Chapter 442 – Why Don’t You Go Robbing? (Part Six)
A few days later, Liu Zhi left with twenty sets of glass tea utensils, while Jiang Pengji saw her off from the city for three miles.
“Lan Ting, you’re sixteen this year, have you thought about revealing your true identity a bit?”
Liu Zhi looked at Jiang Pengji, who was riding on Big White. “I don’t mean for you to restore your identity right now, but just let a few close people around you know a little. It’s better to prepare them in case they can’t accept it later.”
Jiang Pengji thought for a moment and said, “There’s no rush on this matter.”
“Oh?” Liu Zhi was puzzled.
Jiang Pengji shrugged, “Hui Yu already knows I’m a girl, and he stubbornly accepted that. What more do I have to fear? As for Xiaoyu and Wenzhen… tsk tsk, those two aren’t blind. In a year or two, my simple disguise will no longer conceal my feminine characteristics. Let them doubt it themselves. It’s better if they discover it than me saying it outright.”
Jiang Pengji was well aware of her own body and had long since assessed Liu Xi’s physique.
The conclusion was that wanting to bind her chest to appear flat would be too difficult.
She surely couldn’t say her pectoral muscles were well-developed, could she?
After much thought, she decided that once she gained a bit more power and took over the entire Fengyi County or even Wanzhou, she would restore her true identity then.
Even without Liu Zhi’s reminder, Jiang Pengji was already planning to casually drop hints.
Her chest was slowly starting to develop, and binding it was truly uncomfortable.
To liberate her curves and breathe easier, she needed to speed up her momentum and build her power.
Seeing that she had her own plans, Liu Zhi felt at ease. They exchanged a few more simple words before he instructed the coachman to set off.
“Let’s go.”
Watching Liu Zhi’s carriage disappear from view, Jiang Pengji patted Big White, and the pretty young girl leaped back into the city.
With the sound of hoofbeats ringing, they dashed like lightning, raising a cloud of dust.
While Xiangyang City was still under rapid construction, the outside world had turned into a chaotic mess.
Even though the Green Garment Army had faced setbacks twice here, they held considerable sway among the unsuspecting common people. Coupled with the Dongqing court’s hands-off approach, this had turned the two northern states into a battlefield between them and the Red Lotus Sect.
The two uprising peasant forces had started around the same time, but over time, the Red Lotus Sect had gradually developed and overshadowed the Green Garment Army. The reason was simple: the Green Garment Army were mere bandits, while the Red Lotus Sect had faith and a cause.
Did the Emperor of Dongqing enjoy these ruffians causing trouble on his territory?
Of course, he was unwilling. He practically wished to have every last one of those troublemakers captured and executed to the last generation.
Right now, the northern chaos was a necessity.
With a hundred thousand Imperial Guards escorting the entire royal family and court ministers to relocate to Chenzhou, things were already quite strenuous. If the Green Garment Army or the Red Lotus Sect were to harass them during this time, it would jeopardize the safety of the royal family and high-ranking officials!
What was even more important was that the Emperor of Dongqing wouldn’t allow his face as the ruler to be trampled upon.
Thus, when two peasant forces rose up in the north, the Emperor simply turned a blind eye, allowing them to fight amongst themselves, restraining each other and wearing each other down. The relocation to Chenzhou proceeded smoothly, hardly facing interruptions.
Now, more than three months later, the large and cumbersome convoy finally reached the border of Chenzhou.
Calculating the time, they would reach the new capital in about seven or eight days. From top to bottom, the entire group couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
At this moment, the Emperor of Dongqing received a piece of news that nearly made him choke on his own blood.
“Unfilial child!”
The Emperor trembled with rage, slapping Wu Ma Jun hard, causing his face to turn to the side.
Wu Ma Jun had been summoned by the Emperor, and as soon as they met, he was met with a heavy slap, leaving him dazed.
Inside, Wu Ma Jun hated the Emperor to the bone and wished nothing more than for the old man to perish immediately, but he still needed to maintain a sorrowful expression.
Genuinely kneeling at the Emperor’s feet, tears streaming down his face, he said, “Father, I don’t know what I did to anger your majesty, but I sincerely hope you can calm down! Please don’t let me be the cause of harm to your divine body… Father, Father—”
He cried earnestly and sorrowfully, yet his eyes were filled with deep-seated resentment towards his father, showcasing his acting skills with an air of tragedy.
However, the Emperor was too furious to fall for Wu Ma Jun’s performance.
The more Wu Ma Jun acted this way, the more nauseated the Emperor felt.
Thus, he did not hold back his inner fury and simply slapped Wu Ma Jun again, balancing both sides of his face.
“Wretched beast!”
When these words escaped his lips, Wu Ma Jun’s face turned pale, with intense hatred gleaming in his eyes.
“Father, you can beat me, I have no objections, but you must at least let me know what wrong I’ve committed, right?”
Wu Ma Jun truly despised this Emperor before him, yet he equally yearned for the boundless power that came with being the ruler… Look, if this man weren’t the Emperor, how could he just slap him around, humiliate his dignity, and disregard his character?
It was all simply because this man was the Emperor!
At this moment, his obsession with royal power had reached its peak.
“What wrong? Ha! You, wretched beast, still have the audacity to ask me what you did wrong?”
The Emperor was almost amused to death by this foolish son. He was good-looking, but how could his brain be so foolish?
Did he really think he was the only clever one in the world?
“Let me ask you, how can Changshou Wang take my order and lead troops away from Zhangzhou to Chenzhou? This man has wild ambitions! Are you blind to not see anything? Once he tears the veil, you and I will meet our graves without a burial place!”
Without the Emperor’s orders, Changshou Wang would not have been able to pass through numerous checkpoints without losing a single soldier.
This son before him truly chilled his heart.
Wu Ma Jun paled and thought quickly, exclaiming, “Has Royal Uncle taken troops away from his territory?”
The Emperor let out a cold laugh.
“Indeed, with fifteen thousand troops just two days away. If it weren’t for my confidants being vigilant and hastening to deliver this message, would I have to wait until heads roll before knowing what this wretched beast has been up to behind my back?”
Wu Ma Jun’s face turned deathly pale. “Father, this matter is not something I did!”
The Emperor, infuriated, kicked Wu Ma Jun in the chest. “Wretched beast, do you still dare to argue?”
He clearly put some strength into it, kicking his son into a faint.
After catching his breath, the Emperor’s anger slightly subsided, raising his hand to have a physician attend to Wu Ma Jun.
Perhaps due to burning fury lately, the wrinkles on the Emperor’s face had become more pronounced, adding a touch of old age.
“Jun’er, don’t be sad. I will have children for you… many many children…”
The Emperor sat beside the bed, looking at the pale-faced woman lying there. Her once alluring and beautiful visage now displayed a hint of frailty and paleness, tugging at his heartstrings. He comforted her, “You’re also foolish. Such an important matter, why didn’t you discuss it with me?”
Hui Jun turned her face to the side, tears flowing soundlessly, looking utterly pitiful.
With tearful eyes, she gazed at her own reflection, “You and the Fourth Prince are father and son. I’m merely a weed. No matter how deep my feelings for Your Majesty are, they can’t compare to the bond between you and the Fourth Prince as father and son.”
She looked utterly disheartened, causing the Emperor to feel an even greater pang of pity.
