Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Under Xiao Letian's control, the hot air balloon slowly descended.

The courtiers outside the palace, initially dumbfounded, had long been as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

Only when they saw Emperor Jing and the others land safely did they breathe a collective sigh of relief, before swarming forward.

They crowded around the wicker basket, all talking at once with concern.

Emperor Jing stepped out of the basket, his body swaying slightly, as a feeling of extraordinary solidity returned to him.

He couldn't help but say, "It's still good to be on the ground."

Li Yansong couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, how did it feel in the sky? What did you see?"

Emperor Jing reflected for a moment, then exclaimed, "I saw it, I saw the entire palace, I saw the mountains and rivers of my Great Jing..."

That's not what anyone wanted to ask!

"Your Majesty, is there a heavenly palace in the sky?" Zhang Dongxiang saw that Emperor Jing had entered a mode of reminiscence, and quickly added a question.

Pairs of small eyes stared intently at Emperor Jing, trying to find an answer in his words.

The people below were concerned about the safety of the Emperor and the Crown Prince, and also cared about the matter of the heavenly palace.

Emperor Jing was speechless, it seemed that everyone was thinking about this question.

"I didn't see a heavenly palace, I only saw the mortal world, but the scenery was very beautiful."

Everyone was immediately disappointed, so he didn't see a heavenly palace.

Li Yansong said with a wry smile, "Your Majesty, I beg you not to take such a dangerous path again, this old minister really can't take it."

Emperor Jing swept his gaze over the crowd, looked up at the sky again, and smiled, "Rest assured, everyone, it's very cold in the sky, I won't go again."

"Enough with the idle talk, I and Qing Fang just learned about the situation in the sky."

"The victory at Yi Shun was due to the Crown Prince sending troops to help. However, the greatest contribution to this victory belongs to Xiao Letian of the Eastern Suburb Academy."

"Without him, there would have been no aerial surprise attack!"

"Xiao Letian, I want to reward you, you can tell me what you want."

The crowd didn't have time to think, and their eyes turned to Xiao Letian.

Xiao Letian blushed from being stared at, and inevitably became nervous again, stammering, "This... I don't know. If it weren't for Principal Fang, I wouldn't be where I am today, I don't dare take the credit."

Fang Zheng immediately showed a kind smile.

Good student, this is really a good student!

Emperor Jing said, "His contribution will be rewarded by me, I am asking you now. Since you don't know, then I will ask you, are you willing to enter the court as an official?"

Enter the court as an official?

These four words appeared like a curse in Xiao Letian's mind.

Before entering the Eastern Suburb University, if someone had told him that he could directly enter the court as an official, he would have agreed without hesitation.

But now he has found his own path and has his own hobbies.

Does he still have to return to the old path?

Moreover, his father has high expectations for him, if he really enters the court as an official, he will definitely be very happy.

Should he agree... or not agree?

Fang Zheng stood beside him, and seeing his tangled expression, he roughly guessed the reason.

He leaned close to Xiao Letian and whispered, "Choose whatever you want in your heart, don't consider anything else for now."

Xiao Letian was stunned for a moment, and said in a low voice, "Thank you, Principal."

Then he raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, I don't want to be an official, I just want to concentrate on research at the school, I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Emperor Jing didn't care, and nodded, "Okay, then today I will reward you with a thousand taels of gold, a hundred bolts of silk, grain..."

After Emperor Jing finished speaking, Fang Zheng said, "Your Majesty, these material rewards are certainly good. I know that Xiao Letian is a filial son, and his father hopes that he will have a good reputation. I implore Your Majesty to also bestow upon him a personally inscribed calligraphy, which he can take home to fulfill his filial piety."

Emperor Jing smiled slightly and said, "Alright. But what words should I bestow that would be appropriate?"

"Junior college people, junior college souls!" Fang Zheng said with joy.

If this calligraphy is hung up, the publicity effect will be explosive!

Won't the students of the school study to death for me? If you want to be above others, then take the junior college exam!

Xiao Letian swallowed hard.

Personally inscribed calligraphy? If he took this back to his father, wouldn't he be ecstatic?

Thinking of this, Xiao Letian's knees went weak, and he knelt on the ground, kowtowing and excitedly saying, "I thank Your Majesty for your grace!"

"You should go home first, someone will come to your house later to deliver the imperial decree. Today, I have truly opened my eyes, you should study hard in the Academy of Sciences in the future," Emperor Jing said.

Xiao Letian thanked him again and again, and then was sent out of the palace by the eunuch.

Fang Zheng said happily, "Your Majesty, the court meeting today is not over yet."

"The historians in the hall said that the evil wind of science has blown into the folk, and is of no benefit to the people."

"But the hot air balloon was able to make such a contribution through the useless theory of science. The battle of Yi Shun saved countless soldiers and saved the court a lot of silver."

"As for whether science is good or bad, I think there should be an answer to this question now, Master Shi, what do you say?"

Shi Zhong gave a forced smile and lowered his head, not daring to say more.

The facts were in front of him, and they were so solid that it would be shameless to say anything more.

Seeing that Shi Zhong had nothing to say, Fang Zheng turned the conversation to Xu Wenshu.

"Master Xu, aren't you curious about where the silver I asked the Ministry of Revenue for went? You saw it today." Fang Zheng put his hands together and struck a pose that deserved a beating.

Xu Wenshu chuckled twice, "I see, but if Master Fang had told me earlier, I wouldn't have had to say so much."

"If I told you earlier, would you understand?" Fang Zheng raised his voice.

The courtiers shook their heads.

It's over, this dog thing doesn't let people have their way when he's right... he's taken the upper hand again.

Emperor Jing stood aside, silently watching Fang Zheng's performance, and waited until no one spoke.

Emperor Jing said, "The victory at Yi Shun, killing more than eight thousand enemies! How many years has it been since my Great Jing has produced such a victory?"

"The Academy of Sciences and the Eastern Suburb University deserve the greatest credit this time! Fang Qing, you can also make any requests you have today."

I make them myself? Why is my old father-in-law so generous this time?

Fang Zheng looked at Emperor Jing in confusion.

He saw Emperor Jing gently nod to him.

Fang Zheng instantly understood and said leisurely, "Your Majesty, Xiao Letian was originally just a down-and-out scholar, who repeatedly failed the examinations before thinking of coming to the Eastern Suburb University. He didn't expect to accidentally discover his talent."

"There are not a few students like this in the Eastern Suburb University. Some are the sons of carpenters, and some are the descendants of blacksmiths. But they have all chosen majors in the school that are different from their ancestors."

"Although they study hard, they will inevitably enter the folk after graduation. These people will be limited by their household registration in the future. If they inherit their father's business, their knowledge will not be able to be used, wouldn't that be a waste of resources and time?"

"What if there is a genius like Xiao Letian among them, wouldn't that be buried? This is not only a loss to the court, but also a loss to the world!"

"Therefore, I have only one wish, I hope the court will provide the graduates of the Eastern Suburb University with an opportunity to change their household registration!"

"Okay, I approve of this matter." Emperor Jing glanced over the courtiers: "Does anyone have any objections?"