Chapter 292 Walking in the Outer Room
The weather was getting colder and colder, and the little beggar was so cold that his nose was running. It seemed that he could not hold on any longer. If he did not eat something hot, his body might not be able to bear it.
The little beggar looked left and right and finally found his target. He ran over, holding the broken bowl and said, "Kind uncle, please give me two cents."
Two cents can buy a bowl of white soup noodles.
The coachman looked at the little beggar in surprise. As the coachman of General Ning from the Ningguo Mansion, he had never been blocked by such a blind man. He was about to yell at the little beggar to get out of the way when he saw the little girl's watery almond eyes, as wet as a deer that the general had let go after hunting, which was very unbearable.
Just as he was hesitating, the little beggar reached out and grabbed his sleeve, "Uncle, I'm starving, please give me two cents!"
As the young lady spoke, she wiped her eyes with her hand, and tears fell like pearls from a broken string.
The driver: ...
As a coachman for a noble, his first responsibility was to drive for him, and his second was to maintain his dignity. Any compassion would only bring trouble to himself, so he waved his sleeves: "Don't block the road." The little beggar was thrown to the ground by his powerful arms like a fallen butterfly.
"Get out of here quickly. The horse has no eyes. It's useless to step on it even if it dies."
As he said this, he was about to whip the horse.
Seeing the horse was about to raise its hoof, the little beggar screamed in fear, "Ah..."
"Wait."
The young man's unhurried voice stopped the coachman from driving through the bleak cold wind.
The little beggar looked over here in the direction of the voice.
Behind the curtain of the luxurious carriage, a nobleman was looking towards her.
Their eyes met.
The little beggar suddenly looked away, and awkwardly twisted her sore butt to get up. However, she had fallen quite hard, and she grimaced in pain, and she tried several times but failed to get up.
Just when her hands were about to freeze from supporting herself on the cold ground, she saw a slender, strong hand reaching out to her.
Suddenly raised his eyes.
His eyes met the young man again.
The young man had a back as straight as a bamboo, a bright face, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and a heroic demeanor. He descended in front of her like a god.
The little beggar was stunned.
The cold wind was howling, but she was not cold, but Ning Hua was. She didn't reach out her hand, but he reached out to pull her.
The young lady stared in a daze at the slender hand reaching out to her. When it was about to touch her, she suddenly realized how dirty she was. She quickly hid her hands behind her back and avoided his gaze, not daring to look at the man who was like a god.
Ning Hua and Ning Qillang didn't expect that they had missed the target. They paused, then straightened up and glanced at their guards.
The guard took out a dime from his purse and placed it next to her hand that was supporting herself on the ground.
Ning Qilang turned around, got on the carriage and left.
The carriage disappeared into the bustling streets of Xiangguo Temple.
The little beggar kept staring at the carriage without moving.
A beggar nearby saw the carriage going away and hurried over to grab the silver coins on the ground. However, the little beggar, who had come to his senses, pushed her away with his leg, grabbed the silver coins and ran away. Several beggars tried to catch her, but failed.
"Damn it, he looked skinny, but I didn't expect him to be so good at escaping. It's really weird."
The next day after returning to the capital, Su Ruojin brought gifts and went to the prince consort's residence to see Princess Yuehua who was about to give birth.
Su Yanzu and she got married in March, so according to the month, it should be the end of this year or the beginning of next year.
Princess Yuehua basically stayed in the house since she became pregnant. Whether it was Zhao Lan's coming-of-age ceremony in June or Zhao and Su's engagement in September, she stayed in the house to take care of the baby. Su Ruojin hadn't seen her for a long time.
When she first saw the princess with her bulging belly, she couldn't help but be surprised, "Your Highness..." she almost blurted out, what a big belly.
Yuehua laughed, "Your belly is big, isn't it."
"Your Highness, are they twins?" She didn't dare to say that her belly was big. There were no caesarean sections in this era, and a big belly was not a good thing.
Yuehua shook her head, "The imperial physician took my pulse and it's not twins."
That was really... Su Ruojin felt thrilling.
"When is your highness's due date?"
"Earlier, the end of December; later, the first month of the year."
