Poor children

Chapter 1 Good fortune and misfortune depend on each other

一
At this time, the palace was in chaos, and the old lady was the most anxious. She could not sit still: "Hurry up and ask someone to take a look! Your prince was rushed into the palace early in the morning. Why hasn't he come back yet? He hasn't seen anything at all. Is there any news?"

After hearing this, the little Si in the corridor turned around and ran out, sending a message to send people to see it.

All the women in the mansion gathered in the old lady's room, all of them had sad faces, and some of the young and careless ones had already cried.

After a while, the woman in charge came in and asked about setting the meal.

The old lady said: "How can I still think about eating? Just put it in the main hall and tell them to eat!"

The mother-in-law responded: "Yes"

After a while, the girls in the family came into the house with various dishes and set up a table. However, seeing that the old lady did not move, and no one else dared to move, the old lady saw this and said, "That's it! Let's go eat some together!"

Now the ladies and concubines came over with the old lady in their arms. Just as they all sat down and raised their bowls, the young man outside hurriedly ran into the main room: "Go back to the old lady, word has come from the palace. The prince said don't worry, saying that your majesty intends to recognize you." I am an adopted daughter, and I want to find a virtuous and talented young lady in our family, and I will give her the title of Princess Zhuyang."

As soon as she finished speaking, the old lady impromptuly said with bright faces on everyone's faces: "Alright! Alright! Amitabha!"

After dinner, everyone dispersed. Needless to say, the old lady sent a message and asked the prince to come back and see him soon.

two

The four kings, Hongshun, had one wife and three concubines. The main wife's surname was Wang, and he only had one daughter named Baozhen. The four kings loved the eldest daughter so much that she named her so much that she regarded her as a treasure. She had not yet left the court at the age of 21.Because the prince loves him only as a relative of the emperor and the country, there is no one who can match him.The eldest lady was born with fair hair, thick eyebrows, bright eyes, red lips and white teeth, and a plump figure. Because she was good at pleasing the old lady and the prince, she was pampered and was very unfriendly to other people. The little girl serving beside her would be beaten severely if she made the slightest mistake. The girls who were called Qiaoer were all injured.

The second lady's surname was Fang. She was originally the second daughter of a concubine of the Ministry of Rites. Her father wanted to marry the prince, so he married her to the fourth prince as his concubine. Although Mrs. Fang was a gentle person, her luck was extremely good. She had been in the family for three years. She gave birth to two sons, one named Chenghe and the other Chengzhe. Both sons were smart, handsome, loyal, kind and righteous.

The third lady's surname was Sun, the daughter of a local squire in the capital. This woman was extremely domineering and overbearing. Many years later, she had a son and a daughter. The son's name was Chengda, who was five years old. The prince loved her very much.The female name is Chunya and the fourth lady is of the same year.The third lady was very beautiful. When she was about to get married, some people compared her to Xi Shi. Although she looked better than Xi Shi, she was like Daji in person. Because she was good at hiding herself, she was deeply loved by the prince and the old lady, and because her son was smart and cute. Among people, Mrs. Sun is the most favored.

The fourth lady is the youngest daughter of the old lady's distant cousin. Due to an accident at home, the whole family was sent to a harsh and cold place. Fearing that the girl would suffer, she was willing to come to the palace as a concubine. She was fifteen years old and her surname was Lin and her nickname was Yue Fang. Although she was the fourth lady, she was actually a concubine. To foster a girl in the mansion, the fourth lady married into the mansion at the age of ten, because she was still young and had nothing to do.

three

When dusk was approaching, the prince returned home. After a long journey, he rushed to the old lady's residence and explained in detail what he was going to do today.

