Chapter 476 – Where Are the Talents? (7)
“Lord—” Li Yun caught up from behind, a hint of nervousness on his face.
Jiang Pengji said, “That Dian Yin is quite good. Once the training phase in the recruit camp ends, transfer him to my side.”
Transferred to the Lord’s side?
Is she planning to nurture Dian Yin significantly?
Li Yun was astonished internally, but said, “Yun obeys.”
“What are you following me for?” Jiang Pengji took a few steps, and seeing Li Yun trailing behind, she turned and asked, “Aren’t they training in the recruit camp anymore?”
Li Yun looked a bit awkward, cautiously asking Jiang Pengji.
“Lord, are we really going to continue training today when those recruits are in this state?”
One after another, they lay on the ground, groaning, looking quite pathetic.
Li Yun was kind-hearted, wondering if he should give the recruits half a day’s rest. After all, the winter training load was hefty, and without a healthy body and enough rest, they wouldn’t make it to the end.
Jiang Pengji snorted coldly, saying, “Your Lord knows how to control things. Otherwise, there would be hundreds of corpses lying around, and could they still be groaning like this? Their injuries just look scary; in reality, apart from some pain, there’s no real issue—nobody is dying.”
Seriously, if Jiang Pengji actually went all out, those little rookies wouldn’t even be enough for her to rip apart with her bare hands.
Hearing this, Li Yun felt much more at ease.
What happened in the recruit camp quickly made its way to the Government Hall.
Xu Ke and Qi Guanrang both showed curious expressions, with Xu Ke even stroking his short beard that he had just begun to grow.
He laughed while chatting with others, “I wonder what our Lord looks like in women’s attire?”
Meng Hunyun happened to be at the Government Hall picking up documents when he heard Xu Ke’s words. His mind involuntarily conjured an image of Jiang Pengji dressed as a woman, meticulously applying makeup, batting her big watery eyes, speaking softly, and walking with delicate little steps…
Oh my gosh, Meng Hunyun almost got a shiver from the thought.
Qi Guanrang scoffed, took a small plate of peanuts salted and fried, and with a sharp tongue said, “Even if the Lord dressed like a heavenly fairy, the moment a man sees that face, he’s likely to scream and run away, losing any romantic thoughts… why do you need to think so negatively?”
The eyes are innocent; what crime have they committed to be treated so harshly?
Xu Ke leaned in, reached out to grab a handful of Qi Guanrang’s peanuts, popped them in his mouth, and found them quite tasty.
“That’s true, that face of the Lord… Ke really can’t imagine it.”
Xu Ke and Qi Guanrang exchanged banter, taking turns to roast Jiang Pengji.
They hadn’t noticed that Feng Jin and Wei Ci remained silent… Of course, even if they did notice, they likely wouldn’t care because neither of them seemed like the type to roast their own Lord—these two were rather gentlemanly.
Gentlemen don’t speak ill of others behind their backs, and that’s fair enough.
Quietly, Feng Jin and Wei Ci exchanged a glance, then quickly looked away.
They both began to doubt their reactions. Did Zixiao (Huiyu) know something?
“What are you two looking like that for?”
Jiang Pengji rarely returned to the Government Hall, and she noticed the odd expressions on Xu Ke and Qi Guanrang’s faces.
“Did we hear that the Lord swept through the recruit camp?” Qi Guanrang asked with a laugh.
Jiang Pengji rolled her eyes, aware of why they were secretly laughing.
She boldly admitted, “Yeah, your Lord even changed into women’s military attire and dealt with those little rookies.”
Qi Guanrang struggled to hold back his laughter, bowing seriously, “Our Lord is magnificent.”
Jiang Pengji scoffed; Qi Guanrang’s acting could fool others, but it definitely couldn’t fool her.
She glanced at Qi Guanrang and Xu Ke before seating herself at the main position. “Don’t you want to see your Lord dressed as a woman?”
Qi Guanrang raised an eyebrow, feeling an ominous premonition, and honestly replied, “Of course we do.”
Jiang Pengji propped her chin with one hand, tapping the table with the other, looking quite bored.
“New Year’s coming up, and since you won’t be going back to reunite with family, how about we gather at the Government Hall to celebrate together? The New Year is about a festive atmosphere, so why not play a game? Everyone can cross-dress—men dressed as women and women as men; what do you think?”
Qi Guanrang paused; it seemed the Lord was really bored.
【Carefree】: Hahaha, I can’t get used to this, but I love the streamer! How can you be so clever?
【Carefree】: The streamer suggested cross-dressing for everyone! You’re really getting a good deal here, streamer.
【Chanel】: Cross-dressing? I’m most looking forward to Ci’s female attire; she’ll surely look like a heavenly beauty.
Knowing Jiang Pengji was just joking, Qi Guanrang still felt the need to clarify to avoid her actually doing it.
Pinching at the carefully grown beard, Qi Guanrang self-deprecatingly said, “This suggestion from the Lord is amusing, but for the sake of not frightening the divine beings and stirring up the next year’s luck, let’s shelve this plan for now. Just look at this face; even with makeup and women’s clothing on, it still doesn’t look like a woman.”
Jiang Pengji smirked and shook her head, then turned to ask Feng Jin.
“On New Year’s Eve, is Huiyu planning to keep vigil at home with Jingxian? Changsheng is almost eight months now, and Jingxian has been home taking care of her, which seems a bit dull. How about bringing her to the Government Hall? The more people, the livelier during the New Year.”
Feng Jin thought for a moment, “The Lord’s suggestion does entice me, but I still have to ask Jingxian’s opinion.”
Although Qi Guanrang and Xu Ke were married, their wives weren’t around. The others were all single, so returning home for the New Year felt kind of lonely. When Jiang Pengji proposed hosting a New Year banquet where everyone gathered, nobody had any objections, as long as she didn’t bring up the cross-dressing again.
The Government Hall began its holiday two days early, and the atmosphere in the entire Xiangyang County was filled with festive cheer.
If they went to the night market, they could see the sincere and relaxed smiles on the faces of the common people.
Restaurants and teahouses closed up, leaving Zhang Ping quite troubled.
“Zixiao is back.”
Zhang Ping was hungry, and all the eateries were closed up. He had searched the street for a long time without finding anything to eat.
Hearing a commotion outside, he poked his head out to see Wei Ci, bundled up tightly, slowly walking toward the courtyard.
“The Government Hall starts its holiday today.” Wei Ci took off his wooden sandals as he entered the main hall, noticing the coal stove inside had long been extinguished. He remembered that there was plenty of coal in the household; it shouldn’t have burned out so quickly. Zhang Ping must have messed with the wood and forgotten the time, not even noticing the stove was out. “Hmm, here’s something for you.”
Wei Ci pulled out a tightly wrapped warm item from his sleeve, which contained a stewed chicken leg from the county kitchen.
Zhang Ping took it, smiling, “Zixiao knows me best.”
