Chapter 171 Dongfang Yuning bows and apologizes
The news spread like wildfire throughout Yanmao City! Within an hour, the vast bluestone plaza at the main entrance of the Fuxing Theater was completely thronged with people who had rushed in after hearing the news.
Discussions and speculations surged like the tide.
A temporary wooden platform was set up in the center of the square.
Liu Hanzhang was stripped of her gorgeous costumes, wearing only a thin white undershirt, and kneeling on the stage with her hands tied behind her back.
His hair was disheveled, his face was pale, and his body was shaking like a sieve. He had lost all his handsome demeanor, and was left with only endless fear and embarrassment.
Xiao He's parents were invited to the most conspicuous position in front of the stage. They supported each other and looked at the enemy who killed their daughter on the stage, with deep hatred and endless sadness in their eyes.
Dongfang Yuning, dressed in a plain dress and without any makeup, stood solemnly on the platform. Beside her was Nangong Ye, who also had a stern expression and looked like a guardian angel.
Mo Ying brought a team of royal guards and stood solemnly around the stage to maintain order.
"quiet!"
Mo Ying's voice, which contained his inner strength, spread throughout the room, and the noisy discussions gradually subsided.
Dongfang Yuning took a step forward, his eyes sweeping across the dense crowd below the stage, finally landing on the kneeling Liu Hanzhang. His voice echoed clearly and coldly over the square:
"Fellow citizens of Yanmao City, colleagues of the Fuxing Theater, and artists on the Fuxing List!
Today, the performance is suspended and everyone is gathered here to deal with one person and one matter! This person on the stage, Liu Hanzhang, was once a famous man on my lucky list!
She pointed at Liu Hanzhang, and every word she said was like a hammer hitting Liu Hanzhang's heart, and also the hearts of all the artists:
"However, this man's art and ethics are corrupt, and his intentions are evil! He was once as destitute as a beggar, and was helped by a fisherwoman named Xiao He from outside the city. However, he turned his kindness against her, using sweet words to deceive her body and soul, causing her to become pregnant!
Xiao He was infatuated with him, and her parents also agreed to the marriage, waiting for him to succeed! But once he became famous, he became ungrateful and treacherous!
Not only did he flatly deny the engagement, he even hurled insults at her, defaming her innocence! This caused Xiao He to… become so grief-stricken and despairing that she drowned herself in the river! Two lives lost!
"ah--!"
When Xiao He's mother heard this, she could no longer hold back, let out a heart-wrenching cry, and fainted.
Her father was in tears, staring at Liu Hanzhang on the stage, his teeth chattering.
The audience erupted in an uproar! The angry roar was like a volcano erupting!
"brute!"
“Scum!”
"Beat him to death! Pay for Miss Xiaohe's life!"
"How can there be such garbage in the Lucky Star Theater!"
Dongfang Yuning raised his hand to suppress the boiling noise.
She walked up to Xiaohe's father, and under the astonished gaze of everyone, she bowed deeply and solemnly to this ordinary fisherman who had lost his beloved daughter and was heartbroken!
"I'm sorry, old man."
Her voice was filled with sorrow and sincere apology.
"It was my fault for not managing the place properly and failing to supervise the people I hired, which allowed this kind of scum to sneak in and kill Miss Xiaohe.
This mistake is ours, Dongfang Yuning, and we offer our deepest apologies to you and your family!
The whole place was in a dead silence! Everyone was stunned!
The high and mighty Princess Fuxing and Princess Yong actually bowed so solemnly to apologize to a lowly fisherman?!
Xiao He's father was also stunned, his tearful eyes filled with disbelief.
He looked at the extremely noble woman in front of him, and saw the unfeigned pain and self-blame in her eyes.
The overwhelming hatred in his heart was suppressed a little by this heavy bow, leaving only endless sadness and confusion.
At this moment, a dark figure flashed through the crowd like lightning and instantly appeared on the platform! It was Nangong Ye!
