A vicious female is trapped in a beastly hell.

Chapter 442 Murdering the King: Nine Generations of His Family Must Be Exterminated

"Patriarch of the Wu family! You cannot enter! If you force your way into the palace again, don't blame us for being impolite!"

The palace guards stopped the Wu family and their entourage outside the palace.

Wu Hongqi, his face flushed and neck thick with anger, roared, "Ji Jiuli is truly going too far! Make him come out and see me!"

Ge Chen roared, "How dare you! You're just a mere family head, how dare you address His Majesty by his name? Are you defying the heavens?!"

"You dare to bring your troops and break into the palace in the dead of night? What are you trying to do?!"

The two sides fought each other, creating complete chaos.

Wu Qing stepped forward and said, "If you won't let my father in, then let me into the palace. I'll go see His Majesty alone!"

"No, His Majesty has already retired for the night. Without a summons, no unauthorized personnel are allowed to enter!"

"Unauthorized persons?" Wu Qing laughed angrily, taking out the imperial edict left by the late emperor and speaking with a resounding voice, "I am His Majesty's lawfully wedded wife, who in the entire empire doesn't know that? I can't even see my partner? You are nothing more than my servants, yet you dare to stop me outside the palace, who gave you the audacity?!"

Upon hearing this, Ge Chen and the palace guards exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what to do.

His Majesty unilaterally issued the annulment of the engagement, but the Wu family did indeed have a will left by the late emperor, which did not agree to the annulment.

Wu Qing's reasoning was even more impeccable: a group of outsiders had no right to prevent a female from meeting her beast husband.

Ge Chen and his men had no choice but to let Wu Qing enter the palace.

Late at night, Wu Qing broke into the palace and saw a tall, slender figure that she hadn't seen in a long time behind the screen.

Wu Qing's expression changed instantly, tears streaming down her face. Her beautiful blue eyes were red and swollen as she pitifully questioned, "Your Majesty, you have gone too far! How could you do such a thing to the Wu family? I request that this order be rescinded!"

Shen Li turned to look at her, his cold and beautiful eyes devoid of any smile, sending an instinctive chill down one's spine. "Oh? I wonder what you mean by 'excessive'?"

"Your Majesty..." When Wu Qing saw the man's indifferent expression, her heart skipped a beat, as if the tender affection between the two at their wedding was just a one-sided daydream she had been having.

Wu Qing clenched her hands and placed them in front of her chest, looking even more pitiful. "Your Majesty, isn't this a rhetorical question? If you want to find fault, you can always find a reason. How can you demote our Wu family to guard the frontier for such a trivial reason?"

"Your Majesty is far too willful and reckless. Ever since you assumed personal rule, many outsiders have harbored resentment towards you... This decree not only chills the hearts of our Wu family, but also leaves countless noble families feeling threatened and uneasy!"

Wu Qing adopted a weak and pitiful demeanor, yet her words were firm and aggressive: "Besides, our marriage was bestowed by the late Emperor, and it cannot be dissolved with a single word from you! Our Wu family, as founding heroes of the empire, is not someone His Majesty can touch at will!"

"...If Your Majesty does not rescind the decree tonight and give an explanation to our entire clan, then don't blame us, the Wu family, for defending our clan's dignity!" A hint of threat was revealed in the woman's gentle voice.

Inside the hall, the two stood facing each other, Wu Qing's beautiful eyes gleaming in the dim moonlight.

The night outside the window was thick with darkness, and the night wind was howling. It seemed as if the sounds of battle between two armies could be heard in the distance, growing ever more intense.

The Wu family is determined to go all out tonight, making their stance clear: if the emperor doesn't give them an explanation, they won't hesitate to force the emperor to abdicate and demand an "explanation"!
So what if Ji Jiuli is the emperor? Do they really think the Wu family is easy to mess with?!
The late emperor died young, and the current emperor was forced to ascend the throne as a child. He has been sidelined by the regent in the court for many years. How much power does he truly and thoroughly control?
Today, with the imperial power waning, the five great families possess deep-rooted resources and independent fiefdoms and armies.

If a war were to break out one day, the Wu family might not necessarily be afraid of Ji Jiuli!
Moreover, Ji Jiuli's methods of reforming the empire these days have been too harsh, causing dissatisfaction among many subordinates.

