The Empress’ Livestream
chapter-341

Chapter 341: Red Dowries (XIV)

“Xu Xiaoyu, you better give me a valid reason!” While controlling her strength, she banged on the table so loudly that people’s ears started to itch. Jiang Pengji was not usually grumpy when she woke up, but who liked to be woken up by someone else when they were sleeping so soundly?

The weather in Hejian was growing colder––not to mention that the temperature in the middle of the night was so cold that it was as if one had been dumped in an icehouse.

She controlled her temper and waited for Xu Ke to speak. She wanted to know what could be so urgent that he actually left his gentle and fair wife and disturbed her sleep. Thinking of her warm bed and the soft quilt, it would have been strange if Jiang Pengji showed Xu Ke a kind face.

Sitting on her seat, she massaged her face to banish her sleepiness while she stared at Xu Ke, who was kneeling.

Xu Ke had not been married for long. He could just carry his wife off in an instant and have sex. It was difficult for him to not feel warm. However, she was single and lonely. If the heat in her bed disappeared, she would have to keep herself warm all over again.

“Why are you not cuddling your wife in the middle of the night? What are you doing here?” Jiang Pengji spoke bluntly. There was a red sleeping mark on the side of her cheek. It showed how bad her mood was.

Xu Ke coughed and showed some constraint. He only remembered that it was a very serious matter, and he forgot that it was not a suitable time for him to disturb Jiang Pengji.

Most people were sleeping soundly and having sweet dreams––including Jiang Pengji.

“I have an urgent matter to report to you. Please calm down.” He was really afraid that Jiang Pengji, who was in a fit of anger, would just add fuel to the flames and accidentally harm people after hearing about Xunmei’s matter.

“Say it! I’m very calm right now,” Jiang Pengji said with a sullen face. Her mood was obviously not as good as what she said it was.

Xu Ke choked on his words and thought over a draft of his words in his mind. “This matter is related to my wife, Xunmei. Please forgive her this time, for she’s constantly at your service and has taken care of you carefully while you’ve grown up. If you’re still angry after hearing about it, just punish me. I only hope that you can give her a chance to make up for her mistakes,” Xu Ke said with a severe countenance. He told Jiang Pengji everything that Xunmei had told him.

It was not difficult to make things clear, but it was difficult to evade the crucial point and leave Xunmei out of the matter. Fortunately, Xunmei had not really made a mistake until now. The matter could be settled leniently since she had confessed.

However, Jiang Pengji’s reaction was far from what Xu Ke expected. Even if she did not fly into a rage, she should have revealed a gloomy and angry facial expression. After all, Xunmei’s actions were a form of betrayal.

“I’ve known about this for a long time, but I didn’t expect that Xunmei would confess it to you this early.” As Jiang Pengji spoke, Xu Ke’s facial expression seemed a bit weird.

She added, “Xunmei is very tight-lipped and has a strong sense of defensiveness. As far as I know, she has only told you about this for the time being. At first, I thought that she’d keep hiding it until she couldn’t hide it anymore. If the news leaked, she’d be in an awkward situation.”

Xunmei’s act of betrayal could be called unjust and unfaithful! As the husband of a woman with such conduct, was there not a tiny bit of disgust in Xu Ke’s heart? Not to mention that Xunmei had betrayed the Liu residence… The Liu residence had given grace to Xunmei, as well as Xu Ke! In terms of a scholar’s conduct, it was impossible for one to accept such disgrace.

“When did you find out about it?” Xu Ke was confused. If Xunmei did not take the initiative to tell him about it, he would not have noticed it at all.

Jiang Pengji smiled. “There’s no seamless plan in this world. Xunmei and Taxue aren’t professional, undercover agents. They aren’t perfect at hiding secrets. Some of their actions were different than ordinary. As long as you’re attentive, you’d be able to discover it.”

Xu Ke was startled. He seemed to be thinking about something.

“Xunmei has taken the initiative to tell you about this. This also reveals her standpoint,” Jiang Pengji said. She continued, looking into Xu Ke’s eyes, “Go back and comfort her to prevent her from imagining things. As for Taxue, I can’t touch her yet, but I’ll take her away. The Liu residence is usually heavily guarded. The people in the dark won’t dare to put their claws in the Liu residence yet. Xunmei is just a chess piece of lesser importance. She isn’t in danger.”

Xu Ke knelt down. He clenched his fists and rested them on his knees. His facial expression was inexplicable. “Don’t you mind Xunmei’s mistake?”

“She hasn’t done any substantial harm, and she’s your wife. Why should I care about her mistake?” Jiang Pengji shook her head and continued, “In fact, when Xunmei wanted to tie the knot with you, I didn’t plan to enact revenge on her anymore.”

Xu Ke was taken aback. He asked, “Why?”

“She’s a smart girl. I think she realized that her future was uncertain, so she wanted to make a quick retreat before anything happened. She wanted to get out of the slough. As you said, she has taken care of me for many years. We’re almost as close as real siblings. Since that’s the case, why would I exterminate her when no actual harm has occurred? I gave her a chance and fortunately, Xunmei didn’t let me down.”

Xu Ke stayed silent for a long time.

“I don’t support the marriage between you and Xunmei. Do you want to know why?” Jiang Pengji explained in detail, “There are two reasons. Firstly, you’re not an ordinary person. People change. Xunmei is just an ordinary girl. If you become successful in the future, I’m afraid that she can’t make you stay and you two will eventually resent each other. Secondly, it’s about this matter. Even if I forgive her, she’ll always be a hidden danger if she doesn’t explain things clearly.”

Fortunately, Xunmei took the initiative to confess; she left a huge room for redemption. She was considered to have made up for her mistakes.

After a long time, Jiang Pengji added, “I don’t blame her.” In fact, there was indeed nothing to blame her for. She yawned and said sleepily, “If there’s nothing else, go back and cuddle your wife. Don’t disturb my sleep.”

Xu Ke was at a loss for whether to cry or to laugh. He thought that the matter was very serious and came over in the middle of the night, but he did not expect that it would turn out that way. “I thank you on behalf of my wife.”

Xu Ke had a reason to believe that the person in front of him had a rare broad-mindedness in the current world.

“Are you done talking?” Jiang Pengji supported her head in one hand. The sleepiness in her had kicked in. The couple could sleep with each other, but as a single person, she was disturbed in her sleep. She was pitifully sleepy.

Xu Ke knew how to judge one’s facial expression. He knew that Jiang Pengji was sleepy, so he bowed and left sensibly.

Jiang Pengji took a deep breath. She tried to keep her eyes open, and crawled back into her bed on her limbs. She hugged her quilt and rolled into the middle of her bed. Sleep was the most important thing in the world! Everything could be dealt with the next day!

Xu Ke returned to his room holding a lantern. There was a light in the room. The yellowish-orange candlelight warmed his heart.

“The matter is resolved.” He took off his layer of outer clothing and put them aside. He grabbed Xunmei by her waist and sighed while resting on her shoulder.

“It’s resolved? So soon?” Xunmei had been waiting anxiously and felt uneasy.

“Yes. He has a broad mind that ordinary people can’t compare to. This matter should be resolved now that he knows about it.”

Xunmei lowered her eyelids. Her heart was finally at ease.

“I’m going to leave tomorrow…” Xu Ke whispered. “But it’s still early. Let’s settle down.”

“Huh?”

There was a series of rustling sounds in the room. After a while, there was only the sound of staggered breathing.