After their minds were read, the entire court trembled with fear.

Chapter 21: Male, enjoys cross-dressing.

Nine years of compulsory education?

what is that?

At this moment, all the civil and military officials held their breath and focused their attention. Sometimes, interesting things would pop into Shen Zhiyi's little head.

The old emperor's constant rambling stemmed from widespread illiteracy. Those who were educated understood that he wouldn't casually beat the petition drum, but the uneducated didn't grasp these concepts. For example, if an old woman said the old emperor would distribute money, a whole bunch of people would flock to him.

If literacy education is done thoroughly, at least a large part of the problem can be solved at its root.

The old emperor slightly opened his mouth, and when he looked up, he saw his ministers below shaking their heads in unison.

With so many people in Daye, literacy campaigns would be an extremely long-term project. Besides, if most people were literate, who would farm the land?

Who in this world who knows a few words isn't obsessed with passing the imperial examinations and gaining fame? Once the fields are abandoned and the foundation of Da Ye is destroyed, then their true energy is exhausted.

However, this method is completely unsuitable for this era.

The courtiers were astonished: You knew it, yet you still spoke of it!

The old emperor did establish the Censorate, didn't he?

The old emperor's eyes lit up, and he immediately made the decision.

"Starting today, move the petition drum at the Meridian Gate to the Censorate. The six censors will take turns sitting on it. Anyone who strikes the petition drum must be investigated to determine which department is responsible. Oh, by the way, I will compile a list of cases, and those that meet the criteria can be submitted directly to me."

The eyes of the Left and Right Censors-in-Chief lit up instantly. If there weren't so many people around, they would have dragged Shen Zhiyi out for drinks—no, for a big meal.

The Censorate evolved from the Imperial Censorate of the previous dynasty. Although it was supposed to "investigate and impeach all officials, clarify injustices, supervise all provinces, and serve as the emperor's eyes and ears and discipline," in reality, it spent its days reporting on people (scolding them), oh no, I mean impeaching them, and they even had to submit joint petitions to impeach them!

Shen Zhiyi was also impeached.

She gets up earlier than the chickens and goes to bed later than the dogs every day. Others dare not doze off during court sessions, but Shen Zhiyi couldn't help it; she fell asleep standing up.

Don't ask, it's a skill I honed back in school.

Not only was she asleep, but she was also seen by censors from the Censorate, who then jointly submitted a memorial impeaching her.

Shen Zhiyi was first stunned, then happily waited for her official hat to be removed. Even if she wasn't removed, being demoted would be fine, as it would keep her away from the old emperor.

But nothing happened, and from then on, the censors of the Censorate would avoid her whenever they saw her.

The Left and Right Censors were deeply moved; the old emperor had finally remembered them.

What's so useful about the Dragon Scale Guards? They're just a bunch of brainless brutes!

With one worry resolved, the old emperor didn't keep the ministers around. Just then, he felt the urge to relieve himself and went to the toilet.

Shen Zhiyi's eyes lit up; she loved writing these kinds of things the most.

[At the hour of You (5-7 PM), the emperor relieves himself.]

[Hehe, the old emperor, who's been holding it in all day, can finally take a nice dump.]

The old emperor almost tripped over his own foot as he went out. Although he didn't mind people speaking a little roughly, this was just too rough.

Shen Zhiyi turned her head, looking somewhat conflicted.

[I won't stand outside the door when the old emperor takes a dump. I've already noted it all down. I can't keep recording it for much longer. Whether it's dry or runny, no, that's not the point. The point is I don't want to see other people's hooks.]

The old emperor left in a rage, but the two recorders were left behind. They would be summoned by eunuchs when the old emperor finished using the latrine.

At this moment, the Left Censor-in-Chief approached.

"Shen Lang".

Shen Zhiyi was terrified; this was a high-ranking official of the second rank, and she couldn't be careless.

"Uh……"

[Aaaaaah, oh my god, what's his name again? What's his last name? Help!]

