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

At this moment, Emperor Mingde felt all his energy and spirit return, and he no longer showed any of the listlessness he had just displayed.

Looking at the Gu worms inside the bottle, Nangong Wu asked the leader, "Whose body is the mother Gu?"

"It's in that woman," the leader pointed at Consort Ji, "I put it inside her myself."

Consort Ji had already collapsed there, her face deathly pale. It was all over!

The moment the Gu worms inside Emperor Mingde's body were drawn out, he knew it was all over.

"Your Majesty, I did not, I am innocent..." She still tried to argue.

"No? Wrongfully accused? What are you accusing me of?" Emperor Mingde's gaze pierced her like an ice pick:

"When I questioned you just now, you knew nothing, and now you're claiming innocence?"

"Consort Ji," Nangong Wu walked up to Consort Ji, "you still have one chance to tell the truth, otherwise! Not only will you die, but your entire family will be exterminated."

Upon hearing this, Consort Ji trembled violently. Suddenly, she pointed at the Empress Dowager and said, "It was the Empress Dowager. She forced me into this. If I didn't do as she said, she would kill me and Xuan'er."

"Did the Empress Dowager force you?" Nangong Wu said with a sneer. "Do you dare say you didn't have any selfish motives?"

If not, when the Empress Dowager pressures you, you have plenty of opportunities to tell His Majesty the truth.

You're hoping for a stroke of luck, you're gambling, thinking that if your son were to ascend the throne, you would be the most honorable empress dowager in the world.

Anyway, this old woman is already sixty years old and doesn't have many years left to live. Once she dies, the entire Western Yan Kingdom will belong to you and your son.

Such a great temptation, and you were tempted! It's a pity that what isn't yours can't be forced; in the end, you lost your life, your mother's clan, and even your son.

When she used the Gu poison on Emperor Mingde, she should have considered the consequences if she failed; it would be like putting her entire maternal family on the fire.

If she had told Emperor Mingde about it, perhaps only her life would have been in danger, but it wouldn't have implicated her family or her son.

"No! That's not how it is!" Consort Ji shook her head. "My mother's family knows nothing about this; it has nothing to do with them."

"Mother..." The Eighth Prince fearfully threw himself into her arms.

"Guards, take the Eighth Prince away!" Emperor Mingde ordered.

"No!" Consort Ji hugged the Eighth Prince tightly, afraid that once her son left, she would never see him again.

Consort Ji pleaded with Emperor Mingde, "Your Majesty, it is all my fault. I was greedy and misled by the Empress Dowager, which led me to commit an unforgivable crime. But this matter has nothing to do with my family or the Eighth Prince. I am willing to atone with my death. Please do not implicate them."

The commander came over and pulled the Eighth Prince away.

"Don't touch my Xuan'er!" Consort Ji held onto her son tightly.

"Mother..." The Eighth Prince was so frightened when he saw his mother crying that he started to cry too, wanting to go back into his mother's arms.

"Consort Ji, are you trying to defy His Majesty's decree?" the commander warned her coldly.

Consort Ji froze, released the Eighth Prince, and had the commander carry him away.

Xuan'er is of royal blood, so Emperor Mingde will not kill him, but he may be sent to the Zongshangsi. With his tainted birth mother, he may never be able to hold his head high for the rest of his life.

"Mother..." the Eighth Prince cried out, desperately reaching out his hand to her.

"Your Majesty, it's all my fault. Please don't blame my family..." Consort Ji kowtowed to Emperor Mingde, her forehead hitting the ground with a "thump, thump, thump" sound.

"Issue my decree!" Emperor Mingde looked at the Empress Dowager and issued the decree:

"Empress Dowager Ming, harboring treacherous intentions, coveted the throne and colluded with foreign enemies, repeatedly plotting to assassinate me using sorcery. She has wreaked havoc on the court, endangered the nation, and committed the ten most heinous crimes. My investigation has been thorough, and the evidence is irrefutable. Such treasonous acts have angered Heaven above, defied human ethics below, are intolerable to the ancestral temple, and aroused the indignation of the entire nation. She has truly severed herself from Heaven's favor. Therefore, she is stripped of all her titles, reduced to a commoner, and given poisoned wine!"

The historian sitting to the side took notes one by one.

Upon hearing his decree, Nangong Wu, the prime minister, and several other ministers were somewhat surprised.

If the Empress Dowager had been put to death earlier, so many things wouldn't have happened!

The Empress Dowager had been lying there pretending to be dead, but upon hearing Emperor Mingde's decree, she immediately got up, her face contorted with rage, and said, "Emperor Mingde, do you dare to kill me?"

"I am your birth mother. If you dare to kill me, you will be committing matricide. You will be condemned by the world and infamous for eternity. You will suffer retribution!"

Emperor Mingde's face was gloomy. "Even if I suffer retribution and be condemned by thousands, I would rather be the sinner than not execute you first. Otherwise, if the Western Yan Kingdom is destroyed by you, I will have no face to meet my ancestors after my death."

When the Empress Dowager saw that Emperor Mingde was determined to kill her, she finally panicked and pointed to the ministers standing beside her.

"Prime Minister Li, the Emperor intends to murder his mother! This is a crime against Heaven and morality, a grave act of filial impiety! Aren't you, as his subjects, going to stop him?"

Prime Minister Li and several ministers simply watched her coldly, none of them pleading for her.

This wicked and vicious woman, relying on her status as Empress Dowager, her status as the Emperor's birth mother, and the fact that Emperor Mingde dared not kill her, almost brought down the Western Yan Kingdom.

"Eunuch Hu, go and prepare the poisoned wine."

Emperor Mingde only wanted to execute the Empress Dowager right now, not wanting to delay for even a moment, even if it meant leaving behind a lasting stain on his name in history.

If they had known the mother Gu wasn't on her, they should have executed her long ago.

"As you command." Eunuch Hu immediately went to prepare the poisoned wine.

"Emperor, I am your birth mother! How dare you give me poison? Even if I die and become a vengeful ghost, I will not let you go..." The Empress Dowager cursed and rushed forward, ready to fight Emperor Mingde to the death.

Two imperial guards stepped forward, pinned the Empress Dowager down, and quickly removed her phoenix robe.

"It's so noisy, gag her," Nangong Wu said with disgust.

"Yes."

One of the imperial guards took out a handkerchief and stuffed it into the Empress Dowager's mouth, and the hall finally quieted down.

Emperor Mingde turned his gaze to Consort Ji and issued another decree:

"The wicked woman, Lady Ji, defied the natural order, plotting to assassinate the emperor and seize the throne. Her treacherous schemes have been thoroughly investigated, and all evidence has been presented. Her rebellious acts are beyond doubt. She is stripped of her rank and title as a concubine, demoted to commoner status, and sentenced to death! The Ji family's failure to properly educate their daughter resulted in their indulgence and negligence, leading to disgrace within the family and ultimately bringing disaster upon the palace. Her entire clan will be exterminated!"

Upon hearing this, Consort Ji's vision went black and she fainted.

Prime Minister Li and several ministers shook their heads.

The Ji family is not a large clan, but if you include all nine generations of relatives, there are probably thousands of people involved. Today, there will be another river of blood.

But if the emperor doesn't do this, he won't be able to deter those with ulterior motives!

Their eyes all turned to the Empress Dowager; all this tragedy was caused by this old woman.

"Your humble servant obeys the decree!" The commander led his men out.

Holding up the small bottle, Nangong Wu asked Emperor Mingde, "Uncle Emperor, what should we do with this Gu poison?"