The Empress’ Livestream

Chapter 658: Unifying Wanzhou (XI)

Jiang Pengji found it hard to sleep, so she kept the livestream open at night. She watched the night owls idling around and the bored and listless people posting in the bullet screen to pass the time.

When Yang Si said this, those night owls who were dozing off in front of their screens suddenly woke up with a shudder.

Fat cat spicy chili: Hold on — F*ck me, am I having auditory hallucinations? What happened to Cimeiren?

Night dancing and spirit flames: Oh my mama, don’t scare me. How could something have happened to Cimeiren? Today is not April Fool’s Day!

Nuo Nuo Xiang: Although I’ve always felt that Cimeiren has a fragile and weak body, he does not have the facial features of someone who is short-lived. How did this happen to him?

Cat demon gentleman: It’s April Fool’s today. I’m not listening, not listening, not listening — this is a joke by the host!

Yunshi Ruochen: Wei Ci is dead? As his veteran fan, I absolutely cannot accept this!

The livestreaming room erupted into chaos.

Although there could only be a maximum of 150,000 people in the livestreaming room at a time, several years had passed since it started. During that time, the livestream had accumulated more than 10 million fans.

Wei Ci’s fan forum alone had more than 30 million followers. Moreover, these 30 million followers were real fans, not fake followers, and the posters were extremely active. It should be noted that most of these “wannabe wives” of Wei Ci’s were only fans because of his looks.

When everyone received the news of Wei Ci’s “death,” they immediately felt as if two bombs had blown up right beside their ears.

“The death of Wei Ci.” These four words had become the hottest search term online. The wannabe wives’ fan group couldn’t wait to rush into the livestreaming room, put on a pretense, and toady to the others.

Jiang Pengji was shocked, but she was psychologically and mentally strong. No matter how tumultuous her heart was, she remained calm on the surface.

“Tell me the details of what happened.” Jiang Pengji’s tone was cold as it had never been before. Her every word was infused with murderous intent. Despite the charcoal brazier burning inside the tent, one could still feel the temperature dropping significantly. “Zixiao is dead? Is the party at Qiuyu County responsible?”

Yang Si resisted the grief in his heart and gritted his back teeth. Enduring the sourness rolling in his throat, he spoke with much difficulty.

Upon hearing that Wei Ci’s corpse had been haphazardly hacked and chopped into pieces to be thrown to the dogs for food and that his bones had been picked clean and sent back, Jiang Pengji could no longer maintain the stability of her mind or emotions. She went cold as ice as her desire to kill rose little by little. The livestreaming room broke out in commotion as all order was lost.

She was not in the mood to deal with the barrage of comments on the bullet screen. Her gaze turned towards the two attendants behind Yang Si.

They each held a corner of a piece of white cloth in their hands. Some heavy objects were wrapped up in the cloth. This was where the smell of blood originated from.

Yang Si said, “Those rats on horseback from Qiuyu County threw this in front of the camp…”

Jiang Pengji stood up with a frosty expression. The two attendants put down the white cloth, revealing a pile of human bones inside.

The bones were stained with darkening blood, and the flesh that had not been completely gnawed off still stuck to them. The bite marks of dogs could be seen in many areas.

Jiang Pengji only took a glance. Her gaze, which had originally been full of murderous intention, eased a little. She raised her hand and ordered the attendants to go.

Although Yang Si was immersed in his hatred, he noticed the change in Jiang Pengji.

As his eyes fell on the pile of fresh human bones, his lips flapped for a long time. “My lord, Zixiao…”

Jiang Pengji scoffed and said with a harrumph, “He’s not dead.”

Yang Si was speechless.

“Cast off that weepy expression, these are not Zixiao’s bones.” She squatted down and, without any concern for how dirty it was, lifted out a bone that still had blood and shredded meat on it. The viewers in the livestream said that they could not tolerate graphic content like this. All of them commented on the bullet screen that the body should be protected. “The age of the bone is wrong.”

The age of the bone?

Jiang Pengji explained in an experienced manner, “The age of this bone is at least 35 years old, and Zixiao is only in his early twenties. One more thing… Although Zixiao learned martial arts, his standard is, at best, suited for dancing in the plaza. The quality of this bone indicates one who had been doing hard physical labor for years. Besides, Zixiao is leaner than this. So, based on the frame of the bones, this bone is not his. The bones belonged to someone at least one size bigger and stronger than Zixiao. This is not Zixiao.”

