With a warehouse full of supplies, I stood alone as king in this chaotic world, gun in hand.

Emperor Mingde couldn't bear to listen any longer and spoke up again, saying, "Empress Dowager, the fire is so big that the water in the nearby wells has been drained. What do you expect people to use to put it out?"

They say distant water can't quench a nearby fire! They've already sent tens of thousands of people to fight the fire; they've done everything they can.

"Alright! Let's not talk about putting out the fire for now." Seeing that Emperor Mingde had repeatedly disobeyed her, the Empress Dowager was even more determined to kill the Prefect of the Capital to vent her anger.

"What about the recent events? I have also learned about them. The Snake Spirit Society has been committing crimes frequently in Kyoto."

Shi Wen's death, the theft of the Zhou family's storeroom, the bombing of the Prince Rui's mansion and the Ming family's study—yet you haven't been able to catch a single criminal. What crime should you be charged with?

"It is my limited ability that prevented me from solving the case in time. I am guilty and beg Your Majesty to punish me." The Prefect of the Capital kowtowed to her, his forehead hitting the ground with a "thump, thump, thump".

He knew that so much had happened in the past month or so, and he hadn't solved a single case. The emperor would surely punish him, and the consequences would be dire.

"Guards!" the Empress Dowager ordered, "Drag this useless scoundrel away and behead him!"

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!" Emperor Mingde hurriedly stopped him.

"What? Now I don't even have the right to punish a single person?" The Empress Dowager hated Emperor Mingde to the core.

She knew that it must have been Emperor Mingde who harmed the Ming family.

"Mother, now is a time when we need capable people. If you kill everyone, who will investigate this case?"

Emperor Mingde knew that his mother wanted to kill someone to vent her anger. She had been like this when she was young, and now that she was old, her temperament had become even more extreme. She wanted to kill someone in public without distinguishing right from wrong. He was deeply disappointed.

"While the Prefect of Jingzhao is guilty of dereliction of duty, his crime does not warrant death."

Upon hearing Emperor Mingde's words, the Prefect of Jingzhao immediately said, "I beg the Empress Dowager to give me another chance so that I can investigate the case thoroughly and make amends."

The Empress Dowager gritted her teeth, knowing that Emperor Mingde was determined to oppose her to the end. If she didn't back down now, she would be in serious trouble.

"Get out of here. Your head is on your neck for now. If you still can't find out about the massacre of the entire Ming family, I will exterminate your whole family and make you pay for it. This is the price you pay for failing to protect the capital."

"Yes!" The Prefect of the Capital got up, feeling a wave of sorrow in his heart.

Knowing that he was utterly incapable of solving the recent major case, unable to uncover even a single clue, death was inevitable.

He spent the first half of his life studying diligently, finally passing the imperial examination and entering officialdom. He served as an official for twenty years with utmost diligence, but in the end, he met a tragic end, bringing ruin upon his entire family.

His elderly mother is over seventy years old. She worked hard for half her life to support his education. Is she going to end up with her head separated from her body?

Looking at the firelight in the Ming Mansion, the Empress Dowager felt a tightness in her chest.

She had intended to kill a few people to vent her anger, but Emperor Mingde stopped her. She felt that if she didn't do something, the Ming family would really die in vain.

"Return to the palace!" The Empress Dowager's eyes flashed with ruthlessness.

Emperor Mingde glanced at Eunuch Hu beside him.

Eunuch Hu hurriedly called out, "Let's return to the palace!"

The Prince of Zhenyuan's Mansion.

Nangong Wu returned to Zuimei Courtyard after practicing her martial arts in the morning and saw that Li Shuang, who had gone out to gather information, had also returned.

"Your Highness, according to the information we sent from our people in the palace, after the Empress Dowager learned of the Ming family's troubles last night, she wanted to leave the palace. Emperor Mingde disagreed with opening the palace gates, and the mother and son started arguing."

The Empress Dowager also said that it was His Majesty who wanted to kill the Ming family, and the two parted on bad terms.

Nangong Wu sneered, "As expected, the Empress Dowager still suspects Emperor Mingde."

Li Shuang continued, "As soon as the palace gates opened this morning, the Empress Dowager left the palace, and His Majesty had no choice but to order the court to be suspended and accompany her out of the palace."

Upon arriving at the Ming family, the Empress Dowager, perhaps having failed to gain favor with the Emperor, vented her anger on the Prefect of the Capital, ordering him to be beheaded and buried with the Ming family.

But His Majesty stopped them, and the mother and son confronted each other again in front of everyone.

Seeing the murderous glint in the Empress Dowager's eyes, the subordinate seemed to know that it was Emperor Mingde who had orchestrated the massacre of the Ming family.

"It seems that the relationship between the Empress Dowager and Emperor Mingde is not very good." Nangong Wu was a little confused about Emperor Mingde's thoughts.

This time, Li An spoke first, "It's the Empress Dowager who's too ruthless. If His Majesty hadn't stopped her, the Prefect of the Capital would have been dragged out and beheaded this morning!"

"Li An, don't talk nonsense." Li Shuang glanced at her.

Li An pouted, "That's right. Last time in the palace, the Empress Dowager was even plotting against His Highness!"

Nangong Wu thought of that Prefect of Jingzhao, who was indeed a rare honest official. It was probably because Emperor Mingde protected him!

At this moment, Feng Wushang walked in.

"Young Master Feng"

Li Shuang and Li An bowed to him and then stood aside.

"Wu Shang is here, please sit down." Nangong Wu invited him to sit down and poured him a cup of tea.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Feng Wushang sat down opposite her. "Let me take your pulse first."

"There's no need for today's session. My body has almost fully recovered. From now on, once every two weeks is enough. Just please take good care of the children." Nangong Wu felt that her body had recovered very well and had already started practicing her martial arts.

"Your Highness is too kind. This is what Wu Shang should do." Feng Wu Shang smiled.

"I heard the city is under lockdown, and His Majesty has suspended court today. If you have nothing else to do, you should probably get your face treated."

"Okay." Nangong Wu touched the scar on her face. "How do you want it treated?"

"We need to operate to remove the raised, hardened scab, and then apply a tissue-regenerating medication."

Feng Wushang looked at the scars on her face and said, "There may be lasting scars, but with my current medical skills, this is all I can do."

Nangong Wu understood; his treatment method was an invasive procedure.

"I have a better treatment method, but I need help to implement it."

To restore facial scars to their original state, you need to use the equipment in this space.

The method involves minimally invasive procedures, such as lasers, microneedles, and medications.

"Oh? So Your Highness also knows medicine?" Feng Wushang asked in surprise.

"Wait a moment." Nangong Wu stood up and went to the left side room.

She had the left side room cleaned out, intending to use it as a medical room.

With a thought, he moved the medical equipment out of the space.

She checked everything again, replenished all the necessary items and medicines, and then returned to the main house to call Feng Wushang.

She really wouldn't want to take the things out if her face didn't need help.

Feng Wushang followed her into the side room and was quite surprised and curious to see a room full of medical instruments that he had never seen before.

"Your Highness, what are all these things?"

He touched the instruments; they were exquisitely made, but he didn't know what they were used for.

"This is a medical instrument that can smooth out scars without surgery," Nangong Wu said with a smile.

"You actually have something so amazing? It can heal scars without surgery?" Feng Wushang's eyes gleamed, as if he had discovered a great treasure.