Chapter 77 I think you are not as good as Wang Sheng!
Late at night, Emperor Zhengde, wearing his dragon robe, sat under the lamp and read the script that had just been delivered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Standing beside him were Gu Dayong and Zhang Yong. In this hall, the only sound was the sound of Emperor Zhengde turning pages.

With a "bang!", Emperor Zhengde slapped the table and said angrily: "Wang Sheng is stupid!"

Because he read that Mrs. Wang discovered Xiao Wei's abnormality and told Wang Sheng, but Wang Sheng did not believe it and instead helped Xiao Wei to defend herself.

So, Mrs. Wang suggested inviting a female Taoist to come and verify her true identity, but Wang Sheng refused on the grounds that this would destroy a woman's innocence.

Seeing this scene, Emperor Zhengde felt that Wang Sheng must have no brains. Did he forget that he had rescued this woman from the bandits' lair?
This sudden roar startled Gu Dayong and Zhang Yong. They looked at each other and saw doubt in each other's eyes:
Who is Wang Sheng?

Could it be Wang Qiong, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?

After he calmed down, Emperor Zhengde continued reading. When he read that Kun Dao and Madam Wang did not find the mark of the demon behind Xiao Wei, he was also a little confused.

After flipping through the previous content and reading it, Emperor Zhengde was relieved and continued reading after confirming that Xiao Wei was a demon who could bewitch people by eating heart blood.

Then comes the most terrifying scene in this article:
A monster with fox ears and a human body, with a green face, a mouth as big as a basin, and teeth as big as saws.

He spread human skin on the couch and painted on it with a colored brush. Then he threw the brush away, lifted the skin up like shaking clothes, and draped it over his body, and it turned into a woman.

The Emperor Zhengde's expression became serious, and his strong internal energy started to circulate automatically. He laughed and said, "It's just a monster. It can only confuse ordinary people like Wang Sheng. I am the true dragon emperor, and I have the national destiny to protect me."

"Gu Banban, hold the lamp closer."

"Yes." Gu Dayong responded, picked up a candlestick and stood beside Emperor Zhengde.

"Well, it's much clearer now." Emperor Zhengde nodded and continued reading.

Later, in order to protect Wang Sheng, Mrs. Wang became Xiao Wei's puppet. She drank the other party's medicine and turned into a half-human, half-demon monster. Finally, she died in Wang Sheng's arms.

Emperor Zhengde was confused. Is Mrs. Wang sick?
She actually believed the words of a monster that had deceived her so many times?
Throwing the script away, Emperor Zhengde stood up and said, "It's boring, let's go to Kunning Palace!"

As he said this, he walked out, and Gu Dayong hurriedly followed him. But before he walked out of the door, Emperor Zhengde turned back to take another look at the storybook.

Zhang Yong on the side immediately understood, trotted over and picked up the storybook, and Emperor Zhengde smiled with satisfaction.

The person living in Kunning Palace was the Empress of Emperor Zhengde, the daughter of Xia Ru, who had a calm and dignified temperament.

According to the records in Mingliangji, the relationship between the emperor and the empress was quite good.

Just like now, it was already the hour of Chou, and when Emperor Zhengde went to Kunning Palace, he specifically instructed Gu Dayong not to wake up the Queen.

He quietly changed his clothes, lay down beside Queen Xia, and then slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

It’s still more reassuring to be around your own wife!
Early the next morning, Ou Zanghua, with Qu Feiyan, Qu Yang, Lu Fang leading two Dongchang guards, and two Jinyiwei arranged by Shen Zhou, a group of eight people arrived at the ferry, ready to take a boat to Tianjin Port, and then change to a larger ship and go to Yingtian Prefecture along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

After boarding the ship, two Jinyiwei came up and said, "Master Ou, you still have a story to write."

"I know, I know. But writing a storybook also requires inspiration." Ou Zanghua nodded and said with some melancholy: "So you don't have to rush, give me more time to think about it."

The two Jinyiwei looked at each other, and one of them smiled bitterly and said, "Sir Ou, this is not the time we thought of for you. It is really that the higher-ups asked us brothers to keep an eye on it. Please bear with me."

"I know." Ou Zanghua sighed and looked at the river in a daze, with no intention of writing at all.

