Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

The next day, when Fang Zheng arrived at the Meridian Gate to wait for the morning court, he discovered that Guo Tianyang was also there, and was looking at him with a smile.

Fang Zheng casually greeted him: "Good morning, Brother Guo!"

Guo Tianyang heard this and replied with a smile: "Good morning, Brother."

As usual, the ministers cast scornful glances. As expected, they were birds of a feather, shamelessly addressing an eunuch as a brother! What a disgrace!

"? ? ?" Fang Zheng was dumbfounded.

This dead eunuch is taking advantage of me!? Why is this old geezer so enthusiastic today?

Guo Tianyang took small steps and walked to Fang Zheng's side, saying: "You've come very early today, Brother. It seems you've already adapted?"

"Yes! Adapted, adapted."

Fang Zheng gave a dry laugh, unable to figure out Guo Tianyang's game for a moment.

Afterward, he went to court with a belly full of doubts, but fortunately, he managed to muddle through again.

During the court session, the old geezer occasionally cast "ambiguous" glances at Fang Zheng.

Fang Zheng's scalp tingled as he watched! He wished he could castrate him again...

Forcing down his discomfort, Fang Zheng came to the Zhan Shi Manor with practiced ease after the court session.

As soon as he entered, he saw Li Yuanzhao sitting in the courtyard with his legs crossed, looking bored.

Seeing Fang Zheng arrive, he jumped up in surprise: "Lao Fang! You're here!"

"Your Highness, good morning," Fang Zheng greeted him in a relaxed and cheerful manner.

Now that Yan Guoan was gone, coming to the Zhan Shi Manor was like coming home!

"Lao Fang, do you want to come with me to the East Palace's Beast Garden? It's being demolished by Father, so I want you to use your ideas to help me think about how to build a new one well?"

Fang Zheng bristled instantly. I treat you like a brother, but you treat me like a beast of burden!

If His Majesty found out about this, wouldn't he skin me alive!?

Then he quickly said: "What's the point of cats and dogs! Those are just for kids to play with, and even when they grow up, they're still just animals!"

"If Your Highness is interested, go to the sea to fight beasts! I know there's a monster in the sea called Godzilla, which is incredibly huge! It can spit out intense... fire."

"It's perfect for someone like Your Highness, a versatile talent who is both civil and martial, to fight against it!"

Li Yuanzhao glanced at him with disdain and said: "Heh heh, don't think I'm a fool. I can't breathe underwater, and a monster in the water spits fire. Does that make sense!"

The child has grown up and can't be fooled anymore!

Fang Zheng wiped a cold sweat: "Hehe, Your Highness is wise."

"Then how about this, let's play chess! The chessboard is like a battlefield, and Your Highness is always thinking about becoming a general! I can also take the opportunity to see Your Highness's demeanor!"

Li Yuanzhao said unenthusiastically: "Forget it, no one in the palace can beat me at chess. I have no worthy opponents in Go or Xiangqi... It's boring."

Fang Zheng sneered: "Has Your Highness ever considered that they're letting you win? I'm quite proficient in chess, so I'm not convinced. Let's play a game!"

What does being invincible in the palace matter? Is the Crown Prince playing chess with an eunuch? It would be strange if he didn't win. At this time, you have to use reverse psychology.

Sure enough, Li Yuanzhao became excited when he heard this.

"Okay! What do you want to play? Go, Xiangqi, Beast Chess, you can choose! Let me show you my skills!"

"No, no, no! I don't know how to play any of those! I'll play Gomoku with you!"

Fang Zheng really didn't know how to play those. The rules of those chess games were complicated, and he was too lazy to learn them. He usually just played Gomoku in the county office, and after a few years, he could definitely be considered proficient.

Li Yuanzhao asked in confusion: "What is Gomoku?"

"Hey! It's very simple. Just use this Go chessboard and Go pieces. The black side goes first, and whoever connects five pieces in a row, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, wins!"

Li Yuanzhao said disappointedly: "Alas, I thought it was something. It sounds boring, but since you want to play, I'll play with you!"

Heh heh, young people shouldn't be too arrogant!

Fang Zheng smiled and said: "Your Highness, don't underestimate this Gomoku. I'm very knowledgeable about it."

"It's not interesting to just play chess. There has to be a bet to make it fun."

Li Yuanzhao became interested: "What bet!?"

"If I win a game, Your Highness will recite an article or copy a book. If I lose, I'll give Your Highness one hundred taels of silver. How about that?"

Li Yuanzhao exclaimed: "Okay, Lao Fang, it seems your family really has so much money that you can't spend it all. I'll bet!"

Fang Zheng sneered: "Your Highness, you should take care of yourself! I'm afraid the palace's collection of books isn't enough!"

They started playing as soon as they said so, and the chess pieces and chessboard were quickly prepared.

The two sat opposite each other, Fang Zheng looking relaxed, while Li Yuanzhao looked disdainful.

......

Soon, after only a cup of tea, the first game ended.

Fang Zheng looked at Li Yuanzhao triumphantly and said: "How is it, Your Highness!? You owe me an article."

Li Yuanzhao snorted coldly: "What's there to be proud of? I'm still adapting! Let's play again!"

Fang Zheng shrugged. Then let's play.

