The fate was changed, the mistress of the Hou family was slapped in the face and made money to win

Chapter 232: How to Make Ice

Behind the dragon table, Emperor Xiao, who was over fifty years old, was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe. Although his eyes were relatively gentle, the imperial aura revealed between his brows was enough to shock people in an instant.

He looked at Jiang Suining for a moment and said, "Stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Jiang Suining stood up but kept her head down. Without permission, she would not rashly look directly at the emperor.

"I have heard from Minister Shen that you have a method of making ice and are willing to present it to the court?"

"Your Majesty, yes." Jiang Suining nodded.

"The Ice Bureau has relied on storing ice in winter for many years. I would like to hear what methods you have for making ice." Emperor Xiao's tone was a little curious.

"Your Majesty, I discovered by accident that saltpeter can be used to make ice."

"Salt?"

"Yes, it is saltpeter. As long as you put saltpeter in water, the water temperature will drop and ice will gradually condense. By mixing saltpeter and water in a certain proportion, you can make ice." Jiang Suining explained.

"So, is this how you get the ice in your ice shop?" Emperor Xiao looked at Jiang Suining, and after seeing him nod, he was surprised, "I have never heard of this method of making ice. How did you know about it?"

Jiang Suining replied calmly, "This is something I have discovered through experimentation bit by bit."

In her previous life, although the Ice Bureau in the Imperial City had always used the method of storing ice, when she left the Imperial City to inspect farms and shops in other places, she accidentally heard someone mention on the way that there was a method of making ice.

However, when he asked the other party, he said that he had also heard about it and did not know it for sure. He only knew that it seemed that a pharmacy used the medicinal materials in the shop and accidentally made ice, but he had no idea what it was specifically and how it was made.

As they were in a hurry on the road, she did not ask any further questions.

But since the previous summer and autumn had been extremely hot, she remembered what that man had said. If there was a way to make ice, perhaps more people would be able to afford it.

However, she inquired privately and found out that basically no one had ever heard of ice-making, and no one thought that water could be turned directly into ice except in the coldest days of winter.

After many fruitless inquiries, she gave up asking further, but would try it herself in her spare time.

Since the only information she had was from the pharmacy, she tried each method one by one. For every method she thought possible, she would try several more.

Of course, when Jiang Suining said this, she concealed the events of her previous life and only said that she had accidentally heard someone mention it before.

"How long have you been trying?" asked Emperor Xiao.

"About two years."

"Two years?" Emperor Xiao was surprised. "Just because someone said something you don't know if it's true or not, you're going to try it for two years?"

Hearing this, Shen Yanxi, who was standing by, couldn't help but look at Jiang Suining.

The latter nodded, "Yes, I am stupid and can't find any information, but I don't want to give up, so I can only use some stupid methods."

"But not everyone can persist for two years for something that might just be a joke." Emperor Xiao looked at Jiang Suining with admiration in his eyes.

Since this Miss Jiang has been able to run a thriving business in the imperial city and is highly praised by the people, she must be a smart person.

However, what this imperial city lacks the least is smart people. What is most rare is a smart person who is willing to work hard.

"Let me ask you, if you can't find a way to make ice, how long can you persist?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I cannot answer this question. After all, I cannot guarantee whether it will continue. But fortunately, I will only try it in my spare time, so it will not affect other things."

"Even if it's your free time, it's not easy to persist for two years. You really just handed over this method that you worked so hard to come up with to the court?"

It is said that businessmen are profit-driven. It would be a pity to give away a method that you have spent so much effort on in vain.

"Your Majesty, I have made a lot of money this summer by running an ice shop. This method is related to the livelihood of the people, so I dare not take it upon myself. But I have only one request, and I hope Your Majesty can grant it."

He was quite courageous. He put forward the conditions to him. However, thinking of Jiang Suining's initiative to offer a solution, Emperor Xiao did not show any coldness. He just asked, "What is your request?"

Jiang Suining knelt down and said, "If we make ice in this way, the price is low and we don't have to store it from winter to summer. So I dare to ask the emperor to lower the price of ice in the ice bureau so that ordinary people can also use ice."

Emperor Xiao was slightly stunned, "Is this your condition?"

"Yes, that's all. The other ladies have no other requests."

Emperor Xiao nodded with a satisfied look on his face. "I heard before that you opened Ning Mo Zhai for the people in the imperial city to cool off. Now it seems that you are really kind-hearted."

"Your Majesty, I am too humbled to accept this."

"If the method you proposed is indeed low-cost, then I can order the Ice Bureau to lower the price."

"I thank the emperor very much. Long live the emperor." Jiang Suining kowtowed to express her gratitude.

"No need to thank me." Emperor Xiao thought for a moment and said, "I have another question."

"Your Majesty, please tell me." Jiang Suining lowered his head.

"Since your goal is to allow the common people to use ice, why don't you just publish this method so that the common people can make ice themselves, instead of submitting it to the court?"

As soon as this question came out, Shen Yanxi immediately looked at Jiang Suining.

The emperor's question was clearly intended to inquire whether Sui Ning was seeking credit. If Sui Ning's answer was not good enough, he would be considered to be trying to show off in front of the emperor. Although there was nothing wrong with this even if it was true, the words that the people had just considered would easily be seen as impure and more of a flattering than a sincere heart.

"Your Majesty..." Shen Yanxi was about to speak, but Emperor Xiao interrupted him.

"Lord Shen, I am asking Miss Jiang."

Jiang Suining glanced at Shen Yanxi, shook his head slightly at him, and then looked at Emperor Xiao.

"Your Majesty, there are three main reasons why I did this."

Emperor Xiao signaled Jiang Suining to continue.

"The first reason is that although the process of making ice with saltpeter is not difficult, saltpeter is slightly toxic. When ordinary people make it, they cannot guarantee that everyone will notice this, so there is a certain risk."

"The second reason is that large-scale ice production by the imperial court can reduce costs compared to individual production. It can also avoid the chaos caused by private ice production, such as scrambling to buy saltpeter, and maintain the stability of the imperial city. In addition, part of the income of the ice bureau goes to the national treasury, and will most likely be used for the people in the end. Although I hope that the people can afford ice, I don't want it to affect the national treasury income."

Emperor Xiao nodded approvingly, "It's great that you, a woman, can consider these things. What about the third point?"