They demanded she describe, before everyone, exactly how she’d been violated;

They had already decided Jun Beiyue would never touch her, and demanded, before everyone, that her body be inspected;

They were humiliating her, in full view of everyone!

The entire hall of the Court of Judicial Review had erupted into chaos. Ziqing stood alone, surrounded on all sides by discussion and contempt. All around her, onlookers leaned forward eagerly, pointing and murmuring, the wave of hurt drawing closer and closer, on the verge of swallowing her whole!

She kept her head bowed, her small frame trembling uncontrollably. No one could see her expression—only her hand, trembling the most violently, slowly, gradually beginning to rise…

High above, Jun Beiyao’s lips curled with undisguised triumph, his cold eyes fixed unblinkingly on Ziqing’s hand. He couldn’t help but feel his pulse quicken—his grand scheme was about to succeed. Han Ziqing’s hand was about to point straight at him!

His hands gripped the armrests tightly in his excitement, his body leaning forward unconsciously, bracing to receive Han Ziqing’s accusation!

Emperor Tianhui wore a cold smile, his sharp eyes likewise fixed on Ziqing’s hand, his heart pounding so hard it seemed no moment in his life had ever been more tense than this one!

The instant Han Ziqing pointed, accusing Jun Beiyao as the murderer, everything established in this case so far would be completely overturned!

Jun Beiyue’s reputation would be utterly destroyed. In front of the entire court, in front of all of Da Zhou, he would condemn Jun Beiyao—under Da Zhou law, murder carried a sentence of life imprisonment. He would revoke the title he’d once bestowed upon Han Ziqing, remarry her to Jun Beiyao, and let her spend the rest of her life accompanying him in prison!

And for the rest of his life, she would be Jun Beiyue’s greatest disgrace!

No matter how capable Jun Beiyue was, no matter how much power he held, he would forever be mocked by the people of Da Zhou, forever unable to hold his head up before them!

Let’s see, then, whether he would still dare scheme against his emperor’s throne, whether he’d have any face left to covet the crown!

A wife becoming a younger brother’s sister-in-law in truth—the power of public opinion was a terrifying thing. He had already planned it all out perfectly—he would use the force of public opinion to destroy Jun Beiyue’s standing as a god of war in the eyes of Da Zhou’s army and its people!

Ever since Jun Beiyue had handed out honors and rewards on the northern frontier, deliberately excluding him entirely, Old Seventh had been sending secret letters back to the capital, plotting all of this with him.

They had been waiting for this couple to return to the capital, waiting for exactly this kind of trial today!

They had prepared everything meticulously—even if Jun Beiyue burst in right now and admitted he’d touched Han Ziqing, to prove she hadn’t lied, to prove her innocence, to prove that Han Xi’er had framed her—

Then the charge of Han Ziqing killing young master Chen would still stand! And Jun Beiyue, in shielding her, would be guilty of the same crime as the murderer!

Even if Jun Beiyue then raised an army in rebellion—

How could he possibly silence the endless tongues of the realm!

A prince who raised an army in rebellion rather than accept punishment for reckless disregard of human life—how many would truly support him, and for how long?

Thinking of this, the curve at the corner of Emperor Tianhui’s lips grew ever more triumphant. Watching Ziqing’s hand, now nearly raised halfway into the air, about to point straight at his target, he couldn’t help but silently cry out in his heart, “Faster! Faster! Just a little more, point it already!”

But then!

Ziqing’s hand stopped. Though it still trembled, it froze in midair. Amid the sea of discussion threatening to drown her, she slowly lifted her head instead. What replaced her hand, striking straight and sharp at Jun Beiyao, was her gaze.

A pair of eyes, blood-red and terrifying, like the eyes of an ashura rising from raging flames, so fierce and horrifying that every voice in the hall fell silent at once. Jun Beiyao’s leaning body instinctively pulled back, slamming hard against the backrest. His heart, moments ago pounding with excitement, seemed suddenly seized by something invisible—and stopped beating entirely.

At the same moment, everyone who had leaned forward, pointing and murmuring, recoiled all at once, falling back like a wave in retreat!

The crowded hall fell so silent, in an instant, that one could have heard a pin drop. Everyone was struck dumb by that pair of blood-red eyes, by that face, so exquisitely beautiful yet now as fierce as a demon from hell!

What was this woman trying to do?

Her gaze slowly moved away from Jun Beiyao’s face, sweeping across everyone present in turn, a look that left every single person trembling with fear.

What exactly was this woman trying to do?

Before anyone had recovered, Ziqing’s icy gaze settled once more on Jun Beiyao’s face!

To everyone’s astonishment, her sharp eyes narrowed, and her lips curled—suddenly she burst into laughter, wild and unrestrained, reckless and unbridled!

That laugh was even more unsettling than her cold, appraising stare had been. Surely this woman hadn’t been driven mad by all this?

No one dared speak, each fearing they might become the next target.

Ziqing laughed, laughed without restraint. Once, her former boss, her former subordinates, had all told her countless times that her greatest weakness in this life was her traditional, conservative notion of chastity!

If she abandoned that one lingering conviction, her achievements would far surpass being merely a top figure in the mercenary world!

Enough, enough! Let it go!

Something already lost long ago—why keep clinging to it so stubbornly?

Only by casting off this restraint could she truly be free, could she truly soar, could she truly live according to her own nature, settling scores and repaying kindness exactly as she pleased!

Her laughter slowly faded. She finally stopped looking at Jun Beiyao, and instead turned, smiling, to Emperor Tianhui. “Your Majesty, there’s no need to verify anything. Long before the incident at the House of National Beauty, Ziqing already…”

But before she could finish speaking, a sharp whistling sound suddenly tore through the air from behind her, and with a loud “bang,” a body came crashing down violently from behind, slamming hard into the ground!

What was happening!

Before anyone could recover, another sharp whistling sound cut through the air—”whoosh”—and yet another figure came flying in from the doorway, landing with a heavy “thud” right at Ziqing’s feet!

At once, everyone turned to look back in unison. Beyond the main gate, in the pitch-black night, a dark silhouette approached from a distance, gradually growing clearer.

Not until he stood at the entrance could everyone see him clearly—dressed in black combat attire, tall and powerfully built, his face covered save for a pair of icy, terrifying eyes, which at this very moment bore down domineeringly on Han Ziqing.

Who was he?

Jun Beiyao was immediately unsettled, and barked sharply, “Who dares to trespass upon the Court of Judicial Review! Someone, protect His Majesty, seize him at once!”

The moment he spoke, everyone finally came back to their senses, thrown into panic!

But strangely, none of the guards present dared to move, paying no heed whatsoever to Jun Beiyao’s command!

The black-clad figure walked closer step by step, stopping only three steps away from Han Ziqing.

Ziqing stood frozen, a wave of familiarity washing over her. She found herself unconsciously wanting to turn back and look at Jun Beiyao, but at this moment, under the crushing weight of this man’s cold gaze, she couldn’t move at all.

“You! Who exactly are you!” Emperor Tianhui finally demanded loudly.

The black-clad figure gave a cold snort, then finally lifted his head and said coldly, “The true culprit.”

What!

What did he say?

He said he was… the true culprit!

No one could believe their own ears—how could anyone declare those two words with such utter indifference!

Amid the shock, Ziqing finally came back to herself, staring in astonishment at Jun Beiyao. That liar!