"Alright, alright, come in, come in too!" Fang Ruotang couldn't stand Rong Shizi's gaze; she felt it was very abrupt and he shouldn't be acting like that.
She lifted the curtain and let Prince Rong into the room.
Ye Wuxia waited leisurely in the room, and when she saw this scene, she raised her eyebrows and smiled.
Fang Ruotang ignored him and, after Rong Shizi entered the room, said to the two people inside, "You two can take a nap in this room! I'm going to the side room."
After saying that, she ignored their expressions and ran away as fast as she could.
Ye Wuxia and Rong Shizi exchanged a glance, both remaining silent.
Ye Wuxia asked, "Is the young master truly drunk?"
Prince Rong remained silent.
Ye Wuxia chuckled. This made him seem a bit stupid. The young master Rong was no fool. He didn't need Ye Wuxia's guidance. He was quite good at it!
Ye Wuxia lifted her robe and sat on the footstool in front of the bed. She knew the young girl was clean, so she didn't dare to lie on her bed without taking off her outer clothes. But it would be strange to take off her clothes in front of Prince Rong.
Prince Rong sat down in a chair, touched the teapot on the table, poured himself a cup of warm water, and slowly drank it.
Neither of them wanted to talk; the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Fang Ruotang, on the other hand, went to the west wing, sat on the warm bed, and started watching videos. During the videos, she asked Xiao Jingzi about Rong Shizi and Ye Wuxia's situation. Seeing that the two were just sitting there without any conflict, she didn't bother with them.
After finishing the New Year's Eve dinner, Fang Ruotang eagerly awaited the arrival of the Crown Prince and the young prince. The group of people went out, and there were nearly a hundred people in total, after all, there were more than a dozen masters and their respective maids and attendants.
Once outside the Prime Minister's residence and onto the main street, the group separated. Fang Ruotang walked in the middle, while the Crown Prince and the others protected her like four guardian deities.
As Fang Ruotang walked towards the Star-Picking Tower, the people on both sides of the road would greet her with smiles.
"Your Excellency, Happy New Year!"
"May the Imperial Preceptor enjoy peace and safety year after year."
...
Such as these.
Fang Ruotang, with a sweet smile, couldn't respond to everyone individually, but like a lucky baby, she smiled and nodded in response.
"Grand Preceptor, thank you! I got to eat meat today!" A very childish voice rang out, its high-pitched tone attracting attention in the bustling street.
Fang Ruotang looked in the direction of the sound and saw a little girl, about five or six years old, sitting on her father's shoulders, waving her little...skinny hands at her with great effort.
Looking at the little girl, her cheeks were thin, and her eyes were unusually large on her small face, yet she was waving at her with a bright smile.
"Why don't I have any new clothes for the New Year?"
Fang Ruotang muttered softly, smiled and waved to the little girl, a hint of pity in her eyes.
When she was this age, she was in poor health, and her family tried every day to cheer her up. She was thin then, but you could tell at a glance that she was well cared for.
This is completely different from that kind of thinness.
"These are already very good."
The crown prince glanced at the bustling street. In his opinion, it was much better than in previous years. Not only were the people much wealthier, but the smiles on their faces were also more genuine.
In previous years, it wasn't like this.
“Tomorrow morning, all the children who are not yet of school age will come to the Prime Minister’s residence to wish me a Happy New Year. I will give them all red envelopes as a token of my respect. What do you think?” Fang Ruotang suddenly thought of a payment app in a previous world that would send out red envelopes like this during the New Year.
Although the fund pool seemed generous, when distributed to each individual, some might not even have enough to buy a bottle of water, yet everyone was highly motivated and happy.
Fang Ruotang wanted to share this happiness, so she told the four princes about it.
She received 40,000 taels of silver notes as a token of respect today.
This was just what the four princes had given her. If you add the amount her family would give her in red envelopes tomorrow morning, it would be a huge sum. And for her, this silver was nothing more than dust gathering in her private treasury.
She didn't even know the exact amount in her secret stash, but it was said to be no less than the national treasury, given how many people were begging for the pills Xiao Jingzi produced, offering large sums of money.
"Sure! We'll fill the area in front of the Prime Minister's residence with wooden boxes, and each box will be filled with copper coins. The children can grab as many as they can with their hands," the young prince suggested enthusiastically.
Fang Ruotang, having gained approval, immediately began an excited discussion with the young prince.
Ye Wuxia didn't want to spoil the mood, but she also didn't want Fang Ruotang to spend money and then be blamed. She interrupted their conversation, saying, "It's best not to gamble on luck. For ordinary people, a copper coin can be exchanged for an egg in the village. Some children will get more, and some will get less. The children who get less will definitely be scolded by their parents when they go back, especially some young girls."
The Crown Prince and Rong Shi also agreed with Ye Wuxia's words.
Fang Ruotang was startled and immediately shook her head like a rattle drum.
"No, no! My intention was to help girls like those who were just now, so that they could take the money back and have a good meal or buy new clothes. I didn't mean to bring them disaster."
"It's alright, we can give a fixed amount to avoid such conflicts. After all, our plane is not as good as the previous one. When the people become rich and powerful in the future, we can do it this way too." The Crown Prince comforted Fang Ruotang, afraid that she would be disappointed.
"No need. The purpose is to help the poor anyway. Give each child one tael. I have a lot of silver. I've never used the profits from the silver mines the court gives me. I've saved a lot of it."
The silver mine was discovered by Fang Ruotang. The Crown Prince decided to give her 10% of the profits, and the rest went into the national treasury, which made Fang Ruotang's already wealthy life even more prosperous.
She had more gold and silver than she could ever spend.
"good!"
The Crown Prince wouldn't mention that starting from the 23rd of the year, the Tianyi Sect, in the name of the Grand Preceptor, set up rice distribution points near the capital, which only stopped yesterday. In any case, it was all for Fang Ruotang's sake to accumulate blessings, so the more the better.
Besides, this is something she herself wanted to do.
“I’ll contribute one too,” said Rong Shizi, who had been following silently behind.
Fang Ruotang turned around and smiled, "No need! I was using the money you gave me to keep as a token of my love! It contains your kindness, so let's just say we're doing something good for the people together."
Ye Wuxia originally wanted to get involved, but seeing Fang Ruotang's words, he understood that even ten of him tied up wouldn't be as wealthy as one Fang Ruotang, so he didn't force himself to participate.
The young prince still found randomly drawing copper coins fun, but he also knew that the common people didn't want opportunities to play around.
Upon arriving at the Star-Collecting Tower, they saw Prince An, who had been waiting for them.
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