My enemies became my companions

Chapter 367 I Will Never Forget You

Leaving the underworld is easy to say, but there are always some things to deal with before leaving.

That is Lin Wanheng.

To be honest, Chen Yi never thought that he would meet Lin Wanheng and Xiuhe in the secret place in the capital, and he never thought that Lin Wanheng would treat him as her husband.

I think this secret realm was part of the Queen Mother's plan. She had already calculated that Lin Wanheng would drink the Forget-Your-Sorrow Wine, and then send herself into the secret realm so that some beautiful stories would happen between them.

Spring nights are worth thousands of dollars.

However, this did not happen in the end.

It’s not that there weren’t some romantic moments. During the ten days or so in the secret realm, Lin Wanlang and I had some physical intimacy such as hugging and cuddling.

But for this young widow who always paid great attention to etiquette, even a hug or straightening of clothes would make her cheeks burn.

She was no longer as hostile and hostile as when she came out of the underground palace. Instead, she was waiting by his side gently like a young wife.

Once, Chen Yi practiced sword skills until late at night, and Lin Wanheng did not disturb him. He just went to the kitchen quietly and brought him a bowl of cold watermelon soup.

It just happened to quench the thirst of Chen Yi, who was sweating all over.

Yin Tingxue was greatly surprised by Lin Wanheng's thoughtfulness, which came from a scholarly family.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

After drinking the Forget-Your-Worry Wine, Lin Wanheng seemed to have put all his heart and soul into Chen Yi.

During the days he stayed in Cui's mansion, there were other women around Chen Yi, whether it was Concubine Dong who discussed Buddhism, or the gentle and well-behaved Yin Tingxue. Even though the two women and Chen Yi did not sleep on the same bed, the ambiguity between them was self-evident.

Lin Wanheng watched all of this silently.

Every time, she just squeezed her own hand. She didn't pretend to be blind, nor did she get angry or jealous. She just whispered a few words of advice and kept the rest deep in her heart.

After letting go of her hatred, it became obvious how good Lin Wanheng was as a good girl.

The small courtyard obviously did not have any charming or romantic atmosphere, but it was like a paradise of gentleness that made Chen Yi linger.

only……

It's time to say goodbye.

In Cui's house, Xiuhe saw Chen Yi from afar and shouted:

"Madam, the uncle is back, the uncle is back."

After saying that, Xiu He came up to Chen Yi and said quickly:

"My uncle has been gone for two or three days. I thought he would never come back."

Chen Yi opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

Fortunately, Lin Wanheng appeared in time. Her steps were neither hurried nor slow, but her body was leaning forward like a baby bird poking its head out.

Lin Wanheng came in front of Chen Yi, bowed, and had tenderness in his eyes.

Xiuhe said hurriedly:

"Why don't you come in? I'll get you some food from the kitchen."

But Chen Yi didn't move.

Xiuhe looked confused and almost reached out to pull her brother-in-law.

Chen Yi pondered for a while and said:
"Xiu He, please leave for a moment. I have something to say to my wife."

Xiuhe was stunned for a moment, full of confusion and unwilling to leave for a moment.

Just as she was about to say something, Lin Wanheng spoke sympathetically:

"Xiu He, listen to your uncle, he is older than me here."

After saying this, Xiuhe left the yard reluctantly.

Only Chen Yi and Lin Wanheng were left in the yard.

Neither of them was in a hurry to talk, and both remained silent.

Facing the young lady from the Lin family, these days, her originally pale face has become more rosy, her brows are not as sad, and she talks a lot more, which is very different from when she first became a widow.

It seems like the lonely days suddenly gave me something to think about.

Chen Yi was silent for a long time, not knowing how to start.

He was not a heartless person who would walk away in anger at the first sign of trouble, but although something happened between him and Lin Wanlang, it actually never happened.

And Lin Wanheng... no matter what she thinks, in fact, she is more like a means for Queen An to keep him, a chess piece that has no control over her.

Chen Yi was so quiet that he didn't say a word, not knowing where to start.

At this moment, Lin Wanheng, who had been silent as well, suddenly spoke:
"Are you…are you leaving?"

Chen Yi raised his eyes to look at her. Lin Wanheng's face was extremely calm, her lips slightly parted, and there was light in her beautiful eyes, as if she had expected it.

After hesitating, Chen Yi nodded: "Yes."

Lin Wanheng opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but finally lowered his brows and said:
"Come back soon..."

"..."

Something suddenly crossed Chen Yi's mind. She didn't say goodbye, and the word she said wasn't "goodbye".

He pondered for a while and then said:
“It was like a dream.”

"Dream?"

Lin Wanheng's eyes were filled with confusion, not knowing what Chen Yi was talking about.

"Meeting you here is like a dream." Chen Yi continued.

Somehow, Lin Wanheng had a slight headache. She didn't understand what he meant, but he was her husband, so she followed his words and said:

"In the Peony Pavilion, the lovers also met in a dream."

"…I remember."

