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

Snap, snap, snap——

The crisp sound of a slap echoed in the private room.

At Jiang Chong's instruction, Tian Guangqing slapped himself, putting all his strength into each slap and not daring to be careless in the slightest.

Listening to such pleasant sounds, Shen Lang picked up his wine glass and enjoyed the comfortable and pleasant moment.

Jiang Chong's face turned extremely ugly the instant the slap rang out.

It was as if the slap had landed on his own face.

After thirty slaps, Tian Guangqing's face was completely swollen like a pig's head.

The aides following behind Jiang Chong, witnessing this scene, all had the same question in their minds:

Is there really a future in following the King of Shu?

"Alright, the punishment has been given, are you satisfied now?"

Jiang Chong gritted his teeth and asked Shen Lang a question.

Shen Lang smiled faintly: "Forget it, let it be. I hope Your Highness can manage your staff well and not let those low-class people who don't even know the rules ruin your reputation."

These words not only made Tian Guangqing resentful, but also made Jiang Chong and his advisors extremely unhappy.

"Is he implying that all my subordinates are second-rate?"

Is he looking down on us?

Ignoring what those idiots were thinking, Shen Lang said directly to Jiang Chong, "Alright, Your Highness, let's put these trivial matters aside for now. What do you want to discuss with me?"

Jiang Chong narrowed his eyes: "What is it? Hmph, do I need to spell it out for you?"

"Your Highness is joking." Shen Lang put down his wine cup. "You hosted the banquet, and now you're asking me what I need? How would I know what I need?"

Seeing Shen Lang's feigned ignorance, Jiang Chong narrowed his eyes: "Stop pretending. You know why I've summoned you today."

Just tell me straight, what do you want in order for me to take all the goods?

Shen Lang leaned back strategically: "Your Highness, that's not a fair thing to say. If the goods are all of excellent quality, I wouldn't be able to refuse them even if I wanted to, wouldn't you say?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chong clapped his hands.

Soon, two maids carrying wooden boxes entered from outside the door.

"Ah."

Jiang Chong pondered for a moment, then gestured for the two women to place the items in front of Shen Lang.

Upon opening, one could see two wooden boxes containing a total of twelve brightly colored jade beads.

“These twelve jade beads are each worth at least 100,000 taels of silver. You can take them to Southeast Asia to exchange for them at any time. As long as you don’t get involved in the weaving workshop, they will all be yours.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang looked at the twelve beads and couldn't help but smile: "Your Highness is truly generous."

Then he picked up a bead, glanced at it, and muttered to himself, "Back when I served in the army in Bingzhou, I didn't receive a single penny of military pay."

Later, after being promoted to military commander, I finally received a monthly salary of six taels of silver. That one bead is something I could never earn in my entire life.

Unexpectedly, the prince casually pulled out a gift to win people over. Sigh, it's truly infuriating to compare oneself to others.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chong couldn't help but sneer inwardly: This country bumpkin has never seen the world; even a change of clothes can't hide his lowly aura.

But the next moment, Shen Lang suddenly asked, "Your Highness, wouldn't you call this bribery?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the private room was stunned.

Shen Lang continued, "According to the official laws of the Great Chu, accepting bribes exceeding five hundred liang is punishable by death."

These twelve beads are so numerous that even if I had a hundred heads, I wouldn't have enough to chop them off, so..."

As he spoke, he put the bead back into the box and shook his head: "I still prefer my head to be on my neck."

"Shen Lang! Don't push your luck!"

His actions thoroughly enraged Jiang Chong.

"I've already given you a way out, so you'd better not be ungrateful."

Shen Lang sneered and quietly looked at Jiang Chong, whose face was flushed: "Speak, Your Highness, what exactly are you planning to do? All this is pointless."

Jiang Chong: "As long as you turn a blind eye to the matter of the weaving workshop, I will not treat you unfairly."

"Does Your Highness mean I should deceive the Emperor?"

"Shen Lang, my patience is limited. You'd better not push your luck."

"Then, Your Highness, how do you think I should return to His Majesty and explain myself?"

"That depends on your abilities. Aren't you very capable? You managed to subdue that scheming woman. I believe you're a smart man and will naturally know what to do!"

"Your Highness, this puts me in a very difficult position by letting me deceive the emperor like this."

The two men stood at the table, locked in a heated argument, seemingly ready to fight at the slightest provocation.

Finally, Jiang Chong's eyes turned cold: "It's difficult, isn't it? Well, let me give you a hint: just send those goods you looked at yesterday to the palace as usual."

Shen Lang chuckled: "Those inferior goods, let alone those used by the imperial court, would be looked down upon even by some wealthy families in the common world. How could Your Highness dare to offer such a wonderful and profound suggestion?"

Jiang Chong also laughed: "Shen Lang, I'm putting my words here today: you have to accept those silk brocades, whether you like it or not."

"Is Your Highness planning to force a sale?" Shen Lang's eyes gradually turned cold. "If that's what you're thinking, then I can tell you clearly..."

I won't accept a single one of those goods. The prince must honor the agreement and pay at least five times the amount in damages for breach of contract.

"impossible!"

Jiang Chong slammed his hand on the table and stood up, shouting loudly.

"Now that the deal is done, we have to continue. You have to take these goods, whether you want them or not!"

Shen Lang crossed his arms and watched him go crazy with a cold expression.

"Shen Lang, you need to be sensible. I'm a generous man, and as long as you do as I say, I will definitely not treat you unfairly."

But if you oppose me, your fate will be dire. This is not an exaggeration.

I, a prince of Shu, certainly have the power to make someone disappear from the world!

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of martial arts guards rushed into the private room and surrounded everyone at the table.

Shen Lang deliberately feigned helplessness: "Your Highness, what do you mean by this?"

"What do you mean? Hmph." Jiang Chong thought he had the victory in his grasp. "Shen Lang, I've already given you enough face by coming to see you in person today, yet you still dare to put on airs for me?"

I'll ask you one last time, are you going to accept those goods or not?

Shen Lang smiled slightly: "Your Highness, why bother? Everything can be discussed. Quickly have everyone leave; this is rather frightening."

Jiang Chong narrowed his eyes: "So you're afraid now? I thought you didn't care about anything, but it seems the rumors aren't true."

"Your Highness knows that's just a rumor. I'm just a nobody; there's nothing so mysterious about me."

"Let me tell you, I've seen plenty of people like you. Stop pretending; that won't work on me."

Thinking that Shen Lang had given in and admitted defeat, Jiang Chong immediately looked smug.

"Your Highness, how about this? I'll pretend I didn't know anything about this batch of goods and accept it as qualified for now."

But we can't leave the remaining silk like this; otherwise, we really won't be able to explain it to His Majesty."

Jiang Chong: "Of course, I am not an unreasonable person."

The remaining silk will definitely be made from the finest raw silk; this shipment was a last resort due to unforeseen circumstances.

Shen Lang: "Now that Your Highness has made things clear, we can discuss this further. Please rest assured, Your Highness, I know what to do."

"Humph."

Having achieved his goal, Jiang Chong immediately got up and left, unwilling to stay with Shen Lang for even a moment longer, for fear of being tainted by his vulgarity.

"Your Highness, please take care."

After Jiang Chong left, Shen Lang wiped the smile off his face, chuckled, picked up the wine glass on the table, and shouted.

"Shopkeeper!"

Immediately, someone ran into the private room.

"What can I do for you, sir?"

Shen Lang pointed to the untouched dishes on the table: "Pack up all the food on this table and send it to the Xingyuan Guanxuan. Wasting food is truly shameful."