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

"What should we do? Her Majesty is unwilling to compromise at all; she won't agree to any of the three conditions."

"I thought that after this commotion, the court would at least be able to reinstate Lord Zeng to his original position. Now it seems that we may have underestimated the Empress's determination."

"What's the use of saying all this now? Let's think of another solution quickly."

Inside the secret chamber of the Zeng residence, Zeng Qian, Liang Youxin, Zhao Yuanli, and Mu Changge, the four who orchestrated this farce of a petition from the people, looked at each other in bewilderment.

They hadn't expected Jiang Mengxuan to be so stubborn, refusing to yield in the face of overwhelming public opinion.

This caught the four of them off guard.

"Brother Zeng, say something! What should we do now?"

"Yes, should we continue or end it? You should give me your opinion."

Faced with Zhao Yuanli and Liang Youxin's questioning, Zeng Qian suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"Now that things have come to this, if we back down now, not only will all our efforts over the past few months be in vain, but His Majesty will likely not let us off the hook once things have calmed down."

To turn the tide, all we can do is continue to put pressure on His Majesty.

"How do we apply pressure?" Zhao Yuanli asked.

Zeng Qian smiled grimly: "Then let's make a big fuss, incite the students and those brainless commoners to continue taking to the streets to petition."

Then we'll have some of our people infiltrate them, like the martial arts masters in your households. Do you understand what I mean?

After a brief analysis, Zhao Yuanli and Liang Youxin's eyes widened, and they said in trembling voices, "Brother Zeng, you wouldn't be thinking of..."

"That's right, we want the Empress to know what the consequences are for going against the will of the people."

Liang Youxin: "What if the Empress orders the Imperial Guards to be deployed?"

Zeng Qian smirked: "That's even better. If she dares to kill civilians, she's a tyrant."

He is unfit to be the ruler of my Chu state. We can then unite with other like-minded individuals to force him to abdicate and install a new ruler.

Seeing that Liang Youxin and Zhao Yuanli still looked hesitant, Zeng Qian continued, "My two dear friends, now that we've come to this point, do we still have a way out?"

Let me ask you this: if the Empress were to investigate, would your families still be able to survive? There is only this one path left to take.

Either support Mu Changge to the position of Emperor's son-in-law, or the Empress abdicates and yields the throne to a more worthy successor; otherwise, wait until things calm down.

"Now that the Empress has secured her throne, everyone, including their families, will suffer. This is no exaggeration."

Mu Changge, who had been relegated to the background, finally reacted: "But you promised me before that you would let me be the emperor's son-in-law?"

Zeng Qian: "Don't worry, even if the Empress abdicates, you will still be the royal son-in-law, just not the one sitting on the dragon throne."

Mu Changge's heart tightened; only now did she realize that she seemed to be being used as a tool.

Zeng Qian never genuinely intended to support him; instead, he saw him as a pawn to check and balance Shen Lang.

However, even if we discover it now, it's too late; we can only continue down this dark path with them.

……

The next morning.

The people who had been somewhat restrained the day before suddenly changed completely, and began vandalizing the surrounding shops and houses.

Some even set fire to several roadside stalls.

"Beat them! Beat them!"

On a street, several police officers came to stop the mob from committing violence.

But the next moment, countless stones and farm tools came crashing down on them from all directions.

The group of martial artists, their faces contorted with rage, kicked the two inspectors to the ground and then incited the crowd to gang up on them.

"Stop hitting them, please stop!"

The poor inspector could only curl up on the ground, clutching his head, and keep making desperate pleas.

He was met with even more blows...

"What are you doing? Stop it!"

At another street corner, an elderly man in his fifties blocked a group of rioters who rushed into a silk shop to smash and loot.

"This is a crime! Put your things down! Do you all want to go to jail?"

The people still had an instinctive sense of awe for the old scholar, and for a moment they all stopped what they were doing.

"Look at what you're all doing! Do you even know..."

Just as the old scholar was about to continue persuading them, a basin of kerosene was suddenly poured on him.

Before the old scholar could react, a masked thug rushed to his side and slapped a tinderbox on him.

In an instant, the old scholar was engulfed in flames.

"Ah~ah~"

Amidst his heart-wrenching screams and groans, the old scholar ran wildly.

