Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 117 The Erotic Paintings of the Wanli Emperor
Inside the East Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, everything has been restored to its original state.

Wisps of smoke rose from the gilded incense burner, drifting onto the rosewood bookshelf, where the "Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies" scroll hanging on the palace wall appeared and disappeared in the smoke.

"There really is something fishy going on at Dajue Temple!"

Emperor Wanli sat at his desk and listened to Zhang Yunxiu's report. His eyes lit up immediately.

His radiant appearance clearly indicated that the events of the court meeting that day had put the emperor in a very good mood.

Previously, he was subtly mocked as a "tyrant" and forced to issue an edict of self-reproach. Under the attack of his ministers, he was almost driven mad, which shows how frustrated he was.

Now that Shen Shixing has stepped forward, he can rightfully drag those two scoundrels out of the Meridian Gate and beat them with sticks. How could he not feel relieved?
When the caning was performed earlier, all the officials and Zhang Yunxiu were watching, but no one noticed that the emperor was actually hiding on the Meridian Gate and had seen everything. His cheers were even more enthusiastic than Zhang Yunxiu's.

The bloodied buttocks of those two "loyal ministers" on the white marble imperial road looked like two blooming plum blossoms, a truly pleasing sight!

However, in order to maintain the emperor's dignity, Wanli returned to the East Warm Pavilion ahead of time and pretended that nothing had happened.

Upon hearing the clues Zhang Yunxiu had found at Dajue Temple, Wanli became extremely excited and said with a hint of excitement.

"Today I have shown mercy and spared the lives of these two men, but Xu Shuming is so audacious that he dared to collude with the White Lotus Rebels!"

"Hmph!" The Wanli Emperor narrowed his eyes. "Do I still remember that the abbot of Dajue Temple, Monk Fahui, was recommended by Xu Shuming? And I trusted him implicitly!"

Speaking of Xu Xuemo, the Wanli Emperor gritted his teeth. Almost all the attacks against the emperor were orchestrated by him!
Zhang Yunxiu hurriedly and cautiously advised, "Your Majesty, please calm down. The matter of the White Lotus Rebels being hidden in Dajue Temple is still just speculation. Whether it's the novice monk's accent or the various unusual actions of Dajue Temple recently, they are merely supporting evidence."

To completely eradicate this group and silence public opinion, we must find crucial evidence!

He continued, "I have already instructed Zhang Jianxiu, the Vice Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, to secretly send people to investigate. The origins of this novice monk will surely be the key to breaking the deadlock! I expect that we will have some clues in just a few days!"

The White Lotus Sect matter is of great importance. For a high-ranking official of the imperial court to collude with such a demonic sect is no longer a simple matter of court factional struggle. We must have solid evidence!

"I still trust you, Shiyuan." Emperor Wanli nodded approvingly. "You can rely on your fourth brother to handle matters related to the Embroidered Uniform Guard; you don't need to report to him on everything."

"Yes!" Zhang Yunzheng was worried about this point. Rashly dispatching the Embroidered Uniform Guard could arouse the emperor's suspicion. With the emperor's words, there was naturally nothing to worry about.

He was about to analyze his plan carefully, but he didn't expect the emperor to be even more radical than him.

"However," a ruthless glint appeared on the Wanli Emperor's face, "in my opinion, regardless of whether we can find evidence or not, we might as well go all the way and create evidence if we don't have any, and we must completely eliminate these parasites in the court!"

What the hell!

Zhang Yunxiu's eyes widened. He was still thinking of doing things according to the rules, but he never expected that the emperor would be even more unscrupulous than him.

Noticing Zhang Yunxiu's surprise, the Wanli Emperor was slightly embarrassed and smiled as he spoke.

"I recently read the latest chapter of your 'Detective Dee's Cases of the Tang Dynasty,' and many of the strategies in it were used in this way. It seems that Wu Zetian was not good at governing the country, but I need to learn her political tactics!"

