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Chapter 688: Father & “Son” Join the Fun (V)

When Yang Si saw that Feng Zhen had braced himself to suffer a blow, he helplessly moaned in anguish.

Did he not understand his lord’s temperament?

Holding back his laughter, he said, “The truth is laid bare for all. Why don’t you just accept it?”

“I feel like I can salvage this situation…”

Feng Zhen used what Jiang Pengji had said before, resigned to fate.

Now, Yang Si couldn’t even bring himself to smile.

No matter what he did, he could not accept the fact that their lord’s gender was female, not male.

“I suggest that you accept the truth… With the lord’s temperament, she will not tolerate any misbehavior. It is too late for you to switch loyalties.” Yang Si turned his head to glance at Feng Zhen. “…You’ve been living life in wantonness. Let’s ignore the past… Since neither of us knew the lord’s gender, we cannot ignore it now that we do. The lord was brought up as a man even if she isn’t a man after all…”

If the news that Jiang Pengji was a woman got out suddenly, no matter how much they didn’t care about trivial events, they would not be able to accept it immediately.

This news was too alarming.

Nonetheless, Jiang Pengji had already prepared them to receive the news before this. She’d even given them enough buffer time that the impact was less devastating.

Both were men who disliked wasting time on insignificant matters.

On the contrary, because of the temperament of these two men, their ability to accept it was much higher.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t accept the fact, they just felt that the truth was too devastating.

Moreover, they’d chosen their lord by themselves and resolved to serve her until the end.

Feng Zhen listened to what Yang Si said. He felt that something was amiss as he continued listening. There were hidden meanings behind what he said!

“Yang Jing Rong, what do you mean by this?”

Yang Si showed his displeasure. “I have no intention but to remind you to be mindful of your words and actions. For example, just now, the way you spoke to the lord was very inappropriate. Feng Zishi, oh, Feng Zishi, recall your exchange with the lord just now, was it appropriate? If the lord was a man, it would still be alright for you to playfully joke around with him. There’d be no harm done and people wouldn’t gossip about it. However, now that we know that she is a woman, you must observe the proprieties between man and woman. The lord is still young and her temperament is unstable. You had better not be a bad influence on this promising youth…”

With a “traumatized” and shocked expression, Feng Zhen looked at Yang Si with eyes full of pity.

Loving, kindness, rationality… We are all responsible for all of it.

Feng Zhen refused to admit defeat. “Yang Jing Rong, you have wronged me with these words. Do you perceive someone familiar with the secret language of brothels, adept at teasing prostitutes, one who drinks wine like water, a lewd Langjun well-versed with obscene songs and poetry? What upright virtues could one possibly have? Surely, one must be wayward from the start! Even if one was led astray, it must have been the lord who was a bad influence on me, the innocent and pure one. I did not lead her astray. Comparing our level of social networking, I am nowhere near the lord’s.”

One could call him unrestrained, but they must not blame him for it.

His private life was indeed immoral, but he wasn’t someone devoid of propriety.

Had he influenced the lord’s promiscuous Langjun way of living?

Didn’t the conscience of the man who’d spoken these words hurt?

In disgust, Yang Si smirked coldly. From the corner of his eyes, there was an obvious display of doubt.

He mastered his anger and kept it in control. The two were similar in age and of the same generation. But now he was being told off by Yang Si. At this, Feng Zhen burned with anger and retorted, “Yang Jing Rong, did you think you were raising your daughter? With the lord’s way of life, when has she required guidance?”

As Yang Si poised to make his rebuttal, Feng Zhen interrupted and said, “Don’t be so quick to disapprove. Based on my understanding of the lord, if you purposely emphasize the distance a man and woman should keep, it will only ignite her displeasure. Consider what a person of high position is cautious of. With your wealth of experience, you should know the ways of the world. Do not step over your boundaries. Does it make any difference to people like us whether the lord is male or female? Shake off your bewitched state of mind…”

He was single, yet he dared to treat the lord as his daughter with the posture of a benevolent father. Was Yang Si brain-damaged?