Chen Yi didn't say anything more. He took two steps back and smiled at her.
"I'm leaving."

Lin Wanheng waved at him, and Chen Yi was about to turn around. At this moment, she suddenly thought of something, and hurriedly took two steps forward and grabbed his belt.

“It’s not tied here.”

As she spoke, Lin Wanheng leaned over, tightened his clothes with her delicate hands, and fastened his belt, just like she had done in the past ten days.

Chen Yi looked at her quietly.

After adjusting her belt, Lin Wanheng straightened up and met his gaze.

Suddenly, her lips felt warm.

Chen Yi lowered his head and kissed her.

Like a dragonfly touching the water, they touched for a moment and separated in a moment. Lin Wanhang looked at him infatuatedly, and realized belatedly that this was their first kiss.

"If you still regard me as your husband after waking up from the dream,

Then I won’t forget you.”

After saying that, the man turned around and walked out of the courtyard without hesitation. His figure was gradually submerged by the wind. Lin Wanhang leaned against the door and looked at him. He stood there for an unknown amount of time. After he left, she was still standing there.

"Why do you say this is a dream?" the girl murmured in confusion.

"Isn't he my husband?"

The cold wind blows through this desolate courtyard.

It seemed as though the days of widowhood were about to begin again.

..............................

The twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Rows of beasts stand with their heads held high towards the sky, and beneath their feet is the vermilion palace wall. As New Year's Eve approaches, both inside and outside the palace are the busiest times.

According to the system of Dayu ancestors, on New Year's Eve, the emperor would have a banquet with his concubines in the palace, which was called a private banquet. On the first day of the first lunar month, all the royal relatives in Beijing would enter the palace for a banquet, which was called a family banquet.

However, the empress dowager is now in charge of the government and controls all power in the palace. The little emperor has been trapped in the cold palace all year round and has not even had a tutor to teach him how to read and write. How could Empress An give him the opportunity to come into contact with other royal relatives in the capital? Therefore, the so-called family banquets have long been in name only and are mostly just a formality.

As for how the ceremony was carried out, some unimportant royal family members would be present in person, and then eunuchs and maids would serve them a dish of yokan and a portion of six-grain rice. These meat and vegetable dishes were not to be eaten, but to be taken back for sacrifice and placed on the shrine for offering, following the rituals of the previous dynasty, implying that the royal family had bestowed a year's blessings on the royal children.

However, some members of the royal family of noble status, such as King Jing, would not be present in person but would send people to get it.

No matter what, now that the Queen Mother is in power, the most important event of the year in the palace is not the family banquet, but the private banquet on New Year’s Eve.

After the empress dowager took power, she was very strict in disciplining the concubines who were not allowed to leave the palace. They had to care about the reputation of the royal family in every move. Although they were not as deserted as Concubine Dong, they did not have much entertainment on weekdays. They could only entertain themselves with three or four palace maids around them all day long. However, when it came to private banquets, the control over the concubines would be relaxed. Not only could they gather together, but they could also visit each other.

Inside Jingren Palace,

A female official in charge of preparing meals in the kitchen knelt on the ground and reported the details of the private banquet word by word.

"There are ninety-six items, and the quota is thirty items. The remaining sixty-six items are enough for the concubines to enjoy. As for the other twenty-four items that the queen wants, we will do our best to prepare them."

In the past, the Empress Dowager had always presided over private banquets in the inner court, and all the concubines had happily gathered together. However, this year was a little different. The Empress Dowager said that she did not like people making noise, so she wanted to set up a separate table for a private banquet in Yuanchun Hall.

This was the first time that the inner court held a private banquet in two locations.

"Among the twenty-four dishes, how many are extra meals and how many are main meals?"

In front of the desk, the woman in phoenix robe was reviewing something with a pen and asked without raising her head.

The female official reported without delay: "The twelfth rank is the additional food, and the other twelve ranks are the regular food."

The so-called main dishes are the dishes that are normally eaten, while the side dishes are the dishes that are used to fill the occasion.

Empress An closed a blue-backed gold-embroidered secret letter and said indifferently, "The allowance is too much, so it will be reduced to three rank, and the regular allowance will be increased to twenty-one rank."

The female official said with some difficulty: "Your Majesty... I'm afraid the imperial kitchen won't be able to prepare it in time."

"We couldn't make it in time, so we moved the concubines here. It's not that the palace doesn't provide them with food, but they won't starve to death if they miss one or two dishes."

Queen An arranged a private banquet for the concubines with just one sentence. Having said this, the female official did not dare to disobey and could only nod and say "yes".

Su Xin, who was accompanying Queen An, saw all of this. When the imperial kitchen lady came to the end, Queen An noticed that she seemed to have something to say, so she said, "Su Xin, if you have something to say, just say it."

Su Xin did not hesitate and said, "The twelve dishes are enough for us to eat. Even if the queen calls the whole family over, they can't finish half of them."

"The twelve kinds of regular food are not a problem, the extra food is."

