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

Just then, Fang Jianxian came in and announced, "Your Highness, Prime Minister Xi has arrived."

Upon hearing this, Chu Tianxiong immediately said, "Fifth Junior Brother, you have matters to attend to in court, so go ahead and take care of them! We'll talk again tonight."

"Alright, let's talk again tonight." Bei Chenyan stood up.

He knew that Prime Minister Xi had come because of the Empress Dowager kneeling outside the Yikun Palace.

He instructed Fang Jianxian, "Arrange guest rooms for your senior brother and junior sister."

"Yes," Fang Jianxian replied.

Bei Chenyan left Yongming Hall, where the probationary prime minister stood outside.

"Your Highness," Prime Minister Xi greeted with a cupped hand.

Bei Chenyan nodded, "No need for formalities, let's talk in the study."

"Let me say it here!" Prime Minister Xi looked somewhat displeased and handed him a letter.

"Your Highness, the news that the Empress was kneeling outside Yikun Palace begging to see His Majesty has been spread by those with ulterior motives. These people are exaggerating and saying that you are wielding absolute power and abusing your authority as Crown Prince to kill court officials."

They also said that you were disrespectful to the Empress, disloyal, unfilial, and unfit to be a son, much less a crown prince. The Grand Tutor Wan secretly sent people to contact court officials, preparing to launch an attack against you at tomorrow's court assembly.

Bei Chenyan's face darkened as he took the thick letter. "I understand."

"Then I will return first to discuss countermeasures with the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the Grand Censor. After you have read the letter, please have someone send a message." After saying this, Prime Minister Xi cupped his hands again, took three steps back, and turned to leave.

Bei Chenyan stood there, opened the letter, and his expression grew increasingly grim as he read. After finishing, he put the letter away and walked towards the Tianhua Palace next door.

Nangong Wu and Li Shuang were helping several children with their studies when they saw him approaching. Nangong Wu gave Li Shuang a wink and then walked out of the palace gate.

"Is there something you need?"

"Yes, Prime Minister Xi just came by. The Wan family is trying to cause trouble," Bei Chenyan said in a deep voice.

"The Wan family is truly cunning. We just left the Fan residence, and they couldn't wait to kill us. Are they going to rebel because they can't kill us?" Nangong Wu asked him directly.

"So what do you want me to do?"

"The reason why the Wan family dares to act so recklessly is simply because they think that Father Emperor is about to die and wants to overthrow me."

The Wan family is very powerful. They will definitely force me to hand over my father at tomorrow's morning court session, or they will depose me as crown prince for imprisoning my father and being unfilial.

"The only way to stabilize the court is for Father to intervene. Is Father's health up to the task?" Bei Chenyan asked.

"Alright." Nangong Wu nodded. "Just have someone carry him there. I'll accompany him to prevent His Majesty from becoming emotionally agitated and affecting his condition."

"Thank you, but I have other things to do. Let's have dinner together." Bei Chenyan nodded to her and turned to leave.

The next day, in the imperial court.

Eighty percent of the officials impeached Bei Chenyan.

Firstly, he impeached the Crown Prince for being unfilial and repeatedly disobeying the Empress, forcing the Empress to kneel outside the Yikun Palace and beg His Majesty to make a decision, eventually causing her to faint.

The Crown Prince, as a son, disregarded the Empress and did not even offer a word of greeting. This is disloyal and unfilial, and he is unworthy to be the heir apparent.

Secondly, the Crown Prince suffers from infertility and is unfit to be the heir apparent; therefore, His Majesty is requested to depose Bei Chenyan from his position as Crown Prince.

Bei Chenyan stood below the imperial platform, looking at the civil and military officials. His father's other sons had all arrived. Prince Jing, whose leg was broken, was carried in in a wooden wheelchair and was looking at him with a gloating expression.

It seems they all know that the Wan family wants to remove him, the crown prince, from power today, and they all want to work together to dismantle this wall that is the crown prince.

His gaze fell on the 20% of officials who did not kneel.

One-tenth were ministers he had cultivated; the other tenth were royalists, or neutrals, who believed that whoever the emperor designated as the crown prince was the rightful heir and should be supported.

Actually, some of the officials kneeling below were his people, but fearing retaliation from the Wan family, he had them pretend to agree with the Wan family for the time being.

"You say I am unworthy to be the Crown Prince?" A cold voice rang out in the hall, silencing the hall for a moment.

Seeing his composure, the father-in-law and son of the Wan family, along with the officials who impeached the crown prince, couldn't help but feel uneasy.

No, His Majesty is critically ill. Even the Medicine King said there's no hope! The Empress knelt outside the Yikun Palace, trying to force the Emperor to see them, but he never showed up. This shows that he is in very bad condition, or perhaps he is already dead.

"Father-in-law of the Emperor, Duke of Anguo, do you think that just because our father is lying on his sickbed, he doesn't know what your Wan family has been doing?"

Bei Chenyan walked slowly to the Wan family father and son. His footsteps were not loud, but they seemed to tread on the hearts of these kneeling people.

"Your Majesty, I humbly request an audience!" said the Imperial Physician.

Prince Jing seized the opportunity to speak, "Bei Chen Yan, by imprisoning my father, are you plotting a rebellion?"

Bei Chen Yan sneered, "Bei Chen Zhan, use your lousy brain to think about this. I am the Crown Prince, and now I am appointed to oversee the country. Do I still need to rebel?"

"That's because you want to inherit the throne faster. You've been preventing us from seeing Father Emperor; there must be some conspiracy. Perhaps Father Emperor has already met with misfortune..." Bei Chenzhan said, then suddenly looked shocked. "Bei Chenyan, hand over Father Emperor!"

The Third Prince, Qi Wang Bei Chen Heng, also stepped forward, "Crown Prince, we just want to see Father Emperor. Knowing he's alright will put our minds at ease!"

"Ten days ago, Father Emperor summoned more than a dozen important ministers and you all, saying that he needed to recuperate for a month and issued an edict that during this period, all government affairs in the court would be handled by me, the Crown Prince."

As Bei Chenyan finished speaking, he took the scroll of bright yellow imperial edict from Zhang Qing's hand and held it up in his own.

"Only ten days have passed, and you have already defied the imperial decree and caused a ruckus here. In my opinion, it is you who want to rebel!" He stared directly at the Grand Tutor Wan, his meaning self-evident.

"Your Highness! Don't make false accusations!" With Wan Wenting's help, Wan Guozhang stood up and looked at Bei Chenyan's eyes, which were so red they seemed to be dripping blood.

"Yesterday, you set up a private court in the Shi family, using fabricated evidence to slander a court official. Without His Majesty's review and approval, you executed Shi Shengqing and Wan Shuhua on the spot. This old minister is not satisfied! This old minister demands to see His Majesty! To seek justice for the Empress and for my Wan family!"

A high-ranking censor, Wan Jia, also said, "The Crown Prince's behavior is absurd and disrespectful to the Empress. Such an unfaithful and unfilial person is unworthy to be the heir apparent. We beg Your Majesty to come out and take charge of the court!"

"We beg Your Majesty to come out and take charge of the court!"

The kneeling officials all demanded that the emperor come out and preside over the court.

Wan Guozhang's old face contorted into a ferocious expression, his narrowed eyes filled with resentment and malice.

They are going to force the emperor to show himself today. If he doesn't appear in this situation, it means that the emperor is either dying or incapacitated! So today they will remove Bei Chenyan from the position of crown prince.

Those who are promoted by everyone can be brought down.

"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!" A shrill voice suddenly rang out from outside the main hall.