Translator:Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor:Nyoi-Bo Studio

If the System were not upgrading, it would probably have complaint. She could not assume others to be arrogant like her!

Qiguan Rang sighed before speaking his mind. I feel a little uneasy about Officer Lius high opinion.

Jiang Pengji chuckled. Why? My father isnt going to have you as my sisters husband. Youre way too old for the nine-year-old. Dont over-think. He wont hurt you.

That sounded right.

Still, unlike Feng Jin, Qiguan Rang would not give up arguing with her. I wont be surprised at all if youre trapped someday for provoking others. He hated it when she teased him with marriage.

Jiang Pengji widened her eyes. Humph! Theyll be like eggs hitting a rock then.

Why? He was puzzled.

Those who can argue with me cant beat me. Those who can beat me arent born yet.

Just leave him alone!

She then changed the subject. How will Master Wei deal with that?

The referent was obvious. Qiguan Rang replied, Thats a thorny problem. As Meng Liang is involved, Master Gongcao alone can hardly confront the Mengs, who are determined to keep Meng Liang intact, unless His eyes turned and he made a low laugh. Unless we come up with a secret plan.

Without his family, Meng Liang was just nobody.

What do you think? Jiang Pengji inquired.

Qiguan Rang thought for a moment and said, We dont know where the military chief is at the moment. Ive asked some merchants about him and can infer what he will do if hes still alive.

After a pause, he continued, He will not let Meng Liang get away from his misdeeds. Now that he has betrayed the Mengs and set the county chiefs house on fire, he is probably hiding somewhere for a chance to murder Meng Liang. In other words, its very likely that he has also arrived in Hejian!

Jiang Pengji listened attentively and smiled. Youre planning to kill Meng Liang with his sword?

He admitted it. Master Gongcao could not fight the Mengs.

They must think twice and refrain themselves from impulsive revenge for the stakes were too high. Otherwise, the eminent house would torment the family and make them pay the price. What they needed was a scheme that could both tackle Meng Liang and protect Wei Yuan.

Jiang Pengji remarked, We are of the same mind, but I think we can do more.

For example?

She stood up and told him, Follow me and youll know.

He thought she was taking him to her home but instead, the carriage headed to the countryside. Jiang Pengji said nothing on the journey. Qiguan Rang thus closed his eyes to take a nap.

As they rode to the farm village, the bumping was increasingly vigorous, despite the refined design of the carriage.

When they had arrived and the driver took out the stool for their alighting, Qiguan Rang finally raised his question, Lanting, what are we here for?

Youll know soon. Ah, theyre already here. Look! She hopped to the ground as she usually did, while Qiguan Rang maintained his manner and got off with a step on the stool.

His gaze followed the direction which her finger was pointing at, and spotted a dozen of people running towards them from the woods far away.

Those men were soaked in sweat as if they could not feel the cool weather, their clothes stuck to their skin, roughly drawing their muscular body shape. Their lips were pale, and their cheeks covered with dripping beads of sweat.

Qiguan Rang squinted and noticed the cotton pads on their shoulders, supporting a bamboo basket of appalling weight which could be imagined from their exhausted expressions, streams of sweat on their countenances and the deep footprints they left behind.

Who are they?

My soldiers. Her reply was brief. The men ran passed them with heavy panting yet none had diverted their gaze, as if they could not see them. Jiang Pengji continued, Dont you think theres someone missing?

Qiguan Rang observed again. Wheres the leader He abruptly stopped and turned to Jiang Pengji.

Theyre now more like abused prisoners than training soldiers, and they need an alpha wolf to gather them for real fights.

You mean He gasped. What if this irritates the Mengs?

Her intention was clear: she wanted to recruit the military chief. The idea shocked Qiguan Rang, who had always considered himself quite a bold young man.

So what? Jiang Pengji shrugged. The Mengs are merely feeble people indulged in the good old days. Now that Dongqing is dying, what can they do?

Qiguan Rang lost his speech. Although the same words had repeated in his minds thousands of times before, he never dared to say the doomed fate so blatantly.

Jiang Pengji snorted. As far as I know, Nansheng is going to lose the battle with the four southern tribes. Since thats our neighboring kingdom, what do you think will happen to Dongqing when Nansheng is defeated and seeks help from us? Can our king, already troubled by other external and internal issues, withstand all these whirlpools and stay on his throne in the end?

If the southern tribes ended the rule of Nansheng, Dongqing would be threatened by foreign forces in both the north and the south. In order to save Nansheng, the kingdom had no choice but to offer assistance.

However, Dongqing had long been despising the military and upheld pure scholarly study instead. The only competent army at the moment was from the Count of Zhenbei, whom His Majesty was constantly alarmed at.

Did Dongqing stand a chance to survive?

Not really.