Royal Gold Magistrate

The crowd below soon noticed the sparkling diamond at Luo Ningxin’s neck.

They wondered curiously, “What’s that glowing thing?”

“Who knows? Since Miss Ningxin is wearing it on her person, it must be some rare treasure gifted by a wealthy gentleman!”

“I don’t know what it is or how much it’s worth, but it must be priceless.”

Fang Zheng observed the crowd’s reaction and nodded to himself. It seemed to be having the desired effect.

Since ancient times, no one could resist shiny things.

Soon, Luo Ningxin finished her piece and the people below started shouting questions.

“May we ask what jewelry Miss Ningxin is wearing? Could you enlighten us!”

Luo Ningxin leaned out, immediately spotting Fang Zheng observing from below the building. With a slight smile, she said, “It seems everyone is curious about the jewelry Ningxin is wearing today. Then Ningxin won’t keep you in suspense.”

“This item is called a diamond, representing people’s unwavering love. Ningxin once heard someone say diamonds are forever, a single gem eternally passed down.”

“True love is eternal, proven by diamonds. Ningxin hereby wishes all you gentlemen find your lifelong love.”

With that, she turned to go back inside.

Someone in the crowd below shouted again, “Miss Ningxin, could you tell us who gifted it to you!?”

Already halfway through the doorway, Luo Ningxin suddenly paused at this question.

After a moment’s hesitation, she turned back around. Seeing Fang Zheng chatting with Li Yuanzhao below, a hint of a smile suddenly appeared at the corner of her mouth.

“This diamond was gifted by Fang Zheng, Lord Fang!” Having said this, she went straight back inside.

Getting their answer, the crowd erupted in commotion.

“Fang Zheng? That notorious Fang Zheng?”

“Wrong! He’s the Fragmented Verse Sage, now an Grand Tutor in the Imperial Clan Court. He even squeezed out Yan Guoan.”

“Nonsense, Yan Guoan is the top scholar of the current dynasty. Fang Zheng, an obscure provincial official, must have used despicable means to bewitch the Crown Prince.”

“…”

Fang Zheng’s face darkened as he glared at the second floor.

Just what was this woman up to? He told her to promote the goods, but she recklessly dragged him into it…

Li Yuanzhao nudged Fang Zheng teasingly, “And here I thought it was something else. Turns out you’re selling jewelry.”

“Old Fang, not bad! You quietly snagged the top courtesan without anyone noticing! I’m going to tell my sister!”

“Don’t you dare ruin my image in front of the princess. Do you still want the money or not!”

Fang Zheng felt his head aching a bit. The more proactive Luo Ningxin was, the warier he became, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

Logically, there should be no shortage of wealthy sons and high-ranking nobles pursuing Luo Ningxin. There was no reason for her to act this way…

Could it be she admired his literary talent? Even Fang Zheng didn’t believe that himself.

“Old Fang! What are you thinking about!?” Seeing him spacing out, Li Yuanzhao nudged him again.

“What the heck are diamonds? How can this thing represent love?”

Fang Zheng snapped out of it and smiled without a word.

Shattered glass could naturally represent love. Love was just as fragile, much more fitting than diamonds.

The crowd in front of Hidden Fragrance Pavilion began to disperse. Fang Zheng waved his hand at his stall, signaling the dancing girls who had been hidden in the back to appear on the street.

The three of them lined up and began dancing together. The people behind them started displaying the cut diamonds on the stage and loudly promoting to the crowd.

“Diamonds are forever, a gem eternally passed down!”

“The sparkling light is my sparkling love!”

“Luxuriant blossoming, all with diamonds!”

And so on. A series of advertising slogans poured from the “sales guides'” mouths. The sensual, graceful dance, coupled with Luo Ningxin’s earlier promotion, instantly captured many eyes.

The crowd surged forward and crowded in front of the stall, jostling to get a look at the diamonds on stage.

“So these are diamonds! Truly extraordinarily beautiful! How much is this ring? Give me one!” Someone with deep pockets directly named a price.

“Dear Valued Customer, this is a mid-size diamond. It’s only a hundred taels each. We can also provide a professional appraisal certificate for you.”

Hearing the price of a hundred taels each, the crowd instantly thinned by more than half.

A hundred taels for a lousy ring? What a ripoff! Plus it looked really small. For that money, you could buy a huge piece of beautiful jade.

Seeing this, Fang Zheng hurriedly transformed into a shill, squeezing to the front of the crowd and loudly questioning, “Isn’t this a scam? How can you sell it for so much!”

The “sales guide” saw it was Fang Zheng and covered her mouth with a laugh, beginning to explain in detail according to the script from earlier.

“Everyone, don’t be hasty. There’s something you all don’t know. This item gathers the spiritual qi of heaven and earth… Even the ring setting is crafted from 999 pure silver… Eight hearts and eight arrows… The Crown Prince also wanted the people to share in the joy on this day, so he could only bring himself to shatter this treasure and make it into jewelry to celebrate the Qiyuan Festival.”

Fang Zheng acted “suddenly enlightened” and exclaimed, “So that’s how it is! Turns out it’s the Crown Prince’s ultimate treasure! Then it’s really not expensive at all! In other words, once shattered, this treasure is gone. If it’s kept for a few years, won’t the price of this treasure skyrocket?”

“Give me two necklaces!”

“Dear Valued Customer, our necklaces only use large diamonds, so the price is three hundred taels each…”

“Only three hundred taels! Give me three necklaces and throw in a ring to make it a round number!”

Fang Zheng paid without hesitation. The “sales guide” placed the necklaces in an exquisite porcelain box and handed it to Fang Zheng.

This old trick from his beggar days worked like a charm in a new form.

Seeing someone taking the lead, the crowd couldn’t help but feel tempted too. If something was priced high, everyone might be suspicious, but invoking the Crown Prince made it a must-believe. What swindler would dare do this in broad daylight? Did they not want to keep their head?

The “sales guide” saw this and immediately shouted, “Three necklaces have been sold… Only ninety-seven left, first come first served! Once sold out this time, there will be no more diamonds in the world!”

Someone in the crowd spoke up, “Then how much are the rings with small diamonds?”

“Seventy-nine taels!”

“I’ll take one!”

“Only ninety-nine small diamond rings left now!”

The crowd gradually got riled up. Fang Zheng darted from left to right, continuously stirring up the crowd.

Li Yuanzhao and the others awkwardly stood outside the crowd watching Fang Zheng’s performance.

“Old Fang is scamming people again…” Li Yuanzhao sighed, feeling a bit humiliated.

Zhang Biao nodded but said, “The Young Master never deceives people!”

Bai Yi glanced at the two, stuffed her hands in her pockets, and looked at Fang Zheng helplessly.

He wasn’t deceiving people, just fleecing them for all they were worth! But… it seemed those diamonds really were nice things… so beautiful, just unaffordable…

Emotions are contagious. The people buying diamonds became more and more frenzied.

Some bought them as gifts for their beloved, while others saw the appreciation potential.

Although all the noble sons in this area were well-off, those who could casually take out a hundred taels of silver to buy a piece of jewelry were still few and far between.

Spurred on by the crowd, many saw red. Gritting their teeth, they took out all the silver on their persons to buy rings.

If they couldn’t afford the big ones, they’d buy a small one! In any case, they had to buy one!

This was the Crown Prince’s ultimate treasure!