Chapter 27 – My Family Streamer Can’t Be That Cruel (Part 1)
“Want to know why?” Jiang Pengji looked down at her opponent and said, “You, teasing the maidservants in the inner courtyard, even attempting something unseemly, dirtying your hands and pocketing the household’s finances. And what’s more… a mere house servant sneaking into the inner courtyard kitchen, who gave you such courage?”
With every word Jiang Pengji spoke, the servant’s face turned a shade paler, his eyes filled with growing panic.
The steward’s expression shifted as he said, “Second Young Master, are you implying that…”
“Furthermore, you didn’t go to the deep mountains to look for me last night; you were off at some brothel instead. You lot are always loitering around the brothels, drinking flower wine, enjoying your little gatherings to conveniently cover for each other, aren’t you?”
Jiang Pengji frowned disdainfully, addressing the steward, “Before disposing of this person, make sure to search around in his household to see if there are any of the estate’s finances hidden there. If there are, don’t even bother with a broker; just send him straight to the authorities.”
“Second Young Master! You have no proof; why slander me?” The servant’s expression briefly showed signs of nervousness, but he quickly regained his composure, saying, “My parents have dedicated themselves to serving the master here; they’ve never caused any trouble…”
“That’s a credit to your parents, but what does that have to do with your thievery and sneaky tricks? Speaking of which, you reminded me, steward, you should look into his parents as well. Do you really think Liu Residence is a place to raise a bunch of leeches?”
The steward felt bewildered, not understanding how his Young Master had suddenly become so commanding overnight. However, his only virtue was loyalty, and he intended to follow Jiang Pengji’s orders. Meanwhile, the other servants were nervously uneasy but didn’t truly believe Jiang Pengji would dare go through with it.
Liu Father was expected to return from his post in a few days.
All the servants in Liu Residence had been arranged at the time of Liu Father’s departure, and if Jiang Pengji were truly filial, she wouldn’t be acting so ruthlessly.
In this era, if there were even a whiff of disloyalty, don’t expect to hold an official position. Thinking of this eased the minds of those present.
The system watched in shock as its host brutally resolved the situation, dumbfounded.
“Wait… Host, you don’t have any evidence. If this gets out, people will surely judge you harshly.”
Following the typical plot of household struggles, isn’t it always the female lead battling wits with cunning servants? The sly servants are crafty, while the female lead is wise and martial, slowly unraveling the threads, slapping evidence in their faces, knocking down their defenses, and triumphing in the end?
To boil down a dozen captivating chapters of household battles to two blunt sentences, Host, isn’t this a bit unprofessional?
“Are you kidding me?” Jiang Pengji wanted to point at her own eyes and tell the system, “What I see are all the pieces of evidence; if others can’t see them, it’s because they’re blind. Should I go through the trouble of pointing out where they need to look?”
System: “…”
Another case of the ginseng rooster. This system’s life is becoming unbearable!
“Besides, do I have to cater to these troublesome servants when dealing with the problematic ones? Do I need to lay out evidence piece by piece? Can you tell me who’s really the master of Liu Residence? Is it those servants, or is it me?”
What she said made perfect sense, leaving them speechless.
Jiang Pengji thought with a smile, “Anyway, once the steward finds evidence of those people embezzling or getting involved in shady tricks, no one outside will dare to chatter about it. This also serves as a warning — don’t lie in front of me, or they won’t even know how they died, understand?”
The system felt a chill run down its spine, suddenly experiencing a painful sensation akin to taking a bullet to the knee.
As for how to handle the servants, the steward would diligently execute Jiang Pengji’s orders, and she wasn’t particularly worried. She simply had someone prepare hot water and new clothes. The outfit she was currently wearing belonged to someone else, and to avoid unnecessary trouble, it was better to change out of it sooner rather than later.
The system, somewhat sarcastically, remarked, “You’re the quickest host I’ve ever seen to adapt to your identity…”
She replied matter-of-factly, “Because I make reasonable use of my own conditions. If I can feel comfortable, why would I want to make things difficult for myself?”
Now her identity was Liu Lanting; how could utilizing her own conditions be wrong?
Liu Lanting’s clothes were far more elaborate than the outfit she borrowed, looking even more luxurious, with intricate patterns and embroidery. Of course, Jiang Pengji found them excessively… human-like. She had the maidservants pick out a simpler-colored garment.
Jiang Pengji slightly lowered her head, seeing two maidservants helping her with the binding chest wrap, then assisting her to put on her outfit one by one.
“Host, it seems that the fact Liu Lanting is a girl isn’t a secret in the household… even her attendant book boy is absent, and she only has maidservants waiting on her,” the system murmured in confusion, “I wonder what the intention was behind the cross-dressing.”
“It’s not entirely common knowledge; if it were, those noble girls wouldn’t be so astonished when they learn Liu Lanting is a girl.”
The system asked, “A select few?”
“For instance, the maidservants closely attending Liu Lanting, the steward, the stepmother… these people are all in the know and would definitely keep this secret. If others found out, who knows what mischief they might spread, intentionally or otherwise?”
Just relying on Liu Lanting’s identity alone wouldn’t suffice to conceal her true self. For example, bathing and dressing; while she kicked the maidservants out during her bath, she regretfully called them back when getting dressed… this outfit was just too… human-like!
“If there’s a chance, I’d really like to uncover why Liu Lanting replaced her deceased legitimate brother…”
The current trend was to use perfume, even her outfit had been perfumed by the maidservants in advance, the scent calming and soothing.
Dressed in an outfit she found too human-like, the maidservants even hung a scented sachet and jade pendant at her waist, making her feel like she was jingling with every step. Jiang Pengji thought that was enough until another maidservant brought in a plate of flower hairpins…
“This one is unnecessary…” The flower pin was a colorful silk flower worn atop her head; she simply couldn’t bear such aesthetics.
Of course, having seen Liu Lanting’s memories, she knew that current trends favored scented hairpins for men, which were all the craze.
However, she felt it looked too delicate; a glaring flower on her head was unbearable to look at.
“Feels like something’s still missing.”
Jiang Pengji thought for a moment, her mind flashing, and took a sandalwood fan carved with sturdy bamboo.
“Doesn’t this look much cooler?” After the maidservants left, Jiang Pengji performed a sword-drawing motion in front of the blurry bronze mirror, then with a flourish, opened the sandalwood fan, “I casually glanced at an ancient drama my subordinates were watching, and I think this is the standard look — the charming young master, with a slight smile, all men and women alike would fall for him.”
The system nearly wanted to facepalm, its host’s standards were always wandering off, and as a system, it felt exhausted.
At that moment, a flood of comments suddenly appeared in the live stream, all at once filling the screen with “23333333333333333.”
