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

"It's too much to bully others, it's really too much to bully others!"

Zeng Qian returned to his residence and spent three full hours washing himself to get rid of the smell of excrement.

The mere mention of Shen Lang's provocations made him furious.

"Commoners also want to climb the social ladder and try to compete with our aristocratic families."

Hmph, it's an honor for me to punish you; now you dare to oppose me?

"I will repay this humiliation tenfold, a hundredfold, to you, you lowly commoner!"

Zeng Qian was alone in his room, furious and impotent, which terrified his concubines and maids, who trembled and retreated repeatedly.

Just then, a servant cried out in alarm.

"My lord, something terrible has happened!"

Zeng Qian roared impatiently, "What is it now?"

The servant scrambled to Zeng Qian's feet, pointed outside the door, and stammered, "Sir, you...you should go and see...the young master, he..."

"What's wrong with my son?"

Upon hearing that his youngest son had been in an accident, Zeng Qian was immediately filled with anxiety.

"Sir, please go and see for yourself."

"Quick, lead the way."

When she arrived at the front hall and saw the appearance of her youngest son, Zeng Shuang, she was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground.

The five-year-old son, with his chubby face and robust features, looked remarkably human.

The only drawback is that his son's hairstyle is quite unique.

A head with only one side shaved completely is commonly known as a "yin-yang head".

"Daddy, this hair is so funny, everyone is laughing at me when they see it."

puff--

Zeng Qian could no longer bear it and spat out a mouthful of blood.

He hugged his son tightly and burst into tears.

"My son, it's all my fault, it's all my fault. Don't worry."

"Dad will definitely find the culprit who bullied you and avenge you. Tell Dad who did it."

Zeng Shuang looked at Zeng Qian in confusion, and just kept smiling foolishly.

"Father, I don't want to live anymore!"

Suddenly a woman's voice came.

A girl with disheveled clothes and hair ran into the hall, covering her face.

This is Zeng Qian's second daughter, Zeng Rou.

"Daughter, what's wrong with you?"

"Father, today I went on a spring outing with Young Master Tang, and we were bullied in the street by a group of masked thugs."

They...they took off my clothes and kept touching me. I was exposed in public..."

"what?"

Zeng Qian's eyes widened. He never expected to encounter so many things today, as if they were all aimed at his family.

"Wasn't Young Master Tang there with you? Didn't he help you?"

Upon hearing this, Zeng Rou cried even harder.

"No, he just watched the whole time, and no matter how much I called for help, he didn't react at all."

"If the patrol officers hadn't arrived, those masked thugs would have scattered, and my daughter's innocence would probably have been ruined."

As she said this, she sobbed and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"My daughter wanted Mr. Tang to comfort me, but unexpectedly, he scolded me for being shameless."

He said I wasn't worthy of entering the Tang family's gate, and that he'd make Uncle Tang write a letter announcing the engagement when we got back. Father, my life is so hard!

After saying that, Zeng Rou cried even harder, her tears falling like raindrops, a truly agonizing wail.

Zeng Qian felt his head rush with blood and qi, and he barely managed to suppress the urge to vomit blood again.

"Stop crying! I know who did it, Shen Lang! I will tear you to pieces and go to the palace to impeach you!"

……

That evening, inside Weiyang Palace.

"Your Majesty, I implore you to remove Shen Lang from the list of potential sons-in-law. This man has no respect for the law and is utterly unworthy to be the son-in-law of the Emperor of Great Chu. I beg Your Majesty to make the wise decision!"

Enraged to the point of bursting, Zeng Qian personally went to Jiang Mengxuan, intending to use this opportunity to impeach Shen Lang and expel him from the court.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mengxuan's expression changed instantly: "Prefect Zeng, you had better explain yourself clearly to me. Why is Shen Lang not worthy of being a candidate for a son-in-law?"

Zeng Qian looked up and stared directly at Jiang Mengxuan, saying, "Shen Lang has repeatedly embarrassed me, and today he has made both me and the Zeng family lose face."

