Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

“Ping’er, this matter is of great importance, and you cannot bear the responsibility for it.”

The city lord's wife, who had maintained a stern expression throughout, finally spoke, clearly not wanting Lin Ping to take the lead.

"Although I, Lin Ping, am a playboy, I am not a petty person who shirks responsibility, and I certainly cannot let my wife take the blame for me." Lin Ping knelt on the ground, cupped his hands, and said this, firstly to express his gratitude to the city lord's wife, and secondly to make his position clear.

"Lin Ping, have you thought this through?" The city lord's voice was icy cold. "Don't think I wouldn't dare kill you. This is a matter of life and death for the city lord's mansion!"

The city lord was a reasonable person. Even when he was furious, he could remain calm. He would not wrong an innocent person, but he would not let a bad person go unpunished either.

Lin Ping felt a chill run down his spine, and even considered backing out, fearing that the other party might actually chop him up with a single blow.

Once he dies, there will be no more chance to complete the mission, and all the efforts of his previous lives will be in vain.

But as a man, he couldn't let women take the lead.

“What’s done is done, there’s no point in arguing. If Father thinks that killing his son-in-law will retrieve the imperial edict, then so be it!” Lin Ping straightened his neck, looking ready to die.

As Lin Ping said, killing him wouldn't retrieve the imperial edict; it would only vent anger and would be meaningless.

Besides, there's a glint in his eyes; he might have already come up with an immature solution.

Furthermore, the city lord admires Lin Ping's courage and integrity. If he had truly shifted all the blame onto Jiang Yunying, he might already be a corpse by now.

So the city lord glared at him and said, "Give me a reason not to kill you."

Hearing this, Lin Ping breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the city lord was still biased towards him, and that his anger was just for show for Jiang Xiuwen.

"A reason not to be killed?" Lin Ping's heart finally settled down. Not to mention one, even ten or a hundred of these reasons could be come up with by Master Ping. Even if he couldn't fool the city lord, he couldn't fool Jiang Xiuwen.

"First of all, the purpose of this group of men in black is unclear. They went to such great lengths to steal the imperial edict, not necessarily to report it to the imperial court," Lin Ping analyzed in detail.

As he said, this group of men in black was well-organized and highly skilled in martial arts, and they might not necessarily obey the prefect's orders. If that were the case, they only needed to observe and wait for the men in black to make their next move.

"Hahaha, that's utter nonsense! I'm sure this imperial edict has already been handed over to the Prefect." Yang Guozhong, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly burst into laughter, wishing that the city lord would immediately chop Lin Ping to pieces.

"You're asking for it!" Lin Ping kicked Yang Guozhong to the ground with a flying kick, stepping on his head with his heel and saying, "I'll settle the score with you later."

Yang Guozhong is an important figure in this matter and must know a lot of inside information. From this, it seems that the man in black really has a close relationship with the prefect.

Lin Ping felt dizzy, his last glimmer of hope shattered, and he couldn't think of another reason to save his life.

Now that things have come to this, Lin Ping has no need to kneel down and beg for mercy; he can completely submit to the city lord's judgment.

The other party snorted coldly, threw out an invitation forcefully, and said sternly, "Five days from now, the young master of the Prefect's family and the eldest daughter of the Su family will hold an engagement ceremony. This is the list of invited guests. Go and atone for your sins. If there is any mishap again, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Lin Ping's heart tightened. He hadn't expected Zhang Hongyuan to send out invitations so early; he must have been very confident.

"Daughter requests to accompany her husband on this journey!" Jiang Yunying kowtowed.

The city lord gave her a cold look, and finally nodded.

First, Zhang Hongyuan invited the City Lord's Mansion. If they only sent one son-in-law, they would inevitably be ridiculed. Second, the City Lord knew that Lin Ping's martial arts were not good enough, and he would have no way to redeem himself by going alone.

Lin Ping did not object to this. In other words, he had already made up his mind about Jiang Yunying. If she did not go, Lin Ping would definitely be left without support.

"Father...your son..." Jiang Yunyu suddenly knelt on the ground and stammered.

