Chapter 1603 – Subduing Nan Sheng, Killing An Huan (Seventeen)
Jiang Pengji rubbed her chin and said, “You mean… Yan Lin might have figured out our relationship? Thinks I’m pulling strings behind the scenes with my subordinates?”
Wei Ci replied, “Probably won’t think too highly of it.”
Jiang Pengji said, “What does it matter? I never intended to manipulate him or his precious Yang Tao.”
Wei Ci: “…”
Their leader had zero regard for her reputation, leaving Wei Ci, who placed great importance on such matters, feeling a little exhausted.
Jiang Pengji remarked, “No need to cover anything up. I’m not ashamed of myself.”
Since she didn’t care, Wei Ci’s insistence was in vain, and he felt a hint of distasteful joy creeping in despite his worries.
Days passed, and Yang Tao agreed to Jiang Pengji’s request. She also provided ample trust to reassure her old minister.
Meanwhile, Jiang Pengji sent out plenty of scouts to gather information on the situation under An Huan. Knowing oneself and the enemy is crucial for victory.
As days turned to weeks, ten days flew by. Jiang Pengji planned to sneak off for some leisure time while Wei Ci was distracted, but just as she stood up, cheers erupted from the live chat. She opened the comments and realized it was the day another “Empress of the Mountain Spirit” was born—
She glanced at it, ready to close it, only to be taken aback by an exceptionally stunning face on the screen.
Even with her high standards for beauty, Jiang Pengji had to admit that this face was indeed remarkable. Of course, the owner of this face wasn’t the idle person who’d crossed over; that person was a guard-like character, completely forgettable in a crowd.
“It seems there’s no danger.”
Jiang Pengji quickly assessed the situation and confidently headed out for her leisure time, completely oblivious to the fact that this group was actually after her.
“Ah, so being transported into another world doesn’t come with a good identity—”
After the “Empress of the Mountain Spirit” possessed this body, he felt achy all over, the straw sandals on his feet were already in tatters, and he had developed quite a few blisters.
If not for the two celestial-like figures seated under a tree nearby, he would have given up by now.
To save his life, this Empress opted for the principle of doing more and speaking less, switching shoes while eavesdropping. With the addition of the Empress, everyone seemed to have a competitive spirit. No one wanted to be the first unfortunate soul forced to end their adventure prematurely, so the Empress endured the pain in his feet and body.
After listening for a considerable time, he finally uncovered some details.
This group of twenty-two people wasn’t from Nan Sheng, Zhong Zhao, or Dongqing but from the rarely seen Xi Chang Kingdom.
Xi Chang Kingdom?
No recollection.
What surprised both the Empress and the idle person even more was that the two young figures seated under the tree were actually a prince and a princess!
No mistake, royal blood—prince and princess!
From their conversation, they sounded like they were fraternal twins!
However, what were the prince and princess of Xi Chang doing in Dongqing?
Immediately, conspiracy theories popped into the Empress’s mind. Even with his wild imagination, reality was still more bizarre.
The two had come to negotiate a “marriage alliance” from the Xi Chang royal family!
No, this can’t be!
The Empress and five million idle folks were left speechless. What kind of royal marriage alliance was this?
Their entourage was only twenty-two strong, and aside from the two well-dressed royal members, the rest of the group looked ragged, dirty, and shabby, resembling refugees.
“Were they robbed on their way to the marriage alliance?”
In the Empress’s view, royalty meant wealth, power, and prestige. A royal family would never look so destitute.
These two royals were likely just victims of misfortune on their journey.
Little did he know, they were just that poor.
After resting a bit, the group got up again.
The Empress watched as several “guards” half-forced, half-threatened nearby fishermen into lending them a few fishing boats.
Twenty-two people crammed into the boat. Watching the swaying vessel and the rippling water, the Empress snuggled himself tightly.
Being a guard, he had good hearing and vaguely caught the royal siblings discussing their predicament. Beyond some meaningless flattery among merchants, the juicy bits revealed that the prince’s fiancée was actually their live streamer!
The idle folks were dumbfounded and rushed to cause chaos around Jiang Pengji, completely flooding her vision with comments.
Jiang Pengji was half-reclining by the riverside, fishing, her basket completely empty. Not even a scale in sight.
The idle folks couldn’t wrap their heads around why, after all these years of crossing over, she had never caught a single fish yet remained passionate about it.
As she fished, Jiang Pengji dozed a bit, the fishing rod stuck between her head and shoulder, right hand propping up her temple, a wide-brimmed straw hat shielding most of her face. When she heard the commotion and looked at the comments, she discovered the screen was filled with “scandalous woman” and “feel sorry for Zixiao”…
Jiang Pengji: “…”
What on earth just happened?
Following the barrage of comments, she peeked into the other live stream of the Empress and found a chaotic, colorful mix of comments tearing the place apart.
Jiang Pengji rubbed her temple, still unsure about what was happening.
Thanks to the idle folks’ “refreshing” commentary, Jiang Pengji learned that a group claiming to be from the Xi Chang royal family was here to arrange a marriage with her.
“What in the world?”
As the sun began to set, Jiang Pengji returned, fish basket empty. Unbeknownst to her, she was ambushed by several awaiting individuals.
“Ahem, you all arrived quite promptly… what big event happened?”
Feng Zhen and the others exchanged glances, ultimately selecting Wei Ci to present the diplomatic document.
Jiang Pengji accepted the old, second-hand bamboo slip, opened it, and skimmed through the contents.
Disregarding the usual empty pleasantries, the core message was that the Emperor of Xi Chang intended to bestow his son upon Jiang Pengji as a secondary wife to promote goodwill between their nations. It also hinted at how excellent the son was, hoping that the future daughter-in-law could lend troops to help stabilize the turmoil within Xi Chang, fostering enduring friendship between Xi Chang and Dongqing.
They even promised various benefits, claiming that once Jiang Pengji provided the troops and the Emperor regained control over Xi Chang, all those promises could be fulfilled.
Forget about the geographical challenges between Dongqing and Xi Chang, separated by Zhong Zhao; how could they cooperate? Just the idea of granting the Emperor’s son as her secondary wife was incomprehensible… it’s said this prince was the second son born of the Empress…
“A scam?”
Jiang Pengji pored over it for the umpteenth time, reaching this conclusion.
Wei Ci forced a smile, “If it were a scam, we wouldn’t have dared to bring it before you, my lord.”
So it’s real?
“I’m not skeptical; the issue is, this whole thing feels suspiciously genuine,” Jiang Pengji expressed with surprise, “Which emperor would send the heir born of the Empress elsewhere in exchange for troops? Even though Xi Chang is the weakest among the five kingdoms, it shouldn’t be this desperate.”
Wei Ci replied, “Perhaps once you meet the Emperor in person, it will make more sense.”
He could guarantee with the integrity of both his lives that Xi Chang truly was a country of unspeakable troubles.
