Chapter 51
◎Two chapters in one◎
"I don't know what these scoundrels are looking for. Fortunately, the palace is heavily guarded, otherwise if they succeeded, it would be no joke." Fu Gui complained.
It is indeed a good thing for a person to be beautiful, and sometimes he or she can get more attention than others. However, being too beautiful, or even making the beauty known to others, can bring certain disasters.
Huiyin said, "It's just right that I don't have to go out. I'm too lazy to go out anyway. These people are just in a whim. If something new happens, this matter will be over."
Fugui looked at Huiyin and said disapprovingly: "I'm afraid some scoundrel will break in—"
"No, even if there is, I am not afraid. With so many people protecting me, he can still come. Doesn't it prove that the guards are not strict? It can help me pick out those who are serious about their work and those who are just taking advantage of the situation." She thought that Li Cheng might come back. With Li Cheng around, no one dared to mess around.
Unconsciously, she thought that she still believed in her husband in her heart. After all, he was brave and thoughtful. Now she could understand more and more what her mother meant. In troubled times, finding someone who makes you feel that he can protect you is better than anything else.
As she spoke, her stomach moved a little, and Huiyin couldn't help laughing: "The one in my stomach must be a little naughty, otherwise it wouldn't always kick me."
The maids around laughed quietly.
The wet nurse brought Jing'er in from outside, but Huiyin was so pregnant that it was difficult for her to hold the child, so she let him sit on the couch. Unfortunately, Jing'er was not obedient. He kicked off his shoes and got up on the couch to make trouble.
"He's almost two years old, he can't play like this anymore, you should teach him to speak more often, and pay attention to his daily life and diet." Huiyin touched her son's head. The child's head was so good, not bumpy at all, full and round, with his cute belly. No matter how she looked at her son, she thought he was cute.
Jing'er could already speak. He rolled over on the couch and stood up again, holding Huiyin's shoulders: "Mom, I want to eat rat cake."
"What is rat cake?" Huiyin thought that there was no such name. Then she suddenly had an idea and said with a smile, "Are you talking about Su-yang snacks?"
Jing'er looked at the wet nurse, and Song quickly said, "You sent some flower cakes here the other day, but we didn't dare give the prince too much, so we said to put the Su-style cakes away first. I wonder if the prince heard it?"
Huiyin ordered someone to go to the kitchen to make two fresh snacks. The happiest thing for a child is probably to eat delicious food. The child could eat some chestnut cake and taro cake happily. Naturally, the child felt sleepy again right after eating. After a while, his head was like a chicken pecking at rice. She had to let the wet nurses take the child back.
Before she knew it, she was also feeling sleepy, and fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up, she found she couldn't see her hand in front of her. She reached out and found a person lying next to her. She sat up immediately, terrified, with a lot of thoughts in her mind.
"It's me, don't be afraid."
A clear male voice came, and Huiyin breathed a sigh of relief: "You scared me to death. You came back without telling me."
Li Cheng's voice was a little muffled again: "I came back specially because it was too late. I didn't go to Uncle Wei's place, so I ran back first."
Huiyin yawned and became a little worried: "What's wrong with you? You are not allowed to come back without an imperial edict. Aren't you afraid of what the King of Wei will say to you?"
"Huiyin..." He didn't say why, nor did he answer the question, he just called Huiyin's name.
"What's the matter?" Huiyin stroked his cheek and felt it was a little prickly. It was probably because he didn't have time to shave.
In fact, she knew very well why her husband came back, and this was the effect she wanted. Why are you men the only ones who are fought over every day and make women worry? From now on, you have to worry about me. Moreover, she used this incident to give herself a plausible reason to go to Xuzhou.
Li Cheng sat up and said, "I had a nightmare last night and I felt uneasy all the time."
"It's okay. Don't you have me here? Even if everyone in the world betrays you, I won't." Huiyin leaned on him.
Li Cheng felt that her words were like a stream of warmth flowing into his heart, but how could he have done that? He even asked expectantly, "Why are you so nice to me?"
