Chapter 61: Gathering by Wan River (I)

Life in ancient times was tedious. If Liu She had not given her tasks to complete, Jiang Pengji would have been bored to death. She missed her thrilling old days.

The System was disappointed. “I thought you would pick up your skills from the previous world and become a fighting machine.”

Jiang Pengji explained her reasoning. “This body is too weak for that kind of training. Besides, I do not want to cause suspicion. I have a plan for the right time, but that is not now.”

She did not forget what had happened at the bandit village, and she would not allow herself to feel that same feebleness again. Still, she understood that no matter how hard she tried, her training methods would not work on this body. At best, she could only hope to slightly increase her combat power. So she was not motivated to put in the effort for such little reward. She would rather play it safe.

“I do not think there are many who can be my match now. Am I wrong?”

Others thought of her as a thin, fragile boy. After all, given her size, how powerful could she be? They did not know the truth: she was stronger than most adult men. And with her extensive fighting experience, she was nothing less than a killing machine in human form.

Her skills were enough to protect herself for now. As for the other matters, she had another plan.

The System grunted. “It is so boring to have a host like you! There is nothing for me to do!”

As the Court Intrigue Stream, it wanted to live stream beautiful women plotting against one another. But what was Jiang Pengji doing instead?

“You are quite useless, okay?” the host retorted harshly, keeping a smile on her face.

The System lengthened each syllable of its reply. “I want to cry…”

“…”

To others, it appeared as though Jiang Pengji was simply reading in the corridor. But her eyes were shining with mischief.

Stunned by the scene, Xu Ke, who was standing near her, diverted his gaze. He sometimes found the Langjun as pretty as a girl.

Still, he did not suspect that she really was a young lady. She was far too sly, arrogant, and shocking.

Although Xu Ke was still unwilling to be her servant, he didn’t dare let her know. He didn’t fear Jiang Pengji, but he feared her father. Even after three days, he still had nightmares about those cold snake-like eyes. The memory sent chills throughout his body.

Of course, he didn’t know how ignorant he really was.

Liu She could afflict mental torture, but Jiang Pengji could torment someone until he begged for death.

“Taxue, what is the matter?” Jiang Pengji turned to the attendant at the corner.

The attendant handed Jiang Pengji a sweet-smelling invitation card that had flowers on it.

“A gathering held by the Weis?” There were two cards; one was formal, and the other was written in soft, elegant characters. The second card had been handwritten by Wei Jingxian.

“I am not interested.” Jiang Pengji could fight or hunt, but she could not compose poetry. She loved science, especially mechanics, but she knew nothing about literature. “Beat me or shut up” was her motto.

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Liu Lanting had not been much better. Her works had often been criticized by her teacher as being unoriginal.

Taxue had not expected Jiang Pengji to decline the invitation, and she could not respond for a moment.

Xunmei, too, was confused. “Langjun, the invitation was written by the Wei’s young lady herself. It could be offensive if you reject it…”

It would cause embarrassment to her “future wife.”

Jiang Pengji, knowing what her attendants meant to say, sighed as she looked at the sky. It was a clear day, suitable for outdoor activities.

Xu Ke did not understand and mumbled in a low voice. “Why didn’t they inform us about this a few days earlier? This is a gathering, not a challenge to an enemy.”

Invitations were usually delivered two to three days before these kinds of events so that the guests would have sufficient time prepare. Yet the card stated that the event would be held later that day in the afternoon.

Jiang Pengji did not care much about it. “We men can never comprehend the ladies’ thoughts. We just try to accept what they do.”

She had offended most of the noble ladies during the kidnapping. They might try to grasp any opportunity to embarrass her.

Xu Ke was speechless. Why did the Langjun say that?

Jiang Pengji played with her fan and asked the attendants to prepare suitable clothes for the gathering. After tidying her hair and washing her face, she was ready to go.

“It is better to sleep in this kind of weather,” she told the stream audience. “‘Feel sleepy in the spring and tired in the autumn. Take a nap in summer, and slumber through the three-month winter.’ Sleeping is the best activity throughout the entire year. It is silly of me to waste time on poetry.”

She always appeared to be lazy. At the moment, however, her soft features made her look like a painting of a beautiful girl resting in the springtime.

The venue was on the bank of the Wan River outside the town, which was not far away. Their carriage could reach the destination in about an hour at its normal pace.

Apart from the driver, she brought only one attendant and Xu Ke, whose knowledge of literature was not outstanding either. But there was a reason for his company. Liu She seemed to pay extra attention to the young servant. The manner with which he tested his competence showed that Xu Ke was more than an ordinary servant to him; he was more like a pupil.

Such a suggestion would be considered unbelievable in this era. It was impossible for a master to place so much trust and importance on a criminal slave who had a tattoo on his face, no matter how talented he was. Generally, the social status of a criminal slave was lower than even that of a common person.

Still, when Jiang Pengji considered Liu She’s extraordinarily open mind, she knew it was not impossible.

Even apart from Liu She’s attitude towards the servant, Jiang Pengji was attracted to Xu Ke after observing him for days. But there was certainly nothing romantic about her attraction. She simply believed that the teenager could be nurtured to become a helpful assistant.

He possessed the ideal qualities for handling internal affairs. He was clever and could devise methods of coping with problems immediately. If she had met him in her former life, she would have recruited him to be her assistant, and he would have been responsible for piles of paperwork. His situation in these ancient times, however, was much worse.

Since the boy could be hasty from time to time, Jiang Pengji would try to change his temper first. If he proved that he could be useful, she would continue training him. If not, she would need to make other arrangements for him.

The four arrived at their destination during her contemplation. A large crew of alert servants was gathering near the guests’ carriages.

“Once bitten, twice shy. It seems the incident has cast its shadow over the families.”

Jiang Pengji descended from the carriage and walked toward the people. Her wooden sandals clopped against the pebbled ground.