The empress disliked my achievements for overshadowing her own, so she turned her attention to the N

Even after Chen Nan finished speaking, no one stood up to refute him.

He had no patience to wait any longer and spoke again: "Since no one here objects, then I will continue to rule this court."

Having said that, he ignored everyone and walked towards the gate alone. However, he suddenly stopped when he reached the door.

"When you have the opportunity to discuss this issue in front of me, then you can talk to me about the right to speak."

He then walked out of the main hall.

Not long after Chen Nan left, the military officers also left one after another, leaving the civil officials in the hall looking at each other in bewilderment.

They hadn't expected Chen Nan to be so clear about his words in public.

So many people have been vying for the right to speak, but Chen Nan is powerful, and the Empress Dowager favored him greatly before her incident, which is why this situation has arisen.

But things are different now than before. Qin Qingmin raised this point, and Changsun Du was the second to stand up and refute it using his position as Right Chancellor.

That's why so many problems have arisen.

Chen Nan closed his eyes as he left the main hall and walked out of the palace relying on his senses.

He was unaware that Changsun Du had already been persuaded by him, and he had promised him that he would have the opportunity to be remembered in history.

But he didn't expect that the other party would betray him so quickly. In less than two days, Changsun Du turned against him because of two sentences from Qin Qingmin.

Just as Chen Nan was pondering, a voice suddenly rang in his ears: "I wonder if Your Highness would be in the mood for a chat?"

Listen closely, and the voice is somewhat hoarse, but more so it carries a sense of loneliness, as if the person has lived in darkness for a long time.

After sensing it for a while, Chen Nan opened his eyes, a smile appearing on his lips: "What? You've finally decided to come out?"

Looking around, I noticed a towering tree in the corner of the wall not far away.

He pointed casually and walked towards the big tree.

When he arrived at the tree, a masked man in black jumped down from the tree.

"What? You dare to ask me out, but you don't even have the courage to show your face?"

The man was taken aback, then chuckled and said, "Your Highness is overthinking it. I am merely a shadow serving the royal family. I have no face, so naturally I am not worth Your Highness's attention."

"Then what is your purpose in summoning me to this place?" Chen Nan asked, puzzled.

The man smiled helplessly: "I just want to know how the Empress Dowager is doing now."

"After all, the young emperor is still young. I am afraid that he will develop psychological problems if he is not accompanied by the Empress Dowager for too long."

The two had met once before in the Imperial Garden a long time ago, and this time it can be said to be their formal meeting.

Chen Nan didn't respond, but instead carefully sensed it.

Only then did they realize that the opponent's martial arts realm was at the peak of the eighth rank, just one step away from becoming a half-step grandmaster.

The man in black realized Chen Nan's purpose and sighed, "Your Highness, there's no need for this. I've been at the peak of the eighth rank for fifteen years and haven't taken this step yet."

"Speaking of which, I'm quite curious about how Your Highness took this step?" The man in black's dark eyes were deep, trying to read something different from Chen Nan's face.

Unfortunately, he was only an eighth-rank martial artist, far from reaching the grandmaster level of Chen Nan.

In addition, although Chen Nan trusted him, he wouldn't reveal everything, so naturally he wouldn't let Chen Nan notice anything amiss.

Chen Nan slowly spoke: "You don't need to worry about the Empress Dowager. I will do my best to treat her."

"As for the young emperor, I really have no better solution than to have the palace maids take care of him for now."

"However, I am more concerned about you."

"Your Highness is concerned about me?" The man in black looked bewildered.

Chen Nan nodded: "That's right. You've appeared at this time not just to find out about the Empress Dowager's actual situation, have you? Is there something else that I don't know?"

He didn't believe the other party was only concerned about the Empress Dowager's safety. If that were the case, the other party should have stepped forward to inquire the matter the moment the Empress Dowager's accident occurred.

If they didn't step forward then, but suddenly appear now, then they must have other motives.

The man in black glanced away slightly and said, "Your Highness is overthinking it. I only appeared here for the safety of the Empress Dowager."

Upon hearing him refer to himself as a villain, Chen Nan chuckled twice: "Since that's your attitude, it seems we have nothing to talk about."

Having said that, he didn't give the other party a chance to refute him, and turned to leave.

"Your Majesty..."

Under the tree, the man in black opened his mouth, trying to persuade Chen Nan to stay.

But he wasn't that sincere, and Chen Nan had no reason to stay.

After watching Chen Nan walk away, the man in black sighed, shook his head helplessly, and then casually took out a small pill from his waist and swallowed it.

At the palace gate, Wu Xu, who was on duty, saw Chen Nan walking towards him from afar.

With an excited look on his face: "Your Highness, do you need my help?"

Chen Nan patted him on the shoulder, comforting him: "Don't worry, if anything happens, I will definitely not forget you. Your primary task now is to protect the palace."

Wu Xu walked back to his original spot with a disappointed look, which he understood.

Chen Nan is currently in a situation where he has no one else to rely on, so he was forced to become a guard in the palace.

After leaving the palace, it was already midday. Chen Nan didn't have time to think and headed towards the government office.

Last night, he only gave Qingyu and Mobai a few instructions, and he still doesn't know if the two of them have accomplished their task.

If this matter is accomplished, at least in the short term, there will be no need to worry about the food supply for the people of Weidu.

As he walked toward the government office, he saw many people walking in one direction with resentment on their faces.

Chen Nan was also curious about what had happened, so he followed the people forward.

As he walked, he realized that this was the road to the East District.

The Eastern District is home to all the prominent families of Wei Capital.

Furthermore, the people in the crowd did not seem very friendly, which made Chen Nan increasingly uneasy.

When he ordered his men to gather a large army outside the city, he discovered that he had no one at his disposal.

Without thinking, he stopped an elderly man and asked, "Grandpa, where are all of us going?"

The old man who was stopped asked with dissatisfaction, "Are you even from Weidu?"

"The Weidu Prefectural Government has already spoken, telling us to go and collect relief grain today. Didn't you know that?"

"Move aside, don't block the way, or you won't be able to get one if you're late."

For a moment, Chen Nan felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck his mind.

The government has issued a statement? Relief grain? What on earth is all this?

Although he demanded grain from the gentry in order to distribute it to the common people, who would dare to issue such an order without his permission?

Most importantly, the government office is located in the northern part of Weidu, but the place this group of people went to is clearly in the eastern part, and the two places are so far apart.

Chen Nan became even more curious, and his pace quickened without him even realizing it.