blogombal Chapter 166 My Life Is Over
Chapter 166 My Life Is Over
The teahouse was called Tingquan Teahouse. Upon hearing this, the manager was alarmed and quickly came out to stop them, saying, "Gentlemen, if you want to chat, I'd be happy to, but please, don't discuss matters of state and the palace here!"
"What are you afraid of! It's the New Year, and you're just saying a few words. You even dared to hit Consort Chen, so why are you afraid of what people say?" Song Er looked fearless.
Someone couldn't help but say, "She's fierce! Did she just stand there and let Prince Jin and his wife get beaten up?"
Song Er became even more agitated, "Look at what you're saying! She's the Emperor's woman. If she wants to hit someone, who dares to stop her? I've heard that in this harem, she's not afraid of anyone, not even the Emperor himself, and she doesn't even put the Empress in her eyes!"
This Song Er clearly has connections.
Immediately, an old scholar voiced his discontent, "Absurd! Utterly absurd! Is the Emperor going to favor his concubine over his wife?"
There are always people in this world who can't control their mouths.
After Li Yuanke became emperor, he became too lazy to care what people in the world said.
During the reign of the late emperor, he fought even more fiercely with his brothers for the throne, and all his brothers died at his hands. In order to win the hearts of the people, he adopted a more lenient approach.
For so many years, no one has paid attention to the people's right to speak, making them feel that the emperor sitting on the dragon throne is just a paper doll or a clay sculpture.
Shen Shixi was amused to hear people cursing the emperor, and even laughed from the side, saying, "Hahaha, what a tyrant!"
"Who said the Emperor is a tyrant?" A scholar appeared on the second floor, looking down angrily. "You ignorant commoners, how dare you speak ill of palace affairs! Doesn't the Prince of Jin deserve to be beaten?"
"The Prince of Jin and his wife disrespected His Majesty. It's lamentable that not a single member of the imperial clan stood up to defend the Emperor. It was Consort Chen, a mere woman, who bore this heavy responsibility, and was even mocked and insulted by you all. Are you not beasts?"
Song Er was furious and roared, "Who are you?"
The scholar replied, "I am a student from Yongxi Academy. And who are you?"
"Who do you care who I am? Is it that no one in this world is allowed to speak the truth?"
Another voice said, "You wouldn't happen to be from the Prince of Jin's residence, would you? In public, you're distorting the truth and ruining the reputation of His Majesty and Consort Chen!"
Upon hearing that voice, Shen Shixi couldn't sit still any longer. She looked at Li Yuanke pitifully and asked, "Shall we go?"
Her second brother was actually here.
Li Yuanke also understood, and glanced at her sideways. He wasn't going to leave now.
Shen Shiyu did not see Shen Shixi and the other person; he was standing directly above them.
Song Erdao said, "And who are you? Oh, I recognize you. You are Consort Chen's brother. No wonder, your Shen family is a family of scholars and poets, why do you not discipline your daughters?"
Shen Shiyu said, "Consort Chen is an upright and honorable person, unlike some others. As you all know, in less than ten years, more than ten concubines, infants, and unborn children in the Prince of Jin's mansion have died, totaling nearly twenty. All because the mistress was jealous and treated human life so lightly. How shocking!"
Isn't this a propaganda war?
Princess Jin was familiar with this set of rules, and the Shen family was also very familiar with it.
This data was compiled by Shen Shixi's second brother in recent days, and the moment he said it, everyone in the room was shocked.
Caught off guard, Song Er pointed at Shen Shiyu and said, "You're talking nonsense! How dare you slander the dignified Princess Consort?"
Shen Shiyu smiled and ignored him completely. Since he dared to reveal it, he must have made thorough preparations.
From this day forward, the Princess Consort of Jin's reputation will be completely ruined. No matter how incompetent the Prince of Jin may be, he may turn a blind eye to the cruel methods of the Pei family, but he will never tolerate such methods being exposed and putting the Prince of Jin's mansion in a precarious situation.
"Gentlemen, allow me to say a few words!" Another scholar stepped forward. "His Majesty is truly a wise and benevolent ruler! Are you all aware of His Majesty's new policies this year?"
