Chapter 64 Distributing porridge.
Although Lingyi was delicate, she was not the kind of person who would disregard the bigger picture. Seeing that he was working hard all day, she no longer brought up the matter of leaving.
Fortunately, Yinshuang Aoxue would visit the mansion every three to five days, allowing her to speak with him.
At first, they were reminiscing about their time in the palace, but gradually, they talked most about their days outside the palace.
Compared to the magnificent yet mundane life in the palace, it's much better to live a down-to-earth life outside, day by day. Although there are hardships and difficulties, and tears sometimes flow, the smiles are more joyful and touching because of it.
Lingyi enjoyed listening to how they and the palace maids gradually gathered together and became independent, sharing their stories, some heartbreaking and some exhilarating. She also enjoyed hearing them talk about the everyday lives of ordinary people outside.
That day, Yin Shuang Ao Xue told her about the tragic situation of the disaster victims outside.
With the country newly pacified and many people just beginning to recover, a snowstorm struck, leaving them with insufficient food supplies and causing many houses to collapse. Many refugees began flocking to the capital. Previously, a few scattered refugees were allowed into the city, but now, with increasing numbers, the capital had banned them from entering.
Lingyi asked nervously, "Did the imperial court drive them away?"
Yinshuang said, "They just won't let people into the city, they haven't driven them away, but there are more and more people outside the city. It's freezing cold, and they're lacking food and clothing. I don't know how many will die—I heard that every day when the city gates are opened, the soldiers have to go and clear away the corpses first..."
Seeing Lingyi's expression change slightly, Aoxue interrupted Yinshuang and sighed, "These things are none of our business. Fortunately, thanks to the silver that the Princess gave us last time, we were able to renovate our house before the start of winter and prepare food. This winter is actually more comfortable than before."
Lingyi said, "Is there anything else you need? Just tell me."
Yinshuang was a straightforward person: "This servant knows that Your Highness cares about us, but there is only emergency relief, not long-term support. Only by being able to stand on our own two feet can we live well. Otherwise, even if Your Highness gave us a fortune, we wouldn't be able to keep it. Even so, every time we come here, we only have time to talk to you, and we never leave empty-handed."
After they left with the things prepared by the servants, Lingyi sat there in contemplation for a long time. Finally, she ordered someone to summon Qin Xiaoshan and asked her how much private property she owned.
Normally, not to mention the frequent rewards from the palace, whenever there were new fabrics, clothes, treasures, or ornaments, the shopkeepers would immediately send them over for her to choose from. So, there was never any need for money. Therefore, she was unaware of how much private property she possessed.
When Qin Xiaoshan heard that she was investigating private assets, he thought it would require money, so he hurriedly said respectfully, "All of Your Highness's expenses are paid from the public funds. If Your Highness wants anything, I will go and procure it immediately."
Lingyi said, "No need to trouble yourself, I just felt like taking a look on a whim."
She didn't want to spend Qin Lie's money on things she wanted to do herself.
Lingyi only learned today that Qin Lie had set up a private vault for her, filled with all her own belongings.
Inside were treasures she had recently received as gifts from the palace and purchased, but even more were dowry items she had never seen before.
Qin Lie spent his days fighting campaigns in the east and west, especially along the route from Jiangnan. Many of the treasures collected by the rebel officials of the false dynasty and the wealthy gentry of Jiangnan became her dowry. The priceless paintings and calligraphy alone filled six boxes, which were casually piled in a corner. Even though she disliked literature and art, she felt it was a waste of such precious resources. Not to mention the dazzling array of jewels and jade artifacts.
There was also a thick stack of property deeds and land deeds, scattered throughout the capital and Jiangnan, the most prosperous areas, including two tea plantations. Qin Xiaoshan told her that now that the new dynasty had just been established, all industries were in decline, especially Jiangnan, which was practically a mess. These properties would bring in about five or six thousand taels of silver a year. After a few years, the income would easily reach twenty or thirty thousand taels a year.
Her previous dowry consisted of only a small box containing the dowry list given to her by Emperor Jiahe. It was unremarkable, a far cry from the dowry Qin Lie had prepared for her.
There were also a dozen or so land deeds and house deeds in the box. The late Crown Prince had deliberately purchased shops and land in Jizhou and its surrounding prefectures for her sake. Although these places were not very wealthy and the income could not be compared with that of the capital and Jiangnan, Jizhou had never been affected by the war. Qin Lie had people manage them, and they had accumulated a total of more than 13,000 taels of income over the years.
The late Crown Prince has been gone for many years, but she is still under his protection.
Lingyi was heartbroken for a moment before carefully closing the box.
