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

"Anyone who dares to obstruct us will be killed without mercy!" Bei Chenyan coldly ordered.

Upon hearing this, Wei Yang stepped forward, drew his long sword, and blocked Wan Guozhang's path. "Your Excellency, swords and spears have no eyes. I advise you not to make any rash moves."

"Bei Chenyan, are you crazy? That's your maternal grandfather! How dare you be disrespectful to your father?" Wan Shuhua screamed.

"That's the trouble you caused. You treated human life like dirt and had no regard for the law. Anyone who dares to stop you will be punished as an equal!" Bei Chenyan's eyes were cold and piercing.

Once he makes a decision, he will not tolerate it.

Zhang Qing obeyed orders without question. He grabbed Wan Shuhua by the hair, dragged her out, and forced her to kneel on the ground.

"Let me go..." Wan Shuhua screamed in pain.

"Your Highness, your father is the Emperor's father-in-law. Even His Majesty gives him some face. Are you sure you want to treat your maternal grandfather like this? If anything happens to your father, how will you explain it to the Empress?" Wan Wenting brought up Emperor Nanqi and Empress Wan.

"Duke Anguo, Wan Shuhua has committed murder and forced a woman into prostitution. Are you trying to use your father and mother to pressure me and protect the Shi family?" Bei Chenyan retorted.

"Fan Wuyou is nothing but a lowly merchant's daughter, how can she compare to me?" Wan Shuhua shrieked.

"Bei Chenyan, our Wan and Shi families supported you and helped you suppress Prince Jing's faction to stabilize the court, which enabled you to secure your position as Crown Prince. Now that you've taken over the reins of government, are you going to discard me after I've served my purpose?"

Bei Chenyan narrowed his eyes, his long, narrow phoenix eyes filled with a chilling killing intent.

"You wicked woman, give back the lives of the Fan family!" Nangong Wu slapped her hard across the face!

"Snap!" A crisp sound.

Wan Shuhua was stunned by the blow. She paused for a moment, then screamed, "You little bitch, how dare you hit me..."

"Serves you right for being so foul-mouthed." Nangong Wu slapped him twice more with her hand.

"You bitch, how dare you..."

"Slap slap slap slap..." Nangong Wu became furious and slapped him repeatedly.

"Stop!" Wan Wenting tried to rush over, but was stopped by Zhang Qing's sword, who warned him coldly:

"Lord Anguo, Wan Shuhua sold Miss Fan into a brothel for five hundred taels of silver back then, and even conspired with Shi Shengqing to kill the Fan family. Did you ever imagine this day would come?"

The presiding judges and the Prefect of the Capital were dumbfounded.

Minister Gu was about to stop him with his gavel, but the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review held his hand down and shook his head slightly.

Minister Gu couldn't help but look at Bei Chenyan, and saw that the Crown Prince, who usually had a stern face and was unapproachable, was actually smiling at Nangong Wu.

He was so startled that he immediately released the gavel.

Could there be something going on between the Crown Prince and this Fan Wuyou?

"Slap slap slap..." Nangong Wu slapped Wan Shuhua until she lost two more teeth. Her mouth was swollen and bleeding, and she stopped screaming.

"You..." The father-in-law of the Wan family was so angry that he trembled all over when he saw his beloved daughter being beaten in front of him.

For the first time in his life, he had his dignity trampled underfoot, and the person who did it was the crown prince whom he had painstakingly supported. This was something he found hard to accept.

"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!" A shrill voice suddenly rang out.

Upon hearing this, the three presiding judges were all secretly alarmed and looked at each other in bewilderment.

The fact that Empress Wan was alarmed makes things complicated.

Even though the Crown Prince is the heir apparent and now holds the power of regent, these people are all Empress Wan's closest relatives. If the Shi family members are forcibly punished, the mother and son will surely fall out, and the Crown Prince will also be branded as unfilial.

Li Ke leaned close to Nangong Wu's ear and said, "Your Highness, I just received news that after His Highness the Crown Prince killed Ji Tong, Empress Wan went to Yikun Palace to see Emperor Nanqi, but was stopped by Commander Deng. She knelt in front of Yikun Palace and said that if His Majesty did not see her, she would kneel until His Majesty saw her."

"It seems Shi Peiqiong went to the palace to see her." Nangong Wu curled her lips into a cold smile.

The Emperor of Nanqi is in her space. Even if Empress Wan kneels to death, she will not see him, and the Emperor of Nanqi will not know.

"Sister is here! It's the Empress!" Wan Shuhua suddenly stood up and rushed to the door.

Empress Wan, supported by Shi Peiqiong, entered the main hall, where she saw a disheveled woman rush to her and kneel down.

"Empress, please save me..."

Empress Wan was so startled that she took two steps back. "Who are you?"

"Sister, it's me, Shuhua!" Wan Shuhua raised her head, revealing her face, which was covered in blood and swollen like a pig's head.

"You're my mother!" Shi Peiqiong recognized Wan Shuhua's voice and quickly helped her up. "What happened to you?"

"You're Shuhua?" Empress Wan was shocked when she saw Shuhua's ghostly face. "What happened to your face? Who hit you?"

"Mother, was it that bitch Fan Wuyou who hit you again?" Shi Peiqiong deliberately mentioned Fan Wuyou.

"Sister, it was that little slut who hit me! They even want to convict me and Shi Shengqing! You have to stand up for us!" Wan Shuhua's face was swollen from the beating, and she had lost two teeth, so her words were a little slurred.

"Good! Very good!" Empress Wan pulled Wan Shuhua's hand and walked inside. "With me here today, let's see who dares to touch your Shi family. They'll have to step over my dead body."

Upon hearing her words, Wan Shuhua and Shi Peiqiong exchanged a glance.

With the Empress protecting them at all costs, no one could do anything to their family.

Everyone knelt down, and the three presiding judges and the Prefect of the Capital also came out and knelt down.

Everyone in the hall, except for Bei Chenyan and Nangong Wu, knelt down.

"Greetings to Your Majesty the Empress! May you live a thousand years!"

Bei Chenyan stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting, "Mother, what brings you here?"

"Father, please get up." Seeing that the Grandfather Wan was kneeling there, Empress Wan went to help her father up first.

"Your Majesty, it is this old minister's fault for failing to properly educate his daughter, which alarmed Your Majesty. I am guilty!" The old minister, Wan Guozhang, wept bitterly.

"Father, with your daughter here, you can rest assured!" Empress Wan helped him sit down before looking at Bei Chenyan.

"The Crown Prince has grown strong enough to stand on his own now; I am no longer worthy of being called 'Mother' by you!"

Bei Chenyan stood up, his voice turning cold: "Mother, the authorities are investigating a bloody case that is related to the Shi family. Please move to the flower hall to rest."

"Oh?" Empress Wan glanced around the hall, her gaze finally settling on the three presiding judges.

"The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, the Grand Censor, and the Prefect of the Capital are all here. This is quite a grand affair. I'd like to know what heinous crime my sister has committed that would warrant such a large-scale mobilization by the Crown Prince of the nation, setting up a joint trial here?"

"More than twenty years ago, the Fan family suffered a sudden disaster. Master Fan and Miss Fan died mysteriously, poisoned. Miss Fan has enough evidence to prove that the murderer was her son-in-law, Shi Shengqing." Bei Chenyan's eyes were cold.