I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 145 The Trio Reunites in Wuwei

Having stirred up the mess, Tang Zhao dusted himself off and strolled back to the Protector General's Mansion.

Lu Ying, who had been waiting in the main hall, came forward, bowed, and began to report on the work, "The first batch of disaster victims has been distributed to various counties and villages, and the next batch..."

Tang Zhao called a halt, "What do you mean by 'first batch' and 'second batch'? Didn't Wu Ding only bring back a total of over 30,000 people?"
Lu Ying explained, "When word spread that Wuwei County had taken in the disaster victims, a large number of people who had migrated north rushed here, hoping to receive the protection of the county lord."

“Your humble servant is delighted by the people’s trust and the princess’s widespread good reputation, so I have accepted them all.”

Tang Zhao:.
She simply couldn't believe how much silver was missing from the storeroom! Even a large and wealthy family couldn't afford this... Sigh.

"Lord Lu truly loves the people like his own children," Tang Zhaojian praised with a strong smile.

"Your humble servant dares not take credit," Lu Ying said sincerely, his eyes dark but his spirits high. "Your humble servant and the disaster victims all rely on Your Highness the Princess."

Tang Zhao felt as if Lu Ying had forced a mouthful of bitter herbs into his mouth, his heart and mind filled with bitterness. "Please continue, sir. How should the next batch be arranged?"

“The nearby counties and villages can no longer accommodate too many people. Fortunately, there are not many people in the city, and there are empty houses and dilapidated courtyards everywhere. Therefore, I would like to keep the disaster victims in the city.”

“You’re right, sir,” Tang Zhao said, having come to this point, he had no choice but to pull himself together. “Resettling the people in the city will cost even more. The disaster victims have no money, no food, and no land to cultivate, so we need to provide work relief.”

“But there aren’t that many jobs in the city?” Lu Ying was troubled. They could reclaim wasteland in the village, but what could they do in the city?
"If there's no work, we'll create work," Tang Zhao firmly believed. "Why don't we do something big?"

Lu Ying didn't understand what constituted a "big move," but she was stunned by Tang Zhao's tone, which suggested he was up to something.

"Oh, by the way, how have the disaster victims managed to get by without work?"

Lu Ying was still thinking about how to cause trouble, and couldn't quite process what was going on. "Huh?"

"I'm asking, where did the food the disaster victims have been eating come from?"

The grain transported by the Sichuan merchants is probably not enough.

"Oh, many aristocratic families are distributing porridge and medicine in the city," Lord Lu Ying said, listing the details with great familiarity. "Renxintang has opened a free clinic to provide medical treatment and medicine to disaster victims. The female members of the Xuanwang Mansion, Zhongyong Marquis Mansion, Meng Mansion, and other families have set up many porridge distribution sheds in the city."

“Your Majesty has sent people to inquire, and the grain is last year’s new rice. The porridge is also thick, and one bowl a day is enough to last a day.”

Tang Zhao had a bad feeling. "The Marquis of Zhongyong's residence?"

"Yes, the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Zhongyong, the eldest daughter of Meng, and the seventh daughter of Gu mobilized the young ladies and young women of Wuwei City to raise funds, and my daughter also participated."

Because of this incident, Lu Ying realized for the first time that his daughter, who had been spoiled by his wife, still had some redeeming qualities.

Tang Zhao looked up to the sky and sighed. He thought that by avoiding Wuwei, he could escape its sight and troubles, but he didn't expect that he still couldn't avoid it.

A true warrior dares to confront his sworn enemy. Tang Zhao stood up. "Let's go take a look!"

Lu Ying led the way, and the two went to the nearest soup kitchen.

In front of the soup kitchen, the ragged but spirited disaster victims lined up with earthenware bowls in their hands, waiting to get their porridge. The younger ones, unable to bear the boredom, kept jumping and tiptoeing to peek in.

The cook who served the porridge was burly and skilled. With a large iron ladle, she could scoop out a single serving from the porridge bucket. Some unsatisfied disaster victims shamelessly asked for more, but she would loudly and sarcastically shut them down.

The victim blushed with embarrassment after being scolded, and was about to retaliate in anger when a guard with a long sword appeared beside him. Before the guard could even draw his sword, the victim was frightened away.

"Oh, Your Highness is so busy. You haven't even shown your face since the disaster victims came to the city. What brings you out today?" That irritating tone made it obvious who it was without even turning around.

