Chapter 274 Rescue the Old Woman
"Why is someone crying? Auntie, did you hear a woman crying?" the
Crown Princess asked in surprise. "I heard it! It's really strange!" Princess Jin replied.
"Madame Sun, take a look at what's going on? Who is crying?" the Crown Princess said to the maid on the side of the carriage.
"My two ladies, anything can happen in this market, and it's not uncommon for a woman to cry." Madam Sun said through the slit of the curtain into the car.
Madam Sun was sent by the Queen to serve the Crown Princess, and she was usually very cautious.
But Madam Sun's perfunctory words could not dispel the curiosity of the two pregnant women at all.
The two opened the curtain, looked in the direction of the sound, and found that there seemed to be a conflict between two people not far away.
"Come closer and see who it is!" Princess Jin ordered the driver.
Although Nanny Sun was not happy about the two pregnant women watching the excitement on the street, she didn't want to hinder them too much.
The carriage went a little further and stopped.
The two looked again, and this time they could see clearly that there was an old woman in ragged clothes sitting on the ground crying with her face covered. The
old woman was wearing a coarse cloth dress with many patches on it. She had a headscarf on her head and her face was weather-beaten.
She looked like a peasant woman.
There were two bundles scattered beside the old woman.
Next to her stood a middle-aged man in brocade clothes, cursing at the old woman.
Several passers-by had stopped to watch the excitement.
The Crown Princess and Princess Jin were both kindhearted people. Seeing someone bullying a peasant woman in the street, they were all furious.
"How dare you bully a peasant woman in broad daylight? It's really unreasonable!" The Crown Princess cursed secretly.
She stood up and lifted the curtain: "I'll go down and take a look!"
The nanny sitting on the edge of the carriage advised: "You should just sit in the car and don't get involved in those messy things. Take care of the baby in your belly!"
The Crown Princess retorted: "It's okay, I'm just going down to take a look. I know my limits."
The nanny frowned and wanted to continue to persuade, but Princess Jin said: "I'll go down with you to take a look." So she couldn't stop her.
The two pregnant women came to the peasant woman holding hands.
"Old woman, pay me back!" the man said angrily.
The peasant woman just covered her face and cried without saying a word.
"Why are you crying? If you don't pay me back, I will have to sell you!"
At this time, many people had gathered around and were talking about it.
"How can you bully an old woman like this?" A scholar couldn't stand it and pointed at the man.
"It's only natural to pay back debts! She owed me money, and I asked her for it. What's wrong with that?" The man glared at the scholar fiercely. The scholar was so
scared that he stopped talking.
Another kind-hearted old man advised: "Sir, even if you want to ask for a debt, you should talk to the person nicely! It's not good to end up like this."
The man put his hands on his waist and said: "I asked her for the debt, but she just cried and didn't pay it back. What can I do!"
The Crown Princess gave her personal maid a look, and the maid understood and stepped forward to help the old woman up.
"In a clear and bright world, under the feet of the emperor, even if you want to ask for a debt, this is not the way to ask!" The Crown Princess shouted angrily.
Although the voice was not loud, it was full of majesty.
The man paused and looked at the Crown Princess.
Seeing two pregnant women standing together, followed by a group of maids and servants, and looking at the two pregnant women, they were all dressed elegantly and luxuriously, like the wives of wealthy and noble families.
The man's voice softened, "I just have no other choice."
The Crown Princess wanted to scold the man, but the Princess of Jin pulled her back, signaling her not to say anything. The
Princess of Jin said to the old woman gently, "Auntie, are you in trouble?"
The old woman choked a few times before she cried, "My son is working in the capital, and I and my daughter-in-law live in the countryside, but my son hasn't sent a message home for more than a year."
"My daughter-in-law and I were really worried, so we came to Beijing to look for him."
The debt collector explained at the right time: "They rented my house after they came to Beijing!"
The old woman wiped her tears and continued: "We asked around and finally found the place where he worked, but the boss there said that my son died of illness half a year ago..."
The old lady choked up and cried again, "My poor son... How could you be so cruel..."
She covered her face and cried while observing the expressions of the Crown Princess and Princess Jin through her fingers.
The people who were watching the excitement were moved by this scene and comforted the old lady.
"Auntie, life and death are determined by fate, and wealth and honor are determined by God. You don't have to be too sad!"
"Auntie, please accept my condolences!"
The old lady calmed down and continued, "My daughter-in-law has become a widow. She has no hope and doesn't want to take care of me and suffer anymore. Ten days ago, she ran away with a bag on the eve of the incident..." "
Ahhh! This heartless woman..." The old woman beat her chest and stamped her feet and cried again.
The debt collector shouted, "You are pitiful, but you can't owe me the rent!"
"If you can't pay the rent, you can sell yourself as a slave and exchange some money to pay me back, and you can also have a place to stay and eat."
The Crown Princess couldn't stand it anymore and shouted at the man, "What are you talking about? How can you ask someone to pay you back like this?"
"How much silver does she owe you? I'll pay it back for her."
The man heard that someone was willing to pay back the money, and immediately put on a smile: "Not much, one and a half taels of silver."
The Crown Princess gave a look to the maid, and the maid immediately took out a small piece of silver from her purse and handed it to the man.
The man took the silver with a smile on his face and left.
"Thank you, benefactor! Thank you, living Bodhisattva!" The old woman knelt on the ground and kowtowed.
"Hurry up and get up." The little maid hurried to help her.
The onlookers gave the two pregnant women thumbs up and praised them.
"What a kind person!"
"You are willing to give money to help someone out of trouble just by chance. How righteous!"
"This is to accumulate blessings for the baby in your belly. You two ladies will definitely give birth to a prince!"
The Crown Princess and Princess Jin were a little embarrassed by the compliments.
Princess Jin looked at the old woman who was sobbing with emotion and said, "Auntie, where is your hometown? We will arrange a carriage to take you back. You live a good life."
Unexpectedly, the old woman knelt at the feet of the Crown Princess again and begged, "Madam, if you hadn't paid the rent for me, I would have been sold by the landlord."
"I am yours now, please take me back. I can boil water, wash clothes, sweep the yard, and do any dirty and hard work."
The old woman fell to the ground, with a sly look in her tearful eyes.
"This..." The Crown Princess frowned slightly.
The people in the Crown Prince's Mansion were all sent from the palace, and she had no right to bring people in from outside.
Princess Jin immediately saw the Crown Princess's difficulty and said, "Auntie, can you do farm work?"