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

The emperor returned the title of heir apparent to Nangong Xiao, while Nangong Yu received nothing. He said he would wait until the children grew up, but that was just a perfunctory remark.

Huo Jing tried to force the emperor to grant him a title by bringing up his deceased wife and the money he had donated, but in the end he got nothing. It was a complete joke.

Huo Jing's gaze turned cold.

But Emperor Mingde's words were law, and the imperial edict had already been issued; he could say nothing more.

"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty!"

The father and son could only express their gratitude.

Huo Jing knew perfectly well that Emperor Mingde was playing a clever trick, thinking that he could weaken the power of the Zhenyuan Prince's Mansion by doing this.

Little did she know, Nangong Wu disdained such empty titles. Taking away Yu'er's position as heir would only push her further away.

Later, Emperor Mingde will regret his cleverness today.

Emperor Mingde then said, "Prince Zhenyuan, since you have come to court today, I have something to tell you."

"Your Majesty, please speak," Huo Jing said, bowing.

Emperor Mingde smiled and said, "In five days it will be the Empress's birthday. Envoys from six countries will come to congratulate the Empress, including the Eastern Jin Kingdom."

Besides offering birthday wishes to the Empress, the envoys from the six kingdoms also wish to form an alliance through marriage with our Western Yan Kingdom, thus solidifying diplomatic relations between the nations. At that time, Prince Zhenyuan, as your trusted advisor, you must not slack off any longer!

"What?! An envoy from the Eastern Jin Dynasty is also coming to offer birthday wishes to the Empress!"

Upon hearing that the Eastern Jin Kingdom was also coming to celebrate the Empress's birthday, all the civil and military officials in the hall were overjoyed.

They believed that the Eastern Jin state had been provoking them for centuries, and now that it had taken the initiative to celebrate the empress's birthday and propose a marriage alliance, it meant that it was submitting to their Western Yan state.

Their Western Yan Kingdom is indeed becoming more and more powerful, and neighboring countries are all coming to curry favor.

The Prime Minister was overjoyed: "Your Majesty, this is a blessing from Heaven for our dynasty, and all nations are coming to offer their congratulations!"

"This is a blessing from Heaven, and it is also due to the hard work and dedication of my beloved ministers, the people, and all under Heaven that we have achieved such a magnificent occasion!" Emperor Mingde was overjoyed.

"It is His Majesty's divine virtue that has moved Heaven!"

The ministers all knelt down.

"Our Western Yan is a civilized land, hence we have envoys coming to pay tribute!"

"May Heaven bless our Western Yan, and may all nations offer their congratulations!"

All the civil and military officials in the hall shouted "Long live the Emperor!" three times.

"Good! Hahaha..." Emperor Mingde laughed heartily.

The main hall was filled with joy, as everyone believed that their Western Yan Kingdom was the most powerful nation, and that all other countries were coming to curry favor with them.

Emperor Mingde was also flattered by the court officials and became quite arrogant.

Only Huo Jing and his son Nangong Xiao stood there abruptly, not saying a word, coldly watching this "harmonious" scene.

"Prince Zhenyuan! I have decided to send another general to Lindong Pass to replace Huo Lifeng in guarding it." Emperor Mingde finished speaking and waited to see Huo Jing's expression.

However, Huo Jing's eyes grew even colder, but his expression remained unchanged.

Emperor Mingde is looking to replace the commander of the Zhenyuan Army, and the next step may require him to hand over the military seal.

Little did he know that by doing this, Emperor Mingde was digging his own grave.

"It is up to Your Majesty to decide."

The Eastern Jin, Northern Di, and Southern Qi states dared not attack the Western Yan state because they feared Nangong Wu.

Now that the emperor and his son want to discard their tools after they've served their purpose and then abandon their support, which has angered Wuwu and caused her to quit, the Western Yan Kingdom is not far from its demise.

"Hmm." Emperor Mingde was very satisfied with his attitude.

