Chapter 128: A Lowly Woman Meets a Noble Lady

Prisoners convicted of minor crimes punishable by death were sent to Beijing to serve as laborers for atonement.
Since the Sui and Tang dynasties, capital crimes had been divided into “serious capital crimes” and “minor capital crimes.” The former referred to grave offenses such as treason and desecration, which usually carried no possibility of pardon; whereas those classified as minor capital crimes, though punishable by death, did not require the harshest forms of execution, allowing for redemption through prescribed methods. In the Ming dynasty, these redemption rules became even more detailed, with numerous regulations established.
The construction of Beijing required a vast amount of labor. Although using commoners was an option, it was costly and likely to provoke public resentment. Thus, aside from prisoners convicted of serious capital crimes, those building the city walls and palaces were mostly those sentenced to minor capital crimes or penalties such as flogging, exile, or imprisonment.
To the imperial court, it was merely a casual statement, but for some, it represented a lifeline. After all, even if a crime was not punishable by death, those who failed to meet redemption requirements or lacked the funds to do so might be sent to plant trees on Tianshu Mountain for life. The labor involved in building Beijing was arduous, but surviving ten years could earn one freedom and restore one’s status as a civilian. This was especially true for prisoners who had no money to redeem themselves but had family waiting for them back home, who would do anything to endure.
Since winter began, Beijing had been hit by heavy snows. Though the snow had stopped, the world remained covered in white. A section of the inner city’s northern wall was newly built, and hundreds of prisoners were working in the bitter cold to transport bricks for its construction. Almost all of them wore thin padded robes tied with straw ropes and straw sandals. In such extreme cold, even a sip of hot water was a rare pleasure.
“Dad!”
It was bitterly cold, and even the overseer was struggling. Hearing this sudden cry, he looked up and saw a little girl in a blue jacket. He closed his eyes, unimpressed, yet felt a hint of envy for that prisoner convicted of a minor capital crime. Many prisoners were sent here for hard labor—how many could bring their families with them? Seeing the little girl’s repeated pleas and receiving an additional silver coin from her, he turned a blind eye to her bringing food and water. After all, one must accumulate good deeds in life, right?
“Cui’er, why have you come here in such cold weather? Instead of spending your time bringing me these things, you should take care of your mother at home! This isn’t the place for you. What if someone sees you?”

The little girl was shivering from the cold, but she didn’t care about her father’s complaints. She quickly opened the lunchbox in her hands, which contained two steamed buns and a bowl of still-warm porridge. “Dad, I just steamed these for you. Please eat quickly so I can leave right away. Mom is still waiting at home!” The man, already starving, saw that everyone else around was staring at them, so he grabbed the buns and stuffed them into his mouth. After finishing them in no time, he drank the porridge in one gulp before urging his daughter to leave. After watching her go, he rubbed his hands and went back to work. Just as he picked up his tools, a voice came from beside him. “Kang Lao San, you’re really lucky. Your wife and child are all in Beijing, and your daughter still brings you meals every day! Pah, so-called atonement—had I known I’d have to work in such weather, I’d rather go to Tianshou Mountain to plant trees. At least planting five hundred trees would earn me freedom! This hard labor is truly miserable. Do you know that just the other day, three people were killed by falling city walls near the southern city wall, and the rest were whipped. Just the extra work is enough to kill a man!” “Brother Xiao, if I go to Tianshou Mountain to plant trees, it’ll be for life. I can’t abandon Cui Er’s mother and Cui Er.” “You’re really an honest guy. Thankfully, your wife hasn’t let you down! The meals provided here are nothing but dog food, but you still have your daughter bringing you meals. We others are just unlucky!” Kang Lao San smiled innocently and continued working silently. The other prisoners shook their heads at him. Seeing how utterly honest he seemed, who would have thought he would, out of hatred for his family, travel from Nanjing to Kaifeng, armed himself, and kill the woman who murdered his brother-in-law, as well as the dissolute husband, and also kill two men who tried to stop him, carrying four deaths on his shoulders? It was a crime punishable by death. Fortunately, someone brought up the previous case, and a new prefect was appointed in Kaifeng. The new prefect was fair and decisive. After proving that the couple were adulterers who had committed murder first, he exempted Kang Lao San from charges for two of the deaths. Adding the two subsequent deaths, he was only sentenced to death as a common criminal. Now, his wife and daughter were determined to follow him—otherwise, it wouldn’t have been worth it.

Cui’er ran back home with the food box, still calculating the money she had earned and spent over the past few days. No matter how she calculated it, she sadly realized that without any additional income, she and her mother would likely not be able to make it through. Although her father’s capital crime had been reduced to ten years of hard labor, judging from these past days, those ten years would surely be extremely difficult to endure.

What they called home was actually just a simple shed built at the base of the northern wall of the inner city. Tens of thousands of prisoners had been assigned to build Beijing, and although there weren’t many family members accompanying them, there were still quite a few. Dozens of people lived in these sheds. Everyone was extremely poor, and most of the time, people only cared about their own affairs and ignored those of others.

She hurriedly pushed open the broken gate and entered, only to find a thin woman in a gray padded robe washing clothes in snowwater. Her hands were red from the cold, and she kept coughing. Startled, she rushed over immediately.

“Mother, your illness isn’t cured yet! Didn’t I say not to do these things? I’m here to take care of everything.”

