The rural doctor bought a husband who was very treacherous

Chapter 260 Old Friend

Su Tang carefully inquired about the person Mr. Wen was looking for and informed Qi Lingheng of the news.

Qi Lingheng immediately sent people to start searching from Lizhou. There were not many people who survived the flood in Lizhou that year, so it was not particularly difficult to find people along this line.

Those who are still alive, as long as they are not criminals, will definitely go to the local county government to apply for new household registration after escaping safely to a safe place.

Most people would also think about making it easier to find relatives and friends and would report their original household registration information truthfully.

So starting from the official household registration, Qi Lingheng soon found the person Mr. Wen was looking for.

"That person's name is Zhang Yuanrong. She fled to Qinghe Township in her early years and married a farmer. Later, the farmer died of illness. She became a widow with two daughters."

Su Tang looked at the information in her hand and couldn't help but sigh, "What a twist of fate."

"That person?"

"I have asked someone to bring them to Kyoto. The woman was not well-received in the countryside because she only gave birth to two daughters for her husband's family. She was often bullied by her in-laws. If she hadn't known some medical skills, she would have died long ago."

"Then wait until the person arrives. I'll take a look first and then make plans." Su Tang said as she closed the document in her hand.

"Well, don't worry too much about this matter. It all depends on what they both want." Qi Lingheng walked to the table and patted Su Tang on the shoulder.

"By the way, recently envoys from Southern Xinjiang and some distant countries who came to Beijing to seek peace have arrived in Kyoto one after another. Your Majesty intends to hold a banquet for all nations, probably to change the bad luck in the palace."

Su Tang raised her eyes and glanced at Qi Lingheng. "I guess you're the only one in Dayong who dares to say that."

"It's all because of the support my wife gave me. I'm now half a royal family member, so it's okay to talk about my own affairs."

A few days later, Su Tang finally met Zhang Yuanrong.

Zhang Yuanrong was thin and had a sallow complexion. He wore a coarse linen shirt with more than ten patches on it, but his clothes were still clean, which showed that he was a neat person in his daily life.

Behind her followed two timid girls, about eleven or twelve years old.

When they first saw the gorgeously dressed Su Tang, Zhang Yuanrong and his two daughters suddenly knelt down on the ground. "I greet the Princess of Qi."

She was literate, and when she arrived she knew that she was going to Prince Qi's Palace today.

I just don't know what the King of Qi wanted to do by having someone bring the three of them, mother and daughter, here from so far away?

It was the first time that Su Tang heard someone call her Princess Qi. She raised her eyebrows and looked at the thin backs of the three people kneeling on the ground. "Get up, Chunmei, and bring some stools over for them."

"Yes."

"Please sit down." Su Tang waved her hand, motioning the three to sit down.

After Zhang Yuanrong sat down, she lowered her eyes obediently, but her two daughters half raised their heads and looked around curiously. From time to time, Su Tang could see surprise and envy in their eyes.

"Your name is Zhang Yuanrong, and you're from Lizhou?"

"Yes, I'm Zhang Yuanrong, a native of Lizhou. Because of a flood in my home, I fled all the way to Qinghe Township and married into the Liu family." Zhang Yuanrong's voice was a little hoarse. Xia Mei saw Su Tang gave her a wink, and immediately brought over a set of tea sets and poured tea for the three of them.

"Have some tea first."

"Thank you." Perhaps they were very thirsty, Zhang Yuanrong and her two daughters quickly picked up the teacups and drank them in one gulp.

Fortunately, the tea Xia Mei brought was warm, otherwise the three of them would have been scalded.

After drinking a glass, my throat finally felt better.

The three of them put down their teacups, and Zhang Yuanrong spoke again, recounting her life story in detail. Finally, she looked up at Su Tang, then lowered her head to look at the tip of her shoes, "Neither I nor my two daughters want to sell ourselves..."

"Who said we were going to buy you?" Su Tang replied with a smile.

"Then..." Zhang Yuanrong was not an ignorant woman who could not read or write. She fell into the situation she is in today because the world is like this now. In the eyes of the ancients, women can only get married and rely on men to live.

But even though she had been worn down by time and the world, she knew that life was harder for those who sold themselves into slavery than for those who were free.

She has nothing worthy of others' covetousness now, but her two underage daughters may be what the noble man in front of her wants.

But the two daughters' faces have not yet been opened. Even if they grow up, their looks may not be as good as the maids around the noble. She really doesn't understand why Su Tang would ask someone to bring the three of them from thousands of miles away.

