Chapter 1611 – Conquest of Nan Sheng, Death of An Huan (Part 25)
In theory, Lü Zheng and Jiang Pengji had a decent friendship, so why was Lü Zheng indifferent while Jiang Pengji struggled across the realm?
This was quite understandable; to Lü Zheng, Jiang Pengji’s endeavors—hunting down nobles and brawling everywhere—were no different from when she once blew up a latrine in the dead of night. Given that he intimately knew her mischievous side, how could Lü Zheng possibly accept that his lord was a cheeky brat who was invincible with words, wielded a grass rope to beat people, blew up latrines at odd hours, and kidnapped brides just to bend grooms?
Well, that aside, youth should be reckless, but the issue was Jiang Pengji’s long list of embarrassing backstories truly was endless.
If Lü Zheng became one of Jiang Pengji’s advisors, he couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t be killed off if she ever got upset, or dragged into more ridiculous antics. Be it the former or the latter, neither was what Lü Zheng wished for.
In fact, when Lü Zheng heard that Wei Ci had pledged allegiance to Jiang Pengji, he felt pity for him.
That kid’s backside was in serious trouble.
Why, you ask?
Thinking back to the past, Lü Zheng and Jiang Pengji had a good rapport, and the two of them often went out to play with three other friends.
Once, Lü Zheng noticed that Jiang Pengji had been away hunting for quite a while. Feeling uneasy, he went out to find her and discovered that she was sitting on a cliff, gazing at the stream several yards away. He dared not make a sound, fearing the shock would send her tumbling off the edge to her doom.
It was only when Jiang Pengji spotted him that he mustered the courage to ask.
“What are you looking at?”
The boy with a high ponytail grinned, “A beauty bathing.”
Lü Zheng’s eyes nearly popped out, incredulous, “In this wild place, who would bathe outside?”
With a flick of her head, her hair danced in the air as she rested her chin on her hand and replied, “Zixiao’s beauty.”
Lü Zheng jokingly scolded, “You’re really begging for trouble. If you provoke Zixiao, he could seriously do you in.”
Who in the Langya Academy didn’t know that Wei Ci despised it when others commented on his looks? And here she was, this fearless kid, daring to tease Wei Ci. What’s more, Wei Ci had left a fortnight ago to visit friends and wasn’t even in Langya County—was she saying he had mystical eyesight that let him see people bathing?
The boy laughed, “Okay, okay, not bathing, but I did see him washing his feet by the stream… Really, a beauty washing his feet is also a sight to behold.”
Lü Zheng replied, “Stubborn as a mule.”
He didn’t take her seriously; after all, everyone knew Jiang Pengji was an unapologetic aesthetics-driven brat.
Some time later, when Lü Zheng was about to leave for studies, Jiang Pengji invited him for drinks at the Woshans Pavilion in Langya County.
They drank quite a bit, leaving the ground littered with wine jars.
At that moment, Lü Zheng vaguely heard a flustered voice coming from behind some dense bushes—it was a young scholar pestering Wei Ci, acting all flirtatious and talkative, obviously a shady character.
Jiang Pengji, wielding a wine jar, dealt him a hefty beating, and Wei Ci gave a glance at Lü Zheng who had just followed, then left the Woshans Pavilion without a word.
“Why did he leave? I was waiting for him to pledge himself to me… isn’t this the classic hero saving the beauty?”
Lü Zheng laughed and scolded, “Enough! Zixiao is not into your nonsense, don’t be eyeing him.”
Jiang Pengji said, “Do you believe Wei Zixiao likes me?”
Lü Zheng replied, “Dream on.”
Jiang Pengji shot back, “You underestimate my charm. How about we wager on this?”
“What do we bet on?”
Jiang Pengji said, “If Zixiao becomes mine in the future, under the premise of abiding by gentlemanly conduct, you must grant me one wish.”
