Afraid of missing out on some good gossip.
"I heard that they offended the Empress, so they were all banished to the Cold Palace."
"No, no, I heard that she was banished to the cold palace because of the issue of having children."
"I also heard that those concubines had all cheated on the emperor, which is why they were banished to the cold palace."
"No, I heard that he was killed because he poisoned the princess and prince."
"I heard it's because of Lord Ji..." Everyone knows that Lord Ji has a mind of her own; what she says is like a prophecy, and she can find out everything in an instant.
[Hehe...haha...this group of high-ranking officials are just like ordinary people. I thought high-ranking officials would be aloof and awe-inspiring, but they're not like that at all...]
After she finished speaking, everyone stopped talking. How could they feel comfortable continuing to speak?
Hehe~ I'll also gossip a bit about this harem of three thousand beauties~
"The Emperor has arrived!" Before the gossip could even begin, they were stunned by Eunuch Cao's alluring voice.
The emperor entered, and after sitting down, he couldn't help but sigh. Luckily, he had come in earlier, otherwise, if the ministers found out who had cuckolded him, would he still have any face left?
"I have a memorial to present!" The Minister of Revenue stepped forward and read the memorial from last night again.
Now we need to reach a conclusion.
"My beloved ministers, what do you think we should do?" The national treasury's silver is simply not enough to sustain Fengcheng until the end of winter. The national treasury is empty, and the Ministry of Revenue is powerless to help. This is simply a helpless situation.
"In addition to allocating funds, people should be arranged to distribute porridge in the city, and families whose houses have been destroyed by floods should rebuild their houses together."
After someone suggested it, everyone seconded it, and some even thought it was a great idea.
"But where does the food come from? The food and silver in the national treasury are not enough to last through the winter." Everyone knows how long winter is.
For a moment, the main hall was quiet, except for the slightly "loud" sound of Ji Yingying dozing off, but no one dared to say anything, for fear of offending this young master Ji.
Even those standing next to her dared not move, fearing they would be noticed by the Emperor. Sigh! This young Master Ji is truly remarkable; he can even fall asleep standing up.
"My dear Minister Ji," a voice rang out, startling Ji Yingying so much she nearly jumped up. Luckily, she remained calm and didn't flinch, but she still cursed, "You damned emperor! You're going to kill me! You've scared me to death!"
After cursing in his heart, he still responded respectfully, "Your subject is here."
What are your opinions on the floods?
"Yes, I believe we should raise funds through donations."
"Oh~ what do you mean?"
"Yes, it's about arranging a donation drive to send the money raised to the disaster area. As for the houses that collapsed, we'll arrange for the local residents to rebuild them. In addition, we'll arrange for doctors to provide daily consultations, disinfection, and so on."
[The most frightening thing about floods is this virus. If you don't take proper precautions, it's absolutely...sigh! I'm speechless. As for fundraising, look at that old man in front. He claims to be the poorest, but he's actually the richest. He has thousands of bars of gold in his house. I don't even know how much money he has. And the old man on the left is even richer, otherwise his wife wouldn't have donated tens of thousands of taels of gold to the temple in one go.]
Just as Ji Yingying was about to list them one by one, the old man at the head immediately knelt down and said, "I think Lord Ji's arrangement is the best. I am willing to donate 50,000 taels of silver to Fengcheng."
"Your subject will donate 100,000 taels of silver..."
"Your subject donates 50,000 taels of silver..."
Once one person did it, another followed suit, and they all knelt down to donate. The historian immediately recorded it, and only Ji Cailiang and Ji Yingying remained standing.
Oh no, I forgot! My dad and I are dirt poor, where would we get the money to donate?!
Ji Cailiang was also thinking about how much to donate. Everyone else was donating silver, and his family had silver, but only 20,000 taels.
"Your subject will donate 10,000 taels of silver..." Ji Cailiang knelt down.
"Oh no, Dad, don't donate anymore! I have no money for food, boohoo!" Ji Yingying cried out inwardly; she really had no money.
[I never knew these old men were so rich. My dad worked in the county government for two and a half years, toiling away without taking a single penny of profit. Others become prefects in three years, earning 100,000 taels of silver. My family—we rely entirely on my mother's two shops for income. If I'd known we were coming to the capital, I would have worked hard to get rich. I wouldn't be complaining about being poor now! Waaah… Little White Flower, it's cold in the ground. Never mind, never mind.]
"Your Majesty, I am donating five thousand taels of silver..." Ji Yingying felt tears welling up in her eyes. Oh, how bitter!
【It's okay, it's okay. As long as I have time, I'll make money. At worst, I'll make and sell milk tea, or fried chicken and fries. Or, if all else fails, I'll sell recipes like those time-traveling women. With five thousand years of Chinese history, what kind of dish haven't we seen? Even aliens coming to Earth could come and create a delicious new dish.】
[If all else fails, I'll sell sanitary napkins, beauty and whitening products, face masks, etc., and make money off young girls. If that still doesn't work, I'll write novels—things like Mulan joining the army, the Four Great Classical Novels, science and development—kids' money is easy to make too, diapers, formula, toys, etc. Anyway, none of it's a big deal, it's okay! It's okay!]
Okay, Ji Yingying comforted herself, and the fearless expression she had just had was gone, replaced by a jubilant expression.
I snapped out of my daze, and the main hall was quiet again.
【Huh, why is it so quiet now?】
"Ahem, my beloved ministers, please rise. On behalf of the people of Fengcheng, I thank you all." The Emperor spoke.
Immediately, the ministers began to flatter him, praising him with phrases like "May your reign last a thousand generations" and "Wise ruler," which delighted the emperor. After all, this fundraising effort had indeed solved his immediate crisis.
[Sigh, relying on silver won't last. Silver will eventually run out. We need to develop agriculture, but this world has no cotton, little silk, and no down. Winter will still be tough. After court, I need to see if I can get some down, otherwise, I'll... Oh right, I still have to attend court in winter. I have to get up at five. That damn emperor, he's inhuman! Why does he get up so early?]
[I'm quitting! I'm not doing anything anymore. I might as well starve to death while I still can.]
"I found this at home yesterday, but I don't know what it is. I heard it's a seed, but I don't know how to plant it." The Minister took out a small bag of glutinous corn kernels.
Ji Yingying peeked over: "Wow, it really is corn! Why did Old Deng take it out? It's good he did. This stuff is drought-resistant, you can harvest it in two or three months, and it's very easy to grow. It yields a thousand catties per mu! I remember checking some data before; it seems that in high-yield areas, with fertile soil, yielding two thousand catties per mu is no problem, and even in less fertile soil, it's still three to five hundred catties. With this stuff, why worry about going hungry in winter? We should be worried about freezing!"
Everyone gasped. How could something so tiny be so powerful?
"My dear little Ji, do you recognize this thing?"
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