What he didn't know was that within a few days after he left the capital, the court, from the cabinet ministers to the clerks of the six ministries, was scolded by Emperor Zhengde as "stupid as Wang Sheng". When the court was discussing who Wang Sheng was, Emperor Zhengde distributed the Painted Skin that the eunuchs in the inner book hall had copied in advance.

That night, all the ministers tacitly accompanied their wives to eat and sleep.

This made the ladies of each family feel a little confused. Did their masters change their temper today?

Wouldn’t it be nice to hug that young and beautiful concubine?
At the same time, the ministers also realized why Emperor Zhengde would call others Wang Sheng.

Such people who have weak wills, unclear minds, are fickle-minded, and are bewitched by evil spirits really deserve to be scolded.

On the contrary, Pang Yong is upright, unyielding, and well-organized in command, making him a good talent.

At the morning court the next day, Emperor Zhengde sat on the dragon throne like a puppet, listening to the ministers below report on their work.

In the harmonious atmosphere of everyone being happy, an imperial censor came out and said, "Your Majesty, I impeach the Nanchang prefect Li Chengxun and Jiangxi deputy censor Zhou Xian for being idle and inferior to Wang Sheng. In the past three years, not only have they failed to quell the war, but they have also allowed the rebel Chen Fu and others to lead the people, capture the councilor Zhao Shixian, and capture the Ruizhou city! I request your order to escort the two back to the capital for investigation!"

Emperor Zhengde immediately came to his senses. Not as good as Wang Sheng?

How bad is this?
Thinking of this, Emperor Zhengde subconsciously looked at the chief minister of the cabinet, Li Dongyang.

Old Li sighed inwardly. The main purpose of Ou Zanghua's story was to tell people not to be seduced by beauty and to stick to their hearts. How come it has now been used to attack each other?
What’s even more speechless is that Li Chengxun was a Jinshi in the sixth year of Hongzhi, and he was the co-examiner that year.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, Li Chengxun is calm, resolute, strategic and courageous, and is definitely not Wang Sheng's equal."

"Your Majesty,"

The censor was very stubborn and didn't care about the ministers. He said directly: "The urgent military report from 800 miles away will not lie. The rebellion of the rebels in Jiangxi is about to affect Huguang and Fujian. Li Chengxun's strategy and courage have not been demonstrated. In my humble opinion, Li Chengxun is not as good as Wang Sheng. Wang Sheng is at least brave and courageous in battle!"

You're never going to stop, are you?!
Li Dongyang half closed his eyes, various thoughts flashed through his mind, but he refused to speak again.

Then, Emperor Zhengde watched as another censor jumped out to accuse the previous censor of being not as good as Wang Sheng. Both sides immediately started arguing, and the summary was in one sentence: You are not as good as Wang Sheng!
Emperor Zhengde laughed in anger. He looked at Li Dongyang again and asked, "What do you think, Mr. Li?"

Li Dongyang then said, "I recommend Hu Shining as the deputy military commander of Jiangxi. If he cooperates with Li Chengxun, Yu Jian and Zhou Xian, the civil unrest in Jiangxi can be quelled."

Emperor Zhengde remembered this man. When Cangzhou was attacked by bandits, he happened to meet Hu Shining who was waiting for the vacant position in Beijing. This man rode into the city on white horse to help plan the strategy for defending the city, which prevented the bandits from breaking through the city after attacking for seven days and nights, and finally they withdrew. He was a rare military talent.

"Then it's settled. The Cabinet should draft a note and submit it to us."

As he spoke, Emperor Zhengde suddenly remembered that Ou Zanghua was passing through Jiangxi on his way back home. Should he find something for him to do?

At this moment, Ou Zanghua was sitting on the boat, with Jinyiwei standing on both sides of him, staring at the pen in his hand.

"Ahem. The two of you today..."

Before Ou Zanghua could finish, one of the Jinyiwei pleaded with a sad face: "Sir Ou, we are almost in Qing County, and the next stop is Cangzhou, but you didn't write a single word! These days you are either seasick, have a headache, or the weather is bad."

"It's sunny today. You woke up in the morning and ate two meat patties and drank a bowl of porridge. What other reasons do you have?"

"Hmm." Ou Zanghua looked outside and said sadly, "The sun is too dazzling."

(End of this chapter)