"Why is someone crying? Aunt, did you hear a woman crying?" the Crown Princess asked in surprise.
"I heard it! It's really strange!" Princess Jin replied.
"Madam Sun, look at what's going on? Who is crying?" The Crown Princess said to the old woman sitting by the carriage.
"My two ladies, anything can happen in this market. It's not uncommon to see women crying." Nanny Sun said through the gap in the curtain to the inside of the car.
Nanny Sun was sent by the Queen to serve the Crown Princess, and she is usually very cautious.
But Nanny Sun's perfunctory words could not dispel the curiosity of the two pregnant women at all.
The two men lifted the car curtain and looked in the direction of the sound, and found that there seemed to be a conflict between two people not far away.
"Come closer and see who it is!" Princess Jin ordered the coachman.
Although Nanny Sun was not very happy about the two pregnant women watching the excitement on the street, she didn't want to stop them too much.
The carriage moved forward a little further and then stopped.
The two looked again, and this time they saw clearly that there was an old woman in ragged clothes sitting on the ground on the street, covering her face and crying.
The old woman was wearing a coarse cloth dress with many patches on it. She had a scarf on her head and her face was weathered.
She looks like a peasant woman.
There were two bundles scattered beside the old woman.
Next to her stood a middle-aged man in brocade clothes, cursing at the old woman.
Several passers-by had stopped to watch the excitement.
The Crown Princess and Princess Jin were both kind-hearted people. When they saw someone bullying a peasant woman in the street, they were both furious.
"How dare you bully a peasant woman in broad daylight? This is outrageous!" The Crown Princess cursed inwardly.
She stood up and lifted the car curtain: "I'll go down and take a look!"
The maid sitting on the edge of the carriage advised: "My dear, just sit in the carriage and don't get involved in those messy things. Take care of the baby in your belly!"
The Crown Princess retorted, "It's okay. I just went down to take a look. I know my limits."
The nanny frowned and wanted to continue persuading her, but unexpectedly, Princess Jin said, "I'll go down with you and take a look." So she couldn't stop her anymore.
The two pregnant women came up to the peasant woman holding hands.
"Old woman, return the money quickly!" the man said angrily.
The peasant woman just covered her face and cried without saying a word.
"Why are you crying? If you don't pay me back, I'll have no choice but to sell you off!"
At this time, there were already quite a few people gathered around, and everyone was talking about it.
"How can you bully an old lady like this?" A scholar couldn't stand it and pointed at the man.
"It's only natural to pay back a debt! She owes me money, and I'm asking her for it. What's wrong with that?" The man glared at the scholar fiercely.
The scholar was so frightened that he stopped talking.
Another kind-hearted old man advised, "Sir, even if you're trying to collect a debt, please speak to the debtor politely! It's not good to have things like this."
The man put his hands on his hips and said, "I asked her for the debt, but she just cried and couldn't pay it back. What can I do?"
The Crown Princess gave her personal maid a look, and the maid understood and stepped forward to help the old woman up.
"In this clear world, under the feet of the emperor, even if you want to collect a debt, this is not the way to do it!" The Crown Princess shouted angrily.
Although the voice was not loud, it was full of majesty.
The man paused and looked at the Crown Princess.
I saw two pregnant women standing together, followed by a group of maids and servants. Looking at the two pregnant women again, they were all dressed elegantly and luxuriously, like the wives of wealthy and powerful families.
The man's voice softened, "I just have no other choice."
The Crown Princess wanted to curse the man a few more times, but Princess Jin pulled her hard, signaling her to stop.
Princess Jin said to the old woman in a gentle voice, "Auntie, are you in trouble?"
The old woman sobbed a few more times before she spoke in a tearful voice, "My...my son is working in the capital, and I, an old woman, and my daughter-in-law live in the countryside. But my son hasn't sent any news home in over a year."
"My daughter-in-law and I were so worried that we came to the capital to look for him."
The debt collector explained at the right moment: "After they came to Beijing, they rented my house!"
The old woman wiped her tears and continued, "My mother and I asked around and finally found where he worked, but the boss there said that my son died of illness six months ago..."
The old lady choked up and started crying again when she spoke, "My poor son...how could you be so cruel..."
She covered her face with her hands and cried while observing the expressions of the Crown Princess and Princess Jin through her fingers.
The onlookers were all moved by this scene and tried to comfort the old lady.
"Auntie, life and death are determined by fate, and wealth and honor are determined by God. Don't be too sad!"
"My condolences, Auntie!"
The old lady calmed down a bit before continuing, "My daughter-in-law has become a widow. She has no hope and doesn't want to suffer with me any longer. Ten days ago, she ran away with a bundle..."
"Ahhh! This heartless woman..." The old woman started crying again, beating her chest and stamping her feet.
The debt collector shouted, "You may be pitiful, but you can't owe me rent!"
"If you can't pay the rent, you can sell yourself into slavery and get some money to pay me back, and you can also get food and shelter for yourself."
The Crown Princess couldn't stand it any longer and shouted at the man, "What are you talking about? How can you ask someone to pay back money like this?"
"How much silver does she owe you? I'll pay it back for her."
When the man heard someone was willing to pay back the money, he immediately put on a smile and said, "Not much, just one and a half taels of silver."
The Crown Princess gave the maid a look, and the maid immediately took out a small piece of silver from her purse and handed it to the man.
The man took the silver with a smile on his face and left.
"Thank you, benefactor! Thank you, living Bodhisattva!" The old woman knelt on the ground and kowtowed.
"Get up quickly." The little maid hurried to support her.
The onlookers gave thumbs up to the two pregnant women.
"What a kind man!"
"You're willing to give money to help someone out of trouble when you just meet them by chance. That's a noble act!"
"This is to accumulate blessings for the baby in your belly. The two ladies will surely give birth to a son!"
The Crown Princess and Princess Jin felt a little embarrassed by the praise.
Princess Jin looked at the old woman, who was so moved that she cried tears of joy, and said, "Auntie, where is your hometown? We will arrange a carriage to take you back. You should live a good life."
Unexpectedly, the old woman knelt at the feet of the Crown Princess and begged, "Madam, if you hadn't paid the rent for me, I would have been sold by the landlord."
"I am yours now. Please take me home. I can boil water, wash clothes, sweep the yard, and do all the dirty and tiring work."
The old woman fell to the ground, a sly glint flashing in her tearful eyes.
"This..." The Crown Princess frowned slightly.
The people in the Prince's Mansion were all sent from the palace, and she had no right to bring anyone into the mansion from outside.
Princess Jin immediately saw the Crown Princess's dilemma and said, "Auntie, can you do farm work?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com