"Oh." Su Ruojin grinned, not knowing what to say.
The young lady seemed to be hesitant to speak, and Princess Yuehua frowned, "Ajin..."
"Your Highness..." It was the first time that Princess Yuehua called Su Ruojin's name.
"I heard from Shaobai that you are a lucky little star."
Su Ruojin: ...It’s really hard to respond to this.
Princess Yuehua had a big belly. She leaned on the couch and talked to Su Ruojin. One could feel her breathing become heavy, which was a sign of effort.
Su Ruojin didn't dare to say anything. "No, Your Highness, don't listen to my uncle's nonsense." She stood up and said, "Your Highness, it's tiring to sit for a long time. I'd better not disturb Your Highness to rest."
Just going home.
Although Yuehua was struggling, she didn't let her go. "I'm afraid your parents won't be back until a few days before the New Year. During this time, please stay in the mansion with me."
Su Ruojin: ...
They really think of her as a lucky star! Suddenly, Su Ruojin felt that she was under a lot of pressure.
Yuehua asked the maid to help her up, "Ajin, I've been getting hungry lately, but I don't dare to eat more. Is there anything that can make me feel full while not letting the baby in my belly go hungry?"
Su Ruojin: ...No matter in her past life or the next, she has never been married. She really doesn’t know what a pregnant woman should eat, let alone what she should eat in the late stages of pregnancy.
This is too difficult for her.
At this moment, Su Ruojin felt that Princess Yuehua should mainly take more walks now, and she did not need to supplement her food. She should eat like ordinary people. Otherwise, too much nutrition would result in a too big stomach, which was not a good thing at all.
"Your Highness really wants me to stay?"
Yuehua was about to sit down when she was stunned, then smiled slightly, "Well, it's still Ajin who is thinking about Alan."
Su Ruojin: ...What you said, she doesn’t want to stay because of Zhao Lan at all.
"Your Highness, if I stay, I will often take you for a walk. Will you blame me?"
Yuehua was stunned by Su Ruojin's question.
As soon as she became pregnant, everyone told her to stay still and not move around, for fear that it would be harmful to the fetus. So from the time she found out she was pregnant until now, she has either been sitting or lying down, and has rarely moved, so much so that she feels out of breath every time she stands up.
Seeing that the maidservant beside Her Royal Highness was about to speak to stop her, Su Ruojin deliberately smiled innocently, "Your Highness, don't you think I'm a lucky star?"
Upon hearing this, the maids and servants quickly concealed their breath.
Yuehua liked to hear this and smiled, "Yes, little lucky star."
"Then you should listen to me, your lucky star. In the twenty days before the birth, we should take a walk every day when we feel energetic. We won't walk too much, just 100 to 200 steps each time."
Princess Yuehua nodded in agreement.
Seeing that she agreed, Su Ruojin immediately asked the maid to support her, "Your Highness, please walk 100 to 200 steps now. After you finish, let my uncle massage your feet and legs."
In the late stages of pregnancy, because of their big bellies, many pregnant women have swollen legs and feet and must be massaged.
Yuehua smiled as she heard this, "Your father rubs your mother?"
"yes."
Yuehua nodded happily, "Okay, let him rub it."
Nine out of ten couples in wealthy families are arranged marriages and live a respectful life. For example, Princess Yuehua, even though her second marriage was to a man she found according to her own wishes and he was gentle and elegant, was still not as loving as Su Erniang's parents.
Su Ruojin said "yes" without hesitation. Even though she was as noble as a princess, she was envious. It turned out that this was how ordinary couples were.
Su Ruojin: ...
Maybe ordinary couples don't have the love and affection between them as her parents, but Su Yanli once said while enjoying the cool air on a summer night that her mother's family was not well off, and he loved and cared for her and wanted to give her the best. He wanted people around him to say that Cheng Yingzhen had married a good husband and would live a happy life.
Su Yanli did it. Cheng Yingzhen became younger and younger. Everyone who saw her could tell at first glance that this woman lived a good and happy life.
When Su Yanzu came back from the government office and saw his niece staying in the mansion, he even smiled more.
"Ajin, did you make the millet porridge tonight?"
He ate three bowls in a row.
