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

Nangong Wu accepted the things he gave her and sat back down next to the children's cradle.

"From today onwards, I will settle accounts with Nangong Xun. I will make them spit out everything they have taken and make them pay the price for their actions."

"The accounts are almost all the same everywhere, from small shops to the national treasury. Half of the accounts are true, half are false, and the other half is blood." Xiao Lin's eyes were cold and gloomy.

"There are never enough corrupt officials to kill. When faced with piles of silver, very few people can maintain their integrity. Kill one fat one, and another thin one will come. Behind every sum of money, there are corrupt officials or their cronies craning their necks, waiting to share the spoils."

"Are you really just a wandering swordsman?" Nangong Wu looked at him intently.

Xiao Lin smiled, "Then who would Your Highness like me to be?"

"I have no penchant for prying into other people's private affairs." Nangong Wu's eyes gleamed with a cold light. "But whoever you are, you'd better not do anything that would harm me or the Zhenyuan Prince's Mansion."

"You saved my life. No matter how much of a scoundrel I am, I, Xiao Lin, would never harm my savior." Seeing the wariness in her eyes, Xiao Lin smiled helplessly and stood up.

"I'm going out to find someone for you now, and I'll be back by tomorrow at the latest." He bent down, took Nangong Yu's small hand in his, and looked at him with gentle eyes.

When Nangong Yu saw someone approaching, he turned his eyes to look at him, and then grinned.

"Yu'er actually smiled at me." Looking at the child's smiling face, Xiao Lin felt a wave of tenderness wash over him.

Nangong Wu didn't find it strange. Babies who are a month old usually laugh, but it's an unconscious laugh, a physiological reflex.

"Yu'er is such a good boy. I'll come back to play with you again tomorrow." Xiao Lin affectionately pinched the child's little face and played with him for a while before leaving.

As Nangong Wu watched his retreating figure, she increasingly felt that his background was not simple.

He was being chased by Nangong Xun's men and accidentally entered her private room; he didn't seem to have approached her intentionally.

At that moment, Nangong Wu felt her hair being tugged.

Looking down, she saw her second son's two chubby little hands unconsciously grabbing and playing with a strand of her hair.

"Jue'er is such a good boy." Nangong Wu looked at her son, her somewhat depressed mood vanishing.

"How about Mommy takes some pictures of you?"

She took out a video camera and recorded a video of the three children.

During this month, she spent at least two hours with her children every day, taking pictures of their daily changes.

When they grow up, let them see what they looked like when they were little.

Only when the children were hungry and started crying did she allow the wet nurse to take them away to be fed, and then she took out the evidence Xiao Lin had given her.

"Your Highness!" Li Shuang hurriedly walked in from outside. "Our people have just received news that the Imperial Guards sent by His Majesty have dug up a large amount of gold and silver jewelry from Xia Wei's residence. There are more than 560,000 taels of silver and more than 120,000 taels of gold."

Nangong Wu was shocked to hear this. Xia Wei had only been in the Ministry of Revenue for five years, yet he had embezzled so much gold and silver.

So, how huge must the majority of the money that went into Nangong Xun's pocket be?

In the afternoon, she went out and went to the Ministry of Revenue.

The prime minister also arrived, along with a dozen or so officials and scribes sent by Emperor Mingde. It is said that these people came from the Hanlin Academy, were all proficient in arithmetic, and were the emperor's confidants.

"The Prince of Zhenyuan has arrived!"

Upon hearing this, officials from the Ministry of Revenue came out to greet him.

"Welcome, Your Highness Prince Zhenyuan!"

"No need for formalities!" Nangong Wu glanced at the officials.

The Minister of Revenue is dead, and the Vice Minister of Revenue has been imprisoned. The highest-ranking officials now are a fifth-rank official and a fifth-rank assistant official.

"Your Highness, how many years of account books would you like to check?" the physician asked her cautiously.

"Check the accounts from the last two years first." Nangong Wu wanted to check the accounts, just to uproot the Ruiwang faction. Two years' worth of accounts would be enough to eliminate them.

"Yes." The doctor immediately sent someone to prepare.

Two years' worth of account books were brought out box by box by officials from the Ministry of Revenue, filling a large room.

Nangong Wu opened one of the boxes and randomly picked up an account book to look through.

This is last year's account book. On the fine Xuan paper, every expense and income is clearly recorded in neat small regular script.

She flipped through the pages one by one and found that every single payment made was legitimate.

The relief funds for the drought in the north and the floods in the south, the expenses for repairing river dams, and the military pay for the border areas—every penny was used for the people's livelihood and national development, leaving no trace of its purpose.

Turn to the last page, which is stamped with a bright red inspection seal.

Nangong Wu sneered inwardly. The more grand and dignified their writing was, the more likely there was something fishy going on.

Her soul came from the modern world, and she could calculate even the worst and most obscure debts for them.

That day, Nangong Wu was busy until evening before returning to the palace.

That evening, Xiao Lin also returned, looking travel-worn, and went straight to her Drunken Plum Courtyard.

Nangong Wu was having dinner when she saw him arrive, so she asked Li Shuang to give him an extra set of chopsticks and a bowl.

Xiao Lin sat down opposite her without ceremony. "I found five people for you. They will go directly to the Ministry of Revenue tomorrow."

"You've worked hard." Nangong Wu ladled a small bowl of soup for him.

The two finished their dinner quietly, and the sky outside gradually darkened.

Li An came in to report, "Your Highness, there is an old man who wants to see you. He says he used to be a clerk in the Ministry of Revenue."

"You were once a clerk in the Ministry of Revenue?" Nangong Wu's eyes flashed.

Li An replied, "I noticed that he was dressed in tattered clothes and kept lingering outside the side gate, so I found it suspicious and went up to inquire. That's when I learned that he wanted to see you."

"Let him in."

Xiao Lin was holding Nangong Xi when he heard this and looked up. "It seems this old historian has a story to tell."

"I suppose you know that I need to re-verify the national treasury accounts." Nangong Wu walked to the main seat and sat down.

A short while later, Li An brought in an old man who looked to be about fifty years old.

The old man, who had a slight limp, entered and knelt down, saying, "This humble subject, Xu Gui, pays respects to Your Highness! May you live a thousand years!"

"No need for formalities." Nangong Wu gave Li An a wink.

Li An helped the old man up.

"You are Mr. Xu, right? Why have you come to see me at this time? Is there some grievance you have?" Nangong Wu asked him.

"Your Highness, I beg you to do justice for this humble subject..." Xu Gui's voice choked with emotion.

Seeing his agitated state, Nangong Wu poured him a cup of tea. "Tell me your grievances slowly. As long as the facts are true, I will definitely stand up for you."

Xu Gui dared not accept the cup of tea, and knelt down again, "Your Highness, those people in the Ministry of Revenue are all devils who eat people without spitting out the bones..."

Nangong Wu sat back in the main seat and listened to him slowly explain.

After a while, Old Xu calmed down a bit and recounted the story in detail:

"I was originally a minor clerk in the Ministry of Revenue. I worked there for twenty years. Three years ago, I was retaliated against by those people simply because I asked one extra question."