Royal Gold Magistrate

Three days later, Guo Tianyang prepared the horses and carriages to accompany Emperor Jing and his son out of the palace.

It was the hour of the pig, just before dawn, and the sky was pitch black.

Emperor Jing and his son were waiting by the carriage first. Just as Guo Tianyang was about to follow, he suddenly heard the sound of hurried footsteps.

He quickly raised the lantern and ran over to look.

Upon seeing who it was, he let out a sigh of relief. It turned out to be his good-for-nothing godson!

He scolded: “You little brat! What are you doing running around the palace! Trying to scare your grandpa to death!?”

The little eunuch said breathlessly: “Grandpa! Lord Li…Lord Li has an urgent memorial to present to His Majesty, saying it needs His Majesty’s review!”

Without a second thought, Guo Tianyang snatched the memorial from his hands and whispered harshly: “Scram!”

Seeing the little eunuch walk away, Guo Tianyang hurriedly ran back to the carriage and presented the memorial.

“Your Majesty! An urgent memorial from Lord Li!”

Looking at the memorial, Emperor Jing felt an inexplicable sense of annoyance. After opening it, his pupils suddenly dilated!

Seeing Emperor Jing’s strange reaction, Guo Tianyang asked cautiously, “Your Majesty, what happened?”

Li Yuanzhao stared at the memorial with curious eyes. For it to make Emperor Father show such an expression, it must be a major event!

Emperor Jing closed the memorial, looking deeply troubled. “The Jianjiang River has flooded, already destroying five dikes and leaving thousands homeless. The Jianjiang Governor is requesting an additional 200,000 taels of silver from the court for disaster relief.”

“Moreover, the rain has not stopped. If it continues for half a month, I’m afraid the disaster will be immeasurable.”

“200,000 taels! The national and palace treasuries can’t afford it. At this rate, the situation will only get worse!”

“Alas, our Great Jing has been plagued by disaster after disaster…For such heavy rains in February, could it be the will of Heaven!?”

Emperor Jing gripped the window frame tightly, a sense of gloom filling his heart.

Guo Tianyang lowered his head. “Your Majesty, shall we still go to Taoyuan County?”

“Yes! If I stay in the capital now, I’m afraid it will be of no benefit…Let’s go to Taoyuan County right away and bring a batch of tea! Bring the maps too! I need to think about how to solve the Jianjiang flood disaster.”

Emperor Jing slapped the window frame, making a hasty decision.

………………

Under the cover of night, the carriage sped out of the capital.

Inside the carriage, Guo Tianyang held up the oil lamp as Emperor Jing studied the maps intently, muttering to himself.

Li Yuanzhao was bored out of his mind. The bumpy ride made it impossible to sleep or read. He could only stare blankly at the map.

Emperor Jing looked up and saw Li Yuanzhao spacing out. He said, “What, you want to take a look too?”

Li Yuanzhao hesitated for a moment before taking the map. His fingers started tracing over it.

He said, “The Jianjiang flood started from Jinli, then flowed downstream, destroying Changxin, Jiao County, and Hunlou. It should have reached Pingwang by now.”

“But for this memorial to reach the capital from Jinli City, even the fastest horses would take at least five days!”

“In other words, the dikes at Pingwang may have already been destroyed by the floodwaters, right?”

Emperor Jing nodded in agreement. It seemed this unfilial son wasn’t completely useless after all. At least he could read maps and had some thinking ability.

Looking at the map, Li Yuanzhao continued, “Father, look here! This place called Yintuo! It’s situated south of where the floodwaters enter Jianjiang City, flanked by mountains on both sides! The east is low-lying with no villages. If we divert the river here and evacuate the people from other counties in advance, wouldn’t that solve the flood disaster!?”

Emperor Jing gave him a strange look. “How do you propose to divert it?”

Li Yuanzhao gestured excitedly, “Gather those skilled in magic and have them use their arts! Summon heavenly thunder to blast the southern mountains and block the river. A mere flood would be no match!”

Emperor Jing snatched back the map and smacked Li Yuanzhao on the head.

He roared, “What kind of nonsense books have you been reading! National affairs are not child’s play!”

“If such powerful immortals really existed in the world, so many people wouldn’t have died throughout history!”

