nucmednet Chapter 320: Surname Voice (3)
Chapter 320: Surname Voice (3)
It was actually not particularly far from the south of the city, but Emperor Suwen unexpectedly rejected the suggestion of Eunuch Liu to go there by carriage.
He said solemnly, "Those poor people get up early and stay up late every day to make a living. How can I, as the king of this country, be so pampered?"
Seeing that his persuasion was futile, Eunuch Liu felt helpless, but he had no choice but to follow Emperor Suwen closely and walk together.
However, it didn't take long for them, who were used to a life of luxury, to start panting. Despite this, Eunuch Liu, who knew Emperor Suwen's temper, never dared to say a word to comfort him.
At this moment, Emperor Suwen was in great torment. He could never have imagined that this seemingly short distance would make him so exhausted and out of breath.
At this moment, he seemed to suddenly realize many things he had never thought of before. So, he secretly made up his mind to find ways to change the living conditions of more people.
"My dear Liu, tell me, am I too narrow-minded and too cautious in guarding against others? It was not until today that I came here to experience the suffering of the people in person, and only then did I know how much hardship and effort ordinary people have to pay in order to fill their families' stomachs.
Perhaps I have always been too old-fashioned and conservative... Never mind, there is a tea stall ahead, let's go there to rest first, and then go to the south of the city." Emperor Su Wen said this calmly while looking at Eunuch Liu.
Eunuch Liu understood what Emperor Suwen was thinking. He took a deep breath and said, "The emperor has his own stance, and the court officials have their own stance. Different stances lead to different perspectives on issues. The emperor is busy with all kinds of affairs, so he is naturally a wise ruler." Eunuch Liu's answer was flawless.
"You, even you are unwilling to tell me the truth, alas! I am still a lonely man in the end! In this world, I am afraid she is the only one who can speak frankly to me." Emperor Suwen shook his head and sighed, while taking heavy steps, slowly walking towards the simple tea stall not far away.
Eunuch Liu stood there, his mind as clear as a mirror. He knew very well that as a disabled person, how could he casually criticize the current emperor? As the saying goes, "To be with the emperor is like being with a tiger", he understood this simple truth very well.
Although the emperor said that he wanted to express his opinions, he might not really want to hear his nagging. If he accidentally offended the emperor and offended the emperor, then even if he had more heads, they would not be enough to chop off.
Thinking of this, Eunuch Liu hesitated for a moment, then quickly followed Emperor Su Wen. He knew in his heart who the "she" the emperor was talking about was.
Perhaps for the emperor, the more unobtainable something is, the more precious and beautiful it seems. After all, he serves in front of the emperor all day long, so how could he not understand the emperor's mind?
"Princess Princess, you are so dazzling and brilliant! How could you not know the emperor's feelings for you? It's a pity that all this is just like the flowers in the mirror and the moon in the water, seemingly close at hand, but actually out of reach..." Eunuch Liu followed the emperor carefully, thinking secretly in his heart.
"You two, this is just a small stall, and we only have ordinary coarse tea. If you don't mind, you can drink it for free. But the sesame cakes sold by the old lady next to you will cost you money." A woman with pudding-like clothes all over her body and clean clothes that were washed white came over and greeted Emperor Su Wen.
"Why is the tea free? I can see that you don't come from a wealthy family," Emperor Su Wen asked in confusion.
"Sir, this must be your first time in the south of the city. You don't know much about this place. My teahouse is opened by a noble lady in the palace. She asked me to boil water for the workers going to the south of the city. I heard that the noble lady is a princess. It's really enviable that the emperor has a daughter like the Sixth Princess."
Emperor Suwen had no airs of an emperor at all. He sat down carelessly, then took the tea handed over by the woman without any hesitation, raised his head and began to drink it in big gulps. The sound of drinking water was like a long drought and then a downpour. While drinking, Emperor Suwen stared at the woman in front of him with interest, with a gleam of curiosity and inquiry in his eyes.
In fact, Emperor Su Wen knew the temperament of his sixth princess Yan Lingxi very well. This girl has been arrogant and domineering since she was young. Although her nature is not bad, she is really generous and kind. So at this moment, Emperor Su Wen was full of doubts and wanted to find out whether the princess mentioned by this woman was his precious daughter.
So, Emperor Su Wen pretended to be ignorant and asked, "Oh? From what you said, this princess is a figure in the palace? I wonder when she came here? Also, the tea can be given away for free, which is quite strange. But why does the sesame cake seller next to it charge money?"
Hearing Emperor Suwen's question, the woman seemed a little nervous and timid. She lowered her head slightly and replied in a low voice: "To answer your question, this tea stand was indeed opened at the order of the princess.
She said that it was too hot this day, and the workers were working so hard that they needed to drink more water. So the princess gave me two taels of silver every month so that I could set up a stall here and provide free tea and water for the workers and the people who went to the south of the city to work.
As for the grandmother who sells sesame cakes next to me, her family lives a much harder life than mine. The whole family depends on the meager income from grandmother's sesame cakes to survive.
"Sir, you are obviously a wealthy man. How about you please be kind and buy two sesame cakes for my mother-in-law to help her family?" As she said this, the woman raised her head and looked at Emperor Su Wen with expectant eyes.
"Go buy all of Grandma's sesame cakes. You and Grandma will take them to the south of the city to distribute to the workers. How about that? Also, I'll give you and Grandma one tael each as a reward for running errands?"
The woman and the old lady were so excited that they hurriedly thanked him and said they had met a good man.
So the woman answered all of Emperor Suwen's questions without hiding anything.
Only at this moment did Emperor Su Wen realize that his daughter had grown up and had a compassionate heart. She had also quietly done so many things within her ability. Thinking of his good-for-nothing sons, Emperor Su Wen's mood instantly turned bad.