Chapter 163: Chapter 146: Gu Deming Dies, Louisa Escapes
Yu Lan’s gaze was like a knife.
Her sharp, brilliant gaze was fixed on Belina.
That last word, "mother," spoken with a questioning, accusatory tone, made panic flutter in Belina’s heart.
’Did she discover something?’
’No, no, no.’
’Impossible.’
’Absolutely impossible.’
’I’ve hidden it so well. There’s no way Yu Lan could know.’
At that moment, the gavel struck with a loud BANG.
"Louisa, you maliciously swapped the medicinal supplies sent to Garbage Star, concealed the truth, and deceived the public. Do you plead guilty?"
The Chief Justice’s stern, solemn question rang out.
Louisa’s trial had begun.
It instantly captured the attention of everyone present. No one paid any more mind to the minor squall between Yu Lan and Queen Belina.
All eyes turned to the center of the courtroom, toward the stand.
Louisa still maintained the elegant and poised demeanor of a noble Princess of the Royal Family.
Faced with the accusation, not only did she show no sign of panic, but she shook her head with an innocent expression, her face a mask of confusion as she spoke:
"Chief Justice, I don’t know what you mean."
"The medicinal supplies I transported to Garbage Star were all properly distributed to the citizens. There is video evidence."
[Liar, liar, she’s lying!]
[How can such a disgusting person exist? Facing death’s door and still spouting lies.]
[Harsh sentence! Harsh sentence! She must get a harsh sentence!]
The people in the Star Network live stream comment section were absolutely furious when they saw this.
Fingers hammered on keyboards with a CLACK-CLACK-CLACK. In an instant, the live stream was flooded with comments demanding a severe sentence and a strict trial.
The spectators in the courtroom glared at Louisa with equal fury.
This was especially true for the delegation from Garbage Star, who looked like they wanted to tear her flesh and drink her blood.
Only Yu Lan, seeing Louisa’s expression of someone holding a winning hand, felt a sudden sense of foreboding.
Just then, the Star Commander of Garbage Star, who had been escorted by the Second Legion and was standing behind Louisa, stepped forward.
He knelt directly before the Chief Justice on the stand, struck his head heavily against the floor, and cried out in a voice full of grief and pain.
"It was my fault. It was all my fault."
"This has nothing to do with Princess Louisa."
"I was the one who secretly withheld all the medicinal supplies and replaced them with the most common ones. I thought, I thought it was just a small cold, that it would pass quickly."
"The lives of people from Garbage Star are cheap, like cockroaches you can’t stomp out."
"Just a minor cold, I thought they could just endure it and get over it. I never thought, never thought it would turn into this."
"Princess Louisa knew nothing about this from beginning to end. The people in her videos were all handpicked by me. She is innocent."
As the Garbage Star’s Star Commander finished speaking, everyone present frowned.
No one had expected this trial of Louisa to have such an outcome.
Was Louisa actually innocent?
The Chief Justice’s brow furrowed.
The gavel struck with a loud bang.
"Gu Deming, do you understand the meaning of your words and the consequences you will face?"
"If what you say is true, then you are the culprit behind this catastrophe on Garbage Star."
"Death will be certain."
The last four words.
The Chief Justice delivered them with extra force, sounding utterly cold and severe.
Everyone in the room held their breath. The silence was so complete you could hear a pin drop.
All eyes were fixed on Gu Deming, the Star Commander of Garbage Star, who was kneeling on the stand, his body trembling uncontrollably.
How would he answer the Chief Justice’s question?
Would he confirm his statement or recant on the spot?
While the crowd waited in anticipation, only Yu Lan’s hands, hanging at her sides, clenched into fists. A chill spread through her heart.
The reason was simple. She had already seen the smile playing on Louisa’s lips and the smug composure in Belina’s eyes.
’This so-called trial is nothing but a public show.’
’A show to completely wash away the filth of suspicion and doubt from Louisa, to turn her back into that pristine, gentle, and magnanimous Empire Princess.’
’And the Star Commander of Garbage Star, the scapegoat, has enough status and capability to shoulder the blame for this.’
’I just don’t know what they offered him in exchange, or what they used to threaten him.’
Yu Lan’s gaze shifted to a handsome, defiant-looking man with black hair and black eyes, who was leaning against the doorway not far from the court, his arms crossed and an air of utter boredom about him.
’Qi Jingshen, are you involved in this?’
’And if so, how deeply?’
Yu Lan didn’t want to watch what happened next.
She could already guess the outcome.
A clean and pure soul was being forced by power to be stained with filth.
A silent injustice was screaming wildly.
But no one could hear it.
At that moment, on the stand, Gu Deming’s voice rang out again. In response to the Chief Justice’s question, his tone was utterly resolute.
"Yes."
"I am the sinner."
"I was blinded by greed. I have failed the Star Citizens of Garbage Star."
"I am not worthy of being the Star Commander of Garbage Star."
"It is all my fault."
Having turned her back, unable to bear the sight, Yu Lan closed her eyes when she heard his words.
She could hear spectators cursing angrily around her:
"Pah! Crocodile tears."
"He did the deed, and now he has the gall to cry? The people who died on Garbage Star didn’t even get a chance to cry."
Yu Lan frowned slightly.
Just then, a sudden, loud BANG echoed from the courtroom behind her.
All the spectators gasped in unison.
Yu Lan whipped her head around.
This scene...
It was a scene she never wanted to see again for the rest of her life.
There, on the high platform of the stand, Gu Deming was slumped on the floor, hot, red blood streaming down his forehead.
The man’s breathing had stopped.
Behind him stood Louisa, clad in a magnificent dress, her features ethereal, as if untouched by a speck of dust.
With his death, Gu Deming had washed away all the filth clinging to Louisa.
He took sole responsibility for the Garbage Star incident. The trail of clues ended with him. There would be no chance to overturn this verdict.
Logically, seeing the death of the culprit responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands on Garbage Star should have brought a sense of relief and happiness to both the Star Network audience and the people in the courtroom.
But for some reason, everyone simultaneously felt an emptiness in their hearts, a sense of loss and melancholy washing over them.
On the stand, Louisa frowned slightly, perplexed by the dead silence in the room.
This scene—the gratifying death of the culprit—had been personally orchestrated by her and Belina.
Why was there no applause or flowers?
They should also be feeling guilty for having wrongly accused her.
It had clearly worked that way with Yu Lan last time.
This was completely contrary to their expectations.
The air grew tense and anxious.
Just then, a cry filled with grief and sorrow rang out.
"Star Commander!"
It was the delegation from Garbage Star, who had come to witness the trial’s conclusion.
Having witnessed Gu Deming die on the stand, they could no longer hold back.
With bloodshot eyes, they broke through the guards’ cordon and rushed toward Gu Deming’s body on the stand.
