"Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai are truly regretful!" In the Li Zheng Hall, Empress Zhangsun's eyes were red. As she read the Mo Magazine, tears streamed down her face. For a woman, who did not want to have a perfect love? Even the Empress was not an exception.
In fact, it was not just Empress Zhangsun. The entire palace was filled with sobs. The harem had always been very dull. Meton's Liang Zhu had brought much joy and longing to the palace, but when Meton wrote about Liang Shanbo's death, one could imagine how everyone felt.
"Maid Guanyin, don't be sad. This Emperor will have Meton change the ending." Li Shimin called out Empress Zhangsun's nickname as he hurriedly comforted her. In his memory, he had never seen Empress Zhangsun cry. Even during the Xuanwu Gate incident, he had never seen Empress Zhangsun like this.
"Change what? This was originally Liang Shanbo's ending. This Empress just could not accept it! "Empress Zhangsun embarrassedly wiped away her tears.
She was knowledgeable and naturally knew that in all the versions of Liang Zhu, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai's deaths were tragedies. However, those history books were mostly simple records. After everyone read them, they only sighed in regret. There was not much of a ripple in their hearts.
The reason why Meton's writing caused such a huge uproar was because Meton had paved the way too well in the first few chapters. He had vividly portrayed Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai in front of everyone. Coupled with his criticism of traditional etiquette, it naturally resonated with everyone. People could not help but be drawn into the story. This was why Liang Shanbo's death caused everyone's emotions to collapse.
Li Shimin curled his lips and said, "Maid Guanyin, do not worry. Meton is very cowardly. He will definitely not do something stupid that will anger everyone. In the next chapter, This Emperor dares to guarantee that there will be a turn for the better. Perhaps a divine doctor will appear and revive Liang Shanbo so that Liang Zhu and Zhu Yingtai can be together."
Li Shimin thought that he understood Meton very well. However, he only guessed the ending, not the process.
Empress Zhangsun took a long time to stabilize her emotions. She glared angrily at Li Shimin and said, "Cowardly? That is where you are wrong. Meton is not cowardly at all. On the contrary, he is extremely daring. If he was cowardly, how could you and I be compared to the Zhu's parents?"
"What?" Li Shimin was shocked. After thinking carefully, he realized. While Meton's actions were to correct Princess Changle's reputation, on the other hand, if they stopped the two, then wouldn't a second Liang Zhu be created?
"He dares to threaten This Emperor. I think that this boy is tired of living!" Li Shimin said angrily.
If Meton knew of this, his expression would be bitter. His original intention was to use Liang Zhu as an example so that the world would no longer criticize the two. Who would have thought that this would offend Li Shimin?
Empress Zhangsun rolled her eyes at Li Shimin and said, "What, you really want to break up a pair of mandarin ducks?"
Although she was compared to the Zhu's parents, Empress Zhangsun was not unhappy at all. Apart from this, Meton had done enough for Princess Changle. As a mother-to-be, she was very satisfied.
Even if the Liang Zhu incident was not over yet, the rumors of Liang Shanbo in the past and Mo Jiazi in the present had spread through the streets and alleys of Chang 'an City. Now, the whole city was envious of Meton's engagement with the mysterious cross-dressing woman. Even the most old-fashioned people could not help but feel sad when they saw the Liang Zhu. The wind in Chang' an City changed. The rumors that slandered Meton's sweetheart suddenly disappeared and were replaced by intense envy.
Li Shimin's expression immediately became awkward. The son of Mo was not the bookworm Liang Shanbo. His talent and ability were all first class. It was reasonable to say that he was the best match for Princess Changle. However, it was precisely the private engagement between the two that caused Li Shimin to lose face.
Li Shimin snorted and said, "Whether I want to break up a pair of mandarin ducks depends on whether Meton dares to propose marriage to me."
Not to mention the amount of betrothal gifts needed to marry a princess, just the extravagance alone would cost a lot of money. Meton's salary alone was impossible. When the time came, let's see how he would deal with Mo Jiazi. Thinking of this, he felt very happy.
"I don't care what you men do, but you can't let Changle be sad!" Empress Zhangsun warned in advance.
In Changle's Palace.
Li Zhi and Princess Jinyang were very busy. The two of them had already gotten tired of the remote ignition. Remote ignition seemed magical, but it was no longer magical after they broke through the window paper.
This time, they were busy with Meton's grafting technique.
"Hurry up, give me this peach tree branch!" Li Zhi ordered Princess Jinyang from the side.
Princess Jinyang was like a hardworking little bee. She handed over the persimmon tree branch in her hand and looked at Li Zhi expectantly.
"Ninth Brother! The peaches from this peach tree are the most delicious. Jinyang loves to eat them every year. You must plant them alive, "Princess Jinyang said coquettishly.
