Accidentally dressed as an empress

After everyone left, Zhong Yi said to Yun Xiu, "Ah Xiu, the cook just confessed. He said there was something very wrong with the water boy. Ah Xiu, do you think we should consider finding a well farther away to get water?"

Zhong Yi added: "The water used to cook the porridge was drawn from the well in the prefectural governor's mansion."

Yunxiu frowned slightly and thought for a moment. So that's why he was waiting for them here.

A gleam flashed in Yunxiu's eyes as she said to Zhong Yi, "They're clearly up to no good. They're deliberately trying to make us fear the water in the prefectural government and make us afraid to drink it. We can't fall for their tricks. Ignore these little tricks."

Yunxiu secretly thanked the existence of the system.

Without keeping the secret, Yunxiu decided to tell Zhong Yi the truth, "Ayi, actually, someone secretly added brine to the relief porridge."

Zhong Yi looked at Yun Xiu in surprise and exclaimed, "Ah Xiu, how did you know that? It's incredible, it's like you can predict the future."

Yunxiu showed a modest smile on her face and said, "This is nothing."

"Ayi, you are very smart and have helped me a lot." Yunxiu paused and continued, "We must not let that lying cook off easily. We should starve him for three days without giving him a drop of water or a grain of rice. Let him have a taste of the bitterness.

If we hadn't discovered it early, the consequences would have been disastrous.

These three days are just a minor punishment. If he can truthfully confess the mastermind behind this, we can give him a lighter sentence.

But if he persists in his delusion and still tries to conceal it, then we cannot be blamed."

"Just as Ah Xiu says," Zhong Yi said. "I'll arrange for someone to keep an eye on him. It would be best if he could tell the truth on his own initiative."

Yunxiu nodded. "We don't have much time. We need to get useful information out of him as soon as possible, then follow the clues and catch the forces behind this."

Zhong Yi suddenly had an idea and said, "A Xiu, I'm wondering, are they targeting water and food in order to drive us out of the prefectural government?"

"That's right." Yunxiu smiled. "Ayi, your guess is correct. Our best strategy is to remain still and wait patiently. They may have more tricks up their sleeves."

The sky was gray, like a heavy lead plate, making it hard to breathe. Occasionally, a few crows circled high in the sky, making creepy calls, as if they were coveting something.

A group of soldiers pushed the wheel of the catapult to the city wall, and other soldiers were busy packing a bucket of rice into strong sacks and then putting them into the catapult.

With an order, the catapult made a dull sound, and the rice bag was thrown high into the air, drawing an arc in the air and flying towards the area where the refugees gathered.

"What is that?" a sharp-eyed refugee suddenly shouted, his voice filled with confusion and expectation.

The refugees, who were struggling with exhaustion and hunger, all raised their heads and looked towards the sky.

When the crowd saw the bags falling from the sky, they instantly began to boil like a frying pan with water splashed on it.

"It's food! It's food!" a refugee shouted excitedly, his voice trembling.

"Hurry! Grab it!" another refugee roared, with an anxious light in his eyes. The light was like a hungry wolf seeing its prey, shining in his turbid eyes.

He rushed forward desperately to grab it, with such madness as if the bag contained their only hope of survival.

"Don't push! Don't push!" A thin old man was squeezed in the crowd and shouted loudly, but his voice was instantly drowned out by the noise.

"My child! My child is still behind!" A woman's face was full of horror as she tried to squeeze back through the crowd to find her child, but was pushed forward by the crowd.

While running, someone tripped and fell to the ground, but ignored the pain and struggled to get up and continue forward. "Give me some, please!"

The fallen refugees reached out to grab the food that flashed before their eyes. In the chaos, they pushed and shoved each other, the thinner ones were pushed aside by the stronger ones, and when they fell, they were trampled by those behind them.

"This is mine! Don't take it!" A big man waved his arms, trying to protect the handful of food he had snatched.

Shouts and curses were intertwined, but they had only one thought in their minds, which was to grab a little more food, even if it was just a handful of rice, to fill their own and their families' already hungry stomachs.

The children were squeezed in the crowd and cried loudly in fear, and the mothers shouted their children's names at the top of their lungs, but in this crazy scramble, all the voices were drowned out.

Some refugees maintained good order. They elected the most respected person to pick up the rice bags, and then divided the work. Some fetched water, some collected firewood, and cooked porridge for everyone to share.

The refugees gathered around the porridge cooking area. "Everyone, work harder. Once the porridge is cooked, we can all have our fill." An old man with gray hair but a determined look in his eyes shouted as he added firewood to the stove.

"Yeah, I haven't had hot porridge in a while." The young man who had just returned from fetching water put down the bucket, wiped the sweat and dust from his face, and a hint of anticipation crossed his face. "This rice is truly a lifesaver."

The woman who cooked the porridge stirred the porridge in the pot with a wooden stick and said, "This porridge needs to be cooked thicker. The children are starving."

A woman holding a child nearby quickly responded, "Thanks to you, sister. If you hadn't been busy here, we really don't know what we would do."

A little girl tugged at her mother's clothes, staring into the pot, and whispered, "Mom, I'm so hungry. When will the porridge be ready?" Her mother touched her head and said gently, "It will be ready soon, my dear. Wait a little longer. You have to eat with the other children later."

Refugees searching for firewood were also chatting among themselves. "When will this end? We're almost out of options," a man with a weathered face sighed.

Another person responded: "Don't think about that for now, fill your stomach, then we can survive."

Around the stove, everyone was busy in an orderly manner. The fire was burning brightly, the red flames licking the bottom of the pot, and the jumping flames seemed particularly dazzling in the gloomy environment, bringing a touch of warmth to those around.

Several young men fetching water were hurrying back and forth, using worn-out wooden buckets to fetch water from a nearby water source. The source was actually just a small puddle, and the turbid water reflected the miserable scene around it.

Their clothes were ragged, and blood was seeping from the wounds caused by thorns, but there was a hope burning for survival in their eyes.

The woman skillfully stirred the pot with a long wooden stick. The hot steam from the pot hit her face, blurring her face.

As she stirred rhythmically, the rice grains rolled in the water and gradually became thick.

The children around sat together, their clothes were tattered, their faces were dirty, and they stared at the porridge in the pot without blinking, their bright eyes full of desire for food.

Their little stomachs made rumbling sounds from time to time, which were particularly clear in this silent and miserable environment, but they still waited obediently.

Other refugees were helping to find more firewood, rummaging through empty houses, while others were clearing away debris and looking for clay pots to use for porridge.

Suddenly, a group of men with ferocious faces and gleaming knives appeared and shouted, "Hand over the food!"

The leader brandished the long sword in his hand. The blade flashed coldly in the dim sunlight, and his voice was as shrill as a night owl.

The refugees looked at the uninvited guests in horror and instinctively surrounded the porridge stove.

But those people didn't care. They pounced on the refugees like wolves. One of them kicked an old man so hard that he fell to the ground.

Others began to grab food.

They pushed down the refugees who tried to stop them, and the cries of women and children and the roars of men mixed together.

One man reached out to grab the uncooked porridge in the pot, and the boiling porridge splashed on his hand. He just cursed and kicked over the pot, spilling the hot porridge all over the floor. In the steaming air were the desperate eyes of the refugees.

Others rushed to the bags filled with food. They ignored the refugees' pleas and cut the bags with knives. The corn flowed out and they frantically filled the bags with dirty cloth bags. In order to fight for more food, they even fought with each other, and the flash of swords and sabers flashed in the crowd.