Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Using a book as the decoding key has the obvious advantages of convenience and simplicity.

However, the disadvantages are also significant, as the amount of information is greatly reduced.

Xie Xian's letters can't be too long, as that would arouse suspicion.

Therefore, he can only directly and briefly state the key points.

Fang Zheng carefully compared each page, each line, and after much effort, he finally pieced together the short two paragraphs hidden within.

Xiao Tao tilted her head, curiously looking at the letter, and asked, "Young Master, what's written on it? Why is your face red and your neck thick as you read it?"

Fang Zheng rolled his eyes: "What red face and thick neck? This is a secret letter!"

Then he sighed: "It seems Xie Xian is encountering difficulties over there and can't control the situation. I'll have to go there myself!"

Xiao Tao seemed surprised and asked, "Going out again? Where to? Can I come with you?"

"This time it's farther. It'll probably take at least half a year to return. Take good care of the house."

Fang Zheng frowned.

Xie Xian has already connected with the salt merchants.

The letter on the surface is to notify family members to settle in Haiyuan City, which means they will be using family members as hostages.

The Lü family's influence in the region is already unmatched.

If something goes wrong, our small number of people definitely won't be enough.

Moreover, even if I bring my seal, it might not be enough to intimidate others. Whether anyone believes it is another matter.

If Xie Xian and the others, who are nameless and without status, get killed, it wouldn't be surprising.

There are no cameras or cell phones, so if they disappear, there's nowhere to investigate…

I have to go there quickly, otherwise, if something goes wrong, it will be really bad.

Hearing that Fang Zheng didn't want to take her, Xiao Tao stood aside, looking a little unhappy.

Fang Zheng raised his head and glanced at her: "Be good. It's not a good thing. Why are you rushing to suffer? I'll go back to the palace first. I'm leaving."

......

Inside the palace.

Emperor Jing took the letter and read it carefully three times, his expression somewhat gloomy.

He raised his head and said, "The Lü family has such audacity! I have been too indulgent towards the salt merchants these years. If it weren't for their contributions to the court, I should immediately send troops to destroy them!"

"Fang Qing, what do you think of this matter?"

"Your Majesty... I think we can't rashly eliminate the Lü family. I have done some investigations on these salt merchants before."

"After Your Majesty conquered the Qian Kingdom, the people were in dire straits, and the salt administration was the same. At that time, the government built salt warehouses in various places in the Qian Kingdom. The old officials were dismissed due to insufficient manpower, and the salt warehouses were managed by the salt merchants."

"I think the Lü family's actions must have a backup plan. Perhaps the salt warehouses don't even have any salt stored."

"If we rashly wipe out the Lü family, it will definitely cause a shortage of salt in the areas they are involved in, and the people will suffer. Restarting production cannot be achieved overnight."

"Moreover, the officials' opinions will probably be very strong... By then, Your Majesty will probably have a headache, so please think twice."

Emperor Jing clapped his hands and laughed: "Good, that's what I thought too. If I act rashly, those people below will probably make it impossible for me to have peace! If other officials were as considerate of me as you are, I wouldn't be so tired."

That's because you have a good daughter... Fang Zheng smiled inwardly.

"When have you decided to depart for Haiyuan City?"

Speaking of Haiyuan City, a look of worry flashed in Fang Zheng's eyes. The people he sent out were all the best in the county.

He would feel sorry even if one of them had an accident. The letter was a month old, and he didn't know what the situation was now.

"I plan to depart as soon as possible. I'll go back to the county to prepare and leave in the next few days!"

"Good, I bestow upon you the position of Provincial Governor. You can act expediently when you get there. Kill those who should be killed!" As he said this, a hint of ferocity flashed in Emperor Jing's eyes.

"Go see the Crown Prince before you leave, lest he clamor to look for you again. I don't want that to happen a second time!"

"Also, the land in the Eastern Suburbs has already been allocated to you, right? How is the greenhouse progress? Has construction started?"

Speaking of greenhouses, Fang Zheng suddenly looked embarrassed.

Construction? What construction? I've been enjoying myself lately and forgot about it.