There were many excellent fruit trees in the palace, which were the best varieties for grafting. After Li Zhi saw the grafting technique, he couldn't resist the temptation and personally grafted a few of the largest and most delicious peach trees in the imperial garden.
Li Zhi carefully grafted the peach tree branch according to the method in the ink magazine. He patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry, Princess. I promise you that you will eat big and sweet peaches next year."
"Ninth Brother, peaches need to be planted for three years to bear fruit." Changle looked at the busy two and smiled.
Princess Jinyang immediately said, "Ninth Brother, you're lying to me again!"
Princess Changle looked at the two of them fooling around and smiled in her heart. She ordered the palace maids and eunuchs to look after them. She casually picked up the ink magazine and sat in the pavilion to read it.
If ordinary people saw Liang Zhu, they would only be immersed in Liang Zhu's poignant love. However, she had mixed feelings when she read the ink magazine.
Princess Changle was even more moved. How could Zhu Liang not be similar to her and Modun? What they had to face was the customs of the secular world.
However, the most fortunate thing for her was that the Meton she fell in love with was not the bookworm Liang Shanbo. After Liang Zhu's spread, the people around him could clearly feel the change in the world's attitude towards Meton.
Even Li Chengqian and Li Tai, who were indignant and prepared to teach Meton a lesson, were hesitant in the first issue. After this issue, they didn't even dare to come and see her.
Even ordinary palace maids and princesses were secretly envious of the mysterious woman. However, when they saw Princess Changle, they quickly closed their mouths. However, they didn't know that the mysterious woman they were talking about was far away in the sky but right in front of them.
"You are not Liang Shanbo and I am not Zhu Yingtai!" Princess Changle said firmly in her heart.
With this issue of Liang Zhu's popularity, the ink magazine sold well again.
"15,000 copies!"
This was only the circulation in Chang 'an City. When the news spread to the Confucian magazine, Wei Sian didn't know how many pieces of porcelain he had smashed.
"Mo Jiazi!" Wei Sian said with hatred.
The circulation of the Confucian magazine was only 5,000 copies. This was because the Confucian school had a lot of face and there were many Confucian scholars in Chang 'an City. However, after the cancellation of subscriptions, the ink magazine had tripled the circulation of the Confucian magazine just because of Liang Zhu.
If you looked at the whole Tang dynasty, it would be much better than the Confucian magazine. He tried his best and took the initiative, but still couldn't beat Mo Jiazi.
"Go, bring Ma Wencai … No! Chief Editor Ma, please come here! "Wei Sian blurted out.
The servant of the Wei family almost couldn't hold back his laughter. He quickly nodded and left.
Since this issue of the ink magazine, everyone knew that the person who destroyed Liang Zhu's love was called Ma Wencai. Chief Editor Ma also came from the Nishan Academy. He was from the same place as Liang Zhu and was very likely to be Ma Wencai's descendant.
As a result, many people were looking at Chief Editor Ma with strange gazes. Some people were even secretly pointing at him. Rumors and slanders were everywhere, which made Chief Editor Ma furious.
"Greetings, Boss!" Chief Editor Ma said with a sullen face.
Wei Sian didn't care too much. The more the ink magazine offended Chief Editor Ma, the more Chief Editor Ma would stand on his side.
"Chief Editor Ma, do you know that the ink magazine's circulation in Chang 'an City has exceeded 15,000 copies?" Wei Sian asked worriedly as he invited Chief Editor Ma to sit down.
Chief Editor Ma nodded and said with hatred, "The ink magazine is just opportunistic. They took us by surprise!"
He originally wanted to suppress the sales of the ink magazine by revealing the Liang Zhu's plot. He didn't expect it to backfire and increase the sales of the ink magazine.
Wei Sian frowned and said, "Even so, the Liang Zhu still has one more issue to finish. I'm afraid that the next issue of the ink magazine will be even more terrifying. I'm afraid that the Confucian magazine shouldn't fight it head-on!"
Although this issue of the Confucian magazine had the advantage of being published first, it was affected by the ink magazine. It couldn't even compare to the first issue. If nothing unexpected happened, the next issue would be even more dismal.
Chief Editor Ma also took a deep breath. Although he was full of resentment, he also knew that the Liang Zhu's momentum had been established. It was not appropriate to fight it head-on.
"Boss, what do you mean?" Chief Editor Ma frowned.
Wei Sian thought for a moment and said firmly, "The Confucian magazine will publish it ahead of schedule again."
Chief Editor Ma's eyes lit up and said, "Boss, do you mean that the ink magazine will be published one day ahead of schedule again?"
