Vivianne was somewhat worried after listening to the reporters.Frederick was far too impulsive. He knew that the power of speech was in the hands of the reporters, and he did openly insult them.Watching from a distance, Grace smirked and said to Priscilla, "See? Frederick's a country bumpkin who can't handle himself. How dare he openly insult a journalist? He's really stirred up a hornet's nest this time."Priscilla nodded in agreement, well aware that antagonizing journalists was risky due to their influential sway in public opinion.Even with Vivianne by his side and the notorious Tyger backing him, did Frederick truly believe his outburst wouldn't bring consequences to him?A sly smile played on Frederick's lips as he faced Lily. "An apology? From me?"Emboldened by his defiance, Lily nodded vigorously. "Absolutely! You insulted me!"Frederick took a menacing step closer, his gaze turning into a sharp glint.Feeling Frederick's piercing stare, Lily instinctively stepped ba
"I'm not leaving! I'll expose this scoundrel's ugly face to the world!"With a defiant twist, Lily ripped off her high heels. Her flesh-colored stockings stood out against the pavement as she limped toward the courthouse.Grace and Priscilla hurriedly followed her inside. The trial began moments later.The cameraman lingered, his voice laced with hesitation. "Ms. Lily, are you certain? It's not too late to reconsider.""Threats won't silence me. If I back down now, I won't be the journalist I need to be, the one who exposes corruption and wrongdoings. Keep filming. This is my fight, and I won't retreat. Don't worry, the consequences are on me."The judge began. "Defendant Vivianne, the plaintiff Priscilla alleges your defamation against Miller Corporation. What do you have to say in your defense?"Vivianne produced a report from the Department of Health. She thrust it toward the judge and said, "I have not defamed Miller Corporation; I possess solid proof. "This official repo
Priscilla breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Vivianne's admission. She was confident that the lawsuit was in her bag.Lily strode toward Vivianne, the cameraman close behind. "Ms. Danbury, any final comments before your inevitable defeat? You will have to face the legal consequences of your actions. I wonder if you feel any shame for your dishonest deeds at this moment."Lily's words stung, leaving Vivianne momentarily speechless.Grace was electrified by the turn of events and she sprinted over from the distance. "Do you concede defeat, Vivianne?" Vivianne responded with icy calm, "The truth is the truth, and you know it. Sooner or later, it will come to light."Grace was undeterred and pressed, "You remember our bet, right?"Vivianne's expression shifted; she could hardly forget. She had agreed to the bet because she felt assured of her victim status and was confident of victory.However, David's testimony had reversed the narrative, catching her completely off guard.G
Frederick smiled slightly. "Can you prove that there was a bet between the two of you?"Grace was stunned. Although she had no way to prove it, it was the truth!Vivianne behind her also smiled slightly. Frederick was giving them a taste of their own medicine.Soon, Grace was taken away by the bailiffs.Priscilla was anxious, but there was nothing she could do. She could only think about saving Grace later.She reminded the judge, "May I ask if the verdict can be handed down now?"The judge nodded slightly. "After deliberation by this court, defendant Vivianne has not been able to prove that the Department of Health's drug identification was made from the ingredients provided by the Miller family."Therefore, it cannot be determined that the Miller family sold bad-quality herbs to the Danbury family. Vivianne has repeatedly defamed the Miller family in public for selling inferior medicines, which has affected the reputation of the Miller family."Therefore, the defendant need
Frederick was at a loss for words, wondering how Priscilla could have changed so much.He said lightly, "I know you don't believe me, but now you don't even believe the police? The police materials are very clear."It was an illegal businessman who brought the bad-quality herbs to your family through Wade, and you sold them to the Danbury family. I think you should talk to Wade."Priscilla heard this and looked at Vivianne hugging Frederick's right arm, feeling very uneasy.Vivianne also saw Priscilla's jealous eyes at this moment.She was in high spirits after having just won the lawsuit. Seeing Priscilla so downtrodden only added to her sense of triumph."What are you staring at? He's only your ex-husband, get over it. He's mine now!" Vivianne taunted.Priscilla's eyes filled with angry tears, couldn't tell if it was the lawsuit or something else fueling her emotions."Fine, "I'll go find Wade and get answers," she snapped at Frederick.With that, Priscilla hurriedly left an
