Chapter 207: From Heartthrob to Hated

“Exactly, children can grab red envelopes too. Why not let them?”

“There’s no rule against kids playing. We brought them here to join in the fun. If you don’t want to give us anything, that’s fine. Who do you look down on?” Several women shook their heads, sighing. Though red envelopes were nice, they couldn’t allow their children to be driven away.

“Have you heard? In the charity tent over there, they’re giving out roast chicken and rice. Let’s go check it out.” Upon hearing this news, people’s eyes lit up with excitement.

A roast chicken and a bag of rice could be worth three taels of silver.

Mainly, people preferred food. Many were poor and lived under difficult conditions, with meat being a rare treat throughout the year.

Even those who had money might hesitate to buy meat.

Especially the children, who were thrilled at the prospect of free roast chicken and rice.

“Hey, don’t leave yet. If you got red envelopes, please stay a little longer.” The Han Princess was anxious as she watched the crowd disperse.

“What’s wrong with these people? Are they foolish? Roast chicken and rice are nothing compared to money. With money, you can buy anything,” the Han Princess fumed. Her intention in preparing the red envelopes was to draw people to support her daughter and boost her reputation.

If her daughter were adored by the common people on her birthday, it would be great for the Han Prince’s residence’s reputation.

But now the red envelopes were gone, and so were the people.

What kind of situation was this?

“Find out who is sabotaging me. Go see who is giving out the roast chicken,” the Han Princess instructed her maid.

Standing aside, Di Hongluan’s face turned green with anger. She stared stiffly at the departing crowd.

“Luan’er, don’t be upset. Those who took our red envelopes and didn’t spread good words about us will face consequences. They won’t get away with it.”

Soon, the maid returned with news. “Princess, it’s been confirmed that it’s Concubine De, using Princess Ten’s name to build goodwill.”

The Han Princess’s face darkened immediately. “Concubine De?”

She hadn’t expected this.

“Forgot, Di Jiaoyang’s birthday is the same as Luan’er’s. How could this happen? Di Jiaoyang is clearly riding on Luan’er’s coattails.” The Han Princess was convinced her daughter was a person of great fortune.

Since childhood, there had been extraordinary signs when she was born, and every birthday since.

This was heaven celebrating Luan’er’s birthday, a great blessing.

“Mother, she’s a princess, and I’m just a county princess. Stop talking. Be careful, there might be ears on the wall,” Di Hongluan pulled at the Han Princess’s sleeve, whispering.

“But I’m really upset.”

“Di Jiaoyang is benefiting from my fortune. We can’t complain. If she wants to take it, let her. We should focus on doing our part well. That’s better than anything.”

“Luan’er, you’re too kind. She’s stealing your fortune and your spotlight.” The Han Princess was almost enraged to the point of explosion. Not only had she spent money without seeing results today, but she was also upset for her daughter.

“If we were both daughters-in-law of the Queen Mother, without this connection shielding Concubine De and Di Jiaoyang, I would have scolded them this morning. It’s really shameless!”

Di Hongluan muttered under her breath, “Mother, I’ll stand up for you.”

The Han Princess’s eyes grew red with emotion. “My good Luan’er, do you have any ideas?”

The Han Princess had always been competitive. Over the years, being just a Concubine while Concubine De shared the status of a royal concubine, she often felt inferior.

If she could vent her frustrations today and slap those royal concubines in the face, she would feel vindicated.

“Phenomena.” Di Hongluan’s eyes seemed to sparkle with brilliant starlight. “Every time I have a birthday, there are extraordinary signs. Today should be no exception. Why don’t we use these signs to guide public opinion?”

People were very receptive to such things.

The power of celestial signs was more effective than any action they could take.

“I originally planned to use the red envelopes to build your popularity, and now look at what’s happened,” the Han Princess grew increasingly angry.

“They will come back. Watch and see.” She had successfully created a heartthrob persona.

Sooner or later, these people would be bowing to her.

On the other side, Concubine De, Concubine Chun, and Yun Ci were busy distributing roast chicken and rice to the people.

Elderly and children were given priority, followed by young adults.

“Zian, this, five carts of roast chicken? Uh… your family is really wealthy!” Luo Zifeng was stunned. The amount of roast chicken and rice was worth a significant sum of silver.

—

Anyway, the Ministry of Works only contributed a tenth of the funds.

Di Zian grinned, placing a hand on Luo Zifeng’s shoulder, and glanced at Ah Bao, who was sitting on a sack of rice and munching on roast chicken. “It’s all donated by my sister.”

“Huh?”

Ah Bao looked up at the two brothers with a smile, as if she heard them talking.

[Regarding the importance of saving money, there’s an endless supply of roast chicken and rice. I may not have much else, but I have plenty of silver!]

[I have a good disciple. Aunt Yun Ting even donated a treasury’s worth of silver! Hehe.]

Di Zian and Luo Zifeng envied Ah Bao greatly.

She was so young yet so rich.

The little princess sitting on the grain sacks wasn’t just a little princess; she was clearly a radiant little fortune god.

“Big Brother! Thank you! We got roast chicken! Two pieces for each of us. We can finally enjoy chicken legs like you,” Fat Tiger said, holding two roast chickens.

An elderly woman, his mother, followed behind him.

“Big Brother, I can only have one chicken leg. The rest I’ll save for my mother,” Er Gou said happily.

Previously, after Er Gou was kidnapped by traffickers, his father divorced his mother. His mother had been living alone, fell ill, and was too poor to afford even an egg.

Ah Bao looked at the gathered children. “Be good, take more.”

“Hehe, Big Brother taught us to be content and happy. Two pieces are enough for us to eat for a long time. We can share the rest with the elderly,” Er Gou said with a grin.

Ah Bao was pleased and patted her little chest. “Stick with me, there’s plenty of meat.”

“It smells so good. Do you all smell that special floral fragrance?” The citizens lining up for roast chicken and rice were amazed.

Two people approached from a distance. “Hurry to the small square in front of the temple. Celestial phenomena have appeared!”

One person said, “Don’t you remember? Ten years ago, when the small county princess was born, there were celestial phenomena. It caused a stir throughout the capital. Everyone said the small county princess was a lucky star. And I heard that girls born on the second day of February are considered to be of heavenly birth!”

A woman in line for roast chicken sneered, “There are so many children born on the second day of February. How can you be so sure the small county princess is of heavenly birth?”

“It’s easy to tell. Many children were born, but there were no phenomena except for the small county princess.”