Royal Gold Magistrate

Li Miaohan’s lips curved into a smile, her charm on full display.

Fang Zheng said, “Princess, though your subject’s family is poor, I do have some spare funds. There’s no need to worry.”

“This gift of mine… does the Princess like it?”

Li Miaohan nodded. “I do. But I still want to see what a diamond actually looks like.”

Women, through and through!

Fang Zheng felt a touch of nostalgia. “Very well! If the Princess desires it, I’ll have someone deliver a batch of diamonds tomorrow!”

“Well then… your subject should take his leave.”

Li Miaohan’s expression grew complex. “Do you really have to be gone for eight or ten years?”

“I’m not certain… it’s hard to say. But the Princess needn’t worry about your subject. I’ll do my utmost to perform well and return to the capital as soon as possible!”

Li Miaohan nodded firmly. “Good! I’ll speak to Imperial Father on your behalf, and try to hasten your return!”

Fang Zheng flashed a grin. “Many thanks, Princess. Your subject takes his leave!”

With that, Fang Zheng strode away without looking back.

Li Miaohan reached out behind him, her mouth opening as if to say something, but in the end, she lowered her hand in resignation.

After bidding farewell to the princess, Fang Zheng left the palace and immediately rode towards Banshan District.

He had already made arrangements for Taoyuan County.

Now, he just needed to give some final instructions to Li Yuanzhao before heading off to take up his post in Jianjiang.

Arriving at the newspaper office, Li Yuanzhao greeted him enthusiastically.

“Your Highness, I’ll be leaving in a couple of days. I’ve come to say goodbye.”

Li Yuanzhao’s face fell. “So soon? Don’t you have a month?”

“The sooner I go, the sooner I’ll return! I came to check if there are any issues with the newspaper. Once everything’s settled, I can leave with peace of mind!”

Fang Zheng scanned the room, noticing that many of the reporters sent out for investigations had returned.

They had actually put on some weight.

Spotting Shen Yi nearby, he smiled. “How about it, little Shen? Did you uncover anything interesting?”

Shen Yi grinned. “Lord Fang! I went to investigate the Zhang family. They were incredibly hospitable! They fed me lavish meals every day. As for the details, they claimed to know nothing!”

“I’ve already written the new article! The Zhang family is extravagant and attempting to bribe reporters!”

The others had similar reactions.

Fang Zheng could barely hold back his laughter.

These wealthy fools never imagined they were entertaining a pack of ungrateful idealists.

They didn’t gain a thing and ended up losing face!

Fang Zheng raised his voice. “Good work, everyone. But we’re dropping this topic from now on!”

“All these articles are void. We’re starting fresh!”

The reporters immediately stood up in protest. “Lord Fang, why? Wasn’t this your idea?”

“Exactly! Didn’t you say we should uphold justice and bring clarity to the world?”

“Are we backing down in the face of authority now?”

Many seemed quite agitated.

Fang Zheng quickly gestured for them to calm down. “I know you all have ideals and passion, but this isn’t the way to go about it.”

“Our newspaper is still in its infancy. There are some people we can’t afford to offend, or rather, offending them might lead to unforeseen troubles!”

“You think you’re doing good, but you might end up harming many people!”

“Before taking action, think carefully. Use your heads!”

“I’ve been demoted and am about to leave for Jianjiang. Do you want the Crown Prince’s reputation to suffer as well?”

Li Yuanzhao tugged at Fang Zheng, whispering, “Old Fang, I don’t mind…”

Fang Zheng ignored him.

“From now on, all news related to court politics is off-limits. Focus only on stories about people’s livelihoods.”

“When you encounter injustice, we should act, but within our means!”

“Remember, every aspect of people’s lives matters. Give it your all, everyone!”

Many reporters slumped back into their seats, clearly dissatisfied, feeling that the newspaper’s scope had been diminished.

Fang Zheng smiled slightly. “Don’t be discouraged! You eat an elephant one bite at a time, and you climb a mountain one step at a time!”

“There will be opportunities to expand our coverage in the future!”

“The Crown Prince sees you as future talents for the court! How can you serve the people if you don’t understand their lives?”

I never thought that… you’re making up stories again, Li Yuanzhao stared blankly.

“If you work hard, you’ll get promotions and raises! Earning eighty or a hundred taels a year won’t be a problem!”

“Once the newspaper takes off, you’ll rise with it! You’ll be respected, admired, and living the good life!”

“Brothers! Any problems with that?!”

“No problem!!”

Having swallowed this promise, the reporters’ spirits seemed to lift considerably.

Shen Yi hesitantly raised his hand, speaking softly, “Lord Fang, I have a question.”

“Speak!”

“Our meals… could we have something other than salt water? Maybe some soup? Many people have complaints about this…”

“What?!” Fang Zheng was dumbfounded. Wasn’t it supposed to be egg soup? How the hell did it become salt water?!

“Ruyun! Ruyun!!”

“Old Fang, stop yelling!” Li Yuanzhao quickly interrupted.

He lowered his voice, “I told Ruyun not to add eggs anymore. That tiny amount of egg… it made no difference whether it was there or not. I figured we might as well just use salt water.”

“I calculated the costs earlier, and salt is quite expensive. The newspaper isn’t making money yet…”

Fang Zheng stared at Li Yuanzhao, eyes wide.

You’re a ruthless one! Even more than me!

Good grief, egg soup without eggs?

Quick to learn good things… quicker to learn bad ones. As expected of the Crown Prince!

Fang Zheng turned to address everyone, “Don’t worry! We’ll definitely improve the soup situation! How can we expect you to drink just salt water?”

“Get back to work, everyone! I’ll go solve this problem for you!”

With that, Fang Zheng dragged Li Yuanzhao to the first floor.

Entering the canteen, they were stunned. It really was just a pot of clear water, not even thickened with starch.

Calling Ruyun over, Fang Zheng announced loudly, “From now on, double the amount of eggs in the egg soup! Understand?”

Ruyun looked confused. There are no eggs now, so doubling it still means no eggs, right?

“Understood!”

Li Yuanzhao listened, clicking his tongue. “Old Fang, I agree their treatment is a bit poor, but we can’t control the costs!”

“You used to handle the accounts. Now that it’s fallen to me, I realize how difficult it is!”

“I want to improve their meals, but doing so… we’ll lose more money. We’ve already added a lot of new reporters, and the cost of sending them out is high. We’re losing money now, and I don’t have any funds.”

“How about… you lend me some money? I’ll pay you back when we start earning from advertisements?”

Fang Zheng righteously refused!

“Your Highness, that’s not how you run a business!”

“There’s no logic in losing money to do business. Ruyun! How do you usually serve the food?”

Ruyun demonstrated with a large ladle.

Fang Zheng frowned and scolded loudly, “How can you serve food like that?! Let me show you!”

With that, he snatched the ladle and began to shake it…