This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

Upon hearing this, Wen Yanbo said irritably:

"Come on, I know you too well. You're not going to supervise the Imperial Physician, you're just making trouble for Zhao Shida."

Zhang Xingcheng raised his head and said, "Doctor Wen may have such suspicions, but I do not agree. I am here to supervise the Imperial Physician. If Doctor Wen thinks I am acting out of personal revenge, you can send someone else with me to supervise. I am doing my duty and have a clear conscience."

That's true, he does follow the rules... Wen Yanbo thought.

But there was one person who repeatedly defied the rules, and even pulled off some fancy tricks...

Wen Yanbo stared at him and changed the subject:

"The palace banquet is about to begin. You're on the guest list. If you go to the Imperial Medical Bureau now and His Majesty finds you absent, he'll question you. Can you bear the consequences?"

Zhang Xingcheng's expression turned serious, and he said, "Doctor Wen still thinks that tonight's banquet can continue?"

Seeing that Wen Yanbo remained unmoved, Zhang Xingcheng continued:

"The court officials have fought amongst themselves, and one has already been injured. His Majesty is aware of this, so how could he be in the mood to host a banquet for his officials? Tonight's banquet will have to end hastily, and whether I am here or not is irrelevant."

Wen Yanbo put his hands behind his back, looked up at the fiery clouds on the horizon, and sighed:

"You're right. His Majesty will surely be furious when he finds out about this... I've warned Cheng Jun countless times not to act recklessly, but he hasn't listened at all!"

Wen Yanbo grew angrier the more he thought about it and said, "Let's not talk about him anymore. Come on, let's go. I'll go with you to the Imperial Medical Bureau."

Zhang Xingcheng remained motionless and said to him, "Doctor Wen should go to Linde Hall now to plead for Cheng Jun before His Majesty. After all, Cheng Jun is one of our Censorate members."

Upon hearing this, Wen Yanbo waved his hand and said, "There's no need for me. Cheng Jun has his own way of dealing with His Majesty."

Zhang Xingcheng frowned and said, "If His Majesty questions me, can Cheng Jun escape?"

Wen Yanbo patiently said, "You just came back from Jeju, so you don't know. Cheng Jun is a slippery fellow. He caused so much trouble, but he's still doing fine, isn't he?"

"You know His Majesty's temper isn't that good."

There are three reasons why we can tolerate Cheng Jun.

Wen Yanbo held up three fingers, then bent one and said:

"Firstly, His Majesty heavily relies on officials who speak out."

"The fundamental principle of giving important positions to officials who speak out is not to punish them. Only in this way will officials dare to speak freely."

“That kid Cheng Jun has figured this out, which is why he dares to say anything in front of His Majesty.”

Wen Yanbo bent his second finger and said:

"Secondly, Cheng Jun is indeed quite capable. Don't underestimate him because of his young age. Some of the things he does are things that no one else in the entire court could come up with even if they racked their brains."

Zhang Xingcheng nodded and said, "When I was in Jizhou, I heard about the new system of monthly salary implemented by the imperial court."

"It is said that Cheng Jun was ordered to catch the money, which enabled His Majesty to abolish the public office capital and the money-catching clerk without affecting the implementation of the monthly salary system, thus leading to the new monthly salary system we have today."

Zhang Xingcheng remarked with admiration, "This alone is enough to demonstrate Cheng Jun's capabilities."

Wen Yanbo stroked his beard and said, "That's why he is so favored by His Majesty. As long as Cheng Jun doesn't go too far, His Majesty will turn a blind eye."

Of course, His Majesty has to turn a blind eye to Cheng Jun's excessive actions... Such talent is rare indeed.

Wen Yanbo muttered to himself.

At this moment, Zhang Xingcheng's curious voice came: "What is the third reason?"

Wen Yanbo lowered his arms and slowly said, "Thirdly, as I just mentioned, Cheng Jun is like an eel, extremely slippery."

"For example, if something happens, everyone can see that the problem lies with Cheng Jun, but when it comes to Cheng Jun, the problem inexplicably shifts to someone else, and he doesn't take any responsibility at all."

Wen Yanbo thought for a moment and used this incident as an example:

"Take the case of Zhao Shida being beaten as an example. Why was Zhao Shida beaten? Because of the seating arrangement."

Zhang Xingcheng spoke up to remind them, "No, the seating arrangement is made by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."

Wen Yanbo solemnly said, "Cheng Jun went to supervise."

Zhang Xingcheng reminded him again: "The censors have the power of supervision, but they cannot interfere with the affairs of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, otherwise it would be overstepping their authority."

“The people of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices can completely refuse Cheng Jun’s request.”

Wen Yanbo countered, "What if Cheng Jun requests an imperial decree?"

"..."

Zhang Xingcheng was taken aback, then pondered, "If that's the case, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices will have to cooperate and arrange Zhao Shida's seat at the front..."

Wen Yanbo shrugged and said, "That's right. If Cheng Jun makes a suggestion at this time, wouldn't it be natural for Zhao Shida to sit in front of Yuchi Jingde?"

Zhang Xingcheng suddenly realized, and said in a strange tone, "No wonder you said Cheng Jun was like an eel. In that case, it turns out that Zhao Shida was beaten because His Majesty arranged Zhao Shida's seat before Yuchi Jingde's..."

Seeing his strange expression, Wen Yanbo laughed and said, "Have you noticed something? Suddenly, Cheng Jun is no longer involved!"

Zhang Xingcheng thought for a moment, then shook his head and said:

"No, Your Majesty is a man of both literary and military prowess, wise and brave. How could you not see the problem? Cheng Jun is not without fault that Zhao Shida was beaten!"

Wen Yanbo said decisively, "You're wrong. Cheng Jun will definitely be able to get away with it."

Zhang Xingcheng asked, "How can we absolve ourselves of responsibility?"

Wen Yanbo choked on his words, somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, and said, "I'm not a mind reader for Cheng Jun, so how would I know how he got out of there? However, based on my understanding of this kid, he must have a way."

"If you don't believe me, you can go and see for yourself at the Linde Hall."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xingcheng resolutely refused, saying, "I'm not going. I'm going to the Imperial Medical Academy."

You're really determined... Wen Yanbo smirked, then patted Zhang Xingcheng on the shoulder and said:

"Let's go, I'll go with you."

"By the way, tell me what was written in your more than four hundred memorials?"

Zhang Xingcheng asked in surprise, "Doctor Wen is also curious about what wrong things Zhao Shida has done?"

Wen Yanbo rolled his eyes and said, "What am I curious about!"

"It's all because of you. You took so many memorials to His Majesty, and in a fit of anger, His Majesty sent all the memorials back to the Censorate and even issued an edict ordering me to read them first."

Wen Yanbo complained, "There are so many memorials, how long will it take to read them all? You are the person involved, so you must remember what was written in the memorials. Now, read the contents of those four hundred memorials to me."

"..."

How did we end up going in circles again...? Zhang Xingcheng was stunned for a moment, then suddenly thought of something and asked:

"Is this His Majesty's intention?"

Seeing that he had noticed, Wen Yanbo sighed and said, "Otherwise, did you really think His Majesty wanted me to read the memorials you wrote?"

"His Majesty returned the memorial to me and asked me to read it first. His meaning is very clear: he wants me to deal with you."

After patiently explaining, Wen Yanbo also offered a solution, saying:

"Give me a concise summary of what those four hundred-plus memorials contained. You don't need to go into details; I just need a general idea to report to His Majesty."