Within three days, the same rumor was spread in the streets and alleys of the capital: the good deeds in the north of the city were not done by the eighth prince at all. The eighth prince never paid a penny from the beginning to the end, but he commandeered a good reputation. He was an out-and-out
hypocrite!
The rumor only said this much, without mentioning Zhu Kongshan. When this word reached Xuan Tianmo's ears, Xuan Tianmo was so angry that he smashed a century-old inkstone in the study room. Then he hurriedly went to Zhu Kongshan to ask what happened.
, but Zhu Kongshan also said to him anxiously: "I want to discuss this matter with my cousin! Now in the north of the city, all the officials who used to give porridge and rice have withdrawn. At first, I thought it was them
The money in the house was not enough to support it, so I just left. Doing good deeds is always voluntary and cannot be forced to stay. Later, I found that more and more people were leaving. I was surprised, and I walked around a lot in the past few days.
I wanted to find out the real reason why the officials had evacuated the porridge shack, but I didn’t expect that it was because of my cousin.”
"Because of me?" Xuan Tianmo was puzzled, "What does it have to do with me whether they leave or stay?"
"Oh!" Zhu Kongshan pretended to be anxious and stamped his feet, "Why don't you understand, cousin? All this time, the officials themselves paid for the porridge with me, but Prince Sheng's Mansion never gave them a penny of compensation.
, on the contrary, our good reputation has been taken over by us. Even if it takes one or two days, how can these people not be resentful? When I asked, more than one person told me that the eighth prince was too stingy and too domineering.
I thought of them when I was working with money and hard work, but whenever there was any benefit, it never came from them. They had been giving rice and food along with them for so long, but they didn't get any actual benefits, and they didn't get any promotions.
, so I can’t hold on any longer.”
Xuan Tianmo looked angry, "You just want to be promoted for doing something like this? They are dreaming!" Thinking about the rumors on the street, no need to ask, they naturally came from those officials. He had already thought about it,
People in small official positions are unreliable. Although there are daughters in the palace who have been bullied by Concubine Yun and have nothing to do for decades, most of them are of the rank of the noble Jieyu and cannot achieve great things. And those concubines above
People, he can't win over those ministers who hold first- and second-grade official positions. This is his biggest shortcoming. "Has everyone withdrawn?" Xuan Tianmo asked Zhu Kongshan.
Zhu Kongshan nodded, "We are the only ones left."
"Yes." He thought for a while and then said: "In five days, I will go to the north of the city in person. I will also bring the winter clothes prepared by my mother and concubine. You can make arrangements then."
Joy passed through Zhu Kongshan's heart, and he quickly nodded and said: "Kongshan remembers it, don't worry, cousin, everything will be arranged in the north of the city." After saying that, he looked at Xuan Tianmo again, with a rosy look on his face, "Cousin, tonight
Are you staying here?"
Xuan Tianmo waved his hand, "If you have something to do tonight, go to bed early!" After saying that, he turned around and left.
It wasn't until he walked out of the yard that Zhu Kongshan breathed a sigh of relief. Xiaoyu helped her sit back in the chair and said worriedly: "Miss, what if His Highness the Eighth Prince discovers what we are doing? Will he..."
"Will they kill us?" She sneered, "Of course they will, and they will make me die miserably." As she spoke, she could clearly feel Xiaoyu trembling, and she quickly comforted her: "Don't worry, I've already
I have made arrangements for you. Before anything happens to me, I will definitely arrange for you to leave the capital." After saying that, he reached into his arms and took out fifty taels of silver notes. "Take this, I will give it to you before I leave.
I will give you another hundred taels, and I will also prepare some scraps of silver for you to use on the road. The money you have with you is enough to find a place far away from the capital and Pengzhou to live well. In addition, I will also give you the deed of sale.
Give it back to you, and you will be free from now on, and you can go wherever you want."
When Xiaoyu heard this, she couldn't help but feel excited, and at the same time she was extremely grateful to Zhu Kongshan. She knelt down and said: "Miss, I am your maid. I am willing to serve you all my life, and I will never leave you!"
Inseparable in life and death? Zhu Kongshan sneered in his heart, there is no such thing as inseparable in life and death in this world. Although Xiaoyu is considered loyal, it is impossible to die with the master's family. Of course, she has no intention of really
Let this girl live. What's the use of keeping a servant who can't share weal and woe with the master? But now is not the time to fall out. She still has many things that need this girl's help to complete, and she has to prevent her from turning around and fighting with Ba.
The prince went to complain. It only took five days. After five days, as long as the eighth prince arrived at the north of the city with Yuan Guiren's clothes, everything would be over.
Rumors in the capital were still spreading, and the Eighth Prince gradually became alienated from the officials who relied on him. On the north side of the city, the beggars in the ruined temples revealed that the poor people knew that the porridge and rice they ate were all blessings.
The money contributed by the young lady alone has nothing to do with the Eighth Prince. As for the families who participated in the soup kitchen before, they came here because of the Eighth Prince. The reason why they left was because of the Eighth Prince. Because of the Eighth Prince.
The prince had promised them money before, but in the end he had no money, so those people withdrew.
The girl from Prince Sheng's Mansion who was following Zhu Kongshan was very puzzled as to where this statement came from. It was obvious that Prince Sheng's Mansion had given out a lot of money, so how could it be that she had no money due to these rumors? She was puzzled.
Asked Zhu Kongshan what was going on, Zhu Kongshan just shook his head at her, saying that he didn't know, and told the maid: "My cousin is also investigating, I hope we can find out the truth!"
