Chapter 133. Don't expect to change a man. ...
He kicked the pool hard, splashing water three feet high. "I recognized you the first time I saw you brought in by Yani, otherwise you would never be alive now. Before Yani married into the family, I swore to kill all her dowry maids, those who were there to please her husband. They were all treacherous."
"Why...why did you go there?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Just like Di Yaruo was sent there by her wicked stepmother, I was sent there by my wicked brothers. They said that sending only one princess from the royal city was not enough, that the Great Royal City and the Western Kingdom were not of one mind, and that what if the people from the Great Royal City found out information that we didn't know about? So they sent me there. Why was I chosen? Because I had no backing, my mother died early, and my maternal clan was weak."
"Why are you telling me this now?" I looked at him cautiously.
He slid into the hot spring pool, submerging most of his body in the water. The rising steam moistened his young, fierce face and brown curly hair.
“I don’t want you to have a bad impression of me,” he said.
“I already have a very bad impression of you,” I said, turning my head away. “It seems you really need someone to whip you hard every day for you to be able to speak so calmly.”
He paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"I like hitting women; too many women deserve to be hit. The more I hit them, the happier I am, and all my unhappy feelings disappear."
A man who is habitually abusive will never change.
Don't expect to change a man; he'll only make you adapt to his ruthlessness.
He's saying all this to me now simply to get closer to me. To achieve his higher goal, he has no choice but to compromise.
He discovered that the more he whipped me, the fiercer I became, and I would even whip him back, so he had no choice but to abandon this path.
Late at night, I sat alone in my room, touching my stomach, wondering what to do. I asked Di Yaruo if she had any abortion pills. She said she did, but they were very harmful to the body. Usually, only women who absolutely did not want to have children would disregard such damage.
"Many people bleed uncontrollably after drinking it; in mild cases, they become infertile, and in severe cases, they die."
Di Yaruo's words still echoed in my ears.
Clearly, this continent does not advocate abortion or contraception, which is why abortion pills are so harmful to the body, and contraceptive pills are not particularly effective.
In a backward and primitive world, reproduction was highly valued.
Is giving birth really the only option? I sighed deeply, at a loss for what to do.
At dawn, the maids brought in basins of water and towels, and I was startled to realize I had been sitting by the window all night. After washing up, I went to the Morning Council Hall. I was a little groggy from not sleeping all night, which made me late. Deyar was denouncing the King of the West for his despicable and shameless behavior, "I have just ascended the throne, and Midian wants to increase our taxes. I cannot comply."
The morning council in the royal city is different from that in the kingdom. The king of the kingdom sits on his throne and speaks to his ministers who stand below; the king of the royal city sits at the head of a large square table and speaks to the important ministers and nobles around him.
The maid led me to Haiya's side. He and I are husband and wife, so we should sit together.
Diya was furious at the head of the table, while Haiya was engrossed in playing with a Rubik's Cube. The Finance Minister continued, "The royal city has been losing money every year, and we really can't pay more."
The Minister of the Interior said, "Your Highness has just ascended the throne and it is not advisable to offend King Midian."
The Minister of Military Affairs also said, "With military funds tight and the number of guards drastically reduced, Your Highness really needs to consider this carefully."
They talked back and forth, but after a long time, they still couldn't come up with a solution.
Frustrated, Di Yaruo waved her hand and announced the end of the meeting. Walking briskly down the old, quaint corridor, Di Yaruo suddenly turned back, "Do you have any ideas?"
I stood still. “You possess noble blood from the West and rare intelligence. Even after being thrown into the most stringent prison in the East, you managed to make a comeback and beat your husband to a pulp. If I were King Midan, I would want to get rid of you as soon as possible, or find someone to replace you. Increasing taxes is just the first step. By throwing you off balance and making you openly hostile to him, that’s perfect. It gives him an excuse to send troops to attack.”
Di Yaruo smiled mockingly, "Do you think I don't know? But what can I do now? If I pay taxes, my national treasury will be half empty; if I don't pay, he will have an excuse to send troops."
"I've heard that besides your largest independent capital and several subordinate capitals, there are also several smaller capitals and a dozen or so scattered large tribes in the Western Territory that are independent of King Midan's rule." This is the information I've been researching lately.
"Oh, what's your idea?" Di Yaruo's eyes began to light up.
"The reason these independent small cities weren't conquered by King Midan is not only because of their easily defensible geographical location, but also because these small cities are quite united and possess considerable strength, making King Midan hesitant to act rashly. As for those dozen or so large tribes, they are physically strong, fierce, brave, and skilled in guerrilla warfare. King Midan's grandfather and father both sent troops to conquer them, but after many years of fighting, they hadn't gained any advantage," I said.
"So, what are your thoughts?" Di Yaruo asked.
