Royal Gold Magistrate

The three men happily carried their sacks off the boat and headed towards the riverside path.

Although it was already dark, the light spilling out from the shops lining the street still allowed one to vaguely see the pedestrians.

Li Yuanzhao’s excitement had not yet subsided. He turned to Fang Zheng and asked, “Old Fang! When can we come out again?”

Fang Zheng smiled wryly. “Again? Wasn’t once enough?”

“No! No! I’ve never had a day as exhilarating as today in all my life. I feel now that even the Tiger and Leopard Garden can’t compare!” The thrill of committing mischief together made Li Yuanzhao elated.

“The trouble we stirred up this time isn’t over yet,” Fang Zheng said blandly.

Li Yuanzhao thought for a moment and retorted, “What more trouble could there be? Wasn’t it already resolved?”

Fang Zheng snorted. “Resolved? With so many people present today, I guarantee the news will spread all over the capital by morning. ‘Fang Zheng beats up the son of a high official,’ what an interesting piece of news.”

Li Yuanzhao froze. “Then you still dared to hit him? And even humiliate him?”

“Sigh, I had no choice. That brat kept provoking me again and again, so I had to hit him hard! Otherwise, how could I, Fang Zheng, continue to mix in the capital!”

“If you try to beat a tiger but fail and get injured instead, then you must attack decisively!”

“We humiliated him, so he should behave for a while. He won’t dare kick up a fuss about such an embarrassing matter when he goes home.”

“So what if all of the capital sees me beat him? As long as he himself doesn’t admit it, it’s as if nothing happened!”

Li Yuanzhao listened with endless admiration. “Old Fang, you’re the one with all the clever ideas!”

Fang Zheng shook his head. “Ideas aren’t important. What’s important is attitude!”

“There’s a saying: ‘If in this world there are people who bully me, insult me, belittle me, or wrong me, what should I do?'”

“‘Just chop him, beat him, curse him, stab him, then bury him alive. After a few years, you look again, and they’ll all be dried bones in graves!'”

Li Yuanzhao instantly broke out in a cold sweat, but his impression of Fang Zheng was refreshed once more.

He couldn’t help feeling awed in his heart. Such decisive vengeance! This is how a real man should be!

“Old Fang! Where did you get those words from? I’ve never heard them before.”

“It’s all Buddhist teachings. Read more books and you’ll know.”

“I see!”

As they were talking, the three had already walked out onto the street. Fang Zheng pointed with his hand. “Look, there’s a beggar. Go give the things to him.”

Li Yuanzhao excitedly ran over and dumped a good portion of the cakes and dishes from the sack in front of the beggar.

The beggar originally showed joy on his face when he saw someone coming to give alms.

But then a small mountain suddenly appeared before his eyes. He was dumbstruck on the spot…

“Th- thank you, young master!”

Hearing this, Li Yuanzhao was delighted. He directly poured out the entire sack.

The beggar’s face fell and he stopped speaking…

After watching this, Zhang Biao leaned close to Fang Zheng’s ear and whispered, “Young Master, should we keep this fool at the estate from now on?”

Fang Zheng shook his head vigorously. One fool in the estate was enough. Young Master already had enough to worry about!

Li Yuanzhao emptied the sack and stood there with his hands on his hips, waiting for the beggar’s gratitude.

The beggar didn’t speak. Li Yuanzhao stared at him with shining eyes.

The two just stared at each other like that.

Fang Zheng couldn’t stand watching anymore and hurriedly pulled him back. “Are you feeding pigs over there? You’re scaring people!”

“You gave all the goods to one person. Who knows how many more beggars there are ahead! Give a bit at a time!”

“Oh!”

After being taught a lesson, things finally got back on track. Li Yuanzhao went ahead giving alms to the beggars one by one.

Whenever he received a word of thanks, he would be overjoyed. Fang Zheng and Zhang Biao just silently followed behind.

Before long, the leftover food in the two sacks was nearly all given out.

Li Yuanzhao’s excitement had also passed. His hands were covered in an oily sheen.

He casually wiped them a few times on his clothes and walked back to Fang Zheng’s side.

“All distributed? Happy?” Fang Zheng asked.

“Happy.”

“Being happy is the point. Helping others is the root of joy! Not bad!”

“It’s just…” Li Yuanzhao seemed a bit hesitant. “Why do some people with healthy limbs still come out to beg?”

“With hands and feet, can they really not get a bite to eat?”

Fang Zheng suddenly had a feeling of being comforted in his old age. He had encountered a crown prince in the Eastern Palace with a good temperament and strong reflective ability.

So he replied, “Just having healthy limbs isn’t enough, because they have no hope.”

“With hope, people can keep striving!”

“Take me for example. I used to sleep in every day until the sun was high in the sky before getting up. But after entering the capital, thinking about being able to see His Majesty and the crown prince, my heart was filled with endless motivation!”

“Every day is full of hope! So I can always be on time for my shifts!”

“To put it another way, if the crown prince listened to the strict Grand Tutor’s lectures, not only would it be dull and boring, he would also be frequently slapped on the hand. Such days would feel worse than death.”

“Better to pretend to be sick or directly impeach him to His Majesty and be done with it. Naturally, hope for the next day’s life would also be lost!”

“This group of beggars is the same. Finding an opportunity to work is already very difficult. Even if they find one, they may not necessarily get paid. And if they get paid, it definitely won’t be enough.”

“So it’s more practical to just lie down and beg!”

“Everything in the world is like this. To give another example, suppose you were an author and every day people clamored that your writing was short and thin. Wouldn’t you feel hopeless?”

“What if this group of people chased after you to give you New Year’s gifts? Think about it, carefully think about it!”

Li Yuanzhao suddenly realized. “I understand!”

Understand? Then hurry up and impeach the strict Grand Tutor! Fang Zheng secretly thought.

“However, you only saw one part. Those beggars with healthy limbs may not be healthy, and those pitiable disabled beggars may not be as you imagine.”

“Judging by appearances, the truth will be obscured. Some people who look healthy may have serious illnesses, while some of the disabled may be faking it!”

Li Yuanzhao immediately jumped out to retort, “How is that possible! Those missing arms and legs and the blind, you think I can’t tell?”

Fang Zheng smiled faintly. “No rush, let’s keep walking.”

The three walked a bit further. A blind beggar appeared by the roadside, with only the whites of his eyes showing, looking quite frightening. A broken bowl was placed in front of him with only a pitiful few copper coins inside.

Seeing this, Fang Zheng swiftly scooped out the copper coins and tucked them into his sleeve.

Li Yuanzhao gaped at him, his mind full of question marks.

Before he could ask, the beggar suddenly sprang up and darted in front of Fang Zheng, his pair of white eyes staring straight at him.

Fang Zheng laughed and stretched out both hands. “Oh, poor beggar, the money you just lost, is it the money in my left hand or my right hand?”

With that said, he opened his palms. The left hand held a few copper coins while the right hand held a silver ingot.

The beggar quickly lowered and raised his head. Without even thinking, he chuckled foolishly. “Right hand!”

“Wrong answer, I’m confiscating it all!”