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

After Jiang Hongling's dance ended, the birthday banquet came to a close.

About fifteen minutes later, the officials bowed repeatedly and then dispersed.

"Your Highness, the King requests your presence," the eunuch said softly as he approached Xia Yeran.

At this birthday banquet, the king showed no joy; he felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.

The courtiers' fawning over Lu Zhan was not a good thing.

He already held military power, and with the support of his ministers, he was already all-powerful, even the emperor had to be wary of him.

Inside the imperial study, the king looked worried, and Xia Yeran also frowned.

The two were discussing Lu Jie's actions at the banquet, which were clearly intended to intimidate the king.

“Lu Zhan is very ambitious and I’m afraid he can’t be used by me,” Xia Yeran said incisively.

He didn't realize that by repeatedly crossing the king's bottom line, he wasn't courting death, but rather testing the king's reaction.

This is a bad sign; being looked down upon by the other party could very well lead to your death.

The king lowered his head and remained silent; he understood perfectly well what was going on without Xia Yeran saying it.

Thinking of this, the king was even glad that Xia Linglong hadn't married Lu Jie.

He had originally intended to gain Lu Zhan's support through a marriage alliance, but now he realized that Lu Zhan was quite cunning and had deliberately maintained neutrality to allow the king to win him over.

Once the marriage is completed, they may use this opportunity to expand their power and even overthrow the monarch's rule.

Such wolfish ambitions, yet the king only just realized it.

“We need to train new military commanders,” Xia Yeran said in a low voice.

Instead of trying to win over the already established Lu Zhan, it would be better to cultivate a young player who is yet to become famous.

“Training military generals? How easy is that?” the king said, shaking his head.

Putting aside the difficulty of finding talented individuals, even if one could be found, they wouldn't be able to thrive under Lu Zhan's watchful eye.

"Isn't the martial arts examination coming up right now? Let's start with the top martial arts champion."

Xia Yeran continued.

"The title of Martial Arts Champion alone is not enough to contend with Lu Zhan. I will also bestow upon him the title of Imperial Son-in-Law!"

The king's lips curled into a cold smile; he already had a plan in mind.

“But Linglong might not agree,” Xia Yeran hurriedly retorted. If he had known that the king would gamble with Xia Linglong’s happiness, he shouldn’t have made this suggestion.

"She will agree."

No one knows a daughter better than her father. Xia Linglong's life belongs not only to herself, but also to the entire Wu Kingdom.

For the long-term peace and stability of the Wu Kingdom, she was willing to give up her own happiness.

Xia Yeran said no more, only sighing repeatedly.

Born into royalty, he knew that Xia Linglong had no choice in what she did.

……

Meanwhile, Lin Ping had already left the main hall. He had intended to leave the palace with Xia Yeran, but he had not seen her for a long time.

"Where did this guy go?" Lin Ping asked, somewhat puzzled.

Out of sheer boredom, he turned on the X-ray machine, not only to search for Xia Yeran's whereabouts, but also to see just how many treasures were inside the palace.

It is said that there is a place called the inner treasury in the royal palace, where gold and silver treasures are piled up like mountains, and there are even various tributes.

The X-rays quickly scanned the golden objects, which were the location of the inner vault.

Hundreds of meters away, there was a palace attendant holding a wooden box containing a luminous pearl.

The eunuch was escorted by dozens of soldiers, which shows how precious the luminous pearl was.

"What a familiar back view!" Lin Ping inadvertently discovered a familiar figure perched on the eaves of the inner warehouse.

He unconsciously turned on the zoom function and finally saw the other person's face clearly.

"Jiang Hongling? Didn't she leave?" Lin Ping asked, puzzled.

The other party had already left the main hall a quarter of an hour ago and should have left the palace by now.

But she remained there, and was even perched on the eaves of the inner vault, clearly harboring ulterior motives.

"Is she going to steal something?"

Lin Pingsheng had a terrible idea.

Jiang Hongling is the first person to dare steal from the royal palace's treasury.

"Oh no, she's in danger," Lin Ping thought to himself, and rushed toward the inner warehouse.

Jiang Hongling may not know how many guards were around the inner treasury, but Lin Ping could see them clearly.

There are at least a thousand people, many of whom are experts.

Even if Jiang Hongling had some martial arts skills, she couldn't possibly defeat a thousand people.

Furthermore, as soon as the sounds of fighting are heard, all the soldiers in the palace will provide support immediately.

There will probably be as many as 5,000 people. Even if you put them in front of Jiang Hongling and let her kill them, she would probably be exhausted to death.

Using the X-ray function, Lin Ping successfully evaded wave after wave of patrolling guards and appeared under the eaves behind the inner warehouse.

"Come down quickly."

Although her voice was soft, Jiang Hongling had sharp ears. After somersaulting a few times in the air, she appeared behind Lin Ping without making a sound.

"You want to break into the inner vault..." Lin Ping asked bluntly.

But before he could finish speaking, Jiang Hongling covered his mouth.

Suddenly, a chill ran down Lin Ping's spine; he seemed to have misunderstood something.

Given Jiang Hongling's martial arts skills, how could she possibly be a simple dancer? There must be something fishy going on.

