Inside the Imperial Palace Yu, Wang Chuan and Feng Yu Heng talked about the Zhu family's situation. Feng Yu Heng was very happy to hear this. From time to time, she would interject a few words to express her own views.
Huang Quan, who was to the side, could not hold back and said: "Young miss, do you feel as though you've returned to the Feng family?"
She shrugged: "I do feel a bit, but the lowly Zhu manor is far too lacking compared to the former left prime minister's Feng family. To the Eighth Prince, they're nothing more than ants. If he wants to squash them to death, it really is something that can be done as he wishes. If I were that sixth-rank official, master Zhu, I would hug Zhu Kongshan's leg tightly. What head madam? What daughter of the first wife? What understanding the situation is the most important. Regardless of what happens in the future, at the very least, the current Eighth Prince still has power and influence. The Zhu family is not at a loss. "
"Unfortunately, Zhu Xinjie is the same as Feng Jinyuan from back then. He doesn't realize this point at all." Wang Chuan faintly said: "That Liu family is also quite vicious. To just strangle Liu shi to death, they did not consider the fact that they share the same roots."
"This is the tragedy of a concubine's daughter." Feng Yu Heng said: "A concubine's daughter is born to a concubine, and a concubine is an existence that shares with the head wife and fights for a husband. This sort of existence is destined to be disliked by others. The children that they give birth to naturally have no status to speak of. To prevent concubines from having children, the most basic method is to prevent men from taking in concubines. "
"How could that be possible!" Huang Quan exclaimed, "There are still men who don't take in concubines?"
Wang Chuan glared at her and reminded her: "How could there not be? Our prince does not take in concubines. "
"That's because our young miss is too good." Huang Quan's words were reasonable and supported, "There is no other young miss in the world. That's why our prince not taking in concubines is a wise decision."
"That might not be the case!" Feng Yu Heng rubbed her face, "What if there comes a day when I get old?"
"Young Miss, don't worry. His Highness is older than you." Wang Chuan analyzed seriously. "He's so much older than you. If anyone is to be old, he'll be old first."
Feng Yu Heng felt that these words were too effective. She smiled and took out the chocolate from her sleeve to reward Wang Chuan. Wang Chuan couldn't stand Huang Quan's jealous gaze, so he silently broke off half of it and gave it to her.
During the day, Zhu Kongshan continued to distribute congee to the northern side of the city. At night, she would wait for Xuantian Mo to visit her. Sometimes, she felt like a prostitute. Not only did she have to sleep with this man endlessly in the name of love, but she also had to work hard for him.
But she would not be able to do this work for much longer. Presently, the number of officials in the northern side of the city participating in the distribution of congee was dwindling. After she would occasionally reveal the disdain Xuantian Mo had for those officials, those people no longer wanted to come over. Even the congee stalls had been removed.
It was the poor people in the northern side of the city that were more honest. They all knew that money did not grow on trees. From the beginning of winter to the end of the year, it had been more than two months. Nobody could possibly give away their family's rice without limit. That was why they did not cause a fuss when those officials left. In addition to this, Zhu Kongshan continued to maintain the distribution. They could still receive at least one meal each day.
On this day, after Xuantian Mo climbed out of her body once more, Zhu Kongshan said to him: "Cousin, the charitable work in the northern side of the city has been going on this entire time. In regards to doing good deeds, Kongshan has an idea that I have always wanted to share with cousin."
Xuantian Mo nodded: "Speak." He was quite expectant of Zhu Kongshan's thoughts on this sort of matter.
Zhu Kongshan said: "This entire time, it has been my side that has been doing things. Although the citizens know that the money for doing good deeds comes from the Sheng Palace, this is not something that can be directly seen. Especially with the matter with Consort Li last time, I have been complaining about the injustice that eldest aunt has suffered. We were clearly doing good deeds, so why do we have to compensate Consort Li? In the end, it's still eldest aunt and cousin that did not personally participate. "
Xuantian Mo pondered for a while then asked: "Then your meaning is …"
"Kongshan is thinking that if cousin can find some time to personally go to the northern side of the city, even if it's just standing in front of a pot of congee to scoop a few bowls for the citizens, that would be different. After all, you went, and the Sixth Prince did not go. The next time there is a reward, to say something offensive, His Majesty can't just go against his conscience and reward someone else. As for eldest aunt's side, she is a member of the imperial harem. Leaving the palace is definitely out of the question, but she can at least make a gesture and give out a reward. As for what to give out, Kongshan believes that money is not important. It would be better to give out something that the citizens can use. For example … "She thought for a bit then said:" For example, we can have eldest aunt's side take the lead and find a group of maidservants and grannies to rush out new Winter clothes. It's almost the end of the year. We can use Noble Lady Yuan's name to give the citizens new clothes. What does cousin think? "
Xuantian Mo's eyes lit up. He felt that what Zhu Kongshan had said was very reasonable, and she had thought it through very thoroughly. If he and Noble Lady Yuan were to personally participate and do this right before the new year, Emperor Tianwu would definitely reward them. This time, with them personally participating, Tianwu would no longer be able to give out rewards to old sixth and Consort Li.
