Chapter 1415: Claim the Moral High Ground

After hearing Sui Gujin's words, a heavy silence fell upon the gathered elders in the hall.

The Old Lands Sovereign, Shang Hongyi, was working together with Ye Guan?

It sounded absurd. Shang Hongyi was infamous for being extremely prideful. How could she possibly have any kind of relationship with Ye Guan?

Not to mention, she was the Old Lands Sovereign. While she didn't have any real power, she still had an incredibly prestigious status. Why would she take Ye Guan's side? It didn't make sense at all.

Everyone found this claim suspicious, including some of the elders from the Suiming Civilization.

However, Sui Gujin herself had spoken, so there was a ton of weight behind it. Lady Sui was just as proud as Shang Hongyi, so there was no way she would make such a claim randomly.

A red-robed elder asked, "Lady Sui, you claim that the Old Lands Sovereign is involved with Ye Guan. Do you have any evidence for that?"

Another elder added, "Lady Sui, it's not that we doubt you, but this is a serious matter. Without proof, we cannot—"

Sui Gujin didn't respond immediately. Instead, she glanced at an elder from the Eternal Civilization. The elder remained composed as he stood up and said, "My fellow elders, I understand your concerns. Believe me, I don't want to accept this either... but think about it.

"Ye Guan is nothing more than a Supreme Emperor. Why would Shang Hongyi personally make a move against him? Doesn't that seem odd to you? Ever since she became the Sovereign, she has never handled anything personally.

"Despite that, she made a move herself."

Silence fell over the hall. It was true.

Shang Hongyi's sudden involvement was unexpected. She hadn't even informed them beforehand. Then, an elder spoke the question on everyone's mind, asking, "Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" An elder from the Suiming Civilization said. "You all know that while she holds the title of Sovereign, she doesn't have any real power. Let's be honest; she's nothing more than a figurehead.

"Now, it's clear that she no longer wants to be just a puppet. She wants to become the true ruler of the Old Lands."

Upon hearing that, the expressions of everyone present darkened. The reasoning was quite sound, but something still felt off here.

Sui Gujin said, "I still find this whole situation strange. After all, she has always been a proud woman. Why would she choose a Supreme Emperor? Could it be... that someone is framing her?"

"Haaa..." One of the elders let out a deep sigh before muttering, "Lady Sui, even though Ye Guan is just a Supreme Emperor, the records indicate that he is far from an ordinary one.

"At such a young age, he has already established an Order, not just any order, but one with a Dao Lineage. There is no way he achieved that alone. Someone powerful must be backing—"

"Wait!" The elder suddenly sat up straight, his eyes widening in shock as he exclaimed, "Is it possible... that Shang Hongyi is Ye Guan's backer?!"

Everyone present was stupefied.

Sui Gujin remained expressionless. She quietly lifted her teacup, took a sip, and said nothing.

The elder saw that and became even more agitated. His voice rose as he exclaimed, "It makes perfect sense! She refuses to remain a mere figurehead, so she decided to secretly cultivate someone capable of establishing an Order. Her goal is to overthrow us and become the real Old Lands Sovereign!"

Sui Gujin furrowed her brows slightly, and a trace of doubt flittered across her eyes. "That seems... a bit far-fetched. Elder Yu, do you have any evidence?"

Elder Yu urgently said, "Lady Sui, do we even need any evidence? She has a motive! Her motive is the evidence! This complete annihilation of our forces... It was all her doing! Her goal was to weaken the Old Lands. We truly suffered enormous losses this time!"

The faces of all the elders turned extremely grim. The recent battle had wiped out their elite armed forces. The Eternal Civilization and the Old Lands even lost two Immortal Emperors.

Even for civilizations as vast as theirs, this loss was a severe blow.

The Grand Elder of the Old Lands, Qiu Yuan, suddenly said, "Lady Sui, may I ask why you were spared?"

His words sent a shockwave through the hall. Everyone immediately turned their gaze toward Sui Gujin.

Indeed, how come she was still alive?

Doubt and suspicion filled their hearts.

Despite their scrutinizing gaze, Sui Gujin remained calm. "Ye Guan wanted to recruit me."

Qiu Yuan's gaze sharpened. "And did you agree to his offer?"

