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

"Lord Zhenguo, fish!"

Holding the fat fish, Ye Fan, ignoring the embarrassment of his scholar's robe being soaked through, excitedly knelt before Shen Lang, his face full of obsequiousness.

This scene caused Qingwen, who was serving nearby, to frown slightly.

"Prime Minister Ye is known for his composure and integrity, yet this Third Young Master Ye is someone who commands such attention..."

Jiang Chaoyun and Mu Qingqiu share the same view.

"Xiao Jiang, you know the capital better than I do. Is this Ye Fan really a descendant of the Ye family?"

"If there's even the slightest hint of falsehood, I'll call you my own mother, okay?"

"That fawning expression is so creepy! Even if you're begging for an official position, there's no need to be so servile."

"Who knows? He was able to bribe even the Jingwei Division, so he must not be very bright. Now that I think about it, it's not so incomprehensible that he would do something like that in the Ministry of Justice."

The two of them talked back and forth, and their preconceived notions about Ye Fan were thus etched into their minds, probably never to be changed.

Shen Lang stared blankly at Ye Fan for a long time before finally taking the fish from his hand and throwing it directly on the ground.

Watching the white fish swaying and thrashing on the wooden board, Ye Fan didn't immediately understand what it meant when he heard Shen Lang's voice enter his ears.

"Speak, what do you want from me after going to such lengths to see me?"

Ye Fan hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting: "Duke Zhenguo, I humbly request that you grant me another chance to enter officialdom!"

Shen Lang asked directly, "You were dismissed from your post less than two days after joining the Ministry of Justice. How can I give you a chance after that?"

Is it because you think the rank of physician is too low and are deliberately giving me the cold shoulder, or do you think the Chu court is too small to accommodate someone as important as you?

Ye Fan's cheek twitched, and he lowered his head to reply, "I absolutely had no such intention. It was my desire to improve myself that led me to break the rules. I beg the Duke of Zhenguo to give me another chance."

Shen Lang closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly asked, "Then tell me, what can you do?"

Ye Fan: "I will do anything to keep me by the side of the Duke of Zhenguo."

Shen Lang's eyes narrowed: "You can do anything?"

Ye Fan replied confidently, "I can do anything!"

"Alright," Shen Lang replied directly, "The palace is short of a three-legged golden toad. Can you find one for me?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Fan's expression changed, but he lowered his head and dared not lash out.

Shen Lang continued, "What, you don't want to go find it? You think it's shameful? Then do something a decent person should do."

Northern Yan has been invaded by barbarian tribes, and the borders of Great Chu are crowded with refugees from foreign lands. Can you properly resettle them and resolve this major threat to the court?

Upon hearing this, Ye Fan remained silent.

In his understanding, since they were foreign refugees, they should just be killed directly; there was no need for proper resettlement.

Of course, he's not stupid. If he were to say that answer, he would definitely be ridiculed, and he might even lose more luck points.

Seeing that he remained silent, Shen Lang continued to ask:

"The flames of war between the Song and Jin dynasties have reignited, and the Jin army has amassed troops on the north bank of the Bian River. Can you persuade the Jin army to withdraw and allow the Song dynasty to escape danger?"

Ye Fan remained silent.

"The Three-Page Island and other islands in the South Seas have been occupied by foreign powers led by the Li Kingdom. Can you take them back?"

Ye Fan lowered his head even further, remaining silent.

The islands in the South China Sea are gone, so be it. The imperial court has never cared about them anyway, so why bring them up?

Shen Lang glanced at him and said, "It seems we can't count on you for external matters. So, I'll assign you some light administrative duties."

The entire territory of Xiliang has just been recovered, and Guanzhong urgently needs to expand a railway line. You are tasked with designing a detailed railway map to ensure smooth transportation between cities in Guanzhong. Can you do it?

Ye Fan was silent.

“Wu Di Manor needs to upgrade its production capacity and replace its existing traditional farming tools. How long will it take you to convince the villagers?”

Ye Fan remained silent.

"A large-scale rebellion has broken out among the natives in the Luchuan colonial area. Can you protect the interests of the local Chu merchants and mediate the conflict with the natives?"

Ye Fan remained silent, but he was already drenched in sweat as he watched.

He was incapable of completing any of the tasks assigned by Shen Lang.

This seemed different from what he had imagined. Back in the Prince's mansion, as long as he could offer advice and offer his opinions on the state of the country, he could gain a great deal of recognition.

He thought that once he arrived in the capital, it would be the same, and he would rely on his wisdom and resourcefulness to gradually reach the pinnacle of the dynasty.

However, to everyone's surprise, Shen Lang was a materialist warrior who only looked at results and not empty promises. If you wanted to advocate something, you had to do it; if you couldn't, you were fired. It was that simple and brutal.

The State of Chu now needs people who can get things done. The days when you could get an official position just by relying on your impassioned rhetoric and some literary talent are long gone.

Ye Fan's schemes and tricks won't get him a high position, at least not with Shen Lang.

Seeing that Ye Fan remained silent, Shen Lang snorted softly, "You're no good at handling external affairs, and you're no good at handling internal affairs either. You even refused to go to the lower levels for training. What can you do? How can I entrust you with important responsibilities?"

Ye Fan raised his head, cupped his hands, and replied, "I have kept every word of what the Duke of Zhenguo said in mind. However, I would like to ask the Duke of Zhenguo to teach me how to be an official, for the sake of my father!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang remained silent for a long while before suddenly chuckling softly.

"Alright, I'm going to the Song Kingdom to discuss business in a few days. You'll come with me and be given the position of Deputy Commander. We'll see how you perform."

Upon hearing this, Ye Fan immediately thanked him loudly, "Thank you, Duke Zhenguo!"

After saying that, he slammed his head on the wooden plank at Shen Lang's feet.

Looking at his obsequious manner, Shen Lang felt only inexplicable disgust.

"Disappointing, I'm leaving."

He cast his fishing rod aside and got up to leave.

Before leaving, she seemed to remember something and turned back to Ye Fan, saying, "Oh, by the way, if you like that fish, you can have it."

Ye Fan: "Thank you for the fish, Duke Zhenguo!"

Shen Lang took the cloak from Qingwen, fastened it, and added, "I don't want fish that other people have touched."

After leaving those words behind, Shen Lang's figure had already disappeared into the distance.

Li Jing, Mu Qingqiu, Jiang Chaoyun, and their group also traveled together.

Only when the footsteps around him faded into the distance did Ye Fan raise his head, his face pale.

"Ah."

Looking at the large fish still struggling on the shore, Ye Fan let out a cold snort, his eyes filled with resentment.

It wasn't that he was willing to curry favor with Shen Lang; if possible, he even planned to kill Shen Lang directly, then kill the Empress as well, seize the Great Chu's foundation, and establish himself as emperor.

But on the night he was dismissed, he spent 100 luck points and, after seeing the current fortune of the Chu Kingdom, he gave up the idea.

The current fortune of the Chu Kingdom is over 900,000, while I only have a little over 20,000.

When he first saw this data, he couldn't believe it and thought several times that the system had malfunctioned.

But the system clearly told him that the data was correct and that the Chu Kingdom's fortune points were still rising.

This gave Ye Fan a strong sense of powerlessness for the first time. At his current pace of acquiring luck, it would be at least fifty years before he would have the opportunity to reach this level.

Therefore, if he were to make a move at this time, he would have absolutely no chance of winning. He could only choose to endure and submit in this way, and wait until he gained the trust of everyone in the court before slowly making his move.

The most urgent task is to kill Ye Mo and seize the destiny from the Chu Kingdom.

Following Shen Lang is the best option to find Ye Mo.