Huo Jing suddenly added, "But today, I also have something I would like to say to Your Majesty."

"Speak freely!" Emperor Mingde was in a good mood.

The gloom in Nangong Chengkun's eyes also dissipated considerably.

With all nations paying tribute and the 300,000-strong army about to return to the Emperor's hands, today is truly a day of great joy.

No matter how powerful the weapon in Nangong Wu's hand is, he is the future emperor of the Western Yan Kingdom, and everyone will have to listen to him from now on.

"I have been checking the accounts these past few days and have discovered that all our businesses have suffered huge losses this year," Huo Jing said calmly. "Therefore, this year my Zhenyuan Prince's Mansion will not be donating any silver to the court."

Upon hearing this, the faces of all the officials in the hall changed.

Emperor Mingde's smile froze, and Nangong Chengkun's eyes were clouded with gloom once again.

The Minister of Revenue was on the verge of tears, pleading, "Your Highness, you can't refuse to donate silver!"

The Ministry of Revenue has a lot of funds waiting for his donation. What will he do if he doesn't donate any money?

The Crown Prince has taken several more concubines this year and dotes on them greatly. However, the concubines complain that the palaces they live in are too dilapidated and small, so the Crown Prince asks him for 100,000 taels of silver to repair the Eastern Palace.

Furthermore, the envoys from various countries will be visiting, and entertaining them will require a large sum of money. In addition, the Empress will hold a birthday banquet, and all of these will require money. Since the Prince of Zhenyuan's mansion is no longer donating money, what should he do?

"Your Majesty..." The Minister of Revenue was on the verge of tears.

"Prince Zhenyuan, are you trying to spite me?" Emperor Mingde's voice was cold and deep.

He knew that Huo Jing was doing it on purpose.

"Your humble servant dares not," Huo Jing said with neither servility nor arrogance. "However, business is getting worse and worse, especially in the north. Shops are frequently robbed and vandalized by bandits, and we have been incurring losses in recent years."

However, considering that the imperial court needed money, I sold some of my heavily loss-making shops last year and raised 300,000 taels of silver.

"I really can't raise the money this year, please forgive me, Your Majesty." Huo Jing finished speaking and cupped his hands in apology.

"Your Highness, even if you can't donate 300,000 taels of silver, donating 100,000 would be fine." The Minister of Revenue almost knelt down before him.

"I can't even come up with ten thousand taels." Huo Jing sneered.

"Your Excellency, money doesn't come from thin air. My Huo family business is large, but it also employs many workers. I need to pay them wages. If I give all the money to the court, what will my workers eat and drink?"

"Uncle Zhenyuan, Father Emperor only ordered someone to replace Huo Lifeng in guarding Lindong Pass. Why are you angry with Father Emperor?" Nangong Chengkun cursed Huo Jing inwardly for being ungrateful.

"Huo Lifeng was originally just a Flying Feather Guard. Father Emperor only temporarily put him in charge of guarding Lindong Pass. Now that Father Emperor has found a more suitable general, it's time for him to return."

"Your Majesty and the Crown Prince do not dare! If Your Majesty and the Crown Prince do not believe me, I can bring all the account books to you for your inspection." Huo Jing sneered inwardly. From this day forward, he would not donate a single tael of silver to the court.

"Prince Zhenyuan, how could you do this?" Nangong Chengkun was somewhat annoyed.

"The Zhenyuan Army's pay used to be paid with the silver you donated. Now you suddenly say you won't donate anymore. What are the officials in the Ministry of Revenue supposed to do? Where are they going to get so much silver to fill the hole?"

"From what Your Highness the Crown Prince is saying, does that mean you're admitting that the Zhenyuan Army was all supported by me with my own money?" Huo Jing retorted.

"You..." Nangong Chengkun pointed at him, but couldn't say a word.

Huo Jing stared at his fingers, his gaze growing even colder. "Your Highness, donating money is a matter of personal choice. Donating is a favor, not donating is one's right. Are you so angry because you want to force me to donate?"