Royal Gold Magistrate

The people of Taoyuan County each returned to their homes.

Fang Zheng casually found an excuse to let the Crown Prince go and have fun on his own.

There was no need to worry about safety within the county, as his informants were everywhere, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

As for himself, he went to the county office first thing.

He hadn’t been back for so long and didn’t know what had happened in the county.

Fortunately, Ao Chen was in the county office, and as soon as he saw Fang Zheng, he exclaimed with joy: “Master, you’re back?”

Fang Zheng sat down casually in his own seat.

He asked, “How has the county been recently? Are there any special situations?”

Ao Chen immediately perked up and said, “Yes! There’s only one big issue!”

“Master, didn’t you send two spies to King Wu’s mansion? One of them was caught! And they knew he was from our county.”

Fang Zheng immediately became alert: “Who?! Call him here!”

The people in Taoyuan County office were the elite of the elite, how could they be easily caught?

Soon, the spy was brought before Fang Zheng.

He looked disheveled, obviously having rushed here as soon as he received the news.

As soon as he arrived at the county office, he fell to the ground, crying out: “Master! I’ve disgraced you!”

Fang Zheng immediately frowned upon seeing him: “Gan An? Tell me, how were you discovered, what’s the situation in King Wu’s mansion?”

Gan An remained prostrate on the ground, not wanting to get up, and said pitifully: “Master, I’ve made a mistake! I didn’t find out anything!”

“The mansion was recruiting gardeners, Feng Ya and I snuck in… Feng Ya is fine though.”

“Wait? Feng Ya? How could he go with you?”

Fang Zheng was completely confused.

Feng Ya was a dealer at Taoyuan County’s casino, officially a dealer, but actually helping Fang Zheng manage the casino.

Back in Hengjiang Prefecture, he was a famous gambling king, with excellent card skills.

Most importantly, he was a good person, secretly helping orphans.

Later, he heard about Fang Zheng’s reputation and actively sought him out, and the two got along well.

Fang Zheng demonstrated the invention of playing cards on the spot, winning Feng Ya over in one go.

Later, he pulled Feng Ya to play ‘gold hook fishing’, and with a total of ten jacks in his hand, he lost thirty-two rounds in a row.

Enraged and embarrassed, he called a hundred beggars and made Feng Ya understand on the spot that the most powerful gambling skill is actually martial arts.

Later, Feng Ya was forcibly brought to Taoyuan County by him, and he also settled down in the county.

He had been steadily running the casino ever since.

As for the establishment of the casino, it was similar to the brothel, set up to eliminate underground gambling in Taoyuan County.

Over the years, it had screened out quite a few mathematical talents for Taoyuan County…

Ao Chen came closer and said, “Master, Feng Ya overheard this matter when he came to the county office to eavesdrop. He insisted on volunteering for the mission, saying he wanted to do something exciting, so I let him go.”

“Wow, gambling isn’t exciting enough for him?”

Fang Zheng scratched his head: “Alright, get up and speak, start from the beginning about how you were discovered?”

Gan An slowly got up and sighed: “Actually, King Wu’s mansion is quite strange, they even required an exam to hire a gardener.”

“Everyone was given a piece of paper to answer questions, all about flowers and plants. But anyone who answered on the paper was rejected!”

“It was Feng Ya who figured it out and gave me a hint, allowing me to pass by luck.”

Fang Zheng and Ao Chen exchanged a glance, it was indeed bizarre, requiring an exam for a gardener position?

Recruitment by royal mansions wasn’t rare, but it wasn’t common either. Occasionally, you could see some recruitment notices posted outside various royal mansions.

Wet nurses, grooms, and the like, all sorts of positions, all recruiting as needed.

But it was the first time they had heard of only accepting illiterate people. How could someone who could read the recruitment notice be illiterate?

“Hmm, continue.”

Gan An continued: “After getting in, there was nothing special, just tending to flowers and plants in the courtyard every day.”

“There was nothing unusual at all!”

Fang Zheng hurriedly asked: “Then how were you discovered?”

Gan An stammered: “I don’t know either, I ran into King Wu… We made eye contact and he immediately said I was suspicious. There was a guard beside him at the time, who knocked me out with one kick.”

“It was too fast, that kick was too fast… I couldn’t react at all, and when I woke up, I had been stripped naked…”

Discovering a spy just by eye contact? Does this King Wu have mind-reading abilities?

Fang Zheng walked up to Gan An, staring carefully into his eyes.

Gan An felt a bit creeped out by his stare, and looking at Fang Zheng, he said anxiously: “Master, what’s wrong?”

As soon as their eyes met, Fang Zheng suddenly understood.

“So that’s it!”

Ao Chen hurriedly asked: “What is it, Master? Is there something in Gan An’s eyes?”

Fang Zheng chuckled lightly, completely understanding now.

Gan An looked at him without avoiding his gaze, daring to look straight back.

The people of Taoyuan County lived comfortably, and with officials not bothering the people, most citizens were like this.

He had just returned from the disaster area, and although the people there trusted him, no one dared to make eye contact with him.

Even the citizens of the capital would avoid eye contact when seeing ordinary officials.

Let alone a gardener meeting a prince?

He had just returned from the disaster area, and seeing Gan An’s gaze, this contrast was particularly obvious, and he could clearly distinguish the difference at a glance.

Unexpectedly, this King Wu was so observant? He’s got something!

“Continue.”

“After I was discovered, I was thrown into prison, hung on a cross. At first, someone interrogated me briefly twice, and I used my pre-prepared fake identity to answer their questions.”

“They didn’t find out anything, and they never used torture.”

“After that, people left, and I was just kept in prison, as if they had forgotten about me.”

“That prison was really torturous! It was just like the small dark room we use for training. Every day, someone would bring me a little food at fixed times.”

“I kept counting, and it was about three days before someone came back to interrogate me again.”

Fang Zheng pinched his chin, thinking carefully.

Wow, they were using psychological warfare tactics, putting people in isolation.

Fortunately, his people were all trained. Back then, to create an elite force, he had personally ensured that everyone in the county office was well-fed and well-treated.

During wartime, he had also trained them using methods he’d seen on TV shows about special forces.

He didn’t expect it to come in handy here.

Fang Zheng paced back and forth, feeling that he was overlooking something important.

Suddenly, he slapped his forehead and said: “They tied you up for three days, didn’t they let you down to relieve yourself?”

“No one took care of me, I went in my pants.”

“Alright, continue!”

Gan An’s face suddenly turned as red as a pig’s liver: “After three days, someone came to interrogate me. They might have found it disgusting, so they had someone strip me naked and were about to douse me with water.”

“Then I was stripped… They…”

Fang Zheng couldn’t help but become nervous: “What! Did they discover something?”

Gan An covered his face, mumbling: “I… Before I left the county, I bought a few pairs of the newest underwear from our county.”

“They had our emblem printed on them…”

Fang Zheng: “………..”