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

Something worth noting was that Shao Guang’s area of expertise was not strategizing and calculating.

While his propensity for scheming was well above average, he was still too inexperienced to compare to a true black-hearted manipulator like Feng Zhen.

Feng Zhen had scouted the edge of the wall and recommended him to Jiang Pengji because Shao Guang was an unexpected resource. He was a specialist in managing water resources and fixing structures.

It wasn’t that surprising that Shao Guang had never been treated as a valuable asset under the Xu brothers.

The Xu family was based in Zhe County, which was filled with boundless natural resources and was never short on water supplies.

Easy problems only required normal people to solve them, but even something a little more difficult wouldn’t require Shao Guang’s help, so he was really of little value in the county.

On the other hand, Jiang Pengji’s place absolutely needed Shao Guang! Wanzhou had experienced a terrible drought the previous year, and if Jiang Pengji hadn’t found out early and prepared for the natural disaster, who knew how many people would have died from thirst or how many crops would have dried out from the lack of rain? It would’ve been a rough year to live through.

Feng Zhen’s new recruit was exactly who they needed.

With one swift action, he’d managed to recruit the most necessary capital resource for her.

The atmosphere was pleasant. Jiang Pengji didn’t really have to act in a way that made people think she was vulnerable, but she also didn’t make herself seem too full of herself or like she stood above others.

After a short conversation, Shao Guang was secretly awed.

From his perspective, Xu Pei was already a rare talent among the younger generation, but there was a small problem with him that was unavoidable for noble disciples. The flaw was that they look down on people from lower family backgrounds because of their own aristocratic bloodlines. They will rarely put down their pride long enough to speak with the people below them.

If this was a problem exclusive to the Xu brothers, they would’ve been perceived poorly by others and been regarded as inflexible and problematic.

Unfortunately, this kind of attitude was quite popular. Their prejudice was considered normal, and the lower-class people who dreamed of becoming successful were just daydreaming on their own. To put it in modern terms, this wasn’t just princess syndrome, they really were princesses!

In Shao Guang’s eyes, Jiang Pengji was also an aristocratic son from a noble bloodline… uh, an aristocratic daughter.

It didn’t matter if she was a noble son or daughter. It didn’t matter that she only valued talent. Deep down, she still had the arrogance and elegance to live up to her family name.

After getting to know her, however, he found out that Jiang Pengji wasn’t hard to talk to. In fact, he even felt the urge to become closer friends with her.

She socialized naturally without giving off the vibe of looking down on or offending anyone. Despite having an aura of nobility about her, it didn’t make others feel isolated or rejected.

In other words, this was a very non-mainstream aristocratic family.

Shao Guang still had clear eyes. He could judge with the scale inside his mind whether this was just her putting on a show or if she was indeed sincere.

Now, he felt no pressure or hesitancy to call Jiang Pengji his lord.

Jiang Pengji ordered quite a few gourmet dishes and split the food among the three of them.

She glanced at the empty seats beside the two young men and asked, “Shall I call some girls to come and serve you two?”

You shouldn’t forget where they are right now. Not calling out a few dancers to liven up the scene would make the atmosphere a little too serious.

The two men both went silent at the same time, remembering that their lord was indeed a woman.

She too was visiting a courtesan tower. Why was she so much more open and accepting than these two men before her?

“You don’t want some? The feast is on me for once. There won’t be a second chance after this.”

Feng Zhen no longer hesitated and called several beauties inside. He then asked Jiang Pengji casually, “Too bad this isn’t the South Court. If it were, would my lord also order two?”

The South Court was the male version of the courtesan tower. It sold men instead of women, meaning that the young men inside were the server boys.

Jiang Pengji lifted her eyes. “No need, you two can play on your own.”

Feng Zhen was a shameless man who didn’t know what being reserved meant. Shao Guang had just joined the party and was already much more collected than him.

More importantly, there was also a female lord beside him watching. He would be uncomfortable hugging and touching the courtesans of the tower.

Feng Zhen ordered a list of songs and dances which he watched joyfully. On the other side of the room, Jiang Pengji played with her wine cup with her flexible fingers.

She glanced at the sky outside while her lips curled up slightly.

“There are a few ladies that need combing today. Would you two be interested in watching?”

Feng Zhen’s gaze remained glued on the dances and answered without turning his head, “Yes.”

Shao Guang was silent.

It all felt like a dream.

Even male lords wouldn’t have the nerve to say something like this. Why was his new lord so open and bold? And Feng Zhen, why are you so shameless?

“Then let’s go watch. Perhaps you’ll be lucky enough to earn a night with someone.”

Shao Guang once again felt that his new lord had a character that was difficult to capture in words.

The tower wasn’t small. There were nine new courtesans present, all between the ages of fourteen and sixteen.

The audience felt their hearts grow heavy as they watched the young girls on stage. They all still had an aura of innocence about them.

When Jiang Pengji used to wander in the courtesan towers and run into the combing of the courtesans, the audience members could only watch. They had no ability to lend a helping hand.

Feng Zhen lowered his voice and said, “This courtesan house sure is interesting. They still managed to put on a big show after experiencing a national disaster.”

When Prince Changshou’s army invaded the capital city of Chenzhou, the entire city had drowned in a bloodbath of warfare.

While the rebellion army managed to settle the situation, it was still a sad fact that they couldn’t change the lives of those now living in poverty.

This courtesan house was quite impressive if it had managed to escape the times of unrest. They’d even managed to find several new courtesans with above-average looks.

Jiang Pengji lifted her lips in a smile and said, “I see that there’s a young girl up there that’s been staring at you.”

Feng Zhen also noticed.

The young courtesan who kept sending shy looks toward him was dressed in pastel clothing and looked about fifteen to sixteen years old. Her face still had a hint of youthfulness, but it was already a clearly beautiful face. In addition, despite her young age, her body was rather developed. She didn’t yet have a mature body, still maintaining the purity of a teenager, floating somewhere between a grown woman and a girl. She stood by herself on the stage and immediately forced the spotlight of the other eight girls off the stage.

She was the spotlight of the court.

And now, the spotlight was shyly peeking at Feng Zhen.

Feng Zhen said proudly, “I guess my attractiveness hasn’t been lost to time. The young lady has good taste.”

Jiang Pengji laughed out loud.

“Zi Shi, I see that your house is quite empty. Since you don’t have anyone to care for you, why not bring one back?” Jiang Pengji’s eyes carried a hint of teasing and bad intention as she advised Feng Zhen. “These are all young little girls. If they stay in a place like this, who knows what they’ll become in the future. If you buy, even if you don’t give her your name, keeping her by your side to care for you would still make your life a little easier.”

Based on this statement alone, surely this was the best lord in any of the five counties.

“My lord, you can’t just make fun of someone else…” Feng Zhen shivered a bit and complained back. “The naughty boy at home has already been enlightened, so please don’t trouble the young girls. I accept your kind thoughts, but I cannot take one.”

Did Feng Zhen really not know what kind of character Jiang Pengji was?

In the same way, how could Jiang Pengji not know Feng Zhen’s character?

Fen Zhen liked older ladies. The object of his desire must be someone mature and refined. He would never put his hand on a pure child like that.

The two had gone in to drink at courtesan houses multiple times, how could the lord not know his interests?

He liked older women, not little girls.

Feng Zhen frowned subconsciously as he listened to his master make this statement. His eyes naturally fell back onto the stage and he caught the eye of the beautiful young courtesan again. Tsk, he dared to swear on his own master’s gender that there must be something fishy going on here!