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

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highnesses, but I'm sorry, I will not marry again. Please don't make these marriage proposals again, or this princess will be very unhappy!" Nangong Wu's voice was not loud, but it clearly echoed throughout the entire hall.

The Third Prince refused to give up. "Princess Runing, I am truly sincere towards you. Please give me a chance. I will treat you and our three children well."

"Princess Runing, I have admired you for several years. I have remained unmarried because I was waiting for you. In order to marry you, I have been persuading my brother, the Emperor, for the sake of peace between our two countries. Now that our countries are on good terms, I finally have the opportunity to propose to you." Prince Ji confessed to her with deep affection.

When Nangong Xi heard that all these people wanted to marry her mother, she became anxious and ran to the middle of the hall with her little legs, pointing at the princes of those countries.

"I don't want you to be our fathers!"

Nangong Yu and Nangong Jue also ran out and stood next to Nangong Xi. The three children stood side by side, as if they had built a wall to block the five princes.

"We have fathers, we don't need you to be our fathers." Nangong Jue said somewhat angrily.

Nangong Yu didn't speak, but just looked at the five people with unfriendly eyes.

The five princes: "..."

ʕ•ᴥ•ʔʕ•ᴥ•ʔʕ•ᴥ•ʔʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

"Whoosh!"

A commotion erupted in the main hall, with people whispering and talking amongst themselves.

"So these are Princess Runing's three children. They're so beautiful! Just like the lucky dolls in the painting."

"Princess Runing is naturally beautiful, so how could her children be ugly? Their biological father must be good-looking too."

"I heard that the biological father of the three children has been found, but he is of low status and just a wandering swordsman. Princess Runing had no choice but to take him as a male concubine so that the children could have a father."

The three children were all dressed in well-tailored, gorgeous brocade robes, looking incredibly noble. Their faces were almost identical, and everyone who saw them would adore them.

"Princess Jinyu, who is your father? Is he as handsome as me?" Prince Ji, Tang Jingli, asked Nangong Xi.

He had already secretly investigated and found that the biological father of the three children was named Xiao Lin, one of Nangong Wu's male lovers, and he had a very ordinary appearance.

But he also found out that Xiao Lin was not the biological father of the three children at all; Nangong Wu was just using him as a shield for the three children.

Therefore, he also suspected that Xiao Lin was not the biological father of the three children, otherwise Nangong Wu would not have not given Xiao Lin a formal title until now.

"My father's name is..." Nangong Xi suddenly stopped and looked towards Bei Chenyan.

Bei Chenyan didn't speak, but just winked at the three children.

"My father's name is Xiao Lin!" Nangong Jue announced his name.

"What are you three doing? This is an adult matter, concerning the diplomatic relations of six countries. Stop fooling around here!" Nangong Chengkun was ostensibly scolding the children, but in reality, he was blaming Nangong Wu for letting the children fool around and affecting the diplomatic relations between the countries.

Emperor Mingde, seated at the head of the table, also spoke up: "Ru Ning, you are indeed not young anymore. What woman doesn't get married? Since several princes and nobles admire you, you should choose one of them today."

He was saying things against his conscience.

These princes are after Nangong Wu's weapons. If Nangong Wu marries one of them, she will surely use her weapons to return to her country and vie for the throne.

Once Nangong Wu becomes empress, she will surely come back to deal with the Western Yan Kingdom. Thinking of this, Emperor Mingde was even more determined not to let Nangong Wu marry these men.

"I want to choose him as my father." Nangong Xi pointed at Beichen Yan.

Nangong Jue immediately objected, "Xi'er, Xiao Lin is our father. How can you recognize someone else as your father?"

Nangong Wu's expression changed. "Jue'er, Xi'er, don't talk nonsense."

These two children dare to say anything. He is the crown prince of a country. How can he just casually recognize someone as his father?

Nangong Xiao stood up, cupped his hands to Beichen Yan, and said, "Crown Prince of Nanqi, please don't take a child's words seriously."

His sister will not marry out of the country, and as the Crown Prince of Beichen Yan, it is impossible for him to marry into the royal family.

Emperor Mingde couldn't help but look at Bei Chenyan.

"Your Highness need not be nervous. The child simply feels a connection with me." Bei Chenyan's voice was deep, resonant, and magnetic.

"Crown Prince of Nanqi, I have two princesses awaiting marriage, as well as several princesses and county princesses from the imperial clan. If you are interested, I will bestow marriages upon you," Emperor Mingde said.

If a marriage alliance could be formed with the Southern Qi Kingdom, the relationship between the two countries would not be strained too much because of the Jade Buddha incident.

Upon hearing Emperor Mingde's words, the two princesses and the women of the royal family all blushed and looked at Bei Chenyan.

Bei Chen Yan is so handsome, and as the Crown Prince, he has a noble status; they all want to marry him.

Upon hearing this, Nangong Xi immediately ran back to Beichen Yan's side, her eyes red and her expression aggrieved.

If he said he was willing to marry these women, he would probably burst into tears.

Bei Chenyan felt a pang of heartache upon seeing this, and pulled the child into his arms before speaking to Emperor Mingde:

"Your Majesty, to be honest, the reason I came to your country was to ask for Princess Runing to be my Crown Princess, but now it seems that I am not worthy of her."

Everyone in the hall looked at Nangong Wu, their expressions varied.

The women who admired Bei Chenyan were especially jealous.

Why do good men all like a divorced woman who has given birth to three illegitimate children whose fathers are unknown?

From the moment the princes entered the main hall, their gazes were fixed solely on Nangong Wu.

These princesses and noble ladies were all dressed up carefully today, and their appearances were all quite remarkable, but they were still overshadowed by Nangong Wu's radiance.

They were arranged by Emperor Mingde to marry into another country, and were initially very sad. However, when they saw that all the princes and nobles were handsome and extraordinary, especially Bei Chenyan, whose tall and straight figure and stunningly beautiful face amazed everyone.

They were all tempted!

"Your Highness is joking! With your noble status, what kind of beauty wouldn't you have?" Nangong Wu said coldly.

Seeing her mother's rejection, Xi'er nestled sadly in Bei Chenyan's arms, saying, "Xi'er doesn't want to like Mother anymore."

"Xi'er, come here! You just peeled shrimp and your hands are all oily. Don't get His Highness's robes dirty!" Nangong Wu reached out her hand to her daughter.

"No, Uncle already wiped my hands, they're not dirty." Nan Qixi nestled in Bei Chenyan's arms.

Bei Chenyan glanced at Nangong Wu and said, "Princess, you don't need to worry so much. Even if our marriage doesn't happen, we can still be friends for the sake of our two countries' relations."

Emperor Mingde was secretly pleased that their marriage wouldn't happen, and upon hearing his words, he laughed and said, "The Crown Prince of Southern Qi is right; even if the marriage doesn't happen, the friendship remains. Runing, since Xi'er and the Crown Prince get along so well, let her be!"

"I greatly admire Princess Jinyu, but unfortunately I have nothing of value on me and cannot give her a gift," Bei Chenyan said, feigning distress.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Prime Minister Xi offered a suggestion: "Your Highness, why don't you give that piece of land in Jianggang Prefecture to Princess Jinyu as her fiefdom?"