Royal Gold Magistrate

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s agreement, Paba’s lips immediately curved into a smile, but the situation changed in an instant.

“Master, on second thought, let’s forget it!”

“Truth be told, I’m a poor official who’s never handled such large sums… if something goes wrong, I’m afraid I couldn’t bear the responsibility!” Fang Zheng’s face was full of worry. “Besides, just taking fifty or sixty thousand taels so casually makes me feel like a con man.”

“Impossible! Even if Brother Fang deceived me, I would gladly accept it!” Paba hurriedly persuaded him. “Brother Fang! If I’m willing to entrust this money to you, it shows I believe in your abilities. You’ve already agreed, you can’t go back on your word!”

“Everyone has a first time, don’t be afraid!”

Fang Zheng’s face showed inner conflict as he kept sighing mournfully.

Seeing this, Paba grew even more anxious, fearing the deal might fall through, and continued his gentle persuasion.

“Well… I suppose I’ll reluctantly agree then! When will you bring the money to my residence?”

“Tomorrow! I’ll send it tomorrow!”

“Hmm, keep it low-key, don’t let anyone find out.”

Paba added, “Brother Fang, rest assured! Such a small matter won’t go wrong.”

Fang Zheng couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile, though it carried a hint of bitterness.

This reaction delighted Paba even more, showing that Fang Zheng was indeed a cautious, steady person with a sense of responsibility.

Little did he know that Fang Zheng was already rejoicing inside.

He never expected someone would eagerly deliver money to him.

Banshan District had launched numerous projects to increase people’s income.

The textile factory and football field alone had cost an enormous amount.

The Sanitation Team’s benefits and expenses were substantial, and with various tax reduction policies in the district, finances were always tight.

Though Fang Zheng wasn’t short of money, it wouldn’t be right to use Taoyuan County’s funds to subsidize Banshan District.

After all, Taoyuan County was his foundation!

Fortunately, this foreign friend had stepped up, even volunteering an extra ten thousand taels. How generous these Northern Rong people were! The extra ten thousand taels would be his service fee!

After all, he would need to speak with His Majesty about this.

If they could establish trade between the two countries, it would be tremendously beneficial for Great Jing!

“Alright, leave this to me. I’ll help you resolve it!”

Paba let out a long breath, finally setting his mind at ease.

The two then began chatting casually about various customs and topics from different regions.

After soaking for who knows how long, Chilie began feeling stuffy.

He stood up and left, muttering something unintelligible.

Li Yuanzhao and the others kept pointing and discussing as they watched him leave.

Fang Zheng was speechless watching this. The Crown Prince had completely let his true nature show.

Not a shred of dignity left!

Endlessly discussing someone’s… *ahem*!

With Chilie gone, the others couldn’t very well continue soaking, so they all got up.

Fang Zheng said, “Master, there’s still some special entertainment ahead! Today I can see it thanks to you.”

“What entertainment?”

Fang Zheng shrugged, as he hadn’t seen it either and didn’t know what new tricks these merchants had up their sleeves.

Everyone left the pool, following the attendant’s directions to dress and move to another room.

Upon entering, Fang Zheng was immediately disappointed.

The special entertainment really was just entertainment. He’d thought it would be some fancy service.

The large room before them had over a dozen chairs with small tables beside them, laden with snacks like melon seeds and sweets.

Most eye-catching was the stage at the front.

The so-called special entertainment was merely watching a play.

He couldn’t believe the attendant had misled him!

But since they were already there, they might as well make the best of it. Everyone took their seats, and once the room had filled up, the actors took the stage!

As the drumbeats began, several familiar characters suddenly appeared before Fang Zheng’s eyes.

The stage performance began abruptly without introduction.

The familiar mad monk… the familiar snake spirit, the setting changed from temple to ocean.

As the plot progressed…

The slight smile on Fang Zheng’s face froze.

……

Hadn’t these vulgar plays been officially banned? Now they’d just gone underground!

They were still performing them, and getting more outrageous!

After what seemed like forever, he finally endured through the end of the play, fighting back his nausea.

During the performance, Paba had several times seemed about to speak, looking at Fang Zheng with an odd expression.

The play was incredibly strange. Though he could understand most Jing customs, he couldn’t make sense of the character relationships in this play.

Why did Xu Xian extract tendons from two snakes?

Why was Fahai imprisoned in Thunder Peak Pagoda?

If Xu Xian’s surname was Xu, why did someone named Fa Shilin call him father… shouldn’t his father’s surname be Fa?

……..

Paba’s thoughts were in complete chaos!

But seeing the Crown Prince’s reaction, he seemed thoroughly entertained. Had Paba’s understanding of Great Jing been so far off?

