Who understands? The aloof female ruler always flirts without even realizing it.

When the solemn electronic receipt from the Imperial Supreme Court lit up on his personal terminal, Locke felt little relief.

He knew that this was only the beginning of a long war.

Standing in the center of the small living room, her long silver hair was simply tied back, and she was dressed in the most ordinary civilian clothes. The sharpness of her military uniform had been removed, but it made her figure appear even taller and more aloof.

What he submitted was not just an application to leave the family, but also evidence he was secretly gathering that could cripple the Locke family.

Financial scandals, illegal arms deals, secret records of genetic optimization using female insects, and... internal communications fragments about the female father, Jersey, being "voluntarily" transferred and ultimately dying tragically.

Each one is like a poisoned dagger, pointing directly at the rotten core beneath the glamorous exterior of this ancient family.

They anticipated that the family would retaliate, exert pressure, and use their connections to delay legal proceedings.

He was even prepared to face physical threats.

But in the end, they underestimated how despicable and unscrupulous a family with a history spanning hundreds of years could be when it came to protecting its own reputation and interests.

The retaliation didn't come from court summons or the family's private army, but from that omnipresent, invisible pest—

public opinion.

Initially, they were a few noble sons who had grudges against him or had been won over by the Locke family.

In the private virtual computer's social circle, it was mentioned in an ambiguous yet intriguing tone:

"A certain lieutenant general, known for his gentle and elegant demeanor, is actually quite welcoming and enthusiastic in private."

Immediately afterwards, a carefully edited video with highly guiding text narration exploded like a drop of boiling oil in the capital's top aristocratic circles.

And it spread rapidly to a wider range of information channels at the speed of the virus's spread.

The video's title was particularly jarring:

[Lieutenant General Seewo Locke's Night of Revelry at Lanjing Palace]

When Locke saw the video that the bug had forwarded to him on his encrypted channel, he was analyzing his next strategy.

The moment he pressed play, he was struck dumb, frozen in place as if by lightning.

On the screen were the nightmare fragments he least wanted to relive in his life.

The video deliberately increased the saturation and brightness, making the pure white corset and sheer train even more dazzling, almost with a kind of sacred allure.

The video content was chaotic, even obscene, and everything was recorded.

How could he possibly refute that?

The evidence in the video is irrefutable; all the images are silently screaming:

"Look how depraved and filthy he is!"

His family not only pushed him into the fire, but also dressed him in the guise of a philanderer, then pointed to this guise and told the whole world:

That's just his nature; he enjoys it.

"...It is understood that Lieutenant General Locke's decision to leave the family stems from his dissatisfaction with the family's reasonable discipline for his 'misconduct,' and he is now turning around and accusing the family that raised him in an attempt to achieve ulterior motives..."

The caption following the video was an even more egregious accusation, completely smearing him.

"Bang!"

Locke slammed his fist into the marble tabletop beside him, and the hard surface dented instantly.

His pale gold eyes churned with overwhelming rage and humiliation, and blood vessels rapidly spread across them.

My body trembled uncontrollably, not from fear, but from extreme anger and a feeling of utter defilement and inexplicable nausea.

It's really no surprise that their methods are still as dirty as ever.

The light screen was abruptly shut off, as if the image were some kind of deadly poison.

His chest heaved violently, and a metallic, sweet taste rose in his throat, which he forced down.