Chapter 9 – Direct Judgment (Part 5)
Jiang Pengji licked her dry lips, “Well, he’s a local from Hejian County, and there are a few bandits from Hejian as well. If luck’s on our side, we might have a villager in common. Birds of a feather flock together… In this wretched world with such terrible transportation, even if they’ve turned bandit, most gathered here are likely from the same village or nearby… it’s highly probable, don’t you believe?”
She was merely misleading him, making the Second-in-command pin the blame on the local ruffians, genuinely convinced by her words.
When the Second-in-command goes to verify it, a conflict might arise, and a bunch of hot-tempered fools without a lick of sense could easily escalate to a brawl!
From start to finish, she never claimed the culprit was within the bandit stronghold; even if they started killing each other, what’s that to her?
“By the way, don’t leave just yet…” Jiang Pengji stood up, halting the Second-in-command’s attempts to investigate.
“Keep those beautiful maidens outside; I’m not comfortable with it. I won’t talk to Fourth-in-command directly, so could you convey it to him for me?”
With that, Jiang Pengji described a bunch of bandits without names but distinctive physical traits that were easy to remember.
“…And don’t forget to add you, Second-in-command.” Jiang Pengji smirked, causing the Second-in-command to shiver. “As for whether to relay the truth or not, I’ll let you decide.”
With this attitude, she made it clear that she wasn’t responsible for their internecine struggles, just laying out the facts.
If not for this, she could’ve just called Fourth-in-command in and named every bandit who had their eye on his woman, and the whole stronghold would’ve descended into chaos.
Furthermore, she had another goal—deepening the Second-in-command’s trust in her words.
Not having heard Jiang Pengji say he was involved with Fourth-in-command’s woman, he felt somewhat relieved, but upon being named, his face darkened.
Could it be that while they were getting cozy with Fourth-in-command’s woman, this lass was watching?
Everything was in place, just waiting for the right moment… once the time came, she could prepare to net her catch.
Jiang Pengji stepped out from the inner hall, and Wei Jingxian along with Shangguan Wan rushed to greet her, relieved to see her as composed as before entering the inner hall.
“I’m fine; those guys are probably busy settling accounts now, so they won’t pay us any mind for a while.”
The bandits inside had already left, likely off to sort things out, though a few still stood guard at the door.
“That scoundrel said he would honor his promise to let us go…” Shangguan Wan leaned on Jiang Pengji, her little face filled with disappointment, “But now, with so many people guarding the entrance, it’s clear he intends to breach the agreement… Brother Lanting, what should we do now?”
Knowing Liu Lanting wasn’t truly her brother but felt a bit more intimate calling him so didn’t bother her.
She had always liked Liu Lanting, wishing for a gentle brother to protect her instead of the half-brothers at home who feigned harmony while speaking bitterly behind her back. People are usually judged by comparison, and Liu Lanting had left a good impression on Shangguan Wan.
However, back when Liu Lanting was betrothed to Wei Jingxian, he treated other noble girls with disdain, leaving her frustrated for quite a while.
Despite her young age, Shangguan Wan was quite sharp-witted and clever.
Seeing Liu Lanting and Wei Jingxian engaged, she didn’t want to insert herself, knowing it would lead to malicious gossip regardless of whether he considered her like a sister or not.
Now, it was all good; he turned from brother to sister, and she could be as spoiled as she liked.
Unless those gossiping maidservants saw two beautiful maidens cozied up, would they dare talk behind their backs?
Being so spoiled at home, alongside being the only legitimate daughter, she loved to charm her elders, setting her apart from others who were just meek and overly compliant in their manners.
Like a little joy-bringer, she always managed to bring bright smiles to her elders’ faces.
Seeing her like this, Wei Jingxian’s eyes almost popped out.
She wanted to advise against close interactions between the two genders, let alone Liu Lanting’s betrothal, but upon noticing Jiang Pengji’s loving smile, she swallowed her words.
Her chest hurt from holding back.
Liu Lanting is a woman! A woman! A woman!
“I never expected them to honor their promise. Wan’er, how can you think those vicious thieves would have any gentlemanly conduct?”
Jiang Pengji mimicked Liu Lanting’s typical tone, slowly weaving in her own style, “It’s just a way to buy time.”
“But…” Shangguan Wan’s eyes widened, hands covering her mouth, nervous not to let any words slip to the bandits outside, whispering urgently, “But, but… these thieves still harbor wicked intentions; wouldn’t we still be in danger…”
Jiang Pengji raised her hand and lightly pinched the little girl’s bouncy cheeks, “Who said that? Very soon, Brother Lanting will take you away.”
The baby-faced girl was bursting with collagen, and the feel of her skin was simply exquisite.
Raising her hand, she pulled out a jade hairpin from Shangguan Wan’s hair, “This hairpin, just borrowing it for a bit, okay?”
Shangguan Wan’s face turned crimson, playfully pouting as she hid behind Wei Jingxian, “Brother Lanting has lost her disguise; guess the fox tail is showing now.”
Jiang Pengji found it amusing, crossing her arms, and with a quick lick of her back teeth, that smile turned wickedly charming.
“Oh? Since you’re teasing me, then I won’t take you anymore; however… Jingxian definitely will.”
Wei Jingxian, who had inexplicably been drawn into this teasing, felt both shy and annoyed, but Jiang Pengji remained unaffected.
Ultimately, she could only glare fiercely, warning not to say nonsense, but to outsiders, that glare looked oh-so-cute.
If it had been a guy under that stare, he’d have melted like butter.
And surprisingly, someone did actually melt.
But it wasn’t a bandit; rather, it was a silently watching audience member, Stowaway Non-Money.
As a viewer with almost no presence, Stowaway Non-Money quietly gifted 520 lollipops, desperately trying to assert his existence.
Stowaway Non-Money: (/ω╲) That little girl is so adorable! I almost dropped my laptop just now…
520 lollipops?
What the heck?
Jiang Pengji frowned internally, poking the system that was playing dead, “What is that?”
The system, synthesized with an electronic voice but speaking at lightning speed… Jiang Pengji could feel its excited and jubilant tone.
It was so flustered it almost couldn’t speak straight, “Donations! This is your first donation, remember to thank the audience for their generosity…”
One viewer could have only a single boost in popularity regardless of how many times they entered or exited the channel in a day.
In other words, one viewer can only count as one point of popularity per day.
But donations were another story; a lollipop was worth 0.1 live coins, giving 0.1 popularity points!
520 lollipops? That’s a whopping 52 popularity points!
Jiang Pengji would get half, the rest going to the system!
“Thank you for the donation?” Jiang Pengji raised a brow coldly in her mind, bluntly asking, “Have you been infected by a virus or something?”
“Uh… that’s… a matter of etiquette…”
The system recalled Jiang Pengji’s earlier ruthless demeanor, feeling a hint of regret… this host was definitely assertive.
Without holding back, she rolled her eyes, “But all I heard was your sycophancy.”
The verbal sparring between her and the system took place in secret, unbeknownst to Stowaway Non-Money.
