C3 It was not bad to be a beggar after leaving the palace!

As a woman, she was still in her puberty stage! She was not a man-eating tiger, and she spoke in a gentle manner. Chu Linlang really did not understand why these palace maids were afraid of her.

Now that the new emperor had ascended to the throne, there were no consorts in the harem. The current Emperor, Feng Xuan, had been cultivating in the monastery previously. In the harem, Chu Linlang was the leader. Other than the palace maids, there were no other women.

"Hey… Hey… Hey…" As Chu Linlang sighed, she recalled what had happened in the past few days. She had been happily married, but she did not even see her husband's shadow. Instead, she had changed into a set of white clothes.

She had become a widow.

Feng Xuan was her son. Now that the late emperor had passed away, she had not even passed the seventh birthday. She was wearing a set of white clothes, and her son, Feng Xuan, was wearing a yellow robe. He was happy to go to the court and the palace every day.

Ah …

The more Chu Linlang thought about it, the more she felt aggrieved. Chu Ba had a wealth of property, and Feng Xuan was living a carefree life. Only she was lonely in the harem.

She also understood. It was also her fault. When she married, she only heard that the matchmaker said that she would be the most favored person in the world. She had been a beggar and was afraid. If she had money, it would be easier to do things. In the end, she thought that the silver was given to her husband without even asking who he was. It was the wealthiest family in the world, but if she wanted to get this wealth, she had to offer something.

For example, her freedom. After entering this harem, she would never be able to leave. She would only be free when she died of old age.

Chu Linlang was secretly sad and alone. Suddenly, she heard a cry of surprise, "Your Majesty, what are you doing?"

She looked up and saw Chunhe's anxious eyes. She stood in front of her and saw that the clothes in her hands had become strips of cloth. She laughed involuntarily.

The widows in the palace were the loneliest, especially the young girls who had just lost their husband.

"Go, make this clothes into a mop and bring it over."

"Mop?" Chunhe had never heard of a mop before.

This was Chu Linlang's thirty-third day in the palace. She leaned against the window and looked at the swallow nest on the roof. There were two or three swallows living in the mud nest. Every morning before they woke up, they could hear the swallows chirping.

When Chu Linlang woke up to watch, the little swallows had already stuck their heads out and looked around. When they saw someone coming, they retracted their heads and chirped.

Yulan saw that Chu Linlang was still staring at the swallow nest and said with a smile, "Your Majesty is really a noble person. These swallows have not returned for three years."

"Eh?" She didn't quite understand what Yu Lan meant.

"When Imperial Consort Mei lived here, there was also a pair of swallows. However, in the spring of one year, they didn't come back. It has been three or four years. This year, when Your Majesty just moved in, these swallows came back again." Yu Lan said with joy.

This place used to be the Imperial Consort Mei's residence. She was a woman who had been favored by the late emperor for a short period of time.

Only now did Chu Linlang know that the golden and dazzling interior of the Ritual Hall was actually the place where Imperial Consort Mei used to live.

When she heard Yulan call her the Empress Dowager, she walked to the front of the copper mirror and looked at herself in the mirror. Her oval face, thin figure, white and clean skin, and delicate features made her look as beautiful as a fairy.

Her long hair was tied up into a bun, and a red ruby hairpin was tied around her hair. The red ruby on top of her black hair made her look even more beautiful.

I am still young, and I can't take this Empress Dowager's title.

Chu Linlang was shouting angrily in her heart. Damn it, Empress Dowager, you will trick me to death sooner or later, and cause me to be a widow for the rest of my life.

"No, I want to leave the palace!" Chu Linlang had decided that if she continued to stay here, she would definitely go crazy.

Her sudden shout gave Chunhe a fright. She quickly jumped to Chu Linlang's side and said, "Empress Dowager, what are you talking about? You can't leave the palace! No one has ever heard of an Empress Dowager leaving the palace in the past. Also, I heard that the people outside the palace are very rude. Empress Dowager, what do you want to do by leaving the palace? Also, if the Emperor finds out about this, he will definitely punish us. Also, Empress Dowager, if you want to say that you are my wife, you can't call me that."

Hmm, my wife. My wife. What does it have to do with Feng Xuan if I leave the palace? In name, I am his mother, so naturally, I am in charge of him. He has to listen to me.

Chunhe still wanted to say something, but Yu Lan covered her ears and told her to shut up, "Chunhe, if you don't want to deduct this month's salary, then shut up."

Hmm, although this 'this' was called 'this', it was very shocking. Every time Chu Linlang called herself 'this', it was the time when she could no longer bear it. Whenever Chunhe and the other maidservants heard Chu Linlang call her 'this', they would obediently listen to her orders.

