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

Yang Song led Shen Lang to the warehouse where Shu brocade was stored. When the door opened, what came into view was a dense array of colorful brocade.

"Lord Zhenguo, this is where the inventory is stored. Please inspect it."

Shen Lang slowly moved his gaze in the direction of the finger, and when his gaze finally settled, a massive warehouse appeared before him.

Stepping into the separate rooms inside the warehouse, one can clearly see rows of tall and neatly arranged shelves standing there.

These shelves are filled with all kinds of silk brocades, a dazzling array that is hard to look away from.

Upon close observation of the colors and textures of those silk brocades, some exhibited vibrant and dazzling dyed fabrics, their colors as brilliant and colorful as the sunset on the horizon;

Some retain their original color fabric, simple and natural, exuding a primitive beauty.

Moreover, each piece of fabric was clearly labeled with the recipient information, making it easy to identify which merchant or which high-ranking official it belonged to, without any confusion.

Shen Lang circled around and came to a shelf with the words "Guanzhong Trading Company" written on it. He picked up a piece of blue silk and gently stroked it.

"Put it down! Who gave you permission to touch it!"

A warehouse manager in his fifties rushed forward to stop them, spreading his arms to block the shelves.

"Who are you? This silk is prepared for the great families of Guanzhong. How dare you touch it without permission!"

Seeing Shen Lang's face grow increasingly gloomy, Yang Song immediately shouted at the steward, "You, Deng Sheng, have you been drinking again? Do you know who this man is?!"

Upon hearing this, Deng Sheng's neck stiffened instantly: "I don't care who he is, the Prince has given the order."

I must strictly guard the goods from Guanzhong; no one other than a person from Guanzhong is allowed to approach them to inspect the goods.

If you're unhappy, just go and tell the Prince.

“You…” Yang Song pointed at his nose, momentarily speechless, then apologized to Shen Lang, “The country…”

"No need!"

Shen Lang stopped Yang Song from speaking and stared at Deng Sheng, whose face was serious, with a half-smile on his face.

"It's a good thing that the warehouse manager is strict; it means there won't be any petty theft or theft issues with your inventory."

He patted Yang Song on the shoulder: "If you can be so meticulous about the goods of local tyrants, you should be even more attentive to the goods of the imperial court, right?"

"Of course we should take that seriously."

Yang Song's back was covered in cold sweat, and he could only nod and agree repeatedly in response to Shen Lang's question.

"Then take me to see the imperial goods."

"it is good."

Yang Song immediately led Shen Lang to the place where the imperial silk brocade was stored.

After seeing that the person had left, Deng Sheng turned back and straightened the cloth that Shen Lang had touched.

At the same time, he muttered to himself, "What the hell, putting on such airs? This is what the prince ordered, no one is allowed to touch these brocades."

Ignoring Deng Sheng's thoughts, Shen Lang, led by Yang Song, arrived at the shelf displaying the imperial silk brocade.

"Duke Zhenguo, please look, these are the silk brocades purchased by the imperial court."

Shen Lang looked at the densely packed silk on the shelves and estimated the quantity to be around 30,000 bolts, which seemed to be far from the 60,000 bolts of silk that Yang Song had mentioned.

Moreover, the fabric color is not as vibrant as the ones I saw on the shelves in Guanzhong before.

Seeing that Shen Lang's expression was strange, Yang Song immediately shouted at the steward who was slacking off not far away: "How can you be so negligent during your duty? Hurry up and come over, the imperial court has come to inspect the goods."

Upon hearing this, the steward put down the horse token in his hand and walked over to Yang Song and Shen Lang in a few quick steps.

“Lord Zhenguo, this fellow is called Qiao Yuan, and he is the manager of this warehouse.”

After Yang Song finished his introduction, he kicked him again and said in a deep voice, "The Duke of Zhenguo wants to inspect the goods. Why aren't you bringing them over? What are you standing there for?"

As he said this, he kept giving Qiao Yuan meaningful glances.

"Yes, yes, I'll go right away."

Qiao Yuan hurriedly agreed and went to fetch the silk.

