AWB Chapter 278 Return of the Pearl Buddha 46
Chapter 278 Return of the Pearl Buddha 46
Qing'er's worries were not unreasonable. She and Ziwei were already of marriageable age, and they had been traveling frequently in recent years.
There are already bad voices in the court.
Even the Queen's legitimate son Yan Ning and Concubine Ling's seventh daughter were affected by the rumors. The Emperor had been suppressing it, but the matter had to be resolved in the end.
Not long after Erkang left, it was the day for Xiaoyanzi and Yongqi to get married.
Perhaps because he had seen too much intrigue and deception, the emperor still doted on the lively and straightforward Xiaoyanzi, and this wedding was held in a grand manner.
After marriage, Xiaoyanzi did not seem to realize the change in her identity.
He practiced martial arts day after day, and every now and then he took Caixia Mingyue to visit orphanages in various places.
Yes, with Yan Ning as a big money sponsor, it is easy to raise these baby girls. The system will automatically correct the source of wealth.
In everyone's mind, Yan Ning is just good at making money.
Because she was young and it was inconvenient for her to run around, Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei took the initiative to take on many tasks.
This kind deed was initially praised by everyone, but when they found out that the orphanage really only adopted baby girls, they were flooded with criticism.
Many families don’t know that they can give their daughters up for adoption, and even more often they just kill them.
So Yan Ning made new rules.
Every baby girl sent can be exchanged for a certain amount of silver to prevent people with ulterior motives from making a profit from it.
In addition, there are special people to investigate and confirm that only biological children are eligible to receive the money.
Such an action soon caused a shock in the government and the country.
The Zhuangzi in the capital was the first to start. Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei were worried about some trouble, so they brought people over to keep an eye on it quietly.
The family who got the sign was waiting at the foot of the mountain before dawn. If there were no soldiers following them, they would not have exchanged their children for the wooden sign.
No matter how rich the royal family is, can they afford to support so many people?
Everyone was worried that they wouldn't get the money, so it was always a good idea to be the first to get in. At this moment, they were gathered in groups of three or four, talking.
"I didn't expect that little girls could be exchanged for money. If I had known, I would have kept the original ones."
"Who says it's not? What a pity. My family also had two girls last year."
"You, Liu Laoer, are not satisfied with having two daughters at once. Add your younger brother's daughter to yours, and you can have a prosperous New Year this year, right?"
The men who were talking were fiddling with the wooden signs in their hands, their faces showing uncontrollable joy.
Some people at the scene were exchanging secret recipes for having children, calculating how many acres of land they could buy if they had more daughters.
In the carriage not far away, the two men's faces became more and more ugly, and Xiaoyanzi subconsciously wanted to grab the whip at her waist.
Ziwei grabbed her hand and forced her down.
The noise outside the car window continued, and more and more people joined in.
"How much money do you think it would cost to support so many useless girls and liars? If you have so much money, it would be great if you could share it with us."
"Oh, you're wrong. After all, the child is ours. When she grows up, we can get her parents to say a few good words for her and marry her off with a betrothal gift."
The man clapped his hands, looking very proud, and everyone around him laughed knowingly.
"You're just imagining things. All newborn girls are the same. How do you know which one is yours?"
"What's so difficult about this? My mother has already used an embroidery needle and marigold juice to mark the child. I'm not afraid that she won't recognize him when the time comes."
……
Ziwei loosened her clenched fists, lifted the curtain and looked outside.
It was pitch black, the gate of the village in the distance was closed, and only two lanterns emitted a dim light.
The dense crowd looked like a black tide with ripples.
There were constant praises all around, and these words penetrated into the carriage like sharp blades.
The darkness of night concealed their ugly faces, but it could not hide the greed and cruelty deep in their souls.
Ziwei could no longer tell whether those in front of her were humans or ferocious beasts covered in human skin.
After a long while, she finally spoke, "Xiaoyanzi, tell me, why are people so different from each other? Is what we do really meaningful?"
"Of course there is!"
Xiaoyanzi saw Ziwei's disappointment and knew that she was frightened by the shamelessness of those people outside.
He quickly spoke to comfort her, "Don't worry, Ziwei. Their little plan won't go as they wish. Such rotten-hearted people won't have a good ending."
"I'm fine, don't be nervous."
Ziwei gave a bitter smile and shook her head.
She is no longer the naive person she was back then, so how could she be scared by such a small thing?
She had seen too many tragedies over the years and naturally knew that this situation was very common, but was it really just the viciousness of these people that caused all of this?
In ancient times, kings put teaching first when establishing a country and governing the people.
