Accidentally dressed as an empress

A young man gasped, "Someone was unlucky and got knocked unconscious by a rice bag. The bag fell from a great height and hit him squarely on the head. He collapsed instantly and I don't know what happened to him now."

One person continued, "That's right. I heard that many people's rice bags were stolen. Those robbers don't care about our lives at all. They just grab any food they see. Many people are starving now."

An old man shook his head, sighed deeply, and said, "The government really doesn't distribute relief porridge anymore. However, they're distributing medicinal soup at the old porridge stalls. I don't know what this means. Do they think more of us are sick than hungry?"

Someone murmured quietly, "Having medicinal soup is better than nothing. It should be of some use."

At this time, an old man sighed, "The rice has been given to us, what else can the government give out?"

Some noisy discussions began to appear in the crowd, and a voice sounded with some hesitation: "Do you think we have misunderstood the government? I drank the porridge and it's okay. The government doesn't distribute porridge, is it because we made too much trouble before?" As soon as this voice fell, many people fell into deep thought, with guilty looks on their faces.

"Alas..." A long sigh spread among the crowd, and everyone's mood became extremely heavy.

A middle-aged woman suggested, "Let's go ask the governor to give us porridge again. It's no use starving us like this."

A complicated look flashed across the young woman's eyes, and she slowly said, "It's impossible. I heard that during the previous turmoil, someone wanted to take advantage of the chaos to kill the governor. The governor must have been really disappointed. I'm afraid she won't agree if I ask her now."

"Alas..." Everyone sighed again.

"But there's a solution." The woman paused, her eyes brightening as she continued, "Let's gather some young people from the surrounding area and find some sticks to use as weapons. We'll act as guards protecting the food. If anyone comes to rob us, we'll all rush in together and drive them away!"

We can't let those bandits succeed, but we can't always rely on the government. Since the government has distributed food to us, we have to protect the food ourselves!"

"Well said!" The crowd suddenly burst into cheers, and hope and fighting spirit were rekindled in everyone's eyes.

"Let's go together and drive them away!"

The young woman leading the charge was both courageous and resourceful, and she could mobilize the masses. Yunxiu asked the system, "System, who is she? She's a native of Yunyin City, right? She'd be perfect to be trained as Yunyin City's governor." She was even considering recruiting him.

[Zhang Xiaomiao, her sister is Zhang Xiaocao.] The system replied.

[Huh? Seedling? Grass? Such a sloppy name?]

[She came from a farming family. Her mother didn't have a surname, but her mother hoped that seedlings would grow in the fields, so she named her Zhang Xiaomiao.

In the end, her mother only hoped that grass would grow in the fields.

Yunxiu fell silent for a moment before asking the system, "Is Zhang Xiaomiao's family still around?"

The system's cold electronic voice rang out mercilessly, "No, her mother, father, and sister all starved to death. She was lucky enough to survive."

In the Hidden Cloud City shrouded in famine, the strong wind carrying yellow sand raged like a demon, mercilessly whipping every inch of the cracked land.

The earth is like an old man's wrinkled face, with dry cracks crisscrossing each other, like the earth's desperate cry.

The fields were once barren, with withered grass stems shaking in the wind.

The river had long since dried up, leaving behind a riverbed filled with stinking mud and debris, emitting the stench of death.

Zhang Xiaomiao's mother is now hunched over, and every step she takes seems to require all her strength.

She walked with heavy steps, struggling forward in the strong wind, her feet raising clouds of dust.

Her eyes were bloodshot and she searched around anxiously. Her hands were constantly digging on the ground, not even a piece of suspected edible root would be left untouched.

His cracked lips were bleeding from lack of water, and every breath felt like a tug on his heart and lungs, leaving a low gasp in his throat.

However, her movements became slower and slower, and the light in her eyes gradually dimmed.

Zhang Xiaomiao's mother went out to find food and never came back.

Zhang Xiaomiao's father lay in bed, his leg broken by a beating while he was out looking for food. He stared blankly at the rooftop, his body twitching from time to time.

