"Come and see, come and look! Consort Shu is rebelling, she wants a divorce from the Emperor!"
The newsboy waved the newspapers in his hand, shouting at the top of his lungs.
It was as if someone had pressed the pause button on the street; everyone froze.
What? Did they hear that right?
"I'll take a paper."
Someone took the lead, and the others quickly reacted. Regardless of whether it was just a gimmick, a newspaper only cost two coppers. They might as well buy one to see for themselves.
"I want one too."
"I'll take two—no, three."
The little newsboy beamed at the sudden boom in business, shouting for them not to rush as he collected money and handed out papers. It wasn't long before he threw his hands open:
"All gone, sold out."
Afraid they wouldn't believe him, he even flipped open his satchel to show them. It really was empty, save for papers from other publishers. "Actually, these papers are pretty good too, they have the latest news on the war!"
The newsboy pitched enthusiastically.
Unfortunately, few bought it. War news was certainly a matter of life and death, but the gossip about Consort Shu wanting a divorce tickled their curiosity far more.
Those who couldn't buy a copy shamelessly huddled together to read over others' shoulders.
Gasps erupted all around.
This newspaper wasn't selling snake oil; Consort Shu really was getting a divorce. Not only was there a handwritten letter, but there were also photographs. It definitely wasn't fake.
Good heavens, a bizarre event that hadn't occurred in thousands of years was actually happening now.
An imperial concubine taking the initiative to divorce the emperor!
"Tell me, Consort Shu was living a perfectly good life, why would she divorce The Last Emperor? There must be a reason behind it."
"You don't need to tell us that, kid."
"I heard The Last Emperor doesn't like Consort Shu, he only likes being with the Empress. Being so lonely in her private chambers, she just couldn't bear it anymore. Women are just fickle."
Someone immediately retorted:
"Bullshit! We aren't idiots. Consort Shu wouldn't dare risk universal condemnation to divorce just for that. My neighbor's third niece also got divorced recently. Guess why?"
"That guy looked gentle but was actually a pervert. He loved raising his hand against women, specifically picking places where the bruises couldn't be seen." He shook his head, looking sympathetic:
"The neighbor's niece looked perfectly fine on her face, but in reality, she was beaten black and blue. It was only when she was sent to the hospital that her maiden family realized their perfectly good daughter was almost beaten to death."
"Who would want a divorce unless it was an absolute last resort? It always ruins a woman's reputation."
"Are you implying..."
"I didn't say anything. I was just telling a story."
The crowd shared a tacit understanding.
Someone else followed up on the topic, coughing lightly twice. "Also, The Last Emperor has been married for almost ten years, right? Let alone a child, there hasn't even been news of a pregnancy."
"That... isn't normal, is it?"
The implication was even more explosive.
The crowd grew excited, their discussions reaching a fever pitch. They even forgot to lower their voices—what was there to fear? Could a deposed emperor really control all of them?
Two figures slipped away silently.
At the street corner, someone handed them a bag of money: "Good job. Here is the agreed-upon payment. Remember, keep your mouths shut once you take the money, otherwise..."
"We know, we know."
The two bowed and scraped.
Similar scenes continued to unfold.
...
Within Beiping City.
Countless similar scenes were taking place.
The chief editor sat in his office, the phone ringing off the hook. There were urgent requests for more papers, peers calling to fish for information, and even big shots calling personally to get the first-hand gossip.
He finally got a moment of free time.
He had just moistened his throat with some tea.
The next second, a subordinate burst into the office, saying anxiously: "This is bad! We just got news that newspapers in other cities have also reported the news of Consort Shu getting a divorce. What should we do!"
To be honest.
Upon first hearing this, the chief editor was both shocked and angry. He stood straight up. This news wasn't an exclusive? He had spent a full thousand bucks on it!
Then he calmed down.
He smiled bitterly in his heart.
He had miscalculated. That voice had said the interview would depend on the impact of the report. So this was what they meant. Their newspaper had other competitors, didn't they?
Also, if his guess was correct.
Miss Su was deliberately taking revenge. Naturally, she wouldn't limit this news to just Beiping. Detonating public opinion nationwide was exactly the sort of thing she would do.
He couldn't stop it.
So he would just have to accept it.
"What's there to make a fuss about?"
The chief editor sat down calmly and said to his subordinate: "What do newspapers in other cities have to do with us? As long as we are the first to report it here in Beiping, that's enough."
The subordinate looked at him with admiration.
"By the way, go check how many copies we sold today, and tell the printing press to speed up production."
"Yes, sir."
The office returned to silence. The chief editor sighed, lost in thought. Suddenly, the phone rang again. At the exact moment he reached out to answer it, a thought struck him—
Out of all the newspaper publishers in Beiping, why had Miss Su chosen them?
...
The reason was very simple.
Because of their high sales volume, and because they were the only newspaper that hadn't kicked a man while he was down too harshly after the assassination incident. Su Ning had been quite surprised when she discovered this; it was a rather unexpected find.
So, the opportunity fell into their lap.
But an opportunity was just an opportunity.
Whether they had the guts to take it was another matter entirely. Although the feudal imperial system had ended, its lingering influence wasn't so easily erased...
Looking at the statistical data.
Su Ning found that, sure enough, this Beiping newspaper had the highest sales and made the biggest impact, mainly because the quality of their articles was top-notch.
Even she felt her heart surge when reading it.
It made her want to curse out loud, holy crap, something like this actually happened!
"If there are no major changes later on, arrange for Consort Shu to accept an interview with this newspaper."
That settled it.
Lin Sen agreed briskly, then thought for a moment and added: "Consort Shu seems very anxious. She's probably still worried about the reaction from Jingyuan. Should we postpone the interview a bit?"
It would be troublesome if she suddenly backed out.
"No need."
Su Ning waved her hand dismissively. "That stray dog only has a shred of lingering prestige in the eyes of the old guard, and even that is pathetically thin. Even if I hadn't intervened, she wouldn't have been able to endure it for much longer anyway."
Her tone was certain.
As if she were stating an established fact.
A few seconds later, Lin Sen seemed to snap back to reality and agreed. As he left, he respectfully closed the door behind him, offering a fleeting glimpse of his wrist, which was so thin that the veins were starkly visible.
Su Ning withdrew her gaze.
In this play of being "critically ill and dying," not only was she, the protagonist, working diligently—locked in her room, not daring to take a single step outside while letting the outside world curse her.
The others, as supporting actors, were also putting in a lot of effort.
Like Lin Sen, for example.
To convince others, an extreme diet wasn't enough. He stayed up all night without sleep, losing over a dozen pounds in a short period. His eyes were bloodshot, his expression unfocused and dazed.
He perfectly fit the persona of a loyal subordinate panicking over his dying boss.
Good thing it was almost time to wrap things up.
Su Ning thought to herself, otherwise, what would she do if her Assistant Lin starved to death?
