Both Madam Xiao and Xiao Zuo were taken away by the Dali Temple. With the Crown Prince present, Duke Xiao did not dare to act rashly. Madam Wang was eager to share gossip with her husband, so she also left.
The area in front of the Marquis's mansion has returned to calm.
Xie Tingzhou followed her into the Marquis's residence. He said to Helian Qing, "Although you are protecting the princess, it is a fact that you condoned the violence. This will inevitably bring trouble to the Marquis's residence. From now on, you will follow me."
Helian Qing was not happy.
He doesn't even know the Crown Prince, so what's the point of following him?
But he knew the Crown Prince was of higher status than his grandfather, so he couldn't refuse and hugged Ye Zhen's waist, saying, "I have to protect my woman."
If someone really causes trouble for Ye Zhen, he shouldn't leave. How can a man from the Helian family become a deserter after causing trouble?
Besides, he still needs to follow Ye Zhen to find his uncle.
Xie Tingzhou's eyes darkened. This brat dared to hug his Zhenzhen. He said with a half-smile, "Although you are still a child, you are shouting that the princess is yours without any betrothal or marriage ceremony."
"If you encounter someone like Madam Xiao, who harbors malicious intentions, she will slander the princess's reputation. You are harming her."
Helian Qing also thought of the words Madam Xiao had said to Ye Zhen. After Li Suihuan's incident, he realized that in the capital, a few words could drive a woman to her death.
He needed to write to his grandfather as soon as possible, asking him to propose marriage to Ye Zhen.
Xie Tingzhou saw through his thoughts, "Men should protect women and respect them. They are independent individuals, not appendages of men."
"You want to marry the princess? You need her consent to be a real man. If you can do that, I promise you, I'll send you back to the Marquis's residence tonight."
Helian Qing seemed to understand but not quite, feeling that the Crown Prince's words were part of a conspiracy, but there was one point that he also found reasonable.
When he first met Ye Zhen, he felt very safe with her and wanted to stay with her. So he thought about marrying her and taking her as his own.
But I didn't ask Ye Zhen if he agreed.
This seems a bit like bullying. My grandfather always said that only incompetent men bully women.
A woman should be cherished.
Never mind, I won't write to my grandfather for now.
He wanted to win Ye Zhen's heart through hard work and give his grandfather a surprise.
Helian Qing stepped out from behind Ye Zhen. "I promise you, I can really come back to stay tonight?"
This is not a border town, and the people in the capital do not take him seriously, but they are extremely respectful to the Crown Prince. If one gets close to the Crown Prince, one can take advantage of his influence.
This seems like a good idea.
"I will personally deliver it. A real man keeps his word."
Xie Tingzhou said with a smile, "Otherwise, we wouldn't even be as good as women."
He was a man of wide experience and knowledge, and with just a few glances he could tell that this young man dressed in a women's skirt was a chauvinist at heart.
Now he has a reason to come to the Marquis's residence every day.
Therefore, her smile was even more radiant.
Helian Qing's strange feeling intensified, and he subconsciously shrank closer to Ye Zhen, feeling that this man had ill intentions.
Ye Zhen gave Xie Tingzhou a subtle, disapproving look.
Being jealous of children and even trying to fool them is so childish.
But when she thought that he did this to see her, her heart softened.
Xie Tingzhou received a glare from her, his red lips curled slightly, and he winked mischievously with his right eye. He was handsome, and this expression made him incredibly alluring.
Ye Zhen's ears burned, and she stopped looking at him.
She thought to herself, "If this bastard dares to treat other women like this, I'll smash his head in."
However, before she could have a long chat with Xie Tingzhou, someone else came to deliver a thank-you gift, so Xie Tingzhou left with Helian Qing.
After the incident involving the Xiao family, everyone knew that the Crown Prince was protecting the Marquis's mansion, so they dared not slack off and offered money and said all sorts of nice things.
In one day, Ye Zhenguang collected over 100,000 taels of silver notes, and she had Yinyue take the rest of the gold, silver and jewelry to the pawnshop to cash them all out.
