The clouds on the horizon dyed the sky red.
Wu Lanyun gazed intently out the window, muttering to herself, "It looks like it won't rain for the next few days..."
Tang Huan silently sat down next to her.
After school ended, all the other students had left, but the little princess was still waiting here for the palace guards to come and take her home.
The guards arrived half an hour later than usual, at the little princess's own request, because she wanted to hear Tang Huan tell stories.
But today she didn't pester Tang Huan to listen to her story; instead, she sat there silently.
"If it doesn't rain, they won't be cold, right?"
"yes."
Seeing Wu Lanyun's earnest and expectant gaze, Tang Huan smiled and nodded.
This further solidified Wu Lanyun's idea. She said, "I have a thousand taels of silver in my secret stash. I can ask my sister for some more. How many people can that help?"
"Probably a few dozen."
Given the labor and material costs, the consumption cannot be low.
"How many people are there in the South District in total?"
"Tens of thousands of people..."
Wu Lanyun lowered her head. "There's still a lot of money to be saved, but it seems like my sister doesn't have much money lately either."
I can contribute over a thousand taels, and others can contribute several thousand more, but it still seems like the money isn't quite enough.
"Teacher Tang, do you have enough money to build houses for everyone?"
"That should be enough."
Wu Lanyun said earnestly, "But I want them all to live in bigger houses, like a vast mansion with thousands of rooms..."
Looking at Wu Lanyun's solemn expression, Tang Huan suddenly had an idea.
This idea came to him when he saw the little princess asking other students to contribute money to help with the South District project. Since the little princess could ask the children of these royal families and high-ranking officials to contribute money, could she also influence the people behind these children?
After all, no matter how much these children are spoiled, the amount of money they can afford is limited.
But the princes and ministers behind them were different.
"Little princess, do you really want to help the people of the South District?"
"Um."
"Actually, I have a solution."
"What is it?" The little princess looked at Tang Huan with surprise and delight, her hands tightly gripping Tang Huan's sleeves.
Tang Huan leaned close to the little princess's ear and whispered something. As the little princess listened, her expression gradually relaxed, and finally, only a big smile remained on her face.
"Teacher Tang, you're right. This will definitely help more people."
Once the people who came to fetch her back to the palace arrived, the little princess couldn't wait to urge them to take her back.
Upon returning to the palace, Wu Lanyun immediately searched for the Empress's whereabouts.
Upon learning that her sister was in the Imperial Study, she rushed there without stopping.
Inside the imperial study, the Empress looked intently at the group of ministers seated before her.
"What are everyone's thoughts on what's been happening in the South District lately?"
There weren't many people in front of them, but without exception, they were all among the most important people in Daqing today, either prime ministers or ministers of various departments.
Liu Danqing spoke first, saying, "His Majesty cares for the people and brings blessings to the people of the Southern District. This is truly a great blessing."
"Tang Huan was in charge of this whole thing; I didn't do anything. Now I want to hear your thoughts. We can't just leave this entirely to Tang Huan, can we?"
A teacher at the Imperial Academy, a member of the Hanlin Academy, suddenly embarked on such a massive project.
Don't the remaining people have any ideas?
Wu Lanxi used this incident to put pressure on these officials.
"Your Majesty, Lord Tang's actions have benefited all the people and serve as a model for us all..."
Before Cui Renshi could finish speaking, Li Lianying's panicked voice suddenly came from outside the Imperial Study.
"Princess, His Majesty is discussing matters with the officials; you cannot go in now..."
Immediately afterwards, the door was pushed open forcefully, and the little princess rushed in.
She didn't look at anyone else, but ran straight to Wu Lanxi and hugged her waist tightly.
Wu Lanxi looked down at her younger sister, her expression relaxing.
"Didn't Teacher Tang assign you any homework today?"
This girl would never normally come looking for me at this time.
Wu Lanyun didn't answer, but said seriously, "Sister, today I heard Teacher Tang recite a poem: 'How can I obtain thousands of mansions to shelter all the poor scholars of the world and make them rejoice? They will stand firm like a mountain against wind and rain.' Do you know what it means?"
It's that line of poetry that's been circulating widely lately.
The ministers present reacted instantly.
"You know?" Wu Lanxi asked with a smile.
Wu Lanyun nodded, "Yes, so I also want to build houses for the people in the South District. Teacher Tang said that many of them have no clothes to wear and no food to eat. It gets very cold when it rains, and many people will freeze to death. I want to take out money from my own savings."
These words made Wu Lanxi serious.
This younger sister, who had been spoiled since childhood and was quite unruly, was surprisingly gratified to hear her say such things today.
"Sister, I don't have enough money, you have to help me too."
Wu Lanxi smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'll help you."
Wu Lanyun scratched her head. "I asked the students in the school to contribute their own money, but it doesn't seem to be enough. Do you have any ideas, sister?"
Do I have a solution?
To be honest, no.
Having finally accumulated a sum of money, it's crucial to keep it in a useful place; otherwise, an empty treasury could lead to even more problems.
"Teacher Tang said that although my sister has no money, the adults all have money. They all live in big houses, eat fish and meat every day, and have many servants..."
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