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

"Young people who see this and think about it carefully will truly benefit immensely. They'll immediately be able to identify which leaders they should interact with more and which colleagues they can trust, saving them from countless detours!"

Before the audience could recover from these shocking annotations, Chen Yu's script immediately shifted its perspective from Zhejiang to the capital, settling on the Prince Yu's mansion.

This time, however, the character appearing before the audience is even more unexpected. It is none other than Feng Bao, the eunuch who appeared so imposing in the first act but then lost his political life and was advised by Lü Fang to humbly serve in the Prince Yu's mansion!

This time, Feng Bao, the once imposing eunuch in charge of the Eastern Depot, appeared as a sweating, devoted attendant to the emperor's grandson. He was a far cry from the ruthless man he had been when he killed Zhou Yunyi; he was now incredibly humble and low-key, focused solely on fulfilling the duties assigned to him by Prince Yu and being a good attendant to the emperor's grandson.

He performed his job as the emperor's grandson's attendant exceptionally well. Only he could soothe the emperor's grandson; without him, no one could comfort him when he cried! The audience was truly deeply moved when they saw Feng Bao rushing over in the sweltering heat to comfort the incessantly crying emperor's grandson.

After all, this was once the head eunuch of the Eastern Depot, whose word could decide life and death. The Director of the Imperial Observatory, who could kill at will—what power he wielded! And now he's coaxing a baby who hasn't even been weaned yet? The contrast is too great! This contrast reminds the audience of what Lü Fang mentioned to Feng Bao in earlier scenes: the thrice-thinking for officials. Think of danger, think of retreat, think of change!

Clearly, Feng Bao had successfully changed his mind and firmly grasped the emperor's grandson's affections. He had also gained the trust of Prince Yu, who had previously been hostile towards him, and was now entrusted with tasks by the prince. This fulfilled Lü Fang's instructions to Feng Bao.

"Once you leave, you must keep a low profile and truly make Prince Yu and the others look at you differently." Without a doubt, Feng Bao succeeded.

This truly sent chills down the spines of the audience, who exclaimed, "Awesome!"

"Feng Bao is really something. He went from being a high-ranking eunuch to such a minor figure in the prince's mansion, having to keep a low profile. It's like he's fallen from grace."

"If it were me, I probably would have given up long ago. How could I possibly save face and patiently coax a child? But he did it. That kind of mentality is beyond the reach of ordinary people!"

"Lu Fang truly lives up to his reputation as a top-tier expert. This move was absolutely brilliant! He actually succeeded in winning over Prince Yu and gaining Prince Yu's trust and favor, despite being initially disliked by Prince Yu and the Qingliu faction!"

Immediately afterwards, Feng Bao told Prince Yu that he had relayed the matter of Zhejiang to Lü Fang, and that Lü Fang would find a time to speak with Jiajing.

Upon hearing this, Prince Yu's expression relaxed, clearly pleased with how well Feng Bao had handled the matter.

He instructed the palace maids to fetch two more blocks of ice from the cellar.

Although not explicitly stated, it was clear that the intention was to let Feng Bao, who had run a tiring and sweaty journey, cool off. He even looked at Princess Yu, who personally wrung out a handkerchief and handed it to Feng Bao to wipe his sweat! Such treatment was enough to show that Feng Bao had completely become someone Prince Yu trusted! Seeing this, some viewers suddenly understood, gaining a deeper understanding of Chen Yu's earlier annotations. "Indeed, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests." "Prince Yu probably wanted to kill Feng Bao for killing Zhou Yunyi, but he couldn't because Feng Bao was the grandson's attendant sent by Lü Fang, representing Jiajing."

"But now, as Lü Fang's godson, Feng Bao can pass on information to Lü Fang and help Prince Yu do some things. Lü Fang is Jiajing's most trusted and capable eunuch, and has the ability to influence Jiajing. In this way, the benefits that Feng Bao has are much greater than those of Zhou Yunyi, who is already dead."

"In addition, Feng Bao did his best to please his son. All these factors combined led Prince Yu to consider the greater interests and choose to accept and trust Feng Bao."

"Yang Jinshui's change of attitude towards Zheng and He, and Prince Yu's change of attitude towards Feng Bao."

