Chapter 1608 – Defeating Nan Sheng, Killing An Huan (22)
In order to avoid being blamed, no matter how much Jiang Pengji disliked the two from Xichang, she couldn’t just chop them up.
However, not being able to kill someone with her own hands didn’t mean she couldn’t have someone else do it.
Whether it was the ambition reflected by the Xichang duo or their covetousness towards Wei Ci and herself, Jiang Pengji couldn’t tolerate them.
But before that, Jiang Pengji wanted to go meet the unlucky Empress of the Mountain Spirit, who had suffered a lot this time.
“I can’t believe I’m seeing a live streamer… Is it alright for you to come see me like this?” The Empress glanced around, and seeing only herself and Jiang Pengji, she finally relaxed, “Streamer, your Zixiao’s jealousy is too big; it would be a disaster if he found out.”
“Zixiao is always kind-hearted; how can it be as terrible as you say?”
“Your filter for the beautiful Wei Ci is as thick as the Earth itself.”
Even though Wei Ci didn’t appear often, their idle fish army was not blind.
As the saying goes, the person involved is confused while the bystander sees clearly; the idle fish believed they understood Wei Ci’s true nature better than Jiang Pengji did.
She was just a white lotus with a black heart!
Jiang Pengji leaped off the beam with a smile in her eyes, pulling out a packet of pastries as a treat for the little friend.
“Eh, I thought it would be some precious gift, like gold, silver, or jewelry.” The Empress chuckled, “At the very least, it should be a compilation of signatures from the little princess under your banner; such things have commemorative value. Just a bag of pastries? Once eaten, it’s gone!”
Jiang Pengji replied, “I’m not single; Zixiao still relies on me, so I don’t have that much extra money!”
The Empress couldn’t help but cover her face and said, “Is this like eating live dog food? The smell of romance is making me green with envy!”
Soon six hours passed, and the Empress didn’t linger too long.
That night, she posted about Jiang Pengji’s gift on her social media.
Due to the limitations of production techniques, these little snacks didn’t look exquisite, but that didn’t affect their taste at all. Some people were envious, while others were nitpicking, sourly claiming that Jiang Pengji was stingy—being the strongest lord yet only treating her guest to a bag of pastries.
Did they really think nobody had eaten like this before? Could ancient craftsmanship compete with modern standards?
Jiang Pengji was practically sitting on a third of the world; giving gold and jewelry was like giving away a grain of sand from a mountain.
So petty!
In response to these nitpicking comments, the Empress posted again.
【Holding the banner of CP drama】: “I believe the value of a gift doesn’t lie in its selling price or profit; the meaning of going back a thousand years isn’t for everyone to time travel for profit. The most important thing is the experience itself; that’s the true value. The streamer is really nice, and even though she only gave pastries, it was hand-delivered by her. Additionally, the streamer is thoughtful; I’ll never regret being her fan.”
This post even included a pixelated image.
It turned out that the pastry package also contained a brief letter.
In essence, it mentioned that she remembered the Empress had once commented in the live chat about worrying over finding a job before graduating next year, and since she knew the Empress studied pastry-making, Jiang Pengji specially sought out a few local dessert recipes from Zhangzhou, hoping it could help her start her own business.
It ended with, “Don’t be lost; the future is promising,” which silenced a crowd of nitpickers.
“That’s fake…”
Someone couldn’t help but mutter.
With five million viewers in the live stream every day and tens of millions of comments, how could she possibly remember what the Empress said? Not only did she remember, but the gift she prepared was also the most thoughtful. Certainly, gold and jewelry could bring the Empress short-term profits, but they’d also lose motivation and passion for life. Teaching someone how to fish is better than giving them a fish, and helping the Empress start a business was incredibly thoughtful.
A group of idle fish was touched to tears; encountering someone so flirty was the rhythm of a lifelong bend.
Jiang Pengji, however, didn’t take this matter to heart, or perhaps to her, it was just an ordinary occurrence.
“What was the reaction of those two from Xichang?”
Of all the people to target, they were eyeing the meat she was protecting, thinking Jiang Pengji was some broad-minded gal?
The attendant reported accurately.
The Xichang Princess and Prince retreated in disgrace, growing more frustrated the more they thought about it.
They never imagined that the local lord Liu Lanting had a bizarre obsession with sharpening mirrors!
“Brother, can’t you think of a way? Am I really supposed to offer myself to this person?”
The Xichang Princess didn’t mind marrying a subject, but she was very against marrying a woman—just the thought of physical contact made her want to vomit.
The Xichang Prince was also in a state of turmoil; he couldn’t believe his charm as a man was insufficient compared to his sister.
“If you don’t comply, will Liu Xi let us off?”
Upon hearing this, the Princess’s face went white, but she didn’t dare to act out recklessly.
The Prince said, “Whether Liu Xi is male or female is irrelevant; what matters is that she has power and influence. Who doesn’t fear and respect her? If you can gain her favor, our father can use her military might to eliminate the treacherous ministers and restore the country! By then, with the vast support of Xichang, Liu Xi would help elevate you; what is there to refuse?”
The Princess said, “How can two women produce offspring?”
The Prince replied, “Once you win her over, you can arrange for others to help secure your position later!”
The two siblings had different thoughts; after Jiang Pengji heard the report, she almost burst into laughter.
“These two siblings are too entertaining. They’ve only just arrived, and I’ve already had several good laughs.” Jiang Pengji remarked, “Truly the offspring of a proper court; they’re familiar with the basic operations and processes of palace struggles. If I weren’t the one involved, I might even believe their nonsense.”
However, no matter how amusing, she couldn’t let them linger around and get in her way.
The next day, just when the Xichang Princess, having turned over a sleepless night, decided to agree to Jiang Pengji, the latter “backtracked.” The reason was quite straightforward; with the imminent battle against An Huan, she had no excess troops or resources to dispatch on a long expedition to Xichang, and they had come at the wrong time.
Upon hearing this, the Xichang duo turned pale, with the Princess nearly spitting blood in anger.
Unfortunately, Jiang Pengji had clearly refused, leaving no room for negotiation, and they could only accept reality.
The Princess even began to suspect Jiang Pengji was angry because she couldn’t win her favor. However, when she subtly offered to serve Jiang Pengji, the latter pretended to be naive and flatly rejected her, leaving the Princess embarrassed and filled with shame.
They came swiftly and left in a rush.
When the Xichang duo departed, Jiang Pengji gifted them a hefty sum of money, enough for their party to return to Xichang.
But would they obediently return?
Of course not, after privately investigating, they learned that Jiang Pengji was extremely wary of An Huan, subtly showing signs of being outmatched.
Since Jiang Pengji wouldn’t send troops, they would turn around and seek military support from An Huan!
Having heard that An Huan once had a wife and children, surely he couldn’t be a dragon upon dragon?
