"No, Father, Bancheng just drank too much and acted on impulse..."
"On impulse!? He acted on impulse and took off his clothes? Don't worry, my daughter. I will make sure you get justice for what happened today!
"I, Zhao Yan, may serve under the Fortune Commerce Association, but I never signed myself into slavery! My daughter is no courtesan, either. How dare this bastard bully her?
"Chairman Gao has always been fair, and all these guests witnessed what happened today. I'll have this boy arrested right now and brought before Chairman Gao. Let him judge who's in the right!"
Zhao Yan's voice rang out with conviction, and the fury within it was startling.
At this moment, he was no longer a servant of the Fortune Commerce Association, but a father who defied the powerful to protect his daughter!
"Well said, City Lord Zhao! We can all testify to what happened today!"
"Chairman Gao sees everything clearly. He would never allow his son to commit such violence!"
"Hmph, aren't all four of the Gao Family's children outstanding talents? How did they end up with a beast like Gao Bancheng?"
The crowd seethed with outrage, voicing their support for Zhao Yan.
Condemned by everyone around him, Gao Bancheng gradually regained consciousness under the sting of pain. He stared blankly at the crowd hurling abuse at him, confusion flashing through his eyes. When his gaze landed on the disheveled Zhao Qinghe, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his expression changed drastically.
"Qinghe, you..."
Gao Bancheng's expression was forlorn and conflicted. He realized he might have been drugged.
But he had no way of knowing what role Zhao Qinghe had played in this.
Had Zhao Qinghe drugged him? Or had someone else done it without her knowledge?
All he remembered was Zhao Qinghe confessing her