My Queen, My Rules - 69
Retribution
In truth, Li Wenyin had already been preparing to publish the novel long before the movie adaptation began. Just as she'd claimed on Weibo, she'd poured a great deal of effort into getting the book ready for release. The only reason she hadn't promoted it as aggressively as the movie was simple: books didn't make nearly as much money.
The last time she'd seen Cen Sen and Ji Mingshu had been at the Zero Degrees appreciation salon. After the event, Ji Mingshu's circle of friends had spared no effort in dragging her name through the mud, accusing her of trying to break up someone else's marriage, shamelessly making a movie just to spite the wife, calling her the ultimate manipulative ex and saying anyone who got involved with her was bound to end up miserable.
Those rumors inevitably affected her to some degree, but she and Ji Mingshu had never belonged to the same social circle, so the damage remained limited. Besides, in a world built on fame and fortune, who was truly spotless and beyond reproach?
She didn't care much about what people were saying. What she cared about was that Cen Sen had stepped in for Ji Mingshu. She cared that Ji Mingshu had done absolutely nothing andstill gotten exactly what she'd wanted, especially when it came to the man she loved.
Most of the time, Li Wenyin was perfectly clear-headed. She knew everything she had today had been painfully earned, and that she should weigh her actions carefully. Plenty of people around her reminded her of that. Yet whenever Ji Mingshu and Cen Sen were involved, all reason seemed to disappear.
That evening, when she returned home, every light in the house was on. Her mother, Feng Shuxiu, was on the balcony trimming flowers.
Years of living comfortably had transformed Feng Shuxiu. With plenty of leisure time, she'd taken up gardening like the wealthy ladies of the city. The refinement she'd cultivated bore little resemblance to the chauffeur's widow and Ji family housekeeper she had once been.
"Mom, I'm home."
Li Wenyin greeted her absently while changing her shoes, her eyes still fixed on her phone.
Between the book launch and the movie production, she hadn't had a moment's rest even during the New Year holiday. On the drive home, she'd still been discussing pre-order bonus gifts with her editor for various sales channels.
Feng Shuxiu neither turned around nor responded. Yet it was almost as though she had eyes in the back of her head. Just as Li Wenyin was about to head to her room, she suddenly called out, "Stop."
Li Wenyin paused, glanced toward the balcony, then turned and walked back into the living room.
They sat facing one another across the room. Li Wenyin asked, "Mom, what is it?"
"You tell me." Feng Shuxiu's expression remained calm, her voice equally composed.
Li Wenyin fell silent.
Seeing that her daughter clearly understood but refused to speak, Feng Shuxiu continued, "I told you not to make that movie, you wouldn't listen. Now you've secretly gone and published a book too. Are you determined to offend both the Ji and Cen family before you're satisfied?"
Li Wenyin lowered her gaze nonchalantly. Her explanation was just as indifferent. "Mom, you're overthinking it. Ji Mingshu and I were never going to get along anyway. Whether I offend her or not, she's never going to treat me kindly."
"And publishing a book or making a movie is just business. I want to make money, build my reputation, and climb higher. I'm not breaking the law or committing a crime. What can they possibly do to me? This is a country governed by law. I'm not some lump of dough for them to knead however they please."
“Still so stubborn! Is this money so easy to earn?” Feng Shuxiu stared at her in silence for several seconds before raising her voice. "How many times have I told you? Stay within your abilities. Don’t covet things that were never meant to be yours!"
Li Wenyin tugged at the corner of her mouth. She slowly lifted her eyes from where they'd been lowered and met Feng Shuxiu's suddenly sharpened gaze without blinking.
"Didn't you refuse the compensation after Dad died and insist on staying with the Ji family as a housekeeper because you covet of marrying into a rich family? Isn't that how you became part of the Zou family? I only learned from you." Every word dripped with mockery.
"You learned from me? What exactly have you learned?" Feng Shuxiu wasn't angered by the sarcasm. Instead, she shot the question back, then took a deep breath, laying out facts and examples. Her tone was even calmer than when she'd been scolding her moments ago. "The Zou family was the best choice within my abilities. Just like the Yuan family is the best choice within yours. The Cen family is beyond you. Stop chasing them, and stop making an enemy of the Ji family."
Li Wenyin stared at Feng Shuxiu, then let out a cold laugh, as though she'd just heard the funniest joke imaginable. The laughter continued for several moments.