The emperor was the master, but the master she served was the empress dowager. She had to listen to the empress dowager.

Xiliang Country Imperial Capital, An Jingcheng.

The first spring sun was extremely good, and people liked this kind of weather. The grass grew and the birds flew, and everything was reviving. The whole year was about the spring, and An Jingcheng was filled with peace and prosperity.

The sounds of people selling salted fish, animal meat, vegetables, and wine could be heard from all over the street. Only the sounds of the shops were louder than the other shops.

Chu Linlang stood on one end of the street and looked at the bustling street. She heaved a sigh of relief. She had finally come out. It had been a long time since she had come to this bustling street. Everything felt so familiar.

This was the foot of the Son of Heaven, and the streets of An Jingcheng were still paved with green tiles. Even so, the pedestrians, horses, and carriages had already messed up the clean ground. There was still a slight breeze in the early spring, and the streets were covered with dirty dust. She had lived in this environment for a long time, so she did not reject it. Instead, she put her hands together and touched the silver that she had stolen from Chunhe.

It was also because of the dust in the market that Chu Linlang loved going to the market. In the past, when she was running around begging, the place she loved the most was the market. There were rotten vegetables, salted fish, and minced meat everywhere. In the past, she relied on these things to survive. Otherwise, she would have starved to death on the streets with just the money she earned from begging.

Chu Linlang was lively and active. When she saw the old lady and the old man, she always liked to say good things. Her sweet words often made Chu Linlang get more food.

When Chu Linlang came out of the market again, there was a group of beggars behind her. Their clothes were tattered and they looked pale and skinny. These four or five children were not old, and they had been starving all year round. They looked much shorter than their peers.

In the past, when Chu Linlang saw these companions, they would run away at most. If they didn't run away from the things she was begging for, they would plunder them, and they might even be beaten up.

Now that she had grown up, she knew how uncomfortable hunger was. She touched the purse she had snatched from Chunhe's pocket and weighed it. It was about four or five taels of silver.

After eating hot buns and drinking tofu pudding with these children, Chu Linlang felt happy from the bottom of her heart. Just a bowl of tofu pudding made them so satisfied.

"Children, I can only help you to this extent today." She knew that she could not do much, and Chu Linlang also knew her own ability. She gave a few taels of silver to one of the older ones and instructed them, "Everyone, be good. I'll come to see you in a few days."

In fact, the begging children were more determined than the children who lived at home. They lived by begging all year round, and no matter if it was their will or their way of doing things, they were like adults.

When the children heard that Chu Linlang was about to leave, a little girl cried, "Sister, will you come to see us again?"

"Yes, I will." Chu Linlang held her in her arms and gently stroked her head, "Be good. I'll come to see you again in a few days, but you have to be good. When I come to see you again, you have to be fatter!"

Chu Linlang understood that they did not remember that she would come again to get food for them. They were orphans, and they had never been loved by others since they were young. Facing Chu Linlang's care for them, they hoped that this was not a coincidence. This kind of care and concern could continue.

They did not want to stop abruptly. They longed for this kind of happiness, and they wanted to be loved and cared for like family.

She had to leave, and these beggars had to learn to survive independently. The help she gave them was only temporary, and she could not help them for their whole lives.

Chu Linlang waved her hand as she retreated. She silently prayed that these children would be able to escape the fate of begging. She accidentally bumped into the person behind her. She awkwardly turned around and smiled at the person, "Uh, sorry, I'm sorry. I don't have eyes on the back of my head."

Chu Linlang was only focused on waving goodbye to the children. She didn't notice the passerby behind her. She staggered and bumped into the passerby behind her.

This person's strength was really strong. Chu Linlang only felt that her feet were unsteady and her body was about to fall to the ground.

With her back facing the person, Chu Linlang couldn't see his face. She only felt a pair of hands holding her waist from behind, preventing her from falling to the ground.

If she fell, she would definitely be badly bruised.

"Miss, be careful." The person immediately let go of the hand that was holding Chu Linlang's waist. His voice was deep and strong. In this noisy crowd, hearing his voice made her feel a lot more at ease.

The calm and steady manner of a man was rare. Just from hearing this voice, Chu Linlang felt that this man was definitely not an ordinary handsome man.

She turned around to look —

Ahwoo —

She almost fainted from fright. A pig's head with blood all over it was placed in front of her eyes. Chu Linlang was not afraid of pigs, but when she suddenly saw a pig's head with blood in front of her eyes, she was so scared that her legs went soft and she took a step back.