"Xia Mei, take the two girls out to play for a while. I have something to say to Zhang Yuanrong alone." Su Tang glanced at the two girls who were looking around and said to Xia Mei.

"Yes." Xia Mei stepped forward, "You two, please follow me to the yard for a while."

The two children tugged at the corners of his clothes and looked at Zhang Yuanrong without moving.

"Don't worry, Xia Mei is with them in the yard and the door will not be closed, so you can see the children." Su Tang said to Zhang Yuanrong with a smile.

"Da Ya, Er Ya, go to the courtyard with this noble man and wait."

The two children nodded and followed Xia Mei to the yard.

In the courtyard, Xia Mei called the maid from the mansion to bring some cakes over, and the three of them sat at the stone table in the courtyard.

Zhang Yuanrong glanced at the children in the yard, then looked at Su Tang with relief, "Princess, I am just a country woman, it's nothing..."

"Do you know Wen Zhiyong?" Su Tang stopped Zhang Yuanrong from continuing his wild thoughts.

Zhang Yuanrong looked up suddenly, his eyes full of shock.

How could she forget? Even after getting married, having two children, and being bullied by her in-laws for many years, how could she forget the person she had loved since she was young?

Zhang Yuanrong opened his mouth wide, as if he couldn't breathe. Su Tang understood immediately.

"He has been looking for you for many years, but he has never married you. Now he works as a doctor on my farm." Su Tang paused, gave Zhang Yuanrong a few seconds to think, and then continued, "Are you willing to meet him?"

The room was filled with silence, and only Zhang Yuanrong's heavy breathing could be heard. But after a while, Zhang Yuanrong seemed to have made a decision and knelt down towards Su Tang, "I don't want to see him."

"He remained single all his life for your sake, and you don't want to meet him." Su Tang's voice was a little cold, and it sounded above Zhang Yuanrong's head.

"I, I'm afraid he will see me like this." Zhang Yuanrong's voice choked with sobs, and then he burst into tears.

She suppressed her crying, not wanting her two daughters in the yard to hear it.

"My advice to you is to meet him first and talk it out. You are a widow now and he is unmarried. The person you married before was not a good match. Your mother-in-law has been bullying you for years. It's time for you to make some plans for your future." Su Tang said what she needed to say and stopped trying to persuade him.

That night, Zhang Yuanrong and her two daughters were left in the Prince of Qi's mansion.

Su Tang arranged for someone to wash them and bought them new clothes at the clothing shop.

Although the clothes were not made of good material, they were much better than the patched clothes they wore when they came.

After putting on the new clothes, Zhang Yuanrong looked much better, even though he had not dressed up deliberately.

Su Tang took Zhang Yuanrong to Meizhuang on the outskirts of Beijing, while her two daughters stayed in Prince Qi's mansion temporarily.

When they arrived at the farm, the carriage went straight into the inner courtyard of Meizhuang.

Su Tang took Zhang Yuanrong directly to the side room in the inner courtyard and asked the steward to call Mr. Wen over.

"Princess." Mr. Wen saluted with his fists clasped.

"Well, I have found the old friend Mr. Wen is looking for. Do you want to meet him?" Su Tang asked straight to the point.

"You, are you talking about Zhang Yuanrong?" Mr. Wen asked excitedly.

"You still remember people's names, that's good."

"Yes, there she is. I want to see her." At the end, Mr. Wen was so excited that he shed tears.

"Mr. Wen, Zhang Yuanrong suffered a lot when she was young, and she has already married and given birth to two daughters. Are you sure you still want to meet her?"

"Is she, is she doing well?" Mr. Wen asked.

"No, her husband passed away many years ago, and she has been bullied for many years by her husband's family because she didn't give birth to a boy..."

"I want to see her." Mr. Wen said without hesitation.

Su Tang and Mr. Wen looked at each other and saw determination in Mr. Wen's eyes. Then he said to the person in the room behind him, "Come out."

Zhang Yuanrong walked out of the house and stood at the door but could not move another step.

The two of them just stared at each other blankly, no one said a word.

But Su Tang could see that they were both very excited.

Su Tang stood up and patted her skirt, "You guys talk for a while, I'll come over later."

After saying that, Su Tang left the space to the two of them and turned around and left the side room.

When Su Tang waited for Mr. Wen and Zhang Yuanrong to come out of the side room, she knew that the two had finally reached an agreement.

At this time, Zhang Yuanrong's slightly sickly face was also stained with a blush, and from time to time he glanced at Mr. Wen who was standing beside him.