After the play ended, the attendant enthusiastically showed them out.

At the door, he asked Fang Zheng, “Honored guests, did you enjoy today’s performance?”

Fang Zheng managed a forced smile. “Wasn’t this play banned? Why are you still performing it?”

The attendant looked around carefully and said in a low voice, “Sir, please don’t tell anyone outside. The authorities would fine us if they knew.”

“The play is indeed banned, but people love watching it!”

“The Banshan stage is still showing ‘The General Serves the Country.’ After several months, who still wants to watch that?”

“The authorities must have nothing better to do, controlling what plays people can watch… it’s not hurting anyone.”

Fang Zheng’s expression grew increasingly unfriendly. “Oh? So the authorities’ words mean nothing now? Aren’t you afraid of inspections?”

The attendant waved dismissively. “They do inspect, but they turn a blind eye. No one really enforces it.”

“People watching a play won’t bring down the sky!”

Damn it! They’ve completely lost control!

Fang Zheng patted the attendant’s shoulder expressionlessly. “Hmm, not bad, keep up the good work!”

“Ah! Yes, goodbye honored guests!”

After they left, Paba asked puzzled, “Brother Fang, what did the attendant mean?”

“Oh, that play is actually banned in the district. My apologies for subjecting you to it, Master!”

“Banned? Why banned? What’s special about this play?” Paba remained confused.

Fang Zheng smiled slightly. “Great Jing is a nation of etiquette and civilization. How can we allow such vulgar things to appear openly in our country!”

“For a nation to become wealthy and strong, its people must first strengthen their bodies and elevate their spirits. How can watching such plays elevate the spirit?”

“Master, the Northern Rong people should be the same. They should watch positive, uplifting plays. Watch them every day, watch them constantly!”

“Only then can the nation unite as one, with everyone working together in harmony. Don’t you agree?”

Hearing this, Paba’s expression turned thoughtful.

Then he spoke with newfound respect, “Indeed! Brother Fang speaks wisdom! I’ve learned much!”

At the same time, he felt somewhat amazed internally.

That Fang Zheng could speak so frankly without pretense truly proved him an honest man!

It seemed Great Jing’s methods of cultural education were indeed unique, even penetrating every aspect of daily life!

The Khan should also issue such orders and learn from their methods.

If things continued developing this way, what would Great Jing look like in a hundred years…

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Paba broke out in a cold sweat without realizing it.

Seeing it was getting late, Fang Zheng said to Paba, “Master, it’s getting late. You should return to the guesthouse to rest and prepare. You’ll be meeting His Majesty in two days.”

“Lu Fa will escort you back to the guesthouse. I need to accompany His Highness back to the palace, so I won’t see you off.”

Paba nodded silently.

“Brother Fang, about what we discussed earlier…”

“Rest assured, a gentleman’s word is worth a thousand gold. I’ll do my utmost!”

Paba felt greatly relieved. This trip had been quite fruitful.

He then bowed to Li Yuanzhao and left with Chilie and Lu Fa.

After the three left, Fang Zheng immediately asked Zhang Biao, “Zhang Biao, how’s your injury?”

Zhang Biao watched Chilie’s retreating figure, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. “I’m not injured.”

“That big guy is indeed formidable, with frightening strength. If we’d continued competing, my forearm might have broken.”

“So I released my strength at that moment. It was just a dislocation, nothing serious.”

“Tch, I should have taken off my clothes to compete with him. Too restrictive!”

After speaking, Zhang Biao vigorously shook his hand a few times.

Li Yuanzhao listened in amazement. “You can do that?”

“Hehe, it’s nothing. Though my strength is slightly less than his, he probably isn’t much better…”

Li Yuanzhao excitedly said, “Then why didn’t you fight him? Beat him down!”

Zhang Biao said nothing, turning to look at Fang Zheng.

Fang Zheng asked, “Could you beat him?”

“I could, but it depends on how we fight. If we arranged it beforehand, I could go back to the county and have twenty master archers ambush him on his route, then…”

“I meant one-on-one!”

“That still depends on how we fight! This guy’s too big, definitely not as fast as me. With my poison needles, I guarantee he’d be dead within ten breaths!”

Fang Zheng was speechless. Brother Biao seemed to have gone off track, using his divine strength only for sneaky tactics, always preferring backstabbing to direct confrontation. Though effective, it completely lacked dignity!

Li Yuanzhao was grinning so wide his mouth nearly reached his ears. He quickly asked, “What about a direct confrontation without any other methods?”

Zhang Biao showed a contemplative expression that made Fang Zheng nervous.

It was rare to see him like this!

When Brother Biao started thinking, things were bound to get serious!

