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

The war between the Song and Jin dynasties continued unabated, and the news quickly reached Jinling, the capital of Chu.

As May approached, various princes and nobles, having learned of the Empress's pregnancy, began preparing to travel to the capital to pay their respects two months in advance.

This is a long-standing tradition in the Chu Kingdom: whenever an empress becomes pregnant, in order to ensure the continuation of the royal lineage, the king would come to offer his congratulations.

During such a special period, princes and nobles from any vassal state were allowed to enter the capital as an exception.

Jiang Mengxuan naturally wouldn't try to eliminate this old custom. She also intended to remind those relatives with ulterior motives to give up their unrealistic fantasies and that the practice of adopting offspring was no longer viable.

This May, Nanjing was more bustling than ever before.

One carriage after another slowly drove into the city gate of Jinling to meet the emperor.

Judging solely from the level of the carriages, the lowest rank among those entering the capital this time was that of a county marquis.

However, because the State of Chu had implemented a policy similar to the "Decree of Grace," a large portion of these so-called imperial relatives were, in modern terms, poor relatives.

Aside from offering congratulations, most of their purpose in coming to the capital this time was to try and gain some benefits from the Empress's territory in order to alleviate their financial difficulties.

Of course, this predicament refers to the comparison between royalty. For ordinary people, it's like comparing a bankrupt Elon Musk to a security guard earning 2,800 a month—a starved camel is not as big as a horse, but it's certainly bigger than a mouse and a cat.

Among the crowd of people coming to the capital to meet the emperor, the carriage of the Prince of Xiang stood out from the crowd, even among the carriages of other princes of the same rank, attracting countless envious and jealous glances.

The gifts that followed him to the capital to meet the emperor filled five large carriages, showing far more sincerity than the gifts from other princes of the same rank.

Feeling the envious and jealous gazes of her clansmen on both sides of the street, Jiang Lan's vanity was satisfied. For the first time, she felt extremely fortunate to have married the daughter of the Changsun family, the most powerful family in Guanzhong, which gave her such a grand presence.

He held Changsun Ying's hand and said softly, "My lady, it is truly my greatest fortune to marry you."

Changsun Ying simply smiled faintly and subtly withdrew her hand from Jiang Lan's: "What nonsense is Your Highness spouting?"

Now that I have married into the Prince's household, it is only natural that I must prioritize the dignity of the Prince's household in all my actions; this is simply what I should do.

Jiang Lan was deeply moved, but she couldn't help but recall the day Changsun Ying brought Xiangling into the mansion, when she lost control and slept with that woman. She was immediately filled with remorse.

"My lady is so considerate and gentle, yet I have done such a thing. I am truly ashamed of my wife."

Jiang Lan was consumed by self-reproach, completely unaware that Changsun Ying was holding an embroidered handkerchief, intentionally or unintentionally wiping the hand that Jiang Lan had held.

From the moment she decided to go to Beijing, she never let Jiang Lan touch her again.

She wanted to see Shen Lang "cleanly," even though she was already a mother of two and married, she still wanted to "rekindle their romance."

"Mother, it's so lively here!"

A childish voice reached her ears, interrupting Changsun Ying's thoughts.

Two children, aged four and three, were perched by the car window. They were Prince Jiang Feng and Princess Jiang Yan.

At this moment, the two of them were looking at the streets of Jinling with curiosity.

Changsun Ying smiled slightly and patted Jiang Feng's head, saying, "Child, this Jinling City was entirely built by the Regent. Without him, there would be no Chu Kingdom as it is today."

You must always remember the contributions he made to our Great Chu, understand?

"I understand, Mother. When I grow up, I will also become someone who contributes to the Great Chu like the Regent."

"My son is so good!"

Changsun Ying looked at her two children with a kind expression, but in her heart she was thinking that one day they would be able to call Shen Lang "father".

In her heart, only Shen Lang was worthy of being their father; he was the only man she had ever been attracted to…

At this moment, Xiangling and Pan Shijun, sitting in the other two accompanying carriages, were restless.

"You want me to seduce the Regent?"

"You've made me taint Her Majesty the Empress's innocence?"

They never expected that their first mission would be at the "primordial level".

Who is the Regent? Even if he hasn't seen a pig run, he must have eaten pork, right?

Folklore says he was a ruthless, cold-faced Yama who would wipe out your entire family at the slightest provocation. Women from the Hehuan Sect would strip naked and offer themselves to him, only to receive a single chime of a wind chime in return.

Xiangling tried hard to suppress the fear in her heart. When she first heard that she was to take down the regent Shen Lang, her first reaction was that Changsun Ying had gone mad.

Her second reaction was to run away as fast as possible. However, she also knew that from the moment she was taken in by Changsun Ying as a pawn, her fate was no longer her choice, and she could only go all the way to the end.

Although I am still terrified, there is also a sliver of hope amidst the fear.

What if it succeeds?

Wouldn't that mean a meteoric rise to success is just around the corner?

Pan Shijun, in the other carriage, was much more rational.

At that moment, he held his head and stared blankly at the ground.

Did he seduce the Empress and ruin her reputation?

He may be good in bed, but all he does is seduce lonely, resentful women and scam them out of a few bucks. At worst, he'll get beaten up.

Now he's actually trying to get into the Empress's bed? The odds are practically zero...

The Empress and Shen Lang's love is stronger than gold; they are a model couple for all lovers!

"That's ridiculous, is it really that easy?"

Pan Shijun became increasingly frightened and instinctively wanted to jump out of the car and escape.

But soon, he remembered what Changsun Ying had said to him.

"Even if the maids of my Prince's mansion are servants, are they something you, with your status, can easily lay your hands on?"

"Now, I'm giving you two choices. The first is to immediately hand you over to the authorities for prosecution, and the second is to find an appropriate time to make you disappear from this world without a trace."

"The second option is to use your skills in bed to do me a favor. If you succeed, you will not only avoid death, but you will also enjoy wealth and luxury for the rest of your life."

"I want you to come to the palace with me, find a way to attract the Empress's attention, and then use your skills in seducing women to have a real relationship with her."

"What, you're unwilling? You think you have any other choice? You've offended the Prince's Mansion and you still want to escape punishment? Pan Shijun, you'd better think this through."

"If things fail, you won't survive either, but if they succeed, and you replace Shen Lang in the Empress's eyes, your status will be incomparably noble."

"Whether you plan to be a failure your whole life, or decide to take a gamble with your life, the decision is yours."

"Now that the Empress is pregnant and the Regent is in charge of the government, it is the time when women need the most care and attention, and also the best time when the Empress's heart is most easily won over. You must seize this opportunity."

Pan Shijun took a deep breath and sat back down in the carriage.

A chess piece's fate can never be its own.

Since we're going to die anyway, why not take a gamble?

So, he hardened his face and thought to himself, "So what if she's an empress? In the end, she's just a woman."

Haven't I conquered all those refined ladies and resentful women in Xiangyang?

"Let's take a gamble! The wealth and fortune that belong to me, Pan Shijun, will surely be mine!"

Having made up his mind, Pan Shijun was no longer nervous and began to think about what methods he could use to attract the Empress's attention.