With over ten thousand taels of silver, she felt more confident. That evening, when Qin Lie returned home, she told him about her idea to set up sheds and provide porridge to relieve the disaster victims, but as expected, he refused.
"Disaster relief is a matter for the imperial court, and it is handled by the Ministry of Revenue and local officials. Distributing porridge is not so simple. It requires not only food but also manpower. Moreover, those disaster victims have been starving for too long and may cause unrest. Without the supervision of imperial soldiers, it would be too dangerous."
Lingyi said, "The grain on the estate is far more than we can eat, and we can buy more. I have the money, and I've also decided on the manpower. They are the people from the palace, who are used to their jobs there and are very capable. They can also adapt to any situation. I will also borrow a few dozen guards from you. I will certainly not mistreat these people; I will pay them wages on a daily basis and will not let them work for free."
Hearing her well-organized explanation, Qin Lie became interested. "The princess already has a plan?"
Lingyi was indeed well-prepared: "These people cost ten taels of silver a day. A soup kitchen costs about twenty taels a day for food and firewood. I plan to open two, which would cost fifty taels a day. Snow disasters are not like droughts. When the weather warms up, those disaster victims will return to their hometowns. It will only take about a hundred days. I have more than ten thousand taels of silver, which is more than enough!"
The way she was seriously doing the accounting was really cute, but Qin Lie remained strict and shook his head, saying, "You're wrong."
"wrong?"
Qin Lie said, “You’re calculating the current grain price, but due to the snow disaster, grain prices have skyrocketed, and your costs will soon double. Furthermore, there are already refugees at all four city gates. Once you start distributing porridge, refugees from the other gates will swarm in. There are already over 20,000 people gathered outside, and the number is increasing daily. How many can your two porridge stalls possibly help? By then, people will be so hungry they won’t even know what fear is. Let alone dozens of guards, even hundreds wouldn’t be safe. They might even fight over porridge and grain; if pushed too far, they might kill each other. Anyway, the law doesn’t punish the masses, and it will just end up as an unsolved case. Besides, the tallest tree in the forest catches the most wind. The Empress Dowager and Empress haven’t said anything, and there’s still the Crown Princess ahead of us. How can you, a mere Princess of Duan, stand out?”
Lingyi's shoulders slumped, her whole dejected expression: "According to you, does that mean I can't do anything?"
Qin Lie pinched her cheeks, which had finally gained some weight, and comforted her, "In a few days, the Empress will take the lead in donating silver for disaster relief, and all the women in the family will respond. If you really can't bear it, we can donate more silver then."
Sure enough, a few days later, the Empress donated five thousand taels of silver for disaster relief. After that, the ladies of the palace and women from various families responded one after another. Qin Lie donated four thousand taels in the name of the Princess Consort of Duan, which was slightly less than the four thousand five hundred taels donated by the Crown Princess. There were so many powerful and influential people in the capital that it is said that in the end, more than one hundred thousand taels of silver were raised and handed over to the Ministry of Revenue.
Ten thousand taels of silver would make a splash even if thrown into the sea, but when Yin Shuang Ao Xue came again, she brought news that more and more refugees were coming from outside, and that they were even starting to storm the city gates, resulting in many being shot dead.
Lingyi asked, "Hasn't the Ministry of Revenue already set up porridge distribution points?"
The disaster victims simply want to live; even if they can only eat a little more than three-tenths of their usual capacity, they have no reason to seek death.
Yinshuang sighed, "The porridge was distributed outside the city. At first, many people in the north of the city pretended to be disaster victims and sneaked in to receive it. But what happened? There were hardly any grains of rice in a bowl of porridge. It was almost like dishwater. Forget about filling their stomachs. Everyone who went there came back cursing. It wasn't worth the effort of queuing in such a long line!"
It was obvious without even thinking that officials were lining their own pockets. Lingyi angrily said, "This is right under the emperor's nose, how can they be so brazen?"
Even the usually composed Ao Xue couldn't help but say, "I heard that the head of the Ministry of Revenue in charge of this matter is the Empress's younger brother and the Crown Princess's father. The people who were praising the Empress's virtue before have been secretly talking about it these past few days, saying that the Empress and the Imperial Uncle are in cahoots to swindle money from everyone."
She spoke in a relatively elegant manner, but the common people cursed her in a way that was several times more offensive. Some even accused the people who embezzled the money of being hypocritical, especially the Crown Princess and the Princess Consort of Duan. These two were the Empress's own daughters-in-law. Who knew that they were not donating money in person but dividing the spoils behind the scenes?
Upon hearing this, Lingyi remained silent for a while before whispering, "After you go back, do something for me."
