Chapter 59 Women Who Disappeared in a Crazy History.
Xie Yunying felt that Xie Qingyu was just being stubborn, but she had no evidence.
Xie Yunying asked doubtfully, "You really don't like Yue Yining?"
Xie Qingyu said calmly, "I don't like it."
Xie Yunying said "Oh" and then said, "Then forget it. I was thinking that if you like her, I could try to set you two up."
"After all, you are my brother in name now, and I really like Yue Yining. She likes me too. It would be great if we could become a family."
Xie Qingyu merely scoffed at Xie Yunying's empty promises: "You're dreaming. How could she possibly be interested in the Xie family? Even if the Third Prince proposed to her, she would refuse. She's not the type to be swayed by gossip or power and money."
Xie Yunying feigned surprise: "Really? But I brought this up with her at the Hundred Flowers Welcoming Spring Banquet. I said I really wanted you to be my sister-in-law, and she said—"
Xie Yunying dragged out her words for a long time, and Xie Qingyu, sitting opposite her, couldn't hold back any longer and couldn't help but ask, "What did she say?"
Xie Yunying thought to herself, "System, he's such a faker."
The system had nothing to say; it simply gave Xie Yunying an electronic thumbs-up.
Xie Yunying exclaimed, "Ah! Did she say what? Let me think..."
She said, "My status is humble, and I am not worthy of your esteemed eldest son. I appreciate your kindness, Second Miss, but marriage is more about matching social standing. I sincerely wish Young Master Xie finds his perfect match and a happy life together. Second Miss, you need not worry too much; your sister-in-law will surely be a well-educated, gentle, and kind noblewoman."
Xie Yunying finished speaking in one breath, then secretly glanced at Xie Qingyu's expression.
The handsome young man with fair skin and jade-like bones maintained his smile, though it had almost faded to the point of being invisible. If Xie Yunying hadn't already experienced his unknown side, she would have thought that the gloom and darkness in his eyes was just the ink color shining through his pupils.
Xie Yunying felt secretly pleased that she had hit a nerve, but feigned innocence: "You asked me this, I didn't want to say it."
"That was just an expected answer," Xie Qingyu chuckled. "What's the rush? Did I intend to interrogate you?"
Xie Yunying knew when to stop: "That's good."
"However, since we've come this far, may I ask you a question? It's something I've been wanting to ask you for a long time."
Xie Qingyu: "Ask me anything."
"I find this very strange. Didn't you say you were a history researcher?" Xie Yunying asked curiously. "I thought people in your profession wouldn't appreciate online novels. As a scholar who studies official history, shouldn't you have long since seen the rise and fall of dynasties and become indifferent to the impermanence of life? I was quite surprised when I first found out that you were actually moved by characters in ancient novels."
After Xie Qingyu heard this, the black mist in her eyes slowly condensed and took shape, obscuring the brilliance.
He paused for a moment before saying, "What if this isn't a story from a novel?"
When Xie Yunying said this, she never expected Xie Qingyu to answer her like that.
Xie Yunying was completely stunned: "What did you say?"
"As you said, I am a historian who has read a vast amount of historical materials, so I should no longer be interested in ordinary ancient novels. However, I have a younger sister."
“She also enjoys reading novels. She knows what my profession is, so she always recommends some ancient novels to me so that I, as a ‘professional,’ can judge them,” Xie Qingyu said. “Most novelists are laymen. Even if they have carefully consulted a lot of materials before writing, it is easy for someone who is well-versed in this field to spot the flaws.”
Xie Qingyu was indeed deeply tormented at first.
He already reads enough paper materials regularly, and during his rare breaks, his younger sister forces him to read ancient novels online. He doesn't like romance plots, but the uneven quality and numerous errors in the professional content are like a slow, agonizing torture for him.
He had endured torment for quite some time, and just when he was about to give up and ask his sister to let him go, she recommended the book "Yining" to him.
Xie Qingyu opened the book without any expectations.
He had no idea that he would become infatuated with the heroine of the story and lose sleep over her.
Xie Yunying suddenly realized: "So you read this book because of your sister."
Xie Qingyu: "Yes. If it weren't for her, I probably would never have opened this novel in my entire life."
Xie Yunying: "What did you think when you first read 'Yining'?"
Xie Qingyu said indifferently, "Not very good."
Xie Qingyu was almost completely distraught after reading the entire book for the first time. The historical novels he had read before were all shallow entertainment; none of them had ever touched his soul, and none had ever kept him so engrossed in them all day long.
But everything changed after I finished reading "Yining".
