Qiao Ying's voice rang out loudly: “I now have reason to suspect this is not a private grievance, but a conspiracy planned by you as father and daughter, and by your entire royal family collectively.”
“You,” she looked at the king, “were responsible for luring Lin Cheng away. Lin Cheng can testify. Then someone was sent to capture me, with passersby and street surveillance footage as evidence. Then Karina would carry out the execution. The gun Karina wanted to kill me with is still in my hand, which is physical evidence. I almost forgot, on the way here just now, I already saved the surveillance footage from that villa to my computer.”
“In five minutes, I can make every citizen in C Country see the video of C Country's princess holding a gun to my head and forcing me to leave my fiancé. If I hadn't escaped, were you planning to use me to threaten Lin Cheng or just kill me outright and forcibly put Lin Cheng on the throne?”
“I think now I not only need a lawyer, I also need to seek help from the embassy and my country.”
The whole room was in an uproar. Qiao Ying's maneuvering was completely unexpected.
With just a few short sentences, Qiao Ying had turned half the royal family into accomplices, and the king's crimes were all clearly stated.
The king's face turned black.
Members of the royal family angrily shouted in unison: “Nonsense!”
Qiao Ying suddenly thought of something fun to share with them: “Aren’t you choosing a successor? This is a great way to test - escalate the matter internationally and see which capable candidate can resolve it.”
“Don’t worry, in order to better select the most capable one, I will do my utmost. I'm acquainted with quite a few government departments and military units in Hua Country. I'll give them a heads up and help C Country's successor selection process in my own way.”
Qiao Ying was bluffing about not having connections, but Qin HanYue did.
If Qin HanYue was determined to help Lin Cheng and Qiao Ying, with just a bit of maneuvering behind the scenes, Qiao Ying's safety alone could easily escalate into a dispute between the two countries.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the grand conference hall became heavy and tense.
Karina's brother looked at Qin HanYue, anger in his heart but not daring to openly oppose Qin HanYue.
Seeing Lin Cheng not saying a word, seemingly detached like an outsider, entirely acquiescing to Qiao Ying’s actions, the king's eyes turned cold.
Then he let out a cold laugh and looked at Qiao Ying, calm and unruffled. “One person threatens an entire country, I’m impressed you could think of that.”
The king's expression was cold, speaking slowly: “Do you think I'd give you a chance to do any of that?”
His eyes showed killing intent, not avoiding anyone.
He wanted Lin Cheng to know he wouldn't let Lin Cheng have his way, he couldn't protect Qiao Ying.
At the same time, he really did want to kill Qiao Ying.
As for Qin HanYue, he didn’t believe anything would really happen if Qin got involved. Their relationship with Lin Cheng wasn’t that deep after all.
Today he was going to force Lin Cheng to yield.
Qiao Ying smiled, “I just love your eagerness to court death, it saves a lot of unnecessary talk.”
Qiao Ying told them, “If you can't kill me now, I guarantee C Country will face an unprecedented financial crisis. C Country's hidden nuclear weapons will also face sabotage of the dead hand system. C Country's classified military intelligence will become open secrets. If I can't accomplish that, I'll cut off my head and let you kick it around like a ball, so feel free to try.”
After a moment of silence in the spacious conference hall, scornful laughter began to ring out one after another. Karina’s brothers laughed out loud directly.
One by one they looked at Qiao Ying as if she were a fool.
They had been a little intimidated by Qiao Ying's aura and Qin HanYue's backing at first, but now they were certain that Qiao Ying was just a lowly commoner who only knew how to spout nonsense, living in her own fantasy world and unfamiliar with the ways of the world.
She might even have delusional disorder.
A young earl directly mocked, “Duke Lin, your fiancée really is charming.
Just then, the butler hurriedly led two people over.
They were the king's two assistants.
“There’s trouble. LED screens hanging outside shopping malls, plazas, and buildings across the entire western region are all playing the video of Princess Karina's servant skinning a cat and falsely accusing Duke Lin's fiancée. One assistant held a laptop, speaking softly to the king.
The other assistant also said, “This video has already been seen by countless people, attracting widespread media attention and spreading wildly online. Tech staff are handling it.”
They kept their voices low.
Qiao Ying with her keen hearing could make out every word clearly.
The other royal family members also sensed from the assistants' nervous demeanors that something was wrong.
At this moment, in bustling plazas, large shopping malls, below towering landmark buildings, more and more people were congregating and taking out their phones to record as they stared at those large screens.
Right now, half the country’s citizens were enjoying watching their beautiful, elegant Princess Karina abuse her power, falsely accuse someone, be arrogant and rude.
The king stared at the computer screen. Hearing the video had already been playing for ten minutes, the king frowned deeply, “Forget handling it, cut off internet access everywhere! Shut it down immediately! Find those media outlets and don’t let them report on it.
Spreading such disgraceful royal gossip, how could the royal family keep face?
“But cutting off internet across such a large area...”
The king gritted his teeth and glared at the assistant, “Cut it off!”
“Yes sir.” The assistant immediately went to carry it out.
The king's fierce gaze swept to Qiao Ying, his face no longer calm, “Just what are you trying to do?”
Everyone followed his gaze to look at Qiao Ying, a bad premonition in their hearts.
Qiao Ying's eyes were innocent yet cold, “Like you said, one person threatens an entire country - that was just a little appetizer. The next video will be even better, unless you make the whole country do permanent blackouts, otherwise these videos and your military's classified intel will travel down the internet lines, penetrating everywhere.”
Her tone changed, light and carefree. She let out an “ah” sound playfully and smiled, “I can donate some candles to your country, environmentally friendly and low carbon~”
The king's fat face twisted in anger, the flesh shaking in chunks. He had no choice but to start believing Qiao Ying's words might not be completely fabricated.
She might really be capable of what she claimed.
Even if exaggerated, she still had the ability to give them headaches. He had a headache right now.
At this moment, networks were cut across most of the western region. With no internet access, it was a hassle in this information age.
“Just what is going on?” Seeing the king’s expression, the royal family members asked in a clamor.
The king calmed himself, “Go ahead, what do you want.”
Qiao Ying: “Can we have a proper conversation now?”
