"And when they go to the town to work, sometimes those heartless people see they can’t read and trick them into pressing their fingerprints on documents, causing them to work for nothing, not getting a single copper coin,"
"They actually want to learn to read too, but their families are so poor they simply can’t afford schooling, so they continue to be completely illiterate."
Emperor of Xiyun sighed, "Jingjing, I have pondered over this issue as well, but it’s difficult to implement. Although the national treasury is currently full, all the silver is being used for things even more important and urgent than this, such as preparing for natural disasters, war, manufacturing weapons—there are so many things, I couldn’t even finish telling you right now. We truly don’t have spare Silver Coin to run a school that doesn’t charge fees."
An Jing immediately fell silent. She also knew that matters had to be prioritized, and here they relied on the whims of nature for sustenance; if a natural disaster struck one day, a large sum would need to be allocated for relief efforts. The funds in the national treasury really couldn’t be mishandled.
You should know, running a school not only requires building the schoolhouses but also hiring teachers to educate students. If it’s free of charge, a couple of cases may be manageable, but once several schools are established, it would indeed be a significant burden on the national treasury.
Seeing An Jing not speaking, Emperor of Xiyun pondered for a long while before speaking up again, "I’ve discussed this matter with Chengyu quite a while ago. Both Chengyu and I feel it’s better not to proceed with it. However, if the national treasury is especially abundant and leaves me without any worries, then establishing the school could be considered."
An Jing, discerning the subtle meaning in Emperor of Xiyun’s words, laughed, "Is Father hoping I come up with more strategies to make money and fill the national treasury?"
Emperor of Xiyun didn’t deny it, "If Jingjing really can come up with more good ideas, it would be a fortune for Xiyun."
An Jing said, "Then I’ll think about it, but I can’t guarantee I’ll come up with something. It’s better if you don’t set your expectations too high for me."
Although An Jing would consider ways to earn money for the national treasury, she couldn’t come up with a method straight away. So, she simply started teaching those ten Scholar-officials phonetic reading.
At first, those ten Scholar-officials found the phonetic reading quite challenging, but as time passed, they gradually improved.
After all, those Scholar-officials were already very learned and could read. An Jing just had to teach them phonetics, and once they matched it with the characters, in less than a month, the Scholar-officials learned phonetics and didn’t need to continue coming to Prince Yi’s Mansion to learn from An Jing.
With no need to teach phonetics every day, An Jing’s life became easier again.
At this time, King Sheng’s mansion was also completed, and Tobanya could move in.
Before moving to King Sheng’s mansion, Tobanya came to An Jing and Xiao Changyi to thank them for taking her in for such a long time.
"You don’t have to be so polite. Although you’ll live in King Sheng’s mansion from now on, you can still come and visit us often. If you like, staying with us for a little longer is also possible." An Jing had been hosting Tobanya for several months and, to be honest, felt a bit reluctant to see her leave.
Tobanya knew An Jing’s kindness was genuine and was deeply moved. She nodded in agreement, said quite a bit more, and then left Prince Yi’s Mansion.
On the day Tobanya moved out of Prince Yi’s Mansion, Meng Zhuqing tried hard not to show it, but An Jing and Xiao Changyi could still sense her low spirits. However, neither An Jing nor Xiao Changyi said anything about it.
Three days after Tobanya moved out of Prince Yi’s Mansion, An Jing was in the house cutting fruit, planning to drizzle sliced fruit with goat’s milk to feed her four children later.