How can such a lowly person, who has no manners and no respect for noble families, be qualified to be chosen as a son-in-law by the imperial family? I beg Your Majesty to rescind your decree.

Shen Lang is to be demoted to a commoner and handed over to the Ministry of Justice for further punishment!

"Do you have any evidence to prove what you've said?"

"I have personally experienced this; would I possibly deceive Your Majesty?"

“Words are meaningless; everything must be supported by evidence. May I ask Prefect Zeng if you dare to present the evidence?”

Zeng Qian frowned, lowered his head, and said with a gloomy face, "Does Your Majesty intend to protect Shen Lang?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mengxuan's face immediately turned icy: "Prefect Zeng! Who gave you the audacity to speak to me like that? Whom I choose to protect is none of your business!"

Zeng Qian's brows furrowed even more, and he couldn't help but sneer: "It seems Your Majesty truly intends to protect Shen Lang to the end? Very well, I said it before..."

Your Majesty, being a woman, is utterly unfit to be the ruler of my Chu Kingdom. I only refrain from making things difficult for Your Majesty out of respect for my esteemed teacher, Prime Minister Ye.

Now it seems that my actions back then were entirely correct; you are utterly unworthy to be the ruler of the Great Chu!

Jiang Mengxuan laughed in anger: "Since when has it become your place to interfere in my throne? Zeng Qian, are you threatening me?"

Zeng Qian cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not. I am merely stating a fact: an emperor cannot act on impulse; he should consider the greater good."

For the sake of a mere Shen Lang, does Your Majesty intend to antagonize the entire aristocratic families of Great Chu?

Jiang Mengxuan rose and slowly replied, "Prefect Zeng, I'll make this clear today: I am the Emperor of Great Chu. As long as I sit on the dragon throne, you can forget about touching Shen Lang."

"If you dare touch him, you will be making an enemy of me. Do you really think I am still the bewildered new emperor I was a year ago when I first ascended the throne?"

Zeng Qian's eyes were icy: "Since Your Majesty has made your choice, then I will not try to persuade you further. However, I must remind Your Majesty that making enemies of the people will inevitably lead to being condemned by everyone."

That's all I have to say. I won't disturb Your Majesty's rest any longer, hmph!

Having failed to impeach Shen Lang, Zeng Qian, who already disliked the Empress, turned and left.

Jiang Mengxuan watched Zeng Qian leave, but did not directly touch him.

Zeng Qian enjoys considerable prestige among the common people, especially among prominent families. Furthermore, he is Ye Mo's student. If handled improperly, he could cause an irreparable situation.

At this moment, Jiang Mengxuan was imagining herself controlling a Gatling gun, unleashing a barrage of fire at Zeng Qian.

He really hoped that Shen Lang would quickly develop those technological achievements, and then who would dare to be so disrespectful to him?

"Your Majesty, Commander Shen requests an audience."

At this moment, Qingwen came to report.

"Summon him into the palace."

"Yes."

Before long, Shen Lang arrived in front of Jiang Mengxuan carrying several blueprints.

"Your Majesty, this is the first batch of equipment that I planned to produce after the factory was completed. Please take a look."

Jiang Mengxuan stared blankly at Shen Lang, genuinely curious.

Why is it that at any time, there is never the slightest sign of retreat on the boy's face?

It seems like nothing can stump him. Where does his confidence come from?

He took the blueprint from Qingwen and opened it to look at it.

"what is this?"

When a neat and clean pencil-drawn floor plan came into view, Jiang Mengxuan was immediately drawn to it.

These design drawings contain numerous detailed data points.

Although she couldn't understand many parts, Jiang Mengxuan instinctively felt that this was dozens of times more refined than the designs she usually used.

"Your Majesty, this first set of equipment is an improved textile machine."

One of these textile machines is more than ten times more efficient than current traditional textile machines.

Provided there is sufficient raw material for spinning, at least twenty bolts of cloth can be woven per day.

Of course, this is just a manual weaving machine. We'll see improvements once the technology for the equipment matures.

I intend to replace them with steam-powered spinning machines; these are only temporary alternatives for now.