He was like a monster whose true form had been stripped away, his rational, clear-headed, self-possessed, and composed human skin stripped bare, revealing the chaotic and fiery emotions within—emotions that did not belong to ordinary people, but rather were more like those of demons and monsters, extreme emotions.
The wasteland, ravaged by storms and torrential rains, can no longer feign tranquility and desolation.
He couldn't help but read the story over and over again, from beginning to end, following the life of the female protagonist, Yue Yining. Yue Yining's last words at the end of the book, and the scene of her dying with a smile, were like a nightmare that haunted him for years.
He did not believe that this feeling was the "love" Xie Yunying spoke of.
More accurately, it should be called an "obsession".
He was determined to change Yue Yining's fate. This deep-seated obsession, like clouds and mud, flowed away with the long river, gradually accumulating into towering mountains.
He thought this was the end of the nightmare.
It wasn't until Xie Qingyu reread the book again and again that she discovered the secret hidden in the story.
"Dongxi," the fictional dynasty in which the novel "Yining" is set, surprisingly overlaps in many details with the history of the Dongyuan Dynasty that he has been researching.
"This is unbelievable. My research materials include many ancient documents stored in the research institute that have not yet been deciphered. If you are not a historian engaged in specialized academic research, you cannot obtain these primary historical materials, and even if you do, you cannot understand them."
Xie Qingyu said, "I have been studying the history of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty for a long time and am very familiar with this period, which is why I was able to notice these problems. If you have less knowledge of the history of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty, you will not notice anything unusual even if you read the novel."
This was clearly illogical. The deeper Xie Qingyu delved into his research, the more astounded he became. Whether from an economic, political, or cultural perspective, the Dongxi Dynasty in the story was virtually identical to the Dongyuan Dynasty he was studying. Even more surprising was that he actually solved a long-standing academic problem in the process.
Xie Qingyu began studying the history of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty during his university years. From his undergraduate to doctoral studies, a full ten years, he thoroughly understood the life stories of every named person in the history of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty. He treated it as his lifelong research topic. Although he only studied it for ten years, he was determined to continue researching it for another ninety years.
In the past two years, as his research has deepened, Xie Qingyu has found it increasingly difficult to continue. Many primary historical materials contradict each other, yet their veracity cannot be mutually verified. He has made countless assumptions and estimates, all of which he has overturned after further deduction.
However, he discovered that if the story of this novel were integrated into existing historical materials, those originally incoherent and illogical historical fragments were all strung together into a complete and coherent line.
If a person named "Yue Yining" existed in this period of history, then everything can be explained.
Therefore, Xie Qingyu made an extremely bold guess.
“Yue Yining may have been a real historical figure. It’s just that for some reason, historical records about her have been lost, and her traces have been deliberately concealed in books and documents,” Xie Qingyu said. “The author of this novel may be a descendant of Yue Yining, who is not only familiar with this historical story that has not been recorded by the world, but also deliberately left various clues and metaphors in the text.”
This research result is clearly outrageous, completely beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. How could the most serious historical reconstruction research possibly be related to a story in an online novel? Using a novel as evidence in historical research is simply laughable.
Even without Xie Qingyu saying anything, Xie Yunying could understand all of this instantly.
Xie Yunying was speechless for a moment. She opened her mouth and said, "...So, you told other people about the research results?"
Hsieh Ching-yu: "Yes. I told other researchers that there was a great woman in the history of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty, but her existence was erased by the historians."
All his colleagues thought he had gone mad.
Xie Qingyu, a researcher obsessed with the history of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty, finally went mad and actually imagined a person who did not exist.
But Xie Qingyu knew that he wasn't crazy; he was perfectly lucid.
It turns out that the madman in everyone's eyes might be the only one who has seen the true face of the world.
Xie Qingyu lowered his eyes, the tea in his cup like a solidified bronze mirror, reflecting the complex emotions that had been accumulating in his eyes for a long time.
“I expected it, but it wasn’t unexpected.” He spoke slowly. “If I hadn’t been studying the history of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty, if I hadn’t read all the historical materials and that novel hundreds of times, I wouldn’t have believed this. It’s too absurd.”
"But even if everyone around me denies it, it is the truth I believe in."
He studied day and night, trying to piece together the figure of "Yue Yining" from the known historical materials. He also thought about contacting the original author of the novel, but before he could do so, he was transported to the world of the book.
Xie Qingyu had considered that perhaps his sincerity had moved Heaven, and Heaven, in its mercy, had given him the opportunity to come into the book and turn the tide.
But this was only the most impractical of all his conjectures.
Xie Qingyu, a man well-versed in history, did not believe in fate at all. He thought the most likely reason was that Heaven saw him as a rare source of amusement and wanted to witness his tragic state of being toyed with by fate and crushed by the truth.