In front of the people, Zhu Kongshan kept explaining to people that the rice grains were bought by Prince Sheng's Mansion. However, people agreed on the surface, but secretly they were saying: "Miss Zhu's family is really pitiful. If she doesn't do this,
If the Eighth Prince says nice things, he will be beaten when he returns to Prince Sheng's Mansion. Alas, how come such a good girl has such a miserable life?"
The wind in Beijing could change at any time. In Feng Yuheng's eyes, this was perfectly normal. She even sneered at it and only said: "I thought they could survive this winter, but I didn't expect it."
We will have to clear the table and disperse soon."
Huang Quan said: "My maidservant, it is better to leave early, otherwise I will be sick to death listening to people's praises of the Eighth Prince all day long."
Feng Yuheng laughed at her: "You just can't bear it. What's so disgusting about it? We can't lose a piece of meat. We don't eat enough at any meal. Just praise it. Remember, the higher the praise, the higher the praise.
The more people fall, the harder they fall. I really want to see what kind of trouble Zhu Kongshan can bring to this matter, and how Lao Ba will handle it."
Wangchuan had different considerations from Huang Quan. She asked Feng Yuheng: "Miss, if something happens to the Eighth Prince again this time, will the Emperor punish him severely? So many things before, including jade mines and collaboration with the enemy in the southern border, were all punished by the Eighth Prince.
Covering up the past, I looked at it and the emperor turned a blind eye, but what about this time? If the emperor still has the same attitude, our troubles will be in vain."
Feng Yuheng also had this worry. In the contest with the Eighth Prince, she had always been passive. She would only try to unbutton the opponent's buttons before trying to show them off. And Emperor Tianwu's attitude was indeed true.
It was like Wangchuan said, turning a blind eye. If the previous matter was investigated carefully, she didn't believe that it wouldn't be found out. For such a big crime, she didn't believe that Lao Ba could still be as arrogant as he is today.
But the emperor chose not to investigate strictly and gave the old man a chance to continue to develop. She had already seen that the old Emperor Tianwu was ready to sit back and watch the fight between the two tigers. He just wanted to see how the two tigers could finally get to the top.
Which one is the top one? This is a cruel game. She has no intention of playing with it, but she has no choice but that Xuan Tianming is in the position of the prince and cannot retreat even if she wants to. In this world, Xuantian Meditation must guard
, she can only stay with him. One day we will see the end, and she should show her original fighting spirit against the Feng family.
Feng Yuheng cheered herself up and then said again: "Just wait and see, with Zhu Kongshan here, I'm afraid the old man won't be able to hold on for a few days. He is also his cousin's success, and he is also his failure.
My cousin, this can be regarded as tit for tat, where you get up and fall again."
A few days later, the Eighth Prince Xuan Tianmo rode in a palace carriage and led a convoy of ten carriages to the north of the city. Zhu Kongshan had already told the people in the north of the city the news, telling everyone that the Eighth Prince would arrive in person today.
Here to visit everyone, I also brought new cotton-padded clothes made for everyone by the ladies and maids organized by Yuan Guiren in the palace. He also emphasized repeatedly: "This time, Yuan Guiren really paid for it himself, just to make everyone
Putting on new winter clothes, the noble man stayed up several nights in the palace without sleeping!"
She had already infiltrated these words to the beggars in the ruined temple, making them believe that under the pressure of recent rumors in Beijing, the Eighth Prince finally wanted to do something practical. She also told the beggars that this was also a good thing, and it would ultimately benefit the people.
It's good if we can get benefits.
After hearing her words, the beggars also told people that this time it was really Yuan Guiren and the Eighth Prince who had contributed, so people believed it and waited expectantly for the Eighth Prince's arrival.
Xuan Tianmo came to the north of the city that day. Not only did he bring new winter clothes, he also brought several large carts of food. He also brought the cooks from Prince Sheng's Mansion. He cooked rice and vegetables for the people on the spot and distributed new food.
He used the bowls and chopsticks to serve the poor people himself, which lasted a whole day and was very lively.
The common people had good meals and got new clothes. For a time, the slander against the Eighth Prince in the past few days was offset. Some even deeply blamed themselves, feeling that they had wrongly blamed the Eighth Prince.
It wasn't until the sky got dark that Xuan Tianmo took the people away. Before leaving, he said many heart-breaking words to the people, and even promised them: "As long as Prince Sheng's Mansion can afford to eat, we will
I will watch you starve."
After Xuan Tianmo left, Zhu Kongshan left behind to deal with the aftermath and said warmly to the people who had received new winter clothes: "It's almost Laba. It's very cold these days. Don't keep the new clothes you got. Everyone
Wear them all, don't let yourself freeze at night."
People nodded repeatedly, especially those beggars who lived in the ruined temple. It was really cold these days. Even if a charcoal pot was placed in the temple, it would not solve the practical problem. So people put on their newly acquired winter clothes and prepared for the night.
Wrapped tightly, at least psychologically, the newly made clothes are definitely warmer than the old ones, at least the cotton is new and thicker.
When Zhu Kongshan saw that everyone was wearing their clothes, he smiled and kept saying: "As long as everyone likes it, Yuan Gui's work is not in vain. People like the Eighth Prince who look down on the poor people in the north of the city can today
It’s not easy to come here in person.”
After saying this, the people's hearts trembled again. Thinking about it again, no, the eighth prince didn't show the slightest smile all day long.
People spent this winter night with mixed emotions. They thought they would be warmer with new clothes, but unexpectedly, the next day, bad news came out in the north of the city that nearly one-third of the poor and beggars were killed overnight.