.
Seven or eight days later, Qin Lie returned to his residence in the afternoon, a rare occurrence. Lingyi was sitting on the couch making an undergarment for him.
Qin Lie wished he could be covered in things she had made herself, but...
“It’s been snowing heavily for several days in a row. Even with the fire burning, the house is still chilly. There’s no rush to do these things.” He took her hands in his, frowned and scolded, “How are the servants serving you? Your hands are all cold.”
Lingyi said, "I'm not a three-year-old child who doesn't know what's hot or cold. If I feel cold, I'll use a hand warmer to warm myself up."
Qin Lie said meaningfully, "I wish you were a three-year-old child, so you wouldn't be so ignorant and reckless."
Lingyi blinked. "What is Your Highness saying? I don't understand a word."
Qin Lie was intrigued by her feigned innocence and cleared his throat before speaking in a serious tone: "Recently, rumors have been circulating in the streets and alleys of the capital that the Empress is going to personally distribute porridge outside the city."
Lingyi smiled and asked, "This action not only benefits the disaster victims but also demonstrates the holy virtue of the Heavenly Family. Isn't that a great thing?"
Qin Lie had no choice but to be frank: "Originally, this was just an insignificant rumor, but the Great Xian Dynasty has only been established for a few years, and it has suffered military defeats and major disasters. The rumors among the people have become increasingly outrageous, and some even say that it is because the Emperor has a flaw in his virtue and that the Goddess of the Nine Heavens needs to descend to earth to save all living beings. This is nothing but gossip and misleading talk. Now that I am in charge of the security and defense of the capital, I will naturally investigate it thoroughly. Princess, why don't you guess who I have investigated and found out about?"
Lingyi had lost all hope at this point and explained guiltily, "I just wanted to use public opinion to force the Empress to personally distribute porridge. At that time, no one would dare to be perfunctory. I also thought that the people around Yinshuang and Aoxue were of all kinds, and if they spread rumors, they would spread quickly and would be difficult to verify. That's why... I never thought that the rumors would spread so far."
She tugged at his sleeve and asked cautiously, "You won't arrest them and hold them accountable, will you?"
Qin Lie said, "If I were to investigate, you would be the first person I question!"
When she mentioned herself, Lingyi immediately became defiant yet assertive: "I know you don't want to arrest me, but they all listen to me, and you're not allowed to make things difficult for them!"
Qin Lie sighed helplessly, "You're only so audacious because you think I can't do anything to you."
Lingyi reached out and hugged his neck, forcing him to bend over, before asking with a smile, "You are my husband, who else can I rely on if not you?"
Looking at the princess in front of him, who was smiling like a little fox, Qin Lie's self-control in not kissing her was already astonishing. He still forced himself to scold her: "It just so happens that you fell into my hands. If it were someone else, what would you have done?"
Lingyi's lips seemed to be coated with honey, "If it were anyone else, they would be helpless in the face of rumors, only you, my husband, could unravel the truth so quickly!"
If I don't kiss you now, I'm not a real man.
Qin Lie pressed her down on the bed and kissed her for a while. If he wasn't worried about her catching a cold, he would have already taken her right there and then.
Finally, he sat up, and she nestled in his arms, asking, "What exactly do you plan to do with them?"
What should be done? He would have to destroy the evidence for her himself. Qin Lie thought to himself, but said aloud, "That depends on your performance."
Lingyi understood and quickly begged for forgiveness: "I've only done this one bad thing, I'll never dare to do it again!"
But she only understood half of it. Qin Lie whispered something in her ear, and Lingyi's ears turned bright red before she even finished listening.
"You, you took advantage of someone in distress, you are despicable and shameless!"
Qin Lie chuckled: "So be it, I'll act like a complete villain before the princess today!"
He kept his word; after dinner, he took the princess to bed early.
He forced her to try out three or four poses that she had previously been reluctant to do.
Qin Lie has been busy lately and often returns home late at night. Lingyi is already asleep by then, so she has missed a few days of that.
That night, the waves of passion surged, and butterflies fluttered among the petals, continuing until the third watch of the night before finally calming down.
The next day, before dawn, he got up feeling refreshed, put on his court robes, and prepared to attend court. Lingyi looked at him with sleepy eyes.
Qin Lie said remorsefully, "It's my fault for waking you up."
Even if he came back late, he would still sleep with Lingyi, having mastered the skill of not waking her up from the moment he arrived until he left. Little did he expect to stumble today.
Lingyi shook her head: "It's not you, it's something on my mind..."
She sat up and asked with concern, "Will the Empress distribute porridge?"