Upon seeing this, Zhang Sheren immediately stepped forward and bowed.

"This humble official greets Imperial Censor Jiang."

Oh right, his surname is Jiang.

"This humble official greets Lord Jiang."

Imperial Censor Jiang was slightly taken aback and asked curiously, "Is this how Shen Lang usually addresses others as 'Your Excellency'?"

"Uh, is there a problem?"

[They call him "Master," that's how it's portrayed in TV dramas!]

Imperial Censor Jiang turned around and looked at the high-ranking officials behind him, each of them looking up at the sky and down at the ground.

"No, no problem." Imperial Censor Jiang chuckled and began to explain his purpose: "If you have time in the future, please invite Shen Lang to my humble abode for a get-together."

[No one visits a temple without a reason; a weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken is never a good deed. Why is Imperial Censor Jiang suddenly inviting me to dinner? Something's fishy!]

The assembled officials exclaimed in amazement, "Shen Zhiyi, you can actually use so many sophisticated words!"

【Oh, I see. Well, Imperial Censor Jiang likes to dress as a woman, and your wife saw it. Now she's going to burn all the clothes you bought, and you can't bear to part with them, so you're thinking of giving them to someone else.】

Suddenly, everything went quiet.

At this moment, the old emperor, who was relieving himself, revealed a lewd smile.

He said to Chen Decai beside him, "Interesting, really interesting. I didn't expect Imperial Censor Jiang to be such a remarkable person."

Chen Decai originally couldn't hear Shen Zhiyi's thoughts either. After a period of evaluation, the old emperor discovered that as long as someone had an official seal, they could hear Shen Zhiyi's thoughts. So he simply gave Chen Decai an official position.

That way, when we hear Shen Zhiyi's interesting thoughts later, even if the ministers aren't around, at least Chen Decai is.

Chen Decai laughed and said, "In my opinion, Shen Lang is the real genius."

The old emperor thought for a moment, chuckled, and nodded, saying, "Indeed, indeed."

At home, Imperial Censor Jiang disguises himself as a woman, while Shen Zhiyi disguises herself as a man outside; they are truly remarkable.

[The Left Censor-in-Chief originally intended to leave his favorite clothes with his servant, but his wife quickly found them, making it unsafe.]

[Later, she stuffed the clothes into her son's hands, but her daughter-in-law thought he had taken a concubine again. The couple argued constantly, making the household uneasy.]

Thus, the Left Censor-in-Chief had to discard two of his favorite dresses, and decided to leave them outside.

He had already bought the house, but then he heard there had been thieves in the capital recently, and he became worried. So he decided to find someone he trusted to keep it safe.

Upon seeing this, Shen Zhiyi fell silent.

The last face looked like it was constipated.

[He probably thought it through and concluded that I, a single dog, was the most suitable person to stay in Beijing without parents?]

Imperial Censor Jiang hadn't expected Shen Zhiyi's thinking to be so unconventional.

No, he should have known earlier. After all, when the Right Censor-in-Chief accidentally fell on dog poop, she spread the rumor that he liked to eat dog poop.

Imperial Censor Jiang said he regretted it; why did he have to come to Shen Zhiyi's place to make his presence known?

Now everyone knows he likes to wear women's clothing.

At this moment, the eunuch came over and rescued Imperial Censor Jiang.

Shen Zhiyi and Zhang Sheren continued their arduous task of recording the old emperor's words and actions throughout the day.

[What's there to remember? After emptying your stomach, you have to eat; after eating, you have to check the children's homework; after that, you have to approve memorials; and after that, you have to decide which concubine to favor. No wonder emperors in history all died young.]

"thump."

Chen Decai and Zhang Sheren both knelt down, while Shen Zhiyi knelt down with a bewildered expression.

【Seriously, are these two crazy? They're always jumping around like that, kneeling down for no reason. Don't they know they should only kneel to heaven, earth, and their parents, and not to anyone else?】