However, when he asked his father, the emperor firmly stated that these people were all good people.

This made Xuanming even more puzzled. If they were good people, why couldn't they step forward to protect the Xuancang Dynasty?

Instead, he always hid in the deep palace, talking nonsense all day long.

When he asked this question, his father smiled and said, “Ming’er, before the Grand Preceptor passed away, I asked him to tell your fortune. The Grand Preceptor only left eight words: fortune and misfortune are interdependent, follow your heart.”

"You must remember these eight words. If one day you do not know how to choose, just follow your heart. We will not blame you. The rise and fall of a dynasty should not be entrusted to you alone."

When he heard these words, he had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, not long after, the Emperor suddenly passed away without any warning.

He once wanted to go deep into the palace to find those people and ask them the truth, but remembering his father's dying wish, he had no choice but to give up the idea.

His father told him to pretend those people didn't exist.

The Imperial Advisor is gone, my father is gone, and my mother is gone too.

If it weren't for the Grand Tutor taking him under his wing, carefully instructing him, and inviting renowned scholars and martial arts masters from all over the country to teach him, he might not be where he is today.

Xuanming withdrew his gaze, sighed heavily, and turned to walk back to the bedside.

Recently, those people have been making more and more frequent underhanded moves. If this continues, we will eventually have to confront them head-on.

He must prepare a response as soon as possible; he cannot sit idly by and wait for his doom.

On the other side.

Yun Qingluo and her group traveled for several more days before finally arriving at Minxia City.

As expected, the city gates remained closed, and tens of thousands of people gathered outside.

Yun Qingluo quickly took out a large bag of medical masks from her bundle and gave them to the people in the carriage. She also asked Feng Tianxing to give one to each person in the carriage behind.

"These people at the city gate are probably all infected. Remember, don't take off your masks. Also, take this pill as soon as possible," Yun Qingluo instructed as she handed out the pills.

"There aren't even any guards at the gate, so the situation inside probably isn't much better," Yun Qingluo sighed.

As she guessed, she reached out and lifted the curtain, her expression somewhat shocked.

Mo Beichen, however, remained expressionless.

He carefully observed the people around him and found that they were not as excited as he had imagined about the sudden appearance of the carriage.

There was curiosity in their eyes as they looked over, but they didn't make any move.

Their appearance seemed to be a minor matter.

The key point is that there was no despair or helplessness in their eyes; on the contrary, everyone was very calm.

After a long time, no one came up to stop the carriage and beg for food.

This shows that they have food and shelter.

Mo Beichen noticed that they seemed to be quietly waiting for something.

Suddenly, a noise came from the city gate.

"Look, the city gate is open!" the Ghost Doctor exclaimed in surprise.

However, the people around did not rush forward in a swarm; instead, they slowly stood up and lined up in an orderly fashion at the city gate.

"Opening the granaries to distribute grain? I didn't expect the disaster relief here to be so timely. I hadn't heard that the imperial court's disaster relief grain had already been distributed." Yun Qingluo was also surprised.

Along the way, the scenery was desolate, and some people died by the roadside, but as we got closer, we found that the disaster area was different from what we had imagined.

The city gate was filled with simple little houses. Since the doors were all open, the interiors were clearly visible, and the furnishings of the little houses were all similar.

Setting up the bed is actually more complicated.

First, a thick layer of stones was laid on the ground, and then straw was laid on top to ensure that the bed was flat. Then, a very thick mattress was placed on the straw. The bedding was complete. Although the small house was not very warm, it was already quite good to have such a place to shelter from the wind and rain in the dead of winter.

"Auntie, do they open the city gates every day to distribute porridge?" Yunying stopped a woman passing by a carriage and asked.

"Yes, two meals a day, I'm still hungry, but it's good to be alive." The old woman looked at the government officials not far away who were already serving porridge, her eyes filled with joy.

"Cough cough." The old woman coughed, causing Yunying to cautiously take a few steps to the side.

"You should hurry up and leave. The people at the city gate are all sick. The officials said that once they recover, we can enter the city and go home."

Yunying asked in surprise, "Auntie, you live in the city? Were you evicted?"

"No, no, those of us who are sick report to the officials ourselves, and then we are diagnosed by a doctor. If we are really sick, we are released. We take medicine every day, and we can go back to the city when we get better," the old woman quickly retorted, without a trace of complaint in her words.

This greatly shocked Yunying and the others listening in the carriage.

"Oh dear, I can't talk to you anymore. You should hurry up and leave, or you might get sick too. Lots of people have died from this." With that, the old woman picked up her bowl and left.

When Yunying returned to the carriage, the people who had been sent to gather information along the way also returned.

"My lord, the situation is the same at the three city gates nearby. Only one city gate is empty and deserted, but it is heavily guarded by soldiers. The situation is the same at the other nearby cities."

The returning person reported everything they had learned to Mo Beichen and Yun Qingluo without missing a single word.

"You mean, their food rations are transported from several nearby towns and even small villages in the mountains?" Yun Qingluo couldn't hide her shock.

"Yes, the North Gate was specifically used to receive grain, so it was heavily guarded."

"The granary is the lifeblood of the nation, and the people's hearts determine the fate of the country. To be able to make such a major reform and implement it so effectively is truly remarkable, especially considering that the people still trust the royal family so much despite Xuanming's neglect of state affairs for so many years." Yun Qingluo said softly.

“I think even if we hadn’t come, they would have gotten through this on their own,” she continued.

"I never expected this. As expected of the first dynasty, the stability of the people is the key to the stability of the state. Look at them, apart from those who are seriously ill, the rest of them don't seem panicked at all. This trip has really broadened my horizons."

It was quite an eye-opening experience. Mo Beichen considered himself quite capable in disaster management, but for now, he was still no match for the Xuancang Continent.

Yun Qingluo slowly said, "This is also the result of hundreds of years of effort. We must understand that in the Xuancang Continent, there has only been one dynasty for hundreds of years. There has never been a situation where it was divided into three or four countries. For hundreds of years, the people have lived in peace and prosperity. Seeing that the rulers are genuinely considering their needs, they naturally trust the royal family from the bottom of their hearts. As a result, the implementation of many policies that benefit the people is only a matter of time. Storing grain for the people is easy to say, but to truly achieve it is not something that can be done overnight."

Now that our Sumeru Continent is unified, it will become even more united and better; it's only a matter of time, there's no rush.

Upon hearing this, Mo Beichen looked at Yun Qingluo with deep emotion, and Yun Qingluo responded with a comforting smile.

"My virtuous wife helps me soar to great heights," this phrase suddenly flashed through his mind.