The next day, he took the banknotes and account books into the palace.
"Your Majesty, I originally only wanted to build a charity hall and do what I could."
This sum of over two hundred thousand taels was truly unexpected. I am filled with trepidation, but I cannot refuse the kindness of all the families.
"I then thought of expanding the charity hall, but my abilities are limited. I wish to ask Your Majesty to be the head of this charity hall."
In fact, when Xiao Zuo stopped the carriage, Ye Zhen had already conceived the idea of getting the powerful and wealthy to part with their money.
Despite the minor incident involving the Xiao family mother and son, things progressed smoothly.
Ye Zhen obtained so much silver so easily, but he knew very well that this silver would become the focus of everyone's attention, and he must not use it for personal purposes.
Coincidentally, she sincerely wanted to help the poor people, but to make this work a success, it would be best to involve the Empress.
Based on her understanding of the Empress, she knew the Empress would agree.
As expected, the Empress said, "It's good that you have a kind heart, but good deeds have never been easy to do. Do you have a plan?"
Ye Zhen smiled, "Your Majesty, I have heard a prejudiced saying: 'Bad people come from poor and remote areas.'"
Having grown up in the countryside, I have witnessed many so-called unruly people's behavior, all because of the scarcity of resources for survival, leaving them no choice but to fight.
If even survival is difficult, reading and enlightenment are a luxury. Naturally, one will not understand the laws that His Majesty has painstakingly established, and will be driven to despair by life's hardships.
I then propose to establish a charity hall in the capital as a pilot project to shelter the homeless and pitiful.
They then opened workshops, planted medicinal herbs, and set up clinics under the name of the Charity Hall.
The workshops and medicinal fields require manpower, which can provide these people with jobs to make a living. The extra jobs can be hired from outside, while growing medicinal herbs can lower the threshold for medical treatment.
When people have food to eat, shelter to live in, and a place to seek medical treatment when they are sick, they can live in much more peace and tranquility.
Previously, I raised dozens of children on a small scale in the countryside using this method. However, if I were to expand this operation, it would inevitably affect the interests of the powerful and wealthy. Therefore, I wish to rely on Your Majesty.
She spoke frankly and without seeking fame, which pleased the Empress greatly.
After inquiring about Ye Zhen's past livelihood, it was learned that Ye Zhen had recruited many talented people to train those children. Some were skilled in farming and medicinal herbs, some were good at carpentry and bricklaying, some were good at embroidery and weaving, and others were proficient in medicine and arithmetic, etc.
Indeed, as she said, it was just a minor incident.
But back then, she was just a little kid. With the small amount of capital given to her by Ye Jinghong, she built a family business for herself and helped dozens of children learn their skills. The Empress praised Ye Zhen.
However, the Empress felt that it would not be easy to implement this law in the capital, or even to establish branches throughout the country.
Despite the officials of the previous dynasty kneeling and kowtowing to her and the emperor, shouting "Long live the Emperor!", they all harbored their own selfish schemes and wished to divide and plunder the empire.
Once Ye Zhen's charity hall is established, the allure of profit will inevitably lead to interference from some individuals.
The relationships within the court are deeply entrenched and complex. Even after more than twenty years on the throne, many things remain difficult, requiring utmost caution.
But it is precisely because Your Majesty wants to be a wise ruler that you have so many concerns. If you disregard the lives of the people and become a tyrannical ruler who only cares about pleasure, you can do whatever you want.
The emperor's love for the empress remained unchanged for many years, and the empress also wanted to repay the emperor and help him make a name for himself in history.
If the Charity Hall can be established, it could solve the problem of many refugees and displaced people in Da Yuan, which is indeed an opportunity.
but.
"You were sent to live in the countryside as a child, never enjoying the wealth and luxury of the capital, and even suffered a lot. Why then do you develop a compassionate heart?"
The Empress wanted to reconfirm Ye Zhen's original intentions.
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