I, Am a Living Yama; Empress Advises Me to Stay Calm

For three days straight, Yang Yi hadn’t seen Wu Mingyue, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she was avoiding him out of embarrassment.
He shrugged it off; they were adults now, and such awkward moments would eventually pass. Besides, she probably had no idea he’d caught a glimpse of those two cherry-red spots.
Another day passed.
Just as Yang Yi was about to leave for home, a palace maid approached him with a respectful bow.
“Lord Yang, the Third Princess requests your presence…”
Yang Yi recognized the maid—Wu Mingyue’s attendant. His expression turned bemused.
This girl really changes her mind quickly.
He hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded. After all, as a man who had lived two lifetimes, he wasn’t about to shy away from facing a young girl.
At Shu Yu Palace, Yang Yi stood before a beaded curtain, his expression tinged with annoyance.
“Princess, what’s the meaning of this?”
Wu Mingyue sat behind the curtain on a grand chair, dressed in a light purple palace gown with a high collar that reached her neck. She rolled her eyes, her expression suspicious and pouty.
“Hmph, who told you to look at me, you scoundrel…”
Yang Yi raised his eyebrows.
“Princess, you are mistaken. I have never looked at you. Please don’t slander me.”
Wu Mingyue’s amber eyes widened.
“How am I slandering you?”
Yang Yi blinked innocently.
“I wasn’t peeking; I was looking openly and honestly.”
Wu Mingyue’s cheeks flushed a deep red, spreading to the tips of her ears. She was no match for Yang Yi’s wit and felt flustered just a few sentences in.
“I don’t care. You still looked at me!”
Yang Yi looked amused.
“Your Highness, you leaned over yourself. I couldn’t avoid seeing even if I wanted to. Are you going to gouge out my eyes?”
Wu Mingyue stared at him, her head buzzing with frustration.
“Scoundrel! You’re nothing but a scoundrel!”
Yang Yi’s lips twitched. These mild insults were harmless to someone like him, who had lived through an information explosion era. He shook his head with a faint smile.
“Did Your Highness summon me today just to call me names?”
Wu Mingyue paused, recalling the actual reason she had called him here.
“Didn’t you say the other day you wanted to start a newspaper business with me? You didn’t explain it fully. What exactly is this newspaper, and how do we start it? Explain clearly!”
Yang Yi chuckled inwardly.
Feigning confusion, he tilted his head.
“Your Highness, this curtain is too thick; I can’t hear what you’re saying clearly…”
Wu Mingyue’s eyes widened in disbelief.
She felt wronged but knew she couldn’t run to her sister and complain that Yang Yi had seen her breast.
Holding back her anger, she ordered, “Someone, remove the curtain.”
Moments later, Yang Yi found himself seated across from Wu Mingyue, who was now glaring at him. Today, her gown was far more conservative, with a high neckline that reached her throat. However, her chest still formed a strong curve, and Yang Yi couldn’t help but notice how her slender waist seemed at odds with the weight she carried above.
“Hurry up and tell me how to start this business,” Wu Mingyue snapped, her brows furrowing in annoyance.
Yang Yi rubbed his temples with a sly grin.
“Your Highness, you must understand that thinking deeply requires a calm mind. When someone’s fierce and intimidating, it drains mental energy and disrupts my thought process…”
Wu Mingyue clenched her fists.
Forcing a smile, she softened her tone, her voice adopting a sweet lilt.
“How’s this?”
Yang Yi’s expression brightened dramatically.
“Ah, hearing such a melodious voice is like listening to heavenly music; my thoughts flow freely, and inspiration comes rushing in. The ancients were not wrong.”
Unaware of the princess’s inner thoughts, Yang Yi continued.
“Your Highness, a newspaper is essentially a medium that records timely information—interesting events or significant news happening in the world. I call this timely information ‘news,’ and the medium that records it is the ‘newspaper.’”
Yang Yi’s explanation was clear, and Wu Mingyue’s eyes sparkled with interest, though a hint of confusion remained.
“So, you’re saying the newspaper will compile different news from various places, and people can access this information just by buying it?”
Yang Yi smiled, pleasantly surprised by her quick grasp of the concept.
“Your Highness is truly intelligent.”
“Exactly. These newspapers will gather news from across the realm, then be printed and sold to the public. Due to the delays in how information currently spreads, a newspaper that summarizes recent major events would be highly appealing. People would gladly spend money to keep themselves informed.”
“One person buys one copy, and with millions of citizens in Great Zhou, even if only ten percent buy it, the newspaper will be more than sustainable.”
“At that point, Your Highness, the newspaper you publish could potentially reach millions, and it might even find its way to other countries.”
He continued, his voice filled with enthusiasm.
“Besides news, you can also include poetry, essays, or political commentaries. Every word you write, every opinion you express, could be read by hundreds of thousands, even millions of people.”
Wu Mingyue was stunned, her mind reeling at the possibilities.
Even as a royal princess, she had never imagined the excitement of millions of people reading the news she personally wrote—a direct line to the masses, a way to converse with countless people through a single sheet of paper. The prospect was both thrilling and intimidating.