Chapter 29

Ruan Xi suddenly fainted, which really startled everyone.

Xia Ruzhi, Ruan Xi's biological mother, rushed over immediately, crouched down and hugged the unconscious Ruan Xi, her face pale as she called out: “Xi'er, Xi'er, what’s wrong?”

“Xiao Xi…” a young Alpha’s worried voice came from behind the crowd.

The crowd immediately and spontaneously made way for him.

Ruan Tang turned around and saw Shen Mozhi hurriedly pushing through the crowd. He must have heard about Ruan Xi's accident and rushed over in great concern. He walked up beside Xia Ruzhi and embraced the unconscious Ruan Xi.

His cold, stern brows, high nose bridge, strong muscles, and potent Pheromone scent declared the strength of his Spirit Power.

This Alpha, hailed as a rising star in politics and the heir of the Shen Family, was still as composed and capable as ever, carrying a natural air of authority. But upon seeing Ruan Xi in trouble, his usually elegant gait became flustered.

His special treatment of Ruan Xi was so obvious.

How laughable that Ruan Tang, in the beginning, couldn't see it at all, thinking that as Shen Mozhi's fiancé, he could still compete with Ruan Xi in his heart.

In the end, he lost completely and ended up with nothing.

“What's wrong?” Auston immediately sensed that Ruan Tang's mood had changed because of that Alpha's appearance. He raised an eyebrow and looked to his side.

Ruan Tang forced himself to snap out of it, shook his head, and stopped looking in Shen Mozhi's direction, saying lightly: “…Nothing.”

Although Shen Mozhi had brought back some painful memories, times were different now. He was married, had left the Ruan Family, and was no longer that Ruan Tang who was constantly plundered by Ruan Xi and become a target of public criticism.

Even Shen Mozhi, the man who had taught him the most painful lesson, could no longer stir any ripples in him.

Auston gave Ruan Tang a deep look.

Ruan Tang inexplicably grew tense, thinking that since Auston had seen one of his former fiancés, he would surely ask him something.

Ruan Tang was prepared to answer, but Auston just averted his gaze, no longer looking at him, and didn't ask anything.

“What happened? How did Xiao Xi end up like this?” Shen Mozhi half-held Ruan Xi, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. Sensing his Spirit Power was damaged, though still unaware of what had happened, he didn't seem confused but turned to the people around him and asked, “Who hurt him?”

Although he had only recently entered the cabinet council as a councilor, as the heir of the Shen Family, Shen Mozhi's words still carried considerable weight in aristocratic circles.

He was a universally recognized young talent.

But this time, no one dared to answer him.

Those who had witnessed the situation just now all looked fearfully at Auston sitting in his wheelchair… They had no idea what had exactly happened, only that Auston had suddenly thrown Ruan Xi out.

Though they didn't know what happened, they all generally believed that the royal mad dog had suddenly had an episode and injured the innocent Ruan Xi…

But even if they thought so, because the lunatic Auston was exceptionally powerful, even if they sympathized in their hearts, no one dared to step forward and seek justice for poor Ruan Xi.

They all acted out of self-interest, stiffly stepping back several paces, moving away from where Auston was.

Auston's frequent episodes of madness in the Imperial Star were not new; no one knew if, having just hurt Ruan Xi, he might not have had his fill and would hurt someone else.

As for Shen Mozhi's questioning…

When the big shots fight, the small fry don't want to get involved.

Every aristocratic family had their own family doctor.

Shortly after Ruan Xi fainted, Duchess Elena, the organizer of this banquet, had the doctor hastily summoned to check on Ruan Xi's condition.

“What is going on? How did Xiao Xi suddenly get injured?” Seeing no one answered him, Shen Mozhi's face darkened, and he looked at the banquet organizer, Duchess Elena. “Duchess Elena, you are the organizer of this banquet. My fiancé met with an accident at your banquet. Shouldn't you give me an explanation?”

The pressure he exerted when speaking was immense.

