Royal Gold Magistrate

As the song ended, Emperor Jing and the group behind him stood petrified.

It had to be said, it was quite good! But for some reason, it felt somewhat awkward.

Fang Zheng wasn’t embarrassed at all, standing beside Emperor Jing with a grin.

As expected, I knew it would leave a deep impression on His Majesty!

Regardless of whether the performance was good or bad, as long as it was effective and etched in people’s hearts, it was a good show!

Seeing the children dressed like colorful flowers still kneeling on the ground, Emperor Jing quickly asked them to stand up.

Fortunately, Emperor Jing had experience now and didn’t plan to hug them again.

If he hugged another naughty child, who knows what nonsense they might blurt out.

At this time, Wu Sheng had also finished conducting and turned to face Emperor Jing.

Emperor Jing looked at him as well.

Wu Sheng immediately bowed down and respectfully said, “This commoner, Wu Sheng, pays respects to Your Majesty!”

Emperor Jing saw Wu Sheng and smiled, “Rise, Wu Sheng. It seems you really did settle down in Taoyuan County.”

Wu Sheng stood up and looked at Emperor Jing. His eyes were no longer evasive like when he first met Emperor Jing, but instead full of confidence. He calmly replied, “In response to Your Majesty, this commoner indeed went to Taoyuan County and settled down there.”

“Only after arriving in Taoyuan County did I realize that this commoner is truly not suited to be an official. Instead, drinking wine and composing poetry every day is the life this commoner aspires to.”

Emperor Jing didn’t think much of it and just smiled, “That’s fine too. Everyone has their own aspirations.”

“Today’s performance was excellent. I’m even thinking of inviting you to perform in the palace.”

Wu Sheng smiled and nodded in response.

After they finished speaking, they continued walking forward.

Further ahead was a group of Jianjiang merchants, looking at Emperor Jing with excitement on their faces.

Seeing the emperor approach, they couldn’t help but kneel down again.

Fang Zheng quickly explained in a loud voice, “Your Majesty, these people are merchants from various families in Jianjiang. They have contributed greatly to this disaster relief effort!”

“So your subject took the liberty of bringing them to meet Your Majesty.”

“Oh, and the children who just performed are also the children of these merchants.”

Emperor Jing was in a great mood and waved his hand, saying, “All of you may rise. The court will remember everything you’ve done. If you’ve done well, there will naturally be rewards.”

“Minister Fang, tell me the details later.”

The merchants, kneeling on the ground, listened and became excited.

Aiya! Master Fang is truly righteous!

Originally, they thought his pretty words were just talk, but who would have thought that following him would actually lead to meeting the emperor!

He even put in a good word for us in front of His Majesty, and will give details… It’s like our ancestors’ graves are smoking with good fortune!

The group couldn’t help but look gratefully at Fang Zheng.

Fang Zheng smiled and nodded in return.

He had spent the past few days negotiating with this group to improve workers’ conditions and increase investments.

He had persuaded many people by waving the emperor’s banner, and now that His Majesty had really come, it wasn’t just persuasion anymore.

I, Fang Zheng, a man of integrity, always keep my word!

The group continued walking and soon arrived near Jianjiang City.

Looking up, there were large areas of wooden houses standing not far from the city gate. Three areas could be vaguely made out, divided by wooden fences. Many places still had wooden boards placed around, clearly still under construction.

The scene was completely different from Yunlu City, with no chaotic crowds of disaster victims.

Instead, it was orderly and clean.

The accompanying ministers watched in amazement, especially Du Shun.

Good heavens! Building so many wooden houses, how much manpower and resources must that have taken!

Seeing His Majesty’s attitude towards Fang Zheng, could it be that the court had specifically allocated silver for him?!

Emperor Jing looked a bit dazed and after a while asked, “Minister Fang… where are the disaster victims?”

“Your Majesty, do you see that area of wooden houses? That’s the dormitory area for the disaster victims. Some are resting inside, while others are working in the city.”

“These houses were also funded and built by the people of Jianjiang.”

“Oh?!” Emperor Jing suddenly became interested.

“Good! Very good, Minister Fang. I didn’t expect you to achieve this level, actually arranging accommodation for all the disaster victims,”

“Let’s go! I want to see what it’s like inside the dormitory area.”

With that, he strode forward.

Behind him, cold sweat poured down Du Shun’s back.

It’s over, it’s over… What is this?! Compared to others, what I’ve done is nothing!

How will His Majesty view me? Will there still be any rewards…

Emperor Jing was excited, and his steps were unusually light.

The group followed him, walking quickly.

Fang Zheng fell behind and moved close to Zheng Qiao, whispering, “Second Uncle, why are you alone? Where are Big Uncle and Third Uncle?”

“Don’t you three usually move together?”

Move together my *ss!

Zheng Qiao immediately bristled with anger.

You dog! Not content with messing with Li Yansong, now you’re coming to mess with me, huh?

Suppressing his disgust, he angrily whispered, “Shut up! With so many people around, why are you calling me Second Uncle! What if someone hears?”

“There’s a lot to do in the court while His Majesty is away, so Li Yansong and the others are busy.”

“Go, go, go! Stay away from me. Just looking at you irritates me.”

Fang Zheng didn’t care at all and shamelessly asked about news from the capital.

Guo Tianyang looked like he had lost his soul, looking fearfully between Zheng Qiao and Fang Zheng.

Second Uncle…

My goodness… it’s impossible, absolutely impossible!!

How could there be such a messy relationship in this world? But looking at Lord Zheng’s reaction… he didn’t deny it!

What’s going on?

After Fang Zheng finished asking, he moved over to Guo Tianyang’s side.

Seeing his dazed look, he smiled and said, “Brother Guo, what are you thinking about?”

“I want to make you my godson.”

“……….”

In an instant, Fang Zheng’s face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

I call you brother, and you get cocky and want me to call you dad?

Guo Tianyang also came to his senses, realizing he had misspoken.

He looked at Fang Zheng, extremely embarrassed, and said, “This… this… my worthy brother, I was joking, just joking! I didn’t sleep well last night, my head is foggy…”

Fang Zheng’s face was icy cold, with a forced smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “Brother Guo, how did you end up saying what’s really on your mind?”

“This… this….” Guo Tianyang was mortified.

How embarrassing! Too embarrassing! Indeed, how did he end up saying what was really on his mind?

This dog Fang Zheng is at the height of his power now, the opportunity to adopt him as a son has long passed.

But Lord Zheng is his second uncle, this is too scary!

Even if it’s not true, the relationship between these two is definitely not ordinary.

Can regular colleagues use such casual terms of address?

Guo Tianyang forced a smile, hurriedly trying to break the awkwardness, and said in a low voice, “Worthy brother, I’ve become a muddle-headed old man.”

“I misspoke, I misspoke!”

“My worthy brother, I knew you were a good person from the first moment I saw you.”

“I’ve seen countless people. Although those officials in the palace are respectful to me on the surface, I can see it in their eyes.”

“You’re different! I know you’ve never discriminated against people like us, so I just admire you too much and spoke without thinking!”

“Worthy brother, please forgive me!”

Fang Zheng’s expression eased slightly, and he said calmly, “Brother Guo, stop explaining, give up your fantasies.”

If you wanted me to be your godfather, I might consider it!

You want to be my godfather? I’ll castrate your upper half too!

“If you were a skilled palace guard with some supreme martial arts or something, I might consider taking you as a master!”

“Supreme martial arts?”