AUBTN -Chapter 168 Water Can Carry a Boat, but It Can Also Capsize It

Shen Jue shook his head helplessly. “The Princess Royal wields the young emperor as if he were a child, and even he can only try to dissuade her.”

“What about the Empress Dowager? She wouldn’t just let the Princess Royal run wild, would she?”

Shen Jue shook his head again, a shadow of gravity crossing his eyes.

“The Empress Dowager is naturally furious, but the Princess Royal now acts with impunity. She even invokes her status as the late emperor’s only legitimate daughter, applying both soft and hard tactics. It has infuriated the Empress Dowager so much that her old ailments have flared up again.”

Shen Jue’s tone was tinged with coldness.

“However, recuperation is also a form of strategy. The Empress Dowager is taking this opportunity to secretly coordinate with several elder statesmen in the court who are deeply dissatisfied with the Princess Royal’s actions, preparing to strike at just the right moment.”

“Strike at the right moment? What moment? Are we supposed to just wait for her to crush us all?”

Yu Qing, who had been silent until now, finally erupted.

She slumped onto the stone steps beside her, running her hands through her hair in agitation, radiating a sense of hopeless despair as if she were about to collapse.

“By the time those old men have finished debating how to write their memorials, our shops will already be closed for good! All the sisters who follow us will have no food to eat! Wan Niang’s revenge hasn’t been served, and we ourselves will be trampled into the mud!”

She suddenly lifted her head, her reddened eyes blazing with grief and frustration, her voice trembling with the strain of holding back tears.

“Is there really no one who can rein in this crazy woman?!”

The cry was filled with the helplessness and unwillingness of a modern soul trapped under feudal imperial power.

Lu Yan felt a pang in his heart as if pricked by a needle. He instinctively wanted to step forward, but Su Hewan stopped him with a single glance.

At this moment, Yu Qing didn’t need comfort—she needed an outlet for her emotions.

Su Hewan moved beside Yu Qing, slowly crouching down and taking her icy hands.

“Qing Qing, have you forgotten what we’re best at?”

Yu Qing looked at her blankly.

Su Hewan spoke clearly and calmly, each word precise.

“We have the truth. We have the people. And we have… weapons sharper than swords.”

Su Hewan stood up, her gaze sweeping over Shen Jue and Lu Yan.

“Li Yunxi wants to play the public opinion game, to destroy our reputation. Then we’ll fight fire with fire.”

“She cuts off our flower materials? Then we’ll set her backyard on fire!”

Yu Qing blinked in confusion, her mind unable to catch up. “Set fire… how?”

A cold, sharp smile curved Su Hewan’s lips.

“With a story that moves hearts and brings tears to eyes.”

She looked at Shen Jue. “Master, you have underlings, don’t you? Storytellers who can make the dead seem alive, troupes who can stage little performances?”

Shen Jue instantly understood her plan, a flicker of admiration in his phoenix-like eyes.

“The largest teahouses and theaters in the capital all fall under the Eastern Depot’s control.”

“Excellent.”

Su Hewan’s plan quickly took shape in her mind.

“Starting tomorrow, I want the entire capital singing a new story.”

“The story will be called—‘The Grievance of Xizhou.’”

“A Princess Royal, arrogant and overbearing, married far away; a gentle yet prematurely deceased prince consort; and a loyal servant who travels thousands of miles to avenge their master.”

Yu Qing snorted with a laugh. “Why not just put her ID number in the story?”

Su Hewan smiled as well. “Shameless doesn’t matter, as long as it works! I believe the common people will love it!”

Yu Qing’s eyes immediately lit up.

“I get it! A PR war! Reverse brainwashing! Using magic to defeat magic!”

Seeing Yu Qing instantly revitalized, Lu Yan’s tense expression finally relaxed slightly, his gaze revealing a fondness and helplessness even he hadn’t realized.

Su Hewan turned to Lu Yan. “Lu Yan, the Jinyiwei have informants throughout the capital. I need your men to spread this story into the palace. Everyone should know it!”

Without hesitation, Lu Yan nodded. “Understood.”

This was both an overt strategy and a psychological tactic.

Li Yunxi might not care about the scorn of the common people, but the imperial family could not afford to lose face.

The young emperor might hesitate out of filial feelings, but the full court of officials and the endless chatter of the populace would become the final straw to crush her.

“We won’t just ruin her reputation,” Su Hewan’s voice grew colder, carrying a solemn tribute to the lives lost, “we’ll force her to reveal her own flaws.”

Shen Jue took her hand, enclosing her icy fingertips in his warm palm, and whispered, “She will. A madwoman used to controlling everything cannot tolerate becoming the villain in someone else’s story.”

The four of them exchanged a glance.

They would make Li Yunxi understand that water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.

At Jingcheng’s largest teahouse, Tingfeng Pavilion, every seat was filled today; even the aisles were packed with people.

The wooden clapper snapped, and the room fell silent.

The storyteller’s words poured out like a river, spittle flying as he spoke.

“Ladies and gentlemen, today we won’t speak of the Three Kingdoms, nor the heroes of the Water Margin.”

“Today, we tell a strange tale called The Lament of Xizhou.”

“It is said that in Xizhou lived a devoted prince consort, gentle as jade and exceptionally talented.”

“He married a long-princess of noble lineage, seemingly a match made in heaven. Yet who would have thought, this was the beginning of a nightmare!”

The audience held their breath, afraid to miss a single word.

“The long-princess had a violent temper; if anything displeased her, she would either beat or scold the prince consort.”

“She kept numerous male favorites, turning the once-honorable prince consort’s household into chaos!”

“Pity the prince consort, who bore all insults for the sake of his family’s honor.”

“Until one day, he discovered that the long-princess had poisoned his personal maid herself, simply because the maid had glanced at him!”

A murmur of shock rose from the audience.

“Such wickedness!”

“This is no princess—she’s a she-devil!”

The storyteller waved his folded fan and lowered his voice.

“The horror doesn’t end there. When the prince consort tried to lodge a complaint before the throne, the poisonous woman forced him to ingest poison, and he died with blood flowing from every orifice!”

“She then faked an illness, took her vast wealth, and strutted back to the capital!”

The allegory in this story was glaringly obvious.

Anyone who wasn’t a fool could tell exactly who it was about.

Within half a day, the tale of The Lament of Xizhou spread like wildfire through every street and alley of Jingcheng.

Even the palace eunuchs secretly murmured and recited lines from the play.

Meanwhile, ten li outside the capital, in the suburbs…

A stretch of long-abandoned saline-alkali land.

Su Hewan held a yellowed land deed in her hand.

Yu Qing followed behind, stepping awkwardly in the mud.

Her once-delicate embroidered shoes were now caked in mud.

“Wanwan, are you sure anything can grow here?”

Yu Qing looked out over the endless wasteland in despair.

“My goodness, this isn’t starting a business—it’s surviving in the wild!”

Su Hewan turned back, seeing the hopeless expression on Yu Qing’s face, and her lips curved into a slight smile.

“This land is poor, yes, but it’s close to a water source.”

“With soil improvement and planting cold-resistant herbs and wild chrysanthemums, we’ll have produce to sell within three months.”