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

Emperor Jiajing, dressed in a wide-sleeved robe embroidered with nine dragons, sat regally on the throne in the center of the main hall.

[Prince Yu, according to the rites for princes, ranked as the crown prince and sat to the east of Emperor Jiajing.]

Yan Song was also granted special imperial favor by decree and was given a royal robe, and was seated to the west of the Jiajing Emperor.

[Lü Fang, following palace custom, stood slightly behind and to the side of Jiajing.]

Inside the vast main hall, only Hu Zongxian was kneeling on the ground.

In this short scene description, Hu Zongxian's predicament of being caught between various forces and unable to move forward or backward is fully revealed through the arrangement of his positions.

Before he could even utter a single word, the oppressive atmosphere in the room had already reached its peak.

The live stream chat instantly dwindled, and cold sweat beaded on the foreheads of the viewers watching. The moment Emperor Jiajing slowly spoke, a chilling killing intent swept over them like a blade pressed against their necks.

[Hu Zongxian.]

[A prefectural governor of the fourth rank, a river supervisor of the fourth rank, and two county magistrates who came from the civil service examination system—you executed them all with a wave of your hand.]

What a grand vision!

These two simple sentences, even just from the script, sent a chill down the spines of the audience. A superior praising your courage and ability sounds less like a compliment and more like a veiled, unspoken meaning. Moreover, coming from the mouth of Jiajing, a capricious emperor whose political maneuvering was unparalleled, carries an imposing, unyielding authority that sends shivers down the spine and fills the heart with dread.

Many viewers subconsciously raised their hands to wipe the cold sweat from their foreheads.

"I thought I had reached my limit of pressure when the head of the resident physician was questioning me repeatedly during rounds. I never expected that just reading a script would make me sweat profusely."

"Today I truly understand what it means to speak volumes without words. Indeed, the fewer the words, the more impactful the effect."

"Luckily, my boss doesn't have the ruthlessness of Emperor Jiajing. All he does is point his finger and hurl insults. I used to think he was intimidating, but now I see what he's really like! He's not even worth a single hair in 'The Ming Dynasty'!"

Just as the audience was wiping away cold sweat and feeling their hearts tighten, Hu Zongxian in the script calmly gave his answer.

[Your Majesty, according to the Great Ming Code, officials in charge of river maintenance who cause major disasters due to the neglect of river embankments are guilty of the same crime as abandoning cities and land. As the Governor-General of Zhejiang and Zhili, holding the title of Minister of War, and by order of Your Majesty, I am authorized to execute any offending officials on the spot.]

This response, from the very first word, anchored itself to the legal foundation of the "Great Ming Code." Not only was the reaction extremely fast, but the response was also watertight and flawless, allowing the viewers in front of the screen to breathe a sigh of relief.

But before he could even exhale completely, Emperor Jiajing's next question abruptly cut him off.

"Could you first petition the imperial court, and then execute them according to the law?"

The moment Emperor Jiajing uttered those words, the audience's hearts felt as if gripped tightly by an invisible hand, their breath catching in their throats. Only then did they truly understand why Emperor Jiajing could remain in the palm of his hand for twenty years without attending court.

Previously, during the court debate in the Golden Palace, Emperor Jiajing appeared to balance the conflict between the Qingliu faction and the Yan faction, leaving ample room for maneuver with each statement. But now, Emperor Jiajing seems determined to thoroughly understand Hu Zongxian's stance and allegiance, pressing him step by step with one statement after another. The sense of oppression is several times stronger than during the previous court debate in the Golden Palace.

Previously, the method used by the Grand Secretary Yan Shifan to kill someone by using words seemed extremely dangerous, but in front of Emperor Jiajing, it was nothing more than a drop in the ocean, and the method was so clumsy that it was not worth mentioning.

Hu Zongxian was also stunned for a moment, and quickly bowed to reply.

"Your Majesty, of course it is possible."

The Jiajing Emperor's eyes were deep and unfathomable, and his tone carried an indescribable meaning as he slowly spoke.

"That's quite a story. In my memory, you've always been a cautious and prudent person. This time, not only did you act first and report later, but among those you killed were people from both the Junior Grand Secretary and Eunuch Lü. Aren't you afraid they'll sabotage you behind your back and make things difficult for you?"

