The inside of the temple was filled with a strange smell. There was mold, garbage that had not yet been cleaned up, the urine and feces of young beggars, as well as the smell of leftover food. A-Huan and A-Ruo nearly vomited upon entering. If it was not for Zhu Kongshan's fierce gaze, they would have turned around and left long ago. They never wanted to come to this sort of place again. As for Zhu Kongshan, aside from the threat in her gaze, she did not remain idle with her words, as she lowered her voice and said: "After you leave this door today, I guarantee that the Sheng Palace's people will beat you out tonight. Don't forget your own statuses. You're just servants. If you don't have a master, you will very quickly end up in this place. "
The two maidservants had truly suffered a bellyful of anger from Zhu Kongshan, but Zhu Kongshan had the Eighth Prince as her backer. She also had a noble aunt in the palace. Even if the two wanted to cause trouble, they did not have the confidence. Recently, they had been thinking about sending a letter to the head madam and eldest young miss in Peng Zhou. Unfortunately, the Sheng Palace was heavily guarded. No matter where they went, there would be people watching them. Wanting to sneak out of the palace was impossible. Even now, they had left the palace with Zhu Kongshan, but the driver of the carriage that had brought them here was not a normal driver. Instead, he was a guard from the Sheng Palace, and he was there to protect the young miss. Under this sort of pressure, no matter how unwilling the two were, they had to listen to Zhu Kongshan to avoid angering her and reporting them to the Eighth Prince. That really would be terrible. Now, they could only hope that the matters in the capital would be quickly taken care of so that they could quickly return to Peng Zhou. As for what the eldest young miss had said to them before coming, the two did not even want to think about it.
With three different people suddenly entering the temple, the beggars who had not gone out to ask for things were a little stunned. They could not understand why such well-dressed young misses would come here? Even if they wanted to buy laborers, they should go to the labor market, right?
Zhu Kongshan had become accustomed to it. Looking at the doubtful and timid gazes of these beggars, she took the initiative to take a few steps forward and look around. In the end, she bent down in front of a young beggar and gently said: "Little brother, do you still recognize me?"
The little beggar looked at her for a long time. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "It's you? You are His Highness the eighth prince's cousin? "He recognized her," That day, you entered the city and helped me out. You even gave me money. "This was the child that Zhu Kongshan had helped out at the entrance of the embroidery shop. He looked at Zhu Kongshan and was very puzzled, "Young miss, why did you come here? It's too dirty here. You shouldn't be here. "
Zhu Kongshan did not say anything, only shaking her head. Picking up her handkerchief, she wiped the corner of the beggar's lips a few times. The young beggar was in the middle of eating something. It was half a dirty pancake. Seeing Zhu Kongshan wipe his mouth, he dodged back in fear: "No need, no need. Young miss' handkerchief is worth more than my life. It must not get dirty."
Zhu Kongshan sighed: "What are you afraid of? It's not like I'm a bad person. Regardless of what you all thought of His Highness the eighth prince in the past, I came from Peng Zhou. Even though I am his cousin, I have never had much contact with him. I came to the capital to visit my aunty in the palace; however, I don't know what my cousin did in the past to cause the people of the capital to dislike him. But I am me. In the past, when I was in Peng Zhou, I never thought of myself as the high and mighty young miss of a large family. Now that I've come to the capital, it's natural that I won't. There's no need for you to be afraid of me. None of you need to be afraid of me. Since I can help you clean your mouth, I don't plan to fuss over this handkerchief. " She already had a beautiful appearance, and her voice was gentle and pleasant to listen to. With her saying that the distance between people was so close, the beggars in this temple suddenly felt as though a spring breeze had caressed their faces. It was so comfortable.
The young beggar was a little unable to understand what she was saying; however, he knew that this young miss did not have any ill intentions, thus he no longer retreated. He just stared at her.
Zhu Kongshan continued: "That's just how I am. I can't bear to see so many people in the world suffer. To me, everyone should be equal. I can't treat you differently just because you're poor, or even fight you. In the past, when I was in Peng Zhou, I said to the beggars in Peng Zhou. In my, Zhu Kongshan's, eyes, I have never looked down on anyone. They are all citizens of Da Shun. You cannot feel inferior because you are poor. I give them winter clothes and give them congee. I also encourage them to work with their own strength. Even if it's just a few copper coins, it's earned through their own strength. There's no need to reach out and ask for it from someone else. It's still the same thing. Now that I've come to the capital, I will treat you the same as I treat the beggars in Peng Zhou. I will not treat you differently. It's about to be winter, and the weather is getting colder and colder with each passing day. I came here today to take a look at how many people in the northern part of the city need help. I'm just a girl. Although I can't take care of all of your livelihoods, at the very least, I can give each of you some winter clothes so that you won't freeze during the Winter. This is something that I can do. "
"Winter clothes?" Upon hearing this, the beggars immediately became spirited and gathered around, "Young Miss, are you serious? You really will give us winter clothes? They don't require money? "
Zhu Kongshan nodded. She did not frown in the slightest because the beggars had gathered around and caused the air quality to plummet. Instead, she smiled and said to them: "Of course, it's true. Each person will get one. Nobody will be left out."
"But that requires a lot of money." The young beggar was a little anxious on her behalf, "Young Miss, it really does require a lot of money. You need to think carefully. That much money is not a joke."
