Chapter 64: Gathering by Wan River (IV)
Feng Jin’s eyes lit up. “Other than that, is there anything else?”
Jiang Pengji smiled coldly. “You both left the same place; how could you not know? He was hugging a few girls, and one was even feeding him. Such a free and unfettered life. To be blunt, he even went a few rounds before he showered and rushed over.”
Feng Jin’s cheeks started flushing red. Why was he such a masochist? He knew what Liu Lanting was like, yet he kept offering himself on a silver platter and letting her bully him.
Jiang Pengji swept her gaze over the other Langjuns who were chatting and discussing poetry. No matter how pretty they were, in her eyes, they were weaklings. They were so weak that she felt disgusted by them.
Jiang Pengji left her tea behind. “Boring! Taxue, Xu Ke, with me!”
She got up and stalked off towards Wuma Jun. She did not notice the others’ awkward expressions.
Wuma Jun had noticed Feng Jin chatting with an extraordinarily mannered boy from afar. It seemed like Feng Jin was having fun, so Wuma Jun headed over for a chat. He had not expected the other boy’s expression to turn cold and stalk off. The paranoid Wuma Jun could not help but overthink.
Fengjin laughed and shook his head and covertly neutralized the situation. “Lanting is not good at poetry. Looks like I pissed him off.”
Wuma Jun took a seat. His unhappiness was somewhat appeased, but he still thought about it.
“Who’s that?”
The boy had stubbornly left him and Feng Jin behind to go over and chat with the noble girls… It seemed like he was a capable person.
Feng Jin laughed, though he was unaware of the unhappy gleam in the other boy’s eyes. “Official Liu’s second son.”
In the whole of Dongqing, there was only one senior provincial official with the family name of Liu. And that was Hejian’s Liu She.
Of course, Liu She’s position would not be a senior provincial official for long because he would be getting a promotion soon.
Wuma Jun’s expression turned kind and even enthusiastic. Liu She was not in the imperial court, but his position was pretty high. No one in the imperial court would ever dare to overlook or ignore him.
Liu She’s county had turned in a yearly tax that was comparable to two that of prefectures, and it was also Dongqing’s main source of food. Not everyone had the power to turn a poor county into such a prosperous one.
“Oh, so he’s the Liu family’s Langjun. But why did he leave?” Wuma Jun asked suspiciously.
“Lanting has a passion for combat and seems to be interested in adventures. He doesn’t have much patience for poetry,” Feng Jin replied gently but helplessly. “He’s only 12 this year. Still immature and impulsive.”
Wuma Jun understood Feng Jin’s personality. Feng Jin enjoyed talking about obscure topics, and he had probably offended Liu Lanting with a difficult topic.
Wuma Jun finally smiled. He thought he understood the reason for Jiang Pengji’s departure. “Huaiyu, if you knew that Liu Langjun didn’t like talking about those topics, couldn’t you could have changed the topic? Why offend him? I heard that senior official Liu loves his son a lot, and he’s also this year’s exam evaluator. Aren’t you worried?”
A scholar exam happened once every three years. Liu She was technically a senior provincial official, but he was more like an official in charge of a prefecture. That year, he had been specially promoted to oversee the exam.
If he had offended Liu She, he better be careful.
“Senior official Liu is upright and honest, and he would pay attention to a child’s ability.”
Which part of Dongqing didn’t have officials who colluded with each other? Almost none.
Only Liu She remained honest.
When Liu She had first been sent to Xu County, everyone knew that he had been sabotaged. Xu County was as big as a prefecture, but it was poor and inhospitable. The locals were tough people, and the place was teeming with bandits. Scholars and officials alike exploited the locals for their own personal gain. The place became waterlogged every year, and natural disasters happened frequently.
Nine senior provincial officials before Liu She had ended their careers because of Xu County. Everyone thought Liu She would be the tenth unlucky victim, and no one expected him to turn the tides.
The current Xu County was still called a “county,” but it was now one of Dongqing’s richest prefectures. The food resources that it generated had ended two prefectures’ disastrous situation and even stabilized Dongqing. Who would dare to say that they had not heard of Liu She?
Jiang Pengji had yet to realize her weird father’s importance. She had a headache over something else.
Can someone take Shangguan Wan away from me!
One moment she would say, “Brother Lanting doesn’t care about me,” then the next moment she would say, “Brother Lanting shouldn’t pamper me” as if Jiang Pengji was guilty of the most heinous crime.
“Then what do you want?”
Jiang Pengji thought she had made a dumb move. Why had she even come over? She could have just choked Feng Jin to death instead.
“Teach me how to ride a horse. The big one ones. I don’t want a pony.”
Shangguan Wan pouted and begged as her braids swung around her face.
“So hard to please. How do you expect to ride a horse in your outfit?”
Jiang Pengji pressed a palm to her own forehead, but she understood Shangguan Wan’s good intentions. She was wise beyond her years. Even though she was still too young to attend the assembly, for Liu Lanting’s sake she had pestered her parents to allow her to attend.
Shangguan Wan had seen through the Weis’ intentions and was trying to help Liu Lanting salvage the situation in front of everyone.
“I knew you would say that, and I came prepared,” Shangguan Wan said, narrowing her eyes slyly.
Jiang Pengji admired the little girl.
Jiang Pengji was about to walk away when she froze. She turned around and faced Wei Jingxian. The other girl’s expression was complicated, remorseful, and embarrassed.
“Wei Jingxian, are you joining us?”
Her expression turned pale, and she shook her head.
Shangguan Wan took the lead. Her clothes had been specially altered for the day, and they were perfect for horse riding.
“Brother Lanting, don’t blame sister Wei Jingxian. She only got the news about this event last night.”
They brought Liu Lanting’s horse and walked to a place where everyone could see them but not hear them.
“Why would I blame her? The Weis’ invitation contained one of her own notes. Here, try getting up.”
Jiang Pengji stood on tiptoes and lightly stroked the horse’s neck. From the outside, it looked like she was trying to calm the horse down. But in actuality, she was threatening the horse because it had dared to raise its hooves. It should not throw any tantrums now.
Liu Lanting and Shangguan Wan were just children, and the horse was a pure blooded breed from Xinjiang. It was powerful enough to throw two riders off its back, yet the legendarily untamable horse was as meek as a lamb.
“Too high… I can’t get up…”
Shangguan Wan tried a few times, but she could not even get a foot into the stirrup. She frowned.
Jiang Pengji noticed the situation, but she could not just carry the girl up. She glared at the horse and mentally hinted at it.
Shangguan Wan saw Jiang Pengji gave a light pat to the horse, and it suddenly stooped down for her.
“Such a perceptive horse!”
Jiang Pengji smiled as she held onto the reins, and Shangguan Wan gripped the saddle. “You can get up now.”
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