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

"What do you mean by that? Am I not as good as my elder sister?"

"Not even close."

Upon receiving Shen Lang's decisive reply, Jiang Yue's composure instantly crumbled.

"In what way am I inferior to her? Explain yourself!"

The atmosphere in the room instantly turned icy, and Jiang Yue's voice lingered in the air like a vengeful ghost.

Shen Lang coldly replied, "What makes someone who spends all day imitating others compare to others?"

Jiang Yue was stunned for a moment, then murmured, "What did you say? What did I imitate?"

Shen Lang pointed to the surroundings of the palace and said, "Looking at the layout here, it's clearly based on your mother's impression of the imperial palace."

And you call yourself "朕" (the imperial "I"), which naturally imitates your sister. Everything you do—clothing, food, housing, and transportation—is an imitation of others. Don't you have any individuality of your own?

Jiang Yue was stunned, staring blankly at Shen Lang.

Shen Lang continued, "However, no matter how well you imitate, even if it's perfectly realistic, a fake is still a fake."

It will never become real; why dwell on things that don't belong to you?

Jiang Yue was furious upon hearing this: "You're talking nonsense! That's not how it is! That's not how it is! My mother told me that as long as I can imitate her perfectly, I can completely replace her!"

That throne should have belonged to me, yes, that's right, it should have belonged to me. Everything she has belongs to me.

I am the supreme ruler, sitting in the palace, commanding all under heaven, making everyone submit to me and obey my will.

The next moment, she looked at Shen Lang with a sudden, manic expression.

"You are mine too. Even if you help me ascend the throne, you will still be the son-in-law of the Great Chu Emperor."

I will spoil you even more than my sister, and give you more wealth and luxury.

Even if I have more imperial consorts, I will still give you the position of empress.

Shen Lang shook his head. From Jiang Yue's expression at this moment, he could tell that Jiang Yue seemed to have an irreconcilable paranoid personality.

In layman's terms, it's mental illness.

"Forget it, there's no point in saying more. I can barely take care of myself right now, how can I care about so much?"

After Shen Lang finished speaking, he prepared to get up.

"Heavenly Venerable, you didn't call me here tonight just for these things, did you? If so, I'll head back now."

"Don't leave! I haven't finished speaking!"

Jiang Yue, looking frantic, flashed and grabbed Shen Lang's clothes.

"what are you doing?"

"What can I do? My mother told me that I can steal anything that belongs to that vile woman."

Now I can have her man too. Come, consummate our marriage. I allow you to plant your seed in my womb.

After I'm born, I'll bring me to my older sister and make her jealous, hahaha!

Shen Lang flung her hand away: "Heavenly Venerable, I advise you to calm down. How can you accept something your sister doesn't want? How disgusting!"

These words struck Jiang Yue like a thunderbolt, leaving her feeling dejected.

"Things she doesn't want? Yes, why would I want things she doesn't want? Why?"

Seemingly shocked by her beliefs, Jiang Yue suddenly clutched her head, squatted down in pain, and muttered to herself.

Looking at her figure and beauty, which were almost identical to Jiang Mengxuan's, Shen Lang couldn't muster any interest at all.

So-called "stand-in literature" seems to be immune to its own actions.

Suddenly, Jiang Yue stood up again, regaining her composure, and quietly looked at Shen Lang.

"I have summoned you today for another important matter. Shen Lang, you have no way out. Whether you are a spy sent by the Empress or not is irrelevant."

The important point is that from the moment you stepped into the North, all levels of government there have regarded you as a traitor, and there's no turning back.

Shen Lang said nonchalantly, "If you still think of me that way, then there's nothing I can do. Of course, I'm still confident in my cultivation level."

Kill me? It's not as easy as you think.

Jiang Yue: "You certainly have guts. What a pity that the Empress would be willing to give up someone like you?"

Shen Lang: "What emperors value most is power; emotions are merely a dispensable seasoning."

"Humph."

Jiang Yue flicked her phoenix sleeves and then turned around.

"As long as you can sincerely assist me in ascending the throne, I will certainly not treat you poorly. After I bring my sister down from the throne, I will hand her over to you for disposal, how about that?"

"Not interested," Shen Lang replied. "Right now, all I want is to save my life. Whoever tries to harm me, I'll make sure they die first."

Jiang Yue: "Remember your current thoughts. Do not betray me. You absolutely cannot bear the wrath of the Heavenly Venerable."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang instinctively felt the urge to directly eliminate Jiang Yue.

But he still managed to hold back.

First, given the strength Jiang Yue has demonstrated, I'm not entirely confident I can kill her with a single blow.

Secondly, her true strength behind the scenes has not yet been revealed.

Third, the whereabouts of his wife's biological mother need to be traced by Jiang Yue.

"Please rest assured, Heavenly Venerable, we are all in the same boat now, we share the same fate."

"Ah."

Jiang Yue nodded in satisfaction.

"You go down first."

Shen Lang turned and left.

As soon as he left, Jiang Yue immediately ordered, "Bring all those good-for-nothings here! I want them to serve me in bed!"

……

Back in his room, Shen Lang began to process all the information he had received.

The wife's biological mother is not dead, but her whereabouts are unknown. This is related to a case from twenty years ago.

Jiang Yue's trump card has not been fully revealed, and the information he has obtained is still too scarce.

After much thought, there are still too many doubts that need to be analyzed and reasoned out. For now, there is no better way than to continue to lie low.

The next morning, Shen Lang was awakened by a noisy commotion.

Upon opening the door, one sees a vast expanse of white snow, upon which lie more than a dozen headless corpses.

Each corpse was covered in blood and gore from being stabbed with sharp iron objects, making it impossible to look at them directly.

Shen Lang could tell at a glance that these were all Jiang Yue's handiwork, and he also realized from the side that his judgment was correct.

Jiang Yue suffers from an extremely serious mental illness.

If what she said last night is true, then the cause of this illness is very likely due to the education she received from the Yu family.

Imagine a resentful woman filled with prejudice; she would surely instill hatred in her children from a young age.

But none of that matters. What matters is finding out where the entrance to Blackwater City is.

As everyone was pointing and talking about the corpses, Jin Yuanhao strode up to them and said, "We have distinguished guests visiting today. By order of the Heavenly Venerable, we are to convene a meeting in the main hall at noon."

……

On the other side, Zhuque traveled day and night, leaving the Puzhou camp and heading straight to Qingzhou, finally arriving in Qingzhou territory.

As she rode her horse through the gates of Pingyuan County, all eyes fell on her.

Zhuque dismounted nonchalantly and led the horse to a tavern.

As soon as she entered the room, a waiter greeted her warmly, "Heroine, what would you like to order? We have everything in our tavern."

Zhuque: "Warm a pot of wine and have a few side dishes."

"Okay, please have a seat, I'll be right there."

After giving a greeting, the waiter immediately went to get busy.

Zhuque casually found a seat and sat down, glancing around the tavern.

He then realized that all the people sitting at the tables around him were martial artists, all looking at him with strange expressions.

Before long, the waiter brought several dishes and a pot of hot wine to the table.

"Please enjoy your meal, lady."

The waiter put down the food and drinks and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Suddenly, Zhuque let out a deep shout.

The waiter paused, then turned around with a smile: "Is there anything else you need, lady?"

The next moment, Zhuque picked up a bowl of freshly poured wine and brought it to his lips.

"Drink it."

"what?"

The waiter's expression changed instantly.

Meanwhile, the martial artists observing from all sides quietly placed their hands on the table where the weapons were placed.