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

Xu Ke was still in shock but Jiang Pengji seemed much calmer.

“What trace of a fight?” She passed over the water bags she was carrying to Xu Ke and told him, “Give the orders to the guards to pick up some wood branches and set up a cooking pot to boil the water. Once it cools down we can pour it back into the water bags. The water in the brook is not guaranteed to be clean, so it would be better to boil it…”

Xu Ke quickly picked up the water bags and he found two strange faces in Jiang Pengji’s troop. Xu Ke responded, “The guards who were looking for branches came back to report that there were several wagons ahead on the road that had no one in them. There are quite a few dead bodies laying next to them. They did an examination and found out there were some furious fights not long ago. Laoye was worried it was caused by bandits hiding in the woods.”

Xu Ke had gone to check the spot. During his examination, he came up with the conclusion that it was a very low chance that it could be bandits. It was more like an assassination ambush.

He couldn’t help but worry about his Langjun. He had felt very anxious.

He was just about to take a team to search for her when Jiang Pengji came back covered in blood.

If it wasn’t in the middle of the day, Xu Ke nearly would have believed that Jiang Pengji was a ghost coming to see him after Jiang Pengji got killed. His heart was so close to stopping. It scared the crap out of him.

Jiang Pengji came to realization right away after she heard this and said, “That was Mr. Chengs’ troop. who was ambushed by bandits on their way. I happened to encounter them trapped in danger. I rescued them and fought the bandits. Xu Ke, prepare some food as well.”

She made it sound easy. It seemed like she didn’t have any memory of being surrounded by almost fifty bandit members.

Of course, Xu Ke was so misled that he bought her story that they were just some random bandits on the mountain. He didn’t suspect much.

His Langjun looked energetic; her cheeks were flushed and her eyes beamed with light. It was obvious that she was more than fine.

According to his estimation, the one who was doomed was the bandits.

Xu Ke was no longer panicking after he came to this conclusion. “Yeah, I’m on it.”

Xu Ke was used to being a butler, which normally meant he would do whatever Jiang Pengji told him to do.

“Right, tell Taxue to bring me a clean suit. I need to find a spot for a shower. It feels gross to have the blood sticking to my body.”

The viewers in the streaming room seethed with the news. It would be a real time, outdoors bathing show!

For it to be a cliché, there needed to be a dumba** that accidently walked past and saw her in the bath. From there, they would get to know each other more. It sounded sweet for a first meeting, but it was completely bogus. If Jiang Pengji didn’t have a basic sense of precaution, she would have been dead a couple of times already.

Taxue ran to her after she received the message. She stopped worrying after she saw Jiang Pengji was fine besides some scratches.

“Just give me a bit time; I will prepare some clothes.” She took off after saying that and went to the clothes chamber in the wagon for a clean suit, some towels, and soap for bathing.

“Liu County Chief is here too?” Cheng Cheng inquired after he noticed that Jiang Pengji finished what she was busy doing.

“Yeah. I was told that father is the General Evaluation Officer this year and he needs to be in the capital for taking care of general affairs.”

Cheng Cheng went quiet.

“Is there anything wrong?” she asked.

The expression on Cheng Cheng’s face seemed a bit off. Cheng Cheng kept silent but his face showed tangled emotions. He gave Jiang Pengji a bitter smile after a while. “Rumor has it that Liu County Chief is profligate and unrestrained. I thought it was people who were jealous of him smearing dirt on his reputation intentionally, but it seems that they are not wrong about your father.”

The evaluation was imminent, but the General Evaluation Officer had just hit the road.

Liu She went speechless. He heard that someone was talking dirt about him to his daughter the moment he arrived. Who had he messed with that had to ruin his reputation as a great father?

He was an experienced person that had spent years in the government institution. He knew the philosophy of dealing with people with a smile very well. Therefore, he didn’t care much about what Cheng Cheng had just said about him.

“Lanting, who are these two guests?” Liu She came closer and took a clear look at the one who talked dirt about him. Even though he felt upset, his feeling disappeared after he took one glance at who had spoken.

Cheng Cheng and his wife were for sure not in the best shape, but they still looked refined and elegant. Whoever saw them would find it was amazing that they were standing.

“Father…” She elaborated on how she had met them. “It is a destined coincidence to meet each other. I made the decision to invite them along with us until we arrived at the next station. The purpose and background of the bandits are both still obscure. I’m afraid their lives will be at stake if we leave them in the middle of nowhere. What do you think, father?”

Jiang Pengji found Liu She’s eyes were looking straight while she was talking. She couldn’t help but frown. Apparently, the couple behind her did have some background, otherwise why would Liu She have a reaction like that?

As a matter of fact, Cheng Cheng and his wife did have some connection with them, but just not right then.

Liu She was a man who had been through a lot. He had met Feng Jin, Xu Ke, and even Qiguan Rang. It would be shocking for him to have also met Cheng Cheng.

“It’s Cheng Wenfu. Nice to meet you.” It was true that Liu She knew about Cheng Cheng, which was why he called Cheng Cheng’s literal name at their first meeting.

Cheng Cheng’s face turned serious. They kept looking up and down at each other while they talked political correctness.

They had never met each other before then, but through some mutual friends, they had some basic knowledge about each other. Now that they had met face to face, naturally they couldn’t wait to take a careful look at each other and to see if they were actually as excellent as everyone else had said.

Cheng Cheng was thinking that, but Liu She had some additional considerations.

Because of his daughter and wife, Liu She knew some secrets that no one was aware of, which included Cheng Cheng.

Cheng Cheng was merely an unknown officer in a small town and he had a relaxed and leisurely life with his wife.

Not to mention the outside world, Cheng Cheng was just a nobody in the Cheng’s gentry clan. He acted modestly and kept a low profile. Except for a very few close friends who knew about him, the rest of the people all considered him an unambitious and idle person.

That was only a part of what Liu She had learned The other part of Cheng Cheng, Liu She learned from his wife.

Cheng Cheng was the first official historian who hosted and compiled the history of the Period of Sixteen Kingdoms, the Xia Dynasty and the sixty years before the Jiang Dynasty was founded.

It consumed 35 years for him to repair numerous historical relics and ancient books. He created the new era of historical records. He was titled as the official who upheld astronomy and timekeeping and he was awarded posthumously.

What was more important, according to a resentful description from Gumin, this talented person had led and made a relatively complete institution for recruiting with the support of Jiang Pengji, the first emperor of Jiang Dynasty. He determined the necessary curriculum for the students.

Liu She wasn’t sure why his wife would resent that so much, but it seemed to be understandable considering how much he hated to study when he was young. Teachers who pressed their students’ heads into their books were the worst ones.

The first emperor of Jiang Dynasty was the founder of the country, but she didn’t earn a good reputation for herself because of her female identity and roughshod actions––instead, her good reputation came from fighting for the realm of the world.

There were a great number of literates who condemned her in speeches and writings. Only, Cheng Cheng, who insisted on the integrity of being an official historian, persisted to tell the truth and remain neutral. His description of Empress Chen was subtle and objective. He never hid his appraisal of her and he wouldn’t allow any denigration of her, which was why he wrote some books that retorted against the condemnation.

His persistence had earned enough fondness towards him from Liu She and Gumin.