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

The next morning, while Li Ye was gathering people at the Prince's Mansion to raid the Yi family, Shen Lang brought the entire Yi family, young and old, to the gate of the Prince's Mansion.

Looking at the dejected Yi family members in front of him, Li Ye felt as if his mind was about to explode, and he couldn't utter a single word.

"Lord Li, the matter has been taken care of for you. Are you satisfied?"

Shen Lang's question pulled Li Ye back to reality from his reverie.

"Duke Zhenguo, was it you who caused the commotion last night?"

"if not?"

Shen Lang countered with a question, then added sarcastically, "Furthermore, the Dongzhou troops who were causing trouble outside the city have all retreated, and the prefecture is now safe and sound."

You can rest easy and don't need to worry about the King of Shu returning to offend you. You can continue to be his dog and fawn over him.

I wish you, Lord Li, a smooth and successful career.

After saying that, Shen Lang turned around and left with a sullen face.

"Lord Zhenguo, please wait."

Li Ye quickly stepped forward to stop Shen Lang.

"What else do you want?"

"Lord Zhenguo, I thank you for your help in quelling the unrest in the capital. On behalf of the Prince and the people of the capital, I thank you, Lord Zhenguo."

After saying this, Li Ye bowed deeply to Shen Lang.

Shen Lang watched his performance with a cold face the whole time, without offering to help him up or saying any polite words.

After Li Ye stood up, Shen Lang's mocking voice came again: "Lord Li has quite the nerve, actually daring to represent the Prince's Mansion and all the people of the manor?"

Do you think that my punishment of the Yi family and my appeasement of the Dongzhou troops are helping you?

Li Ye bowed his head and replied, "This humble official would not dare to think that way."

"Then what do you dare to think about?"

Shen Lang stepped forward and said coldly in his ear.

"Yi family, I've taken care of everything for you. I've also quelled the soldiers' wage riots, and I've stabilized grain prices in Sichuan for you as well."

If you had any sense at all, you would know your own predicament and understand why I, the Emperor of Great Chu, would step in to help you.

Even a dog that's fed should wag its tail, but what about you, Lord Li? How do you plan to repay me?

Li Ye lowered his head and remained silent. Shen Lang's words were like a sharp knife, piercing straight into his heart.

"Let me tell you, Shu Commandery is not under Jiang Chong's control. The imperial court granted Jiang Chong this fiefdom so that he could serve the court, not so that he could raise an army and rebel here!"

"You, Li Ye, were once from a prestigious family, yet you still can't see through such a simple truth?"

Li Ye wanted to say something, but after opening his mouth, he ultimately couldn't utter a single word.

"Alright, if you can't handle the affairs of the capital, then don't! I will properly handle the personnel in the Dongzhou military camp."

"Don't expect to take a single penny of the money and grain confiscated from the Yi family's estate. Just manage this manor for your prince."

After saying that, Shen Lang walked right past him and strode away.

Watching Shen Lang's departing figure, Li Ye could only sigh silently.

"Guards, take Yi Wancheng and his entire family into custody!"

All he can do now is convict Yi Wancheng.

Two days later, Jiang Chong, accompanied by over a thousand personal guards and led by Cao Meng, finally returned to the outskirts of the capital city, weary from his journey.

"After two months of marching, I have finally returned. I wonder what the situation is like in the manor now."

Looking at the outline of the capital city in the distance, Jiang Chong was filled with emotion.

Cao Meng said, "Your Highness should enter the city as soon as possible. I'm afraid that Li Ye and Shen Lang will collude and seize the capital, which would be troublesome."

"As long as those hundreds of thousands of Dongzhou soldiers are still there, if Li Ye really dared to have any disloyal thoughts, he would probably have already lost his head by now."

Jiang Chong said with great confidence.

"I hope he won't betray me. After all, I've been so good to him. He shouldn't do something so heartless."

After saying that, he spurred his horse and galloped straight into the city.

At noon, upon learning that Jiang Chong had returned to the mansion, Li Ye immediately came to greet him.

"Your humble servant Li Ye greets Your Highness!"

In the past few days, Jiang Chong has lost a lot of weight, clearly exhausted from the affairs in the city and the Dongzhou military camp.

Looking at Li Ye kneeling before him, still with a submissive expression, Jiang Chong suppressed his anger and raised his hand, saying, "Get up first."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After Li Ye stood up, Jiang Chong asked directly, "What could have happened in the city during the two months I was away?"

Li Ye replied, "Your Highness, indeed many things have happened."

"Oh? What's wrong? Tell me about it."

"Commander-in-Chief Lin Xuan'an was drunk and negligent in his duties in the army, which led to a fire in the granary of the Dongzhou camp, and 2.6 million shi of grain were completely burned to the ground."

"What did you say?"

Jiang Chong and Cao Meng exclaimed in surprise almost simultaneously.

"When did this happen?!"

Cao Meng pressed for an answer, a hint of panic flashing across his face.

Because Lin Xuan'an was someone he had arranged, and now that such a big thing has happened, he is afraid he can't escape responsibility.

He glanced at Jiang Chong with some nervousness.

Fortunately, Jiang Chong didn't seem to care about him for the time being, his tiger-like eyes fixed on Li Ye without looking away for even a second.

"On the second night after General Cao transported grain to the front line, Lin Xuan'an ignored the repeated advice of his generals and drank too much, causing the granary to catch fire."

"Where is Lin Xuan'an?!" Jiang Chong screamed in anguish, "I will tear him to pieces to vent my hatred!"

Li Ye: "The person is being held in the Prince's mansion."

"Bring him up!"

After shouting, Jiang Chong sat down on the desk, his chest heaving with anger.

Cao Meng remained silent and stayed by his side.

He was secretly plotting how to distance himself from the situation.

When the Prince's government went to the dungeon to arrest Lin Xuan'an, Jiang Chong asked urgently, "How did you handle the fire at the granary?"

Li Ye replied, "This is the second matter I wanted to discuss. Upon learning of the destruction of the granary, I immediately tried to suppress the news, but unfortunately, word still leaked out."

To stabilize morale, I consulted with Yi Wancheng and asked him to donate some grain to the granary to alleviate the immediate crisis.

Unexpectedly, Yi Wancheng used rice sacks filled with yellow soil as military rations, causing unrest among the troops and nearly leading to a major disaster.

His entire family has now been searched and confiscated, and he is being held in the Prince's Palace prison awaiting his fate.

"Yi Wancheng! He dares to betray me, how despicable!"

Jiang Chong slammed his hand on the table.

"I personally nurtured him to become the richest man in Shu, and this is how he repays me?"

"I will have him executed by slow slicing!"

While venting his anger, Lin Xuan'an, covered in wounds, was brought before Jiang Chong.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Upon seeing Jiang Chong, Lin Xuan'an immediately burst into tears.

"It is my fault that I have wronged you. Please forgive me this time. I will never dare to do it again!"

Shut up! You beast!

Jiang Chong rushed forward and delivered two crisp slaps to Lin Xuan'an's face.

"I've told you a thousand times not to drink, not to drink, but you've ignored me, haven't you?"

"You like drinking, don't you? Fine, then I'll let you drink your fill!"

Jiang Chong beckoned to the guards: "You, take this lawless beast to the wine vat in the backyard and let him drink his fill!"

"Your Highness, spare me! Spare me, Your Highness! Please, for all these years I've worked hard, even if I haven't achieved anything great, please give me another chance! I beg you, Your Highness!"

No matter how loudly Lin Xuan'an begged for mercy, Jiang Chong decided not to let him go this time.