Duchess Elena had been standing with Ruan Tang all along, so she naturally knew Ruan Xi had been thrown out by Auston. But she didn't dare to say it, so with a pale face and an awkward smile, she said, “What exactly happened? I was too busy just now, I didn't see…”

“Lord Auston, you were closer just now. Did you see what happened and how the Sixth Young Master Ruan was injured?” She had cold sweat on her forehead and, as she spoke, looked at Auston, passing the ball to him.

Auston looked at them with amusement and said nothing.

Only then did Shen Mozhi notice Ruan Tang and Auston. He looked at them, and when he saw Ruan Tang standing beside Auston, his heart ached for some reason.

But he still followed aristocratic etiquette and performed a full ceremonial bow to them.

“Was there an assassin who suddenly appeared? An assassin hiding among the servants injured the Sixth Young Master Ruan? Did you see it, Lord Auston?” Seeing Auston silent, Elena, in a flash of inspiration, spontaneously made up an excuse to give Auston a way out.

Regardless of what the truth was, no matter how many people knew in their hearts that Auston had gone mad and hurt Ruan Xi, since this happened at her event, to avoid offending the Emperor and Empress and to preserve the royal family's face, even if it was absurd to suddenly invent an assassin, she had to help Auston gloss over this matter publicly.

They absolutely could not let Duke Auston be confirmed as a true madman.

As for after this was over, if Shen Mozhi learned the truth and wanted to avenge his fiancé against Auston, and how they would fight, that was their business.

It wasn't her concern.

And for now, no matter how many eyes saw what, she insisted that Ruan Xi was hurt by an assassin, not Auston. It was the assassin, not Auston…

Shen Mozhi frowned deeply. Although he didn't know what happened and thought Duchess Elena's words were absurd, he still looked at Auston with a questioning gaze.

Hoping he could provide him with clues.

“I don't know, I didn't see any assassin.” Auston watched this group of people putting on a monkey show to cover for his madness, finding it extremely amusing. He immediately let out a light laugh, a laugh that was chilling and made everyone's blood run cold.

Duchess Elena, hearing him say that, forgot her fear of him and immediately continued to think of an excuse to smooth things over: “Then…”

But before she could finish, Auston suddenly added another sentence: “That thing called Ruan Xi was thrown out by me.”

He was not one to change his name or conceal his identity; there was nothing he dared not admit to.

The awkward smile on Duchess Elena's face instantly froze.

The expressions of the others also changed drastically. They never expected Auston to say such a thing when everyone was trying to cover up the lie for him.

Sure enough, a madman was a madman; a madman's logic was beyond the understanding of normal people…

Dragging this matter out into the open like this, even for the sake of face, Shen Mozhi, the Shen Family, and the Ruan Family would inevitably have to wage war against the Auston Ducal Palace.

Everyone involuntarily held their breath and shrank back, trying to minimize their presence in this incident.

“Duke Auston, why did you do that?” Shen Mozhi's face turned livid. He walked up to Auston, forcing down the anger in his heart, and demanded, “Even if Xiao Xi did something wrong and angered you, he is still an Omega. As an Alpha, why would you lay hands on him in public and injure him so severely?”

As Ruan Xi's fiancé, he had to seek justice for Ruan Xi.

As an Alpha, whose physical ability and Spirit Power were many times greater than an Omega's, attacking a defenseless Omega was a serious crime explicitly prohibited by the Empire's Omega Protection Law. Once discovered, it would lead to imprisonment for life.

Even among the nobility, a cultured, gentlemanly Alpha must never casually attack an Omega, let alone with spiritual attacks.

This was considered extremely shameful and disgusting behavior in the hearts of all Alphas and Omegas.

Everyone present who witnessed the incident understood these principles, and they knew that emotionally, morally, and from a high moral ground, they all tended to side with Shen Mozhi.

But the problem was—

Auston was not a normal person; he was a madman.

Reasoning with a madman was impossible… The unspoken rules that everyone understood were utterly meaningless to this Bluebeard Duke.

Seeing Shen Mozhi's burning anger, Duchess Elena, as the host, had to step in again. With a stiff face, she tried to mediate and find a way out for both sides: “Yes, Your Grace, what exactly happened? Could there be some misunderstanding?”

