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

Shen Lang's tough attitude left Sun Qian and Li Shilin completely bewildered.

"I must go and report this to His Majesty!"

Knowing he couldn't "communicate" with Shen Lang, Sun Qian immediately shouted that he wanted to go and complain to the Empress.

"I refuse to believe that His Majesty will continue with such an outrageous and resented act!"

"I believe His Majesty is wise and will understand the hardships of the people, and will stop this wasteful and burdensome project!"

However, just as he was about to step out of the Xuanzheng Hall, he heard a sound of porcelain shattering behind him.

Sun Qian was startled and looked back blankly, only to see broken porcelain everywhere on the ground.

Meeting Shen Lang's sinister, fiery gaze, he felt a chill run down his spine.

"His Majesty is taking good care of himself in the palace, leaving all affairs of state, large and small, to me. What, are you barging in to see His Majesty now? Are you dissatisfied with His Majesty's arrangements, or do you have a problem with me?"

"Your Majesty is pregnant. Don't you scholars and doctors, who are well-versed in the classics, know the principle of avoiding suspicion? How dare you go to see her?"

"Is it because I have spoiled you too much during my time acting on behalf of the emperor that you dare to disregard the law?"

"Today I'll see if you can make it to Shuixuan Residence alive!"

His words, brimming with murderous intent, instantly sent a chill down the spines of Sun Qian and the others.

Looking at Shen Lang's unpredictable face, many people began to regret getting involved in this mess.

Shen Lang was also exhausted.

Since the construction of the Pagoda was initiated, there has not been a single day of peace.

First, they have to deal with a lot of public criticism, and then they have to deal with cost issues.

Having finally reached a preliminary understanding, they then had to appease the group of prisoners to ensure a smooth start to the project.

Now that everything is settled, these officials are jumping out again with their old refrains, criticizing the project as a waste of money and resources.

During this period, he had to handle both internal and external political affairs as well as trivial matters in the palace. He was busy until midnight every day and was already very tired.

If you won't let me have peace, then no one will have peace either.

Damn it, it all comes down to being spoiled.

Before he could speak, Li Shilin interrupted, saying, "We, the officials in charge of remonstrance, have a duty to dissuade the Emperor from restoring order."

"Now that the Regent is stubbornly refusing to listen to our opinions, we have no choice but to go to His Majesty to plead our case. Does the Regent intend to kill those who dare to speak out?"

Shen Lang: "I have lived for twenty-three years and have been fighting and killing enemies on the frontier since I was five years old. How could I possibly be soft-hearted when it comes to killing you bunch of parasites who can't distinguish right from wrong?"

Li Shilin's expression changed immediately, and he was about to speak when he heard Shen Lang's teasing voice.

"Are you trying to shout that the right to speak out is an ancestral rule, and even the emperor cannot kill a censor?"

"Are you trying to say that your sincere heart has been slandered by a treacherous minister like me, and that the country will surely perish?"

Li Shilin was speechless, because what Shen Lang was saying was exactly what he had just wanted to say.

Shen Lang snorted coldly: "I can tell you clearly that your methods of using the Taizu system to benefit yourselves are useless against me."

Li Shilin immediately became anxious: "What do you mean by 'profiting for oneself'? Regent, please explain yourself clearly?"

"You want to hear this clearly? Then I'll make it clear to you. I stated a month ago that the construction of the Pagoda was His Majesty's private property."

All expenses were covered without costing the national treasury a single penny, and even the wages and benefits for the recruited workers were clearly stated in writing.

"It's so obvious, yet you still bring it up as material for your attacks. Are you ignorant or just pretending not to understand?"

After saying that, Shen Lang got up and walked to Li Shilin.

"Li Shilin is a member of the Li family of Wuxiang Prefecture in Mingzhou. Four generations of his family have served as officials in the imperial court. Although his status is not particularly illustrious, he is still considered to be from a distinguished family. Am I right?"

The pressure from Shen Lang was immense; with every word he spoke, Li Shilin's legs would involuntarily take a step back.

