Enraged for their Sovereign (2)

"Oi, Qin Jiran. You're a hacking expert right. Find all of these people. Find out who they are. I'm going to make them take their words back." Xu Lei suddenly spoke up breaking the lingering silence that surrounded their group.

"Or we can sue them and let them rot in prison. You can beat them up, just don't leave any incriminating evidence." Chen Luo who rarely made a sound unless it involved something he deems urgent seconded the fuming Xu Lei.

The Aces looked at him with dumbfounded eyes. As expected of the Ace of Law, Chen Luo was really... straightforward.

Jia Yi Lan intervened and turned to the scowling Qin Jiran.

"Before we do any of that, Jiran can you explain what's going on? Why is Qing Shan suddenly involved in an issue like this? Who is this Lan person? Isn't Qing Shan with Zi Jue?" She asked one question after the other.

Qin Jiran shook his head slightly. "I don't know myself. I don't know how they're suddenly connected. But this Young Master Lan is the only heir of the Lan Investment Inc., and Lan Constructions. He's pretty popular and has a pretty good reputation. I haven't checked his background yet, so I'm not really sure."

"Poor Qing Shan, her name is being dragged through the mud again. All this maliciousness and comments, she doesn't deserve it. None of it is true." Jia Yi Lan uttered to herself.

"We're both of the same mind, Yi Lan. However, the internet is a ruthless place. Even if we try to defend her or say otherwise, no one is going to believe it. What we need is concrete proof. Besides, I have this feeling that things are going to get even worse from here on out." Qi Xia replied, his tone grim.

There was something strange with this turn of events. It was reminiscent of a machinated plan. The news exploded too abruptly. Qi Xia wasn't sure if Yan Qing Shan was already aware of the circumstances. If she was, then she truly was well-deserved of being the top Ace and the goddess of the underworld.

"What do you mean, Qi Xia?" Xu Lei asked, not getting the obscure words of the former.

Hong Zhen Yue with his booming voice cut off whatever Xu Lei was about to add.

"Oi, Qi Xia cut it with the mystery. Explain it to us."

Qi Xia sighed, he palmed his face which was painted with exasperation all over. He wondered how these simple-minded people will survive the harsh world in the future.

"Don't you realize it? These threads just suddenly showed up out of nowhere and was bumped up till it went on top of the trending list. Yes, this Young Master Lan might be famous. But news of him overtaking those of the heavenly kings and queens of entertainment? This popularity seems slightly questionable." The Ace of Business slowly explained.

A look of enlightenment followed by angry frowns appeared in the Aces expressions.

Machinated!

A scheme!

Someone was scheming against their Sovereign. The Aces felt their hackles rising at this thought. It was their collective pride that was at stake here. As Aces, the cream of the crop of their generation being unable to protect their own Sovereign was an embarrassment. Also, Yan Qing Shan was not only their Sovereign. She has already become their sister of some sort. Hence, the insult that this situation put them into was doubled.

"Fuck this! Fuck! Who dares scheme againg Qing Shan Jie? I'm going to fucking pummel the bastard. Fuck! I feel fucking incapable. This is making so fucking angry. I can't even think of anything right now except get back at these fucking maggots." Ning Xie Zhi's foul mouth started acting up again. Surprisingly, none of them rebuked him. For at some point, all of them were furious at the same time helpless.

Ding!

A notification popped up indicating a new comment has been made at the thread they were currently in. A user named LovingZi, who was actually the thread admin sent a message with photo attachments to everyone.

[Look here, look here all of you. I have further proof that that disgusting slut seduced our Prince Lan. These photos were sent to me by an anonymous source. They were taken just today.]

Qin Jiran had a bad feeling with this new development. He almost didn't want to open the attachments but he had no choice for his companions already looked at him with sharp, imploring eyes.

As the projector flashed, they were met with the form of Yan Qing Shan walking out of the Ace Mansion and unto a luxurious Maybach. The following photos showed a handsome man sipping wine leisurely. Then there was the beautiful face of Yan Qing Shan going inside the private room, then standing in front of the inattentive Young Master Lan with small smile of what seemed to be delight in her pretty lips.

The last series of photos were of Yan Qing Shan leaning in to Lan Jing Er as if whispering something. It looked quite ambiguous especially with that faint smile still on her face as she looked at him. The final photo was her moving to close the blinds, a smirk on her face.

The Aces were frozen while the forum thread exploded with slander and indignation at the photos.