Participating in the conference? Nothing but a joke!

At the same time.

The Minister of Personnel's Residence.

After Zhu Qiongyao returned, her mental state remained poor, and she often cried alone in her room. Such a strong reaction naturally caught her attention.

The Minister of Personnel was named Zhu Yuntian. He was eight feet tall and exuded the majesty of a superior, except that he was somewhat thin.

"Qiong Yao, tell your father properly, who exactly bullied you?"

Faced with Zhu Yuntian's concerned inquiries, Zhu Qiongyao felt increasingly wronged, and tears streamed down her face.

After returning home, she dared not tell the whole story of what happened at Hundred Fragrance Tower that day, nor did she dare tell her family.

Seeing that Qiong Yao remained silent, Zhu Yuntian turned to look at the middle-aged woman beside him, whose face was full of worry, sighed, and turned to leave the room.

If he were to speak ill of her, it wouldn't be appropriate for a grown man like him to do so; it would be more suitable for the mother and daughter to have a conversation.

The middle-aged woman stepped forward and inquired about Zhu Qiongyao's well-being. After some subtle probing, she finally uncovered the truth about Hundred Fragrance Tower.

Zhu Qiongyao was already nestled in the middle-aged woman's arms, sobbing uncontrollably, her heart breaking.

After returning from Hundred Fragrance Tower, Zhu Qiongyao felt increasingly that her life was bleak, and several times she thought about hanging herself with a white silk ribbon, but in the end she still didn't have the courage.

But if things continue like this, sooner or later her willpower will give out.

Suicide was only a matter of time.

Zhu Qiongyao's greatest pain was Li Chengan's incompetence.

If it were someone with even a little bit of ability, she might be willing to compromise and marry him, but who is Li Chengan?

He spends all his time having fun, and he's surrounded by countless women. How could she possibly be willing to marry such a man?

Now.

The middle-aged woman holding Zhu Qiongyao had a face full of anger, her fists clenched, and her whole body was trembling.

Zhu Qiongyao is his only daughter, so she has been pampered like a precious gem since she was a child.

Now that Zhu Qiongyao has been defiled, how can he tolerate such a thing?

"Mother, what should I do?"

Zhu Qiongyao raised her head, her eyes red and swollen, tears welling up in her eyes, and asked in a tearful voice.

The middle-aged woman took a deep breath, forced a smile, and stroked Zhu Qiongyao's head, saying, "Don't worry, Yao'er, your parents will definitely stand up for you."

"The Fifth Prince Li Chengan, has no power base in the court and frequently goes out of the palace to enjoy himself. It would be too easy to kill him."

They have their own Death Warriors in the Minister's mansion. As long as Li Chengan is killed, no one will know that Zhu Qiongyao has lost her chastity.

After comforting Zhu Qiongyao for a while until she fell asleep peacefully, the middle-aged woman left the room and told Zhu Yuntian everything she knew.

After hearing this, Zhu Yuntian was furious. He hadn't been angry for a long time, but today he started throwing the blankets.

"Damn it! How dare he!"

Zhu Yuntian's eyes were filled with murderous intent, and he couldn't help but slam his fist on the table and roar.

Zhu Qiongyao was his only woman, whom he had cherished since childhood. Now, she had been defiled by a good-for-nothing. How could he accept this?

Damn it!

However, Zhu Yuntian quickly calmed down.

There are two possibilities regarding this matter: either someone is framing Li Chengan, because although the Fifth Prince is dissolute, he knows the rules and wouldn't do anything too outrageous.

Another possibility is that Li Chengan was the one who did it.

This useless Fifth Prince often goes out to seek pleasure, and his wife, Qiong Yao, is a famous beauty in the Capital City. It's possible that Li Chengan has lost his mind.

If it's the former, then it's highly likely that it wasn't a frame-up of Li Chengan, but rather a targeted attack against him.

However, there's very little that can be used to make a fuss about such things. Even if Zhu Qiongyao's reputation is ruined, it won't really shake his position as a high-ranking official. At most, it will just annoy him.

