Chapter 894 – Northern Overlord (31)
Jiang Pengji spoke with a conviction that blended nine parts truth and one part falsehood, cleverly flipping black and white around.
The group that had been so arrogant moments ago now resembled puppets with invisible strings tightening around their throats, their expressions bizarre and comical.
“What? Did this officer say something wrong?”
Jiang Pengji wore a cold smile, her emotionless gaze sweeping across them like a blade.
Perhaps due to their guilt, they felt as though her eyes were laced with glistening needles that prevented them from meeting her gaze.
Whoever she looked at would awkwardly divert their eyes.
Jiang Pengji scoffed, “Stacks of land contracts, heaps of account books, and letters of treason… all have been uncovered from your residence. Care to explain whose they are? Why did these things sprout legs and waltz into your abode?”
The crowd’s faces turned ashen as they eyed the imposing wooden boxes that could spell doom for them. In moments, their backs were drenched in cold sweat.
A certain noble lady spoke up, “Your Excellency, be aware, these land contracts were bought from the common people…”
Before she could finish, Jiang Pengji swung her sandalwood fan, smacking it across her face, publicly humiliating her without an ounce of mercy.
“Bought from the common people? That’s the funniest joke I’ve heard all year.”
Jiang Pengji spoke with a mocking lilt that made the noble lady fume with indignation, shame, and rage.
Having been publicly humiliated by Jiang Pengji, the attention of the crowd shifted entirely onto her, giving her the fervent desire to burrow into the ground and vanish.
“Thirty-four guan worth of fertile land, and you claim you bought it for just one guan or a mere few hundred wen? Such a bargain, and not one of you ever encountered it?” Jiang Pengji could hardly contain her fury, a murderous glint flashing in her eyes as she fantasized about wiping them all clean.
The noble lady tried again to argue, “A few years back, Bei Jiang stationed heavy troops at the border. The common people, misled by rumors, thought the northern savages would march south… In a bid to escape the chaos, they sold their properties and farmland at ridiculously low prices, it wasn’t forced!”
She was somewhat clever, adamantly resisting the notion of treason.
It was better to wash their hands clean of the matter by depicting the lands and homes as willingly sold off by the commoners.
Of course, such a flimsy excuse was laughable; not only others but even she likely didn’t believe it.
The Audience in the live stream collectively ridiculed her for her shamelessness, gaining further insight into her audacity.
【Yuranyan Feige】: I’ve seen it all now—does she really think everyone else is a fool? Or does she believe the common people are all dimwits in her eyes? Something worth thirty-four guan, sold for a mere guan or a few hundred wen? Where’s her pride? Did she forget it in her mother’s womb?
【Meier Niang】: Haha, here in my small third-tier city, the average real estate price is about nine thousand per square meter. According to this woman, common folks sold their homes at under three hundred per square meter just because of the northern savages coming to wage war?
Even the most worldly-wise of viewers were shocked by the shamelessness of the noble lady.
【Wei Kang】: This woman’s face is so thick not even a Dongfeng missile could pierce it.
For the common people of antiquity, land was their lifeline.
Many would rather die than part with their land because they understood full well that as long as they owned land, there was still a chance for survival. “As long as the green hills remain, there’s no fear of running out of firewood.” With land, they could grow food; if taken away, death by starvation was near.
Food was the hard currency in chaotic times; the more chaotic it became, the higher food prices soared.
How much food could one get from selling ancestral land at rock-bottom prices?
“Not forced? Do you dare touch your now-blackened heart and say that again?” Jiang Pengji said with a glimmer of amusement on her face, “Given the evidence is so solid, you still dare to quibble? Look with your own eyes; those common people you sold to the northern savages—who are they really? In this world, who would sell ancestral land only to have the buyer reclassify them as lowly status and sell them off to the northern savages? Do you mean to tell me they sold their land but also sold themselves, willingly becoming slaves and servants? This ridiculous drivel should be shared with the common people so they can judge for themselves.”
As Jiang Pengji laid it out, the expressions of the crowd morphed from fear to profound terror.
Although she had just arrived at Chongzhou, she was already privy to plenty of insider information thanks to Gu Xin.
Gu Xin had been all over, gathering intel; he was well-informed and had even encountered human trafficking operations run by Chongzhou’s nobility.
Jiang Pengji was armed with solid proof; they couldn’t deny it.
The noble lady grew pale, her voice weak as a mosquito’s buzz, “This matter, I don’t know where Your Excellency heard it from…”
Jiang Pengji glanced at her, replying, “Wherever it was heard, it remains undeniable evidence.”
The group felt as if they had fallen into an icy abyss. Clearly, Jiang Pengji was not going to let them off the hook.
A certain Elder of the Clan shot the noble lady an angry glare, cursing her stupidity in silence, “Let’s set aside the common folk’s land issues for now, we must resolve the matter of treason and selling out no matter what.”
Now, the most crucial issue was washing their hands clean of forced purchases.
Once treason was firmly established, it could spell disaster for the entire clan.
At the very least, their properties could be confiscated; at worst, it could lead to the extermination of their bloodline.
Jiang Pengji stated, “This is all the evidence you need; what will you deny? If not for treason, how can you explain taking lands from the common people and downgrading their status, selling them off en masse to the northern savages? Do you have any idea what life is like for them in Bei Jiang? Even livestock live better than they do! And these letters, penned in your clan leader’s own hand—what’s your explanation for those?”
Jiang Pengji opened a letter filled with superstitious content, sending the Elder of the Clan into a sweat.
The current situation was extremely unfavorable for them, and as Jiang Pengji pressed on, they found themselves too frantic to even distinguish between the handwriting in the letter. At a glance, it indeed bore the familiarity of their own handwriting, and even the signature felt eerily familiar.
Could it be… this was true?
Had the clan leader really engaged in treasonous dealings with the northern savages behind the Elders’ backs?
But… but they had only occupied the lands for wealth; there was never any intention of betrayal!
In the live stream audience’s words, it was like yellow mud falling into their pants—whether or not it was excrement, it was as good as that; they had no grounds to deny.
Just the thought that Jiang Pengji might expose these disgraceful acts to the entire world filled these Elders with despair, nearly causing them to collapse. For the aristocracy, a ruined reputation was more terrifying than anything else.