"The script is incredibly realistic, down to the smallest details; Chen Yu's writing is truly masterful!"

"From Lü Fang's suggestion to 'think thrice before becoming an official' to Feng Baosi's successful transformation, spanning more than twenty acts, I would call it a divine foreshadowing."

At this moment, some viewers noticed the conversation between Feng Bao and Prince Yu. Could this mean that the textile commissioner Lü Fang, who had made Yang Jinshui extremely nervous, was about to tell Jiajing about this matter?

Just imagining it, they could understand the fury that the face-conscious Jiajing Emperor would feel upon hearing this! And those who committed this act, Zheng Bichang and He Maocai, were both members of the Yan faction. What would Jiajing, in his rage, do?

Through these few lines of dialogue, without any direct description, the audience seems to see a dark cloud already brewing overhead.

Through these few lines of dialogue, without any direct description, the audience seems to see a dark cloud already brewing overhead.

A storm is brewing.

The title of this scene, "A Storm is Brewing," indeed refers to a terrifying thunderstorm!

However, at this point, "The Ming Dynasty" remained unchanged on the list of top-rated dramas, still at sixty-ninth place. After all, those dramas on the list are the most outstanding productions of the past twenty years in China. A single dialogue or a plot point being resolved makes it unlikely to improve its ranking. This brought smug smiles to the faces of those Western-worshipping young women, who seemed to already foresee Chen Yu's failure to break into the top fifty, let alone reach the top!

Viewers who supported Chen Yu and the Ming Dynasty also sensed the difficulty of continuing to rise, and inevitably showed worry in their eyes as they looked at Chen Yu.

At this rate, breaking Xiao Tuo's record will be incredibly difficult. But at this moment, Chen Yu took a deep breath, a hint of anticipation on his face. From Zheng Bichang and He Maocai's schemes, to Yang Jinshui, and then to the Yu Prince's Mansion, it's clear that the characters' status in this part of the story is gradually rising. Next, it will be Lü Fang and Jiajing, standing at the very top. Only Chen Yu knows how exciting the next part will be. The Jiajing Emperor, the greatest enigma of the Ming Dynasty, has always maintained a composed demeanor in front of his ministers. But this time, the Jiajing Emperor will break down in fury for the first time, his killing intent surging! The iconic scene of "Summon Yan Song" is about to unfold!

The clash between Lü Fang, Jiajing, and Yan Song—three top figures—is on a higher level than Hu Zongxian's audience with the emperor! Imagining this scene, Chen Yu's lips curled into a expectant smile as he murmured to the screen, "Since this scene is called 'the storm is brewing,' then the real storm will naturally be unleashed by the Jiajing Emperor." "Are you all ready to face the storm?"

Chen Yu's words drifted out softly, startling the audience who heard them.

Every time Chen Yu acted with such seriousness, the subsequent plot never disappointed them, always delivering explosive moments. And this time, it seems it's happening again!

The executives at those film companies behind the scenes suddenly felt a sense of foreboding, and their hearts skipped a beat.

Would Chen Yu cause them some trouble again? But after a moment, they shook their heads repeatedly, subconsciously reassuring themselves.

"No way, Chen Yu only has three to five episodes left at most." "He's still nineteen places away from breaking Xiao Tuo's record. How easy is it to surpass him?" "It's even more impossible in such a short time!" Thinking of this, they became confident.

"No matter what plot Chen Yu writes next, it won't change anything!" Those Western-worshipping girls were also mocking him. "What's the use of putting on an act?"

"You think you can break Xiao Tuo's record by putting on a serious act?" "This kind of thing is about strength, not how well you can pretend, do you understand?" Just then, Chen Yu's fingers flew across the keyboard, typing out the following plot.

At this time, after a long period without snow in the twelfth lunar month, the Ming Dynasty experienced the hottest period of the year in the early June, with no wind blowing in the capital for more than ten days.

Even under these circumstances, the Jiajing Emperor kept the doors and windows tightly shut, reciting incantations in an attempt to cultivate immortality. In winter, he wore thin clothes with the doors and windows wide open, letting the cold wind blow in; in summer, he wore thick clothes with the doors and windows tightly closed. Jiajing was using this method to demonstrate his "divine body" to everyone. At this moment, Lü Fang entered the Yuxi Palace carrying a wine jar and a wooden basin.

