Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

Zhang Luo pressed his fingerprint on the contract.

Before the ink was even dry, Gu Mingyue had already pushed the second document over.

"This is the team's modification plan. Take a look."

Zhang Luo took it and glanced at it.

Then his expression changed.

"Boss... is there an extra zero written here?"

"no."

"The interior walls of the carriage are lined with... soft padding?"

Zhang Luo's voice sounded a little weak.

"The carriage of a horse-drawn carriage, that would be..."

"You don't need to worry about the money."

"Oh, okay... okay."

Zhang Luo's Adam's apple bobbed as he continued reading.

"Add...shock absorber springs?"

He looked up, his face filled with confusion.

"Boss, what is a shock absorber spring?"

Gu Mingyue pulled another drawing from her sleeve and spread it out on the table.

The drawing shows a set of curved steel sheet structures stacked in an arc shape, installed between the axle and the floor of the carriage.

"Simply put, it's about adding a buffer layer between the axle and the carriage. When the road is bumpy, this thing can absorb most of the vibration, so the people sitting in the car won't feel like their internal organs are shifting."

Zhang Luo stared at that blueprint for a long time.

He had been driving carriages for over a decade and knew exactly what it felt like to be jostled in a horse-drawn carriage.

It was fine on the official road, but once you got to the dirt road or gravel road, the people in the carriage would be jolted back and forth, and after sitting for half a day, they wouldn't be able to straighten their backs.

He had also wondered if there was any way to make the car run more smoothly.

But as a coachman, all he could do was choose the right route, control the horse, and avoid pitfalls.

He never dared to imagine that he could modify the car's original structure.

"Master, can you... even make this?"

"Yes. I've already sent someone to find a blacksmith. The springs are made of tempered steel sheets, so they're not too difficult to forge. The difficult part is adjusting the curvature; it requires repeated trials to get the right firmness."

Zhang Luo's mouth was slightly open, and he couldn't close it for a long time.

Gu Mingyue didn't give him time to process it, and pointed to the next page of the plan.

"The exterior walls of the carriages are uniformly painted. The base color is indigo, and the three characters 'Pujitang' are painted on the sides, with a white background and gold trim."

"A lantern was hung on each side of the car door for use at night. The lanterns were also printed with the logo of Pujitang."

"Bamboo mats are laid inside the carriages, and cotton mats are used in winter. Each carriage is equipped with a pot of cooled boiled water and two clean hand towels."

Zhang Luo's eyes widened as he listened.

"Boss, are you... recruiting people?"

"Um."

"Who are we bringing?!" Zhang Luo's voice rose slightly, then he quickly lowered it again. "This setup is even more elaborate than the prefect's official sedan chair!"

"Our workers spend two or three hours commuting to and from get off work every day. When they get to their workstations, their legs are weak and their hands are shaking, so they can't do any work well."

Gu Mingyue spoke in a flat tone, as if she were talking about something completely ordinary.

"Spending thousands of taels to modify the convoy resulted in the guys getting two extra hours of effective work every day. It's a worthwhile deal."

Zhang Luo understood his employer's reasoning and was deeply moved.

It seems that my vision was too short-sighted, and I have never been able to keep up with my employer's pace.

If you treat your employees like human beings, how could they not be loyal and hardworking?

Zhang Lu's eyes lit up.

He got it!

"We'll do exactly what the boss says!"

When Gu Mingyue walked out of the alley, it was already getting dark.

He got into the carriage, lifted the curtain, sat down, and closed his eyes.

The crisp system notification sound echoed in my mind.

[Congratulations, host, on completing this phase of your mission: Spend 120,000 taels of silver within one month.]

[Reward: View "Future Headlines" x1]

……

In the rented house.

The night breeze made the window paper tremble slightly.

Two oil lamps were lit in the main room, and Gu Mingyue and her brother Gu Mingli sat at the table.

Gu Mingyue raised her hand and lightly traced a line on the table.

A semi-transparent light screen silently unfolded between the brother and sister.

[View on Future Headlines.]

The text on the light screen slowly appeared.

[At the Emperor's birthday banquet, Consort Mei laced the imperial food with an aphrodisiac.]

[But the emperor, under the influence of a curse, did not sleep with Consort Mei.]