Su Ruojin replied, "How do you think it went, uncle?"
"Very good." Not too fine or too rough, just the right texture.
Su Ruojin smiled, "Uncle, now that we have finished our meal, let's walk around the room with His Highness."
After saying this, she motioned to her uncle to help the princess take a walk.
Su Yanzu paused, but immediately smiled and went to support the princess, holding her and walking slowly around the room.
"Ajin, how long will it take? Will Your Highness be tired?"
"It won't take long. You won't get tired."
Su Ruojin asked others to leave, but she sat on a chair, supporting her chin, watching her uncle and the princess taking a walk. In order to distract the princess from her difficulty walking, she deliberately found something to talk about, either talking about the vegetable fields in Weizhou County or the strange people and things she met on the road.
In the warm room, there were smiles and whispers.
Yuehua found that Su Yanzu, who usually treated her with great respect, seemed particularly gentle and patient tonight. When they walked thirty or forty steps, he unconsciously leaned his center of gravity towards her, fearing that she would get tired or accidentally have a miscarriage. This was a feeling she had never experienced before.
Lean on him, stick to him.
At this moment, Princess Yuehua did not feel tired at all. She walked two or three hundred steps without realizing it, and she was not so tired that she couldn't breathe.
Su Ruojin didn't dare to practice too much for fear of causing miscarriage. She sat down and asked her uncle to massage the princess' legs and feet.
"The maids have been instructed by the imperial physician, so they can definitely massage better than I can."
Su Ruojin glared at him and said, "My father massaged five children. Uncle, you are the first one. You never accumulate experience. When will you be able to massage well?"
Su Yanzu felt a little uncomfortable and glanced at Yuehua.
She was looking at him with a smile, radiating the radiance of a mother.
He was moved unconsciously, yes, this was the mother of his child, so he smiled slightly, rolled up his sleeves, sat down beside the couch, and rubbed Princess Yuehua's swollen legs.
Su Ruojin stood to the side and watched his uncle rubbing Princess Yuehua's legs. Seeing his unfamiliar look, she deliberately looked down upon him, causing Su Yanzu to want to beat her up. "How about you come?"
"This is your child."
"Isn't that your brother or sister?"
Su Ruojin: ...No matter how dear her brother or sister is, she didn’t rub her mother’s legs.
In order to avoid it, she had to play dumb: "Oh, that...it's getting late, I'll go back to my room and sleep first, and get up early tomorrow to make delicious food for my uncle and His Highness."
After saying that, he turned around and slipped away.
Su Yanzu didn't even have the chance to bluff her.
"This kid only knows how to order people around." Su Yanzu was so angry that he couldn't help but complain.
Princess Yuehua smiled without saying a word. Under the light, she watched her beloved man rubbing her legs and kneading them. She suddenly felt very happy. This had nothing to do with her identity or status. She was just a woman who was going to be a mother.
Without Su Ruojin's noise, the room suddenly became quiet, making people feel uncomfortable.
Su Yanzu was so embarrassed that he couldn't find anything to say, "Your Highness shouldn't have kept her here. She just acts naughty all day long."
Yuehua gently took over the conversation, "I want to give birth to a daughter like Ajin."
Su Yanzu paused, staring at Princess Yuehua in a daze. Wasn't it because of his niece that he could get married and have children in this life? Wasn't it his inner obsession to have a daughter like Ajin as his little cotton-padded jacket?
Taking a deep breath, Su Yanzu smiled gently, "Your Highness, it's been hard work."
Zhao Lan left the yamen and prepared to go to the princess's residence to pick up Su Ruojin. He heard from the servants that Ajin stayed in the prince consort's residence. After thinking about it, he decided to go to his aunt's prince consort's residence tomorrow morning.
"Master, now you..."
“Go find Mr. Shen.”
"OK."
Half an hour later, Zhao Lan arrived at the secret base of the Exploration Department.
Mr. Shen knew that Su Erniang had returned to Beijing, and thought that the young master would not come today, "Is there anything wrong with the young prince?"
Zhao Lan sat on the warm kang and asked, "How's the investigation of that little beggar going?"
Mr. Shen took a few pages of paper from the table and gave them to Zhao Lan: “It’s basically confirmed.”