"Of course, it's your uncle from Stanva City," Manfred explained. It dawned on Wade that he indeed had an uncle there, one he hadn't seen in years.He only recalled that his uncle worked for the Monroe family."What brings him here?" he inquired.Manfred took a deep breath. "The Smith family of Valyr City is holding an auction in Stanva, and they've chosen the Monroes to represent them. Your uncle's here with an invitation, but I'm not sure which family it's for."Wade's face brightened with excitement, "Could it be that our family is the one being invited, and that's why the Monroe family sent my uncle?"Manfred was visibly frustrated as he scolded, "Had your brain turned mushy? There are many families like ours in Jenaire City. What makes you think the Monroe family would take special interest in us?"Wade shrank back, clearly intimidated by Manfred. He whispered, "Then I have no idea who they might invite."Manfred seriously doubted whether the fool before him was really hi
Manfred looked at the invitation. Although he had expected it, he still felt a bit disappointed. "It's her, as I thought."George said lightly, "Actually, I wanted Wade to attend this auction too."Manfred's eyes lit up at his words. "Did the Monroe family invite us as well?"George shook his head gently. "The Monroe family wouldn't even look at the Zahlers. I don't know what kind of luck this Priscilla has, but the Monroe family has always favored her."Even the cunning Manfred was a bit confused at this point. "Do you have a way to let Wade attend?"George nodded slightly. "Yes, I do."Manfred's heart pounded with excitement. Attending this auction was a rare opportunity for any family, a chance to network with powerful figures from across the provinces. If they could forge even a single connection with one of these major families, the Zahlers could reap untold benefits."George, what's your plan? Tell me quickly!"Before George could answer, the ward door swung open. Wade
What Priscilla didn't know was that Wade had been in a profitable partnership with Mitchell for over two years.However, the Danbury family had held back their reactions out of respect for Frederick."But the police say there are witnesses," Priscilla said.George scoffed. "The police? Could the Danburys have bribed them? Don't you keep up with the news? These things happen all the time."Though far away in Stanva City, George meticulously tracked every detail of Wade's life. He was well-armed with knowledge of the counterfeit medicine scandal and Wade's infatuation with Priscilla.George's words rang true and Priscilla hesitated. Sadly, corrupt news stories were all too familiar."But..."Seeing Priscilla's hesitation, George felt he was close to achieving his aim, especially since he had another plan in mind.At that moment, he took out an invitation: "Take a look at this, what do you think it is?"Priscilla saw the gold-embossed invitation with ‘the Monroes' written on it a
Mary's case was the most severe, while Ivan's symptoms were the mildest, and Frederick could roughly deduce the sequence of transmissions among them. It was clear that Mary infected Nigel, who then passed it to Kimberly, then finally passed it to Ivan. Frederick also saw that Ivan was actually a decent person who unfortunately ended up being betrayed and infected. However, Nigel was primarily worried that Ivan might start trusting Frederick, as he wanted Ivan to believe in his capabilities to carry out his plan.Originally, he intended for Mary to insult Frederick for being poor and unskilled, but she ended up attacking him for having an unpleasant odor, which backfired when Frederick exposed her for contracting syphilis. Now, Nigel had no choice but to take matters into his own hands, he then said to Frederick, "Hehe, Frederick. We all know Ivy is a director, what exactly do you do to be worthy of her?"Nigel assumed that Frederick was just a low-level salesperson, something
Hearing Frederick's words, Kimberly jumped with joy and stopped crying. While wiping her tears, she pointed at Mary, laughing and said, "You're covered in syphilis, yet you're making fun of me.""Slut, I wonder how many people you've slept with!" After being pointed and insulted, Mary was furious and she was ready to fight Kimberly. "You bitch! I am going to teach you a lesson!" At this moment, Nigel felt terrible. If Mary was diseased, he'd be the first victim. He grabbed Mary and shouted, "Bitch, let me teach you a lesson first. Now I know why you always wanted the lights off! I thought you were shy, but you just didn't want me to find out."In a fit of anger, Nigel slapped Mary hard across the face. Just as Mary was about to explain, she was interrupted by another slap. Holding her face, she yelled angrily, "Nigel, how dare you hit me?! Do you want me to expose all your little schemes and tricks?"Nigel froze in horror; if Mary exposed him, it would have been disastrous.
