Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

Shen Lang was completely unaware that his days of living a life of idleness and complacency were about to come to an end.

Because a cunning uncle and nephew are slowly extending their evil clutches towards him.

In the two days since leaving Shuyu Tower, Shen Lang's life has remained completely unchanged...

It can't be said that nothing has changed; at least he bought the courtyard where he now lives for eight hundred taels of silver.

Faced with the remaining two hundred taels of silver in his wallet, he instantly felt his back straighten and he could walk with a swagger.

Poverty makes people lose their ambition, that's how it is!

So, when Shen Lang woke up on the morning of the third day, he decided to act arrogantly.

Instead of fried dough sticks and soy milk, I'm having beef and vermicelli soup.

In front of Wang's Beef Noodle Restaurant —

"Boss, two bowls of beef vermicelli and two baked buns!"

Upon entering the hall, Shen Lang immediately shouted out, then walked to the counter, took out thirty copper coins and lined them up in a row. Instantly, an aura of nouveau riche permeated the entire steaming noodle shop.

Sitting at the square table near the door, Shen Lang crossed his legs and watched the diverse crowd on the street.

Today is a good day.

A good day to receive one's salary.

At this time of month, Shen Lang, who is a spendthrift, would be exceptionally extravagant, as if he would die if he didn't indulge in some lavish spending.

A short while later, the beef and vermicelli soup arrived.

Shen Lang picked up the bowl, blew on it, and was just about to take a sip.

Suddenly, a commotion arose on the street.

Looking up, one could see a handsome young man riding a fifth-grade spirit horse, leisurely walking towards the palace under the protection of hundreds of guards.

Based on the principle of "the more the merrier," Shen Lang immediately took his soup bowl and went to the street.

I slurped up a mouthful of vermicelli noodles, and it was so damn delicious.

After swallowing the noodles, he nudged a fellow vendor who was also watching the spectacle with his elbow.

"Who is this guy? Why is he so flamboyant?"

Without even turning his head, the vendor said directly, "You don't even know who he is?"

This is Mu Changge, the sect leader of Xuantian Sect, a personal disciple of Bai Tianyu, and the eldest son of the Mu family, a prominent family in Jiangnan!

"This time, I've come to marry into the royal family. Look at him! He's handsome, skilled in both literature and martial arts—the perfect candidate for the emperor's son-in-law!"

After listening, Shen Lang took a sip of soup and replied, "With so many titles, I thought he was someone important. Turns out he's just a gigolo. The world is going to the dogs."

Upon hearing this, the vendor was immediately displeased and prepared to retort.

But when he turned around and saw Shen Lang's official robes, he immediately shut up.

The common people don't fight with officials. He wasn't so foolish as to oppose the official in front of him for the sake of his so-called idol. After all, not everyone possesses the virtue of enlightenment in Longchang.

"With that kind of free time, you might as well find a brothel tonight and have some fun. Pshaw, do you think royal food is that good? How naive."

With that, Shen Lang turned around and went back to the noodle shop, grabbing a baked flatbread and wolfing it down.

To him, these were just little tricks to kill time.

After eating and drinking his fill, Shen Lang got up and headed towards the palace.

"Time to collect my salary. I'll also take this opportunity to see what the Empress's selection of a husband is like. Hopefully, it'll be entertaining."

……

Half an hour later, Shen Lang was already standing in the courtyard of the Imperial Guard Division of the palace, rubbing his hands together.

As soon as Shen Lang appeared, everyone straightened up and turned their attention to him.

We only see this guy a few times a month, and now that we've finally seen him again, everyone's feelings are extremely complicated.

Upon seeing Shen Lang, Su Yun immediately bowed to him: "Commander Su Yun greets Commander Shen."

Shen Lang glanced at her sideways and casually asked, "New here?"

Upon hearing this, Su Yun was immediately displeased, but she could only force herself to return the greeting with a fist and palm salute: "I just arrived last month, Commander Shen. We met once at Luoyue Pavilion."

Shen Lang: "Yes, you've had a tough time. The work in the Jingwei Division is very hard. You'll have a lot to suffer in the future."