"What's there to be afraid of!" She patted the young beggar's head and said, "Even if elder sister doesn't have enough money, isn't there still the Sheng Palace? I don't care what His Highness the eighth prince did in the past to make you unhappy. Now that I've come, I can still get some money from him. " While she spoke, she looked all around then said: "It might be that not everyone is here today. How about this, when everyone is here, take a look at how many men, how many women, and how many children are here. Or it might be better for everyone not to go out tomorrow morning. Just wait here for me. I will come over a bit earlier and bring a tailor to take your measurements. "
Her decision caused the beggars to cheer. Perhaps they did not think much of it during Spring, Summer, and Autumn, but once Winter came, it would be terrible. Which Winter did not have people dying?! There were some people who would warmly chat with you before going to bed, but when you woke up, they would be dead. They would not be buried, and their corpses could only be left outside the temple. When the soldiers saw them, they would be taken away and thrown into an unmarked grave outside. Now that someone had said that they would be making winter clothes for them, it was natural that they would be happy. This meant that they would no longer need to suffer from the cold during Winter, and there would no longer be people who would freeze to death. In an instant, the Eighth Prince's cousin's status in the hearts of these beggars rapidly rose.
As for Zhu Kongshan, she felt that this was not enough. She looked around the temple then turned to A-Ruo and said: "Go to the place that sells window paper right now and have them send a clerk over. Count how many windows there are in this rundown temple and change out all of the window paper. Remember to change them to thicker ones. They can't be like how they are now, where they break with a single blow and leak air everywhere. "
Upon hearing that she could go out to run errands, A-Ruo quickly complied and quickly left. She could finally breathe in some fresh air. Even if it was just running errands, she was happy.
"A-Huan." Zhu Kongshan continued to give orders, "Go and find some carpenters. Have them install a door in this rundown temple. With such a large opening, no matter how thick the winter clothes are, they will not be able to withstand the cold at night. " A-Huan complied and left. Zhu Kongshan began to look around the rundown temple with a worried expression, helplessly saying: "In truth, I really want to move all of you out of this place, but winter clothes are a small matter. Moving so many people away, I really am powerless. Don't blame me. Just stay here for the time being. At the very least, I will have people repair the places that need to be repaired. I definitely won't allow you to be exposed to the elements. "
Her words were very sincere, and some of the female beggars began to wipe away tears from their eyes, calling her a Bodhisattva.
Zhu Kongshan was very pleased with this; however, she repeatedly said: "You must not. You must not call me that. I am just doing what I want to do. I just can't bear to see the poor suffer. Your lives should have been the same as ours. "
Very quickly, the two maidservants brought over the window paper seller and the door repairman. She paid the banknotes on the spot and chose the thickest window paper and the best wood. Seeing this, the two clerks praised her for having a good heart.
Zhu Kongshan, however, had not used up all of her methods. She walked out of the rundown temple and pulled out two brooms from who knew where. Handing one to A-Ruo and A-Huan, she pointed at the rundown temple and said: "That day, when the two of you entered the capital, you spoke vile words and even threw copper coins at the citizens. Today, you will make up for those mistakes!"
The two servants were stunned in place and could not understand the meaning behind Zhu Kongshan's words. She then explained: "You don't understand? It's for you to clean up this temple and take out all of the trash. Then have someone take it away. It definitely must not be piled up in the temple. "
When had A-Huan and A-Ruo ever done this sort of thing? Even before they had climbed to the position of first-rate servant, they had only done some cleaning in the eldest young miss' courtyard. How clean were the courtyards of large families. At most, there would be leaves and petals that had fallen to the ground, but now …
Zhu Kongshan knew that the two would definitely be unhappy, but with a look that carried a warning and threat, the two had no choice but to comply. Even if they were unhappy, they could only accept their fate and begin cleaning. It just so happened that the guard from the outside also walked in and stood at Zhu Kongshan's side. It was clear that he was there to support her.
The Eighth Prince's cousin had made winter clothes for the beggars in the northern part of the city, repaired a rundown temple, and had her maidservants clean up. Before the clothes were even finished, this sort of thing had already spread. Not only had it reached the ears of Xuantian Mo in the Sheng Palace, it had also reached the ears of Noble Lady Yuan in the palace.
Noble Lady Yuan was so happy that she could not close her mouth. She felt more and more that bringing this niece into the capital was truly too wise. She even felt that if the one at her son's side in the future was this sort of girl, only then would she be able to truly feel at ease.
Xuantian Mo was a bit more practical. He had the treasury provide Zhu Kongshan with even more money for her use. He also had people make quite a few clothes for her and rewarded her with quite a few accessories. He also sent another group of people before the group that had gone to Peng Zhou had returned. The things that were sent were even more valuable than the previous group.
Zhu Kongshan did not have much interest in the clothes and accessories that Xuantian Mo had sent. In the end, what she wanted was not these things, but she was a smart person. At a time like this, not to mention mentioning it, but she did not even allow herself to think too much about it. If she wanted to become a useful person, she needed to be able to do useful things. She needed to be able to help Xuantian Mo a bit more. Only like this could she gain a firm foothold in the Sheng Palace and in the capital. Only then would she have the ability to have Noble Lady Yuan fulfill her promise.
She put away the clothes for the time being and did not wear the ones that were too luxurious. She only picked out a few that were relatively low-key. As for the accessories, she had even better arrangements …
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