The next day, after the Emperor had finished his lunch and was about to take a rest, Princess Yongning gracefully rose to her feet and curtsied.
"Father Emperor has been busy with state affairs for days on end. It's truly taxing. Daughter has seen it all and has been deeply concerned," she said.
Then she turned to Lu Xunguang and softly added, "Miss Lu is so intelligent and always comes up with brilliant ideas. Daughter discussed with Lord Lu and finally found a wonderful way to relieve Father Emperor's stress and fatigue. I wonder if Father Emperor would like to give it a try?"
Empress Pei chimed in with a smile. "Yongning has such filial piety, Your Majesty. It's still early today. Why not go and have a look?"
The Emperor complied, and a large entourage set off. Soon, they arrived at a mansion arranged by the magistrate of Yuancheng.
Lu Xunguang had already given orders to remove all the irrelevant tables, chairs, and decorations from the mansion. In the middle of the main hall, a square pool made of blue stones was built.
There were bamboo screens beside the pool. On the low bamboo tables, a faint, soothing incense was burning. There were also some light fruits, snacks, and a pot of steaming fragrant tea. Although it wasn't luxurious, it had a simple and natural beauty.
Lu Xunguang said in a solemn voice, "Your Majesty dislikes wasting people's resources and money. Therefore, Princess Yongning and I didn't dare to make a big fuss and squander wealth."
"The foot - bath pool I built can't compare with the hot springs in the palace. Please condescend to give it a try, Your Majesty."
Lu Xunguang's words were full of humility. The Emperor had no objections. Looking at the clear pool water with a few nimble little fish swimming freely at the bottom, he found it quite rustic and interesting. So he waved his hand cheerfully, not minding at all.
The eunuch helped him take off his shoes and socks, and then he slowly dipped his bare feet into the pool.
The water was warm and extremely comfortable. The Emperor felt most of his fatigue fade away instantly. He felt refreshed and at ease all over.
He picked up a cup of tea and was slowly savoring the faint tea fragrance when suddenly he felt something tingle on the sole of his foot and then disappear in a flash.
The Emperor let out a surprised "Huh". Then the tingly feeling came again.
His feet itched slightly. When he looked closely, he found that it was those little fish swimming in the hot spring. Now they seemed to have found some delicious food and were rushing towards his feet one after another.
The fish had no sharp teeth. Their tiny mouths, no bigger than a grain of rice, gently nibbled and sucked on his feet. There was no pain at all. Instead, it was just a ticklish feeling, which was quite interesting.
The Emperor said curiously, "These fish are really interesting. They're not at all shy."
As the saying goes, all things have spirits. These little fish were willing to get close to him, which further showed that as the ruler of the country, his virtue covered the heaven and earth and he was truly the master of the world.
Li Ying noticed the unconcealable joy on his face and reported in a timely manner, "Your Majesty, these little fish were caught by this humble woman on the tidal flats of Yuancheng. In my hometown, they're called'star fish'."
"The fish get close to people not just for fun. These star fish feed on the dead skin of people. When taking a foot - bath in the hot spring, the fish will gently nibble away the dead skin on the feet. It can not only relieve fatigue but also has the effects of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis."
This was the fish - therapy method of later generations. Li Ying copied it to please the Emperor. Sure enough, after hearing her words, the Emperor was overjoyed.
The little fish gathered around the Emperor's feet. Soon, they had cleaned all the dead skin on his feet. When the Emperor got out of the pool, his bare feet were fair, soft, and extremely smooth.
The Emperor felt extremely comfortable all over, but this was just the beginning.
After the eunuchs helped the Emperor change his clothes, several other eunuchs carried in a bathtub. Inside it was a foot - bath packet made of aged mugwort and ginger prepared by Li Ying. A strong, steaming medicinal smell wafted out.
"Your Majesty, during this southern tour, you've traveled mostly by water. The areas along the route are damp, and the cold air may enter your body, which may be harmful to your dragon body. Please take a medicinal foot - bath to get rid of the dampness."
This foot - bath tub had also been improved by Li Ying. There were four pairs of neatly arranged rollers at the bottom of the tub, with carved bumps on them. When one stepped on them and rolled back and forth, it could fully massage the vital acupoints on the sole of the foot. At first, it felt numb and tingly, but later it turned into an indescribable sense of comfort.
It was precisely because the fish - therapy had removed the dead skin on the sole of the foot first that the medicinal effect of the foot - bath packet could be better absorbed by the skin.
The Emperor felt the warmth rising from the soles of his feet. The gentle warm current spread from his toes to all parts of his body. Soon, he felt warm all over. Leaning on the soft pillow, he felt a strong sense of drowsiness and was almost about to fall asleep.
After the medicinal foot - bath, a young eunuch, following the acupoint chart on the sole of the foot drawn by Li Ying, gave the Emperor a foot massage.
This foot massage was actually quite ordinary.
But precisely because the dead skin had been removed by the fish - therapy beforehand, the skin on the sole of the foot was thinner and the capillaries were more sensitive. So the strength of the massage was more accurate.
After this round of massage, the Emperor let out a long breath. He felt refreshed, and there was no blockage in his blood vessels anywhere in his body.
After the palace servants helped him change his clothes, the Emperor looked at Princess Yongning and Lu Xunguang quite satisfactorily. Then, with a thoughtful look in his eyes, he raised his eyebrows and asked, "Lord Lu, your sweetheart always has a follow - up plan for everything she does. I suppose today's fish - therapy and massage aren't just to relieve my fatigue, are they?"
Seeing that the Emperor had seen through their plan, Lu Xunguang didn't hide it anymore and honestly reported, "Your Majesty is wise."
"I was thinking that although the people of Yuancheng can fill their stomachs with sea anemones after the flood, they can't rely solely on what they catch from the sea and the relief grain from the court every day. We can't exhaust all our resources."
"The star fish used in the fish - therapy are only produced in Yuancheng. If we open fish - therapy foot - bath parlors in Yuancheng for passing officials and merchants to rest and relieve fatigue, the money earned can be used to buy food for the people."
Now that the Southern Seas had submitted and with Uncle Pei guarding the area, the southern cities were peaceful. Moreover, with Li Ying's painstaking management of the fishing village, the "tourism industry" in the fishing village was booming. Many high - ranking officials and nobles in the Central Plains were proud to go on vacation in the southern regions.
Along the way, although there were official post - stations, they were often old and inconvenient for female relatives to rest.
As a result, many inns were making a fortune.
Among them, there were some greedy people who raised the prices sky - high. A top - grade room could cost dozens of taels of silver.
These "black inns" were fearless, thinking they were far from the Emperor's reach. Most of the guests were wealthy and wouldn't pursue the matter too much.
If this large amount of money could be put into the national treasury, who knew how many military officers and soldiers it could support, and how many poor people's urgent need for food it could relieve!
The Emperor was even more interested when he heard Lu Xunguang's well - reasoned speech.
"Lord Lu, do you have any good ideas?"