And truly, Li Wenyin found it hilarious. All these years, people had constantly praised her mother's scheming and ability. They marveled that a chauffeur's widow with a child in tow had managed to somehow climbed from being a servant in the Ji household to becoming Mrs. Zou.
The Zou family occupied the old-money circle of the capital. Officially, they were known for elegance and refinement. In reality, they simply had less money than they pretended while clinging desperately to appearances.
Worst of all was the family matriarch, Old Madam Zou, whose sense of superiority knew no bounds. She had always despised Feng Shuxiu, the housekeeper who came with a daughter in tow. If Li Wenyin's stepfather hadn't melodramatically threatened to kill himself back then, the marriage would never have happened.
Even after they married, nothing truly changed. For all these years, Feng Shuxiu and Li Wenyin had continued living in the small villa on the Fourth Ring Road like a mistress and her child hidden away from the family. They weren't even allowed back to the ancestral home for New Year's Eve dinner because the entire Zou family found them an eyesore.
Yet despite being treated that way, Feng Shuxiu neither complained nor resented it. She remained endlessly gentle toward her husband, forever appearing grateful, as though every expression on her face declared that marrying him had been the greatest blessing of her life.
That was exactly what Li Wenyin couldn't stand about her mother. More than that, she despised how her mother, with her own limited ambitions, insisted on holding her back from climbing higher, and higher still.
Other than her family background, in what way was Li Wenyin inferior to Ji Mingshu? Why was it that from the very first day she'd moved into the Ji household, Feng Shuxiu had constantly drilled into her head that they were born into different worlds, and that she could never possess everything Ji Mingshu had?
She'd had enough.
She'd truly had enough!
Li Wenyin suddenly grabbed her handbag, rose to her feet, and strode toward the front door without another word.
Behind her, Feng Shuxiu called out again, "Stop!"
Li Wenyin froze with one hand on the doorknob but didn't turn around.
"Xiao Yin, this is the last time I'm going to advise you. Honestly speaking, I've already secured more for you than most mothers could within my abilities. A good reputation. A good education. A house in a prime location. Even a promising match like the Yuan family. But if you refuse to value any of it, if you insist on fighting Ji Mingshu over that bit of wounded pride, then when you fall, I won't help you back up again."
Li Wenyin curled her lips in a mocking smile.
That was her mother. When she was poor, she'd been a crude opportunist. Now that she had money, she'd simply become a more polished one.
She was terrified Li Wenyin would offend the Cen and Ji families and damage her comfortable life as Mrs. Zou, so she was already eager to distance herself from her only biological daughter.
Without looking back, Li Wenyin walked out and slammed the door hard enough to shake the house.
Leaning against the sofa, Feng Shuxiu closed her eyes. She truly couldn't understand how someone who had spent her entire life living cautiously, rationally, and carefully could end up raising a daughter as proud, sensitive, and impossibly ambitious as Li Wenyin.
There was nothing wrong with ambition itself. But ambition without the ability to support it would eventually bring disaster.
Feng Shuxiu's prophecy of Li Wenyin's impending fall came true sooner than she expected.
The reason was simple. Ji Mingshu faithfully carried out her policy of, "As long as that book exists, don't expect a single pleasant expression from me," while imposing Cen Sen to her “three no’s” cold war: no talking, no eye contact, and no sharing the same bed.
Since she was refusing to talk to Cen Sen, Ji Mingshu had no choice but to chat with both her genuine and plastic sisters instead.
Gu Kaiyang: [???]
Gu Kaiyang: [Isn't your husband pretty innocent in all this? Don't take it too far.]
After Ji Mingshu explained everything in the group chat, Gu Kaiyang wasn't particularly supportive.
For once, however, Jiang Chun stood firmly on Ji Mingshu's side.
Jiang Chun: [???]
Jiang Chun: [No no no!]
Jiang Chun: [Editor Gu, it’s time you had a proper relationship. Wait, have you ever even been in one…? Think about it. If you were super understanding every day; went home to do laundry, cook, mop, and even automatically assumed some bitch was trying to frame him when you saw lipstick on your boyfriend’s collar… How long do you think that relationship would last? Men love bad women, and women need to make a make a fuss sometimes for men to love them. Kick him to the curb!]
Ji Mingshu: [I hereby declare the above statement the greatest moment in the history of Goose Wisdom!]
