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

The city of Jinling was bustling with activity as a large number of members of the imperial family and relatives came to celebrate the Empress's pregnancy, creating a joyous and harmonious atmosphere throughout the city.

Especially for high-end venues, reservations are almost always made a month in advance.

This added an extra touch of festivity to the already bustling city of Jinling.

However, inside Lingxuan Pavilion in Weiyang Palace, Shen Lang, Jiang Shangxian, and even Prince Su Jiang Jing all looked worried and distressed. Even Jiang Mengxuan, who was lying on the mink-fur couch, looked helpless.

None of them spoke; they were only focused on looking at the list of gifts presented by their relatives.

It wasn't until after a cup of tea had been brewed that Jiang Shangxian broke the silence by raising his voice.

"I never expected that there would be so many shameless people in our Jiang royal family."

"Look at this. What kind of rubbish did Marquis Jiang Chengying of Huainan send? Just a box of pearls worth ten taels of silver."

"And this Marquis Xuan'an only sent a bowl of noodles and two sets of silk cloth, which were two years old. Tsk tsk tsk, it really makes me so angry that I just want to swear."

"Oh ho ho, this Marquis of Lin'an is even more interesting. He actually sent a cartload of scallions to celebrate. That's quite something. How does he even have the nerve to come to the capital?"

Jiang Shangxian was spitting as he recounted how stingy his "poor relatives" were.

Jiang Mengxuan didn't care about the amount of money given as gifts. Money was the last thing she needed, and she didn't care about the paltry sums from her relatives.

The problem is that these relatives all had ulterior motives for coming to Beijing.

They wanted my help to find a job for the young men in their clan to support their families.

The titles conferred by the royal family come with a fixed annual stipend.

A prince's salary was 10,000 taels of silver per year, a duke's was 7,500 taels, a marquis's was 5,700 taels, and a marquis's was between 1,000 and 3,000 taels.

In addition to receiving a fixed salary based on their titles, the estates and fields enjoyed by each title also varied.

Take Prince Jiang Shangxian as an example. He owns sixteen manors with about 10,000 mu of fertile land. Every year, he produces about 40,000 taels of agricultural products from the land. It all depends on how well he manages the business, but he usually makes a profit of about 20,000 taels.

Duke Shen Lang also owned eight manors, with an income from about 6,000 acres of land. However, Shen Lang didn't care about the income from the land and gave it all away for free to the farmers who had lost their land.

Marquis was granted no more than five manors, with the total area of ​​land ranging from approximately two to four thousand mu.

In fact, based on these benefits, anyone with the title of marquis could live a life of hardship even if they squandered their wealth.

However, the industrial development led by Shen Lang has significantly reduced the output of their fields. Many tenant farmers would rather go to the factory to tighten screws than serve these old men.

Over time, the estates of these marquises inevitably began to fall into disrepair. In addition, the yield of the land was entirely dependent on the weather, and most marquises did not know how to manage the crops in the fields, nor were they willing to spend money to build irrigation systems, which led to their lives becoming worse day by day.

Some marquises had already subcontracted the management of their manors, living off meager rents.

Over time, the mansions of these clansmen inevitably fell into disrepair and decline, and some even began to borrow money from the public at high interest rates to maintain their extravagant lifestyles.

Now, the only stable source of income for these noble relatives is the stipends they receive from the imperial court each year.

Until recently, they finally realized that the Chu Kingdom had changed, and they tried every means to find a way for their descendants to survive through the Empress.

This trip to the capital was less about celebrating the birth of an heir for Jiang Mengxuan and more about a large-scale begging event.

The speech, both explicitly and implicitly, expressed the hope that Jiang Mengxuan would consider their shared kinship and lend a helping hand to them, her relatives.

Jiang Mengxuan was also very confused about this.

She didn't want her business to be infiltrated by these "poor relatives," but she couldn't openly refuse them.

Moreover, as the true power holder of the royal family, she also has the obligation to take care of these poor relatives whose generational status can only be determined by consulting the family genealogy.

