Chapter 11
(21) Three options
"I worked overnight to come up with three plans on how to help the Emperor deal with these rumors that are troubling him so much."
At this moment, I was very proud and walked around Yunniang's room with my head held high.
Yunniang was lying on the bed at this moment, looking at me with sleepy eyes.
"What are you doing? Walking around in someone else's room so early in the morning like a fool."
I took a big step and rushed to Yunniang.
"What are you talking about? I'm here to discuss whether my plan can be implemented."
Yunniang stretched out her slender white arms from under the quilt, patted her forehead, yawned dazedly, and said to me with her eyes closed: "Then you talk, I'm listening."
I immediately returned to the place where I had just been pacing, put my hands behind my back on my buttocks, held my head high and chest out, and strolled leisurely in the garden.
"Hurry up and tell me, you're driving me crazy." Yunniang said to me angrily while lying on the bed, "You're always ruining my beauty sleep, you know that?"
"Yeah, I'll tell you right away." I nodded, cleared my throat, and prepared to start speaking.
"I've analyzed three main reasons why people like discussing this. First, it's bizarre. After all, the emperor's love for boys, while not uncommon, isn't exactly a glorious thing. Second, it happened in our city, and as you know, gossip about people close to us is always a favorite. Third, the emperor's enemies within the court, those who harbor ill intentions towards him, would surely be eager to publicize his scandal and embarrass him."
I paused and said, "The first plan is to announce to the world that the young marquis is the emperor's younger brother who lived among the common people. The emperor loves his brother, so he favors the young marquis especially."
I glanced at Yunniang, who was playing with her colorful nails out of boredom.
"I think that by recognizing his brother as a relative, the emperor can show his love for his brother. Everyone likes to say that the imperial family is the most ruthless. This method can correct the impression of the emperor in the hearts of the people."
As I spoke, I walked to the coffee table in the middle of Yunniang's room, sat down and looked at Yunniang, "What do you think of my plan?"
Yunniang then looked at me and said, "Go on. Humans are creatures that can only know good and bad through comparison. You have to give me options so that I can know whether your plan is good or bad."
I nodded and continued, "The second option is to have the young marquis leave the city. Simply and crudely sever the connection between the old people and the young marquis. Over time, everyone will forget about him, and naturally no one will care about those rumors and gossips, whether true or false."
"Before I talk about the third option, I want to say a few words first." I paused and said to Yunniang.
Yunniang said to me in a bad mood, "You've been talking all the time, why do you have to emphasize what you want to say?"
"Hmph!" I responded to Yunniang's complaint with a cold glance and didn't even look at her.
After a while, I continued, "The third point I just analyzed is not easy to handle, because it is difficult for people to prove their innocence when others are deliberately throwing mud at them. Even if you die, others will say you committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Therefore, we have to attack from the side. We can find their flaws by analyzing their thinking. For example, there will definitely be a group of people in the court who are dissatisfied with the emperor's rule and want to overthrow him. To overthrow him, they need the support of the people, but they cannot give the people real power because they want to be emperor themselves. Therefore, these rumors are the best butcher knife, just like Zhao Kuangyin in the Chenqiao Mutiny, 'It's not that I want to be emperor, it's really that the emperor can't help him, and it's my brothers who forced me, a virtuous person, to take the throne.' This leads to two further points. On the one hand, we need to divide the enemy forces and disintegrate their common interests, and then..."
As I was speaking, Yunniang got up from the bed and said, "Come on, come on, stop lecturing the Emperor on how to rule the country. Just go and tell him to move the young marquis to a new place. Cut off contact with everyone in our city and move him to a new place where no one knows him."
I thought about it for a moment and said, "Actually, there's another way. That's to let the Emperor elope with you. This will create an image in his mind that he values beauty over power. This will also help to salvage the situation and allow his child to ascend the throne directly."
Yunniang rolled her eyes and said, "I want to make money in the underworld, okay?"
I nodded. “I think so.”
As I said this, I began to sob.
"My beloved young marquis and I are about to say goodbye forever. I am so sad."
(22) Three options
Yunniang added, "However, you can change to someone I like. Anyway, your goal is just to listen to your mother and marry a man. A young lord or a young prince will do. Recently, Prince Wei Zhen of Pingnan has also been living in the city and often strolling around. You can pay more attention to him."
I looked up at Yunniang and said, "What are you talking about? The love between the young marquis and me is as strong as gold. Our love is so moving that it shakes the heavens and the earth. How can you just deny our love?"
After hearing what I said, Yunniang smacked her lips.
"Does your young master know that your love is so strong and touching?"
