Chapter 116
Regardless of whether it is a man or a woman, or for whatever reason, playing with other people's feelings is wrong. However, if both parties are willing, then no one else should interfere.
Just respect and bless others, and don't harm others.
[And then?] Chu Huan's voice sounded a little excited.
The system was about to say something, but seeing the host's current state, a small question arose: [What version do you know?]
Why did it feel like the version it knew might be different from the version Chu Huan knew? Otherwise, it wouldn't be so excited, like it was discovering something new.
Chu Huan: [What I know is that the late emperor went to Jiangnan, the governor of Jiangnan died, and Bai Yiyi entered the palace.]
The system waited for a long time, only to receive this reply. It was filled with suspicion: [That's all, nothing more?]
This is a royal secret. People will undoubtedly manipulate it, adding a touch of romance or conspiracy to make the whole thing more complicated and more interesting. It can't be just this, right?
Chu Hua: [The full version I heard wasn't like this, but after being circulated through various channels, too many elements were added, and it's difficult to extract credible information from it, so this is roughly the result.]
System: [Then I want to know what you heard, tell me quickly~]
Even those who knew the most authentic version of the system were so curious, not to mention the Fifth Prince and the others, all of whom had eyes full of desire, like wild beasts waiting to eat melons.
Everyone had their own sources of information, and the versions they heard were all different, but for some reason, they were particularly looking forward to Chu Huan's version, always feeling that this version might be the most exciting.
Chu Huan lived up to everyone's expectations: "The version I heard didn't involve any interference from the Bai family. It didn't include what you said, Tong'er, about Bai Yiyi and the late emperor meeting and developing a relationship. It all started when the late emperor encountered Bai Yiyi while traveling south of the Yangtze River."
In the hazy mist and rain of Jiangnan, a beautiful woman stood alone, holding an umbrella. She glanced back and smiled. The late emperor fell in love with her at first sight and began pursuing her madly. The beautiful woman remained unmoved, repeatedly refusing the late emperor's advances, claiming she had long been married to another man, abiding by the code of conduct for women.
The late emperor, relying on his imperial power, coerced the prefect into handing over the beauty. How could the prefect oppose the late emperor? The beauty was unable to refuse or resist, and Yingying shed tears. She refused to give herself to the late emperor, threatening death in order to preserve her chastity.
The system was speechless: [No wonder you didn't want to say it at first, it was too ridiculous.]
If I hadn't known that the Jiangnan prefect was a 48-year-old man, I would have thought he was some handsome man with a magnificent appearance, and the late emperor was some old man on his deathbed. That's why Bai Yiyi fell so deeply in love with him.
Everyone in the Chu family was speechless. Where on earth had Chu Huan heard this version of the story? It was even more ridiculous than anything they knew.
It was precisely because Chu Huan knew that this version was unreliable that when the system asked her about it, she discarded all possible factors that might have been added and condensed it into just one sentence.
Having come this far, she couldn't leave it at that, so she continued: "As the Supreme Ruler, the late Emperor had many beauties in his harem, but he had never seen a beauty like Bai Yiyi."
system:【……】
Everyone: “…”
The Second Prince's wife, Consort Wu, and the others looked at each other in bewilderment. Are such pitiful beauties rare in the palace? There are obviously plenty, and they're not very popular.
The Fifth Prince had a strange look on his face. He didn't know about other beauties, but his mother, Concubine Shu, had excellent acting skills. She could be generous and bright, arrogant and willful, weak and pitiful. She could play any type of Concubine Shu that the Emperor wanted.
Perhaps it is not easy for an official to meet a beauty like Bai Yiyi, but with the emperor's identity and status, the beauty pageant is held every three years, and all places can send their beauties. What kind of beauty can't he get?
These words clearly aim to elevate Bai Yiyi's status.
Chu Huan continued, "The more he can't get it, the more he clings to it. The late emperor took up residence in the prefect's house, seizing every opportunity to appear before the beauty. He showered her with gold, silver, jewelry, silks, and antique treasures, all just to make her smile."
[The beauty was clearly someone else's wife, but because she didn't dare offend the late emperor, she had to put on a forced smile for the stranger. Within a few days, this beautiful flower withered and was about to wither.]
System: […This is too exaggerated.]
It didn't want to interrupt the host, but the logic of this rumor was not strong enough and it was full of loopholes. It was really hard to resist the urge to complain.
