"How is it?" Qu Fulan’s eyes were full of expectation and tension.
Expecting news, yet worried that if the matter was too large and involved too much, it wouldn’t be good.
It turned out she was overthinking.
"No new discoveries. The case files are as they were, and the investigation revealed the sa. Even the Feng Family, guilty along with the Li Family, was investigated. Mr. Feng indeed had the intention of shirking responsibility, but he participated in the rescue at the ti of the incident, so he ended up being demoted."
At the ti, Mr. Li was neither at ho nor did he participate in the rescue. No one knew what he was doing then, which made the nature of the situation different.
Qu Fulan sighed deeply at once.
Only the individuals involved knew the specific truth; now this outco might be the final result.
If the investigation continued, it might exhaust human and material resources without finding anything new.
"Still, thank you and your n for the hard work," Qu Fulan said.
Pei Ji’an did not wish to linger on this oppressive topic for too long; his gaze fell on the storybook on the table, and he picked it up, "What is this?"
Qu Fulan’s attention was indeed diverted, "Oh, this is the monthly publication ’The Best Storybook’ from the book shop, jointly produced by ten selected individuals."
Pei Ji’an casually flipped through two pages and couldn’t help but comnd, "You really have a lot of ideas; such a brilliant thod. It’s amazing you ca up with it."
Qu Fulan secretly thought to herself, it’s not her idea. She’s not that impressive, rely borrowing the good things from the 21st century.
She had done similar work in modern tis. When her boss went to the branch office, she naturally followed. The branch office produced magazines; the boss was the chief editor, and she was the special assistant. Every day, she walked around in a professional suit and high heels, striding across shiny floors, interacting with various monthly and quarterly publications.
She even launched a star writer, and the sales of works naturally spoke for themselves, thus putting the branch office on the right track.
Now, about the book shop...
Qu Fulan unconsciously drifted off, resulting in a slight pain in her finger. She returned to her senses, noticing her index finger was bitten by him.
"You can still daydream in front of ?" The man seed to almost smile, clearly displeased.
Qu Fulan looked at him and blinked. In that instant, an idea ford in her mind.
Since the Li Family had no chance of overturning the case, to prevent her lineage from being unearthed and exploited, she’d better proactively do so charitable deeds and impress the Emperor, making it hard for others to use her background against her.
"I was just thinking about sothing."
"What was it?"
"Our country suffers from natural disasters every year, like floods or droughts. If the victims don’t receive tily relief, they turn into refugees who have to beg elsewhere to survive. Facing injustice or manipulation, they might beco a swarm like locusts, leaving no grain behind. Then the locals, having lost their food, have to beg with the refugees, causing the issue to escalate and eventually lead to trouble."
"Whenever there’s disaster relief funding and refugee aid, it’s a top priority for the court. Not only does it trouble the Emperor, but it also bothers us officials. Do you have any strategies for this?" Pei Ji’an took her seriously, not dismissing her because she’s a woman.
Seeing him seriously discuss such national matters, Qu Fulan didn’t dare to jest, "I wouldn’t call it strategy, but for such issues, the main problem solve lies in ensuring financial support is adequate. Though there’s support from the national treasury, it’s not always tily, and the funds are limited; otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many unresolvable refugees each year. If at such tis, there’s additional support from donations, I think it can alleviate many problems."
"I’m aware that whenever disasters occur, the Pei Family and so aristocrats actively raise funds, but they can’t rally all capable individuals to donate together; ultimately, the effort is too small, a drop in the ocean. So I thought, why not let the court establish an official charitable foundation, using donations from rchants, aristocrats, or other organizations to pursue public welfare?"
"For public welfare?" Pei Ji’an was taken aback, "A charitable foundation?"
"Yes." Qu Fulan saw his interest and continued, "For instance, organize a donation event in the na of the court, register every contributor. For example, if a rchant donates, he’ll find business more convenient thereafter. If soone gives him trouble, he reports directly to the authorities for protection. If it’s an aristocrat, they seek fa and benefit, and we award them honors or the like. In any case, we fill in whatever they lack, encouraging them to donate willingly. Why not? Establish such a foundation in each place, hold three or four donation events every year, and in case of disasters, directly use the foundation’s funds—how convenient would that be?"
Pei Ji’an’s eyes lit up, shining brightly, unable to resist praising, "Your idea sounds truly great, but there seem to be quite a few shortcomings."
Qu Fulan only sighed at how quickly his mind worked, "Indeed, there are disadvantages. To speak of one, ’guarding the wealth’, is very challenging, lest officials embezzle it, leaving nothing for the poor. Moreover, with distance from authority, it’s hard to govern."
So many modern foundations ended up filling personal pockets.
When it was exposed in the news back then, it truly shocked the nation.
Forming foundations under charity pretenses, yet money failed to reach those truly in need, instead fattening others, leading them to beco wealthy beyond asure.
Pei Ji’an, however, looked at her with scorching eyes, firmly stating, "You have a solution."
Qu Fulan shook her head, "There’s no absolute in anything. There’s no perfect solution in this world. My proposal for the foundation, if managed well, can indeed do good; the key lies in how it’s operated. On this matter, I do have so immature ideas."
"Speak freely." Pei Ji’an was already enthralled, even sowhat excited, foreseeing the Emperor’s reaction upon receiving such a proposal.
"I believe the guardian of this foundation needs the influence from various factions, not rely dominated by one. Like a shareholders’ eting, using the foundation funds requires the shareholders’ votes to pass; such can to a certain extent prevent embezzlent."
"Shareholders’ eting?" Pei Ji’an was confused upon hearing this.
Qu Fulan almost bit her tongue, speaking without restraint, forgetting there’s no concept of shareholders’ etings in ancient tis, "It’s just an organizational na, don’t mind these details. The key is these mbers should preferably have opposing relationships, thus overseeing each other to enhance effectiveness. Yet ultimately, one or two reliable individuals are needed, perhaps soone trusted by the Emperor to keep order when votes are divided, ensuring things don’t go awry."
After speaking, she noticed him looking at her steadily, his gaze profound and unfathomable, making her uneasy. Just when she intended to ask what was wrong, he suddenly embraced her.
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