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

Chapter 120 Starving corpses everywhere!

This decree left everyone completely stunned and speechless.

Zhou Wei couldn't figure out the Great Zhou Emperor's thought process at all!

The emperor hid in the Hexi Palace and refused to come out, ignoring natural disasters and the pressure from civil officials.

However, she was making arrangements to appoint herself as an imperial concubine.

Moreover, why should the Imperial Noble Consort be allowed to handle a natural disaster like a blizzard? What was she thinking?

From what Jiang Yueli said, Zhou Wei realized that the Eldest Princess seemed to be quite unfamiliar with this newly appointed Imperial Noble Consort.

"Princess, which concubine in the palace promoted this Imperial Noble Consort?"

Jiang Yueli shook her head and gave a wry smile.

"She was neither a concubine promoted from the palace nor a noblewoman; she seemed to be a commoner."

How did a commoner woman rise to become an imperial concubine?

Zhou Wei knew without even thinking that the woman of destiny had arrived again!

Generally, if the emperor and empress are on good terms, the position of Imperial Noble Consort will remain vacant.

This can be seen as the emperor, as a husband, giving his wife dignity.

But now, with Empress Jian Xiyan still alive, the Great Zhou Emperor wants to appoint a commoner woman as Imperial Noble Consort.

This is practically slapping Jian Xiyan in the face!

"Princess, may I accompany you to the palace in three days?"

The eldest princess immediately nodded: "Of course you will go. The investiture ceremony for the Imperial Noble Consort is grand and takes a long time. It would be really boring without you. Also, Ning He is distributing porridge in the south of the city today. I plan to go and take a look."

Upon hearing this, Hongxiu immediately intervened.

“Princess, it’s freezing cold outside, and I’ve heard there are still refugees outside the city. Just to be safe, it’s best not to leave the manor. Ziyu and I will go out to help Miss Ning.”

The eldest princess, however, did not seem to care much.

"You two should not go. Now that my cultivation has recovered, I am not afraid of the freezing cold at all."

Jiang Yueli stood up as she spoke, and Zhou Wei followed suit.

"Weiwei and I will go out. You all wait here in the manor. Hongxiu, take stock of the items in the storeroom. There is a shortage of supplies in the capital and prices are soaring. I am quite worried."

Hongxiu and Ziyu had no choice but to watch as Jiang Yueli changed her clothes and took Zhou Wei out.

There wasn't much snow outside the princess's residence.

It must have been a labor service conscripted by the Prefect of the Capital, who specifically sent people to clear out the areas in front of the gates of the imperial family and nobles.

The gatekeeper brought over two horses: "Your Highness, the snow on the streets outside is very thick, and the carriage will get stuck. Riding horses is more suitable."

Jiang Yueli nodded, pulled on the reins of the chestnut horse, and leaped onto its back.

Zhou Wei, however, stared at another white horse, perplexed.

She can't ride!

Moreover, this little white horse didn't seem to have a gentle personality; it even rolled its eyes at her.

We can't just throw her off the horse, can we?

"Weiwei, hurry up and get on the horse!" Jiang Yueli urged.

With a determined stomp of her foot, Zhou Wei closed her eyes, and with a "hey!" she mounted her horse!

The gatekeeper was so frightened by what he saw that he almost knelt down.

"Zhou Dianjun, you, you, you... how could you ride a horse with the princess? And sit behind her! Isn't that making the princess drive the horse for you?"

Zhou Wei sat behind Jiang Yueli, her face completely calm and composed.

"What do you know? I'm protecting the princess, protecting her closely."

The doorman was almost in tears; how could anyone do such a thing?

This is against etiquette!

Jiang Yueli was both amused and exasperated, turning to look at Zhou Wei: "Weiwei, you can't ride a horse?"

Zhou Wei chuckled: "Princess, have you forgotten my background? I'm more likely to be a horse rider."

Jiang Yueli then remembered that Zhou Wei was originally a third-class palace maid who had been sold into the palace.

Horses are a luxury item, and Zhou Wei comes from a poor family, so of course she wouldn't ride a horse.

She was used to Zhou Wei's omnipotence and naturally assumed that Zhou Wei could do the same.

"Alright, then hold me tight and I'm off!"

Jiang Yueli pulled on the reins, "Giddy up!"

The chestnut horse immediately galloped off!

Snowflakes, carried by the cold wind, blew into Zhou Wei's mouth, but she didn't feel cold at all.

"Yoho!!!"

Zhou Wei sat behind Jiang Yueli, raising her hands in cheers, enjoying the speed brought by the galloping horse, as happy as a little rascal.

Jiang Yueli was infected by Zhou Wei's excitement, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.

To be honest, Vivi is just a teenager.

