You cause trouble and I collect your body, the little emperor’s aunt abuses the scumbag again

"Huayan Pavilion," Ji Yongyan uttered these three words, "is it sealed off?"

Shangguan Yun'er bit her lip, knowing she couldn't hide it any longer, so she simply admitted it openly, "Yes. That was a shady inn, and I was only thinking about the safety of the capital. Is Your Highness going to blame me for an outsider?"

Ji Yongyan looked at her.

This face is beautiful, the makeup is exquisite, and the family background is distinguished.

But why is it so repulsive?

"You think you've won?" Ji Yongyan suddenly asked.

Shangguan Yun'er was stunned.

“I just feel,” Ji Yongyan turned and walked out, leaving behind a cryptic remark, “that woman won’t die so easily.”

He remembered those eyes with upturned corners.

The woman named Meng, her composure when he questioned her during the day.

And that fake kneeling.

How could someone like that just admit defeat?

Shangguan Yun'er watched his retreating figure, her handkerchief nearly torn to shreds.

We'll see.

into the night.

The courtyard in the south of the city was very quiet.

My mute cousin was sharpening a knife in the yard, and the whirring sound made my teeth ache.

An oil lamp was lit inside the room.

Meng Siya sat at the table, holding a calligraphy brush in her hand, with several sheets of straw paper spread out in front of her.

She did not write a petition for redress, nor did she write a plea for leniency.

She is writing a story.

The Crown Prince was shocked as to why he would so ruthlessly destroy a small shop.

Exclusive reveal of the unspeakable affair between the proprietress of Huayan Pavilion and a certain important figure.

Is it jealousy or the law? Let's uncover the shady dealings behind the closure of shops by the Jingzhao Prefecture.

If these headlines were published in modern times, they would be considered clickbait.

But in the Great Zhou Dynasty, this was thunder.

Meng Siya wrote very quickly, her pen moving swiftly and gracefully.

She was so good at manipulating people's emotions; there were no vulgar words or names mentioned at all, only references to certain empresses and noblemen.

But the words imply one thing: the shop was shut down not because the food was poisonous, but because the owner was too beautiful and aroused jealousy.

public opinion.

This was the big gift she prepared for Ji Yongyan and Shangguan Yun'er.

What officials fear most is public resentment and rumors.

Rumors, especially those tinged with scandal and suggesting the oppression of the common people by the powerful, spread the fastest and are the most popular topics of conversation.

Suddenly, there was a sound from the window.

Meng Siya didn't turn around, nor did she stop writing. "The door wasn't locked, why are you climbing through the window?"

A figure jumped in through the window, bringing with it a chilling aura.

Lin Daxiong.

Without any hesitation, he walked straight to the table and picked up a piece of paper that had just been written on.

He glanced at it a few times by the light.

At first, he frowned, then he was surprised, and finally, a smile spread across his face.

"ruthless."

Lin Daxiong slammed the paper on the table and looked at Meng Siya. "Only you could come up with such a trick. If this is sent out tomorrow, Shangguan Yun'er will be drowned in the spittle of the people of the capital in no time."

"If she wants to play, I'll play a big game with her."

Meng Siya put down her pen and blew on the ink to dry it.

"Daxiong, you have to handle this." She pushed the stack of papers over. "Find some storytellers and some beggars, and spread these stories. The more mysterious and exaggerated, the better."

Lin Daxiong tucked the paper into his pocket and looked at her.

Under the light, her face was calm, but her eyes burned with fire.

"That mute man was about to kill someone, and you stopped him. Are you going to use this method?" Lin Daxiong asked.

"Killing is the worst option."

Meng Siya stood up, walked to the window, and opened it.

Outside, the night sky of Beijing unfolds, with lights shining brightly in the distance.

“I want her to know that power cannot suppress people’s hearts. I also want to show Ji Yongyan what kind of person this Crown Princess he married really is.”

Lin Daxiong didn't say anything more and turned to leave.

"Oh, right."

Meng Siya suddenly called out to him.

"how?"

“That short blade,” Meng Siya said, watching his retreating figure, “sharpen it for me. If I lose the literary contest, I need to have a backup plan.”

Lin Daxiong turned around and glanced at her, then chuckled.

"Don't worry, we can't lose."

He climbed out of the window and disappeared into the night.

Meng Siya closed the window and blew out the oil lamp.

The room was plunged into darkness.

There's going to be a good show in Beijing tomorrow.

The wind in the capital changed direction overnight.

The day before, Huayan Pavilion was a notorious shady establishment that everyone hated. The next day, the city's most popular storyteller had a new routine.

"In the bustling capital city, a beautiful woman suddenly appeared. She was fair-skinned, beautiful, and had a slender figure. Unfortunately, she was a widow, and I felt sorry for her!"

As soon as the storyteller at Deshenglou struck the gavel, all the tea drinkers in the hall craned their necks.

"This pretty widow runs a rouge shop, and the products she sells are absolutely amazing! No matter if you're a haggard old woman or have a pockmarked face, using her products will make you look like a goddess!"

A jeer erupted from below, "Old Wang, you're bragging again! There's no such thing as a magical contraption."

"Don't you believe me!" the storyteller glared. "But because of this, trouble has arisen! As the saying goes, beauty is a curse, and this pretty widow's beauty and skills have offended some people!"

He lowered his voice and leaned closer mysteriously, "Guess who it bothered?"

"Who?"

"Who else could it be! The lady in the mansion! Jealousy is one of the seven grounds for divorce, and our lady's heart is smaller than a needle point! Seeing that the widow's business is doing well and she's prettier than her, how could she tolerate that? She directly sent people to shut down the shop and even tried to arrest her and torture her into confessing!"

"Pah! What nonsense!" A burly man slammed his teacup down. "You can't stand seeing others do well, can you? You can't even win a man's heart, so you take it out on us ordinary folks!"

"Exactly! Do you think it's easy for a widow and her children to run a small business? This is just too much!"

"What kind of mess is this! Who would dare to do business after this?"

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

Inside the teahouse, the crowd was in a state of high spirits.

The same joke was being played out simultaneously in more than a dozen teahouses and taverns in the capital. The content was similar, all pointing to one thing: a narrow-minded noblewoman, out of jealousy, suppressed a beautiful widow who had no one to rely on.

The story doesn't name names, but even a fool could tell who it's talking about.

……

It was evening, in a tavern in the west of the city.

A group of soldiers who had just finished drills were drinking and playing drinking games around a table, while Lin Daxiong sat in a corner, drinking alone in silence.

"General, why are you drinking here all by yourself?" A familiar lieutenant approached.

"Don't even mention it, it's annoying." Lin Daxiong waved his hand, deliberately putting on a gloomy face.

"Oh, what could be bothering General Lin like this?"

Lin Daxiong sighed and lowered his voice, "It's all because of my sister."

"Your sister? Didn't you say..." The lieutenant stopped mid-sentence.

"Sigh." Lin Daxiong took another swig of wine and said, "She has a hard life. She left behind a close friend who is also a widow. She runs a small shop in the capital to make a living. I thought I should at least help her out."

He paused, then lowered his voice even further, "The items in that shop were all top-notch. Originally, that close friend had the idea to make them for the palace, but the items were so good that they offended someone she shouldn't have, who accused her of being jealous and forced her to shut down the shop!"