When His Merits Threaten the Throne, the Empress Offers Herself in Marriage - Chapter 15:

Chapter 15: The Ambition of the Ladybug

Late at night, in front of the Shen family’s villa, Jiang Shangxian came to find Shen Lang to cancel a mission. Finding the place empty, he simply sat on the steps and dozed off.

His thunderous snores echoed under the pitch-black night sky like a symphony, causing dogs in the distance to bark.

No one knew how long he had slept when he suddenly felt someone slapping his face. In his groggy state, he vaguely heard someone saying, “Wake up, stop sleeping.”

Annoyed, he muttered, “What’s all the noise? Let this king nap a bit more. Don’t bother me.”

But he quickly snapped awake and leapt to his feet with a jolt.

Under the lantern, Shen Lang’s familiar face appeared.

Jiang Shangxian said, “Brother Lang, where did you go? You made me search like crazy.”

Before he could say more, Shen Lang tossed a storage ring into his hands.

“What’s this?” Jiang Shangxian asked, feeling the ancient and simple ring in his hand, but he didn’t react immediately.

Shen Lang said, “All the treasures from the Jinling secret realm are inside. Check it.”

As he spoke, Shen Lang struggled to push aside Jiang Shangxian’s massive figure, took out a bronze key, and unlocked the brass lock on the courtyard gate.

When the sound of the lock opening rang out, Jiang Shangxian finally came to his senses and quickly followed up with questions, “Brother Lang, what’s going on? Where did this storage ring come from? Don’t tell me you went into the Jinling secret realm? That’s a major crime! If His Majesty blames you, who’s going to cover for you? Won’t it be me? Say something! Don’t leave me hanging!”

Shen Lang didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he removed his cloak, patted it clean, opened the door, and hung it on the rack.

Jiang Shangxian squeezed his plump body into the room and asked anxiously, “Tell me already! What happened? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

Annoyed by the noise buzzing in his ears, Shen Lang undid his wrist guards, picked up a model cannon from the table, and began assembling it as he said, “Didn’t you ask me to deal with Qingyi Tower? That’s settled now.”

“What? Settled?” Jiang Shangxian blinked, his chubby cheeks trembling. “How did you settle it?”

After loading a shell with a primer into the cannon’s breech, Shen Lang squinted and aimed at a wooden target in front of him, then casually said, “The best way to deal with them is to make sure they never speak again, right?”

“You… You’re saying you killed them all?” Jiang Shangxian almost shouted.

He quickly shut the door and sat down in front of Shen Lang, saying, “The people from Qingyi Tower… you really took care of all of them?”

Shen Lang glanced at him and said, “What, you don’t seem pleased? You wanted to keep them around for the New Year? Ridiculous.”

Jiang Shangxian slapped his thigh and groaned, “You’ve stirred up serious trouble!”

“What trouble could it be? Stop overreacting!” Shen Lang truly didn’t understand what this fatty was trying to say.

Jiang Shangxian said, “Qingyi Tower was brought in by Ye Mo. Now that you’ve taken out his people, isn’t this giving him the perfect chance to make things difficult for Her Majesty? You’ve caused her a huge headache. What are we going to do now?”

Hearing Jiang Shangxian whine like this, Shen Lang’s hand paused as he was about to pull the cannon’s fuse.

He stood upright and asked, “Prince, it’s the middle of the night, can you not act like a drama queen? Do you think what we just did could escape the Grand Chancellor’s notice? He’s smarter than you think.”

Jiang Shangxian’s beady eyes narrowed. “What are you trying to say?”

Shen Lang turned back to continue adjusting the model cannon. “Qingyi Tower is a martial underworld organization. They took the initiative to participate in the Jinling secret realm. If something happened to them, who do you think is responsible?”

Jiang Shangxian asked curiously, “But Ye Mo submitted a memorial to bring them in. Now that the Jingwei Division eliminated them, if it’s not our fault, then whose is it?”

Shen Lang glanced at him and said, “Did Ye Mo ever say they couldn’t meet an accident? If something went wrong and he tried to use it to trouble Her Majesty, wouldn’t that be the same as admitting he colluded with Qingyi Tower? If you were Ye Mo, would you be that stupid? Come on, this was just a minor game of strategy. Qingyi Tower’s people are dead, and this matter will be labeled as a martial feud—something that can’t be made public. It won’t even be mentioned. He and your Empress will both pretend nothing happened. Things will go on just as before.”

Jiang Shangxian nodded. “So you’re saying that old man Ye Mo can only swallow his anger?”

Shen Lang realigned the cannon’s muzzle. “He probably never cared to begin with. This whole thing was just a test of Her Majesty and the Jingwei Division’s bottom line. Whether it worked or not, the Grand Chancellor’s office loses nothing. After all, the Ye family holds plenty of cards. If they ever play them all, in less than three days, your Empress would be forced to abdicate, and the Jingwei Division would be disbanded immediately.”

Jiang Shangxian’s face lit up. “That’s great news. I’m going back right now to report it to Her Majesty.”

