You were asked to write a political intrigue drama, but you wrote "Da Ming 1566".

Chapter 32 Oh no, Grand Secretary Yan has also collapsed! I refuse to believe that Ma Ningyuan can get into trouble!

In an instant, everyone present gasped, their breath catching in their throats.

The climax of Act 9, packed with content, had just ended, and Chen Yu, without even taking a breath, was already starting Act 10? In the instant that they realized what was happening, both the guests and audience in the studio and the countless netizens watching on their screens erupted in cheers and shouts that nearly lifted the roof off.

"Wow! This is so awesome!"

"Chen Yu is a god forever! I was just lamenting that I was really into Act 9 and didn't know how long I'd have to wait for Act 10, and I was so anxious. But then Chen Yu just started updating right away?"

"Li Feng, from Unit 2, Building 11, Area A of Suzhou University of Technology, stop dawdling and go deliver milk tea to your girlfriend. Hurry up and come back to watch the live stream of 'Ming Dynasty' with your five dads!"

"Hey Lou Gang from Nanjing University, stop hiding in the toilet doing your 'craft' stuff. The internet cafe's four people need one more, and we've welded your spot to the wall. Hurry up and come over here to enjoy watching 'Ming Dynasty' together!"

A dense barrage of comments flooded the screen, each one revealing the audience's barely contained elation and exhilaration. The title of the tenth act, which appeared immediately afterward, further fueled the audience's curiosity, prompting them to begin speculating and imagining all sorts of scenarios.

It should be noted that Chen Yu's previous scenes almost never had titles, but this crucial tenth scene was unusually labeled with four words: "Destroying the dike and flooding the fields."

What plot developments are hidden in these four short words?

The live chat and comment sections exploded with discussion, everyone speculating on the meaning of those four characters. Some viewers even guessed quite accurately, speculating that it might be related to the newly built dike mentioned in the Golden Palace court meeting last year, which collapsed due to some natural disaster, thus flooding the surrounding farmland.

But from beginning to end, no one could have guessed that behind those four words lay a chilling truth.

But this did not dampen the audience's enthusiasm for discussion. After the polishing of the previous nine acts, everyone was certain that Chen Yu would not present any subpar content, and everyone was filled with anticipation for this brand-new tenth act.

While the audience was watching with great joy, some people's faces instantly plummeted from the clouds to the bottom.

For example, Andrew, the number 6 contestant who was just making threats and acting arrogantly in his room, suddenly felt a sinking feeling in his heart, and his face instantly turned ashen.

A strong sense of foreboding instantly spread through his heart, unsettling him. Anyone with even a basic understanding of screenwriting knows that the tenth act is always a crucial juncture in the story, often marking a major plot twist. A protagonist who has been enjoying smooth sailing might suddenly find themselves in a life-or-death situation; a character trapped in a predicament might find a way out here.

To put it more bluntly, at this point, the pace of the entire story will suddenly accelerate, pushing it directly to an unprecedented climax.

This is precisely why the tenth act requires utmost care from any screenwriter, often demanding painstaking effort and repeated polishing before it can be put into writing. Even for contestants on the show "Creators Competition," in the first two seasons, the conception and refinement of the tenth act alone typically took a full day.

But now, Chen Yu didn't even pause for a moment. He just finished writing Act 9 and immediately started writing Act 10? Andrew's heart was instantly filled with unease.

"Is the inspiration in his mind inexhaustible?"

But after a few seconds, he shook his head violently, forcibly suppressing the panic in his heart.

"Impossible, I absolutely don't believe it."

"This is the tenth act, which will determine the direction of the plot. If he starts writing so rashly, the plot will definitely fall apart, it will absolutely fall apart completely!"

To reassure himself, Andrew stared intently at the four-word title on the screen, forcing himself to analyze it.

"Damage to the dikes and flood the fields?"

"It's nothing more than a natural disaster, a flood that broke through the dikes and inundated the people's fields. This is just a pretext to introduce the plot twist of converting rice paddies to mulberry fields."

He thought about it over and over, and this was the only reasonable outcome he could come up with.

Thinking of this, Andrew felt a little relieved, and a disdainful expression appeared on his face.

"Natural disaster? Ha, using natural disasters to drive plot twists? Isn't that the lowest level of writing in the screenwriting world?"

"How is this any different from a clumsy deus ex machina? At such a crucial juncture as the tenth act, they actually resort to this overused and tired trope?"

"It seems Chen Yu has truly run out of ideas and is at his wit's end. I'd like to see how this 'Ming Dynasty' will completely collapse!"