Meanwhile, a group of black-clad thugs applauded and cheered.

This scene left the people in the silk shop stunned.

"What are you all standing there for? This man is an accomplice of the treacherous Shen Lang. He's here to bully us. He deserves what he's done. Don't be fooled."

"There's no need to be afraid. We're purging the court of corrupt officials for the sake of the Chu kingdom and its people. We're doing this out of necessity to persuade His Majesty to repent and return from his misguided path!"

"We are speaking out for the people, how can we be misled by this old dog? A man of seven feet should be a hero, not a coward who accomplishes nothing!"

Finally, under the instigation of the rioters, the eyes of these people instantly became fervent, as if they had let go of their burdens.

The next moment, stimulated by various external factors, they completely exposed the dark side of human nature and began to smash, loot, and vandalize even more frantically than before.

In front of a seventh-rank government office, a large mob threw stones and poured excrement at the tightly closed gate, venting their anger.

What are they doing? Why are they angry?

I'm afraid even I don't know.

In short, it feels very exciting to do this. It must be very fulfilling to be able to force a once high and mighty official to this point.

"Charge in! This man is a traitor, an accomplice of Shen Lang!"

Someone in the crowd shouted.

The next moment, the irrational mob rushed toward the gate of the government office, and some even carried a log and smashed it wildly.

Boom~

The sturdy gates of the government office finally collapsed amidst a cloud of dust after being repeatedly attacked by the mob.

"Charge! Smash everything!"

"Bring out this corrupt official!"

In an instant, a mob swarmed into the government office like locusts, smashing everything in sight.

A mere dozen or so constables were utterly incapable of quelling the fury of hundreds or even thousands of rioters...

"No, please, let me go, please..."

“Ouch—”

On the other side, a young lady from an official family was dragged out of a mansion by a mob.

The onlookers cheered and joked.

"Hehe, Miss Guan, you're so beautiful! Come, give me a kiss~"

"No, no!"

Faced with the mob's lewd behavior, the young lady of the official family struggled fiercely, but her strength was limited, and she was quickly subdued.

As the sound of tearing silk rang out, the young lady's body was immediately exposed to the public, once again drawing cheers.

"So fair-skinned! I'm so lucky to be black!"

"No~~"

The piercing screams rang out in the streets, but were quickly drowned out by the mob's shouts.

Crime was playing out in almost every corner of this bustling city.

Once the Pandora's box of darkness deep within human nature is released, it is difficult to close it again.

At this time, the area outside Weiyang Palace was crowded with more than 20,000 people.

Most of them are students, children of wealthy families, and educated "social elites".

At this moment, they shouted in unison, chanting loud slogans in unison.

"Qingjun side!"

"Qingjun side!"

"Qingjun side!"

Zeng Qian, who was in charge, stepped directly to the forefront this time and personally directed the flow of people to put pressure on Jiang Mengxuan.

"Your Majesty, the people's will is clear, are you still going to remain obstinate?"

"If Your Majesty does not agree in a single day, the petition from the people will not crumble!"

Zeng Qian's face was contorted with rage, and his body trembled uncontrollably with excitement.

However, no matter how much he shouted, no news came from Weiyang Palace, creating an unsettling atmosphere.

Jiang Mengxuan stood at a corner of the palace wall, looking at the dense crowd outside, her clear eyes showing an unprecedented calmness.

But deep down, it's impossible not to be nervous.

"Shen Lang, how do you plan to quell this unrest, and what are your plans?"

Taking a deep breath, the Empress tried to calm her inner unease.

"I trust you. Now, I have no choice but to trust you. I haven't made up my mind to personally order the use of force against my subjects."

"Shen Lang, help me. At this point, you are the only one I can truly rely on."

At this moment, Shen Lang was also at the highest point of Shanglin Garden, holding a pair of monocular telescopes, constantly watching the movements of Jinling City.

After a long while, he put down his binoculars, his eyes becoming extremely sharp.

"Fine, it seems I'll have to play the villain. After all, she's just a seventeen-year-old girl. You really can't handle this situation right now."

In a fleeting moment, three thousand five hundred new army soldiers, rifles on their shoulders, stood in neat formation, ready to receive Shen Lang's orders at any time.