Chapter 391 Zhao Duan: I am Link, and I have met Princess Wenzhu

Chapter 391 Zhao Duan: I am Link, and I have met Princess Wenzhu

Chapter 391 Zhao Duan: I am Link, and I have met Princess Wenzhu

"Princess, this is it."

Next to the carriage, a tall female warrior with braided hair and rough, red skin scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes. After making sure it was safe, she asked the princess to get out of the carriage.

Princess Wenzhu, who is over 40 years old and has a gentle demeanor, dressed quite low-key today, with no jewelry on her body or hair.

At this moment, my shoes were stepping on the crunching snow, my eyes were facing the sunlight, and I saw the charity shed at the intersection ahead.

"According to your instructions, we purchased coal and distributed it to the people here." The female warrior said softly, "It has not been handled by the government officials."

"Yes." Princess Wenzhu nodded gently, looking at the poor people in front of the shed, whose clothes were either thin or tattered, thin and haggard, with a look of pity in her eyes:

"It snowed heavily this year. I heard that prices in the city have skyrocketed in the past few days. People in the capital are having such a hard time. I dare not imagine how hard it is for people in even poorer places."

The female warrior muttered, "They say the capital is the best city, but I think it's not as good as the Western Regions."

Princess Wenzhu shook her head and sighed, saying impartially:

"Although the Western Region is remote, the population is much smaller. It is naturally much easier to rule a tribe than to rule a dynasty. However, it is indeed more difficult than the winter in the capital city that I remember. It should be due to the empty treasury of the court."

The loyal female warrior said, "That's what the officials said. They also said that by next year, the silver they start earning will fill the treasury, and everything will get better."

Opening...

The gentle princess pursed her red lips.

She had heard this word so many times in recent months that her ears were almost callused. This included the items related to "opening the market" that she was going to discuss with the court about next year's trade.

"It is said that the new policies and opening of the market in Yu State were all facilitated by Zhao Duan." said the female warrior.

Princess Wenzhu shook her head and said calmly:

"It's just gilding. How can a military officer who was born as a foot soldier of the imperial guards lead such an important event? This shows how much favor your majesty has for this flatterer."

Since entering the city, Princess Wenzhu has begun to inquire about the information about the empress's lover through various channels.

As various pieces of news came together, Princess Wenzhu felt that everything was ridiculous.

Let’s not talk about the things like eliminating treacherous officials, which are not well known to the outside world.

Just the ones that were made public include the limelight in the Buddhist-Taoist competition, the promotion of the research and development of new firearms in the Shenji Camp, the achievements in the Taicang case and the opening of the Huting market, the planning of new policies, the defeat of the Zhengyang School... and so on.

If it's just one or two, it's reasonable.

But when so many achievements were concentrated on one person in just half a year, it was too absurd for Princess Wenzhu, who was not an eyewitness.

Based on common sense, Wenzhu became more and more certain that the empress favored this lover too much, and in order to gild his reputation, she tried to let Zhao Duan take advantage of every major event and achievement.

Then it all makes sense.

In fact, Princess Wenzhu’s view is the truth that normal people would subconsciously imagine.

Even to this day, there has never been an end to the controversy in Beijing about which of Zhao Duan's achievements are real and which are gilded.

After all, even the empress who knew everything would find it unbelievable whenever she recalled what Zhao Duan had done this year.

Not to mention outsiders?
Wenzhu already had a stereotyped prejudice against Zhao Duan. The more information she learned, the more solid her impression of him as a "treacherous minister who deceived the king" became.

The more worried.

In the past few days, she entered the palace several times and had in-depth conversations with the empress several times.

As a married aunt, Wenzhu knew her limits and did not rush to say anything. She just talked about family affection, small talk, and hinted at other issues.

The trust that Xu Zhenguan revealed in the conversation towards the traitor Zhao Duan, as well as the affection that was well hidden but still caught by her, made her very worried.

Wenzhu also thought about meeting Zhao Duan, and in front of the empress, as an elder, to expose the hypocritical face of this "yellow-haired" who bewitched her niece.

pity……

Zhao Duan closed the door to visitors and never showed up in public, claiming that he was recuperating from a serious injury.

Haven't found the opportunity yet.

"Princess, I heard that in previous winters, when it was bitterly cold, the monks from the Shenlong Temple would give alms to the poor in the city. But this year, due to the 'ban on Buddhism,' they have disappeared." The female warrior said with some emotion.

Princess Wenzhu was silent for a moment and sighed softly.

Regarding the "ban on Buddhism", the Western Regions have mixed feelings. They are happy that the Shenlong Temple has been weakened, but they are worried about whether this means that the overall influence of Buddhism has declined?
but……

These are all things that the "holy monk" and others have to consider. Wenzhu does not want to get involved. From her personal perspective, she has no ill feelings towards the Shenlong Temple.

Because even if it is for the believers, the monks of Shenlong Temple’s disaster relief and charity are genuine after all.

