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

Zhang Kewang was escorted by guards to the outside of the palace to await the results of the Jingwei Division's investigation.

After this incident, those who had reservations about Shen Lang dared not take the lead again.

But at this moment, Grand Secretary Sun Yingcheng stepped forward.

He first bowed to the Empress, then solemnly addressed Shen Lang: "Lord Shen, I would like to hear why you slaughtered those Luchuan soldiers."

What unforgivable crimes did they commit? The laws of the Great Chu state that surrendered soldiers should be treated with courtesy, even if the Luchuan army committed heinous offenses.

Lord Shen shouldn't have just killed them all like that. Even if he were to kill them, it should have been approved by the Ministry of War before making a decision.

"Isn't what you're doing a blatant disregard for the law and an insult to the might and dignity of our Great Chu?"

Compared to Zhang Kewang's haphazard approach, Sun Yingcheng's rhetoric was slightly more sophisticated, knowing to use military law and regulations to restrain Shen Lang's behavior.

However, Shen Lang didn't care about the old man's nonsense at all, and replied directly: "Then may I ask, Grand Secretary Sun, under what circumstances can military regulations allow action against surrendered soldiers?"

Sun Yingcheng: "Naturally, only when surrendered soldiers pose a threat to our own troops should we take strong measures."

"Lord Shen, you're not saying those surrendered soldiers are all going to rebel, are you?"

"Indeed, Grand Secretary Sun is so farsighted, so I have not violated any military regulations. The 14,000 surrendered soldiers collectively rebelled and deserted the day after their surrender."

"If it weren't for the decisive action of our Great Chu soldiers, who allowed these surrendered troops to escape into our Nanzhao territory, heaven knows how many innocent people would have suffered at their hands."

Sun Yingcheng's expression changed: "Lord Shen, I must remind you, this is the imperial court, and you cannot speak recklessly here!"

Shen Lang sneered: "There's no need for Grand Scholar Sun to remind me of this. I have always acted with a clear conscience. What psychological burden could I possibly have from killing a bunch of beasts?"

Sun Yingcheng's eyes widened immediately: "Fine, then explain what's the deal with the joint impeachment letter from Prefect Mu and General Tang?"

Shen Lang laughed: "Grand Secretary Sun, are you judging me to be a person who violated military discipline based on the words in a memorial?"

Sun Yingcheng sneered: "Does Lord Shen have any objections to these memorials?"

"No, that's not the case. However, I have a question I'd like to ask Grand Secretary Sun."

If the memorial states that I am your long-lost father, then will you acknowledge him or not, Lord Sun?

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room was stunned, staring at Shen Lang in disbelief.

Sun Yingcheng is a renowned Confucian scholar, whose reputation is extremely high in both the court and among the people. How could you, a junior, make fun of him?

Only Jiang Mengxuan, sitting on the dragon throne, remained aloof, showing no change in emotion.

"You, you brat, how dare you!"

Sun Yingcheng's face turned ashen.

"How could I possibly believe such an absurd thing? It is simply an insult to civility."

Shen Lian was waiting for this question: "Since Grand Secretary Sun doesn't believe it, why would he readily believe the impeachment content in the memorial?"

Seeing is believing, so why didn't Grand Secretary Sun personally verify the authenticity of the memorial before drawing any conclusions?

Sun Yingcheng became anxious: "Nanzhao is thousands of miles away from here. How could I possibly verify this personally?"

"That means Grand Secretary Sun relied solely on the contents of a memorial, regardless of its truth."

So you're concluding that I violated military discipline? Even if I was framed and falsely accused, does that mean it doesn't matter?

"I...this official..."

Sun Yingcheng, who had been outmaneuvered, was speechless.

Shen Lang pressed his advantage, saying, "Even if Grand Secretary Sun himself is too old to travel far, he can send his disciples to investigate."

But Grand Secretary Sun didn't do that, which shows that you don't care about the truth of the matter.

It's nothing more than an attempt to suppress Shen and deny the contributions of our royal army in expanding our territory and protecting our country.

Upon hearing this, Sun Yingcheng was so anxious that he almost took off on the spot.

"When did I ever say that I denied the contributions of my royal army? Shen Lang, don't try to pin this unfounded charge on me."

"Don't you have any?"

