“Your Highness is aware of all this?” Fang Zheng’s brow furrowed.

“Could it be that you’ve been pocketing money behind the scenes? No way!”

“If Your Highness knows, why not stop it?” he asked.

“I’ve known about these things from the beginning,” Li Yuanzhao declared confidently. “Old Fang, you don’t actually believe this nonsense, do you?”

“The so-called restaurant renovations were personally approved by me. As for the alleged extortion of silver from citizens, that’s completely fabricated!”

“I ordered those citizens who disobeyed to pay fines, and every payment is documented!”

“The common people don’t understand what microbes are, and I have no way to explain it to each of them. Even if I did explain, few would believe me.”

“And since the renovations will take time to show results, I had to choose harsher methods.”

“You understand, don’t you, Old Fang?”

So that’s it…

Fang Zheng drummed his fingers on the desk, suddenly feeling somewhat regretful.

Perhaps the microscope shouldn’t have been introduced before having the capacity for mass production.

It had caused so many problems, and ultimately, it was his fault.

“Your Highness makes a good point, but have you personally observed how the sanitation team works?” he asked.

Li Yuanzhao replied without hesitation, “Of course! I always attend to matters personally. I oversee all the sanitation team’s affairs, large and small, as much as possible.”

“However… there are too many tasks. I can’t possibly follow them to every single establishment!”

“Old Fang, what exactly is the problem? Just tell me directly!”

Fang Zheng nodded. “Your Highness is right, but it would still be best if we look together tomorrow.”

“If there are any issues, we can discuss them then.”

“Fine! Tomorrow we’ll go see! I want to see what flaws you can find!” Li Yuanzhao chuckled, his expression rather smug.

Fang Zheng felt speechless.

Young people who haven’t been humbled by society really do think highly of themselves.

“Your Highness, I’m tired and heading home to sleep! I still need to check on Zhang Biao, and I might have to visit His Majesty tonight.”

Li Yuanzhao couldn’t be persuaded at this point.

At seventeen or eighteen, what young people needed most was respect. Constant lecturing would only backfire.

Fang Zheng didn’t intend to argue further. Tomorrow, letting reality teach him a lesson would be more effective than anything else!

…

After bidding farewell to Li Yuanzhao, Fang Zheng returned home.

Zhang Biao had coincidentally just arrived as well, though he looked much more exhausted.

He seemed to have been thoroughly annoyed by the reporters.

Fortunately, Xiao Tao had prepared hot water in advance, so he could take a hot bath right away.

Fang Zheng asked him a couple of concerned questions before heading directly to his study.

The study contained many letters and special matters from Taoyuan County awaiting his approval.

There were also important arrangements to be made in the district.

With the autumn examinations approaching, he didn’t need to worry about the reporters with Xie Xian managing them.

Currently, the only important matter was the textile factory.

In three or four months after the autumn examinations, the weather would start to turn cold.

From completing construction to positioning the female workers and arranging the equipment, it would take at least two or three months before the factory could begin production.

And that didn’t account for the adjustment period. They needed to complete production before winter and produce a large batch of winter clothes in advance.

The Emperor had already noticed his frequent visits to Mingluan Palace, so future visits would be difficult. He needed to get the factory up and running quickly.

Finding a wife is serious business!

After working intently for an hour, Fang Zheng had just stretched when someone reported that a eunuch had arrived with an imperial decree.

Fang Zheng headed directly to the Imperial Study without thinking much about it.

…

In the Imperial Study, Emperor Jing smiled at him. “Minister Fang, how is Zhang Biao?”

“Thank you for Your Majesty’s concern. Zhang Biao is fine, having suffered only minor injuries. He’ll be fully recovered after a few days of rest.”

Emperor Jing sighed. “A true warrior indeed! I had thought he was merely an ordinary master with great strength.”

“I didn’t expect his kung fu to be so impressive, rarely seen even in the palace! If he wishes to enter the palace, appointing him to an official position wouldn’t be unreasonable.”

Hearing this, Fang Zheng’s eyes darted around nervously.

What did he mean? Was His Majesty trying to recruit Biao to be a palace guard?

“Your Majesty, he doesn’t want to enter the palace! When Zhang Biao loses it, he has this habit of running around stitching people up with a needle and thread, and I can’t even stop him! I fear he might do something that would damage the imperial family’s dignity in the palace…” Fang Zheng exclaimed.

At the mention of needle and thread, Emperor Jing’s expression became peculiar. Then, annoyed, he said, “What do you mean? Do you think I’m trying to steal your man? I don’t care about a mere Zhang Biao. There are plenty of people in the palace with better martial arts than him!”

Fang Zheng nodded vigorously.

Yes, yes, yes! You’re right about everything, but that’s not what you just said…

Emperor Jing’s expression softened slightly. “Since you think he’s unsuitable for the palace, I’ll grant him a hundred taels of silver. You can accept it on his behalf.”

“I called you here for another matter.”

Fang Zheng was still wondering what could be done with a hundred taels when he looked up at the Emperor’s words.

Emperor Jing continued, “You need not concern yourself further with the Northern Rong envoys. Others will handle the trade matters.”

“I called you here regarding the newspapers.”

“The six ministries’ newspapers have many vacancies, and staff shortages have been an ongoing problem.”

“Daily publication puts too much pressure on the six ministries, yet there’s a shortage of suitable people to employ.”

“So, with the Grand Selection approaching, I want you to serve as an examiner to help the six ministries select suitable candidates for newspaper work.”

“In this regard, no one is more capable than you.”

Fang Zheng paused, hesitantly asking, “Does Your Majesty mean… to employ those who fail the examinations?”

Emperor Jing was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath. “Indeed, that is my intention.”

“Those who pass the examinations already have assignments… they cannot be reassigned to newspapers.”

“So I thought to recruit from among those who fail. What do you think?”

Fang Zheng thought for a moment and quickly understood.

Emperor Jing verbally claimed it was for the six ministries’ newspapers, but in reality, he wanted to recruit educated people from the lower classes as reporters.

A more accurate term might be “temporary workers”… since these people would nominally serve the government but have no official positions.

This matter was probably not initiated by Emperor Jing, but more likely pushed by the six ministries.

They must have been suffering due to staff shortages, as everyone was an official, and no one wanted to be running around all day.

But this was also good news for many failed examination candidates. The provincial examination was extremely difficult, with thousands competing for few positions.

Many people who weren’t suited for it wasted a lot of time on examinations.

The reporter position would be prestigious in the future. Even if they failed the exam, they’d still have a good outcome!

They would surely have a comfortable future.

But… him being an examiner would be terribly misleading, wouldn’t it? He knew nothing about it!

In Taoyuan County, he used plain language. He probably couldn’t even pass the entry-level examination!

He had inherited none of his predecessor’s scholarship!

What is he supposed to do?