Kimberly heard her laughter, and body odor had always been a sensitive issue for her; a wound she'd tried to cover up over the years. For Frederick to bring it up in front of everyone felt like rubbing salt into an open wound. Yet what hurt even more was Mary's laughter; as a fellow woman, it felt like salt to the wound, then roasting it. Kimberly was furious, pointed at Mary and said, "What are you laughing at? Do you want me to come over there and shut you up?"Mary felt wronged, she had only let out a reflexive laugh, but now Kimberly's anger was directed at her. "Did I laugh at you? What proof do you have that I laughed at you?""You're the one with body odor, yet you're taking it out on others. You're such an unreasonable woman!"Kimberly grew even angrier after hearing Mary's retort. "You're the one with body odor, your whole family has it!" "Look at what you're wearing, it's like you just threw on two pillowcases. You're a shameless woman, just trying to show off t
When everyone heard Ivy's words, they laughed even more. Her words effectively confirmed that Frederick did indeed have an unpleasant odor. It wasn't entirely her fault as Kimberly's words had been a bit of a trap. "Haha, if you smell, just take a shower and don't embarrass yourself here.""With all that cheap stuff on, no wonder he has a smell."Hearing this, Frederick simply gave a slight smile and then asked Mary and Kimberly, "Are two really that fragrant?"Mary and Kimberly lifted their heads proudly after hearing Frederick's words. "Why don't you ask everyone here, ask them if we smell good or not?""Exactly, go ahead and ask."Both of them considered themselves beautiful, and of course, they would smell pleasant. The men around them quickly chimed in, especially those eager to admire Mary, who was dressed in a way that gave them a bit of eye candy. "Of course, they smell good. How could these two beautiful ladies not smell good?""Hehe, Frederick with his cheap, th
In a hidden corner, Nigel said to Mary, "Damn it, that bumpkin Frederick keeps stealing my spotlight. I am worried that our plan won't go well later.""You should help me humiliate him properly, and Ivan's girlfriend will back you up."Mary pursed her lips and said to Nigel, "Every time something comes up, you just ask me to handle it. My bag hasn't been bought yet, and you've lost 300 thousand dollars"Although Nigel was annoyed by Mary hitting a sore spot, he kept his tone calm and replied, "Help me humiliate Frederick and talk him down in front of Ivan. After that, leave the rest to me. Once it's done, I'll get you more than one bag, I could get you ten bags and it wouldn't be a problem. I don't care about that small amount of money. You saw that Porsche just now, right? I wouldn't mind burning it if I had to." Hearing this, Mary was delighted and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, babe." She hadn't realized that Nigel was so wealthy and even had a Porsche. Up until th
Knowing Martin as someone who knew a lot about wood, everyone immediately looked as though they were ready for a good show. They were convinced that the Saint George statue couldn’t possibly be made of anything valuable.Martin let out a strange exclamation. "What the hell!"Kimberly, thinking that Martin was angry, quickly said, "Mr. Lawson, tell us what’s so disastrous about this wood. Are you saying it’s just a piece of junk?"Contrary to expectations, Martin replied angrily, "I’m saying that whoever preserved this Saint George statue was a jerk. This is genuine sandalwood, and yet it’s completely neglected, covered in dust."Most of the group had no idea what sandalwood was worth, but judging by the name alone, it sounded impressive.Kimberly asked curiously, "Mr. Lawson, are you saying this is really antique wood?"Martin examined the statue carefully, scrutinizing every detail. "Judging by the texture, this carving must have been made at least 150 years ago."Everyone was
"The Saint George statue was indeed a fitting choice for a karaoke." Nigel chuckled, turning to Ivy.“Why didn’t you just go on Amazon and buy a new one for a few dozen bucks? This one is obviously second-hand. Or was it picked up from some junk stall?”Frederick heard Nigel’s mockery and nodded in agreement, a faint smile on his lips. “You’re not wrong. This statue actually was picked up from a street stall.”“At the Treasure Hall in the antique trade market, no less. And yes, it’s an antique.”The truth was, the statue was from the Victorian era. Even the owner of Treasure Hall, Dominic, had recognized its age but dismissed it as worthless, tossing it onto a stall outside.Frederick had picked it up casually, thinking it would come in handy one day, and now it was the perfect gift for Ivan.Hearing this, Nigel burst out laughing, clutching his stomach. “An antique? Treasure Hall? You’re really trying to fool us.”Kimberly chimed in, her tone dripping with sarcasm as she glance
The group’s attention was fully captured by Frederick’s words, their eyes all on him. Nigel, knowing that Kimberly had informed Ivy at the last minute and that she likely didn’t have a gift, sneered at Frederick."Well, if you’ve got a gift, go ahead and show it.""Considering Ivy and Kimberly’s relationship, the gift should be pretty decent, right?"Everyone was now staring at Frederick with anticipation, curious to see what kind of gift he could produce.Ivy, on the other hand, was completely flustered. She hadn’t handed any gift to Frederick, though she understood he was trying to help her out of a tough spot. But wasn’t this making things even more awkward?Nigel continued to press him, "Where’s the gift? Come on, take it out already.""After all this time, you still can’t take it out. Don’t tell me you don’t even have one."Frederick glanced at Nigel with a calm smile. "Oh? Are you planning to bet 300 grand with me again?"Nigel froze. There was no way he had another 300 t
Ivan was deeply moved, feeling as though all the unpleasantness from their school days had been swept away. A sense of childhood nostalgia, unique to old classmates, welled up within him.The crowd continued to shower Nigel with praise, giving him thumbs up one after another."A gift worth 10 grand is no small amount. Nigel is truly generous.""That’s right. These days, even classmates hesitate to prepare gifts, but Nigel has shown such generosity.."Most of the attendees had come because of their connection with Kimberly. Each had prepared gifts with costs ranging from a few hundred dollars. Compared to Nigel’s grandiose gift worth 10 thousand, their contributions paled in comparison.Hearing the compliments, Nigel waved his hand dismissively, feigning modesty. "It’s nothing, really. After all, Ivan and I are good friends from way back."Then, Nigel’s expression shifted slightly as he added, "Speaking of good friends, I’m sure it’s not just me and Ivan here who share a special b