Before the Director of the Fertility Research Institute and Lunen arrived, Lu Xia had already prepared for them to make excuses. She never expected that after they got here, she would only have to say a single sentence before they admitted to everything.

This took Lu Xia by surprise.

Looking at the Director and Lunen, who were bowing their heads respectfully, Lu Xia said, "In that case, write a letter of guarantee. I hope this sort of thing doesn’t happen again."

Lunen hurriedly said, "Of course. Something like this will absolutely never happen again."

The Director of the Fertility Research Institute spoke up. "I didn’t expect Duke Lu Xia to be so reasonable. This is a bit different from what I imagined."

He glanced at Lunen, who was standing quietly. "Duke, I’ve heard that both of your cubs were bred with a defective male partner. Might I have the honor of seeing them?"

Hearing this, Lu Xia knew the Director of the Fertility Research Institute hadn’t given up on his designs for her two cubs.

She raised a slight eyebrow. "Director, what is the meaning of this?"

Seeing Lu Xia’s attitude turn cold, the Director chuckled. "Duke, there’s no need to be nervous. I am merely acting on a researcher’s curiosity, nothing more. I’m sure you can understand."

"It would be best if the Director dispelled such curiosity. Otherwise, I’ll have to question whether the Fertility Research Institute has any conscience left."

A cold sweat broke out on Lunen’s forehead. He didn’t understand why the Director would say such a thing at a time like this. ’Isn’t this just admitting they’d do it again?’

’If they anger Duke Lu Xia, this won’t be something a simple letter of guarantee can solve.’ He had no idea what the Director was thinking. He was about to speak, but the Director cut in first. "Duke, your unauthorized breeding completely violates the regulations of the Fertility Research Institute. It should be considered non-compliant. However, given your status, the Fertility Research Institute can choose not to pursue the matter. But we still need you to cooperate with our work."

When the Director suddenly brought this up, Lunen could no longer sit still. He called out softly, "Director."

The Director glanced at him with no intention of stopping. "Duke, our only requirement is to take a blood sample from your cubs. That shouldn’t be too difficult."

Lu Xia now understood perfectly. The Director of the Fertility Research Institute had realized the soft approach wasn’t working and was now planning to play hardball.

"So, you actually came here today for blood samples from my cubs, is that right?"

"Of course, we also came to apologize. The two are not mutually exclusive, Duke Lu Xia."

"It seems I was mistaken. My apologies. I will be making this matter public, so I suggest the Fertility Research Institute prepare itself. Butler, show them out!"

Lu Xia stood up and left the reception room directly, with no intention of giving the two another chance.

Seeing her leave so decisively, the Director’s expression froze.

He had originally thought that since Lu Xia was willing to easily forgive Lunen, the rest would go smoothly. He never imagined Lu Xia would refuse so bluntly, throwing all his original plans into disarray.

Lunen, his face pale, stared at the Director. "What are you doing? What in the world are you doing? Duke Lu Xia had already agreed! A letter of guarantee would have been enough to put this behind us. And now look. If Duke Lu Xia really does go public with this, I absolutely will not hide the truth. You’d better be prepared!"

Lunen didn’t wait to hear the Director’s excuses. He threw out that last sentence and left without another word.

For a moment, the Director was stunned. He hadn’t expected to offend two people at once. Neither Lunen nor Duke Lu Xia had given him a chance to explain himself.

As soon as Lu Xia returned to her room, she called the police.

They had a witness, as well as a recording of what the Director had just said. It was more than enough evidence.

After receiving her report, the police department quickly dispatched officers to get the details, taking the witness and the evidence with them.

Before long, Lunen was summoned for questioning, and soon after, the Director of the Fertility Research Institute was also taken away for investigation.

The Imperial Citizens were already disgusted by the matter of Her Majesty Queen secretly establishing a biological research lab on the Border Star to conduct experiments on cubs.

And after calling the police, Lu Xia also contacted relevant media reporters to publicize the incident. She had told the Director of the Fertility Research Institute long ago that she wouldn’t cover up this kind of research, so she was determined to follow through.

Soon, the news that the Fertility Research Institute had attempted to use Duke Lu Xia’s two cubs for biological research was exposed. This happened right when the gene fusion agent was making waves among the public. As soon as the news broke, it triggered a massive public reaction—

"Holy crap, has the Fertility Research Institute lost its mind? They actually want to use Duke Lu Xia’s cubs for biological research."

"What the hell? Are they in league with Her Majesty Queen or something? What were they thinking, trying to use Duke Lu Xia’s cubs for research?"

"How could they do this? I hope the Empire gives Duke Lu Xia justice, or I’m seriously going to raise hell."

"Come on, everyone, let’s push hard! We absolutely can’t let this story get buried. After all the good things Duke Lu Xia has done for us, we can’t let her down. We have to get justice for her!"

...

Thus, the public, who had stopped protesting after the release of the gene fusion agent, once again took to the streets in protest, denouncing the Fertility Research Institute’s actions against Duke Lu Xia’s two cubs.

Lu Xia hadn’t expected such a response from the people. Hearing the news, she felt a faint sense of being moved.

She published a thank-you letter on the official website, thanking the citizens for speaking out for her.

Under the pressure of massive public protests and demonstrations, the Director of the Fertility Research Institute was dismissed from his post. In addition to his attempt to send people to harm Duke Lu Xia’s two cubs, the investigation uncovered many other illegal and irregular activities. The information for these other charges came from a person who wished to remain anonymous.

This person was Simon.

After learning that Simon had investigated the Director of the Fertility Research Institute and submitted such a file, Lu Xia expressed her gratitude. She knew Simon had done it entirely to get back at them on her behalf.

The Director of the Fertility Research Institute was suspended pending investigation, and the other researchers there were all on edge.

At the same time, the Fertility Research Institute’s reputation took a huge hit with the public because of this incident. For a time, many projects they had planned to start and studies that were already in progress were put on hold.

The resulting losses were incalculable.

The Fertility Research Institute had no choice but to appeal to Her Majesty Queen for help, but unfortunately, the Queen was now nothing more than a figurehead.

The Vice Director, Klaus, wanted to save the Fertility Research Institute, but he was powerless to do so. In the end, he had no choice but to go to Duke Lu Xia, hoping she would go easy on them and let them off the hook.

However, Duke Lu Xia directly refused his request for a meeting. Instead, she told him that if the Fertility Research Institute went bankrupt, she would acquire it.

Upon hearing this, Klaus knew this matter would not end well.

Shortly after he returned, the Fertility Research Institute publicly announced its bankruptcy.