Emperor Jiajing recognized the aroma emanating from the wine jar as Maotai. Lü Fang further claimed it was 60-year-old Maotai, just retrieved from the cellar. Lü Fang then poured the jar of Maotai into a wooden basin and, incredibly, used it to wash Emperor Jiajing's feet! It turned out that although Emperor Jiajing displayed a "divine physique," he still had a rash on his legs from the heat. Lü Fang had heard of this remedy from Li Shizhen, who had once served in the palace, and thus used this precious aged wine to wash Jiajing's feet.

The audience was astonished upon seeing this.

"My goodness, a 60-year-old vintage! I can't even imagine how fragrant it must be." "These days, you couldn't get a whole jar of that for less than several hundred thousand, could you?"

"Heh, even an '82 Lafite costs this much, but the Moutai that Lü Fang pulled out is a royal supply, and it's been aged for a full sixty years. Hundreds of thousands for a whole jar of this stuff?"

"It'll probably cost several million!"

"Wow, millions of dollars worth of wine, only good enough for Emperor Jiajing to wash his feet? Extravagant, truly fucking extravagant!" "Emperor Jiajing's foot-washing water would be a rare treasure even outside!" However, while marveling at the extravagance of Emperor Jiajing's inner court, the audience was more curious. According to Chen Yu's previous writing, Lü Fang had already received news from Feng Bao about the Zhejiang officials hanging lanterns from the textile bureau to buy land.

Shouldn't we have told Jiajing right away? Why did they have to come up with this foot-washing thing? What does this mean?

Some audience members thought for a moment, then their eyes lit up with admiration, and they exclaimed in praise, "Changfang's move was brilliant!"

"Everyone should take note: if you have bad news to tell your boss in the workplace, you should never tell them the bad news directly."

"Otherwise, if the leader is angry, you, as the person who relayed the message, are likely to be the target of their anger. If the leader wants to take their anger out on you, they can find a thousand reasons, or even create one if there isn't one."

"For example, regarding the matter of buying land by hanging lanterns from the textile bureau, in his fury, Jiajing could have first scolded Lü Fang, asking what the people in the textile bureau were good for, and whether Lü Fang's godson, Yang Jinshui, was even capable of doing his job."

"Then Lu Fang's act of passing on the message is tantamount to inviting trouble."

"And don't forget, Lü Fang's information comes from Prince Yu. If he rushes in to deliver the message to Jiajing, won't Jiajing think that Lü Fang has sided with Prince Yu and is working for him?"

"That's why Lü Fang first did her job well and served Emperor Jiajing well. She used the foot-washing incident to show her devotion to Emperor Jiajing and to play the emotional card first. This way, she wouldn't get into trouble and could also show that she wasn't specifically relaying a message for Prince Yu, but was washing Emperor Jiajing's feet. The rest of the conversation was just a side note."

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!" After these audience members' explanations, the other audience members were also full of admiration. "Holy crap, the Ming Dynasty really is full of details everywhere."

"Lü Fang truly lives up to her reputation as a top-tier expert; her reporting skills are absolutely maxed out." She's a top-tier expert indeed! "Waaah, no wonder last time I passed a message to the boss, even though it wasn't my fault, he still yelled at me for ages! If I had seen this earlier, I might not only have avoided being scolded, but I might have even become the boss's confidant!"

"Nothing much to say, just memorize the whole thing!"

While the audience was marveling at the scene, a strange look flashed across Chen Yu's eyes.

Next comes a scene that amazed him when he watched the Ming Dynasty in his previous life, showcasing Lü Fang's unparalleled art of conversation!

As the keyboard clicked, in the script, after Lü Fang washed Emperor Jiajing's feet, she did something that left both the character in the script and the audience outside the script wide-eyed and completely bewildered.

Then, Lü Fang picked up the basin of wine that Jiajing had used to wash his feet and poured it back into the wine jar. Jiajing was astonished and asked him why he was pouring the wine back after washing his feet.

Lü Fang replied that the gifts should be given to the people below. Everyone felt that His Majesty was a deity, and they all hoped to receive anything that was imbued with divine energy.

Upon hearing this, some viewers thought to themselves, "Holy crap! That's some seriously amazing flattery!"