[A person can survive for several days without food or water, and can still be resuscitated, so how can he die in just a few days? Do you understand medical knowledge?]
Bai Yiyi wasn't a girl from a poor family. She had maids following her closely. The prefect, hampered by the late emperor's power, couldn't possibly let her die. The late emperor couldn't possibly watch her starve to death.
[Besides, whether it's hanging or poison, which way of dying isn't better than dying of starvation or thirst? It's better to be quick and easy, and not have to endure all that torture.]
A group of people in the next yard were also complaining harshly.
The Second Prince's wife always liked and cared for girls, and was disappointed with Bai Yiyi's submissive behavior of marrying an old man: "If she had the courage to resist by refusing to eat or drink, she wouldn't have married an old man."
Concubine Wu almost rolled her eyes. "Even a fool would know who to choose between the old prefect and the young emperor, right? Just what kind of idiot made up this rumor?"
The two sisters-in-law had already complained about it, and the Fifth Prince was too lazy to complain about Bai Yiyi. His focus was on the rumored late emperor: "So in this version, the Emperor's grandfather went to the south of the Yangtze River and did nothing but spend every day in the prefectural mansion with Bai Yiyi?"
If the late emperor had really delayed important matters for the sake of beauty, the censors' saliva would have drowned him, and the memorials from the officials would have crushed him to death. Some of the old censors with strong personalities would have been so angry that they might have banged their heads against the pillars in front of the late emperor.
Given Prince Furui's violent temper when he was young, if he learned that the late emperor was not doing his job and was obsessed with beauty, he would write more than a dozen letters in succession to curse him. If the late emperor did not change, he would rush back from the border to beat him up.
——I have risked my life on the frontier to protect the Xiao family's kingdom and your throne, but you are here to hold me back!
— If I scold you in a letter and you don’t listen, then I’ll scold you to your face! If you still don’t change after I scold you to your face, then I’ll beat you up!
Nangong Ling complained from another perspective: "Perhaps in some pedantic, closed-minded and stubborn families, some people would believe that a woman's chastity is more important than her life, and that if she loses her chastity, she must die to preserve her reputation, but nowadays there are really very few such people."
"The Dasheng Empire was plagued by years of war and frequent natural disasters, resulting in a severe shortage of young and middle-aged labor. Since its founding, the Dasheng Empire has always encouraged remarriage. Widows who have given birth are more likely to remarry than many young girls because they have successfully given birth."
"How pedantic is the Bai family? So pedantic that they would offend the emperor for the sake of chastity and bring murder upon the family? Of course, if they want to play hard to get, then just ignore what I said."
Several people looked at each other and felt that the rumors were not entirely false.
The late emperor had seen many women, and if Bai Yiyi had seduced him right away, he would probably not have been fooled, so the idea of playing hard to get should have been true.
Chu Huan replied to the system: "Rumors are rumors because after being passed around by a few people, the truth can be twisted into a direction many people can't predict. Many things are just hearsay, don't take them seriously. Have you forgotten the rumors about the Third Prince?"
The system and everyone thought about it and were speechless.
Originally, it was just said that the Third Prince was not capable, but as the rumor spread, it became that he was a eunuch. If the rumor that the Third Prince was a remnant of the royal family of the previous dynasty had not been spread, many people would not dare to speak out because he was of royal blood. It is hard to say to what extent this rumor would eventually be distorted.
The system stopped complaining, and Chu Huan continued: [Faced with the beauty's silent resistance, the late emperor felt deeply distressed and stopped forcing her. The two of them got along as friends. The late emperor asked about her well-being and held an umbrella for her when it rained. For a high and mighty emperor, he was considerate and attentive.]
The beauty refused to yield, no matter how much he tried. The late emperor resorted to a last resort and sent the Imperial Guards to assassinate the prefect on his way. The beauty became a widow, heartbroken, and was soon sent to the palace by her family.
system:【……】
Everyone: “…”
There's something wrong with this version no matter how you listen to it.
How could the late emperor be described as a man who was blinded by beauty and lustful, and who was willing to set up a plan to assassinate his subjects in order to seize their wives?
Regardless of the rationality of this matter, Bai Yiyi has become a pure, loyal beauty in this version, who was forced to marry the late emperor and did nothing wrong.
No one had any evidence, but from the perspective of the ultimate beneficiary, they believed that the Bai family had put a lot of effort into spreading the rumor, just to create the image that Bai Yiyi was forced to remarry.
