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

Bei Chenyan held his son's hand as they stood in front of a remote, dilapidated palace that had been neglected for many years.

"Whoosh!" Two dark figures flashed out from the shadows and knelt on one knee.

"Your Highness, I greet you!"

"No need for formalities!" Bei Chen Yan nodded slightly. "I'm just looking around, there's no need for me to follow."

"yes!"

The two guards responded and then disappeared into the night.

Silence returned to the surroundings, with the occasional gust of cold wind rustling the branches of the trees.

Nangong Yu looked up and asked, "Father, where is this?"

"Come in with your father." Bei Chenyan took his son's hand and walked towards the two wooden doors with several cracks.

His gaze darkened, and he pushed open the door.

The creaking sound was harsh due to years of disrepair, and dust fell in rustling motions.

Seeing that it was pitch black inside, Nangong Yu gripped his father's hand tightly.

"Don't be afraid," Bei Chenyan comforted him, waved away the dust, and stepped inside.

A musty, rotten smell wafted over him. He frowned, took a flashlight from his pocket, and shone it inside.

He used to carry a luminous pearl with him when he went out at night for lighting purposes.

After following Nangong Wu and hearing from Aiqi and Eileen that luminous pearls might contain radiation and be harmful to the human body, he stopped wearing them.

So he asked Nangong Wu for a flashlight with batteries.

Bei Chenyan looked around the dilapidated palace. It was large but empty, with no tables or chairs. The walls were peeling, and rat holes could be seen at the base of the walls.

"Father, there seems to be someone over there." Nangong Yu pointed to a corner.

Bei Chenyan turned his gaze and saw a pile of moldy hay in the corner, with a disheveled person huddled there.

The person was none other than the deposed Empress Wan. Hearing the noise, she moved her body and slowly raised her head.

When she saw the two figures, one tall and one short, she sat up abruptly and said something full of sarcasm.

"Crown Prince, I underestimated you. You've been away from Jade Dragon City for many years, and you've really grown too big for your britches! Did you come here to laugh at me, that I've fallen to this state?"

Before today, she was the empress, second only to the emperor, enjoying immense power and prestige.

They thought their plan would succeed today: to depose Bei Chenyan from his position as crown prince, and then, regardless of whether the emperor was alive or dead, to have him die, and then pin the emperor's death on Bei Chenyan.

However, they were still outmatched. The experts they sent into the palace only guarded outside the Yikun Hall. As soon as the emperor showed up, the assassins would immediately make their move. No matter what, they couldn't let the emperor leave the Yikun Hall.

But to their utter surprise, the emperor had already been sent to the Eastern Palace by Bei Chenyan to recuperate. He was carried to the court assembly by skilled martial arts practitioners from the inner court, and their men didn't even have time to make a move.

"Mother, you forged the imperial edict and affixed a fake seal, which is tantamount to treason. You have brought this upon yourself!" Bei Chenyan walked slowly to her, his eyes also full of mockery.

"If your plan succeeds today, my fate will likely be worse than yours."

"Then what are you doing here?" Madam Wan sneered. "Bei Chenyan, I originally wanted you to be the Crown Prince peacefully. As long as you obediently listened to me, the throne would be yours. But you insisted on disobeying me."

"Obey me obediently?" Bei Chenyan's eyes were icy cold. "Does that mean obediently becoming your and the Wan family's puppet? Obediently following your orders and marrying that woman, Shi Peiqiong?"

"What's wrong with Shi Peiqiong? In terms of background, both the Wan and Shi families are her powerful backers. Qiong'er is gentle, virtuous, and understanding; she's kind, polite, and knows her place. Whether it's her looks or her talent, few women in the entire Southern Qi Kingdom can compare to her!" Madam Wan grew increasingly angry as she spoke.

"Qiong'er was brought to my side when she was three years old. She suffered a lot in order to become a qualified Crown Princess. Why can't you see her good qualities?"

"You bad person, you're not allowed to talk about my father like that!" Nangong Yu stood in front of Bei Chenyan when he saw how fierce she was.

Looking at his face, which bore a striking resemblance to Bei Chenyan, Wan's eyes suddenly turned sinister. "Bei Chenyan, do you think this little bastard's birth mother is Fan Wuyou?"

"Shut up!"

"You wicked woman, shut up!"

Bei Chenyan and Nangong Yu spoke at the same time, their tone of voice and their anger were exactly the same.

"Father, let's go back! This wicked woman is talking badly about Mother. I don't like her and I don't want to see her!" Nangong Yu tugged at Bei Chenyan's hand.

If I had known that Father was coming to see this person, I wouldn't have come!

"Yu'er, I'm sorry you heard things you shouldn't have." Bei Chenyan knelt down and hugged his son. "We'll go back in a little while."

"Okay." Nangong Yu listened to him.

"Judging from your words, the child's birth mother is indeed Fan Wuyou!" Madam Wan's tone was certain, her eyes flashing with murderous intent.

"Fan Wuyou is nothing but an orphan girl. How dare she offend the Wan family! You can just wait to collect her corpse!"

Upon hearing that she wanted to kill his mother, Nangong Yu was enraged again. He walked up to Wan Shi, put one hand on his hip, pointed at her with the other, and said angrily:

"You wicked woman! My mother's name is Nangong Wu, not Fan Wuyou. If you dare touch my mother, I'll blow your entire Wan family to smithereens!"

"Your mother... is called Nangong Wu?" When Madam Wan heard the name, it sounded familiar. The next moment, her expression changed drastically, and her gaze shifted to Bei Chenyan's face.

"Is the Nangong Wu he's talking about the Princess of Runing from the Western Yan Kingdom, Nangong Wu?"

"That's right, the birth mother of these three children is Princess Nangong Wu of Runing." Bei Chenyan came here tonight to tell her this.

I wanted her to know that the child's mother was someone no one in the world dared to mess with.

"Do you understand now? That Shi Peiqiong you value most isn't even worthy of carrying Nangong Wu's shoes. Today you dared to insult three children; your Wan family can expect utter ruin!"

"So that's how it is! No wonder you don't respect anyone when you come back." Madam Wan understood.

"But so what? That woman, relying on her powerful weapons, indiscriminately killed innocent people! She's already condemned by the world..."

"Shut up!" Nangong Yu shouted, interrupting Wan Shi. He couldn't stand anyone speaking ill of his mother and was very angry.

He gripped the small bottle tightly in his hand. If his father hadn't been there, he would have sprinkled the poison powder over her, rendering her speechless forever.

"Yu'er, ignore her." Bei Chenyan picked up his son and looked at Madam Wan, asking, "I came here tonight to ask if you are my birth mother?"

"What did you say?" A hint of doubt flashed in Madam Wan's eyes. "You look so much like me, how could you say such a thing?"

"Is that so?" Bei Chenyan sneered. "I've already found out that you actually have a twin sister."