"There are some things I don't want to confront you about. If you just turn a blind eye, this matter will pass."

"But if you insist that I bring things into the open, then I have no reason to cover it up for you."

"Are you really only opposing the pagoda because it's a waste of resources and manpower? How dare you use such nonsense to deceive me, the king?"

"Your reasons for objecting are nothing more than these few points. First, if people have enough income from working, they will naturally not be willing to work as tenant farmers for less than eleven cents a month, which will increase the income and costs of your household."

"Secondly, as long as the people work at the pagoda for three months, their entire family will be exempt from corvée labor, and you will find even less free labor to serve you."

"Finally, once ordinary people have money, they will naturally have more ideas, and the information cocoon you have painstakingly built for them over generations will be destroyed."

After all, when people are only poor, they don't think about anything else. You can easily weave a self-consistent logic to make the poor work for you.

Nowadays, the stupa offers very high wages and benefits, and once the workers have experienced this project, they will surely spread the word.

In this way, those people who have been brainwashed and oppressed by you will realize that they can live a better life than before without farming for landlords.

In this way, your status and position will not be as prestigious as they are now, and the people you used to oppress and exploit will regard you as a monstrous threat and will no longer be at your beck and call.

"This is your purpose. What do you mean by 'for the sake of the country and the nation,' or 'wasting resources and manpower and violating the laws of nature'? Your impassioned rhetoric is nothing more than an attempt to prevent the court from making changes."

Ultimately, your very existence is the biggest obstacle to social progress, bar none!

Li Shilin, caught off guard, seemed to lose all his strength as Shen Lang finished speaking, collapsing to the ground.

"you you……"

He pointed at Shen Lang, but couldn't come up with a complete reason to refute him.

Because each of the three points Shen Lang made ruthlessly tore apart the true colors of these officials.

At this moment, all the officials in the hall were trembling with fear, and their eyes were filled with terror as they looked at Shen Lang.

"Of course, it's not just you few."

Shen Lang turned around indifferently and returned to the main seat, taking the new teacup handed to him by the servant.

"And then there are those self-proclaimed 'people's advocates,' who, upon returning to their hometowns after their terms end and seeing the improvement in people's lives, not only refrain from saying anything kind, but also leave behind a pretentious remark that is utterly uncivilized."

After all, with people having more money and local factories being established, they no longer feel the respect they once enjoyed.

All they do is spread incompetent and furious rhetoric among the public, using this as a pretext to collude with you officials to attack baseless accusations.

This behavior is utterly clownish and utterly unfit for public display. From this moment forward until the Empress relinquishes power, I do not wish to see any more officials speak out.

Go back to your duties and stop interfering in government affairs.

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

Sun Qian asked sternly, "Regent, are you trying to abolish the censorate?"

Shen Lang waved his hand to stop him from continuing: "Whether or not to abolish the censors is up to His Majesty to decide when he takes the throne. In short, from now on, I don't want to hear your idle gossip anymore."

"I demand an audience with His Majesty!" Sun Qian was utterly agitated. "Regent, this is a violation of ancestral rules!"

"Whether it's an ancestral rule or not isn't determined by your words. Even if it is an ancestral rule, it should be abolished when it's no longer suitable. Also, who dares to go to see the Emperor at this time? Let me know."

The tea from the Southern Garrison Command will be prepared in advance for you gentlemen. That's all I have to say; you can decide for yourselves what to do."

After saying this, Shen Lang glanced at them contemptuously and left Xuanzheng Hall, leaving a group of bewildered, powerless, and furious officials wailing in despair.

Inside Shuixuan Residence, after listening to Qingwen recount Shen Lang's reprimand of the officials in Xuanzheng Hall, Jiang Mengxuan felt refreshed and invigorated.

"That's how it should be. I've long been annoyed with those censors."

"Since my Ah Lang has already arranged everything for me, I might as well abolish the censor system when I return to the court."

Jiang Mengxuan smiled and gently stroked her belly.

"Children, isn't your father amazing?"

Her response was a slight fetal movement.