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

The following day, Shen Lang and Jiang Shangxian stepped into the Taiqing Hall, ready to give these poor relatives who were "begging" a decent living.

Jiang Shangxian squinted and sighed, "Alas, the Great Chu still needs the two of us brothers. Without us, the court will be finished sooner or later!"

He picked up a carrot and took a big bite.

This is Jiang Shangxian's new habit: he feels uncomfortable if he doesn't eat two carrots a day.

Shen Lang was speechless: "Can't you have any shame? This is clearly a matter for your royal family, why do you have to drag me into it?"

"Hehe, I only feel at ease when you're by my side."

As he spoke, Jiang Shangxian plopped down in front of the main table.

Squeak——

As soon as the large, fleshy bottom settled in, the valuable Luchuan rosewood emitted a slight squeaking sound, as if it were lamenting that it had silently endured everything the fat man had done.

"Alright, let's get started. Let me catch up with these relatives."

Jiang Shangxian tried his best to put his left leg on his right knee, completely disregarding his royal image.

Shen Lang shook his head at the sight.

"Summon all marquises and relatives to enter the palace for an audience!"

With a shout from the guards outside the door, a large group of people surged in.

Seeing this, Shen Lang couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, even though he was mentally prepared.

He had seen poor relatives come to his door begging for a living before, but this was the first time he had ever seen so many of them coming in droves; it was truly outrageous.

Fortunately, the focus of the clan titles to be addressed this time is mainly on marquises; no one has raised any concerns about needing assistance with princes or dukes.

Just as Shen Lang was pondering, the Taiqing Hall was already filled with kneeling people: "Your subjects greet Your Highness Prince Jing and the Regent!"

Shen Lang couldn't hold back any longer and leaned closer to Jiang Shangxian, asking, "Is this really a member of your Jiang clan? Something seems off to me."

Jiang Shangxian squinted and replied in a low voice, "Don't even mention you, there are countless relatives here who are several generations removed from each other. I can't even recognize them. Just follow the list and don't worry about so much."

"Oh."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang stopped asking questions and continued to look through the roster.

Jiang Shangxian cleared his throat, then adopted the airs of the Commander-in-Chief of the Jingwei Guard, and announced in a deep voice: "Where is the Marquis of Huaiyang?"

"Your subject is here!"

Immediately, a marquis of about fifty years old stepped forward, cupped his hands, and lowered his eyes.

"Your subject, Marquis of Huaiyang, Jiang Mian, greets His Highness Prince Jing and the Regent. I wish Your Majesty a son soon, so that our royal line may continue."

"Alright, alright, alright, let's skip the formalities..."

Jiang Shangxian impatiently interrupted Jiang Mian's compliments.

"Now that the gift has been delivered, let's skip the pleasantries. There will be plenty of time for you to express your gratitude after we finish dealing with the important matters."

"I'm sure you all know why I've summoned you here today: it's about the livelihood of your family members."

Jiang Mian lowered his head and replied, "Your Highness, please forgive my poor upbringing. It is my fault for failing to discipline the children properly and causing trouble for the royal family."

The Jiang royal family, aside from their imperial lineage, is essentially no different from any other aristocratic family.

The clan naturally has a patriarch, but this patriarch is none other than the supreme ruler.

If a member of the clan is in trouble, the emperor, as the head of the family, will also help.

Jiang Shangxian unfolded the roster, his fat face jiggling as he replied, "You have indeed caused the family a lot of trouble. I just don't understand..."

"The Marquis's household can't even pay its monthly stipends, how dare you take four concubines in three years and keep sixteen mistresses?"

Jiang Mian was extremely embarrassed: "Your Highness, I am also doing this to ensure the continuation of the royal family's lineage..."

"fart!"

Jiang Shangxian immediately swore.

"I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen anyone as shameless as you. Continuing your lineage? With your bunch of good-for-nothings..."

What use are they besides wasting our royal grain? My Jiang family needs capable offspring, not a bunch of good-for-nothing wastrel!

