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

The old lady did not argue with her, but just knelt there without saying a word.

"Mother, I..." Zhou Chuchu was so anxious that she was about to cry when she saw how indifferent the Wu family was.

"It's alright, Mother is here for you." Madam Zhou gave her a reassuring look.

Zhou Chuchu seemed to have guessed something. A hint of smugness flashed in her eyes as she steadied herself.

Nangong Wu saw everyone's expressions but didn't help Old Madam Wu up. Instead, she sat down in the chair that Li Shuang had brought over.

"Madam, the officials will be here soon. The magistrate will make his own judgment on who is right and who is wrong, so there is no need for you to worry."

Lady Hou glanced at the old lady and, seeing that she had no intention of getting up, had no choice but to continue kneeling with her.

Before long, the Marquis of Chengping had Zhou Chuchu's dowry brought out, 128 loads, filling the front yard.

"Princess, all 128 loads of dowry are here. Your humble servant has checked them and nothing is missing. Please take a look," said Marquis Chengping.

"Okay." Nangong Wu stood up and slowly walked to the box of pearls.

Two hundred top-quality pearls are neatly arranged in an exquisite box. Each pearl is large and uniform, round and full in shape, with a warm and lustrous color and a faint milky white luster.

"The Prefect of Jingzhao has arrived!" a voice announced.

Nangong Wu turned around and saw the prefect arrive, followed by a group of yamen runners. Li Feng and Luo Dayou also brought their men in.

"Your humble servant greets the Princess." The Prefect greeted her first.

"No need for formalities." Nangong Wu nodded slightly to him. "Thank you for coming again, sir."

The prefect remained composed and respectful, saying, "Your Highness is too kind. Handling cases is my duty."

"Let's begin!" Nangong Wu glanced at Li Shuang.

Li Shuang took the dowry list and explained the whole story to the prefect.

After hearing this, Zhou Chuchu instinctively shrank into Madam Zhou's arms. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, she whispered, "Mother, how did Nangong Wu change?"

"That little bitch has grown wings now, she's already divorced your brother..." Madam Zhou leaned close to her ear and whispered the whole story that had happened over the past few days.

"What..." Zhou Chuchu was shocked after hearing this, finding it hard to believe that her father's title had been demoted and that he could no longer inherit it.

"How dare that bitch Nangong Wu?"

She panicked. They dared to treat Nangong Wu that way because she liked Zhou Shaorong and thought she would endure anything.

Now that she has suddenly stopped loving him, and is deliberately making things difficult for him over the dowry issue, things are probably not going to get better.

"Guards, seize Zhou Chuchu!" the prefect ordered.

Regardless of how the pearl ended up in Zhou Chuchu's dowry, she cannot escape the crime of usurpation.

"These things were all done by me, and have nothing to do with Chuchu." Madam Zhou shielded her daughter behind her and looked at Nangong Wu.

"Princess Runing, I know you want revenge on the Zhou family. If you have something to say, come at me! Chu Chu is pregnant, and the child in her womb is innocent. Please spare her and her child."

"Let her and her child go? Ha!" Nangong Wu scoffed.

"When you were humiliating me and trying to kill me and my child, did you ever think that I was also a mother's child? How innocent my child was! Now that the knife is about to fall on your own bodies, so you finally know fear?"

"Madam Zhou, I advise you not to obstruct the officials in their duties," the prefect said.

Several constables stepped forward; two stopped Madam Zhou, and two seized Zhou Chuchu and pinned her to the ground.

Zhou Chuchu struggled desperately, crying out to Wu Jingting, "Husband, save me..."

However, Wu Jingting seemed not to hear her words, standing there motionless with his head down.

The Wu family was afraid that her matter would implicate the Marquis of Chengping's mansion, and that helping her would make them accomplices, so they dared not speak up for her.

Zhou Chuchu finally understood, and her heart sank.

Li Shuang and Li Feng took out Nangong Wu's belongings one by one from Zhou Chuchu's dowry and put them aside.

At this moment, Nangong Wu noticed that Madam Zhou's eyes kept glancing towards the gate of the mansion, as if she was waiting for someone to come.

It seems she found a helper, is it her imperial concubine sister?

Before long, Li Feng and Li Shuang had found all of Nangong Wu's dowry, not a single item was missing.

"Princess, are you sure these are all your lost dowry items?" the prefect asked.

"I'm sure, these are all things that I lost." Nangong Wu confirmed that she had already checked them.

Besides the two hundred pearls, each of the treasures was engraved with a small character, either "妩" or "御".

The name "Wu" was created for her by her father, and it included gifts from the imperial court and makeup added by Emperor Mingde for the original owner.

Her dowry was in triplicate: one copy was kept by her, one copy remained in the Zhenyuan Prince's Mansion, and the other copy was archived in the Imperial Household Department of the palace.

After hearing her confirmation, the prefect personally checked and verified the items carefully. They were indeed all imperial gifts and items from the Zhenyuan Prince's Mansion, matching the items that had been lost from Nangong Wu's dowry.

A constable followed him, recording each treasure in detail.

"Zhou Chuchu, you stole Princess Runing's dowry. The evidence is now irrefutable. What else do you have to say?" The prefect's voice was stern.

"I did all of this; my daughter was unaware of it." Knowing that the matter could no longer be concealed, Madam Zhou took all the blame upon herself.

"She didn't know?" How could the prefect believe him?

Before today, he would have been somewhat wary of the Duke of Wei's mansion, but Zhou Zheng had been disliked and demoted by the emperor and could no longer inherit the title. Zhou Shaorong had also been deposed, so the Zhou family had no chance of making a comeback.

"Even if she didn't steal the items, didn't she know that possessing pearls is a capital offense?"

"Death penalty!" Upon hearing these two words, Madam Zhou swayed, her heart sinking to the bottom. She glanced again at the direction of the gate.

"My daughter is pregnant, you can't touch her. I will go in her place."

"None of you can escape." The prefect raised his hand and gestured, "Take them all away and investigate them thoroughly!"

"No! My aunt is the current Imperial Noble Consort, and Prince Rui is my cousin! You can't touch me..." Zhou Chuchu cried out in panic, "Husband, I'm carrying your child! Please save me..."

Hearing her mention the child, Wu Jingting felt a pang of pity and looked at Wu Zhong, "Father..."

"Shut up?" Marquis Chengping glared at him.

"My lord! Please wait a moment." Old Madam Wu suddenly spoke up.

"Is there something you need, Madam?" the prefect asked, looking at her.

The old lady walked over, leaning on her cane. "Zhou Chuchu stole Princess Runing's dowry. Her conduct is immoral, and she is unworthy to be the wife of the heir of my Marquis Chengping."

"Grandmother!" Wu Jingting's expression changed drastically.

"Shut up!" The old lady pointed her cane at Zhou Chuchu. "Do you want our entire Chengping Marquis's mansion to be ruined because of such a despicable woman?"

"I..." Wu Jingting dared not speak anymore, his face contorted in pain.

Zhou Chuchu committed a capital offense, and he was powerless to stop it. If he didn't divorce her, he would drag the entire family into the abyss.