Royal Gold Magistrate

Li Yuanzhao led Fang Zheng to a secluded spot. After dismissing the many attending eunuchs, he said impatiently, “I have many questions to ask you. When you were dealing with the floods…”

“Wait a moment, Your Highness! This official has something to say…” Fang Zheng interrupted Li Yuanzhao.

“How did you get those injuries on your face? Don’t tell me there’s someone in the palace who can hit you?”

This question had been bothering Fang Zheng from the moment he entered. The wounds on the crown prince’s face looked like whip marks. What cruel person dared to injure the crown prince’s face?

To his surprise, as soon as he finished asking, Li Yuanzhao immediately grimaced fiercely. “Who else could it be? Who else could it be!”

“Besides Imperial Father, who else in the palace would dare to hit me!”

“Who knows what’s wrong with Imperial Father. Yesterday when I went to pay my respects, after just a few words, he had me strung up and beaten. He accidentally lashed my face!”

“I thought about it for ages but couldn’t figure out what I did wrong! Hiss… it still hurts now!”

“…………” Fang Zheng immediately shut his mouth, standing stiff as a statue.

“Uh… ahem! I shouldn’t say this, but those wounds on Your Highness’s face actually add a touch of stern majesty. You look extremely imposing! Like a true iron-blooded hero, a real man of Great Jing. This official admires you!”

Li Yuanzhao touched the injury on his cheek, delighted. “Really?”

Fang Zheng thumped his chest. “Absolutely! I, Fang Zheng, stake my reputation on it! Putting aside Your Highness’s regal dragon aura, you simply have the appearance of a valiant general! It makes one want to bow their head in allegiance!”

Li Yuanzhao immediately laughed heartily. “Good, excellent! In the palace, only you, Fang Zheng, understand me. I was born a military genius, but who knew Imperial Father and those old ministers in the palace would constantly belittle me! They have eyes but fail to recognize talent!”

Fang Zheng couldn’t help sighing inwardly.

It seemed the crown prince didn’t have it easy in the palace either. It was like he was subjected to constant negative reinforcement from the emperor and ministers every day. He also didn’t have a single friend by his side. It wasn’t easy for him to maintain such an innocent and optimistic personality.

“Ah.. Your Highness, what did you want to ask me just now?”

“Heavenly lightning! I wanted to ask how you called down heavenly lightning to deal with the floods?” Li Yuanzhao’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Your Highness is joking. There’s no such thing as heavenly lightning… That was just a man-made tool, no different from a hammer or sickle. I only obtained a small quantity by chance. In the future when more are made, Your Highness can have as much as you want.”

“Oh…” The disappointment on Li Yuanzhao’s face was visible to the naked eye, but he persisted, asking, “Then are the sword immortals flying on swords in books all fake? There are no ghosts or gods in this world?”

This time, Fang Zheng hesitated. As a serious progressive youth, he naturally didn’t put any stock in talk of ghosts and gods.

But he had transmigrated here, which made things a bit awkward.

After thinking for a bit, he said, “Ghosts and gods… I don’t believe in them. They’re just foolish folklore! A piece of trash is still trash after dying. If it has some resentment, it wants to turn the tables and become an evil spirit? It’s just a projection of the common people’s beautiful wishes!”

“Also, think about it, Your Highness. In those novels, the peerless experts are either blind or beggars. If not, then they’re frail scholars. Most of those books were probably written by weak scholars. Maybe they wanted to vent their dissatisfaction with life.”

“True… that makes some sense…” Li Yuanzhao felt like he had taken a heavy blow. The spiritual world he had always fantasized about seemed to be shattered…

“As for flying on swords, that’s even more of a fabrication in books!”

“Your Highness, if you read more, you’ll know there are even barbarian sword immortals from overseas who ride on brooms! Does that make sense?”

Li Yuanzhao raised an eyebrow. “Riding on brooms? Now that’s novel. And riding would be less tiring than standing. But thinking about it, it wouldn’t be very dignified…”

“How would riding be less tiring? Wouldn’t it chafe your crotch?”

“………. I see. Then it would be suitable for Liu Jin to ride one.”

