Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Back inside the county office, another group of people had already arrived to wait.

After all, maintaining the operation of the county office was a major matter, and it was impossible to send everyone out to welcome Fang Zheng Yi.

However, everyone had made some arrangements in advance, with two rows of people standing side by side at the entrance to welcome him.

As soon as Fang Zheng Yi stepped into the doorway, the crowd cheered, shouting welcome home, sir, and other such phrases.

He was naturally very gratified, but his eyes wandered and discovered a familiar face.

Fang Zheng Yi raised his hand, smiling as he went to greet him: “Master Wu, long time no see!”

Wu Sheng had a smile on his face and bowed slightly: “It has been a while since I last saw you, sir. Seeing you well puts my mind at ease.”

Fang Zheng Yi also smiled in acknowledgment, raising both arms and saying: “Everyone, go back and attend to your duties. There will be plenty of time to meet in the future.” Then he turned to look at Wu Sheng, “Master, what have you been busy with lately? Have any new works been published?”

Wu Sheng smiled slightly, and said humbly: “I dare not, I dare not. Don't laugh at me, sir, but I am currently writing a book.”

“Writing a book? What kind of masterpiece?”

As soon as the book was mentioned, Wu Sheng's expression became a little embarrassed, obviously feeling somewhat restrained in front of Fang Zheng Yi.

After all, he had once been an official himself, and now Fang Zheng Yi was also an official, making him feel that what he had written was not presentable.

Ao Chen beside him walked up, his tone filled with excitement: “Sir, Master Wu's latest work is extraordinary.”

“A strange book! It is simply a strange book! Everyone in the county loves to read it. It combines ethics, love, suspense, action, and the supernatural; it encompasses everything.”

“Oh?” Fang Zheng Yi became interested. “There is such a strange book? What is it called?”

“Tears of Scarlet!”

Hiss~ Just hearing the name makes it sound perverted. The culture of Peach Blossom County was already skewed severely; wouldn't something like this corrupt the children in the county?

Fang Zheng Yi had just opened his mouth to ask when Ao Chen preemptively asked: “Master Wu, the work should be at the next story now, right? What will the next chapter be about?”

Seeing his appearance, Fang Zheng Yi's curiosity grew even stronger. Ao Chen was a serious person; even he was so interested, which showed how addictive this book was!

Seeing Fang Zheng Yi's curious gaze, Wu Sheng could only cough twice: “The outline is already there. It tells the story of the love and hate entanglement between a spirit and a royal nobleman.”

Liaozhai Zhiyi? Nothing special!

Fang Zheng Yi secretly curled his lip.

This hint of disdain was keenly captured by Wu Sheng!

In Peach Blossom County, he could be looked down upon by anyone but the lord, Wu Sheng thought to himself.

Then, stroking his beard, he slowly began to speak: “This story is no simple ghost tale; I dare say there is absolutely nothing like it on the market!”

“Please, tell me!” Fang Zheng Yi's eyes lit up.

“To put it simply, this story tells the love story between a mermaid princess and a prince in the Dragon Palace. The prince went out to sea to fish, and the mermaid princess was accidentally caught. The mermaid transformed into a human form, but she was completely naked and entangled in a fishing net.”

“The prince was immediately seduced by the mermaid's beauty, and the mermaid also fell in love with the prince at first sight. Unfortunately, the mermaid's tail would soon appear after leaving the water. In order to be with the prince, she drank the Dragon Palace's elixir to transform into a human form for a long time.”

“Unfortunately, after drinking the elixir, she could no longer speak, and the imperial court could not allow a mute commoner to marry into the royal family. For the sake of love, the prince disregarded worldly obstacles and wanted to forcibly marry the mermaid.”

“Unexpectedly, the national preceptor in the court discovered the clues and used an elixir to break the mermaid's illusion. But the mermaid was not an ordinary person either; because she had magic power, only her fish head was transformed back. The prince was shocked and cut off her head with a knife.”

Fang Zheng Yi and Ao Chen both fell into a daze.

Especially Fang Zheng Yi; his mind was already in chaos, fearing that Hans Christian Andersen would jump out from somewhere with a knife.

Seeing their reaction, Wu Sheng nodded in satisfaction and continued: “So far, it is just an ordinary story. The exciting part is yet to come.”

