There was a strange smell in the dilapidated temple, with musty smell, garbage that had not been cleaned up, feces and urine of little beggars, and the rotten smell of leftover food. Ah Huan and Ah Ruo almost vomited when they came in. If it weren't for Zhu Kongshan's sharp gaze, they would have turned around and left, and they would never want to come to such a place in their lives. In addition to Zhu Kongshan's threatening gaze, he also spoke in a low voice, saying: "If you leave this door today, I guarantee that the people in Sheng Wangfu will beat you out with sticks tonight. Don't forget your identity, you are just servants. If you lose your master, you will soon end up here."
The two maids were really angry with Zhu Kongshan, but Zhu Kongshan had the Eighth Prince as his backer and a noble aunt in the palace, so they had no confidence even if they wanted to do anything rash. Recently, they thought about sending a message to the eldest lady and the eldest lady in Pengzhou when they had time, but unfortunately, the Sheng Palace was heavily guarded, and they were monitored wherever they went, so it was impossible for them to sneak out of the palace. Even if they followed Zhu Kongshan out of the palace now, the coachman who sent them was not an ordinary coachman, but a guard in the Sheng Palace, who claimed to be protecting the cousin. Under such pressure, even if they were unwilling in their hearts, they had to listen to Zhu Kongshan, so as not to annoy her and report them to the Eighth Prince, which would be really fatal. Now they just hope that the things in Beijing will be dealt with quickly and they can return to Pengzhou as soon as possible. As for the matter that the eldest lady told them before coming here to take the opportunity to ascend to the throne, the two of them don't even want to think about it now.
Suddenly, three unusual figures came into the dilapidated temple. The beggars who had not gone out to beg were stunned for a moment. They couldn't understand why such a well-dressed lady would come here? Even if she wanted to buy labor, she should go to the labor market, right?
Zhu Kongshan was used to it. Seeing the beggars' puzzled and somewhat timid eyes, she took a few steps forward and looked around. Finally, she bent down and half-knelt in front of a little beggar, and said softly: "Little brother, do you still recognize me?"
The little beggar looked at her for a long time, and suddenly his eyes lit up: "It's you? Are you the cousin of the Eighth Prince?" He recognized her, "That day you came into the city, helped me, and gave me money." This was the child that Zhu Kongshan helped at the door of the embroidery shop that day. He looked at Zhu Kongshan in confusion, "Miss, why are you here? This place is too dirty, it's not a place for you to come."
Zhu Kongshan said nothing, just shook his head, and took his handkerchief and wiped the corner of the beggar's lips a few times. The beggar was eating half a dirty cake, and when he saw Zhu Kongshan wiping his mouth, he was so scared that he kept hiding: "No, no, a handkerchief of the lady is more valuable than my life, you must not let it get dirty."
Zhu Kongshan sighed and said, "What are you afraid of? I'm not a bad person. No matter what you thought of the Eighth Prince in the past, I am from Pengzhou. Although I am his cousin, I have never had any contact with him. I came to Beijing to visit my aunt in the palace, but I don't know what my cousin did in the past that made the people in Beijing dislike him. But I am who I am. When I was in Pengzhou before, I never thought of myself as a high-and-mighty lady, and now that I am in Beijing, I naturally won't do that. You don't have to be afraid of me, you all don't have to be afraid of me. Since I can help you wipe the corners of your mouth, I don't intend to care about this handkerchief." She was beautiful and her voice was soft and pleasant. She made people seem so close that the beggars in the temple suddenly felt as if a spring breeze was caressing their faces. It was so comfortable.
The little beggar did not quite understand what she said, but he knew that the lady meant no harm, so he did not retreat but just stared at her.
Zhu Kongshan added, "I am just like this. I can't bear to see so many people living badly. To me, people should be equal. We can't look at you differently or even fight you just because you are poor. When I was in Pengzhou before, I told the beggars in Pengzhou that I, Zhu Kongshan, have never looked down on anyone. We are all Dashun people. You can't feel inferior just because you are poor. I gave them winter clothes, porridge and rice, and encouraged them to work with their own strength. Even if it's a few copper coins, it's earned by strength, and they don't ask others for it. As I said, now that I'm in the capital, I will treat you the same as I treat the beggars in Pengzhou, and I won't treat you differently. Winter is coming soon, and the weather is getting colder day by day. I came here today to count how many people in the north of the city need help. Although I can't solve the livelihood of all of you, I can at least give each of you a winter coat so that you don't have to suffer the cold in winter. This is still possible."
"Winter clothes?" The beggars immediately became excited when they heard this and gathered around. "Miss, are you serious? Will you really give us winter clothes? Without money?"
Zhu Kongshan nodded, not frowning at all because of the serious drop in air quality caused by the beggars gathering around him. Instead, he smiled and said to them, "Of course it's real. One for each person. No one will be left without one."
"But that requires a lot of money." The little beggar was a little worried for her, "Miss, it really requires a lot of money. You have to think about it carefully. That much money is not a joke."
