Lady Rafaelde had naturally caught wind of the situation. However, the Rafaelde family had been a pillar of the transportation industry for many years. They wouldn’t compromise easily, even when confronted, especially since this matter concerned Duke Lu Xia.

After contacting Lu Xia and learning the whole story, Lady Rafaelde was shocked that a member of the Imperial Family could be so shameless.

"Duke, please rest assured. The Rafaelde family will definitely stand with you."

She was prepared to firmly support Duke Lu Xia. If for no other reason, the fact that Smelian was now a Gene Fusion Expert was reason enough for the Rafaelde family not to compromise.

But Lu Xia told her, "If they insist on investigating, don’t stop them. Let them. As for the time delayed and the matter of compensation, I’ll need to trouble you to keep a careful record, Lady."

"Are you sure it’s alright? If the raw materials don’t arrive, your institutes...?"

"It’s fine. I believe Lady Victoria can afford to compensate me for my losses." Lu Xia’s tone was calm, not at all like someone acting on a whim.

"Very well. If you need any help, contact me anytime. Please don’t hesitate to ask."

"I know. Thank you, Lady Rafaelde."

"We’re family. It’s the least we can do." In fact, at that moment, Lady Rafaelde felt this wasn’t entirely a bad thing. At the very least, it allowed Lu Xia to see her family’s sincerity and deepened their relationship.

After ending the call with Lady Rafaelde, Lu Xia had the person in charge of her institutes post an announcement on their official website.

It was a notice regarding the complete suspension of all research at the No. 1 Institute and No. 2 Institute. Not only that, but sales of the hair growth liquid and beauty cream were also suspended. The reason given was to cooperate with an inspection by the relevant authorities.

As soon as the announcement was released, it immediately attracted a great deal of attention—

"What’s going on? Why did they suddenly suspend research out of the blue? Even the hair growth liquid and beauty cream are suspended. What department is inspecting them?"

"Inspecting what? Don’t tell me there’s a problem with the research at the No. 1 and No. 2 Institutes?"

"It couldn’t be that the research at the No. 1 and No. 2 Institutes infringed on someone’s interests, and now they’re being targeted with some bogus excuse, right?"

"I’ve got something to say! Inspect, inspect, inspect—screw your inspection! There are already so few people who do their work conscientiously, and you want to investigate them? If you have time for this, why don’t we see the Empire’s prestigious institutions producing things we citizens actually need? They collect so much in taxes every year, and for what?"

"Insider info here! The founder of the No. 1 and No. 2 Institutes pissed someone off and is being targeted!"

"To the poster above, is that true? Who did she piss off? Who has that kind of power? It couldn’t be the Imperial Family, could it?"

"I think it’s the Imperial Family, too. I heard the founder of the No. 1 and No. 2 Institutes also holds a noble title. If so, she definitely didn’t piss off some commoner. What, does the Imperial Family have its eyes on her business?"

"Oh my god, some brave soul actually went and asked directly on the Imperial Family’s official website!"

"Hahaha, I saw that too! Someone really was brave enough to call them out point-blank! To be honest, I don’t care about the rest of it, but they can’t stop selling the beauty cream and hair growth liquid! My stockpile is about to run out. I was planning to restock in a couple of days, and in the time it took me to hesitate, they suspended shipments! How could they do this!"

"The beauty cream and hair growth liquid are indispensable parts of my daily routine now. As long as I have these two for any event I attend, I feel completely at ease!"

"Ever since I started using the beauty cream and hair growth liquid, my Female Master has been so much more affectionate toward me, praising how my skin keeps getting better. If they stop shipping these, how are people like me supposed to live!"

...

A single announcement was enough to set off a firestorm of public opinion online. The comment section on the Imperial Family’s official website was on the verge of being completely flooded.

It was hard not to attract attention.

On the other hand, Lu Xia gave all the researchers at her institutes a vacation, telling them to take paid leave or go on a trip to relax.

As for herself, she acted as if nothing had happened, content to stay home and spend time with her little one.

In stark contrast to Lu Xia, Victoria, the one who had caused all this trouble, was not having a good time.

The online discussion grew more and more intense, and the speculation became increasingly wild. This led to Lady Dain finding out about the matter as well.

"Are you insane? You’ll do anything, won’t you? Now that this has happened, how are you going to clean it up? If Her Majesty the Queen finds out, it won’t end well for either of us!"

"I didn’t expect this to happen either! I just wanted to teach her a little lesson. Who knew she would post it online?"

"Do you have any idea how much attention the research at the No. 1 and No. 2 Institutes is getting right now? Can’t you use your brain before you act? She stirred up all this public opinion just by posting a single notice about suspending research. Do you think she’s someone you can mess with lightly?" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Then what should I do, Mother? I really didn’t think this would happen. Should I contact the media to clarify things?"

"Are you an idiot? Contacting the media now would be the same as admitting it was you!" Lady Dain was exasperated. "I’ll handle this. You stay out of it!"

After the call ended, Victoria indignantly threw a tantrum at home.

Lu Xia wasn’t surprised when she received a voice call from Lady Dain. ’Clearly, the daughter couldn’t handle the situation, so the mother has come out to apply pressure.’

Still, she hadn’t expected that the notice she posted on the website would cause such a huge commotion.

When the call connected, Lady Dain’s voice came through. "Good day, Duke Lu Xia."

"Good day, Lady Dain." Lu Xia’s tone was flat, showing none of the deference one would expect given the other party’s status.

"I’ve called to tell you, Duke, that Victoria is immature and has caused you trouble. I have already disciplined her. How about we each take a step back?"

"Lady Dain, what do you mean by that? What has Lady Victoria done? I’m afraid I don’t understand."

Lady Dain fell silent for a moment. "Duke, let’s not pretend we don’t know what’s happening. I contacted you to resolve this issue!"

"Oh, you’re here to resolve the problem? And here I thought you were calling to pressure me. Your daughter first took a fancy to my main husband and tried to trade one of her husbands for him, insulting me in the process. Then, with no compensation and no apology, she had my cargo seized and my institutes inspected, causing me further losses. And now you’re telling me we should each take a step back? As members of the Imperial Family, you certainly are impressive!"

"Then what do you want to make this go away?"

"First, have Victoria publicly apologize to me and my main husband. Second, compensate me for my financial losses. Third, write a formal letter of apology by hand for me to keep on file. Do these three things, and we can consider the matter settled."

"We can compensate you for the financial losses, and we can apologize privately, but it cannot be public. It would affect the Imperial Family’s prestige among the populace. I’m sure you understand, Duke Lu Xia?"

"Lady Dain, I think you’re mistaken. Right now, you are the one asking me for a favor, not the other way around. There is no room for negotiation. Furthermore, I can only wait one more day, because I am preparing to request an audience with Her Majesty the Queen to discuss this matter with her personally."