Zhenguan: I, Dou Fengjie, will not be the first cuckold.

The burly warden, Tang Bugu, clasped his hands together, his eyes showing unease: "Young Master Dou, it's not that I didn't want to stop it, it's just that..."

Within half a day, countless blood-stained white banners were hung outside Dou Fengjie's gate, covered with vicious curses.

They cursed Dou Gui to be dug up and whipped, cursed Dou Gui to go to the eighteenth level of hell, and cursed him to be childless and without descendants.

The blood was poorly prepared; it was clearly fresh pig blood bought from the West Market, the kind that hadn't hardened.

The white banner boldly bore the signature, with the three large characters "Wei Shishi" standing out prominently.

Dou Fengjie used an earthenware bowl to hold tea and moved it in front of Tang Bugu: "Try the taste of the tea from Liangzhou in Shannan Road."

The quality of Liangzhou compressed tea ranks last in Shannan Road, but it is still better than loose tea that costs fifty coins per catty.

Tang Bugu sat down nervously, took a sip of tea, and grimaced.

The taste of tea soup is always varied and strange, but this was the first time Tang Bugu had tasted tea soup with litsea cubeba oil.

It's slightly bitter, fragrant, and pungent, but thankfully only one drop of litsea cubeba oil was used, so it's still within a tolerable range.

Dou Fengjie spoke calmly: "My father has passed away. Fortunately, thanks to the help of the ward master and the Wuhoupu, I did not lose face."

"I gladly accept the white banner sent by Wei Shishi, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, as an apology for my father's beheading of Wei Yunqi."

Tang Bugu's nose felt slightly sore.

This was the first time I'd ever heard a son of a high-ranking official be so understanding and considerate of the difficulties faced by his subordinates.

Dou Gui's execution of Wei Yunqi, while intended to purge Li Jiancheng's remaining followers, was somewhat excessive.

It's not impossible to escort Wei Yunqi to Chang'an.

Wei Yunqi is a talented person, but unfortunately he chose the wrong side.

If the roles were reversed, Dou Fengneng would have killed Wei Shishi instead of resorting to such half-hearted tricks.

Wei Yunqi's politeness was, frankly, a bit of a disgrace to the Wei family of Chang'an.

It's perfectly reasonable for a son to take the blame for his father's mistakes.

"I have to thank Fangzheng for contacting Kuangdao Yingyang Prefecture in time." Dou Fengjie pushed over a bag of repackaged banana preserves. "It's nothing, just something for Fangzheng's grandchildren to try."

The food provided by the Weihuo system has absolutely no toxic side effects and will not cause you to fall ill after eating it.

The downside is that it requires exchanging local currency, and there's no fixed exchange rate.

The explanation of the inflation system is sometimes inflation and sometimes deflation. Dou Fengjie couldn't understand it at all and just felt that he had been taken advantage of for no reason.

"How could I possibly accept that?" Tang Bugu beamed, feigning reluctance, but his hand moved swiftly. "On behalf of my granddaughter, I thank you, sir."

Dou happy licked his lips.

I'm not greedy at all; my husband has given me plenty of good things.

"Don't say things you shouldn't, lest it harm you." Dou Fengjie took a sip of tea. "The tea from Liangzhou, though of low quality, is truly fragrant."

Tang Bugu smiled slyly.

He understood Dou Fengjie's implication, but ignored Taiyuan Yuancong and dared not tell Dou Fengjie.

Fortunately, Young Master Dou has keen insight and has already discovered the trick, so he probably won't be caught red-handed.

"I, Tang Bugu, would like to inquire with you, young master, whether the repairs to the Duke's mansion should proceed?" Tang Bugu finished his tea and diligently carried out his mission.

"What's the point of repairing it? I'll give up this mansion and build a temple, I'll call it Ci'en Temple." Dou Fengjie's idea was even more vicious.

The extent of this compassion and kindness must be explained in detail.

Let's claim the name of Ci'en Temple and see which Ci'en Temple Master Xuanzang stays at when he returns!

