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

As soon as Emperor Nanqi uttered these words, all the civil and military officials realized that he was about to make a decision, and the entire hall fell silent.

The Imperial Father-in-Law sensed something was wrong. Relying on his status as the Imperial Father-in-Law, he tried to argue, "Your Majesty, this old minister is mainly worried about you. The Crown Prince is too autocratic, domineering, and cruel, which is detrimental to the country!"

"Despotic, tyrannical, and cruel—detrimental to the nation? Hmph!" Emperor Nanqi sneered. "Is the Grand Tutor questioning my judgment?"

"Your humble servant dares not!" The Emperor's father-in-law pressed his forehead to the ground.

Emperor Nanqi coldly surveyed the assembled ministers in the hall, remaining silent for a long time until the hall fell silent once more.

The officials who impeached Bei Chenyan just now felt as if a sharp sword was hanging over their heads, ready to fall at any moment with just one word from the Emperor of Nanqi.

But Emperor Nanqi remained silent for a long time, and the silence in the hall was so oppressive that it was almost oppressive.

Time ticked by, and every second was excruciating for them.

Empress Wan, in particular, has been very dissatisfied with Emperor Nanqi for the past few years because of Shi Peiqiong's involvement in the Spring Breeze Ferry incident with Beichen Yan.

In the years since Bei Chenyan left, he has rarely come to her palace. Even on the first and fifteenth of each month, he only comes symbolically and leaves after less than a quarter of an hour. Sometimes, he will not come for a whole month, citing his poor health.

But they didn't know that the Emperor of Nanqi had aggravated his wound from anger and was in pain, so he wanted to rest for a while before speaking.

Bei Chenyan also sensed something was wrong and looked at Nangong Wu with a questioning gaze.

Nangong Wu shook her head slightly at him, telling him not to worry.

After about fifteen minutes, the Emperor of Southern Qi finally spoke, making his final decision regarding the events of the previous day:

"As the commander of the Imperial City Guard, Ji Tong, without my decree or the Crown Prince's order, privately mobilized troops to search the city, which is tantamount to treason. This is a grave crime of rebellion. The Crown Prince sentenced him to death, which he deserves. Anyone who dares to object will be punished as an accomplice!"

"Your Majesty! Ji Tong did not transfer the Imperial City Guard without cause. It was this old minister who asked Wan Wenting to plead with him. It was all this old minister's fault." Grand Tutor Wan defended Ji Tong:

"The night before, thieves sneaked into my residence and stole many precious items, most of which were imperial gifts. I was afraid that I would not be able to explain the loss to the royal family, so I asked Ji Tong to lend me troops to search the city. I just want to find the imperial gifts as soon as possible!"

Ji Tong was his sister's grandson. Fearing that the emperor would also blame the Ji family, he took all the blame onto the Wan family.

"Your Majesty, we have found out that the Wan family's stolen goods were something they couldn't keep in the light of day, which is why they didn't report it to the authorities and wanted Ji Tong to mobilize troops to help them search," Nangong Wu whispered to Emperor Nanqi.

The contents of the Wan family's underground palace could not be exposed to the light of day, and the Wan family dared not report it to the authorities, because once they did, the Prefect of the Capital and the Ministry of Justice would have to investigate the case and verify the missing items before they would send out constables to search for them.

Wan Guozhang was also afraid that if the government found out about those things, the dirty deeds of the Wan family would be exposed.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor of Southern Qi immediately asked, "Since the items were stolen, why didn't you report it to the authorities and ask them to help investigate?"

He felt unwell all over, didn't want to use his brain, and also felt that listening to Nangong Wu was the right thing to do.

"You lost something and didn't report it to the police? Did you lose something shameful? And you even dare to say with such righteous indignation that it was your Wan family who ordered Ji Tong to mobilize the troops? Do you actually think that the Imperial City Guard is just your Wan family's private army?"

"Your humble servant wouldn't dare!" Wan Wenting exclaimed in alarm, quickly trying to defend himself.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me! I acted rashly in my haste, only thinking of finding the treasure as quickly as possible, which led to Ji Tong's downfall!"

"Since this matter originated with the Wan family, then the Wan family bears the greatest responsibility." The Emperor of Southern Qi allowed them no further excuses and issued another decree:

"Considering that Ji Tong was easily swayed by others' words and has already been brought to justice, the crime of exterminating the entire Ji family is spared! However, while the death penalty may be waived, punishment is inevitable. All members of the nine generations of the Ji family are stripped of their official titles and all positions in the court. The Ji family mansion is confiscated, all its property is added to the national treasury, and all its members are exiled to the desolate northwest to perform hard labor."

"Your Majesty, please forgive me!" Empress Wan did not expect Emperor Nanqi to be so ruthless. Bei Chenyan killed Ji Tong, and everyone thought he was cruel. They never expected that the emperor would be even more ruthless, bringing the entire Ji family to justice.

"Your Majesty, I beg you to spare the Ji family for my sake. My aunt is old and cannot endure the long journey of exile!"

"For your sake? Empress, what face do you have?" Emperor Nanqi sneered.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." Empress Wan could not speak.

Her dignity was bestowed upon her by the emperor. She was able to become empress because she gave birth to Bei Chenyan. She was able to retain her position as empress because Bei Chenyan was the crown prince.

But now, she has forged an imperial edict and joined forces with the Wan family and court officials to try to depose Bei Chenyan from his position as crown prince. She has lost all dignity in the royal family.

Empress Wan felt a pang of regret. If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have pressured Bei Chenyan. That way, the emperor wouldn't have been alerted, and they could have protected the entire Ji family.

She suddenly thought of her son, and crawled to her knees before Bei Chenyan, pleading, "Yan'er, I was wrong, please forgive me this time! Please spare the Ji family..."

With just one word from this son, the Ji family could be spared from being implicated.

Bei Chenyan turned around to avoid her kneeling.

No matter how great a crime the Empress Dowager has committed, she should not be forced to kneel before her.

He walked up the steps and stood on either side of Emperor Nanqi with Nangong Wu.

"Zhang Qing!" he suddenly said.

"Your subordinate is here!" Zhang Qing stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Please give your orders, Your Highness!"

"From this day forward, I hereby appoint you as the Commander of the Imperial City Guard," Bei Chenyan ordered.

Upon hearing this, the civil and military officials in the hall exchanged glances secretly.

Nangong Wu was not surprised. The Imperial City Guard was the agency responsible for guarding the Imperial City and intelligence gathering. It was the executive head of the Emperor's direct special agent and supervisory system. Naturally, Bei Chenyan would choose the person he trusted most to fill such an important position.

Zhang Qing was also taken aback for a moment before accepting the order: "Your Highness, I obey your command and will certainly live up to your expectations."

"Hmm." Bei Chenyan nodded, took out his crown prince token and gave it to him, "You now take people to seal up the Ji family mansion, and all their property will be confiscated into the national treasury. The Ji family members will be escorted to the desolate northwest to perform hard labor tomorrow."

"Your subordinate obeys!" Zhang Qing accepted the token with both hands and withdrew.

Wan Guozhang and Wan Wenting looked extremely displeased, cursing inwardly! The Ji family was finished just like that.

Furthermore, they had already prepared a candidate for the next commander of the Imperial City Guard. The emperor's sudden appearance actually led Bei Chenyan to arrange his own people.

"Who else among you wants to depose the Crown Prince from his position as heir apparent?" The Southern Qi Emperor's voice wasn't loud, but it made the officials who had just impeached Bei Chenyan tremble involuntarily.

"Your Majesty, shall we talk about the matter of the false imperial edict first?" Nangong Wu whispered to Emperor Nanqi.