This time, Li Yuanzhao's expression began to become serious. He didn't make a rash move, but carefully thought about it.

But after only a short while, he lost the second game again.

"That's two articles!"

"Again!"

"That's three articles!"

"Again!"

........

Fang Zheng played with him casually, but Li Yuanzhao didn't win a single game!

"That's twenty-five articles!"

"Stop talking nonsense! Again!"

Fang Zheng observed Li Yuanzhao's reaction while playing. He saw that Li Yuanzhao was concentrating on the chessboard, muttering to himself every time he made a move.

It was obvious that he was really trying to learn and absorb, and his attitude was extremely serious.

Fang Zheng couldn't help but be surprised. The Crown Prince was very admirable in this regard. Once he was immersed in something, he had a spirit of not turning back until he hit a wall.

By the thirty-seventh game, Fang Zheng had to start taking it seriously.

Li Yuanzhao's expression was like he was drunk, sometimes giggling, sometimes gnashing his teeth.

Fang Zheng's expression also began to become serious, but suddenly, a burst of rapid footsteps came from his ear, disrupting his thoughts. He looked up and saw several eunuchs running over hastily from the Moon Gate.

Just as he was stunned, Li Yuanzhao dropped a piece with a snap.

Four white pieces were connected in a row, with no black pieces at either end. It was already a dead end!

Fang Zheng's eyes glanced in the direction of the Moon Gate, and he felt that something was unusual.

Suddenly, he saw a figure in yellow robes faintly appearing through the branches, and he quickly lowered his head and continued to look at the chessboard.

Cold sweat also dripped down at any time... His Majesty had actually come...

Damn it! If he saw me playing Gomoku with the Crown Prince, wouldn't I be in trouble?!

Although His Majesty asked him to teach the Crown Prince new things, that didn't include messing around!

Just as Fang Zheng was thinking about a countermeasure, Li Yuanzhao's urging sounded: "Lao Fang! Move! Move! I'm about to win! What are you still thinking about!"

As he was speaking, Fang Zheng's peripheral vision had already caught the figure behind the branches getting closer and closer.

Seeing that he didn't react, Li Yuanzhao continued to urge: "Lao Fang! You don't want to go back on your word! I've already won this game!"

Fang Zheng was thinking about a countermeasure in his heart, and suddenly he had an idea!

He raised his hand and overturned the chessboard, the pieces flying everywhere, and said loudly: "It's a draw!"

Li Yuanzhao didn't expect Fang Zheng to do this to him, and he opened his mouth wide, then said angrily: "Lao Fang! You can't afford to lose! I won't recite the articles anymore!"

Fang Zheng said in a deep voice: "Your Highness! This is also one of the ways to play Gomoku!"

"Your Highness is the Crown Prince, and the world is Your Highness's chessboard. If the chess path has already reached a dead end, does Your Highness still want to continue playing the chess game?"

"At this time, Your Highness should have the courage to overturn the chessboard! The so-called no destruction, no construction! If you don't even have the spirit of fighting to the death, then you have really lost!"

"This is the truth I want to teach Your Highness, does Your Highness understand... cough cough.... cough!"

Li Yuanzhao didn't listen at all, baring his teeth and trying to pounce on Fang Zheng, but Fang Zheng dodged him.

Afterward, Fang Zheng continued: "Your Highness, the ruler is the one who makes the rules for the world! How can he be limited by the rules!"

"This is also what I want to tell you! Okay, today's lesson ends here, let's go! Let's go eat!"

Li Yuanzhao grabbed Fang Zheng's sleeve and said angrily: "Don't even think about going back on your word! I remember every chess piece I just played, I want to replay the game!"

Fang Zheng patted Li Yuanzhao's hand expressionlessly: "Your Highness, you lost thirty-six games just now, so let's count this game as my loss, how about you recite thirty-five articles?"

Li Yuanzhao said stubbornly: "No! You're cheating! Let's play another game!"

Fang Zheng continued: "Then how about this, I'll give you a zero, just recite thirty articles! Is that okay now... Winning one game is worth six games! Your Highness has earned it."

Li Yuanzhao said hesitantly: "Then... okay, okay! You can't cheat next time."

Fang Zheng glanced at the back of the branches with his peripheral vision, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the figure in yellow robes leaving.

"Your Highness, I didn't cheat! That's how Gomoku is played. This move is called Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers, and I also have a move called Ten Thousand Arrows Firing Together... You can try it again if you don't believe me!"

"I'm not playing, I'm not playing! You can say whatever you want, so what's the point of playing! Let's go eat, I'm hungry!"

.......................

Outside the Moon Gate.

Emperor Jing slowly walked out of the courtyard and said to Guo Tianyang: "This Fang Zheng can always come up with new tricks for me, which is really surprising."

"His teaching methods are also different, which makes a deep impression on me... Good."

Guo Tianyang also said with a smile: "Yes, Your Majesty, this old servant was also deeply impressed when he heard it, and the Crown Prince is even willing to recite books."

Emperor Jing laughed twice: "It seems that Fang Zheng really has a way, but...."

Saying that, Emperor Jing's face turned cold: "But that rebellious son is so naughty, he can't listen to a word, I think he's itching for a beating. Call him to the Imperial Study Room tonight, and I'll take care of him properly!"

......