He is much better than the notorious Zhao Duan who relies on his power to do evil.

"When the upper class fights, the common people will suffer in the end. The Buddhist sect is still willing to provide relief to the common people, but those powerful people like Zhao Duan only know how to enjoy wealth and glory. I'm afraid they can't even see the suffering of the emperor."

Princess Wenzhu exhaled a breath of white air and said, "Let's go over there too."

Hearing this, several other attendants beside the carriage hurriedly carried a few wooden boxes and followed the princess.

The people distributing coal in this shed were people from the State of Yu who were recruited from the Western Regions. When they saw the princess, they wanted to salute her, but Wenzhu raised her hand to stop them.

She made an extra space in the corner of the shed and opened a wooden box, which contained steaming mixed-flour buns wrapped in a thick quilt.

Order was given that only children were allowed to receive it.

"Steamed bun!"

The crowd suddenly became excited and the team became a little chaotic.

Fortunately, the female warrior led people to maintain order, and soon one by one poor children came to get steamed buns, holding winnowing baskets filled with black coal.

Princess Wenju did not shy away from distributing the food herself with her well-maintained hands.

The common people did not know her identity and only thought that she was a member of the family of some kind-hearted lord in the city, and they kept saying auspicious words like "May the madam be blessed and live a long life".

With gentle eyes, she saw a skinny little girl, about waist-high, about five or six years old, struggling to lift the dustpan containing coal with her bamboo-like hands. Because she was too short, she had to use her head to look at it and come to the table in the shed.

Wenzhu frowned, not understanding why such a young child came out. A servant of the Yu people beside him explained in a low voice:
"This kid's mother is sick, and there's no one else at home. She said she hasn't had a fever for a few days, and she's been out picking up donkey dung eggs to burn..."

Princess Wenzhu felt sad and she lovingly stroked the little girl's dirty face with her white, tender hands, but the little girl was so frightened that she took several steps back and almost dropped the dustpan in her hand.

"Oh." Princess Wenzhu sighed, took a few extra steamed buns and put them in the winnowing basket, and secretly stuffed a string of big coins into the coal.

I watched the little girl holding the steamed bun in her arms and running home, suppressing her hunger.

This beautiful woman, who was known as the "Saint" and "Goddess" in the Western Regions, had a sad look in her eyes. She handed over the distribution work to others, walked out and called a few followers.

"Princess, are you going back now?" asked the female warrior.

Wenzhu shook her head and said, "Let's go to the nearby pharmacy and buy some cold medicine."

The female warrior and other guards looked at the princess with reverence as they walked towards the shop two streets away.

But not long after the group walked out, they heard shouting, crying, and begging coming from an alley!

"what happened?"

Princess Wenzhu felt uneasy, so she moved lightly towards the alley, and her view suddenly opened up.

In this main street alley, several gangsters dressed as thugs were waiting for someone to come to them.

Stop the poor people who have received relief and are on their way back.

The hooligans were not like ordinary hooligans. They wore similar blue cotton coats with a red flower embroidered on their shoulders. They were big and strong, holding sticks in their hands, with ruddy faces and ferocious expressions. They were members of the Red Flower Society, the largest gang in Beijing.

At this moment, under the command of the leading thug, a group of hooligans were beating and snatching the coal and steamed buns.

The thin woman and the old man were beaten until they huddled together, wailing and begging for mercy.

The little girl, who was about five or six years old, wanted to slip away from the corner, but was kicked by a tall hooligans. She screamed "Ah", and was kicked away for some distance.

The dustpan in his hand fell.

The already cold steamed buns were rolling all over the ground, and black coal was scattered on the snowy ground.

"Haha, you little brat, you still want to run away? Grandpa asked you to hand it over, don't you understand?"

The ruffian sneered, looked at the buns scattered all over the floor, picked one up, took a bite, and said with a smile:

"It's still warm."

Another tall and thin ruffian with sharp eyes picked up a bunch of big money from the ground in surprise:
"Master Wen, this kid has money in his winnowing basket!"

The leader, who was sitting with his arms folded, had his eyes light up and turned to look at the little girl who had just gotten up:

"It's probably from those outsiders who distributed charcoal. Go and search her to see if she still has it on her!"

The dirty and skinny little girl struggled to get up, her expression dazed, as if she was frightened. Her eyes were fixed on the steamed buns and she let out low cries.

The rascal who ran towards Big Foot and tried to strip her clothes for money seemed not to notice her at all.

"Princess! These people deserve to be killed!"

The tall female warrior who saw this scene from afar was furious. Her right hand had already reached under the hem of her robe and grasped the hilt of the scimitar.

Another warrior held her down and quickly reminded her in a low voice: "This is the Yu Kingdom!"

The implication is that as a member of the Western Regions delegation, if he used knives in the capital of the Yu State, even if it was just beating up a few thugs, it would most likely turn into a "diplomatic incident."