Su Tang couldn't help laughing, "Haha, I'm glad you guys recognized each other. I was afraid I had found the wrong person. Otherwise, Mr. Wen wouldn't be able to concentrate on teaching me. My dozens of children are counting on him to teach them well."

"Princess, you are joking. Even if we don't find Yuan Rong, I will do my best to teach those children." Mr. Wen saluted with a fist.

"I was just kidding. It seems like you have already made up your mind. If you get married, I will build a wedding hall for you on the farm so that everyone in the farm can have fun together."

"Mr. Wen and Yuan Rong thank the princess." Mr. Wen lifted the hem of his robe and knelt down, doing the most proper kneeling gesture towards Su Tang.

Zhang Yuanrong saw Mr. Wen kneeling down, and he also imitated Mr. Wen and kowtowed to Su Tang on the side, "Yuanrong thanks the princess."

"Well, since you both have this idea, then I'll find a good day nearby to help you get married. However, Zhang Yuanrong has two daughters, so before you get married, it's best to explain the matter clearly to the two girls."

"Yes, I will treat Yuanrong's daughter well, as if she were my own daughter." Mr. Wen's voice was filled with warmth, and he looked at Zhang Yuanrong tenderly.

"That's good. You can handle the rest by yourselves. I'll ask the steward to pick a good day, and you can get married on the farm."

Su Tang put this matter to rest and returned to Kyoto with Chunmei and the others.

"The International Banquet will be held in a few days. Concubine Xian has sent two sets of palace dresses to each prince and princess. You can try them on and if there is anything that doesn't fit, you can ask them to change it now."

As soon as she returned to Prince Qi's Mansion, Qiumei brought a group of maids to see Su Tang, and also brought the palace dresses and jewelry sent from the palace.

All the envoys who came to Dayong this time had heard about the power of the artillery and came to find out the truth. Not only did most of the surrounding countries send envoys, but many foreigners doing business overseas also came to Kyoto to find out the truth.

Perhaps in order to demonstrate the national strength of Dayong, Emperor Jing allocated a lot of money to host this banquet.

The only concubine who can take charge of affairs in the palace now is Concubine Xian, so this palace banquet will be hosted by Concubine Xian, and of course, she will be assisted by officials from the Ministry of Rites.

The front court and the harem were both busy, and many court officials began to advise Emperor Jing to select concubines to expand the harem.

In fact, he just wanted Emperor Jing to nominate a few more concubines.

After all, the only ones still in the main position at this time were Empress Xie, who had been ill for a long time, and Concubine Xian.

However, after what happened with Concubine Li and the third prince, Emperor Jing no longer had any interest in matters of the harem.

He already has quite a few children, although several of them are still underage. All of them have undergone blood test before.

In the future, we only need to choose one heir from these children, and there is no need to give birth to new children.

After all, for an emperor, the most important thing is to firmly control the political power, and at this time Emperor Jing felt that it was not yet time for him to rely on the next generation.

"Try it." After Su Tang said that, Chunmei and the others spread out the palace costumes for Su Tang to see.

Su Tang tried them on one by one and found that there were indeed a few places that needed to be changed.

"The princess seems to have gained a lot of weight here." Chunmei wrote it down on a piece of rice paper. The part that needed to be changed was actually Su Tang's measurements.

Since getting married, Su Tang has indeed gained a lot of weight, especially in the areas where she should grow. She has to measure her size again every time she cuts new clothes.

Su Tang listened to Chunmei's words and lowered her head to look at her toes. Now that she was standing up straight, she could no longer see the surface of her shoes.

"Where are you fat?" Suddenly, Qi Lingheng's voice sounded from outside.

Chunmei and the others looked at each other, bowed to Qi Lingheng, and then retreated with the palace dresses that needed to be altered.

Qi Lingheng looked at Chunmei and the others, then looked at Su Tang in confusion, "Why did they all leave without saying anything?"

Su Tang...what do you want Chunmei and the others to say?

At this time, there were only Su Tang and Qi Lingheng in the room. Su Tang turned around and asked, "Where do you think I'm fat?"

"Here, here...and here." Qi Lingheng's hands pointed at several places dishonestly, making Su Tang's face turn red instantly.

"You're so frivolous!" Su Tang said coquettishly.

"The Emperor Jing asked me to bring the cannon to the palace these days, saying that he would show it to the envoys in a few days."

"Did you send it?" Su Tang asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, but I didn't leave anyone behind." Qi Lingheng also had a trick up his sleeve.