He hugged Dongfang Yuning, who was still bowing, tightly in his arms!
His movements were too fast, with an irresistible protective posture.
"Ning'er!"
Nangong Ye's low voice was filled with heartache and unquestionable determination.
"This isn't your fault! People's hearts are unpredictable, full of demons and monsters, impossible to guard against! You've already set the strictest rules. He's the one seeking death himself, crossing a line he shouldn't have crossed!"
Dongfang Yuning leaned in Nangong Ye's solid and warm embrace, feeling the strength and comfort coming from him. The tears she had been holding back finally couldn't be controlled anymore and burst out.
She was not crying for Liu Hanzhang, but for the young life she had never met but which died because of her negligence in theater management.
I cried for the parents who lost their daughter, and I also cried for my own guilt for not being able to protect this pure land.
Nangong Ye hugged her tightly, his cold gaze like a real ice knife, sweeping across Liu Hanzhang, who was shaking into a puddle of mud on the stage, and also across all the artists on the Lucky Star List below the stage. His voice was like the cold ice of the Nine Netherworld, carrying the pressure and murderous aura of an emperor:
"Such treacherous, life-threatening scum deserves death! However, the princess is kind and does not want to pollute this place! The death penalty can be spared, but the living punishment cannot be escaped!"
He let go of Dongfang Yuning, letting her lean against him. Then, facing the entire audience, word by word, he pronounced Liu Hanzhang's fate and also announced the iron rule of the Lucky Star Theater:
"Liu Hanzhang, all titles and honors of Lucky Star Prince are stripped from him! Effective immediately, he will be expelled from the Lucky Star Theater and will never be employed again!
All businesses under the Fengming Jiuxiao Chamber of Commerce - restaurants, inns, trading companies, fleets, workshops - will be blacklisted and will never be employed again!
Anyone in Yanmao Port who dares to take in or hire this person will be an enemy of Fengming Jiuxiao!"
He paused, his gaze finally landing on Liu Hanzhang, as if he were looking at an ant:
"As for you..."
Nangong Ye's voice was cold and emotionless.
"Back then, you were a beggar, relying on charity to survive. Now, go back to your original form! Yanmao City has no place for a beast in human skin like you!
Get out! Get out of Yanmao! If I see you again in Yanmao territory, I will make you taste the pain of Zero!
"zero?"
Liu Hanzhang looked up in confusion and fear.
Mo Ying added at the right moment, grimly:
Liu Hanzhang's pupils suddenly shrank, and a foul smell instantly spread out -
He was so frightened that he lost control of his bladder! He rolled and crawled, kowtowed with tears streaming down his face:
"Your Majesty, please spare me! Princess, please spare me! I'm leaving! I'm leaving now! I'll never come back!"
Under the cold gaze of the palace guards, he was like a stray dog. Amidst countless contemptuous and scornful looks, he tumbled down the platform in a miserable state and disappeared on the road leading out of the city.
What awaits him is a life worse than that of a beggar, one completely despised.
Nangong Ye no longer looked at the scoundrel. He embraced the depressed Dongfang Yuning and faced the silent crowd below the stage. His voice regained its composure, but with unquestionable power:
"I hope everyone will take today's events as a warning! Lucky Star Theater can accommodate talent and dreams, but it will never tolerate those who are immoral and corrupt!
Artistic ethics are always the foundation of one's character! If anyone crosses the line again, Liu Hanzhang will serve as a warning to others!
"The Lucky Star List, starting today, will now include an assessment of artistic ethics! Those without ethics will never be hired, even if they possess incredible talent!"
"Disperse!"
A storm ended with a thunderous public execution.
Fuxing Theater used the most cruel method to cleanse the dirt inside and also announced to everyone its iron rules that cannot be touched.
Dongfang Yuning's deep bow and Nangong Ye's unhesitating protection were also deeply imprinted in the hearts of every witness in Yanmao City.
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