A Daughter's Grief and Fury After Her Father's Death

"I was really puzzled, Your Majesty! So I went to the coal mine to investigate. That's when I discovered that, under the guise of mining coal, they were secretly extracting mythril ore!"

"What!" Colin Gu's expression changed instantly.

"Later, when they found out about me, they buried me and the miners alive at the bottom of the mine!"

At this point, Grace's voice carried a hint of tears.

Colin Gu frowned, "Then how did you manage to escape?"

"We were desperate, so we dug a passage. We ended up finding an underground river and escaped through it," Grace said. "But the exit was on a cliff—only I made it down; the other miners are still trapped up there!"

"Outrageous!" Colin Gu slammed the table. "Who gave Charles Sun the nerve to do this!"

"I heard that Lady Sun comes from the family of Imperial Noble Consort Wu, the emperor's favorite," Minister Zhuo said, hinting at deeper connections.

He knew Colin Gu was particularly annoyed with Emperor Tuoba Hong these days, so he brought it up on purpose.

Sure enough, Colin Gu's face darkened as soon as he heard this. "Guards!" he shouted.

"Here!" replied the Imperial Guard.

"Send someone to accompany Miss Lawrence to North Mountain Coal Mine immediately! Make sure to investigate thoroughly!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

...

All the Imperial Guards were Colin Gu's trusted men.

At Grace's request, they rescued all the trapped miners.

They even followed the river to inspect the mythril ore mine.

Coincidence or not, Evan Xiao's soldiers found loads of mythril ore hidden in the Sun family's coal shipments.

And with the miners' testimonies, even if Charles Sun had ten mouths, he couldn't talk his way out of this!

According to the laws of the Blue Moon Kingdom, Charles Sun was sentenced to beheading.

All land and property Charles Sun owned in the Blue Moon Kingdom was confiscated.

Colin Gu was still wary of Lady Sun, who came from the Imperial Noble Consort Wu's family, so he spared the rest of the Sun family.

But all of Charles Sun's sons were stripped of their official positions and reduced to commoners.

The Sun family was the newest of the Four Great Families in the Blue Moon Kingdom.

Their foundation was weak, and they weren't exactly popular—Charles Sun always acted superior because he was a sought-after Spirit Alchemist.

So, when the verdict came down, not a single family spoke up for him...

And just like that, Charles Sun—the so-called Master Sun of the Blue Moon Kingdom—was beheaded.

Grace went to witness the execution.

The Sun family cried their hearts out.

Especially Sophie Sun, who knelt at the execution platform and personally gave her father his final drink.

The whole scene was heartbreakingly tragic.

Then, the executioner swung his blade—blood splattered everywhere.

Sophie Sun turned away, unable to watch, sobbing like her world had ended.

In her tears, she spotted Grace Lawrence.

Grace wore a lilac embroidered jade blouse, a crane-patterned skirt, and a sheer cloud-patterned cloak—elegant, noble, and looking every bit like she was just here for the spectacle.

Sophie Sun stared at Grace, her eyes practically bleeding with hatred.

It was her—she killed my father!

It was her—she stole my husband!

It was her—she stole my spotlight!

Everything was her fault!

Grace noticed Sophie Sun staring at her and gave her a little smile.

That look—grieving and furious after losing her father—was honestly kind of pitiful.

...

These past few days, every time Grace Wan saw Grace, it was like she'd seen a ghost.

She probably still couldn't figure out how Grace managed to escape.

But she couldn't just ask outright.

It looked like she was really struggling.