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

"What? Does the Duke of Anguo intend to kill me?" Nangong Wu stepped out from behind Bei Chenyan, looking at Wan Wenting with a defiant gaze. "When you commit evil deeds and scheme against others, do you ever consider the consequences?"

Wan Guozhang didn't speak, but looked at her and Bei Chenyan with a sinister gaze.

For the first time, the Wan family suffered a setback.

"Guards!" Bei Chenyan then ordered, "Anyone involved in the murder of the Fan family father and daughter, drag them out of the Fan family compound and behead them as a warning!"

"Your Highness, spare my life!"

Immediately, a chorus of pleas for mercy erupted in the hall, with people kowtowing repeatedly.

"Your Highness, we are merely servants of the Shi family, following orders. This has nothing to do with us."

A large group of yamen runners rushed forward, and the imperial guards who were guarding outside also rushed in, dragging out all of Shi Shengqing and Wan Shuhua's hundred or so confidants, including more than twenty of Shi Shengqing's clansmen.

"The entire Shi family shall be imprisoned. Those holding positions in the court shall be dismissed, branded, and exiled to the desolate northwest frontier, four thousand miles away, with no possibility of pardon!" Bei Chenyan ordered again.

After Shi Shengqing seized control of the Fan family, news of his rise to prominence in the capital reached his ancestral home. His relatives, drawn by the news, came to live in the Fan residence for over twenty years.

"Ah—" Shi Peiqiong could not accept this ending and screamed in despair, clutching her head in her hands.

Her parents died, and her entire clan was exiled. Was she also to be branded and sent to exile?

At the Crown Prince's command, thousands of imperial guards waiting outside immediately moved in and arrested everyone in the mansion.

"Your Highness, you've gone too far!" The Grand Tutor Wan finally spoke up. "Shi Peiqiong was sent to the palace at the age of three and grew up by the Empress's side. What Shi Shengqing and Shuhua did has nothing to do with her."

"Anyone who dares to touch my Qiong'er, I'll fight them to the death!" Empress Wan held Shi Peiqiong in her arms, afraid that Nangong Wu would kill her with a single blow.

"Return to the palace!"

Shi Shengqing and Wan Shuhua are already dead; there's no point in them staying here any longer.

The eunuchs and palace maids immediately stood up and escorted Empress Wan and Shi Peiqiong away.

"Your subject respectfully sees Your Majesty off." Bei Chenyan bowed as he saw her off.

The officials in the hall also bowed.

Your Majesty, we, your humble servants, respectfully bid farewell!

The matter was settled; Empress Wan was gone, and naturally, the Wan family father and son would also have to leave.

So much has happened since last night: the underground palace was robbed, Shi Shengqing and Wan Shuhua, Ji Tong were killed, and the Wan family lost two powerful figures in the court. We need to go back and sort things out.

"This old minister takes his leave!"

Wan Guozhang and his son bid farewell to Bei Chenyan.

"Father-in-law of the Wan family, Duke of Anguo, you cannot leave yet," Nangong Wu suddenly called out to them.

"You've already killed people, what else do you want to do?" Wan Wenting said angrily.

"Check the accounts!" Nangong Wu opened a large box and took out a thick account book.

"After Shi Shengqing seized the Fan family's property, he has been using the Fan family's gold and silver to give to your Wan family for more than 20 years. You must return all of this to yourselves."

"What? You actually want the Wan family to return the money to you? That was a gift from Shi Shengqing to the Wan family." Wan Wenting couldn't believe she dared to say such a thing.

"Paying back debts is a matter of course!" Nangong Wu handed him the account book. "You knew perfectly well that the gold and silver Shi Shengqing gave you belonged to the Fan family, but you still accepted them. Now that Shi Shengqing has been brought to justice, you have to return all the money you ate."

The Fan family's money shouldn't be given away to the Wan family for nothing.

"Crown Prince! Is this also your intention?" Wan Guozhang looked at Bei Chenyan.

Fan Wuyou didn't know what the silver was all about, but the Crown Prince did.

"Your Highness, you should know where this money went." Wan Wenting flipped through the account book and stopped at one page. "Three years ago, on His Majesty's birthday, I used this sum of money to make a gold filigree ruyi, which cost a total of 100,000 taels of silver."

"And this sum of 200,000 taels of silver was donated five years ago when a landslide occurred in the south, causing houses to collapse and many people to die. Hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless. Your humble servant, on behalf of His Highness the Crown Prince, donated it to the court to provide relief to the victims."

"Is that so? The Wan family is truly kind-hearted." Bei Chenyan said with a sneer, "But I know that after you presented that golden silk ruyi, the very next day you recommended one of Shi Shengqing's cousins ​​to the Emperor in my name. The Emperor appointed that person as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue because of my face."

"The Vice Minister of Revenue, that's a lucrative position. You went to great lengths to remove the previous Vice Minister so you could install your own people, all under the guise of doing what's best for the Crown Prince. Did you really think your Wan family's actions were foolproof?"

At this point, Bei Chenyan took out several secret letters from the box and handed them to Wan Wenting.

"The person who volunteered to go to provide disaster relief that time was you, Duke Anguo, right? The imperial court allocated 800,000 taels of silver that time, of which 300,000 taels went into the pockets of your Wan family."

"You're talking nonsense..." Wan Wenting's face changed as he looked at the secret letter.

"You're investigating our Wan family." The Grand Tutor Wan wondered if the things missing from the underground palace were related to the Crown Prince.

Bei Chenyan remained noncommittal to his words, "Now, are you still going to say that all the money was spent on me?"

"What exactly do you want?" The old man's face no longer held any respect for him.

"Take good care of these accounts." Bei Chenyan took the account book back from Wan Wenting's hand and put it back in the box. "Pay back to Miss Fan how much silver she owes the Fan family."

Otherwise, these secret letters might one day appear on Father Emperor's desk.

When Wan Guozhang was threatened for the first time, his wrinkled face twisted slightly.

Panic flashed in Wan Wenting's eyes, "Father..."

If the emperor were to see these secret letters, he would certainly not let it go easily.

"Alright, the Wan family will compensate you." Wan Guozhang walked out, leaning on his cane. "The Wan family will send someone over."

Wan Wenting walked behind and had his attendants carry away the bodies of Shi Shengqing and Wan Shuhua.

Minister Gu wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. "Your Highness, I will go and see the Shi family members first."

"Gu Qing, from this day forward, you will assume the position of Minister of Justice," Bei Chenyan said.

This person's performance today was acceptable.

Minister Gu's face lit up with joy. "Yes, Your Highness. I will do my utmost to repay Your Highness's kindness in recognizing my talent."

"Okay, go ahead." Bei Chenyan nodded slightly.

"We take our leave."

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, the Grand Censor, and the Prefect of the Capital also took their leave.

The three of them were left in the lobby.

"These account books need to be put away first. If the Wan family comes, I will have someone settle accounts with them properly." Bei Chenyan clenched his fists as he thought of the things in the underground palace.

This time, we'll make every family pay a heavy price.