Sun Miaoqing said, "Of course it's useful. Illness enters through the mouth. Well water may look clean, but there's still a lot of sand in the bucket after you draw it up."
"Not to mention the river, even a small stream can run through several villages. Many families wash vegetables, clothes, take baths, and even use it to clean their chamber pots."
"Although it looks clean, who knows how filthy it actually is? Why is it that so many people, who can't even visit the county magistrate once a year, are constantly plagued by all sorts of epidemics?"
"Besides not eating well, not being warm enough, and having poor health, it's also because of a lack of attention to hygiene."
In her previous life, Sun Miaoqing had seen well water when she visited her relatives' hometown.
Not every well has clear, clean water. In some homes, the well water is visibly murky.
They even kept a few fish in it. If you drink it directly without boiling it, it's no wonder you get sick in the long run.
Upon hearing the suggestion of using a chamber pot, Suzuran and Ruri couldn't help but show expressions of disgust, yet at the same time, they felt a pang of sympathy.
The Emperor and his concubines drank spring water delivered from Jade Dragon Mountain early every morning. The palace maids and eunuchs, however, did not have this privilege and drank well water from the various palaces.
The Forbidden City has been around for hundreds of years. Who knows what happened to these wells?
At least several wells in the Imperial Garden have been the site of fatalities.
Thinking of this, both Linglan and Liuli trembled. They could only be thankful that Chuxiu Palace was a blessed place, blessed with beautiful scenery, and that nothing so terrible had ever happened there before!
Linglan said, "Your Majesty is right, but those people, even if they want to boil water before drinking it, most of them are reluctant to give up firewood."
Sun Miaoqing asked, "Why?"
Liuli explained, "Your Majesty, we heard it from those eunuchs."
"The forests near the village are all owned. It's fine if you want to collect some dry branches, but if you want to cut down trees for firewood, you have to pay."
"Moreover, cooking at home by cooking alone requires more firewood than cooking over a large stove with several families cooking together. Therefore, in order to save money, many places have clans cooking together."
"Many families showed off their wealth by displaying how much firewood they had in their woodshed." (It is said that Ji Xiaolan did this.)
Sun Miaoqing suddenly felt a tightness in her chest. So this was what they meant by "the poor have nowhere to stand".
Even firewood for starting a fire is not an easy thing for ordinary people.
I'm so glad I didn't end up wearing the clothes of a poor person, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to survive, let alone change the world.
To save others, you must first save yourself. If you can't even take care of yourself, how can you talk about anything else?
Sun Miaoqing said, "Beijing is the capital, after all, and it's different from other places. Let's start here, and once everyone sees the results, they'll gradually accept it."
"Once the wool business is on track and the ban on maritime trade in Southeast Asia is lifted, there will be a great need for a large number of people to work, and life will get better and better."
Liuli said, "Your Majesty is right, but I feel sorry for you seeing how busy you are."
"While the other concubines are busy watching plays and playing mahjong every day, you are working hard every day, yet the Emperor has taken all the credit."
"That's fine, but those petty people are all jealous. They can't get any benefits from it, so they just spout sour words and slander."
"Fortunately, the Emperor didn't take it seriously and instead reprimanded them. But this time, you directly took out 400,000 taels of silver."
"This servant is worried about those conjunctivitis patients; who knows what trouble they'll cause next? Consort Hui sent word that the Empress Dowager is very displeased, believing you are interfering in politics within the inner palace."
"I'd like you to be a little more careful these days, so that the Empress Dowager doesn't find any fault with you and make things difficult for you."
Sun Miaoqing said, "When I first entered the palace, the Empress Dowager was dissatisfied with me. She looked at me as if I were Daji or Meixi."
"If you want to find fault, you can always find a reason. After all, she is the Empress Dowager. If she wants to make things difficult for me, she can find a reason everywhere."
"Putting everything else aside, she only said she wasn't feeling well and asked me to painstakingly copy Buddhist scriptures more than ten times and kneel before the Buddha for several days to pray for blessings. Could I openly say I disagree?"
Linglan said anxiously, "Then what should Your Highness do? You suffered a lot those days kneeling in the Baohua Hall to pray for the Emperor!"
Sun Miaoqing said, "What's there to be afraid of? Just because I've done the Emperor such a great favor, he can't just stand by and watch me be harassed by the Empress Dowager."
Not all concubines are the same. Some concubines are the emperor's property, and their life, death, and taking away depend entirely on the emperor's will.
Some concubines were partners, providing both emotional support and numerous benefits to the emperor.
From the moment he ascended the throne, Big Fat Orange was no longer a complete human being.
Moreover, although the Empress Dowager was his birth mother, what could she give him besides making him suffer?
Sun Miaoqing wasn't worried about any of that. The most important thing for a person is to have self-awareness.
Seeing that the Empress didn't seem to care much about the matter, and considering her usual abilities, Linglan and Liuli also put their worries aside.
Liuli was even more resentful in her heart that the Empress Dowager was so old and sick, yet she still wouldn't behave herself.
Is it any good for the Empress Dowager to make things difficult for her mistress all day long?
*
After dinner, Lu Jingsi brought his medicine box to Chuxiu Palace.
Since he became the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, responsible for examining the emperor's pulse, Consort Cheng no longer openly entrusted him with the sole responsibility for her health.
They found another physician, Zhu, who came even more often. However, their private interactions didn't decrease at all. Many things were still entrusted to him.
"Your humble servant pays respects to Your Highness, the Noble Consort."
"Get up, Lord Lu."
Lu Jingsi stood up and said, "I have carefully examined the things that Her Highness the Imperial Concubine asked Miss Linglan to give to me."
"Indeed, it is enlightening. Although there are some things that I do not understand, I will certainly do as Your Highness says. Please rest assured, Your Highness."
Lu Jingsi had previously wondered why Consort Cheng, a daughter of an official who was not skilled in medicine, would know these things.
He, the imperial physician, had practiced medicine for many years and read through many medical books and notes before he finally had a slight understanding of the situation.
Furthermore, they only knew that these things would affect wounds and physical health, but they didn't understand why they would have an effect.
There are some people and some things that you can't say out loud, no matter how curious you are. If you can't help but utter a single word, you'll probably bring trouble upon yourself.
Nobody's a fool. Even the Emperor didn't suspect anything. How could a royal physician, who can't afford to offend anyone, possibly have any objections?
Furthermore, he was originally Consort Cheng's person. Although the Emperor gave him a salary and rewards, Consort Cheng gave him even more!
Sun Miaoqing said, "I am relieved that Physician Lu knows what he's doing."
"His Majesty has probably already told you about this matter, but I must add one more thing."
Physician Lu cupped his hands and said, "Please give your instructions, Your Majesty."
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