Yes, Madam Prime Minister

"How should it be changed?" Lucien asked immediately.

"The new law, based on the principles of protecting the freedom of capital and safeguarding the rights of landed farmers, was used as bait to entice unscrupulous capitalists and ignorant mobs to support centralized power. Then, a civil service-led political system was established, and finally, the king was crowned emperor. From then on, reform was the emperor, and the emperor was reform."

Ronan immediately launched into a passionate and impassioned speech.

"good."

Lucien couldn't help but admire Ronan, whose words had rekindled a spark in his heart, which had become increasingly quiet since his illness.

He knew, of course, that Ronan's words were nothing more than an ideal direction, or even a castle in the air, without any concrete or practical content. But he also knew that if Ronan were asked to produce something concrete, he could, because Ronan was a man who could shamelessly spout nonsense and meticulously carry out practical work.

Therefore, he no longer needed to inquire about any details.

Now, Ronan is his official choice for a husband.

He had already confirmed that Ronan was a capable person, and now he believed that someone like Ronan would be very happy to accept the system for selecting the king consort and queen that he had designed. As long as this system was implemented, the Freigo family's throne could continue to be passed down.

“Get up, you can go now,” Lucien said. “Go see her, she’s very worried about you.”

“Yes,” Ronan replied, standing up.

Ronan left the palace and headed to Ambrina's small villa.

By the time we arrived at our destination, it was already evening.

In the villa, Ambrina hurriedly ran over to Ronan as soon as she saw him. She suddenly stopped in front of him, raised her hands as if to embrace him, but then lowered them. In the process of learning how to be an heir to the throne, Ambrina had gradually learned to restrain herself.

Looking at Ronan's familiar face, it felt like an eternity, even though it had only been a few days. Ambrina, who had so much to say, couldn't utter a single word and stood there in silence.

“I’m fine,” Ronan said, breaking the silence.

"Hmm." Ambrina hummed softly. "Um, I'm sorry, it's all my fault for coming up with such a terrible idea, which resulted in you being locked up in that kind of place."

Ronan smiled and reassured her, "First of all, Ambrina, your intentions were for my own good. Secondly, the outcome of this trip wasn't bad; in fact, it was quite good. Since both the intention and the outcome were good, it wasn't a bad idea at all."

Ambrina lowered her head slightly, rubbing her left fingers together with her right hand, and muttered, "How can it be good? Ronan, don't say things like that anymore."

“I’m serious, I’m telling you, I met Count Aquitaine,” Ronan said earnestly.

"Huh?" Ambrina was quite surprised.

“Here’s what happened…” Ronan then recounted how he had fooled Count Aquitaine and gotten himself out of prison.

Ambrina covered her lips with the web of her right hand to keep from bursting into laughter. She found the whole process incredibly amusing, and Ronan was truly amazing, effortlessly defusing the crisis.

Ronan sighed softly, "So, in a way, I'm the one who should apologize, since I used your name to make empty promises to him without your permission."

"It's nothing, I just wanted to help you indirectly..." Ambrina didn't know how to describe her feelings for a moment.

“Yes.” Ronan nodded.

Ambrina then ended the conversation, saying, "Let's not talk about it anymore. You've suffered these past few days. I've had someone prepare a big meal. Let's have a good meal together."

Ronan smiled slightly. In fact, apart from the first two days when he ate prison food, his food and drink had been top-notch, only the dining environment was a bit poor.

It was another thirteen-course feast, which lasted from a little after five o'clock until eight o'clock.

During the conversation, the two talked a lot, with Ronan mostly analyzing the situation of the party for Ambrina.

The Hou Party may seem to have many people and a lot of money, but its members are all incompetent and useless. The money can be used at will. In conclusion, the Hou Party is just a paper tiger.

“Ronan, I’m leaving now. You can continue to stay here for the next few days,” Ambrina said.

“Okay,” Ronan agreed.

Chapter 170 Gift-giving, living off a woman, a flash of inspiration

Ronan agreed readily; after all, he had always lived here when he was taking tutoring classes, so he was already used to it.

The next morning, Ronan opened one of his suitcases and took out two gifts he had brought for Ambrina: a jar of white sugar and a box of magical stockings made from silk produced by the exotic flower.

These two items are just for display. Ronan's gift to the princess is far from simple. He intends to give her a 30% stake in a sugar-producing and sugar-selling association, a 30% stake in a counterfeit stockings association, and shares in Ambrina's existing seed company. Once these three companies become profitable, her annual dividends will definitely exceed 500 Golden Eagles.

One large golden eagle is enough for an average family of five in the capital to live on for a year, and in other poorer places, it can last for two or three years without any problem.

The high-powered flintlock muskets, of excellent quality and designed specifically for mages and musketeers, can be bought for four times the price of a single Golden Eagle. As for the muskets used by ordinary soldiers, which have a lifespan of no more than one hundred bullets, twenty can be bought for the same price.

