Tingwen Taihou He Taihou Shi Zhen De?! - Vol. 1 Ch. 15 - What is she thinking?

[MangaDex]

 

[BreadBunny]

oh jeez, I get it though Jiang Shu wants to know what's going on before making a decision but neither the guilty party nor the judge (the empress) want to tell her. So she takes the hint and pleads for their lives because that's pretty clearly what she's being told to do beneath all the politeness.

But it isn't! Qi Changning wants to hear what Jiang Shu actually desires but Jiang Shu has no reason to believe she's allowed to say what she's really thinking because of the power imbalance on display. Ough, she got fully fed up with it and voiced her true thoughts for the first time now. I wonder what Qi Changning will do with them.

 

[shemper]

Thank you for your work!

 

[firstecho]

"I care about your opinion."
"What did he do?"
"Not important."
"If you care about my opinion, tell me what he did."
"No."
"Since you don't care about my opinion, I'll do what you want me to do."
"Why won't you tell me what you really think, even though I just ignored your request?"
Qi Changning is stupid. But this is really good drama, I constantly want to see what happens next. Thank you for your hard work, translator!

 

[V-no]

Thank you for bringing this to us! Seems like their inability to be up front with each other is coming to a head. I guess Qi Changning has never had to deal with anyone she actually liked before.

 

[faaresemo]

ah, no wonder Qi Changning seems to respect Jiang Shu so much. it's because her motives are entirely obscured

 

[Kanelel]

"A ruler must be unpredictable to command the respect of the masses."
This is actually completely wrong. She should read some Machiavelli. Machiavelli wrote that it is better to be feared than loved, but he further clarified that one should never be hated. If you're feared but predictable, that's good, because then others will know that if they displease you they'll be destroyed and if they please you they'll be rewarded, and so they'll be obedient. But if you're feared and unpredictable, everyone will know that even if they behave as you want them to they are still in danger and they will have no reason not to rebel. You will be hated and destroyed.

 

[danny597]

YES GIRL YES FINALLY SPEAKING UP FOR YOURSELF

 

[Andigo]

Thank you for the translation! Personally I like the idioms authors tweak.

I suppose if we didn't have prideful failure to communicate this story would've shifted to more politics than romance. Despite distrust, the couple did lay out their worldviews, and half their intentions. So... Good.

I'm curious about the sentencing. Jiang Shu can attend and see the crimes, but as she isn't going to be executed, keeping the Gu on a leash seems fine at a glance... Though since that looks like faction building, with criminals, presumably someday irredentist rebels, I see she doesn't want Qi Changning's wrath. That lack of trust seems like it'll get Gu elders killed this timeline...

"A ruler must be unpredictable to command the respect of the masses."
This is actually completely wrong. She should read some Machiavelli. Machiavelli wrote that it is better to be feared than loved, but he further clarified that one should never be hated. If you're feared but predictable, that's good, because then others will know that if they displease you they'll be destroyed and if they please you they'll be rewarded, and so they'll be obedient. But if you're feared and unpredictable, everyone will know that even if they behave as you want them to they are still in danger and they will have no reason not to rebel. You will be hated and destroyed.

A (the most?) major inspiration for this Empress only steered power for a few years. Different strats than IRL surely, but force is precarious without a stable power base... At least the Empress has Court officials on her side without brutality thus far; she's doing better than what Grad Student Empress knows of.