The accusation rippled through the hall. Some nodded. Some stayed silent. But no one defended them.
Shuyin didn't react. Didn't argue. Didn't explain.
Because none of it mattered. These people were not her judges. They never had been.
But Lu Yuze moved then.
Just one step forward. A small motion.
Yet it was enough.
The entire atmosphere shifted—not like a storm rising, but like a ceiling lowering. His presence didn't rise. It descended. Like pressure. Like something that could not be resisted, could not be reasoned with.
"This," he said, his voice calm—too calm, the kind of calm that preceded irreparable damage. "Is the last time any of you will speak to my wife like that."
The word wife landed like a hammer on glass.
Shock followed. Real. Undeniable. A few guests physically recoiled. Others leaned forward, ears straining.
Mrs. Lu stared at him, her mouth opening and closing like a fish thrown onto dry land.
"What… what did you say?"
