Xi Xi's elusive and irritating tone briefly angered Chen Xiao, but his anger dissipated when he remembered Xi Xi's face.
She simply turned off the block and stopped listening to Xixi.
Xu Qian, oblivious to Chen Xiao's slight speechlessness, finally explained, "The Five Punishments are known in folk tradition as 'dismemberment into eight pieces,' which combines beheading, amputation of the feet, cutting off the hands, gouging out the eyes, cutting off the ears and nose. After killing the person, the head, hands, and feet are chopped off, and then the torso is chopped into three pieces. However, this punishment, like the one mentioned above, is not very severe."
Chen Xiao: ......
Look at this, it's a classic case of lying through your teeth.
Leaving aside how gruesome the executions would be in reality, just hearing about them is terrifying enough. How could Xu Qian say something like, "It's not serious, it's very simple..."
Chen Xiao sighed and said, “Prime Minister, there’s no need for this. I do find this kind of thing hard to bear, but I won’t blindly punish them leniently. The wrongdoings they’ve committed have harmed countless innocent people, and this punishment is already too lenient for them.”
Xu Qian was slightly surprised, then nodded with satisfaction and said, "Since Your Majesty thinks so, then their punishments can be increased further."
"Huh? Although I don't think I meant that, it's okay to make it a bit heavier..." Chen Xiao was confused for a moment, then nodded in agreement with Xu Qian's suggestion.
The two then concluded their discussion on this topic.
Chen Xiao thought of Yu Yan, and realized that all these events were caused by a series of unfortunate coincidences. She wondered how Xu Qian disposed of her body, and asked him about it.
Xu Qian was actually about to report this matter, but after a moment of hesitation, he replied, "Yu Yao wanted to place Yu Yan in their Yu family cemetery, but I did not agree. Because Yu Yan also left me a letter, which contained only one short line: 'Yu Yan is guilty and does not wish to return home.' I showed this letter to Yu Yao, and he had no choice but to respect her choice and did not ask for anything more."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "I sent people to find Miss A-Lian's cenotaph, which was arranged by Yu Yan herself. The location is excellent, nestled against the mountain and beside the water. So I took the initiative to place Yu Yan here, which can be considered as fulfilling one of her wishes."
Chen Xiao didn't inquire about what Xu Qian and Yu Yao had discussed. Since Xu Qian hadn't brought it up, he must have his reasons, and given their past friendship, their conversation likely revolved around the past. In that case, she didn't need to know. She simply nodded slightly and said, "That's fine then."
In fact, Chen Xiao's guess was completely correct. Xu Qian and Yu Yao did talk all night, but they didn't mention anything about the kite flight. They only talked about old stories and Yu Yan's resettlement. They didn't talk about anything else, let alone national affairs.
As dawn broke, Yu Yao made her first request to Xu Qian: "After I die, Brother Xu, could you bury me in the Yu family cemetery? If my sister is unwilling, then so be it, but I wish to return to my roots."
Xu Qian simply replied seriously, "Excuse my bluntness, but I'm afraid you won't have a complete corpse, nor will you have the chance to be buried."
Yu Yao just smiled and didn't say anything more.
Of course, Chen Xiao was unaware of these matters, and Xu Qian did not intend to mention anything. He simply sought Chen Xiao's opinion: "Your Majesty, I wish to arrange a cenotaph for Yu Yao at the Yu family's tomb after his death. I hope Your Majesty will grant my request."
Chen Xiao showed no surprise upon hearing this. Xu Qian may have seemed heartbroken over Yu Yao, but he still cherished their past relationship and was not as cold as he appeared. After all, they were close friends for many years, and this small request was harmless, so Chen Xiao would agree.
As for the servants of the three mansions, Xu Qian handled everything, and with the help of the brothers Xu Ruyu and Xu Ruyan, Chen Xiao didn't have to worry about much.
After finishing discussing these important matters, Chen Xiao also made a request to Xu Qian: "Does the Prime Minister have any spare manpower? I want to resolve the rumors about Feng Li and Qi Yanshang, and I need more manpower."
After receiving Xu Qian's affirmative reply, Chen Xiao pulled out a thick stack of papers from her sleeve. She had hastily written them after breakfast that morning. There were many versions, and without exception, they all garnered positive public opinion.
She instructed Xu Qian, "Prime Minister, you can arrange some people to contact storytellers in various teahouses and pay them handsomely to spread these stories. Arrange different stories for each teahouse, and hire some people to listen at one of them. You can also plant some shills on the street to spread the word."
After handing the stack of papers to Xu Qian, Chen Xiao explained, "I've arranged for Chao Ci and the others to go to Guangling. I'll have to trouble the Prime Minister to make arrangements for the capital. Thank you, Your Excellency!"
Of course, Xu Qian didn't pay much attention to the way Chen Xiao was addressed, because since he knew that Chen Xiao was also chosen by the gods and had a great mission, he wouldn't dwell on such formalities in private.
He took the stack of papers, which were densely covered with neat handwriting. He glanced at them briefly; they were all touching stories, full of atmosphere. He thought of Qi Yanshang and Qi Fengli, and fell silent. Were those stories about them? He couldn't tell...
Seeing how much Chen Xiao cared for these two people, even though they had only known each other for a short time, Xu Qian once again had a more direct feeling about Chen Xiao's kindness and loyalty.
He not only agreed to Chen Xiao's request very quickly, but also promised to complete it as soon as possible. He had also heard that the two of them were getting married soon, and Chen Xiao's efforts for them showed that she didn't want any gossip to affect them.
However, considering Chen Xiao's arrangements, Xu Qian was still somewhat certain. The things His Majesty wrote were in the most popular style at the time, and with the storyteller's embellishment, many people would change their opinions.
Not to mention, His Majesty has other plans besides these.
Chen Xiao was unaware that Xu Qian had inwardly praised her character and affirmed her actions. But Xu Qian was right; she had other plans.
Besides the method of having a storyteller in a teahouse, she also ordered Ye Yu to "publish" her "works" in a bookstore.
Speaking of which, it's fortunate that Chu Qiaoling popularized printing technology back then, otherwise her books would still have had to go through primitive copying and so on, which is definitely not like having printing technology, which allows her to complete one book after another in the fastest way, only needing to make corrections and bindings later.
In addition, her book does not require government approval, so as long as it is done well, it can definitely be officially published within a month.
Moreover, before that, she had the bookstore publish more than ten finished copies, which she would then sign with her pen name and announce to the public that these were "out-of-print works personally signed by the author." She would send one copy to Yuan Yin first, and then go to her friends' place to "show off" it.
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