In her heart, though, ten thousand grass mud horses galloped by, and she wanted to ask the heavens if this year was her year of offending Tai Sui.

Otherwise, why would that harbinger of doom Auston suddenly decide to attend her banquet?

She didn't want such honor and face at all.

“No misunderstanding. That thing is too noisy, too annoying, too garrulous.” Auston said lightly but matter-of-factly.

Upon hearing this, Shen Mozhi felt all the blood rush to his head, feeling he had never suffered such humiliation. His hands unconsciously clenched into fists, and he was about to lunge forward and fight, but he gritted his teeth and asked word by word: “For that reason, you injured Xiao Xi like that?”

When he said that, seeing his humiliated and furious appearance as he stood up for his fiancé, contrasted with Auston's unperturbed and careless attitude after injuring someone…

Even though everyone stood by coldly, not daring to get involved in this battle of titans, the scales in their hearts unconsciously tipped towards Shen Mozhi.

They felt that Auston, hurting someone for no reason and with such an arrogant attitude, had truly gone too far.

Ruan Xi was just too unlucky and too pitiful.

Although they couldn't do anything now, in their hearts they all hoped the Emperor would soon tire of this madman and quickly put him out of commission, not let him out to harm people.

“Of course not.” Auston carefully studied the angry expression on Shen Mozhi's face and the varied expressions of those around him, feeling exceptionally joyful. He burst out laughing: “I threw him out because he intended to seduce me, pestering me relentlessly. I really couldn't stand his harassment.”

The sound of his laughter sent chills down everyone's spine.

Duchess Elena, hearing him finally offer an explanation, was about to instinctively force a face-saving excuse for him, but froze mid-sentence: “So it was the Sixth Young Master Ruan who seduced… seduced?”

“Seduce? How could Xiao Xi possibly seduce you?” Shen Mozhi's face turned red as blood with rage, finding Auston's words laughable and absurd. “Lord Auston, you must be responsible for your words. You injured him first, and now you're slandering an Omega's reputation for no reason… Even if you are a duke, don't you think you're being ridiculous?”

Not a single person present believed Auston's words. Who was Ruan Xi? He was the most favored sixth young master of the Ruan Family, the fiancé of the Imperial Star's rising star Shen Mozhi, and a universal heartthrob with countless admirers.

And who was Auston?

He was the Bluebeard Duke of the Imperial Star, infamous far and wide. Although he held high power, he was ugly, disabled, and had a capricious temperament…

Just in terms of appearance, let alone comparing with Shen Mozhi, the first handsome man of the Imperial Star, even any random suitor of Ruan Xi could easily outshine Auston.

Ruan Xi would have to be blind and lame to give up a handsome and promising fiancé like Shen Mozhi and go seduce a crippled ugly monster whose future could be seen at a glance…

No one with a brain would believe such nonsense.

Only Auston could fabricate such a story.

Sure enough, a madman is a madman, without even a shred of logic…

Although they didn't dare show it on their faces, everyone couldn't help but sigh inwardly in agreement.

“Whether you believe it or not, that's the truth.” Auston didn't even look at him, casting his gaze over the other nobles present, and said slowly, “I really don't know what's wrong with Imperial Star banquets lately, that even such dirty trash who likes seducing the powerful can get in.”

He swept a glance at Ruan Xi, still unconscious, as if looking at rubbish: “I don't know how you tolerate it, but from now on, at any occasion I attend, I don't want to see this despicable trash again.”

Auston spoke without any restraint, his words extremely harsh.

Everyone who heard the implication of his words changed expression…

No matter how mad Auston was, and how everyone feared him, he held real power. He was one of the Seven Grand Dukes, the ruler of the Penal Planet.

Regardless of whether Ruan Xi had actually seduced him, now that Auston had demeaned him to this extent and publicly stated that he never wanted to see Ruan Xi again at any occasion he attended, this was effectively cutting off all possibilities for Ruan Xi to engage in aristocratic social circles in the future.