In fact, Yang Si only wanted Feng Zhen to tone down his way of living. He’d never expected this brat to attack his weakness.

Yang Si felt like beating someone upon hearing this.

“You are being unreasonable!” He shot a displeased look at Feng Zhen. “Am I ignorant of the taboo you speak of? I asked you to control yourself, not to sow discord between you and the lord or to provoke her to anger. This is solely out of consideration of the lord’s reputation. Do you understand my painstaking efforts? As a wastrel, you can forgo your reputation, but what if the lord’s pure reputation gets tarnished many years from now? What order will there be if the lord is not respected and the officials are defiant?”

Yang Si’s anger burned within him.

How he wished to pin Feng Zhen down in the snow and force this brat to listen to his teachings.

Feng Zhen curled his lips.

He’d never cared about having a clean reputation or whatever. The lord was also pragmatic and never bothered with an empty reputation.

When Yang Si saw his reaction, he was exasperated even though he found it hilarious. “Did all your years of education go to waste? In the past, when the great ancestor of the Xia dynasty valued General Xu highly, their lord and subordinate relationship ran deep. It was naturally a joyous topic. However, just look at what those unorthodox scribes wrote. In the generations after, how many unorthodox scribes fabricated what they wished? They used unsightly words to slander their relationship as romance!”

“The Xu family of Zhe county suffered much humiliation. Rumor has it that the Xia dynasty’s imperial blood courses through their veins. Haven’t you heard of that? What a heroic and courageous figure the great ancestor of the Xia dynasty was. General Xu was also a wonder woman, yet she too was not spared from the rumors. Now, the lord is a woman with many male officials under her. Any insult against her will be more severe. If you don’t wish for the next generation to record the consequences of a love affair, you must put more effort into preventing it! Continue your unrestrained ways if you wish, but don’t implicate the lord with the disparaging remarks you deserve. If you still don’t get it, I will stop here.”

Feng Zhen was unable to make a rebuttal.

Neither was bothered by trivial events, but each had their differences.

Feng Zhen was completely free to abandon all restraints. He couldn’t be bothered with his appearance or reputation.

Yang Si had an outwardly reserved personality while being inwardly carefree and amicable.

“Who can control what comes from the mouths of the people all over the earth?”

Feng Zhen felt somewhat guilty and dismayed.

Yang Si replied, “I cannot control the mouths of all the people on the earth, but surely I can control your mouth and actions by constantly watching you.”

As if he’d suffered a major setback, Feng Zhen felt listless and unmotivated.

He also didn’t know why was he so unlucky to have to partner with Yang Si.

If he’d known beforehand, he would have rather partnered with Feng Jin or Wei Ci. At least they were gentlemen and could be dealt with easily.

“How do you think the others will feel when they hear this news? Will they be in shock?”

Yang Si answered, “I don’t know if they will be surprised or not, but certainly they will be aghast.”

Their lord had an unparalleled, imposing stature, full of courage and heroics. Yet somehow, in an instant, she’d been transformed into a delicate and pretty lady.

Who could bear such shocking news?

She delegated the task of setting up the camp to her two strategists. Meanwhile, Jiang Pengji played the role of the carefree boss with plenty of leisure time.

She sat opposite Liu She as she boiled the tea and wine, asking and answering questions to increase their understanding of the alliance army’s military might.

As their exchanges deepened, the audience in the livestreaming room gained an overall understanding of the power-play to come from the upcoming alliance meeting.

With increased understanding, their disappointment also increased.

A Man of Few Words Huang Shaotian: “It is such a pity… I expected the streamer to make a name for herself this time around and assume the position of the alliance chief.”

This comment on the bullet screen represented the wishes of most of the audience. They were already prepared with their stools to sit and watch the streamer command the entire scene.

But the result?

Unexpectedly, the streamer told them that she wanted to rest halfway. Instead, she wished to take a backseat and watch the young punks engage in a fierce battle.

Besides this group of ignorant viewers, there was still a coalesce of rational viewers. At least they had their brains with them as they watched the livestream.