It's so natural and comfortable; the level of skill is simply phenomenal. I must learn from it!

The Jiajing Emperor was probably secretly delighted. His usual hobbies included riddles and pretending to be a deity. How could he not be pleased with Lü Fang's flattery?

However, Emperor Jiajing quickly straightened his face and told Lü Fang not to bestow gifts upon people, as it would make them sick. Upon hearing this, Lü Fang immediately choked up, turning away as if to wipe away sweat, but actually secretly wiping away tears. With Emperor Jiajing's keen observation, he naturally noticed Lü Fang's actions and quickly asked her what was wrong. Lü Fang then said...

[Hearing Master instruct me not to give this wine to the servants shows Master's compassionate heart.] [Thinking of how so many subjects and people of our Great Ming Dynasty depend on Master for protection, this servant feels sorrowful.] His words naturally steered the conversation to the people's livelihood, and Emperor Jiajing inquired whether any disasters had occurred. Lü Fang simply replied...

Shouldn't we have told Jiajing right away? Why did they have to come up with this foot-washing thing? What does this mean?

Some audience members thought for a moment, then their eyes lit up with admiration, and they exclaimed in praise, "Changfang's move was brilliant!"

"Everyone should take note: if you have bad news to tell your boss in the workplace, you should never tell them the bad news directly."

"Otherwise, if the leader is angry, you, as the person who relayed the message, are likely to be the target of their anger. If the leader wants to take their anger out on you, they can find a thousand reasons, or even create one if there isn't one."

"For example, regarding the matter of buying land by hanging lanterns from the textile bureau, in his fury, Jiajing could have first scolded Lü Fang, asking what the people in the textile bureau were good for, and whether Lü Fang's godson, Yang Jinshui, was even capable of doing his job."

"Then Lu Fang's act of passing on the message is tantamount to inviting trouble."

"And don't forget, Lü Fang's information comes from Prince Yu. If he rushes in to deliver the message to Jiajing, won't Jiajing think that Lü Fang has sided with Prince Yu and is working for him?"

"That's why Lü Fang first did her job well and served Emperor Jiajing well. She used the foot-washing incident to show her devotion to Emperor Jiajing and to play the emotional card first. This way, she wouldn't get into trouble and could also show that she wasn't specifically relaying a message for Prince Yu, but was washing Emperor Jiajing's feet. The rest of the conversation was just a side note."

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!" After these audience members' explanations, the other audience members were also full of admiration. "Holy crap, the Ming Dynasty really is full of details everywhere."

"Lü Fang truly lives up to her reputation as a top-tier expert; her reporting skills are absolutely maxed out." She's a top-tier expert indeed! "Waaah, no wonder last time I passed a message to the boss, even though it wasn't my fault, he still yelled at me for ages! If I had seen this earlier, I might not only have avoided being scolded, but I might have even become the boss's confidant!"

"Nothing much to say, just memorize the whole thing!"

While the audience was marveling at the scene, a strange look flashed across Chen Yu's eyes.

Next comes a scene that amazed him when he watched the Ming Dynasty in his previous life, showcasing Lü Fang's unparalleled art of conversation!

As the keyboard clicked, in the script, after Lü Fang washed Emperor Jiajing's feet, she did something that left both the character in the script and the audience outside the script wide-eyed and completely bewildered.

Then, Lü Fang picked up the basin of wine that Jiajing had used to wash his feet and poured it back into the wine jar. Jiajing was astonished and asked him why he was pouring the wine back after washing his feet.

Lü Fang replied that the gifts should be given to the people below. Everyone felt that His Majesty was a deity, and they all hoped to receive anything that was imbued with divine energy.

Upon hearing this, some viewers thought to themselves, "Holy crap! That's some seriously amazing flattery!"

It's so natural and comfortable; the level of skill is simply phenomenal. I must learn from it!

The Jiajing Emperor was probably secretly delighted. His usual hobbies included riddles and pretending to be a deity. How could he not be pleased with Lü Fang's flattery?

However, Emperor Jiajing quickly straightened his face and told Lü Fang not to bestow gifts upon people, as it would make them sick. Upon hearing this, Lü Fang immediately choked up, turning away as if to wipe away sweat, but actually secretly wiping away tears. With Emperor Jiajing's keen observation, he naturally noticed Lü Fang's actions and quickly asked her what was wrong. Lü Fang then said...