After all, he forbade Ruan Xi from appearing at any venue he attended. But who knew what occasions he would grace? Given Auston's status, as long as he was alive and not imprisoned, every social event in the Imperial Star, whether he came or not, would inevitably send him an invitation, and he might attend anytime.

If there was a possibility he might attend, Ruan Xi could not come.

For a noble Omega like Ruan Xi, didn't this mean destroying all his social channels, leaving him no room to recover?

Moreover, regardless of the truth, by using the excuse of Ruan Xi seducing him to expel Ruan Xi from the Imperial Star's aristocratic social circles, Ruan Xi's reputation would probably be completely ruined from now on…

No one knew how Ruan Xi had provoked this jinx to incur such great hatred. Some even began to suspect whether Ruan Xi had indeed seduced this curse.

But upon reflection, they thought it impossible, and could only grow more sympathetic towards Ruan Xi.

Yet still, no one dared to speak for him.

Shen Mozhi, as an Alpha, didn't understand the importance of socializing in aristocratic circles for Omegas, so he was momentarily stunned.

Auston immediately pushed his wheelchair and was about to leave without looking back. He always did things his own way, following his whims, never caring what others thought of him or how they judged him.

As long as others couldn't do anything to him and he was in a good mood, he felt happy.

He turned his head slightly and said to Ruan Tang: “Let's go!”

Ruan Tang immediately followed his wheelchair.

Xia Ruzhi, holding Ruan Xi, caught a glimpse of Ruan Tang from the corner of her eye. She let go of Ruan Xi and rushed in front of Ruan Tang, saying, “Ruan Tang, I know you hate me, hate Xiao Xi, but you really shouldn't have schemed to frame Xiao Xi and defile his reputation. You are blood relatives after all; how could you be so vicious?”

Shen Mozhi didn't know the importance of aristocratic socializing for Omegas, but Xia Ruzhi, as a mistress who had successfully used wifely diplomacy to replace the original, now demented, wife, understood it all too well.

No matter how much an Alpha doted on you, it was only temporary. Only if you could stand on your own, accomplish something for him, and be valuable to him could you secure your position unshakably.

Back then, Ruan Tang's birth mother, after her children encountered consecutive misfortunes, became mentally incapacitated and could no longer carry out wifely diplomacy for Ruan Ming. That was when Ruan Ming abandoned her and took Xia Ruzhi in.

Now, she absolutely would not allow her own son to lose such a huge bargaining chip.

Xia Ruzhi didn't dare to confront Auston, so she decisively chose to turn the conflict towards her stepson.

People had been puzzled about why Auston targeted Ruan Xi so fiercely. But now, led by Xia Ruzhi's insinuations and connecting it with Auston's doting on Ruan Tang, they suddenly found it logical.

Thinking carefully about the grudges between Ruan Tang and Ruan Xi, they all became even more sympathetic to Ruan Xi, believing that everything today was a trap deliberately set by Auston to vent for Ruan Tang.

Everyone, hindered by their fear of Auston, didn't dare say anything.

But they would sneak glances at Ruan Tang, clicking their tongues inwardly and lamenting: Indeed, you can't judge a book by its cover. This is truly a vengeful black-hearted lotus…

“My blood relatives are only three: my mother, my eldest brother, and my eldest sister. The blood in Ruan Xi's veins is different from mine, so how can he be considered my blood relative?” Ruan Tang hadn't expected Xia Ruzhi to block his way. He let out a cold laugh and corrected her slowly.

When he was little, because of Xia Ruzhi's jealousy towards his mother, he had suffered a lot at the hands of this stepmother.

But now, he was married, and the most important people had all left the Ruan Family. There was nothing left to hold against him, so times had changed.

Therefore, as soon as Xia Ruzhi rushed up, Ruan Tang retorted without any courtesy.

Xia Ruzhi hadn't expected him to become so sharp-tongued. Thinking he was alluding to her being a mistress and Ruan Xi being an illegitimate child, her face paled as she retorted, “But you share the same father!”

Her child was no different from those born to Tang Yun, and should even be nobler and more outstanding!