Therefore, in Zhu Yuntian's view, it is most likely the latter, that is, Li Chengan himself drugged Zhu Qiongyao and then committed adultery with her.

Zhu Yuntian's eyes were extremely gloomy. "No matter what the reason, Li Chengan cannot be touched. After all, he is Imperial Prince. If someone finds fault with him, it will be terrible."

These days, the rivalry among the First Prince has gradually intensified.

Things won't be so peaceful from now on.

If word gets out about what he did, his entire household will likely be executed.

This may also be one of the purposes of those who framed Li Chengan, namely, to provoke him into taking action.

Of course, this is on the premise that someone actually framed him.

But he also had to be wary.

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman said with some reluctance, "Sir, what about Qiong Yao?"

Zhu Yuntian shook his head and sighed, "Li Chengan can't be killed now. He's a useless Imperial Prince with no connections. We'll have our chance sooner or later."

The middle-aged woman persisted, "But what if he tells others?"

Zhu Yuntian immediately shook his head, his expression turning cold, and said, "Don't worry, he wouldn't dare. If he were to reveal this, he would be courting death!"

Within the imperial court, his influence was clearly greater than that of the useless Fifth Prince.

Once the news gets out, His Majesty will not let Li Chengan off the hook, no matter what his reasons are. Unless Li Chengan is a fool, he would never do something so stupid.

"Don't worry, I will Certain give Qiong Yao an explanation for this matter."

"Li Chengan... I will make him pay a bloody price!"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman nodded.

On the other side.

The list of participants in the Martial Arts Tournament has also been released.

"Wu Haoyun, it's actually him, the young master of the Broken Sword Villa. He's Martial Dao Genius that only comes around once in a century. I heard that at only twenty-three years old, he's already Half-step Martial Dao Grandmaster."

"Look, there seems to be another Half-step Martial Dao Grandmaster, Zhou Yang, the son of the Great General. He is also Half-step Martial Dao Grandmaster."

"Two Half-step Martial Dao Grandmaster, it seems our exchange meeting is in good shape again."

"Wait a minute, come here quickly! Li Cheng... why is the Fifth Prince participating in the Martial Arts Exchange Conference? Isn't this ridiculous?"

A surprised exclamation rang out, immediately drawing everyone's attention. They all looked towards the person at the very bottom of the list.

Li Chengan!

Immediately, some people's faces turned ugly. Li Chengan was a recognized good-for-nothing Fifth Prince who idled away his days and did absolutely nothing of importance.

For a good-for-nothing like him to participate in Martial Arts Exchange Conference teeming with experts would be a disgrace to the Great Qian Empire, wouldn't it?

It's important to understand that Martial Arts Exchange Conference do not completely prohibit fighting.

After all, it's normal for Martial Cultivator artists to sometimes lose control of their strength when they fight. If Li Chengan were to die at the exchange conference, it would truly become a laughing stock.

"No, why would the Fifth Prince participate in such a grand gathering? Could he be a martial artist?"

"You're right, the Fifth Prince went to the Hundred Fragrance Tower to learn martial arts; perhaps he'd be good at dealing with women."

Someone couldn't help but sneer.

"It's alright, everyone, there's no need to worry. The Fifth Prince is ranked last. With the strength of our Great Qian Empire, we won't even need him to participate."

"That's true, but this Fifth Prince... he's truly a complicated character."

Many people present wore disdainful expressions, but dared not be too offensive in their words.

The authority of those in power in this world is beyond question. Although most of them may be related to some officials, they still dare not speak much in front of someone of Imperial Prince status.

However, their disdain and contempt were quite obvious.

The consensus was that the Fifth Prince's participation in the competition was nothing more than a disgrace.

Immediately afterwards.

Everyone then turned their attention to the participants from the Great Han Empire. This list was announced simultaneously and included not only personal profiles of the participants from both sides, but also their specific strengths.

When they saw the number one contestant from the Great Han Empire, they were all slightly stunned, and then their pupils contracted.

"This is... how is this possible!"

"The Great Han Empire actually has Martial Dao Grandmaster participating in the war, and he's only twenty-two years old! How could someone reach such a level at such a young age?"