Chapter 1381 – Nan Sheng, The Autumn of Chaos (7)
When the counterfeit duo arrived in Xiangyang County, they were completely unaware that Jiang Pengji had already set her sights on them.
They were just ordinary common people, occasionally daydreaming about soaring to greatness and becoming someone important.
The reality was that one was a bandit and the other a lackey at a brothel.
What they had in common was their handsome and striking looks, the likes of which hadn’t been seen within ten miles.
Greedy and lazy by nature, the bandit flaunted his good looks to seduce the bandit chief’s woman, while the lackey at the brothel was scooped up the moment he came of age. He saw nothing wrong with being a gigolo, enjoying a lavish life without hard work, thinking it was already great just to survive in chaotic times.
They thought their lives would continue to repeat in this way, but fate played a huge joke on them.
Suddenly, they were living a life even better than before, dressed in luxurious garments they never dared to dream of, transforming into wealthy young masters in the eyes of outsiders. Of course, there was no such thing as a free lunch; everything they enjoyed had to be paid for somehow.
Jiang Pengji leaned by the window, looking down with a smile, “They look quite similar, even though they are high-quality fakes; at least they put some effort into it.”
Li Yun said, “My lord, the timing of their arrival in Xiangyang is too suspicious; I fear they may have some ulterior motives.”
Jiang Pengji asked Li Yun, “They don’t practice martial arts, and their companions are all showy fighters with no real skills. Even if a thousand of them came, they couldn’t cause any waves. Just relax, Han Mei, and watch the show unfold.”
Although the plan to attack Yang Tao was postponed, it didn’t mean Jiang Pengji had given up.
The Tao Clan was more than willing to offer ready-made reasons, so why should she refuse?
“Good show?”
Li Yun’s heart sank; he didn’t believe a single word of what his lord said.
“Is this something we really don’t need to discuss with the gentlemen?”
Jiang Pengji chuckled, “No need to trouble them over such trivial matters.”
Li Yun was at a loss for words; he felt the gentlemen didn’t mind getting involved because every time they stayed out of things, their lord somehow managed to complicate simple matters.
In the end, weren’t they the ones cleaning up the mess for their lord?
At this moment, both the idle viewers and Li Yun in the live stream were in perfect sync, feeling particularly sympathetic towards the young master group.
As it turned out, Li Yun’s instincts were right; within just two days of the counterfeit duo arriving in Xiangyang County, a rumor began to spread.
Not only did it reach Li Yun’s ears, but it also found its way to Qi Guanrang and the others.
Feng Jin was the first to get angry, shouting, “Yang Tao and the others are going too far!”
Jiang Pengji asked, “Have you traced the source of the rumor?”
Wei Ci, with a murderous look in his eyes, replied, “We found out that the other party claims to be merchants traveling from Zhangzhou to Wanzhou.”
This group of merchants brought with them a deeply infuriating and humiliating rumor that enraged the people of Wanzhou!
Lord Zheng Ze Yang Tao had scoured the common folk and brought in a young lad strikingly similar to Liu Xi. In front of an audience, the lad was forced to strip off his trousers and outer garments, standing bare in the spotlight for all to see, allowing the citizens to gawk at him.
The onlookers were left dumbfounded, among the crowd were a few instigators stirring the pot.
One person said, “I heard that Lan Ting, Liu Xi, is actually a woman; her chest can’t possibly be this flat.”
Another shouted, “If she’s a woman, then naturally there wouldn’t be anything down there to carry on the family line!”
The audience’s eager eyes unconsciously shifted to the young lad’s lower half, gazing intently.
Someone else chimed in, “If Lan Ting were a man, he’d probably look just as ridiculous; it’s quite spectacular, I wonder how much it weighs?”
The instigators intentionally drew people’s attention to this topic. At that moment, someone who appeared to be from the government stepped forward, proposing a deeply humiliating idea. If the citizens donated three coins, they could line up and measure that “thing’s” weight. That was a privilege Lan Ting herself had never experienced!
Curious citizens started to feel tempted, but none dared to be the first to step up; that’s when the courtier’s turn came.
Having someone take the lead, other malicious citizens followed suit to feel the “weight.”
…
Could anyone truly engage in such ridiculous and disgusting acts?
Feng Jin and the others seethed with rage.
Even if this was a baseless rumor, just thinking about the scene was enough to make them feel deeply humiliated, their blood boiling with the urge to kill in retaliation!
Qi Guanrang and the others showed their fury on their faces, itching to roll up their sleeves right then and there, while Jiang Pengji, the person in question, remained calm and collected.
“What’s the point of getting so worked up?”
Feng Jin said, “A disgrace to the lord means death to the minister; if we can’t protect the honor of our lord, how can we show our faces in the world?”
Jiang Pengji replied, “It’s just a rumor; it’s not real. Yang Tao and the others must have had their brains kicked by a thousand donkeys to pull something like this. They have no grievances with me and the situation in Nan Sheng is unstable; why would they dare to look for trouble at this moment?”
Everyone knew this was true, but it didn’t quell the boiling anger within.
No matter who spread the word, this rumor was simply too degrading!
【老司机联萌】: What the heck! Who came up with such a disgusting plot? Just hearing it feels utterly sleazy!
【手撕五国】: Oh my gosh, could this be real? The streamer’s psychological endurance is insane; doesn’t it make you feel nauseous?
【怒煮青蛙】: Who thought of this twisted idea? Even mindless Internet trolls would bow down to this one! So vile!
Wei Ci asked, “What is the lord’s intention?”
Jiang Pengji smiled, “I was initially curious what tricks the Tao Clan had, but this underhanded method is truly something they concocted themselves. If it were someone with a bad temper, they would have been infuriated by now and retaliated in kind without hesitation.”
Everyone was speechless.
Their own lord seemed to underestimate her own temper, speaking as if she wasn’t irate at all.
Jiang Pengji added, “I suspect that similar rumors are circulating in Zhangzhou as well… For instance, that Lan Ting, Liu Xi, has been traveling through the countryside, capturing two people resembling Yang Tao and Yan Lin, forcing them to parade naked on the streets for public viewing?”
“What is the Tao Clan trying to achieve by doing this?”
Li Yun felt he had stumbled upon a new world entirely; this operation was surprisingly bold.
Jiang Pengji replied, “An observant person would see right through this fabricated rumor. However, such an embarrassing rumor, whether I or Yang Tao shake it off with laughter, we can’t simply disregard it. Forgetting about reputation, the common folks will gossip about it, and soon enough, everyone will know about this. Even if we know it’s false, our faces have already been trampled on. If we don’t seek justice from the main culprits, we risk being seen as cowardly.”
This era was nothing like the idle viewers’ world.
In the viewers’ world, it was fine for nerds to release their life essence onto posters of their goddesses; if anyone found out, it didn’t matter. At most, they’d share a knowing smile. But this era was different; just because a counterfeit looked like Liu Xi didn’t mean there wouldn’t be public shaming the moment someone pointed it out. They stripped down and let people pay to weigh them… this was humiliation for the actual person involved!
Mental humiliation!
Jiang Pengji smirked, “I originally thought the Tao Clan would bring me a different kind of surprise and fun, but I never expected such a lowly trick. Better to rid myself of them than to let them continue to tarnish my sight. Otherwise, they might just think I’m some clay figurine that can be toyed with.”
