Shut up!” To the Bandit Leader, nothing was more important than learning who had caused Monniang’s death.
“I’ll agree!”
These were all desperate men who had turned to banditry.
Who would truly submit to whom?
The Bandit Leader’s actions had clearly harmed their collective interests.
In that case, it would be better to kill him and then slowly enjoy those beauties themselves.
After all, they didn’t have any so-called sweethearts…
that bitch’s tricks posed no threat to them.
Just as they were thinking this, Jiang Pengji suddenly turned to the Second-in-Command, whose eyes were darting around, and asked, “Want to know where your son was kidnapped to?”
Her beautiful eyes swept over, her gaze falling on another bandit.
“Don’t you want to know how many green hats your wife and your brothers have given you?”
The crowd: “…”
Now, those who had been on the verge of making a move dared not act rashly.
Unlike the Bandit Leader’s hidden past, the fact that the Second-in-Command had lost his son in his youth was known to many in the stronghold.
They also knew that although the Second-in-Command’s equipment down there still worked, he couldn’t produce any offspring.
Without a seed, what was the difference between him and a eunuch?
Therefore, that son was his last chance to carry on his family line.
It was incredibly important!
As for the Fourth Boss’s wife cuckolding him…
Pfft.
A few of the more informed men stifled smirks.
Aside from a few dim-witted oafs and the Fourth Boss himself, most of the brothers knew about it.
Not only that, some had even “paid her a visit.”
But their smug smiles quickly faded.
The Fourth Boss had no affection for his wife, but his possessiveness was fierce.
If he ever found out someone had touched her…
the consequences would be lethal.
Suddenly, the air grew thick with unease.
Everyone harbored their own guilty secrets, and no one dared step forward to cover Jiang Pengji’s mouth.
Wouldn’t that be a confession of guilt?
Wouldn’t it be admitting they had something to hide?
They could only break out in a cold sweat, praying that Jiang Pengji was merely guessing…
But who could guess so accurately?
To speak and immediately step on everyone’s sorest spots—it was too uncanny!
“If you want to know…” Jiang Pengji’s gaze swept over them, taking in every reaction.
Then, in full view of the bandits, she effortlessly broke the hemp ropes binding her hands.
A sudden, radiant smile touched her lips as she said in a low voice, “We’ll go one by one.
No rush.”
Jiang Pengji was young, but her eyes were clear and steady.
Even surrounded by a mob, she showed no fear or hesitation.
It was obvious she was completely confident in her own skin.
Looking at her attire, anyone could tell she was a noble lady from a wealthy and influential clan.
How could she have possibly known about their backgrounds in advance?
With no chance of prior investigation, yet every word she spoke struck a nerve…
In an instant, the same thought flashed through everyone’s mind…
Could she be a divine seer?
Those who had heard the street rumors couldn’t help but think of the Dongqing Dynasty’s most famous fortune-teller—the great scholar, Mr.
Yuanjing!
It was said that Mr.
Yuanjing was not only profoundly learned but also possessed the ability to see through time, instantly discerning a person’s ancestral origins and past lives.
With this vague notion taking root, some of the bandits began to waver between doubt and belief, including the two who had been singled out.
Or rather, they had no choice but to believe her, because Jiang Pengji had struck their weakest points with unerring precision.
Not a single word was wrong.
The Second-in-Command was driven mad with longing for his son, and the Fourth Boss could not endure the thought of any other man touching his woman.
At this point, the System vaguely guessed Jiang Pengji’s true motive—she wasn’t just buying time for herself, but also for the noble families who would receive word of their captured daughters.
And simultaneously, this was the most vicious part of her plan…
Borrowing a knife to kill!
At this thought, the System felt like weeping with joy.
With a Host whose combat power was maxed out and so ruthless, what was there to worry about when it came to the Empress’s throne?
The noble ladies were practically escorted out of the dark room in a state of utter bewilderment.
The bandits still leered at them with desire, but they dared not lay a finger on them.
Though the women loathed those hungry gazes, their current situation was vastly improved compared to the humiliation they had just endured.
Wei Jingxian secretly tugged at Jiang Pengji’s sleeve, her eyes filled with suspicion and wariness.
“You…”
Jiang Pengji’s heart stirred.
Is she starting to doubt me?
