The Empress’ Livestream

Feng Zhen gave such ample evidence that Yang Si didn’t know how to refute it.

Perhaps his lord had said those words to tease him? But if that was the case, how was he supposed to explain what Wei Ci had was telling him?

Could it be that these two fellows had ganged up to play a prank on him because they were bored out of their minds?

“…It’s up to you to believe it or not.” Yang Si could not come up with any real evidence, he could only deal with Feng Zhen’s disbelief using a catch-all phrase. “If our lord is a woman…”

Feng Zhen gave him a sideways look and said, “If he’s a woman, I’ll go out onto the streets right now and drag someone home to marry. I’ll protect myself by staying devoted.”

Feng Zhen’s words gave him so much to gripe about that he didn’t even know where to begin.

Yang Si smiled dryly. “…Don’t worry, I estimate that no one would like you…”

Feng Zhen smiled back. He felt safe now.

The moment he opened his mouth to talk, he became just as offensive. “That’s true, with Zixiao, common man with good breeding around, there’s no way anyone would like me.”

Yang Si didn’t have a response to that.

In the private room in the gourmet house, the two looked at each other with dismay as a silent and confused atmosphere descended.

After a long time, Feng Zhen asked uncertainly, “How confident are you regarding this thing about the lord?”

Yang Si wanted to answer “ten percent.” After all, the party that was directly in question had acknowledged it. But he couldn’t say it like that. He said vaguely, “Sixty percent or more.”

Feng Zhen curbed his teasing attitude and his expression congealed. There was an inexplicable sense of oppression in his tone now. “Are you here to sound me out?”

Yang Si felt as if he was breaking out in goosebumps on the inside, but he wore a light and sincere smile on the surface.

“Naturally, it’s a joke.”

Feng Zhen raised an eyebrow. A strange light flashed across his eyes.

If Yang Si had insisted that his statement was correct, Feng Zhen would have thought that he was joking. After all, the idea that their lord was a female was just too terrifying to dwell on.

But now Yang Si was calmly saying that it was a joke. On the contrary, Feng Zhen did not dare to treat it as a joke anymore.

However, he did not pursue the matter to the end.

First, there was no meaning to it. Second, it was a waste of time.

To determine whether his lord was male or female, the most irrefutable evidence would be his body.

If Feng Zhen was curious, he could just go and ask those courtesans.

Thinking about this, his brow knitted imperceptibly.

If it hadn’t been mentioned, he would not have noticed. Speaking of that, when his lord visited the brothels, there was not a single time when he’d stayed overnight. He never even summoned any of the women to accompany him to bed. He treated the brothels like eateries every time, leaving after having some food and wine.

Feng Zhen chewed his rice and it tasted like wax. His thoughts drifted.

His lord was in his prime. He was at an age when it was easy to be emotional and hot-headed. A young body would find it difficult to withstand the provocation of the opposite sex. Although the courtesans were not the most beautiful, they were young, with the unique flavor of youth. This youthful aura was more attractive than body or facial appearance… Not to bring others into the topic, but Feng Zheng himself was that age once. If he was a normal male, wouldn’t he be teased until he was burning up?

If his lord had a concubine or servant girl, that would make sense. After all, some people thought that courtesans were unclean. Even if they were aroused to a burning point, they would pretend to be all right, bear with it, and go home to their wife or concubine… But his lord had no one waiting for him at home.

Now that he thought about it, there were areas of suspicion everywhere.

Either his lord was a Liu Xiahui, who truly had no desires, was irreproachable, or of great moral integrity, all in all, an exceptional gentleman.

Or, he was impotent. Even if faced with the most beautiful women in the world, he still wouldn’t be able to get it up…

If it was the latter, it would be a bit of a headache. He wouldn’t be able to beget an heir if he couldn’t get it up. And if he had no heir, that meant that he would have no foundation.

Or, his lord might not be a man. Maybe he was a woman!

In the face of these three possible scenarios, Feng Zhen hoped that it was the first scenario. But looking at his lord’s experienced behavior, he just did not seem to be a pure-hearted gentleman.

