The next day.
"Princess, are you going to the Imperial Hospital for duty today?"
Early in the morning, Jiang Li asked Bai Zhi to tie up her long hair and change into court clothes.
"It's not a duty, it's an important matter that I have to attend to in the palace."
After carefully examining herself in the bronze mirror several times and applying some light lipstick, Jiang Li tied her cloak and walked towards the gate of the mansion.
Last night, she learned some business tips from Gu Qingchen. Since she wanted wealthy people from all over the country to join her herbal medicine shop, she had to find the best helpers now.
"Greetings to Princess Jingling."
As soon as I arrived at the palace gate, I saw that Nanny Gui, who served the Queen Mother, was already waiting there with her people.
When he saw Jiang Li, he hurried forward and saluted respectfully.
"The Queen Mother heard that the princess would enter the palace today, so she asked this old servant to wait here early in the morning."
After that, he waved behind him and said, "Come quickly."
When Jiang Li took a look, she saw that several palace servants had been arranged to carry a sedan chair.
"Today I'm here to check on my mother's pulse. How could I be so delicate?"
Jiang Li smiled and declined, but Nanny Gui said that this was the Queen Mother's order.
Therefore, Jiang Li thought about it and decided not to refuse. After all, the weather was too cold, and the sedan chair was specially surrounded by curtains to block the wind.
Along the way, there was not a bit of cold wind. When Jiang Li arrived at Yongning Palace, his hands and feet were still warm.
"Greetings to the Emperor and the Queen Mother."
As soon as he entered the hall, Jiang Li saw the Empress Dowager chatting with the Emperor.
"There's no need to be polite among family members."
After the emperor spoke, the empress dowager waved to Jiang Li and called her to sit down to her right.
"Ari, come quickly."
"You must be frozen. Drink some hot tea first."
The Queen Mother signaled the palace maid to pour Jiang Li the red date and ginseng tea that she had prepared in advance, and sighed, "This weather is really unpredictable. It was sunny for a while yesterday, but I didn't expect it to be so overcast today. It's a lot colder."
"I have been very comfortable along the way, thanks to the love of my mother."
Jiang Li's eyes curved into crescents, and the Queen Mother's heart softened when she saw this look.
The Queen Mother always sighed that she could not give birth to a daughter.
Fortunately, Gu Qingchen married Jiang Li. The empress dowager had always wanted a daughter as soft and delicate as Jiang Li.
"Yes, it looks like it's going to snow in the next few days. A sudden drop in temperature can easily trigger old illnesses. Therefore, I came here today to check on my mother's pulse so I can feel at ease."
As he spoke, Jiang Li had someone bring a chair and stool, and took out a hand pillow and placed it next to the empress dowager.
"You are truly filial," Jiang Li said, comforting the Empress Dowager. She then turned to the Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, how can I not feel sorry for such a well-behaved and sensible daughter-in-law?"
"What the Queen Mother said is true."
The emperor's scalp tightened when he saw the empress dowager's eyes. He knew that she was reminding him that two days ago, the concubine Chen had contradicted the empress and the two of them had quarreled in Yongning Palace.
It’s not that the queen is a bad person, it’s just that when people are in a position, they will always encounter various things. As the saying goes, one should do their job well. If they don’t handle it well, they will naturally cause complaints.
Jiang Li pretended not to understand anything. After taking the empress dowager's pulse, she also took a look at the emperor.
After it was over, Jiang Li performed an official ceremony and said carefully, "My mother is in very good health now. From now on, you just need to eat well and sleep well. There is no need to worry."
"It's just that Your Majesty..." Jiang Li shook his head, "Although the court affairs are busy, you still have to eat on time, and don't get angry easily..."
"I see that the Emperor seems to be feeling depressed, which is extremely harmful to his health."
Jiang Li has always been outspoken, and the emperor has long been accustomed to it. Compared with the roundabout ways of other imperial doctors, Jiang Li's directness actually makes him more at ease.
The Queen Mother's expression changed immediately when she heard this. "Grand Eunuch, is this how you usually serve the Emperor?"
With a "thump", the eunuch knelt down and apologized.
The emperor smiled and said, "Don't blame them. It's true that I've been under too much pressure recently and have no appetite."
At this point, he sighed. "Back when my father was still alive, every New Year, I would hear him sighing. I was always puzzled at the time."
"It wasn't until I took this position that I finally understood why my father was so worried back then."
The Empress Dowager pushed the snacks towards the Emperor and asked, "Are you worried about the treasury again?"
"Yes," the emperor nodded. "This New Year, there are so many things that need to be spent. Not to mention the tributes from the vassal states, and the rewards for the meritorious officials in the prefectures, but more importantly, we have to allocate some money to those impoverished areas so that the people there can have a good New Year. That's the biggest expense. Not to mention me, even the Minister of Revenue has been so anxious these days that he's had blisters on the corners of his mouth."
At this point, the emperor shook his head and laughed, "Look at me, I'm actually talking about this here."
"Okay, mother, don't worry about me. I still trust Princess Jing's medical skills. Don't worry, my health won't collapse."
"You." The Queen Mother frowned and glared at him, then looked at Jiang Li, "Ah Li, please take the trouble to see how to take care of the Emperor's health."
"A disease of the heart needs a medicine of the heart." Jiang Li said thoughtfully, "Your Majesty's disease of the heart, I do have a wonderful way to cure it."
"However, I would like to ask Your Majesty, approximately how much silver would be needed to alleviate our current worries?"
Hearing Jiang Li say this, the emperor couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Why? Princess Jingling can not only cure diseases, but also turn stones into gold?"
Seeing the emperor's joke, Jiang Li didn't get angry. He just said, "I don't know how to turn stone into gold, but I want to do a business with Your Majesty. If everything goes well, the national treasury will add at least one million taels of silver. What do you think?"
"One million taels?" The emperor was stunned. If Jiang Li really did what he said, then his urgent need would be solved. He quickly said, "Then tell me."
He explained his plan to open franchise rights for his herbal medicine shop in various places, and the emperor's eyes lit up after hearing it.
"Excellent, excellent! If what you say is true, I only need to issue an imperial edict to invite wealthy merchants from all the prefectures and counties to come to Kyoto to attend that health lecture you mentioned, and the people of Daning will be able to eat medicinal food to nourish their bodies. Then why should I worry about the health of the people?"
"This way, those Tartars will no longer be able to mock us Daning people as weak and sickly."
The more the emperor thought about it, the more he felt that Jiang Li's idea was a good one.
"However, you founded that herbal medicine shop. Are you sure you want to give me 10% of the profits from the franchise fee?"
The emperor couldn't help but ask again. Although the treasury was short of money, that was a matter for him and his ministers to resolve, and it had nothing to do with Jiang Li. Furthermore, what Jiang Li was going to do was a good thing that would benefit the country and the people. Even if he didn't give the treasury a share of the profits, he would agree.
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