Chapter 58 Chapter 58 "Baixiang?"
Duan Zhi was really tired of hearing her mother's words. She grabbed her mother's hand and said, "Forget it."
"How can we let it go?! You've suffered so much, and now your engagement has been broken off. The name Duan Zhi was once admired and praised by everyone in Kyoto, but now... How can we let it go? No, we're going to find your grandfather."
Lu tried to pull Duan Zhi away, but Duan Zhi sat still and said, "If Grandpa wants to control us, there will be no peace in the Duke's Mansion."
Mrs. Lu was confused: "Your grandfather has always loved you the most. Why does he not care about your life or death in this matter?"
Mrs. Qiu was terrified: "Mother, you can't say that."
Mrs. Lu also knew that she couldn't say anything. She glanced at the door and saw that the maids were standing far away, and then she felt relieved.
The following voice was much lowered.
Seeing her daughter remained silent, Mrs. Lu continued, "Even if Duke Yan is powerful and influential, and even if your grandfather loves him, you are his granddaughter. I don't understand how your grandfather could remain indifferent knowing that you have suffered such a great injustice."
"Grandpa has already stood up for me. It's my fault." Duan Zhi actually wanted to agree with her mother and criticize the Duke's Mansion, but she forced herself to suppress the impulse.
She kept convincing herself in her heart that Grandpa was doing this for the good of the entire Shangshu Mansion and for her own good.
She knew better than anyone that the Shangshu Mansion was supported by her grandfather. Her frustration and resentment could not make the Shangshu Mansion better, but would only make it fall to the bottom.
"What did you do wrong?" Mrs. Lu hugged Duan Zhi distressedly. "You didn't do anything wrong. It was all those...those filthy people who ruined you!"
Duan Zhiqiang held back her tears and advised her mother, "Don't say anything, mother. This is a foregone conclusion. We must all move on."
Her daughter's understanding made Mrs. Lu cry even more uncontrollably.
After a while, Duan Zhi asked Lu's trusted maid to help Lu go back to rest.
"Sister-in-law, please go too. I'm fine."
Her mother-in-law asked her to keep an eye on the nun, so Qiu didn't dare to leave.
Duan Zhi said calmly that she would not be so stupid as to lose her mind over such a thing. Qiu looked at her face for a moment and then stood up.
When she reached the door, she hesitated and turned back, then quickly walked to the side of the nun: "There is something I dare not tell your brother and mother-in-law, but I dare not hide it, so I will tell you."
Qiu leaned over and whispered a few words in her ear.
Duan Zhi's face showed no shock: "I knew I was right."
Mrs. Qiu couldn't help but say, "Duke Yan seems to be a well-behaved man, but he's actually so sanctimonious. I'm afraid the entire capital has misjudged him."
"Sister-in-law, this matter must not be revealed from our mouths."
How could Qiu be so stupid to be promised to the eldest grandson of Shangshu Duan's mansion? Nodding: "Don't worry."
After seeing her sister-in-law off, Duan Zhi finally calmed down and thought about her plans along the way.
She actually lost to a useless concubine.
Is it that the concubine is too powerful, or has she become stupid?
Duan Zhi didn't think about others, she only thought about where she was wrong.
She discovered it was the Duke's concubine who was plotting to harm her, and she considered retaliating. If she ran back to the palace on her own, the Shangshu Mansion would be worried about her reputation and would choose to keep the peace. But she couldn't keep this a secret, and in the end, she could only suffer in silence.
She chose not to leave, but to return to where she was, waiting to be discovered. Unexpectedly, a few more villains came, and the concubine happened to save her.
She was not sure whether the concubine had any connection with the criminals, but it didn't matter. It was the concubine who harmed her first, and she decided to frame the concubine and accuse the criminals of colluding to harm her.
At the inn, she deliberately slapped the concubine in front of Duke Yan. That was part of her test and plan.
She wanted to know the position of the concubine in Duke Yan's heart. Duke Yan was biased towards the concubine, and when he finally found out that Duan Zhi was innocent and the concubine was the real culprit, Duke Yan would definitely feel more guilty towards her.
Duke Yan really sided with the concubine and did not believe her words.
Duke Yan didn't believe it, but Grandpa trusted her. To be fair, Grandpa found the prefect of Jingzhao...
Li Fuyin?
That's right. Grandpa said that Li Fuyin had found out the truth, and she and her mother both thought that Li Fuyin was on the side of the Shangshu Mansion.
When they arrived at the Duke's Mansion, Li Fuyin played both sides. He arrested four suspects, but then claimed there was no physical evidence. It was not easy to get physical evidence.
