The three of them had a lot of fun playing with a block map.

The rain had been falling continuously, both heavy and light, so it got dark quite early. Mingxiu didn't let Yinreng go back. After informing Kangxi, she told him to stay there tonight and go back tomorrow.

Yinreng did not refuse; he was used to it and was not in a hurry. So the three of them had a great time and played until the lights were on.

The lamps used nowadays all have glass shells, and the composition of the luminous material inside is unclear, but they look no different from lamps that are powered on.

This was made by the two foreigners that Yinreng found. It can also adjust the brightness and works very well.

Anyway, Mingxiu liked it very much, but perhaps because the production volume was not high, there weren't many of these lamps. They were only available at her place, the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager's place, the Imperial Noble Consort's place, and also at the places of Consort Hui, Consort Rong, and Xiao Hesheli.

The one given to Consort Hui was given to her by Yinzhi. The remaining two were given to her by Mingxiu because she and Consort Hui both had them, and since they were good friends, it wouldn't be right for others not to have them either. So she gave one to each of them.

Because the price was relatively high, it wasn't shared with others. The rest were all sold. A small lamp could sell for 100,000 taels of silver outside. There were only two lamps in total. One large one could be used in the yard and could light up half of the yard, while the smaller one was enough for use in the room.

The smaller one costs 100,000 taels, and the larger one costs 200,000 taels.

When Mingxiu first heard the price, she was very surprised and heartbroken. If she had known it would be so expensive, she wouldn't have given it away. This wasn't giving a gift; it was giving away two hundred thousand taels of silver!

It pained her to no end, but she knew she couldn't take it back.

When Mingxiu first heard the price, she doubted whether anyone would actually buy it. It was so expensive. You know, 100,000 taels is not cheap even for a large family.

It would take several years to earn that amount.

When it was finally put on the shelves, the store staff demonstrated how to use it, and it was in such high demand that demand far exceeded supply.

Especially the large ones, which can light up half the yard, making it look like daytime if it weren't dark.

In the evening, the store used the smaller version and showed it off, and everyone went crazy.

Those who can't afford two will buy one, those who can afford two or three will buy two or three, and some will buy seven or eight at once.

Many of them were people who previously thought the other person didn't have much money, or people who didn't know the other person was actually rich.

Some of them were high-ranking officials in the court. When Yinreng and Kangxi learned that some of these officials had made purchases, their faces turned dark.

They are all really rich, but they still borrow money from the national treasury and don't pay it back.

However, this infuriated Kangxi and Yinreng, and also made them realize who was particularly wealthy.

Then the ministers made a note of it in Yinreng and Kangxi's little notebooks, keeping it in mind that they would definitely find an opportunity to get the money back in the future.

Emperor Kangxi was angry because the national treasury had been poor since he ascended the throne, and he still lent money to his ministers. However, those ministers were ungrateful and used the money to buy these things, and they didn't repay the money.

Yinreng simply felt that his father was too poor, especially after he spent some time looking at the account books with some senior officials from the Ministry of Revenue, which made him feel that his father was even poorer.

And he has so many things to do: shipbuilding, cannon construction, building a research institute—the institute's funding, and organizing exchange conferences all require money.

If all the money is borrowed, he won't have any money left to do these things.

These people are now borrowing money because they're stealing from their own family, which is equivalent to stealing their own money, so they're unhappy. Therefore, two petty-minded people are secretly plotting.

Mingxiu was astonished to hear that this thing was so expensive; there really are a lot of rich people.

The money was divided between Yinreng and Kangxi. Mingxiu didn't ask in detail how it was divided, but she knew that Yinreng's share should have been quite large.

In short, Kangxi and Yinreng made a fortune in just a few months.

If it weren't for the fact that production of this product couldn't keep up, Mingxiu felt that the two of them could have earned even more money.

Yinreng also suggested taking this item to the Jiangnan and coastal areas, where it was sold for several times the original price at an astronomical price, but it was still in short supply.

Emperor Kangxi has been experiencing both joy and anger these past few months.

Mingxiu was simply shocked. Luckily, she didn't have to pay for it, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to afford it.

She couldn't afford headlights with all her savings.

However, to her surprise, while she couldn't afford it, many concubines in the palace could, and many of them secretly bought one and started using it.

Seeing this, Mingxiu became even more envious of their wealth.

But I have to admit that this thing is really useful; it makes reading at night much easier on my eyes.

When Kangxi arrived that evening, he saw the three of them intently working on a puzzle in a brightly lit room.

With a smile, they quietly walked over. Sensing the shadows above them, the three of them looked up in surprise and saw Kangxi looking down at them.

"Your Majesty, why have you arrived so early today?" Mingxiu asked curiously. Although he usually said he came to escape the summer heat, he still had matters to attend to in the court and was very busy.

Kangxi glanced down at Mingxiu, then at the two people beside him who both looked on in agreement, and sneered, "Hmph, you three don't even know what time it is, yet you say I arrived early."

When Mingxiu and the other two heard this, they turned to look at the sky outside. Sure enough, it was pitch black outside, and it was obviously quite late.

Mingxiu smiled awkwardly: "Oh dear, has Your Majesty eaten yet? I still have some food here."

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!