Royal Gold Magistrate

Li Yuanzhao tugged on Fang Zheng’s sleeve and whispered, “Old Fang, you must be very careful of Teacher Yan. He’s extremely strict. When he teaches me to recite books, if I’m off by a single word, he’ll hit my palm with a ruler.”

“I don’t even know how many times my hands have swollen up!”

Fang Zheng said, “Don’t worry, Your Highness. I’m just a study companion. He can’t hit me…”

Li Yuanzhao instantly grimaced. “Some brother you are!”

“Then give me back the silver, Your Highness!”

“No way!”

The two of them joked around as they arrived at the main hall of the Imperial Clan Court.

Yan Guoan stood in the hall with a solemn face. Seeing the crown prince and Fang Zheng appear together, grinning and laughing, his expression instantly darkened.

“Fang Zheng! His Majesty had you come here to accompany the crown prince in his studies. What sort of behavior is this, horsing around and giggling?”

Fang Zheng wasn’t intimidated by him at all. This man had a perpetual scowl on his face. From their very first meeting, he had wanted to crush Fang Zheng. Fang Zheng was already a bit fed up with him.

So he said indifferently, “Grand Tutor Yan, we haven’t even started yet. Is it wrong for the crown prince to laugh?”

“Or is it that Grand Tutor Yan was born without the ability to smile, so seeing others laugh makes you uncomfortable?”

Yan Guoan snorted coldly. “Enough of your misleading arguments! The crown prince is the heir apparent. He must maintain the imperial family’s dignity at all times! How dare you speak such nonsense?”

“Oh? Grand Tutor Yan is so impressive? You know what the Son of Heaven should act like? Then it’s truly a pity Grand Tutor Yan was born too late. If you had been born a few hundred years earlier and all crown princes were trained according to Grand Tutor Yan’s methods, there would be no such thing as dynasties changing, right?”

Fang Zheng began his sarcastic retort.

Seeing the two of them start trading barbs as soon as they met, Li Yuanzhao couldn’t help feeling a bit excited.

He secretly gave Fang Zheng a thumbs up.

Yan Guoan immediately scolded with a frosty face, “Fang Zheng! I am your superior! How dare you be so impudent?”

“Oh? Could it be that Grand Tutor Yan is resorting to pulling rank because he can’t out-argue me? Then the words His Majesty speaks should be infallible truths. The crown prince is also my superior. I wonder who ranks higher, the crown prince or Grand Tutor Yan?”

Fang Zheng secretly nudged Li Yuanzhao’s thigh with his hand.

Li Yuanzhao instantly felt emboldened, but still faltered a bit when faced with Yan Guoan’s stern gaze. He said weakly, “That’s right! What Old Fang says makes sense!”

Yan Guoan’s eyes immediately bulged out. “Your Highness! He is a subject and you call him Old Fang?”

“The emperor is the emperor, the ministers are ministers, the father is the father, the son is the son. One who is sovereign must conduct himself with the dignity of a sovereign! How can you be so flippant with titles?”

Seeing Fang Zheng’s irreverent and unrepentant attitude, Yan Guoan grew even angrier.

Hearing this, Li Yuanzhao lost his nerve. He immediately shot Fang Zheng a pleading look.

Fang Zheng sighed inwardly. This little brother really couldn’t hold his own! It seemed Yan Guoan had intimidated him quite a bit. The crown prince was this afraid of a minister.

So he also said coldly to Yan Guoan, “Grand Tutor Yan! Do you have any respect for the heir apparent at all? If you’re going to teach, then teach. Be more polite to the crown prince!”

A treacherous villain! A treacherous villain!

Yan Guoan was going crazy with rage. In his heart, he detested Fang Zheng to the extreme. Fang Zheng was an out-and-out fawning official, actually flattering the crown prince at every turn. The crown prince was young and had also been deceived! Truly infuriating!

“I teach the crown prince on the orders of the Emperor! In the Imperial Clan Court, my role is the crown prince’s teacher! How can it be compared to ordinary times?”

Fang Zheng didn’t back down an inch, staring straight at Yan Guoan. “Although I’m nominally just a study companion, I also teach the crown prince on imperial orders. So the crown prince is also half my student. Moreover, our relationship is that of both teacher and friend. I ask that Grand Tutor Yan not shout at my student!”

“Even though I’m Grand Tutor Yan’s subordinate, His Majesty once told me that I don’t need to teach what Grand Tutor Yan has already taught. So you and I each mind our own business, not interfering with each other!”

“But with me present, please treat the crown prince with respect!”

Yan Guoan’s face grew even more unsightly. “Fang Zheng! Don’t think that just because you rely on Eunuch Guo you can run amok! You’re also a scholar. Consorting with eunuchs, have you no shame?”

The crowd of attending eunuchs and Liu Jin beside the crown prince all lowered their heads. Hearing those words, they felt a bit unpleasant.

The reactions of the crowd did not escape Fang Zheng’s notice. At the same time, he became even more disdainful of Yan Guoan.

Resorting to pulling rank didn’t work, so now he was trying to claim the moral high ground?

Too bad! I, Fang Zheng, was a model student in my past life and a paragon of virtue in this life. You want to crush me on moral grounds? Find the grounds first!

Then he turned and whispered in the crown prince’s ear, “Your Highness, this is the first lesson I’m teaching you today. Observe carefully.”

Li Yuanzhao’s eyes flashed with delighted surprise. He nodded forcefully.

