"Is she really willing?"
The Empress, as if grasping at a straw, asked anxiously.
Jianqiu nodded firmly, tears streaming down her face. "She must be willing, she must be!"
Jianqiu made up her mind that from now on, she would just keep these things to herself and wouldn't need to let the Empress know everything.
*
Changchun Immortal Hall
After returning from grinding ink at Jiuzhou Qingyan, Sun Miaoqing changed her clothes and lay half-reclined on the soft couch.
She opened her arms and let Linglan and Liuli each give her a massage.
"After grinding ink for so many days in a row, my arms have become stiff. If you guys didn't massage them for me every day when I came back, I would have developed superhuman arms."
Liuli asked curiously, "Your Majesty, what is a Qilin arm?"
Sun Miaoqing said, "Legend has it that if the blood of the fire qilin is sprinkled on a person's arm, that arm will have the power to move mountains and rivers."
"How many people are like that? That's why we use the term 'unicorn arm' to describe those thick and hard arms."
Liuli exclaimed in amazement, "Strong enough to uproot mountains and rivers? Isn't that like Xiang Yu?!"
Linglan laughed, "If grinding ink could produce the strength of a Qilin, then every guard in the palace would be a reincarnation of a Hercules."
Sun Miaoqing said, "I was just exaggerating, you understand?"
"By the way, is there any news about the matter of Imperial Physician Lu being sent by the Emperor to take over the smallpox vaccination?"
Linglan replied, "The Emperor is keeping a close eye on this matter, and no news has come out from Physician Lu."
"However, Lord Zhang said that everything is under control. People recover from smallpox in a few days and it will not affect their work."
"It's safer and easier to contract than smallpox. Now, 90% of the cows in Beijing are under your control. We also raise thousands of our own cattle."
"The original estate was no longer enough to support them, so Lord Zhang had three more estates acquired in Hebei. Dairy farms in Sichuan and Jiangnan are also under construction."
"There will be a steady supply of smallpox vaccines. At that time, the cost of the vaccine will be only 10 coins per person. Our Qing Dynasty has more than 20 million people, not counting those who are hiding, which is hundreds of thousands of taels of silver."
Take money?
Sun Miaoqing asked, "Who said we'd charge money? Eradicating smallpox is a big deal. Does that mean we won't let people get vaccinated if they can't pay?"
Liuli said, "Does Your Majesty mean you don't want the money? But this is your dowry with interest. If you don't accept the money, the Emperor will become even more unscrupulous."
Linglan nodded vigorously, "That's exactly what I mean. The Emperor takes 30% of the profits just by giving his name. If he needs money again someday, who knows what other ideas he might have!"
Sun Miaoqing immediately perked up; how could she not have thought of that? That fat orange guy was incredibly petty; he might already be secretly plotting against her.
"It's not that I don't want it, but even brothers need to keep clear accounts, let alone me and the Emperor!"
"The sooner such a major project, which benefits the country and its people, is implemented nationwide, the sooner lives will be saved. It is also for the development of trade, just like building bridges and roads."
Sun Miaoqing said firmly, "The people have all paid taxes, so the government should pay for it!"
Linglan asked hesitantly, "You mean you want the Emperor to pay this sum of money to buy smallpox vaccines from you, and then give the people free vaccinations?"
Sun Miaoqing nodded, "Of course, if he doesn't do this kind of favor to the people, wouldn't it be overstepping my bounds if I did it?"
Linglan found this unreliable; it was unprecedented. In the past, the most they did was exempt people from taxes, but whether that was actually implemented depended on the officials in charge.
I have never heard of the government spending money to provide welfare to its citizens.
Linglan whispered, "Will this work? Will the Emperor agree?"
Sun Miaoqing said, "What could he possibly disagree with? The national treasury will contribute 300,000 taels of silver, and 100,000 taels will end up in his hands. I bet he'll be very happy about that!"
Linglan and Liuli felt like they had never seen anything like this before; could business really be done this way?
Liuli exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't this the Emperor leading the charge, using the national treasury's money to make money for himself?"
"But the whole world belongs to the emperor!"
Sun Miaoqing said, "Even if you possess the whole world, you can't do whatever you want, but the private treasury is his own private treasury, and the two should not be confused."
Linglan murmured, "This servant is confused. Besides the expenses of the harem, the Emperor's private treasury was also filled with a lot of money when the national treasury was empty before."
"So, why do we need to distinguish so clearly between private and national treasuries..."
Sun Miaoqing suddenly remembered that she wondered if there had been any IOUs for the money that Da Pangju had used to replenish the national treasury.
If not, wouldn't those officials think it doesn't matter that the country is poor, since the emperor has plenty of money in his private treasury?
When he runs out of money, he just cries a couple of times in court. For situations where money is absolutely necessary, even though the fat orange cat complains, he'll always manage to squeeze out some!
Thank goodness she thought of it; there were so many people eyeing her wallet!
Sun Miaoqing said, "We must distinguish them clearly, we absolutely must distinguish them clearly! Otherwise, no matter how much silver I earn, it won't be enough for them to plunder!"
"Huh? What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?"
Liuli asked, "Is there someone else eyeing your money?"
Sun Miaoqing said, "Of course there are, and many more, each one more troublesome than the last!"
"The people of the Qing Dynasty were too poor to replace these people, nor could they support so many 'honest officials'."
"Has my brother arrived in Tongzhou yet? Has he written a letter?"
Sun Miaoqing's thoughts jumped around so much, one minute talking about this, the next about that. Two completely unrelated things left Linglan completely stunned.
It took her a while to realize, "Your Highness, you forgot, the Master just sent a letter a few days ago, he was just dealing with matters in Suzhou."
"I've already sent the eldest young master and the butler to Tongzhou to make arrangements, while the master and madam are following behind with the others."
"Judging by the time, we should have arrived near Tongzhou by now. After settling our families in the city and resting for a few more days, it will be about time for us to take office."
Sun Miaoqing then realized that the handover at this time was not such a simple matter.
After all, there are very few truly incorruptible people; we always need to give others time to clean up their messes.
For someone like Sun Zhuhe to take up a post across regions, it would certainly mean moving his entire family.
If it weren't for the fact that I have relatives and ancestral property in my hometown, and that I want to return to my roots and retire there as I get older.
Other houses, fields, and anything else that couldn't be taken with them would be sold. But because there weren't many families willing to sell, and the sales were rushed, they would often result in significant losses.
Sun Miaoqing frowned. The houses and fields in Suzhou were all valuable assets. Had her brother sold them all?
Forget it, these are all minor matters. The important thing is for my brother to achieve results after he takes office!
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