Chapter 18: Indulging in Erotica is the Primary Productive Force

After walking for about twenty minutes, Han San stopped in front of a secluded alley.

Zhang Yunxiu took a look; the alley was deep and quiet, with only one small house showing a faint light, and some restless sounds seemed to be coming from inside.

Strange, what could be fun here?

While Zhang Yunxiu was wondering, the Wanli Emperor pointed at the house's plaque and asked with a frown, "Is this a bookstore?"

Han San smiled, answered "Yes," and then led Wanli and Zhang Yunxiu forward.

Upon entering the small house, there was a whole new world inside; the lights were bright, and the shelves were filled with a vast collection of books.

Several pale-faced young men were staring intently at the books in their hands, their eyes shining with a hungry, thirsty look.

The Wanli Emperor only glanced at them, feeling very dissatisfied, and said, "What is fun about this place? Boring, boring! Let's go, this place is not fun at all."

"Young Master, please be patient." Han San smiled and led Zhang Yunxiu and Wanli into an inner compartment.

Signaling the two to wait a moment, he walked out for a few steps and returned shortly after, holding several picture albums and books in his hands.

"Please, two young masters, take a good look."

Zhang Yunxiu was half-doubting, and he flipped open one at random to take a look.

He saw that it actually depicted a woman with her clothes half-undone, kneeling on the ground in an extremely bizarre posture.

Behind her stood a man, and the two were exchanging amorous glances, as inseparable as glue and lacquer.

Damn it, this was actually a piece of erotica with pictures.

In the spirit of critical analysis, Zhang Yunxiu continued to flip through it.

The postures further on became increasingly bold and soul-stirring, enough to make one's blood surge like a dragon and one's lower abdomen heat up.

Sure enough, erotica is the primary productive force.

Just as Zhang Yunxiu was lamenting the wisdom of the ancients, the Wanli Emperor beside him was already mesmerized.

Although he had seen some picture books, they were far too conservative compared to these. Looking at the woman in the pictures, he thought of his own Empress.

That fair, tender body and the fragrant scent made him linger and forget to return.

After reading to his heart's content in one go, Wanli's cheeks were as red as a boiled ox head. To cover up his loss of composure, he deliberately put on a straight face and said, "These booklets are no good, not good to look at."

"Sun Hai!"

"This servant is here." Sun Hai immediately squeezed in.

"I bestow these booklets upon you; remember to take them all back to the palace," Wanli said, looking at Sun Hai and pointing at the albums on the table.

"Ah?!" Sun Hai cried out in shock, shaking his head, "Your Majesty, this servant is a eunuch, this..."

"This what? I said I bestow them upon you, so I bestow them upon you." Wanli's tone allowed no questioning. Sun Hai had no choice but to pick up the books and stuff them into his pockets, though he harbored resentment toward Han San in his heart.

Why on earth did you bring the Emperor here? If the Empress Dowager finds out, will I still have my life?

Having obtained the treasures, Wanli was satisfied and walked out jauntily, preparing to see if there were any other good items.

Zhang Yunxiu smiled and shook his head, saying, "The booklets we have here aren't considered the best; they aren't as good as those from Woguo."

"Woguo?"

"Yes, for example, Master Matsushima, Master Mikami, Master Sanchun, Master Momonoki, Master Ryuzawa, and Master Asuka Kirara—these are all famous masters in Woguo."

"Why have I never heard of them?" Wanli asked with a frown.

"This subject also saw it in an ancient book, which said that most women in Woguo are proficient in this art," Zhang Yunxiu bluffed.

"Wonderful!" The Wanli Emperor clapped his hands and shouted, "If I have the chance, I must go to Woguo to see."

There will be a chance.

Zhang Yunxiu whispered to himself.

After leaving the shop, the time had reached the end of the You hour.

Except for the brothels, which were still brightly lit and filled with endless singing, most of Beijing had gone dark. Wanli, however, had not lost his desire to play and clamored to stroll around some more.

