Royal Gold Magistrate

Everyone greeted Wu Sheng as they saw him.

“Master Wu, why have you come?”

Wu Sheng stroked his beard, clearly enjoying the atmosphere of adulation.

He smiled and said, “The Master said life was dull, so he needed me. Naturally, I came.”

“Tsk tsk, I didn’t expect the Master to be into this sort of thing!”

“Ha! Of course! The Master probably plays around more than we do in private.”

“Master Wu, have you created any new plays?”

As they chatted, Huang Shengrong stood to the side, ears perked up and drooling.

Exciting! It was truly exciting. Just listening made him want to leave the monkhood.

“Hey! Old Qi, why aren’t you building houses in the county? How come you’ve also come with the Master?”

Someone suddenly asked Old Qi.

Old Qi helplessly scratched his head and pulled out a piece of paper from his bosom, placing it on the table. “The Master asked me to come here to build a house. He said he wants to build a luxurious brothel.”

“He even drew the blueprints for me on the way.”

As he spoke, he took out the brothel blueprints from his bosom. From the drawing, one could roughly make out a Western style, with many strange decorations and things like Roman columns.

After looking at it, everyone sucked in a cold breath.

“*Fuck*, what is this? It’s drawn so ugly!”

“Can you even build a house with this blueprint? It’s a mess.”

Old Qi shook his head vigorously and said with a bitter smile, “No, if we build according to this drawing, it’s bound to collapse! I’ll have to modify it…”

Xie Xian exclaimed in admiration, “Old Qi, your skills have become more and more impressive. You can even understand such an ugly drawing!”

Old Qi said proudly, “It’s nothing. The Master has drawn like this before. Didn’t I modify the drawings for both the county office and the theater before they could be built?”

Everyone immediately burst into another round of praise.

Xie Xian suddenly asked, “Then who is this master…?”

Everyone’s attention turned to Huang Shengrong. Seeing this, Wu Sheng walked over.

“Let me introduce everyone. This is Huijue…”

…………..

On the street, Fang Zheng walked slowly with Bai Rui, who kept describing various situations in the city.

Fang Zheng frowned repeatedly as he listened.

After Bai Rui finished, Fang Zheng spoke, “You’ve done well. I originally thought I’d need to wander around the city for a couple more days, but now it seems unnecessary.”

“Early tomorrow morning, I’ll go to take office. You stay by my side but don’t appear in the open. Only come out to meet me when no one’s around.”

Bai Rui asked, puzzled, “Master, is there a need to be so cautious? We don’t have any enemies here.”

Fang Zheng thought for a moment, “Being cautious is never wrong when first arriving in a new place.”

“Moreover, I’m mainly responsible for Jianjiang’s grain affairs this time. The stored grain in the official granaries has actually gone moldy. This kind of thing can kill people.”

“I can explain this to His Majesty one way or another.”

“But if I make even a small mistake, people outside the city will die in droves! We can’t be careless. Only after the collusion between officials and merchants is investigated can I start a major purge.”

“The situation in the prefecture office is unclear now, and we can’t distinguish between friends and foes. It’s better to keep a low profile.”

“Don’t rush. There will be a time when I need you all.”

…………

Early the next morning, Fang Zheng changed into his official robes, carefully groomed himself, took his official credentials, and rode his horse swaggering to the prefecture office.

At the entrance of the office, the reception clerk saw that Fang Zheng was the new Assistant Prefect and immediately scrambled into the office.

As soon as he saw the Prefect of Jianjiang, he urgently said, “Prefect, sir! Fang Zheng has arrived!”

Liu Xun raised his head upon hearing this, “Oh? Please bring him in.”

Soon after, Fang Zheng was led in.

Liu Xun sized up Fang Zheng, and Fang Zheng sized up Liu Xun in return.

This man was young, and although he wore official robes, he gave off a very extravagant impression. His right thumb wore a huge jade ring.

His left hand also had several large gold rings… Flamboyant! Just as flamboyant as the rumors in the capital said!

Fang Zheng didn’t find anything special about Liu Xun; he was just a skinny old man, but his clothes had patches… He had somewhat of an immortal, sage-like air about him.

However, anyone who could rise to the position of prefect was no pushover.

Before Liu Xun could speak, Fang Zheng bowed first, “This official, Fang Zheng, has come to take office. Greetings, Prefect Liu.”

Liu Xun smiled, “Assistant Prefect Fang, there’s no need for such formalities. I heard that when you were in the capital, you were a Grand Tutor in the Imperial Clan Court. No need to be so polite.”

Fang Zheng became even more humble, “Sir, you flatter me. Past events are like fleeting clouds and cannot be taken seriously. Just call me Little Fang!”

Little Fang?

Liu Xun’s expression froze, his mouth twitching twice.

This guy… was indeed quite different from normal people.

“Assistant Prefect Fang, there’s no need to be so modest. There are no smooth sailing careers, and you’re still so young. Your future is surely limitless!”

“However, I’m a bit curious… why do you wear so many rings?”

Fang Zheng smiled slightly, “Oh! It’s nothing. It’s just that this is my first time coming to such a distant place, and I thought I might not be able to return.”

“So I sold all my family property and brought it with me. It’s more convenient this way.”

Liu Xun smiled without humor, “Assistant Prefect Fang is truly incorruptible.”

“You flatter me, Prefect Liu. May I ask… where is the Bureau of Revenue? Can I start work now?”

“For every day this official is idle, I feel as if a knife is cutting my heart. The court pays me a salary every month, yet I’m doing nothing.”

“I’m failing to live up to the Emperor’s gracious favor. Our Emperor is truly benevolent!”

After saying this, Fang Zheng clasped his hands towards the sky.

What the hell?

For a moment, Liu Xun suddenly felt old.

How could someone in their twenties be so shameless? No wonder this young man rose so quickly in the palace!

How pitiful that he himself was still stuck in the local government, with no prospects of advancement.

Liu Xun gave a dry laugh, “No rush! No rush. Whenever a new official takes office, this prefecture always holds a welcoming banquet.”

“Let me first take you to familiarize yourself with the environment. At the welcoming banquet, I’ll introduce you to some people. For now, just look around the office. I’ll find a clerk to accompany you!”

He then called for a clerk.

“Wei Shan, go with Assistant Prefect Fang for a walk.”

“Yes, sir!”

Fang Zheng bowed again, “In that case, thank you, Prefect Liu!”

Watching Fang Zheng’s retreating figure, Liu Xun’s expression became somewhat strange.

This young man was quite polite, but why did he speak so oddly?

Could it be… that this was the style favored in the palace?

Fang Zheng walked through the prefecture office with the clerk Wei Shan, who introduced things as they went.

“Sir, this is the Office of General Affairs. A little further ahead are the Six Bureaus. The Bureau of Revenue is straight ahead at the end.”

Fang Zheng asked, “What about the Assistant Prefect before me?”

“Oh, before you came, there were two Assistant Prefects, but they were both transferred. I don’t know where they went,” Wei Shan respectfully replied.

“Then… what about the meals in the office? What do you usually eat?”

Wei Shan said, “Well… given the current difficult situation, the meals aren’t very good.”

“It’s often just plain soup, and we’re lucky if there are some vegetable leaves. Most of the time, it’s thin porridge.”

Fang Zheng glanced at him occasionally, “Thin porridge? Is it as thin as the gruel in the soup kitchens?”

Wei Shan hesitated for a moment, “It’s about the same.”