Chapter 38◇
◎By chance and coincidence, who could have guessed?◎
Duan Jingchuan nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Zhao Yue didn't know why, but he felt incredibly full. He never expected his brother to be such a doting husband. But Duan Jingchuan made any request, no matter how difficult, he would comply, let alone just having a few young ladies keep the Crown Princess company.
After receiving their instructions, the girls looked at each other.
Finally, it was Song Xiaosi, the eldest son, who stepped forward and said, "Young Master Zhao, rest assured, we will definitely take good care of the Crown Princess."
With a confident expression, Song Xiaosi took the initiative to take charge of directing the other girls after Zhao Yue left.
"Judging from what Young Master Zhao said, it seems that the Princess Consort wants to choose a suitable maid. When you go there later, you should perform well. Although serving the Princess Consort will result in becoming a slave, the Prince is, after all, our benefactor. We cannot let him down."
The girls nodded firmly and walked confidently toward Feng Ran.
Feng Ran noticed someone approaching from behind, but she wasn't shy at all. She smiled and said, "You must be cold too. Let's go inside and sit for a while."
The girls were caught off guard by Feng Ran's smiling face and were stunned. Following Feng Ran's words, they followed her into the house.
Upon entering the room, they noticed that none of the servants had greeted the Crown Princess. Their brows furrowed, and they performed a formal, deep bow, saying, "Greetings, Crown Princess. We, your servants, pay our respects."
This kneeling startled Feng Ran. Even holding a child didn't stop her from dodging. "Oh my, why are you kneeling before me? Isn't this shortening my lifespan? Get up, get up!"
Seeing that Feng Ran genuinely wanted them to get up, the girls stood up gracefully, somewhat at a loss.
Song Xiaosi stepped forward and said, "Princess Consort, let me carry Twenty-Five. He's quite heavy."
Feng Ran carefully cradled the child in both hands. Even with all her strength, she dared not hold him with just one arm, for fear of hurting the little rascal in her arms. She replied, "No need, I won't hold him anymore. I'll put him down now." She had carried him inside because it was quite cold outside, and seeing his small arms and legs, she knew walking would be difficult. Now that they were indoors, she could simply put the child on the chair; there was no need for anyone to carry him.
After being put down, Xiao Ershiwu breathed a sigh of relief and sat there upright, like a little adult.
Feng Ran also noticed the way several people were looking at her, respectful but not very affectionate, which made her feel a little annoyed. "Well, I said you don't need to be so serious. I don't need maids. Let's all sit down and chat."
Left with no other choice, Feng Ran gave Xiu'er, who was following behind her, a wink.
Xiuer smiled helplessly and stepped forward. "Sisters, please sit down when the Crown Princess invites you to. Don't be too reserved." With that, Xiuer sat down next to Feng Ran.
Inside the room was a long table, presumably used by this group for their daily meals; it could easily seat more than a dozen people.
After Xiuer sat down, the group exchanged glances and sat upright, their bottoms only touching the third of the seat. This was the rule the two matrons had taught them, and they were racking their brains to remember it, afraid of being impolite in front of Feng Ran.
Feng Ran reached into her pocket and pulled out some small candies and snacks, stuffing them all into Twenty-Five's hand. "I heard your name is Twenty-Five. Do you have a formal name?"
Little Twenty-Five has only been here a short time and is still looking confused. He only knows that he is called Twenty-Five now, but he doesn't know his real name.
Song Xiaosi explained from the side, "Princess Consort, he only arrived at the age of twenty-five and doesn't have a formal name yet. If the Princess Consort is interested, she can bestow a name upon him."
Feng Ran shook her head repeatedly, "I didn't do something so cultured. Twenty-five is fine too."
Although Feng Ran didn't quite understand the situation here, she only knew that it was an orphanage. Xiao Sheqing and Zhao Yue lowered their voices, but she could still understand that these girls were sent by her husband. Did that mean that these people were here to help her answer her questions?
Ignoring all that, Feng Ran asked directly, "Are you all orphans?"
The seven girls accompanying Feng Ran, the youngest of whom is twelve this year, no longer care about their background. On the contrary, they are grateful to live in such a big family. The slightly more lively Xiao Ba, with her chubby little round face, replied: "The people here are all in similar situations. They were either abandoned or lost their parents in an accident. Fortunately, with the help of the young master and Young Master Zhao, we were able to settle down in this corner of the world."
"When I came in just now, I saw you were all doing work. Were you doing it for my husband too?"
Song Xiaosi knew a lot about this. "The two nannies who have been taking care of us, Song and Wu, were originally embroiderers at Baihualou. We learned our embroidery skills from them, and we can earn some money with these skills, so we can be considered self-sufficient. It's the same for boys. Generally, those who are over twelve or thirteen years old have someone help them arrange suitable jobs to make a living."
