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

Late May, in front of the main hall of Weiyang Palace.

Wu Ji and other members of the Wu royal family knelt in the main hall.

Empress Jiang Mengxuan coldly surveyed the crowd, then flicked her phoenix sleeves: "Wu Ji, do you know the heinous crime you have committed?"

This was also the first time Wu Ji had met this legendary empress.

Looking at that aloof, young, and stunningly beautiful face, his lips twitched involuntarily.

"I do not know."

Wu Ji replied arrogantly.

"I have been on the throne for twenty years, quelled the evils of the previous dynasty, regained control of the court, and changed the situation of the royal family killing each other. How can I be guilty?"

Jiang Mengxuan scoffed: "When natural disasters struck various parts of Wu, do you dare say it had nothing to do with you, the ruler of the country?"

Wu Ji said, "The Kingdom of Wu has suffered a disaster, and I have done my best to provide relief. But this is the will of Heaven, and what does it have to do with me?"

"What a joke." Jiang Mengxuan scoffed. "A monarch would embezzle even grain meant for disaster relief, and then swear on his innocence?"

Wu Ji, you are truly unworthy of being a ruler. The people of Wu have suffered such a fate because of your incompetent and tyrannical rule!

Of the three million shi of grain donated by the State of Chu, has even a single grain reached the hands of the people? Have the people ever drunk a bowl of rice porridge provided by your court as relief?

"Did you use all this grain to cultivate immortality and seek the Dao?"

Wu Ji argued: "I am a sage. My cultivation of immortality and pursuit of the Dao is also for the sake of the common people of Wu. What harm is there in making the people suffer a little?"

As the saying goes, the ruler is like a father, the subject like a son, and the people like a grandson. Can't they sacrifice themselves for their ruler or father?

"What a cruel joke it is to make the people suffer, what a cruel ruler he is."

A hint of frost hung over Jiang Mengxuan's face.

"Since you are so unrepentant, then I will not stoop to the level of a foolish ruler like you. You want to seek immortality and enlightenment, don't you? I will grant your wish!"

“In the gardens on the western outskirts of Jinling, there is an abandoned Taoist temple. You can cultivate your Tao there. I have heard that you have the body of an immortal, so you probably do not need grains and have already reached the state of abstaining from grains.”

"You should go and ask the Three Pure Ones about your Dao and cultivate your immortality. I will wait for the day you ascend to the heavens."

Upon hearing this, Wu Ji panicked: "Empress of Great Chu, are you trying to starve me to death?"

Jiang Mengxuan said coldly, "Hmph, who gave you permission to speak to me in such a tone?"

You are no longer the ruler of Great Wu, but a commoner without virtue or morality.

However, considering the generations of friendly relations between Chu and Wu, I will make an exception and give you some face.

Effective immediately, Wu Ji is hereby conferred the title of Marquis of Incompetence, with no salary or reward; he shall spend the rest of his life in the Taoist temple.

"You...what did you say?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Ji's eyes widened.

"You've bestowed upon me the title of... Marquis of Incompetence?"

Wu Ji never expected to be given such an insulting title.

“You have been utterly heartless towards the people and have done nothing to benefit the nation. You have been tyrannical and greedy, and the word ‘immoral’ is the best word for you. Guards, drag him away.”

Two guards immediately stepped forward, grabbed Wu Ji, and headed towards the palace gate.

"Empress of Great Chu, you can't treat me like this, you can't treat me like this..."

Wu Ji kept shouting and roaring, trying to change the Empress's mind.

But the Empress remained cold and indifferent, showing no sign of compromise whatsoever.

After Wu Ji was pulled away, Jiang Mengxuan looked at the group of relatives kneeling on the ground and began to pronounce their fates once again.

"The Fifth Prince Wu Heng, in collusion with court officials, forcibly seized farmland from the people, causing 100,000 people in Yuezhou to be displaced. Effective immediately, he shall be demoted to the lowest social class and exiled to a coal mine for the rest of his life."

"The Fourth Prince Wu Qi, who bullied the market and embezzled river funds, caused the dikes to breach along the coast for three hundred miles, flooding tens of thousands of acres of fertile land. He was demoted to a lowly status and exiled to an ironworks as a slave, never to be freed for the rest of his life."

"Princess Anle, for the sake of the demolition land in the western suburbs of Wu County, did not hesitate to collude with aristocratic families to humiliate and kill three thousand households. Her intentions are extremely vicious. From this day forward, she shall be demoted to the lowest social class and sent to the Department of Rehabilitation for reform. She shall be a prostitute for life, and her descendants shall never be able to escape this status!"

"Princess Anyang..."

As the Empress pronounced her verdict, a chorus of weeping erupted within the Weiyang Palace.

Household registration was divided into five levels: scholar, soldier, commoner, slave, and lowly.

The lowest social class, the lowest of the low, is those who hold this status, usually because they or their direct relatives within three generations have committed serious crimes.

This means that one will never be able to engage in decent work for the rest of their life, and in terms of social status, they will be even lower than actors and prostitutes.