Lü Zheng hesitated and asked, “This wish isn’t to have you commit a crime while I hand you the weapon, right?”
Jiang Pengji exclaimed, “As a member of the Langya Academy F5 team, why is your mindset so crooked?”
At first, Lü Zheng had no idea what “F5 Team” was about, looking confused.
Jiang Pengji explained it was a group of like-minded individuals, and he accepted it, unwittingly becoming part of that dubious-sounding organization. “Rest easy, don’t think overly bad; one day when I’m a high-ranking official, I could make you a vital officer in my household. With me as the leader of the F5 team dining on meat, you won’t miss out on the broth, I promise. Doesn’t that make me quite righteous?”
Lü Zheng thought about giving that brat a good smack.
“You eat meat while I sip broth? Liu Lanting, who gave you the guts to say that?”
This so-called camaraderie and “F5 Team” nonsense was pure betrayal.
Various signs indicated that Jiang Pengji had long held a crush on Wei Ci.
However, a gentleman does not speak ill of others, and without evidence, Lü Zheng couldn’t steer Wei Ci away from Jiang Pengji.
Let’s take a step back; Wei Ci, being a youthful scholar, had long since stopped studying at Langya Academy, and he and Jiang Pengji had little interaction.
Who would have guessed that years later, instead of being a nuisance to Langya County, Jiang Pengji would wreak havoc across the world?
Wei Zixiao forsook the realm’s lords, opting instead for a bratty dragon who targeted his backside—
This was probably fate.
After hearing that Jiang Pengji was stirring up chaos, Lü Zheng didn’t rush back to his old classmate; instead, he slipped away along with his Book Boy.
He was afraid of Jiang Pengji, worried that one day he’d hear she was forcibly taking Wei Ci, or that she’d remind him of their previous bet to pour soup.
Later on, when Jiang Pengji revealed her identity as a woman, Lü Zheng kept his distance even more. He could hardly believe that this brat who was unbeatable with words, wielded grass ropes like a whip, blew up latrines in the dead of night, and kidnapped brides to forcibly bend grooms—was actually a girl!
Scholars from Langya County would literally steer clear upon seeing her!
“Isn’t this going to drive me crazy?”
Lü Zheng felt pity for those under Jiang Pengji’s command.
As it’s said, it’s easy to change mountains and rivers but hard to alter one’s nature; having such an unreliable leader would surely wear them thin.
When Lü Zheng learned that Hua Yuan had imagined a personality called “Liu Xi”, he felt a pang of anxiety—when that woman went off the rails, no one could withstand it.
Observing cautiously for a while, he found that compared to the real deal, Hua Yuan was doing surprisingly well.
Rather than saying Hua Yuan invented a “Liu Xi”, it was more that he conjured up his own version of “Liu Xi”.
Was this because Hua Yuan’s imagination wasn’t vivid enough, or was it that the original’s personality was too difficult to replicate?
Sigh, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
As the preparations dragged on, Lü Zheng felt increasingly sidelined by Hua Yuan, making time feel agonizingly slow for him.
With nothing on his agenda, Lü Zheng patiently picked up the calligraphy he had neglected for years, occasionally listening to his Book Boy share some juicy gossip to pass the time.
Gossip came in many flavors, with romantic gossip being the easiest to spread.
For instance, during a banquet, someone claimed “I heard that the Xichang Princess dances remarkably well,” prompting him to order the Xichang Princess to wear a thin robe and perform for entertainment. Meanwhile, there was talk of Hua Yuan having a fondness for that royal male favorite… All kinds of gossip had Lü Zheng frowning deeply.
“Sir, there’s a visitor at the doorstep claiming to be an old friend of yours.”
“An old friend? Who?”
The Book Boy replied, “That person’s surname is Fang.”
Fang?
An old friend?
Thinking hard, there was only one person with that surname.
Suddenly, Lü Zheng’s mind jumped back to the so-called F5 Team…
