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

Nangong Wu glanced at the three children sleeping on the dragon bed, "Since the children will be staying up with you tonight, I'll go back to the East Palace to sleep first."

Bei Chenyan was taken aback. "Aren't you staying up with us tonight to celebrate the New Year?"

"I need to get up at 5 a.m. tomorrow to return to Runan City. I'd like to go back and get some sleep first. If I can get up early, I'll come over." Nangong Wu said and walked out.

I have nothing to do, I just want to rest.

She entered the side hall from before, and filled the entire hall with fireworks that Eileen had helped her to distribute from the space.

"If you can't release them all at once, you can save some for the fifteenth."

"I'll take you back," Bei Chenyan said.

"No need, I know the way myself. The children should be waking up soon. You stay and watch over them." Nangong Wu stepped outside.

She returned to the East Palace, had a good sleep, and when she woke up it was almost dark.

She exited the space and opened the palace door, only to find Cao Lizheng standing guard outside.

Upon seeing her emerge, Cao Li quickly cupped his hands in greeting, "Princess, the Crown Prince said that if you are awake, please go to His Majesty's quarters for a meal."

"Where is my father now?" Nangong Wu asked him.

"The Prince, His Majesty, the Crown Prince, and the three young princes are together," Cao Li replied.

"Then let's go!" Nangong Wu didn't expect her father and Emperor Nanqi to get along so well, and to not come back to rest so late.

"Please follow me, Your Highness." Cao Li led the way.

After they entered the palace, Nangong Wu discovered that the road did not lead to Yikun Hall.

Where are we going?

"Let's go to the Moon-Viewing Pavilion!" Cao Li told her with a smile.

"Your Highness may not know this, but every New Year's Eve, His Majesty holds a banquet at the Moon-Viewing Tower. From there, one can easily watch the fireworks and see the entire Jade Dragon City, with all the lights of every household right before one's eyes."

"Moon-Viewing Pavilion?" Nangong Wu murmured these three words.

She saw the tallest building in the palace, five stories high. Could it be the Moon-Viewing Tower?

"Then let's go!"

Cao Li led her to the place, which was indeed a five-story building with a huge plaque above the gate that read "Guan Yue Lou" (Moon-Viewing Pavilion).

"Please come in, Princess, and then just go up the stairs to the fifth floor." Cao Li opened the door to the main hall for her.

"Hmm." Nangong Wu entered the Moon Viewing Pavilion, glanced at the main hall, and walked up a staircase.

The staircase is spiral-shaped, winding its way up the outer side of the Moon-Viewing Pavilion. As you climb to the top, you can see everything outside.

Nangong Wu went up to the fifth floor and saw Eunuch Yu guarding the door.

"Princess, you've arrived!" Eunuch Yu bowed to her and hurried to open the door.

Seeing that a banquet had been set up here, but only the Southern Qi Emperor, his father, Bei Chenyan and their three children were present, Empress Wan had also come!

"Mother, you've come!"

When she arrived, all three children ran over.

"We've been waiting for you for a long time, come quickly."

Nangong Wu was pulled over by the three children.

"Greetings, Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress." Nangong Wu greeted Emperor Nanqi and Empress Wan first.

"Princess Runing has arrived. We're all family here, please sit down!" Emperor Nanqi said with a smile.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Good child." Empress Wan came over and took her hand. "The Crown Prince said you were still sleeping, so he didn't disturb you."

Bei Chenyan pulled out the seat next to her and let her sit down. "I just went back to Yongming Palace, but you were still asleep, so I came back."

"Eunuch Yu, serve the dishes again!" Emperor Nanqi ordered.

"Yes!" Eunuch Yu bowed and withdrew.

A while later, a dozen palace servants came in, removed all the dishes that had been eaten earlier, and put on more than twenty exquisite dishes, as well as a hot pot.

This hot pot was for Bei Chenyan; she gave him five in total.

Looking at the dishes, Nangong Wu noticed that most of them were in the style of the Western Yan Kingdom, dishes that she, her father, and her children loved to eat.

"Did I trouble you?"

"We just found a new chef, I don't know if he'll suit your tastes." Bei Chenyan ladled a small bowl of soup and placed it in front of Nangong Wu. "You can drink this first."

"Thank you." Nangong Wu picked up the small bowl and took a small sip.

Suddenly, a loud "bang!" was heard outside, followed by a huge firework exploding in the night sky.

"Father, it's fireworks!" Nangong Xi said happily.

When the three children saw the fireworks, they put down their chopsticks, stopped eating, and ran to the window.

"Bang—bang—"

Two more explosions rang out, and two enormous fireworks filled the night sky, like countless stars rising and falling.

"What beautiful fireworks!" Empress Wan stood up when she saw them and stood by the window with the three children.

Nangong Wu looked up and asked, "Are they setting off fireworks so early?"

"Not so fast!" Bei Chenyan glanced at the funnel. "I told them it wouldn't start until 9 PM. Maybe they're just trying out a few first."

After waiting a while, Nangong Xi, seeing that the fireworks hadn't stopped, ran back. "Daddy, why did the fireworks stop?"

"It's not that early yet. Let it out after your mother has eaten her fill," Bei Chenyan coaxed her.

Nangong Wu glanced at the time; it was 7:45 PM, and it would still be more than half an hour before 9:00 PM.

"Okay, then let's wait until Mother finishes eating before watching the fireworks." Nangong Xi sat back down in her seat.

"Yu'er, shall we play a game of chess? The game we played last time is still undecided." Nangong Jue was feeling a bit bored.

"Then let's play a game," Nangong Yu agreed.

Empress Wan didn't eat much, but when she saw the children wanted to play chess, she would go and keep them company.

Emperor Nanqi was in good spirits and a good mood. He chatted with Huo Jing about everything under the sun, from matters of the court to those of other countries, and even about his childhood anecdotes. It seemed like they had endless things to talk about.

"Prince Zhenyuan, the heroes I admire most in the entire world, besides the old Prince Zhenyuan, are you and the Princess Protector of the Nation. You two donned armor and fought bravely, striking fear into the hearts of the Eastern Jin army. It's just a pity that the Princess was betrayed by villains and died young!"

When Huo Jing heard him mention his deceased wife, his eyes dimmed. "My two children will no longer serve those who are not worthy."

"That's right, your decision to leave the Western Yan Kingdom was the most correct one," said the Emperor of Southern Qi.

Huo Jing shook his head, "All I want is for my two children to be well..."

"Father-in-law, rest assured, in this world, apart from that shady rat Ling Yangzi, no one dares to threaten us," Bei Chenyan comforted him.

Even if Nangong Wu didn't have such powerful weapons, with the support of the Southern Qi Kingdom for their independence in Runan City, Emperor Mingde couldn't do anything to the Zhenyuan Prince's Mansion.

Nangong Wu ate quite a lot at noon and took a nap, so she wasn't very hungry. She ate a little and then stopped, sitting there listening to their conversation.

Time passed slowly, and finally it was time to set off the fireworks.

"boom--"

Huge fireworks burst in the night sky, like giant flower umbrellas being opened.

"Fireworks are going off!"

The three children immediately stood up and ran to the window to watch.