Royal Gold Magistrate

Inside the warm chamber, the floor heating was burning intensely.

Emperor Jing continued to review the memorials without pause.

Since his return to the capital and private meetings with a few ministers yesterday, these memorials had been pouring into the palace like snowflakes.

The main content was urging for flood relief funds.

Emperor Jing kept shaking his head, making marks stroke by stroke.

The court’s appropriation was certainly necessary, but it wasn’t the right time yet. Even as the Emperor, he couldn’t make empty promises.

He couldn’t very well say that he had found a magical artifact called “Boundless Merit” that could reverse heaven and earth.

If it failed, who knew how it would be recorded in the annals of history. He would probably become a laughingstock…

After all, even he hadn’t seen this “Boundless Merit”, and he had no confidence in it.

To him, Fang Zheng’s method was like a drowning man grasping at a straw. It was better to grasp this sliver of hope than to make amends after the fact.

Fang Zheng was a capable official who could create miracles. He was willing to take a gamble on him!

After rejecting all the memorials requesting funds one by one, Emperor Jing let out a long sigh of relief.

Then he became worried again. Tomorrow, the ministers would likely come to him for an explanation. He would have to endure this kind of day for a few more days.

Just as he was pondering, a young eunuch suddenly rushed in. “Your Majesty, the Crown Prince requests an audience.”

“Let him in!”

Seeing the Crown Prince’s arrival, Emperor Jing couldn’t help but reveal a trace of a smile on his face. He asked, “How do you feel after walking around the capital for a day?”

Li Yuanzhao appeared confident. “I believe I’ve gained a solid understanding of the situation.”

“Oh? Where did you go today?” Seeing his appearance, Emperor Jing inexplicably felt a sense of unease in his heart.

“Your son only went to the outer city today before hurriedly returning. But seeing a part is enough to know the whole. There’s no point in seeing too much!”

Emperor Jing’s expression turned solemn.

The Crown Prince was getting cocky. He had only seen the outer city and then ran to speak to him with such conviction.

He even said something about seeing a part and knowing the whole. But considering his young age, Emperor Jing suppressed his displeasure and maintained a kind expression.

“Then go ahead and tell me what you think!”

Li Yuanzhao took a deep breath and said, “Your son will speak frankly. If I say something wrong, Imperial Father must not blame me!”

“Speak without restraint! Today, no matter what you say, I will not blame you.”

“Forgive your son for speaking bluntly, but the state of this capital is far worse than I had imagined!”

“Oh?” Emperor Jing adjusted his sitting posture and began to take it seriously.

“Let’s start with the streets. The layout of the houses is a complete mess, and the residences are built in a haphazard manner! It’s clear that there is a lack of planning!”

“As a result, it’s inconvenient for the people’s lives, and the dark corners are more likely to breed lawlessness. In your son’s opinion, the court should have a unified plan to build neat and orderly houses and then sell them to the people!”

“The court can obtain silver, and the people can get better houses!”

Emperor Jing closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, occasionally tapping the table with his fingers, a slight smile on the corner of his mouth.

“Mm, not bad. Continue.”

Hearing Emperor Jing’s encouragement, Li Yuanzhao also gradually gained confidence.

“And the sanitation of these streets—sewage flowing everywhere, garbage littering the ground. This should follow the example of Taoyuan County, repaving the ground, appointing sanitation officers, and prohibiting the people from dumping garbage.”

“At the same time, underground pipelines should be built to transfer that dirty water and trash away!”

Emperor Jing opened his eyes and looked directly at Li Yuanzhao. “Do you know how to construct these pipelines? And where should that dirty water and garbage be transferred to?”

Li Yuanzhao waved his hand confidently. “The pipelines can be built near Jiangling Port, and the garbage can be directly thrown into the sea!”

“How long will the pipelines be? How much silver will it cost, and how many civilian laborers need to be recruited?”

“If mountains or valleys are encountered along the way, how will the pipelines be built?”

“Once the pipelines are built, how will the filth be transferred away?”

Emperor Jing threw out a series of questions.

Li Yuanzhao was a bit embarrassed, standing there at a loss for words. Then suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him.

He asserted, “None of that matters. Those aren’t issues for me to consider! If this task was given to me, I would have Fang Zheng handle it!”

“As they say, each to his trade. What I need to learn is the way of the emperor! These trivial matters aren’t a priority. Grasping the important and releasing the trivial is the right path!”

Heh, trivial matters? This ignorant beast!

Emperor Jing said expressionlessly, “Fine, then let’s skip this item and get straight to the main point!”

Seeing that his father had been rendered “speechless” by his words, Li Yuanzhao instantly perked up. “Good! Then your son will get right to the main point!”

