I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 275 Public Opinion Coercion
The more Zheng Shizi read on, the more bizarre it seemed. Was this Tang Zheng from the Duke of Wei's mansion the one he was thinking of?

Upon seeing General Song, Crown Prince Zheng was certain that this was the one he had been thinking of.

Ignoring the name that was trying to cover up the truth, Prince Zheng directly immersed himself in the love and hate between the Duke of Wei's mansion and the Protector General's mansion, and felt that he had found the answers to many things he couldn't understand in the book.

Prince Zheng sometimes cursed bitterly, sometimes sighed, sometimes felt regretful, and sometimes felt sad.

When Zheng Shizi saw that Tang Zheng, a man from a humble background who wanted wealth and status and to avoid being controlled by his wife's family, actually colluded with foreign tribes to let foreign cavalry into the city, he could no longer treat this book as a regular story.

If what's written in this book is true, then Tang Zheng—no, Tang Zheng—is truly guilty of unforgivable crimes!
The Wu family, salt merchants, were overjoyed upon seeing the storybook and immediately dispatched someone to send it to Luoyang by fast horse, determined to use this matter to overshadow Consort Tang.

As the storybook became a bestseller, it was discussed by everyone from noble families to commoners. Many scholars and literati were indignant and wrote articles to denounce the Duke of Wei's mansion and Tang Zheng.

"Bang!" Tang Zheng slammed his hand on the bed. "Who wrote this?"

Manager Tang knelt on the ground. "This book was circulated from the south and entered the capital. I have already sent people to Jiangnan to inquire, but there has been no news yet."

"Useless!" Tang Zheng smashed the medicine bowl. "You can't even handle such a small matter. What use are you to the Duke's mansion!"

"Your Excellency, please calm your anger!" Steward Tang kowtowed repeatedly, begging for mercy.

"Why are you making things difficult for a servant?" The old lady of the Duke of Wei came in, leaning on her cane. "You're supposed to be a veteran of battlefields and weather many storms, how can such a trivial matter warrant such a furious reaction?"

"Mother!" Tang Zheng exclaimed anxiously, "That storybook!"

Madam An said firmly, "The stories in the storybooks are all fake, just fictitious tales made up by some poor, pedantic scholar!"

"But the name on it..."

"How about the name?" Old Madam An interrupted. "Should we write your name, Tang Zheng, or the name of the Duke of Wei's mansion?"

"Since there is none of this, then it has nothing to do with my Duke of Wei's mansion!"

"As for those who are trying to subtly implicate my Duke Wei's mansion with these stories, they are the ones whose intentions are truly despicable!"

“Mother is right,” Tang Zheng said calmly. “It was your son who was too anxious.”

Madam An's tone softened, "It's good that you've figured it out. What kind of trouble can a mere storybook cause?"

"Would His Majesty really punish you for treason just because of a storybook?"

Even if the Imperial Censor were to impeach the Duke of Wei's mansion, His Majesty would not agree.

Who made the Duke of Wei's mansion and His Majesty in the same boat?

"You wait, His Majesty won't be able to hold back before we even have to do anything."

Madam An's calculations were correct. When Emperor Pingyuan saw the storybook in Consort Wu's palace, he was furious, severely reprimanded Consort Wu, and stormed off to the Imperial Study.

What's the story behind this storybook?

The newly appointed commander of the Flying Dragon Guard, Wan Shi, knelt down and reported, "Your Majesty, this story was written by a scholar named Mr. Jin Yong and printed by the Ming family bookstore in Jiangnan. His story is very popular in Jiangnan, and many opera troupes have already adapted it into plays and performed it in theaters."

"Absurd!" Emperor Pingyuan smashed his teacup. "How could such an absurd story circulate so widely? How were the local government officials doing their jobs?"

"By imperial decree, the Jiangnan prefectural government is to immediately recall and burn the storybook, and theaters are to cease performances. Anyone who dares to discuss this storybook again will be immediately arrested and imprisoned!"

