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

Chapter 163 Vanity Boom!

The soldiers of the Five Cities Garrison immediately tensed up and stood up to surround the group of men.

One of them shouted, "How dare you! The Goddess of the Eastern Palace is distributing porridge. What are you all doing shouting like this?"

"If you want porridge, get in line. If you want to cause trouble, don't blame my knife for being merciless!"

Although the men were frightened, they still knelt on the ground, crying and begging to see the goddess.

"We wish to pay our respects to the goddess!"

"A goddess descended to earth, bringing auspicious omens; she has come to save us."

"We must kowtow to the goddess and kneel to thank her for saving our lives."

A group of people cried and begged for their parents, their emotions so genuine that they left the officers of the Five Cities Garrison bewildered.

They've only eaten porridge for two days. Is he really that devout to the goddess Mei Xingyue?

However, since the other party did not cause any trouble, but simply wanted to pay homage to the goddess like a believer, there was no need to maintain order.

The officers of the Five Cities Garrison gave another explanation.

"The goddess is not someone you can see whenever you want. If you don't want to leave, you'd better kneel here obediently. No cutting in line and no causing trouble, otherwise..."

The group immediately nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry, sir. We are just grateful to the goddess and want to pay our respects to her. We would never dare to cause trouble."

The soldiers from the Five Cities Garrison gradually dispersed and sat down to chat casually a short distance away.

Jiang Zao stared at those people who were still crying loudly, and felt that these people had ill intentions.

Before long, Mei Xingyue actually came out surrounded by palace maids!

She sat in a wheelchair, her body wrapped in thick fur, exuding elegance and nobility.

Although she couldn't walk, her face was full of pride and arrogance, as if she were a landlady inspecting her territory.

Before she could speak, her personal maid, Peach Blossom, came out and asked, "I heard someone wishes to see the Goddess. What is it that they want?"

The wailing crowd immediately stopped, and someone led the way, saying, "We are grateful for the Goddess's life-saving grace and her kindness to the people, so we have come to pay our respects to her and wish her good health and longevity!"

Mei Xingyue smiled and murmured to herself.

"I thought these homeless beggars were all ungrateful, but I didn't expect there to be some polite people among them. It was worth it for me to save them."

Mei Xingyue gestured to Tao Hua with her eyes, and Tao Hua immediately said, "The goddess has received your blessings."

"This time, the goddess is bestowing favors upon you on behalf of the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince is the heir apparent of the Great Zhou Dynasty. You should not only remember the goddess's kindness, but also the kindness of the Crown Prince."

The group of men immediately shouted, "Thank you, Your Highness, for saving our lives! Long live the Crown Prince!"

After the shouts were finished, a man with triangular eyes stepped out from the group and bowed obsequiously to Peach Blossom.

"Young lady, we wish to ask the goddess for a favor..."

The peach blossoms remained silent, signaling for the man to continue.

“We are refugees who came from outside the city thanks to the grace of the goddess. We were starving outside the city for more than ten days, and we ate all the tree bark and grass roots.”

"We haven't had a proper meal in so long. Now we only have one wish: to have enough to eat!"

"Since the goddess descended from heaven, food must be a trivial matter for her. She will surely be able to feed us, right?"

Looking at the man kneeling on the ground, Peach Blossom felt a chill run down her spine.

As the man spoke, his eyes kept glancing at Mei Xingyue, the greed in them almost overflowing.

Although they spoke respectfully, Peach Blossom felt that their gazes seemed to penetrate the house and look directly at the white rice in the warehouse at the back.

Jiang Zao was also stunned by the shamelessness of this group of people!

Isn't this thick white rice porridge enough?

Kneeling on the ground and asking the goddess for a full meal, isn't that going too far?

Because someone took the lead, those in the group with impure intentions immediately understood and followed suit, kneeling down and crying to Mei Xingyue.

Some people say they haven't eaten a single grain of rice in over ten days, and porridge doesn't fill them up.

Others said that they were physically weak and seriously ill, and that rice porridge could not save their lives!

Jiang Zao simply couldn't imagine what it would be like if this group of people went to Ning He's soup kitchen.

Ning He's porridge stall only has half a bowl of brown rice porridge a day. If this group of people goes there, won't they overturn Ning He's stall?

This was the first time Mei Xingyue had encountered such a situation.

So many people knelt on the ground, calling out the name of the goddess, begging her to have mercy and save them from their suffering.

They're practically elevating her to the status of Guanyin Bodhisattva!

This greatly satisfied her vanity!

In some ways, her title as a goddess even surpasses that of the Crown Prince.

Even if she becomes the Crown Princess, she probably won't be able to get so many people to willingly kneel on the ground and beg her!

Peach Blossom wanted to advise Plum Star Moon to ignore these people.

These refugees are all unruly people; they're just pushing their luck and trying to test the waters.

If Mei Xingyue really agrees to their request, then this thick rice porridge will not be enough, and it will have to be replaced with white rice!

But when she caught a glimpse of Mei Xingyue's expression, she swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Mei Xingyue then instructed, "Peach Blossom, these people are pitiful. Since they have begged me so earnestly, I cannot refuse."

"Go and tell the people in the back to change the rice porridge to white rice so they can have enough to eat."

Peach Blossom nodded, agreeing without saying a single extra word.

Upon hearing Mei Xingyue's instructions, the group of men went berserk!

Waves of praise for the goddess echoed through the streets.

Because the rice porridge was replaced with rice, the few strong women in the group were also kicked out.

Everyone knows that during a snow disaster, two ounces of white rice made into porridge is enough to feed ten people.

But if you make it into dry rice, it would be hard enough for four people to eat!

Although the goddess said there was plenty of food, the roads were blocked by a blizzard, and the nobles in the capital were stockpiling grain.

Who can guarantee that the food won't be all eaten up by tomorrow?

Jiang Zao was secretly astonished to see Mei Xingyue acting so arrogantly.

But without making a fuss, he quietly hid in a corner, calculating his daily expenses.

However, all the previous calculations will be invalidated.

Mei Xingyue replaced rice porridge with cooked rice, which will increase her consumption many times over!

After waiting for a whole day, Jiang Zao circled around a few times before finally returning to Ning He's porridge stall.

In the room behind, not only Ning He, but also the Eldest Princess and Zhou Wei were present.

When Jiang Zao entered, everyone in the room looked at her.

Jiang Zao bowed to Jiang Yueli: "This servant greets the Princess."

Jiang Yueli raised her hand to help her up, and Zhou Wei asked impatiently, "I heard about your situation from Miss Ning. You were lucky to survive. If it weren't for Miss Ning's martial arts skills and ability to rein in the runaway horse, you would have been dead long ago."

Jiang Zao's face also showed gratitude.

"I was given my life by Miss Ning, and I will work for Miss Ning here from now on."

"Miss Ning said you're smart, that you can learn everything I left behind in no time, is that true?" Zhou Wei picked up a needle case from the table and took out a few silver needles. "I said, you do the needling."

Jiang Zao was not intimidated. She took the silver needles and, following Zhou Wei's instructions, accurately inserted them into the acupoints.

He's quick, decisive, and accurate—nothing like a novice!

Zhou Wei was overjoyed to see this.

Jiang Zao is definitely the original female lead with good fortune.

She said that as the female lead, it's impossible for her to have no strengths at all.

Having interacted with Jiang Zao before, I found that this girl seems to have no other redeeming qualities besides her kindness.

Looking at it now, it's clear that his talent hadn't been unleashed!