He seemed to have figured something out: Jiang Hongling wanted to use her identity as a dancer to enter the palace. She had been patiently enduring for so long, probably for the treasures in the inner treasury.

In other words, he knew Jiang Hongling's secret, which could very well lead to his being silenced.

"You know too much." Jiang Hongling's eyes turned cold, and even the surrounding air seemed to cool down.

"Can you spare me... I didn't see anything, I was just passing by."

Lin Ping quickly explained that someone who dared to steal even from the inner treasury would certainly not be afraid to kill.

"It's too late!" Jiang Hongling replied coldly, but the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and she almost laughed out loud.

She didn't know how Lin Ping had discovered her whereabouts, but she knew that Lin Ping cared about her.

"Why didn't you call for help?" Jiang Hongling asked in confusion.

She deliberately revealed her murderous intent, and it's very likely she really will kill Lin Ping.

There are many guards around, and if Lin Ping makes even the slightest sound, it will attract their attention.

“If I call for help, you will be in danger,” Lin Ping replied with a serious expression.

Jiang Hongling felt a pang of sadness and whispered, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have tested you."

She certainly wouldn't kill Lin Ping; she just wanted to use this method to see how she felt about him.

In fact, even if Lin Ping shouted loudly, she wouldn't kill him; she would just be sad.

"What a joke! If I really called for help, would I still be alive? Even if you don't kill me, the guards will."

Lin Ping thought to himself, thankful that he still had some sense.

The next second, Lin Ping's body was pulled away as if it were being torn apart, with gusts of cold wind rushing past his ears, and the speed was so fast that he couldn't even open his eyes.

"Finally, it's in." The eunuch closed the inner treasury door tightly, a smile appearing on his face.

Once the luminous pearl was inside the inner treasury, it was absolutely safe, and he could finally relax.

"This is where?"

Lin Ping was puzzled, seeing only darkness before him.

When he activated his right eye, he found himself surrounded by a dazzling golden light.

In other words, they have successfully entered the internal database.

To break in unnoticed in the instant the eunuch closed the door—that speed is rather astonishing.

"Now that you've become a thief too, you're not stupid enough to tell anyone, are you?"

Jiang Hongling wore a smug smile, just like a budding young girl, showing none of the air of a notorious bandit.

Having been successfully lured onto the pirate ship, Lin Ping regretted his foolish appearance.

He wished that if he closed his eyes and opened them again, it would be tomorrow, and that it was all just a dream.

Clearly, no matter how vivid the dream, it cannot change the fact that things started out the way they did.

Even if he sleeps soundly for days on end, when he wakes up he can only find himself in the inner treasury or the dungeon.

Jiang Hongling moved with the agility of a swallow, leaping and bounding without making a sound.

"You don't like gold and silver jewelry?" Lin Ping asked, somewhat puzzled.

The other party's eyes showed no greed whatsoever; he regarded gold and silver as dirt and didn't even glance at the luminous pearl that the Southern Yue Kingdom had just presented as tribute.

A person who treats money like dirt barges into the inner treasury; there must be a bigger conspiracy at play.

The time it takes for an incense stick to burn quickly passed, and Jiang Hongling had searched almost the entire inner treasury, but still found nothing.

"Hurry up, someone will come in to patrol every fifteen minutes," Lin Ping whispered a reminder.

Time was of the essence; they had to find the treasure before the next patrol and then escape the moment the guards opened the door.

Only in this way can we do it without anyone noticing.

"How could we not find it?" Jiang Hongling returned to Lin Ping's side, her beautiful eyes furrowed in confusion.

"What exactly are you looking for? Can't you just take some of all this gold and silver jewelry? Don't be so greedy."

Lin Ping kindly reminded him.

"Would you believe me if I said I wanted to find the defense map of the Wu Kingdom?" Jiang Hongling asked with a serious expression.

As soon as the words were spoken, Lin Ping was dumbfounded, his whole body went limp, and if he wasn't afraid of being heard by the guards outside the door, he probably would have screamed out in fright.

The defense map is crucial to the lifeline of the entire Yue Kingdom, which means that Jiang Hongling is very likely a spy sent by another country.

These are not the main points; his fear stems from learning this news.

"Are you trying to silence me?" Lin Ping asked tremblingly.

Knowing too much is not a good thing.

"If you can help me find the defense map, I can spare your life. If you can't, I'll have to silence you."

Jiang Hongling said it casually, almost making Lin Ping laugh.

You're a man, aren't you? Are you so afraid of being silenced?

Lin Ping took a deep breath, trying to remain calm: "If you can't find it, how can I find it?"

“You can do it, my intuition is very strong,” Jiang Hongling said confidently.

She was certain that Lin Ping had no martial arts skills whatsoever, yet he was still able to find her hiding on the roof, which fully proved that he had a magical ability to find things.

Lin Ping didn't answer the question directly, but instead asked in a surprising way, "May I hold your hand?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hongling froze on the spot; the sudden flirtation had strained her back.

At a time like this, he's thinking about holding hands; it's like he's been possessed by a worm.

Jiang Hongling really wanted to slap Lin Ping to death, but she still couldn't help but reply with, "Oh..."