“If sharing the same father makes us blood relatives, then I must have twenty or thirty blood relatives, so many I can't count… many of whom I don't even know.” Hearing this, Ruan Tang let out a scornful laugh.

Even if Xia Ruzhi had schemed to push out his mother and become Ruan Ming's legal wife, so what?

Ruan Ming's affairs outside had never stopped; Xia Ruzhi could never be his one and only.

Ruan Tang just found her pitiful and laughable.

“Even if you resent me, the matters of the previous generation are in the past.” Xia Ruzhi's face was pale, words squeezed through her teeth. “Xiao Xi has never wronged you. You shouldn't scheme and frame him like this…”

Hearing her words, Ruan Tang gave a light, cold laugh. “Really? Has Ruan Xi really never wronged me? And have I really schemed and framed him?”

Xia Ruzhi spoke as if Ruan Xi hadn't snatched away two of his fiancés.

“Xiao Xi is so kind, so respectful to you as his older brother, and his feelings with Mozhi are so good. How could he possibly seduce your husband?” Xia Ruzhi's eyes were filled with tears, her voice heartbroken, and she looked at Ruan Tang with extreme disappointment. “When you were young and made so many mistakes, and your father was so angry, how did Xiao Xi plead for you? Have you forgotten all that?”

Her voice was full of accusation.

The surrounding people unconsciously resonated with her, feeling that regardless of the previous generation, Ruan Xi was truly good to his older brother Ruan Tang, and for Ruan Tang to treat Ruan Xi this way was utterly ungrateful and excessive.

“Really? Are you sure he was pleading for me, rather than distorting the facts… Even the beatings I was about to receive were all started by him, brought on by him.” The moment she said that, Ruan Tang could fully imagine how others would look at him and think of him, but now he no longer cared at all.

He just wanted to argue it out with her clearly, to determine whether it was him or Ruan Xi who had wronged him.

Xia Ruzhi was trembling with anger, on the verge of tears. “You… how can you twist the facts like this and misinterpret Xiao Xi's good intentions.”

Just then, Shen Mozhi had somehow walked up to them. With a deeply furrowed brow, he looked at Ruan Tang, his voice full of accusation: “Ruan Tang, I thought that since you were married and your husband loved you so much, you should be living a good life. I never expected that to this day, you still refuse to let Xiao Xi go, and have even instigated your husband to conspire against him…”

“You… you really haven't changed a bit from the past, still as venomous as ever…” Shen Mozhi didn't know how long it had been since he last saw Ruan Tang.

Looking at Ruan Tang, whose malice was exactly the same as in the past, Shen Mozhi just wanted to kill that version of himself who had constantly shadowed Ruan Tang in dark corners, infatuated with him.

And while hating that other self, looking at Ruan Tang in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a trace of excitement and longing rise in his heart.

Even now, Ruan Tang still hated Ruan Xi and refused to let go of the past.

Didn't that mean Ruan Tang had never let go either, and still cared about him?

Watching everything unfold like a replay of yesterday, even Shen Mozhi's accusations were exactly the same.

Ruan Tang suddenly burst into laughter.

He rarely laughed like this. This smile was extremely cold, bone-chilling, yet it made it impossible to look away.

It stunned everyone present.

Even Shen Mozhi was momentarily dazed, his heart inexplicably aching.

Watching Ruan Tang laugh like that and converse with Shen Mozhi, Auston felt the violent factors in his blood almost uncontrollably surging, for some reason.

He suddenly grabbed a wine bottle and smashed it to the ground with a bang, unleashing his full Spirit Power.

Everyone's faces changed drastically, terrified that Auston would go mad and hurt someone here again.

Auston shot a glare at Ruan Tang, his voice dropping eight degrees, dark and terrifying, and ordered him: “Still not leaving? What are you waiting for? The New Year?”

He didn't want to bother with these people. For those he disliked, he always had someone destroy their Spirit Power and cripple them afterward.

He never had any desire to argue.

Now watching Ruan Tang argue with these people, he just found it noisy and chaotic, making his head ache.

Ruan Tang immediately turned around and looked at Auston.

