, but he has the energy and determination, and the emperor can't just stop him from doing anything." His younger brother Zheng Wuheng was a passionate person, and he was also worried that Jiangnan would rebel because of this, so he personally led people to deal with it.

Furthermore, one must have a job to be active in front of the emperor. If one has nothing to do, he will be forgotten sooner or later and will have to rely on his ancestors to make a living in the future.

Pei Shuo was a step slower. He wanted to share the emperor's worries, but he had to stay in the capital. Since his brother had asked to stay, he could not go again.

"This is a civil servant's matter. Why does Second Uncle want to go? I don't know if he can get it done." Xin said.

Pei Shuo and Zheng Wuheng were good brothers, and Pei Shuo knew why his younger brother did this thankless task. He really wanted to share the emperor's worries, fearing that some people would offend many people just to get things done and win the emperor's favor, and would suffer from war in the future.

Therefore, he rebuked Xin and said, "Since you have so much free time, why don't you help your brother find a good marriage instead of worrying about all this? If he does this, he must have his reasons for doing so."

Xin was naturally indignant. Pei Shuo was the first one to surrender to the emperor, and Zheng Wuheng came later. However, Zheng Wuheng always got more titles and merits every time. She couldn't say much, because if she said anything, this person of hers would get angry with her.

"Okay, it was my fault. I was just about to go out." Xin took the opportunity to meet Jiang Bibo.

Jiang Bibo had invited them several times. Xin originally didn't plan to go, but now she used this as an excuse to go out. She also brought Xian Jie'er with her. In fact, there was not as much conflict between the two children as the adults thought.

The two sisters talked affectionately when they met. Xian Jieer pointed at the old woman behind her and said, "Why do you employ so many maids in your family?"

"That's right. It's like this wherever we go. I can't do anything about it." Recently, Sister Shi has been increasingly being controlled by the maids. Even her father, who loves her the most, doesn't help her.

Xin also said to Jiang Bibo: "Has your prince written back yet? I would say that since Miss Yuwen has married into the Cui family, no one would gossip about this matter. You can't let him stay at the border forever. If he comes back, with his character and appearance, he can marry a new wife and everyone can live in peace."

"My dear sister, haven't I thought about the method you mentioned? But I am not his biological mother after all, and I have to listen to our uncle in everything." How dare Jiang Bibo wade into muddy water.

Xin smiled and said, "Yes, I was the one who said too much. Come on, I heard that your family donated all the Wudun land in Jiangnan?" She was actually stunned when she heard the news.

Jiang Bibo smiled and agreed. After the victory, the emperor redistributed the land, and Guo Zhao was given several good places. Naturally, in the process of fighting, it was inevitable that he would take advantage of himself. Guo Zhao was reluctant to give up these, and there was no other way. Jiang Bibo made such a righteous act, and also hoped that the emperor would look at her face, so that even if something was found out in the future, it could be covered up.

"You guys are really rich." Xin's worries were different from Jiang Bibo's. Since her family became foreign relatives, she had no say in the affairs of the Pei and Zheng families. It was almost always the Empress who spoke.

Just like the Xin family had taken over a lot of land from Pei Shuo, a large part of which did not require any taxes. Pei Shuo returned all of it, even at the cost of offending the Xin family, her mother's family.

But Xin had no choice. The Empress Dowager's words were more effective than hers, and even the Zheng family gave up a lot of land.

Whatever she said was what she did, and her family members dared not disobey her.

Jiang Bibo was trying to guess why Xin came, but seeing her talking about this and that, he knew that she might not come here casually, so he asked someone to add more tea: "Madam Pei, what's the point of being rich or poor? Others don't know my background, don't you know it too? I was born as a merchant's daughter, and it was not easy for the empress to think highly of me, promote me, and marry me off well. I will naturally repay her if I have the chance..."

When Xin heard her say this, she comforted her with a few words.

Now that the emperor was strictly inspecting the land, the Zheng and Pei families received Huiyin's instructions. They were not particularly greedy. Zheng Wuheng took the initiative to give up the land, and Pei Shuo even had a quarrel with the Xin family. However, the Cui family was sued...

Li Cheng was very angry. While eating in Linde Hall, he said to Huiyin, "These people have long hated my decree, so they held back this time and then dragged the Cui family out. The Cui family is also not upright. They think they are my uncles and actually allow others to invest in the land."

"Calm down, calm down, and sit down quickly. It's not your fault. Isn't this just a good example of killing a chicken to scare the monkeys?" Huiyin said with a smile.

"Maybe there's also the Xun family. By then, I'm afraid even the Empress Dowager will come to make trouble with me." Li Cheng held his forehead with his hand.

Once money goes into their pockets, very few people can take it out. The Zheng family is not short of money and has a small population. Zheng Wuheng is young and in a high position, so he has to keep his feathers clean.

Huiyin curled her lips and said, "It's been so long since we've been hiding our farmland and forbidding people from seeking refuge, but these people still don't take it seriously."

