Stunningly beautiful yet wicked, she begins by conquering eight beast husbands.

Chapter 106 She treated me to dinner
They used the competition for resources as an excuse.

Scarlett's imprisonment was no longer her own business.

It's not about the six powerful families behind her.

The people at the 403 Institute are from the old regime, while the six families behind Scarlett are from the new regime.

The transition between the old and the new also foreshadows that this case is not simple.

Ashley was busy with experiments, but he also kept in touch with his family.

His family didn't want him to get a divorce in the first place, and when they saw him speaking up for Scarlett, they understood and took action one after another.

The online discussion continued, with Christine's name topping the trending list, followed by the names of seven other people.

Like Christine, they all came from the underworld. After being admitted to the Imperial City, they joined the 403 Research Institute. A few years later, they left the institute and disappeared without a trace.

More and more speculations are emerging on StarNet.

The same things they said about Scarlett Johansson back then are now being said about Research Institute 403.

kill!
Retrieve memories.

To achieve success.

To extract the marrow from the bones.

A series of comments remained high on the StarNet, enough to send chills down anyone's spine.

Especially the civilians underground.

Their lifelong ambition was to pass the imperial examinations, escape their commoner status, and realize their ideals.

Now, what lies before them is that entering the capital will not only fail to realize their ideals or transcend social classes, but will instead make them "meal on the plate" for those in high positions.

How could they not feel disheartened?

Could it be that His Majesty created the examination system precisely to better oppress the common people?
Catherine's reputation, built up over two decades of hard work, was severely damaged in this outcry.

She was no longer a good emperor who cared for the country and its people.

She became the biggest executioner of the fallen hero of the common people.

The news reached the imperial court.

Catherine was coughing, and after coughing for almost a minute, a pool of blood appeared on her palm.

She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, smiled, and said, "Scarlett's matter has caused quite a stir. I'm afraid it won't be long before the Federation calls to inquire about it."

She said that, but her eyes were filled with relief.

With six major families involved, she no longer needs to worry about Scarlett.

She made the right choice back then.

Katrina brought the medicine.

She shook her head, pushed the object aside, grabbed Katrina's wrist, and said weakly, "Give the order to thoroughly investigate the 403 Research Institute. They've already taken action, so as their mother, I naturally have to support my child."

Katrina felt Catherine's hand about to give way, so she quickly supported it, nodding repeatedly, her eyes welling up with tears. "Alright, Your Majesty, I'll give the order right away. Now that His Highness is protected by the six great families, you don't need to worry anymore. Rest well and focus on recovering. Later, I will arrange for Wen Qi to come to the Imperial Court to treat His Majesty. His Majesty has already postponed three times; this time, it absolutely cannot be postponed again!"

Seeing Katrina's resolute gaze, Catherine's expression turned unusually fierce.

She knew that her body had indeed reached its limit, and if she didn't get treatment soon, the damage would accelerate, and she probably wouldn't last two years. She smiled and said, "Okay, I'll do whatever you say."

……

……

403 Research Institute.

It was quite a scene outside.

Inside the research institute, everything was harmonious, and all procedures were proceeding normally without any disruption.

Laboratory No. 27.

Ashley hadn't left the lab for almost three days.

It's early morning now.

All the females in the lab went back to rest.

He stayed here alone to continue his experiments.

If you feel sleepy, take a nap, but not for too long, ten minutes is enough.

Drink nutritional supplements when you're hungry.

He had almost finished his experiments, but he was missing one crucial point. Once he figured it out, he could develop the advanced tranquilizer again. However, that point had always been Christine's responsibility, and it was very complicated. He took out Christine's research notes and repeated the experiments more than a hundred times, but he still couldn't get the initial result.

"Why, why is this happening? Why can't I find the answer? Am I useless? Scarlett gave me the most important thing, so why can't I figure out the soothing agent? I'm such a waste! A complete waste! What should I do? How is Scarlett now?"

"Scarlett..."

Ashley sat in the chair, clutching his hair in anguish.

He was completely absorbed in the lab, oblivious to the progress of events outside. Scarlett's words kept echoing in his mind.

Scarlett pinned all her hopes on him.

