Chapter 233 Shen Zong's Good Helper
Chen Ge nodded. "Rumors are the cheapest weapon. They only require an idea and a tongue. The people of the capital love to hear all kinds of gossip about officials. If there happens to be some "ethical," "erotic," or "political" elements in it, you should know what "three people make a tiger, and many mouths can melt gold" means.
Ouyang Xiu's face was a little embarrassed, but he couldn't care less at this moment. Being wronged was not a pleasant feeling, and being romantic and being vulgar were not the same thing.
"Are you talking about Xue Liangru?" Ouyang Xiu recalled the contents of the palace report, heartbroken. "The official he recommended embezzled over 60,000 taels of flood control funds in just three years, causing two breaches in the Taihu Lake basin and thousands of casualties. If I hadn't pleaded with the late emperor, he would have been exiled to Lingnan. How could he have waited until Your Majesty ascended the throne and issued a general amnesty to restore his position? How could that be possible? So many officials in the censorate are keeping an eye on this matter!"
Chen Ge responded, "I'd be so lucky if I could get out of this officialdom intact!"
Ouyang Xiu nodded approvingly, feeling a sense of having found a close friend. "You see things clearly."
"What do you think the plan is going to be?" Ouyang Xiu sat back in the main seat, looking calm. It was obvious that he already had a plan in mind, and he asked this to test Chen Ge.
Chen Ge did not hide anything and spoke out his thoughts one by one.
"The worst option is naturally to find Xue Liangru, persuade him with reason and appeal to his emotions, and prevent the disaster from happening. The advantage is that your reputation will not be damaged, but the disadvantage is that you won't be able to find the person behind the scenes, so you have to be vigilant all the time."
"That's right!" Ouyang Xiu stroked his beard and continued, "It's easy to be a thief for a thousand days, but it's impossible to be on guard against thieves for a thousand days. Go on."
"The strategy is to lure the snake out of its hole. Send someone to secretly follow Xue Liangru and record every person he meets and every conversation he makes. This will allow us to control Xue Liangru at the critical moment."
"When someone steps forward to impeach you, I'll throw the evidence right back at them and ask His Majesty to severely punish this despicable act. The advantage is that this will prevent future trouble. The disadvantage is that you and your wife will be criticized and may even leave a negative impression of being treacherous and deceitful."
"A middle strategy?" Ouyang Xiu said frankly, "Zi Zheng's middle strategy coincides with mine. It seems you have a better idea. Tell me now."
"The best strategy is to attack from a lower dimension. Report today's events to His Majesty in detail, and then wait for the other party to jump into the fire pit. This approach will put them on the same side as His Majesty. Most of Your Majesty's political enemies are in the Censorate, and His Majesty, having just ascended the throne, needs to establish his own power within the Censorate. This move will give His Majesty time to operate."
"Rumors stop with His Majesty. Afterwards, all we need to do is ask His Majesty to issue an edict of condolence to the adults and arrange for a few city foxes and community rats to lead the people in their pace, and the matter will be settled."
"Inform His Majesty in advance?" Ouyang Xiu hesitated. "What if the rumor never happened? Wouldn't this be too drastic?"
Chen Ge said, "If nothing happened, everyone is naturally happy. Your Excellency is using this opportunity to express the reliance and support of the Three Dynasties elders on Your Majesty. Your Majesty is overjoyed, so how could he blame me?"
Ouyang Xiu considered it for a moment and made a decision: "Without further delay, I will go to the palace and seek an audience with Your Majesty."
"My lord, you'd better change your clothes before going?"
“???”
Ouyang Xiu looked at Chen Ge with an expression that said, "Little boy, do you have a lot of questions?"
Chen Ge pointed at the hint of purple peeking out from beneath Ouyang Xiu's dark robe and reminded him, "During a period of national mourning, officials should wear plain mourning attire. Purple with white flowers could be seen as a surefire weapon by someone with ulterior motives, and would be a great disrespect to the late emperor."
The main focus is on first-hand details.
"Everything great in the world must be done with care. Thanks to Zizheng's reminder, I almost made another mistake." Ouyang Xiu patted Chen Ge's shoulder and said, "Let's have a couple of drinks tonight. You should go and keep Qingqing company first. Don't make her wait anxiously."
Chen Ge: "... such a disrespectful old man!!!"
Her long black hair was tied into a princess bun, and on the bun was a red jade coral hairpin with tassels hanging down. When the breeze blew, the tassels swayed, making the woman look even more elegant and beautiful.
"How is it? Does it look good?" Ouyang Qingqing turned around in front of Chen Ge, changing her Tokyo bully demeanor to be elegant and virtuous.
"She is already a natural beauty even without makeup, and with a little makeup on, she is like a fairy from the ninth heaven who has come down to earth, making the world pale in comparison." Chen Ge was not stingy with his praise. Her looks were much better than the so-called "Four Little Flowers" in later generations, and only the Hong Kong TVB during its heyday could barely compete with her.
"Hehehe!" Ouyang Qingqing giggled repeatedly. It makes sense that women dress up to please themselves.
"Miss, the carriage is ready." A little maid with double buns tied with blue ribbons, a round face with baby fat, wearing a brand new double-breasted cotton coat, holding a brocade bag in her hand, came chattering quickly.
"You're going out, are you going to the [Medical Clinic]?" Chen Ge said shamelessly, "Let's go together. I'll have time to fix the blackheads on your forehead."
"Together?" Ouyang Qingqing tapped Chen Ge's forehead with her scallion-white fingers. "You wish! A carriage is a girl's second boudoir..."
"Ah! Now that you mention it, I'm even more eager to see it!" Chen Ge pulled out a square piece of bamboo paper from his sleeve and handed it to Ouyang Qingqing: "This is the secret recipe for Jade Maiden Peach Blossom Powder. Please take a look."
Ouyang Qingqing opened the bamboo paper and saw that it was densely covered with circles and dots, with only a few lines of small words written in the lower left corner. The content did not look like a secret recipe, but clearly a poem with a rather strange name.
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