An Hou did not even turn his head and said calmly:

"I don't want him to come here and pick up several dishes that are inedible, making a fool of himself and losing face in front of women. He will then be unwilling to come again."

When Su Xin heard Queen An mention Chen Yi, she knew she couldn't persuade Queen An, so she could only respond:

"Empress Shengming."

"If you are truly wise, that would be great. If you look at this memorial, you will know whether I am truly wise or not."

Queen An picked up the secret letter and handed it to Su Xin.

Su Xin took it and saw that the memorial said that a spy planted in Cui's mansion saw Lin Wanheng and his personal maid drinking the forget-your-worry wine with his own eyes.

This Forget-Your-Worry Wine is certainly not just any ordinary wine.

The Forget-Sorrow Wine comes from the Taoyuan Xiaoyao Sect, a reclusive but famous mountain Taoist sect. The place where the sect practices is called "Taoyuan". It is said that there are thousands of miles of peach blossoms hidden in a cave the size of a mustard seed, and all the disciples of the sect are hidden in it. Only those who are not successful will be driven out of the cave and travel around the land of China.

There are many legends about Taoyuan Xiaoyao Sect, and Forget-Sorrow Wine is the most famous one. The reason why people have sorrows is because they remember too much, and Forget-Sorrow Wine can not only make people forget their sorrows, but also make people indulge in the illusion of happiness.

After reading the secret memorial, Su Xin pondered for a moment and said:
"This widow drank the forgetfulness wine, I'm afraid it will be detrimental to the plans of the Majesty."

"Why?"

"For Widow Lin, the only thing she worries about is Chen Yi killing her husband. If that's the case, then this hallucination... is probably about life in the Lin residence."

Su Xin spoke slowly, always paying attention to the changes in An Hou's expression.

According to her observations over the years, Queen An would not want the young lady from the Lin family to think about other men after marrying Chen Yi.

After Su Xin finished speaking, Queen An said calmly:
"Su Xin, you don't understand being a widow."

"Su Xin is stupid, please give me some advice, Your Majesty." Su Xin bowed her head.

An Hou methodically flipped out another secret letter, which looked to have been there for some time.

Su Xin took a look and found that it was a secret report about the Lin Mansion.

"When the Lin Party was still around, I had already planted spies in the Lin Mansion. Although they were just maids and servants and could not hear any secrets, they were able to report every detail of the daily affairs of the Lin Mansion."

Queen An slowly flipped through the secret folder and continued:

"I don't know whether Lin Wanlang is living a good life or not, but she is not happy."

Su Xin took a closer look and saw that in the large and small paragraphs about "Lin", there were careful notes written in red ink from time to time.

The wealthy families in the capital often hope that their daughter-in-law is of equal social status, but her family cannot be too powerful, so they chose Lin Wanheng for engagement. When she married into the Lin Mansion, she had almost no one to rely on. Even the maidservants who came with her as a dowry were transferred elsewhere due to the caution of Lord Lin.

Originally, the person a woman can rely on the most is her husband, but the problem is that Lin Yan never touches her. As the saying goes, fight at the head of the bed and make up at the foot of the bed, but Lin Wanheng has never even seen a bed. How can she rely on him?
Lin Wanheng was not too close to him, and this girl was a dutiful woman who seldom left the house, leading a cautious life with her desk held high between her eyebrows. To the Lin family, she was like a familiar stranger.

"My mother's family, the Cui Mansion, is a vassal of the Lin Party. She would not speak out even if she was dissatisfied. She seemed to be doing her duty and handling everything smoothly, but the more respectful they were, the more cautious they were.

Besides, all the affairs of the Lin Mansion are managed by Elder Lin. She has no say in the Lin Mansion and has no power. You say, if she has no power at all and is a person who keeps everything to herself, how can she be happy?"

Queen An spoke slowly. It was hard to say whether the saying "women understand women best" was right or wrong, but a widow must understand a widow best. She said jokingly:

"I am the greatest widow in the world."

Su Xin immediately knelt down and said:
"Your Highness is the mother of a country, you can't say such things."

Queen An smiled but said nothing.

After a long time, she slowly said:
"I have heard that widowed women will have yearnings, and who else could Madam Lin be thinking about day and night except that man?

Even if she doesn't like it, she hates it, she's annoyed, but can she really control herself?"

Somehow, whenever these words fell into her ears like falling beads, Su Xin always felt a shiver.

Queen An put away the secret letter and stroked the red jade Suan Ni paperweight on the table. Her fingertips lingered for a long time, her eyes unconsciously widened, and after coming to her senses, she said:

"She drank the forgetfulness wine at the wrong time. The private banquet is about to start. To avoid any trouble, it is better to send her the antidote so that she can wake up from her dream as soon as possible."

Su Xin responded:

"Yes, Madam, I think this is only a short night and it won't have much impact on her."

Queen An nodded slightly and said:
"Don't worry. I have plans for her. She drank too early this time. Fortunately, I found out in time."

(End of this chapter)