扒开女人两片毛茸茸黑森林

Finding a Solution (2)

Mo Linyuan dismissed everyone before he softly replied,

“Right now, the only solution I could think of… is to make a *minor sacrifice for the greater good.”

(*The original idiomatic expression 弃车保帅 is a chess reference to sacrifice a rook to save the king. It also means to think of the bigger picture/greater good. So he is playing with a double entendre here).

Everyone was saying how the king was Wen Ze’s son. But, if Mo Linyuan killed Wen Ze, the rumors would naturally be discredited.

However, Mo Linyuan hesitated once again because this was most likely what the enemy wanted him to do.

After all, he had recently given Wen Ze tremendous power. If he truly wanted to make a move against Wen Ze, it might result in Wen Ze rebelling with his newfound influence following the fall of the two other major aristocratic families. In that case, Mo Linyuan would not be able to suppress him easily.

By then, it would be like having a crane fight against a fisherman to reap the benefits of the aftermath.

Ye Mu also thought of this point. She replied, “The Empress Dowager must have predicted you would act this way, and this would give her a chance to get some breathing room.”

Mo Linyuan frowned again, “But this is the quickest solution to the problem. Otherwise, I would have to suppress the Wen family and downgrade his position. However, I’m afraid Wen Ze won’t comply. He will definitely overthink it and assume that I want to make him a figurehead and would still have to kill him in the end.”

Ye Mu agreed, “If it were me, I would also think this way.” After all, Wen Ze was a paranoid person. If the emperor wanted to suppress him, he would definitely resist. And when that happens, the situation would be uncontrollable.

“If this won’t do, and that won’t work… What exactly should I do?” Mo Linyuan sighed with exasperation. “This situation came so quickly and violently, especially at this time, I was truly caught off guard by it. There are too many who want to beat up a person who’s already down, I truly do not know who I can trust at this moment.”

Ye Mu wrinkled her brows as she pondered. Eventually, her eyes lit up and she snickered evilly.

“Actually, you’ve thought wrong.”

“Huh?”

Ye Mu’s eyes brightened with excitement, “This situation is complex because of the Wen family’s involvement. That’s why, when this event occurred, you could only think of solutions revolving around Wen Ze, such as sacrificing him for the greater good and whatnot. But honestly, that is a mediocre solution.”

“Then, do you have a better solution? Mo Linyuan turned his head to look at Ye Mu while grabbing her hand.

Ye Mu laughed lightly, “The reason why the rumors about the emperor being an illegitimate child spread so quickly was just because the commoners all seek news about the nobles. What if we created an even more juicy piece of gossip! That way, even the previous rumors would be considered as old news.”

Ye Mu’s idea caused Mo Linyuan’s eyes to light up, “What you mean is, have the opponent get a taste of her own medicine?!”

“That’s right!” Ye Mu thought of her era, where celebrities would often use this method which had shown to be quite effective!

Mo Linyuan squinted his eyes thoughtfully, before laughing merrily. His arms reached out to engulf Ye Mu in an embrace, he joyfully exclaimed,

“You truly are my biggest treasure! I know what to do now!”

As Ye Mu sat within his embrace, she looked at him with anticipation, “Oh? You’ve already thought of something so quickly?”

Mo Linyuan nodded, “Besides an illegitimate child, what else would be an even more scandalous story?”

They held each other’s gaze, as they recollected a conversation from a few years back.

Ye Mu asked in bewilderment, “You couldn’t be referring to the Empress Dowager’s secret love affair?”

She was speechless. She would’ve never thought that story would make a full circle back. It was unexpectedly Mo Linyuan that was making this suggestion.

Mo Linyuan smirked, “The Empress Dowager has always wasted money on her private life. I wouldn’t have to spend too much effort to capture her information for use!”

Ye Mu pondered for a moment, “Then this must be taken care of as quickly as possible, or else the current situation wouldn’t be good for you!”

Mo Linyuan grinned confidently, “You see, with you beside me, I’m positive I can accomplish anything.”