Time flew by, and soon it was the agreed time to open the granaries to distribute grain. On this day, Dongfang Yi got out of bed early. She let Donghua comb her hair into a noble hairstyle and put on a magnificent robe for her.
After all, she would appear in front of the common people today, so she naturally had to show an air of dignity befitting the mother of the nation.
After finishing her toilette, she rushed to the Qianqing Palace. Helian Qi had already put on his bright - yellow imperial robe. Seeing the woman walking slowly in from outside the palace, he couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile.
Dongfang Yi rarely dressed up so grandly like this. If she was usually like a lotus flower emerging from the mud without being tainted, now she was like a noble peony, beautiful but not vulgar.
Since there were many people in the palace, she naturally couldn't break the rules. She bowed slightly to the man in front of her and said, "Your humble servant pays respects to Your Majesty."
Helian Qi nodded to her, and then the two of them got into the sedan chair to leave the palace together.
Outside the palace walls, there were all the common people waiting for the grain distribution, as well as the families of the laborers working on the imperial mausoleum, waiting for an explanation.
After getting into the sedan chair, Dongfang Yi couldn't help but act coquettishly to the man in front of her and said, "I got up so early today. I'm still a bit tired."
Helian Qi smiled and scraped the tip of her nose. Then he raised his eyebrows and joked, "Then the Empress may go back to catch up on sleep. I'll go and stroll around the markets in the capital by myself."
"You... are so bad!"
This made Dongfang Yi frown and glare at him. She thought that the man in front of her had really gone bad. Now he even flirted with her verbally.
Helian Qi found the little woman in front of him, who wanted to be angry but couldn't, extremely interesting. The smile on his lips deepened.
After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, they arrived outside the city gate tower. The stalls for grain distribution had already been set up. Ruyi was waiting at the stall closest to the city gate. When he saw the slowly approaching carriage, he immediately rushed over.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness the Empress, you've come!"
He was so glad that the Emperor had finally come, because the common people seemed to be losing their patience. Some village women were asking when their husbands would return.
Helian Qi held Dongfang Yi's hand, and the two walked forward expressionlessly. It was not until they reached the grain - distribution stalls that they heard the people below shouting in unison.
"Long live Your Majesty! May Your Highness the Empress live a long and prosperous life!"
This scene was not much different from that of the Mid - Autumn Festival banquet. And this time they were closer to the common people, so their voices were even more deafening.
The activity of opening the granaries to relieve the famine was proceeding step by step. At first, the common people received the grain in an orderly manner. But soon, some people couldn't hold back and began to shout in the crowd, "Your Majesty! When will my husband come back? It's been half a year already!"
As soon as the woman's voice was heard, others in the crowd also started shouting. There were women, old people, and even children calling for their fathers.
Helian Qi frowned when he saw this scene. He seemed a bit displeased with their behavior, but then he coughed in a deep voice.
Ruyi understood his meaning and waved his hand and shouted, "Stop making noise! Listen to what His Majesty has to say!"
After this shout, the noise below indeed subsided.
Helian Qi scanned the crowd and then said, "I am the Emperor of the Dongsheng Kingdom. Naturally, I won't ignore the common people of the Dongsheng Kingdom. You can rest assured. Repairing the imperial mausoleum is not a laborious task. So they will surely return safely in half a year, and the subsidies from the court will not be less either!"
Dongfang Yi stared at the domineering man beside her without blinking. She had seen so many sides of him, cold and tender. But she rarely saw him so impassioned, showing the vigor that a man of his age should have.
After he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence below. Then a voice suddenly burst out from the crowd, "Long live Your Majesty!"
Immediately afterwards, she heard the people below shouting this sentence in unison. In an instant, the whole place returned to the normal state of people receiving grain. A contented smile appeared on his lips.
Then Helian Qi walked to one side, frowned and said to Ruyi, "Arrest the woman who led the commotion just now and interrogate her. Make sure it's done secretly."
He had noticed something was wrong just now. Normally, the common people were very timid, especially the women. They usually didn't even dare to raise their heads when they saw the Emperor. But now a woman dared to lead the commotion.
All this proved that there must be someone behind this, and that woman was sent to disrupt people's attention. So he sent Donghua to investigate clearly.
Not long after, Dongfang Yi also came down. There was a deep smile on her lips. She deeply felt that this activity of opening the granaries to distribute grain was a rare experience for her. When she saw the common people smiling as they took the grain from her hands, she deeply felt that she was a kind - hearted person.
In modern times, she often wanted to donate some money to help the helpless. But neither her economic situation nor her time could meet this wish of hers. Now she had achieved it in another way.
Helian Qi saw the happy look on the woman in front of him, and half of his annoyance disappeared. Then he asked her, "Why are you so happy?"
"Because I've helped those common people!" she replied with a smile that made her eyes narrow.
"Then let's go and change our clothes. Then we'll go to the market in disguise," Helian Qi continued.
At this moment, the only thought in his mind was to find a way to make the woman in front of him even happier.
Sure enough, Dongfang Yi almost jumped up in excitement. Then she called Donghua, and he called Ruyi. The four of them went to change their outfits.
Dongfang Yi changed into a young master's clothes. She wore a silver - white long gown, and simply tied up her hair with a white ribbon. Without any makeup on her face, she looked exactly like a young master from a wealthy family.
Helian Qi still wore a long gown, but there was less luxury on it. His hair was tied up with a simple black - and - gold hair crown, making him look extremely handsome.
After the four of them changed their appearances, they went to the market.
The market was indeed as lively as Ruyi had said. Maybe it was because the New Year was approaching. Even the shops on the street looked extremely festive. Most of them were selling lucky items such as red Chinese character "Fu" and love knots.
The cries of the food vendors on the street were endless. The fragrance wafted over, and Dongfang Yi felt as if she was already drunk even before eating.