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

"Fan'er..."

A fragrant breeze wafted by, and before anyone could react, the woman, as beautiful as a fairy, had already thrown herself into Ye Fan's arms.

The emperor and his ministers in the main hall were all dumbfounded when they saw this scene.

"Master, you..."

"Fan'er, I miss you so much..."

The woman was Ye Fan's master, Fairy Langyue, and also his cultivation partner.

Langyue raised her head, gazing at Ye Fan with tender affection, her face flushed and filled with resentment.

"Fan'er, you look haggard. You must have suffered a lot during this time. If I had known, I shouldn't have let you go down the mountain in the first place. I should have stayed by your side to take care of you."

"You know what? I was so happy to receive your letter. I didn't hesitate to come see you right away."

"We can finally be together day and night again, and we'll never be apart again."

As she spoke, she hugged Ye Fan tightly again.

This scene left all the civil and military officials in the hall speechless, and some busybodies immediately turned their faces away, cursing the refined scoundrels in their hearts.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Xianwu immediately coughed twice.

Ye Fan then realized that this was happening during a court assembly, and such a scene was disrespectful to the nation. He immediately pushed Lang Yue away and said, "Master, please don't do this, in public..."

Unexpectedly, Langyue misunderstood Ye Fan's meaning, and her eyes immediately welled up with tears. She said with a slight sob, "Fan'er, are you disgusted with your teacher? It's only been a few months since we last met, and you've already become so distant from your teacher."

Ye Fan glanced around and quickly said, "Master, please don't misunderstand, we are in the imperial court now."

As a result, Langyue said something surprising: "So what if it's the imperial court? Can it stop me from meeting Fan'er? If Fan'er finds them an eyesore, I'll just send them away."

Ye Fan: "Master, so many people are watching, what should we do..."

"Fan'er, I miss you so much. If it's really too much, can we find a secluded place to have a good talk? Really, I really miss you..."

Seeing Langyue's face flushed red, Ye Fan couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Langyue rarely ventured into the martial world and was completely ignorant of human relationships and social customs.

"Master..."

"Fan'er, do you want your teacher to suffer alone?"

Ye Fan couldn't help but swallow, and just as he was wondering how to persuade Lang Yue, Zhou Xianwu spoke up.

"Imperial Censor Ye, what kind of behavior is this? In front of everyone, including the officials and the Emperor, how can you do such a scandalous thing!"

Just as Ye Fan was about to explain, a white chain suddenly flew out from Lang Yue's sleeve and wrapped around Zhou Xianwu's neck.

Zhou Xianwu suddenly felt a strong sense of suffocation, and dizziness washed over him like a tidal wave.

Langyue's eyes were filled with rage: "What business is it of yours, an outsider, that I'm talking to Fan'er? Go to hell!"

"Master, no!"

Ye Fan quickly called out to him.

"Why, Fan'er? Who is he to you?"

“Master, the imperial court is not like a sect; we cannot act recklessly like this. Release Lord Zhou immediately.”

"But……"

"Master, please don't make your disciple feel embarrassed."

Langyue reluctantly withdrew the white chain and said coldly to Zhou Xianwu, "Since it was Fan'er who pleaded for you..."

"I'll spare your life this time, but if you dare interrupt my conversation with Fan'er again, I won't be so polite."

After speaking, she looked at Ye Fan with deep affection.

What a handsome man! How can someone be so good-looking?

"Cough cough cough..."

Once freed from his restraints, Zhou Xianwu bent over and coughed violently.

For a fleeting moment, he clearly felt that death was only a step away from him.

A commotion erupted in the hall. After a long while, Zhao Huan timidly asked, "Imperial Censor Ye, who is this...?"

Ye Fan gave Lang Yue a reassuring look before cupping his hands and saying, "Your Majesty, this is an elder of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect, and also my master, Fairy Lang Yue. I specially invited her to help the Great Song Dynasty."

Upon hearing that it was Ye Fan who had brought in an outside helper, Zhao Huan breathed a sigh of relief: "So it was Brother Yu's master, no wonder."

As he spoke, he looked Langyue up and down and nodded in approval, saying, "Your beauty is indeed refined and elegant. Please take a seat."

Soon, the eunuch brought a chair to the front of the hall.

Lang Yue didn't stand on ceremony and sat down directly, then looked at Ye Fan and gestured for her to come to her side.

Ye Fan walked up to Lang Yue and asked, "Master, did you come to Bianjing alone this time?"

Langyue held his hand and softly replied, "Wan'er, Xuanyi, and three hundred elite disciples will all set off with me."

I was only ahead of them because I was worried about Fan'er; they should be arriving in Bianjing soon now.

Upon hearing this, Ye Fan felt incredibly reassured.

This means that he finally has his own power in the Song Dynasty and can command it, and has begun to gradually control the Song court.

"Master, thank you."

"Fan'er, you're being too polite."

The two were deeply in love in the main hall, which made the ministers curse the decline of morality in their hearts.

Ye Fan was also embarrassed by this, but Zhao Huan's eyes were full of admiration, believing that this was the behavior of his elder brother, a man of true character.

Zhou Xianwu, having finally recovered, shook his head and said to Zhao Huan, "Your Majesty, let's continue discussing the issue of how to reform the army."

Your Majesty, I believe that requesting military aid from the State of Chu would be far less expensive than training a large number of warriors. I urge Your Majesty to consider this carefully.

Zhao Huan looked troubled: "But Imperial Censor Ye just said that firearms are merely ingenious tricks, not something honorable. Besides, the Song Dynasty has an agreement with the Jin Dynasty..."

The Song Dynasty is forbidden from purchasing military supplies from the Chu Kingdom. If this is violated and the Jin people find out, wouldn't that be breaking the contract again? What if it angers the Jin people and they besiege the city again?

Zhou Xianwu: "Your Majesty, the Jurchens and the Song Dynasty are mortal enemies; a decisive battle is inevitable sooner or later."

Taking advantage of the Jurchens' current focus on Northern Yan, they secretly purchased a batch of weapons from the Chu Kingdom and then conducted a completely new training exercise.

Even if we are still inferior to the Jurchens, at least our Great Song Dynasty has the power to defend itself, so how could we suffer such humiliation?

"This……"

Zhao Huan frowned and couldn't help but look at Ye Fan.

Ye Fan immediately replied, "Your Majesty, Lord Zhou is right. Sooner or later, the Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty will inevitably engage in a life-or-death battle."

Therefore, we should adopt the Wuzhao military system and build an army led by warriors to prepare for that day.

Now, I have invited my master, who is a powerful expert at the early stage of the Immortal Realm. My junior brothers and sisters are at least at the Transformation Realm.

If they stood behind the Song Dynasty, would the Jin Dynasty still dare to invade?

Zhou Xianwu's eyebrows twitched instinctively. Did Ye Fan intend to take control of the Song Dynasty's military power?

Zhao Huan clapped his hands and said, "Very well, let's proceed with the military system reform as suggested by Imperial Censor Ye. Furthermore, I will also entrust Imperial Censor Ye with the full authority to handle the administrative reforms."

Everyone must treat Imperial Censor Ye as if he were the Emperor, without the slightest negligence. Do you understand?

Ye Fan was overjoyed and loudly thanked them, "Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I will certainly not fail in my mission!"

After a moment of silence in the hall, everyone bowed to Zhao Huan and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

But they were already considering how to counter Ye Fan's reforms.

This concerns their own interests, so these representatives of powerful families must unite and discredit Ye Fan's reforms.

Neither the imperial examination system nor tax reforms could be implemented in the Song state.