Royal Gold Magistrate

Wu Sheng had moved to Taoyuan County some time ago.

Ever since being demoted to a commoner by Emperor Jing, Wu Sheng had immediately returned to Hengjiang Prefecture.

But upon returning home, instead of moving to Taoyuan County right away, Wu Sheng waited quietly for news of the emperor dealing with Fang Zheng.

For several days in a row, Wu Sheng passed the time in trepidation.

The psychological shadow cast by that demon Fang Zheng was simply too great… until he finally received news of Fang Zheng entering the capital.

Overjoyed, Wu Sheng immediately moved his entire family to Taoyuan County.

The constables in the county were already familiar with Wu Sheng, so they didn’t give him much trouble.

After arriving in Taoyuan County and moving into the mansion Fang Zheng had gifted him, he lived quite a pleasant life.

Every day he would drink some wine, watch plays, and conveniently visit the county brothel for entertainment. Although the quality wasn’t as good as in Hengjiang Prefecture, they had many tricks up their sleeves!

Recently, he had even become obsessed with the county’s latest stage serial, chasing episodes feverishly every day, constantly pondering the next day’s plot developments in his mind.

He even had the idea that with his own not-bad literary skills, why couldn’t he write his own script and find people to perform it?

He could both earn money and display his literary talent – killing two birds with one stone.

No sooner said than done. After trying, Wu Sheng’s flowery script was undoubtedly rejected. The reason was simple – it was too boring…

If you don’t even write about matters in the crotch, how can you expect people to watch the play!?

But Wu Sheng didn’t get discouraged. So every day, he immersed himself in the brothel and began to diligently research stimulating scripts…

Back at home surrounded by children and grandchildren, he didn’t even care much about his son’s academic progress.

In a place like Taoyuan County, as long as you were literate and willing to work hard, job opportunities were guaranteed and life was secure.

The officialdom was too corrupt! It was fine if his son didn’t enter it!

However, a lingering worry was always hidden in Wu Sheng’s heart.

Walking on the streets, the thing he heard people say most often was that the county master was coming back, although he never did each time…

Today, after rising in the morning with a notebook tucked under his arm, Wu Sheng ate breakfast on the street and then wandered around for a while before coming to Xueyue Tower as usual.

He picked two prostitutes that caught his eye and went straight upstairs.

Entering the room upstairs, Wu Sheng tossed the notebook on the table and said impatiently, “Quick, continue yesterday’s plot!”

The two prostitutes looked at each other in dismay and said coyly, “Sir, the ones you called for yesterday weren’t us. Xichun and Luomei are off today.”

The two prostitutes weren’t surprised. The theater-loving Old Wu was already notorious in Xueyue Tower…

Wu Sheng furrowed his brows and picked up the notebook on the table and started flipping through it. When he got to the latter half, his brows relaxed.

Then he grinned and said, “Alright, let’s do a new one then. And don’t call me ‘sir’, call me ‘my lord’, Lord Wu!”

“Yes~ Lord Wu.”

Wu Sheng smiled in satisfaction. He glanced down at the notebook and casually pointed at one person. “You play a wealthy young miss, and you play a village woman.”

“I play a talented and beautiful scholar who’s on his way to the capital to take the imperial exam.”

“But afflicted with a terminal illness, I was knocked out by a carriage on the way to the exam and rescued by the village woman… After enjoying the pleasures of the flesh with her, I enter the city and catch the eye of the wealthy young miss.”

“So you two start fighting over me. In the end, to treat my terminal illness, the village woman unfortunately falls off a cliff while picking a rare medicine on the cliffside.”

“The wealthy young miss unexpectedly obtains the rare medicine. After I take the medicine, I become delirious with passion and again enjoy the pleasures of the flesh with the young miss. But I can’t forget my old feelings for the village woman and fall into depression.”

“Until one day, I discover my true identity is actually the long-lost young master of a wealthy family, and the young miss is my biological sister. Ashamed and indignant, I draw my sword to end my life.”

“Finally meeting the village woman again in the underworld, we once more enjoy the pleasures of the flesh… Let’s stop here for now. Did you all understand?”

After listening, the two prostitutes had a dazed look in their eyes. They glanced at each other and shook their heads at the same time. “We don’t understand!”

Wu Sheng looked like he was trying to make a steel bar out of wood. “Aiya! Blockheads! You don’t even understand this? Never mind the rest, I’ll teach you scene by scene!”

“In this first scene, I get knocked out by the carriage. The village woman takes me back to her home, and then covets my masculine charms and has relations with me while I’m unconscious.”

“You playing the village woman! Go downstairs and find a set of servant’s clothes to change into first!”

“In a moment, when you two come in, I’ll be lying on the ground pretending to be knocked out. Then you carry me to the bed. Young miss, don’t come in yet, wait until I call you!”

“After putting me on the bed… #￥@%%@…., alright! You two go out first!”

The two women fell silent, looking at Wu Sheng’s face full of wrinkles, the corners of their eyes twitching fiercely.

You old dog, who wants to covet your masculine charms!? Shameless! If it was our county master, that would be a different story.

Earning money is so tiring these days!?

The two women then walked out of the room with long faces.

Seeing this, Wu Sheng immediately lay down on the ground, a pained expression on his face, his eyes tightly shut…

He lay there for a long time, but no one came in. Wu Sheng couldn’t help feeling a bit annoyed in his heart.

The women in this brothel really were unreliable. He still needed to find professionals…

After lying there a while longer, Wu Sheng finally realized something was off and quickly got up and walked out the door.

As soon as he exited the door and looked towards the hall, he was dumbfounded.

Xueyue Tower was now completely empty… it was totally silent without a single soul around.

Wu Sheng immediately gathered up his notebook and hurriedly ran to the street, only to find that the street was empty too!

This unusual scene instantly made Wu Sheng start to panic. He ran around wildly in the streets.

After much difficulty, he finally found a person. Grabbing them to ask, only after inquiring did he learn that Fang Zheng had returned!!

Upon hearing the news, Wu Sheng fell into complete chaos and ran home in a flurry, even losing a shoe on the way.

Returning home, he found his whole family was gone. They had probably run out to watch the excitement.

After standing in the hall cursing for a while, he returned to the study and locked himself in.

Then, dripping with cold sweat, he began pacing back and forth in the room, thinking about how he would explain himself if he saw Fang Zheng.

Damn it, the emperor actually didn’t throw Fang Zheng into prison… what a pity.

At this point, there was probably no other way! The silver Fang Zheng had bribed him with back then… now he could only return it as it was.

But… would a demon like Fang Zheng let the matter drop so easily!?

As Wu Sheng thought, his face gradually began to distort.

His life had already been ruined by Fang Zheng once… he absolutely couldn’t let him ruin it a second time!

Making up his mind, Wu Sheng gritted his teeth, tore down a painting hanging in the study, and pried out a loose brick from the wall, behind which was surprisingly a hidden compartment!

Wu Sheng looked at the inside of the hidden compartment, his heart bleeding… but he still reached in and took out a thick stack of banknotes…

Who knows how much time passed, but Wu Sheng vaguely heard someone shouting outside.

“Is Wu Sheng in!!? Is Wu Sheng in!!?”

“Lord Fang gives you half an hour to immediately come to the county yamen to talk!!”