He absolutely must figure it out!
Ashley slumped for a few seconds, but quickly rallied, stood up again, walked to the lab bench, took out the reagents, and continued the experiment.

"Ding……"

The laboratory door was opened.

He heard the sound, but had no time to pay attention to it, his eyes fixed on the pale purple reagent in front of him, carefully pouring it into the measuring cylinder.

"Wow, isn't this the Ancient Crying Grass?!"

An excited female voice suddenly rang out, startling Ashley so much that his hand trembled and he almost dropped the measuring cylinder.

"You, you, you..." Ashley turned around, saw Caroline, and looked like he'd seen a ghost.

Caroline hasn't been to the lab for the past few days.

Nobody knows where she went.

He doesn't care either.

It was a bit scary that he came back suddenly in the middle of the night.

Caroline raised an eyebrow at him. "What? Surprised to see me?"

Ashley shook his head. "Not surprising."

We're all from the lab, how could it be unexpected? It was just too sudden.

He took a few steps to the side, creating some distance.

"You're so petty. You run away the moment I get close. Anyone who didn't know better would think I was going to eat you up," Caroline teased with a laugh.

Ashley paused for a moment, then said, "Scarlett doesn't like me getting too close to men."

Upon hearing this, Caroline's playful nature was piqued, and she deliberately moved closer to Ashley, saying, "She's in court right now, she won't know."

Ashley ran a little further away, saying, "Whether I do it or not is her business."

"Yo."

Caroline crossed her arms. "I didn't realize you were so loyal. I vaguely remember a few months ago, you stormed off to the Royal Court, determined to divorce Scarlett. What? You don't want a divorce now?"

Ashley was unwilling to discuss this with outsiders.

Frowning, with his back to Caroline, he continued the experiment.

He didn't want to waste any time.

Caroline had only meant to tease Ashley, but seeing that he didn't reply, she lost interest. She turned around, went to the lounge to change into her lab coat, put on her goggles, and returned to the lab table, saying, "You have something like Ancient Crying Grass, yet you can't make a high-grade soothing agent. That just shows how useless you are."

"Now, I really admire Christine a bit for how she made the soothing medicine back then."

"She's really smart; no wonder her aunt admires her so much."

When Ashley heard the name "Christine," his hand paused, and he slowly turned his head.

Caroline picked up the reagent and said, "I know what you want to say. Once I've made the advanced soothing agent, I'll go to the Royal Court to apologize."

Her words left Ashley speechless, and he looked at her, puzzled. "You..."

Caroline said, "I really don't want to borrow other people's things, but I have no choice right now. If I don't use them now, I won't be able to use them later. Don't you want to save Scarlett? I'll help you."

Caroline's personal computer has two sets of chips, one is hers and the other is Christine's.

She never used Christine's chip.

As a noblewoman from the imperial city, she had her own pride. If her aunt hadn't forcibly implanted it in her mind, she would never have used such a despicable method in her entire life.

She firmly believed that she could develop advanced tranquilizers on her own.

pity.

There isn't much time left for her.

Once this is exposed, everyone at the 403 Research Institute will be convicted.

Since that's the case, let's do each other a favor.

It might even give the 403 Research Institute a chance to survive.

Ashley asked, puzzled, "Why?"

The question has two meanings.

Caroline only gave a superficial answer: "Scarlett treated me to dinner."

Two chapters delivered!
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Ahhhhhh!
Two hundred monthly votes! Time for an extra chapter! But today is Mother's Day, and I went out with my mom, so there's no extra chapter! I'll definitely make it up tomorrow!
Tomorrow we'll finish this part of the story (it's a bit long, please don't hit me. Because I need to resolve the foreshadowing from earlier episodes and introduce new ones later, it's not intentionally dragging out the pace), and we'll get to the bedchamber scene!! Hahahaha, the resource competition is about to begin, but our Princess Scarlett is still just a lowly D-rank Karami. Everyone remembers the conditions for the resource competition, right?! Hehehe! I'm going to write some smut!!!
I'm going to read 100 posts today to learn from them!

Enjoy reading! Mwah!
Wishing all the mothers of our readers good health, happiness, and joy every day!
Happy Mother's Day to all mothers!
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(End of this chapter)