Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Inside the Imperial Garden, Emperor Jing paced back and forth, holding a secret report.

His brow furrowed and relaxed intermittently.

Guo Tianyang carefully observed Emperor Jing's expression, afraid of missing any detail.

After a long while, Emperor Jing put away the secret report and sighed deeply, lamenting, "I never imagined that Fang Qing would be living among the common people as a servant of a merchant."

A strange look flashed in Guo Tianyang's eyes.

This secret report was urgently sent by a member of the Eastern Depot, but because Emperor Jing was particularly concerned, he hadn't seen it yet.

Fang Zheng becoming a servant was quite interesting...

Emperor Jing continued to sigh, "Truly the demeanor of a gentleman! The officials in the court all compare themselves to gentlemen, but I believe Fang Qing is now truly worthy of the title 'gentleman' through his actions! Entrusting the Crown Prince to him was the right decision."

Hearing Emperor Jing's high praise, Guo Tianyang cautiously asked with doubt, "Your Majesty, what has happened?"

Emperor Jing smiled and tossed the secret report to him, laughing, "Read it yourself. Fang Qing is living among the common people as a servant in a merchant's household. Anyone else would likely harbor resentment. But Fang Qing not only has no resentment, but he also asked others to take care of the Chu family before he left."

"Is not repaying evil with kindness what a gentleman does?"

Guo Tianyang looked over the secret report several times, and his expression became serious.

He felt that the wording and language used above were different from what was usually submitted... but he couldn't say exactly how.

The content was reasonable, but it seemed incomplete.

"Hiss... Your Majesty, this servant doesn't quite understand. Since Lord Fang has arrived in Yuding City, why didn't he go to the government, but instead became a servant in someone's house?"

This kid might be taking the opportunity to avoid returning and giving himself a vacation!

Emperor Jing looked at his expression, seemingly dissatisfied, "Why are you so suspicious? Could it be that the information from your Eastern Depot is false?"

"This news was transmitted urgently, so naturally it couldn't be detailed. When Fang Qing returns, I will personally ask him."

"He's not a fool. There must be a reason for him to hide among the people."

Guo Tianyang secretly pouted, "Yes, Your Majesty is wise."

Emperor Jing said, "Calculate the days, he should be returning soon. What's the Crown Prince's movement?"

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been very happy these past few days, saying he wants to personally go out of the city to meet him. Does Your Majesty want this servant to stop him...?"

"No need! The Crown Prince has been handling matters competently recently. If he wants to go, let him go. When he returns, you will welcome him out of the city on my behalf."

.......

On the official road, Fang Zheng rode his horse leisurely, taking in the scenery.

Sitting in the carriage was too bumpy. Riding a horse was much more comfortable, and he could exercise certain muscles.

Xie Xian walked beside him, and he had also brought Du Lingfeng, who had been in Haiyuan City, along.

He glanced back at Du Lingfeng, and seeing that there was still some distance between them, he rode his horse closer to Fang Zheng and whispered, "Master, we will be entering the capital in a few days. Is there really no problem with that secret report from the Eastern Depot...?"

Fang Zheng didn't care at all, with a smile on his face, "What problem could there be? Is there a single false statement in it?"

"Wasn't I a servant in the Chu family? Serving as a bookboy, sending a little girl to school every day?"

"But Master, I'm afraid it's too fabricated... The things inside can't stand scrutiny."

"Heh, some things are inconvenient to say or explain clearly in a letter. I will explain everything clearly to His Majesty when I return, so don't worry. I say, how can you do great things in the future if you're so timid? You've become more and more of a coward after this trip."

Xie Xian sighed deeply, "Master, it's not that I'm timid, but I find it hard to believe after careful consideration."

"A prince rebelling, I originally thought I could only see it in books, but I never thought it would actually happen around me. How could the court be completely unaware of such a big event and make such a major mistake?"

Fang Zheng shrugged and said earnestly, "Throughout history, which dynasty hasn't made mistakes? The world is so big, news doesn't spread in time, and Wu Wang acted secretly, so it's not surprising that such a thing happened."

"The difficulty of management, not to mention the court, even if I were to manage tens of thousands of people in Taoyuan County, I would be powerless to cope. Too many problems cannot be discovered and solved. All we can do is follow the rules, and the rest is to deal with whatever comes our way."

Speaking of this, Fang Zheng couldn't help but recall some bad memories and shook his head with a wry smile.

In the beginning, he was also blinded by the desire for power, thinking he was omnipotent, and began to frantically carry out "modernization" reforms in the county.

The result was naturally disastrous, with the people dissatisfied. Fortunately, he woke up in time and changed his ways.

After so many years, he was considered experienced. In addition to not carrying out large-scale infrastructure construction, he occasionally gave some advice to his subordinates, leaving behind some valuable experiences and ideas from his previous life to spread among the people.

Or he would engage in small inventions locally, and let the people do whatever they wanted with the rest. Anything was allowed unless prohibited by law, and fortunately, the results were not bad.

Seeing a group of merchants appearing ahead, Fang Zheng shouted loudly, "Hey, fellow villagers! How long until we reach the capital?"

"Two days!" The other side shouted back.

Two days?

Fang Zheng then said to Xie Xian, "I won't sleep these two days, don't call me for meals."

Xie Xian: "......"