The second round of debate concluded. Please choose your suspect and state your reasons."
Chen Huan raised her hand. "I suspect Prince Wu, and I vote for him."
"Me too."
"I'm voting for Prince Wu as well."
Wu Lu smiled as he watched everyone eagerly vote for him, choosing not to speak.
[Good heavens, I thought this was just a simple royal murder and frame-up case. How did it escalate to treason while I went to get a glass of water?]
[Everyone seems remarkably united when it comes to treason. They've all unanimously voted to condemn Prince Wu. Impressive.]
[Of course. Compared to treason, those are minor issues. If Prince Wu survives tonight, he'll hand over the city defense map, turning the entire country into a vassal state, or even slaves. No one wants to see that happen. Voting for Prince Wu is the right choice.]
"Now, Prince Wu, please make your case for votes to be retracted."
Wu Lu shook his head, stood up, bowed to the audience, and then said, "I voluntarily chose to expose this matter. After all, my brother and I could have resolved our issues behind closed doors. But if I had handed over the city defense map, the nature of this matter would have changed. Therefore, I chose to step forward and admit my crime."
"Family is important, and interests are important, but the nation is more important. I don't want to betray my country for a little selfish gain. My blood does not allow it."
"Well said," Ye Fei said, clapping his hands. "Such righteousness. Perhaps our country is weak and cannot satisfy every citizen, but I believe we will improve together."
[Good lord, why am I getting a little teary-eyed? I can't help it. I love my country, and I will strive for our homeland to become even better. I've always believed that.]
[Thank you, Mr. Wu, for teaching us a lesson. I, too, am certain I love my motherland. May our country become stronger, so that no other nation in the world dares to bully or even provoke us.]
Suddenly.
The couples' reality show once again trended on hot search.
Chen Tianming, watching the rising data in the livestream, was beaming. "Good, good. Yang Huanyang, have the editors clip these scenes later and put them on the official website for promotion."
"Understood," Yang Huanyang nodded heavily. "Director Chen, rest assured, I've already instructed them. They can be uploaded to the official website after the livestream ends. However, I still suggest we buy some trending topics, don't you think?"
Chen Tianming pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "No, let's keep it normal. While trending is great, it's not essential. The audience isn't foolish these days; they can usually figure out if a trend is bought. Moreover, this is about patriotism. If we deliberately buy trending topics, there might be detractors who accuse us of using patriotism for personal gain."
The online atmosphere is too toxic. Some viewers, without understanding the full picture, can be easily swayed, leading to counterproductive results.
Yang Huanyang recalled their movie being attacked by a large wave of online trolls not long ago, which significantly impacted its reputation at the time.
"Alright, Director Chen, I understand. I'll go back to work now."
"Go ahead," Chen Tianming waved, letting Yang Huanyang leave to continue his duties.
An hour later.
The case finally began to surface.
"You two are playing a very new game," Chen Huan said with a raised eyebrow, looking at Fang Miaomiao and Cui Mantong's close embrace.
[What the heck, what does Huanhuan mean by that? Are Miaomiao and Mantong the murderers? How is that possible? One was confined to the palace, and the other's suspicion was cleared. Wasn't attendant Cui the Emperor's daughter? How could a daughter harm her own father?]
"Because, someone didn't provide all the clues," Fang Miaomiao said with a smile, looking at Wen Zhiyan.
Wen Zhiyan, on the losing side, smiled back at Fang Miaomiao.
Chen Huan understood. "So, you two used the honey trap and the stratagem of sowing discord separately, getting attendant Wen and attendant Cui to help you. You also bribed another attendant to switch the wine for the Emperor and Prince Wu?"
Tonight, Prince Wu was supposed to die.
Cui Tong spread his hands. "Of course. Whatever my wife wants to do, I'll do."
"It's just that I don't quite understand," Ye Fei said, having roughly pieced together the plot, still a little confused. "Why would attendant Cui have the intention to kill the Emperor? You're the Emperor's illegitimate daughter, and you're married to attendant Cui. You two are very much in love."
"You all, have you forgotten who was being honored at today's banquet?"
Ye Fei suddenly realized. "Don't tell me the Emperor intended for you to acknowledge your lineage at this banquet and then be married off as a princess?"
Attendant Cui nodded. "Yes, the Emperor did have that intention. I didn't want to go. Moreover, under his tyranny and extravagant lifestyle, our country was doomed to perish. Rather than that, it would be better to kill the Emperor and let the Crown Prince ascend the throne."
"And you?"
Fang Miaomiao blinked innocently. "I am merely a nineteen-year-old child. He coveted my beauty and forcibly brought me into the palace, where I endured all sorts of abuse. Do you think I wouldn't hate him?"
Of course, she hated him so much that she wished she could have used a knife to cut off the old emperor's flesh piece by piece and fed it to the dogs.
It was a shame that a cup of poisoned wine was all it took for him to die. What a pity.
[Holy cow, that look, that smile, it's like a flashback to Chen Yao. Am I going to have nightmares tonight?]
[Can you believe it? I'm getting goosebumps. How does Fang Miaomiao make my hair stand on end? And the acting of these two is truly superb. Under their deliberate and unintentional guidance, I really thought the murderers were attendant Cui and attendant Wen.]
[Hahaha, it turns out it was the two little wives. Although the script wasn't great, it was quite enjoyable to watch. Most importantly, everyone's acting was good, especially Chen Huan. I thought she wouldn't keep up, but really, they're all so smart. Unlike me, I get eliminated in the first round of every murder mystery game.]
"Not bad, not bad. So you two won," Chen Tianming said with a chuckle.
"We're very good."
"Yes, yes, you two are very good," Chen Tianming nodded. "President Cui and Master Wen are quite protective of their wives, stepping forward to cooperate with them and making everyone believe you were the murderers."
Wen Zhiyan and Cui Tong exchanged a look, then simultaneously rolled their eyes. They stood up and walked towards their respective wives.