Chapter 806: Little Old-Fashioned
"Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen, may Her Majesty be blessed with good health and happiness."
Xue Ru and the other two bowed as soon as they entered.
Tang Ning quickly said, "Get up quickly."
After Xue Ru and the other two stood up, she waved to Xue Ru. When Xue Ru came closer, Tang Ning said with a hint of anger: "How many times have I told you that you don't need to be so polite to your sister?"
Xue Ru said sternly, "Sister is now the Empress, and etiquette cannot be abolished."
It would be fine if it was just her and her elder sister, but there were outsiders around today. Although she was close to Aunt Rui, Aunt Rui came from the market and didn't know the etiquette of the palace. If she didn't have to perform formalities with her today, people would inevitably think that everyone in the palace was like this, and then she would be in trouble if she neglected them every time.
What's more, there is Wang Yuzhen.
Wang Yuzhen loves reading and is very talented. She has a good personal relationship with Xue Ru, but in Xue Ru's eyes, her sister always comes first.
No matter how good her relationship with Wang Yuzhen was, she could not let Wang Yuzhen think that because of her, she could easily transcend the status gap between her and her elder sister, and she did not have to bow to the queen, or even let others think that as long as they were on good terms with her, they could easily get close to the palace.
Seeing Xue Ru's serious expression, Tang Ning tapped her forehead with a smile: "You, have you been with Mr. Tong and the others for too long? Your temper has almost become a little old-fashioned."
"Sister..."
Xue Ru covered her forehead and cried out in pain, her large black and white eyes watery with a hint of accusation.
Tang Ning finally laughed out loud. After pulling Xue Ru to sit beside her, she looked down and said, "Auntie Rui, Yuzhen, you sit down too."
Aunt Rui changed into a new dress specially for entering the palace today. The plain green pattern on the dress made her face look like a lotus.
She put a light powder on her face, which made her eyes and brows look more charming, but because her eyes were clear and her gaze was extremely disciplined, even though she was beautiful, she did not appear frivolous at all.
Wang Yuzhen was still dressed properly as a noble lady, and her fair skin looked obvious in her goose yellow dress.
Tang Ning looked at Aunt Rui first and said, "I asked A'ru to bring you to the palace several times before, but you always said you were busy. Why are you willing to come to the palace today?"
Aunt Rui felt a little nervous when she saw Tang Ning wearing a gorgeous dress. Although she had known the identity of the person in front of her for a long time and had been with her many times, it was only after entering the palace that she truly realized what the word "Queen" meant.
The towering palace walls, the sword-wielding guards, and the rules that had to be followed everywhere made her tense.
It wasn't until Tang Ning asked that she relaxed a little, but she was still reserved when answering.
"Your Majesty, when the court was relocating those affected by the disaster outside the capital, the orphanage took in a lot of homeless children. Those new children had to be taught manners and comforted first, so I didn't have time to come to the palace to pay my respects to Your Majesty."
Tang Ning asked, "Have you settled them in now? Is there enough space at the orphanage?"
Aunt Rui: "It's enough. Lord Wu of Jingzhao Prefecture asked someone to help expand the Jiguyuan by three acres, and the officials from the Ministry of Works also helped expand several abandoned houses nearby into the courtyard."
"The orphanage is so big nowadays that it wouldn't be too crowded even if a hundred or so people moved in."
Some of the abandoned houses have leaky roofs, which do not look very good. However, for the children who have "drifted" to the orphanage, having a place to shelter from the wind and rain and not be cold is enough for them. How could they complain about the bad living conditions?
After the Ministry of Works and people from Jingzhao Prefecture expanded the yard, she took the children to repair the roof and clean up the dust. Now all the children are settled in.
When Aunt Rui talked about the orphanage, she became less reserved and a smile appeared on her face.
"The teacher the Empress had previously hired is also teaching the children to read and write, knowing that if they study well, they can be admitted to Rongsheng Academy in the future. Those naughty kids are very motivated. Even Xiaozhou never puts down his book, and even in his sleep he still mutters to himself, 'Man is born good.'"
"As for the older children, we women also follow the Queen's instructions. Those who are willing to study continue to study with the teacher. Those who are unwilling to study have people teach them martial arts, accounting and management. Girls can also learn embroidery..."
Tang Ning saw Aunt Rui talking incessantly about the orphanage, so he listened carefully without interrupting her, and waited until she finished before speaking.
"Aunt Rui is in good hands at the orphanage. If you need anything in the future, just tell Aju and she will arrange it. You can handle everything else as you wish. But there's one thing Aunt Rui wants you to remember."
Aunt Rui said seriously, "The Queen has given orders."
Tang Ning said, "The orphanage exists only to take in children who are too young to survive and provide them with temporary shelter. It's not a paradise, nor is it a refuge for some people. Therefore, all children in the orphanage, regardless of gender, must leave once they turn sixteen."
"Whether they continue their studies or seek employment outside, the academy can lend them some money to provide temporary assistance. However, they must repay double the amount within three years. If they exceed three years, interest will be charged annually. No one will be exempted."
Aunt Rui was stunned for a moment: "Three years, and I have to pay back double. Isn't this a bit too short?"
Tang Ning said calmly, "Three years is not a short time. If we don't set a deadline and a double repayment rule, it's inevitable that someone will treat the orphanage as a money bag."
Seeing that Aunt Rui was still hesitant, she continued:
"Every child sent to the orphanage may seem lonely and destitute, but before the age of sixteen, each one of them has equal access to education. They can go to school, learn martial arts, needlework, and even other things that ordinary families may not have the opportunity to learn."
"The orphanage has taught them the skills to survive. As long as they work hard and study diligently, they will have the ability to make a living before leaving the orphanage. This ability will be enough to ensure they will not have to worry about their future lives."
"As for the money, it's just to help them get by after leaving the orphanage. As long as they aren't too greedy and borrow too much at once, three years will be enough for them to be able to pay it back, whether they go out to work or continue their studies."
Xue Ru sat aside and waited until Tang Ning finished speaking before she said softly:
"Aunt Rui, although the Jiguyuan is a charity, the money allocated by the court is limited. In difficult times like these, the court may not even be able to provide the money to maintain the Jiguyuan's expenses."
"The orphanage's expenses are now almost entirely covered by the money my sister and Sister Qian gave privately. But that money will eventually run out, and people's hearts are fickle and their desires are insatiable. Haven't you seen enough of people turning a small amount of kindness into a large amount of resentment?"
"Too much care and unrequited protection will only foster greed in some people."
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