Pleiades, reporting for duty!

"You don't mind? Don't mind what?" Changli asked.

"I don't mind him having so many women," Jinhsi said, her gaze fixed on Changli's face.

Changli frowned. "When did I ever say such a thing?"

"He told me that yesterday."

Jinhsi's voice trembled slightly, "He said it himself, that you don't mind."

Changli's expression turned cold.

She turned to look at Kexi, her gaze like two knives.

I never said that.

"Really?" Jinhsi's voice lowered.

"Real."

Jinhsi suddenly turned her head and stared at Kexi.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, and her face was as black as purple.

"That means someone lied to me."

Kexi felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her back.

He wanted to back away, but there was a wall behind him, and he had nowhere to retreat.

"Kexi, how dare you lie to me!" Jinhsi's voice was already trembling with tears, but even more so with anger.

"No, Jinhsi, let me explain—" Kexi raised her hands, her mind racing, "I was... I thought..."

"What did you think?" Jinhsi took a step forward.

"I thought Changli had come to her senses!" Kexi blurted out, then immediately regretted it.

Changli's gaze grew even colder. "So you're using my name as a shield?"

"I'm not using this as a shield! I just... I thought your attitude that night made me think you'd come to your senses..."

"What have I figured out?" Changli's hand was already on Blazing Brilliance's.

Kexi stared at her fingers, swallowed hard, and her voice trembled. "I've come to understand... that... universal love is also a kind of love..."

The air fell silent for a second.

Then Cantarella laughed first.

She laughed until tears almost streamed down her face, "Kexi, you're a real talent!"

"Thank you so much!" Kexi shouted at her, then turned back to face Changli, "Sister Changli, put down your sword first, let's talk this out--"

"There's nothing more to say." Flames had already broken out on Changli's sword.

She scoffed, "I thought you'd only written about three or five people at most."

"I never expected this! It's truly beyond my expectations. You really are a compassionate person!"

"Sister Changli, I can explain." Kexi swallowed.

However, Changli was no longer listening.

At this critical moment, a soft voice came from the outer edge of the crowd.

"Um... Young Master Kexi..."

Everyone turned their heads away.

Phoebe stood outside the crowd, wearing her plain white Order robes, her hands clasped in front of her, her face flushed red from her neck to her forehead.

Her voice was soft and shy, each word seeming to be squeezed out from her throat.

"Can you give me back my stockings?"

The hall was silent for a full three seconds.

"Stockings?!"

"What stockings?!"

"You even took someone else's stockings?!"

Several voices rang out simultaneously, making it impossible to tell who shouted which.

Jinhsi's expression was beyond just looking ugly.

She glanced at Phoebe, then at Kexi, her voice booming as if drawn from an icebox. "Kexi, you stole someone else's stockings?"

"I didn't steal it!" Kexi's voice was somewhat weak. "It was a divine decree! Imperator said so!"

Phoebe panicked, her voice several times louder than usual, "That's a limited edition piece I bought at Lilyland Fashion Week, a masterpiece by the renowned designer Linglong! It's very precious!"

"Listen to this!" Kexi seemed to have grasped something important, pointing at Phoebe and shouting to everyone, "She herself said it's very expensive! That's why I need to look into it!"

"What are you researching?" Changli asked, his voice so cold it could freeze the entire hall.

"Research... material..." Kexi's voice trailed off.

at this time.

Luna finally squeezed through the gaps in the crowd.

She grabbed Phrolova's wrist with one hand and pushed aside the guests blocking her way with the other, repeatedly saying, "Excuse me, excuse me."

When she squeezed into the inner circle and saw the scene before her, she was stunned for a moment.

The young master leaned against the wall, with at least a dozen women standing in front of him, each with an unfriendly expression.

Jinhsi and Changli stood directly in front, one with a murderous look, the other with a sword already in hand.

Augusta and Juno blocked the side lanes from the left and right, while Lynae and Sigrika watched from behind. Suisui stood by with her arms crossed, observing coldly. Cantarella laughed as if watching a show, Mornye stood on the periphery with a complicated expression.

The most outrageous one was Phoebe, a priest in Order robe, who actually asked for stockings in public.

Luna's mind went blank.

Wow!!!

There are so many wicked women bullying the young master.

She immediately released Phrolova and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Pleiades! Assemble! Young Master is in danger!"

At the other end of the auditorium.

Carlotta was standing on a makeshift platform, giving a speech.

Because she was so short, people behind her could see her, and her elevated position better reflected her majesty as the second young lady.

Lucia, along with the Pleiades and the other maids, stood in two rows, listening to the second young lady's instructions for the next steps.

Carlotta held a schedule in her hand, her tone serious.

"We'll be discussing cooperation with Miss Suisui from the Zhaoming Merchant Association later. You few will be in charge of maintaining order at the scene and preventing any unauthorized personnel from approaching the negotiation area. Lucia, you're in charge of the tea."

"Yes, Second Miss."

Carlotta turned a page of her schedule and suddenly realized something was wrong.

She looked up and glanced at the row of people in front of her, her gaze settling on the empty seat on the far left.

Luna should have been standing in that spot.

"Lucia, where did Luna go?"

Lucia was also taken aback, looking around but not seeing her sister. "I just saw her. She said she was going to keep an eye on the young master..."

Carlotta frowned.

Before she could ask any further questions, a powerful shout suddenly came from the other end of the hall.

"Pleiades! Assemble! Young Master is in danger!"

Karenina was the first to run past Carlotta.

Then there's Jietawi, Qishi, Yalisha, Hailunting.

Five maids swept past Carlotta like a gust of wind, the air currents they created causing the calendar in Carlotta's hand to tilt.

"You—" Carlotta's mouth had just opened when she said, "You—"

The person has already disappeared.

Carlotta's lips twitched.

She slowly shifted her gaze back to Lucia, who was still standing in the same spot.

"Lucia," her voice was as flat as could be, "Why are they running?"

Lucia stood ramrod straight, her expression complex.

She opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. "Second Miss, they... went to assemble."

"Gather?" Carlotta's eyebrows slowly rose. "I'm standing right here. Where are they gathering?"

Lucia looked at her young mistress's increasingly dark face and felt a chill run down her spine.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something to salvage the situation, but after thinking for a long time, she only managed to squeeze out, "How about... I go and call them back?"

Carlotta slammed the schedule on the table, forcing out a few words through gritted teeth. "No need. I'll go see for myself who it is, acting all high and mighty."

In the center of the auditorium.

Luna and the six members of the Pleiades finally squeezed next to Kexi.

The seven maids automatically spread out, forming a semi-circular defensive line in front of Kexi.

Luna stood in the middle, hands on her hips, head tilted back, and spoke with an arrogant expression.

"Pleiades, come on!"

She turned around and gave Kexi a reassuring smile.

"Young Master, we're late!"

Kexi looked at the seven people in front of her, then at the dozen or so women opposite her, and suddenly felt that this line of defense was as thin as a sheet of paper.

But he still nodded, touched. "You've come at the perfect time."

As Carlotta walked through the crowd, this was the scene she saw.

Her brother leaned against the wall, facing a dozen menacing women, with a row of their own maids forming a human wall between them; the scene resembled two armies facing off.

"Kexi." Carlotta stopped behind Luna, crossed her arms, and uttered each word through gritted teeth, "Can someone explain to me what's going on here?"