Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Jiang Pengji put her hands around her arms, leaned against a stake in the drill ground, and watched the soldiers do the painstaking training. Her eyebrows pulled up.

“I thought it was going to take you a while––at least ten or more days––to tame these bandits. I didn’t expect for you to solve the problem with them in only a couple of days time,” she said with Xu Ke with a smile. “They are training dedicatedly.”

In order to avoid any possible threats, Xu Ke split the bandit members up and inserted them in with the original troops.

But the ones who were training most industriously and had the veins on their foreheads popping out were all bandit members. The original troop members definitely were training hard, but it was an obvious difference when they were compared against the bandit members.

It was rather a surprise to Jiang Pengji.

“In spite of some extremely atrocious ones, most of the bandit members are still just ordinary people. Their whole life’s purpose is to never worry about food and accommodation and to have a peaceful life with their families. If they ever had a chance to make a choice about their own life, they would have never taken the risk to be a bandit. I only displayed to them the benefits of being part of the troop. Anything else would be additional. Of course they wanted to stay, and they will endeavor to perform the best they can to help them stay in the troop.”

To be more straightforward, whoever fed them would be their mom. In that case, whoever provided them with a good life would be the master they would risk their life for.

Xu Ke didn’t have to waste his words to convince them. The only thing he did was make sure his old troop members “leaked” a little information about their current treatment.

To the bandits, no good words would be stronger than genuine benefits.

Jiang Pengji made an estimate about what time it was and instructed Xu Ke, “Meng County should deliver the grain here in several days… We need to do some prep work. Arrange some of our own people to guard at the borderline of Hejian County and Meng County and feel out the situation. That’s the priority.”

Xu Ke frowned with concern when he heard her words. He asked, “How are we going to take over the grain when they drop it off? The Lius’ should not get involved in this just in case the Meng’s suspect us. What if they will set up an ambush with their dispatched troops? Coach Meng will be at the scene… If it is so, won’t that be putting Coach Meng in a predicament?”

Jiang Pengji grinned at him. “When have I ever said that I will send my own people to collect the grain?”

As a matter of fact, she had never planned to show up. The more flaws one exposed, the more their enemies would have on them.

“Then… What’s your plan, Langjun?” Xu Ke’s eyes blinked. He seemed to figure out her intentions.

“Bamboo slice.” She pitched a slim bamboo slice between her fingers and it seemed like she had torn it from an old bamboo strip. “We only need to give them straight orders step by step on the bamboo slices and direct them to operate. We give them specific locations for them to drop off the grain and lead them somewhere totally irrelevant. Then we transfer all the grain away once they are distracted by the other instructions.”

Xu Ke had a sense of hesitation. “But… 2,000 dans of grain isn’t just some small package. We might have issues moving them all in a short time even if we assign the whole troop to do it. And what are we going to do if the Meng’s realize that they are being tricked and come back to us?”

Jiang Pengji had a mysterious smile spread on her face. “I have my plan, just wait for it.”

Xu Ke was speechless. “…”

There was a moment when he felt slightly dumbfounded. He was no longer sure if he was still her think tank.

It felt that his role and Jiang Pengji’s were completely reversed.

Over the next few days, the weather gradually got warmer and most of the people put on their thin spring shirts.

The good looking boys became trendy as well. They had fine makeup on, wore long shirts that expanded below their knees with wide sleeves, and stood against the breeze. The scene reminded others of people idolizing.

Jiang Pengji could barely tolerate the current fashion trend. She insisted on keeping her face clean and her shirt plain. The first glance at her would make one almost believe that she was from a general family. But the texture of her clothes told the difference; it was indisputable that she was from a noble family.

Jiang Pengji sat in a tea house beside the station closest to Hejian County. She paid the landlady of the tea house for a pot of tea.

“Lan Ting, the taste of the tea… How do you put up with it…?”

Qiguan Rang sat aside of her, took a glimpse at the clay-made tea bowl in her hands, and then at her. She was gulping back her tea. Qiguan Rang looked around their dingy, shabby surroundings and shook his head.

Jiang Pengji rolled her eyes at him. “It’s not going to cause any issues. Why can’t I drink it?” It was a huge contrast from the delicate tea they usually drank. The tea they had was particularly rough and there was a bitter, astringent aftertaste that diffused in one’s mouth.

But the tea house near the station was set for quenching the tourists’ thirst. One couldn’t expect much by paying one penny for all they wanted.

Qiguan Rang found it amusing when he tried to match Jiang Pengji’s dress with her words.

No one would recognize her as the son of Liu County Chief from Hu County even if she stood up and claimed to be.

Different from her normal civilized, refined dress, she was in a full body, crude, cloth-made brown suit with two patches on the shoulders. She tied her hair high with a straw hair tie and her skin looked gloomier than usual…

Without her delicate looking and shining eyes, everyone would be convinced she was just a county boy.

Qiguan Rang barely spotted her when she came to him with the Lius’ wagon.

“It is easy to start an extravagant life from poverty, but it is hard to get back to poor life from luxury. It seems like it doesn’t affect you much.”

Jiang Pengji raised her eyebrows at him. “Am I that finicky?”

Qiguan Rang coughed to end the conversation. Clearly Jiang Pengji didn’t refer to herself being finicky; she was talking about him.

He quickly changed the subject and looked far away with his hands covering his eyes.

“You told me there was going to be a good show… Where is the show?”

Thick smoke could be seen in the distance the moment he stopped talking. He tensed and immediately grasped Jiang Pengji’s intention.

“This… That sucker really sent the cargo here.”

Qiguan Rang didn’t make it clear, considering there were other people around them. He used a replacement reference for both of them to understand.

Jiang Pengji glanced over to the location Qiguan Rang was looking. Her lip raised up with a smile.

“I dare you to bet with me if we caught a big fish or a small fish.”

Qiguan Rang inquired, “How do you define big or small in this case?”

“More than 2,000 dans is big, or otherwise. How is that?”

Qiguan Rang shook his feather fan right after and said, “I’m not betting with you. I never win in any bets.”

Jiang Pengji dragged him over for a good show at the right time. It was obvious that she had probed and gotten enough information about her opponent. What was the point of making a bet about how much grain they delivered with the knowledge that it was a dead game for him?

She was confident with her victory no matter which side he bet on. Then what was the fun of the game?

“Boring!”

He was unshaken no matter how persuading Jiang Pengji was. He just kept swaying his feather fan.