This was the first time he had seen Grand Tutor Yan so utterly defeated. Moreover, standing behind Fang Zheng, for the first time he felt a sense of security… a feeling of being protected.

Old Fang, you’re the best!

Fang Zheng raised his sleeve and rubbed his eyes vigorously a few times.

Then lowering his sleeve, his eyes red and brimming with tears, he said with a face full of righteous indignation, “Grand Tutor Yan, Eunuch Guo and I hit it off immediately. The moment I saw him, I felt an affinity with him…”

Li Yuanzhao was puzzled… Why did those words sound a bit familiar…

“Eunuch Guo treated me well and is older than me, so it’s only natural that I call him brother!”

“How did it become consorting with eunuchs coming from Grand Tutor Yan’s mouth? Fine! I do consort with eunuchs then!”

“But so what if they’re eunuchs? Of all the matters big and small in the palace, which one doesn’t require the eunuchs?”

“They do the dirtiest, most tiring work, yet suffer the disdainful gazes of everyone, listening to the contempt from all you lofty lords!”

“If this is what a so-called scholar does, the so-called way of the gentleman, then I, Fang Zheng, would rather consort with the eunuchs!”

The eunuchs in the hall all looked at Fang Zheng in surprise. A strange feeling welled up in their hearts. It seemed that since entering the palace… no one had ever spoken up for these lowest-ranking eunuchs like this before…

Yan Guoan said contemptuously, “Hmph, truly shameless. One’s body, hair and skin are given by one’s parents. Eunuchs have abandoned even the dignity of being human. You’re even proud of consorting with eunuchs. I’m ashamed to serve as an official alongside you!”

“Shut up!”

Fang Zheng “raged with fury”.

“Grand Tutor Yan! An official is supposed to serve the people! Have you seen commoners who can’t afford a meal? Have you seen orphans with no parents? What crime did the common folk commit? Where is the justice?”

“Not everyone is born with fine food and clothes like Grand Tutor Yan. Not everyone has brush and ink attending them from birth!”

“These people, him! Him! And him! Which one of them wasn’t born a poor commoner? If they had any other choice, who would be willing to mutilate their body and suffer disdain in the palace?”

“If they had food to eat and water to drink, I’m afraid no one would be willing to go against the natural order and let others harm their body!”

“But facing such a pitiful group, does Grand Tutor Yan have a shred of sympathy? You curse and beat them. Have you ever thought of them?”

Fang Zheng gazed at a 45 degree angle towards the sky, tears slowly sliding down his cheeks.

This scene brought tears to the eyes of the many eunuchs. They were entranced… Especially Liu Jin, whose soft spot had been touched. He couldn’t help covering his face as he let out a faint sob.

Li Yuanzhao was also filled with shame. He hurriedly patted Liu Jin and whispered, “I was wrong… I won’t hit you anymore…”

“Wuwuwuwu~….”

Fang Zheng wiped his tears and pointed a finger at Yan Guoan, saying sternly, “Grand Tutor Yan! Do you acknowledge your mistake?”

Everyone’s gazes followed Fang Zheng’s finger and looked at Yan Guoan.

Being stared at by so many people, Yan Guoan felt very uneasy, but he still said calmly, “Mistake? What mistake did I make? No matter how you twist words, you can’t change the facts I stated! Someone like you, even if you make it to court, will just be a piece of filth!”

Li Yuanzhao stared blankly at this scene. He could clearly feel that something had changed… The atmosphere had changed!

Fang Zheng sighed and shook his head.

Too pathetic. Crumbled from just this? Started using dirty words? Scum!

“Then… who is going to teach this morning lesson in the end, Grand Tutor Yan or me?”

Fang Zheng didn’t bother with him and directly threw out the question to give him an out.

Yan Guoan snorted. “You teach it then! You wasted too much of my time this morning. I will return to teach in the afternoon. Since His Majesty said we teach separately, I think from now on the two of us don’t need to meet again! Hmph! I take my leave!”

With that, he swished his sleeves and stormed out angrily.

He… won? Just like that? Li Yuanzhao was dumbfounded.

This was the first time ever! Teacher Yan was argued into humiliated retreat!

Seeing that Yan Guoan had left, Fang Zheng didn’t stop his act. He bowed to the many eunuchs.

In a gentle voice, he said, “I must trouble you all to leave for a bit. I need to discuss some matters with the crown prince.”

The eunuchs’ eyes were full of gratitude as they returned his bow and filed out of the hall in a line. As they brushed past, they all said, “Many thanks, Lord Fang…”

Fang Zheng turned around and smiled at Li Yuanzhao. “Did Your Highness see through it?”

Li Yuanzhao still couldn’t believe it was real. He said foolishly, “I understand. You stirred up the eunuchs to jointly target Teacher Yan, so Teacher Yan got scared.”

Fang Zheng shook his head. “Wrong! What I wanted to say is that a nine-story tower starts from the dirt. Don’t look down on the so-called lower class people around you, including the commoners.”

“No matter how prosperous an empire is, it’s the common people supporting it from below. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.”

Li Yuanzhao also smiled. “I get it! But I don’t have your abilities. I can’t cry on command or trick people.”

Fang Zheng suddenly felt a bit sad. You don’t get it at all!

Then he said with a wry smile, “Wrong again!”

“Those are just minor skills, techniques. They’re not worth mentioning. If you learn them, they can add some flair, but if you don’t, no big deal.”

“What I truly wanted to tell Your Highness is… you need to have a sincere heart when dealing with others.”

After saying that, Fang Zheng’s finger heavily jabbed Li Yuanzhao’s chest…