The Prince of Jin investigated and found that the bandit leader was indeed a scourge to the area, so he ruthlessly crippled him and sent him to work in the coal mines.
Jiang'er's background was not problematic, and after observing her for two days, her character seemed reliable and she knew when to advance and retreat, so Tang Zhuyun decided to keep her on temporarily.
After hearing what she said, Jiang'er was overjoyed and knelt down to kowtow to Tang Zhuyun.
Tang Zhuyun smiled and said, "Get up. From now on, spend more time with Yanran. You're a few years older than her, so if she does something foolish, help persuade her."
Yanran retorted, "Mother, I'm so reliable!"
Tang Zhuyun: "Yes, yes, you're the most reliable. You're the one I wanted, but you also need to think about Jiang'er's future."
"Of course," Yanran said, raising her head. "My people can never be taken advantage of."
Jiang'er bit her lip, hesitating to speak.
Xiu'er, ever outspoken, said, "Since Her Majesty has decided to keep you here, we're family from now on. Just say what you need to say. Master is so busy, do you expect her to fuss over every servant?"
Jiang'er then said, "I... no, I wanted to plead for my sisters... they have nowhere else to go..."
Tang Zhuyun then remembered that there were still more than twenty girls.
"Xiu'er, go out and ask how the Prince dealt with it?"
"I already asked," Xiu'er said, "His Highness hasn't made any decisions yet, so he's allowed them to stay for the time being."
The main problem is that I don't know how to handle it.
Tang Zhuyun subconsciously thought that she should find a reliable family to adopt her.
But then I thought, if they had found a reliable family like that, they wouldn't have fallen into the hands of thieves.
People in this world have no means of contraception and have children without restraint.
The woman came from a wealthy family, and although she was also exploited, she still had value in marriage alliances.
However, he came from a poor family and his life was as insignificant as grass.
Somewhere along the road, she saw a six-story white pagoda in the distance, each story only two feet high, and wondered what its purpose was.
Later, I asked Xiu'er and found out that it was called the Baby Tower.
Many families, upon the birth of a baby girl, would simply throw her into the tower to fend for herself.
Tang Zhuyun was greatly shocked by this incident.
Is being born a human being, and simply living, a luxury?
Xiu'er also told her that some people even drown newborn girls, and there are also ghost marriages...
In short, life is suffering, and even after death, they will be squeezed for every last drop of benefit.
Therefore, Tang Zhuyun herself gave up the idea of finding foster families for those poor girls.
"How about this," Tang Zhuyun discussed with Xiu'er, "You go and pick some people, regardless of their weight or appearance, as long as their character is acceptable, keep them for now. We'll need people for the border town..."
However, we can't accept them all. After all, these twenty-odd children grew up in such a terrible environment, and some of them were bound to go astray.
As for those people, let the Prince of Jin arrange a place for them, and let them fend for themselves.
For example, the crippled Zong Heng and the only remaining member of the Eastern Palace, Zong Xueci, were sent to Liaodong to fend for themselves.
Give me a way to survive; how I survive is up to me.
Xiu'er agreed.
Yanran: "I'll go too. Jiang'er definitely understands their character better!"
Tang Zhuyun nodded.
"Your Majesty, besides Jiang'er, I've selected fifteen other capable girls. They vary in age, but it doesn't matter; even the youngest can run errands."
Xiu'er lived up to her mission.
The matter is now settled.
After a few days' delay, the group continued their journey to the border town.
"Your Highness," Xiu'er was still thinking about the letter, "Has the Prince found out? Who wrote the letter?"
Tang Zhuyun, who was dozing against the side of the carriage, said upon hearing this, "We've found out. It was the prefect of Yangquan who was corresponding with an old friend in the capital, intending to give his daughter to the prince, but later changed his mind."
Xiu'er: "Then, what happened next?"
Tang Zhuyun: "What happened next?"
"You can't just let this go so easily."
Tang Zhuyun laughed, "Isn't this a crime of thought, without any action?"
She couldn't just start a massacre because someone fantasized about the Prince of Jin.
It's not impossible, but it's also unnecessary.
Xiu'er said angrily, "Those who covet other people's husbands are all no good!"
"This is nothing," Tang Zhuyun said. "Along the way, there have been at least eighty or a hundred people trying to send women to the Prince."
Girls from impoverished families are treated like dirt, while daughters from wealthy families are essentially cheap commodities, valued only for the sake of family interests.
The goods themselves don't determine who consumes them; their fathers and brothers are the masters.
Tang Zhuyun, however, remained quite calm about all of this.
There will always be people sending women to the Prince of Jin, whether in the past, present, or future.
The most important thing is the attitude of the Prince of Jin of Jin.
"... Xiu'er, when I see these things, I feel that God has truly been kind to me."
"Of course!" Xiu'er said, counting on her fingers. "A reliable family, a reliable man, a reliable son—you have it all!"
"If you have a son, then everything will be complete."
"That's right, my man is more reliable, as long as my son isn't too bad."
Tang Zhuyun: "..."
Thankfully there were no dogs, otherwise I would have been stuffed again.
Qu Nian said that he did hold on, but he was so angry that he held on.
Here's what happened.
Prince of Min and Princess Consort Min were heartbroken to see their beloved son turned into something resembling a dog.
--Many people actually saw through this, but they just didn't dare to say it.
Everyone thought that the prince had gone mad and thought he was a dog.
But no one expected that the prince before them had the soul of a dog residing in his body.
The real crown prince would be hidden inside a dog's body.
Having exhausted all other options, the only recourse was to pray to the gods and Buddhas.
Wasn't the prince awake on the day of the wedding to ward off bad luck?
Since that's the case, then continue at the Prince's Mansion in the capital, where 81 monks were invited to chant sutras, and Ren Yingying was sent with her four concubines to pray for blessings.
Ren Yingying, kneeling on the prayer mat: I'll protect you, you dog!
She lived a carefree life with her four concubines, enjoying hot pot, singing, playing mahjong, admiring flowers, telling jokes, and chatting...
Suddenly, she was forced to kneel and pray for blessings, and she prayed for... well, you know!
Comparatively speaking, Qu Nian was much more devout than her.
Qu Nian, who had never believed in ghosts or Buddhas, was now filled with awe.
He knelt beside Ren Yingying, devoutly chanting Amitabha Buddha in the depths of his heart, praying for Buddha's blessing so that his soul could return to its rightful place.
Bored and having to pretend, Ren Yingying inadvertently glanced at his actions and whispered, "Dog Meat, you don't need it, I was just faking it!"
Sigh, Dog Meat is still the best to her, unconditionally.
Qu Nian: "..."
With someone like that dragging things down, Buddha would be furious.
Ren Yingying snorted, muttering to herself amidst the sounds of the monks' wooden fish drums and chanting, "Last-minute prayers are effective, but who worships Buddha every day? Buddha isn't stupid! Buddha would definitely say there's no saving him."
Give up, wait to die, destroy yourself!