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

On the second day of the eleventh month, at Weiyang Palace, in Shuixuan Residence.

Shen Lang, draped in a fur coat, paced back and forth in the snow-covered corridor, looking extremely nervous.

The Shui Xuan Residence was surrounded by palace maids and guards, who were constantly going in and out under Qingwen's command.

Today is the day Empress Jiang Mengxuan is about to give birth, and the entire Weiyang Palace is busier than ever before.

He was about to become a father, but at this moment, there was not a trace of joy on Shen Lang's face as he looked like he was about to become a father; instead, there was only endless worry.

"Bodhisattva, I, Shen Lang, have been a staunch materialist my whole life and have never believed in gods or Buddhas. But today, I will be a devout believer for once."

No matter what, please ensure the safety of my wife and children. Amitabha Buddha, Infinite Heavenly Venerable, Amen.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Shen Lang was more anxious than anyone else.

At this time, Shui Xuan was in her sleeping quarters.

"Are you out yet?"

"Your Majesty, please push harder, the baby is about to come out."

"I'm in so much pain! Where's Ah Lang? Where the hell is he? Bring him in right now, I can't breathe!"

"The Emperor is waiting outside the palace. Your Majesty, please do as this old servant says: take a deep breath, yes, just like that..."

"Where's Ah Lang? Is that bastard smirking outside? I'm so angry, call him in to keep me company!"

Under the guidance of eight personal midwives, Jiang Mengxuan struggled desperately on the bed.

Her maternity clothes were already soaked with sweat, and she had changed basin after basin of hot water.

"Qingwen!"

After yet another failure, Jiang Mengxuan immediately called Qingwen over.

"Your Majesty, I am right here."

"You go out right now and call Ah Lang in."

Qingwen immediately became anxious: "Your Majesty, men are not allowed to enter when a woman is giving birth. Please bear with it..."

"Ah~~~"

Another heart-wrenching scream erupted.

Jiang Mengxuan gripped Qingwen's hand tightly, and slowly arched her body under the shoving of the midwife behind her.

"Wow~Wow~"

With a loud cry echoing in the room, Jiang Mengxuan's first child was finally born.

"He's a prince, he's a prince."

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, congratulations, Your Majesty..."

"Stop offering your congratulations, there's still one more!"

Before the surrounding palace maids could offer their congratulations, Jiang Mengxuan felt a sudden, intense contraction, clearly indicating that her second child was about to be born.

"Wow--"

When the second healthy cry rang out, Jiang Mengxuan was completely exhausted and collapsed onto the bed.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, you have given birth to twins, a boy and a girl."

Holding her two children, Qingwen spoke to Jiang Mengxuan with a face full of excitement.

After the babies were born, Jiang Mengxuan finally calmed down and opened her eyes to look at the two children lying beside her.

The baby boy had his eyes closed and was muttering something to himself.

The baby girl, meanwhile, had her eyes open and was looking at her own palm.

Before long, Shen Lang went directly into the palace.

Qingwen immediately went up to him: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations on the birth of twins, a boy and a girl."

But Shen Lang didn't look at his own child. Instead, he went straight to Jiang Mengxuan's bedside, gently took her hand, and whispered, "Xuan'er, you've had a hard time."

Jiang Mengxuan smiled slightly: "A Lang, look at our child."

"it is good."

Shen Lang then looked at his child.

The boy had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, while the girl was exquisitely beautiful; they were both very lovable.

“Ah Lang”.

"what?"

"Please give our child a name."

"You should get it; I'm not familiar with the area."

Jiang Mengxuan shook her head: "This is our child. As the child's father, it's only right that you name him. It's alright."

Shen Lang looked at the two children and thought about it carefully.

"How about we name the boy Jiang Yi and the girl Jiang Li?"

"Jiang Yi, Jiang Li? What good names." The Empress held Shen Lang's hand. "A Lang, from now on, whichever of these two children inherits the throne, the other will take the father's surname. What do you think of this?"

Shen Lang shook his head: "Xuan'er, you know me, I've never cared about these things."

“But I do care,” Jiang Mengxuan replied calmly. “This is our child, I can’t be so selfish as to keep it all to myself. Promise me, okay…”

"You rest first, don't say anything, I promise you."

Shen Lang was afraid she would get too tired, so he quickly and vaguely agreed.

Jiang Mengxuan was relieved.

At this moment, Amber brought over a basin of hot water and said to Shen Lang, "Your Majesty, His Majesty needs to clean himself. Please excuse us."

"it is good."

Shen Lang wisely stood up, glanced at his wife with reluctance, and then turned and left the palace.

The moment they stepped out of the palace gates, the palace maids and guards all offered their congratulations: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Emperor! May you be blessed with a dragon and a phoenix!"

Shen Lang waved his hand and said, "Thank you all. Everyone will receive a celebratory gift today. You can collect it from the Imperial Household Department later."

"Thank you, Emperor!"

"Hahaha!"

Shen Lang rarely laughs so heartily in public; today is truly an exception.

Just then, Jiang Chaoyun cautiously walked to Shen Lang's side.

Before he could speak, Shen Lang pointed his index finger and warned, "You'd better give me some good news today, or don't blame me for turning on you."

Jiang Chaoyun immediately clasped his hands and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Rest assured, good news has arrived from the Taiji Kingdom."

Wang Xuance and Ban Dingyuan have completely taken control of Pingzhou City and are currently organizing tens of thousands of Taiji Kingdom troops to assemble towards the front line in Rangzhou.

It seems they will launch an offensive against Goguryeo soon.

Shen Lang nodded: "Anything else?"

"The independent brigade has expanded to 60,000 men and is currently in a standoff with the Jin people on both sides of the Bian River."

Shen Lang frowned: "Bianjing has been captured?"

"not at all."

Jiang Chaoyun handed over a battle report.

"This is Lin Fei's tactical arrangement. Please review it, Regent."

Shen Lang took a closer look:

Lin Fei's strategy was to focus on eliminating the Jin's main forces, while encircling Bianjing without annihilating it, thus luring the Jin's main force to come to its aid.

The tactical arrangement is fine, but the only problem is whether the independent brigade can afford the logistical costs.

Did Lin Fei make any requests?

"Yes, Lin Fei proposed to prepare a shipload of young coal to be transported to Xizhao County."

"coal?"

Shen Lang thought for a moment, then paced back and forth for a while.

In an instant, he understood Lin Fei's intentions.

"Immediately notify the coal processing plant to transport a ship of high-quality coal there in His Majesty's name, the sooner the better."

"Yes!"

Although Jiang Chaoyun didn't understand what use the coal was, he knew that Shen Lang's decision was never made without reason.

"If all goes well, let the State of Song be the gift for my wife's return to the capital!"

Shen Lang stretched comfortably.

Power is certainly desirable, but he prefers to lay down these burdens and live a secluded life behind the scenes.

Once the regent's decree was issued, he planned to spend his free time in the palace playing with the two children, and occasionally visit the factory, ignoring everything else.