He stretched out his skinny hand and gently stroked his sister's hair. His lips trembled slightly, but no sound came out.

He turned his head with difficulty and looked at Zhang Xiaomiao, who was also hungry. His eyes were full of heartache and helplessness, and turbid tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.

He used up his last bit of strength to pull the quilt towards the children.

My sister leaned weakly against her father, her little hands weakly tugging at the corner of his clothes, her body shaking constantly.

His cracked lips opened slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but only a weak breath came out.

Zhang Xiaocao's eyes were half open and half closed, filled with fear and confusion. From time to time, she would rub her shriveled belly with her small hands, her legs curled up, trying to relieve the piercing hunger. "I'm so hungry, sister, am I going to die?"

Zhang Xiaomiao's frail body trembled slightly with fear and sadness. He bit his lips tightly until they bled, and his hands clenched into fists unconsciously. "I'm going out to find something to eat."

Her mother couldn't come back and her father was unable to move around easily, so she had to support the family.

Zhang Xiaomiao walked out of the thatched hut. The wind was still howling and the yellow sand made it almost impossible for her to open her eyes, but she still took firm steps.

She began to search carefully around the area, not missing any corner where food might be hidden.

Her fingers were cut by stones and blood was oozing out, but she was unaware of it. The only thought in her mind was finding food.

The raised dust blurred the vision, and Zhang Xiaomiao's thin figure shuttled among the ruins.

She squatted down and kept searching in the rubble with her fingers. The rough rubble and sharp stones cut her fingers, and dark red blood flowed out of her fingers.

But she was completely unaware and continued to dig through the rubble.

Hunger and fatigue slowed her movements, but the desire to survive in her heart supported her.

She didn't know how long it had been, but just when she was on the verge of despair, her eyes suddenly lit up beneath the rubble of a bombed-out house. It was a half-buried small cloth bag, with one corner exposed and covered in dust.

She quickly reached out and dug out the bag, gently brushed off the dust, and opened it to see a bag of grass seeds. Although the seeds were dry, in Zhang Xiaomiao's eyes, they were life-saving food.

Zhang Xiaomiao carefully held the bag in her arms, a long-lost smile on her face. Then, she walked briskly, full of joy, back home.

In the dim room, my sister's already frail body was lying quietly on the bed, her little face pale and her eyes closed, as if she had just fallen into a deep sleep.

My father fell against the door with his eyes closed.

Zhang Xiaomiao was struck by lightning. The cloth bag in her hand fell to the ground with a "bang", and the grass seeds were scattered all over the ground. Her legs gave way and she knelt down, tears instantly blurring her eyes.

She hurriedly crawled to her father's side and held his hand tightly, "Dad... wake up, don't sleep anymore..." She tried to convey her warmth to him, hoping that her father would wake up again.

Her body shook violently, and tears welled up in her eyes, dripping onto her father's dusty face.

She hurriedly crawled to her sister's side and held her cold body in her trembling hands. "Xiaocao, Xiaocao, wake up, sister has found food and is back..."

But the only response she got was deathly silence. "Why is this happening? I'm back late..."

She suppressed her grief, stood up, and scanned the faces of her relatives one by one, as if she wanted to engrave their appearance in her heart.

Zhang Xiaomiao wiped away her tears with her thin arms and walked out of the house, but there was a hint of stubbornness in her eyes. In this cruel environment, she secretly vowed to survive.

In the corner of the house, Zhang Xiaomiao found a rusty hoe that her father used to work.

She dragged her heavy hoe to an open space behind the house and began to dig a grave by swinging the hoe again and again.

After the grave was dug, she brought her father over and put him in the pit, then brought her sister over and put her next to her father.

Zhang Xiaomiao scooped up soil with both hands and sprinkled it on them. "From now on, you will never be hungry or in pain again."

After the pit was filled, she slumped on the ground, staring at the newly built grave with empty eyes, and grabbed a handful of grass seeds and ate them.

Then she stood up and left the hut.