Zhao Lan took it and quickly flipped through nearly ten pages of the investigation. He raised his eyes and frowned deeply, "She?"
"Yes, little prince."
"Why did you return to Beijing?"
Mr. Shen said, "At first, we thought she was going to look for the Second Lady, but from Dongshan Academy to Xiangguo Temple in the capital, we found that it was not the case. As her identity was revealed, the Duke Zheng's Mansion had unilaterally cancelled the engagement. She was unwilling to give up and kept looking for her former fiancé. I don't know what she wants to do after finding him."
Zhao Lan's brows never relaxed as he listened, and he casually threw the investigation report on the small table.
"Where did Gou catch up with her?"
"From Luozhou." Mr. Shen said, "I guess that Gou wanted to use her to kill Su Ruojin, but she didn't expect that the person she was looking for was not the Second Lady, so he must have been anxious hiding in the dark recently."
How can I not be anxious? Another year has passed.
Year after year, the Liaoxia Kingdom still did not have the strength to compete with the Dayin Dynasty, but it wanted to disrupt Dayin through illegal means, which was wishful thinking.
In the twelfth lunar month, the cold wind howls.
The little beggar was so cold that she could hardly stand it anymore. She buried her face in her tattered coat to keep warm. If she still couldn't see her brother Mingze today, she would go to see her old good friend, and then return to her hometown in Yulin. From then on, she would never return to the capital again.
Three days later, God seemed to have heard her prayers.
Her brother Mingze came to Daxiangguo Temple to burn incense. She was about to run over when she saw him turn around and reach out to hold the delicate hand that was stretched out from the carriage.
She suppressed the bitterness in her heart and stopped in her tracks. A chill immediately spread throughout her body. No matter how much she had heard or guessed, none of them hurt her as much as this one glance.
The uncle whom I have loved since childhood!
Why?
Instantly, she burst into tears.
After coming all the way from Yulin to the capital with great difficulty, she didn't even have time to say a word before her heart was broken in this cold winter.
Zheng Mingze helped his fiancée down and reminded her gently, "Be careful."
"Thank you, Brother Ming."
Zheng Mingze smiled gently at his fiancée, took her hand and went into Xiangguo Temple to burn incense.
The young lady was beautiful, with her pretty face tilted up, her eyes full of affection and her mouth smiling.
What a beautiful couple.
Out of the corner of her eye, the young lady seemed to see a beggar. When she turned around, she saw a dirty little beggar standing in the corner. He seemed to be very cold, with tears and nose all over his face. He looked very ugly.
She couldn't help but say to her calm and steady fiancé, "Brother Ming, look, there is a poor little girl over there. How about we give her some money?"
Zheng Mingze followed his fiancée's gaze, then turned to look at his gentle and kind-hearted fiancée, "All you have to do is listen to Ah Yin." He turned around and asked his servant to take out a few copper coins and throw them to the little beggar.
Little beggar: ...
The loving look on their faces instantly pierced the little beggar's body into pieces.
It turns out that my cousin is not cold and unkind. It turns out that this is how he likes someone.
It turns out... all of this is because I never liked it!
The little beggar slowly squatted down and buried her head between her legs. She didn't dare to go near the Zhengguo Mansion and didn't dare to face him. She said to herself that if she met her cousin near Wenshan Street or Xiangguo Temple where her cousin liked to go, it would prove that they were destined to be together. However, she had never met her cousin in Wenshan Street for nearly a month. Now she finally met him in Xiangguo Temple, but she saw him holding hands with another young lady in love.
After all, we are not destined to be together.
Why...why...without a father, can't even her cousin belong to her?
I don't know how long it took, but snowflakes began to fall from the sky.
The little beggar was like a stone in the corner, slowly covered by the snow.
The young man and his wife who had gone in to burn incense finally came out, and the servants picked up their umbrellas.
The young man and the young lady shared an umbrella and walked in the falling snow. They were as beautiful as a painting and people could not take their eyes off them.
"Brother Ming, look, the little beggar in the corner is still there. Could he have frozen to death?"
The young lady looked regretful.