Master had the wrong person. If it weren't for Li Fuyin, there would be no impartiality in official matters. Perhaps because Master came in person, Duke Yan might have punished the concubine.
besides……
Shancha. She should have investigated their relationship in detail. She was negligent, only sending someone to the Duke's Mansion to investigate once, and knowing that their relationship was not satisfactory, she neglected to take advantage of it.
There are also six beggars.
She thought she had bribed the six beggars, no, not bribed them, but persuaded them to testify for her.
But when they met the concubine, they all denied everything, which made everyone, including the grandfather, dissatisfied with her.
How did the concubine bribe the beggar?
She prided herself on being clever, but she was completely defeated in this round.
She underestimated the concubine. It was her fault.
She changed it.
The next day, Duan Xue came back from the court and went to see his mother without stopping. He talked a lot with her.
He also patiently told his mother what his grandfather had said to him.
Mrs. Lu was angry that her son was so much like the cold-blooded Duan Meng, so she drove her son away in anger.
Duan Xue knew his mother would listen to him, because he was her only son.
His mother loves his younger sister, but Duan Xue knows that in his mother's heart, he is the most important.
After her son left, Mrs. Lu leaned against the bed with a pale face, muttering to herself: "...Don't lose the big picture because of the small things? Lose the big picture because of the small things..."
Duan Xue went to see her sister again.
"Grandpa said that you and mother should not be blamed for hiding six beggars. This matter is over now."
Duan Zhi smiled helplessly: "Brother, are you here because you're afraid of me or because you're afraid that Mother will go to the Duke's Mansion to cause trouble? Has Brother already convinced Mother?"
Duan Xue nodded.
Duan Zhi nodded and said, "As long as Mother is satisfied, it'll be fine. I'm not a child, I know my limits, don't worry, brother."
"Brother, don't worry." Duan Xue continued, "What kind of man does Zhi'er like? If there's one you like, tell me. I'll make him my own even if it costs me my life."
"Thank you, brother. I'll tell you when I find it."
...
After today's court meeting, the Duke, Minister Duan, and Prefect Li went to see His Majesty and told him that he wanted to cancel the engagement.
Although His Majesty was speechless, after understanding the whole story, he confirmed that the two families had already reached an agreement and did not say much. He immediately issued an edict to announce the cancellation of the engagement.
Before His Majesty put pen to paper, the Duke thoughtfully requested that the decree not mention that it was he who wanted to cancel the engagement, but instead just say that His Majesty wanted to cancel it, or that the Shangshu Mansion wanted to cancel it.
Everyone present knew that he was doing this to save face for the Shangshu Mansion and Madam Duan.
In short, Minister Duan felt very.
However, His Majesty expressed with a gloomy face that it was impossible to do as he wished. If he asked the Shangshu Mansion to cancel the engagement, it would make him, Duke Yan, look incompetent. How could he then assign him any tasks next?
After the natural disaster is over, the Duke will have to set an example and correct the popular custom of favoring concubines over wives. If the engagement is really broken off, how can this be done?
What else could he do? His Majesty had no choice but to swallow the bitter fruit and issue an edict stating that he felt the two families were not a good match and that the marriage was off.
After being reminded by his aunt, the Duke was more considerate and spread the rumor in the imperial city that Madam Duan was not bullied and was just rescued.
It's a pity that not many people believe it. If it's true, then why did His Majesty issue an order to cancel the marriage?
"You've heard it before, right? It's actually the Duke's Mansion that doesn't want to marry Madam Duan. Your Majesty is only saying this to protect the reputation of the Shangshu Mansion."
"This should be true. The day before yesterday, many people saw the old minister and his family visit the Duke's Mansion. A family visiting must be about marriage. I didn't expect that even with the old minister's personal intervention, the Duke would not compromise."
"No wonder. Let alone the Duke, even among ordinary people like us, who would want to marry a slut..."
...
On the third day, after attending court, the Duke passed by the door of his house and first picked up his concubine who was waiting at the door.
The Duke first sent his concubine to the East City Charity Granary and settled her in a post, and then he rushed to the garrison camp.
In her panic, Jasmine forgot to ask what she should pay attention to, and her grandfather seemed to have forgotten what he wanted to tell her.
He threw her in front of a pile of rice and pointed to the soldiers counting rice bags behind the pile, signaling her to go over. Her grandfather didn't even dismount, but turned his horse around and rode away.
She had brought Shancha, Xiuhong, and eight servants from the Duke's Mansion with her today. The servants in the Duke's Mansion were all skilled in fighting and had endless energy.
Jasmine walked towards the soldier in armor who was busy counting bags of rice.