At this moment, Andrew wasn't the only one in the arena; countless gazes fixed on Chen Yu carried undisguised malice. Whether it was the other contestants competing on the same stage, the film and television industry representatives who had previously publicly expressed their disapproval of "Ming Dynasty," or those whose interests had been directly or indirectly harmed by the show's explosive popularity, they were all secretly praying that "Ming Dynasty" would completely collapse and suffer a crushing defeat in this tenth act.

Unfortunately, none of them knew that every shot and every line of dialogue in this tenth scene was already clearly etched into Chen Yu's mind. How could Chen Yu, who had watched the original "Ming Dynasty" countless times, possibly have misremembered the famous scene of Yan's party plotting to destroy the dike and flood the fields?

The next second, under the watchful eyes of everyone in the room, Chen Yu's fingers danced rapidly across the keyboard, his fingertips moving as if playing a magnificent piece of music on a piano. However, while piano keys produce flowing musical notes, the keyboard beneath his fingertips produced captivating and irresistible words.

He skipped over the journey after Hu Zongxian sent his memorial at the end of Act 9, and the opening of Act 10 is Yan Shifan's furious and angry outburst.

What do you mean by "no land means loss of people, and loss of people means danger to the country"? That's high-sounding rhetoric, nothing but alarmist talk!

I think it's because Hu Zongxian is afraid of losing his future and wants to leave himself a way out!

Following closely behind was Luo Longwen, a core member of the Yan Party and then the Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review. His lines not only clearly stated his position, but also used the most straightforward language to explain the intricacies of the situation to the audience in front of the screen.

I warned Tan Lun before he went to Zhejiang.

Tan Lun and Hu Ruzhen have a close relationship, and Tan Lun is now a confidant of Prince Yu. Hu Ruzhen, anticipating Prince Yu's ascension to the throne and knowing the Grand Secretary is getting old, is naturally preparing a way out.

[The fact that such a memorial was sent directly to the Cabinet Office instead of the Office of Transmission was clearly a gesture of goodwill towards Xu Jie and his associates.]

The short dialogue immediately set the stage for a tense and explosive atmosphere, with every word conveying the cutthroat competition of officialdom, instantly drawing the audience into the vortex of the Ming Dynasty's political turmoil.

Those first to be stunned by this blow were the viewers who had previously refused to believe Chen Yu's characterization of Yan Shifan in the earlier scenes. Or rather, in their eyes, even if the young Grand Secretary Yan Shifan was corrupt, he was still a capable minister who could get things done. After all, what's a little corruption in officialdom? Which official isn't corrupt? As long as they can get their jobs done properly, they can be considered a good official.

However, Yan Shifan's opening angry rebuke completely exposed his true nature to all the audience.

In the previous scene, Hu Zongxian had already made his point crystal clear. Zhejiang's grain reserves were already stretched thin; if the conversion of rice paddies to mulberry fields were forcibly enforced, countless people would face ruin, death, and starvation. Even those who were determined to promote the conversion did not deny this, demonstrating that it was an undeniable fact.

But Yan Shifan showed no concern for the lives of the people when he opened his mouth. He scoffed at the heartfelt words that "without land, the people will be lost, and without the people, the country will be in danger." He immediately accused Hu Zongxian of leaving himself a way out and betraying the Yan faction.

Now everyone understood that Yan Shifan was not only insatiable, but also completely disregarded the lives of ordinary people, with his only concern being factionalism and infighting in the court.

At this point, those viewers who had previously held onto a sliver of hope for the young Grand Secretary could only let out a long sigh.

"It's completely hopeless!"

"Our young Grand Secretary is completely beyond redemption; he's black to the core!"

At this moment, those who were even more nervous than the ordinary audience were the members of Yan Song's fan forum. Everyone's heart was in their throat and their palms were sweating.

"Just because the young Grand Secretary is corrupt doesn't mean our Grand Secretary Yan is corrupt too!"

"Our patriotic and compassionate Grand Secretary Yan would never disregard the lives of ordinary people!"

"Lord Yan, you absolutely must hold the line! The entire Yan Song forum is watching you!"

Just then, a line from Yan Song instantly brought joy to the anxious fans, who felt their hearts sink back into their stomachs.

Hu Ruzhen is not that kind of person.

Upon hearing this, countless netizens breathed a sigh of relief, their hearts finally at ease.

"Grand Secretary Yan sees things very clearly!"

"As expected of the patriotic and compassionate Grand Secretary Yan we all admire, he's completely different from his fanatical son. He still has the people of the world in his heart!"

But no one expected that in the next second, the few lines of screenwriting notes that Chen Yu typed would cause everyone's mood to take a 180-degree turn.

[If filming is required here, the couplet behind Yan Song when he says this should be captured, revealing the five characters "Once entered Xinghua Village".]

