I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 17 United as one
In front of the Luoyang government office, a temporary shed was built to shelter from the wind and snow.

Under the shed, five clerks were writing furiously.

"Name," the clerk asked.

"Tian Dafu," said the middle-aged man in silk clothes with a big belly, smiling.

"What is the donation?"

"Ten thousand taels of silver, plus one hundred pieces of mulberry and hemp, and one hundred dan of grain."

Secretary Wen wrote down, "Thank you Mr. Tian for the donation."

The note was passed to the back, and the clerk in charge of writing the red list immediately dipped his pen in ink. Tian Dafu saw that his name was ranked second, and it was written under the two big characters Tang Zhao, and left with satisfaction.

"Name."

"Zhang Qian," said a young scholar in a scholar's robe.

"What is the donation?"

"My family is not very well off, but I am willing to do my bit for the people of Dayu. I would like to donate thirty taels of silver to help the victims get through the cold winter."

“Thank you, Mr. Zhang, for your donation.”

"Name."

"My parents didn't give me a name. I'm a butcher, so the neighbors all call me Zhang the Butcher. Adults just write Zhang the Butcher."

"Butcher Zhang," the clerk wrote, "what is your donation?"

"My family butchers and raises pigs. I donated 30 pigs for the disaster victims to eat!"

The clerk paused, then wrote down the donation of thirty pigs, treating them all equally, and said, "Thank you, Mr. Zhang, for your donation."

It was the first time in his life that Zhang the Butcher was called a hero, and it was an official at that. The tough guy felt embarrassed and ran away.

The Crown Prince's wife covered her mouth and laughed, but when she turned around, the scene in front of her made her unable to laugh.

"Do you really want to donate?" the clerk asked repeatedly.

"Donate!" The thirteen or fourteen-year-old beggar patted his chest. "A real man should donate if he says he will donate."

Okay, the clerk compromised, "What are you going to donate?"

The little beggar took out a piece of rag from his bosom, carefully unfolded it, and held it in front of him with both hands. "Here is a total of 132 coins. It is what the 13 of us brothers and sisters have begged for in the past two months." The little beggar asked shyly, "Can you write down our names?"

"Yes," the clerk choked up, picked up the pen and asked, "What's your name?"

The little beggar scratched his head. Oops, they forgot to give themselves a name!

"How about I write about the Thirteen Beggars' Donations?"

The little beggar was not happy. He asked what a beggar was. He pointed to the first name on the red list and asked, "How do you pronounce that word?"

The clerk glanced back and said, "Tang."

"Then we'll take the surname Tang," the little beggar urged him, "so we'll write Tang Yishi."

The clerk twitched his lips and wrote: Thirteen Tang heroes donated one hundred and thirty-two coins.

The little beggar could not read, so he pestered the document to read it three times before he left satisfied.

The Crown Princess gestured to stop the little beggar.

"What are you doing?" the little beggar was scared.

Feng Qi grabbed a handful of candy from her purse and gave it to him. "Don't be afraid. My master is the Crown Prince's Consort of Prince Xuan's Mansion. She just wants to ask you a few questions and won't hurt you."

"Prince Xuan's Mansion?" The little beggar's eyes lit up when he heard this. "But the Prince Xuan's Mansion, the one where the Fifth Young Lady donated all of her own and her biological mother's dowries?"

What kind of introduction is this? Feng Qi paused, "Yes, our Crown Prince's Consort is the Fifth Young Master's wife's eldest sister-in-law."

"Then, Princess, I wonder what you want to see me about?" The little beggar stammered excitedly.

Ming looked at the little beggar wearing thin linen clothes and with frostbitten and cracked toes, and asked with pity, "You clearly don't have enough to eat or wear warm clothes yourself, so why are you donating money and goods to the victims?"

"The Fifth Young Master's wife has donated hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to disaster relief, so why should we be reluctant to give a mere hundred wen?" the little beggar asked. "Master Yin has allowed us to go to the disaster relief tent to eat porridge and receive linen clothes. Now the money we begged is useless. Instead of keeping it, we should donate it to everyone for their benefit." "Princess, are you here to donate as well?"

Ming said gently, "Yes, but the donation is far less than that of the Fifth Young Master's wife."

"It's okay. Even if it's just a penny, the adults and the victims won't think it's too little," the little beggar pointed at the red list. "The seamstress donated five copper coins and was also included in the red list. Whether the amount is big or small, it's all a token of our kindness."

Ming asked all the questions he wanted to ask, asked someone to properly accommodate the little beggar, and then walked forward to queue up.

Feng Qi felt distressed and asked, "Why does the princess have to suffer the cold here? She can just go straight to the government office."

"It's okay. I don't feel cold."

It really wasn't cold. Seeing so many people gathered here, discussing how to help the victims survive the cold winter, she felt warm.

Soon it was Ming's turn.

"Name."

"Prince Xuan's Mansion."

The clerk looked up in surprise, but did not bow. He simply asked more respectfully, "What is the donation?"

"Five thousand taels of silver."

The document read, "Thank you for the donation from Prince Xuan's Mansion."

Ming turned and left. Before getting on the carriage, she looked back and saw that the red list, which was originally empty, was now densely filled with donated supplies. An official beside her was holding a new list, waiting for this one to be completed before replacing it.

Ming looked at the endless queue in front of her and smiled with relief for the first time since the snow disaster in Luoyang.

After returning to the palace, Ming told the princess everything she had seen and heard.

The princess pondered for a long time before she sighed, "With pure hearts and united will, there is no need to worry about the victims."

"Tell me, is our Fifth Young Master's wife really as the Imperial Master and the people say, a born lucky star?"

Ming didn't know how to answer.

Princess Xuan didn't need her to answer. She was happy on her own and called her son over to give him a lot of instructions, asking him to treat his daughter-in-law well!

Gu Ci responded with a cold face.

In the main courtyard of the Bidan Courtyard, Tang Zhao spat out a mouthful of water. "Lucky star? Why don't you say I'm Guanyin Bodhisattva incarnated?"

Dongmei said seriously, "Some people do say that, but it's not as widely spread as Fuxing."

Tang Zhao's face was filled with black lines. Feudal superstition was unacceptable.

"I inquired and found out that this rumor was spread by the cook at the Luoyang government office."

The cook of Luoyang government office, that rounded-up number was spread by the Luoyang prefect, what does Yin Wei want to do?
No matter how smart Tang Zhao was, she only had experience in the business world. She was a layman when it came to officialdom, especially the ancient officialdom.

Unable to see through or understand, Tang Zhao simply ignored it.

But Gu Ci couldn't ignore it, "Brother, are you saying that Yin Wei spread this story?"

"The guards reported that Yin Wei had people spread a lot of rumors, all of which were in favor of my sister-in-law and were intended to discredit the Duke of Wei's Mansion and the An Mansion."

"What does he want to do?"

"I guess he wants to get an imperial decree or a memorial arch for his brother and sister-in-law, or at least a reward."

Anyway, it is something that can protect Tang Zhao.

After all, this time, Tang Zhao completely offended the Duke of Wei's Mansion and the An family.

It would be fine if she settled down in the An family, but the Duke of Wei's Mansion is Tang Zhao's maternal family. What girl in the world would dare to offend her natal family like this?
This is because they are afraid that their lives are too good!

"Is that why mother warned me to treat her well?" Gu Ci was speechless.

"After all, you had one before..." He swallowed the remaining three words under his brother's threatening gaze.

(End of this chapter)