Zhang Yunxiu dared not indulge him further and hurriedly advised, "Your Majesty, there will be other days; enter the village quietly, and don't fire any shots."

"What shooting, what kind of nonsense is that?"

"This subject means that since you were able to come out this time, you must return quietly and quickly, and we can come out again in the future."

"Alright then." Wanli sighed deeply, then suddenly looked at Zhang Yunxiu urgently and asked, "Then can I come out again tomorrow?"

If you want me dead, just say so! Zhang Yunxiu felt a lump in his throat and didn't know how to answer him.

"I'm asking you, speak up." The Wanli Emperor was getting anxious.

Zhang Yunxiu didn't expect this guy to turn his face so quickly, so he gritted his teeth and replied, "Your Majesty, stay in the palace with peace of mind for these few days. In at most a month, this subject will definitely take you out of the palace gates again."

"A month is too long; half a month, at most half a month." The Wanli Emperor shook his head repeatedly.

"Half a month..."

"You are not allowed to defy me, otherwise I will punish you for the crime of bewitching the monarch and taking me out of the palace without authorization!"

Ah?!

Zhang Yunxiu was stunned, then nodded in agreement.

"That's more like it," the Wanli Emperor said with a smile, patting Zhang Yunxiu on the shoulder, and looking at Sun Hai, "Let's go, let's return to the palace."

Zhang Yunxiu was not at ease, so he led his men to escort the Emperor all the way to the Forbidden City before returning.

Watching the Emperor enter the city, Zhang Yunxiu felt a sense of relief in his heart, and when he touched his back, it was already soaked through.

He now knew what it meant to say that accompanying the Emperor is like accompanying a tiger.

Shameless!

Seeing his young master's expression, Zhang Fu frowned and complained, "Young Master, this Emperor is too hard to serve."

Zhang Yunxiu looked at Zhang Fu and shook his head, "Hey, the Emperor is like a donkey that needs to be stroked in the direction of its fur; you have to go along with him, and he will lend you his power. If you don't go along with him, he won't say anything to your face, but he will be angry inside, and if he turns against you later, who can control him?"

"That's right, if we coax the Emperor well, the world will be at peace," Han San also sighed with emotion.

After they finished speaking, they looked at each other and smiled, then walked away jauntily.

By the time the Wanli Emperor arrived at the Qianqing Palace, it was already the end of the Hour of the Dog, yet he felt not a hint of sleepiness. He washed up briefly, put on his undergarments, and lay on the dragon bed, his mind filled with the fresh novelties from outside.

Having been emperor for so many years, only today did he truly experience what it meant to enjoy being emperor.

To have one's word carry the weight of nine tripods and have all officials bow in submission—this was what it meant to be an emperor! He finally understood why the Wuzong Emperor had insisted on leading campaigns in person, traveling incognito, and building the Leopard Quarter.

Compared to the tedious affairs of state and the confinement of the Forbidden City, everything outside was so novel. As he was thinking this, a stern, humorless face suddenly popped into his mind.

It was none other than Zhang Juzheng.

The Wanli Emperor shuddered, nearly crying out loud.

Soon, that face vanished, replaced by the gentle countenance of Zhang Yunxiu.

The Wanli Emperor let out a long sigh of relief and lamented, "If only Master Zhang, Big Companion, and the Empress could treat me the way Zhang Yunxiu does. Only he truly treats me like an emperor."

Thinking of Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao, he felt both love and hate.

He loved them for governing the world well and managing the Inner Court well, respectively. He hated them for monopolizing power and acting arbitrarily, stripping him, the emperor, of all authority and turning him into a mere puppet in their hands.

"Forget it, do whatever you want; as long as I have money to spend and fun to find, that's all that matters." Thinking this, the Wanli Emperor felt much more balanced.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the palace gate.

Following that, a shrill, thin voice drifted in: "Your Majesty, the Empress has sent someone to ask if you have gone to sleep yet."

The Wanli Emperor scrambled off the bed, put on his clothes and trousers, and ran outside with a thud-thud-thud.

(End of this chapter)