Dou happy looked pained, while Dou Shang chuckled strangely.

This idea is much better than living miserably back in the Duke of Zan's mansion.

Anyway, the servants have been dismissed. There were only three people in total, so why would we need such a big mansion?

With such a large area, even cleaning and tidying up is exhausting!

-----------------

Chang'an County Office.

Inside the second hall, County Magistrate Shan Julu sighed, "Your Excellency, we're in a bind now. Dou Fengjie refuses to restore the Duke of Zan's mansion and wants to give it up to be used as a temple."

Yang Zuan, the magistrate of Chang'an, squinted so narrowly that his pupils were almost invisible: "This future Director of the Yongzhou Bureau of Merit is quite assertive."

Yang Zuan was glad he hadn't gotten himself into that mess.

Chang'an County was caught between the emperor and Dou Fengjie, pleasing neither side and suffering the consequences, much like a small man caught in the middle.

Li Shimin must have looked bad if the Duke of Zan's mansion were to be converted into a temple.

But Dou Fengjie was just as stubborn as ever and didn't approve of the renovation plan at all.

To make matters worse, the tragic state of the Duke of Zan's mansion was painted out by someone, and the rubbings of the painting circulated quietly in official schools, private schools, and Furong Garden.

The imperial court's reputation has been tarnished once again.

At the same time, a painting technique called "realism" quietly spread, and although it was ridiculed for being too craftsman-like, it still attracted a large following.

Yang Zuan, a seasoned official, could easily see through appearances and knew that Dou Fengjie's actions were not purely out of spite.

Bowing his head to the documents, Yang Zuan analyzed softly: "Dou Fengjie's tough stance is to investigate the matter of breaking down the door."

"But who can punish Princess Yongjia? The Minister of the Imperial Clan?" Shan Julu said with a bitter laugh.

If Princess Yongjia could be punished, would she be so arrogant and domineering?

The eldest princess, who was favored by His Majesty, did not care about the "Wu De Law" at all, and even Li Shenfu, the Minister of the Imperial Clan Court, could not control her.

"Who told you that the punishment must fall on the eldest princess? What are the officials for?" Yang Zuan gave Shan Julu a meaningful look.

The giant deer was terrified, as if it could see the day when it would be made the scapegoat.

The rules are correct. If a prince makes a mistake, his tutor and friends must take the blame. The same applies to the eldest princess, whose officials will also take the fall.

Aside from treason, almost nothing could kill them.

Therefore, princes, princesses, and eldest princesses with poor self-control all let themselves go and their reputations became infamous.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the prince may have tarnished his own reputation.

Yang Zuan knew, and Shan Julu knew, that Yang Fei, who kicked down the white banner, was the best candidate to take the blame.

Moreover, Yang Fei had a grudge against Dou Fengjie.

The memorial submitted by Chang'an County only needed to subtly convey this meaning; whether or not it was used was up to Li Shimin.

"However, this princess is quite adept at playing games," Yang Zuan said softly.

The giant deer looked at him with complete agreement, but dared not respond.

While commoners might be unaware of Princess Yongjia's fate, it was no secret to the local officials.

It seems that Dou Fengjie was unwilling to let the princess reconcile with her lover, which is why he was so adamant that he would rather give up his title than accept this matter.

A wild horse that has broken free of its reins cannot be kept without a vast grassland.

With such a bold and unrestrained princess, the reputation of subsequent princesses of the Tang Dynasty became much harder to judge.

Yang Zuan and Shan Julu exchanged a glance, and Yang Zuan's opinion of Dou Fengjie rose even higher.

After a long pause, Shan Julu finally stammered, "Your Excellency, perhaps we could have Longzheng Ward extend a small gesture of goodwill?"

Yang Zuan put down his pen and sighed softly: "The fact that Chang'an County maintained its impartiality and did not take advantage of the situation at this time is already a great act of kindness."

The way of being an official is to do more and make more mistakes, do less and make fewer mistakes, and do nothing and make no mistakes.