“Since the mermaid has magic power, of course, she is not afraid of mortal weapons! That mermaid is actually an octopus, and the head is one of its tentacles transformed. The reason why she stretched her neck to be killed was a plan to escape with the prince!”

“The mermaid had already secretly asked the Turtle Prime Minister to inform the prince of the plan, but she did not expect the Turtle Prime Minister to be one step too slow!”

“When the prince discovered that he had personally killed his beloved, he was heartbroken and committed suicide with a knife!”

“When the mermaid woke up from her feigned death and found that her lover was dead, she exploded her meridians and died for love. The two were buried together by the sea and finally turned into scallops, living together forever.... Sir, what do you think?”

Mermaid Princess Juliet and Scallop Prince Liang Shanbo?

What the hell is this stuff?!

Fang Zheng Yi's entire face was flushed, and he squeezed out two words from between his teeth: “Pretty good...”

Ao Chen did not find it strange and listened with fascination. After the emotions passed, he asked curiously: “Why is the princess in the Dragon Palace a fish? Shouldn't it be a dragon girl?”

Wu Sheng sighed leisurely: “That is the next season's human drama.”

“I see, interlocking links. Master Wu is indeed a great talent!” Ao Chen admired endlessly.

Fang Zheng Yi: “......”

After Wu Sheng finished speaking, he reached into his arms and groped for a while, and soon took out a ball of something and handed it to Fang Zheng Yi.

“Sir, this is in order to be able to perform this story in the theater in the future, I also specially customized props.”

Wu Sheng gently shook open the ball of things, and the moment it was fully revealed, Fang Zheng Yi instantly felt his scalp tingle!

Wu Sheng was still talking to himself: “This fishing net wrapped around the torso must be particularly attractive, so I found a tailor to customize this fishing net clothing. Because the tailor's skills were not very proficient, I only made two legs first, but it seems to look good, so I let the lord see it first.”

“I call it fishing net stockings. Although no one has worn it yet, I dare say this thing will definitely be a big hit in Snow Moon Tower in the future!”

“......”

Fang Zheng Yi silently walked to Wu Sheng, put his arms around Wu Sheng's shoulders, and said in a deep voice: “Having you, Master, is like having an arm! You must concentrate on creation in the future. If you have any troubles in life, be sure to tell me, and I will solve them for you!”

Wu Sheng's old face bloomed with a smile, and he excitedly held Fang Zheng Yi's arms: “Sir, you also understand?!”

“Understood!” Fang Zheng Yi nodded heavily: “Truly a shocking work, you will definitely be remembered in the annals of Qing (brothel) history!”

Wu Sheng's heart was filled with satisfaction. To have a confidant in life, he would have no regrets even in death!

Fang Zheng Yi suddenly changed the subject and asked doubtfully: “Master, why are your hands shaking?”

Just now, in the corner of his eye, he saw that his right hand, which was holding his arm, was constantly trembling slightly.

Wu Sheng let go of his arm and glanced at it: “Oh, it's because I've been writing too much lately. Most of the books in the county are written in vernacular, which has many more words than classical Chinese.”

“In addition, the readers are always urging me, and some people even sent blades to my house... I have been rushing to write, which has caused this root of the disease. It's nothing, thank you for your concern, sir.”

“How many words do you write a day?” Fang Zheng Yi asked.

Wu Sheng pondered for a moment: “A little over four thousand, but less than five thousand. This is a chapter-based style, and each chapter must be over two thousand words. Now, two chapters a day may not satisfy the readers. I want to write more, but my body... alas, it is really difficult.”

“Alas~ What is this a big deal!” Fang Zheng Yi glanced at Ao Chen and said in a low voice: “Four thousand five hundred words, just divide it into three chapters, right?”

A trace of panic appeared on Wu Sheng's face: “Isn't this a forgery? What if it is discovered? I will be hacked to death!”

“Everyone looks at the number of chapters, who will count your words? People are fickle!” Fang Zheng Yi had a wicked smile on his face.

Wu Sheng suddenly realized: “Cough... Thank you for your guidance, sir!”

“Okay, go and be busy. Ao Chen and I still have important things to talk about!”

.......