There are so many hidden meanings in that sentence.

The first layer is to question whether Hu Zongxian, a person who is usually cautious, has become involved in the court's factional struggle and is working for a certain faction by acting so decisively and ruthlessly this time, killing four officials with a wave of his hand.

This is clearly a warning to Hu Zongxian.

On the second level, Emperor Jiajing specifically pointed out that among the people Hu Zongxian killed were Yan Shifan's men and Lü Fang's men. However, there was another force that Emperor Jiajing did not mention at all, but it was clear to everyone that the invisible spearhead was already aimed directly at them.

That was Prince Yu.

Of all the people in the hall, only Hu Zongxian, a member of Prince Yu's faction, remained completely unmoved. Did he harbor thoughts of siding with Prince Yu? And that remark, "Aren't you afraid they'll make things difficult for you?" wasn't just directed at Hu Zongxian; it was Emperor Jiajing's way of warning everyone present—this Ming Dynasty is my empire, this court is my court, and don't think I don't know your ulterior motives!

Yan Song reacted extremely quickly, immediately bowing and speaking to make his stance clear.

[In response to Your Majesty, throughout the land, all are subjects of the king. All officials of the Ming Dynasty are members of the court, and are Your Majesty's subjects.]

It must be said that among all the officials in the court, Yan Song's understanding of Emperor Jiajing's thoughts was second to none in the Ming Dynasty. Even Prince Yu, Emperor Jiajing's own son, was far inferior to him.

His words clearly indicated that he had fully received the warning and admonition from the Jiajing Emperor. However, Prince Yu, standing to the side, seemed completely oblivious.

So the Jiajing Emperor then changed the subject, directly targeting Prince Yu.

To put it bluntly, the imperial court was nothing more than a few palaces and government offices; ultimately, everyone had to share the spoils.

[Prince Yu, at the beginning of the year you told me that Tan Lun, the Grand Tutor in your household, was a capable man and you wanted to send him to Zhejiang for some experience. How is his experience going?]

Prince Yu's heart sank suddenly and tightened instantly.

Everyone knew that the national policy of converting rice paddies to mulberry fields in Zhejiang had been disrupted from the moment he sent Tan Lun to Zhejiang. Therefore, fearing that the Jiajing Emperor might be tempted to kill Tan Lun for ruining the overall policy, Prince Yu quickly bowed and spoke in response.

[Your Majesty, when Tan Lun first arrived in Zhejiang, he served as a military advisor in Hu Zongxian's governor-general's office. Now he is in Qi Jiguang's camp, assisting in military affairs and planning battles. He has only been in Zhejiang for a short time, so it's hard to say he has made any significant achievements.]

The meaning behind his words was crystal clear: he wanted to tell the Jiajing Emperor that Tan Lun hadn't done anything outrageous in Zhejiang and was just an insignificant nobody, so his father didn't need to take him seriously. But how could such a petty and unseemly thought stop the Jiajing Emperor from his determination to teach him a lesson? As soon as he finished speaking, the Jiajing Emperor gave a cold laugh and slowly opened his mouth.

Whether something has been accomplished doesn't necessarily mean defeating enemy generals and capturing flags on the battlefield. Isn't daring to be the first in the world a great achievement in itself?

Every official in the court knew that Emperor Jiajing had clearly written a sentence on a banner hanging in the Yuxi Palace.

I possess three virtues: compassion, frugality, and...

[He said he dared not be the first in the world!]

But now he himself said that Tan Lun dared to be the first in the world. Whether the attitude in his words was genuine praise or a hidden murderous intent was obvious! Prince Yu was so frightened that he immediately knelt down on the ground, buried his head and dared not say a word.

Everyone in the hall held their breath. Before the Jiajing Emperor, a capricious and unfathomable ruler, each person felt like a lone boat in a stormy sea, on the verge of capsizing, filled with unease.

A deathly silence fell over the vast main hall, save for the chilling aura and overwhelming power emanating from the emperor. In a fantasy novel, the Jiajing Emperor would be an absolute ruler capable of suppressing an entire era. No matter how talented or exceptional you were, before this emperor, you would only be able to bow down in submission!

Although this isn't a fantasy script, the overwhelming sense of oppression emanating from the words still keeps the viewers on edge, barely daring to breathe.