Huiyin smiled and said, "Aren't you worthy?"
"Then you come with me this time, okay?" Li Cheng wanted to hold his wife by his side.
Huiyin smiled calmly: "Okay."
Needless to say, the couple talked affectionately and even got up to have a meal. Li Cheng felt furious when he thought about the lecher he saw outside when he came back.
Besides, the other couple had just finished being affectionate. Zheng Fang and Ji were already an old couple. Although Ji had fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, she was still slim and fit, with a fair complexion. At this moment, she was asking, "In my opinion, the prince hated Lu Wei so much that he killed all of Lu Wei's family, leaving no one alive."
"That's right. If you don't remove the roots of the grass, it will grow again in the spring breeze. There is nothing wrong with what the prince did. He inherited part of the He family's army to defend the capital, and he treated me with respect. But after I told him that I wanted to be the prime minister, the prince said that it was not that he didn't want to, but that Wei Duo didn't allow it." Zheng Fang hesitated.
Although he now occupies a large area, it is not easy to manage it. There was a commotion in the Northwestern Army just now. After he went to deal with it, the Jizhou Army had things to deal with again. His energy is no longer as good as it used to be. Fortunately, there is Zheng Wuheng, but this boy is too young and is bullied by his subordinates. He has to go through a few battles before he can establish his position.
As for David, he actually felt guilty.
Ji also frowned when she heard Wei Duo: "He, if it is him, it is not surprising. He has long coveted Lu Wei's power. Now Lu Wei has been eliminated by you, and He Guojiu's subordinates do not listen to you. I am afraid that it will be a thankless task in the future. However, it is good that we have obtained the land north of Jiahu Pass. We did not have this land before."
She was well aware that her husband had grown older in recent years and had been drained of his body by alcohol and sex, and was no longer as strong as he used to be.
Zheng Fang said: "That's impossible. I have finally taken control of the armies of the Lu and He families. I don't want to be a wedding dress for others."
"Then what will you do? Don't forget that the Lu family still has a Crown Princess. Although some of those soldiers are on your side, they are just fence-sitters. Once something happens to you, they will also side with others." Ji couldn't help but feel worried.
In fact, he hasn't mentioned the King of Wei yet. Zheng Fang's road will definitely not be so smooth.
Zheng Fang patted Ji's hand and said, "Let the Crown Prince Feng Deyin be the Crown Princess first. This will give me a better chance."
Ji couldn't help but nod. Although she and Deyin didn't agree, it was a long time before the Crown Princess Lu's family fell. However, she also advised: "Actually, if you ask me, why should we take action? Empress He's brother was killed by Lu Wei. Can she still tolerate Lu?"
"Yes, yes, I forgot about that." Zheng Fang is not so stupid now. He is not so stupid to rush forward in everything. Last time, he killed Lu Wei and He Guojiu and escaped unscathed, which means he kept himself out of the matter and was fine.
Ji smiled and said, "It's getting late, let's rest. My daughter-in-law is pregnant, and I have to send some supplements over tomorrow. Heng'er is going to be a father, and I hope he can be more stable in the future."
Zheng Fangye was very happy when talking about his son: "I hope he can take my place soon, so I can rest. It's just that my son is too young, otherwise he would have been lying down all day."
Ji shook his head, there was nothing he could do.
After a good night's sleep, Huiyin opened her eyes and saw Li Cheng staring at her. She was shocked: "What's wrong?" She hadn't washed up yet, and her face was swollen. She felt weird being stared at like that.
But seeing that Li Cheng seemed to be sulking and unable to express himself, she seemed to understand his feelings: "Are you waiting for me to wake up?"
Li Cheng nodded secretly. He didn't know what to say, but he just didn't want Huiyin to leave him.
"We ate too much last night. How about we have some porridge this morning? It's made with milk, almonds, peanuts and walnuts. It's delicious." Huiyin pulled his hand and got out of bed.
Li Cheng was originally a person who dared to think and speak, but he also had a strong sense of self-esteem. If someone disliked him and showed disdain for him, he would not be nice to that person anymore, thinking that he was wasting his efforts.