"What are you afraid of!" She rubbed the little beggar's head and said, "Even if my sister doesn't have enough money, don't we still have the Sheng Palace? I don't care what the Eighth Prince did to make you unhappy in the past. Now that I'm here, I can still get some money from him." She looked around as she spoke, and then said, "Maybe not all the people are here today, so when everyone is here, you can count how many men, women, and children there are. Or just don't go out early tomorrow morning, and wait for me here. I will come early and bring a tailor to measure your sizes and make clothes for you."
Her decision made the beggars cheer. They might not feel anything in spring, summer and autumn, but winter is deadly. People die in every winter! Some people are still talking to you warmly before going to bed, but they are dead when they wake up. They are not buried, so they can only throw their bodies outside the temple, waiting for the soldiers to see them and take them away and throw them in the mass grave outside. Now someone said that they would make winter clothes for them, and of course people were happy, which meant that they would not have to suffer from the cold in winter, and no one would freeze to death. For a time, the status of the cousin of the eighth prince in the hearts of these beggars rose rapidly.
But Zhu Kongshan felt that this was not enough. She looked at the temple, turned to Aruo and said, "Go to the place that sells window paper now and ask them to send a clerk over to count how many windows there are in this dilapidated temple and replace all the window papers. Remember to replace them with thick ones. They can't be blown away like they are now, and leak air everywhere."
When Aruo heard that she could go out to do some errands, she quickly agreed and left in a hurry. She could finally breathe some fresh air. She was happy to do so even if it was just running errands.
"Ah Huan." Zhu Kongshan continued to instruct, "Go find a carpenter and ask them to install a door in this dilapidated temple. With such a big hole, even if you wear thick clothes in winter, you can't stand it at night." Ah Huan left as he was told. Zhu Kongshan looked around the dilapidated temple with a worried look on his face and said helplessly, "I actually want to move all of you out of here, but a winter coat is a small matter, but I really can't move so many people. Don't blame me, just live here for the time being. At least I will have people repair the places that need repairing, and I will never let you be exposed to the wind and rain again."
Her words were so sincere that some female beggars wiped their tears and called her the female Bodhisattva.
Zhu Kongshan was very pleased, but he kept saying, "No, you must not call me that. I am just doing what I want to do. I just can't bear to see the poor suffer. Your life should be the same as ours."
Soon, the two maids brought the window paper seller and the door repairman. She paid the silver note on the spot and selected the thickest window paper and the best wood. The two shop assistants praised her for her good heart.
Zhu Kongshan had not yet used up all her tricks. She walked out of the ruined temple and got two brooms from somewhere. She handed one to Aruo and Ah Huan, then pointed at the ruined temple and said, "When you two came to Beijing that day, you spoke ill of them and even threw coins to tease the people. You should make up for your mistakes today!"
The two girls were stunned, not understanding what Zhu Kongshan meant. She then explained, "Don't you understand? I want you to clean up this temple, clear out all the garbage, and have people take it away. You must not leave it in the temple again."
Where have Ah Huan and Ah Ruo ever done such a job? Even before they climbed to the position of first-class maid, they were just sweeping the yard of the eldest lady. The yard of a wealthy family is so clean, at most there are only fallen leaves and petals, but now...
Zhu Kongshan knew that the two would definitely not be happy, but he gave them a warning and threat with his eyes, which forced them to obey. Even though they were not happy in their hearts, they had to accept their fate and clean up. Unfortunately, the guard outside also came in and stood beside Zhu Kongshan, obviously supporting her.
The eighth prince's cousin made winter clothes for beggars in the north of the city, repaired a dilapidated temple, and asked the maids to clean up and apologize. Before the clothes were finished, the news of this deed had spread, not only to Xuan Tianmo in Sheng Palace, but also to Concubine Yuan in the palace.
Concubine Yuan was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. She felt more and more that it was a wise decision to invite her niece to Beijing. She even felt that if it was such a woman who stayed with her son in the future, she would be truly relieved.
Xuan Tianmo was more practical. He asked the accountant to allocate more silver to Zhu Kongshan for her use, and also had people make a lot of clothes for her. He also gave her a lot of jewelry as a reward. He even sent another group of people to Pengzhou before the previous group of people came back, and the gifts they sent were even more precious than the last time.
Zhu Kongshan was not very interested in the clothes and jewelry Xuan Tianmo sent her. After all, these were not what she wanted. But she was a smart person. At this time, let alone mentioning it, she would not let herself think too much. If she wanted to be a useful person, she had to do useful things. She had to help Xuan Tianmo more, so that she could gain a firm foothold in the Sheng Palace and the capital, and have the capital to make Yuan Guiren fulfill his promise in the future.
She kept the clothes for the time being, and didn't wear the ones that were too luxurious. She only picked out a few relatively low-key ones to keep. As for the jewelry, she had a better plan...
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