As the saying goes, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Duan Jingchuan never intended to support these people for nothing. Even when he was young, he knew the saying that a little kindness is appreciated, but too much kindness breeds resentment. So he simply provided these children with a safe place to live, a home to shelter them from the wind and rain. Whether they could live well, and how far they could go, depended entirely on their own efforts.
These people did not disappoint him. Duan Jingchuan's business empire has expanded so rapidly in recent years, and these kids have been working tirelessly for him.
After hearing all this, Feng Ran finally understood why the socially anxious girl asked her if she wanted to do good deeds, and she also understood why Duan Jingchuan had such great merit.
These children with their clear and bright eyes are his way of showing kindness to the world.
A short while later, Duan Jingchuan and Zhao Yue also entered. To avoid suspicion, the girls all excused themselves from Feng Ran, and Xiao Ershiwu was also taken away by them.
Feng Ran's eyes sparkled. "Husband, you are such a good person. Heaven will treat you well."
Duan Jingchuan chuckled, first pouring Feng Ran a cup of hot tea, then pouring one for himself. Zhao Yue waited for a while but his teacup wasn't filled, so he snorted and angrily drank by himself.
He took a sip of tea, his thoughts swirling in his mind, and then asked, seemingly casually, "Madam, when Heaven calculates merits, do you think it will be counted towards Zhao Yue or me?"
Feng Ran frowned. "Why do you ask that? Of course, both of you have them on your heads!"
Duan Jingchuan shook his head. "I don't usually show my face. I can only support the daily expenses of this orphanage. These children have only heard my name from other people. Zhao Yue is someone they see often, and he helps them solve any problems they encounter. In this case, do you think Heaven will count my merits?"
Feng Ran smiled and said, “Husband, so that’s what you were worried about. Don’t worry, when Heaven calculates merit, it’s similar to folk beliefs. As long as someone sincerely says it and keeps it in their heart, that person has merit. When you came in just now, I could tell from the respect everyone showed you that they definitely contributed merit points for you.”
This was the first time Duan Jingchuan had heard this theory, but that wasn't his purpose. He changed the subject, "Suppose that when I do good deeds in the future, I always use Madam's name, will Madam receive merit points?"
Feng Ran grinned, "Such a good thing exists in the world? Of course it will be counted towards me. Husband, don't be so silly. It's better to keep the merit points for yourself."
Zhao Yue, who was listening from the side, was completely confused and couldn't help but interject, "Are you two discussing theology?"
Feng Ran replied quite seriously, "There are no gods in this world, you can't be superstitious."
Duan Jingchuan asked curiously from the side, "If there are no gods in the world, are there demons and monsters?"
Feng Ran suddenly felt a little guilty and gave an embarrassed smile, "I was just saying it casually, how would I know so much?"
Inspired by Duan Jingchuan, Feng Ran suddenly realized that she was now quite wealthy and could use her money to do good deeds! That would be a great act of merit.
At dusk, Feng Ran ate very little, her brow furrowed as she pondered something.
Duan Jingchuan thought about the topic he hadn't asked about in front of others during the day, and now he asked it.
"Madam, I recently read a storybook about someone who died and came back to life. It turned out that she was possessed by a ghost, but this ghost was obviously not doing it on purpose. She doesn't harm people in her daily life. On the contrary, she always thinks about doing good deeds and being kind to others. But Heaven just won't let her go and always wants to banish her from this world. Don't you think Heaven is a bit unreasonable?"
Feng Ran didn't think much of it. Her husband usually liked to read all sorts of random books, and the words in those books were crooked and messy. Just looking at them gave her a headache, so she didn't want to delve into what Duan Jingchuan had read.
Feng Ran didn't connect Duan Jingchuan's meaningful words to herself at all, taking it as just casual conversation between the two of them.
However, Feng Ran still had the right to speak on this topic, and even the content of her words was full of profound meaning: "There is a natural order to things, and since it was an unintentional mistake, it is only right that we should have this experience. As long as we have a clear conscience, then we have a clear conscience before Heaven. Your story must have been made up by the author. Heaven is the fairest."
Seeing that Feng Ran's face was completely calm and that her words were perfectly natural, and that these words were not something Feng Ran would normally say, it was clear that she truly understood the situation, Duan Jingchuan breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, as if remembering something, his expression turned sour, and he tentatively asked, "Do you think this ghost will leave again?"
Feng Ran noticed Duan Jingchuan's unease and was quite puzzled, but she still answered honestly, "I've already said that everything happens by chance, and every sip and bite is preordained by fate. Who can guess what will happen?"
At this point, Feng Ran finally realized that she herself had fallen into this time and space by chance, not knowing why she came or when she would leave. Suddenly, she felt a little reluctant to leave.
Duan Jingchuan lost interest in chatting about everyday things.
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