Chapter 135

After listening to what Ye Yan said, Qin Su kept shaking her head.

“No, no,” she refused. “I don’t want the whole world to know that I’ve never shot a goose.”

How embarrassing!

Ye Yan forgot about this and quickly added, "It's not written truthfully; there will be some artistic embellishment."

Qin Su asked, "For example?"

“For example…” Ye Yan began to dig into the myths and legends in his memory, “For example, locusts were actually caused by some evil forces. Your Highness happened to encounter a fairy who gave you a hint that waterfowl could solve this problem, so you went to the water to find a solution. At first, you looked for the wrong object and found a goose, which caused a misunderstanding. Fortunately, Your Highness is very clever and found the right duck the second time.”

He reviewed it and said with satisfaction, "Twists and turns, cause and effect, plot difficulties, not bad, very complete."

It would have been more than enough to be used as a play script in ancient times.

Qin Su: "..."

“Ye Yan,” she said seriously, “you can’t say I’m talking nonsense anymore. I think you can talk even more nonsense than I can.”

Ye Yan laughed: "That's called artistic embellishment."

However, he was not good at writing ancient texts, so the specific details of the script, such as the lyrics and narration, had to be written by someone else.

Qin Su said, "We can ask Grand Tutor Zhao. He has many, many students, and they are all very talented."

Ye Yan hesitated and said, "Wouldn't it be too much of a fuss to trouble Grand Tutor Zhao?"

“How can this be called making a big fuss? This is exactly what you said: let professionals handle professional matters.” Qin Su pulled him to sit down at the desk and patted his shoulder earnestly. “Write down the story first, and tomorrow we’ll go to Grand Tutor Zhao to ask for the person.”

Despite their young age, Qin Su and Ye Yan are both highly proactive individuals.

Once the two decided to do it, they immediately started working on it. They wrote the initial draft of the story that very day and handed it to Zhao Changde during class the next day.

Zhao Changde was taken aback and asked, "Writing a script? Is this the idea of ​​Her Highness the Princess and Young Master Ye?"

After reading Ye Yan's version of the story, I couldn't help but marvel at it.

In ancient times, there weren't as many propaganda methods as there are today. Nowadays, teaching and preaching are done in a rigid, oral manner, and we're not very good at exporting cultural consciousness.

Ye Yan and Qin Su's method was like opening a new world for Zhao Changde.

Zhao Changde immediately took on the task, and after giving the two of them a lesson, he hurriedly left the palace to find someone.

Ye Yan also began to search for well-known folk opera troupes and, based on his understanding of Peking Opera's scenes, costumes, props, and makeup, adjusted them to create new styles.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and it was now mid-June. Things were starting to look promising for the film crew, while the locust plague had come to a complete end.

The precedent of using ducks to fight locusts in the capital was carefully spread to various places. Local areas with enough ducks gathered and organized locally, while those without enough ducks borrowed them from other places. Many ducks from the capital were also borrowed. Through the efforts of all parties, the locusts in Dayu were almost gone.

Emperor Jingxi issued an order that tax reductions would be granted to affected areas according to the severity of the disaster, and that the government would provide disaster relief to areas that were severely affected.

The people, who had thought they would have no food to eat again this year, were overjoyed. Officials who had been worried about not being able to collect taxes also showered the court with compliments. The atmosphere in the court was relaxed for a time, and Emperor Jingxi's mood, which had been irritable for many days, was also relieved.

Qin Su had previously given away her ten ducks, which, as fierce generals among ducks, went to many places to fight locusts.

Everyone knows that these ducks belong to Princess Zhaoyang and were specially marked. Now that they have been returned, not one is missing and not one is lost. In fact, they have probably eaten too many locusts and are even two sizes bigger than when they were lent out.

Emperor Jingxi was discussing matters with his court officials in the Imperial Study when Liang Danxin told him that the ducks had been returned. He then personally led his officials to the corridor to take a look.

"Zhaoyang called them the Duck Army as a joke," Emperor Jingxi said with a smile. "Now they truly live up to the name, each one with merits to their name."

The court officials echoed their sentiments and joined in the fun.

Emperor Jingxi was in a good mood and said, "Liang Danxin, go and invite Princess Zhaoyang. Tell her that her duck army has returned and I have returned it to its rightful owner. Have her come and take inventory."

Qin Su used to treasure these ducks like the back of her hand, and was worried that others would try to steal them. Now that they're being returned, she can finally relax.

This was originally just a minor incident, and Emperor Jingxi didn't take it to heart. He quickly returned to the Imperial Study with his court officials.

Unexpectedly, after a while, he heard voices outside the Imperial Study, which sounded like Liang Danxin and Qin Su.

Emperor Jingxi stopped his court officials and asked in surprise, "What are they talking about?"

He called the two people in and questioned them.

Liang Danxin also looked confused. He cautiously replied, "Your Majesty, the princess said she won't take the ducks back to Zhaoning Palace; she wants to leave them here with Your Majesty."

This won't do; Liang Danxin definitely won't agree to it.

Qin Su is just a child, so it's nothing for her to raise ducks. Others would just think it's childish fun. But His Majesty, the Emperor, how can he raise ducks? If word gets out, he'll be reprimanded.

Liang Danxin was earnestly trying to persuade Qin Su, but before he could finish, His Majesty overheard him.

Upon hearing the whole story, Emperor Jingxi exclaimed in surprise, "Zhaoyang, didn't you really like these ducks?"

Qin Su even said he wanted to train the ducks to fight the geese, so why is he putting them here now?

With his ministers present, Qin Su stopped acting coquettishly, gave a proper bow, and said with a stern face, "Father, it is precisely because I like him that he can no longer be raised in Zhaoning Palace."

Emperor Jingxi: "What makes you say that?"

"Your subject has read in history that King Ling of Chu was fond of slender waists. His ministers would eat only one meal a day, hold their breath to tighten their belts, and lean against walls to stand up. As a result, the entire court and even the whole country were weak and powerless to fight. It is clear that whatever the king likes, the ministers will do." Qin Su was referring to the events during the reign of King Ling of Chu.

According to records in "Strategies of the Warring States" and "Mozi", King Ling of Chu liked slender waists, so his ministers, in order to please him, ate only one meal a day, took deep breaths, tightened their belts, and leaned against the wall to get up, all of them becoming emaciated from hunger.

"Your Majesty, I was unaware that the duck-raising craze in the Great Yu was started by me. Fortunately, the people have already benefited from it, so it is not appropriate to further promote duck-raising," Qin Su continued. "Let duck-raising stop for now."

This was a decision she had carefully considered.

The ducks have already done their part, and this pragmatism is just right.

Don't let the trend of raising ducks become more enthusiastic, turning from pragmatism into meaningless pursuit. Since this trend originated from her own preferences, she should stop showing that she likes ducks now.

Qin Su had long stood at the pinnacle of power, but she was completely unaware of it due to her youth. It was only after this incident that she saw for the first time the complex and turbulent vortex within it, and she also learned for the first time why a monarch cannot show strong feelings of love or hate.

Emperor Jingxi paused, then asked, "Is this the principle that Zhao Changde taught you?"

Qin Su replied, "It wasn't taught by the Grand Tutor; it was my own idea."

Emperor Jingxi gazed at his daughter from behind his desk, remaining silent for a long time.

The first principle of being a ruler is self-control.

He was reluctant to teach Qin Su to do this, but Qin Su had already figured it out on her own.