Sure enough, seeing that Tang Zhao ignored her, Meng Shu'er, unwilling to be left out, lifted her skirt and took a few quick steps, circled around to Tang Zhao, and said arrogantly, "Your Highness, what do you think of this soup kitchen?"

Tang Zhao was pragmatic and said, "Very good." The soup kitchen was simple but not rudimentary, showing that it had been carefully designed.

"Hmph!" Meng Shu'er said smugly, "It's indeed better than the soup kitchen run by the Princess."

Tang Zhao: I even opened a soup kitchen?
"I've heard that the Mirror of Light is highly sought after by aristocratic families, with money flowing into the General of the Nation's mansion like water. How come the porridge stall opened by the Princess is so small and stingy, with porridge so thin that even a chopstick can't stand up!"

Tang Zhao picked at his ear. "Miss Meng is right. I'll go back and have my servants cook the porridge thicker so that the chopsticks can stand upright."

Meng Shu'er was stunned. She had prepared for Tang Zhao's retort and had even prepared many arguments to counter it. She didn't expect Tang Zhao to act so uncharacteristically. She immediately became wary and asked, "Are you trying to harm me behind my back again?"

Tang Zhao shook his head, "I have never harmed you behind your back."

"How dare you say that?" Meng Shu'er roared. "If it weren't for you, how could my mother and I have been imprisoned in the ancestral hall for half a year? How could my mother have been confined to the Buddhist temple for life?"

Tang Zhao looked past Meng Shu'er and behind her. "Miss Meng, you should ask Young Master Yang about this."

Meng Shuer turned around and saw Bai Rouyin rushing over, surrounded by a group of guards and maids. She reached out and took Meng Shuer's hand, "Shuer, I couldn't find you when I turned around just now, I was so scared."

She looked Meng Shuer up and down. "Wuwei City is in chaos right now, and Shuer is about to get married. She can't be harmed in the slightest."

The words "soon to be married" diverted Meng Shu'er's attention. She didn't bother to ask about the relationship between the punishment of the mother and daughter and Bai Rouyin. She looked at Tang Zhao provocatively and said, "Your Highness has just returned to the city. You probably don't know that I am about to marry into the Xuan Prince's Mansion. My relationship with Your Highness will be even closer in the future."

They were quite close; she was even his stepmother now. Tang Zhao feigned confusion, "I wonder which prince of the Xuan Prince's mansion Miss Meng married?"

Remembering her grandmother's and father's words, Meng Shu'er raised her chin proudly and said, "Of course it's the Fifth Young Master!"

"Wow! It's Gu Ci," Tang Zhao exclaimed dramatically. "But with me as the principal wife, Miss Meng can only be a concubine now that she's entered the household."

Miss Meng gritted her teeth. She was so happy to marry Gu Ci that she forgot that a concubine had to bow her head to the principal wife for the rest of her life!
"So what if I'm a concubine?" Meng Shu'er retorted defiantly. "What happens in the future will depend on our own methods!"

Tang Zhao almost burst out laughing when she heard this. "You're right. In the future, we'll have to rely on our own methods." She wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes. "This princess is waiting for the day when Miss Meng enters the manor."

Tang Zhao didn't have time to argue with the two of them, so he turned around and followed Lu Ying to inspect the other soup kitchens.

Meng Shu'er stared intently at Tang Zhao's retreating figure, "Just you wait!"

She was the eldest daughter of the Meng family and the niece of the Princess Consort of Xuan. She refused to believe that the Princess Consort of Xuan wouldn't stand by her side!
Bai Rouyin stood aside and waited for Meng Shuer to calm down before asking her a few words of concern.

Meng Shuer glanced at Bai Rouyin, and thinking about how she was about to marry the man she had longed for but could not have, her mood suddenly improved.

The two left, arm in arm, chatting and laughing affectionately.

Author's Note: Seeing that everyone dislikes our male protagonist Gu Ci, feeling that he wants both, might be because the author's logic is different from that of other male protagonists in ancient romance novels, which makes Gu Ci's character seem less appealing.

Here, the author would like to explain the design logic of this article and also solicit feedback from you all. Please answer a few questions.

The first question is: In your opinion, under the ancient ethical concept of one husband and multiple concubines, what kind of man could remain faithful to one woman for life?