Chapter 91 My Money
Chapter 91 My Money
Xiyuan, Wanshou Palace.
White mist rose up in the West Garden, making the temperature in the West Garden slightly higher than the surrounding area. The bonsai plants in the yard also looked lively, as if spring had come early in this yard.
If you look at this scene from a distance, it seems a bit like a fairyland.
But when you look at it from a close distance, it doesn't seem to have that kind of artistic conception.
"This painting of the Emperor is truly a masterpiece of divine beauty."
Huang Jin served beside Emperor Jiajing, helping him grind ink and watching him paint a picture of plum blossoms blooming in the snow on the rice paper on the imperial desk in front of him.
Emperor Jiajing laughed and was in a very good mood. "This is San'er's filial piety. If he hadn't sent me that plum blossom, I would not have thought of painting this picture."
Huang Jin also praised: "Prince Yu is filial, and he never forgets to ask people to come to the West Garden to greet us every day. The emperor's painting is so vivid, and it complements the vase of plum blossoms sent by Prince Yu. It is really perfect."
Emperor Jiajing smiled again and said, "I think so too. The New Year is coming in two days. What should I give him? Over the past six months, it is precisely because of San'er's filial piety that I have been able to refine the elixir so smoothly. I usually take one pill a day, but now I can add one more pill."
After Emperor Jiajing said this, he looked at the white mist floating in front of him with a happy mood.
In this cold winter weather, all the doors and windows of other houses are closed, for fear that Miss Bing will push the door and come in without any restraint.
However, the palace where Emperor Jiajing lived had its doors and windows wide open, allowing the cold air from outside to fill in.
This forced Huang Jin and other eunuchs serving in the imperial court to tie their belts tightly.
After all, not everyone can be as fearless as Emperor Jiajing.
The cold wind from outside blew in, forcing Huang Jin to tighten his collar.
After seeing Huang Jin's action, Emperor Jiajing laughed again, "Your spiritual roots are too weak and your comprehension is not good enough. You are with me all day long, but you are still so afraid of the cold. The elixir is wasted on you."
Huang Jin quickly replied: "The Emperor is already an immortal, and I am just a mortal who is not worthy of being on the stage. I only hope to stay with the Emperor for a little longer, be more exposed to his immortal aura, and have more opportunities to be enlightened by him."
Emperor Jiajing shook his head and smiled, "You are not lazy. You just want to absorb my immortal energy so that you can ascend to heaven with me in the future."
Huang Jin smiled embarrassedly, "Your Majesty has a keen eye. I didn't expect that your humble thoughts were noticed by you."
Emperor Jiajing laughed again, "When this furnace of elixir is ready, I will reward you with one, but don't be lazy."
Huang Jin was overwhelmed with joy and bowed, "Thank you, Emperor."
Then Emperor Jiajing looked towards the place ahead where white mist was rising.
That was the alchemy room where Emperor Jiajing refined elixirs. At that moment, there were several people in Taoist robes who were working tirelessly to fill the bottom of the alchemy furnace with fine coal, while also fanning themselves with cattail leaves.
This alchemy room is the real money-eating beast in Xiyuan. It consumes tens of thousands of kilograms of refined coal every month. It also consumes huge amounts of lead and mercury, as well as various exotic medicinal materials to assist in alchemy, such as menstrual blood (female menstrual blood). The methods are as abnormal as they can be.
Anyway, the real medicinal herbs have no chance of entering this furnace. If they want to enter, they have to be the legendary herbs. And how these legendary herbs should be evaluated depends entirely on the words of the Taoist masters.
As long as the Taoists could explain the origins and effects of these elixirs in a logically consistent way and come up with a feasible refining plan, Emperor Jiajing would usually approve it without hesitation.
But when the treasury ran out of money and the people who helped him collect money did not replenish the money in time, Emperor Jiajing also struggled for a while before he agreed. So Emperor Jiajing was very unhappy about being stuck with money, but he had no choice.
But all this took a turn for the better a few months ago. His eldest son was enlightened by an "immortal" and could actually make money, which gave him the motivation to practice Taoism again.
"Emperor, when I went to Prince Yu's mansion yesterday, Prince Yu told me something."
Huang Jin started talking about Zhu Zaigui again.
Emperor Jiajing withdrew his gaze from the alchemy room and asked, "What did San'er say?"
Huang Jin said: "Prince Yu said that after the New Year, he would use the opportunity of the imperial examination to hold an agent recruitment fair to select some capable agents to help sell Yiran Hall's products, so as to earn more money to honor the emperor."
Emperor Jiajing was still very moved when he heard this, "Didn't you report this earlier?"
Huang Jin continued, "Yes, Your Majesty, I have already told you about this matter a long time ago, but when Prince Yu mentioned this matter yesterday, he also expressed his worries."
When Emperor Jiajing heard Huang Jin say that Zhu Zaigui was worried, he immediately frowned.
Emperor Jiajing asked, "What are you worried about, San'er?"
Huang Jin replied, "Prince Yu is worried that once Yiran Tang's products leave the capital, there will be a management vacuum, making it difficult to control. He is also worried about the phenomenon of sales agents arbitrarily raising prices, and bad people using the Yiran Tang brand to cheat and sell inferior products as good ones."
After Emperor Jiajing heard Huang Jin express the issues that Zhu Zaigui was worried about, he couldn't help but think about it in his heart, as if this possibility was very real.
Emperor Jiajing had a deep understanding of the feeling of losing control once leaving the capital.
Although people all over the world respected him as the supreme emperor and father, in the actual management of the world, Emperor Jiajing also deeply experienced what it meant to have the will but not the ability.
Whenever he wanted to implement some new policies or laws, he had to use his wits and courage to deal with the opposition in the court, thinking that he could then implement them throughout the country.
In the end, the feedback received was always so unsatisfactory. Some places simply lay down and ignored it, which made Emperor Jiajing grit his teeth in hatred. Even if he issued an edict to reprimand them, in the end, even if there was any movement, it was just a pretense.
Moreover, after a while, someone will stand up and point out the problems that have arisen with the new policies, criticize their shortcomings, and demand their abolition.
This experience made Emperor Jiajing feel increasingly tired, and he lost the desire to strive.
So in this state of confusion and powerlessness, Emperor Jiajing finally could not help but place his hopes on the way to immortality, in order to abandon the mortal world and seek immortality, leave this damn red dust and turbid world, and become a free and detached immortal.
But now the cultivation of immortality has not yet been achieved, so I still have to spend my time to continue to deal with the tasks, while also gaining capital for the cultivation of immortality.
After all, cultivating immortals requires the most attention to "money, friends, methods and land", so in order to become an immortal, Emperor Jiajing had to find ways to make money!
Now, hearing Huang Jin say that Zhu Zaigui was worried about the difficulty in controlling the situation after leaving the capital, Emperor Jiajing could not help but become serious. This matter cannot be taken lightly or underestimated, and he must help San'er to accomplish this task successfully.
Otherwise, wouldn't my money be stolen by these bad guys?
This is something that Emperor Jiajing could never agree to!
--------------
The second chapter will be updated around noon, tomorrow's update will be before noon, and the day after tomorrow the update will continue until 9:30 am every day.
(End of this chapter)