"Do you all have tumors where your brains should be? You just believe whatever she says? Don’t you have any ability to judge for yourselves?"

"Ivy White, you can’t fool everyone just by shouting the same lies over and over."

"You probably don’t know this, do you? The time you tried to kill your own child made our local news. So did you getting arrested and sent to the labor camp. And the newspapers? I happened to save them. I’m the type who likes to collect everything—stamps, newspapers, you name it. Do you want me to bring them over so you can see for yourself?"

"Also, you might not know this, but Director Osborne was recently transferred to Coronet. He’s the director at the Coronet First Textile Mill now. He knows all about you seducing Caleb Forrest and having an affair while you were married. Do you need me to call him right now and have him come over to corroborate?"

"Ivy White, sometimes you’re just so stupid. Isn’t getting beaten by me time and again enough for you? Now you’re actively offering your face for me to slap. Tell me, you’re just asking for it, aren’t you?"

"Or do you actually think I’m some sweet, good-natured person who’ll just let it slide?"

"But you seem to have the wrong idea about me. What I hate most is people spreading lies about me behind my back."

Grace Winslow finished speaking, walked right up to Ivy White, raised her hand, and viciously slapped her.

Ivy White’s head snapped to the side from the blow, her face burning. She was completely stunned, unable to react for a long moment.

The people who had been defending Ivy White were now reeling in shock. They hadn’t expected Grace Winslow to be so aggressive—to just start hitting people.

Besides, she had made her claims with such conviction. It would be easy enough to check if she was lying.

Would she really tell lies that could be so easily exposed?

But if Grace Winslow wasn’t lying, then that meant Ivy White was.

The crowd exchanged complicated glances.

"How dare you! Who do you think you are? Hitting someone in the Propaganda Department? What department are you from?"

Just then, a figure appeared behind the crowd.

The man’s expression darkened when he saw Ivy White had been struck. He rushed forward, pulled her to his side, and shielded her.

Ivy White finally came to her senses and threw herself crying into the man’s arms. "Stanley, you have to stand up for me! She... she just came over and hit me for no reason, and she slandered me."

"The nerve! What department are you from? I’m filing a complaint against you right now. You’re going to be fired, and I’ll make sure you’re never hired again!" the man seethed, his face dark and hostile.

Leaning against his chest, Ivy White shot Grace Winslow a look of triumphant provocation.

’So what if Grace Winslow exposed her past?’

’It was true she had been sent to a labor camp, but she was resourceful. She’d used her body to get by and had done well for herself there, securing an early release. She’d conned a lot of people, then changed her identity and reinvented herself. Traveling north, she happened to run into Stanley Shaw, who was injured on a trip, and she saved him.’

’She then seized the opportunity to seduce Stanley Shaw and get him to marry her.’

’Stanley Shaw’s wife had passed away five years prior, and he hadn’t remarried, living alone with his two children.’

’After marrying Ivy White, he treated her exceptionally well, doting on her. He even used his power to get her a good job in the Propaganda Section.’

’Back in Prospera Town, someone had always stood up for Grace Winslow and protected her, so she could never get the upper hand. But this wasn’t Prospera Town.’

’Stanley Shaw was the Section Chief of the Propaganda Section. Moreover, the Shaw family was influential; its members were all in politics. Stanley Shaw’s father, in particular, held a high position. She had a powerful backer now.’

’As for Grace Winslow?’

’Could Grace Winslow possibly find a backer more powerful than the Shaw family to outdo her?’

’She refused to believe Grace Winslow could best her at every turn.’

"Section Chief Shaw, I’m afraid you don’t have the authority to fire her." Leon Rhys and Samuel Ford arrived late. Seeing Grace Winslow surrounded and being bullied by a crowd, they were instantly furious.

’How outrageous!’

’She’s one of my people! These guys are showing me zero respect, bullying her like this?’

When Grace Winslow saw Leon Rhys arrive, her fierce demeanor vanished in an instant. She pinched her thigh hard, squeezing out a couple of tears. "Minister, I’m fine. Even though people are spreading vicious rumors and threatening me... I-I’m really okay."

"I just didn’t expect Section Chief Shaw to throw his weight around so much, threatening to fire me at the drop of a hat and have me blacklisted..."

"I just didn’t want to be misunderstood and suffer such unjust accusations, but I never thought..."

Grace Winslow said, raising a hand to wipe away her tears.

The people from the Propaganda Section watched, dumbfounded.

Such acting! It was a true waste she wasn’t on a stage.

Ivy White was also stunned. When she snapped out of it, she pointed at Grace Winslow and cursed, "Grace Winslow, stop spouting nonsense! You’re the one who came here looking for trouble and hit me!"

"You’re disrupting the harmony of the department and trying to frame me! What’s wrong with firing you?"

"Stanley, you have to stand up for me! Look, my face is still swollen."

The red handprint on one side of Ivy White’s face was glaringly obvious and hard to ignore. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Leon Rhys glanced at it, the corner of his mouth twitching, but he still stood firmly by Grace Winslow’s side. "Comrade Grace Winslow from our department has always been the most gentle and polite person. She doesn’t even speak loudly to people, let alone hit or curse someone for no reason."

"You must be the one with the problem. Otherwise, why would she hit you and not someone else?"

Leon Rhys’s comeback left Ivy White pale and speechless.

Stanley Shaw didn’t dare to offend Leon Rhys, but he still spoke up. "Minister Rhys, I know you’re protective of your own, but shouldn’t we be reasonable about this?"

"Be reasonable? Are you referring to how someone from your department maliciously slandered a female comrade from my department? You really do need to get your people in order. The Propaganda Department can’t just be a rumor mill. I don’t see you all being this eloquent when you’re actually supposed to be doing propaganda work. Why so sharp-tongued now?"

"Your ability to spin stories is certainly impressive."

Leon Rhys snorted, not giving him any face at all as he retorted unceremoniously.

Grace Winslow stood by Leon Rhys’s side, a polite smile on her face.

’With someone standing up for her, all she had to do was play the part of the frail victim.’

’Ivy White’s greatest skill was playing the weak and pitiful victim. Unfortunately for her, Grace knew how to do it now, too.’

’Ivy White’s attempts to frame her and sling mud were probably not going to work.’

"Minister Rhys, how can you be so sure that Comrade Camilla Lloyd is the one lying, and not Comrade Grace Winslow? This is biased! You’re protecting Grace Winslow out of preconceived notions, so you automatically think it’s Camilla Lloyd’s fault! That’s not fair to her!" Stanley Shaw, having been publicly refuted by Leon Rhys, looked displeased.

"Heh, is that so? No rush. We have time today. Let’s slowly unravel this and see who’s really lying." Leon Rhys smiled and nodded, then ordered someone to bring over a chair. "You said Comrade Grace Winslow has a questionable private life, didn’t you? Why don’t you tell us about it? When, where, with whom, and what did she do? I’ll have someone investigate."