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

When Empress Wan heard him mention the words "Spring Breeze Ferry," a hint of unease flashed in her eyes. "Isn't this all because you're unwilling to marry Qiong'er..."

Bei Chenyan didn't want to stay there any longer, so he turned and walked out. "Make sure this woman stays away from me from now on, or I'll make sure she loses her head. I mean what I say."

"You..." Empress Wan was so angry that she felt dizzy and a bloody taste rushed to her throat, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.

"puff!"

"Oh no! Her Majesty the Empress has vomited blood and fainted..."

Hearing the exclamation behind her, Nangong Wu couldn't help but glance at the man beside her.

But he showed no sign of stopping.

After leaving Luanfeng Palace, she spoke: "I never expected that your relationship with Empress Wan would become so strained."

The feud between Emperor Mingde and the Empress Dowager is somewhat similar to your situation. The Empress Dowager, also for the sake of the Ming family and her own position in the palace, sought to control the court and Emperor Mingde.

"No matter the country or dynasty, there are always relatives of the empress interfering in politics." Bei Chenyan's face was grim.

"Can't you see it yet? Behind every prince is a dedicated interest group, and the princes are the core support for their power struggles."

They, in turn, provide the princes with a political foundation. Given even the slightest opportunity, they will push the princes to the top, sharing both glory and ruin.

I was just a pawn in the political game between my mother and the Wan family. They removed Prince Jing, the deposed crown prince, and put me in the position of crown prince. Then I had to follow the path they had arranged, and I had to listen to them about which woman I married.

They treated me like a puppet, but I refused to follow their lead and tried to break free from their control. That made them anxious, so they drugged me. They had the antidote, forcing me to obey them.

"So, you escaped the palace, created the Wujian Pavilion, and wandered the world, preferring to die from the poison outside rather than be controlled by them," Nangong Wu said.

Bei Chenyan remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.

"But what you just said might cause unnecessary trouble." Nangong Wu felt that the current situation in Nanqi Kingdom was not suitable for creating any more trouble.

"Don't worry! Flies don't land on eggs without cracks. Although I haven't been in Jade Dragon City all these years, I've always maintained contact with my father, and Prime Minister Xi is also one of my men. Everything in the court is under my control."

As for Prince Jing, he can never redeem himself for the mistakes he made back then. I haven't dealt with these people all these years because I wanted them to fight like dogs." Bei Chenyan said, his eyes full of mockery.

"Didn't you say that Prince Jing was also secretly manufacturing caltrops? I'm afraid he won't be easy to deal with either. And Ling Yangzi, his influence has spread to various countries, he must be colluding with Prince Jing as well. How much of these things have you found out?"

Bei Chenyan looked at her, then suddenly smiled and said, "So, for the sake of our years of friendship, you should help me out and clear away this filth."

"I don't care about your messy private affairs." Nangong Wu rolled her eyes at him. "Runan City is currently submerged in water, and the food and clothing of tens of thousands of people are waiting for me to solve."

"Once your father's illness is cured, I will take the children and leave."

"I was just joking with you! Don't worry! As long as you can cure Father's illness, everything else will be fine. Now that you're here, I have time to clean up the court."

The two walked out of the palace while talking.

Outside the palace, several guards had already prepared horses for them.

Wei Yang handed them the reins and asked, "Your Highness, where are we going?"

"To the Ministry of Justice prison," Bei Chenyan ordered, then mounted his horse.

Bei Chenyan's two guards and Nangong Wu's two Flying Feather Guards, a group of six people, rode to the Ministry of Justice's prison.

When the people in the Ministry of Justice heard that the Crown Prince had arrived, they all rushed out to greet him, kneeling down and shouting "Your Majesty!" three times.

"Your Highness, we respectfully welcome your esteemed presence! May you live a thousand years!"

"No need for formalities, rise!" Bei Chenyan raised her hand slightly. "I've only come to take a look, there's no need for everyone to be so tense."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" The Vice Minister of Justice stood up and invited them into the main hall of the Ministry of Justice. "Your Highness, please come in."

"Hmm." Bei Chenyan and Nangong Wu entered the main hall of the Ministry of Justice.

After Bei Chenyan sat down, he explained his purpose: "Minister Gu, how many death row inmates are awaiting execution this year?"

"Your Highness, there are thirty-four people in total." When the Minister Gu saw him ask this, he thought he was investigating some case, so he took out a file, opened it, and handed it to Bei Chenyan.

"Your Highness, this is the list of all those who are about to be executed."

Bei Chenyan took the dossier, read it through, and then stood up. "Minister Gu, come with me to the prison and let's see these people."

"Yes!" Minister Gu hurriedly agreed and led them toward the death row.

This is an underground death row, dark and damp, with a foul musty smell.

The Vice Minister led them to a death row cell and respectfully said:

"Your Highness, all thirty-four death row inmates are here. Seventeen of them are notorious bandits, and there are also those who murdered their brothers to seize their family property. Their identities have all been verified. They are all heinous criminals, and there are absolutely no imposters among them."

Nangong Wu stood in front of the iron gate. In the cell, which was less than 20 square meters, there were 34 death row inmates, each dressed in tattered clothes and with unkempt hair.

"What do you want to do?" Bei Chenyan asked her.

"Draw blood and urine samples, from individuals under fifty years old." After giving the instructions, Nangong Wu turned around and sat down at a low, worn-out table, presumably where the prison guard on duty would sit.

Li Shuang stepped forward, placed a small medicine box she had brought in front of her, and opened the lid.

"Bring everyone out," Bei Chenyan ordered the jailers.

"Go quickly and pull him out." Minister Gu immediately ordered the jailers to open the iron gate.

Nangong Wu took out some tubes and placed them on the table.

Two jailers dragged out the first condemned prisoner and forced him to kneel on the ground.

"What do you want to do?" The death row inmate asked in fear as he saw the things on the table.

"What's his name?" Nangong Wu took out a name tag and a ballpoint pen.

"His name is Zhang Ershi," a jailer replied.

Nangong Wu wrote the person's name on the name tag, then tore it off and stuck it on the small tube.

"Pull up one of his sleeves." Bei Chenyan had seen Nangong Wu draw blood before, so he knew how to do it.

"I'll do it." Li Ke stepped forward personally, placed one of the condemned prisoner's hands on the table, and rolled up his sleeve to reveal his dark arm.

Nangong Wu took a cotton swab, dipped it in alcohol, and cleaned the veins in the armpit several times before the original skin color of the arm was revealed.

After collecting the blood, she took out a small tube already labeled with the person's name and handed it to Li Ke, saying, "Collect his urine."

"Understood, sir." Li Ke waved his hand and led the man away.