Chapter 91: It’s Indeed Very Interesting
“Hey, hey, hey, have you heard about all the things that have been happening in the capital recently? So much gossip is making me so excited.”
“Of course, I have the latest inside information here. Do you want to hear it!”
“Inside information? Hurry up and tell me, I’m so curious!”
In the bustling teahouse, many customers were busy drinking tea and clinking glasses. Among them, there was no shortage of interesting topics of conversation.
One table was discussing gossip from the capital. A man looked mysteriously, as if he had some big gossip news.
The man at the same table was also very curious and kept asking what kind of gossip it was.
To his surprise, there was something he didn’t know!
“Then I’ll tell you properly, but you can’t tell anyone else…”
As the man said this, his mysterious expression deepened, but his voice did not decrease at all. Instead, it became even louder than before.
He looked like he really wanted others to know, wishing he could directly tell everyone in the capital with a megaphone!
Perhaps this is what ‘saying one thing and meaning another’ is all about!
The man at the same table didn’t pay much attention to this. He just wanted to know what this latest inside information was. It made his heart feel like it was being tickled by a cat.
“What I’m going to say is actually… a story of two men fighting for one woman. But it happens to be a real-life event, and it even involves imperial court ministers!”
“What! Something like this happened? Are both men ministers?”
“Of course. Even the woman being fought over is no ordinary person. It’s said that her surname is Zhou, and her name is Feifei… Although her name sounds very pleasant, her heart is extremely wicked!”
As the two men spoke, guests at several surrounding tables were also eavesdropping intently.
If they didn’t partake in such a big piece of gossip, they wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly at night!
Stories of two men fighting for one woman are not uncommon, but when the three people involved are of noble status, things start to get interesting!
Especially, judging from the conversation, there seems to be something fishy going on!
This makes people even more curious!
What kind of inside story is there!
I really want to pry open this man’s mouth and hear what happens next!
“Oh, Brother Li, stop keeping me in suspense. Just say it all at once, I’m dying of curiosity!”
“Hahaha, don’t be impatient!”
Not only were others anxious to hear, but the man at the same table also drank three large cups of tea out of eagerness. This made the man telling the secret gossip look very proud, as he really enjoyed seeing others looking anxious.
Gossip, it’s so charming!
“Regarding this matter, very few people actually know about it! After all, it’s not good to talk about it. But I can’t bear to see my cousin being deceived by this wicked woman, so I’m telling you today!”
“If you keep playing coy, believe it or not, I’ll hit you!”
“Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore! The wicked woman I just mentioned is actually a young lady from a prominent family. However, she and her father joined forces to use a beauty trap to lure young ministers of the imperial court, making them join factions casually for the sake of beauty.”
“Something like this happened! Could it be that the recent heated debate between the Conservative faction and the Reformist faction is related to this matter?”
As the recent popular factional dispute was mentioned, even more people in the teahouse eavesdropped.
Although they were all common civilians, they were very interested in the state affairs of the Linfeng Kingdom. Each of them had dreamed of becoming a minister and wielding power in the imperial court. The feeling was really too good!
It’s just a dream…
And no matter how fierce the conflict between the two factions in the imperial court was, ordinary people should not know too much about it… However, because Gu Qing joined the Reformist faction, the Conservative faction became restless.
If it continues like this, the Reformist faction will surely win.
How could the Conservative faction watch their enemies win…
So, someone proposed using public opinion to determine the victory or defeat of the two factions, and it was not something that could be stopped by the Empress’s intervention.
Although this might anger the Empress, it was their last resort.
It can be said that this is a all-or-nothing gamble.
However, the current situation is not what the Conservative faction had envisioned.
Even though the gossip about the two factions’ dispute had been released, the subsequent developments were somewhat unbelievable… After all, if the reform of the imperial examination system were known to the public, they would definitely strongly oppose it.
After all, scholars from humble backgrounds have very few resources and are often in the middle to lower ranks in the imperial examinations.
The rags-to-riches stories in storybooks are just stories, completely different from reality.
Scholars from distinguished families receive the best education, the best learning environment, and the most skilled teachers from childhood. However, scholars from ordinary families, apart from a good brain, have no way to compete with them.
Although there are individual cases, they are still too few.
The current reform of the imperial examination system is an act of stifling the opportunities for these scholars from humble backgrounds, so the Conservative faction believes that quite a few civilians will oppose such reforms.
But…
For some reason, after the news of the reform of the imperial examination system was spread, no one in the capital disseminated it. It was like throwing a small pebble into the water; before anyone could react, the ripples on the water had already disappeared.
Instead, news of the Conservative faction’s internal disintegration emerged.
And all of it was bad news.
It was like someone abused maidservants in their early years, someone owed a large gambling debt, someone actually liked men… and so on, countless examples.
After such a mess occurred, many people in the Conservative faction voluntarily left and defected to the Reformist faction, which severely disrupted their morale!
At this moment, the Conservative faction was like a pile of loose sand, no longer having the spirit it once had.
The reason was none other than Li Fei bringing Wang Suili, the two of them directly defected to the Reformist faction, and they had a very strained relationship with the Conservative faction!
Especially with Zhou Li, they became mortal enemies, and they did many underhanded tricks behind his back, making Zhou Li so busy that he no longer had the mind to manage the Conservative faction.
“Hehe, since it involves court affairs, I can’t reveal any more! It’s just that the previous dispute between the two factions will probably have a perfect ending soon. We’ll talk about it again then.”
In the teahouse, when the man heard what his tablemate said, he chuckled, then didn’t say anything more. Instead, he raised his hand and drank a few sips of tea, then quickly left the teahouse.
There was no point in staying any longer. It was better to go and collect his reward as soon as possible.
Just moving one’s lips could earn money. Tsk, gossip is indeed very interesting.
