Royal Gold Magistrate - Chapter 229

Seeing Liu Jin smearing snot and tears all over himself, Fang Zheng kicked him away with a foot, saying with a mix of amusement and exasperation: “What the hell are you panicking about?”

Then he shouted towards the door: “Someone! Prepare a table of food and wine for me!”

Liu Jin, lying on the ground, was still wailing: “You can’t kill him! He’s the prefect!”

Fang Zheng stepped forward to help Liu Jin up and said: “Stop howling, I have questions for you!”

“Besides you, who else knows about the Crown Prince’s fake edict?”

“Just Eunuch Guo and two guards by the Crown Prince’s side.”

Liu Jin looked at him pitifully: “Lord Fang, killing a prefect is a serious crime, you can’t do it…”

“Don’t worry about that. Liu Xun committed a major crime, he deserves execution. I will report this to His Majesty.”

“Tell me, did the Crown Prince only send you to deliver the edict?”

Liu Jin answered truthfully: “There are… two guards also coming to deliver the edict, they should arrive soon.”

“What about the Crown Prince himself? How is he doing now?”

Liu Jin shook his head: “I don’t know. When I left, His Highness was still in the palace.”

Fang Zheng thought for a moment: “Alright, that’s all I needed to know.”

“After you’ve eaten and rested for a couple of days, help me send a memorial to the palace. If you’re afraid of being discovered by His Majesty, give the memorial to Eunuch Guo. He’ll know what to do after reading it.”

“I’ll find someone to help you deliver the edict.”

He then pulled out a fifty-tael silver note from his sleeve and handed it to Liu Jin.

Liu Jin saw the silver note and was about to grin, but feeling it inappropriate, he held back and stammered: “Lord Fang, this… is it proper to have someone else deliver the edict?”

“It’s all fake from start to finish, what’s proper or improper about it? Go rest in the side room for now.”

“When the others arrive, let them eat their fill and rest a bit before continuing to deliver the edict!”

Liu Jin nodded in agreement and went into the side room.

After Liu Jin went to rest, Fang Zheng gave some instructions to others, then headed straight for the pleasure boat to check on Liu Xun.

The old bastard had been confined on the boat for a few days, and Fang Zheng hadn’t inquired about his condition.

When he entered the room, Fang Zheng was surprised to find Lu Fa there too, sitting in a chair staring at Liu Xun.

Both their eyes were bloodshot.

Perhaps to prevent Liu Xun from attempting suicide again, his hands were still tied with rope.

Fang Zheng looked on in confusion and patted Lu Fa’s shoulder: “What are you doing?”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s arrival, Lu Fa immediately stood up and said: “Master, I’m keeping an eye on him for you.”

“His leg is broken and he can’t speak, what’s there to watch? Has he eaten these past couple of days?”

“He hasn’t eaten, but we’ve given him plenty of sugar water.”

Fang Zheng looked at Liu Xun with a playful smile: “Eat while you can. You don’t have many meals left. The day after tomorrow, once I’ve finished my business, I’ll let you be released.”

Liu Xun looked at Fang Zheng, grinning sinisterly.

“Master, he’s cursing you.”

“???”

Fang Zheng turned to look at Lu Fa: “You can tell that too? What is he cursing me about?”

“I don’t know, but he’s definitely cursing you.”

“Give him two slaps!”

*Slap!* *Slap!*

After receiving two slaps, Liu Xun quickly closed his eyes, not daring to look anymore.

“Go call Xie Xian here.”

Hearing this, Lu Fa went out to find Xie Xian, and Liu Xun opened his eyes again to look at Fang Zheng.

Fang Zheng said calmly: “Your hands aren’t broken, you can still write.”

“Right now, you’re desperately protecting whoever is behind this just to save your descendants.”

“But have you considered that if you die, your family will have no value either.”

“I’ll give you brush and ink. Why don’t you confess now, become a witness, and I’ll find a way to protect your family.”

Liu Xun silently turned his head away.

Seeing this, Fang Zheng frowned. If reason wouldn’t work, he’d have to appeal to emotion!

“This official actually doesn’t care who’s behind you, but I don’t want to get into trouble. Even if I do, I at least need to know who the enemy is.”

“If you help me, I’ll owe you a favor.”

“I swear on my good name as Fang Zheng, if you confess honestly, I will definitely help protect your family, at least your son!”

Liu Xun opened his eyes and looked at Fang Zheng with hatred.

Then he spat a mouthful of saliva onto Fang Zheng’s official robe.

Fang Zheng said nothing, silently wiping the spit off his robe with Liu Xun’s head.

“Since you’re unwilling to talk, prepare to meet your end peacefully.”

Seeing that Liu Xun was completely uncooperative, Fang Zheng had no choice.

He turned to pour himself a cup of tea and sat at the table to drink.

Xie Xian entered the room and asked Fang Zheng: “Master, what are your instructions?”

“Have you gotten anything out of this old bastard in the past couple of days?”

Xie Xian glanced at Liu Xun and shook his head: “He’s completely uncooperative! Nothing works! He just spits at everyone he sees.”

“Forget it, don’t bother with him. I have other tasks for you to handle.”

“The Self-Reliance Sect followers and the refugees outside the city are too dirty, and the weather is hot now.”

“Go buy a few bathhouses in the city. From now on, before these people are sent to work, have them wash up properly and give each person a set of new clothes. For men, just a pair of pants will do. Buy the cheapest ones.”

Xie Xian took out a small notebook and started recording.

Then he hesitated and asked: “I understand, but whose account will this be charged to?”

“Of course it’s the government’s! Did you think it would be ours? Are we spending our own money to be suckers?”

“You go handle it first, we can advance the money for now.”

“Also, I’ll have someone send you the map of Jianjiang later. Find someone to enlarge it for me.”

“You know the stage in the center of Fenghua Tower? Enlarge it to that size, like a stage backdrop.”

“Then divide all the important sections of the city and mark them on the map.”

“Also mark all the basic infrastructure like the Jianjiang dam.”

“We’ll need it in a few days.”

Xie Xian kept writing, and after finishing, he looked up and asked: “Master, what is this for?”

Fang Zheng sighed: “For projects, of course. Road construction! When Fenghua Tower opens and the rich gather, we’ll auction them on the spot.”

Xie Xian couldn’t help but smile.

For some reason, the master seemed to have an obsession with building bridges and roads… and he had very high standards for them too.

Regarding road construction, Fang Zheng also had his own unspoken worries.

In truth, there weren’t many things he could get those rich people to do.

Even with government encouragement, people below might not be willing to build temples or houses.

Nobody wanted to do things without returns.

In the long run, road construction had considerable potential returns, making it the most worthwhile choice.

For now, he could only set a good example by building some public facilities, and then gradually expand from there.

“Also, we can start recruiting people to build a batch of schools outside the city right away.”

“Children under twelve can attend for free, with two meals provided daily. Get this started immediately.”

“And…”