The Empress’ Livestream

It resembled the wind blowing off the mist, and she found that many things started to clear after she walked out of a dead end.

It was true that there was a gigantic gap distinguishing the people between the two eras, but human nature never changed. She indeed ran into a dead end.

While she was thinking, Xu Ke grinned and jumped on the chance to make fun of her. “It’s rare that there is something you don’t know about, Langjun.”

Jiang Pengji didn’t feel offended. No one was perfect. Speaking of shortcomings, she was full of them and she wouldn’t deny it.

“No one knows everything and no one is capable of doing everything. I had a lack of knowledge about it and misled myself onto the wrong path. It is totally normal.” Jiang Pengji looked at Xu Ke with a pair of crystal clear eyes and said, “Let me make another example. You have never stopped absorbing unknown knowledge dedicatedly, right?”

Xu Ke almost choked. Those were not entirely the same at all.

He wouldn’t have teased her like that if it wasn’t for her being outstandingly knowledgeable. She seemed to know everything.

It was rare that someone like her would admit her shortcomings and didn’t mind others taunting her. That was the reason she was superior.

Everyone had knowledge about the well-known prime minister who contributed to the founding of the country and also happened to be the teacher of Emperor Gao––and everyone knew about how he was killed by Emperor Gao.

That prime minister was simply dedicated to completing the commitment he made to the previous emperor, but his ending turned out to be him being killed brutally.

The higher the position people were in, the less tolerance they had with others who focused on their weaknesses. Some people took it as a forthright admonition, while some took it as good, but harsh, advice. Either way, it was all up to the people who looked at it.

If the master was the open-minded kind and was willing to listen to different voices, naturally he would take the advice wisely from his subordinates and rectify himself. On the contrary, if the master was narrow-minded and he had a hard time taking unpleasant words from others, even if he was not going to blast the person bringing up the advice, he would stab the person in the back. That would make everyone around him feel jittery… How many people would actually swear their loyalty to him?

That was why Xu Ke was impressed to see Jiang Pengji take it so easily. She didn’t make a fuss about admitting her own weaknesses.

Jiang Pengji had no feelings about Xu Ke being impressed about her, though.

While they had been talking, Meng Hun had helped all of his people settle and his face beamed with delight. He went to see the rooms of his buddies. There was a dry and neat sleeping quarter and the bedding for each of them was comfortable and decent. They wouldn’t feel damp or cold with their bedding.

Meng Hun was rather satisfied with the arrangement.

There were not too many of the tenant farmers in the cottage. Most of the rooms were vacant and they used the rooms as storage every now and then; they just had to do a little clean up and dry out the dampness in the room for people to move in. Xu Ke had also considered that there would be an increasing number of troops. That was why he made the arrangement to empty out an extra large size room, which was perfect for the current situation.

Meng Hun would be able to move into a place that Xu Ke had ordered the servants to tidy for him ahead for that night.

“Thank you, Langjun.” Meng Hun gave Jiang Pengji a proper salute right after he came to see her. He was stopped by Jiang Pengji before he knelt on the ground.

“This is what we are supposed to do. I have to at least guarantee your basic life supply since you chose to follow me,” Jiang Pengji said blandly. She asked Meng Hun to be seated. “About transferring the management of the troops… You can talk to Xiao Yu about it. I will come to visit the cottage every now and then. You can always inform me about what supplies you are short of. The situation might become tense in a couple of days and you have to make sure to stay discreet.”

Meng Hun understood what Jiang Pengji meant about the tension. The Meng’s were not going to keep calm when they learned about Meng Liang being abducted.

“Right. After I get back to the Lius’ place, I will send my servant girl here.” Jiang Pengji said suddenly and it almost made Xu Ke choke from the tea he was drinking.

Meng Hun freaked out. His face turned to red first and pale after. He faltered, “Thanks for the good intention Langjun––I really appreciate it. It’s just… I am not ready to accept any other women since my wife just passed away. I’m not ready to make the commitment to someone else yet…”

It was Jiang Pengji’s turn to be puzzled. She looked at Meng Hun and turned to Xu Ke, and then her lips twitched.

She scolded them. “What dirty mind do you guys have?” What dirty things were they thinking in their brains?

Neither of them had quite grasped the meaning of “dirty.” Xu Ke felt like he was being wronged by Jiang Pengji. I didn’t do or think anything.

Jiang Pengji gave an explanation before they even opened their mouths. “My servant girl will be here to practice martial arts. What else could it be?”

Meng Hun and Xu Ke were both in a daze and they lowered their heads together.

It wasn’t that embarrassing for Xu Ke, considering he knew well about what kind of person Langjun was. But Meng Hun couldn’t help blaming himself for forgetting about the fact that Langjun was only a twelve-year-old boy.

According to the rules in the gentry clans, he was still too young to have any experience in his bedroom.

Meng Liang was an exception in that. He had the experience when he was only eleven and his precedent could not be the criterion to evaluate the other young clan members. He assumed that Langjun might have no clue how misleading those words he had just said were.

There was a slight embarrassment between Meng Hun and Langjun. Meng Hun coughed with an awkwardness. He couldn’t admit that he misunderstood and thought that Langjun intended to give his servant girl to him.

It would still be wrong, however, to leave his servant girl in the cottage to be trained with the troops for martial arts.

Jiang Pengji had her own plan. It wasn’t that she didn’t have time to coach Nongqin, it was more like she didn’t have the patience to educate others.

The basic physical training could be done with the troops for Nongqin. Meng Hun was a reliable person, so Nongqing wasn’t going to be taken advantage of by others under his surveillance. Jiang Pengji herself would give some personal tutoring to Nongqing and it wouldn’t be long before she could kick those power level fives’ a**es.

Whoever even had the thought of taking advantage of her would have to be prepared to have their nuts squashed.

“That servant girl likes playing with knives and daggers. It is too boring for her to be trapped in the backyard all day long. I find it is beneficial for her if she is fond of doing martial arts, just in case she is bullied after she gets married to someone in the future.” Jiang Pengji was being serious and she asked, “So what do you guys think?”

Meng Hun and Xu Ke were both baffled. What else could they say?

Langjun looked after his own servant girl out of concern and he was afraid of her being pushed around after she got married. A normal person would instil a proper theory that a woman should assist her husband and bring up her children. They would bring her to a girl and ask her to take some time to study needlework and female virtuousness instead of sending her to practice martial arts.

What was the point of that? Using a fist to solve domestic disputes?

Xu Ke acted like he had just stepped into a different dimension, but Meng Hun couldn’t agree more. “Langjun’s idea is definitely brilliant.”

He had a daughter before she was killed in a cruel way. She would have been considered eligible to talk about marriage in some years if she could have grown to the age. As a father, the last thing he wanted to see was his own baby girl being bullied. That explained why he was supportive of Langjun’s idea, even it was strange.

Xu Ke was startled and stared at Meng Hun. He felt like he was an outsider and he was being excluded by the other two.

“But…” Xu Ke twisted his body anxiously and said, “But it will be inconvenient for her to be in the troop and be surrounded by a whole group of guys. What if it ruins her innocent reputation?”

Jiang Pengji kept quiet but Meng Hun stood up for her. “The former dynasty Xia had female generals that helped him found the country. Why is it an issue for a girl to practice martial arts?”

Xu Ke had no argument for that. He’d better just shut up.