Great, it's just a lackey, we're saved!

Chapter 162 This isn't porridge, it's rice!

The palace servants in the Eastern Palace clearly didn't care about this matter.

Ning He even sensed a conspiracy in it!

Are these people trying to take advantage of Mei Xingyue?

The purpose of the Crown Prince's distribution of porridge was clearly to win over the hearts and minds of the people.

But how can the will of the people be divided between the elderly, the weak, women, and children?

If these palace servants truly cared for the Crown Prince and Mei Xingyue, they would surely step in to stop the refugees from bullying the weak.

But they didn't; they were clearly prepared to watch the show!

Ning He sensed signs of trouble arising from this incident and could only ask Sister Yu, "Sister, are there still people who are afraid to come back?"

Sister Yu nodded timidly, indeed too shy to come back.

Some of them were even helping to take care of the patients from behind.

"It's alright. Go tell them to just come back. Although I can't feed them all here, I can make sure they live."

"Women and children among the refugees outside the city can also come if they wish."

Upon hearing this, Sister Yu burst into tears again.

Among the refugees outside the city, the elderly, women, and children suffered the most, as they were already at a disadvantage compared to men outside the city.

I thought that being put into the city would at least allow me to have a bite to eat, but I was still bullied and driven away.

If Ning He could give them even half a bowl of porridge, these people could survive!

"Hey, I'm going to tell them!"

Ning He added, "But we have to make it clear to them that I only have half a bowl of porridge a day, and it's all made of coarse rice. It's nothing compared to the favors bestowed by the Goddess of the Eastern Palace."

"If you are not satisfied, you don't need to come. Although I don't have any soldiers from the Five Cities Garrison here, the guards of the Princess's residence are also very skilled."

"If anyone tries to cause trouble or disrupt things, during this famine, I don't need to inform the Prefect of the Capital. I can just beat them to death and no one will care."

Sister Yu nodded repeatedly, saying she understood.

It is also said that these women and children are the weakest and most pitiful. Not to mention half a bowl of brown rice porridge, even a little hot water can save their lives!

When her eldest sister left, Yun Mo'er's face was full of worry.

"Miss, should we go and tell the general to send some men over?"

Ning He glanced at Yun Mo'er and said coldly, "Didn't you hear that the people from the Five Cities Garrison have all gone to the East City?"

"With such a good opportunity to curry favor with the Crown Prince, why would Lu Zhiyan think of me?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zao glanced at Yun Mo'er and became wary.

This girl is clearly disloyal; she got even more excited than Ning He, the official wife, when Lu Zhiyan was mentioned.

I'm afraid they harbored ulterior motives!

“Miss Ning, I have taken stock of all our supplies these past two days, and according to a rough estimate, we can last for another half month.”

"However, if Miss Ning also wants to help the newly arrived refugees outside the city, half a bowl of porridge can only last for seven days at most."

Seven days?!

Ning He was somewhat surprised.

For the past ten days or so, she's been doing the work of several people, and she simply doesn't have the energy to calculate these things.

Moreover, arithmetic, like literacy, is something that ordinary people don't have the opportunity to learn.

Even a personal maid like Yun Mo'er only managed the storeroom; the general's mansion had a dedicated accountant.

The management of supplies and expenses was a specialized task, and there were dedicated positions in the imperial court called Duzhilang.

Ning He was surprised to find that Jiang had this ability.

"You can do all these things?"

Jiang Zao smiled shyly: "I learned all of this from the old ladies in the palace. I need to save money, so I have to be careful with my spending."

Seven days is certainly not enough.

The snow started falling and showed no sign of stopping.

As long as the snow continues, the capital cannot return to normal, and the court cannot properly resettle these displaced people.

The imperial court is now paying a huge price to ensure the basic operation of the capital.

They no longer had the energy to care about these ordinary people.

Since Ning He has taken the initiative to treat her, there is no reason for her to give up.

"Seven days, there's still time. I'll go and try to get some more food in the next few days."

Jiang Zao advised, "Miss Ning, there is no need to be too anxious. The goddess of the Eastern Palace said that she can provide enough charcoal and food."

"If all else fails, we can buy grain from the goddess; she should agree, right?"

"They are all helping the people. If the goddess is truly compassionate, she will surely show great kindness."

Ning He thought about it and realized that this was also a viable option.

Mei Xingyue's appearance on behalf of the Eastern Palace was intended to win over the hearts of the people and enhance the Crown Prince's prestige among the populace.

If she were truly willing to sell grain to herself, she could give that prestige to the Crown Prince!

Ning He doesn't care about these empty titles as long as he can genuinely help the people.

But she was still a little uneasy. Was Mei Xingyue really getting enough food?

"Jiang Zao, if I asked you to spend a day at the soup kitchen in the East City, could you calculate their daily consumption?"

This job sounds easy, but it's not simple to do.

Jiang Zao nodded and said, "Sure! If Miss Ning needs it, I'll go right now."

Ning He patted her on the shoulder: "Then I'll leave this matter to you. It's very important. First, it relates to our grain purchase, and second..."

"Secondly, it concerns the stability of the capital?" Jiang Zao asked tentatively.

Ning He's eyes lit up, marveling at Jiang Zao's intelligence.

Mei Xingyue's entourage is too grand!

Ning He was worried that one day Mei Xingyue might not be able to provide enough charcoal and food.

The consequences of what these refugees in the capital might do are unpredictable.

"You go to the East City, I'll go to the Princess's Residence."

After giving her instructions, Ning He went to the Princess's residence alone.

Jiang Zao changed her clothes, disguised herself as a refugee, and went to the East City soup kitchen.

As soon as she arrived at the soup kitchen, she was stunned by the atmosphere.

The people in line were like hungry wolves, staring intently at the person distributing porridge at the front.

The moment a woman like Jiang Zao appears, the men cast vicious glances at her!

Only when they saw that Jiang Zao had no intention of taking the grain did these people put away their hostility.

No wonder the elderly, women, and children couldn't outmaneuver this group; the ferocity in their eyes suggested they were intent on killing people.

The soldiers from the Five Cities Garrison were sitting not far away, showing no intention of coming up to stop them.

Jiang moved to a corner and began to count silently in her mind.

Jiang was stunned when she saw a palace maid with a cold face scooping up porridge from the pot.

Is this porridge?

The porridge was so thick it could be eaten as dry food, and it was made with the finest white rice.

The palace maid stirred the pot with her long-handled spoon, and Jiang had already smelled the aroma of rice.

She had never seen such good rice even in the palace!

Even the rice that the emperor ate was no more than this.

Of course, the quality of the rice is secondary; the important thing is that the porridge is too thick.

That one spoonful, if placed in Ning He's porridge stall and diluted, would be enough for five or six people!

The goddess is being far too extravagant!

If we distribute porridge like this, how much grain can we possibly sustain?

Jiang Zao silently calculated the number of people and the amount of food, trying to deduce the daily consumption of Mei Xingyue's porridge stall.

Just then, a group of people who were queuing for porridge knelt on the ground and began to wail.

The crowd immediately erupted into chaos. Seeing this, Jiang Zao quickly hid and peeked out.

It turned out that the people kneeling were a group of men with pale, sickly faces.

They cried and shouted that they wanted to see the goddess!