When the drug took effect, Geng Zhi, who was guarding him, sacrificed himself to neutralize the poison.

Afterwards, Geng Zhi committed suicide to atone for his sins. The emperor was furious and ordered the Imperial Medical Academy to thoroughly investigate the matter.

"Holy crap!"

The brother and sister dogs exchanged a furtive glance.

What a huge bombshell!

A gossipy glint lit up in Gu Mingyue's eyes.

"And who is this Geng Zhi?"

Yi Wu, holding a long sword, leaned against the windowsill. Hearing the young lady's question, he turned his head and gave a cold reply.

"The commander of the palace's shadow guards."

He rolled his eyes, looking utterly disdainful.

"I know you like buying men, but I still advise you not to daydream about Lord Geng, after all, he is a man close to His Majesty."

Gu Mingyue: "..."

She likes...buying men?!

I really want to argue.

Her brother pinched her arm, and Gu Mingli pointed to the bottom of the screen with her finger.

The two lowered their heads and continued reading.

[Xue Ren, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, quickly discovered the problem and reported it truthfully, only to be framed by Consort Mei. Consort Mei's maternal family further conspired to fabricate evidence against Xue Ren, attempting to silence him.]

Xue Ren was ultimately wrongfully executed in the Ministry of Justice prison.

His work, "Three Treatises on Epidemic Prevention and Control," the culmination of ten years of painstaking effort, was burned by Consort Mei's henchmen during the chaos.

Two months later, a large-scale epidemic broke out in the Gyeonggi region. Due to the court's lack of a systematic prevention and control plan, the epidemic completely spiraled out of control.

The death toll is estimated at over 100,000.

The brother and sister frowned and pondered.

Gu Mingyue analyzed: "It seems that this imperial physician is the key to epidemic prevention."

The imperial court still had basic response capabilities in the early stages of the epidemic and was able to withstand the first wave of impact.

The core of this "basic coping ability" lies with the Imperial Hospital and Xue Ren.

If Xue Ren were exiled and his works burned, the Imperial Medical Academy would be rendered powerless.

When the epidemic broke out, the entire medical system in the Gyeonggi region was in disarray.

By then, no matter how many masks Jiangzhou hoards or how much Juhong Zhenke San Pujitang produces, it will only be a drop in the ocean.

Therefore, Xue Ren cannot fall.

The brother and sister exchanged a glance and reached a tacit understanding.

"Brother, you need to go to the palace to do something."

Gu Mingli hunched over, almost lying on the table, and whispered to his sister about crickets.

"What can I do? I don't usually have any dealings with the Hanlin Academy or the Imperial Medical Academy."

Gu Mingyue frowned as she pondered.

Xue Ren was the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, a fifth-rank official.

Her brother was a compiler at the Hanlin Academy, a seventh-rank official.

One was treating illnesses in the palace, and the other was compiling books in the palace.

They are indeed two departments that have absolutely nothing to do with each other.

It seems the only way to resolve this issue is to prevent the emperor from eating and drinking excessively at his birthday banquet.

But how is that possible?!

Gu Mingyue suddenly thought of something, her eyes lit up, and she looked at her brother.

"Brother, I have an idea!"

Gu Mingli asked curiously, "What method?"

Gu Mingyue's smile held a deeper meaning.

"You'll definitely get a reward after delivering the birthday gifts this time. Based on your system's usual style..."

"Stop!"

Gu Mingli understood.

He ground his back teeth and lowered his voice.

"I'm straight! And that guy is too! You're not suggesting I seduce him, are you?"

Gu Mingyue whispered, "Hey, this is just a stopgap measure. As long as you guarantee that the other person won't eat or drink the whole time, we'll get through this, right?"

"Brother! Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda. This is the life of 100,000 people!"

The room was completely silent, save for the occasional crackling of the candlelight.

The brother and sister looked at each other for a long time.

Gu Mingli's back molars made a "crunching" sound as he clenched them.

"Alright, alright, let me think about what gift I should make for His Majesty first, and complete my current task."

Yi Wu and Yi Shi were confused, so they communicated using sign language.

Yi Shi: [What are they talking about?]

Yi Wu: [It seems they're preparing a birthday gift for His Majesty.]

Yi Shi: [Young Master Gu has put in a lot of effort.]