Chapter 1610 – Conquering Nan Sheng, Killing An Huan (24)
If Jiang Pengji knew Lü Zheng’s thoughts, she would probably cry out in injustice.
What does it mean to say “she has done a fair share of outrageous things”?
As if she’s some kind of lone wolf, when Lü Shaoyin himself has also been complicit in mischief several times!
Not to mention, her relationship with Lü Zheng isn’t as shallow as the outside world thinks. In fact, their bond is deeper than that of ordinary Langya Academy classmates. To put it bluntly, it’s more than acquaintances, less than friends—just two troublemakers hanging out together.
They met at Jishan Hot Springs.
Back then, Lü Zheng wasn’t as composed as he is now; he was just a bit of a reckless, righteous young lad.
At least, back then, Lü Zheng would tell Jiang Pengji things like, “From now on, we’ll be classmates. If anyone gives you a hard time at the academy, just mention my name… ” But now? Ha! It’s a miracle if he doesn’t smother Jiang Pengji instead.
At the age of twelve or thirteen, Jiang Pengji followed Mr. Yuanjing to Langya County to study for three years.
During her first year at Langya County, Lü Zheng had not yet ventured out for his studies. He kept his promise and looked out for Jiang Pengji.
Of course, it didn’t take long for him to realize that this Young Master Liu wasn’t afraid of trouble at all—she was more likely to seek it out herself!
For example, she heard that a certain lady was shockingly beautiful and skipped class to sneak a peek.
What a coincidence! She stumbled upon the local thug attempting to force a girl into becoming his mistress.
Lü Zheng was furious, but coming from a humble background, he hesitated to stir up trouble while Jiang Pengji, on the other hand, jumped into action without a second thought—she disguised herself as a man and… sigh, looking back, Lü Zheng realized he must have been blind not to see she was actually a girl!
Anyway, after Jiang Pengji slipped into the thug’s mansion in disguise, she not only beat him up but also hung his parents from the rafters, whipping them with a homemade grass rope, all while asking them, “Are you not ashamed?” and “Do you not know it’s wrong?” She even inquired if the thug’s father had “blundered into a pigsty eighteen years ago” and if his mother had a neighbor with the surname Wang.
Lü Zheng and a few fellow classmates who had skipped class just watched from a low wall as Jiang Pengji “corrected the injustices.”
“Isn’t this going to end in disaster?”
“A grass rope can’t kill anyone, right?” Lü Zheng replied, “Isn’t the main issue that this kid has a mouth that spits fire?”
His classmates shivered and said, “Indeed, that’s some venom even a street harpy wouldn’t dream of!”
Lü Zheng pulled out some sunflower seeds from who-knows-where, and the four of them observed Jiang Pengji donning her vigilante cape, with sunflower seed shells littering the ground.
After she’d had her fun, the errand boy who went to report the incident returned with a group of officers. The five of them promptly made their escape, lifting their hems to run away like the wind.
“How can you expect us to help you escape when it’s clear you were the one who started the fight? If Mr. Yuanjing finds out, we’re done for.”
Jiang Pengji replied without a care, “If I can’t escape, I’ll just throw you under the bus, saying you egged me on.”
Five people, the eldest barely past their youth, and the youngest—Jiang Pengji—was only thirteen, but she looked completely harmless.
Lü Zheng said, “You’ve really ruined everything; today, you stand up for that farmer and his daughter, tomorrow they’ll be in deep trouble.”
Jiang Pengji scoffed, “What’s there to be afraid of?”
Lü Zheng had a bad feeling about it.
Sure enough, as soon as that family showed signs of retaliation, Jiang Pengji skipped class to beat people up again, harassing that family until they finally fled back home, driving off all the local ruffians who had once bullied them.
“Simply standing up for others isn’t enough; we need to ensure top-notch follow-up service to make the victims feel safe and secure.”
Lü Zheng: “…”
Being a hero for someone else’s sake is just a small feat; making people seethe at various Elegant Gatherings is her real specialty. Throughout Langya County, it was hard to find any aristocratic youth who hadn’t had a run-in with Jiang Pengji. If there were any, it was probably because the other party was too weak, and she couldn’t be bothered.
So how did news of Jiang Pengji’s obsession with appearances spread?
Well, it turns out that she had wandered through all the brothels and narrow alleys in Langya County. She knew which ladies were pretty, which places had great decor, where the food was tasty, and where the wine was exquisite… she remembered them all by heart! At first, everyone thought she was a debauched playboy leading a reckless life, only to discover that when invited to a brothel, she would only cuddle a bit and never stay overnight.
“If you’re not staying, what’s the point of being here?”
Of course, this naive younger lad would think that only children liked fine wine and delicious food; adults preferred the wild, right?
Jiang Pengji responded, “They’re beautiful; I only care for beautiful people. The rest are eyesores.”
One of the rascals mischievously chimed in, “The Young Master of XX family is quite handsome too! Why haven’t you gone to see him?”
This Young Master XX was also known in Langya County as all show and no substance—pretty face, but behind that, he had committed every misdeed except murder. Lü Zheng picked up on this and sensed that this rascal was trying to provoke Jiang Pengji into trouble. He intended to stop it, but unexpectedly, that night, this fool threw firecrackers into that Young Master’s toilet, leaving him covered in shame.
In a twist of fate, she then framed the very rascal who got her into it, coming out of it squeaky clean.
“Who comes up with such a twisted notion as throwing firecrackers into someone’s bathroom?”
Just the thought of that scene made Lü Zheng feel bile rise in his throat; he never would have guessed that this devious idea was conjured up by the lad before him.
“The night is long, and I can’t sleep…”
“If you can’t sleep, why toss firecrackers into someone’s toilet? You might as well indulge in some romance!”
“I didn’t go alone.”
“Who else did you bring?”
“Apart from you, I brought three others.”
Lü Zheng: “…”
“Shaoyin, you should’ve seen it; it was a spectacle!”
“No, I’m grateful I didn’t; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to eat or sleep for a month!”
On top of throwing firecrackers, this gal had committed plenty of outrageous acts; for instance, keeping a grudge.
He remembered when Jiang Pengji first arrived in Langya County, she was humiliated by a noble lad to her face, but at the time, she didn’t react.
Half a year later, that Young Master got married, and she bound the bride and hid her in a package with holes, then swapped the bride with a runaway killer with a dragon fetish. After drugging both of them, they ended up together for a night, and Lü Zheng and his buddies were dragged to eavesdrop for a good quarter of an hour—oh, and the bride heard it too. The next day, she angrily demanded a divorce to marry someone else.
“Did that guy offend you?”
At that time, Lü Zheng had no idea what that poor sap had done to Jiang Pengji.
Jiang Pengji replied as if it were the most natural thing, “That guy humiliated me six months ago.”
Six months ago…
“You’re quite the grudge holder…”
“A gentleman’s revenge is best served a decade later; even the sages say it, I’ve only kept this grudge for half a year.” Jiang Pengji stated with righteous fervor, “Besides, I have evidence of his father’s corruption; I’m planning to take down his whole family. I can’t let an innocent girl marry into that family, right? I’m saving her life, which is better than building a stupa.”
Lü Zheng: “…”
Any sage hearing this would be furious enough to jump out of the coffin!
In conclusion, Lü Zheng couldn’t even imagine how much havoc perfect imitation of Liu Xi from Hua Yuan could wreak…
