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

"Boom boom boom——"

Late at night, a rapid knocking sounded outside the secluded courtyard of the gambling den.

"Who is it? Why are you knocking so late?"

Chen Ba, who had just fallen asleep, got up with a displeased look on his face and ordered his servants to open the courtyard gate.

"Mom~"

As soon as the door opened, a blood-soaked figure crashed into the courtyard, startling the servants who gasped in surprise.

"who are you?"

Chen Ba roared angrily, quickly picked up a machete, and assumed a defensive stance.

"Chen Ba, you don't even recognize me?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ba looked closely, immediately dropped his weapon, and went to meet him.

"Mr. Shen, it's you? How did you get like this? Who did this?"

"Don't ask anymore, help me heal my wounds."

Chen Ba quickly stepped forward to help Shen Lang and led him into the house.

"You lot, stay here and keep watch. Report back immediately if there's any disturbance!"

"Yes!"

Before leading Shen Lang into the house, he gave one more instruction to the servants and then closed the door.

When Chen Ba placed Shen Lang on the bedside table, under the candlelight, he discovered that the man's chest was stained with blood, which was still wet to the touch.

"Mr. Shen, what's wrong with you? Don't scare me."

As Chen Ba spoke, he rummaged through boxes and cabinets looking for medicinal powder to treat sword and knife wounds.

Shen Lang clutched his chest and said, "Help me bandage my wound and change my clothes..."

As he spoke, he clutched his chest in pain.

The sword strike in the palace pierced his chest, only an inch from his heart.

Chen Ba said nothing, found scissors, bandages, and hemostatic medicine, and carefully cut open Shen Lang's clothes.

When they saw the wounds on his body, they were shocked.

"Master Shen, this sword wound is extraordinary; only a spirit sword could have caused it..."

"Stop asking, just get it done."

"Okay, Mr. Shen, just bear with it."

He then personally brought over a basin of water and carefully cleaned Shen Lang's chest wound.

Then they applied medicine, bandaged him, and found a set of commoner's clothes for Shen Lang to change into.

After taking care of everything, Chen Badao said, "Master Shen, should I go find a doctor to take a look?"

After saying that, he got up to leave.

But the next moment, Shen Lang grabbed Chen Ba's hand.

"No need to trouble yourself, brother, do me another favor."

"what?"

"Send me out of the city before dawn."

"Huh? What... what happened?"

"Don't ask, the less you know, the safer you are."

"Okay, I won't ask."

Chen Ba wisely shut his mouth and comforted him, "Master Shen, you should rest first. I'll have someone prepare to send you out of the city."

"Ah."

Shen Lang then let go of her hand and drifted off to sleep.

……

That night, an emergency court session was held in Weiyang Palace.

All officials from the six ministries attended.

"I misplaced my trust in Shen Lang. Tonight, after I exposed his cannibalistic nature, he even attempted to assassinate me. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I would have died at his hands."

"I never imagined that I would be so deceived as to marry a devil! It is truly a disgrace to my royal family!"

Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials frowned.

Ye Mo, in particular, had serious doubts about the veracity of this matter.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shangxian immediately knelt before the palace: "Your Majesty, I refuse to believe that Shen Lang is such a person. Please allow me to confront him!"

Jiang Mengxuan's eyes were cold: "Shen Lang's beastly nature has been exposed. After his failed assassination attempt on me, he has already fled the palace."

I have ordered all officers and soldiers in the city to pursue him and have sealed off all exits; he must not be allowed to escape.

Jiang Shangxian stood there stunned, unwilling to believe it was real.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Zhang Yan was extremely excited upon hearing this.

"Your Majesty, since Shen Lang's vicious nature has been revealed, this matter must not be tolerated, and his status as the Emperor's son-in-law must be revoked!"

Jiang Mengxuan: "What Zhang Qing said is very true. Minister Cao, you should immediately draft an edict and announce it to the world tomorrow, abolishing all of Shen Lang's titles. I want to depose my husband."

Cao Xianzhi was dumbfounded and completely bewildered.

How did things escalate to this point without any warning?

Seeing that Cao Xianzhi remained silent, the Empress reminded him again: "Minister Cao?"

Cao Xianzhi immediately replied, "Your subject obeys."

"Wait a minute!"

