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

Jiang Mengxuan was completely numb. Shen Lang's face practically screamed, "Whoever feeds me is my mother."

The expression on his face was completely genuine; even a three-year-old could see the difference between his expression before and after receiving the money.

"Forget it, I must be magnanimous. At least Shen Lang is genuinely working for me and hasn't deliberately concealed his intentions. I must be magnanimous, I must be magnanimous..."

After several attempts at self-hypnosis, Jiang Mengxuan finally managed to suppress the unease in her heart.

After quickly calming herself down, Jiang Mengxuan continued, "The reason I'm going to the Zixia Sect this time is to attend my senior brother's engagement ceremony, you know what I mean?"

Unbeknownst to her, she changed her self-reference from "朕" (zhen, meaning "I") to "我" (wo, meaning "I"), which meant she no longer considered Shen Lang an outsider.

"An engagement ceremony?" Shen Lang was stunned for a moment, then showed a look of sudden realization. "This subordinate understands. That third senior brother must be His Majesty's favorite."

"Your Majesty went to the Zixia Sect to ruin the engagement ceremony, didn't you? Don't worry, this is something I'm an expert at. I'll make sure it's handled perfectly for you."

Now it was Jiang Mengxuan's turn to be dumbfounded: "What are you talking about?"

Shen Lang confidently stated, "Your Majesty, just accompanying you to the Zixia Sect makes me uneasy even with this thousand taels of gold."

Rest assured, I will single-handedly utterly destroy the engagement ceremony.

If I fail to win back your third senior brother, I'll only take half of this gold; I guarantee I won't lose out.

Jiang Mengxuan smiled.

Laughed angrily.

"Sometimes I wonder what kind of nonsense you're thinking. It's truly unbelievable."

"Your Majesty need not worry. I will arrange this matter thoroughly for you, and I guarantee that your third senior brother's engagement ceremony will not be able to take place."

Your Majesty, however, I must remind you: be discerning in your judgment of people.

Your senior brother was able to marry another woman, so his heart might not be with you. You really need to be prepared for that.

Jiang Mengxuan frowned and changed her sitting posture: "Since you already know this, do I need you to remind me?"

On the seventh day of next month, you will accompany me to the Zixia Sect. Simply stay by my side; do nothing and ask nothing.

You must agree to whatever I say, otherwise I won't pay that thousand taels of gold, do you understand?

Shen Lang said nonchalantly, "Since there's such a good thing as giving away money for free, this humble servant is of course willing to oblige."

"Hmm, how's the construction progressing?"

Upon hearing Jiang Mengxuan ask about serious matters, Shen Lang immediately perked up.

"Your Majesty, the first spinning prototype has been built and is now ready for testing. I would like to find some spinning women from the vicinity of the capital to test the spinning performance."

When will the test be scheduled?

"This humble servant intends to bring the spinning machine to the palace in two days, and leave the rest to Your Majesty."

Jiang Mengxuan smiled slightly: "I was just about to see how well this spinning machine works. It would be good to bring it to the palace. As for the testers, I have my own arrangements."

"Your Majesty, your humble servant Jiang Chaoyun has an important matter to report."

Suddenly, the voice of Jiang Chaoyun, commander of the Jingwei Division, rang out outside the main hall.

"Come in and talk."

"Yes."

After entering the hall, Jiang Chaoyun glanced at Shen Lang, and then solemnly performed the etiquette of a subject to a ruler towards Jiang Mengxuan.

"No need for formalities, Commander Jiang. What do you wish to report?"

Jiang Chaoyun stood up and replied, "Your Majesty, a large number of refugees appeared outside the capital this morning and are crowding outside the South Gate, demanding to enter the city."

"Refugee?"

Jiang Mengxuan was taken aback upon hearing this.

"This year has been blessed with favorable weather and no major disasters have been observed in the Chu Kingdom. So where does this talk of refugees come from?"

Jiang Chaoyun: "This humble subject does not know either."

Shen Lang suddenly said, "Let's not talk about the reason for this, but since there are refugees gathered outside the city..."

"The report should have come from the Jingzhao Prefecture, so why did Commander Jiang steal someone else's job as well? Isn't he afraid of being impeached by that old bastard Zeng Qian?"