Yang Si asked, “…If it isn’t Zixiao, then where is he?”

Jiang Pengji secretly breathed a sigh of relief but spoke lightly on the surface.

She smiled and said, “I’m afraid he’s hiding somewhere and waiting for the show to start.”

Yang Si’s face spasmed. He looked at the bones on the ground with veiled worry and resentment as he quietly ground his teeth.

“Wei Zixiao! What trouble is he getting up to now?”

Jiang Pengji stroked her chin and gave a shallow smile. “In any case, it’ll be beneficial for us.”

Yang Si recovered his mind after calming down. He frowned deeply and tried to figure out Wei Ci’s reasoning in detail.

Who would benefit the most if Wei Ci was killed by the Deputy Chief in a rage?

The Red Lotus Group!

Because of this move, the Deputy Chief was cut off from his back-up plan of getting help from Liu Xi. To protect himself, he could only unite with his old master, the Red Lotus Group, for safety.

The Red Lotus Group was also happy to accept the Deputy Chief and his soldiers. Coupled with the convenience and opportunity of the city gates of Qiuyu County, the protracted battle would be Jiang Pengji’s downfall.

Yang Si understood Wei Ci’s intentions after a while, and he felt doubly angry.

“This fellow… can’t he inform us in advance about his plans? He almost gave me a scare!”

Jiang Pengi said, “Plans can’t keep up with the speed at which things change. Maybe he devised this plan at the last minute. We can’t be sure.”

Yang Si asked, “Since Zixiao is fine, then… My lord, what shall we do tomorrow? Should we challenge them directly?”

Jiang Pengji nodded. “Well, my trusted counselor was killed, so we should at least take some action and show our displeasure. I don’t want to act personally. You can lead the troops to the forefront tomorrow.”

Yang Si was silent.

He didn’t want to act either. Wei Ci wasn’t dead. Why should he waste his feelings?

Jiang Pengji continued, “Zi Xiao might have already incited the general at Qiuyu County to desert the Red Lotus Group. Now, the Group will appear to be united on the surface, but behind that facade, I’m afraid that both sides will suffer. They will fight to the death. We’ll challenge them to a fight first, and appear to apply pressure on the surface, but we’ll hold back the troops and act according to the specifics of the situation.”

Based on Jiang Pengji’s understanding of Wei Ci, he had already concocted a comprehensive plan.

The Red Lotus Group would lose so badly that they could not even keep their underpants. If that didn’t happen, Jiang Pengji would change her name.

The Red Lotus Group outside the city heard the news at the same time that Jiang Pengji received “Wei Ci’s” remains.

The scholar from the Red Lotus Group was not suspicious. He was extremely gratified.

Wei Ci may have lacked a prominent reputation on the battlefield, but he was highly regarded in Fengyi County for the post-war welfare of the families of soldiers who had died in the war, the organization of the peasant militia, and his high reputation in Fengyi County. As Liu Xi’s capable man, against all expectations, he had ended up hacked to death and fed to dogs. His bones were even sent to Liu Xi. If he had been dreaming, he would have woken up laughing.

Liu Xi had let him suffer so much hardship, but now Wei Ci had recovered a little bit of his dignity with his “death.”

The scholar was certain that the Deputy Chief would never defect to Liu Xi’s side. Hence, he did not suspect any deceit in this.

The two sides agreed to meet the next day to resist Liu Xi together.

Before daybreak, Jiang Pengji had already sent men to issue the challenge for a battle. The generals waited on high alert, ready for combat. An aura of death reverberated through the air, and the battle drums sounded like thunder.

Even from a far distance, the men on the city wall could feel the wave of repression and the indignant desire to kill.

For a moment, their hearts trembled. The Deputy Chief’s face paled, his fear and dread appearing on the surface.

The more uncomfortable the Deputy Chief looked, the more assured the Red Lotus scholar felt.

The Deputy Chief drew the high-ranking members of the Red Lotus Group into the city. The two sides would “abandon their former hatred” and jointly discuss the plan to suppress the thief, Liu Xi.