He's showing a bit of childishness now!

There were very few people on the street, and Jiang Yueli was still walking on the Imperial Horse Road of the capital.

Upon reaching the south of the city, they saw no more than ten people; the entire capital was extremely desolate.

Upon arriving at the place where Ning He was distributing porridge, the two, who had been in high spirits just moments before, immediately changed their expressions.

There was a long queue in front of the soup kitchen, and everyone there was dressed in thin clothes, with very few women and children among them.

When Ning He saw Jiang Yueli, she walked over quickly, her face full of worry.

“Sister Ning, I was just saying that I hadn’t seen many people along the way, not even a beggar. I didn’t expect them all to be here.”

Ning He pulled Jiang Yueli to the temporary house behind the porridge stall.

Jiang Yueli glanced around and saw that all the rooms were filled with patients.

Several women, looking pale and sickly, were decocting medicinal soup.

Ning He found a relatively clean little house before whispering, "Princess, the situation is not good!"

Jiang Yueli looked at Ning He with confusion, waiting for her to continue.

"Has the princess ever seen so many homeless people in the capital? These are all refugees."

Refugees?

Where did these refugees come from?

"I just asked, and they are mostly from the south. They said that the south suffered from disasters last year and this year, with floods followed by droughts and frequent outbreaks of plague, which is why they couldn't survive and fled to the capital."

Jiang Yueli was even more shocked upon hearing this!

"Why have these matters never been mentioned in the imperial court? With the disaster in the south, are the provincial governors in charge of local administration just sitting around doing nothing?"

Ning He didn't know how to answer either, since they were clearly in the capital, where everything was peaceful and stable.

Little did anyone know that the South would be in such dire straits.

Zhou Wei patted Jiang Yueli's hand: "Princess, think about the memorial from the Prefect of the Capital, and then think about Chen Wenyu."

What's there to not understand?

When disaster strikes the south, local officials are obliged to report it to the imperial court.

Disaster relief is only one aspect; the most important thing is to plead poverty and ask for money, and also to get tax exemption next year!

But the entire capital city remained silent from top to bottom.

This could only be the emperor's intention!

The princess stood there, stunned, unable to recover for a long time.

How could her father, the emperor, pretend not to know about such a major event?

Ning He added, "There's something even more serious. These refugees tried every means to get into the city before the snow disaster. According to them, there are still many refugees in the suburbs of Beijing who couldn't get in and are now waiting to die outside the city."

"After the temperature dropped sharply, it's not just a matter of lacking food and clothing, but also of catching a cold and getting frostbite. With food prices soaring these days, I don't know how many more days my soup kitchen can last."

“In the past few days, most of the people who have frozen to death on the streets are women and children, and I have no idea how to solve this problem.”

Jiang Yueli glanced at Ning He, and the two sighed simultaneously.

Zhou Wei looked thoughtfully at the people queuing outside to receive porridge.

“Miss Ning, in the face of natural disasters, everyone wants to survive. Men naturally have an advantage in times like these.”

“In places we can’t see, they may use their strength to rob women and children of their clothes, food, and medicine.”

"Therefore, if you want to give out porridge, there must be preconditions."

Zhou Wei's words immediately prompted Jiang Yueli and Ning He to humbly seek her advice.

Zhou Wei then said slowly, "First, Miss Ning, you shouldn't be too kind-hearted. There's a snow disaster and supplies are scarce right now."

"Therefore, the amount of porridge distributed should be reduced, and each person should only receive half a bowl of porridge per day."

Upon hearing that there was only half a bowl of porridge, Ning He wanted to say something, but Zhou Wei stopped her by raising her hand.

“Miss Ning, please let me finish. Half a bowl of porridge may be little, but it can at least keep a person alive.”

"If you want to eat half a bowl more each day, you need to send a female member of your family or a child to collect it."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yueli and Ning He's eyes lit up.

"If there are no women or children in the household, even a temporary family will count. In this way, the chances of survival for the extra half bowl of porridge will be greatly increased."

"Furthermore, I will select those who can read and teach them basic medical skills. There is a shortage of doctors and medicine now, and my acupuncture skills can barely keep people alive."

"Even those who are illiterate can learn nursing, as long as they are smart and quick-witted."

Ning He's act of helping these refugees was an act of kindness.

With the blizzard blocking the roads, there's a shortage of all kinds of supplies, and even if you have money, you can't buy much.

Therefore, staying alive is the most important thing. Even if you are half-dead, as long as you can hold on until the snow disaster ends, you will be back to life.

Ning He wanted to start a women's newspaper and give voice to women, but her plans were interrupted by a sudden snow disaster.

But that doesn't mean the matter has come to a complete standstill.

The women and children that Ning He has helped will be her source of confidence in the future!