But Huiyin was always particularly patient and considerate to him, so he followed her obediently. After the two of them washed up separately, the people below served them hot porridge for breakfast.
"The porridge cooked with milk has no fishy smell or strange taste, and it tastes delicious." Li Chengcai said the first sentence after waking up.
Huiyin touched her belly and said, "After getting pregnant, I feel better about my morning sickness this time, but I always want to eat some soup. I used to hate soup the most. I would rather eat cakes that would make me choke. I don't even like to drink soup when I eat noodles..."
In fact, Li Cheng has eaten everything, but he thinks the porridge tastes better when he eats with Huiyin. He also eats a meat bun: "This kind of baked bun is also delicious."
"If you like, eat more. Do you want some ramen?" Huiyin looked at him with concern.
After all, she had some calculations in this matter, but she just wanted to make Li Cheng anxious, and never thought of making him crazy...
Li Cheng shook his head: "No, just get ready to pack your things later!"
"Are you serious?" Huiyin's eyes widened.
Li Cheng actually laughed at this moment: "Who is joking with you? After packing the boxes, we will take the boat back. The garden of the Xuzhou Palace is very spacious, not like here. I can also teach Jing'er to ride a horse by then."
Huiyin was puzzled: "Why did you suddenly ask me to go to Xuzhou? What about the King of Wei..."
Li Cheng said angrily: "Those writers are really redundant. They should just write "Jianye Fu" properly, but they chose to use your name and let those scoundrels covet you. Even I feel upset when I see it."
"So this is what's happening to you. Are you jealous?" Huiyin laughed softly.
Li Cheng glanced at her and said stubbornly: "I'm not jealous, I'm just worried that you're not safe."
"Okay, you're afraid that I'm not safe. You dared to say you liked me before, but now you don't even dare to say you're jealous?" Huiyin couldn't help but teasing. No matter what, seeing Li Cheng become normal was better than anything else.
Li Cheng didn't say anything, but just grinned. He especially liked Huiyin being like this, as she could understand him in everything.
But he didn't expect that when Li Cheng went to see King Wei, before he could say anything, King Wei said to him: "It's good that you are back. I have something to tell you. I have already discussed this matter with the Huo family."
Li Cheng was confused: "Uncle, what did you say? Does this matter have anything to do with the Huo family?"
The King of Wei smiled and said, "You are so lucky. Your aunt's sister is in her prime this year and is waiting to be married. She is both talented and beautiful. I would like to ask her to be your second concubine. This way, your princess can stay in Jianye to take care of the old princess, and she can accompany you to Xuzhou."
"Uncle, you are not kidding, are you?" Li Cheng was a little angry.
King Wei frowned: "I have already told the Huo family, how can this be a joke?"
…
Princess Wei was playing cards with Old Madam Huo and Second Madam Yin. A maid came in and said that the young prince had gone to pay a visit to the King of Wei. She was delighted. Yin Lifang looked at Princess Wei's face and congratulated Old Madam Huo: "Your family is going to have another princess. Congratulations."
"What are you saying, Madam Yin? You are embarrassing me." Old Madam Huo felt regretful. It would be better if her granddaughter became a princess of a county. Then their Huo family would have a princess of a prince and a princess of a county. But she was only a concubine of a prince.
But no matter what, the Prince of Huaiyin is young, of noble status, and holds real power as a local lord, which is better than anything else.
Yin Lifang was very happy for Li Cheng. It was a good thing for him to marry the daughter of Huo's family. It meant that he would be even more powerful and his status in the future would be different. But her sister thought that being a prince was pitiful. She couldn't even decide who to marry?
Yes, Yin Liyi heard Xie Jiuyi talking about Li Cheng's return and asked, "Is he really going to marry the third daughter of the Huo family this time?"
"It's a done deal, the King of Wei has made the final decision, and the Huo family also knows about it. How can it be changed?" Xie Jiuyi smiled.
