My chat group is full of female losers

Chapter 325 Hidden Dangers Emerge
Upon hearing this, Changhong's slight nervousness vanished instantly, replaced by a condescending mockery. He couldn't help but smirk, "Oh? What's he planning to do now?"

Shen Yanchen replied, "He's planning to control the spread of the fake rumors!"

"Hmm?" Chang Hong frowned. Shen Yanchen's words were vague and abstract, making them difficult to understand. So Chang Hong pressed on, "What do you mean? Explain it more clearly."

Shen Yanchen immediately spilled all the information he had gathered: "Specifically, he plans to first select several easily controllable areas in the capital, and then secretly release different counter-rumors within these selected areas."

Then, a large number of reliable people are used to secretly maintain the existence of these rumors, ensuring that they only spread within a small area of ​​the designated region and are not easily leaked to other areas, and also preventing external rumors from infiltrating.

Finally, observe carefully. Because this way, if you're not nearby, you won't discover the rumors and naturally won't be targeted. Therefore, by focusing on which area's rumors are first targeted, you can pinpoint where you're hiding!

As Changhong read this detailed description, his expression turned strange.

She couldn't help but sigh inwardly: What a brilliant scheme! If it weren't for Shen Yanchen's tip-off, she might have really been in trouble. She wondered who that woman was, plotting behind the emperor's back. With such exceptional wisdom, how could she willingly become an accomplice to evil? Truly pathetic.

Of course, she had no worries at all. After all, no matter what plan Chu Lu came up with, it would be useless as long as Shen Yanchen told her the inside story.

She calmly replied, "You've done a great job again this time. Once I catch the group leader, you'll be the second biggest contributor."

Shen Yanchen was silent for a moment, then sent a somewhat sharp and direct probing question: "Really? What about Su Wanqing?"

Chang Hong's lips curled slightly as she replied, "She only got credit for providing timely information; how can that compare to your continuous stream of important intelligence? But don't tell anyone else, I have no interest in dealing with her little tantrums."

"I understand, I will definitely keep my mouth shut," Shen Yanchen assured him with satisfaction.

After ending her conversation with Shen Yanchen, Chang Hong casually closed the chat group. She looked around the empty room and suddenly called out loudly, "Yun Que."

"Princess!" The door was immediately pushed open, and Yun Que's agile figure appeared in the doorway, respectfully asking, "What are your orders?"

"Go," Changhong lazily ordered, "find me a woman who looks good outside."

A hint of curiosity flashed across Yun Que's delicate face, but she didn't ask a single question. She simply replied, "Yes, Princess!"

Before she finished speaking, she turned and went out, her figure quickly disappearing into the night.

Changhong lay back down on the bed, closed his eyes, and a wicked smile suddenly appeared on his lips.

If the goal was simply to thwart Chu Lu's plan, it would be incredibly easy. She only needed to have Yun Que scour the capital to identify which rumors they were spreading in which areas, and then she could randomly choose to debunk those rumors, or simply not debunk any at all, which would be enough to completely thwart his plan.

But she wasn't going to do that.

No matter how good-tempered, gentle, and reasonable Chang Hong may seem on the surface, she is still a strong female lead at heart, and her inherent nature will not change.

The incident where Shen Yanchen reported the trap had truly terrified her. Although it was merely a fair counterattack, a righteous act, and hadn't caused any real harm, a normal person would at most feel a lingering fear and secretly admire their opponent's cunning. But she was different. She harbored a deep resentment towards Chu Lu and was single-mindedly determined to get revenge.

In her view, it was a huge offense that someone who only stole their glory dared to use such insidious schemes against her and almost succeeded.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

She wanted to take this opportunity to thoroughly humiliate Chu Lu and make him see clearly just how vast the gap between them really was!

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In the following days, Changhong did not rush to take action. She first sent Yun Que to investigate secretly, and soon confirmed that Shen Yanchen's information was true and that several rumors had indeed appeared that were limited to specific areas.

On the street in the east of the city, where cloth shops are clustered together, people keep saying, "His Majesty has invited a fairy maiden to protect the country and bring peace to the land. We're just waiting for the enemy to come to us so we can wipe them out in one fell swoop." But as soon as you turn to the antique alley in the west of the city, the tone changes immediately, and it becomes, "The Ministry of Works has invented a kind of mechanical war machine. One of them is worth a whole battalion!"

In the teahouses of the south of the city, all sorts of versions of the rumors circulated. Each area's gossip was cleverly cultivated by a group of seemingly idle men, tea drinkers, and itinerant peddlers. These people always managed to subtly steer the conversation back on track when it veered off course, blocking out all outside whispers like a wall.

After observing for a while, Changhong immediately discovered the weakness of the plan. The method sounded ingenious, but it was extremely difficult to execute. To isolate these areas from each other, it was impossible to do without a lot of time and manpower.

But her plan could only be launched after the other party was ready, so she simply waited quietly.

During her patient wait, the situation inside and outside the capital deteriorated at a alarming rate. The battle reports from the front lines grew uglier day by day, and the allied forces of the Great River Kingdom were losing key border towns one after another like a flood.

In the capital, people were in a state of panic. Rice prices were soaring every day, and fights, fueled by various rumors, were becoming increasingly frequent and were on the verge of getting out of control.

The oppressive atmosphere before the storm was almost suffocating. This panic even began to permeate the imperial court.

Inside the imperial study, Chu Lu frowned, a pile of urgent battle reports flying in like snowflakes in front of him.

