Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Giving
At five o'clock the next day, Wu Tianyue got up and practiced martial arts, and then personally went to count the guards who were with him that day.
It was just daybreak after the selection was completed. Hearing that Daiyu and the others had already gotten up, and the maid in Princess Zhongshun's courtyard had prepared the carriage, she hurried back to her room to wash up. After everything was ready, she rode her horse and followed Princess Zhongshun's carriage to the outer city.
After about half an hour's journey, the convoy finally stopped in front of a teahouse in the outer city. Wu Tianyue urged his horse to the front and personally helped Princess Zhongshun down.
Daiyu and Jin Ling followed him out of the carriage and watched curiously through the veil.
This teahouse was opened by the Zhongshun Palace and was often used to distribute porridge and rice during festivals. Therefore, it was not located in a busy city and there were not many shops around it, so the place was quite spacious.
At this time, a long table had been set up outside the building, with prepared food such as steamed buns and dumplings on it. There was a large iron pot on the temporary earthen stove next to it, with thick rice porridge in it. Opposite the teahouse were many rice bags, cloths and bamboo baskets filled with copper coins, and there were servants guarding all around.
Before Jin Ling entered the Rongguo Mansion, she often followed the opera troupe and saw the wealthy families in the city giving out porridge, so this was not strange to her. She just glanced at it casually and then looked away.
Daiyu had never seen such a scene before. She looked around excitedly, but saw only guards, servants, and maids. She asked in confusion, "Madam, why hasn't anyone come?"
"The alms haven't started yet." Princess Zhongshun looked at Daiyu and Jin Ling and said, "We need to prepare everything first before letting people in. Otherwise, it will be a mess and cause trouble."
The two men knew that she was teaching them, and nodded to indicate that they understood. Then they went upstairs with Princess Zhongshun to change into clothes for the activities.
After changing clothes and sitting down to rest for a while, Xia Jin came up and said, "My queen, we can start now."
Princess Zhongshun nodded and carefully instructed Daiyu and Jin Ling, "Although the people who line up first have been selected by the palace, they cannot take off their veils or stand too close to the front. After this group is sent out, the remaining people will be handed over to the maids in the palace. You can wait in the hall or go back upstairs to rest. You can't leave alone. If you want to go back to the palace, tell Xia Jin and she will arrange a carriage to take you out the back door."
Seeing that the two of them agreed obediently, Fang took them downstairs.
The open space downstairs was already full of people. Several teams were lined up in front of the tables, with men, women, young and old crowded together. However, because there were servants and guards guarding the place, it was not messy.
Wu Tianyue and Princess Zhongshun had been here many times, so when he saw Xia Jin accompanying Daiyu, he felt relieved and stayed by Princess Zhongshun's side with ease. After she finished speaking, he followed her to help serve the porridge.
Daiyu saw Jin Ling surrounded by the maids who had participated in the martial arts competition in the palace, standing in front of the table and starting to distribute food. She also walked to another place accompanied by Xia Jin and the maids.
But as soon as I looked up, I saw a skinny old woman at the front of the team. The excitement and excitement of coming out to play just now disappeared instantly, and my heart was filled with shock and bitterness.
"Girl." Xia Jin saw that she was distracted and reminded her softly.
Daiyu came to her senses and said nothing, but silently handed the hot steamed buns to the old woman.
Seeing her trembling as she took the steamed bun and was about to kowtow to express her gratitude, Daiyu subconsciously reached out to help her. As soon as she raised her hand, the nanny who was organizing the team had already firmly grasped the old woman's hand and said loudly, "Are you new here? According to the rules of the princess, you don't have to kneel when giving alms."
The old woman seemed to be very old and couldn't hear clearly. The nanny repeated it several times before she understood. She nodded slowly and thanked Daiyu repeatedly.
After saying that, he walked slowly through the crowd.
Daiyu clutched the fine cloth wrapped around the steamed buns tightly, feeling a heaviness in her heart.