I slowly walked up to her. "Give your smallest royal city to the lord of the royal city closest to you. As far as I know, it's also the strongest among the smaller royal cities. Otherwise, how could it have survived all these years without being swallowed up by your father or grandfather? By giving them your smallest royal city, regardless of whether they join your camp or not, in King Midan's eyes, they are already in your camp. He will definitely be more wary and cautious of them. Once there's discord between them, you'll be safe. At least in King Midan's eyes, you are allies, and he won't dare to easily send troops against you. For that small royal city, they gain a city without paying any price and also gain an ally. It's like a pie falling from the sky. How could they refuse? Even if this ally isn't necessarily sincere."
This method, besides sowing discord between King Midan and other royal cities, is also to prevent them from forming an alliance against us.
“Hey, that’s a good idea.” Di Yaruo affectionately took my arm. “My father and grandfather also thought about forming an alliance with them, but they mostly used gold, silver and beautiful women, so it didn’t work out. I didn’t expect you to propose using a city.”
"Didn't they think about that?" I asked curiously.
"Our territory isn't that big, how could we bear to part with it?"
"Why are you willing to do that?" I asked.
“I face a much greater survival crisis than they do,” Di Yaruo lamented. “My subjects do not submit to my rule, they believe that I seized power through an unjust war by killing my husband’s uncle, and they are constantly thinking of overthrowing me.”
She was well aware of her situation. She appeared to be a queen on high, but if the old nobles united in rebellion, and King Midian sent troops to help her, she could fall from grace overnight.
That night, I spoke with the Queen for a long time. She believed that the Queen should also adopt a benevolent approach towards those scattered tribes. Allocating a small piece of territory and inviting the most powerful tribes to settle there, with five years of tax exemption and five years of low taxes, would be a tremendous incentive.
“Send this place out,” I said, pointing to a tunnel on the map. “This is the most convenient route from the Western Frontier to your capital. If King Midian wants to attack, he must pass through here. But how can these tribes let King Midian pass so easily? What if King Midian seizes their land? They finally have a place to live a peaceful life. They will fight to the death to defend their homes and fight King Midian. In this way, your capital will be secure.”
She appeared to be giving up a piece of land, but in reality, she was getting powerful tribes to help her defend the city.
Di Yaruo's lips curled up slightly, a faint smile playing on her lips—she had indirectly saved on military expenses, so it was still a good deal for her. Moreover, these tribes were more reliable than her army, and no one would fight more fiercely for their territory than they did.
I pointed to several other places on the map, "These roads from the western border to your capital are either blocked by mountains or separated by rivers, so they are relatively safer. You can just station heavy troops there."
Di Yaruo stared at the map for a while, then smiled sweetly, "What you said makes sense, let's do it your way."
After implementing these two methods, Diya immediately rejected King Midan's request to increase taxes. However, out of respect for the king, she agreed to pay an additional one-third on top of the existing amount, thus preserving King Midan's face. King Midan and several advisors discussed the matter and weighed the various forces involved, ultimately deciding to maintain the status quo.
Di Yaruo's position is temporarily secure, at least externally. Internally, however, Di Yaruo has her own set of methods for handling things.
Using the pretext of handling wrongful convictions, she severely punished several families, all of whom were powerful and resentful of her. During the morning council, she presented irrefutable evidence and dealt with them swiftly and decisively, confiscating their property, expropriating their assets, publicly executing several of the family leaders, and throwing the less important members into the dungeon where they were either poisoned or forced to commit suicide—leaving no one alive.
Other families dared not say anything, because the evidence was irrefutable, and several members of these families had committed numerous blood crimes, so for a time, few people spoke up for them.
After working diligently for a while, Di Yaruo said she could finally get a few hours of sleep, but I found it increasingly difficult to fall asleep.
As my pregnancy progressed, I often stroked my slowly growing belly, feeling extremely conflicted.
Should I have an abortion? Taking abortion pills would be life-threatening; I heard the pain is like being stabbed with a knife. I went to see the horrific state of a woman who had taken abortion pills. She was a socialite who had an unplanned pregnancy, ten years younger than me. She was writhing in pain on the bed, bleeding profusely. Although she barely survived—thanks to her youth and good health—she was extremely weak afterward, bedridden for long periods, catching colds and fevers at the slightest breeze, living a life worse than death.
I was speechless for several days after watching it.
One moment of hesitation, one moment of indecision, and the pregnancy is already advanced.
I often can't sleep at night and am restless during the day. Sometimes I can't even concentrate on reading, so I go to some elite courses, but I get distracted in class. I feel a bit lost.
Di Yaruo once chuckled at me, "It seems you'll only be able to recover a bit after you give birth."
I helplessly slid into the hot spring pool, my long hair floating on the smooth surface of the water, my face hidden underwater, unwilling to face this cruel reality.
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