Publishing the Confucian magazine in advance meant that the news would be published in advance. Naturally, fewer people would buy the ink magazine. This was the countermeasure that the Confucian magazine originally thought of. However, who would have thought that the ink magazine would suddenly change its format from the original bi-monthly issue to a ten-day issue? Although the Confucian magazine went all out this time, it was only published on the same day as the ink magazine.
Wei Sian shook his head and said, "Not one day ahead of schedule, but five days ahead of schedule."
"Five days ahead of schedule?" Chief Editor Ma frowned. Five days ahead of schedule meant that the Confucian magazine and the ink magazine would be published every five days. Moreover, the ink magazine occupied the advantage of the Confucian magazine's ten-day issue.
"Yes, it's published five days ahead of schedule!" Wei Sian said affirmatively, "The ink magazine has been established at this moment. The Confucian magazine and the ink magazine will be published on the same day. They won't have the advantage at all."
Although a penny wasn't much, for most people, they would save as much as possible. Ordinary people wouldn't spend two cents to buy the Confucian magazine and the ink magazine at the same time.
The Confucian magazine seemed to have a lot of articles, but it was more preachy and less attractive to ordinary people. Moreover, the source of information was not as good as the ink magazine. They couldn't compete with the ink magazine at all.
"If it's published one day ahead of schedule, it will definitely cause a strong backlash from the ink magazine. Perhaps the ink magazine will be published ahead of schedule again." Wei Sian analyzed.
Chief Editor Ma frowned. He wanted to say that the Confucian magazine should be published ahead of schedule as well, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. The Confucian magazine was just a newly created one. Even if they poached a lot of people from the ink magazine and the major printing houses, it couldn't compare to the ink magazine that had been running for a year. This time, they had already done their best to publish it at the same time as the ink magazine.
Seeing Chief Editor Ma's tacit agreement, Wei Sian was relieved. Chief Editor Ma and Quan Wanji were considering the impact, but Wei Sian was considering the cost.
The printing of newspapers was a loss-making business. Just one copper coin was enough to make a loss. They could only rely on advertising to make up for it. The Confucian magazine relied on the righteousness of Confucianism and didn't accept many advertisements. On the other hand, the ink magazine became popular because of Liang Zhu. Its circulation increased greatly, and its advertising fees increased again and again. It was much better than the Confucian magazine.
Even the Confucian magazine, which burned money, couldn't compare to the ink magazine. The ink magazine had the support of a colossus like Mo Jiazi and its financial strength was strong. On the other hand, the Wei family could only fight against the Confucian magazine. The Wei family's business was huge and there were many places where they needed to spend money. The grain and cloth industries were also suppressed by Meton. They couldn't support such consumption at all.
If it was published five days earlier, the Confucian magazine would be able to split the market with the ink magazine. Coupled with the influence of the Confucian magazine, even if it couldn't compare to the ink magazine, it could at least break even. This was the best time to save the Confucian magazine.
"In that case, aren't we admitting defeat first?" Chief Editor Ma said unwillingly.
Wei Sian comforted him, "The Confucian magazine was just created. It's already commendable to have such results. Right now, we have to endure hardships and wait for the right time."
Chief Editor Ma was helpless and could only let it go.
Firearms Surveillance.
Meton naturally didn't know that the Confucian magazine had begun to temporarily avoid the sharp edge. At this moment, he was carefully looking at the angry Xue Rengui in front of him.
"Is Liang Shanbo really dead?" Xue Rengui asked with a painful expression.
Meton immediately laughed dryly and said, "It's just a novel. Don't take it seriously."
The veins on Xue Rengui's hand that was holding the knife suddenly popped out. He looked at Meton with unkind eyes.
Meton changed the topic and said, "If Colonel Xue is Liang Shanbo, is there a way to break the situation?"
Xue Rengui's face suddenly darkened. He shook his head and said, "The betrothal gift has been received and the marriage contract has been set. There is no turning back."
Meton nodded and said, "So this matter is already destined. The love between Liang and Zhu seems beautiful, but it can't withstand any twists and turns. It can't resist the pressure of the secular world."
Xue Rengui asked, "What about you, Merton?"
Meton heard this and suddenly paused. He knew what Xue Rengui meant. Since Liang Shanbo's ending was destined, then wouldn't he be facing the same predicament as Liang Shanbo?
Meton said firmly, "At least I will fight, fight hard, and not do nothing like Liang Shanbo."
Xue Rengui suddenly said hopefully, "So, in the next episode, Liang Shanbo …"
"There will be an ending that everyone will be satisfied with," Morton said confidently.
Only then did Xue Rengui put down his hand that was holding the hilt of his saber and happily continued his patrol.
Meton watched Xue Rengui leave and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. When an author wrote about the death of the protagonist and met a true fan, it was really dangerous.
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