The young man smiled gently and said, "There are too many beggars like this around here. The government will take care of them." Although his words were gentle, they were harder than the coldest ice in the twelfth lunar month.
The little beggar buried her head between her legs, motionless. At this moment, she wished she were frozen to death.
Gradually, the pedestrians went away.
The heavy snow fluttered like goose feathers, covering everywhere, shining with cold silver light.
The little beggar felt her head getting heavier and heavier, and her body getting lighter and lighter. Was she frozen to death? Before she fell to the ground, she thought, let's just die like this.
She cut into the thick snow without making any sound.
When the beggars nearby saw the beggar lying on the ground, they all ran over and tried to strip off her coat and steal the copper coins from her body.
When the long-servant saw the beggars surrounding and snatching the jacket, he shouted in surprise, "Master, this is the little beggar who stopped the carriage to ask for money that day."
Ning Qillang frowned and looked around, his eyes inadvertently met someone in the crowd, who was signaling him to save the little beggar.
Ning Qillang's brows relaxed, then raised, as if he was from the Investigation Department.
"Azhu, carry the person onto the carriage."
Ah Zhu was stunned, "Master... Master..."
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up."
"Yes." Ah Zhu immediately carried the person into the carriage.
Even after getting on the warm carriage, the little beggar did not wake up. He still looked like he was lying on the ground, with his eyes tightly closed and huddled in a corner.
Ning Qillang looked at it inquiringly.
Ah Zhu asked, "Master, where are you taking the person?" It was almost New Year, and it didn't seem right to bring the person into the mansion.
Ning Qilang seemed to have noticed this problem as well. "Send it to an unused courtyard."
"Yes, sir."
Half an hour later, Ning Qilang dumped the person in the unused courtyard. He didn't even get off the carriage, but asked the maid who looked after the courtyard to carry her down. "Clean her up. If she's frozen, send someone to the mansion to find a doctor."
"Yes, sir."
The old woman from the other courtyard seemed very excited. She happily carried the young lady into the courtyard and served her like a baby. Seeing that the young lady had been unconscious for a long time, she thought she was sick. Later, she touched her head and felt her pulse, and confirmed that she had fainted from hunger.
But she was still worried. She had worked as a witch doctor when she was young and knew some medicine. She quickly got some herbs and soaked the man in the bathtub. When the water was no longer hot, she changed it to hot water.
After changing it three or four times, the person was finally woken up.
After waking up, I felt comfortable and subconsciously buried myself. Unexpectedly, I was drowned and almost choked to death. I quickly crawled to the edge of the bucket, coughing heart-wrenchingly.
The old woman rushed in and tried to calm her down.
Half an hour later, Yang Si Niang and Yang Birong finally calmed down.
That’s right, the little beggar was Yang Si Niang who sneaked out from Yulin.
Two years ago, after getting engaged to her cousin from her uncle's family, Duke Zheng's Mansion, she went back to the Yang family's old house with her brother to guard the ancestral hall. Later, because of the incident of the fake Yang Jingzi, Mrs. Yang changed her name and went to the Yang family's hometown to take her children away, and lived in hiding in Yulin.
After living like this for two years, she couldn't help missing her cousin and her past life, so she secretly returned to Bianjing City.
Her real biological father, Gou Wenchun from Liaoxia State, had been trying to find out the whereabouts of her and her son. He discovered her when she slipped away to Luozhou and followed her quietly all the way.
Yang Si Niang was well protected, but the two years of hiding had taught her a lot and taught her how to deal with potential dangers, which was why she could be a beggar for so long.
Ever since the young master threw the girl to her, the old woman felt that this young master looked vulgar. Sure enough, after being cleaned up, she was a little beauty with almond eyes, rosy cheeks, bright eyes and white teeth, especially her eyes, which were clear, lively and beautiful.
No wonder she caught the young master's eye. Unexpectedly, the young master finally came to his senses and was willing to keep her in a golden house. Her good luck had come. From now on, she would be the housekeeper of this villa. She would need money for everything from eating, drinking, defecating to urinating. All the money that came in would go into her pocket.
It’s beautiful just to think about it. The old woman is happily busy running around, taking care of everything from food, drink, clothing and daily necessities.
