Royal Gold Magistrate

The two of them continued their secret discussion for a while, finalizing the details of their plan. Afterwards, Emperor Jing left the rear courtyard, feeling extremely satisfied.

However, his stomach churned with nausea. What kind of divine foresight was this? Fang Zheng had prepared two cups, with one of them intended for himself to rinse his mouth!

He must have been out of his mind to listen to the words of a little maid.

As he reached the exit, Emperor Jing happened to see Xiao Tao leaning against the round moon gate, peering inside.

Seeing Emperor Jing come out, Xiao Tao asked with a smile, “How did the discussion between Mr. Li and our young master go?”

Emperor Jing also smiled slightly, “The important matter has been settled! Magistrate Fang is quick-witted and swift in handling affairs.”

“I knew it would certainly succeed!” Xiao Tao looked proud.

“Oh? How did you know?” Emperor Jing’s face carried a hint of suspicion this time. This girl’s words were not reliable at all.

Xiao Tao raised her head, gazing at the crescent moon in the sky, as if lost in memories. She slowly said, “Mr. Li, you haven’t been in Taoyuan County for long, so you may not fully understand our young master.”

“You probably can’t imagine that a few years ago, it was common for people to starve to death in Taoyuan County.”

“The young master usually gets up late every day.”

“But in those years, the young master would often stay up all night, unable to sleep, always thinking about how to save more disaster victims…”

“There was one time I even saw a disaster victim die of hunger right in front of the young master, clutching at his sleeve and crying in pain with his last breath.”

“But it was already too late to save him. That night, the young master drank a lot of wine and shed many tears…”

After saying that, Xiao Tao also wiped the corners of her eyes. “But now everything is good. The people of Taoyuan County are living in peace and prosperity. As long as the young master is here, the hardships of the past will never happen again!”

“The young master is an exceptionally kind person who can’t bear to see others suffer. So Xiao Tao dares to say with certainty that since Mr. Li has sought our young master’s help in disaster relief, the young master will definitely not stand by and watch people die!”

Emperor Jing remained silent, but his heart was already greatly shaken.

He had originally thought that the records about Taoyuan County contained a lot of exaggeration, but he hadn’t expected the situation from a few years ago to be true and probably far worse than he had imagined.

In just a few short years, Taoyuan County had transformed from a living hell to what it was today!

Even more surprising was that someone as carefree as Fang Zheng actually had such a serious side to him.

Emperor Jing couldn’t help but feel touched, so he consoled, “With Magistrate Fang’s great talent, he will surely rise to prominence in the future.”

Xiao Tao shook her head vigorously.

“Our young master doesn’t like rising to prominence. The people of Taoyuan County also don’t wish for the young master to leave Taoyuan County. Life is quite good like this!”

It’s precisely because he is this kind of person that he can’t be allowed to stay in Taoyuan County. There are too many suffering people in the world.

What I want to save is far more than just Jianjiang…

Emperor Jing let out a soft sigh and bid farewell to Xiao Tao before directly leaving.

……………………………..

By the time he returned to the inn, it was already late at night. Guo Tianyang, who was sitting at the table, suddenly heard a sound outside the door and hurried to open it.

Seeing that it was Emperor Jing returning, he eagerly helped remove the outer robe.

“Your Majesty, how did the meeting with Fang Zheng go?”

Emperor Jing had a smile on his face. “Excellent! This trip has been very fruitful. Fang Zheng said that Taoyuan County has an item called Boundless Merit that can split mountains and rocks. He has already agreed to send people to Jianjiang.”

Guo Tianyang was surprised. “Boundless Merit? What kind of thing is that?”

“I don’t know. I only know that this item is extremely valuable, costing fifty thousand taels of silver to purchase. I asked Fang Zheng several times, but he remained tight-lipped. Tomorrow, fetch the tea leaves and immediately prepare the carriages and horses to return to the capital!”

“After returning, arrange for people to change into casual attire and escort Fang Zheng’s team from Jiangling Port. Then send the Eastern Depot guards to Taoyuan County to investigate what exactly this Boundless Merit is!”

“Hehe, I want to see what kind of thing could make Fang Zheng go to such lengths to conceal it.”

After taking off his outer robe, Emperor Jing sat comfortably in a chair and drank hot tea.

“Fifty thousand taels!”

Guo Tianyang couldn’t help but exclaim.

Then he said sinisterly, “Your Majesty! Could it be that Fang Zheng is trying to deceive you? Think about it, your current identity is just a merchant. If this Boundless Merit is just something Fang Zheng made up, wouldn’t Your Majesty be swindled?”

Emperor Jing held the teacup in his hand, staring at the tea. “No!”

“Credit is the foundation of a merchant. Fang Zheng places such importance on commerce, so he definitely wouldn’t do something to ruin his future prospects.”

“Besides, even if he deceives me, so what? The fifty thousand taels of silver are borrowed from Taoyuan County. If Fang Zheng dares to deceive me, I’ll chop off his head!”

If it was really a scam, Fang Zheng wouldn’t need to say so much to him.

Moreover… the behavior of everyone in Taoyuan County, along with what his maidservant said, was enough to prove Fang Zheng’s character.

Even if I was just an ordinary merchant, based on Fang Zheng’s conduct, it was unlikely that he would deceive someone.

However, Emperor Jing kept these thoughts to himself and did not say them out loud.

Guo Tianyang was secretly delighted.

Great! I want to see how you, Fang Zheng, will stumble and fall!

I’ve been in the palace for so many years, and only in front of the Emperor do I act humbly. Even the ministers of the cabinet are respectful when they see me.

You, a mere seventh-rank minor official, actually dare to repeatedly make a fool of me.

It would be best if you fall into my hands, so I can have the Eastern Depot guards properly take care of you a few times!

As he was thinking, Guo Tianyang couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, then quickly covered his mouth.

Emperor Jing glanced back at him and said indifferently, “Instead of harboring such thoughts, you should hope that Fang Zheng can handle this matter smoothly.”

“Guo Tianyang, I’m growing increasingly doubtful of your ability to handle affairs. You’ve gotten old, and your mind has become as narrow as a needle tip.”

“Fang Zheng merely offended you with a few words. Why hold it against him? With you acting like this… I can’t feel at ease handing the Eastern Depot over to you.”

Guo Tianyang’s face instantly turned pale. He quickly knelt down and argued, “Your Majesty! Your servant has been wronged…”

“Your servant was overjoyed and couldn’t help himself, thinking that Magistrate Fang could immediately resolve the flood disaster and relieve Your Majesty of a worry.”

“Your servant was happy for Your Majesty’s sake.”

“Moreover, Magistrate Fang doesn’t know your servant’s identity. As the saying goes, ‘those who don’t know are not at fault.’ Although your servant hasn’t read many books, I still understand this principle.”

Emperor Jing finished his tea in one gulp and slammed the cup on the table.

“Get up! Go back to your room and kneel there.” With that, Emperor Jing directly returned to his bedroom.

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

Seeing that Emperor Jing had returned to his room, Guo Tianyang stood up and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

He stared blankly at the teacup on the table, lost in thought.

Fang Zheng had truly captured the Emperor’s favor. His Majesty’s attitude towards Fang Zheng seemed to have greatly improved after this trip.

No! In the future, I must maintain a good relationship with him!