Several tables were carried out of Jinyulou, and the people on Lebao Street seemed to finally notice the commotion at the entrance of Jinyulou, with some looking over in their direction.

Several large barrels were carried out of the lobby, and the people on the street sniffed and immediately became excited.

It smells like rice!

The hungry crowd immediately swarmed around, like cats drawn by the smell of fish.

The guards outside maintained order, preventing the chaotic crowd from getting close to the tables and grabbing the food. Instead, they formed an orderly queue, waiting for the soup and porridge to be distributed.

During this festive season, even making steamed buns is a bit of a hassle, but porridge and thin pancakes are the most convenient and easy options.

For those who have been hungry for a long time, thin porridge is the best food.

In a private room on the second floor of Jinyulou, Lu Zhaoan and Gu Yaoniang sat on either side of the window facing the street, watching the bustling crowd below.

"Aren't you really going to go down and show your face?"

Lu Zhaoan glanced downstairs, then looked at Gu Yaoniang.

Gu Yaoniang shook her head firmly: "Go where? Didn't you hear what they said when they came over today?"

The imperial court's plan was for the Gu family to open granaries to relieve the people, but Gu Yaoniang's mind had been entirely on Gu Xingzhi, and she had no intention of managing the disaster relief efforts. Now that she had finally come out, she discovered that something was amiss.

The soup kitchens for disaster relief were originally set up for people who had no money and could not afford food. However, the soup kitchens set up by the imperial court now have good rice and thick soup, and people keep queuing up to receive them, including many strong and healthy people and those who are well-dressed.

Some elderly and infirm people are always pushed to the back, and sometimes there is not even any leftover porridge for them.

Although the soldiers maintaining order would intervene if things went too far, there were always people who wanted to get porridge from the porridge stalls. Those who truly needed it were often physically weaker, and even if they queued properly, they would inevitably fall behind. This problem remained unresolved.

Currently, the Gu family provides the majority of the rice in the imperial soup kitchens. Gu Yaoniang is naturally unhappy that her family's rice is feeding people who don't need it and are just trying to take advantage of it, instead of refugees.

Therefore, the first thing she did was to ask Princess Ruining to add more water to the relief porridge.

After the relief porridge became thinner, there were indeed fewer people, but it was still only a temporary solution. Many people in the city who still had surplus food came to the porridge stall to collect porridge, pushing the elderly, weak, women and children aside.

So Gu Yaoniang suggested adding grass roots, tree bark, and pebbles to the porridge.

Princess Ruining hesitated, "Is this still edible?"

It's right to prevent those in the family who are still able to take advantage of the imperial court. But how can anyone eat something with grass roots and tree bark added? Even the real disaster victims wouldn't be able to swallow it, would they?

Some of the officials present even directly criticized Gu Yaoniang, accusing her of being a greedy merchant with ulterior motives. Although Princess Ruining disagreed with the official, she did not adopt Gu Yaoniang's opinion this time.

Gu Yaoniang felt truly sorry for the refugees she saw on the road. Some strong people were able to grab a bowl of porridge, but the already weak elderly, women, and children didn't even have the strength to stand on the roadside.

She also saw several children, thin and frail like noodles, with swollen bellies, clearly starving and having eaten a lot of indigestible food. But their dark, bright eyes looked at her, making her feel both soft-hearted and guilty.

She then asked the princess to open a separate porridge stall at Jinyulou.

Fortunately, this time Princess Ruining didn't ask any further questions and agreed.

However, someone spread the rumor that the porridge was becoming increasingly thin because the young master of the Gu family was unwilling to provide rice and had asked the imperial court to add more water and less rice.

In fact, anyone with a bit of sense would immediately recognize something amiss—Gu Yaoniang was merely a merchant's daughter; how could she possibly sway the court to act according to her will? The court must have its reasons for doing so.

The public is easily swayed, and now, on the verge of collapse, they firmly believe it. They even connect the siege of the Gu family to this, spreading all sorts of rumors. Some even firmly believe the Gu family was the instigator of this silver-spreading robbery.

Today, Gu Yaoniang went out, and Lu Zhaoan picked her up to go with her. The two of them were recognized while sitting in the "Fortune-Bringing" car. Curses about the Gu family and Gu Yaoniang were heard all over the street, and some people even spat on the "Fortune-Bringing" car.

"Actually, they didn't mean any harm. They're just simple-minded and easily swayed. Once they realize what's happening, they'll be grateful to you."

Lu Zhaoan comforted him.

Gu Yaoniang nodded calmly: "I know. But since they now think I'm not a good person, why should I make a fool of myself?"

A queue had already formed at the soup kitchen downstairs, and Jin Yu Lou was handing out thick, white porridge mixed with pebbles to the disaster victims. Sure enough, the first reaction was a curse. The already sparse crowd in front of Jin Yu Lou dispersed even further.

The rest were people who looked weak and powerless, and the people from Jin Yu Lou handed them to Zhou one by one.

Although the porridge at Jin Yu Lou contained pebbles, it was thicker than the porridge served in the imperial court today. Drinking it brought a sense of warmth and comfort to the heart.

Some of the refugees downstairs hadn't had porridge in a long time; this was their first meal in many days, and no one was fighting with them for it.

It's unclear who started it, but some people began kneeling and bowing in the direction of Jin Yulou. One person did it, then two, three, then many more…

Gu Yaoniang reacted as if burned, quickly leaving the window and retreating to a place downstairs where she would not be seen. Yet, a smile appeared on her face for the first time that day.

Looking at her, Lu Zhaoan finally felt relieved and raised his chin: "See, I told you so? It wasn't for nothing that you specifically instructed that the mud and pebbles mixed into the porridge must be washed clean, and you even asked Doctor Song to add a stomach-soothing prescription."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!