I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 766: King of a Different Surname

Chapter 766 The King of Different Surnames

Kunning Palace.

Empress Zhou gave Wang Wenzhou a reproachful look and complained, "Boxin, stop fooling around! What if you upset the baby?"

Empress Zhou was several months pregnant and her pregnancy was already showing. Therefore, fearing that it would harm the fetus, she forbade Wang Wenzhou from having sex, which made Wang Wenzhou very angry.

Wang Wenzhou pouted and said sadly, "Sister-in-law, you don't love me anymore!"

"My nemesis!" Empress Zhou quickly hugged Wang Wenzhou and kissed him.

After the kiss, Empress Zhou said earnestly, "Boxin, you have to think about the child in your womb. He's still so young. You can't deny him the chance to even see the world!"

Wang Wenzhou said with a wry smile, "Sister-in-law, it's alright! Don't listen to their nonsense! Who says you can't have sex when you're pregnant? That's simply inhumane! How can a man in his prime go so long without sex?"

"Boxin! If you keep making trouble, I'll really get angry! Take your hands out right now! Listen to me, aren't there Liu Rushi and Gao Guiying? Or should I secretly find you a palace maid?" Empress Zhou had no choice but to take a roundabout approach to deal with Wang Wenzhou, this troublesome man.

Wang Wenzhou shook his head helplessly. "Ignorance is truly terrifying! How can you not observe postpartum confinement? You'll get postpartum illnesses! How can you not bind your feet? You'll never get married! How can you not hoard salt? Iodized salt can protect against radiation!"

"Sister-in-law, I'll just rub against her for a bit, I won't go inside, okay?" Wang Wenzhou pleaded desperately. He hadn't seen Empress Zhou for almost half a month, and absence makes the heart grow fonder; he really missed her.

"Slap!" Empress Zhou was furious. She slapped Wang Wenzhou across the face and shouted, "Get out! If you don't get out, I'll kill myself! If you don't want the child, I won't live either!"

"Sister-in-law, stop it! I'll leave, okay?" Wang Wenzhou quickly scurried away.

"Sigh..." Empress Zhou sighed, she really couldn't do anything about this troublesome person.

"Wait! Come back!" Empress Zhou suddenly remembered that there was something important she hadn't said yet.

Wang Wenzhou was overjoyed when he heard this, and jumped onto the bed excitedly and started taking off his clothes!

Empress Zhou was furious. This wretched man, how could he be so careless? All he could think about was sex!

"Who told you to take off your clothes?" Empress Zhou asked irritably.

Wang Wenzhou was stunned for a moment, then said with a wry smile, "Sister-in-law, it was you who told me to come back!"

"Stop fooling around! I have something serious to tell you, sit down properly!" Empress Zhou said solemnly.

"Mmm!" Wang Wenzhou nodded, sat down next to Empress Zhou, hugged her and kissed her, then slipped his hand inside her clothes.

Empress Zhou shook her head with a wry smile. "Let him touch me a few times, just don't make a fuss and disturb the baby. Son, your father is a bit frivolous, please bear with him."

"Boxin, I've heard word that the Emperor has subdued the Donglin Party. What do you plan to do now?" Empress Zhou asked Wang Wenzhou, her concern for the child in her womb. She couldn't let the child's father die before the baby was even born.

Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, don't worry! Zhu Youjian is still letting me sleep with you, which means he doesn't dare to kill me yet! Although I don't know the current situation in Hanshan, as long as Zhu Youjian hasn't taken Hanshan, I'm safe!"

Empress Zhou nodded, and suddenly burst into tears.

What?! Wang Wenzhou was completely dumbfounded. What was going on? Everything was fine just now! The change of attitude was too fast!

"Sister-in-law! What's wrong with you again? I won't touch you anymore, okay?" Wang Wenzhou quickly pulled his hand away.

"You nemesis!" Empress Zhou glanced at Wang Wenzhou with a sorrowful look, wiped away her tears, and said worriedly, "Boxin, if the child in my womb is born, will he be surnamed Zhu or Wang?"