Just as he was about to speak, another thin and dark soldier interrupted him and asked the soldier carrying the rice bags, "I heard that Duke Yan arranged for a close confidant to come in. Has he arrived yet?"
The tall and strong soldier carrying the rice bags turned his head to look, saw the girl in front of him, and immediately turned his eyes away and continued to look. Then he said to the skinny soldier: "It's not even noon yet. She is a nobleman. How could she come here to work in the scorching sun?"
As the skinny soldier helped unload the rice bags, he whispered, "Why did Duke Yan ask someone he knew to come here? It's not profitable here, and it's hard work. What's the point?"
Tall and strong soldier: "I suspect they are trying to monitor us. We can't be lazy."
"That makes sense." The thin and dark soldier said, and began to move the row of rice bags that had been counted.
Jasmine bared her teeth and stepped forward: "Sir, I'm here to help."
The two soldiers finally looked at her straight in the eye.
"Is there anything we can do to help?"
The tall and strong soldier only glanced at her, then looked at the people behind her and said coldly, "Can't you see? Everyone is busy. Just look for someone who is busy and follow them."
"I am……"
"Hey, you guys... one, two, three... eight of you, come over and help carry the rice bags!"
Eight people looked at the aunt.
What could Jasmine do but nod.
The two soldiers seemed to regard the eight people as ordinary people who came to work.
Under the instructions of the two soldiers, the eight people started to get busy.
"Three people in a group, pile the rice bags onto the cart and push it to the last charity granary."
Seeing that the other person was busy, Jasmine couldn't even get close to him, let alone speak.
The rice bags piled up like a mountain before him. In a blink of an eye, ten people pushed their small carts and left one after another, leaving only an old man watching over the rice bags.
Perhaps he knew that no one would dare to steal the imperial relief grain in broad daylight, so he only left one old soldier behind to watch.
Jasmine stood there at a loss.
Shancha and Xiuhong stood on either side of her, also looking around.
Shancha complained, "My aunt is dressed so plainly today."
Jasmine glanced at herself. She was here to work, not to go on a spring outing. What if her new clothes got damaged?
"My clothes are damaged and dirty, will you compensate me?"
Shancha: "But you're just plain-looking, and if you dress like that, people will think you're a peasant girl. If you tell them you're the Duke's concubine, they probably won't believe you."
"How could I not believe it?"
Jasmine immediately walked up to the old soldier and said, "Uncle, I'm the concubine of the Duke's Mansion. I've come here specially to help."
The old soldier squinted his eyes as he looked her up and down, then nodded. "Oh, your name is Yi Niang? What a nice name. So, the rest of you go in and get the small cloth bags, and divide all the rice into small bags. When the refugees arrive, you can distribute them."
Jasmine was speechless.
Camellia laughed out loud.
Xiuhong covered her mouth and laughed.
Jasmine didn't want to talk to the old soldier anymore. She just wanted to have work to do.
She was the first to enter the makeshift thatched house behind the old soldier. Seeing the "little cloth bag" mentioned by the old soldier, she was even more at a loss.
The small cloth bag was tied tightly with hemp rope to the height of an adult. Jasmine couldn't even lift it, let alone drag it.
Finally, she and Shancha Xiuhong dragged her out together.
Shancha and Xiuhong each held a pair of scissors and a rice bag, while Jasmine held a small cloth bag.
After cutting a hole in the rice bag, Jasmine quickly put on the small cloth bag.
“It’s full!”
Shancha and Xiuhong hurriedly grabbed their rice bags.
Jasmine was about to tie the small cloth bag when she heard the old soldier say behind her, "There are too many. There are tens of thousands of refugees. If you keep stuffing them like this, the imperial court will be emptied out!"
Jasmine then obediently poured some out.
Veteran: "Pour half."
Jasmine did as she was told.
"That's about it." The old soldier said and sat back in the pile of straw.
In this way, the three of them filled one millet bag after another.
The old soldier was still not satisfied and shouted again: "If you keep taking this long, how long will it take to finish the installation?"
"Do we have to install everything?" The three were stunned.
Millet bags were already stacked several times beneath their feet. Before the rice was even packed, a soldier from a high position shouted, "It's time! Get ready!"
"What are you preparing for?"
"Auntie, what are they saying?"
The three of them looked around, all panicking.
When countless disheveled people came running from outside the city, the three of them knew everything.
She said, "This is a refugee concentration area, why can't we see any refugees here? It turns out they are being blocked by the imperial court."
Only when money and rice were distributed in the middle of the day did the officers and soldiers gather together and release the people.
In just a blink of an eye, a long line had formed in front of Jasmine.
