Transmigration: From Farmer To Empress
Chapter 1013 - 1015 Heaven-set Phoenix Star (9)

Chapter 1013: Chapter 1015 Heaven-set Phoenix Star (9)

"The greatest pain in the world is not death, but waiting for death, especially for those close to someone who is dying. Watching their loved one’s life slowly fade away, yet feeling utterly powerless due to lack of money, is a kind of pain one can never escape in a lifetime. Therefore, I hope to help those poor people who can’t afford medical treatment!"

"Miss, do you mean to give medicine to the poor as alms? There are so many poor people. If you do this, how much silver will you lose?" Huan Qiu, upon hearing Cai Wei’s idea, was moved but also felt it was unrealistic.

In the Capital, there were many poor people, and even more who liked to take advantage of any opportunity. If those who were looking for benefits pretended to be poor and came here for medicine when ill, the Master’s possessions wouldn’t last two years before being squandered by the Royal Consort!

Cai Wei laughed and said, "I am not a fool; I won’t indulge these humble ones who come here to take advantage. I will also appoint trustworthy people to manage this Medical Center. Those who think they can take advantage here, well, they’d have to be lucky enough to take my advantage!"

Huan Qiu bowed her head; she was just a Secret Guard and did not know the methods the Miss would use to distinguish the truly needy from those pretending, but she knew that her Miss’s heart was indeed kind!

Time flew quickly, and in a blink of an eye, the sun was setting in the west. Cai Wei had inspected several shops in succession and was a bit tired, so she and Huan Qiu walked to meet her father at their own Tavern, and then they planned to go to the fabric store together, pick up Fei’er, and head home.

As the master and servant walked intently, they suddenly heard a commotion up ahead—children crying and begging for mercy mixed with the sound of scolding. Cai Wei and Huan Qiu exchanged glances and hurried over.

Around the corner, next to a small stall selling steamed buns, an irate Street Vendor was grabbing a disheveled eight- or nine-year-old boy by the hair, beating him mercilessly. The boy’s little face was bruised and swollen, but he was stubbornly gritting his teeth, neither crying nor screaming, just covering his head firmly with his dirty little hands, looking extremely pitiful.

On the ground, a tray of overturned buns lay scattered, trampled and messy, and not far away, a five- or six-year-old little girl was crying bitterly, "Uncle, please don’t hit my brother, I beg you..."

Among the onlookers, someone tried to mediate, "Zhang San, this kid does seem quite pitiful, let it go!"

The vendor named Zhang San, unable to control his anger, said, "Let it go? Not only did this little brat steal my buns, but he also damn well knocked over an entire tray of mine. If you’re willing to pay eighty copper coins for him, I’ll let it go today."

"I’ll pay for him!"

A cool voice came from outside the crowd. Cai Wei, followed by Huan Qiu, squeezed through and stared coldly at the battering vendor.

"Huan Qiu, give him eighty copper coins!"

Huan Qiu took out her purse, picked out a small ingot of silver, and tossed it over, almost hitting the vendor’s face.

"Is that enough to cover your bun money?"

Cai Wei asked coldly.

The vendor caught the silver, bit it to test its authenticity, and started laughing, "It’s enough, it’s enough, thank you, Miss!"

Cai Wei crossed her arms, a cold smile on her lips. "Now that we’ve settled the account for the children ruining your buns, let’s also settle the account for you hitting the children."

"What? Settle the account for hitting the kid?"

Zhang San’s face fell. "Miss, what relation are these wild brats to you? What right do you have to stand up for them?"

Cai Wei laughed and said, "Since I can settle the account for them spoiling your buns, I can settle the account in the same way for them being wronged."

Having said that, she glanced at Huan Qiu and commanded coldly, "Based on the injuries this child has received, beat him double in return!"

"Yes!"

Huan Qiu responded and quickly struck out at Zhang San.

Although Zhang San was a five-foot-tall man, what was Huan Qiu’s background? Not to mention just one Zhang San, even ten or a hundred Zhang Sans would be no match for her!

Zhang San was beaten to the point of howling like a wolf and wailing like a ghost. At first, he cursed and threatened, but after a while, he began to cry and beg for mercy, calling out to his father and mother. Cai Wei watched with a cold eye as Zhang San was turned into a pig-headed mess, feeling very relieved.

A person who could be so cruel to a young child deserved to be punished doubly!

The beaten boy also heard Zhang San’s howling. He hung his head, lips tightly pressed together, and his little face, mottled with purple and blue from the beating, bore an expression of extreme endurance. He wanted to cry—whether from pain, fright, or feelings of humiliation and sorrow—but he would not allow himself to show weakness by crying in front of so many people.

Moreover, he was holding his younger sister who had fallen into his arms, gently stroking her messy hair, comforting her, and signaling that he was all right.

The scene was heart-wrenchingly sad to watch.

Cai Wei walked over, bent down, and said gently to the boy, "Does it still hurt? Let sister take a look for you."

The boy lifted his head, swiftly glanced at her, then quickly lowered it again. He was very beautiful; despite his bruised and battered little face, one could tell he was a strikingly handsome child, and uncommonly so!

One couldn’t help but feel sympathy and fondness for him.

After Huan Qiu had taken down Zhang San, she came over and said to Cai Wei, "Miss, let’s go. If we delay any longer, we won’t be able to catch up with the old master’s carriage."

Cai Wei looked at the siblings and said, "Take the two of them with us. Let’s go together."

...*...*...

Mu Zhongqing, seeing his daughter bringing a pair of little home-bound blossoms, hurriedly instructed the shop assistant to arrange some food for the two children.

While the children were eating, he quietly pulled his daughter aside to ask about the children’s circumstances.

Cai Wei said indifferently, "I found them on the side of the road and plan to take them home to raise."

Mu Zhongqing didn’t oppose his daughter performing a good deed, but said, "Do you know anything about these children’s backgrounds? We don’t want to invite unnecessary trouble. To me, these children do not seem ordinary; they look well-bred. How could they have ended up in such a state? Could there be any problems?"

Cai Wei smiled nonchalantly and said, "Even if these children’s identities are questionable, can we just stand by and let them be beaten to death in the streets just to avoid trouble for ourselves?"

Mu Zhongqing thought about it and realized she was right. Even if he had encountered such a situation, he wouldn’t have been able to ignore it, even knowing it would cause trouble.