Royal Gold Magistrate

For several days in a row, Fang Zheng had been sending people to scatter sand in the gruel tents outside the city, causing an uproar among the refugees.

However, the effect was remarkable. The number of people who could barely afford food and were mooching off others had decreased.

In addition, Fang Zheng’s daily demands for exotic foods and drinks had made the small group of people in the yamen drop their pretenses.

They simply abandoned their previous dietary restrictions. Although the food in the yamen couldn’t be called extravagant, it was certainly much better than when Fang Zheng first arrived.

Liu Xun’s gaze towards Fang Zheng now carried a hint of unique appreciation.

Such an exceptional scoundrel was truly rare.

However… the greater the flaws in human nature, the easier they are to exploit.

One day, Fang Zheng was leisurely eating snacks in the Revenue Office, under the envious eyes of many clerks.

From time to time, someone would swallow hard. Everyone had observed this lord’s behavior over the past few days.

Not only did he eat better than others, but he also had exquisite snacks every day.

Fortunately, he was picky enough to get bored after a couple of bites and would casually reward others with the leftovers.

This was when everyone had a chance to show off.

Whoever performed well would generally receive a dessert.

Sure enough, after Fang Zheng had just eaten two bites of the date cake, he frowned and said, “How coarse… Such food hurts my throat.”

“Come on… Let me test you. How long will the granary’s grain last? Answer correctly, and you’ll get some snacks!”

“Eighteen days!”

“Eighteen days!”

“Twenty-five days!”

“Hm?” Fang Zheng glanced sideways at the one who said eighteen days.

“Little Li, how could you miscalculate such a simple number? Can’t you remember how much grain leaves the warehouse every day?”

Little Li smiled sheepishly, “Sir, you may not know, but the granary’s stores are certainly not enough. We’ve increased taxes, and today is the day to collect grain from the civilians!”

“The exact numbers haven’t been reported yet, but this humble one thinks it should last at least seven more days!”

“Hmm! Good point! This plate of snacks is yours. Where are we collecting grain? This official has nothing better to do, so why don’t I go take a look?”

Little Li stood up and eagerly accepted the plate of date cakes Fang Zheng handed over.

“It’s not far from the outskirts of the city. There’s a collection today! If you leave the city and go straight for two or three li, you should see it!”

“The last time was a month ago.”

Fang Zheng smiled slightly.

He had waited so long for the officials to collect grain. There must be countless irregularities inside. This time, he had to see it clearly.

“Not bad, you know quite a lot. Why don’t you accompany this official on the trip!”

Little Li, with his mouth full of snacks, nodded in agreement.

After finishing, the two rode their horses to the grain collection point outside the city.

By now, civilians waiting to have their grain weighed had formed a long queue. Each one was ashen-faced and skeletal, carrying a bag of grain, waiting for the officials to weigh and take it.

The grain collector was cracking his whip, constantly berating those at the front of the queue.

The civilians poured the grain from their bags into the official hu measure to be weighed. This hu had markings, indicating how many catties of grain it held at different levels.

Seeing Fang Zheng arrive, the grain collector immediately put on a fawning expression, “Lord Fang! What brings you here?”

“Mm, just having a look. Carry on with your work.”

The grain collector nodded and retreated, returning to collecting grain.

Fang Zheng and Little Li stood to one side.

At this moment, a woman in tattered clothes, with a miserable expression, hugged her child and brought forward a bag of grain.

The grain collector poured it into the official hu and shouted, “Record! Forty-five catties, five catties short!”

“Go on, report your household registration up front! You have three days to make up the difference!”

The woman’s previously blank expression suddenly came to life.

Grief, pain, and grievance all welled up at once.

She cried out, “My lord! This can’t be! This humble woman measured it carefully several times at home. It’s definitely fifty catties! Please look again, please?”

The grain collector glanced at the woman and smiled, “Alright! The government must be absolutely clear when collecting grain. Let’s measure it carefully again.”

Fang Zheng watched from the side with narrowed eyes.

After speaking, the grain collector vigorously raked through the grain pile with his hand, then kicked the official hu, and shouted again, “Record! Thirty-eight catties! Twelve catties short!”

The woman was struck as if by lightning! Tears instantly streamed down her face.

Two tear tracks appeared on her dirty face.

Then she suddenly fell to her knees, continuously kowtowing. The child in her arms began to wail loudly, “My lord… my lord… There must be a mistake, a mistake.”

“This humble woman measured it at home, it really was fifty catties… There can’t be a mistake…”

The woman knelt on the ground, kowtowing and repeating those few sentences over and over.

The grain collector grew impatient, “We’ve already measured it twice for you, and you still dare to spread rumors and cause trouble! Get out of here quickly, or don’t blame me for being impolite!”

With that, he cracked his whip, making a loud snap in the air.

The woman seemed not to have heard, still kowtowing and muttering to herself.

The grain collector’s expression changed, and he raised his whip to strike the woman.

But just as his hand was raised high, someone grabbed it.

Fang Zheng held the grain collector’s hand and scolded, “What the hell are you rushing for! Measure it for her one more time!”

“Damn it! If everyone worked like you, how could Lord Liu save face?”

The grain collector retreated sheepishly.

Fang Zheng looked down at the woman, smiling, “Get up, don’t cause a scene here. This official will help you measure it one more time.”

After speaking, he turned and walked to the official hu, imitating the grain collector by stirring the rice pile, then suddenly kicked the hu hard.

“Thirty-six catties!”

Then another kick, and the grain sank a bit more.

Following that, he gave three consecutive kicks to the hu, and finally, it stabilized at thirty catties and wouldn’t go lower.

“What the hell, there’s something wrong with this hu! What’s going on here?” Fang Zheng looked at the grain collector with amusement.

The surrounding civilians were dumbfounded, staring blankly at this bizarre scene.

The grain collector swallowed hard and approached Fang Zheng’s ear, whispering, “Lord Fang, let’s speak privately.”

Fang Zheng nodded slightly, then followed him to a secluded spot.

The grain collector whispered, “Lord Fang, you may not know, but the official hu is just like this.”

“Just like this? How can the grain keep getting less and less as you measure it? Let’s see if we can reduce your weight by throwing you in!”

The grain collector broke out in a cold sweat, “These civilians are cunning, often passing off inferior goods as superior. So we have no choice but to measure a bit more. You understand my meaning, right?”

Fang Zheng stared at him, then suddenly shouted loudly, “I don’t understand!”

The surrounding civilians all looked over, making the grain collector even more nervous. “Please don’t shout, my lord! Please don’t shout! Lord Liu knows about this too. We’ve always done it this way. You see, you might not understand the situation since you’ve just arrived.”

“Bullshit! I have a close personal relationship with Lord Liu. How could he not tell me about this? I think it’s you who’s lining your own pockets, pocketing the grain!”

“Tell me, where did the embezzled grain go?”

The grain collector was sweating profusely but didn’t dare to speak.

Seeing this, Fang Zheng smiled, “It’s alright if you don’t say…”

As he spoke, he rubbed his three fingers together vigorously below.

The grain collector understood immediately and took out a silver ingot from his bosom, two taels!

The next second, a slap appeared on the grain collector’s face, making him see stars.

Fang Zheng grabbed him by the collar and snarled, “Are you fucking looking down on me?”