[The Counter-Campaign]
Si Moheng stood by the window as the morning mist drifted over the capital. In his hand was a report on the rumors orchestrated by Princess Si Yirou: stories of Gu Xingyu using seduction to bewitch the Five Yao to seize the throne.
"Should we eliminate the sources?" his aide, Xiao You, asked.
Moheng chuckled, a cold, mirthless sound. "No. If they want stories, we'll give them better ones. Commission the artists. Draw the 'Enchantress' toying with the Five Yao in ways so absurdly exaggerated that anyone with a brain will see them as fakes. Let the gossip become a farce. When the rumors become too ridiculous to believe, the people will naturally start to think: 'This must all be a lie.'"
"A genius move, Highness," Xiao You bowed.
"And send a message to Si Yirou," Moheng added, his gaze chilling. "Gu Xingyu is not a ladder for her to climb. If she touches her again, I will personally pull her down from her high perch."
[The Farce in the Streets]
Within three days, the capital was flooded with new, outlandish tales.
"The Saintess is a demoness from the abyss! She plans to turn the Five Yao into her mindless thralls!" "She bathes with all five men in the Jade Springs daily!"
"The Crown Prince is so mesmerized he plans to crown her Empress immediately!"
What was once a subtle smear campaign had turned into a circus. The scholars and officials began to frown. "This is getting out of hand," they whispered. "These stories are clearly fabrications meant to destabilize the realm."
[The Princess Unravels]
In her palace, Si Yirou smashed a jade cup. "Who authorized these versions!? This isn't what I ordered! These stories make me look like a fool!"
She grew frantic, ordering her servants to raid the printing shops and storytellers. But the trap was already sprung. By investigating her own network so aggressively, she terrified her followers. Some of her most trusted clerks were discovered to have taken bribes from a certain "Danqu Gallery"—a front operated by Si Moheng's Shadow Guards.
She realized with a jolt of horror: Si Moheng is framing me.
The Crown Prince, Si Moyan, watched from the sidelines. Though he remained silent, the sighs of the court officials reached his ears. "The Princess has lost control. If she cannot maintain her own dignity, how can she be fit for the title of Saintess? Compared to her erratic behavior, Gu Xingyu is a pillar of stability."
[The Checkmate]
Back in his tent, Si Moheng moved a black stone on his chessboard. "She thought she could destroy someone's reputation with words," he murmured to the night. "I'll show her what 'backfire' truly means. Next step: let the Prince see her lose her mind one last time. That will be enough."
He looked toward the horizon. "To break the light of a Saintess, you don't need a blade. You just need to make her extinguish her own lamp."