Chapter 198 – Unwilling? Just Hold It In (7)
Compared to the Great White Horse, Han Yu was far more concerned about the twenty-seven others.
These horses came from the Meng Clan’s stable, and such high-quality breeds were generally reserved for the Meng family army—ordinary folks couldn’t buy them.
Now, with an unexpected influx of twenty-seven, it made him feel a twinge of unease.
So, Han Yu asked, “Young Master Liu, do you know who the owner of these horses is?”
Jiang Pengji scoffed; she never cared to ask names when it came to her kills. After all, they were just corpses.
But she said, “I don’t know. Do you happen to know?”
Han Yu was quite certain, “These are fine steeds from the Cangzhou Meng Clan’s stable. Only those with rank and weight in the Meng army qualify to own such quality horses… Young Master Liu seems to have stirred up some trouble…”
Jiang Pengji casually replied, “Why? They’re just a few pack animals. Can they really take a life?”
Han Yu nearly laughed and cried at the same time, but then donned a serious expression, “Not just lives; this could bring ruin to the whole clan!”
Could it be that serious?
Seeing her disbelief, Han Yu earnestly explained the gravity of the situation. “You mustn’t dismiss this, Young Master Liu. A tragic incident occurred in Cangzhou Meng County when someone stealthily stole a horse from the Meng Clan. In the end, the entire family was implicated, trampled to death by the horses in the stable.”
“But these horses didn’t come from me; they just came to me on their own.” Jiang Pengji said earnestly, “But your words remind me of something; keeping these horses could indeed attract trouble, so I’d better find a way to offload them soon.”
Han Yu: “…”
Jiang Pengji coldly smiled, “Since you’re determined to label me a thief, why not fully embrace it and sell all the horses for a tidy profit? As for how enraged the Meng Clan will be, they’ll have to find me first.”
Han Yu, quick-witted, suddenly understood why Jiang Pengji’s attitude had shifted so dramatically and clasped his hands apologetically.
“Young Master Liu needn’t be so upset; I used that incident merely as an example to advise you to think carefully before acting. The Meng Clan is powerful and arrogant; ordinary families cannot resist them. I don’t mean to imply you’re a thief…”
Jiang Pengji slightly pressed her horse’s belly, causing the Great White Horse to step forward a couple of paces.
She declared proudly, “No worries! Since I dared to take these troublesome little creatures, I naturally have my own backing.”
Seeing this, Han Yu didn’t persist; perhaps she did have the capital to be so proud. He realized that his attempts to dissuade her could only irritate her more.
They were initially strangers, and with previous misunderstandings, there was little left to discuss. They soon parted ways.
The audience in the live stream felt it was a pity; it was rare to see a handsome, sunny youth like this, and missing the chance to admire him would be a waste.
To avoid running into any horse-savvy folks, Jiang Pengji took a shortcut, leisurely allowing the Great White Horse to carry her to the farm.
“Wow—what a big horse!”
“So tall!”
The village kids had never seen so many horses before.
A bunch of little rascals hurried over, their faces full of curiosity, all wanting to reach out and touch the horse’s hooves, but Jiang Pengji wouldn’t allow it. War horses had fiery temperaments; if they accidentally sparked one’s anger, receiving a kick could cost them their lives.
“Young Master… these…”
Jiang Pengji jumped off the horse. “Xiaoyu, you’ve come just in time! Have Meng teach lead people to bring the horses into the village; remember to tie them up securely.”
Xu Ke thought, this isn’t the main issue!
The main issue was, wasn’t the young master always complaining about being poor and needing to save here and there, to an almost pitiful extent?
So… where did the money come from to buy so many war horses?
Even if Xu Ke didn’t understand horses, his basic judgment was still intact.
He didn’t know how good these horses were in detail; he just needed to know they were truly excellent.
So… where had his young master really gone to create such chaos and obtain so many?
In an unguarded moment, Xu Ke accidentally blurted out what he had just been thinking.
Jiang Pengji turned her head to glare at him, her gaze sending chills down his spine, as if she was about to explode and take him out in an instant.
But surprisingly, she simply nodded seriously, “Those who know me—Xiaoyu, indeed.”
Xu Ke was dumbfounded: “…”
The audience in the live stream almost died of laughter; while Han Yu was gone, Xu Ke wasn’t bad-looking either.
“Young Master, did you really go… killing and arson…?”
Xu Ke had no idea how to respond.
But facing Jiang Pengji’s half-smiling, half-serious gaze, Xu Ke suddenly caught on and realized something was off.
“There was killing, but no arson,” Jiang Pengji said earnestly, adding, “Setting fire to forests—that’s a serious crime.”
In Jiang Pengji’s timber-scarce era, pure wooden furniture was a luxury only the wealthy and noble could afford.
To protect the dwindling forest resources, strict regulations were established to punish forest arson severely, as it could lead to casualties.
Xu Ke breathed a slight sigh of relief… wait, no arson? Killing was still unacceptable!
At this moment, he finally counted the horses present; aside from his young master’s mount, there were still twenty-seven left.
Twenty-seven?
Thinking about this number and recalling what his young master had said about killing, he seemed to understand something.
“Well, they were taken from the Meng Clan anyway, so there’s no cost,” Jiang Pengji patted Xu Ke’s shoulder. “But horses raised in the Meng stable all have special markings; anyone who knows horses will easily recognize them. That could be a hassle.”
Before Xu Ke could process this, Jiang Pengji had already made a decision.
“We need to find a way to sell them; they should be worth quite a fortune.”
“Sell… sell… the war horses…” Xu Ke’s mind flashed with the general market value of the horses. Horses meant for transport weren’t cheap, and war horses like these were worth several times more than that. “But, wouldn’t that be too much of a waste…?”
Men, no matter the time, always had certain traits that never changed.
In Jiang Pengji’s era, men were obsessed with mechas, and online, some joked that was the true love of a man.
In this age, it seemed the same, with men having a unique love for agile horses.
Jiang Pengji said, “We can keep them if you want, but I don’t see the need. I previously took down those Meng goons and left one alive to report back… If they find out these horses fell into my hands…”
Xu Ke jolted, instantly snapping back to awareness.
When faced with personal interests and reality, he remained quite rational.
“Then we should quickly find a way to get rid of these war horses. Even if we have to sell them at a low price, they can’t stay with us and bring trouble,” Xu Ke said, already calculating in his mind how much money and grain these war horses could bring them.
“Yeah, but I don’t know the channels. We’ll need to find someone more professional to appraise them.”
Jiang Pengji smiled; for others, the Meng Clan was a disaster, but for her, it seemed to be a fortune?
Whether it was two thousand stones of grain or these twenty-seven war horses, or even Meng Hunyun they had taken in, it was all the Meng Clan’s self-destruction that had worked out in her favor.