Gu Kaiyang: [...?]
Gu Kaiyang: [I'm surrounded by lunatics :)]
Strangely enough, Cen Sen seemed to be exactly the kind of man described in Jiang Chun's “Goose Wisdom,” the kind who loved it when women “made a scene.”
The moment Ji Mingshu became angry, he wasted no time dealing with Li Wenyin's book.
Fortunately, the matter was easy enough to handle. It was still the New Year holiday, and the book was only in its pre-sale stage. It hadn't officially been released yet. If it had already reached bookstores, recalling it afterward would have been considerably more troublesome.
On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Li Wenyin's book, which had been on pre-order for less than a week, was suddenly removed from every sales platform.
The explanation from her editor was straightforward. The authorities had conducted a random manuscript inspection and found numerous elements violating the publishing regulations, including depictions of romantic relationships between high school students.
Ironically, those very sections had survived only because the publishing house had powerful connections. Hoping for stronger sales, they'd deliberately overlooked several borderline prohibited passages, allowing the manuscript to pass review and successfully obtain both its publishing number and CIP registration.
But had the book underwent a real inspection, it simply wouldn't survive scrutiny.
The news came without warning. Faced with a flood of angry fans demanding answers, Li Wenyin instinctively shifted all the blame onto the publisher.
The publisher certainly wasn't innocent. They had their own motives during the review process and couldn't escape responsibility. But they had treated Li Wenyin's novel as one of their highest-priority releases.
The initial print run was set unusually high. After strong pre-order numbers, they'd spent even more money to have multiple printing plants in two different cities producing copies simultaneously. Nearly fifty thousand books had already rolled off the presses.
They had selected premium paper, commissioned numerous full-color illustrations, and even used expensive specialty printing techniques for the cover. Now, with the book being pulled and ordered back for revisions because of problematic content, the publisher was staring at catastrophic losses.
And in the midst of this disaster, Li Wenyin made things even worse. Without any prior discussion, she publicly dumped the entire responsibility onto the publisher, unleashing her fans against them. Naturally, they refused to take it lying down!
The publisher's official Weibo account immediately fired back: You wrote the manuscript yourself, personally approved the final draft, and insisted those sensitive passages remain. Now you wanted to play the innocent victim?
They finished by posting screenshots of their chat history.
But Li Wenyin was no fool. Just because they pushed the blame back at her didn't mean she had to accept it.
After calming herself down, she posted another ‘master-level white lotus’ Weibo statement. On the surface, it was an apology. In reality, it carefully distanced herself from responsibility. She claimed everything was her own fault, that she lacked publishing experience and mistakenly assumed if the publisher approved the manuscript, then it must have no issues. For good measure, she uploaded their publishing contract, highlighting the clauses about liability.
According to the contract, after the publishing number had already been approved, any failure preventing publication would fall squarely on the publisher.
Li Wenyin also had a much larger fanbase, and before long the publisher's official Weibo account was under siege once again.
In the short time it took for everything to unfold, Li Wenyin had already regained her composure. If the book couldn't be published, so be it. That wasn't a huge loss for her. At worst, she'd lose the royalties. She could even use the sudden cancellation of the pre-sale as publicity for her movie.
The publisher immediately saw where this was heading and became even less willing to let it go.
This woman really had nerve. She dumped the blame on them, and still planned to step on their heads to promote her movie? Over their dead body! So what if her followers outnumbered theirs? They could just buy promotional accounts and run giveaway campaigns to spread their side of the story.
By then, everyone knew the publication itself was beyond saving. Neither side had completely clean hands. Even so, the publisher refused to swallow the humiliation. If someone had to come out looking dirtier, they were determined it wouldn't be them.
The battle escalated rapidly. With Li Wenyin's movie already in production and both the male and female leads generating plenty of buzz, the dispute attracted enormous public attention.
Although plenty of mud had been thrown at her, Li Wenyin was perfectly satisfied with all the unexpected publicity.
But, on the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, just as the holiday officially came to an end, an explosive piece of entertainment news shot straight to the top of the trending charts.
Su Ke had been arrested for drug trafficking.
Drug use wasn't exactly rare in the entertainment industry, but drug trafficking was another matter entirely. It didn't matter who Su Ke was, what works he'd starred in, or whether he was famous.
What mattered was that he was the male lead of Li Wenyin's currently-filming movie.
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