Chapter 1173 – Cutting Xu Pei, First Kill of the Feudal Lords (43)
Whether it was just his imagination or not, Cheng Yuan felt that his Lord had been lacking energy these past two days.
It wasn’t just him; the audience in the live stream also noticed their always-energetic, confrontational streamer had entered a strange “lethargy phase.” They initially thought they could joke around with Jiang Pengji, but when she failed to reply, they started to feel worried.
【俄爱书】: Um… Did the streamer encounter something bad recently? Or is someone bullying her?
【君珀】: Tch, our streamer is usually the one doing the bullying, right? Maybe it’s due to her health?
【尘世如烟】: Is it that time of the month for our streamer? Drink more hot water or brown sugar water, and don’t overdo it with the cold stuff.
The audience fidgeted, their way of showing concern was a bit awkward, but anyone with keen eyes could see their sincerity.
In contrast, while the audience was anxiously worrying from across the dimensional screen, Cheng Yuan, as her aide, found it more convenient to inquire directly.
Cheng Yuan asked, “Has something been troubling you lately, my Lord?”
Jiang Pengji turned to look at him, her lips tightly pressed together in silence, merely questioning him with her eyes.
Cheng Yuan, feeling a bit awkward, said, “These past two days, I’ve noticed you seem a bit low-spirited and lacking energy…”
Jiang Pengji leaned back, bored, and replied indifferently, “Nothing much, just finding things dull, too lazy to move.”
Cheng Yuan thought about the scorching weather outside and, convinced he had found the reason, said, “Ah, so you’re just experiencing summer fatigue.”
Jiang Pengji blinked, purposefully repeating, “No, I just find it dull.”
Cheng Yuan looked puzzled.
What’s so dull about it?
Jiang Pengji sighed internally, realizing she still hadn’t expressed her true feelings.
She wanted to say—
Contesting for dominion over the world was just too boring, and she didn’t want to play anymore.
If her advisors knew her thoughts at this moment, they’d probably explode on the spot.
Prior to this moment, she had never felt such lethargy; now, it felt like a volcano subdued for too long, suddenly erupting.
She asked Cheng Yuan, “If someone in this world were identical to me, would Gong Liao mistake my Lord?”
Cheng Yuan was even more confused, utterly unable to grasp the implication behind Jiang Pengji’s question, and could only respond cautiously.
“Who could mimic my Lord? Even if they looked exactly the same, can they replicate the personality and the way of doing things? I, Cheng Yuan, pledge loyalty to my Lord; if I couldn’t even tell my own Lord apart, I’d have no face left to live in this world.” Cheng Yuan said with a boldness by the end.
Jiang Pengji smiled slightly, a rare smile from her in these past two days.
“You make a good point; I am the most unique person in this world, and not just anyone can take my place.”
Cheng Yuan couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild; his Lord wasn’t the type to be melancholic, so her sudden mood drop surely had a reason behind it.
His expression suddenly turned serious, “Could it be that someone harbors ill intentions, trying to use substitution tactics to replace my Lord?”
The words slipped out before Cheng Yuan could stop himself, and he was even frightened by his own thoughts.
“Close, but not exactly right.”
Jiang Pengji’s response sent chills down Cheng Yuan’s spine.
Wait—
“How, how is that possible? Who has such ambitions?” Cheng Yuan’s eyes gleamed with killing intent; he was already ready to take out this unknown target, and as soon as Jiang Pengji named that person, he would dig three feet into the ground to eliminate them, “My Lord, this matter concerns your safety. If you know anything, please don’t hide it; don’t give the petty ones an opportunity to strike—”
To be fair, Cheng Yuan had little faith in this occurrence.
Looks can be faked, but how could personality, habits, and memories be replicated?
Jiang Pengji had been with her advisors for years; while they wouldn’t dare claim to know everything about her, it was impossible for them to know nothing.
A fake would be exposed in no time, just from one encounter!
In that case, does substitution still hold any value?
Cheng Yuan felt both skepticism and concern, while his Lord remained relaxed and smiling, leaving him unsure of what to do.
“Hahaha—just teasing you! I had an incredibly vivid dream a few days ago, where some monster copied my memories and took over my body, sneaking into your midst— I mistook the dream for reality and became paranoid these last two days. I frightened you, which was my fault.” Jiang Pengji laughed and deflected Cheng Yuan’s worries.
Yet deep down, she knew this was no mere joke.
Liu Zhao hinted that the real “Liu Xi” was still alive, making her realize things weren’t so simple.
With the system’s help, she obtained the original owner’s “Liu Xi” memories; who’s to say the original couldn’t retrieve her memories from the system?
Because Jiang Pengji was cautious of the system, protecting her mind’s memories well, the system couldn’t invade and replicate those from before she crossed over.
The memories after crossing over were uncertain.
As long as memories could be copied, once she united the world, the system could return the recorded memories to the original “Liu Xi,” and then—
Who’s to say that “Liu Xi” couldn’t perfectly replace her?
The system’s purpose had always been clear; it needed some vital energy, not only the popularity of the live stream but also an indistinguishable fate. In ancient times, those blessed with fate were great fortune bearers, like emperors or other royal family members.
So, the system initially encouraged Jiang Pengji to strive towards becoming an empress in palace struggles.
The empress, or palace women, were the closest existence to the Emperor, making it very convenient for the system to seize that fate.
Yet Jiang Pengji wasn’t playing by the rules; she wanted to be the Emperor herself and even dissed the two subsystems in the process.
The system had no choice but to find another way.
Did she not want to be Emperor?
Then the system would cultivate a perfect puppet to replace her, to help her become the Emperor, gathering fate even more conveniently and ruthlessly!
She thought the original “Liu Xi”’s spirit had completely vanished, and the system had misled her to believe that.
But she hadn’t considered another possibility: what if the original “Liu Xi” hadn’t disappeared, but was imprisoned somewhere by the system?
If the original “Liu Xi” was a trump card against her, it would be a good one, able to catch her off guard.
Analyzing from every angle, substitution really was the most effortless way.
If Liu Zhao hadn’t secretly informed her, Jiang Pengji might have taken a long time to uncover this point.
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but furrow her brow.
She found the competition for dominion over the world boring, and her mood was low, not because she feared the behind-the-scenes players, but because she disliked someone coveting her results.
She had dug the pit, nurtured the saplings, and even fertilized, pest controlled, and polled them herself!
After so much labor, to have the soon-to-mature fruits plucked by another!
If they were bullying her even at her doorstep, how could she not blow up?
If she could, she truly wanted to take her chances, let the behind-the-scenes players roll out to compete for her tiny farm, she’d sit out!
The gloomy mood didn’t last long, swiftly ignited by a letter of war.
“Quickly prepare the troops!”
Fighting didn’t require selecting auspicious days.
Since someone had chosen to die by colliding with gun muzzles, they shouldn’t complain of injustice after arriving in the underworld.