It's not that Ronan is being immodest, but none of the princes who tried to woo Ambrina could afford that much money.

But Ronan can.

There's no way around it. In the entire city of Xinhai, from planting and agriculture to handicraft manufacturing, the profitable industries are basically controlled directly or indirectly by Ronan. He is the head of the black-hearted capitalists in Xinhai. He has exploited hundreds of thousands of people. If there were streetlights, he would be hanged a hundred times over. How could such a person not be rich?

Ambrina arrived at noon, just before lunchtime.

Ronan took out the prepared gift and explained it to her.

"Is it too much?"

Ambrina was shocked when she heard that Ronan was going to give her so much money.

“Ambriina, you’re overthinking it. First of all, I won’t give you much in the first few years, maybe just a few dozen gold coins. Secondly, the title of Crown Princess is worth far more than a mere five hundred gold eagles. I’m saying I’m giving you a gift, but I’m actually living off you. It’s not me giving you money, it’s you giving me money.”

Ronan said.

Ambrina knew the word "soft rice" (a euphemism for being a kept woman), as it appeared in Ronan's book and was described as a common term among the Seres.

After Ronan said that, Ambrina felt embarrassed to refuse, "I don't usually need much money, Ronan, you don't need to give me so much."

She was telling the truth. Her daily expenses, including clothes and shoes, came from the royal funds of the Royal Family Union. She didn't need to spend money on these things.

The Royal Family Chamber of Commerce has many industries, most of which are jointly operated by multiple chambers of commerce. Only a few are not, one of which is real estate. A hundred years ago, when the capital was besieged by the allied forces of three countries, the king and a large number of nobles fled with gold and silver treasures. After Lawrence led his mage army to turn the tide, he directly divided up the houses in the capital.

However, most of the land, especially industrial and commercial real estate, belonged to the Royal Union of Merchants. Otherwise, where would Lawrence have gotten land for his younger brother, the Duke of Loire?

Even though subsequent kings were quite extravagant, mortgaging loans and then defaulting on them, a quarter of the shops in the royal capital, Paristo, still have their rent paid directly to the Royal Chamber of Commerce as royal funds.

"Just take it. Otherwise people will really think it's a princess throwing herself at a poor boy. I don't care, but you can't lose face."

Ronan said forcefully.

“Oh, okay.” Ambrina nodded in agreement, her heart filled with sweetness at the thought that Ronan was doing this entirely for her sake.

After a simple lunch.

Ambrina asked when Ronan was leaving.

“About five days later,” Ronan replied.

In the blink of an eye, he has been in the capital for almost a month, and it will soon be July. By the time he returns to Xinhai City, it will be mid-July.

Ambrina gripped the tablecloth, remaining silent. They had finally managed to meet, but in the blink of an eye, Ronan was about to leave again.

Although she had already promised to let Ronan go back and was mentally prepared, she still felt uneasy when the time came.

She loved it when Ronan cooked for her, loved it when she played the piano and sang for him, and loved it even more when the two of them read books and chatted together.

Ronan could see Ambrina's reluctance. "It's alright, we can write letters."

Ambrina still looked sullen. The capital was too far from Xinhai City; it would take almost a month to travel there and back.

Ronan suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "Why don't you take the lead in building a new postal system?"

In the Western Continent, there is no true postal system, because most people are illiterate. Officials, nobles, priests, and wealthy merchants who can read and write have dedicated mail carriers, so they don't care whether a postal system exists or not.

However, illiteracy does not mean there is no need to write letters. Moreover, many small business owners are not illiterate and also need to write letters, but the cost of hiring someone to deliver letters is too painful for them.

"Once a comprehensive postal system is established, it will definitely make communication faster."

Ronan said.

When one person delivers a message, how can it be faster than a continuous relay between people? The principle is that simple.

Once the topic turned to business, Ronan couldn't stop. "Go and tell His Majesty the King that the government will provide manpower, the merchants will provide money, and the church will provide land."

"The Church?" Ambrina asked.

“Of course, there are no government offices in many places, but there are churches,” Ronan explained. “If you go and talk to the king, he will definitely agree. Once such a postal system is established, the country’s orders will be issued more quickly and it will be easier to centralize power.”

“Then we’ll call it Princess Post, and you’ll have a substantial income again, Ambrina.”

“I’ll finish a draft of the postal system tonight. No, one night isn’t enough. Ambrina, I must take my leave now. Go and tell the King.”

After saying that, Ronan disappeared in the blink of an eye, and happily threw himself into his work.

With the government providing personnel, the security of letters can be guaranteed.

With businessmen providing the funding, the actual operation shouldn't be a problem.

The church provides the land, and the route and transit points are not a problem.

All Ronan needed to do was write some outlines.

