Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Fang Zheng Yi quickly snatched the newspaper, and after a careful look, he was shocked.

What was printed in the newspaper was indeed as Li Yuanzhao had said.

But stones killing people, according to his understanding, could only be due to nuclear radiation... But is that stuff really that powerful?

In his previous life, when he read news online about energy stones, the most they did was cause a little nosebleed.

The things that could kill people were all things that leaked from the laboratory, and those things were purified, right?

After thinking about it without any clear ideas, Fang Zheng immediately instructed the servant who was carrying the sedan chair and hadn't left yet: "Take this newspaper to the Taoyuan Medical Clinic immediately, find the boy mentioned above who is wearing a jade pendant, and tell them to quickly bury the jade pendant for me in the courtyard! Bury it as deep as possible, and no one is allowed to approach it! You watch them bury it with your own eyes, and come find me immediately after it's buried."

Watching the servant run away quickly, Fang Zheng Yi felt relieved.

Li Yuanzhao saw his serious expression and couldn't help but become serious as well: "Lao Fang, what's the situation?"

"I don't know what the situation is either, but it's always right to bury dirty things first. In the future, if you see stones that glow and give off heat, stay far away from them. Don't touch them randomly, they can easily kill people."

"Ah? Does a luminous pearl count?"

"That doesn't count."

Li Yuanzhao stroked his chin and wondered: "Do you think there are really ghosts?"

Fang Zheng Yi smiled slyly: "What's so scary about ghosts? If there are ghosts, the people who are killed by ghosts will also become ghosts. Aren't ghosts afraid of being beaten up?"

"But... I've really seen ghosts! When I was a kid, I was lucky enough to see them seven or eight times a day."

Li Yuanzhao was shocked: "Really? How come I've never heard you mention it before?"

"I could see them before, but then I met a wandering scientist who gave me a magic weapon, and the ghosts didn't dare to come see me."

"What?"

"A high-definition camera. The higher the definition, the more afraid the ghosts are. It's a pity that I lost it later. But ghosts with high magical power can always blur the high definition."

"What's that?" Li Yuanzhao asked, confused.

"It's something similar to the 'A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains' mirror..."

"...., You're just messing with me!"

Fang Zheng Yi shook his head and then said: "Your Highness, why did you come out today? Did His Majesty say anything?"

Li Yuanzhao looked around and said in a low voice: "There is indeed something I want to tell you. Last night, I went to greet my father and saw many memorials impeaching you. You're afraid you're going to be in trouble, so prepare early, okay?"

"Impeach me? Nothing has happened recently, has it?" Fang Zheng Yi frowned.

"It seems to be those scientific papers that the common people are doing... But, time's up, I have to go back."

After Li Yuanzhao finished speaking, he immediately ran towards the palace.

Fang Zheng Yi looked around and already had a plan in his mind.

The wind among the common people has been blowing a bit crooked lately, but it's not too serious yet.

He has been on good terms with everyone recently, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard is also stable, only catching a few small fries, so the only ones who can impeach him are those censors.

These people, with even a little bit of disagreement, unable to stand it, began to attack people with words, which is really troublesome.

...

Not long after, the court meeting began.

Fang Zheng Yi calmed down and kept his mind at peace.

Mainly, he was used to being impeached, and he had already desensitized. Let them say whatever they want, just deal with it as it comes!

Fifteen minutes passed, and Emperor Jing had just opened his mouth to ask a question.

Sure enough, someone stood up and said loudly: "This minister, Shi Zhong, has a memorial to present. Recently, the wind of science is prevalent among the people. This evil trend causes the people not to work, and the culprit is Dongjiao University."

"Fang Zheng Yi, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, is dictatorial and despotic, using public resources for private gain! If the common people continue to engage in this unhealthy trend, it will cause panic. Please, Your Majesty, make a wise decision!"

Many people discussed in low voices, and most of the discussions were in agreement.

Fang Zheng Yi sighed helplessly.

As expected, the censor was spewing manure again.

Unaccustomed to the environment, science is, after all, unaccustomed to the environment, and it's also my fault for pulling up the seedlings to help them grow too quickly.