Shen Lang glanced at him.

"Today, the royal army returns to the capital, a day that should be a time of national celebration. The soldiers urgently need to receive rewards from the court and recognition from the people."

And what about you lot? The moment you entered the hall, you started indiscriminately pinning blame on those who had rendered meritorious service, while remaining completely silent about the glorious achievements of the royal army.

In your eyes, suppressing dissidents is always more important than governing the country. At the slightest sign of trouble, you pounce on them like dogs that have caught a whiff of something.

I wish I could tear a piece of flesh from their bodies. May I ask, Grand Secretary Sun, do you know what kind of life the people on the southern border live?

Do you know that the Luchuan army was so brutal that they didn't even spare pregnant women? Do you know how hard the guards who were stationed on the frontier lived?

Someone like you, relying on your age and knowledge as a self-important scholar, dares to stand on the bank and talk big, pontificating about the state of the nation.

Have you ever considered how the people of the world would view you?

Besides knowing a bunch of pedantic rhetoric to spread rumors and sow discord, what other use do you have?

You'd better ask yourself honestly, after living to such an old age, what contributions have you actually made to the country and its people?

You wouldn't say that you've founded a few schools and encouraged people to learn to read, and that's your contribution, would you?

Then may I ask you, is there a single student in the school you founded who comes from a commoner background?

How many families can afford the high tuition fees?

Even if commoners were to enter school, would there be any channels for them to be recommended for official positions?

All he did was seek fame and fortune, and even use his official seniority to gain personal benefits.

To be honest, your ridiculous behavior is no match for the local gentry of Nanzhao. They even heard that His Majesty's army was coming.

They contributed both money and effort, and what about you? Knowing full well that the court's finances were strained, you clung to your vast fortune, refusing to donate a single penny.

Finally, they even put on an arrogant and condescending attitude to slander the soldiers who were fighting hard on the front lines.

"Where do you get the audacity to criticize my act of killing a surrendered official? Are you slapping His Majesty in the face in front of the emperor?!"

puff-

After Shen Lang unleashed a barrage of attacks, Sun Yingcheng was so shocked that he knelt on the ground.

At this moment, all the civil and military officials were speechless, looking at Shen Lang with fear on their faces.

Jiang Mengxuan's lips curled up slightly as she thought to herself: It seems I don't know Shen Lang well enough. He's so eloquent. What if he dares to talk back when we have a conflict? No, I have to teach him a lesson. I don't want to be humiliated by his insults one day.

"Humph……"

Shen Lang glanced at Sun Yingcheng, snorted coldly, and then took out two new memorials from his bosom and presented them to the Empress.

"Your Majesty, regarding my killing of surrendered soldiers and all my actions within the territory of Luchuan, Prefect Mu and General Tang have each submitted a memorial."

The first joint memorial was indeed written by them, but because the event happened suddenly and neither of them was present at the time, they misunderstood me.

After investigation, the truth came to light. Prefect Mu and General Tang apologized to me in person and wrote a memorial to clear my name. Please review it, Your Majesty.

The eunuch immediately took the memorial from Shen Lang and presented it to the Empress.

After Jiang Mengxuan took the document and read it, she immediately stood up and said, "This is a memorial from Mu Yuanying and Tang Zhao. It clearly states that they were negligent and misunderstood Shen Xuanwei."

In reality, it was a mutiny by the surrendered soldiers of Luchuan who took advantage of the royal army's lax defenses. It was Commander Shen who decisively deployed his personal guards to kill them all.

"So what else do you have to say?"

The entire court remained silent. The matter had already been discussed to this extent; wouldn't it be pointless to speak again?

Just then, Jiang Shangxian returned to the Taiji Hall.

"Your Majesty, a large quantity of gold, silver, and spices were found in Zhang Kewang's home, along with letters indicating a conspiracy with Northern Yan. I can confirm this."

Zhang Kewang was a pawn planted in our court by the Northern Yan, bribed and sent there. His purpose was to sow discord in the court, frame loyal officials, and clear obstacles for the Northern Yan's future southward expansion.

Jiang Mengxuan closed her phoenix eyes slightly: "Very good, what an upright and incorruptible official! I have finally met one today."

Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials in the hall who were close to Zhang Kewang twitched.

Oh no, something terrible is about to happen.