A vicious female is trapped in a beastly hell.

Chapter 443 You'll definitely regret this!
Wu Qinghu's eyes suddenly narrowed, her pretty face turned pale, and her fingers clenched her sleeves.

How did this needle end up in Ji Jiuli's hands?!
On the way here, a hint of unease flashed through Wu Qing's heart. Her primary objective in sending the Shadow Slave was to kill that foreign wretch. If Ji Jiuli was critically injured, she would naturally not let go of this golden opportunity and would surely deliver the final blow!
If Ji Jiuli is not seriously injured and on the verge of death, Yingnu should act according to the situation. He only needs to kill the foreign female and there is no need to let the Wu family bear the crime of assassinating the king.

Anyway, there's always a way forward or backward.

It's just the death of one foreign female, a trivial matter that doesn't matter much. Even if ten died, no one would dare to punish her!
Tonight, the emperor returned unharmed, so it seems their previous guesses were probably wrong. But it doesn't matter, as long as that foreign female is killed, that's enough!
Moreover, since the emperor did not accuse the Wu family of treason, the Wu family head and Wu Qing assumed that this secret plan was buried deep and unknown to anyone, which is why they dared to bring the army to force the emperor tonight.

Unexpectedly, the blue lotus needle pierced the emperor!
If the Azure Lotus Needle pierced Ji Jiuli, it means that the bitch is most likely not dead?!
Wu Qing was no longer as arrogant as before. It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head to extinguish her arrogance. Her face showed panic and confusion. What exactly happened?
Why is it different from what she imagined?
No, no, Wu Qing clenched her fists tightly, forcing herself to calm down and quickly assess the current situation.

It is an undeniable fact that her plan to assassinate that foreign female has been exposed. However, Shen Li did not punish the Wu family for treason at first. Otherwise, given his decisive and ruthless nature, if he really wanted to take revenge on the Wu family, how could he not use treason as a charge? Wouldn't that be more justifiable?
The only possible reason why Ji Jiuli has not yet convicted the Wu family is that he does not have solid evidence and what he is saying is just speculation.

Wu Qing quickly realized what was happening and insisted, "No, this wasn't done by our Wu family. Someone must have stolen the Azure Lotus Needles from the family and is trying to frame us!"

Wu looked at Shen Li with a pitiful expression, as if she had truly been wronged and framed. Crystalline tears streamed down her beautiful face, making her look pitiful. "Your Majesty! Someone must be trying to frame the Wu family. If we really had treasonous intentions, why would we leave such conspicuous evidence? That person is trying to frame us. Please, Your Majesty, see the truth!"

Hearing her excuses, Shen Li's lips curled into a cold smile. "Oh? Is that so?"

He took out a glass bottle from his spatial storage. The sealed shadow lay at the bottom of the bottle, powerless and motionless, even its color had faded considerably. "This is the assassin who tried to kill me. I wonder if Your Highness recognizes him?"

"The Wu family is skilled in shadow manipulation. Shadow slaves will only swear to be loyal to their masters to the death and will never betray them."

Shen Li looked at Wu Qing's suddenly pale face, his lazy voice gentle and intoxicating, "This is Mo Ying, the shadow slave of the Wu family patriarch. Could it be that she stole the Azure Lotus Needle?"

Wu Qing stared in astonishment, her pretty face ashen, her body trembling slightly with fear.

Impossible! The Shadow Slave is incredibly powerful; how could it have been so easily captured by Ji Jiuli?!
Even if Ji Jiuli hadn't been seriously injured, there was absolutely no way he could have captured Yingnu!
The gentleness in Shen Li's eyes vanished, replaced by an icy chill. "Now that things have come to this, I wonder what explanation the noblewoman of the Wu family has left?"

At this moment, Wu Qing's earlier confident words seemed like the funniest joke in the world. But if she admitted to treason, the Wu family would truly be finished!
Wu Qing's lips trembled, unable to deny it, she gritted her teeth and admitted, "I... I was jealous! I wanted to send Shadow Slave to assassinate that bitch! That foreign female stole you, she deserves to die! I don't regret it!"

"But this was my own doing, and has nothing to do with my family. My father just wanted to avenge me; he absolutely had no intention of rebelling!"

As she spoke, Wu Qing even began to deceive herself. Her eyes were red as she looked at Shen Li, tears of grievance and resentment streaming down her face. She tried to grab his sleeve, "Your Majesty, please believe me! I only wanted to kill that vile woman. I absolutely never intended to harm Your Majesty… I just didn't expect Your Majesty to be with her… If Your Majesty hadn't been spending all your time with that vile woman, you wouldn't have been implicated…" Her words perfectly portrayed her as a victim, shifting all the blame onto Shen Li and Shen Tang—a truly masterful act of blaming others!
Shen Li curled his lips into a sneer, "But I don't think so. I think your Wu family is trying to use this to harm me!"

He flicked his sleeve and shouted sternly, "Colluding with cronies, assassinating the king, and forcing the emperor to abdicate in the dead of night—every single one of these acts is irrefutable. It all proves that the Wu family harbors wolfish ambitions of rebellion. Do you still want to deny it now?"

Bang!
Wu Qing's legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground, unable to utter another word.

She seemed to understand something.

Shen Li had already gathered sufficient evidence. The wounds inflicted by the Green Lotus Needle in his hand were the best proof. No matter how much she tried to deny it, it couldn't withstand his words!
"The Wu family's thousand-year-old foundation is hard to shake, but your Wu family has also made many enemies over the years. The Chu family has always been at odds with you, just waiting for the Wu family to slip up so they have a reason to attack you all at once..."

Shen Li slowly approached her, leaned down slightly, and said in a low, seductive voice, "If I reveal your crimes tonight, guess what will happen?"

The gentle, slow voice in her ear was as intoxicating as fine wine. With each sentence she heard, Wu Qing's face turned paler, blood seeped from her palms, and her breath trembled.

Shen Li straightened up, looking down at her, and said slowly, "Now that I am considering the Wu family's generations of meritorious service, I am kindly giving you a way out. Instead of thanking the Emperor for his grace, do you want to threaten me into punishing you for treason?"

Now that things had come to this, Wu Qingquan understood completely: they had been set up!
Shen Li was clearly safe and sound, yet he disappeared for several days without returning, deliberately stirring up public opinion to lure the enemy out and create evidence against him.

Whoever can't hold back and makes the first move will be the snake that gets caught!
There were quite a few people in the empire who wanted to make a move in secret, but most of them were observing the situation and did not dare to act rashly.

The most impatient of all was the Wu family, who were humiliated by the elopement!
The so-called "forming cliques for personal gain" was just a pretext. Shen Li used this fabricated charge to force the Wu family into the game, simply to solidify the Wu family's guilt!
These three concrete charges are enough to completely condemn the Wu family to treason.

Ji Jiuli "kindly" gave them a way out, and the Wu family had no choice but to accept the emperor's great favor!
Otherwise, if the Wu family's crimes are proven true, their fate is predictable!
Shen Li went to great lengths to do all this in order to rightfully dissolve his engagement with the Wu family, all for that foreign female?
After figuring everything out, Wu Qing felt as if her heart was being stabbed by a sharp blade. She trembled with anger and said through tears, "Your Majesty, you will regret this!"

"You want to wipe out your family line!"

"I'll wait until the day you regret it!"

I got home too late tonight, so I'll stop here for now. Goodnight~