Chapter 120 - What a Surprise (VIII)

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

“Get up. I did not give this much thought. A normal girl would not go to such a place in case something happened.”

So, if she wanted to go again, she could only go by herself.

The Lius stewed their soup overnight, so if Taxue and Xunmei were to head over to the kitchen, they could get some soup for her.

Jiang Pengji scrubbed down and removed all the powders from her body.

“It’s still early. Why don’t you go rest a bit? When it’s time, I will wake you up.”

Jiang Pengji had changed into her sleep clothes, but she shook her head and rejected Xunmei’s suggestion.

For a normal person, when it was time for bed, they would not be able to stay up late. But Jiang Pengji was different.

She was a genetically modified soldier who had undergone many special trainings––one of which included how to rest one’s body in the shortest time possible. Even a regular warrior from her time could go without sleep for three to five days.

“I’m still not sleepy. Go bring some books over from the study. I want to take a look. When it’s bright out, I will go pay my respects to mother.”

Her mind was awake and her body was in tip-top condition. She did not need sleep.

By the candlelight on the table, Jiang Pengji rested her chin in one hand and tapped a rhythm on the table with the other.

Based on the map, Cang Prefecture was a land that any military would vie for. It was easy to defend, but hard to conquer. If one were to retreat there, they would rely on the land’s natural environment as barriers. If they were to attack, they would make use of the water currents and harsh landscape. A normal army would find the land hard to conquer, and it was located between Dongqing and two other countries.

Cang Prefecture had three natural barriers: a long cold winter, a deep river, and accomplished literary talents.

Other than being a strategic point with natural barriers, Cang Prefecture’s waterway and roads were one of the more advanced ones.

Regardless if they had to send food or troops, they were the best equipped. If one were to take over Cang Prefecture and overcome the natural barriers, it would be easy for them to win from then on.

Jiang Pengji frowned as she studied the map and took note of Cang Prefecture’s importance. It did not make sense that the Mengs, who hailed from a military background, would not know of the prefecture’s importance. If they did and still let Meng Liang behave like that, inciting the wrath of the people, then she had no words for them.

“But then again, Meng Liang is fearless because he knows all the inside information the Mengs have. If we were to put it simply, it’s a son from a bad family pissing the public off. But if we were to be more explicit, he is killing them off...”

Under normal circumstances, Meng Liang’s situation would be suppressed and turned into something insignificant by the Mengs. Though the issue seemed small and would soon be forgotten, it could also lead to a chain reaction that would ultimately spell out their demise.

It was such a pity that Jiang Pengji was in Hejian County and was not fully in the know of the Cang Prefecture. She could not make any further analysis of the situation.

After studying the map of Dingwing for a long while, Jiang Pengji packed up. The sky had started to brighten and Taxue entered with the other maids. They brought in some tools for washing up and Jiang Pengji washed her face with the warmed water, waking her mind up a little more.

“Langjun, do you have any plans for today?”

“Father should still be asleep for awhile. You let the housekeeper know I will be going out for awhile, so prepare the carriage. I should be back by noon. If father asks, tell him I went to the temple to visit Master Liaochen. If anyone from the farm comes looking, remember to take note of their message and I’ll handle it when I return...” Jiang Pengji instructed quickly.

The System was still very anxious about the gold chest. “My dear host, why are you heading to the temple to look for that old monk?”

Jiang Pengji gave a mysterious smile and did not reply. The System would soon know of her plans, anyway.

After climbing a thousand steps and reaching the temple, Jiang Pengji was not at all surprised that a monk was waiting for her arrival.

The old monk may be strange, but he did have some power.

Jiang Pengji pondered over when the monk knew that she would be arriving. She settled on the fact that it was probably when she was at the foot of the mountain.

He did mention that her aura of death was so strong that it unsettled the temple’s air.@@novelbin@@

Master Liaochen met her in the same meditation room. Jiang Pengji lacked any politeness when she went up and sat on the praying mat before him.

“You have come here for a reason?” Master Liaochen asked while his fingers moved over the rosary.

“The last time you said I had some emperor aura. What do you see today?”

Was she here to provoke him behind Liu She’s back?

Master Liaochen examined Jiang Pengji’s face closely. Other than the emperor aura being more obvious than the last time, there was no other significant change.

It seemed like he did not understand her true meaning. She had to be more straightforward.

“How’s my luck today?”

Master Liaochen was speechless.

She came all the way there to ask him such nonsense?

System: “...”

It kind of understood what its host was thinking.

Master Liaochen deliberately said, “Looking at your features, your aura is very good. There is no inauspicious influence and your luck is good.”

Even if there were any evil spirits trying to get close to her, they would stay far away from her due to the thick aura of death around her. Bystanders fear ghosts, but when it came to Jiang Pengji, the ghosts feared her.

“Oh. Thank you for your direction.” Jiang Pengji brought her hands together and did an inaccurate buddhist gesture. Master Liaochen was dumbfounded as he watched.

Even if he were a highly acclaimed monk, he would still grumble in the dark. What was the child up to?

The System had guessed correctly. Jiang Pengji was using the monk as a “human luck detector.”

Today’s luck is perfect for opening a gold chest.

System: “What the heck!”

Since she was there, she was going to ask the question that had been bothering her for awhile.

“Master Liaochen, there’s something I don’t understand. Other than you, who could see the emperor aura, who else is there?”

Jiang Pengji thought it was an important question in case she would be attacked by others in the future.

“You should not worry about this,” Master Liaochen consoled. “The last time, I told you that if you do not have the interest, you would not become emperor. This is not absolute. Naturally, there are others like you with the emperor aura.”

Jiang Pengji frowned. “What you mean is that, in the future, there may be others vying for supremacy and those with the emperor aura are not predetermined? The more likely they would become emperor, the stronger their aura is. So if my actions were preposterous and I lost the popular sentiment, I would not become emperor no matter how strong my aura is? And because of that, I would become the loser?”