“Today, your son visited a commoner’s home and took a look. That house can’t even be called a house—it’s a leaky shack.”

“At the time, they were cooking a meal inside, a pot of fish soup that looked completely unappetizing. And this kind of soup was specially made for a sick person.”

“Your son also asked for their usual food. I don’t know if Imperial Father has eaten it before, but it’s a porridge made from millet.”

“Your son tried a couple mouthfuls. That sour and bitter taste… just thinking about it makes me want to vomit.”

As he spoke, Li Yuanzhao truly recalled that moment—the dim room, eating unpalatable porridge, day after day…

Li Yuanzhao’s heart also tightened, his expression grave. “The lives of our Great Jing’s commoners are too bitter. To think they eat this kind of thing to get by… your son feels really distressed.”

“Your son also gained some insights from this…”

“Hold on!”

Emperor Jing suddenly sat up straight, his tone serious. “You really ate that millet porridge?”

Hearing the doubt, Li Yuanzhao instantly became indignant. “Really! Guo Tianyang can testify!”

“Summon Guo Tianyang!”

Guo Tianyang ran into the warm chamber. Emperor Jing immediately asked, “Did the Crown Prince visit a commoner’s home today and even taste their food? Is this true?”

Guo Tianyang was uneasy, afraid that the Emperor would find out about the Crown Prince vomiting. But seeing Li Yuanzhao’s expression, he settled down and replied, “To answer Your Majesty, it is indeed true. At the time, the Crown Prince was so moved that he gave that family ten taels of silver.”

Who would have thought… who would have thought!

Emperor Jing suddenly felt an inexplicable surge of wild joy in his heart.

Although the Crown Prince lacked ambition, was ignorant and incompetent, indolent, couldn’t tell grains apart, had no knowledge, was illiterate, and thoughtless…

But he actually had a benevolent heart towards the commoners!

And look, he even gained some insights!

His other shortcomings could be made up for with diligent study. Sooner or later, he would catch up. But for a Son of Heaven, having a heart that empathized with the people was the most invaluable thing.

Originally, Emperor Jing had been filled with worries about the Crown Prince’s future, but now it seemed things were starting to change for the better…

Emperor Jing had wanted to keep a straight face to not let the Crown Prince get complacent, but the more he thought about it, the happier he became. He couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Hahaha! Wonderful, you are truly my qilin son!”

“Yuanzhao, the fact that you are willing to interact with the common people, understand their hardships, and care about their urgent needs… this trip wasn’t in vain. I am very relieved…”

“Come, tell me about your insights!”

Guo Tianyang also breathed a sigh of relief when he heard it had nothing to do with him.

Having received Emperor Jing’s high praise, Li Yuanzhao was also elated. He said happily, “Indeed! Your son’s insights are the most important, containing the way to a strong nation and prosperous people!”

That ominous feeling surged in Emperor Jing’s heart again, but he was in high spirits now and didn’t have the heart to interrupt, so he signaled for Li Yuanzhao to continue.

“The tutors in the palace once taught your son that the reason the commoners live in hardship is because they don’t understand the way of governance and don’t read the classics! But do the people of Taoyuan County read the classics?”

“I think not. The books in Taoyuan County are neither classics nor poetry, yet why are the people of Taoyuan able to live in abundance?”

“This shows that the problem lies in literacy! Plain speech writing is simple and easy to understand. It’s convenient for the people of Taoyuan to learn, so many of them can read. Doesn’t being able to read count as being educated?”

“In my opinion…”

It’s that damn plain speech writing again! Ever since reading that unspeakable book “The Gold Medal Magistrate”, the Crown Prince had been relentlessly obsessed!

Much of the joy in Emperor Jing’s heart dissipated. He said indifferently, “That’s enough for today. Let’s end it here.”

“Wait! I still have a lot to say!”

Li Yuanzhao got more and more excited as he spoke, feeling that his theory was ingenious. It would be a huge waste if he didn’t finish.

“In my view, the court should vigorously promote plain speech writing! This way, the entire nation can be educated, and the future will be promising! Poverty will naturally be eliminated!”

“In the very capital beneath the Son of Heaven’s feet, the commoners live worse than pigs and dogs, eating spoiled porridge and living in squalid rooms. This shows that education is lacking and there are problems with national policies. If…”

Li Yuanzhao spoke passionately, gradually beginning to wave his arms around, completely unaware of Emperor Jing’s darkening expression.

Guo Tianyang, listening, turned pale. Saying that the lives of the commoners in the capital were worse than pigs and dogs—wasn’t that a slap to His Majesty’s face? Had the Crown Prince lost his mind?

“If I become the Emperor, I will definitely let the people of the world…”

“Get out!”

“There are still some things I haven’t finished saying.”

“Get out!!!”