A little girl following the old woman saw that Daiyu didn't move, so she looked up and said timidly, "Sister."
Daiyu lowered her head slightly and saw that the girl was only four or five years old, with patches on her clothes and a dirty face, but her eyes were black and bright, like grapes that had just been washed with water. Thinking of this, Daiyu felt even more depressed. The little girl might have never even seen a grape.
Seeing her confused look, Daiyu quickly handed the steamed bun to her and asked softly, "Why are you alone?"
"Mom went to get the money." Perhaps her mother had taught her before she came, the little girl answered obediently, slurping her saliva as she spoke, "Mom said she would buy me candied haws when she got the money."
Seeing her innocent expression, Daiyu suddenly remembered the scene when her mother held her in her arms and read poems to her when she was a child. She smiled and reached out to touch her head, saying, "Then you must treat your mother well in the future."
The little girl nodded obediently: "When I grow up, I will buy lots of candied haws for mom."
As he spoke, perhaps he saw his mother and said, "Thank you, sister." Then he squeezed into the crowd.
"What's wrong?" Daiyu stared blankly at her disappearing into the crowd. Just as she was about to pass out the steamed buns, she heard Wu Tianyue's voice, "Are you feeling unwell?"
"No." Daiyu then realized that Wu Tianyue had walked up to her side without her noticing. She glanced at him, shook her head and sighed, "I just feel... this is the real 'Wind Knife and Frost Sword'."
"What do you mean by 'Wind Blade and Frost Sword'?" Wu Tianyue frowned. "Is there anyone in Rongguo Mansion bullying you?"
"With the Madam here, who dares to bully me?" Daiyu didn't want to tell him about the rumors in the mansion, so she changed the subject and asked him to leave. "Don't bother me here."
Wu Tianyue saw that she didn't look as happy as when she left in the morning, so he pretended to be aggrieved and teased her: "How did I get in the way? It took you a long time to distribute two bags of steamed buns, and Mother and Jin Ling went in to rest."
Xia Jin smiled and said, "Don't be anxious, girl. Take your time. It's still early."
Daiyu turned around and saw Princess Zhongshun and Jin Ling sitting in the hall watching. She nodded without saying anything and continued to distribute steamed buns.
She was too silent, and Wu Tianyue was a little worried. He didn't care that Princess Zhongshun was watching inside, so he stayed by her side to help her.
The people in the mansion knew that Daiyu was weak, so there were few people for her to choose from, and the two of them finished distributing the things in no time.
As soon as they entered the hall, Princess Zhongshun asked, "Are you tired? Do you want to go upstairs and rest?"
Daiyu shook her head: "I'm not tired, just sit here."
Princess Zhongshun noticed that although her face was a little solemn, she didn't look tired. Perhaps she was frightened by the scenes and thought that she should come out more often to see them. So, without asking any more questions, she pulled her to sit down and said, "Then sit with me for a while."
After saying that, he ordered Xia Jin to let the person in.
Not long after Xia Jin left, many people came in and it was much noisier than before.
Daiyu felt a little uncomfortable, but did not leave. She sat in the hall and watched the nanny distribute things in an orderly manner.
Wu Tianyue watched her staring at the crowd, wondering what she was thinking. Her face looked very bad and he was a little anxious. He walked over, pulled her sleeve, and asked softly, "What's wrong?"
Daiyu shook her head and said nothing.
Wu Tianyue didn't dare to ask any more questions and just sat beside her to accompany her.
Although the weather has been good in the past two years, the things Princess Zhongshun donated every time were very practical. Bowls for porridge and cloth for wrapping steamed buns were common for families with some money, but for poorer people, these things were very scarce, not to mention money and rice.
Before each distribution, he would have people post notices at the city gates and hire people who wrote letters on the street to read them. As a result, many people came, and all the things were distributed before noon.
After the last person to collect something left, Princess Zhongshun ordered Xia Jin to stay and clean up, and took Daiyu and the others back upstairs.