As he was about to leave, Shen Lang said, “Prince, you waited at my door in the middle of the night… don’t tell me you just came to ask about this?”

Jiang Shangxian paused, then slapped his forehead. “Look at my memory, I nearly forgot the main reason I came.”

He loosened his waistband, opened his robe, and pulled a blue silk pouch from under his crotch. After untying it, a stack of banknotes appeared.

He wet his fingers, pulled out one note, slapped it on the table, and said proudly, “See this? The 1,000 taels of silver I promised you—I got it! A man of honor keeps his word!”

But Shen Lang’s gaze was fixed on the silver note in his hand. “Prince, where did you get so many silver notes?”

Jiang Shangxian hurriedly stuffed them back into his underwear and said solemnly, “Don’t ask. Just know that I didn’t short you a single cent of your reward.”

As he spoke, he put the notes back in the silk pouch, re-tied it to his crotch, and prepared to pull up his pants.

“Bullshit! That’s too much!” Shen Lang grabbed his hand and said, “Be honest. How much money did you ask Her Majesty for? Don’t tell me…”

A thought hit Shen Lang, and his expression turned to one of utter shock.

“You didn’t dare scam even your own niece’s money, did you?”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Jiang Shangxian panicked, swatted Shen Lang’s hand away, and quickly fastened his waistband. “This king is clean and righteous. I’d never do anything shady. This is all my secret stash, hidden from your sister-in-law!”

“Righteous, my ass. I know exactly what kind of person you are! What kind of secret stash involves royal banknotes, and all in 1,000-tael denominations?”

Shen Lang snapped. He felt more and more cheated and yanked Jiang Shangxian back. “Prince, have a conscience. You’re royalty. With your status, how can you fight us commoners for money and not feel bad? No way, you need to split half with me!”

“Royalty, my foot. I’m living worse than you. I gave you what I promised. How can you go back on your word? Hey! Why are you grabbing my family jewels?”

“Damn it, I asked for 1,000 taels of silver, but you told Her Majesty it was gold, didn’t you? If she asks later, I’ll be the one taking the fall! Even capitalists aren’t this shameless. Leave me at least half, or I won’t let you off!”

“Brother, my life is too hard! My wife watches me like a hawk. If I don’t make some money on the side, I can’t even go out with dignity!”

“Whether you have dignity or not is none of my business. Give me my share. You even dared to cheat your own niece. Have some shame! Let go, or I’ll bite you!”

“Can’t you be a bit more open-minded? I’ve always treated you well!”

“Screw open-minded. Treated me well, my ass. I earned this! I’ll take the blame, but I want the full payment!”

“Then let me be clear. No money, no life either! AHH! My balls! Damn, why are you so vicious? That hurts like hell!”

After a round of scuffling, Jiang Shangxian let out a pig-like squeal. The two of them ended up wrestling on the floor.

About fifteen minutes later, unable to take it anymore, Jiang Shangxian suddenly shouted, “Enough! Stop messing around. I’ll owe you this time, okay? Tomorrow night, I’ll take you to Shuyu Tower in the East City to experience something grand. I’ll be the host, alright?”

Shen Lang immediately stopped, “You mean that Shuyu Tower that starts at 100 taels just to enter? You, stingy as you are, when did you become so generous?”

Jiang Shangxian squinted, “We’re brothers, aren’t we? You helped Her Majesty with a huge favor. As your brother, of course I have to reward you.”

He got up, fixed his wrinkled clothes, and tossed his head stylishly. “Kid, clearly you’ve never tasted meat before. What you did this time was perfect. Her Majesty will definitely look at you differently now. So I’ve decided to splurge—tomorrow, I’ll let you become a real man and show you what true gentleness feels like.”

Shen Lang chuckled, “That’s more like it. As long as tomorrow satisfies me, I’ll let your little scheme with Her Majesty slide.”

Jiang Shangxian narrowed his eyes, “Hehe, just wait. Tomorrow, I’ll let you savor a Qinhuai courtesan, see how seductive they really are. Just follow my lead. I’m off to the palace to report to Her Majesty now—she’ll be very pleased.”

With that, he pulled up his pants and staggered out of the room and through the courtyard.

Desire for food and sex is human nature. No ordinary person can escape such urges.

Shen Lang smiled. He wasn’t some brainless ladybug, but the entertainment in this world was simply too scarce. If someone handed him a computer now, even with just an old NES emulator to play Contra, he’d have no interest in such places.

Life… really is full of helplessness.

He walked to the table and pulled the fuse on the model cannon.

Bang—

With a muffled pop, the muzzle flashed white, and the acrid smell of gunpowder filled the room.

Looking again, the wooden target in the distance now had a fist-sized black hole blown through it.

“If science and fantasy clash, which one would win?” Shen Lang gently stroked the model cannon, his eyes gleaming coldly.

“Excluding top-tier powerhouses, just combining World War I and II industrial weapons could break the sects’ monopoly over this continent. If there’s ever an emperor willing to start an industrial revolution, then an era ruled by empires and the people is bound to arrive.”