His Majesty is plotting a rebellion? Quickly, summon the Imperial Advisor!

The emperor sits in the court, seemingly high above others, but in reality, he has many limitations.

Even if Ji Yuan hadn't been trapped and was sitting high in the court, how much could she possibly know about what happened today?

In the end, these refugees will only freeze to death, and who will speak out for them?

Xu Bing, serving as the Imperial Preceptor, naturally couldn't ignore what he saw.

"Open the door and let them in," Xu Bing said, brushing the snow off his shoulder.

"But Grand Preceptor, the court has no more surplus grain for them."

"If they enter the city and end up starving or freezing to death there... then..."

The general gave a frightened reminder.

"I have my own plans." Xu Bing waved his hand and walked towards the carriage.

"Thank you, Master Imperial Master."

"Thank you, Master Imperial Master."

The refugees wept with joy and knelt before Xu Bing in worship.

Xu Bing boarded the carriage, closed the curtain, and rubbed his temples.

"Oh? Such a good opportunity, why aren't you running away?" Xu Bing noticed Ji Yuan looking at him and asked with a smile.

"Whether I can escape or not, you know better than I do, so why ask?"

Ji Yuan became irritated by this sentence.

"If you expose your identity, aren't you afraid that you'll expose me too?" Ji Yuan asked proactively.

"To be honest, I'm not afraid." Xu Bing proposed a hypothetical scenario: "If there really is a risk of exposure, I will tie you under the car and help you hide and get away with it."

"Xu Bing, how...how could you treat me like this? I am the Emperor! How could you tie me to the bottom of a carriage?!" Ji Yuan was so angry that he trembled all over, and his face was extremely ugly.

Xu Bing ignored them and sat in the carriage, watching the refugees enter the city in an orderly fashion.

This group of refugees numbered about a thousand, which wasn't a large number, but Da Xi was not a powerful Da Xi either.

Xu Bing knew that apart from himself, no one in the entire Da Xi would care about the lives of these refugees. If he wanted the court to allocate grain, there would be considerable resistance.

Soon, all of the more than one thousand refugees had entered the city. The general guarding the city came to report, and Xu Bing also drove his carriage into the city.

"You organize them, set up some sheds here, and I'll handle the rest."

Xu Bingchao gave the order to the general.

"Yes!"

The general nodded in agreement.

He immediately began organizing his soldiers to set up the sheds in full swing.

Originally intending to return to the Imperial Preceptor's residence, Xu Bing was forced to travel around again with Ji Yuan because of the refugee issue.

For Ji Yuan, however, it was a rare opportunity to experience working at the grassroots level.

During her four-year reign, she did handle many disaster relief incidents, but as the empire's decision-maker, her role was simply to appoint officials and then allocate funds and supplies.

That's it.

As for the people suffering from hunger and cold under the city of Daxi, she knew nothing about their condition, how cold, how hungry, or how pitiful they were.

But today she saw only a glimpse of it, and her heart was not at peace.

I also saw how Xu Bing was treated.

While having the soldiers at the East Gate build shacks for the refugees, Xu Bing drove his carriage to the bustling downtown area of ​​the East District.

He mainly did two things.

The first thing to do is buy charcoal.

The second thing was to buy grain.

He instructed the charcoal seller in Dongcheng District to deliver all the charcoal he had to the shantytowns of the displaced people.

Subsequently, he used his own money to purchase coarse rice from various sources.

"Heh." Ji Yuan scoffed at this, thinking, "They're being so stingy when it comes to saving disaster victims."

Xu Bingzao had disliked this woman for a long time, so he slapped her on the buttocks.

"White rice is expensive and scarce, and it doesn't feel very filling."

"For disaster victims, filling their stomachs is the priority, not the taste."

Xu Bing clapped his hands. The feel was not bad. As expected of the Empress Da-Dou, bah, Empress Da-Xi.

Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan, who should have been furious, suddenly calmed down.

She hadn't grasped this meaning and stubbornly retorted, "Then...can't you just say it properly?"

……

evening.

More than sixty sheds have been erected on an open space in Qinglong District.

It was crudely built with wood and straw, and could only be used to keep out snowfall, with almost no effect on keeping warm.