Wang Wenzhou quickly said, "Sister-in-law, of course he should be surnamed Zhou! According to our family tradition, he should be called Zhou Xiaohua!"

"Sigh..." Empress Zhou sighed, looking at Wang Wenzhou, thinking to herself, "My darling, how can you be so carefree? Yes! Zhu Youjian has tacitly approved of the relationship between you and me, but once the child is born, there will be one more person in the palace. Not to mention that too many people will gossip, what if Zhu Youjian sees our child and can't help himself and kills him?"

"Boxin, do you really want to be confined to the palace for the rest of your life?" Empress Zhou asked.

"Give me liberty or give me death! Sister-in-law, don't worry, I have a plan! Although Zhu Youjian has evidence of the Donglin Party's crimes, there are so many members in the Donglin Party, can Zhu Youjian kill them all? If he kills all the Donglin Party members, who will assist him in governing the country?" Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, don't worry!"

As he spoke, Wang Wenzhou reached his hand inside Empress Zhou's clothes again.

Empress Zhou snapped, "Get out! I need to rest!"

"Sigh..." Wang Wenzhou shook his head with a wry smile. It's really scary to be uneducated.

Wang Wenzhou was also somewhat puzzled as to why Zhu Youjian hadn't summoned him after he entered the palace. Wang Wenzhou felt that Zhu Youjian harbored ill intentions, but after weighing the pros and cons, he also felt that Zhu Youjian wouldn't kill him.

The next morning, Wang Wenzhou got up early, and with Da Yu'er and Gao Guiying dressed as eunuchs in his arms, he arrived at the court early to wait for the morning court session.

The faces of all the civil and military officials were grim, especially those from the Donglin Party, who looked as if they were on their deathbeds.

"The Emperor has arrived!" Wang Chengen roared, and Zhu Youjian sat on the dragon throne with great pride.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" The crowd hurriedly paid their respects.

Zhu Youjian smiled slightly, waved his hand, and said, "My beloved ministers, rise!"

All the civil and military officials stood up, and Zhu Youjian smiled as he looked at everyone.

Zheng Sanjun hung his head, disheartened. He knew that his career was over.

Zhu Youjian began, “In recent times, a plague has suddenly broken out in the capital, and several of my beloved ministers have unfortunately contracted the plague and died. I am deeply saddened. Wang Chengen has drafted an edict ordering the Ministry of Rites to assist their families in giving a proper burial to the ministers who died in the plague!”

"This old servant obeys the decree!" Wang Chen'en hurriedly accepted the decree.

"In this plague outbreak, Vice Minister of Rites Wang Wenzhou handled it properly, nipping the epidemic in the bud. I am very pleased. Such a great achievement deserves a great reward. Wang Chengen, proclaim the decree!" Zhu Youjian looked at Wang Wenzhou with a smile.

Wang Wenzhou curled his lip. "Zhu Youjian, you pig, trying to pin this mess on me? The Donglin Party isn't stupid; they'd never believe you!"

"Wang Wenzhou, receive the imperial decree!"

"Your humble servant receives the decree!" Wang Wenzhou immediately knelt down.

"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Wang Wenzhou, Earl of Xinjian..." Wang Chengen read the imperial edict.

Wang Wenzhou knelt on the ground, cursing inwardly, "Zhu Youjian, you treat your officials like dirt! Only a fool would believe you! What's the point of making people take the blame all day?"

"...Wang Wenzhou is hereby granted the title of King Tuzhu, a hereditary title to be passed down through generations, to share in the glory of the nation!"

"Pfft..." Wang Wenzhou was completely dumbfounded, he simply couldn't believe his ears. Had Zhu Youjian lost his mind?

"Buzz..." The civil and military officials immediately began to whisper among themselves, their jaws dropping in astonishment. Apart from a few kings of different surnames at the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there had never been a king of a different surname before. Moreover, it was a king of a different surname whose position was hereditary and could not be replaced.