Yin Liyi sighed: "You said that Zheng was pregnant, so many people waited at her door day and night just to see her. I went to see Concubine Wu, and she said that beauty brings disaster. In this case, the young prince has appointed someone else as his concubine. I'm afraid that they won't be together for long."
Xie Jiuyi didn't understand: "Why do you say that? He just took a concubine, and the couple is not getting along!"
"You don't know, that Zheng is not a tolerant person. Do you know about Xun Rou? When I was in Xuzhou, I heard about something. It was said that Xun Rou was ordered by the Queen Mother. You also know that Miss Xun is the cousin of the young prince. She was once very favored by Princess Wu. When Princess Wu was sick, she even copied scriptures with blood, which won the praise of everyone in the palace. Unfortunately, she later showed the slightest intention of becoming a secondary concubine. Zheng took advantage of the young prince's military training in Xuzhou and let the refugees ravage Miss Xun. Miss Xun couldn't stand it and returned to Beijing." Every time these were mentioned, Yin Liyi didn't have the slightest good impression of Zheng Huiyin.
She thought it was normal for some women to have tricks. Was it a dispute within the inner house? Either the east wind overwhelms the west wind, or the west wind overwhelms the east wind. Even her sister had some things that she could not help, but Zheng's tricks were too cruel and too extreme.
Normal people’s fights would not destroy other people’s reputation.
Xie Jiuyi had never expected such a thing to happen: "Does Li Cheng know about this?"
Yin Liyi shook her head: "I don't think she knows anything about him. Besides, Zheng's father now controls Jizhou, Qingzhou, and Liangzhou. I think some things are just like what you said, and I'm afraid I can't do anything about it."
"But if the Huo family comes in, I'm afraid it will be dangerous." Xie Jiuyi thought so.
Yin Liyi stood up and said, "That's why I say that the Huo family made a wrong calculation. I'm afraid that the Huo family's daughter will be eaten up to the bone after she gets married. Thinking back to the Huo family's daughter, she was also very pretty. It's really pitiful."
She was born with an impulse to speak out when the road was not smooth. Xie Jiuyi quickly said, "I can't say much about his inner house, but I will have someone remind him that he would never let an innocent woman die in the inner house."
The most important thing is that Xie Jiuyi knows that the reason why King Wei wants the daughter of the Huo family to marry Li Cheng is for the sake of the uncle-nephew relationship. This is of great significance. As an aide to King Wei, he cannot let the daughter of the Huo family die soon after entering the house.
However, he smiled and said, "I heard that the King of Wei wanted Miss Huo to go to Xuzhou with him. But Zheng is in Jianye, and the king cannot see the king, so there is no use in what he wants."
The King of Wei also said the same thing. When he heard Li Cheng's refusal, he immediately said, "Don't worry. Huo will go with you to Xuzhou and take care of Xuzhou's affairs for you. I don't understand why you would refuse this. Are you dissatisfied with my appointment?"
In fact, Li Cheng was a little dissatisfied with marrying Zheng before. He didn't like Zheng Fang as a person back then, but he still listened to King Wei and married Huiyin. After marriage, the two of them were deeply in love. His wife was both talented and beautiful, a rare pearl in the world. He could not control his feelings for her in his heart, so how could he have room for anyone else?
What's more, the King of Wei always made arrangements directly for him, which made him even more unhappy.
Therefore, he said, "Uncle Wang, I appreciate your kindness. To be honest, many people covet my wife. I have always been worried and even sent someone to watch her, fearing that some villains would covet her. Now, because of Yang Zijia's "Jianye Fu", I am very distressed. Uncle, I am worried that she will be taken away by someone, so how can I dare to marry her again? Besides, Zheng is pregnant again, and the daughter of Huo will have to be inferior to others after entering the house. It is better to find a son of a noble family who is both civil and military. Why must she enter my house? Don't worry about me. I came back this time just to take her and Jing'er to Xuzhou. There are villains outside our palace, and I am really afraid that something will happen."
Is the King of Wei really determined about this marriage? He may still want to see if Li Cheng will obey him as before.
