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

Upon hearing this, Duke Zhu was so shocked that he immediately ran to the middle of the main hall and knelt down.

"Your Majesty, I am only thinking of the royal family. His Highness the Crown Prince is almost twenty-seven years old now, and he does not even have a woman by his side to care for him. Although... he has three heirs, it is too few for the heir apparent."

"Your Majesty, Duke Zhu is absolutely right," an old man stood up and echoed Duke Zhu's words.

"Your Majesty, men should have three wives and four concubines. Moreover, His Highness the Crown Prince is the heir apparent of the country. The imperial harem should consist of one Crown Princess, two Consorts, six Consorts of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, ten Consorts of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, sixteen Consorts of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, twenty-four Consorts of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and several Ladies of the Court."

"Your Majesty, today is the New Year's Eve banquet, and almost all the noble ladies of the court have come. Why not select concubines for the Crown Prince from among these ladies today to enrich the harem?"

"We second that proposal." A dozen or so ministers echoed this sentiment.

Upon hearing this, the young ladies awaiting marriage in the main hall hurriedly tidied their appearance, full of confidence.

There are hundreds of concubines in the Eastern Palace who can be given titles. As noble ladies, they have powerful families to rely on, and as long as they are not too ugly, they can be selected.

The Crown Prince is exceptionally handsome, possessing an otherworldly appearance. As the heir apparent and the future emperor, although a Crown Princess has already been chosen, being a concubine or a high-ranking official would also be a good option. As long as one can marry into the Eastern Palace, it's uncertain who will ultimately become the Empress.

"Hahaha..." Qi Ziyang looked at Bei Chenyan's face, which had turned completely black, and laughed gleefully.

"So His Highness the Crown Prince has so many concubines. He's quite the ladies' man!" Nangong Wu said casually.

Bei Chenyan panicked for a moment, then grabbed her hand and said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of these people. I won't let them sully your and the children's eyes again."

"Ouch..."

Suddenly, the old man and the Duke of Zhu clutched their heads and cried out in pain.

"Who is it? How dare they hit this Duke of Zhu..." Duke Zhu looked up and saw that Nangong Xi was holding a slingshot. After hitting the two of them, he turned the slingshot on the ministers who had seconded the motion.

"I'll beat you to death if you try to steal my father!"

Upon seeing this, the ministers who had sided with Duke Zhu were so frightened that they all knelt down.

"Your Majesty, the succession is of utmost importance. The Eastern Palace and the harem cannot remain empty forever!" The white-haired old man wanted the Southern Qi Emperor to speak on their behalf.

But Emperor Nanqi did not speak, looking at the various expressions on the faces of the people in the hall with unfathomable eyes.

"Xi'er, don't be silly," Nangong Wu said.

She wanted to see how Bei Chenyan would deal with these people. If he didn't handle it well, or if he hesitated even a little, she would take her father and children away.

At the head of the officials' seat, Prime Minister Xi looked at the sullen-faced Emperor of Nanqi, then at the icy-faced Crown Prince, the indifferent Nangong Wu, and the two children standing there. Although they were only five years old, their upright postures gave them the air of the Crown Prince, and their sharp eyes were exactly like Nangong Wu's.

He was all too familiar with that look; it was the same look Nangong Wu had when she killed someone.

The Crown Prince left the harem empty for Nangong Wu, and it took him a lot of effort to finally win her over. These people actually dared to try to force people into the Eastern Palace right in front of Nangong Wu. They really have a death wish.

They dare to steal the man Nangong Wu wants to marry?

"Mother, they're trying to take Father away. They're all bad people." Nangong Xi stood there motionless, her eyes red.

She didn't want her father to be taken away by someone else.

"Xi'er, a man who can be taken away is not your father," Nangong Wu said coldly.

"Xi'er, come here. Daddy will always be your daddy, and no one can take him away." Bei Chenyan reached out to his daughter.

"But they want to rob you, they're bad." Nangong Xi was very angry and picked up her slingshot to shoot again.

The old man held his head in his hands and shouted at Bei Chenyan, "Your Highness, the young princess is being unreasonable, aren't you going to do anything about it?"

Bei Chenyan glanced at him coldly, his voice icy:

"Old Prince Yi, don't think that just because you're old you can reach into my harem! Today, you've angered my daughter. If she's unhappy, none of you will get away with it. She'll kill one of you and bury you all."

Upon hearing this, the entire hall fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.

Is the Crown Prince going to kill ministers for his daughter's sake?

Upon hearing his words, Nangong Yu's tense face relaxed slightly. "Xi'er, come here!"

"Yu'er, this old man is the worst person, I'm going to kill him." Nangong Xi pointed his slingshot at the old King Yi.

"Xi'er, you don't need to lift a finger," Nangong Jue said.

If you want to kill them, you don't have to be so blatant.

Seeing that her two older brothers said so, Nangong Xi hesitated for a moment, then put away her slingshot and walked back.

"Xi'er, come to Daddy." Bei Chenyan reached out to his daughter.

Nangong Xi stopped in front of their table, her eyes brimming with tears, looking like she was about to cry but couldn't.

"I don't want to like Daddy anymore!" Nangong Xi ran to Nangong Wu and threw herself into her arms. "Mother, let's go back to Runan City and spend the New Year with Uncle."

"Okay." Nangong Wu's heart softened when she saw that the three children, at such a young age, knew how to protect her!

"Xi'er." Bei Chenyan tenderly picked up his daughter and stood up, looking at the dozen or so people kneeling in the hall. His cold voice echoed throughout the hall:

"Since Duke Zhu has so much free time to manage my harem, then after the New Year, he shall be stationed in Nanyang Prefecture to sweep away the Southern Frontier people who have infiltrated the prefecture, in order to prevent them from using Gu worms to harm the local people."

"this……"

A commotion immediately erupted in the main hall.

Nanyang Prefecture borders Nanjiang, and the people of Nanjiang are very rampant in Nanyang Prefecture, especially the Snake Spirit Society, which uses Gu worms to harm countless people. Few of the officials sent there have returned alive.

The Crown Prince sent Duke Zhu to garrison Nanyang Prefecture and also ordered him to wipe out the people of the southern border. This was tantamount to sending him to his death.

Duke Zhu's face turned deathly pale, and his obese body trembled slightly.

He knew the Crown Prince was trying to get back at him.

"Your Highness, I have been unwell recently and am unable to travel far!"

"If you are unwell, let the imperial physician treat you. I will give you ten days to prepare. Go after the New Year. If you are late for one day, you will be given ten strokes of the cane. If you are late for two days, the punishment will be doubled to twenty strokes of the cane. If you do not leave after three days, you will be given forty strokes of the cane." Bei Chen Yan did not allow him to refuse.

"Your Highness, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have drunk and said the wrong thing. Please forgive me this time!" Duke Zhu kowtowed repeatedly, "Your Majesty, please forgive me..."

"Now that the Crown Prince is overseeing the country, his words are my decisions. Anyone who disobeys him is defying the imperial decree," the voice of Emperor Nanqi echoed from the throne.

The mere mention of disobeying the imperial decree made the Duke of Zhu's fat tremble. He looked at those who had just seconded his opinion, and they all shrank back, no longer daring to speak!

He felt like dying. "Your humble servant dares not, Your humble servant obeys the decree..."

Emperors value offspring, and the Crown Prince has no women in his harem. They had planned to take advantage of today's palace banquet, with the emperor present, to have a dozen high-ranking officials put pressure on the Crown Prince, forcing him to take their daughters into his harem.

But to their utter surprise, not only was the crown prince acting out of line, but the emperor did not stop him.