So what are these people going to do?
Just leave it alone?
They will starve to death.
Li Jingchen sighed, "Of course not. Tuan Tuan, take a closer look. Are there no young and middle-aged people among these people?"
Upon closer inspection, it was indeed true. Most of these homeless people were old people and children. The old people were almost in their twilight years and it was obvious that they would not live for many more years. Most of the children were girls of seven or eight years old.
This gave a clue. At that time, the influenza had a high mortality rate among the elderly and children. The patients were also widespread, including not only ordinary people but also refugees and beggars. The young and middle-aged people who survived should have returned home, so the children should have been taken back as well.
The remaining elderly people are understandable. They must have been refugees or beggars who were lucky enough to have survived. But what about the little girl? Was she abandoned by her parents?
"Yes, they were abandoned. Because of this flu, many families were hit hard. The adults in the family died, so how could the children survive? Or the food at home could not feed so many children, so they had to throw them away and let them fend for themselves."
Jiang Tuantuan really couldn't bear it. Doesn't the court have any good policies?
Isn’t there a special orphanage in the capital that takes in those fatherless and motherless children and teaches them to read and write?
It had indeed been opened before, and Your Majesty spent a lot of money, but it was useless because the money was passed down through layers of corruption, and by the time it reached the children, there was almost nothing left. In addition, there were floods in previous years, and this time with the flu, the national treasury is no longer sufficient.
Jiang Tuantuan said, "Then why not punish these corrupt officials?"
Li Jingchen smiled helplessly, "Most of these are from aristocratic families. Their power and wealth are so great that Your Majesty cannot and dares not confront them forcefully. You can only weaken them step by step."
Jiang Tuantuan, who had read many historical texts, immediately understood what was going on and sighed helplessly, "It is the people who are suffering."
She really wants to do her best to help these people, but she doesn't have enough power or money, so she is powerless.
Li Jingchen said, "Based on what I've learned over this period of time, the country was actually much stronger a few decades ago. However, because the previous emperor became increasingly incompetent, the power of the aristocratic families grew. When the emperor succeeded to the throne, he left behind a mess."
Jiang Tuantuan suddenly felt a little sorry for the emperor. What should he do? His son had to pay for the sins committed by his father.
But now His Majesty also attaches importance to the imperial examinations and talented people from humble backgrounds. This gives Jiang An and Jiang Li a good opportunity if they are willing.
Just as his thoughts were drifting, Jiang Tuantuan was startled by a scream.
In front of me, there were three little girls being pulled by several burly men.
There was also a seductively dressed woman next to him, her eyes full of greed and disgust.
The three little girls cried loudly and shouted for help to passers-by, but no one around came to help them.
The charming woman explained: "I am their aunt. These are my own children. They are disobedient, so I am taking them home now."
The little girl in tattered clothes angrily retorted: "You are not our aunt, you are a bad person, where are you going to take us?"
The seductive woman angrily stretched out her hand and was about to slap him.
Jiang Tuantuan couldn't stand it anymore and shouted, "Stop!"
The tone was full of majesty, and the charming woman immediately stopped her hand and said disdainfully: "Who are you? Why do you ask me to stop?"
Jiang Tuantuan slowly dismounted and looked at the charming woman with a domineering look in his eyes. He said coldly, "Do you want to go to the government office with me?"
The charming woman wanted to refute, and even wanted to order the burly men behind her to take action, but she was frightened by Jiang Tuantuan's momentum. She also saw a man leading a horse next to her, who looked like he was not someone to be trifled with.
The charming woman had no choice but to swallow her anger and left with her people.
When the three little girls found themselves rescued, they were so surprised that they immediately knelt down and kowtowed to express their gratitude.
Jiang Tuantuan couldn't bear such a great favor, so he quickly helped them up one by one. He changed his domineering attitude and asked very gently, "What happened? Where are your parents?"
The little girl sobbed, "We have no home anymore. Our parents don't want us anymore. They threw us away."
After some conversation, we finally learned that the three little girls came from a village very remote from the capital. Their parents and family members had all contracted the flu and came to the quarantine area outside the city for treatment. Unfortunately, only one or two survived.
Suddenly half of the family's labor force was missing, and life became very difficult. The food grown from the family's land was not enough to eat. In addition, the three families had many children, most of whom were girls.
In order to ensure that the men in the family could have enough food to eat, they drove these women away.
They were reluctant to leave, but were threatened that they would be sold if they did not leave on their own.
The three little girls had no choice but to leave home together. With nowhere to go, they came to the capital, hoping to make a living by begging.
And there are many more little girls like this.
Just two days after arriving in the capital, they met that charming woman. They were lucky to have escaped the disaster, but what about the rest of the unlucky people? Have they been taken to brothels and are living a dark and aggrieved life?
Thinking of this, the three little girls couldn't help crying again.
One of the girls knelt down and said, "Please take us. We eat very little and can do a lot of work. We are willing to do anything and will never cause any trouble."
The remaining two little girls also knelt down and begged Jiang Tuantuan.
Jiang Tuantuan looked at Li Jingchen, and Li Jingchen put his arm around her shoulders. "If you have an idea, then I'll listen to you and support you."
Jiang Tuantuan looked at the three people in front of him who were struggling to survive, and how could he bear not to give them a hope of survival?
"You three, get up quickly. I'll take you away."
The three little girls excitedly kept thanking Jiang Tuantuan.
Jiang Tuantuan asked them their names, and they said, "We don't have any names. Our parents just order us around."
So Jiang Tuantuan named the three girls according to their ages, namely Daya, Erya, and Sanya, which are simple and easy to remember.
Li Jingchen once again wanted to complain about the name she gave, saying it was too casual.
After naming it, I didn’t take it home directly, but went to Jiangyue Pavilion.
The business inside was very good at that time. The three girls were wearing tattered clothes, so it was not convenient for them to go in now. So they waited outside the door for a while, and only went in after all the customers left.
Er Liu saw the boss coming with three little girls behind him and asked in confusion, "Boss, what's going on?"
"These are three poor children. They will become one of your people in the future. The second floor is empty now, so let them stay there."
Then he called Erliu aside, told her their story, and asked her to close the shop and take them to the cloth shop to change into new clothes.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
