The Empress' Livestream

Chapter 352: Happenings in Shangjing (9)

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

An Yina secretly clenched her fists upon hearing the servant girl’s words.

Wuma Jun, who was next to the tea room, calculated his timing and only got up to leave when he felt that An Yina had already left. However, unexpectedly, she was talking to a servant girl at the door of the tea room. He smirked. It seemed like she was not able to leave him.

“There’s someone next door.” An Yina did not explain further. In a very aloof tone, she added, “I don’t know who they are.”

Wuma Jun suddenly became nervous. There was a ball of rage in his heart in an instant. He was so angry that he felt a pain in his chest. “How disrespectful. Does the owner of the teahouse not know that it’s a special today and that no customers are to be accepted?”

As he was speaking, he had a guilty conscience, and he held a bit of fear in his heart. He and An Yina met each other in secret, and he did not want their affair to be exposed.

The internal affairs of the royal family of Dongqing were a mess. Having affairs with one’s sister-in-law and bullying the ministers’ wives was common––even sleeping with the emperor’s concubine was common. The elders did all of that. Wuma Jun aimed to take over the throne, and had a lofty ambition of ruling the nine states. He had to show a decent image to the people. If someone exposed that he had been having an affair with his second sister-in-law for years, not only would it make a cuckold of his second brother, but it would basically bring about his own demise.

Wuma Jun had gone through all kinds of hardships in order to get rid of his reputation of being the unfavored prince. He gradually became noticed by the emperor and entered into court politics. He built his own connections and had a decent image to outsiders. He was courteous to the wise, and condescending to the scholars. He was gentle, modest, and polite. He had gathered a lot of inside information and had his own followers.

He would soon marry Magistrate Liu’s daughter and have an influential in-law. He could not fail.

He could only be a prince of noble character and sterling integrity. He could not be an animal who had an affair with his second sister-in-law.

Usually, when he and An Yina met each other in secret, the tea room next door was empty and no customers would be accepted; that was the case for the past few years. That was why Wuma Jun did not put up his defenses... He never considered the idea of there being such a huge loophole. He almost fainted, and could not stand firm.

The servant girl knelt on the ground and quivered upon hearing Wuma Jun’s reprimand... Even her molars were shaking.

“Firstly, check who the people in the room are. If they’re not important, we have to kill them without delay to avoid any trouble.” Princess An Yina was very calm. She got close to Wuma Jun and whispered into his ear. Her usually nice voice sounded so murderous that it made him shiver.

Wuma Jun’s cluttered mind suddenly became clear. He immediately agreed with her suggestion.

If it came down to himself or others, he would definitely choose himself. Whoever was an obstacle in his path to taking over the throne would have to die!

A look of malevolence flashed across his face. An Yina smirked upon seeing his facial expression. The so-called country of ceremonies, Dongqing, was no different. From the top to the bottom of the hierarchy, they were all smartly-dressed animals.

“I know,” Wuma Jun replied coldly.

In the tea room, Jiang Pengji could hear An Yina’s movements. She did not overlook An Yina’s malice and murderous aura. Jiang Pengji took a sip of tea and got up gracefully. Anyone who saw her would have praised her elegant posture. “Let’s go and welcome our honored guests outside.”

Xu Ke put down his tea bowl and frowned. He thought, They must have evil intentions.

However, if they refused to admit it even unto death, what could Wuma Jun do? Could it be that he that he thought he was so powerful that he would kill his Langjun?

Outside the tea room, Wuma Jun had several schemes in his mind. He was thinking about how to quietly kill them when the door suddenly opened from the inside.

“Xiaoyu, you need to keep enough money in your bag. Otherwise, I’ll use you as a pawn and leave you here...” When the door opened, the person’s voice turned from muffled to clear. Wuma Jun and Princess An Yina looked in the direction of the sound.

They saw that young people walk out of the room one after another. The person who walked in the front was tall; he was a handsome man. The one behind purposely kept a distance of three feet from the person in front of him. He was taller than the person in front. He looked aloof and had thin lips.

The strange thing was that the young man dressed in a green scholar’s costume had a stack of gauze on the area close to his ears on the right hand side of his face. He looked weird.

Wuma Jun’s desire to murder them was surging, but when he saw Jiang Pengji’s face, he suddenly felt like he had been struck by lightning.

At that moment, Jiang Pengji “coincidentally” saw him as well. Her eyes shone like lacquer as she walked towards him. “Zhengze? Is that you?” There was some uncertainty in her voice. Most of the uncertainty turned into joy when she got closer to Wuma Jun.

Xu Ke secretly sneered behind her. My Langjun has good acting skills.

Wuma Jun resisted the urge to run immediately. He put on a bold face, and clasped his hands together towards Jiang Pengji. “Lanting.”

“Hey, it’s as though I’m an outsider when you refer to me as Lanting. In a few days’ time, you’ll be my brother-in-law. We’re family. You don’t have to be so polite.” Jiang Pengji smiled, and there was no trace of gloom on her face. Her eyes were bright. Her breathing and facial expression were perfect. Even if she was just pretending and lying blindly, she gave him the most perfect response.

Hearing their conversation, An Yina’s pretty eyes became dim. She secretly guessed Jiang Pengji’s identity in her mind. She somewhat felt that they were in a troublesome situation.

Jiang Pengji was the brother of Wuma Jun’s legal wife, and the second son born of Liu She’s legal wife. She could not lay a finger on her.

Since she could not do anything to Jiang Pengji, she would then probe her to see if she had heard anything that she should not have heard while she was in the tea room.

Obviously, those were Wuma Jun’s thoughts, too.

“If that’s the case, I’ll just call you brother-in-law!” Wuma Jun smiled and chatted with Jiang Pengji, as if they were very close. When they had chatted enough and the atmosphere was livened, he then pretended to change the topic inadvertently.

Jiang Pengji knew his intentions and invited the two of them into the tea room. She was not curious about An Yina’s identity; she treated her as if she was Wuma Jun’s little concubine. That was a normal reaction. Even a brother-in-law was in no place to control his future brother-in-law’s life. He could only choose to ignore it.

The servant girl was asked to clean up the table and bring some new tea and a new tea set in.

Wuma Jun asked, “Why did you think of coming here to drink tea?”

“I’m accompanying Xiaoyu as he buys things for his new wife. Tsk, tsk. They’re already married, but they’re still so lovey-dovey and sweet.” Jiang Pengji directly put the blame on Xu Ke with only a few words.

Xu Ke had nothing to say.

Wuma Jun was easily humored. He laughed out loud, as if it was really funny.

Jiang Pengji added, “He’s tall and strong, so he’s not afraid of getting tired. My two thin legs can’t stand it. Upon seeing that there was a teahouse, I came to take a rest. This is a good place. It’s located in the downtown area, but it’s quiet in here. It feels a bit secluded.”

Wuma Jun replied, “I don’t think so. It was originally a recreational space. If it’s filled with hustle and bustle, the atmosphere is ruined.”

“That’s true. If it was, it’d be downgraded, and it’d seem vulgar.” Jiang Pengji smiled and added, “After listening to your explanation, the teahouse is actually a small, hidden place in the city. However, I’m worried that the tea here is expensive, so I don’t dare to come too often.”

Thinking about how Jiang Pengji complained about Xu Ke when she stepped out of the tea room, Wuma Jun suddenly laughed again.