Before Li Cheng could make a decision, Mrs. Cui presented a sign requesting a meeting. Huiyin naturally refused to see her. Not to mention that she was not familiar with the Cui family, even if she was familiar with them, it would not be convenient for them to meet at this time.

Mrs. Cui had no choice but to go to Cui Yuehuan in person. She couldn't help but say, "These are all Cui family's fields, not anyone else's. Since ancient times, relatives have protected each other. It's not easy for your father to refuse."

"Mom, this matter is very serious, and Dad is confused." Cui Yuehuan said anxiously.

Mrs. Cui wiped her tears and said, "This group of people has been eyeing our family for a long time, just to sue our Cui family. If it is really according to the emperor's judgment, whoever hides the land will be dealt with according to the law, and your father will be exiled. You don't want your father to be exiled..."

After a lifetime of glory, she was deliberately reported by someone. If only Princess Wu was still alive, it would have been better. Unfortunately, she died early, and the Xun family had no relationship with her family. Among the daughters of the Zheng family, her daughter was the most afraid of the nuns, and was respectful to the queen, so she could not be relied on at all.

Look, Cui Yuehuan said: "You can't stand seeing the Empress, so it's even harder for your daughter."

"Then you have to speak up for our family," said Mrs. Cui.

Cui Yuehuan was so angry that she had no choice but to say, "I'll just give it a try."

Indeed, the Queen ignored Cui Yuehuan and simply refused to see her. Cui Yuehuan went to find Ji, but Ji pretended to be sick again, making it clear that she didn't want to take the lead. Zheng Fang even pretended to bring her medicine.

"Here, I give it to you. The Cui family is indeed too greedy. They think they are so great because they are royal relatives, and they don't even take the emperor seriously." Zheng Fang is quite good at speaking now.

Ji glanced at her husband and said, "Now that you mention this, didn't you also refuse at that time? It was Heng'er who refused."

Zheng Fang was so angry at what she said that he put the medicine on the table and said, "You are bringing up such trivial matters. Really."

Ji was not afraid of him. She thought very clearly. Just as her daughter said, their family's power and status came from the emperor. They had to support whatever policies the emperor implemented. They were foolish to abandon the emperor's trust for the sake of a little profit.

…

Outsiders thought that the Cui family was the emperor's maternal uncle, but in fact Li Cheng and the Cui family were not close. Therefore, Li Cheng announced that the Cui family not only had to return the land where Cui Xun had hidden, but Cui Xun also had to be exiled for five years.

It was Cui's eldest son who wrote a letter saying that his father was old and asked him to go into exile instead, and Li Cheng agreed. However, Cui Xun was unwilling to burden his son, and he was too old to suffer such a great humiliation, so he hanged himself.

Although this incident shocked others, Li Cheng also fainted from the excessive blood flow.

He had been unable to sleep well because of the farmland issues, and now he was so anxious that Huiyin was extremely worried. Even after he recovered, he had to rest for a while. As for the handling of state affairs, Li Cheng actually arranged for the crown prince to act as the governor of the state, and named Huiyin as the Queen of Heaven, who ruled the country from behind the curtain.

Huiyin felt inexplicably familiar.

【Author’s words】

The main text of this book will be finished in about two chapters. Some people may find the later part a bit boring, but I always have to write according to the outline. However, the main text will be finished soon, probably the day after tomorrow, and I will write the extra chapters after that.

Then the next new book, "A Little Maid in the Northern Song Dynasty", is a farming novel. When I first arrived in Jinjiang, I wrote a book called "The Life of the Female Supporting Character in a Farming Novel". There were many immature parts when I wrote it then. I want to make up for it this time. I just happened to have an idea, so I plan to update it after this book is finished. If you are interested, you can add it to your collection.

novelid=9118144

Copywriting: As the saying goes, where there are many people, there are many gossips, and where there are many women, there are even more gossips.

This is the case with Lord Zhou's family, who is the Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat in Bian Jing. Regardless of how his wives and concubines are, he has a total of four daughters, both legitimate and illegitimate, and they all like to compete with each other.

The eldest girl is a scheming beauty, the second girl is small but has a bad temper, the third girl is competitive, and the fourth girl is a time-traveling female fellow villager who is suspected to be pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger.

Jinniang thought that she could be a maid quietly in the sewing room, and the fights of the girls had nothing to do with her. But when the list of successful candidates came out, young and handsome scholars emerged like bamboo shoots. When Lord Zhou was ready to find a son-in-law, the girls also started to dress up. Suddenly, the maids in the sewing room became popular.

Especially Jinniang, because of her good needlework, became the focus of everyone's attention...

Looking at the future hinted by the eldest girl, the obvious threat from the second girl, the covert enticement from the third girl, and the equal care from the fourth girl, Jin Niang couldn't help but clasped her fists and said: Dear girls, please let me go.