A vicious female is trapped in a beastly hell.

Chapter 288 What right do you have to question her?

Yun Han looked at Shen Qingli with an extremely cold expression, seemingly filled with disappointment, and said in a deep voice, "Without evidence, you are slandering her. It's shameful and despicable!"

"What you said is too much!"

Shen Qingli looked at the man in front of her who was so caring towards her in disbelief. She never expected that the first person to jump out and question her would be Yun Han!

He's her partner, shouldn't he be speaking up for her at a time like this? How could he side with this bitch to question her, and in such a cold and fierce tone!
Shen Qingli's eyes instantly reddened, and she clenched her fists, both angry and annoyed, saying, "This matter is very strange to begin with. I only stated my guess, why are you yelling at me? Yes, I don't have direct evidence, but she can't escape suspicion! I just suspect that Shen Tang did this..."

"What right do you have to question her?"

A sudden, cold sneer stunned and dumbfounded Shen Qingli.

She stared blankly at Yun Han, who was speaking angrily, her mind blank, the words stuck in her throat, unable to be uttered.

Everyone else present was also stunned.

In the hearts of all the people of the empire, Shen Qingli and Yun Han were undoubtedly a perfect couple, beautiful and handsome, devoted to each other, and harmonious in public, making others envious.

But what did they see today?

In front of everyone, the two started arguing on the spot.

Shen Tang also looked at Yun Han in astonishment. She never expected to see such a scene of dogs fighting each other. This plot was not going quite right.

Yun Han paused for a moment after speaking, then saw Shen Qingli's red, tearful eyes. Her clenched fists slowly loosened, and her emotions gradually calmed down. "I..."

He pursed his thin lips, looked away from the crowd, and insisted on his opinion: "I am a frontline witness to the coup in the capital. I have seen everything that Princess Shen Tang has done. I know very well that she has never colluded with the rebels. The rumors circulating among the people are just baseless slander against her."

At the same time, Yun Han looked back at Shen Qingli again, his sword-like eyebrows furrowed, and his deep black eyes revealed complex emotions. He had been with Shen Qingli for so long, how could he not see that she was not really considering the people of the empire? She was just unwilling to have her position as heir taken away by Shen Tang, and wanted to take this opportunity to deliberately drag her down.

Does she really want the throne that badly? So badly that she's willing to resort to such despicable means?

Yun Han was willing to believe Shen Qingli as much as possible and to believe everything she said because she was his partner, and he should have complete trust in his partner. But that didn't mean he was a heartless fool.

Once, twice, three times...

He tried time and again to cover for her, but he could not hide his true feelings.

At this moment, Yun Han suddenly felt an indescribable sense of loss and weariness. Why was Shen Qingli becoming more and more different from before?

The female he fell in love with at first sight back then was so kind, gentle and beautiful, but now Shen Qingli feels inexplicably unfamiliar to him.

She has changed a lot.

He hardly recognized her anymore.

The council chamber was completely silent; everyone seemed stunned by the scene, and no one dared to speak.

Shen Tang came to her senses, chuckled, and stepped forward. “The recent smear campaign against me in the capital has made me angry and bewildered. I am grateful to the young master of the Yun family for speaking up for me. However, Sister Qingli is right. The fact that the rebels were able to break through the capital’s defenses so silently means that there must have been spies working in their place!”

As she spoke, she raised her crescent-shaped eyes and calmly surveyed the entire room, yet inexplicably made people feel extremely oppressed.

Shen Tang chuckled and continued, "Perhaps this spy is hiding among us! And is listening to what I'm about to say!"

Yun Han hated the rebels to the core. He immediately conjured an ice blade in his palm, pierced through the table, and caused it to collapse with a crash, sending ice shards flying everywhere!
The man's voice was cold and authoritative, "If I find out who the spy is, I will personally cut him into a thousand pieces, and he will die without regret!" Shen Qingli was right next to Yun Han, and seemed to be frightened by his sudden violent action. Her face turned pale and she almost collapsed to the ground.

Yun Han quickly stopped himself from moving. "Sorry, I was so angry that I forgot there were other people around."

Shen Qingli lightly clutched her chest, forcing a smile, "I, I'm fine. I also hate traitors who betray the empire. When we find out who this person is, we will bring them to justice!"

Seeing Shen Qingli's hasty attempt to cover up her reaction, Shen Tang sneered inwardly. This female lead is quite the actress; she even wanted to give her an Oscar for being a villain.

Unfortunately, the truth will eventually come out, and the real show is yet to come.

Just then, the doors to the conference hall opened, and Lu Xiao led a group of people forward, throwing the captured orcs to the ground.

There were more than a dozen middle-aged orcs, dressed simply, looking like ordinary people. They would blend into the crowd and not attract any attention if they walked down the street.

Their hands and feet were bound, their bodies curled up, their faces filled with terror. They kept kowtowing to the ground, crying out, "Please spare us! We're just doing this for money! We're innocent!"

Someone looked at Lu Xiao, frowned, and asked, "What are you doing?"

Lu Xiao remained calm and composed, but a cold killing intent flashed in his gray-blue eagle eyes. He explained in a low voice, "The recent rumors in the capital are all caused by them. These are the culprits who are inciting public sentiment and spreading rumors behind the scenes."

“These past few days, I have been leading a team in disguise to stake out the area and have successfully apprehended this group of people, bringing them to justice and handing them over to the parliament for trial and prosecution.”

Lu Xiao and the others knew about the rumors from the very first day they started. Xiao Jin, being impatient, was furious and wanted to rush over and see which damned person dared to slander Shen Tang. He would skin them alive and kill them without hesitation!
Shen Tang ordered them not to act rashly.

She was pretty sure she knew who was behind it all.

Aside from the female lead, Shen Qingli, there's probably no one else in the whole world who hates her this much.

However, everything requires evidence. Instead of letting the beastmen alert the enemy, she lay in wait, allowing the rumors to spread and lull the enemy into a false sense of security. Finally, she would catch them red-handed and bring the mastermind behind it all to justice.

The orcs present were filled with righteous indignation and demanded, "Who exactly ordered you to do this?!"

The middle-aged orc who was the leader, his face bruised and swollen, cried and said, "We really didn't know! We were just doing this for money. The man said that as long as we spread these rumors in the city, we could get a lot of money!"

"But that person was very cautious and didn't reveal his identity. We really don't know who he is!"

What they said was true. The real mastermind wouldn't be stupid enough to show up on the spot; they really were just thugs who did things for money.

The atmosphere in the parliament suddenly became extremely cold and somber.

Everyone had different thoughts.

At this critical juncture, spreading rumors has only one purpose—to disrupt the coronation ceremony a month later and prevent Shen Tang from becoming the monarch.

And who is the person in this world who least wants Shen Tang to be crowned king?
Anyone with a brain would know that the nobles present were all incredibly shrewd, their minds perfectly clear, but they dared not say it outright.

But the world is never short of bold people.

A young orc, whose attire suggested he was a young master from a noble family, turned to Shen Qingli and questioned, "Could you be the one behind this, orchestrating the spread of rumors?"

　My sleep schedule has been pretty weird lately. I still have one more appointment to go to, so I'm going to sleep now.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)