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

In late May, Shen Lang, who was stationed in Chang'an, lay lazily on a recliner in the Xia Palace, occasionally picking up a crystal grape from the side of the tea table and popping it into his mouth.

After a long while, he impatiently spat out the grape skins and said to a woman behind him, "Have you had enough? You're all over fifty years old, can't you be a little more reserved?"

"Hehehe..."

Shen Lang was met with a hearty laugh.

Mu Qingqiu skillfully rotated the bolt back and forth with a 98K rifle.

Upon hearing Shen Lang speak, she immediately hugged her rifle tightly, sat down on the chair, and casually lifted a corner of her skirt to cross her legs.

"Kid, you're really something. The State of Chu has been chanting the slogan of retaking Chang'an for hundreds of years, and you've accomplished it so easily."

No wonder my junior sister is so fond of you and wants to make you her imperial son-in-law. I thought she would marry a good-looking but useless scholar in the future.

"I never imagined I'd find such a treasure like you. This throne will only become more secure with time, haha."

Shen Lang straightened up, turned to look at Mu Qingqiu, and clicked his tongue twice: "I say, why are you always following me?"

Mu Qingqiu tilted her head and said with a smile, "What, are you afraid that Junior Sister will misunderstand? Don't worry, I'm not interested in young people like you."

I'm following you purely out of curiosity about these new gadgets. How can such a simple firearm be so powerful?

Shen Lang lay back in the rocking chair and casually replied, "This is a military secret. How could I possibly tell you? I advise you to leave as soon as possible. There's no place here for you to do your chivalrous deeds."

Mu Qingqiu flicked a strand of hair that had fallen across her forehead: "It's time to go back, but I want to go back to the capital with you. I haven't seen my junior sister for many years, and I really miss her."

"If you want to go back, just leave now. Why do you insist on staying here?"

"Keep an eye on your junior sister and see if you'll cheat on her with other women. The young lady from the Changsun family is still not giving up. She knows you're the future son-in-law of the Great Chu Emperor, but she's still very unwilling to accept it."

"None of my business."

Shen Lang was completely numb. Ever since Mu Qingqiu arrived at the Xia King's Palace three days ago, he hadn't had a moment's peace.

In order to get her away as quickly as possible, we let her fire off a whole barrage of weapons, including Gatling guns, 98K rifles, and even mortars.

Unexpectedly, Mu Qingqiu seemed to have serious violent tendencies.

After handling these weapons, they decided to stay and refused to leave.

This was an extremely painful torment for Shen Lang.

Of course, the key to turning a blind eye was that Mu Qingqiu put forward a military suggestion that even he hadn't thought of.

Mounting a Gatling gun on a carriage can greatly improve mobility and double the effectiveness of pursuit.

"Kid, I need to talk to you about something."

Mu Qingqiu suddenly spoke to Shen Lang in a serious tone.

"After returning to Beijing this time, I want to stay by my junior sister's side and do some odd jobs."

Shen Lang frowned: "Why don't you tell her this yourself? What's the point of telling me?"

Mu Qingqiu: "Many years have passed. Now she is a high and mighty empress, while I am just a commoner in the martial arts world. The difference in our status is now as vast as heaven and earth."

After all, people change, and I'm afraid we wouldn't know how to start a conversation if we met.

Shen Lang asked curiously, "Isn't it better to be a wanderer in the martial world? Why do you want to stay in the imperial court and be constrained?"

Mu Qingqiu shook her head: "The martial world is just as treacherous. I've seen far too much over the years, and there are many things I don't even know where to begin."

In short, compared to the imperial court, the unrestrained martial arts world is a far greater disaster.

She paused, then continued, "I truly never imagined that the Blood Fiend Sect, which struck fear into the hearts of the entire Northwest, would be destroyed by you in a single night."

I think that perhaps only a strong imperial court can truly liberate the common people who have suffered so much from the torment and exploitation of martial arts sects.

No matter how corrupt the imperial court is, it still has the power to restrain the local authorities. Therefore, I want to try and see if I can assist my junior sister in my lifetime.

If the martial arts world were completely bound to the laws of the court, and if it were under control, perhaps there wouldn't be so many criminals committing crimes among the common people.

Shen Lang: "If you do this, you might offend your own sect in the future."

"Haha."

Unexpectedly, Mu Qingqiu smiled.

"Do you really think the Purple Cloud Sect truly supports the Great Chu Dynasty as it appears? Actually, I see through many things better than anyone else."

"Back then, it was precisely because I saw through the ugly faces of my master and the others that I deliberately distanced myself from the sect."

"Oh? How is it ugly?"

Shen Lang immediately became interested.

"I can tell you, but you have to promise me that you'll whisper in my ear to my junior sister and let me stay in the palace and get an official position."

"tell me the story."

Mu Qingqiu instantly wiped the smile off her face and said seriously, "Master has an ambiguous relationship with the Empress Dowager."

I personally witnessed my master receiving the people sent by the Empress Dowager in a secret chamber and receiving many valuable items.

Shen Lang frowned: "You mean to say that the Empress Dowager and the Zixia Sect have had a relationship for a long time?"

"That's right. Besides that, Master also had correspondence with the Murong royal family of Northern Yan. As for the specific content, I don't know."

But if a sect within the vast Chu state suddenly has connections with the barbarians beyond the Great Wall, that relationship is definitely not clean.

Knowing all this, I felt utterly disgusted, and thus I stayed away from the sect for a long time, preferring to ignore it.

Shen Lang was not surprised at all after listening: "Sects and local and imperial families are intertwined because of their interests."

