Chapter 211: Chapter 168: That’s What Everyone Says (Part 2)

Wen Ranchen heard the news in Yan Gui City, detained a few of Prince Bai Luo’s key associates, and left Yan Gui City overnight with his subordinates. As for what he was going to do, no one knows. Anyway, when Prince Bai Luo sent people after him, all they caught was air.

After hearing this, Fu Xuan remained silent for a while, then also led a group to stir things up around Xingyang City. What exactly they were doing, only those involved knew.

Under the supervision and reassurance of Song Yan, Pan Jiaojiao shut herself off from outside affairs, focusing solely on making big money.

Song Yan placed another piece on the chessboard, the black pieces won, the white pieces lost. The white pieces lost because they believed they were the ones setting the board, even though they were clearly already part of it. She looked at the clouds above and thought, the letter to Li Yan should arrive today.

The Emperor and Empress stood outside Yi Fen Palace, watching Shen Jingxian play happily with her maids, throwing darts with enthusiasm, and smiled lovingly.

It’s time to close the net.

…

The people all knew about the prophecy. In these times, people strongly believed in divine intervention. The more they loved the Princess before, the more they feared her now.

If the Princess is truly a demon, does that mean they have long been under her control?

After all, ordinary people don’t look like the Princess. She’s too beautiful, unnaturally beautiful!

The prophecy said that when a demon appears, it is to destroy a nation. The people were terrified, and calls for the Princess’s execution spread everywhere.

A master among the populace said that ordinary execution wouldn’t work on a demon. To prevent its resurrection, the Princess must be burned alive so that no remains are left, to protect Yunyi Country’s dynasty.

In any other country, the most anxious upon hearing this prophecy wouldn’t be the people, but the one on the throne. After all, no one wants their reign to end in their own hands.

In matters like these, familial love, romantic love, and friendship are stripped away, leaving only ruthlessness.

But in Yunyi Country, it was strange; despite the prophecy causing panic among the people, neither the Emperor nor the ministers seemed flustered.

They could even calmly analyze in court the possible causes of such a situation.

Some said it could be another country trying to cause chaos in the court, like the absurd Dongwu Country! Dissatisfied with ceding territory and paying indemnities, they employed such underhanded measures!

Others believed it might be the work of traitors within their own country, like those northern Princes who refused to relinquish power, attempting to threaten the Emperor with the Princess. Who doesn’t know that Princess Yi Fen is the Emperor’s beloved?

Ever since the supposed divine sign appeared, court sessions turned into insult contests.

Today they cursed Dongwu Country as shameless, tomorrow they cursed the northern Princes as ambitious wolves, making sure the insults were crafted with care—not too crude, yet not devoid of crudeness.

Too much vulgarity would dishonor court officials, too little wouldn’t seem sincere enough.

In this matter, civil servants often felt embarrassed for being too eloquent, and military officers felt frustrated for being too coarse.

Only Mr. Duan, actually, Prime Minister Duan, mastered the art of insult perfectly.

It’s the kind of balance where one more step would be too coarse, one less too plain.

“The petty man’s schemes are private, yet he points to other matters, mirrors must be of bronze, bronze is easily polished. Form alliances far from petty men, for they are hard to spare. Forging mirrors to discern subtleties, alliances for mutual support. Copper is not for reflection, petty men harbor controversies, such shamelessness dare to slander Princess Yi Fen should indeed use filth to reflect themselves!”

Listen! How exquisite the words of the Yunyi people, how articulate the Yunyi language! Prime Minister Duan, speak more if you have the words!

Under the guidance of Prime Minister Duan, both civil and military ministers advanced rapidly in the art of insults.

Of course, besides cursing in court, the ministers didn’t idle when the court was adjourned. They were determined that there was something fishy about the so-called divine sign. Even if there wasn’t, there must be, or else the Emperor would think they were involved in something shady.

Besides, with the camaraderie formed through collective cursing, civil and military factions found each other less disagreeable, and they jointly approached the divine sign, observing and conversing cordially.

Civil and military cooperation, work becomes less tiresome.

After abandoning their prejudices, they quickly identified six or seven suspicious points about the divine sign and reported them to the Emperor in court.

Of course, the report inevitably included scholarly language peppered with crude insults. Once the cursing was done, the issue was resolved.

Soon, the court issued a specific communique providing a detailed explanation of the divine sign. Considering that some elderly people might not be literate and the text might be too formal for ordinary folks to understand, the Emperor personally wrote a colloquial version and thoughtfully arranged for a loud-voiced teacher to parade through the streets, reading it aloud as he went.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep