Literary Master 1983

Chapter 402 A Handsome Young Man Famous in the Surrounding Area
This news ignited British public opinion and swept across the entire Western world like a whirlwind.

One is a promising young writer, and the other is a commoner princess. Readers have imagined a series of dramatic scenarios: the princess has read Yu Qie's works and has long admired him, but the difference in their social status is too great, and they have never really met.

As the New Year approached, paper boats left by lovers floated everywhere on the Thames. The Princess finally couldn't bear the longing and left her own blessing on one of them.

A Platonic infatuation seems to have occurred, and it may be one-sided.

According to reports, Princess Diana liked Charles because she often "saw melancholy" in his eyes, felt he was knowledgeable and skilled in various sports, which aroused Diana's maternal instincts... However, none of these aspects could compare to a true literary figure.

Who could not love Yuqie?
Even in Britain, no one would refuse a young millionaire with tens of millions of dollars. Especially since his wealth and power are not inherited, unlike Charles who had to wait half a century to inherit them. Yuche himself is wealth, and he will have even more wealth in the future.

When wealth reaches a level where one can have whatever one desires, a person's charm is determined more by their appearance, talent, and other qualities.

Some people secretly thought: Charles always has a gloomy face and a bitter expression. He is also very withdrawn. If he weren't a prince, why would he go to Cambridge? Why would any girl like him?
The British tabloid News of the World published a photo of Charles with his bodyguards when he was studying at Cambridge.

The bodyguard in the photo only shows half of his face, but he is imposing and handsome, while Charles looks like a bamboo pole!
In this photo featuring only the two of them, the editor, seemingly worried that readers wouldn't recognize the prince, added a caption: "The first one from the right is Prince Charles."

The despicable News of the World even published photos of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip—one was beautiful and the other handsome when they were young, but for some reason, Charles did not inherit his parents' good looks.

At Buckingham Palace, Charles angrily shouted:

"Damn it! This is all bullshit reporting!"

"And this piece of shit, Yu from the East... I don't care who he is, he pretended to investigate the British sailors, wasn't he just trying to mock us? I see through him! How dare he provoke me..."

Charles felt like he was having trouble breathing.

What particularly enraged him was that his eldest son, William, had also signed it. These poisonous novels had corrupted William's young mind.

Immediately afterwards, Charles's gaze fell on a piece of Chinese porcelain, and he immediately picked it up... The butler was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he advised Charles not to throw the vase.

"why?"

"Because this porcelain piece is worth a fortune."

"It is under my control, under the control of the royal family!"

"But you are not the king yet..."

Charles was stunned upon hearing this, and all the strength in his body vanished instantly.

Yes!

The crown prince is the crown prince after all; even a small newspaper can bully me. If I were king, things would be different… But his mother is still young; should we curse her to die suddenly?
That's incredibly filial!
Charles could only release the following statement: Diana's affair was complete nonsense! It was all fake news!

Britain's three major newspapers quickly published a statement from the Royal Family denying the allegations. "Diana did not know Mr. Yu, and she did not read novels. This news damages the reputation of both the Royal Family and an author."

Yu Qie also felt this blame was inexplicable; he didn't share Cao Cao's interests. He immediately issued a statement in the European News: "I have had no contact with the Princess, and I didn't even know her before coming to England."

However, it was all for naught. In the following days, Yu Qie saw daily updates in the newspapers about his "relationship" with Diana; the royal family's overly decisive statement had backfired! The media had already unearthed inside stories about Diana's visit to Japan:
A photograph of Diana flipping through Neruda's poetry collection.

This is a Chinese translation, yet it has become popular in Japan. Just as Lu Xun's original works, such as "Call to Arms" and "Hesitation," were introduced to Japan after he became famous, there is a similar trend among Japanese book lovers today to seek out this Chinese translation.

It was early 87, just as Yoche won the Spanish Language Award, sparking a Yoche craze in Japan. When Diana visited Japan, she saw Yoche's novels everywhere in bookstores, so she bought a copy to read and then brought it to the media to show it to them.

"Kacha!"

She left behind a photograph.

What was a publicity stunt back then has become evidence of what happened today.

Yu Qie was dumbfounded after reading it. Heaven knows why Diana would do such a thing.
"I'm here in England to...do charity work, what are you trying to do?" Yu Qie was speechless. "What are your intentions and purposes in distributing these things, you British people?"

“It’s all a show!” Cowen said. “She always acts like a princess, doing things that ordinary people like to do. The Japanese people like to idolize Yukichi, so she does the same thing.”

"So you knew what kind of person Diana was!" Yu Qie was speechless. "Then why do you like her so much?"

"Because Diana was willing to put on a show. And the British royal family, represented by Charles, always remained aloof and maintained their mystique."

“But these media outlets aren’t telling the truth at all. You just watch them spout nonsense? I didn’t cuckold Charles. You know I’m innocent. I didn’t do anything.”

Cowens was also helpless. "In Western society, the media is the fourth estate, and even the royal family can't do anything about it. The News of the World often writes about the Iron Lady's sex scandals, but she is the Prime Minister of the British Empire, and there's nothing she can do about it!"

"Wait, what do you British people say about the Iron Lady?"

"She has a fondness for handsome young men who are famous throughout the surrounding area. She's getting a bit of dementia now, and she'll be unable to move once she sees a handsome man in the cabinet."

"This doesn't seem to be fake news," Yu Qie said cautiously, stroking his chin.

"Yes, so other people will think the same way about you."

Yu Qie was speechless.

The situation escalated rapidly. Yu Qie, who was a powerful figure in serious debates, was surprisingly powerless in this kind of scandal.

In mid-January, Yu Qie organized more than ten veterans of the Lisbon Maru in the UK and sponsored them to travel to China to find their relatives.

Among these veterans was one particularly wealthy man who voluntarily covered all their expenses and also donated $100,000 to the Yuche Foundation. "Because you saved my life!"

Yu Qie was naturally overjoyed.

Instead of having veterans' barbecues and taxis, British veterans should thank their saviors.

Zhoushan is a good place, and so are the Jiangnan region.

Investing here will definitely not let them down.

Domestically, the response has been very cooperative. While the domestic response has historically been slow, they have recognized the immense public interest in this matter and are already discussing formally inviting the British government to launch a regular veterans' home visit program. Wang Meng, Qian Zhongshu, and others are pushing for this, and the matter has been reported to the central government. The Lisbon Maru incident could later be used as a humanitarian bargaining chip, sometimes proving far more effective than ping-pong diplomacy.

It wasn't until 09 that the mainland belatedly realized the need to do this, and it wasn't until 14 that the first person visited relatives. Unfortunately, by then the circumstances had already changed drastically.

As a result, Yu Qie's joy turned to sorrow when, during the farewell ceremony, someone inquired about his alleged affair with Diana.

"I swear, I didn't do anything," Yu Qie said, looking embarrassed.

The British prisoners of war burst into laughter. "I know it's impossible, but it could be if it were you. You're better than that indifferent Charles; he doesn't deserve to be our king."

Yu Qie realized that his scandal was like the extra bowl of noodles in Xiao Liuzi's belly.

Most people believed that Xiao Liuzi didn't do it, and Xiao Liuzi indeed didn't do it. Xiao Liuzi knew this, and people knew he didn't do it; but they liked to watch the spectacle.

Britain has two major tabloids, the News of the World and The Sun. They specialize in reporting outrageous crime stories and celebrity gossip. The News of the World was once the world's best-selling newspaper—a testament to its popularity.

Sales figures speak for themselves! In British tabloids, there's a famous "third page" rule. This refers to the fact that on the "third page," newspapers dedicate an entire page to photos of naked women.

These newspapers were filled with gossip about "who slept with whom," and the main characters were the big shots who ruled all of Britain.

The public believes that "the news accuracy is less than 10%" in statistics, but this does not stop them from enjoying the entertainment. They are also aware that tabloids are not respectable, and on the subway and trains in Britain, the middle class will buy a decent copy of the Financial Times on their way to work, and then slip tabloids such as the News of the World and The Sun inside, "sneaking a peek" along the way. When the train or subway arrives at the station, they will have finished reading the tabloids, throw them away, and then walk confidently into the office with the Financial Times in hand.

The documentary filming of the Lisbon Maru also went poorly.

When the book "Lisbon Maru" was published in Japan and immediately became a hit, the documentary filmed following it was shut down.

