Chapter 563: Mutual Mud-Slinging

"How truly pitiful..."

On the dilapidated flat roof, Xue Qinghe sighed: "Toiled in cultivation for a lifetime, only to be defeated by a young junior. Now, the Poison Douluo's mood... sigh, I even feel sad for him..."

Qin Jian: "......"

"Putting on an act..."

He rolled his eyes, retracted his Silver White Dragon Wings, and slowly descended in front of Xue Qinghe.

"The matter is settled, shall we finish what we didn't finish just now?" Qin Jian wrapped his arms around her slender waist.

"Finish what?"

Xue Qinghe did not resist his embrace, but merely rolled her eyes and said: "There is much to be busy with tonight. This time Xue Beng jumped out himself, which means the final confrontation is coming. Originally, I wasn't sure if some hidden force would jump out, but now I have a clear target. I must go make arrangements immediately..."

Qin Jian couldn't help but hold her tighter, whispering: "Qinghe, if I weren't here tonight, what would you do?"

A flash of light appeared in Xue Qinghe's eyes: "Then I would use the Spirit Master army to stall Dugu Bo... but his poison would be very troublesome..."

"Thanks to having you, I am able to handle things with ease."

She leaned against Qin Jian of her own accord, burying her face in his shoulder, and said in a low voice: "How about next time? After we deal with Xue Beng's matter, we will..."

Her words were not fully spoken, but Qin Jian had already completely understood her meaning.

Moreover, her soul power had also increased to level 78...

Back then, spending a full half-year to plant the gu in her had yielded truly outstanding results.

If not for that prerequisite, Xue Qinghe would never have developed feelings for him so easily, and even if there were some feelings, they would have been drowned out by vigilance.

After all, this is a person who has been hiding for a full 20 years...

If not for the guidance of the soul power level, it would be very difficult for him to trust such a person, right...

"Let me kiss you again."

Qin Jian cupped the back of her head and kissed her directly...

That night, they did not waste any more time outside, but returned directly to the Eastern Palace while summoning all their forces.

Qin Jian sat quietly beside Xue Qinghe, watching her issue orders, watching her in high spirits, his gaze somewhat dazed.

Is this imposing her really the same person who was just being wantonly kissed and embraced by him?

"Why do you keep looking at me?"

Xue Qinghe suddenly turned her head.

The entire Council Hall fell silent.

"There's nothing for me to do, what else can I do besides look at you?" Qin Jian laughed in spite of himself.

Xue Qinghe curled her lips and said: "Who said it has nothing to do with you? You are the most critical part this time."

"The most critical part is me?"

Qin Jian straightened his back: "How so?"

"My plan is like this..."

"......"

The next day, the chaos they expected began to erupt.

Overnight, almost the entire Heaven Dou City was filled with various rumors about the Crown Prince.

"What? The Crown Prince is a woman? No way, right?"

"How could it not be? If he weren't a woman, he wouldn't be seen in pairs with the Spirit Hall Chief Judge all day long."

"Have you heard? The Second Prince and Third Prince of the imperial family were actually poisoned by the First Prince..."

"Not only that, I heard that even the current Emperor Xue Ye has been poisoned..."

"......"

It wasn't just the rumors about the Crown Prince; soon, the misdeeds of the Fourth Prince also became the talk of the town.

"I heard the Fourth Prince Xue Beng is a habitual profligate, bullying men and women since he was young, committing every evil!"

"We don't know if the Crown Prince's affair is true or false, but this Fourth Prince really has a history of bad conduct; we've seen it for so many years."

"Exactly, exactly. A few days ago, I accidentally blocked his path and ended up getting whipped a few times; it still hasn't healed."

"You don't know, do you? I heard that if he takes a fancy to a young girl, he'll snatch her off the street, and only release her after he's done ruining her."

"There's more. In all these years, there are at least eight hundred if not a thousand people in Heaven Dou City who have been beaten by him. It's said that he's either beating someone or on his way to beat someone..."

"......"

"Hmph, just as I expected, he would strike directly at my reputation..."

Inside the carriage, Xue Qinghe leaned comfortably against Qin Jian and said: "The next second step is probably to invite the royal family to force the palace. When the actual controlled power is not dominant, throwing mud becomes especially important."

"So you're throwing it back? Compared to what he's throwing, your accusations against him are at most about his profligate deeds; the lethality isn't high enough."

Qin Jian calmly and slowly untied her hair ribbon.

"However, his are impossible to refute, while mine have no evidence..."

Xue Qinghe turned to look at him: "Why are you untying my hair ribbon?"

Qin Jian laughed happily as he let down her long hair: "It's more pleasing to the eye this way."

"We'll be at the Spirit Judgment Hall in a while, I'll have to tie it up again," Xue Qinghe muttered.

"I'll tie it for you..."

Qin Jian pulled her to sit on his lap, stroking her soft face beneath her long hair: "It just so happens there's still a moment to do something else..."

"Do what... mmm..."

Her mouth was immediately blocked, and she could only let out a few muffled sounds.

Her hands pushed him away unconsciously a few times, then obediently wrapped around Qin Jian's neck...

"Chief Judge, according to the current investigation, the Crown Prince's reputation is still worse, because although those accusations have no evidence, they have spread extremely widely..."

As they walked inside the Judgment Hall, a faint pink flush still lingered on Xue Qinghe's cheeks.

A subordinate of the Judgment Hall was reporting work to Qin Jian.

Qin Jian shook his head: "A rabble is just like that; they love to watch the chaos without fearing the consequences, yet they don't realize that the power of their combined public opinion is enough to destroy a person..."

"It's fine, these are all within my expectations, so shall we begin our counterattack now?" Xue Qinghe said, looking at him.

Qin Jian nodded and said to the subordinate: "Go and formally summon Xue Beng, and at the same time, distribute the ten thousand copies of the Judgment Verdict that were rushed to be made."

"Judgment Verdict?" Xue Qinghe tilted his head to look at him.

Qin Jian touched his cheek and smiled: "It's just a piece of paper that clearly lists the time, location, and incident of Xue Beng's trial; only by spreading it can we stir up a greater wave."

Xue Qinghe grabbed his hand and held it in his own: "Where do you plan to put Xue Beng on trial?"

Qin Jian smiled: "In front of the Imperial Palace."

"That would truly be trampling the face of the royal family into the ground."

Xue Qinghe rolled his eyes: "It certainly establishes the prestige of your Spirit Judgment Hall, though."

Qin Jian squeezed her soft, boneless hand: "This is a win-win situation, after all; I guarantee that with those pieces of evidence you have, Xue Beng will absolutely not be able to escape the trial."

Inside the Judgment Hall, many people cast sidelong glances, quietly observing their interaction.

They really don't avoid suspicion at all... Could the rumor that the Crown Prince is a woman actually be true?

They also had some understanding of their Chief Judge's reputation, so they naturally knew how deep his obsession with beauties ran...

(End of this chapter)