The next morning, just as she was about to ask for the money, Azhu, the young master's long-time attendant, personally delivered fifty taels of silver.
Oh my God, fifty taels, this year will be a good year.
I took a bath for a whole hour last night and finally washed away all the dirt on my body. Then I ate a full meal and went into the warm bed to have a good sleep. I didn’t wake up until almost noon today.
When I woke up, I found a charcoal fire still burning in the room.
Oh my God, ever since she escaped, she had been living a life worse than pigs and dogs, and she didn't expect that she would inexplicably live in such a good place.
When she woke up last night, she thought she had died and ascended to heaven, and thought she had reached paradise. Unexpectedly, she was rescued by someone. When she asked who rescued her, the old woman refused to eat, saying that it was a noble person with status and position.
Who? Yang Si Niang didn't have time to think.
When I woke up and felt hungry, I was about to get dressed and go to the field. The old woman pushed the door open and said in a flattering manner, "Hey, my little master, don't move. Let me do it."
Yang Si Niang: ...
Although there were servants in the family before, she never called them old women.
“Mom, you…”
The old woman didn't expect the young lady to be so tactful, and her flattering smile became more sincere, "My surname is Pu, if the young master doesn't mind, you can call me Mother Pu."
"Mother Pu, I can do it myself." Yang Si Niang dressed herself.
Pu insisted on helping to put it on, "Young Master, I know you dislike me because I'm old and clumsy, but you are the master and I am the servant. This is what I should do. You have to let me do it, then I will feel at ease."
Yang Si Niang: ...
After wandering for a few months, Yang Si Niang was indeed in poor health, so she didn't bother to be polite with her, and the two of them worked together to put on her clothes.
Although Mrs. Pu said she was stupid, she was actually very quick and nimble, and she was also very good at combing hair. In just one morning, she made Yang Si Niang look like the rich girl she used to be.
"Oh my, young master, you look destined to be rich and noble."
To begin with, Mrs. Pu is really a flatterer, but the more she looks at the young lady's face, the more frightened she is. This young lady, no matter in the past or in the future, is destined to be a blessed woman all her life, so why did she come in yesterday looking like a beggar?
Did something go wrong?
However, Mrs. Pu believed in her own mediocre skills and felt that she would not make a mistake, so she was even more attentive to the young lady and served her comfortably and attentively.
Ning Qilang found Zhao Lan and tried to find out indirectly whether he was the one who asked him to save people.
Zhao Lan didn't hide anything, but he refused to say a single word.
"So let her stay in my villa?"
"Your villa is empty anyway."
Ning Qilang:......
Zhao Lan glanced at him and said, "You don't have a marriage partner anyway, so no one will bother you. It's convenient."
Ning Qilang laughed angrily, "Believe it or not, I'll tell Su Erniang."
Zhao Lan glanced at him leisurely and said, "Do you think I'm afraid?" He looked like he was not afraid. If you want to go, go quickly. Whoever doesn't go is a puppy.
Puppy Ning Qilang: ...
This person is not guilty at all, which means he is keeping a mistress, which is...
To test his luck, Ning Qilang imitated a dog and asked, "What do you need me to do?"
“Just eat three meals a day.”
Ning Qilang: "No clothes to wear?"
Zhao Lan looked at him as if he were a fool, then stood up and left.
"Hello……"
"Mr. Ning Qi's lunch will be charged to my account."
Ning Qilang was so angry that he laughed, "Zhao Zijin, you are too stingy. I ate at your restaurant and charged you for the meal. How can you say such a thing?"
Damn it, I help you support your woman, and you still want me to do you a favor for a meal.
Ning Qillang felt bored and left.
After getting on the carriage, the long-time attendant Azhu asked, "Master, are we going back, or..." to a social event.
Ning Qilang was just about to say he wanted to go home and have a good sleep, but then he stopped after thinking about it. He couldn't get any words from Zhao Lan, but it would be easier to get words from a woman.
The carriage moved slowly and soon arrived at the villa.
After eating and drinking, Yang Si Niang sat on the warm couch in a daze, wondering whether she should go and see her sister and A Jin. After visiting them, after the New Year, she should return to Yulin.
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