It seems like a good thing that His Majesty intends to adopt a foster daughter, but it is not.Not long ago, the king and queen of the northwest passed away. He wanted to get married to the Central Plains, so he sent envoys to come and marry a princess as his queen. However, he heard that the king of the northwest was violent and cruel by nature. The emperor was afraid that the princess would suffer, so he wanted to marry her. An adopted daughter married far away.When the old lady heard this, her face became serious: "My family only has two daughters, Baozhen and Chunya, both of whom are regarded as the apple of their eye. How could they be given away to such a violent person?" After saying this, she started to cry.
The prince also sighed: "If you don't let your daughter marry far away, I'm afraid your majesty won't be able to get it over with, and then more than one daughter will suffer."

Several ladies and ladies heard that the prince had returned to the house and came to see him. After hearing the conversation between the two, Mrs. Wang hid her face and said nothing, while Baozhen had thrown herself into the old lady's arms and cried bitterly.

Mrs. Sun, however, was calm and said only: "I would like to send Chunya to the palace to be His Majesty's adopted daughter. However, my daughter is still young and I don't know what will happen to her in the future."

The old lady held Baozhen in her arms, the old one and the young one almost died crying: "My son, what do you think we should do? Chunya is still young, it is pitiful for her to marry far away at this time. How will she cope with life in the northwest in the future? I really can't let Baozhen go. She, my son!"

"The prince has a daughter, but he forgot about it?" The woman in charge happened to come in and ask about dinner, and happened to hear that the master was in trouble.

After hearing this, the prince began to think carefully. He indeed had a daughter named Pao'er, who was eighteen years old.Born to a maid, Lian'er.

Many years ago, Lian'er's family fell into poverty, so her brother sold her into the palace as a maid. Because of her beautiful appearance and literateness, none of the female family members in the family could compare with her. So she was given the job of serving as a close servant to the prince. After returning home, this woman's clothes are waiting for her feet to be washed

At that time, Lian'er had just arrived at the mansion, and her behavior was a little shy. The prince looked down at her kneeling at his feet, lowered his eyebrows and nodded. She looked very beautiful under the oil lamp, so he took the girl by force that night.

Since I no longer saw this woman after I woke up from alcohol, I couldn’t remember clearly as time went by.

It turned out that the third lady learned about this at dawn the next day, and she really wanted to kill her quickly, but she was afraid that the prince would ask for trouble if he thought of her, so she sent her to the kitchen as a rough envoy, carrying water, chopping firewood, and lighting the fire all day long, and then sued her again. Everyone in the kitchen is not allowed to be kind to her, some good ones just ignore her, some bullying and fearing evil will be relied on, apart from her own work, she has to do the work of these wicked women, and often does not give her food Eat and be insulted and bullied by them.

There is only a good woman, whom everyone calls Aunt Zhang. She often hides some dry food with her and takes care of her from time to time.

Unexpectedly, it was discovered that she was pregnant after more than a month, but the third lady did not tell anyone, so she still suffered in the kitchen, carrying water and chopping firewood with her belly full in the cold winter, without enough food.

When she was about to give birth during the Spring Festival, she didn't even call for a midwife, so she was left alone in the woodshed to fend for herself. The pain lasted for three days and three nights, with only Aunt Zhang occasionally sneaking over to take a look. Finally, she gave birth to a daughter on the third night. She left shortly after giving birth to a daughter.Before she died, she asked Aunt Zhang to protect her daughter.

Everyone in the house knew that this girl was the prince's biological child, but because her mother was a rough servant girl with a very low status, no one treated her like a young lady. When she could leave, she worked in the kitchen. The prince gave birth to a daughter, and because of her kind and lovely nature, she was loved by everyone and was not bullied like her mother.

The third lady couldn't kill him because she was the prince's own son and had some other reasons, but she often found some excuses to abuse her. The two ladies also disliked poor children very much, and often called her around to make her do heavy work. Beat and scold.But the second lady and the two young masters secretly loved her as if they were their own sisters.

At this time, when the stewardess mentioned it, everyone remembered that there was such a young lady, and they were all happy. The prince also breathed a sigh of relief. After a few days, he would have a good talk with the poor girl and send her to the palace!
(End of this chapter)