"Your subject obeys the decree!" As soon as Emperor Pingyuan issued the imperial decree, all the government offices in Jiangnan, from top to bottom, sent people to search for storybooks from house to house. As for the homes of high-ranking officials and nobles, the officials themselves went to their homes to confiscate them.

Many scholars and literati protested against Emperor Pingyuan's ban on books and were arrested and imprisoned. They were also flogged thirty times in the streets as a warning to others.

For a time, people in Jiangnan and even Chongqing were terrified and fell silent.

But that's how rumors are; the more you try to stop people from saying them, the more people want to say them.

Seeing that the people under their jurisdiction were willing to invent a special script to speak, the officials in Jiangnan had no choice but to report the truth.

Emperor Pingyuan suppressed his anger, "Hasn't that Mr. Jin Yong been found out yet?"

Wan Shi secretly groaned, "Your Majesty, Mr. Jin Yong has never appeared in public. His novels are all sent to the Ming family's bookstore for printing by others. The only people who know who Mr. Jin Yong is are the Ming family."

If it were an ordinary person, the Flying Dragon Guard would have imprisoned his entire family long ago and tortured them one by one until they got the answer they wanted.

But the Ming family is precisely the one they cannot touch.

It wasn't just because the Ming family was an old noble family in Jiangnan with deeply entrenched kinship ties, but also because the Ming family was related to the Xuan Prince's family by marriage, and His Majesty had just done something to offend the Xuan Prince's family, so it was not advisable to anger them further at this time.

Emperor Pingyuan had never felt so humiliated since ascending the throne. He smashed all the porcelain ornaments in his study and ordered that Consort Wu be demoted to Lady Wu before he felt a little better.

"Send word to the Duke of Wei, telling him to find a way to quell public opinion as soon as possible, or don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"Yes!"

When Wan Shi went to the Duke of Wei's mansion to deliver the imperial decree, he saw from afar several servants at the gate of the Duke of Wei's mansion, one hand covering their nose and the other vigorously rubbing the floor.

As I took a few steps closer, a stench instantly filled my nostrils.

The gate of the Duke of Wei's mansion was actually splashed with excrement!
They entered the Duke of Wei's mansion, covering their mouths and noses, only to find countless servants and maids kneeling on the ground, wiping the floor.

Wan Shi barely dared to look at the Duke of Wei's face. After conveying Emperor Pingyuan's oral decree, he hurriedly took his leave.

Madam An's face turned ashen. "What does Your Majesty mean by this? Are you trying to sacrifice a pawn to save the king?"

“If His Majesty really dares to do so, our Duke of Wei’s mansion is not to be trifled with. Since a prince has just been born tomorrow, we might as well support the little prince and have our Duke of Wei’s mansion act as regent.”

“Mother underestimates His Majesty too much,” Tang Zheng shook his head. “Back when His Majesty was still a prince, he used the name of the late emperor to plot against the Northwest and the Song family with me. Now, my Duke of Wei’s mansion is filthy, while His Majesty is clean.”

If Emperor Pingyuan hadn't felt guilty and returned the 1.5 million taels of silver, he would probably still be in the dark.

"What should we do then?" Old Madam An was at her wit's end. She had experienced firsthand the power of rumors and gossip. If it wasn't dealt with properly, the downfall of the Duke of Wei's mansion was imminent.

Tang Zheng leaned against the bedside and said, "Write a letter to Tang Zhao and ask her to come forward and explain."

As the only legitimate descendant of the Song family in the world, Tang Zhao only needs to step forward to clarify that the Duke of Wei's mansion has nothing to do with the extermination of the Song family, and the world will have no choice but to believe her!

"That girl would speak up for the Duke of Wei's mansion?" Old Madam An asked suspiciously. "I think this matter might have been caused by that girl."

"Mother told Tang Zhao that if she was willing to help clear things up, we would tell her the real murderer who killed her mother."

Madam An nodded. "That's the only way."