Now, another charge has been pinned on the Wu family, which is an undeserved disaster for them. They could use this as an excuse to gain the help of other families.

Perhaps, there really is a chance—a change of dynasty!
"Explain?" Shen Li put one hand behind his back, his long, sharp fox-like eyes sweeping out the window, as if he could see the Wu family army blocking the palace. A hint of unfathomable coldness flashed across his devilishly handsome face. "The Wu family brought troops to force their way into the palace in the dead of night. Shouldn't you give me an explanation first?"

Looking at the man's cold and ruthless demeanor, Wu Qing was so angry that she bit her lip until it bled. Wiping away the fake tears on her face, her attitude hardened even more. "His Majesty forced us! If we don't plead our case to the death tonight, are we really going to bear this unreasonable crime, have the entire Wu family banished to the frontier, and endure the ridicule of the world?!"

Shen Li's attitude remained unwavering, growing even colder and more chilling. "Even now, do you still not know you're wrong?"

Hearing this, Wu Qing understood why Ji Jiuli had come to make things difficult for the Wu family; it seemed to be because of that foreign female!
No wonder he came back in the middle of the night. Looks like the plan worked and that bitch is dead!
"What have I done wrong?" Wu Qing felt a surge of satisfaction and could no longer suppress her emotions. Her eyes were bloodshot as she glared at him fiercely, hysterically shouting, "I am your lawfully wedded partner, the female you married! But you, as the emperor, have an affair with a female from another tribe. If outsiders find out, it will be a complete disgrace to the royal family! The entire empire will despise you, not me!"

Shen Li looked at her quietly, his expression growing increasingly calm, as if he were looking at a madwoman.

Wu Qing was even more furious at his attitude, but she didn't care anymore; she had no choice but to give up.

She raised her face, insisting on her point of view, "I did nothing wrong, you were wrong first! You were jilted halfway through your marriage and witnessed another woman from another tribe steal your partner. No matter who you marry, they would do the same!"

Looking at the cold and silent man, Wu Qing became even more smug and questioned him sharply, "Ji Jiuli, you are too naive. Do you think the throne is given to you for nothing? Once you sit in this position, you must bear the responsibility. Your actions are undoubtedly a betrayal of your duty! You don't really think you can protect her for the rest of your life, do you?"

"You want to avenge that bitch and take revenge on our Wu family? Ha! Let me tell you, Ji Jiuli, I dare to do this, I'm not afraid of the consequences at all! If you really want to break ties with me, I can expose your affair with that foreign female right now! I'll make you despised by the whole world!"

Wu Qing was confident. As a noble female of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, no one in the world dared to touch her.

She also had a marriage contract bestowed by the late emperor, and was a victim of public opinion. Given all these things, she could have stood on the moral high ground and made Ji Jiuli kneel down and admit his mistakes!
If he really dares to touch her, it would be because he truly wants to bear the infamy of a tyrant and be despised by all generations!
"You're right. Based on this baseless accusation alone, I really can't touch you or the Wu family." Shen Li looked at the arrogant female in front of him, remained silent for a long time, and then spoke calmly.

A blue lotus needle, gleaming with an eerie light, emerged from his palm. "Then what is this? Surely the noblewoman of the Wu family doesn't know?"

On the man's right hand, white bone was revealed, and a faint, eerie flame flickered within the flesh.

“Someone is trying to use this to murder me, and I still have evidence of their crime.”

"You've been intelligent and quick-witted since childhood; you should know the imperial laws, the first of which is—"

"Anyone who plots to murder the monarch shall have his entire family executed."

　I've noticed some readers are still struggling with marriage, so I'd like to clarify something here.

　　The background of this book is that there are more men than women, not that women are superior to men. The female is noble but not superior. The scarcity of women and their noble status are contradictory in underlying logic. I will not go into details here, as I have explained it before.

　　Most of the time, males and females exist as equals, each performing their own duties and possessing equal rights to marriage and inheritance.

　　Marriage is based on the status and value of both parties, not simply on their gender.

　　generally.

　　Given equal status, females are more valuable, and males are more likely to marry females.

　　Males have a higher status than females, and it is highly likely that females will marry males.

　　Females have a higher status than males, and males are guaranteed to marry females, with a certain probability of being taken as male slaves (not participating in the marriage system).

　　Other situations are another matter.

　　(End of this chapter)