A layer of straw was laid on the ground, and then a thick cloth was laid on top.

Each shed could accommodate about twenty people. They were assigned to different sheds in an orderly manner. Those with families stayed with their families, while those without families moved among the other sheds.

In each shed, there were four stoves, each burning with plenty of charcoal. Everyone sitting in the sheds stretched out their hands to warm themselves in the stoves.

The refugees, who had endured the bitter cold, finally felt a sliver of warmth. Snoring gradually filled the makeshift shelter.

That wasn't all. Xu Bing also summoned more than fifty chefs from various restaurants to cook a bowl of coarse rice porridge for the refugees.

At this moment, the hot porridge has just been cooked, and the refugees are lining up in an orderly manner to receive it.

Some people took a sip of the hot porridge and their eyes welled up with tears, which they then wiped away.

When their own people suffered natural disasters, they ate dirt and gnawed on tree roots. After trekking thousands of miles, they finally got a bowl of hot porridge and some disaster relief food.

How could I not be moved?

It was this bowl of hot porridge that rekindled their hope to live.

Xu Bing stood in a shed, watching the scene unfold before him, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.

Seeing this, I felt that all my hard work that day had been worthwhile.

Ji Yuan also got off the carriage and stood beside Xu Bing, but her long golden hair, a symbol of her status, was covered by a hood.

"Your Excellency, I have come to confess my sins!"

The general guarding the city of Dongcheng walked up to Xu Bing, knelt on one knee, and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

Upon learning that Xu Bing had paid for all of this out of his own pocket, the general's mindset changed.

I have come here voluntarily to confess my sins.

“The crime of dereliction of duty cannot be absolved. You shall be removed from your post and sent to lead the army for twenty feet. If this happens again, there will be no leniency,” Xu Bing said calmly.

The general was completely convinced and even felt a sense of relief.

"I didn't expect this guy to have such a charismatic personality."

Ji Yuan watched the general's departing figure, and how could he not understand the changes that had occurred before and after?

As she watched the disaster victims gradually reveal smiles on their faces, a wave of emotion washed over her.

At this time.

A little girl walked over. She was dirty all over, with dry, yellow hair, but her eyes were bright.

"Your Excellency, the Imperial Advisor, you should eat too."

The little girl held a bowl of coarse rice porridge, half-eaten, in both hands, intending to hand it to Xu Bing.

Unfortunately, he was too short; even when he stood on tiptoe, his legs only reached his knees.

In the little girl's innocent mind, she was willing to share half of such delicious food with someone she liked.

"Xiao Tong, you silly child."

The girl's mother turned pale with fright and immediately hugged her daughter, saying, "The Imperial Preceptor is of such high status, how can he drink such coarse grains?"

The mother looked at Xu Bing and apologized hastily, "Grand Preceptor, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Xiao Tong was ignorant. Please punish me if you must."

"It's alright." Xu Bing helped the mother up, then took the half-bowl of hot porridge and asked the girl with a smile, jokingly, "There's still so much left, are you really going to give it to me?"

"Mmm, it's delicious, and it's hot. It warms my stomach." The girl nodded vigorously and shoved half a bowl of hot porridge toward Xu Bing.

Xu Bing patted the little girl's head, took the bowl of coarse rice porridge, and drank a mouthful.

The lingering warmth entered his stomach, and he took another sip until he finished the porridge.

Many people were stunned, never expecting that the esteemed Imperial Preceptor would drink coarse grains like them.

The girl was young and knew nothing, but along the way, they endured cold and injustice, and witnessed the wicked faces of many officials.

Is there anything else you don't understand?

"Sweetie, go get another bowl, there's still plenty left." Xu Bing handed the bowl back to the little girl.

The little girl left happily.

Xu Bing watched her retreating figure, shook his head and chuckled. He really couldn't bear to let down this childlike innocence.

Ji Yuan, however, was looking at Xu Bing's profile. She saw another side of Xu Bing, that warm smile and compassionate heart.

"I misunderstood him before."

"Although he was wicked, he cared about the people."

"Damn it, he has humiliated me so much, yet why am I finding myself hating him less and less?"

Ji Yuan was in a state of utter confusion.