Accidentally dressed as an empress

Yunxiu walked back home from the palace. Her carriage had been sent back to the palace by the garrison commander earlier, so it hadn't been damaged in the incident. But she didn't want to ride in a carriage; it was too extravagant, especially in the current situation.

The sky was overcast and it started to drizzle. The autumn wind was blowing. Su Qing wanted to hold an umbrella for her, but she shook her head.

Every time I passed a house, I saw white banners hanging at the door of each house, and mournful cries could be heard from inside.

Yunxiu was walking through the West Market when someone brought his slaves to the West Market and hawked, "One slave for a bag of rice."

Many people gathered in the West Market, all of them were selling slaves, husbands, or children, but few were interested, as everyone was short of food.

On the street, a middle-aged female beggar, accompanied by a young daughter, held up an empty bowl and said, "Good man, please be kind and give me some food. I haven't had anything to eat for three days. My house was burned down and I have no more food."

Yunxiu looked reluctant, but quickened her pace as she walked past, her brocade robe being stained by mud and water.

Yunxiu said to Su Qing beside her, "Let's go to the City Patrol Office."

Yunxiu arrived at the City Patrol Office, only to find the gates closed. She asked the guard at the door, "Where are the people from the City Patrol Office?"

The guard replied, "They all requested leave due to a family funeral."

Due to casualties and various other reasons, various institutions in Lingyun City were semi-paralyzed.

Yunxiu went to the Neishi Mansion, only to see Li Xian also busy solving a case. Someone accused the neighbor of taking advantage of her situation and stealing her property, and demanded that it be returned.

A dozen farmers from the outskirts of Lingyun City also reported that their cattle had been stolen.

Yunxiu looked at Li Xian from a distance, gestured to him, and said, "Lend me two patrol officers for a while."

Li Xian nodded at her.

Yunxiu took the patrol officer to look for the homeless beggars along the way. Yunxiu said to the patrol officer, "You two, those people whose houses were burned down are homeless. Begging on the streets is not a good idea. Please take them to the dilapidated temple outside the city and temporarily settle them down."

They both clasped their fists and said, "Your Highness, please rest assured that this humble servant will handle this matter well."

"I will ask His Majesty to help them rebuild their houses." Yunxiu nodded at them, and the two left.

Yunxiu turned around and walked towards her own residence, and Su Qing followed her silently.

Before Yunxiu, Su Qing and others reached the street corner, they saw a long queue.

A young man said, "I've been waiting in line all morning, and it's finally my turn."

"Your Highness, you are truly a good man."

The scholar said, "Your Highness is benevolent and loves the people. He is truly a blessing to the Yun Kingdom."

Yunxiu passed the people in line, and they grumbled, "Hey, why are you cutting in line?"

Yunxiu smiled gently, "I'm not here to get the porridge, please make way."

When the people who complained saw her demeanor, they were stunned for a moment and lowered their heads, afraid of offending the important person.

Zhong Yi stood at the gate of the mansion distributing porridge, while Su Er, Su Jiu and Su Shiyi were standing nearby, like door gods.

A mother-in-law with dark complexion and wrinkles all over her face lined up in front of Zhong Yi.

Zhong Yi stopped scooping porridge and said, "Mother-in-law, you just came here and received porridge."

The grandmother's cloudy eyes stared into space and she said, "My granddaughter's leg was broken by a beam in the roof. She couldn't come, so I took her in."

Zhong Yi said firmly, "Each person can only take one bowl. Old lady, bring your granddaughter here. We have a doctor here who can treat her leg."

The old woman sat down on the ground, weeping and wiping her tears. "My granddaughter is dead, and my daughter and son-in-law are dead too. It's meaningless for an old woman like me to live alone in this world. When I'm full, I'll go and reunite with them! Even if I die, I'll die a full one!"

Yunxiu walked forward, bent down and helped the old woman up, saying, "Old woman, there are many children in the dilapidated temple who have lost their relatives and become orphans. I will ask someone to take you there. Are you willing to adopt a granddaughter?"

The old woman stopped crying and said, "I am willing, I am willing! Even if I have to weave cloth every day and beg for food and porridge every day, I will still support her, my dear grandson, wuwuwu..."

Yunxiu said to Su Dadao, "Take the old woman to the dilapidated temple."

Su Da nodded and left with his people. Behind them were a few distraught people who probably had lost their only relatives.

Zhong Yi handed the task of distributing porridge to Su Shiyi and said to Yunxiu, "Your Highness will not blame me for acting on my own, right?" Yunxiu put her arm around his waist and led him into the mansion.

"Of course not, but where do you get so much food?"

"It was Deputy Housekeeper Ren, she brought it back."

Deputy Steward Ren? Yunxiu had almost forgotten about this person. Ren Li really came as a timely help. Yunxiu asked, "Ren Li sent me here. Where is she now?"

Seeing his wife so anxious, Zhong Yi felt a little jealous. "He's gone out again, saying he wants to bring us more food."

Yunxiu thought for a moment and asked Zhong Yi, "How many days can the food in our house sustain the porridge distribution?"

Zhong Yi calculated quickly in his head and said, "Ten days at most."

Yunxiu said to him, "Let's make sure we have enough food first. Tomorrow, we'll have other options. Doing good deeds is certainly a good thing, but we can't tighten our belts like this."

Zhong Yi responded softly.

Yunxiu knew that Zhong Yi was truly kind-hearted, and that he had achieved the effect of building momentum for her. This was truly the best time to win the hearts of the people.

Yunxiu asked the system to check. In Lingyun City, since Zhong Yi took the lead in distributing porridge, several noble families have followed suit, and there is even a tendency to compete with each other. The victims have become picky eaters and will even communicate with each other about which family's porridge is too thin and not enough to satisfy their hunger.

Yunxiu said to him, "Let's take a car to Xu's house and discuss a solution with Master Xu. Giving out porridge like this all the time is not a long-term solution."

To rebuild after a disaster and appease the victims, a common method used in later feudal societies was to use work in lieu of relief.

The people affected by the disaster were hired to cut wood in the forest, rebuild their houses, and were provided with porridge and rice as compensation.

This not only solved the problem of building new houses, comforted the victims, and provided them with food, but also avoided civil unrest. A group of idle people who did not work together were bound to stir up trouble and engage in fights.