Xie Yunying listened in a daze, her mind blank. She heard her own voice asking, "...Only Yue Yining?"
Xie Qingyu: "What?"
"Is it only Yue Yining who disappeared?" Xie Yunying said. "What about the others? Have you found any other women whose traces have been erased? What about Princess Wei Yihua? What about those female officials?"
“That’s what I wanted to say too.” Xie Qingyu’s eyes narrowed. “In the historical records I’ve studied, there are mentions of the eldest princess, but only briefly. The name ‘Wei Yihua’ doesn’t even appear. As for the system of female officials, it’s been completely erased, as if the system was never promulgated and these female officials never existed.”
Xie Yunying remained motionless, finding her body so stiff she couldn't even lift a finger.
She murmured, "How could this happen? Why did this happen?"
“I had the same question as you back then,” Xie Qingyu said. “But later, I had no more questions.”
“History books are written by the victors who hold power. In the long river of history spanning thousands of years, it is easy to obliterate a failed female strategist, and it is not difficult to bury a system of female officials that only existed for a dozen years,” Xie Qingyu said. “Perhaps the successor thought that recording this history would affect his reputation in later generations, or perhaps the recorder also had selfish motives.”
"Women in ancient history were always marginalized. Their names were not allowed to appear in history books, and their value was not allowed to exist independently of men. Their lives were fragmented and scattered in the corners of a world filled with male narratives, serving as exquisite or tragic embellishments in grand epics. This was the default rule, not a sudden exception."
Xie Yunying had never thought of these things before. When she heard them for the first time, she was stunned, as if she had been struck by lightning.
She suddenly remembered a course she had taken in college, the only one related to ancient history she had taken in her three years of university. It was taught by a female professor, with twelve classes per semester. The class that left the deepest impression on her was about the little-known "heroines among women" in ancient Chinese history.
Amidst the sparse students sitting in the back corners, their heads drooping listlessly, a woman dressed neatly with a back as straight as a pine tree walked into the classroom, stood in front of the multimedia table, and turned on the projector.
She is absolutely beautiful, energetic, confident, and gentle; her eyes and movements are both poised and powerful.
Perhaps the contrast was too stark, because Xie Yunying remembered this scene very clearly, along with the slowly appearing screen with its simple and somewhat monotonous image, a single line of bold text against a snow-white background.
"Those women who 'disappeared' in history."
Xie Yunying's thoughts gradually returned. She looked at Xie Qingyu opposite her, and her voice, which had almost stopped speaking, came out again: "...Xie Qingyu."
"I think I understand why you were so eager to change Yue Yining's fate."
Xie Qingyu gazed at her, a genuine smile appearing in her dark eyes.
"Since I came into this world and figured things out, I have indeed been trying my best to change everything I can."
"Compared to you, I really seem quite useless... But I'm just an ordinary college student, so I can't compare to a professional like you." Xie Yunying sighed, "Just in terms of action, I'm already ashamed of myself."
"By the way, you just said you're trying your best to change the original storyline. Have you succeeded?"
"Of course," Xie Qingyu said calmly, yet her words were enough to shock people. "The Wang family's premature downfall was my doing."
Xie Yunying was instantly pulled out of her quagmire of sorrow by those words. She was dumbfounded, and even wondered if she had tinnitus: "What did you say?"
“I used Xie Zhi. I knew that Xie Zhi was an overly cautious, selfish, and cold-hearted person. After I returned to my residence, I forged evidence of Wang’s rebellion in advance, and pretended to explain my capture, thus incorporating the matter of Wang’s rebellion into the story.”
Xie Qingyu smiled leisurely: "Of course, Xie Zhi is not such a fool. He did not believe me immediately, but left with doubts and investigated the Wang family's situation through many channels. But what he did not expect was that I had foreseen everything. I knew who he would investigate and in which direction he would investigate. I had already taken care of everything in advance. The information he received and the intelligence he obtained were all false."
Xie Yunying's gaze at him at this moment could only be described as one of horror. Xie Qingyu continued, "He thought that the Wang family was really planning a rebellion. He was afraid of being implicated afterward, so he decided to take action against the Wang family in advance."
"Before taking action, he used his informants in the Prince's Mansion to eliminate most of Xie's schemes, ensuring that the losses were minimized. Only then did he hand over the incriminating evidence against Wang to the Emperor and sever ties with Wang to express his loyalty. If I'm not mistaken, Xie Zhi negotiated some terms with the Emperor, which is why the Emperor turned a blind eye to Xie's part of the crimes afterward."
"But, but why did you want to get rid of the Wang family..." Xie Yunying asked tremblingly, but as soon as she met Xie Qingyu's ambiguous smile, her brain seemed to be electrified, and she instantly understood.