"I'm sorry, your documentary cannot be broadcast on television," the department head at the television station said to Kevin.

Kevin was furious: "Do you know what? I suspect that Japanese TV stations can broadcast this documentary, or at least they will wait until it is broadcast before banning it... Between us and the little JAP (a derogatory term for Japan), who is the fascist?"

"Ke Wensi, don't get angry," the bald department head said calmly.

He then hinted that the delayed screening of the documentary was partly due to obstruction by powerful figures.

The BBC is a national television station. Although its documentary division is independent and responsible for its own profits and losses, it is still subject to the jurisdiction of the television station, which in turn is subject to the control of the government.

Cowens was a China expert, and he contacted Allen, who was in charge of bringing "Learn With Me" to CCTV. Allen was a third-rate British writer, but he worked for the British Council in China and had also held senior positions at the BBC.

Years ago, Allen made the decision to sell British educational films to CCTV for a mere two thousand pounds (and he was the one who managed to come up with the two thousand pounds). He also maintained good relationships with both sides.

Allen's connections were far more extensive, and he quickly discovered that this was related to the British royal family.

Ke Wensi was completely bewildered.

How could the royal family possibly command the BBC? You might as well say that the Iron Lady felt humiliated during the negotiations, and now, in a daze, she only feels intense hatred for Dongfang Yu. Thus, she ruined Yu's plans.

Allen told him, "Of course we can get the royal family to do what we say! The royal family and our TV station had a honeymoon period. In 1969, the TV station spent a whole year following the royal family and producing a documentary called 'The Royal Family,' which eventually attracted three-quarters of the British population and 45 million people worldwide to watch."

Cowens knew about the documentary, but it did not make the royal family more popular with the public. At the time, Britain was experiencing economic difficulties, and the "ordinary but Versailles" life of the royal family in the documentary did not bring any inspiration to the public.

On the contrary, it provoked widespread criticism and questioning from the British public.

What particularly shocked the British was the “Tuesday Meeting,” in which Prime Minister Harold Wilson would go to Buckingham Palace every Tuesday evening to report to the Queen, demonstrating that the Royal Family still wielded considerable influence over the government.

Even though the story is true, it can't be filmed and shown to people!
Queen Elizabeth, known for her cautious nature, immediately ordered the documentary to be banned. And indeed, the documentary was never broadcast.

"So, what should I do?" Cowens asked.

"I think the key to the problem lies with the royal family. As long as the royal family agrees, the problem can be easily solved."

"You seem to have said something pointless?"

"No, there are cracks within the royal family. There are only things you dare not think of, not things you absolutely cannot do."

Cowens relayed Allen's words to Yu Che, who immediately understood that the "rift" referred to Diana, or those who were afraid things would get worse.

It's easy to take this step, but difficult to dare to do it.

Yu Qie is the kind of person who dares to do it.

He encouraged the group of World War II veterans to set up signs on the streets of London to raise public awareness. They held up signs that read "Royal Regiment" and marched resolutely toward Buckingham Palace. The more the veterans marched, the more people joined them, as nearby citizens began to join their ranks.

The Guardian couldn't help but report the matter publicly: "Royal Navy sailors are seeking justice for something that happened forty years ago."

A day later, The Times also sent reporters to interview the veterans, who said, "During World War II, King George VI stood up to encourage us and gave us the confidence to fight the Germans... The Royal Family has always been the outward image of Britain, and we call on the Royal Family to pay attention to this matter today."

Yu Qie himself stood at the front of the group of British sailors, enduring hours in the sun. He came every day, always standing at the very front.

If a reporter asks him about the events in his novels, Yu Qie will present a long list of evidence and talk about it for a long time.

If a reporter asks, "What's the story behind your rumored affair with Diana? Did you ever meet secretly?"

Yu Qie then kept silent.

In response, he explained, "I'm afraid you'll misunderstand me."

This led reporters to believe that the two might have an ambiguous relationship.

How could the princess fall in love with an Eastern writer?

This is not unusual in the Western world. Generally speaking, Yuche was a morally upright Eastern knight, and people affirmed his character. Castro's reputation was far worse than Yuche's; Folberle plotted hundreds of assassination attempts against Castro, but this did not prevent Castro from being extremely attractive to women.

(End of this chapter)