He looked at Li Cheng who was explaining earnestly in front of him, and said with some displeasure: "Of course you have your reasons, but I have already made an agreement with the Huo family. If you say you don't want them, what if they don't want to let it go? What should I do?"
If the King of Wei was using morality to kidnap others, it would definitely succeed, but the person he met was Li Cheng, who could be unreasonable. When he heard what the King of Wei said, he said, "Uncle Wang, you just told me that you want to take a second concubine, so why is the daughter of the Huo family going to marry me? There is no matchmaker or engagement, and even the second concubine has to be appointed by the court. Don't worry about the Huo family. Last time, Aunt Wang asked me to tell you not to marry Jianjia to Wei Xiao, but I didn't care. This time, please help me say it."
"You, you, I have worked so hard to arrange this marriage for you. The daughter of the Huo family has brought a generous betrothal gift. The Huo family has an extraordinary status in Jiangnan. Although my uncle and nephew are princes, we still need the support of these noble families for war and supplies. Besides, how can a man be controlled by a woman?" Although the King of Wei spoke with a smile, he still did not give in so quickly.
Li Cheng wanted to say something else, but when he heard King Wei say that, he admitted it directly, thinking that he could also clear himself of the matter of saving Li Jing last time, so he lowered his head and said, "Uncle, you are a real man, but I am not."
The King of Wei had not expected that he would actually admit it. He was only acting at first, but now he was furious. He pointed at him and kept saying, "You, you... you are too disappointing. How can you say such a thing? If your subordinates knew that you were a man who feared your wife like a tiger, who would be willing to follow you sincerely?"
"Uncle, originally I just wanted to follow you, I don't have any big ambitions. Now I am content to live in a corner and guard Xuzhou for you." Li Cheng took this opportunity to show his loyalty.
The King of Wei was pleased to hear this. Seeing that he really didn't want to marry her, he had no choice but to give up: "Okay, I will talk to the people of the Huo family about this matter."
"Thank you very much, uncle." Li Cheng bowed and thanked.
The uncle and nephew had lunch together. The Princess of Wei even asked the kitchen to serve Li Cheng's favorite dishes, and asked the Second Concubine Yin to prepare some snacks and send them over. Yin Lifang also did it very seriously. They all thought that Li Cheng would definitely agree to take a second concubine. For such a son of a duke, taking a second concubine or a concubine was as easy as drinking water.
Being able to marry a noble lady like Huo as his second concubine is a sure-win deal. It seems that Li Cheng must agree, otherwise he would not stay for dinner.
The meal lasted for an hour. Concubine Yin and Princess Wei were both looking after the children. After Li Cheng left, Princess Wei came over. She originally wanted to discuss her sister's wedding, but the King of Wei refused.
"Your Highness, what does this mean?" Princess Wei was puzzled.
The King of Wei said, "He is unwilling to take a concubine now. Let your sister choose someone else. Anyway, both sides have only started the process and have not really started talking about marriage."
Princess Wei, who originally felt that her sister was wronged by being the second concubine, said, "Why doesn't he want to marry my sister? My sister is as beautiful as a flower, talented and beautiful, and the threshold of our Huo family is almost broken. Why does he do that?"
The Princess of Wei couldn't understand it, and the King of Wei was even more confused.
The couple looked at each other. Li Cheng was very happy. When he rode back, he saw people surrounding his house and his personal soldiers drove him around like crazy. Only then did he feel much better.
When he came back, he didn't see anyone carrying anything, so he immediately rushed into Huiyin's room: "Why haven't you packed your boxes yet? Didn't I tell you to pack quickly so you can leave?"
"Oh, I was worried that you wouldn't come back so soon! I heard from Concubine Xu that your uncle wants you to take a second concubine..." Huiyin didn't expect that he would be able to come back so soon.
Li Cheng frowned: "You also know about this, really, you didn't tell me in advance. My uncle told me and tried to persuade me in every way, but I refused."
"Why?" Huiyin asked nervously.
Li Cheng smiled brightly: "No one in the world can really force anyone to do anything. If I really don't want to, I will of course refuse."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