Prostitutes and actors were enslaved, but once they redeemed themselves and became respectable, they were directly promoted to commoners and could be allocated land to engage in farming, business, or other legitimate livelihoods. They even had the opportunity to serve in local government offices.

Those of low social status could only engage in the lowest-level jobs for three generations, which meant that these former royal relatives of the Great Wu were completely reduced to the lowest class.

Imperial guards kept going in and out, pulling out those who had reported their names.

No matter how much they cried and begged for mercy, they could not change the Empress's mind.

She was going to torture them in this cruelest way until they were worked to death.

"Furthermore, the Wu Kingdom's aristocratic families have been poisoning the people, beheading all the aristocratic family members who remained in Jinling, in order to appease the millions of innocent souls who died unjustly in Wu Kingdom!"

After the final verdict was announced, the Empress rose from her throne and surveyed the assembled officials in the hall.

"My lords, I hope you will take this as a warning and never do such a heinous thing. Heaven is watching what people do, and those who do evil will not live."

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

The assembled officials broke out in a cold sweat and immediately bowed to Jiang Mengxuan.

……

The Taoist temple in the western suburbs of Jinling was already dilapidated and drafty.

After being imprisoned inside, Wu Ji immediately felt a huge psychological letdown.

Which of the Taoist temples I built in Wu County is not more dazzling than the one before me?

Not to mention the Ziwei Palace, even the Taoist temples built on a whim in the palace are so magnificent and resplendent.

The thought of spending the rest of his life in such a place filled Wu Ji with sorrow, and he couldn't help but burst into tears.

But after the tears, there is only endless emptiness and despair.

The empress did not kill him, but this punishment was worse than death itself.

"No, I cannot spend the rest of my life like this, I cannot!"

"I want to see the Empress! I want to see the Empress!"

He tried to run out like a madman, but was immediately kicked to the ground by the guard at the door.

"Behave yourself. Do you think you're some kind of emperor who's high and mighty?"

The guard glared at him with disgust.

"Lord Wude, His Majesty said that he will release you the day you become an immortal. In the meantime, make the most of your cultivation."

After saying that, he closed the door and locked it.

"No, I want to see Her Majesty the Empress! I know I was wrong! I want to see Her Majesty the Empress! You can't treat me like this!"

Inside the Taoist temple, Wu Ji's mournful cries could be heard continuously.

However, his cries garnered no sympathy from anyone.

Not far away, Wu Li witnessed this scene, and her palms clenched slightly.

"Wu Ji, you've finally met your match! It's karma, karma indeed! Hahaha—"

……

On the other side, after seeing off Wu Ji and his men, Shen Lang immediately ordered the entire army to advance towards Wu County.

However, the soldiers were very depressed as they traveled along the way and saw the scenery.

Everywhere there were corpses of starving people, and wild dogs devouring the bodies were a common sight.

At first glance, there was not a single sign of life.

"Stop."

As they passed a mass grave, Shen Lang saw a living person and immediately ordered the army to halt.

There was a little girl, about four or five years old, lying on the corpse of a woman and child, clutching at something.

"drive."

He spurred his horse forward a few steps, and only when he got closer could he see the whole picture.

The little girl was holding a fat, still-wriggling maggot in her hand, laughing as she stuffed it into her mouth.

Ugh~

Seeing this, Lü Meng, who was behind him, couldn't help himself and covered his mouth to the side to vomit.

The girl then looked at Shen Lang, but instead of looking at him, she smiled and picked up another wriggling maggot from the corpse.

Seeing her mouth full of thick juice, Shen Lang's lips twitched.

Instantly, a scene from several years ago at the beacon tower flashed through my mind.

"Lieutenant, have you ever experienced what it feels like to go hungry?"

"My family starved to death back then, and I survived by eating the maggots that grew on their bodies!"

"Really, I don't want to go hungry anymore, and I don't want to starve to death one day, with maggots growing on my body and becoming someone else's food!"

"Please, Captain, surrender! No one will care about our lives, whether in Chu or Northern Yan!"

His thoughts drifted back to the present, but Lü Meng had already disregarded everything and picked up the little girl, kneeling before Shen Lang.

"Commander! I beg you, please take this child with you!"

"You're so pitiful, Commander!"

When Lü Meng pleaded, the other generals were also moved with compassion and knelt down before Shen Lang.

After all, having witnessed so many lifeless scenes along the way, no one wanted to give up on the rare sight of a vibrant life.

But they knew that if Shen Lang didn't agree, they couldn't take the child away.

Shen Lang took a deep breath and looked into the girl's confused and bewildered eyes, which deeply touched him.

"Then take her with you. Have the military medical clinic examine her, and then notify the logistics department to have the people Qin Yu and Lin Fei brought temporarily set up an orphanage to take in all the homeless children."

Surprisingly, Shen Lang agreed this time.

After saying that, Shen Lang turned his horse and continued galloping forward.

He thought he had experienced a lot and his mind was already as cold as iron, and he felt that his emotions were difficult to be stirred by the environment.

But faced with this scene, Shen Lang finally felt his own heart...

It's still pulsating.