Moreover, the county's glass workshop is definitely not enough, so we need to build a glass workshop near the Eastern Suburbs.

The roads also need to be rebuilt. It's very troublesome, and I was thinking of postponing it until next year.

I didn't expect Your Majesty to be so anxious.

"Uh... it's already being handled! Since it's Your Majesty's instruction, I certainly can't be as casual as I was in Taoyuan County. This needs to be carefully planned!"

"Slow work produces fine craftsmanship. This is called the spirit of craftsmanship!"

If I'm fast, I'm a construction maniac. If I'm not working, I'm directly the spirit of craftsmanship!

The spirit of craftsmanship? I don't understand! Emperor Jing pondered for a while and felt that it didn't sound like a good word.

But Fang Zheng could always come up with a few words that others couldn't understand, so he was used to it.

A faint smile appeared on his face: "You always manage to come up with new words for me." Then his expression became serious again: "This trip is a long way, so you must be careful."

"If the matter cannot be resolved, do not be reckless. Come back early."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Fang Zheng was secretly happy.

This father-in-law is great! I haven't even married your daughter yet, and you're already so caring. That's great!

After bidding farewell to the emperor, the first thing to do was naturally to run to the Mingluan Hall!

Look for the Crown Prince? Impossible! Find the princess first, then the Crown Prince!

Fang Zheng slipped into the Mingluan Hall with practiced ease.

Although he came often, he didn't have a title, so he couldn't help but feel a bit sneaky.

The palace maids had long turned a blind eye to this, and some even hoped that Fang Zheng would come.

After all, every time he came, he would probably give out some money.

The future husband-in-law is so generous, what's there to complain about?

According to the palace maid's guidance, Fang Zheng went straight to the small pavilion on the second floor.

First, he pushed open the door a crack and secretly glanced inside. Li Miaohan was leaning against the window, flipping through books like ledgers in her hand.

If he guessed correctly, it should be the ledgers about the Banshan Textile Factory.

The soft sunlight shone on her exquisite profile, apricot face and peach cheeks, light spring mountains, delicate willow waist like a begonia drunk in the sun.

Fang Zheng showed a silly smile.

It has to be this life! This wife! It would be difficult to find even by scrolling through Douyin in the previous life!

After simply tidying up his appearance, Fang Zheng pushed the door open and entered.

She was looking so intently that she didn't even notice someone entering the room.

Until a pair of big hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her into his arms, Li Miaohan let out a surprised "Ah."

Seeing that it was Fang Zheng, she immediately calmed down, slowly leaning her head into his arms, and said softly, "Why are you here?"

"I missed you. Why an 'ah'? Shouldn't it be a 'whimper'?" Fang Zheng asked.

"What whimper?" Li Miaohan looked blank.

"Isn't that what women usually say? Your Highness, say it for me to hear."

"Whimper... How strange! Who did you hear that from?"

"It's written like that in the Spring and Autumn Annals."

Li Miaohan's pretty face blushed slightly, and she gently pushed him away: "Stop fooling around. I haven't finished reading the ledgers and reports sent from the textile factory yet. Can we talk after I finish reading them?"

She really has a sense of career!

"You look at yours, I hug mine, it won't interfere." Fang Zheng said shamelessly with a cheeky face.

Li Miaohan shook her head helplessly and continued to pick up the books: "I think the textile factory may have a big problem now."

"Some female workers accidentally got their hair caught in the loom and were injured."

"Also, recently I saw some female workers fainting from exhaustion. Look, a woman named Chen Xiaoman was just sent to the clinic yesterday."

"This month, in order to compete for an advanced model worker title, she has been working overtime for three consecutive days without sleep."

"I think they should tie up their hair, and then recruit more female workers, or stipulate their working hours. It's not a solution to continue like this."

Fang Zheng took the books and glanced at them: "Chen Xiaoman... I know. I'll have the newspaper publish a commendation for her tomorrow."

Li Miaohan shyly punched him in the chest with her pink fist: "You're so bad!"

Fang Zheng grinned and grabbed her fist: "How am I bad? I'm setting an example!"

"When we get married, I'll work overtime for three consecutive days too!"

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