This is a truth that every king understands, but it is extremely difficult to implement. Only when people have enough food and clothing can rituals and righteousness flourish, and only when rituals and righteousness flourish can education be carried out.
How can we expect them to understand things if they can’t even get enough to eat?
Erya’s shy smile suddenly appeared in Ziwei’s mind. There was still enough food at home, and the elders were willing to let her learn some skills.
As for myself and my mother, even though we are both girls, our family still protects us very well.
At this moment, Ziwei's anger disappeared instantly. They were wrong, but it was not all their fault.
Something flashed through Ziwei's mind, but she didn't have time to catch it.
The two discussed how to deal with these evil-hearted people. The act of tattooing their daughter's body must not be tolerated.
The sky soon turned pale, and the discussions in the crowd gradually became quieter, until only a few sporadic coughs remained.
With a muffled "boom", the heavy door of Zhuangzi slowly opened.
The leading matron was holding a thick stack of books in her hands, and the matrons behind her were standing in neat rows in uniform dark blue clothes.
On both sides stood burly women holding long swords, and at their feet were boxes of silver.
Soon someone set up a sunshade and a table, the box was opened, and the silver was revealed.
Seeing this, there was a burst of exclamation from the crowd.
Everyone was pushing forward with red eyes. At this moment, they heard the sound of neat and powerful footsteps not far away, and everyone turned around to look.
I saw a group of officers and soldiers rushing over, and the leader was still wearing official uniform.
The scene suddenly fell into dead silence, and the little thoughts that had been there were completely extinguished.
The two sides met and Xiaoyanzi also sent a palace maid down.
The carriage went around the side and entered the farm.
Under the command of the officers and soldiers, everyone lined up obediently to receive their money, but only then did they realize that they still had to press their fingerprints.
"Sir? What do you mean this child has nothing to do with us from now on? We are his parents!"
Perhaps because the people in front of him looked very kind, the first man who received the money mustered up the courage to ask.
Since this concerns future interests, you have to find out everything clearly.
"I've made it very clear. Once the child is sent here, he will have nothing to do with you. Don't you understand?"
"Ah! This... isn't this selling a child? One tael of silver isn't enough to sell a child. People out there are getting three or five taels."
"Yes, sir, that's not the way to go."
The man's earlier remarks had spread among the crowd, and everyone was thinking of waiting until their daughter grew up and then asking for money in the name of their parents.
What does it matter whether there is a mark or not? Girls are all the same anyway.
At this time, the crowd was in an uproar when they heard it, and their companions were all around them.
The increasingly loud calls gave them unprecedented courage and strength, and they all clamored for more money.
The person who can pay out of his own pocket to raise these useless baby girls must be a soft-hearted princess.
The housekeeper had seen all kinds of scenes and soon noticed the people who jumped the highest in the crowd.
After some whispers, guards immediately stepped forward and pinned those people to the ground.
The knife handle hit the fingers without hesitation, followed by a brutal beating. After a few shrill screams, the scene became quiet again.
"How dare you! The princess is kindhearted and couldn't bear to see these baby girls lying dead in the wilderness, so she did this act of mercy. How could she allow you, the villains, to interfere?"
"If it weren't for the princess, these children would have died long ago. How dare you ask for three or five taels of silver..."
The housekeeper raised her voice and scolded the man so hard that he dared not raise his head.
No one dared to gossip anymore, and everyone quietly handed in their names, collected their money, and left.
Just as the crowd dispersed a little, someone else spoke up, "Sir, did you take the wrong amount? How come I only have half of this tael of silver?"
Upon hearing this, the housekeeper rolled her eyes at him with disdain and turned over the wooden sign he had just brought up to take a look.
"That's right, No. 87. Your baby girl had some injuries on her body when she was brought here. They were freshly pricked by an embroidery needle."
"Regardless of whether she's injured or too thin, Zhuangzi doesn't want her. Do you think she's being sent here to be a young lady? Do you want this half? If not, go and take your daughter back."
"Yes, yes, yes, please don't be angry."
The man stuffed the silver into his arms, quickly retreated, and spat fiercely when he was far away.
"What bad luck."
"You tried to be clever, but now you're in trouble."
His companions, who had envied him not long ago, were now just glad that they had not meddled in other people's affairs.
The figures of several people gradually disappeared, and the people hiding in the dark hurriedly followed after receiving the order.
When they woke up again, all their money had been looted, and not only that, everyone was seriously injured.
One of them was in a particularly serious condition. Not only was the corner of his mouth severely torn, but he was also thrown into a thorn bush, with his body covered in blood and flesh.