Just then, a eunuch's high-pitched voice rang out from outside the hall, saying that Huo Qi, the commander of the Imperial Guards, was requesting an audience.

"Let him in." Chu Lu didn't even lift his eyelids. Huo Qi strode in, his armor clattering, and bowed respectfully.

"What is it?" Chu Lu put down the battle report in his hand and asked, "Is there any progress on the matter I asked you to handle before?"

Huo Qi raised his head, his face full of worry. He shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, the plan has not yet been implemented. I did not come here today for this matter."

"Oh?" Chu Lu raised an eyebrow. "Then what are you doing here?"

"Your Majesty!" Huo Qi took a deep breath, his tone filled with a desperate urgency, "This humble general has come to implore Your Majesty to return to the right path!"

Chu Lu frowned slightly: "What right path?"

Seeing that he didn't immediately fly into a rage, Huo Qi grew bolder and continued, "Your Majesty, the country is in grave danger. We face a powerful enemy at the border and the people are restless at home. Yet you turn a blind eye to all this, wasting vast amounts of manpower on some fabricated rumor scheme, determined to find out who knows if the mastermind is even real..."

Forgive my boldness, but what you're doing is completely putting the cart before the horse!

Huo Qi spoke with heartfelt sincerity: "Your Majesty, the most important thing right now is to stabilize the people's hearts, stabilize the court, and mobilize troops to fight! Please stop focusing on those trivial matters; the stability of this country is the big picture that you should be shouldering!"

Huo Qi had actually wanted to say these words when they met last time, but he was interrupted by a new task suddenly issued by Chu Lu, and had no chance to continue, so he had to step back for the time being.

However, seeing the chaos in the capital during this time, he became increasingly uneasy and couldn't sleep at night. In the end, he couldn't help but approach Chu Lu again and say these words.

After saying that, he felt much better and looked at Chu Lu with anticipation. In his opinion, Chu Lu was by no means an incompetent or foolish person and would definitely understand his advice.

After hearing his words, Chu Lu showed no surprise on his face, clearly having expected this. He was even somewhat surprised that Huo Qi had managed to hold back until now.

Chu Lu's approach was certainly correct. The root of all the problems currently lies with that powerful female lead; only by finding her can everything be resolved. Trying to appease people by bypassing her is pointless, but only those in the know can understand this; to outsiders, it seems utterly absurd, even foolish and irrational.

However, it was impossible for him to reveal all these inside stories.

So Chu Lu could only wave his hand and say in a perfunctory tone, "I understand. Once the source of this rumor is found, I will immediately take steps to appease the people."

Upon hearing this, Huo Qi's heart sank; it was clear that they hadn't listened. He immediately wanted to speak again and argue his point.

"Enough!" Chu Lu didn't want to waste any more words on him. After all, it was impossible to come up with a reasonable explanation to convince him, so saying more would be useless. He simply interrupted him and said in a deep voice, "You may leave."

"...Yes, Your Majesty." Seeing this, Huo Qi knew that further persuasion was useless, so he could only suppress his disappointment and retreat with a dissatisfied expression.

No sooner had Huo Qi left the Imperial Study than the news spread, and soon after, his colleagues who were on good terms with him came to visit and inquire.

Huo Qi was already harboring resentment, so when asked, he didn't hide anything and told her what had happened in the Imperial Study.

The news spread like wildfire among officials.

That night, the residences of several high-ranking officials were brightly lit.

In the residence of Prime Minister Shen Shi'an, Minister of Revenue Jia Ruhui and Minister of Rites Wen Yutang sat facing each other, their faces solemn.

Jia Ruhui wiped his brow with a silk handkerchief and broke the silence first, tentatively asking, "Prime Minister Shen, what do you think of this matter? What exactly is His Majesty up to? I'm really... not thinking straight. Wasn't the Empress Dowager's matter over a long time ago? Why is he still so persistent? What is he trying to achieve?"

Shen Shi'an, seated at the head of the table, remained motionless with his thin body. His cloudy eyes, deep-set in their sockets, seemed to twitch slightly as he spoke slowly, "Lord Jia, please don't be hasty. Although His Majesty is young, I can tell he is not a senile man. Have you forgotten that deadly poisoning case in the palace last time?"

Upon hearing this, Minister of Rites Wen Yutang's handsome face revealed a gentle smile. He continued, "Prime Minister Shen, are you saying... just like last time? His Majesty also made a move that no one could understand. First, he targeted Zhao Dequan, using torture to extract a confession and fabricating false evidence, which provoked our opposition. But unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better, and he actually uncovered the real culprit, A-Ling. So, this time... it's another of His Majesty's schemes?"

"It's hard to say, really hard to say." Shen Shi'an slowly shook his head and closed his eyes again. "But one thing is certain: His Majesty must have his reasons for doing this. Although we don't understand it, we shouldn't jump to conclusions. Let's wait and see."

Similar whispers echoed in the back halls of almost every high-ranking official's residence in the capital. These seasoned officials, which one wasn't filled with doubt and restless anticipation? But remembering Chu Lu's past behavior, most chose to suppress their doubts. Let's wait and see.

But despite their meticulous planning, they never anticipated that things would unfold so rapidly.

Early the next morning, Prime Minister Shen Shi'an went to the government office to handle official business as usual. A trusted aide rushed in and handed him a secret letter that had been delivered by express courier from the border.

Shen Shi'an opened the envelope, and with just one glance, the color drained from his face, leaving him as white as a sheet of paper.

He swayed violently and almost fell off the chair.

(End of this chapter)