“You ignorant good-for-nothing!”

“Guo! When we return, burn all his miscellaneous junk books! If I catch you with them again, I’ll have your hide!”

The carriage fell silent again. Li Yuanzhao and Guo Tianyang huddled in the corner like pitiful little wives.

Emperor Jing picked up the map once more, examining it carefully…..

…………….

Guo Tianyang didn’t sleep all night, rising early to give directions to the driver.

The next morning, Emperor Jing and his son awoke from their exhaustion. They had already successfully entered Taoyuan County.

Li Yuanzhao couldn’t wait to get off the carriage. Looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, his mouth fell open in amazement!

Emperor Jing stretched his limbs. Seeing the lively scene before him, his mood improved considerably.

Li Yuanzhao exclaimed, “I heard from my tutors that the common folk are mostly unclean, living in filthy environments! It seems the tutors were all wrong!”

“If I had known, I should have left the palace long ago! This place looks far more interesting than inside the palace!”

Emperor Jing gave the crown prince a meaningful look. “Let’s go. First to the An Inn. Remember, my current identity is a merchant named Li Long. Your name is Li Yuan, and he is Guo Da.”

Li Yuanzhao was still gazing around, nodding absentmindedly in agreement.

The three arrived at the An Inn. The innkeeper greeted them warmly, “Oh! This master, you’ve come again! Here to purchase goods this time, I presume!”

Emperor Jing nodded. “First-class rooms, two of them!”

“Right away!”

After Guo Tianyang helped Emperor Jing settle the luggage in the room, he quietly went to Li Yuanzhao’s room.

He saw Li Yuanzhao touching and looking at everything, continuously making “tsk-tsk” sounds.

Running to the inner chamber, he exclaimed in delight, “Ah! There’s actually a well here! Guo, quickly bring me a cup! I want to taste this well water!”

Guo Tianyang’s old face scrunched up.

As expected! Luckily he had taken precautions! Otherwise, if the crown prince drank toilet water, he would be the one in trouble!

“Crown Prince, that’s a chamber pot! For relieving yourself. See, there’s even a rope! Pull it and water will flush it away!”

Li Yuanzhao’s face flushed slightly, but his attention quickly shifted to the rope on the water tank.

He kept pulling the rope, having the time of his life.

Seeing this, Guo Tianyang also felt relieved and withdrew.

…………………………….

“Young Master! Those two porcelain merchants from last time have come again, staying at the An Inn!”

As soon as Emperor Jing’s group entered the city, Zhang Biao received the news and hurried to the county yamen to notify Fang Zheng.

At this moment, Fang Zheng was still in bed, mumbling, “I know, I know.”

“Shall I bring them to you, Young Master?”

Seven days? Fang Zheng sat bolt upright, then quickly lay back down. Too sudden…

These two were really capable! They sold twenty catties of tea in just seven days? Excluding the time spent traveling back and forth, plus other miscellaneous tasks, it probably took less than three days!

They were indeed skilled merchants, quickly establishing a market for a new product.

Money was coming in! Young Master Fang was in high spirits.

“No need to bring them! Young Master will personally go meet the Gods of Wealth! Xiao Tao! Dress me!”

After slowly putting on his clothes, Young Master Fang rode in a sedan chair to the An Inn.

As soon as he alighted, a pungent stench assaulted his nostrils!

Two servant boys at the entrance kept carrying buckets of water in and out, while the innkeeper fanned vigorously at the doorway with a fan.

Fang Zheng quickly covered his nose and mouth, walking up to the innkeeper.

Seeing the county magistrate arrive, the innkeeper almost burst into tears. Just as he was about to speak, Fang Zheng kicked him in the buttocks, sending him stumbling.

“You dog! This is how you run the inn entrusted to you by this official!”

“Heavens above! Did the cesspit explode? What’s going on!?”

Seeing the county magistrate’s anger, the innkeeper hugged Fang Zheng’s leg, wailing, “Master, don’t blame me!”

“Some bastard drained the water tank dry! We’re arranging for the staff to refill it now!”

Just then, Emperor Jing and the other two also came downstairs, covering their noses and mouths.

Seeing Fang Zheng berating the innkeeper, Li Yuanzhao’s face reddened. He quietly took a step behind Emperor Jing……