From the moment this imperial prelude began, the number of comments in the live stream visibly decreased rapidly, but the number of viewers in Chen Yu's live stream remained at a terrifying level and continued to climb steadily.

Backstage at the "Creator Competition" program, a group of staff members stared intently at a piece of data on the screen, their eyes filled with shock as if they had seen a ghost.

What is the audience churn rate in Chen Yu's live stream?

"Five percent?"

"In such a long live stream, only 5% of the first batch of viewers left?!"

This number is ridiculously exaggerated.

No matter how well-produced or entertaining a variety show or TV drama is, out of a hundred viewers who click to watch, some will inevitably leave due to various trivial matters or switch channels if they don't like the content.

Industry experts have long conducted special statistics showing that if 20% of viewers watch a 40-minute variety show from beginning to end, it is considered a high-quality and well-received production.

If a 30% completion rate can be achieved, then with a bit of luck, several trending topics can be easily secured. Even in previous episodes of the "Creator Competition," even on the day of the grand finale, the audience dropout rate was around 50%, which is an extremely high figure in the industry, proving just how strong the audience engagement of this variety show is.

But so far, the audience dropout rate for Chen Yu's scriptwriting live stream is only five percent, and the significance behind this is self-evident.

Of course, the reason why the audience is so engaged is not only because of the many memorable scenes that have been shown, but also because the plot of these scenes has maintained a very high level of performance, and is inseparable from Chen Yu's amazing creative speed.

But no matter how many factors combined to create this result, the data itself is the most objective and least likely to lie.

The chief director of the "Creator Competition" had an undisguised look of ecstasy in his eyes.

"This is even more outrageous than the previous imperial court debate, and even more so than the scene of the dike breach and flooding!"

"This scene is going to be legendary, absolutely legendary!"

Immediately afterward, the director snapped back to reality, his expression tightening instantly, and he sternly gave orders to all the staff.

"Everyone keep a close eye on Chen Yu's livestream and make sure it's kept under control!"

"Keep a close eye on the camera crew. Record every angle, no blind spots, don't let them miss a single shot!"

"The entire editing team must start working overtime right now! Start with every single iconic scene from before, and cut them all out—not a single one can be missed!"

"Technical department, immediately max out the server resources for Chen Yu's live stream to ensure a smooth viewing experience for all viewers. Some viewers have already reported buffering!"

"If the plot takes another climax later, some viewers might just crash and leave the live stream. We absolutely cannot let that happen!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the staff in the technical department showed a somewhat troubled expression.

"Director, this is all the server resources we applied for this time. All the resources that can be allocated to Chen Yu's live stream have already been distributed."

"We really don't have any extra resources, so we're going to give him more."

The director frowned deeply, then glanced at the live streams of the other contestants on the screen and sternly reprimanded the technical staff.

"Why can't you guys think straight?"

"Look at those other live streams, they only have so few viewers, it's practically deserted. Do they really need to hogging so many server resources?"

"Isn't this a complete waste? Immediately move all the server resources from their live stream to Chen Yu!"

"As for their live stream, so what if it lags? They only have so few viewers anyway, and their churn rate is already high. So what if a few viewers lag?"

Meanwhile, the other contestants were completely unaware that they were being "treated differently" in their live streams, and their faces even showed barely suppressed glee and excitement.

"Holy crap, as expected of a top-tier film studio's golden screenwriting team!"

"I admit I was speaking too loudly before. Please accept my utmost respect, everyone! This little climax was written so brilliantly, it's absolutely amazing!"

Immediately afterwards, their eyes revealed a strong sense of anticipation.

"They've even written such a brilliant little climax, wouldn't that skyrocket the popularity and increase the number of viewers?"

"let me see!"

Almost simultaneously, the group exited the editing interface, opened their own live streams, and eagerly anticipated seeing the exciting scene unfolding in the live stream.

In their view, with a professional editing team from a top-tier film studio behind them, and the brilliant plot climaxes they wrote, they should be able to get a share of the popularity of "Ming Dynasty" and attract some viewers, right?

But when they saw what was happening in the live stream, they froze instantly.

"???"

"Where are they? Where are the people in my live stream?"

"Where are my viewers? Where did all my viewers go?!"