She exclaimed in surprise, "You! You're doing this for the Seventh Prince—"
"Yes." Xie Qingyu admitted, with a smile on his face. "I have only one goal: to change Yue Yining's inevitable death. I don't care about anything else."
"I've thought about it for a long time, and there are three safest and most effective methods. First, kill the Fourth Prince; second, make Yue Yining withdraw from the Third Prince's camp; third, let another prince who is not supported by Yue Yining ascend the throne as emperor," Xie Qingyu said. "All three methods can keep Yue Yining away from the predetermined ending."
“The first one, I’ve already done it. I sent someone to poison the Fourth Prince a few days ago. However, it’s extremely difficult to assassinate a prince whose maternal family is powerful and who is under the spotlight. There are too many capable people around the Fourth Prince. I planned carefully, but I still failed.” Xie Qingyu said slowly, “If we can’t kill him in one blow, the Fourth Prince will be more wary next time, and we won’t be able to use this trick again.”
Xie Yunying was completely taken aback when he spoke of murder as casually as buying vegetables at the market: "Wait, is this right...?"
“The second one is not very realistic, and I don’t want to force Yue Yining.” Xie Qingyu suddenly laughed. “That’s what I say, but in reality, I can’t force her. I’ve tested her, and she’s made up her mind, so I know that this path is also a dead end.”
“The third method, which seems to be the most likely to succeed, is for me, as the eldest son of the Xie family, to represent the Xie family in supporting another prince and helping him eventually ascend the throne. In this way, as long as Yue Yining doesn’t switch sides, he will be completely free from this fate.” Xie Qingyu’s smile faded a little, and he lowered his eyes. “...But if I do this, Yue Yining might hate me.”
This is the only downside, but since the result is the best, he doesn't care.
Xie Yunying's eyes widened: "So you wiped out the Wang family in order to make the Seventh Prince do as you wished?!"
"The Wang family is nothing but parasites of Dongxi," Xie Qingyu said calmly. "The stronger these powerful families become, the faster the dynasty will collapse."
"The population will continue to grow, and the number of powerful and wealthy people will increase. In ancient times, these powerful and wealthy people almost never paid taxes and continued to annex land. With less and less land available to support more and more people, the small-scale peasant economy could not support so many people, and the dynasty collapsed. Ancient dynasties could not last long, and the reasons behind them could not escape this vicious cycle."
"I don't want the capital to fall to peasant rebels before the story is even finished."
Xie Yunying fell silent: "..."
"What's with that expression?" Xie Qingyu laughed. "What's wrong? Didn't you say I wouldn't tell you anything? I'm just explaining to you what I've been doing these past three months, so you can understand in detail."
Xie Yunying broke out in a cold sweat: "...You don't have to be so careful."
"I'm a little worried now that I know too much; maybe my life will be in danger..."
"Don't worry, nothing will happen. I'm telling you this for no other reason than to let you know not to try to go against me," Xie Qingyu smiled gently. "Unless you don't want to live either."
Xie Yunying's smile froze on her face.
Xie Yunying: "...System, tell me, should I not have come here today?"
System: "What do you mean?"
Xie Yunying: "Today's trip has unexpectedly revealed Xie Qingyu's true colors. How tragic!"
Xie Yunying sighed with regret: "Actually, I didn't really want to dig out his true self. The most important thing in the relationship between people is a sense of distance and boundaries. I think his previous pretense with me was fine. If he stops pretending and acts crazy every day, then I will be the one who feels helpless."
system:"......."
......
The rosy clouds disperse like brocade, the moon sinks like a hook, and the Milky Way flows across the sky in the cool night.
When Yue Yining returned to the Princess's residence, Fu Yao was already waiting for her in her bedroom.
Fu Yao noticed that Yue Yining seemed somewhat absent-minded.
"Miss, where did you go today? Did something happen?"
Yue Yining snapped out of her daze and smiled, "No, it's nothing, just official business in the court."
Fu Yao insisted, "Miss, please tell me. Although I can't help you, I can listen to you. Talking about your troubles with someone will make them less bothersome!"
Yue Yining was amused by her.
"Yaoyao, have you heard about that famous case of the downfall of a powerful figure in Beijing a while ago?"
Fu Yao: "I know! It seems to be called... it's called the Fallen King's Case, isn't it?"
"right."
“I was too naive before,” Yue Yining said. “Recently, I went through the events of the past three months again. I must have missed something crucial. The Wang family’s case is not as simple as it seems.”
"Yaoyao, help me grind the ink. I'm going to draft a letter to Lord Shen."
"yes."
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