"You...you're spouting nonsense!"
Bai Qingyuan's voice trembled, as if he had suffered a great injustice.
"Slanderous accusations? Didn't you say that first? What, you can criticize me, but I can't criticize you?"
Jing Zhe sneered: "Grand Tutor Bai, you have quite the airs of an official!"
As he spoke, he reached into his waistband and pulled out a dagger—naturally, the Emperor's Sword bestowed upon him by Emperor An, which startled Bai Qingyuan.
"What...what do you want to do?"
"Nothing to do, just let it air out!"
"..."
"President Jing, put the Emperor's Sword away! What kind of behavior is this, in the imperial court, in front of all the civil and military officials?"
"Yes, Your Majesty..."
Jing Zhe reluctantly sheathed his sword, but before doing so, he pointed at Bai Qingyuan, who was trembling all over, whether from anger or fear, it was hard to tell.
After Jing Zhe sheathed his sword, Emperor An spoke up: "Grand Tutor Bai's intentions were good, but he was indeed overthinking things. This is just a myth; don't let your personal opinions get mixed in. Neither I nor the other ministers thought about it that way, and we still found it very entertaining, didn't we?"
Furthermore, if we truly interpret it according to Grand Tutor Bai's line of thinking, then the monkey was ultimately suppressed. Wouldn't that tell the common people that even a powerful monkey ultimately failed, so how could they, mere mortals, possibly succeed in their rebellion?
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Seeing this, the other ministers quickly bowed and flattered him.
Bai Qingyuan was still somewhat unconvinced: "That monkey is immortal and possesses supernatural powers. Who can guarantee that he won't reappear later in the story? Won't he continue to rebel?"
"..."
Jing Zhe sneered, "Since Grand Tutor Bai is so worried, I have a good idea."
"Oh? What?"
Emperor Andi asked curiously.
"that is--"
As he spoke, Jing Zhe walked to Bai Qingyuan's side and said, "From now on, it's best if Grand Tutor Bai doesn't read our Da'an Daily newspapers anymore, so as not to overthink things! Don't worry about things that don't concern you!"
After saying that, he snatched the newspaper from his hand and shoved it into Wu Xianyong's hand: "And the newspaper you lent him, he doesn't need to read it next time!"
Wu Xianyong: ...
Emperor An waved his hand, signaling him to say less.
He then smiled and said, "After reviewing the first three sections, I can only say that President Jing has done a pretty good job. I just wonder how the remaining current affairs and lifestyle sections are!"
"The title of this current events section... is quite strange..."
No sooner had Emperor An finished speaking than Duke Yu Shengxian, the Protector of the State, spoke up.
Jing Zhe's newspaper suited his taste perfectly, so he didn't join in the discussions when others were talking about it. Instead, he continued to look for the lifestyle section, which was of most interest to him. Before he even got to the lifestyle section, he was drawn to the headlines in the current affairs section!
Then he read it aloud.
"Shocking! A man in his sixties did this kind of thing in front of his wife and two daughters-in-law, and not just once!"
"..."
The others were startled and quickly looked down. What surprised them was not only the title, but also why such a sensational topic would appear in the current affairs section instead of the lifestyle section.
Wu Xianyong had the same idea, treating it as a spectacle, and hurried over to see what was going on. But when he saw the identity of the 60-year-old man, he was completely dumbfounded!
This is...
Another wave of pain shot through his groin. Wu Xianyong felt that coming to court was a mistake; if he hadn't come, at least he wouldn't have been humiliated in front of all the ministers…
He then looked at the culprit, Jing Zhe, his eyes filled with malice.
Jing Zhe also felt Wu Xianyong's gaze, turned around to look at him with a smile, and waved his hand with a humble expression.
"Minister Wu, there's no need to thank me. It's all I should do! After all, you were thinking of cheering me on at the hunting grounds, and your grandson used to be a member of our newspaper. It's my duty to promote you, so please don't take it to heart!"
"..."
Upon hearing this, the officials looked at Wu Xianyong's dejected figure. Although they felt some sympathy, for some reason, they also felt an urge to laugh...
...
The current affairs section's main theme is "promoting" Wu Xianyong, which is correct.
Then, through this main theme, it is actually to urge local officials at all levels to keep in mind the guiding principle of "serving the people and putting the public interest first".
The main storyline first lists a series of events involving Wu Xianyong's daughter's family. First, his son-in-law harassed women in Jingzhou and was demoted to the position of prefect in Yongzhou. Then, his grandson, Lin Wenyao, acted tyrannically in Yongzhou and even tried to harass Princess Mochen.
The outcome was dire. Fortunately, Wu Xianyong severed ties with the family in time. The newspaper praised Wu Xianyong's "righteousness in sacrificing family ties" style. However, the officials were not fools. Everyone knew that Wu Xianyong's move was to cut his losses in time and had nothing to do with sacrificing family ties for the greater good.
Then it goes on to write about various things concerning Wu Xianyong's son, Wu Yong, and grandson, Wu De, which of course aren't good either. Finally, it praises Wu Xianyong, saying he "remains untainted by the mud," implying that the whole family is rotten and only he is good...
When Wu Xianyong read this, his face turned green.
If a child is not taught, it is the father's fault.
According to the newspaper, the younger generation of the Wu family, from men to women, are all rotten, yet he claims to be a good man as their father—if he doesn't believe it himself, how can anyone else?
If all of this was a deliberate attempt to warn Wu Xianyong and inform the people that corrupt officials and tyrannical officials would be punished by the court and that they should trust the court, then he would accept it.
But once these things are written in the newspapers, all the people of Jingzhou will know. Will anyone still believe Wu Xianyong? Will anyone still believe the Wu family?
Since his injury, he has become somewhat estranged from the Xiang King's camp, and with this newspaper's actions, no one dares to take him anymore!
It seems that Wu Xianyong has already foreseen his bleak future.
If that were all, he could bear it. After all, the fates of his daughter and son had already been made public. Writing about it in the newspapers would just be another round of public humiliation.
But what he couldn't bear the most was that in the end, they actually wrote about how he lost his manhood!
I'm still praising him, but the more I look at him, the angrier I get!
"As expected of the Vice Minister of War, Wu was a man of unyielding integrity. While watching General Jinghong spar with the number one warrior of Southern Qi, he ignored the advice of others and stood outside without regard for his own safety. In the end, his manhood was cut off by a shattered blade during the competition."
But Vice Minister Wu remained resilient; he got out of bed that day, was out in the fields the next morning, and was able to move around in the courtyard by the afternoon! During a visit from President Jing Zhe of our society, he refused to accept gifts and, in front of his wife, repeatedly reprimanded his daughter-in-law to come inside. Although he lacked masculine traits, he displayed true manhood, which is admirable!
When Wu Xianyong saw this, he was so angry he almost vomited blood.
But most importantly, he had nothing to say!
Because what was written in the newspaper was exactly the same as the actual situation, there was really no point in refuting it!
The look in his eyes as he gazed at Jing Zhe was even more sinister…
————
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