Seeing Ruan Tang turn his back to him and face Auston, Shen Mozhi's heart ached for some reason, and he couldn't help but call out, “Wait—”

Everyone looked at him in astonishment.

Not understanding why he didn't let the jinx leave at this moment, and instead tried to stop them.

Ruan Tang turned back to look at him.

Shen Mozhi then said, word by word: “Ruan Tang, you can't leave. You must stay and clear Xiao Xi's name. Before that, you absolutely cannot leave.”

He told himself over and over that he had called out to Ruan Tang for Ruan Xi's sake.

“Perfect, I don't want to leave either.” Ruan Tang looked at him, his eyes cold and tone hard. “I also need you to clear my husband's—Duke Auston's—name.”

He was like a block of ice.

Auston didn't care about these matters, but he did. Auston didn't want vindication, but he did.

He believed Auston hadn't lied, and he believed Ruan Xi had seduced Auston… So until this matter was fully resolved, it wasn't over.

Everyone stared at Ruan Tang in shock, never expecting him to have the audacity to defy Auston and act on his own.

Auston gently stroked the armrest of his wheelchair, very displeased with Ruan Tang's disobedience to his orders and defiance of his wishes.

Ruan Tang had spent quite some time with him; seeing that gesture, he immediately sensed it was a precursor to displeasure and impending anger.

Ruan Tang knew he was being a bit impulsive, but he still took the initiative to grab Auston's hand, trying to soothe his emotions through the warmth of his palm. He asked softly, “My lord, trust me this once, and let me handle this, okay?”

Everyone was astounded and looked at him.

Seeing Auston's eyes faintly reddening, on the verge of an episode, they all feared that Ruan Tang would be torn apart by Auston the next second for his defiance.

They all involuntarily held their breath.

The air seemed to freeze at that moment.

Ruan Tang also gripped Auston's hand nervously.

Auston looked deeply at Ruan Tang, not speaking for a long time, as if contemplating something. Just as everyone thought he might explode at any moment, he suddenly released the armrest he was stroking, a hint of amused smile appearing on his face. “Alright.”

Everyone was even more astonished.

They never expected that the unpredictable Auston would actually compromise for Ruan Tang like this, even suppressing his own anger.

How was that possible?

It was simply incredible.

It seemed the recent rumors in the Imperial Star were not false; this madman was indeed infatuated with Ruan Tang.

“Since His Grace has entrusted this authority to me, I must clear his name here today.” Seeing that he had persuaded Auston, Ruan Tang breathed a sigh of relief and gained the confidence to confront Shen Mozhi.

When he said that, the whole room was speechless—

Clear the name of that madman? What name does he have to clear?

Does he even have a reputation to clear?

Weren't they the ones framing others?

Shen Mozhi took a deep breath, looking at Ruan Tang like this and feeling a tightness in his chest. “How do you intend to prove it?”

“Duchess Elena, I wonder if your mansion has surveillance? I observed that the spot where His Grace and Ruan Xi were just now is not a blind spot. If your surveillance equipment is working well, we can pull up the footage for everyone to see. I believe that will make it clear who is right and who is wrong.” Ruan Tang ignored him and turned directly to Duchess Elena, speaking unhurriedly.

He knew that most aristocratic mansions had thorough surveillance systems…

The others saw Ruan Tang's normal way of handling things and started whispering among themselves, thinking Ruan Tang was probably stupid. He was about to bring out the evidence to nail himself.

If the surveillance wasn't brought out, Auston could say whatever he wanted, and no one would know the truth; over time it would become a cold case.

But if it was brought out, it would be conclusively settled.

Could it be that Ruan Tang really hadn't framed Ruan Xi, and truly believed that Ruan Xi had seduced Auston?

How was that possible?

The scene was dead silent, but everyone was waiting to watch the show.

Duchess Elena looked at him with difficulty: “Madam, this…”

She had no idea what was going on. If the surveillance footage came out and condemned Auston, would the imperial family and the Bluebeard Duke let her off later?

“Bring it out. My wife is asking you for the surveillance, didn't you hear, Duchess Elena?” Seeing that Ruan Tang's words weren't working, Auston spoke up in a sinister tone.