One very important point is stamps, because these things are related to money.

Any system—government agency, chamber of commerce, or even church or country—that has problems with money absolutely cannot function.

A stamp serves as proof that postage has been paid; otherwise, the principle of payment upon delivery would apply.

Not to mention the possibility of emails being rejected during cash-on-delivery transactions.

Cash on delivery means that postage costs will naturally increase with the distance traveled, making it very expensive. If postage is too high, then no ordinary people will use it. Without ordinary people, it's impossible to support such a large scale. If the scale is small, the costs will be higher, and it will be easier to lose money.

Therefore, cheap postage plus stamps is essential.

Of course, these are just general directions; Ronan still needs to write out the specific outline point by point.

In one afternoon and one evening, Ronan managed to write out the outline, with a particular focus on explaining the necessity of postage and stamps.

Chapter 171 Fallacies, Foot Measurement, Uninvited Guest

The next morning, after handing a stack of documents to Ambrina's attendant Lucia, Ronan skipped breakfast and went straight to his room for a nap, which lasted until noon.

At noon, Ambrina, who had finished her morning class, came over and had lunch with Ronan.

After lunch, Ronan gave Ambrina a few more documents.

“The above outlines potential problems and corrective measures for the postal system,” Ronan told Ambrina. “This section was not included in the previously submitted documents.”

Ambrina was taken aback and asked, "Why?"

Ronan tapped his temple, signaling her to use her brain, "You tell me why."

Ambrina pondered for a moment, then tentatively answered like a student responding to a teacher, "Once the postal official makes a mistake, I'll step in to correct it, and then I can naturally replace people who aren't in my camp, strengthening my control and, incidentally, putting a warning to those who were originally in my camp, so they won't dare to underestimate me and increasing my own authority."

“Beautiful,” Ronan praised, “but it’s still a little short. Ambrina, your answer only addresses the political aspect.”

"Besides, one reason for doing this is that people only remember things after they've been hurt. When a new policy is implemented, you can't make things too smooth from the start. If things go too smoothly, neither officials nor the public will feel that it was hard-won, but will take it for granted, or even think that you are a good person. A king can never be a good person. You have to make everyone understand one thing: what they have received is not the help you give easily, but a favor that you have to work hard to give."

"What kind of slave is a good slave? The answer is a slave who feels that his master also has a hard time."

"When one day, countless people exclaim, 'Ah, Her Majesty the Queen has gone through so much for us, then you will have succeeded in governing the people.'"

Ronan started spouting his reactionary fallacies to Ambrina again.

The more Ambrina listened, the more she felt that Ronan's words made sense, because she could empathize with him. She had always been very considerate of the servants and even helped them, but the servants never appreciated her and even served her cold cakes.

If the two of them get married in the future, and Ronan stays by her side, then she will surely be able to govern the country well.

Thinking of this, Ambrina once again felt grateful to the gods for allowing her to meet Ronan.

Ronan, who was about to continue spouting his fallacious arguments, looked at Ambrina and found her staring into the distance, lost in thought, and smiling foolishly.

Ronan couldn't help but sigh to himself, "Kids are such a hassle, they get distracted so easily."

"That's enough for now," Ronan thought to himself, and left quietly.

When Ambrina came to her senses, she found that Ronan was gone. She quickly used her magical perception and found that Ronan was still there, which put her at ease.

Upon arriving at Ronan's room, Ambrina saw Ronan holding a charcoal pencil with a piece of paper in front of him. Upon closer inspection, she saw a sketch of a shoe drawn on the paper.

"Shoes?" Ambrina asked, wondering why Ronan was drawing this.

"I was planning to make you a pair of shoes as a small gift. You didn't expect that I could make shoes, did you?" Ronan laughed. "It's a pity I have to leave. I'll be lucky if I can finish making the shoe last in the next few days. I'll have to wait until I get back and finish making them before sending them to you."

"Shoe last?" Ambrina asked, puzzled.

"The shoe last is the basic mold for making leather shoes, and it's very complicated," Ronan said. He wasn't exaggerating; this was a skill he had learned for three years. Sewing a pair of shoes wasn't difficult at all; the challenge was making a shoe last.

The last of a shoe should be based on a person's foot length and shape, but it cannot be the same as the last of a shoe, because the shape and size of a person's feet will change in different states of movement and stillness. A custom-made last of a shoe needs to be adjusted in various ways according to the person's habits and the shape of the shoe itself.

Different people will definitely have different shoe lasts, and even the same person will have different shoe lasts for different types of shoes.

“Anyway, you have to measure the feet,” Ronan said. “However, I can just estimate by sight.”

"How about we take a measurement? That would be more appropriate," Ambrina said, her ears burning.

"Huh?" Ronan was so surprised that he stopped what he was doing. He really couldn't understand what Ambrina was up to.