For the court officials, it's best if the common people are like an ancient well without waves, without a single ripple.

The common people should just farm and have children, listen to whatever the superiors say, and then grin and shout that the court is wise, and that's it.

But any bit of voice, or words that they don't like to hear, they feel are intolerable.

This was also taken for granted before, after all, in an agricultural society, it's normal for there to be no change for thousands of years.

But even so, it's a bit too much to put the hat of being dictatorial and despotic and using public resources for private gain on my head.

Fang Zheng Yi looked coldly at Shi Zhong: "When did this official become dictatorial and despotic!"

"Lord Fang! Recently, booksellers in the market have printed many new books, but every one of them has your name on it! How do you explain this!"

"Isn't it that you are using your power to pressure people, forcing those booksellers to write your name on it? What exactly is your purpose in doing this? Could it be... Lord Fang wants to be a sage?" Shi Zhong said.

Fang Zheng Yi smiled awkwardly, that was actually true...

"Absurd! The books that this official chose to write inscriptions for were all science-related books. As the principal of Dongjiao University, the school is engaged in science. Is there anything wrong with writing inscriptions for those books? Moreover, if I write inscriptions, the booksellers can sell more books and subsidize their family business. I didn't take a penny from it."

"Lord Fang! You are also a court official, is it appropriate to be involved with merchants! ?"

"I don't think there's anything inappropriate. Merchants are also people. Don't you buy things from merchants?"

Shi Zhong listened to Fang Zheng Yi's calm tone and felt anger in his heart: "The common people are now studying your so-called science all day long and are not working. How do you explain this!"

"This is just a fad. After not too long, the enthusiasm of the people will naturally subside. Moreover, I heard that because many people are discussing science, they even take the initiative to learn to read, isn't that right?" Fang Zheng Yi asked back.

Shi Zhong said loudly: "Wrong! Completely wrong! What kind of characters do the people learn to read? What kind of books do they read? I ask, can those books related to science teach them how to be human? The so-called papers that are popular in the market are all nonsense and can be said to be useless!"

What nonsense are you talking about?

Fang Zheng Yi felt angry and looked at Emperor Jing with a solemn expression: "Your Majesty, if the common people don't know how to read, they won't understand even the books of sages. Now that there is a craze for literacy among the people, it will be of great benefit to selecting talents for the court in the future. It should be a happy event."

"Your Majesty, I also have something to say." An unexpected person stood up.

Fang Zheng Yi turned his head and saw that it was Xu Wenshu, the Minister of Revenue, and felt a little puzzled.

Today's matter should have nothing to do with him...

Only to hear Xu Wenshu cupping his hands and saying: "Your Majesty, this minister has no intention of participating in this dispute, but there is one thing I would like to ask Lord Fang in public."

Emperor Jing nodded slightly: "Speak."

Xu Wenshu said: "Several months ago, Lord Fang personally went to the Ministry of Revenue and said that the Ordnance Institute under the Royal Academy of Sciences needed to research a top-secret project. This minister thought it was related to ordnance, so he approved a sum of money at that time."

"But several months have passed, and this minister once sent people to the Ordnance Institute to inquire, but each time they were prevaricated by the people from the Ordnance Institute. Therefore, I still don't know where this money went, and I haven't seen any results from the Academy of Sciences."

"Therefore, I would like to ask Lord Fang, where did this money go? The money in my Ministry of Revenue is the people's hard-earned money and cannot be spent unclearly!"

"If the Academy of Sciences continues to act like this in the future, then please, Your Majesty, directly give a fixed quota allocation to the Academy of Sciences, and this minister will no longer ask about the internal affairs of the Academy of Sciences after that."

Fang Zheng Yi secretly thought that something was wrong.

That money was used to make hot air balloons and pay wages and benefits... I don't know how Yi Shun is doing, he hasn't come back yet!

Just as he was thinking about a countermeasure, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from outside the hall, followed by a eunuch's shrill cry piercing through the hall.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, there is an urgent report!! Urgent report from Yi Shun!!"