He closed his eyes in thought, then spoke with difficulty, “I don’t know. Our encounter was too brief to say.”

“His limbs are very long. In unarmed combat, a sure victory would be difficult! But his weakness was exposed during the bath. With regular weapons… the chances might improve somewhat!”

“Young Master… I want to fight him, fight him fair and square!”

“No!”

Fang Zheng immediately refused.

Zhang Biao was his earliest and closest bodyguard. Without absolute certainty of victory, he would never let him take such a risk.

Weapons were unpredictable. If something went wrong, he’d carry that guilt for life.

Zhang Biao’s expression fell, and he withdrew silently to one side.

Seeing this, Li Yuanzhao called out loudly, “Old Fang, why are you such a coward? It’s just a fight!”

“Yes, I’m a coward!”

Losing would be a huge loss, winning offered no benefit. Did they think he was stupid enough to send Zhang Biao to his death?

“……..”

“Forget about that for now!” Li Yuanzhao moved closer to Fang Zheng and asked, “Old Fang, what are the Northern Rong really here for? Will there be war?”

“War? Impossible. The Northern Rong have depleted much of their unified national strength, while we’ve had years to recover. What could they fight with?”

“They’ve had continuous natural disasters, and there haven’t been any major conflicts with them recently. How could war break out?”

Fang Zheng gave Li Yuanzhao a sidelong glance. “What’s this? Does Your Highness enjoy war so much?”

“Of course! All my learning has no outlet for expression. A true man living between heaven and earth should stride across battlefields!” Li Yuanzhao said excitedly.

Fang Zheng sighed. “Fine, well said! But has Your Highness considered the cost of war? Who pays that cost?”

“Once you understand that, I’ll support you with both hands. Great Jing’s territory is vast, border conflicts are inevitable. Why worry about having no wars to fight?”

Li Yuanzhao showed disdain. Old Fang was too cowardly to understand male romance. Not worth discussing!

Seeing he was being looked down upon, Fang Zheng quickly changed the subject. “Your Highness, hadn’t Banshan District banned new plays? What was that play today about? You’ve been overseeing this!”

Li Yuanzhao gave an embarrassed laugh. “Why ban them? I think they’re quite good… I just watched a new play two days ago.”

Fang Zheng was immediately depressed.

Damn it! You’re actually leading the way in breaking rules!

If this era had phones, I’d have caught you all red-handed!

“Ah, forget it. Since Your Highness has already watched them, and we can’t control it, might as well let it be. Let them perform as they wish.”

Fang Zheng felt helpless. With such vulgar plays becoming popular, he would inevitably face those critics at court.

He didn’t really think banning things was good, but he’d wanted to avoid trouble where possible. Seeing the situation now, there was no stopping it.

When there were too many lice, you stopped feeling itchy. With the Crown Prince taking the lead in watching, let it be!

Li Yuanzhao grinned foolishly. “Old Fang, you’ve changed your mind? Should have opened up earlier, it was completely unnecessary!”

“You don’t know how much the people complained. Several shops at Banshan Square closed down, and people had no plays to watch!”

“There’s a lot of discussion below too! Are you going to stop people from speaking?”

“In my view, as long as they don’t kill or break laws, let them do as they please.”

You’re quite open-minded, thinking broadly!

Fang Zheng countered, “Isn’t Your Highness afraid of criticism from court officials? And many commoners are dissatisfied with the new plays too!”

Li Yuanzhao showed a fearless expression. “No matter. I’ve been criticized since childhood, I just treat it as flatulence!”

“As for those who don’t like new plays, they don’t have to watch! Should those who enjoy plays have nothing to watch just to satisfy them?”

“What that attendant said was right. What’s wrong with people discussing? Letting people speak won’t bring down the sky!”

Fine! Looks like the court officials’ attempts at manipulation not only failed but made the Crown Prince even more thick-skinned.

Yan Guoan would be furious if he heard this!

But Fang Zheng felt quite pleased. “Your Highness is wise!”

…………

On the way back to the Diplomatic Guesthouse.

The three were silent.

Lu Fa had nothing to say, while Paba was lost in thought about the day’s experiences, his mind heavy.

This trip to Banshan District had truly opened his eyes.

His view of Great Jing had changed considerably. The Northern Rong had much to learn.

Beside him, Chilie kept flexing his left hand repeatedly, as if experiencing some discomfort.

Paba glanced over and noticed, asking puzzled, “Chilie, what’s wrong with your hand?”

Chilie opened his palm and smiled.

“That Zhang Biao… is very impressive! I never expected someone so physically small in Great Jing could match my strength.”

“When we were arm wrestling earlier, he could even release his strength at the crucial moment.”

“His grip strength is incredible. Before he released his strength, he broke my index finger.”