"Good, very good." Having such a trustworthy and intelligent guard, William Carter was naturally overjoyed. If he could persuade Evelyn Foster's master to work for him, it would greatly enhance his personal safety. Moreover, someone as formidable as his master surely had equally formidable friends. This could serve as an opportunity, a stepping stone, to recruit a group of experts for his own use.

Ten days' time. He could easily stay holed up in the Qianqing Palace for a while longer; after all, in everyone's eyes, William Carter was nothing more than a foolish emperor. Whether he attended court or not didn't matter. Besides, recklessly jumping into the political arena without any protection would actually be disadvantageous. After returning to the Qianqing Palace with the guards, Evelyn Foster received an imperial edict, gave repeated instructions to the other guards, and then hurried off to Wudang Mountain. Before he left, William Carter confided in him again, saying things like it didn't matter if he couldn't invite his master, the most important thing was his own safety, and so on. If an emperor is determined to win people over, he has a much greater advantage than ordinary people. With a personal invitation from the emperor, even people from Wudang Mountain, no matter how detached from worldly affairs, probably wouldn't dare refuse. Otherwise, if they truly angered the emperor, he could simply issue an order to send troops and treat Wudang Mountain as a rebellious force to be suppressed. However, at this point, before William Carter had fully seized power, he would never do such a thankless and foolish thing. Sincerely winning people over was the right way.

Lying on the dragon bed, eyes half-closed in rest, four maids and two young eunuchs took turns standing outside the curtains. William Carter went over the situation in his mind again. Right now, he not only lacked trustworthy people, but also lacked money. As an emperor, if he wanted to win people's hearts, he needed to give out all kinds of rewards and pay people to get things done—he couldn't just expect them to work for free. He should have given Evelyn Foster some money for the errand just now. But ever since he transmigrated here, although the emperor's food, clothing, and daily use were all extremely luxurious, he couldn't find a single copper coin, silver piece, or banknote on him. He even secretly searched the dragon bed, but still found not a trace of money. He cursed in his heart—was the previous emperor an idiot? At the very least, he should have stashed away some private money. But he couldn't very well search the entire Qianqing Palace openly. After all, there were so many eunuchs and maids; if the emperor acted like a thief rummaging through his own home, what would that look like?

"Xiao Duozi, Xiao Duozi." William Carter called out loudly twice.

Little Alice, who was waiting outside, hurried in at a trot, bowing his head and saying, "This servant is here."

"Xiao Duozi, let me ask you something." William Carter had him help him sit up on the bed and casually asked, "Working here in the palace, serving me, how much money do you make in a year?"

Little Alice was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, his face drained of color. He quickly knelt by the bed, kowtowing repeatedly, "Your Majesty, I am innocent, I have not accepted any bribes."

William Carter burst out laughing and waved his hand impatiently, "Who cares whether you took bribes or not? I'm just asking how much money you normally make in a year. Besides, as long as you are loyal to me and always have my best interests at heart, even if you occasionally earn a little extra on the side, I won't punish you." This was his honest opinion. Most eunuchs had no family to rely on and were forced into the palace out of desperation. For the rest of their lives, they had neither the ability nor the desire to pursue women. Naturally, their focus would shift to the pursuit of money and power. If you cut off their means of making money, they might not dare say anything on the surface, but how could you expect them to be loyal to you? Even if you had to loosen the reins a bit and allow them some power, it wasn't a big deal.

Hearing this, Little Alice's expression immediately improved. A look of gratitude appeared on his face as he replied in a trembling voice, "Thanks to my ancestors' virtue, I have the opportunity to serve Your Majesty. I receive ten strings of cash each month. On holidays, I get extra. For example, last year, I received a total of two hundred strings."

"Two hundred strings?" William Carter only knew the name of this unit of money, but wasn't quite sure how much one string was actually worth. After asking Little Alice in detail, he finally understood that earning two hundred strings a year was already considered a very good income. For an ordinary city family, spending a few dozen strings a year was already a comfortable life.

Of course, Little Alice's annual income was definitely more than that. Serving by the emperor's side, not to mention all kinds of bribes, even the usual tips could greatly increase his earnings. As for ordinary young eunuchs, they earned much less. According to Little Alice, depending on their duties, most earned a few dozen strings a year. Still, the income was considerable, which explained why so many poor families would try every means to send their children into the palace—at the very least, it could support the whole family. If they managed to rise up, their power wouldn't be insignificant.

"If I want to reward you, how should I do it?" William Carter asked casually, "Suppose I want to give you a hundred strings of cash."

"As long as Your Majesty gives the word, this servant can go to the Imperial Household Department to collect the silver myself." Little Alice beamed with joy, kowtowing repeatedly, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your reward."