This isn't surprising, given the countless and unspoken connections between the Blood Fiend Sect and Western Xia.

Heh, the so-called "pure and righteous" spirit of seeking justice and revenge is nothing but a self-hypnotic joke.

Mu Qingqiu agreed with him and was about to say something when she heard Meng Gong's voice from outside the door.

"Instructor, a report has come from Xiliang!"

"explain."

Shen Lian, however, seemed to have expected this. He didn't even raise his eyelids, but instead picked up two walnuts and started playing with them in his palm.

Meng Gong, beaming with excitement, reported: "Instructor, Lu Meng from the front lines has sent word that a rebellion has broken out within Western Xia!"

The Western Xia royal family was turned against them by Shangguan Yan, who then joined forces with local resistance forces to eliminate them!

"What? That's amazing!"

Mu Qingqiu couldn't help but stand up excitedly.

"I thought I'd have to step in myself to handle this situation, but I didn't expect them to start fighting amongst themselves?"

Meng Gong completely ignored Mu Qingqiu and continued reporting to Shen Lang: "General Zhang Dingbian, following Lü Meng's plan, seized the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, coordinating with the Shangguan family from within and without."

In one battle, 40,000 rebel troops from Xiliang were annihilated, and 600,000 cattle and sheep, 30,000 warhorses, 3 million taels of gold, and 40 million taels of silver were captured, completely wiping out the last remaining fighting force of Western Xia.

Only Li Shaohao, leading the remaining Hu tribes, managed to escape the sweep by the Imperial Guard and flee to Qingqiu on the border of Wuzhao Kingdom.

The second army has now withdrawn to Longyou and Longxi as instructed by the instructors, awaiting further orders.

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang slowly opened his eyes: "Notify Lü Meng and Zhang Dingbian's troops to prepare for a possible withdrawal at any time."

Meng Gong asked, puzzled, "Why is that?"

Shen Lang straightened up: "Judging by the time, news of the recapture of Chang'an should have already reached the capital."

The troops taking over the defense line will arrive soon; we should prepare and head back to the capital.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a sergeant rushed in: "Reporting, Instructor, His Majesty's official document has arrived. Please go and receive it in person."

Shen Lang gave a knowing look before slowly getting up.

"Let's go, come with me to receive His Majesty's personal document."

……

The Prince's Mansion in Shu (Sichuan).

"Your Highness, I have just received a secret report from the Northwest. The Xia Kingdom has been destroyed, and its remaining forces have all fled to the territory of the Wu Zhao Kingdom. The imperial army has taken over Guanzhong, and 60,000 Tiger and Leopard Army troops have taken over the defense line of Chang'an."

"hateful!"

Upon hearing this news, Jiang Chong kicked the table over to the ground.

"Trash, they are all a bunch of trash!"

He shouted sharply.

"The Western Xia cavalry was supposedly unparalleled in the world, but they were not only driven back to Xiliang from Luoyang in one battle, but were also completely annihilated! The barbarians are truly unreliable!"

After venting his anger, he looked at Ye Fan and said, "I ask you, if we send troops to Chang'an now, what are our chances of winning?"

Ye Fan shook his head and calmly said, "Your Highness, please reconsider. There is no chance of victory if we send troops to Guanzhong at this time. The general sent by the court to guard Chang'an is named Guo Huaizhi."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chong immediately ceased his efforts.

Guo Huaizhi, 62 years old, was known as one of the ironclad defenders of the empire along with Wang Zhongsi of Bingzhou, and was utterly loyal to the Empress.

During the reign of the late emperor, Ye Mo was dismissed from his official post and given a sinecure at home due to political disagreements with him.

Jiang Chong tried to win him over several times, but was rejected each time.

Unexpectedly, he has now been reinstated by the Empress and entrusted with important responsibilities.

With him around, Jiang Chong had no confidence in launching a sure-win war against Guanzhong.

"Damn it! That old bastard Guo Huaizhi has looked down on me since I was a child. Why should he work for that little bitch? He's despicable!"

Ye Fan sighed: "Your Highness, the time is not yet ripe. It is best to be patient."

Jiang Chong clenched his fists, his eyes filled with resentment.

He simply couldn't understand why Guo Huaizhi supported his sister so much but not him.

In fact, Guo Huaizhi and Jiang Mengxuan have another layer of relationship.

That is, a true master-disciple relationship.

Jiang Mengxuan's cultivation level was mostly taught by Guo Huaizhi.

Guo Huaizhi is also a martial artist who has entered the Immortal Realm!

"Young Master Ye! It seems your schemes are nothing special after all!"

Suddenly, Jiang Chong turned his attention directly to Ye Fan.

"Don't you pride yourself on being the wisest person in the world? But look at yourself now, my dear sister has already recaptured Chang'an, and her throne is becoming more and more secure!"

Upon hearing this, a shadow of gloom suddenly flashed across Ye Fan's deep pupils.

"Your Highness, please calm down. This time, I was indeed short-sighted. I will plan carefully again to help Your Highness ascend the throne as soon as possible."

"Hmph, I hope I live to see that day!"

Jiang Chong angrily flung his sleeves and turned back to the inner hall.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty."

After watching Jiang Chong leave, Ye Fan let out a soft snort and turned to leave the Prince's Mansion as well.

"The land of Great Chu is not for a piece of trash like you to sit on. Only I, Ye Fan, am worthy to enjoy this vast land and rule over all the lands!"

With a sinister smile, Ye Fan turned and glanced back at the Prince's Mansion.

"Whether it's you, Jiang Chong, or Jiang Mengxuan, you're nothing but stepping stones on my path to hegemony, Ye Fan, hahaha."