[Hearing Master instruct me not to give this wine to the servants shows Master's compassionate heart.] [Thinking of how so many subjects and people of our Great Ming Dynasty depend on Master for protection, this servant feels sorrowful.] His words naturally steered the conversation to the people's livelihood, and Emperor Jiajing inquired whether any disasters had occurred. Lü Fang simply replied...

Shouldn't we have told Jiajing right away? Why did they have to come up with this foot-washing thing? What does this mean?

Some audience members thought for a moment, then their eyes lit up with admiration, and they exclaimed in praise, "Changfang's move was brilliant!"

"Everyone should take note: if you have bad news to tell your boss in the workplace, you should never tell them the bad news directly."

"Otherwise, if the leader is angry, you, as the person who relayed the message, are likely to be the target of their anger. If the leader wants to take their anger out on you, they can find a thousand reasons, or even create one if there isn't one."

"For example, regarding the matter of buying land by hanging lanterns from the textile bureau, in his fury, Jiajing could have first scolded Lü Fang, asking what the people in the textile bureau were good for, and whether Lü Fang's godson, Yang Jinshui, was even capable of doing his job."

"Then Lu Fang's act of passing on the message is tantamount to inviting trouble."

"And don't forget, Lü Fang's information comes from Prince Yu. If he rushes in to deliver the message to Jiajing, won't Jiajing think that Lü Fang has sided with Prince Yu and is working for him?"

"That's why Lü Fang first did her job well and served Emperor Jiajing well. She used the foot-washing incident to show her devotion to Emperor Jiajing and to play the emotional card first. This way, she wouldn't get into trouble and could also show that she wasn't specifically relaying a message for Prince Yu, but was washing Emperor Jiajing's feet. The rest of the conversation was just a side note."

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!" After these audience members' explanations, the other audience members were also full of admiration. "Holy crap, the Ming Dynasty really is full of details everywhere."

"Lü Fang truly lives up to her reputation as a top-tier expert; her reporting skills are absolutely maxed out." She's a top-tier expert indeed! "Waaah, no wonder last time I passed a message to the boss, even though it wasn't my fault, he still yelled at me for ages! If I had seen this earlier, I might not only have avoided being scolded, but I might have even become the boss's confidant!"

"Nothing much to say, just memorize the whole thing!"

While the audience was marveling at the scene, a strange look flashed across Chen Yu's eyes.

Next comes a scene that amazed him when he watched the Ming Dynasty in his previous life, showcasing Lü Fang's unparalleled art of conversation!

As the keyboard clicked, in the script, after Lü Fang washed Emperor Jiajing's feet, she did something that left both the character in the script and the audience outside the script wide-eyed and completely bewildered.

Then, Lü Fang picked up the basin of wine that Jiajing had used to wash his feet and poured it back into the wine jar. Jiajing was astonished and asked him why he was pouring the wine back after washing his feet.

Lü Fang replied that the gifts should be given to the people below. Everyone felt that His Majesty was a deity, and they all hoped to receive anything that was imbued with divine energy.

Upon hearing this, some viewers thought to themselves, "Holy crap! That's some seriously amazing flattery!"

It's so natural and comfortable; the level of skill is simply phenomenal. I must learn from it!

The Jiajing Emperor was probably secretly delighted. His usual hobbies included riddles and pretending to be a deity. How could he not be pleased with Lü Fang's flattery?

However, Emperor Jiajing quickly straightened his face and told Lü Fang not to bestow gifts upon people, as it would make them sick. Upon hearing this, Lü Fang immediately choked up, turning away as if to wipe away sweat, but actually secretly wiping away tears. With Emperor Jiajing's keen observation, he naturally noticed Lü Fang's actions and quickly asked her what was wrong. Lü Fang then said...

[Hearing Master instruct me not to give this wine to the servants shows Master's compassionate heart.] [Thinking of how so many subjects and people of our Great Ming Dynasty depend on Master for protection, this servant feels sorrowful.] His words naturally steered the conversation to the people's livelihood, and Emperor Jiajing inquired whether any disasters had occurred. Lü Fang simply replied...