This topic was getting more and more ridiculous. It couldn’t continue! Fang Zheng hastily interrupted, “Does Your Highness have anything else to ask?”

“Oh, there’s also that voice recorder…”

“It has already been presented to His Majesty.”

“I heard there’s a person in Taoyuan County called a sketch artist whose painting skills are astonishingly lifelike, as if real. I want to see for myself.”

Fang Zheng smiled. “Your Highness, sketching is a painting technique. If Your Highness is interested, I’ll immediately find a painter to teach you.”

Li Yuanzhao said, “No need. I just want to broaden my knowledge. I can also paint, but I often wonder what level of painting deserves to be called lifelike.”

“The palace painters’ works don’t seem very realistic… Look, this is a painting I did this morning. How is it?”

With that, Li Yuanzhao took out a sheet of rice paper from his chest and unfolded it. The painting seemed to be of some animal, composed of black and white lines…

Fang Zheng took one look and immediately exclaimed in surprise, “Wow! I didn’t expect Your Highness could paint penguins! And so realistically too!”

Li Yuanzhao was puzzled. “What’s a penguin? This is a kingfisher!”

“………………”

Fang Zheng said with a straight face, “Not bad! In my hometown, we call kingfishers penguins. It’s a dialect.”

“Is that so! It seems I do have some talent in this area.” Li Yuanzhao sighed.

The corner of Fang Zheng’s eye twitched violently.

“Indeed! I didn’t expect Your Highness to be accomplished in both literature and martial arts… It’s just that this kind of art is a bit premature for humanity. Wait a thousand or eight hundred years and it will definitely become a national treasure. Hurry and put it away!”

“Hahaha! You have a good eye. Then this painting is for you!”

“…… Many thanks, Your Highness.”

Fang Zheng accepted the painting expressionlessly and tucked it into his robes. He then took out a thick stack of something from his bosom and whispered, “Your Highness, this official and Your Highness hit it off immediately. Since I’m new here, I prepared a gift for Your Highness!”

Seeing the thick stack of banknotes Fang Zheng handed over, Li Yuanzhao was so startled he took a step back and exclaimed, “What is this? Banknotes?”

Fang Zheng had intentionally exchanged the banknotes for smaller denominations. It was a full ten thousand taels, a thick stack that looked even more than what he had given Emperor Jing before!

Seeing him dodge away, Fang Zheng’s expression turned displeased. “What does Your Highness mean by this? Looking down on me, Fang Zheng?”

“This ten thousand taels of silver is just a small token of my regard. I consider the crown prince a bosom friend. What’s a mere bit of silver?”

Li Yuanzhao was astonished. “This is ten thousand taels?”

“Exactly!”

A greedy look instantly flashed in Li Yuanzhao’s eyes. Emperor Jing gave the Eastern Palace a monthly allowance of around four to five hundred taels. To him, this ten thousand taels was a veritable fortune.

However, he still hesitated. “Is it appropriate for me to take your money?”

Fang Zheng said mournfully, “Brothers are like hands and feet, money is like dung and dirt. If you don’t accept this silver, Your Highness is looking down on me, not treating me, Fang Zheng, as a friend!”

“I, Fang Zheng, possess nothing of value. My family has nothing but silver. Could it be that Your Highness despises me for the stench of money on me?”

Li Yuanzhao hastily waved his hands, flustered. “No, no! I consider you a friend. Don’t think that way!”

With that, he happily snatched the money from Fang Zheng’s hand and stuffed it into his sleeve. He said with emotion, “I’ve decided on you as a brother! In the future, if anyone in the palace bullies you, come find me!”

“Your Highness is too kind! Don’t mention it. From now on, just call me Old Fang. If you ever need anything, this official is at your service!”

In no time, the two of them started chatting animatedly, talking and laughing, the picture of partners in crime.

At this moment, the little eunuch Liu Jin ran over in a fluster. Seeing the crown prince and Fang Zheng walking with arms around each other’s shoulders, his jaw dropped. He stammered, “Crown Prince! Grand Tutor Yan has arrived!”