Chapter 40 – This is Unbearable, No Cure for It
So, what Jiang Pengji saw was an intriguing and suspicious scene. If her eyes hadn’t told her otherwise, she might have suspected that this era had opened up to the level where everyone was getting cozy with each other.
Watching the two exchange words with a camaraderie that others couldn’t intrude upon, she quietly took a seat, becoming just another spectator munching on popcorn.
“Lan Ting, let me introduce you to someone.”
Liu Heng had always been concerned about his cousin, and since he had the perfect opportunity to introduce a friend to him, he was putting in quite a bit of effort.
“Cousin Heng, no need for introductions. I already know this person. Huaiyu, what kind of mischief are you playing with my honest and simple cousin here?”
Jiang Pengji glanced at Feng Jin, who was sitting in the prime seat. In the two days since they last met, he had gone from being chased from afar like a lost puppy to looking quite presentable after sorting himself out.
Huaiyu?
Liu Heng paused for a moment; that was Feng Jin’s courtesy name. Had they become so familiar that they were on a first-name basis?
Feng Jin looked innocently bewildered, “Clearly, it’s Yaozhi who didn’t tell me the truth. How could I be teasing him on purpose?”
Liu Heng: “…”
Feng Jin set down his tea, clearly impatient to dive into the main topic, “Let’s set aside the pleasantries for now… I overheard you talking outside, and I found it quite interesting and somewhat reasonable. So, take a guess—who does the Northern Border Royal Court have their eyes on among the princes?”
Jiang Pengji felt a bit disinterested; she couldn’t get worked up over something so obvious.
“The Crown Prince is the eldest; that Official Master isn’t foolish enough to let the Crown Princess be snatched by a foreign princess. Besides, the eldest prince has a full harem and a bunch of kids…”
Even if that Northern Border princess had some skills, marrying the Crown Prince wouldn’t give her room to wreak havoc.
“Secondly, the Third Prince’s maternal family is the esteemed Feng clan, who place a great emphasis on bloodlines. If he were to marry that Northern Border princess and have a son with mixed blood, how could the Feng clan possibly accept this grandson?”
After saying that, Jiang Pengji glanced at Feng Jin, making him feel a tad uneasy.
“Lastly, according to rumors, the Fourth Prince’s mother died under mysterious circumstances, and since childhood, he hasn’t been favored within the palace. The Official Master keeps a constant watch on him. If he were to marry the Northern Border princess, that would just grant him an influential in-law, and how would the Official Master feel about that?”
Feng Jin nodded as he listened; Jiang Pengji’s analysis matched up with what his father had said, just… the style was a bit different.
“So, by this count…” Jiang Pengji looked at her fingers and laughed, “The second prince, born of a merchant family, with no ties in the court, a handful of stray kittens as followers, and somewhat liked by the Official Master—now that sounds quite suitable.”
This was from the perspective of the Dongqing Emperor; from the viewpoint of the Northern Border Royal Court, the second prince was also fitting, as he was easy to manipulate.
A person with half a brain and half straw, impulsive in nature, reckless in actions, lacking presence and easily controlled—an ideal candidate!
Feng Jin: “…”
The second prince really wasn’t favored; his father had given him a “thickheaded, self-important” assessment, and Jiang Pengji dismissed him as worth nothing.
However, despite the different tones, the final conclusions were strikingly similar.
The second prince was insignificant and had become a pawn.
Thinking of his father, Feng Jin couldn’t help but ask, “Lan Ting, if you were the grand king of the Northern Border Royal Court, what would you do?”
Jiang Pengji blinked, then suddenly grinned, making Feng Jin’s unease grow even stronger.
“If I were the grand king of the Northern Border Royal Court, naturally, I would peacefully sleep with Dongqing’s princess, savor the gentle tenderness of a Han Family Woman, and then send my ambitious daughter to the second prince’s residence… In this peace treaty, that Northern Border princess would at least secure a proper wife position… And then, what next? I’d stir up trouble with that clueless yet ambitious second prince…”
Jiang Pengji couldn’t be bothered to mince words; back in school, her history and culture classes had just scraped by passing marks.
“This second prince is quite amusing; however, one can’t blame their parents for their stupidity. If used properly, he could be a sharp blade—pointed at whoever it needs to stab. After all, isn’t fratricide and patricide the Dongqing royal family’s traditional craft? Moreover, the second prince has always been at odds with the Northern Border’s military family, the Town-Guard Marquis; just intensify the conflict between them… Hehe, the Official Master has long coveted the military talismans held by the Town-Guard Marquis, he’d love to take them down…”
Once talks were suggested, Dongqing would no longer have pressure from the borders, and the Town-Guard Marquis, who commanded a large part of Dongqing’s military, would be in danger.
There had been cautious yet wise rulers before, but the current Emperor of Dongqing was all just caution.
When the fowl are gone, great bows are stored. When the clever rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked.
Although she thought the ancient texts a bit irrational and skewed, some sayings still held water.
“As soon as the Town-Guard Marquis faces problems, the Northern Border would turn on them instantly. By then, I anticipate that ambitious Northern Border princess would achieve her goals, completely driving a wedge between the second prince and the Official Master, and perhaps even pull some little tricks…”
Jiang Pengji completely stripped the Dongqing Emperor of any face, openly pulling out history’s old tales of patricide and fratricide.
Having experienced the turmoil of the Sixteen Kingdoms, from the unification of the Great Xia to the later division into five kingdoms, imperial authority had faced numerous challenges, and the control had significantly waned, while the power of noble clans had reached a peak. Now, scholars were emerging in droves, with free speech at its zenith.
While such words in other times might have led to death, at this moment, it wasn’t as seriously offending as publicly deriding noble clans.
Thus, as Jiang Pengji laid out her thoughts, Liu Heng and Feng Jin’s expressions barely shifted.
After hearing this, Feng Jin sighed, “My father shares the same view; if peace talks convinced a literary figure to either die in protest or verbally lash out… It’s not just that, I fear that the Town-Guard Marquis might become a target for the Northern Border Royal Court to eliminate, removing their thorn in the side…”
Here, it was unavoidable to mention the current situation of Dongqing—favoring scholarship over military prowess.
The founding ruler of Dongqing was a former rebel, having betrayed and murdered his lord to gain everything he had today, perhaps fearing that deep down, which is why they were so harsh on military generals while greatly uplifting scholars. Over generations, military leaders had increasingly lost their edge…
Currently, the Town-Guard Marquis was the only formidable force Dongqing could present. If they also fell victim to incompetent allies, well, that would be quite something.
Jiang Pengji stated seriously, “This is unbearable, no cure for it.”
Unbeknownst to her, Feng Jin, being the studious type, earnestly probed, “What does it mean, unbearable?”
At that moment, the viewers of the live stream couldn’t hold themselves back any longer; comments began to flood in one after another.
【Lawless and Reckless】: Mirthfully chaotic, ‘unbearable’ equals a postnatal cerebral palsy, no hope of redemption 2333
【The Great Landlord’s Wife】: Hahaha, those words could wipe out nine clans in a TV drama setting! Who knew that dear cousin and the handsome Feng lad would be so calm about it? Especially cousin’s expression, looking like he wanted to drag his little disaster back home while furiously muttering, “What the heck are you rambling about?” It cracked me up, already screenshotting, new expression GTE!