"What is it?" Looking at Jiang Yunyu's pathetic state, the city lord was tempted to chop him down with one blow. If he had any ambition, the city lord's mansion would not have fallen to such a state.

"I...I want to go too..." Jiang Yunyu mustered his courage and finally said those words.

The city lord was so angry that his eyes were bloodshot. Naturally, he didn't want his only son to take such a risk. Just as he was about to refuse, he suddenly remembered what Lin Ping had said and replied in a half-serious, half-kind tone, "You mustn't bring shame to the city lord's mansion!"

Clearly, the city lord wanted to take this opportunity to train Jiang Yunyu, so that he wouldn't be idle all day. Perhaps this setback would motivate him to work harder in the future.

Lin Ping admired Jiang Yunyu's courage.

At this moment, I carefully picked up the gold-embossed invitation from the ground. It was covered with tiny, densely written characters.

The first line contains the city lord's name, and he is placed in a prominent position surrounded by other prominent figures.

Logically speaking, given the somewhat strained relationship between the Prefect of Jiangcheng and the City Lord, the most prominent position should not have been reserved for him; there must be a deeper meaning behind this decision.

The next line contained an unfamiliar name. Lin Ping mumbled, "Wu Chengbi!"

Jiang Yunying whispered in his ear, "This man is the Commandant of Shancheng Prefecture, with the same rank as my father. His elder brother, Wu Chengye, is the Governor of the entire Jiangbei Provincial Administration Commission!"

Since his official rank is the same as that of the city lord, it is perfectly reasonable to place him second.

However, Jiangcheng Prefecture and Shancheng Prefecture seem to have little interaction, so Zhang Hongyuan had no reason to invite them.

Lin Ping came up with three possibilities. First, Wu Chengbi was likely attending on behalf of his elder brother.

Secondly, Lin Ping heard that the reason why the city lord's mansion was in such a hurry to choose him as a son-in-law was because they did not want Jiang Yunying to marry the governor's eldest son, and that Wu Chengbi had the intention of seeking revenge.

Finally, Zhang Hongyuan was a captain in the Mountain City Guard Commandery, which could be considered as him currying favor with his superiors in advance.

Regardless, Lin Ping regarded Wu Chengbi as a savior invited by Zhang Hongyuan, mostly to suppress the City Lord's Mansion.

Next to Wu Chengbi is another person named "Wu Dongxi," who must have a great relationship with Wu Chengbi.

Jiang Yunying glanced at the invitation as well and immediately explained, "This person is the second son of the governor."

"The second young master? The younger brother of my rival?"

A chill ran through Lin Ping's eyes, and he even imagined the chaotic scene five days later.

"Lianping? Shancheng is also getting involved in this?" Jiang Yunying stared at the name in the third line with her beautiful eyes, her willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed together.

Lian Ping is the son of the Lord of Shancheng and also a long-time enemy of the Lord of Jiangcheng.

Zhang Hongyuan deliberately invited this person, presumably to make the commotion even bigger.

In addition, Xia Linglong's name also appeared on it, which made Lin Ping feel uneasy again.

He was increasingly confused about Xia Linglong's purpose. It was possible that she was colluding with the Prefect of Jiangcheng, or that Zhang Hongyuan had been passively invited by her. After all, she was a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and it would be unreasonable not to invite her.

The last name, "Tian Duoduo," almost made Lin Ping burst out laughing. He muttered to himself, "Luckily, his surname isn't 'Pin,' otherwise I would have really chopped him a few times."

Jiang Yunying's expression turned even uglier, and she said softly, "Is the second-in-command of Jin Manlou also coming to join the fun?"

Tian Duoduo is the head of the Jiangbei Provincial Administration Commission of Jin Manlou, and can be considered Jin Manlou's second-in-command in Wu Kingdom. His attendance at this engagement banquet must have a purpose. No wonder the city lord was so angry that he couldn't handle it. He must have too many enemies.

Judging from this list, the main city seems to be under siege, and the loss of the imperial edict is undoubtedly adding insult to injury.