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

"Outrageous!" The Emperor of Southern Qi roared in fury, his hand trembling slightly as he pointed at Empress Wan. "Wan, what crime have you and the Wan family committed?!"

The emperor's angry voice finally made Empress Wan realize what she had said, but she still felt that she had not done anything wrong.

"Your Majesty, I am only thinking of the royal bloodline. The mothers of these three children are of unknown origin. Giving them the status of illegitimate sons is enough; they must never be legitimate sons!"

Suppressing his anger, Bei Chenyan coldly said, "Mother, instead of worrying about the origins of the three children's mother, why don't you first explain to Father about your false imperial edict?"

Upon hearing that the most important matter had finally been discussed, Wei Yang quickly presented the imperial edict that Empress Wan had instructed Eunuch Wu to read aloud.

Eunuch Yu took it and handed it to Emperor Nanqi.

When Empress Wan saw the imperial edict, her face turned deathly pale, and her legs went weak, causing her to collapse to the ground.

Emperor Nanqi opened the imperial edict and read its contents: "The Crown Prince is perverse in nature, lacks any reputation for benevolence and filial piety, violates human ethics, and appoints treacherous officials, causing disappointment in the court and the public. Is he unfit to inherit the throne?"

After reading it, his face darkened horribly, and he gave a cold laugh. "Empress, explain to me when I issued this imperial edict? And how did you affix this seal to it?"

"Your Majesty..." Empress Wan was speechless.

Now that things have come to this, any attempt to argue is futile, so she might as well just give up and throw caution to the wind.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is capricious and acts arbitrarily. He kills innocent people indiscriminately, shows no respect for elders, and lacks the demeanor and benevolence that a crown prince should have. He doesn't even respect his mother, the Empress Dowager. If he continues to act recklessly like this, the Beichen Clan's empire will be destroyed by him sooner or later."

"Haha!" Emperor Nanqi laughed twice in anger. "So, you thought I was dead, so you joined forces with your father and brothers, as well as all those who impeached the Crown Prince today, to try to forcibly remove him from office?"

"So that your Wan family can firmly control my empire and turn the Southern Qi Kingdom into your own?"

Upon hearing this, all the officials who had impeached Bei Chenyan that day were terrified and knelt there trembling.

"Your humble servant dares not! Your humble servant is utterly loyal to the court and has absolutely no disloyal intentions!" The Grand Tutor Wan was so shocked that he kowtowed repeatedly.

"Your Majesty, the fake imperial edict was written by someone I had. I only wanted to restrain the Crown Prince. It was all my fault. It has nothing to do with my father and brother. If you want to punish someone, then punish me!" Empress Wan was afraid that today's events would implicate the Wan family, so she had no choice but to take all the blame upon herself.

Bei Chenyan was born to her, and as long as he remains the Crown Prince, the Emperor of Nanqi cannot punish her too severely.

"Guards, draft the imperial edict!" The Emperor of Southern Qi issued the decree:

"Empress Wan harbors treacherous intentions and interferes in court affairs, falsely conveying imperial edicts. This is a rebellious act, unbecoming of an empress, and her crime is unforgivable! Considering the fate of the nation and the safety of the court, I hereby depose her from the position of empress, demote her to a commoner, and strip her of her official seal and ribbons. She shall be confined to the Cold Palace, where no one shall be allowed to visit her."

The entire Phoenix Palace was ordered to commit suicide.

Emperor Nanqi knew that all the palace maids and eunuchs in Empress Wan's palace were sent to the palace by the Wan family, and they were all well-trained. Since the empress had been deposed, none of these unruly servants could be kept alive.

"Your Majesty, spare my life!"

The eunuchs and palace maids who came with Lady Wan were terrified and begged for mercy when they heard that they were to be sentenced to death.

Commander Deng immediately shouted, "Guards! Take them all away! Everyone from the Phoenix Palace must be executed immediately!"

The servants in Fengyi Palace were all bullies, relying on the Empress's power to act arrogantly and treat the Imperial Guards like dirt. They had long harbored resentment but dared not speak out.

Now Heaven has finally opened its eyes, and the Emperor has issued an edict ordering these people to be executed. They must be dragged out and killed as soon as possible to vent the anger they have suffered over the years.

A large contingent of imperial guards rushed in and dragged the palace maids and eunuchs away.

"Your Majesty, spare my life!"

"Your Majesty, I don't want to die! Please save me..."

However, Wan was already in danger himself, and he was limp on the spot. How could he care about them?

Deposed! Reduced to a commoner! From the high and mighty Empress, she was suddenly reduced to a commoner. Would she be confined to the cold palace for the rest of her life?

"Your Majesty, I am the Crown Prince's birth mother, you cannot depose me!" Lady Wan was extremely unwilling.

"How dare you claim to be the Crown Prince's birth mother? Look at what you've done today! You've joined forces with court officials to depose your own son! There's no mother in the world more wicked than you! If I were no longer here, would you have deposed the Crown Prince to take my place? Cough cough cough..." The Emperor of Southern Qi coughed again in anger.

"Grandfather, please don't be angry. Let me pat your back and you'll feel better." Nangong Xi quickly patted his back.

"Grandfather, let me pat your chest too." Nangong Jue patted his chest.

Looking at his three sensible grandsons, the Emperor of Southern Qi's anger subsided by half. "I'm fine."

Bei Chenyan secretly grasped Nangong Wu's hand and sent her a private message: "I'm sorry, but the Empress Dowager is still my birth mother; I can't kill her!"

"Then I'll let her off this time for your sake. She'd better not cause any more trouble or do anything to provoke me or the three children, otherwise, no one's face will matter to me," Nangong Wu warned.

"I know that if she continues to act recklessly, you won't need to lift a finger." Bei Chenyan looked at Wan Shi, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.

This mother, like Empress Dowager Ming of the Western Yan Kingdom, only had power and interests in her eyes. She only wanted to use her son as a puppet to preserve the wealth and glory of her maternal family.

This time, out of consideration for blood ties, I'll let her off the hook. But if there's a next time, I'll never let her have the chance to harm herself and her child again.

At this moment, two more palace maids entered and removed Wan Shi's phoenix crown and phoenix robe from her head in the hall.

"Your Majesty, please forgive my daughter this time, considering that she is the birth mother of His Highness the Crown Prince!" the Grand Tutor pleaded.

However, Emperor Nanqi had long wanted to punish the Wan family, so how could he possibly let her go?

"Wan Sheng, you and the Wan family have caused a disturbance in the court and plotted treason. What is your punishment?" Emperor Nanqi began to question the Wan family.

Lady Wan struggled desperately, shouting at Emperor Nanqi, "Your Majesty, it's all my fault. It has nothing to do with my father or the Wan family. I only wanted to teach the Crown Prince a lesson today. I did nothing wrong."

Emperor Nanqi, no longer interested in her, continued to issue decrees: "Wan Sheng has failed in his duty to educate his daughter; his title of Imperial Father-in-Law is hereby revoked immediately, and the Wan family's Duke status is reduced by two ranks to Earl; all officials within the Wan family's nine clans who hold positions in the court are also to be demoted by two ranks, as a warning to others!"

The reason he only demoted the Wan family's titles was because the Wan family was powerful and had a deep foundation; their centuries-old roots could not be uprooted overnight.

The Wan family father and son dared to do this today, which means they must have made arrangements outside the palace. Once they take action against the Wan family, eight out of ten officials will surely rebel in order to save their lives.