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

"Tell me, what are your thoughts on this?"

Upon entering the study, Jiang Chong slammed the account book on the table and asked without turning his head.

Yang Song: "Your Highness, things have come to this point, and it's no longer something a lowly official like myself can control."

Judging from the Duke of Zhenguo's attitude, he is clearly determined to pursue this matter to the end.

"In my humble opinion, Your Highness, it would be better if you personally negotiated with Zhenguo Gong."

"You want me, a prince, to lower myself to a commoner? Yang Song! Do you even know where you are?!"

Jiang Chong almost went berserk on the spot when he heard this.

He himself was a member of the Jiang royal family, the brother of the current empress, and he was begging a commoner for mercy.

Thinking of this, he wished he could tear Yang Song to pieces.

Suppressing his fear, Yang Song calmly replied, "Your Highness, if you don't step in, what will happen to the inventory piling up in the warehouse?"

"What should we do? If the palace doesn't accept them, will these Shu brocades just go unsold?"

"Your Highness, if the Duke of Zhenguo does not accept these Shu brocades, not only will the palace orders be canceled, but also the orders from the common people and even the orders from merchants in Guanzhong will be canceled."

"What did you say?"

"Besides that, Your Highness will also have to pay a large amount of liquidated damages. Are you really planning to do that?"

With a single sentence, Yang Song directly gave Jiang Chong a red-hot drink.

"Holy crap..."

Enraged, he grabbed the ledger and smashed it over Yang Song's head.

Yang Song instinctively dodged, preventing the ledger from hitting his head.

"Is he trying to threaten me?"

"Your Highness, please calm down. It's best not to start a conflict with the Duke of Zhenguo right now."

After all, it was indeed my Shu region that was at fault in this matter…

"What did you say? Wrong? What did I do wrong?"

Jiang Chong looked at Yang Song with disbelief.

"I produced the cloth according to the agreement; have I been negligent in the slightest? How is it still my fault!"

Yang Song forced a smile and replied, "Your Highness's mistake was that you took the silk brocade that should have been supplied to His Majesty and put it into the inventory of the powerful clans in Guanzhong."

It is even more unacceptable to pass off inferior goods as superior ones to deceive the Duke of Zhenguo. In my humble opinion, it was to be expected that the Duke of Zhenguo would be furious upon seeing this.

If he doesn't offer any response, then I'll find it strange. So, Your Highness, before the Duke of Zhenguo completely breaks off relations, you should go and talk to him.

After all, he is, after all, the Emperor of Great Chu, the current Emperor's husband. Your avoidance of him is a slap in the face to His Majesty.

"What if...what if someone with malicious intent stirs up trouble before His Majesty? It will still be you, Your Highness, who will suffer."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chong gradually calmed down.

"Very well, I will go and meet this good brother-in-law. Tell him that I will host a banquet for him at Songhelou Restaurant tomorrow."

"Yes, Your Excellency will inform the Duke of Zhenguo immediately."

Yang Song finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, the burden on his head was lifted. No matter how things develop from now on, it will be a problem between Jiang Chong and Shen Lang, and he can finally stay out of it.

……

The following day at noon, in a private room on the third floor of Songhelou Restaurant, Shen Lang stood by the window, looking at the bustling scene of the city.

He had been there for half an hour and had not seen Jiang Chong since.

Clearly, Jiang Chong was deliberately making things difficult for him.

"With this kind of mentality, it's easy to understand why the late emperor chose his wife instead of this guy. He has no vision and acts impulsively. If the Chu Kingdom were to fall into his hands, it would be doomed sooner or later."

About fifteen minutes later, Jiang Chong finally arrived late.

Shen Lang heard the noise behind him, but did not turn around for a long time.

Since you don't give me face, I won't give you face either.

If you have the guts, try hurting each other and see who's afraid of whom.

"Duke Zhenguo, the Prince has arrived! Why aren't you coming to greet him?"

To demonstrate his loyalty to Jiang Chong, one of the staff members immediately started yelling at Shen Lang.

Jiang Chong, on the other hand, was quite pleased with himself and sat down in the main seat.

"Who are you?"

Shen Lang didn't turn around, but simply asked a question.

"I am Tian Guangqing, a staff member of the Prince's mansion and the Duke of Zhenguo. Your Highness's visit and your failure to greet him is surely disrespectful to Your Highness."

Tian Guangqing arrogantly flicked his sleeves, displaying an air of absolute confidence and certainty of victory.

So you don't hold an official rank right now?

The next question stumped Tian Guangqing.

"Since you have no official rank, who gave you the audacity to speak so recklessly in front of the Duke of Zhenguo? According to the laws of the Great Chu, what is the punishment for someone without rank who verbally offends a person of noble rank?"

"You and I……"

Tian Guangqing was at a loss for words when asked the question.

Seeing his advisors suffer a loss, Jiang Chong frowned and was about to speak up in defense.

Shen Lang turned to look at him and said, "Your Highness, as a prince and the emperor's brother, how should you deal with your subordinates' violation of the laws of the Great Chu?"

Jiang Chong didn't know how to answer for a moment.

This was the first time he had a formal face-to-face interaction with Shen Lang, and also the first time he had witnessed Shen Lang's temperament.

"Alright, let's get down to business. Sit down."

Jiang Chong wanted to gloss over the matter by being vague, saying that it could be a big deal or a small deal, and there was no need to dwell on it.

However, it was clear that Shen Lang was determined to see this through to the end.

"Your Highness, your advisors have dared to offend the Duke of the court; are you simply going to let this go?"

Jiang Chong frowned: "Why are you so hung up on this?"

Shen Lang: "It's not that I want to pursue this matter, but if we don't, others will follow suit."

Then what's the point of the Great Chu Official Laws, and what's the point of the existence of these titles?

Jiang Chong frowned and looked at Tian Youwei.

Tian Guangqing was already flustered after hearing Shen Lang's words, and now that he saw Jiang Chong looking at him, he panicked even more.

"I... I was merely asking the Duke of Zhenguo to receive His Highness on behalf of the Prince. According to the etiquette of the Great Chu official ranks, shouldn't the Duke of Zhenguo bow to His Highness?"

"I am naturally aware that I should greet Your Highness, but Your Highness has not spoken yet, so why should someone of no rank like you speak?"

Besides, today is a banquet hosted by His Highness to receive this Duke. All arrangements are naturally made by His Highness; what business is it of a mere staff member like you?"

Shen Lang glanced at him with disdain, then looked at Jiang Chong: "Your Highness, your staff is not up to par. They are too unrestrained. If this gets to His Majesty's ears, it will be difficult to say anything."

Jiang Chongya was furious; Shen Lang was truly a vengeful person.

"You're right, so what should we do?"

"According to the official laws of the Great Chu, any unranked commoner who speaks offensively to an official shall be slapped thirty times as a warning to others."

Upon hearing this, not only Tian Guangqing but also Jiang Chong's expression changed.

"Your Majesty, I..."

Tian Guangqing quickly turned his pleading gaze to Jiang Chong.

If he were slapped thirty times in public, he would lose face big time. How would he ever be able to hold his head up in front of his colleagues again?

Jiang Chong clenched his fist and asked Shen Lang in a cold voice, "Are you really going to punish him?"

Shen Lang calmly replied, "Is Your Highness trying to protect your own?"

In short, it completely blocked all escape routes.

"good very good!"

Jiang Chong took a deep breath and suddenly shouted at Tian Guangqing, "Look what you've done! Why don't you slap yourself? Do you want me to do it myself?"