Qin Lie originally wanted her to stop worrying about things that had nothing to do with him, as it was a waste of her time and energy.
But looking into her clear and concerned eyes, he couldn't bring himself to say those words, and could only say, "Someone will surely provide the porridge."
Upon hearing this, Lingyi, unaware of the subtle implications, smiled brightly. Outside, it was a world of ice and snow, but inside, it was as if early flowers were blooming and spring was returning to the earth.
Qin Lie suppressed his urge to ask for leave and said to her, "It's still early. You can go back to sleep. When I get back, we'll prepare for the porridge distribution together."
A few days later, news came that the Crown Princess would be distributing porridge in three days. She not only distributed porridge herself, but also called on the noble ladies to set up sheds to distribute porridge and provide relief to the disaster victims. Immediately, many female relatives of powerful officials responded, which was praised by the people.
Lingyi was puzzled, "Why is she the Crown Princess, and not the Empress?"
Even if the Empress had given the order to the Crown Princess, it should have been her who rallied the crowd, but the Empress's name did not appear at all in this matter, which is quite unusual.
Qin Lie had anticipated this: "The rumors spread throughout the city, but they never reached the palace walls."
Lingyi was puzzled. Even if rumors couldn't reach the palace, the Crown Princess frequently entered the palace. If she said anything to the Empress, it wouldn't be Lingyi's place to take the lead. But whether it was the Empress or the Crown Princess, as long as they went out to distribute porridge, they were saving the lives of the disaster victims. Lingyi didn't think too much about it and started busying herself with her own porridge distribution.
Soon, more than a dozen soup kitchens appeared outside the city.
The Crown Princess's porridge stall was naturally the most luxurious, and the white porridge was plentiful and filling. Each grain of translucent tribute rice was poured into the pot, and the Crown Princess personally served the porridge to the disaster victims. The bowls were so full that chopsticks could not be tipped over. Not to mention the disaster victims, even the common people in the capital rarely had such good porridge. The people and officials present all praised it.
Other soup kitchens certainly couldn't compare to the Crown Princess's, but they weren't far off.
The ladies came out one by one to distribute porridge, and the aroma of the food filled the air.
Not only were there soldiers patrolling the area, but there were also guards from various prefectures, so no one dared to cause trouble.
Lingyi did not come out to distribute porridge; she simply sat in the carriage. Qin Lie took half a day off to accompany her.
But instead of showing any joy, she frowned even more deeply.
In just a short while, she saw many ordinary people from the capital posing as disaster victims. After all, even ordinary families couldn't afford to drink tribute rice every day. And they usually weren't satisfied after finishing a bowl; they would continue queuing, pushing the real disaster victims behind them. It wasn't uncommon for people to cut in line, and it wasn't limited to the fake disaster victims; even the young and middle-aged disaster victims would take turns queuing and cutting in line.
The elderly, women, and children who are most in need of relief are already at the back of the line due to their mobility issues. With people constantly cutting in front of them, it's likely that even if several more soup kitchens were added, they still wouldn't be able to get any soup.
The officers, soldiers, and guards only cared about the front of the procession to avoid offending the dignitaries; how could they possibly care about the common people behind them?
They completely ignored this.
On her way back, she discussed with Qin Lie the idea of adding another soup kitchen, specifically for the elderly, sick, women, and children. In addition, she wanted to replace the prepared white rice with brown rice.
“I’m not doing this because I’m afraid of spending money. It’s just that this is food for ordinary people, so they certainly won’t line up to compete with the disaster victims for food. Besides, today is the first day of porridge distribution, and even though the Crown Princess came in person, she only stayed here for two hours. She certainly won’t come often. I was thinking…” She carefully continued, “The Vice Minister of Revenue can deceive the Empress. A household is like a country. If the Crown Princess and the ladies don’t come anymore, won’t those servants also deceive their superiors and line their own pockets? As the reputation of this porridge distribution spreads, more and more disaster victims will come, and less and less porridge will come. I’m afraid it will cause chaos. I need to stockpile more grain at a low price for future use.”
With the empire newly established and numerous wars raging, unrest still lingers in Shu, leaving soldiers and their provisions scarce. Currently, most of the grain is in the hands of former nobles in the capital, who are all waiting for the highest bidder. A few days ago, when preparing to distribute porridge, the price of grain rose three times in a single day. Although Qin Lie gave her another ten thousand taels of silver, she was unwilling to waste it.
Moreover, she had a vague feeling that during a famine, people would eat grass roots and tree bark, so it was inappropriate to give the disaster victims plain porridge.
The Crown Princess was merely trying to win people's hearts; everyone else was just playing along, and no one truly cared about the lives of the disaster victims.
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