[This couplet was originally supposed to be a poem—I am the former magistrate of Zhu and Chen, who once visited Xinghua Village to encourage farming. Now, the scenery is beyond description; county officials come knocking at the door at night, demanding payment.]

This poem depicts the ruthless and cruel way officials, in their pursuit of wealth from the people, ravaged the beautiful village of Xinghua.

This also hints at the plot in the script about converting rice paddies to mulberry fields, just as in the poem, where the once relatively prosperous lives of the people of Zhejiang were utterly destroyed in order to amass wealth!

Chen Yu's few lines of annotation instantly caused a huge uproar at the scene and in front of the screen.

The judges on the panel were initially stunned, their eyes widening in surprise. Then, they slammed their hands on the table and exclaimed in admiration.

Teacher Shuping was so excited that her face turned red. She couldn't help but clap her hands repeatedly while sitting in her seat, completely unaware that her hands were red from clapping.

"Using a couplet or a line of poetry in the scene to subtly match the core of the entire plot is an extremely subtle yet perfectly fitting technique."

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! A script that can be considered a masterpiece is built up bit by bit through these exquisite details!"

The expert on the judging panel, who had been studying ancient literature for decades, gasped sharply and froze when he saw the poem in the annotations.

If an average reader were to read this poem, they would likely not find it particularly special; they would simply think it's straightforward and easy to understand, no different from plain language. After all, anyone who can read can understand what the poem means.

But in the eyes of this expert who had immersed himself in ancient literature his entire life, this poem, seemingly simple and easy to understand, was actually incredibly powerful, something no ordinary person could have written. The effortless yet profound strokes, the stark contrast between past and present, the heart-wrenching core of each word—it was absolutely the work of a master! This single poem alone, placed in the ancient literary world, would have been enough to make the author famous overnight; it was undoubtedly a masterpiece worthy of being passed down through generations!

He had read through countless poems and classical texts from various dynasties, but he had never seen this poem before, nor had he ever seen any poet with such a writing style. For a moment, his heart was filled with doubt and shock, and he even felt an indescribable horror.

Could this poem be an original work by Chen Yu himself?

If that's true, this young man is simply an astonishing prodigy!

At this moment, unlike the judges on the panel who were either excited and ecstatic or shocked and horrified, the audience in front of the screen, upon seeing these few lines of annotation, gasped sharply again, their whole bodies going numb.

Because the meaning hidden in this annotation couldn't be clearer.

Everyone sitting in this room right now, even Yan Song, who was just given high hopes, never cared about the lives of the people. They were all the instigators of this farce of exploiting the people!

In an instant, the Yan Song Baidu Tieba page was filled with wails and cries of despair, turning into complete chaos.

"Grand Secretary! Our Grand Secretary has also fallen from grace!"

"How could Grand Secretary Yan, who was so concerned about the country and its people and held up half the sky of the Ming Dynasty, be someone who joined in exploiting the common people!"

"Waaaaah, my faith, which I've held onto for so long, has completely crumbled!"

For the group of netizens who firmly believed that Yan Song was a "good Grand Secretary who cared about the country and the people" and a "pillar that sheltered the Ming Dynasty from the wind and rain," the blow they received when they saw Yan Song's true face being completely exposed was indescribable.

Countless members of the Yan Song forum are now completely homeless, unsure of where to go.

Should we go to the Jiajing Emperor? But his public image has long been ruined. Should we go to the Junior Grand Secretary? Yan Shifan has already been thoroughly discredited.

That forum for Zhang Juzheng, Xu Jie, and Gao Gong?

So, there isn't a single truly good person in this show?!

Especially those junior moderators and long-time forum members who came from the Jiajing forum after the collapse of the Jiajing forum, and then caught up with the collapse of the Yan Shifan forum, and finally settled down in the Yan Song forum, were completely numb at this moment.

Why does every character's personality seem to fall apart whenever we go somewhere?

This person has gone from the Jiajing forum to the Xiaoge Lao forum, and then to the Yan Song forum, collapsing three times in a row. He is definitely a traitor to three masters!

Now, where can we go next?

Amidst the wailing, one user timidly offered a comment.

"How about we go check out Hu Zongxian's place?"

"Judging from what Minister Hu said before, he seems like a truly good person who genuinely cares about the people."

But as soon as these words were spoken, the group, who had already developed PTSD from the series of house collapses, immediately rejected them in unison.

"No, no, no, forget it. I've figured it out. With our intelligence, we simply don't have the ability to judge whether the characters in 'Ming Dynasty' are good or bad."

"Right now, Minister Hu seems so upright, but what if he falls from grace a few scenes later?"

Finally, amidst the lively discussions among the forum members, a brand new support forum came into their view.