Sui Gujin nodded. "Yes."

Everyone was stunned and stared at her in disbelief.

Sui Gujin remained composed as she said, "I agreed to join forces with him... to overthrow the Old Lands."

The entire hall fell silent for a few moments.

"Lady Sui!" an elder exclaimed, "Please don't bother with tasteless jokes! We can believe that Shang Hongyi is backing him, but you? That has to be a joke! That man cultivates the Dao of Order, and so does your Suiming Civilization!

"He is your mortal enemy! Why would your civilization submit to an Order weaker than your own? Besides, your Suiming Civilization suffered massive losses in this battle!

"Why would you ever help an outsider against your own people?"

Many in the hall quietly nodded in agreement. For an Order to submit to another, the latter had to be far stronger. Moreover, Lady Sui had neither the motive nor the reason to betray them.

Shang Hongyi wanted real power, as she refused to be a figurehead, but Lady Sui already had real authority within the Suiming Civilization. She had absolutely no reason to help Ye Guan.

Besides, everyone knew how fiercely loyal Lady Sui was to the Suiming Civilization. How could she possibly betray her own people?

Sui Gujin calmly said, "I wasn't lying. Believe what you want."

Seeing that, Qiu Yuan glanced at the wounds on her and said, "Lady Sui, I apologize for what I said. I know you would never conspire with Ye Guan. It's just that this matter is of great importance, so I had to be cautious. I hope you'd understand."

Another elder added, "Anyone can work with Ye Guan, but Lady Sui? Impossible! When has a high-tier civilization ever submitted to a low-tier one?"

Sui Gujin said indifferently, "Anything is possible."

The elder chuckled. "Lady Sui, please calm down, all right? Right now, our priority is to unite against Ye Guan and Shang Hongyi. At this critical moment, we must work together."

Everyone quickly nodded in agreement. Sui Gujin swept her gaze across the room but said nothing more.

Qiu Yuan's expression turned serious. "The most pressing matter is to immediately activate the Old Lands' defensive array in case Shang Hongyi returns. Secondly, we must impeach her without delay.

"I propose that we immediately begin the impeachment proceedings and remove her from her position as quickly as possible."

The other elders immediately responded, "Agreed! We must remove her from power!"

Sui Gujin asked, "Wouldn't that be a bit... rash?"

Everyone turned to her.

"Our three civilizations placed her in that position," Sui Gujin said, "While we do have the power to impeach her, we have yet to inform our respective civilization leaders about this.

"Furthermore, if we simply strip her of her position, she will never accept it. She will claim we are unjustly smearing her name."

Qiu Yuan asked, "What do you propose we do then?"

Sui Gujin replied, "We must claim the moral high ground."

Everyone looked at her in confusion.

"We must expose her actions and make them known to the entire Old Lands. In other words, we must launch a smear campaign, ensuring that everyone stands with us against her," Sui Gujin replied, "This way, even if we can't impeach her, she will still be despised by all."

The room fell silent for a moment. Everyone felt a chill go down their spine. It was a good thing Lady Sui was on their side. If she were an enemy, she would be terrifying to deal with.

Qiu Yuan said, "Lady Sui, do you think the common people will believe us?"

An elder answered, "Of course they will. Most of them lack the ability to distinguish right from wrong. As long as we control the narrative, they will believe whatever we tell them."

The room nodded in agreement.

Yes, this plan could work. Control the narrative, shape public opinion, and claim the moral high ground.

Whoever they declared as the villain would be seen as the villain. With that, the meeting ended, and everyone set out to execute the plan.

Soon, news spread across the Old Lands that Shang Hongyi had colluded with Ye Guan to betray them.

Countless people were enraged.

"A traitor! She's the ruler of the Old Lands, but she actually betrayed us? She deserves to die! Kill her!"

"Our ruler working with outsiders to attack her own people? Unforgivable! She must be eradicated!"

"Shameless! An absolute disgrace!"

"What the hell are those fools in the Old Lands Divine Hall doing? How did they let a traitor become our ruler? Useless idiots! Even I could do a better job than her!"

"Something doesn't feel right about this. She's our ruler, so why would she do that?"

"What? You're defending her? You bastard! Are you a traitor, too?!"