Princess Zhongshun was about to look at the record of today's distribution of items. Seeing that Daiyu looked tired, she thought that she had just suffered from heatstroke, so she ordered her to go back to another room to rest.
Daiyu didn't try to be stubborn and got up and went to another room.
Wu Tianyue was worried about her, so he followed her. When he entered, he saw Daiyu lying on the couch. He said to her, "I told you to go and rest, but you didn't. Now you feel tired, don't you?"
Daiyu opened her mouth to retort him, but then she thought about how she was in a bad mood just now and had spoken rudely, which had indeed wronged him. But she was not in the mood to explain now, so she ignored him and turned over to lie on the other side.
Wu Tianyue saw that she was in a bad mood and squatted in front of the couch: "What's wrong with you? You were fine this morning, but you looked listless when I distributed the things."
Daiyu felt more and more depressed when she thought about what she had seen and heard today. For a moment, she felt that her life in the Jia Mansion was not as good as that little girl's. At least she still had her mother to accompany her. At another moment, she thought that at least she still had a good life and did not have to rush around outside, but she was sad all day long, which was really not right.
Although Daiyu had a thousand thoughts in her mind, her expression was very calm, which made Wu Tianyue a little anxious, and he didn't know what to say to comfort her.
Just as he was hating himself for being so tongue-tied, he suddenly remembered what he had heard Daiyu say to the little boy. He thought Daiyu was missing her mother, so he gently poked her on the back and said, "Don't be sad. Although your mother is no longer with you, I will always be here."
Before he could finish, Daiyu turned around. Wu Tianyue saw her red eyes and said distressedly, "Besides me, my mother has also been here."
It would have been better if she hadn't said this. As soon as she said this, Daiyu was even more grief-stricken. She could no longer control her tears and they rolled down. Perhaps she felt it was shameful to cry, so she covered her face with her hands and sat up.
Wu Tianyue hurriedly stood up and sat next to Daiyu. Just as he was about to speak, she suddenly turned around, buried her head in his arms, and sobbed.
Listening to Daiyu's crying, Wu Tianyue didn't know what to say, so he gently stroked her hair to comfort her.
The two of them hugged each other in silence. After an unknown amount of time, Daiyu's crying gradually subsided, but she still leaned in Wu Tianyue's arms without saying a word.
"Everyone in this world has their own sufferings that others don't know about. As long as you don't bully others for your own selfish desires and try to help others when you can, that's all." Wu Tianyue remembered Daiyu's words about "the wind and frost are like swords" and comforted her, "You don't have to feel guilty or sad about what you think or what you feel. Even the smallest suffering is suffering."
His words made no sense, but Daiyu knew he was comforting herself, and her heart felt very sweet. Her decision a few days ago to treat him as just a brother began to waver again.
Thinking of this, Daiyu bit her lip and suppressed the idea. Compared to him, the Empress was more important.
But the current situation was very awkward, and she was still being held by him. Daiyu hesitated for a moment, then decided to hurt Wu Tianyue again: "I didn't expect you, who wields swords and clubs all day, to understand these profound principles."
Wu Tianyue saw her sitting up with her eyes still red, and said to herself, gritting her teeth, "I'm comforting you."
Daiyu nodded proudly, without replying, and only said, "My face feels so uncomfortable, I need to wash it."
Wu Tianyue hurriedly got up to bring her some water. When he came back and saw Daiyu wiping her face in front of the bronze mirror, he suddenly realized that he seemed too humble. Even if he liked her, he couldn't let her manipulate him like this. He secretly reminded himself not to be so obedient, but after Daiyu wiped her face, she took the initiative to pour out the water.
After falling down, Wu Tianyue began to doubt his life, but before he could figure out how to be tough in the future, the Dragon Boat Festival arrived.
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The author has something to say: Thanks to the little angels "45572230" and "Waiting for the Flowers to Bloom" for the nutrient solution~
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