Su Yun shook her head and said firmly, "It's not hard work. I also hope to become someone like Commander Shen someday."

After getting to know him over the past few days, she has gained a new understanding of Shen Lang.

In the year since the Jingwei Division was established, only Shen Lang's achievements have been unmatched. Whatever mission he takes on, whether it is assassination, protection, or espionage, he can complete it beautifully and perfectly.

The only complaint was that his superior seemed to have no interest in managing his own banner subordinates, and was the most irresponsible of the four banner subordinates in the Jingwei Division.

"To become someone like me? Heh heh heh..."

Shen Lang was immediately amused and patted her shoulder.

"Xiao Su, why do you have to become someone like me? Just be yourself."

Su Yun frowned, not understanding the meaning behind Shen Lang's words.

Just then, a young man who was also a centurion like Shen Lang spoke up.

"Commander Shen, your subordinate values ​​you so much, is this how you punish her?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang looked over and saw a young man, not yet thirty, with an imposing air, staring at him with a serious expression.

This man is named Zhao Ang. He is at the peak of the Acquired Realm and is considered one of the top experts in the Jingwei Division.

As the saying goes, "A small temple has a lot of evil spirits, and a shallow pond has many turtles."

Although the Jingwei Division was not large in scale, it was not a monolithic entity.

Of all the members of the Jingwei Division, Zhao Ang disliked Shen Lang the most and repeatedly sought out Jiang Shangxian to impeach Shen Lang for dereliction of duty, wanting to expel him from the Jingwei Division.

The outcome was predictable. Putting aside the private relationship between Shen Lang and Jiang Shangxian, Shen Lang's achievements, as evidenced by his official credentials, were enough to ensure that Jiang Shangxian would not succeed.

The main reason Zhao Ang stood up to confront Shen Lang this time was because he had taken a liking to Su Yun.

From the moment Su Yun was transferred to the Jingwei Division, Zhao Ang repeatedly tried to invite her out for dinner to improve their relationship, but Su Yun refused every time.

However, this did not discourage Zhao Ang. On the contrary, he pursued her even more intensely, which seriously affected Su Yun's normal life and caused her considerable distress.

Seeing Shen Lang make such an "intimate" gesture towards Su Yun this time, Zhao Ang couldn't help but feel jealous and decisively confronted Shen Lang.

But clearly, he chose the wrong target.

"Who were you talking to just now?"

Shen Lang asked in a nonchalant tone.

"Who else could it be but you?" Zhao Ang said arrogantly. "Shen Lang, besides having someone above you protecting you, what other skills do you have? What are you putting on airs for!"

"If you're not happy, you can find someone higher up to supervise you. What, just because you're useless and incompetent, does that mean everyone else is useless?"

Shen Lang's counterattack was powerful and forceful, making Zhao Ang's face turn ashen with anger.

"Shen Lang, don't be so smug. One day I will make you kneel and beg me."

"Don't wait until one day, there's no time like the present. Let's do it now."

Shen Lang took a step forward.

"I'd like to see how a piece of trash like you manages to make me kneel before you?"

The atmosphere instantly became oppressive, and the people of the Jingwei Division dared not even breathe loudly upon witnessing this scene.

Faced with Shen Lang's aggressive attitude, Zhao Ang was momentarily at a loss for words, and his hand unconsciously went to the hilt of the sword hanging at his waist.

As a result, Shen Lang's next words made him break out in a cold sweat.

"Believe it or not, before you draw your sword, you can see what your back looks like?"

This statement left Zhao Ang with absolutely no face.

He had witnessed firsthand how fast Shen Lang's blade was; he knew he could never catch it.

The atmosphere suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse.

Just as Zhao Ang was pondering in his mind how Shen Lang would strike, a voice broke the silence.

"Commander Shen, sign and put your fingerprint on this document."

"coming."

This sound was nothing short of heavenly music to both Shen Lang and Zhao Ang.

Finally, the salary I've been longing for arrived.

Finally, we've reached a new level.

Seeing Shen Lang excitedly run into a small house in the courtyard, Zhao Ang breathed a sigh of relief, but his inexplicable hatred for Shen Lang deepened.