No… Could he really be a woman?

Feng Zhen felt his legs tremble as he thought about affixing the label of “female” onto Jiang Pengji. He was so shocked that he felt his penis shrink.

It was too terrifying.

While Feng Zhen was getting more entangled in the mystery of his lord’s gender, Jiang Pengji was having a discussion with Wei Ci.

“I didn’t request you to stay back because of any particular issue. I heard that you’re very good at painting and I would like to ask you to do one for me.”

Compared to what Yang Si and Feng Zhen had imagined, there wasn’t anything peculiar going on between these two people.

“A painting?” Wei Ci asked. “A painting of what, my lord?”

Jiang Pengji said, “The flashed bricks. To be precise, the houses made of flashed bricks.”

Wei Ci frowned in contemplation. The livestream viewers were also baffled. But the host was not giving them any hints. How were they supposed to guess?

“Does my lord want to… sell the flashed bricks?”

After all, they were close, almost like they had been an old married couple in their past lives. Moreover, Wei Ci did not have a low IQ, so he quickly guessed the truth.

Others would be attending the alliance meeting to fight for a piece of the benefits, but Wei Ci guessed that his lord would be participating in the meeting to bamboozle others.

“No. How much profit could I get from selling flashed bricks?” Jiang Pengji gave a smile that Wei Ci was extremely familiar with. It was the prelude to a con. “I want to sell the technology behind the production of flashed bricks. Flashed bricks are essentially made of mud, not gold. They are also bulky and heavy, how much could they sell for? But if we’re selling the technology to make those flashed bricks, we could make a fortune from it. What do you think of this suggestion?”

Wei Ci knitted his brows. He did not agree based on his usual line of thought.

However, it was his lord who was putting forward this option. She must have her reasoning behind it. He could not shoot it down immediately.

As he faced Jiang Pengji, Wei Ci turned the matter over again and again in his mind out of habit until he was sure that he was not making any mistakes.

After a long time, Wei Ci asked without any discernable reason, “To whom does my lord want to sell it?”

The smile on Jiang Pengji’s face became even brighter. She knew that Wei Ci had figured out her real intentions.

“I will give priority to whoever’s territory is nearest to Wanzhou.”

Wei Ci was speechless. His lord’s heart had truly turned pitch-black.

As Jiang Pengji had said, flashed bricks were very good for construction. The raw materials needed to produce them were very cheap. However, there was a problem. The shipping cost was hundreds of times higher than the production cost. In other words, if one wanted to use flashed bricks in their construction, they needed to build a brick kiln locally.

There was a very nebulous trap behind Jiang Pengji’s sale of the technology to make flashed bricks.

She would make the enemy become a foolish spendthrift. They would cough up their manpower, their efforts, and even their money. This would be a drag on the enemy forces’ pace of development. This was only one of the reasons. After Jiang Pengji had stabilized her foundation and thoroughly “digested” the forces in Wanzhou, she would turn around and attack her enemies. She could even save the effort of post-war construction after defeating her enemies. This was the second reason.

“Because of the equine plague, the economies of the three tribes of the northern borderline are at rock-bottom. Their horse farms are nearly deserted, and their combat powers have been reduced by 80% to 90%. They need at least three to five years to get back on their feet. Before that happens, we have to consolidate and strengthen Wanzhou’s power while further expanding our territory.”

The three tribes of the northern border remained Jiang Pengji’s targets.

But it was impossible to destroy those at the northern borderline with only the military strength of Chongzhou, Wanzhou, and Hu County. Hence she needed further growth.

Or, she could find ways to weaken the enemy at the same time.

Jiang Pengji narrowed her eyes as she pondered this.

“Zixiao, what do you think the tribes of the northern borderline depend on besides cavalry and horses?”

Wei Ci looked at her directly. He said in a bland voice, “Pastures.”

Jiang Pengji said, “My thoughts exactly.”

The two looked at each other and smiled. Everything was expressed through their unspoken words. The livestream viewers shivered.

If they remembered correctly… the three tribes from the northern borderline… were the nomadic ethnic groups…