In the Imperial Garden.

Emperor Jing was walking in front, with Guo Tianyang serving beside him.

Fang Zhengyi and Xu Wenshu followed him half a step behind.

Fang Zheng was still holding the deer in one hand.

"My two beloved ministers, did you come to me just to give me a deer?" Emperor Jing said, "I have a few deer in my garden, they are not rare."

Fang Zhengyi coughed lightly and said, "Your Majesty, yesterday was my birthday and someone gave me this deer, but I heard from Miao Han that this deer was a tribute from the emperor."

"I thought, since it is a tribute from the emperor, it would be inappropriate to send it to me. After much consideration, I decided to send it to Your Majesty."

"Ah." Emperor Jing stopped, turned around and nodded twice, "I heard about it from Guo Banban yesterday."

As he spoke, he smiled and said, "You don't think I will be angry because of such a small matter, do you?"

This damn eunuch really went to tip off the police!

Fang Zheng glanced at Guo Tianyang.

Guo Tianyang had a blank expression on his face, pretending nothing had happened.

There was no other way. This was his duty. No matter how good his personal relationship with Fang Zhengyi was, he still had to report some things to His Majesty.

Don't let any bad signal go.

He is not panicking!

Fang Zheng said, "Your Majesty has a heart as broad as the universe. I naturally don't think that Your Majesty is angry over such a small matter. Moreover, I am not here today to give you a deer. In fact, there is another matter related to this deer."

"Oh?" Emperor Jing raised his eyebrows, "Tell me about it."

Fang Zheng nodded and said, "It was my birthday yesterday, so I held a banquet, but I didn't send out invitations. So everyone can come. There were more than a hundred guests, most of whom were officials of all ranks in the capital."

"Someone happened to send this deer here, so I came up with a plan to try it out on the many guests."

"So I called a horse a deer in public, hoping to see how many sycophants there are."

The corners of Emperor Jing's mouth slowly curved into an arc.

Calling a deer a horse? That's interesting.

"Well, why did you suddenly think of this on your birthday? Go on."

Fang Zheng said, "I was also inspired at that time. I am the commander of the Jinyiwei, and the Jinyiwei are your majesty's eyes and ears. It is the Jinyiwei's duty to supervise all officials and maintain discipline in the officialdom."

"I have been an official for so many years that my duty has already become part of my instincts. That's why I was inspired and wanted to give it a try when all the officials gathered together."

"I called a horse a zebra, and I thought that the people present would strongly refute me, but the actual situation was far beyond my expectations. As soon as I said it, no one dared to object."

Emperor Jing frowned.

No one dared to refute...the situation does sound a bit bad.

"Fortunately, dozens of young people stood up and left the meeting angrily. Some even dared to loudly accuse me of forming a clique for personal gain, insisting that a deer is a deer!"

"These people are truly role models for scholars in Dajing. They are not afraid of power and are upright and incorruptible."

Emperor Jing's brows relaxed.

Guo Tianyang showed a trace of fear on his face, and suddenly felt something was wrong...

Fang Zheng changed the subject and said, "As for the majority of the rest, they acted in a very ugly way during the banquet, constantly offering flattery. They have no bottom line! No sense of shame!"

"I have always hated evil and I hate flatterers. What these people said made me blush and feel ashamed. They make me feel sick!"

Xu Wenshu also felt extremely disgusted after hearing this, and even wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Yesterday at the banquet, your Lord's mouth was almost stretched to the back of his ears. He was afraid that the praise was not enough, so he had to add a few words.

And when it comes to flattery...it seems that your Excellency has no rival in Dajing so far...

However, Fang Zheng's performance really impressed him.

Xu Wenshu quietly glanced at Fang Zheng who was still talking.

He is meticulous and cunning as a fox, and even now that he is in a high position he dare not relax for a moment.

Such evil behavior has never been seen before in ancient times.

If he continues to maintain this style, I'm afraid no one will be able to shake his position even a little bit until the day he dies.

Fortunately...he is a good man, and everything he does is for his country and his family.

Comparing the two...I am really old and completely out of touch with the times.

Fang Zheng sighed and said, "I finished this play yesterday and gained a lot of experience."

"Seek truth from facts. These four simple words are easy to say, but how many people can do it?"

"Not just following one's own mind, not just following one's superiors, but just following the facts. How many officials in the court can accomplish this? I think there are very few."

"The more this happens, the more I feel that my work is inadequate and I feel ashamed of your majesty's support."

"At the banquet yesterday, I have asked Lord Xu to write down a list of the villains who were present and the gentlemen who left. The gentlemen can be reused as appropriate, and the villains must be carefully supervised. Your Majesty, please take a look at it."

Xu Wenshu stepped forward and took out a list that had been prepared long ago from his sleeve.

Emperor Jing eagerly took the list and looked through it carefully.

Grass!

Guo Tianyang's scalp felt numb and his eyes rolled around.

Finished!

Not only did this guy explain the matter away, he also went up and flattered the guy.

What should I do if I want to seek revenge on him later? This time I made a bad move!

Thinking of this, Guo Tianyang quickly reached into his sleeve and dug twice.

After reading the list, Emperor Jing stopped where he was and muttered, "Calling a deer and calling it a horse... What a great call a deer and calling it a horse!"

With the prevalence of the Internet in later generations, unofficial history has attracted people's attention, and coupled with the large number of illiterate people, the original meaning has been misinterpreted. This behavior constitutes calling a horse a deer.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!