Shen Mozhi also looked at Elena and asked in a consulting tone, “Madam, is your mansion's surveillance always on?”

“Yes, of course we have surveillance, and it is running all year round.” Although Duchess Elena didn't understand the situation, seeing that they all asked her to bring up the footage, she had no room to refuse. She immediately said, “Just a moment, I'll have someone bring up the surveillance.”

Upon her words, she immediately instructed her servants to pull up the surveillance footage of the area where Ruan Xi and Auston had been, right in front of everyone, using a light brain.

Ruan Tang immediately thanked her with full etiquette: “I greatly appreciate your cooperation. I'm sorry for disturbing the ball at your mansion, Madam.”

The scene was silent. No one said anything, but inwardly they were all waiting for the surveillance to come out to see Ruan Tang make a fool of himself.

Ruan Xi was still unconscious, and his conscious relatives, from Shen Mozhi to Xia Ruzhi, all firmly believed that Ruan Xi would never do something as brainless as seducing Auston…

They were all full of confidence, waiting to see Ruan Tang get slapped in the face.

Duchess Elena's butler directly opened the surveillance holographic projection using a light brain in front of everyone. The projection played frame by frame. Everyone was waiting to see Ruan Tang embarrass himself, but when they saw Ruan Xi suddenly approach Auston, who was in a corner, the picture slowed down, and everyone stopped smiling, completely dumbfounded.

Although the surveillance had no sound, everyone could clearly see that it was Ruan Xi who took the initiative to approach Auston, who was alone in a corner, and started talking to him. Auston barely responded, but Ruan Xi kept pestering him. When Auston tried to push his wheelchair away, Ruan Xi rushed forward to grab his hand, and only then was he reflexively thrown out by Auston.

The projection at Duchess Elena's mansion used 5D stereoscopic technology, clear as day.

Through the projection, everyone could see that Ruan Xi's expression towards Auston was filled with longing, fawning and ingratiating, the most obvious seduction. In contrast, their Imperial Star's famous Bluebeard Duke was excessively cold towards an Omega.

And looking at the lip movements, the words Ruan Xi called out before grabbing Auston were indeed ‘admiration’, right?

Someone in the Imperial Star admired Auston… That was the most ridiculous joke.

Everyone fell even more silent.

And Shen Mozhi's face turned an ugly liver color. As Ruan Xi's fiancé, no one knew better than him what those expressions and looks of Ruan Xi meant.

Ruan Xi had once looked at him the same way. He had thought that such expressions from Ruan Xi were reserved only for him—

But he never expected.

“Fake, fake, this surveillance must be fake! He, they had it synthesized to frame Xiao Xi—” Seeing this, Xia Ruzhi immediately began to argue hysterically.

But no one believed her words anymore. This was a holographic projection, and in such a short time, how could it have been synthesized? There was no time for that.

Connecting it with the fact that Ruan Tang's two previous fiancés had both ended things because of Ruan Xi, it became clear that Ruan Xi, though he appeared pitiful, pure, and innocent, actually had a hobby of seducing his brother's partners.

Otherwise, why would he have been so foolish as to seduce Auston?

Thinking of this, the expressions of the crowd unconsciously became sympathetic towards Ruan Tang, feeling that it must be rough having a white lotus bitch for a younger brother.

“It seems things are quite clear now.” Ruan Tang smiled at everyone. “Although my Duke's use of force against an Omega was wrong, an Omega harassing an Alpha is also a form of harassment, isn't it?”

Hearing this, the others laughed awkwardly in agreement, “Of course, of course…”

“This is really too much; it's not the Duke's fault.”

At this point, hardly anyone sympathized with Ruan Xi anymore. Although he was hurt by being thrown, the one who provokes is the cheap one. An Omega with a fiancé who seduces a married Alpha, and that Alpha is also his brother-in-law, was too shameless and disgusting. Not only did he deserve to be thrown out, even being beaten would be warranted.

Most of those present were married Omegas, who hated the kind of born shameless mistress like Ruan Xi the most.