Zhang Yunxiu was speechless.

Unexpectedly, the emperor figured out what his father Zhang Juzheng had failed to teach him with "Illustrated Explanation of Imperial Admonitions" by reading storybooks on his own.
When the topic of storybooks came up, Emperor Wanli's eyes lit up, and he spoke with great anticipation.

"Shi Yuan truly lives up to his reputation as the author of 'The Cases of Judge Dee of the Tang Dynasty.' He seems to have quite a bit of experience in solving cases. Could you share your secrets with me? If I had Judge Dee's insight, how could I have been bullied by these pedantic scholars?"

Zhang Yunxiu quickly corrected him, saying, "Your Majesty, these are just stories, quite different from reality. Stories are structured and deliberately created."

However, in real-world crime-solving, information is paramount. The more accurate the information and the more clues one can uncover, the key to catching the real culprit lies in obtaining the most accurate information and grasping the most subtle clues.

Compared to matters of the court, the Wanli Emperor was clearly more interested in these things. "Speaking of which, there is another important matter."

The conversation almost veered off-topic, but Zhang Yunxiu quickly used this opportunity to bring it back on track, saying with a serious expression.

“My elder brother Zhang Siwen is now a principal officer in the Ministry of Rites, and he has been of great help to me.”

According to the Ministry of Rites' accounts, in recent days, the Ministry of Rites has spent about 10,000 taels of silver, which is stated in the accounts as being for 'sacrificial rites and prayers'.

In fact, after careful calculation, a huge deficit was found, nearly six or seven thousand taels of silver, which was not used for 'sacrifices and prayers for blessings' but for purchasing grain.

"It must have been distributed to those White Lotus Rebellion traitors!" Emperor Wanli slammed his fist on the table, his eyes practically spitting fire. "That's all my money!!!"

"I think it's not that simple. The White Lotus Rebellion causing trouble in the capital wouldn't require so much money and grain," Zhang Yunxiu said meaningfully.

Emperor Wanli paused for a moment, then became serious, his imperial majesty immediately emanating from him. He nodded and said...

"I understand. You need not get involved in this matter. I will have Feng Banban investigate it carefully."

Upon hearing the emperor's words, Zhang Yunxiu breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't want to get too involved in such a serious matter as treason.

Taking a risk? His father is Zhang Juzheng! Even if he has to wait for seniority, with all that knowledge, he can steadily acquire wealth and status. Isn't that better?

Let those who are capable handle the really tough tasks.

After finishing their business, Emperor Wanli's childlike nature returned. He mysteriously pulled a book from the Yongle Encyclopedia on the bookshelf.

After checking that no one was around, he closed the door to the East Warm Pavilion and finally opened the book in front of Zhang Yunxiu.

Zhang Yunxiu was completely bewildered, not knowing what the fat emperor was hiding.

"I have painted quite a few good things recently."

The Wanli Emperor revealed a very perverse smile, which immediately sent a chill down Zhang Yunxiu's spine, giving him an urge to flee.

Emperor Wanli then pulled out several folded sheets of paper from the book and slowly unfolded them on his desk.

"Your Majesty, I have a bit of a stomachache."

Zhang Yunxiu was about to run away, but when he looked at the paintings on the desk, he almost popped his eyes out.

On the imperial Xuan paper, two women and a man were depicted in an extremely vivid and lifelike manner. The bed was very spacious, and the brocade quilt was also decorated with patterns.

Most importantly, the technique used to depict the woman is simply superb, with graceful and delicate lines, and an elegant figure, just like a tender hand in spring!

Her skin was pinkish-white, and her lips were painted a deep red with vermilion.

As for the man, he was simply sketched with two strokes, and that was it.

He just looks a bit fat, so it seems like Wanli painted him based on himself?

Most importantly, the three people in the picture are completely naked! And they are doing some unspeakable things within the painting!
It's simply disgraceful!

(End of this chapter)