Pei Mingcheng and other Jinyiwei almost vomited blood.
What did the storyteller think of the Jinyiwei?
They were the court's lackeys, obeying the emperor's orders and often leading people to raid houses, but they would not even accept orders to assassinate court officials!
They were court officials, not assassins, and the assassinations were done by the secret guards.
It’s a pity that the secret guards live in darkness and cannot see the light. They have to bear the blame firmly. How hateful!
Chu Hua: [That's pretty much what I heard. What's yours?]
The system thought this rumor was too outrageous and went to check it out: [Sure enough, it was made up by the Bai family themselves!]
Remarriage was encouraged in the Great Sheng Dynasty, but there was no precedent for a woman marrying into the imperial family for the second time. The Bai family was worried that Bai Yiyi, a second-married woman, would be looked down upon and discriminated against and bullied after entering the palace, so they specially asked someone to make up a story.
Chu Huan: [Does the late emperor know?]
System: [I know. The Imperial Guards presented evidence to the late emperor. He believed this was all done by the Bai family and had nothing to do with the weak Bai Yiyi.]
[In fact, this matter really has little to do with Bai Yiyi, because Bai Yiyi is just a tool in this. She was brainwashed by the Bai family and is very obedient. She does whatever they tell her to do. She has no idea what the Bai family did specifically.]
This move made Chu Huan exclaim: "Amazing! The Bai family has completely taken Bai Yiyi out!"
Even if the Bai family's conspiracy is discovered, Bai Yiyi is just an innocent little pitiful being used, which will only make the late emperor love her even more. And as long as Bai Yiyi is alive, the late emperor must take care of her relatives because of their blood relationship.
Family and brothers are a woman's support, and are the helpers of concubines and princes.
The late emperor did not want his son and his beloved's son to be helpless in the future, so he had to help the Bai family and make them the prince's in-laws.
The only variable here is whether Bai Yiyi can successfully capture the heart of the late emperor.
Obviously, Bai Yiyi did it, and the Bai family won the bet.
Chu Huan sighed: [Knowing everything, he still loves her so much. The late emperor's love-brain syndrome was too severe.]
Everyone:?
Love-brained? What does it mean?
The system angrily said: [Late stage of love brain! There is no hope!]
Everyone: ???
So what does love brain mean? Could you two take a moment to explain it?
Yirenyitong had no idea what these people who were just trying to get in on the fun were wondering about, and continued chatting about their own things.
Chu Huan was more interested in something: [How was the late emperor captured?]
System: [He felt that the women in his harem were all attracted to his identity and status, and that he had kept his identity secret when he met Bai Yiyi. Bai Yiyi loved him as a person, not his identity or status.]
Chu Huan was almost numb after hearing this: […True love theory?]
The system is also very annoying: [Yes.]
The man stood there in silence for a long time without saying a word, feeling very disgusted.
In the next yard, the Fifth Prince and others covered their faces and mouths, and none of them felt very comfortable.
The Second Prince's wife couldn't help it. What's the point of complaining here? She must communicate face to face with the Chu Huan system!
She pushed open the door and ran to Qianhuaju: "Sister Huan'er, I'm here to complain to you!"
Chu Huan:?
She really didn't know that the Second Prince's wife had arrived. When she looked again, wow, Concubine Wu, Nangong Ling and even the Fifth Prince were all there.
"Are you all here to eat the melon?"
Everyone smiled slightly, and everything was said without words.
Chu Huan invited everyone to take a seat and asked Qingzhu Hongmei to prepare tea for them.
Before the tea was served, the Second Prince's wife couldn't wait to ask, "What does 'love-brain' mean?"
The system enthusiastically explained: [This means that in their lives, love is the most important thing. Family, kingdom, career, and the people of the six realms can all give way to love.]
"It doesn't matter if my whole family is killed, my clan is destroyed, or my country is destroyed. I will forget all of this and be with you. I can fight again if I lose my kingdom, but you are my only love! What do the lives of the people in the six realms have to do with me? I only want you to live!"
"Hiss——" Everyone felt cold all over. This love-brainedness was a little too scary!
The Fifth Prince was bewildered. "So what did our entire family, our country, and the people of the six realms do wrong? Why should we be sacrificed by love-brained people?"
Chu Huan: "Pfft."
System: [Hahahaha!]
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