Chapter 12
The housekeeper was a shrewd person, and immediately understood Shen Qingnian's meaning. After agreeing, he hurriedly went to do it.
After changing into a plain white dress, Shen Qingnian covered her face with a veil and left the mansion.
Inside the Lin residence.
Lin Yue'er was throwing a tantrum in the courtyard, knocking over flowerpots and items on the stone table.
She was breathing rapidly, her hair had come loose, and her face was flushed with an unnatural redness.
"Miss, please take your medicine first. Your health is the most important thing," a maidservant said, carefully handing the medicine to Lin Yue'er.
Lin Yue'er stared at the bowl of dark, murky medicine. She picked it up, closed her eyes, and drank it all in one gulp. The bitter taste of the medicine filled her mouth, and the pent-up frustration she had just released seemed to rise up again.
Looking at the obedient maid standing in front of her, she raised her hand and slapped her across the face.
The crisp sound echoed in the courtyard, and the maidservant held back her tears, not daring to utter a sound.
"You shameless woman, who allowed you to wear flowers in your hair!" Lin Yue'er raised her hand and ripped the jasmine flower from the maid's hair, her expression full of resentment.
A crudely made jasmine-shaped hairpin fell to the ground. This was a common hairpin style for maids in the mansion. Besides the jasmine style, there were other patterns as well.
Now, seeing anything related to jasmine reminds Lin Yue'er of Shen Qingnian.
The maid knelt down and said in a panic, "Please forgive me, Miss, this hairpin was issued uniformly by the manor."
She usually wore this hairpin, and the young lady never said anything about it.
Lin Yue'er looked at the hairpin on the ground, then stepped on it and ground it hard: "From now on, nothing related to jasmine is allowed in the mansion, and all the jasmine trees in the courtyard must be uprooted!"
The maidservant remembered the incident at the Shen family banquet last time and understood. She immediately kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "This servant understands, this servant understands."
When Lin's mother rushed over, she happened to see the maidservants busy cleaning the jasmine trees in the courtyard.
She asked in surprise, "Moon, what's wrong? These flowering trees are growing perfectly fine, why are you pulling them out?"
Lin Yue'er twisted the handkerchief with a gloomy expression. The maid beside her whispered to Lin's mother, "Madam, we are cleaning the jasmine tree."
Lin's mother paused slightly, then quickly walked to Lin Yue'er's side and said, "The Crown Prince went to the porridge shop outside the city, and Shen Qingnian also went there just now."
"Moon, you've failed to secure an appointment with the Crown Prince several times. Hurry up and change your clothes and dress properly before heading there."
If the Crown Prince were to meet Shen Qingnian, who knows what unexpected things might happen.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yue'er looked anxious and quickly went to her boudoir to change into a pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and then applied exquisite makeup before hurrying towards the porridge shop outside the city.
A porridge shop outside the city.
Shen Qingnian, dressed in plain white, with a veil covering her face, was standing in front of a large wooden tub, distributing porridge to the displaced people who were queuing up.
She didn't wear a ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) today, but instead wore a long shirt with narrow sleeves. The skirt wasn't as wide as a typical ruqun, but it still gave her an ethereal look. With a veil covering her face, she looked even more beautiful.
When she first arrived, all the refugees around her were stunned. When they learned that she was Miss Shen, they all knelt down and kowtowed to her, calling her a fairy who bestowed grace.
These starving refugees would be grateful to have a bowl of hot porridge.
To them, what else could Shen Qingnian be but a savior from suffering?
Ordinary people don't care about noble ladies; they praise whoever can feed them.
Shen Qingnian handed the white porridge in her hand to the refugee in front of her.
"Thank you, Miss Shen. Thank you, Miss Shen."
These refugees were deeply grateful to Shen Qingnian.
Behind the porridge shop, there were some simple sheds for the refugees to rest in, and a separate shed where some sick refugees stayed.
Song Xuan brought some doctors with him today to treat these refugees. If these sick refugees are left unattended, and an epidemic breaks out, the consequences would be unimaginable and could even affect the people in the capital.
Inside the shed.
The doctor was examining the refugee's pulse. Although the refugee was pale, he had a smile on his face. His leg was broken when the floodwaters rushed towards him and stones were thrown at him.
The man said calmly, "Doctor, if I die from this illness, just bury me. I have no other wish than for Miss Shen to save my wife and children."
He was incredibly grateful to Miss Shen.
Upon hearing this, Song Xuan, who was in the corner, had a flicker in his gentle eyes. He couldn't help but walk towards the entrance of the shed, lift the curtain, and look at Shen Qingnian, who was distributing porridge outside.
The young girl, dressed in white, was distributing porridge to the refugees. The sunlight gilded her with a golden edge, making her appear exceptionally kind.
Shen Qingnian knew that Song Xuan had arrived before her, but when she arrived, she pretended not to know and went directly to the porridge shop to distribute porridge, without paying her respects to Song Xuan.
She knew she couldn't make her intentions too obvious.
Standing beside Shen Qingnian, Xiaoju softly reminded her, "Miss, His Highness the Crown Prince is looking at you."
Xiaoju remained calm and only glanced at it out of the corner of her eye.
Shen Qingnian's smile grew even gentler. She didn't reply, but continued to serve the porridge.
Just then, an exquisite carriage stopped in front of the porridge shop. The place was full of refugees, and the arrival of such a beautiful carriage immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Shen Qingnian also looked at the carriage, her smile deepening.
Lin Yue'er was helped down from the carriage by her maid. She was dressed in a pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with a gorgeous gold hairpin in her hair. Even her embroidered shoes were adorned with two jade beads. Her makeup was exquisite, and she looked like a noble lady from a high-ranking family in the city.
These refugees, dressed in rags, were completely out of place with the refined and beautiful Lin Yue'er in the city.
Lin Yue'er saw Shen Qingnian as soon as she got off the carriage. Shen Qingnian was dressed in plain white clothes, without any hair ornaments, and her embroidered shoes were covered in mud, making her look extremely dirty.
But even in such a dirty appearance, it did not affect her beauty in the slightest; in fact, her pure white attire added a touch of ethereal beauty to her.
Lin Yue'er's expression was rather unpleasant. After looking around and not finding the Crown Prince, she walked towards Shen Qingnian.
She walked gracefully to Shen Qingnian.
Lin Yue'er glanced at the white porridge in the wooden bucket. The porridge was very thick, as if there wasn't enough water in it, and it looked unappetizing. She frowned in disgust and covered her nose with the handkerchief in her hand.
“Miss Shen seems to enjoy doing good deeds,” Lin Yue’er said with a hint of sarcasm.
Shen Qingnian looked at the exquisitely dressed Lin Yue'er and asked with some curiosity, "Miss Lin, are you here to distribute porridge today as well?"
Song Xuan wasn't here, so Lin Yue'er didn't need to pretend to be harmonious anymore. She covered her mouth and chuckled, "I'm not as free as Miss Chen, and my father would never let me do these servant's chores."
As for Prime Minister Shen, while he claims to love his daughter dearly, he still makes Miss Shen do these servant's chores. His claim of loving his daughter is clearly an exaggeration.
As soon as Lin Yue'er said this, she immediately attracted some strange looks from the refugees.
What is this young lady saying?
The Crown Prince is still inside the shed tending to the wounded; how can helping them be considered a servant's task?
Shen Qingnian was not angered by Lin Yue'er's words. She handed the last bowl of porridge to the refugee before saying:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com