While Qiao Yuan was busy, Shen Lang took the opportunity to look around the warehouse.

Compared to the silk storage sites in Guanzhong that I saw before, the conditions here are significantly worse, with many places even covered in dust.

From this single detail, Shen Lang could already sense Jiang Chong's attitude towards the Empress.

Even now, Jiang Chong is still willing to befriend the powerful clans of Guanzhong in order to pave the way for a future rebellion.

As he pondered, Qiao Yuan brought a plate of exquisite silk to Yang Song.

Yang Song took it and handed it to Shen Lang: "Duke Zhenguo, please inspect it."

Unexpectedly, Shen Lang didn't accept the offer. Instead, he took two steps back and said to one of his attendants, "Your family has been involved in the silk business for three generations."

His Majesty has granted your family permission to accompany him this time, specifically to ensure the quality of the silk. Therefore, you should be the one to inspect it.

"Yes."

The attendant surnamed Zhen immediately stepped forward and carefully examined the silk.

Upon seeing this, Yang Song frowned and looked uncertainly at Shen Lang: "Duke Zhenguo, who is this?"

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you. This is Zhen Yi, the foremost silk merchant in Jiangnan. He has been ordered to come here to inspect the Shu brocade and also to check the progress of silk weaving on behalf of the Jiangnan folk silk merchants."

"So this is ah."

Yang Song said this, but he was becoming increasingly panicked inside.

He had a premonition that Shen Lang's inspection process might not be as simple as he thought.

At this moment, Zhen Yi touched the silk and said, "Indeed, this silk is of excellent quality, especially the embroidery, which is truly unparalleled in the world."

Hearing Zhen Yi's words, Yang Song breathed a sigh of relief and said to Shen Lang, "Duke Zhenguo, are you relieved now? It's getting late, come with me to have a meal."

He just wanted to get Shen Lang away as soon as possible, afraid that if he stayed any longer, things would change.

"No rush, I'm not hungry yet."

As a result, Shen Lang's words instantly made Yang Song's heart jump into his throat.

"Since we're here, let's take stock of the inventory here, and also have Manager Zhen select a few bolts of cloth to inspect, to see if they are the same as those in Yang Dianli's hands, so we can be more at ease."

Yang Song suddenly felt dizzy and almost fainted.

But Zhen Yi added insult to injury: "Very well, this humble subject will definitely investigate carefully."

As he spoke, he took out an abacus made of golden nanmu wood from his personal storage ring, looking as if he was about to take inventory.

Yang Song quickly said, "Why go through all this trouble, Duke Zhenguo? The supplies have already been fully registered and recorded."

"This humble servant will fetch it immediately for the Duke to see. I will then inform the Duke of Zhenguo while we eat."

After saying that, he turned around and went to get the ledger that had already been fabricated.

Unexpectedly, Shen Lang did not follow the usual procedure: "Clerk Yang, there is no need to make another trip. Since everyone is here, it is better to check in person. You don't need to bother."

Then, with a wave of his hand, he said to the attendants behind him, "You guys, cooperate with Manager Zhen to check the Shu brocade clearly."

He then said to Zhen Yi, "Manager Zhen, this is an official business for the imperial court, so you must check it carefully and not be careless in the slightest."

Otherwise, if something goes wrong and His Majesty blames me, even I, a Duke, will be held responsible.

Upon hearing this, Zhen Yi casually began calculating, brimming with confidence: "Your Excellency, Zhenguo, can rest assured. My Zhen family has been in the silk business for generations."

I started playing around with raw silk at the age of three. I may not have many other skills, but I can definitely tell the difference between good and bad silk at a glance.

"Your Excellency, please rest here. I'll clear out all the goods here in a moment."

"Alright!" Shen Lang gave him a thumbs up. "Then I'll leave everything to Manager Zhen. It's getting late, so let's get started."

At the command, everyone got to work.

Shen Lang leisurely sat down at the table and began to sip his tea while waiting for the results.

Upon witnessing this scene, Yang Song was drenched in sweat and extremely anxious, wishing he could escape this oppressive place that was driving him almost mad.