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

After learning that Lady Wan was not the Empress Dowager, Bei Chenyan sent people to investigate the old people who had served the Empress Dowager in the past.

It was only upon investigation that it was discovered that most of those who had served the Empress Dowager closely were executed by Wan for various offenses, or imprisoned in the laundry department, and some were even sold to brothels.

But after so many years, some people have been tortured to death. Only three people were found still alive, and he rescued them all!

"Yes!" The guard accepted the order and hurried away.

A guard brought out two chairs and invited them to sit down.

"Let's wait a bit!" Bei Chenyan lifted his robe and sat down first.

Nangong Wu shook her head and sat down next to him.

"Does the Wan family know that this Lady Wan is not your real mother?"

"I'm not sure!" Bei Chenyan shook his head. "I think there are two possibilities."

One possibility is that the Empress Dowager did not obey the Wan family's orders, causing a crisis for the Wan family. In this case, the Empress Dowager was secretly sent away, and this woman was sent to replace her.

Another possibility is that this woman herself plotted to secretly enter the palace and impersonate the Empress Dowager, even deceiving the Wan family.

Nangong Wu thought for a moment, "I think the second possibility is unlikely."

"Oh? How do you know?" Bei Chenyan urged her to continue.

"The palace is heavily guarded. If it were just Wan Shi alone, it would be impossible to easily replace the empress of a country. Moreover, all the people around your mother have been dealt with. Without the Wan family's inside help, Wan Shi could not have done it."

If it were just Wan Shi doing this alone, she would have already threatened you with your mother! Where is your mother currently being held? Wan Shi probably doesn't even know.

This shows that replacing your mother was a conspiracy by the Wan family, and your mother may be in their hands.

One day, they will use your mother to threaten you.

"I've already ordered my men to take action! But the Wan family is still silent. It seems I haven't gone all out enough." Bei Chenyan's eyes flashed with murderous intent.

"Alright, I can stay for two more days," Nangong Wu said calmly.

A little over two quarters of an hour later, the guards brought back three women in their fifties.

When the three old women saw Bei Chenyan, tears streamed down their faces.

"This old servant greets Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Bei Chenyan helped the three of them up, saying, "Granny Fang, you've suffered so much!"

"This old servant is glad to see His Highness the Crown Prince one last time; I would gladly die!" Granny Fang cried.

When they were rescued, they learned that the real empress had been switched!

"Granny Fang, I've invited you here because I'm looking for clothes that my mother wore. Besides the court robes stored in the Imperial Clothing Bureau, are there any other clothes she wore..." Bei Chenyan explained why she had invited them to the palace.

"Then let this old servant take a look first!"

Three old women inspected the dozen or so large boxes of clothes that had been moved out.

After the three old women finished their examination, another half hour had passed.

"Your Highness, the cutting time of these clothes is recorded. They were all made after this old servant left."

Bei Chenyan couldn't help but feel disappointed. "Thank you for your trouble, three nannies."

He looked at the Luanfeng Palace and said, "Granny Fang, would you be willing to stay in the Luanfeng Palace and wait for the Empress Dowager to return?"

These three people were all servants of the Empress Dowager in the past. Let them stay here, and when the Empress Dowager is found, they will continue to serve her.

Upon hearing this, the three old women all knelt down again.

"This old servant is willing. Thank you, Your Highness, for allowing me to stay!"

"In that case, I'll leave the Luanfeng Palace to you." Bei Chenyan frowned as he looked at the boxes and clothes scattered on the ground. "Dispose of these clothes; they don't need to stay in the Luanfeng Palace anymore."

"This old servant obeys!"

The three old women answered.

Granny Fang hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress...?"

Bei Chenyan said, "Don't worry, Granny! I will find the Empress Dowager."

"That's good." Granny Fang wiped away her tears. "Her Majesty the Empress has such a tragic life!"

Bei Chenyan's eyes also reddened. "Granny Fang, I'll go ahead first. I'll have Cao Li take you to the Chief Eunuch of the Palace Attendants' Office later."

"This old servant understands!" Granny Fang bowed.

"Let's go back first!" Bei Chenyan took Nangong Wu's hand and left Luanfeng Palace.

Nangong Wu knew he was in a bad mood, so she let him lead her away.

"What do you plan to do next?"

"Purge all families!" Bei Chenyan said coldly.

Nangong Wu looked up at the sky.

It seems the political landscape of the Southern Qi Kingdom is about to be stirred up again.

"Wei Yang!" Bei Chenyan suddenly called out.

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's angry voice, Wei Yang quickly ran forward, "Please give your orders, Your Highness."

"You go there yourself and summon the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the Minister of Justice, Qi Ziyang, to the palace immediately to see me," Bei Chenyan ordered.

"Yes!" Wei Yang received the order and hurriedly left.

One hour later.

The capital of the Southern Qi Kingdom is suddenly in turmoil.

The Minister of Justice and the Ministry of Justice were all mobilized, along with the Imperial Guards of the Eastern Palace, to take action against the Wan family's cronies.

On that single day, two second-rank marquises, five third-rank officials, and eight fourth-rank officials were arrested.

Although these eight people were only fourth-rank officials, they held important positions in the Six Ministries.

Bei Chenyan has evidence that these people have abused their power for personal gain, committed embezzlement, accepted bribes, misappropriated public funds, and bought and sold official positions.

In an instant, the entire city of Yulong was plunged into panic once again, and people were filled with anxiety.

Some time ago, because of the Shi family incident, His Majesty and the Crown Prince killed so many people and left their corpses exposed for several days. The bodies had just been cleared away when they started arresting people again. I'm afraid there will be rivers of blood again.

Those officials in the court who had once impeached Bei Chenyan are now all in fear and are secretly going to Wan's house to discuss countermeasures.

Meanwhile, at the Eastern Palace, Bei Chenyan arranged a banquet to bid farewell to Chu Tianxiong.

"Fifth Junior Brother, I went out today and heard about what happened outside. Why don't I stay and help you?" Chu Tianxiong knew that Bei Chenyan needed manpower.

"Senior Brother, this is a matter for the imperial court, you'd better not get involved!" Bei Chenyan knew his senior brother meant well.

But he was a member of the martial arts world, and the martial arts world had its own rules. He had to keep his distance from the imperial court and they didn't want him to get involved in court disputes.

Halfway through the banquet, Wei Yang entered. "Your Highness, Zhang Qing is back!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Tianxiong immediately said, "Fifth Junior Brother, go ahead and do what you need to do!"

Unless it's something very important, the guards wouldn't bother them at this time.

"Okay, I'll be right back." Bei Chenyan stood up, nodded slightly to Nangong Wu, and went out with Wei Yang.

Nangong Wu understood what was going on as soon as she heard it.

Zhang Qing is now the head of the Imperial City Guard, responsible for both the security of the Imperial City and intelligence gathering on officials and civilians. He is essentially Bei Chenyan's intelligence chief. His visit now must mean he has obtained some important information.

Bei Chenyan walked out of Yongming Hall and saw Zhang Qing waiting outside.

"Your Highness, our men have detected a large number of unusual movements outside the city. It seems that someone is about to make their move."

"Let's talk in the study." Bei Chenyan led him to the study.