After Jiang Shangxian finished venting, Prince Su, Jiang Jing, asked in a low voice, "Uncle, are you finished? I have a question I would like to ask you."

"What are you asking?"

"Xiao Wang wants to know, what does this have to do with him?"

"hey-hey."

Jiang Shangxian suddenly smiled at him, making Jiang Jing's scalp tingle.

"Next year you will also be leaving the palace to establish your own residence. I want you to familiarize yourself with the royal affairs you will be dealing with as soon as possible. What do you think of this reason?"

Jiang Jing immediately shut her mouth and didn't say another word.

"Alright, Imperial Uncle, tell me, how should this matter be handled?"

Jiang Mengxuan gently stroked her belly, while Qingwen behind her quietly fanned her with a feather fan.

Jiang Shangxian glanced at Shen Lang: "Your Majesty, I believe it would be more appropriate for the Regent to handle this matter."

"That might not be appropriate."

Shen Lang refused outright. Dealing with such trivial matters was his biggest headache. If he wasn't careful, he would not only be busy for half a day but also be disliked by people for no reason.

"I am, after all, a king from a different clan, and my appointment as regent has already drawn widespread criticism from both the court and the public."

"If I continue to concern myself with these trivial family matters, how will I live my life? This matter still requires Your Highness's intervention."

"Your Excellency is too modest. Everyone knows that if Your Excellency takes action, even if the sky were to fall, you could hold it back."

Besides, you've been married to His Majesty for so many years, yet you still treat yourself like an outsider. That's far too distant, and it must be disheartening for so many members of the imperial family."

"I've been very busy with official duties lately and really don't have the energy to deal with these family matters. Prince Jing, on the other hand, has been quite free, so you can make the arrangements."

"If I had that ability, would it be your turn? I also want to command the wind and rain."

But his power doesn't allow me to do that. Regent, please don't refuse. We'll just follow your instructions.

The two of them talked back and forth, but neither was willing to take the blame for the potentially offensive task.

The poor Prince Su, a mere seventeen-year-old boy, was forced into such a high-level situation, unable to move forward or backward, and could only silently bear everything alone.

“Ah Lang”.

Just then, Jiang Mengxuan called out sleepily.

"I'm sleepy, hurry up."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang had no choice but to agree.

Since Jiang Mengxuan became pregnant, her other symptoms have been fine, but she is particularly prone to drowsiness.

Fortunately, she doesn't have to manage state affairs now and can rest peacefully at any time, otherwise she would really be afraid that she would lose the baby in her womb.

Shen Lang naturally didn't want to see his wife suffer, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.

Seeing Shen Lang take the blame, Jiang Shangxian immediately laughed: "Wouldn't it have been better to do this earlier? Look, we almost got into a fight just now, wouldn't that have hurt our relationship?"

Shen Lang was too lazy to argue with him anymore: "I will take steps to resolve the matter, but how to resolve it must be in my hands. Send me the list of clansmen to be arranged by these relatives tomorrow."

Jiang Shangxian immediately patted his chest and assured him, "No problem, leave it to me."

You don't need to be polite to them; they're just a bunch of beggars. Give them a little something, that'll be enough.

If all else fails, send him to the army for training; who knows, he might even become a renowned general and bring glory to his ancestors.

Shen Lang replied, "I understand. If there's nothing else, you can all go back. I'll discuss the specifics with you later."

"Alright, I'll go grab a bite to eat first, and we'll talk in detail later."

After seeing Jiang Shangxian and Jiang Jing off, Shen Lang walked to Jiang Mengxuan's side, bent down and took her hand, saying, "Xuan'er, let me help you back to your palace."

"Yes, I'm sorry to trouble you again."

Jiang Mengxuan yawned, feeling sleepy, and obediently took Shen Lang's hand, getting up and slowly walking towards Shuixuan Residence.

She was truly exhausted and couldn't concentrate on anything; all she wanted to do was lie in bed.