Just last year, the Emperor and Consort Chen personally planted new crop varieties in the palace. It's said that one mu (approximately 0.16 acres) could yield forty to fifty shi (approximately 11.5 tons). Many court officials personally participated in the harvest and even tasted the crops. Throughout history, how many emperors have shown such concern for their people?
The man was heartbroken. "I am also a student of Yongxi Academy. I really can't understand why anyone would want to smear such a good emperor and empress?"
"They're all Prince Jin!"
"Yes, they are all Prince Jin!"
"That damned Prince Jin, he's delusional!"
Many people are extremely indignant!
Shen Shixi was deeply moved when she looked at Li Yuanke.
[What an unexpected bonus! That bastard is doing a pretty good job as emperor; so many people are protecting him. Tsk, he might even be considered one of the greatest emperors of all time!]
Li Yuanke raised his eyelids and glanced at Shen Shixi.
Then, some scholars stepped forward to promote the emperor's new policies, such as cotton, Yongxi Academy being an academy built by the emperor for poor families, and the cleanup of corrupt officials.
The two quietly left the house without alerting anyone.
This was a very unexpected surprise for Li Yuanke. He didn't think much about it when he did these things. Shen Shixi asked him to do them, so he did them. If he could save a person from starving or freezing to death, it would be an achievement for him as emperor.
At that moment, he thought, "The common people are too easily satisfied. I haven't even done anything yet."
Shen Shixi held his hand and, while he was distracted, garnered the admiring glances of a bunch of beautiful women. Whenever a beautiful woman looked at her shyly, she would give her a charming smile, making their hearts flutter and making them want to rush towards her.
When Li Yuanke came to his senses, he saw his beloved concubine flirting with a beautiful woman, and the young girl was so charmed by her that she almost wanted to elope with her on the spot.
"Shen Shixi!" Li Yuanke said angrily, shaking her head.
The girl was furious and glared at Li Yuanke several times. If it weren't for the fierce appearance of the guards, she would have wanted to come over and beat Li Yuanke up.
The young master was clearly forced.
The young lady watched the young master's departing figure with a heavy heart.
"Oh, young master, you've finally arrived! It's been so long since you last came. You only remembered to visit me today. My heart has been so heavy with worry!"
The two were stopped by a madam whose chest was cleaved into a deep cleavage, whose face was covered with nearly half a pound of putty, and whose hair was so covered by jewels that only her face was visible.
Because Shen Shixi had no experience in the entertainment industry, she didn't know that madams treated everyone like family. So, when she looked up at the place, she was terrified.
[Oh no! I was wearing a veil when I negotiated with her last time, how could she recognize me with her sharp eyes? Will Li Yuanke suspect I've been to a place like this? If he finds out I ran the first brothel in history, do I even have a chance of survival?]
Historically, male prostitutes originated in the Song Dynasty and flourished in the Ming Dynasty.
Shen Shixi never considered going to play by herself; she knew that if she dared to go, she wouldn't be the only one who would die.
She simply felt that it was unfair for men to frequent brothels while women were left alone in their rooms.
He met a few beggar children at the border and thought they were promising, but he couldn't very well support them out of his own pocket, so he came up with this way to make easy money.
She could make a lot of money in the sex industry, but she couldn't open a brothel.
Although Li Yuanke had never been to a brothel before, he knew that people there used this kind of trick. Just as he was about to pull Shen Shixi away, he heard her thoughts and felt like dozens of thunderbolts struck his head!
Thank goodness he wasn't killed in the explosion!
The Three Corpse Gods are enraged!
He looked at Shen Shixi in disbelief!
She actually dared to run a male prostitute?
Shen Shixi sensed Li Yuanke's anger and involuntarily felt guilty. She forced herself to remain calm and smiled, "Madam, you've mistaken me for someone else, haven't you?"
These two are clearly wealthy and noble young men with unusual hobbies; how could they be easily let go?
"Oh, young master, you must be joking. How could I mistake you for someone else? Someone like you, I'll remember you forever once I've seen your shadow!"
What was meant as a flattering remark turned out to be a genuine compliment to Shen Shixi, who was genuinely feeling guilty and misunderstood the meaning. Her legs went weak, and she almost collapsed to the ground.
My life is over!
(I've been busy with some things these past few days. Once I'm done, I'll save up some drafts and add more chapters for you all.)