The more I listened, the angrier I became. "My love for the young marquis was built on the missing leg of one of his four broken legs. That's a life. How can it just be gone like that?"
I slapped my thigh and roared.
Yunniang slurped a mouthful of porridge and said to me, "So what are you going to do now? Your young master is leaving."
Having said that, I suddenly became depressed.
"Otherwise...I..." I sobbed and stammered to Yunniang.
"Are you going to confess your love?" Yunniang asked me with a raised eyebrow.
I shook my head again. "Or I could go catch a big cricket and use it to lure the young marquis to come play with me."
Yunniang was stunned for a moment.
Then she continued eating her breakfast naturally. "You're really stupid, Shang Shisan. You're just oozing with stupidity, you know that?"
"Is there anything wrong with my cricket-catching plan? I'm tailoring it to the young marquis's preferences. I..."
Yunniang put down her chopsticks, covered her ears with her hands, and muttered to herself: "Someone, come and arrest Shang Shisan, she is so annoying..."
"So when are you going to catch your big crickets?" Yunniang asked me after taking another sip of porridge.
I turned my head and glanced at Yunniang warily.
"That makes sense. I have to go find my big cricket quickly. I'm leaving!" I jumped up from Yunniang's side and ran out of her house in a few steps.
"In Peach Blossom Valley lies the Peach Blossom Temple, and in the Peach Blossom Temple lies the Peach Blossom Fairy. The Peach Blossom Fairy plants peach trees and breaks off branches to pay for wine. When sober, he sits before the flowers; when drunk, he sleeps beneath them. Day after day, he sits before the flowers, drunken and sober year after year. He refuses to bow before carriages and horses, but wishes to die among flowers and wine..."
At this moment, I was carrying my bamboo cage filled with the big crickets I had just caught, following a horse-drawn carriage, and singing Tang Yin's "Song of Peach Blossom Cottage" at the top of my lungs.
The young marquis's face popped out from behind the carriage.
As soon as he saw me, he asked me loudly, "Who are you? Why are you reciting poems after me? What do you want to do?"
The young marquis's words interrupted my impromptu poetry recitation.
At this moment, I, dressed as a woman, followed behind the carriage and smiled shyly, "Young Marquis, don't you recognize me?"
The young marquis got off the carriage and walked up to me.
He looked at me with a surprised expression for a long while before slowly shaking his head. "You must have recognized the wrong person. I don't know you."
I stamped my feet and yelled in frustration.
"We've known each other for so long, and you don't even recognize me. I'm Shang Shisan."
The young marquis looked horrified after hearing what I said.
He let out an "Ao" and took a big step to create some distance between him and me.
"Shang Shisan, don't come over here! Don't hit me again! Shang Shisan, I'm warning you!"
At this moment, the young marquis in front of me was in a panic, with chaotic steps, and was about to run away.
I rushed forward and grabbed the young marquis's hand, holding it tightly with both of my hands, "Young marquis, please don't leave."
The young marquis looked even more frightened. He stood there trembling, looking at me helplessly.
"The last time you hit me, my head hurt so much. Can you please stop hitting people so casually? It hurts so much when you hit them."
After about an incense stick of time, with my unremitting efforts, I finally comforted the poor, helpless and fragile little marquis.
"Why are you wearing women's clothes, Shang Shisan? You look disgusting like this."
"I am a girl, why do you think it's disgusting when I wear women's clothes?" I said unhappily.
"Well, when you wear women's clothes, I feel like a masculine man wearing girls' clothes. I feel like a pervert." The young marquis thought for a moment and said slowly.
I was immediately furious.
"I look good in women's clothing for three reasons. First, I have a small frame, which suits me well. Second, my face is small and fair, which makes me look like a lady. Third, as a lady, I usually smile with my teeth covered and walk without showing my feet. All in all, I am a beautiful lady." At the end, my tone became fierce, "How do I look like a pervert?"
The young marquis looked me up and down for a long time, frowning and pursing his lips. "I just feel that when you wear women's clothes, I feel like a man wearing a small floral dress. I don't know why, but it makes me feel disgusted."
"Hmph!" I turned my head angrily to the other side, looking at the weeds on the side of the road instead of the hateful young marquis.
The young marquis stood shoulder to shoulder with me for a while, then he said to me, "I'm moving out, Thirteen. It's getting dark, so you should go home quickly. Since you're a girl, you have to be careful and don't run around."
His words immediately made me depressed.
"Wow, young marquis, will you come again?" I followed the carriage, walking slowly forward shoulder to shoulder with the young marquis and asked him.
The young marquis also looked unhappy, "It's very likely that he won't come back."
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