Empress Dowager Cheng realized that there was a high probability that Jing Yan had no intention of marrying Cheng Suyun, and she was quite angry.
"My Cheng family has existed since the founding of the Jing Kingdom, yet now we are being treated so coldly because of our declining influence. It is truly pathetic!"
If she hadn't been injured, and if the emperor sitting in the palace had Cheng family blood, they wouldn't be in this situation.
Cheng Suyun refused to believe it, and she made excuses for Jing Yan: "No way, His Highness is always busy in the military camp and may not have the time to think about these things. He certainly never thought he didn't want to marry me."
"It's a pity that I've been here for a month and I've made a fool of myself in His Highness's eyes again. His Highness must hate me now."
She cursed vengefully: "Didn't Yue Jiang go to give alms today? Without our Cheng family, what ability does Yue Jiang have to win them over? It would be best if some orphan caused chaos, and a bowl of hot rice soup was poured on her foxy face to leave a scar."
Empress Dowager Cheng was experienced; even though she was angry, she quickly calmed down and regained her composure.
"Alright, now is not the time to make threats. You're right, Yue Jiang is just a young girl, she definitely can't win over the orphans."
As she spoke, Empress Dowager Cheng took out a stack of silver notes from her sleeve and handed them to Cheng Suyun: "This is my five hundred taels of private money. Today, Yue Jiang Jue couldn't keep the orphan in check, and she will be taught a lesson."
"Go and see her in a bit, help her in public, and then secretly take this stack of silver notes to comfort the orphans. Yue Jiang has really made an enemy of the orphans this time."
“If she doesn’t want to marry into the family and become the Crown Princess or even the Empress in the future, and doesn’t have the ability to manage the orphans, and doesn’t want to become a laughing stock, she must come to my Yongshou Palace and humble herself.”
“We’ll help her deal with the orphan’s affairs, and she’ll help you gain His Highness’s favor so you can get pregnant early. Then you can support each other in the future and not have to worry about the trouble caused by the Longevity Palace.”
Upon hearing that she was to bear His Highness's child, Cheng Suyun unconsciously placed her hands on her flat stomach, feeling extremely shy and bashful.
Although she had just done something bad to His Highness, the Cheng family girl was determined to enter the palace as the emperor's woman and give birth to a precious prince, regardless of whether she became empress or concubine.
If even Empress Dowager Zheng could rise in status through her son, Cheng Suyun didn't believe she couldn't do the same. She thanked her, saying, "Thank you for relieving my worries, Grandmother. I will leave the palace shortly to resolve this trouble."
Cheng Suyun, on the other hand, was preparing to leave the palace to resolve the unrest, with the mindset of a savior.
The lively scene was already unfolding in Yuejiang's area because Yuejiang was distributing rice soup meant for orphans to beggars and children brought by farmers from various villages.
The orphans felt slighted, and a middle-aged man took the lead, rolling up his sleeves and standing in front of Yue Jiang to confront her.
"This is what we deserve. Why should we give it to them? Does the imperial court think we're easy to bully now that we're all alone?"
The other party was full of hostility, but Yue Jiang smiled as if bathed in a spring breeze, distributing scriptures and serving porridge to the children, only occasionally paying attention to the man beside her.
She gave him a quick look and roughly deduced: "Judging from your age, you must be one of the orphans of the group whose father went to An with the late emperor and never returned. You must be around forty-five or forty-six years old."
“I haven’t looked for a job these past few years. I’ve been farming. I can see the calluses on my hands, but it’s not considered hard work because your back isn’t bent and you haven’t been working too hard.”
"You clearly have your own wife, son and daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren behind you. How can you say there's no one at home? You're just cursing yourself."
"You all unanimously and resolutely said you don't want the scriptures and porridge today."
Yue Jiang gestured with her chin to the old man who had been using a cane. The old man was not as strong as the young people and was tired after a long morning of stalemate. He was staring at the bowls of the children in the fields, swallowing his saliva incessantly.
Suddenly, he saw the gaze Jiang Chao had given him last month, and fearing he would lose face, he straightened his neck even higher again.
“That old man shouted the loudest, and none of you objected, and I haven’t been shortchanged you.”
“You said you wouldn’t take it this time, so I’ll give it to you next time if you don’t want it this time. But I can’t just throw the food away.”
“Look how happy these kids are drinking. If your kids are hungry, I’ll definitely give them some too.”
"But it's already early in the morning, and some of you adults are starving, while the child doesn't seem to want any rice porridge. It seems like he doesn't have to worry about food and drink every day."
"This shows that the imperial court has treated you well, so why does it have to be the Cheng family?"
After listening to Yue Jiang's well-reasoned explanation, the man was speechless. He knew in his heart how he had fared over the years; he had indeed suffered no hardship or loss.
The rice porridge wasn't enough for the whole family. They had eaten a good meal at home before coming. They just wanted to have more pleasantries and interactions with Madam Cheng.
There are also those who go hungry and can't get enough to eat every day; it can only be said that there is really no one left in the family and that there is little food at home.
Just as the man was at his wit's end, the rumbling of horse-drawn carriage wheels came from afar, and he watched as Cheng Suyun gracefully stepped down from the carriage.
The man immediately felt like he had found his backbone and stepped forward to greet her: "Princess Cheng."
Seeing the person running towards Cheng Suyun, Yue Jiang turned back to look at Qingke, who whispered, "General Shan Yi is here; he won't let anything happen to the princess."
"Hmm," Yue Jiang responded softly, her eyes involuntarily glancing towards the entrance of the city gate.
Jing Yan had clearly promised to make time to come with her, but yesterday she sent someone to the East Palace to inquire, and the people there said that His Highness had not returned.
Jingyan didn't come back this morning either. I'm afraid he forgot. It's really annoying.
Before Cheng Suyun even got out of the car, she saw the state of the stall. It was in complete chaos, and even more strangers in poor clothes and tattered shoes were crowding out of the stall, pushing the orphans outside.
She had no idea what kind of tricks Yue Jiang was up to. Was she unable to manage the orphans and had her stall taken over by someone else?
Just then, the man arrived in front of Cheng Suyun and told her what had happened. Cheng Suyun almost burst out laughing.
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