He seems to know the rules.
Just as Jasmine was thinking this, she heard the sound of a whip hitting someone in front of the charity granary next door.
Jasmine looked up and saw two people arguing about who should be in the front row. The officers and soldiers behind them whipped them and dragged them out of the team.
Jasmine just took a look, then quickly lowered her head and busied herself handing rice bags to the refugees in front of her.
Seeing that there were so many bags of millet, they were all given away in a blink of an eye.
The three men had no choice but to fill the rice bags and pass them around. A refugee who wanted to help was frightened away by a whip from an officer before he took a step forward.
"Eh..." Jasmine didn't have time to speak, but she knew that the officers and soldiers were right.
I had to work hard on my own.
She thought quickly and filled the bag with millet without tying it.
Then something happened.
The person in front of her was an old woman. Jasmine pulled the bag's opening and instructed, "Grandma, hold it steady."
This was half a month's worth of rice for her, so the old woman was extremely careful. She took the bag of millet with both hands, holding it with the same reverence as if it were a statue of Buddha, and left with it carefully.
But just as she left the group, the old woman was knocked down. I don't know if it was intentional.
In short, the old woman still had the rice bag in her hand, but the rice inside was gone.
The old woman sat on the ground, kicking her legs and crying heart-wrenchingly.
Jasmine quickly told Shancha Xiuhong: "Hurry up and tie your pockets tight."
Then, Jasmine winked at Shancha, asking her to take a dustpan and put the dustpan into the old woman's pocket.
I was obviously very careful, but I was still discovered.
"Why does she have two bags and we don't?"
"That's right, we want two bags too!"
"But the mother-in-law was kidnapped." Jasmine's voice was drowned out by the roars.
Now it was useless for the officers and soldiers to whip them hard.
Jasmine was sweating profusely, feeling anxious and angry. She saw that several teams were about to cause trouble.
Just then, a group of people appeared at the city gate.
Jasmine thought it was her grandfather, and was extremely excited. However, she couldn't see him because of the crowd.
In a blink of an eye, the officers and soldiers were divided into several teams, and they were holding not whips but unsheathed swords in their hands.
In the blink of an eye, the noise all around subsided.
An adult in a crimson official robe helped the old woman whose rice had just been stolen from the crowd, and then helped the old woman to Jasmine.
"Please, please, beat another basket of rice."
Just when she saw that there was going to be trouble, Shancha was quick to give the rice back to the old woman.
Upon hearing this, Jasmine filled a winnowing basket without saying a word and put it into the rice bag held by the adult.
"alright."
Jasmine looked up and happened to meet the adult's eyes.
Both of them were stunned. Jasmine was also stunned for a moment, then turned her eyes away as if nothing had happened and continued to work on her hands.
He Congde, however, did not respond and just stared at Jasmine.
"Bai Xiang?"
Jasmine just pretended not to hear.
He Congde was not very sure, but the look in his memory just now could not be faked.
He Congde knew that now was not the right time, so he collected his thoughts, quickly tied the millet bag in his hand, turned around and handed it to the old woman.
Then, He Congde called two of his men to help Jasmine distribute the things.
Although Jasmine was as busy as a top, she could still feel someone's eyes occasionally glancing at her. Jasmine lowered her head as low as she could.
I just hope to distribute the rice quickly and return to the Duke's Mansion.
"elder sister!"
The little beggar was shaking his feet, his eyes sparkling as he smiled at Jasmine.
It's five rabbits.
Jasmine subconsciously glanced to the side and politely replied, "Good girl." Then she handed the bag of millet to her.
Wutu glanced at the red official robe beside him and understood his sister's intention. He winked at his sister, turned around and ran away with a jump.
Behind the fifth rabbit is the sixth rabbit, and behind the sixth rabbit are the big rabbit, the second rabbit, the third rabbit, and the fourth rabbit.
Except for the fifth and sixth rabbits, the other big ones were much more cautious and didn't even look Jasmine in the eye.
"Let go! It's ours!"
"It's fine if the adults get one bag, but why should the two children each get one? Sir, we're not making trouble, we just want to know how the rice bags are calculated."
"Yes, Your Majesty is fair, but can adults eat the same as children?"
He Congde hurried forward.
Your Majesty has been implicated. He Congde knew that to appease the public anger, he had to be fair. He immediately ordered his men to take the millet bags from Wutu and Liutu.
The six of them glared angrily at the two who were looking for trouble. Wutu was unwilling to give in, so he took advantage of the officer's back and directly grabbed the bag of millet that the officer had just taken away.
"do what?!"
The officer drew his sword and saw that it was a little beggar half the height of a man. In the blink of an eye, another man rushed up and blocked the little beggar behind him.
