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

"Your Majesty, I dare not! I beg Your Majesty for mercy! I will never dare to do it again!" The commander of the Imperial City Guard was filled with unease.

The Crown Prince wouldn't really punish him, would he?

If anyone dares to kill him, they will offend the Wan family, and the Crown Prince's position as heir apparent will likely be in jeopardy.

"The Imperial City Guard is directly under the command of my father and is responsible for protecting the security of the Imperial City. Now that my father is seriously ill, I have been ordered to oversee the country and have full authority over the government. Without my order, no one may mobilize troops without authorization."

"Ji Tong, as the commander of the Imperial City Guard, you dared to mobilize troops without my order. This is a capital offense of treason! If I do not punish you severely, anyone can mobilize troops without permission. Where is the law of our dynasty? Where is the majesty of our dynasty?" Bei Chenyan questioned.

Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials knelt down again.

The official who had long disliked the Wan family was secretly overjoyed.

An official from the Prince Jing faction advised, "Your Highness is absolutely right. Commander Ji is responsible for the safety of the capital, yet he has mobilized troops without authorization. It is clear that he does not care about the safety of His Majesty and Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Your Majesty, I second that opinion. Commander Ji's unauthorized troop deployment is tantamount to treason. If he is let off lightly, what will become of the imperial dignity? What will become of Your Majesty's authority?"

"We second that proposal!"

Sixty percent of the ministers in the hall seconded the motion.

Seeing that Bei Chenyan was about to get serious, Wan Wenting panicked. "Your Highness, please forgive my cousin this time, considering it's his first offense! I beg you!"

He hoped that the Crown Prince would spare Ji Tong's life out of consideration for him as his maternal uncle.

"Anyone who pleads for leniency for Ji Tong's capital offense will be punished as an accomplice!" Bei Chenyan's cold voice rang out in the hall. "Where is the Commander of the Imperial Guards?"

Commander Deng led several imperial guards into the main hall, cupped his hands, and said, "Please give your orders, Your Highness."

"Ji Tong, the commander of the Imperial City Guard, has privately mobilized troops and shown contempt for the imperial authority. His crime is unforgivable. Drag him outside the South Palace Gate and execute him," Bei Chenyan ordered.

Ji Tong collapsed to the ground, unable to believe that the Crown Prince really intended to kill him.

"Yes!" Two imperial guards immediately stepped forward, removed Ji Tong's official hat, and took off his official robes and boots.

"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"

A eunuch's high-pitched voice came from outside the main hall.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of all the civil and military officials became subtle.

This is the main hall of the imperial court, a place for discussing important national affairs. When the founding emperor established the Southern Qi Kingdom, he set a rule that the concubines of the harem were not allowed to interfere in politics, let alone step into this main hall of the imperial court. How did the empress barge in like this?

Ji Tong was overjoyed; the Empress had arrived, meaning he wouldn't have to die.

Wan Wenting also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he was quick-witted and, seeing the situation was not good, promptly summoned the Empress.

The two imperial guards who had been holding Ji Tong down also loosened their grip.

Bei Chenyan's gaze turned cold as he looked at Empress Wan stepping into the main hall.

Even though the civil and military officials were quite dissatisfied with the empress barging into the court hall, they still had to kneel down and pay their respects.

"Your Majesty, we kowtow to Your Majesty the Empress! May you live a thousand years!"

Empress Wan walked into the main hall with unwavering composure, her eyes fixed straight ahead.

Bei Chenyan glared at Commander Deng. "Why aren't you taking him away to be executed?"

No matter who comes today, he's determined to cut off Ji Tong's head.

"Yes!" Commander Deng was startled and immediately took action himself, picking up Ji Tong and dragging him outside.

"Stop!" Empress Wan shouted sternly, "Release them immediately."

Commander Deng glanced at Bei Chenyan and put the man down.

Ji Tong immediately kowtowed to Empress Wan, "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong, and I will never dare to do it again. Please have mercy on me..."

"Get up! With me here, no one dares to kill you." Empress Wan spoke to Ji Tong, but her gaze was fixed on Bei Chen Yan, her exquisitely made-up face full of displeasure.

Bei Chenyan had no choice but to step forward and cup his hands in greeting, "Mother, what brings you here?"

"If I hadn't come, would you have chopped off Commander Ji's head? How dare you!" Empress Wan questioned sharply, "Crown Prince, you're always shouting for bloodshed. When did you become so bloodthirsty?"

"Ji Tong mobilized troops without authorization, showing contempt for the emperor's authority, which is tantamount to treason. Shouldn't he die?" Bei Chenyan retorted.

"Stop spreading alarmist rumors." Empress Wan walked up to the ministers before speaking again: "Commander Ji's troop deployment has a reason; it is to capture the thieves."

"And you, as the Crown Prince, do not inquire about the reasons, cannot distinguish right from wrong, and kill people at the drop of a hat. You are cold-blooded, ruthless, and disregard even your own family. You are truly disappointing me more and more!"

"Mother!" Bei Chenyan's voice turned cold, showing no mercy because she was his birth mother. "Are you willing to disregard the law and protect criminals for your own selfish desires?"

"You..." Empress Wan never expected her son to defy her in front of all the civil and military officials. "Crown Prince, how dare you disobey me? This is utterly rebellious!"

Last night, thieves broke into the Imperial Father-in-Law's residence, and the storeroom was robbed, with many priceless imperial gifts stolen. Your uncle rushed to the palace to find you, but you refused to see him. Your uncle had no choice but to ask Commander Ji to send people to search for the thieves!

The Imperial City Guard's duty is to protect the safety of the Imperial City. If thieves break into a house, they should cooperate with the Capital Prefecture to apprehend them. What crime has Commander Ji committed by sending troops?

"Judging from what Mother Empress said, it means that anyone in the Imperial City Guard can be mobilized at will? Where do you place the imperial dignity?" Bei Chenyan sneered inwardly.

"I didn't say that," Empress Wan said angrily, pointing her finger at his nose as he repeatedly defied her.

"But there was a reason for what happened last night. The Wan family is your maternal grandparents' family, not outsiders. You wouldn't help catch the thieves, fine, but why would you kill those who helped? You're utterly unworthy of being a son!"

Wan Wenting and Ji Tong exchanged a secret glance, a smug smile appearing on their faces.

Filial piety is of paramount importance. Even if Bei Chenyan is the future emperor, he cannot disobey his birth mother. With the empress around, the crown prince cannot do anything to them!

Bei Chenyan looked at Empress Wan's finger, which was almost pointing at his nose, and his voice remained cold:

"Since the founding of the Southern Qi Dynasty by our ancestral emperor, the Imperial City Command has been under the emperor's jurisdiction. Without the emperor's decree, it is forbidden to use it privately or to seal off the city without authorization."

Last night, Wan Wenting not only forcibly mobilized the Imperial City Guard to search the city, but also arbitrarily closed the four city gates, causing unrest among the people in the entire imperial city. Those waiting outside the city could not enter. Who gave you the audacity to do this?

"How can those lowly commoners outside the city compare to the Wan family?" Empress Wan was so angry that she lost control of her emotions.

"Mother, be careful what you say!" Bei Chenyan interrupted her, finding it hard to believe she would say such a thing.

"Without the people, what kind of king would there be? What kind of empire would there be? Mother, go and see the long lines of people outside the city. They have come all the way here with their goods to sell, hoping to earn some money, but they have been stopped outside the city by the Wan family!"

"Your Majesty, the Wan family is high above, with immense power, yet they dare to look down on ordinary people? Just because the Wan family lost a valuable treasure, can they cut off their livelihood?"