“My illness isn’t a big deal. If I don’t do anything while you’re busy working alone, how can that be right?”

Lady Kang Liu glanced at her daughter, who was stamping her feet in frustration, and sighed again. “I know my own condition. Even if I endure, I probably won’t be able to see your father’s sentence reduced. It’s better to help out as much as I can while I’m still able to work. It’s all my fault. If I had known he seemed honest and simple-minded but actually had such courage, I wouldn’t have kept nagging him and wouldn’t have let him commit such a grave crime!”

“Mother!” Seeing her mother’s increasingly pitiful expression, Cui’er couldn’t help but kneel down and tightly hold her shoulders. “Things have already come to this. Blaming yourself won’t help. If we really can’t make it through, I… I’ll sell myself to those wealthy families to get some money. As long as Father and you…”

“Silly child!”

Lady Kang Liu gently stroked her daughter’s forehead, the pain of regret still lingering in her heart. Her husband was serving a ten-year sentence to atone for his crime, which was already hard enough. If something happened to her and her daughter, could he still persevere? But even for her husband’s sake, almost all the money they had saved had been used up. If things continued like this, they wouldn’t have enough to eat—how could they wait any longer?

“By the way, Mother, when I went out today, I heard that the Duke of Britain has recovered from his illness!” Cuier tilted her head up, her eyes shining with hope. “I heard that the young lord has been living in the Duke’s villa. Why don’t I go and ask him for help? Mother, I know he’s a nobleman, and I don’t expect him to help us for free. As long as he can find me some work to do, even if it means working like a beast, as long as it helps me get through these ten years! Mother, I beg you!”
Thinking of how she too once came from a wealthy family but now ended up in such a miserable state, Lady Kang Liu couldn’t help but cry while holding her daughter. Though they were at their wits’ end, she still didn’t want to ruin her daughter’s freedom, so she refused Cuier’s request. After sending her daughter off at noon to bring food to her husband, she returned to the room and sat on the pile of straw that served as a bed, lost in thought. After much deliberation, she came up with only one solution.
But with her father dead and her eldest brother also gone, there was now only her, a poor and destitute woman. Would anyone still recognize her as a relative?
Since the next day was the Lantern Festival, the streets were crowded with people, and the stalls selling various lanterns were surrounded by noisy children. Lady Kang Liu carefully avoided those well-dressed people, but no one paid her any attention when she asked for directions. After wandering for a long time, she was still in the same place. The cold wind blew, and despite wrapping herself tightly in her clothes, she couldn’t ward off the chill. Her vision blurred, and eventually she could only walk by leaning on the wall.
After struggling to walk a few dozen more steps, she passed a storefront, but suddenly her legs gave out, and she sat down on the steps in front of it. At that moment, she felt severe pain in her chest, realizing it was her old illness flaring up. She smiled bitterly. Given the situation, she shouldn’t have worried about going there to suffer humiliation—she should have taken Cuier with her. If she died silently outside, what would become of her daughter?
“Hey, beggar, go somewhere else! Is it proper to sit in front of someone’s house on such a festive day?”
Hearing an angry voice behind her, Lady Kang Liu quickly tried to stand up by propping herself on the ground. But since she had only eaten a bowl of thin porridge like water both in the morning and at noon, no matter how hard she tried, her legs wouldn’t obey her. Full of despair, she could only turn around, bow her head, and say humbly, “Please forgive me, young lady. I just don’t have the strength…”
“No strength, yet you still block someone’s entrance? How are we supposed to get in and out? Someone, drive her away… Ah, miss, the cart hasn’t arrived yet. Why have you come out? I’ll send her away right away!”

“Hongxiu, it’s a special festival—do some good deeds. Don’t be so cruel!” Hearing such a gentle and kind voice, Lady Kang Liu felt relieved. She looked up and saw two young girls with beautiful faces. The girl on the left was dressed in lotus-pink clothes, with a green satin cloak over them, while the girl on the right wore a cloak that seemed to be made of fox fur, with gold-trimmed boots. Her clothes were splendidly embroidered, and she wore a sable hat. There were so many precious jewels that she couldn’t even name them—all signs that she wasn’t from a humble family. It was then that she nervously looked up and realized she was sitting by the back door of some grand mansion. “Miss, you’re too kind. If Lady Liu and the others saw this, they’d surely chase us away with brooms!” “Everyone faces hard times in life! The festival is approaching. Give this lady some money so she can get up. Sitting on the ground in such cold weather will surely make her sick.” Unexpecting such kindness from this noble lady she had stumbled upon, Lady Kang Liu took the girl’s hand and managed to stand up. Fighting off dizziness, she ignored the precious money offered to her and bowed deeply, saying, “I am deeply grateful for your kindness, miss. I really can’t accept this money. I’m trying to find a relative at the Anyang Prince’s mansion, but I’ve gotten lost. Please help me find my way.” Meng Min had originally planned to leave, but encountered this ragged woman at the door. Hearing her story, she grew even more puzzled. She naturally recognized Prince Anyang, Zhu Zhanhuan, and his wife was her close friend. She had indeed been invited to the prince’s mansion that day. So, when she heard the woman claiming to be looking for a relative, she hesitated for a moment. After asking a few more questions and learning that the woman was searching for Lady Liu, the prince’s wet nurse, she decided to take her along after some thought.