Made a big fuss by some people.

Princess Wenzhu has already spoken: "Go and drive these away..."

However, before he could finish his sentence, everyone suddenly heard a sharp sound of breaking air!
It was almost instinct. The female warrior who was about to rush out to attack immediately returned to defend, and several Western warriors surrounded the princess!

Soon, they noticed that a stone as big as an egg came whizzing into the alley from the other direction of the street like a cannonball.

In a flash, it hit the big man right in the chest.

"what!!"

As expected, the man hunched over like a shrimp, his facial features twisted and distorted, and he fell backwards with his head raised, saliva flying.

The back of his head hit the hard ground with a bang and he fainted. Blood spurted out of his chest and stones were embedded in his chest and abdomen!
"Whoosh!"

"Whizzing!"

Immediately afterwards, two figures rushed into the alley. They were Hou Renmeng and Shen Juan, who were dressed as servants!
The two martial artists did not use their skills, but only used their fists and feet. In the blink of an eye, they knocked a group of gang members to the ground.

"Ah...we are Red Flower..."

The leader, "Master Wen", came back to his senses and stammered half a sentence, then heard a young man who had walked in from the alley say indifferently, "Slap your mouth."

"Yes, son!"

Hou Renmeng laughed fiercely and slapped him in the face.

"Master Wen" was beaten so hard that he turned 180 degrees on the spot. His eyes went dark, his right cheek swelled up, and he fell to the ground with a thud. He then knelt down and begged for mercy in an expert manner.

"Sir, please spare my life... please spare my life..."

Shen Juan silently kicked him again, knocking him down with a puff.

After the disguise, Zhao Duan's exquisite boots stepped on the dirty snow in the alley. Qian Kerou, who was dressed as a maid, squatted down and checked the little girl's injuries. She breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to her master:

"It's nothing serious."

Zhao Duan said "yeah" expressionlessly, and said, "You all can go now."

At this time, a group of poor people who were huddled on the ground suddenly woke up from their dreams and kowtowed:

"Thank you, sir!"

Then, he did not dare to stay, but quickly picked up his dustpan and fled away.

Qian Kerou squatted down and, together with two colleagues, helped the little girl pick up the scattered coal.

All this happened very quickly. When Zhao Duan turned around with a sullen face, he looked at Princess Wenzhu who was walking slowly towards him with several Western warriors.

At first glance, it’s a bit stunning!

Zhao Duan originally thought that an old princess in her forties, especially living in a place like the Western Regions, must have aged a long time ago.

But the appearance of Princess Wenzhu in front of him was much better than expected, gentle yet dignified, although her skin was indeed not as delicate as that of the noble ladies in the capital and was a little rough.

But her religious aura, almost like that of a "saint" or "mother", combined with the exotic customs she had acquired from living in the Western Regions for a long time, gave her a demeanor that the noble ladies in Beijing could not match.

If compared with Yunyang who is of the same generation.

Princess Yunyang simply takes good care of herself and shows few signs of aging.

Princess Wenzhu has transformed her age into a unique temperament, which reminds people of kumis or butter tea from the Western Regions.

At the same time, Princess Wenzhu also looked at the strange man in front of her with curiosity.

Although his appearance was ordinary and it was obvious that he came from a wealthy family, his every move was very different from those of the pampered sons of the rich and powerful or the sons of wealthy merchants.

He has the gentleness of a scholar, but his every move also reveals a fierce and decisive spirit.

More importantly, it is the indescribable temperament of a superior that is developed from holding power for a long time.

"We are merchants from other places who are here to provide relief to the people nearby. We heard about the commotion here and came to take a look."

Princess Wenzhu smiled softly and asked the guards to lower their guard before she revealed her identity.

Zhao Duan blinked, also bowed, and introduced himself:

"My surname is Lin, and my given name is Ke. I am from the capital. I was passing by here and heard the cries, so I came here."

"Mr. Lin's brave act shows how many heroes there are in the capital." Princess Wenzhu smiled gently.

She was not a person who put on airs. Having been in the Western Regions for a long time, she did not like the scholars in the capital. Instead, she admired the chivalrous man like Mr. Lin.

Moreover, if it weren't for this Master Lin, even if she was a princess, if the people from the Western Regions started a war in the capital, it would be troublesome if they were targeted by someone with ulterior motives.

Zhao Duan felt quite strange in his heart. This was very different from what he had expected about the scene of meeting Zhen Bao's aunt.

The main thing is that he didn't expect to encounter such a thing... It's a godsend opportunity.

"Madam, you are too kind. It is rare that you have the heart to help, but you let these scoundrels ruin the reputation of our Great Yu capital. It is really despicable."

Zhao Duan speaks righteously and plays the role of a chivalrous young man.

He changed the subject and said seriously:

"However, although Madam is kind-hearted, I have something to say. It is inappropriate for Madam to give out charcoal in the street. This is not the way to do charity."

(End of this chapter)