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

When Nangong Wu returned to the palace, she saw Beichen Yan sitting in the room with the three children.

"I'm back!"

Nangong Wu sat down opposite him and asked, "Are you from the Eastern Jin Dynasty?"

Bei Chenyan was slightly taken aback. "No."

"That's good."

"Why do you ask that?"

"After I've dealt with Nangong Xun, I want to go to the Eastern Jin Kingdom, kill the dog emperor and the King of Wu, and avenge my mother and the soldiers who died unjustly because of the war they started," Nangong Wu told him frankly.

"Revenge is great!" Bei Chenyan's eyes lit up immediately. "Remember to take me with you."

He recalled that night at Biyun Manor, when she pulled out a devastating weapon that destroyed an entire manor with just a few pounds of explosives.

The Eastern Jin Dynasty's imperial palace and the Wu King's residence are so large; if she wanted to destroy them all, she would definitely need to use that powerful weapon. The bombing would be quite exciting.

He made up his mind that he would follow her from now on, and one day he would be able to see that big guy.

"Sure," Nangong Wu looked at him, "but don't you have anything to do yourself?"

"I'm just a wanderer, I roam the world and can settle down anywhere. As long as you're here, this will be my home." Bei Chenyan winked at her a few times.

"Whatever!" Nangong Wu thought he must be a rich young master who was bored out of his mind, so he ran out to play and would go home when he was done playing.

The following day, Nangong Wu was invited to the palace to attend the flower-viewing banquet hosted by the Empress Dowager.

Nangong Wu only brought Bei Chenyan with her. After entering the palace, she encountered some noble ladies and young women, who all cast strange glances at her.

"Today, the Empress Dowager invited only women, yet the Prince of Zhenyuan actually brought a man?"

"I heard he's one of the Prince of Zhenyuan's favorite male concubines, and he's very favored."

"It's extremely rare for a woman to keep a male concubine. Even a real princess would rarely do something so shameful. But she goes and parades around with him as if she's afraid no one will know. She's really disgracing us women."

The women whispered amongst themselves, assuming that Nangong Wu and Bei Chenyan couldn't hear them.

But their hearing was exceptional; they heard every word the women said.

Nangong Wu gained the upper hand, and with a flick of her long sleeves, she scattered a packet of miraculously effective itching powder.

Itching powder causes intense itching once it gets on the skin.

"My face is so itchy." A woman wiped her face with a handkerchief.

"My hands are itchy too. Did we touch something unclean?"

Nangong Wu sneered inwardly.

She added poison to the itching powder. Once the skin is scratched open, the wound is difficult to heal without an antidote, and it will gradually fester and leave a scar.

The banquet was held in the Imperial Garden, where dozens of temporary pavilions were erected, with white gauze fluttering in the breeze.

When Nangong Wu arrived just in time, she saw that the Empress Dowager had already arrived. She was dressed in a black phoenix robe and sat in the main seat with a dignified demeanor, exuding the majesty of a superior.

Nangong Lingling, who had not been seen for a long time, sat next to the Empress Dowager, looking somewhat uneasy. She only gave perfunctory smiles to those who came to flatter her.

The Empress Dowager raised her hand, "The Empress has been unwell these past few days, so I will host this flower-viewing banquet. Everyone, please don't be shy and have a good time."

Nangong Wu brought Beichen Yan in and overheard the Empress Dowager's words, realizing that the Empress was feigning illness to avoid the flower-viewing banquet.

Upon seeing them enter, the laughter and conversation immediately ceased, and all eyes turned to the two of them.

The Empress Dowager and Nangong Lingling exchanged a glance.

Nangong Wu, without glancing to the side, walked straight to the Empress Dowager and bowed, saying, "Ru Ning greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager. May Your Majesty be well!"

"Hmm." The Empress Dowager hummed in response, and upon seeing Bei Chenyan behind her, her expression immediately turned displeased.

"Ru Ning, today is a flower appreciation banquet, and all the people I invited are women. Why did you bring a man in?"

"Oh! So men aren't allowed in? Why didn't your invitation say that men weren't allowed?" Nangong Wu pulled Bei Chenyan over.

"Xiao Lin is the father of my child, and I like to have him by my side. Although the ladies present today are all noble ladies, I will not let anyone take him away from me."

Bei Chenyan's lips twitched as he forced a laugh.

Those around them cast disdainful glances their way.

Nangong Lingling couldn't help but say, "What kind of eyesight do you have? He's just an ugly man with a crooked face. Only you treat him like a treasure. I feel unlucky to even look at him."

"I think you're just jealous." Nangong Wu gave her a provocative look. "You're seventeen already! And still no one..."

"Ru Ning, what nonsense are you spouting?" The Empress Dowager was easily provoked and immediately reprimanded her:

"The ladies and young women who have come today are all family members of ministers of the third rank or above. They are all people who respect rules, know etiquette, and abide by their duties. Who would be as shameless as you, parading around the city with a low-class male concubine all day long? You have truly disgraced the royal family."

Nangong Wu's lips curled up slightly. This was the effect she wanted. "Since the Empress Dowager dislikes my Xiao Lin so much, let's leave and stop getting in everyone's way."

She grabbed Bei Chenyan's hand and started to leave.

"Halt! Did I say you could leave?" A glint of malice flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes.

"Does the Empress Dowager have anything else to say?" Nangong Wu turned to look at her.

Just then, several women rushed in, covering their faces with handkerchiefs, and knelt before the Empress Dowager, saying, "Your Majesty, we beg you to do us justice."

Nangong Wu looked and saw that it was the same group of women she had given itching powder to.

"What kind of behavior is this, all flustered and disorganized?" scolded Rong, the old nanny beside the Empress Dowager.

The women shrank back in fear and dared not utter another sound.

"Speak! What exactly happened?" The Empress Dowager's voice was authoritative.

"Your Majesty, we have been poisoned!" cried a young woman with her hair styled in a traditional Chinese updo.

"Poisoning? Who has the audacity to poison someone at a banquet in the palace?" The Empress Dowager's voice was tinged with anger.

"It's her." The woman pointed at Nangong Wu, her eyes filled with anger.

"When we entered the palace, we encountered the Princess Zhenyuan. I don't know what she sprinkled on us, but we were all incredibly itchy, and we scratched our faces raw."

The women removed their veils, revealing faces covered in red spots, some even scratched raw.

"How could this happen?" The Empress Dowager glared at Nangong Wu and angrily rebuked her, "Nangong Wu, how could you do such a thing?"

"Your Majesty, you are wise." Nangong Wu naturally wouldn't admit it. "After Xiao Lin and I entered the palace, we didn't speak to a single person. I had no grudge against them, so why would I poison them?"

"We only said a few words to you, and you poisoned us," the woman said.

The Empress Dowager was just thinking about how to make things difficult for Nangong Wu when she heard the woman's words and immediately ordered, "Guards! Seize Nangong Wu and search her for poison."

Several maids from Shouning Palace immediately stepped forward to seize Nangong Wu.

Nangong Lingling knew that these old women were no match for Nangong Wu, so she shouted:

"Where are the Imperial Guards? Someone is plotting to assassinate the Empress Dowager! Seize them immediately!"

However, none of the Imperial Guards who were just nearby have now disappeared.

"You want to lay a hand on me?" Nangong Wu looked at the Empress Dowager with a mocking gaze. "I'm afraid you don't have the ability!"