Chapter 248 – A Change of Scenery for Live Streaming (Part 3)
Liu Zhi and Feng Ren share an amiable gentlemanly friendship. They usually chat about literary aspirations and comment on governmental matters, rarely touching on their respective work… This kind of friendship made Feng Ren feel at ease, naturally solidifying their relationship.
“My husband often says Liu, the governor, is a fool; now that I see him, I truly believe it,”
Mrs. Feng chuckled as she tucked away the letter.
Although it was a coded message, the content was quite harmless.
It was nothing more than casual chit-chat detailing the past few years, expressing feelings of longing, and casually matchmaking while mentioning his impending trip to the capital, asking Feng Ren to help him arrange accommodations so he wouldn’t end up homeless and hungry.
The content was humorously written, far from the grandeur one would expect from the renowned Liu governor; it sounded more like a big kid who hadn’t quite grown up.
“Haha, he’s even more foolish than you think…” Feng Ren began, but suddenly fell silent, mumbling ambiguously, “…Anyway, you can’t just judge a book by its cover. He looks all sophisticated on the outside, but inside he’s just a mess…”
The Feng couple had been married for many years, their relationship growing stronger by the day.
They discussed more topics before getting up to dine together.
Meanwhile, the news of the Chancellor Feng Ren being scolded by the Emperor and even having a teacup thrown at him had spread like wildfire across the capital. Those with modest backgrounds felt uneasy, while the powerful turned a blind eye.
They all thought that after such humiliation, Feng Ren would be upset and take to his bed for a few days.
Little did they know, the next day he was right back to business as usual; apart from a slight mark on his forehead, he didn’t seem any different.
Some perceptive old officials couldn’t help but sigh in lament.
The Emperor had thoroughly offended Feng Ren.
So what if he was Chancellor?
The Feng family had countless high-ranking officials; would he really care about a Chancellor position?
While appearing to favor him, the Emperor was always wary of Feng Ren and the Feng family.
In such circumstances, could anyone expect the Feng family to serve the country diligently?
Feng Ren’s lack of anger wasn’t due to a particularly good temperament; it was simply because he didn’t think it was worth getting angry over.
Because of the chaos in Cangzhou’s Meng County, nearby regions also felt its ripples, with common folk crying out in despair and struggling to survive.
Everywhere you looked, there were ragged survivors from Meng County fleeing with their children to other regions, causing significant safety and security issues, with bandits taking advantage of the situation to wreak havoc, burning, killing, and plundering without remorse.
Amidst this turbulent atmosphere, Hejian County appeared particularly serene.
Most bandits had been dealt with by Jiang Pengji, who even selectively recruited some. These recruits not only posed no threat but also contributed to the peace around Hejian County, making it a haven amidst the surrounding turmoil.
The grain shops’ purchase limits were running smoothly. Other clans in Hejian, seeing their leader was from Liu Residence, harbored grievances but dared not voice them. Even more surprisingly, shortly thereafter, the Wei family’s grain shop also willingly adjusted its policies to ease purchasing for the common folk at lower prices.
“They truly know how to reciprocate kindness…”
Liu Zhi learned of this news and smiled lightly.
Jiang Pengji’s eyes flickered as she asked, “Did my father really step in to arrange a match for Jingxian and Huaiyu?”
Liu Zhi clicked his tongue. “What else could it be? Without a suitable son-in-law, how would the Wei family be so agreeable?”
When Jiang Pengji imposed the purchasing limits, the Wei family had been merely watching. Now that they’re making friendly gestures, it’s hard to believe there wasn’t some hidden exchange of benefits behind it.
“If that’s the case, I feel relieved. Huaiyu has good character; he’ll take care of Jingxian,”
Jiang Pengji thought little of it. Wei Jingxian marrying Feng Jin was undoubtedly better than ending up with that scoundrel Wu Ma Jun!
Not to mention, Feng Jin’s character could be trusted.
Liu Zhi secretly shook his head, noting how kind-hearted his daughter was. Given the current circumstances, the marriage between Feng Jin and Wei Jingxian seemed promising, yet the future… might just bring his daughter double the heartache…
But it was too early to discuss such things; who knew what the future held?
Liu Zhi shifted the topic and said to Jiang Pengji, “In a month, it’ll be autumn harvest time. I’ll be heading to the capital to meet with the Emperor; have your aunt prepare everything you’ll need for the journey. Since it’s your first trip, you should be well-prepared.”
“Mm.”
Liu Zhi continued, “Select some of the troops to accompany you for safety on the journey, and leave the rest stationed in Hejian.”
Currently, Jiang Pengji’s troop size had expanded to fifteen hundred, but that was after carefully selection.
She couldn’t bring all of them along—perhaps just forty to fifty—and the rest had to stay put.
Jiang Pengji nodded; in fact, she didn’t plan to reveal all her troops either. Their skills varied, and each one needed time to hone and train properly. Even without Liu Zhi mentioning it, she would have done the same.
“Father, don’t worry. I’ve asked Xiaoyu to select suitable attendants; the others will stay in Hejian for now to be overseen by Wenzheng.”
Although Qi Guanrang hadn’t officially joined yet, Jiang Pengji didn’t intend to waste such good manpower.
Xu Ke definitely couldn’t stay, but Meng Hunyun still struggled to manage a thousand-person troop effectively; after all, internal affairs weren’t his strong suit, and due to his current sensitive position with the Meng clan, he often couldn’t appear openly.
Fortunately, with Qi Guanrang in Hejian, he could somewhat take over Xu Ke’s responsibilities, alleviating her concerns about troop issues.
Even though the journey wouldn’t begin for another month, preparations were already in full swing.
In an ancient time when transportation and information were poor, venturing far wasn’t easy.
Jiang Pengji had grown accustomed to live streaming daily. Since the content was rather monotonous, she hadn’t encountered anything interesting lately, making the audience entertain themselves with chats. Occasionally, she would glance at the comments to pass the time or get busy with her own matters.
Before she knew it, autumn harvest was approaching, and the fields had turned a golden hue, filled with toiling farmers and tenant farmers.
The two-month-long purchasing limits had finally wrapped up, the grain prices nearing normalcy, relieving the burden on everyone’s minds. From the noble lords down to the children, everyone wore expressions of lightness and joy, temporarily forgetting the chaos outside.
The troop size remained stable at fifteen hundred, primarily focused on training, with sporadic additional tasks.
For example… farm work.
As the civil strife hadn’t been effectively contained, the outside environment was still chaotic; the common folk rushed to harvest, afraid that if they delayed, their hard-won crops of the year would be wasted. However, each household was short on manpower, and the harvesting progress was slow.
Jiang Pengji overheard tenant farmers discussing this matter and, after conferring with Xu Ke, decided to lend out the troops for farm work. They were strong and resilient, needing only to be fed well each day.
Xu Ke: “…”
He really didn’t want to admit he knew this unusually quirky Young Master.
Even quirkier was that the Young Master, watching the tenant farmers hurry about, felt curious and wanted to give it a try himself!