An approving smile appeared on his face, as he looked at Zhu Kongshan, "Cousin really is smart and attentive. It's fortunate that you thought of these things. I will go to the palace tomorrow to speak with imperial concubine mother and have her immediately take care of the matter of the Winter clothes. When the Winter clothes are done, I will personally hand them out and personally prepare congee for the citizens. "
A smile appeared in Zhu Kongshan's eyes, as she nodded and shyly shrunk back into her blankets. When a delicate person revealed this sort of appearance, Xuantian Mo found it hard to resist. The corners of his lips curled up into a smile, as he covered her once more …
Making winter clothes would take a few days, and Zhu Kongshan continued to act as a Bodhisattva in the northern part of the city. It was just that the officials had all left after a few days of "reminding" from her every day. She put on a helpless expression on her face; however, she was happy on the inside. At the same time, the Sheng Palace's congee stall had been doubled in size; however, the congee was much thinner than before. Not only was it thinner, but there was also quite a bit of brown rice added. It was no longer the same fine grain as before.
The citizens were a little puzzled by this, but after thinking a bit, after holding out for so long, perhaps the Sheng Palace was powerless. Whether it was brown rice or thinner rice, it was better than nothing. The people still did not say anything.
But Zhu Kongshan did not want this sort of result. She would occasionally bring her maidservant, Xiao Yu, to the dilapidated temple to chat with the beggars. Her words, however, were filled with clarity, "I don't know how much longer I can hold out for. Coming from Peng Zhou to the capital, all of my accessories have been sold. The money that the family brought has also been spent. The Eighth Prince has given me quite a few nice things, and I have pawned them all for the sake of allowing everyone to eat their fill and wear warm clothes. But in the end, I am just a young girl. My family in Peng Zhou is just a sixth-rank official's family. We don't have much money. You have also seen the congee over the past few days. It's getting thinner and thinner, and most of it is brown rice. There's nothing that I can do. If I truly can't hold out until Spring, don't blame me. "
When the beggars heard this, they were puzzled: "Wasn't it said that the Sheng Palace paid money to give out congee? In the past, there were so many people from families of officials that came to give out congee. They all said that it was because of the Eighth Prince's call and that it was the Eighth Prince's instructions. Since it was the Eighth Prince's instructions, why is it that benefactor is the one paying for it? "
These beggars all called Zhu Kongshan their benefactor because Zhu Kongshan had begun doing good deeds in the northern part of the city from this dilapidated temple. Now, the dilapidated temple's main gate had been closed, and the paper on the windows had been changed. Every night, there would be people from Zhu Kongshan's side that would come and place braziers around them to prevent them from freezing. To them, Zhu Kongshan was their benefactor. Even after they heard that it was the Sheng Palace that had paid for it, the only person that they felt grateful for was Zhu Kongshan alone.
Hearing these beggars mention the Eighth Prince, Zhu Kongshan sighed and bitterly said: "He is a prince and a prince. He has endless work to do every day. How could he have the time to worry about this? It's said that it was the Sheng Palace that paid for it, but in truth, aside from the Sheng Palace paying for the congee outside, the Sheng Palace has never paid for it. "
"Then why is it that the Sheng Palace is helping the citizens?" The people were unable to understand, "He didn't pay for it. How could he have the nerve to gain this sort of good reputation?"
Zhu Kongshan helplessly said: "He is a prince. Now that I am living under someone else's roof, it's natural that I need to get on his good side. He wants to forcefully attribute all of these achievements to the Sheng Palace. What can a lowly girl like me say? I just thought that it doesn't matter who gets the good reputation. As long as everyone can benefit, I don't care about that reputation. You've all heard about the matter of Consort Li being reinstated as an imperial concubine, right? Think about it, His Majesty is the most brilliant person. If these good things really were done by the Eighth Prince, His Majesty would reward Noble Lady Yuan. How could he possibly reward Consort Li. After all, the Sixth Prince didn't do anything. "
With her saying this, the beggars came to a sudden realization. But of course, what sort of person was His Majesty? He was clear-minded and clear-sighted. It was because His Majesty knew that these things were unrelated to the Eighth Prince or Noble Lady Yuan. Also, those two shamelessly flattered themselves. That was why His Majesty became angry and simply rewarded Consort Li. After all, the Zhu family's daughter and Consort Li were relatives. Looking at it from a distance, it was the same as Noble Lady Yuan.
Someone angrily said: "Like I said! How could someone like the Eighth Prince suddenly become enlightened and suddenly have a change of heart. Feeling pity for the citizens, it was all fake after all. The money was provided by our benefactor, and the things were done by our benefactor; however, he took all of these benefits for himself. He really is shameless to the extreme! "
Because of the matter with Feng Yu Heng and Hundred Herb Hall, the citizens of the capital already had some complaints about the Eighth Prince. Now that they found out that they had been scammed, their words were even less respectful, as they all began to curse. Zhu Kongshan rejoiced from hearing this; however, her brow remained furrowed, as she had a pitiful expression.
Not long later, the servant from the Sheng Palace came over. She quickly stood up and put on a very panicked expression in front of the beggars, quickly following the maidservant. As for Xiao Yu, who had been taught very well over the past few days, she was a bit slower. When Zhu Kongshan and the maidservant left the temple, she turned around and quickly said to the beggars: "That servant just now was from the Sheng Palace. She was sent by the Eighth Prince to keep an eye on our young miss, fearing that young miss would speak of this matter. But seeing that the rice is about to run out, and it won't last for much longer, young miss felt that not saying anything would be wrong with her conscience. Everyone, don't spread this matter! If it was found out by the Eighth Prince, he would beat our young miss after returning to the manor. "After she finished speaking, she quickly ran out.
The beggars angrily gritted their teeth. The Eighth Prince actually treated their benefactor like this. They could not endure it any longer …
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