Chapter 948: Heart of a Bodhisattva
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Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The group went to the Bai Residence majestically.
At this moment, the Bai Residence had already received the news. The family was surprised and delighted. They messed around in a panic, but the more anxious they became, the more chaotic they became. They were like a cat on a hot tin roof, spinning around in panic.
They were either worried that something would go wrong with their etiquette, and a great thing would become a bad thing, or they were worried that their clothes would be inappropriate and they would offend a n.o.ble.
Xie Xun had arrived before Eunuch Li and helped the Bai Residence with their etiquette. It was like receiving a pillow when they were sleepy, making Old Master Bai and his wife extremely grateful. It was as if they had taken a calming pill.
The Empress Dowager had only rewarded the Bai Residence with some things, which was more than half of what the Xie Residence had. After reading the reward, Eunuch Li pa.s.sed on a few more words of praise and encouragement to the Bai Residence.
Even so, this was a great honor for the Bai Residence.
Compared to such a great honor, the losses the Bai Residence had suffered previously were nothing.
Old Master Bai and his wife were very glad that they had made the right choice back then. They had lost most of their a.s.sets and gotten close to Princess Shaoyi.
Eunuch Li received another generous gift from the Bai Residence and was very satisfied.
The situation in Liaodong was more stable than the Imperial Court had thought. The sweet potatoes were planted on a large scale in Liaodong, and the drought in the second half of the year would definitely be alleviated.
The first season of silkworm coc.o.o.ns came out. Princess Shaoyi joined forces with the retail investors, foreign merchants, and some n.o.bles who raised silkworms to distribute the silkworm coc.o.o.ns from the silkworm farms to the refugees who had settled near the manor as their food. The refugees grounded the silkworm coc.o.o.ns into powder and mixed them with wild vegetables to relieve the food pressure in Liaodong.
The n.o.bles in the Liaodong area admired Princess Shaoyi’s benevolence and kindness. They were also very sensible and sided with the Imperial Court. Now that the North was stable, it also resolved a huge problem for the n.o.bles.
This trip to Liaodong was considered complete.
When he returned to the palace, he could also report to the n.o.bles in the palace and be rewarded.
Eunuch Li felt that he had already obtained all the information he needed, so he did not continue to delay. He set off for the capital the next day and was in a hurry to return to the palace to report.
It was May.
The Dragon Boat Festival was about to arrive, and the strong festive atmosphere could not stop the commoners from feeling excited because of
Eldest Princess Shaoyi.
The Empress Dowager was right.
Enfeoffing Yu Youyao had indeed suppressed the arrogance of the other n.o.bles in the North and stabilized the negative impact on the North caused by the Han family’s case in Xi’an.
Due to the secret marriage decree and the privilege proof that the Empress Dowager had secretly sent over, Yu Youyao had been a little uneasy for the past two days, but she still forced herself to perk up. She looked for Madam Huang and General Ning Yuan’s wife and suggested holding the Dragon Boat
Festival in the various county districts of Liaodong.
Yu Youyao did not have this idea from the beginning.
She suddenly felt the strong festive atmosphere in Xiangping City. She felt that no matter where she was, the Dragon Boat Festival would always be the same.
It was filled with the desire of the world for a good life.
Madam Huang asked curiously, “It’s less than five days before the Dragon Boat Festival. It’s too late to manage it now. Why are you suddenly thinking of doing everything?”
This did not match her thorough personality.
Yu Youyao shook her head. “There’s no need to manage it especially. We just have to borrow a team from the government office to maintain order by the river for safety. The government and the local rich families have owned dragon boats for years. At that time, let them organize it themselves. The commoners will go over and watch the commotion.”
The rich families were very happy to cause such a commotion.
Moreover, there were servants guarding the house, so they were not worried that something would happen when they went to the river.
“Let the people of Liaodong and the refugees who had just been resettled a long time ago have fun and feel the atmosphere of the Dragon Boat Festival. Let’s pray that the weather will be good this year and that a calamity won’t descend again. Let the hearts of the refugees be at ease. Let them sweep away the pain and bad luck brought to them by the drought, and start a new life that is better.’
Now that the refugees’ lives had been settled, what about their psychological state?
The commoners of Liaodong were not xenophobic and welcomed everyone warmly.
However, if the refugees wanted to adapt to local life, they still needed to get
swim, and they were all strong men. If they arranged for more people to maintain order and safety on the sh.o.r.e, it would be less dangerous.
The dragon boat race was a water activity. All the partic.i.p.ants knew how to swim, and they were all strong men. If they arranged for more people to maintain order and safety on the sh.o.r.e, it would be less dangerous.
If it were the Mid-Autumn Festival, she wouldn’t dare to do this.
General Ning Yuan’s wife also understood Eldest Princess Shaoyi’s good intentions. “The refugees have fled to this place. They’re unfamiliar with the place. Even if they’re settled, it’ll be difficult for them to walk out of the trauma of the disaster for a while. Everyone can use the Dragon Boat Festival to reminisce about their relatives who lost their lives because of the drought as a way to vent their emotions. After that, it’s also a good thing to have fun together. The place is different, but the Dragon Boat Festival is the same. It can always cause the refugees to cry emotionally, and their sense of belonging to Liaodong will increase.”
After the few of them discussed the details, Madam Huang and General Ning Yuan’s wife left in a hurry.
Unexpectedly, the next day, the state government office put up a notice. The various county offices in Liaodong were about to prepare for the dragon boat race.
The entire Xiangping City was in an uproar.
The reason why the local commoners were excited was because there had not been a dragon boat race in Xiangping for many years.
The refugees were even more excited than the local commoners. This was because the famine had traumatized them. They yearned more than anyone else for the weather to be smooth and for calamity to not descend.
They hoped more than anyone else that they could use this day of nostalgia to vent the sorrow of their familys pa.s.sing.
In fact, when they found out that there had been no dragon boat race in Xiangping City for many years, the refugees had a feeling that the government had held the dragon boat race for them. For a moment, their sense of belonging to the local area increased greatly.
When Yu Youyao heard the news, she felt much more relieved.
With the government office taking the lead, there wouldn’t be too many mistakes in the dragon boat compet.i.tion.
Ye Xiaoci was far away in Xi’an, and all the matters in the government office were handled by the deputy.
When the deputy heard his subordinate’s report on the situation, he couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. “No wonder before the Lord went to Xi’an, he repeatedly reminded me to pay more attention to Princess Shaoyi’s words and actions. There won’t be too many mistakes in the government office. There might even be unexpected gains.”
The subordinate was stunned. “Why is that?”
The deputy said meaningfully, “Because Eldest Princess Shaoyi has a Bodhisattva’s heart.”
That was why she knew the hardships of the commoners and how to benefit them.
A truly kind person would not deliberately do good deeds. They would see the truth in every move and word. Therefore, when Huang M/enxian arrived at the government office yesterday and discussed this matter with him, he immediately realized how important the dragon boat race was to Liaodong.
The dragon boat race was to offer sacrifices to the Dragon G.o.d. They would pray that the wind and rain would be good, and that calamity would not descend. However, at the same time, it also had the traditional meaning of suppressing evil, resisting calamities, and everything would go as planned..