Jasmine anxiously told the officers and soldiers, "She's just a child. She has a sick mother at home, and she's carrying the rice bags for her."
"Even so..."
The officers and soldiers were about to step forward to argue, but He Congde held them back with a hand. "She has a point. Dividing it by head count isn't fair, and neither is dividing it by adults or children. I will think of a solution and strive to treat every citizen fairly and justly. But the patients are also human beings, and they need to eat. Return the rice bags to them."
The common people looked at each other, unable to find a reason to refute, and since they were facing an adult, no one dared to speak.
To prevent Liutu from getting into trouble again, Jasmine came up with a plan. She just glanced at He Congde and didn't dare to ask.
She didn't think about it for a moment, then said to Liutu, "Sister will take you back."
Of course the six rabbits were happy.
After distributing the rice bags, Jasmine originally wanted to wait for the eight servants to return, but they waited and waited and no one came. Wutu was anxious to go home and came to say goodbye to Jasmine.
Jasmine had no choice but to take Shancha Xiuhong to see them off.
"No need to send me off, sister. We'll be fine."
"Today is different."
The victims knew that she was from the imperial court, and when they saw her sending Liutu and the others away, they probably wouldn't dare to act presumptuously again.
But what Jasmine didn't expect was that He Congde followed with four followers.
"Madam, are you going to send them back?"
Jasmine nodded.
"Then I will go with you to send them off."
It would definitely be better to have him, an official, here. But Jasmine always felt that he had ill intentions.
But as long as she didn't admit it, there was nothing he could do to her. Jasmine nodded again.
Jasmine and Liutu walked in front, and He Congde followed behind them with his men.
That day, the Six Rabbits were taken back by the Jingzhao prefect. Seeing that they were little girls, the prefect gave them two smacks as a token of respect. The two younger ones didn't even bother to fight. Afterwards, they and the Five Rabbits' mother were escorted out of East City.
In recent days, Liutu and the other seven people have been crowded in the charity granary.
The charity granaries outside the East City are endless and stretch as far as the eye can see. It takes two minutes to walk there. However, even though there are many charity granaries, they are still not full.
He Congde looked at the scene before him, his eyes filled with compassion as he said, "Eight years ago, Zhongzhou was struck by drought, and the imperial court spent half its money. Only in the past two years have the people of Zhongzhou had their lives improved. But at the beginning of this year, drought struck again. People say Zhongzhou is an unlucky land, and now all the people of Zhongzhou have fled. They've heard of the prosperity of Kyoto, so they're going there, and those who are able-bodied have flocked here."
Jasmine just thought he was talking to his followers or talking to himself, so she didn't respond.
The charity granaries were actually simple straw huts temporarily built by the imperial court. Inside the huts, where people could not even stand upright, there were dozens of people crammed into each one.
Liutu and her friends were small, so the straw hut they lived in could accommodate even more people.
Jasmine followed them for half an hour before arriving at where they lived.
The third and fourth rabbits did not enter the hut. Instead, one of them made a fire while the other fetched water, and they were busy cooking porridge.
The rice sack, from which a handful of rice had been dumped, was tied up again. Ertu hid the six rice sacks beneath the bundles they had placed, then sat down on them, motionless.
The big rabbit and the second rabbit said, "Give me a shout if you need anything." Then they went to call Jasmine and the adults who were still standing in front of the straw hut.
The fifth rabbit went to see her mother first, and told her the good news that she had also got the rice, regardless of whether she heard it or not. Then she jumped out again and took Jasmine's hand before the big rabbit.
Seeing this, Liutu went to hold her sister's other hand.
The two little dirty hands were slapped away mercilessly by the big rabbit, who scolded them: "We are not familiar with my sister, so don't offend her."
Liutu shed tears of grievance.
Wutu, however, understood and said, "I know. It's just that I met my sister for the first time and I thought she was kind and I liked her."
Jasmine remembered what she had told them: although they were young, they were honest.
"If you like me, then I like you too." Jasmine said and took the initiative to hold the hands of Wutu and Liutu.
He Congde looked at the smile on Jasmine's face, surprise flashing in his eyes. They looked alike, and their voices were similar. But they were also very different from the person he knew.
In his impression, Qin Baixiang rarely smiled like this. Her face used to show more panic and anxiety. Even if she was happy occasionally, she would smile with pursed lips.
The happiest smile He Congde had ever seen her have been on the day they parted. He accompanied her to herd sheep, and in the meadows of white sheep, she held his hand and asked him with a smile, "Brother Congde, would you like to marry Baixiang in the future?"
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