"Yes, Your Highness is right. So, I implore Your Highness to give my two illegitimate sons a way to survive. I can't just watch them starve to death, can I?"

As he spoke, Jiang Mian waved his hand behind him: "Jing Chun, Jing Huai, why don't you come over and pay your respects to the Prince!"

"Greetings, Your Highness Prince Jing! Greetings, Regent!"

Before long, two young men, both just over twenty, knelt down beside Jiang Mian.

"Your Highness, please arrange a job for them. We don't ask for great wealth or high status, just enough to live a comfortable life. Please accept this as my request."

The Marquis's estate is only so big; the family's foundation must be left to the heir.

As for the children raised by these concubines, once the legitimate son of the Marquis's mansion inherits the title, they will be ruthlessly driven out of the mansion to fend for themselves.

Most of the royal family members who were separated from their families lived unhappy lives. Few managed to defy fate and changed their destiny. Most of them did manual labor or did jobs such as copying books and giving lessons.

Today, the Marquis of Huaiyang's household is so poor it's almost unbelievable. The servants haven't received their monthly stipends for two years, and the entire family of over 120 people is relying on their official rank and the produce from their fields to make a living.

Unfortunately, the State of Chu was currently in a period of industrial and agricultural transformation. After learning about the factory's wages, many tenant farmers stopped farming and went to work as screw makers, causing the output of Zhuangzi to decline year after year.

The Marquis of Huaiyang's mansion is currently relying on its ancestral savings to live off its wealth, which is why it hasn't immediately declared bankruptcy.

In fact, with the wealth accumulated by the ancestors of the Marquis of Huaiyang, the Marquis's family should not have fallen to such a state.

However, because Jiang Mian couldn't control his desires and couldn't resist taking in any beautiful woman, he ended up taking in one concubine after another, ostensibly to ensure the continuation of the royal family's lineage.

But as everyone knows, women are made of water—they spend money like water.

It's still a river where more than a dozen streams converge...

No matter how much wealth they had, it couldn't withstand Jiang Mian's squandering. In just twenty years, the Marquis of Huaiyang's mansion had become an empty shell.

Fortunately, Jiang Mian finally came to his senses after it was all over. He realized that while it was incredibly pleasurable, the aftermath—children—was something he simply couldn't afford to support.

Therefore, Jiang Mian also put aside his old face and took advantage of the opportunity of the Empress's pregnancy celebration to plan a way out for his descendants and also to reduce the burden on his household.

If our children become successful in the future, we can rely on them, right?

Jiang Shangxian glanced at Shen Lang, and seeing him nod, he said to the two men, "Are you both illegitimate children of the Marquis of Huaiyang?"

Jiang Jingchun was the first to reply: "Your Highness, I am Jiang Jingchun, the third son of a concubine born to the Marquis of Huaiyang. This is Jinghuai, the child of my second concubine."

"Please, Your Highness, grant us two brothers a way to survive and support ourselves."

Jiang Jinghuai also bowed and said, "I beg Your Highness to grant my request. I am grateful and will never forget your kindness in the future."

Jiang Shangxian had never had a good impression of illegitimate children, but seeing that the two were polite and their faces did not look haggard, he felt a sense of sympathy for them.

"Fine, since that's the case, let's see what real needs I have here."

He pretended to flip through the booklet, then squinted and smiled, "There's a cushy job here, consider it a bargain for you two brothers."

The Northern Railway is under construction and they happen to need a few suitable supervisors. Since you two are members of the royal family, why don't you give it a try?

The monthly base salary is thirty taels of silver, with room and board included. There will be additional bonuses once the railway is successfully completed. It's a tough job, though. Would you like to go?

"Thank you, Your Highness, I am willing!"

Without any hesitation, the two agreed immediately.

With room and board included, plus a base salary of thirty taels of silver per month, where else could you find such a lucrative job? Of course, I had to accept it.

After all, these illegitimate children only received two taels of silver a month in the Marquis's mansion, while even the legitimate sons only received two taels.