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

Xu Ke said axniously, “If they make things difficult for you when you go to the palace this time…”

Jiang Pengji was not worried or anxious about it. She replied indifferently, “Don’t worry. It’s not that serious. We’ll just exchange a few commonplaces at most.”

In a sense, holding Jiang Pengji as a “hostage” had more influence than holding others as “hostages.” As Liu She’s only “son,” as long as Jiang Pengji was still in Shangjing City and under the Emperor’s control, the magistrate of Chongzhou, Liu She, could not go against the Emperor.

Understanding that, Jiang Pengji was not worried about her trip to Shangyang Palace.

Xu Ke understood, and his face looked as grave as ink.

Be it as a citizen of Dongqing or Jiang Pengji’s right-hand man, he was very disdainful of the actions of the Dongqing Emperor.

If the Emperor was diligent in government affairs and had the interests of the people at heart, why would he need to worry about whether the ministers feigned compliance and acted in opposition?

She entered the palace with the eunuch who delivered the imperial order. Jiang Pengji waited outside the imperial court for the summon.

Just as Jiang Pengji had expected, the Emperor had only spared some time to meet her. They just had some small talk and chatted. He reminisced about his friendship with Liu She and kindly asked her to stay in Shangjing for a short period of time. Then, he granted her a sumptuous spread of delicacies. The meeting did not even take an hour from beginning until the end.

Jiang Pengji did not waste the opportunity. She immediately started a semi-interactive streaming mode with the title “A Half-Day Tour in Shangyang Palace.”

Yingyang Kuaixian: “I feel that the architecture of Shangyang Palace has some of the characteristics of the Qin and Han Dynasties. Some aspects of it remind me of the Tang Dynasty though… Well, in any case, the ancient palace deserves to be called the treasure of human cultural heritage. An ordinary studio city couldn’t even compare to it.”

Jianguo Buxu Chengjing: “Please. This is the real royal palace. If the studio city wanted to restore it to its original state, they would’ve gone bankrupt already. It’s good that they can create an imitation. Why are you so fastidious? If you want to see a palace, go to the Forbidden City.”

Kouzhejiao Chifan: “The Forbidden City has fallen into disrepair over the years. Not many places are displayed, and there are so many tourists every day. Many places look like decrepit houses. I visited the Forbidden City many times during the Golden Week, and I was unimpressed by the royal inner court.”

Jiang Pengji had been in the current era for a few years, but it was the first time that she had been that close to Shangyang Palace. The audience in the streaming room was excited. For their era, everything in the feudal dynasty aroused their curiosity.

Wahaha: “Hey, after seeing the Emperor of Dongqing, my image of the Emperor has shattered––not to mention the royal inner court. I initially thought that I was going to see a majestic, handsome, middle-aged man, but the Emperor of Dongqing is only a middle-aged man with heavy bags under his eyes. He does not have the charm of an Emperor! He has a wretched appearance and his body looks like it’s been hollowed out. I think middle-aged men who square dance in public have more vigor than him.”

Saoma Kanwo: “I strongly agree with you. It’s fine to say that he’s a middle-aged man of wretched appearance. Thinking about the beautiful, young girls he ruined in the palace, I suddenly am so nauseous––the type that one gets when they discover the half-dead body of a caterpillar while they’re eating an apple. Fortunately, the streamer isn’t involved in court intrigues. Otherwise, I’d wake up from my dreams with disgust over the thought of the streamer fighting for favor with this man.”

That showed that no matter what era it was, a person’s appearance was very important. The age, appearance, and charm of the Emperor of Dongqing did not meet the expectations and aspirations of the audience in the streaming room at all.

As the viewers chatted, a strange bullet screen suddenly appeared.

Xiongmao Mianguan: “Am I the only one who realized that we’ve been fooled by the streamer? The title of the streaming today is ‘A Half-Day Tour in Shangyang Palace,’ but in fact, the streamer has shown us very little. She didn’t stop to introduce the architecture and landscape to us. It was not even a half a day.”

The entire tour was less than an hour! That was deceit!

Upon seeing the bullet screen, Jiang Pengji posted a bullet screen and mentioned the viewer.

Host V: “The current situation doesn’t allow me to do so. I can’t roam about in Shangyang Palace. However, I’ll do another streaming of a day tour in Shangyang Palace one day. By then, you’ll be able to see whatever you want. The royal inner court will be a clear passage. @Xiongmao Mianguan”

The content of the bullet screen seemed to be very normal, but the audience in the streaming room felt that it was extremely scary.

She was still a citizen of Dongqing. For fear of the prestige of the Emperor, she could only follow the lead of the eunuch. It was impossible for her to roam about in Shangyang Palace.

If so, under what circumstances could she ignore the rule and move about freely in Shangyang Palace? It would only happen when she became the new owner of Shangyang Palace.

With that conclusion, the audience in the streaming room suddenly became amused. They kept giving her rewards and praised her for being awesome.

Laosiji Lianmeng: “I give you a score of 101. I’m not afraid that you’ll become proud by giving you an extra point.”

With the jokes that the audience in the streaming room made, Jiang Pengji left the palace safe and sound. She saw Xu Ke, who was anxiously waiting, when she stepped out of the palace gates.

“I’m fine. Let’s go.” Jiang Pengji waved her hand as a signal for the groom to depart.

Xu Ke secretly heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing Jiang Pengji’s indifferent facial expression. “Langjun, did the trip go smoothly?”

“I received a few compliments and ate some food. The royal chef in the palace isn’t as good as the chef in Wuma Jun’s residence…”

The cooking skills of the royal chef were definitely better than that of an ordinary chef, but the food prepared by the royal chef had already turned cold when it was served. How could it be compared to a hot dish?

Xu Ke was speechless and suddenly could not find the words to continue the conversation. His Langjun’s style was so fresh and unusual.

“However, we can only stay in Shangjing for the time being; we can’t leave.” Jiang Pengji shook her head and muttered, “The Emperor has become increasingly obsessed with beauties. He looks strong, but his health is in a poor state. He’s not willing to rest quietly to recuperate, and he hangs onto drastic medications… He has probably also realized that his health is deteriorating, and he’s becoming more and more afraid of death. He put the sons of the aristocrats under house arrest in Shangjing. This probably shows that he’s extremely terrified of death…”

Even if the Emperor supported the group of relatives of the Emperor and the eunuchs that wanted to take the aristocratic families down, he would just be harboring people that would later do him harm.

The aristocratic families seemed to be backing down, but they had yet to be weakened to the core. Which of the so-called aristocratic families did not have a more established and richer heritage than the royal family of Dongqing?

Perhaps because of that concern, the Emperor continued to call the sons of the aristocrats, who were working in foreign places, to hold them as hostages.

If Jiang Pengji was the Emperor of Dongqing, in the face of such situation, she would have chosen an heir as soon as possible and abdicated the throne so that the power of the imperial court would transition smoothly… She would grant amnesty to the people and reward the important officials. At the same time, she would get rid of the remaining influence of the group of relatives of the Emperor and the eunuchs in order to ensure that the new Emperor could firmly secure the throne.

As for the threat posed by the aristocrats––the best strategy was to win a group of them over, put a group of them down, and then stabilize Dongqing, which was in a disastrous state.

However, the current Emperor obviously refused to budge, and did not want to let his son take over the throne.

In the face of the increasingly fierce battle for the throne among the princes, the Emperor did not stop them. Instead, he was delighted to see it. He even let Prince Changshou grow his power and pin down his other sons… Haha. As the Emperor, he could not even sleep peacefully as his sons got older.