Liu Wu suddenly stood up.

"Your Majesty, abolishing the emperor's son-in-law is a matter of great importance. It would be better to wait until Shen Lang is arrested and brought to justice by the Ministry of Justice before taking action."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yan immediately retorted, "Minister Liu, His Majesty's words are law, and he has determined that Shen Lang is a cannibalistic demon. Do you have any objections?"

Liu Wu replied, "Lord Zhang! The dismissal of a son-in-law due to a crime concerns the stability of the nation. According to the laws of the Great Chu Dynasty, an investigation must be launched."

A decision can only be made after a conviction; how can a judgment be made so easily? As an official responsible for remonstrating, you are well-versed in criminal law; surely you understand this basic common sense?

Zhang Yanchu: "This humble official is naturally aware of the laws of the Great Chu Dynasty, but isn't His Majesty's own testimony true or false?"

Moreover, the deposition and installation of a husband is His Majesty's family matter, and there is no provision in the imperial law regarding it..."

Liu Wu interrupted, saying, "The imperial law naturally cannot concern His Majesty's family affairs, but there is currently no concrete evidence to support the crime committed by Shen Lang. We need to find out the truth before we can make a decision."

Then he turned to Jiang Mengxuan: "Your Majesty, I dare to suggest that you investigate the truth about Fengsui Fort before taking any action to depose it!"

Zhang Yanchu was furious: "Minister Liu, are you questioning His Majesty's decision? How dare you!"

"I am not questioning Your Majesty, but there are still some suspicious aspects to this matter. A thorough investigation is necessary before a conclusion can be reached. The matter of deposing someone falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites."

The Ministry of Justice naturally has no right to interfere, but since it involves such a serious matter as cannibalism between soldiers and officials, the Ministry of Justice must investigate thoroughly!

Liu Wu had an upright appearance and a resolute look in his eyes, showing no sign of holding back.

After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Mengxuan suddenly spoke to Liu Wu, "Minister Liu, do you not believe that Shen Lang cannibalizes people?"

Liu Wu replied frankly, "I dare not speak rashly before I have verified it, but to be honest, based on my understanding of Shen Lang, I do not believe for a second that he can eat people."

Jiang Mengxuan then looked at the other officials and asked, "What do you think?"

Ye Mo remained silent, his hands clasped around his abdomen, his two thumbs circling back and forth, as he began to ponder what had happened between the Empress and Shen Lang.

Although Cao Xianzhi, Lin Yu, Li Youcai, and Lü Lin did not say it explicitly, their expressions were already telling the Empress.

They didn't believe that Shen Lang ate people either.

This brought Jiang Mengxuan a sense of relief; at least these ministers before her had the ability to distinguish right from wrong.

But the play still needs to be performed to the fullest extent.

Otherwise, Shen Lang would have taken that sword strike for nothing.

"I have made up my mind!"

Jiang Mengxuan stood up and said.

"I personally heard Shen Lang recount the cannibalistic events at Fengsui Fortress back then, and it didn't seem like a lie. However, Minister Liu's point wasn't entirely unreasonable either."

"Then the Ministry of Justice shall thoroughly investigate this case, and the results of the investigation must be reported to me immediately."

Liu Wu immediately cupped his hands in greeting: "Your subject obeys the decree."

"Furthermore, a city-wide manhunt for Shen Lang must be launched; we cannot allow him to escape from the capital!"

"Sir, obey the order!"

……

bang bang bang-

A loud knocking startled Shen Lang awake from his deep sleep.

He instinctively drew his dagger and stared intently at the door.

Before long, Chen Ba rushed to the bedside: "Brother, there are many soldiers outside the door. You go to the inner room to hide first, I will deal with them."

"Good work."

Shen Lang clutched his chest, got up, and walked into the inner room.

The knocking in the courtyard intensified, accompanied by angry curses from the soldiers.

"Open the door! It's the government investigating a case, open the door immediately!"

"Coming! What are you knocking for in the middle of the night?"

Chen Ba deliberately yawned and opened the courtyard gate.

The moment the door opened, a chilling aura rushed out.

Standing before Chen Ba were three Imperial Guards, each with a straight sword at their waist, dressed in black military uniforms, and carrying rifles on their shoulders.