Jiang Mengxuan then realized: "The Jingzhao Prefecture is responsible for the security and order of the capital. Why has no one reported such an important matter?"

Jiang Chaoyun said, "Your Majesty, I have already investigated and found out that after Prefect Zeng learned that there were refugees outside the city, he went to the South Gate to comfort them as soon as possible. Therefore, I guess he probably didn't have time to report it."

Shen Lang shook his head: "From the time the refugees were discovered at dawn until noon, at least two or three hours have passed."

This humble servant does not believe that Zeng Qian was so busy in the past two or three hours that he didn't even have time to inform His Majesty.

Even if they're really busy, surely they could send someone? Or is it that the entire Jingzhao Prefecture doesn't even have a messenger?

Jiang Chaoyun: "This humble subject does not know."

Jiang Mengxuan pondered for a while, then said quietly, "First, investigate the origins of these refugees and what exactly happened. Report any details to me immediately."

"Wei Chen takes orders!"

After Jiang Chaoyun finished bowing, she slowly withdrew from Weiyang Palace.

"Shen Lang."

"The humble position is here."

"You will also accompany Commander Jiang to the South Gate. I want to know what exactly happened."

"I humble my position and take orders."

Shen Lang tossed his cloak aside, turned, and left the palace.

……

"Fellow villagers, don't push! This is the capital city; you must enter in an orderly manner! Don't worry, the imperial court will not abandon you!"

On the city tower, Zeng Qian held a megaphone and shouted loudly to the six thousand refugees outside the city.

Outside the city, a scene of chaos and disorder came into view.

A group of refugees, dressed in tattered clothes and with haggard faces, were struggling to move forward. They were unsteady on their feet and looked tired and desperate.

Sobbing could be heard intermittently from the crowd from women and children, their voices filled with helplessness and fear.

At the same time, angry curses could be heard from some men, who were extremely dissatisfied with their current predicament but felt helpless.

"Please let us in, sir!"

"My husbands were all killed by bandits. My child and I have struggled all the way to the capital. Please give us a hot meal, adults!"

In an instant, the crowd knelt down and kowtowed to Zeng Qian on the city wall, looking humble and pitiful.

Zeng Qian sneered inwardly, thinking to himself: "Truly a bunch of lowly people, so lowly and untouchable. If it weren't for the fact that you are still useful, I would find it disgusting to even look at you."

But on the surface, he put on a pained expression and loudly admonished the kneeling refugees.

"Fellow villagers, what are you doing? Opening the city gates requires His Majesty's permission. Your pressure on me is putting me in a very difficult position!"

An elderly man in the crowd, leaning on his cane, rose and called out to the city gate: "My lord, please have mercy! We have endured a long and arduous journey, and we are truly on the verge of collapse!"

If all else fails, how about letting the children and women go into the city first? They don't eat much; half a bowl of rice porridge is enough for them to survive a day.

Please, sir, I really beg you!

For a moment, the refugees kowtowed and bowed once again.

"Ah~"

With tears in his eyes, Zeng Qian slammed his hand on the edge of the stack.

"Issue my order to remove the city's protective array, open the city gates, and let the people into the city."

The gatekeeper standing nearby was shocked upon hearing this: "Sir, without His Majesty's or the Prime Minister's order, withdrawing the troops without authorization is a serious crime. Please reconsider!"

"I will bear all the consequences alone. I simply cannot bear to see the people suffer like this."

"I will personally explain to His Majesty and the Prime Minister. Even if His Majesty wants to kill me, I will accept it!"

"This……"

"Hurry up and go! Do you dare disobey orders?"

"Yes!"

Under Zeng Qianguan's coercion, the gatekeeper had no choice but to dismantle the protective array and order the guards to open the city gate.

The moment the gate opened, refugees from outside the city flooded in like a tidal wave.

From a distance, Shen Lang and Jiang Chaoyun silently watched this scene until they saw the people entering the city...

"This Zeng Qian, how dare he open the city gates and let refugees into the city without permission, he doesn't respect His Majesty at all, how despicable."

Jiang Chaoyun was very unhappy with what she was seeing.