She lowered her gaze slightly, meeting the other woman’s scrutiny with a calm, gentle voice.
“I was able to protect you under the pear tree, Jing’er.
I can do the same now.”
Wei Jingxian had been a mischievous child.
Once, she had slipped away from the servants and climbed a pear tree, only to find herself stuck.
She had wept in the branches for a long time.
In the end, it was Liu Lanting who found her, coaxing her down with a promise to catch her.
The result?
The little girl was a bit too plump and round.
Liu Lanting, a complete weakling in combat, had been crushed so badly she suffered broken bones and was forced to recuperate for three months.
This was a shared secret known only to Wei Jingxian and Liu Lanting; not even their closest maids or old servants knew.
The wariness in Wei Jingxian’s eyes gradually faded, replaced by a flicker of concern for Jiang Pengji.
“This is no longer as simple as climbing a pear tree…”
“As long as it concerns you, Jing’er, no matter how difficult, I will see it done,” Jiang Pengji declared solemnly.
She reached out, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind Wei Jingxian’s ear and straightening the crooked buyao hair-pin.
“A gentleman’s word is as immovable as the Five Great Mountains.
This is no mere sweet talk.”
Wei Jingxian’s face flushed at the tender gesture, but the thought of Jiang Pengji’s true gender sent a wave of anguish through her heart.
Her feelings for Liu Lanting had never been romantic, but she had been a young girl in the throes of a gentle, budding affection.
The other had long been the husband her family had chosen for her, a match both families wholeheartedly supported, and she had never resisted the idea.
If they were to marry, even if they never shared a passionate love, they could at least live together in mutual respect.
But now…
everything was ruined.
The future she had once imagined felt like a cruel mockery.
“You…
how can you even call yourself a gentleman now!”
Jiang Pengji sensed the contradiction between Wei Jingxian’s words and her feelings.
She smiled with a carefree grace.
“If you say I am, then I am.
If you say I am not, then I am not.”
Wei Jingxian was left utterly flustered and awkward, her usual aloof and distant expression crumbling.
“You…
you…”
Could it be, she wondered, that now that her true identity is out, she can’t even be bothered to maintain her former facade?
“Don’t worry…” Jiang Pengji raised her hand to stop Wei Jingxian from speaking, her eyes brimming with confidence.
“Jing’er, don’t you trust me?”
Wei Jingxian: “…”
To be honest, if Liu Lanting hadn’t been so terrified by the bandits’ knives that her entire body was burning with fever, she might have actually been able to offer a little bit of trust.
The bandit stronghold was incredibly crude and dilapidated, consisting of just a few thatched huts of varying sizes scattered about.
If it weren’t for the bandits themselves—all tall, burly men with ferocious expressions and an air of lawlessness that practically screamed “I’m a bad guy”—one might have mistaken the place for an ordinary, secluded village hidden deep in the mountains.
Jiang Pengji held the bandits’ weaknesses.
The Great Leader, the Second-in-Command, and the Fourth Boss were all under her thumb.
The rest of the petty bandits didn’t dare make a move.
They occasionally stole glances at the noble ladies, but always made sure to avoid Jiang Pengji’s gaze.
Leaving the small, broken room where they had been held, the bandits escorted them all to a small hall adorned with a simple plaque.
“I’ll speak with you ladies privately.
Could we move to the back hall?”
Jiang Pengji fixed them with a faint, mocking smile, her words laced with meaning.
“Some of you are so guilty of your crimes that if I were to speak the truth aloud, I fear you’d fly into a rage and kill me in a desperate attempt to silence me.
I don’t mind a little blood, and you’re all rough men who’ve seen it all, but what about these delicate, flower-like young ladies?
It would be a sin to frighten them.”
With that, she swept her gaze over the noblewomen, her eyes lingering on Wei Jingxian for a moment longer than the others.
The women’s faces flushed with a mixture of shame and anger, yet none dared to utter a word.
If anyone else had spoken such words, they would have died of mortification.
But Liu Lanting…
She wasn’t a man with a cock between her legs.
If they reacted too strongly, wouldn’t that just make them seem pampered and willful?
Wei Jingxian, singled out by the gaze, felt a flush of warmth spread across her cheeks, but she quickly regained her composure.
Repeat it three times: Liu Lanting is a woman!
A woman!
A woman!