Chapter 1397: Chapter 527: Subduing the Enemy Without Fighting

When was the last time an Imperial Earl publicly apologized to a mere baron with no background? No one remembers.

Delving into the history books and surveying the long history of the Mechanical Empire, this action by Earl Red Blade can be considered extremely rare.

In any case, when Earl Red Blade Ren Zhong, whom the world regarded highly, personally set aside his dignity to openly apologize to Han Zhixin, this mere baron, public opinion that was originally unfavorable to Red Blade Star instantly reversed.

Whether it was truly public sentiment or some hidden force controlling the narrative, suddenly, in the internal circles of Nanxiang Star Cluster or the external circles formed by people interested in this matter across the entire Empire, many people stood up to praise Earl Red Blade for his courage to take responsibility.

Soon after, Young Baron Han Zhixin unexpectedly made a move to clearly explain the ins and outs of the matter.

Only then did outsiders understand that when Han Zhixin went alone to Red Blade Star to purchase paint, he was only twelve. At that time, the Han baron family was on the brink of bankruptcy.

It was the local officials at Red Blade Star who took pity on him and, out of compassion, sold him the first batch of freshly produced goods at half price and extended the payment period.

The subsequent thriving development of the Han clan over the past decades was entirely dependent on the unconditional support given to him by Red Blade Star.

As for why Red Blade Star didn’t issue a warning before the paint of the Han trading team failed, Han Zhixin also provided an explanation. Due to Nanxiang Marquis’s overwhelming power, coupled with his overt oppression and blockade of Earl Red Blade, Red Blade Star faced more than eight thousand types of comprehensive commercial sanctions. Red Blade Star’s ruler Ju Qingmeng, motivated to protect the young baron, excluded this order from the Ministry of Commerce’s list and never widely publicized it. Even though they knew that forcibly supporting a dying baron family would be an excellent advertisement, Red Blade Star voluntarily abandoned this benefit solely to protect the buyer.

As events progressed, Earl Red Blade Ren Zhong publicly self-reflected and indicated that he had detected this defect years ago and immediately began developing improvements to correct the flaws. Coincidentally, the technology iteration was completed in the past two months, and they were currently preparing stock, planning thoroughly to proactively contact all buyers for a recall and compensation.

However, even Earl Red Blade Ren Zhong did not expect the first genuine buyer of the invisible paint to appear nearly a decade earlier.

Ultimately, the aggregation of these factors led to a tragic error.

Han Zhixin expressed that after his initial anger, he had now calmed down and fully accepted Ren Zhong’s apology, and took the initiative to self-reflect, stating that the entire matter was not entirely Earl Red Blade’s fault, as he himself held considerable responsibility.

He further expressed deep gratitude for Ren Zhong the Earl’s public apology, and with a change of stance, admitted that now his clan was completely bankrupt, with no estate or revenue, his title downgraded to a life peerage, having nowhere to turn. He decided to take the remaining millions of clan members and subjects, rented a small transport team, intending to immediately set out, traverse the fold jump space passage, cross over ten light years in distance to seek refuge with the Red Blade Clan, asking only to be sheltered, with no other wishes.

As for the lawsuit against Red Blade Star, it was naturally withdrawn at the speed of light by Han Zhixin himself, without even a process of settlement outside of court, and the compensation from Red Blade Star had not yet been in place, as if Ren Zhong’s apology was indeed worth a fortune.

Han Zhixin’s swift declaration caught many people off guard.

The Source Star Fleet has been stationed in the Nanxiang Star Cluster for nearly a century, and the Han clan was the first external force to move entirely for refuge.

Though the Han clan is now destitute, Han Zhixin still bears the title of life peerage, along with the residual merit title from the hereditary war merit rank. As long as he stabilizes his position and cherishes his life, there will always be an opportunity to reclaim the hereditary title.

Overall, in just ten standard imperial hours, the situation underwent a dazzling change.

Leaving aside the upheaval on Baron Han Zhixin’s side, the situation in the Chief Court was also rapidly deteriorating.

Jin Simin, acting on Ren Zhong’s instructions, immediately presented new evidence detailing the rigorous process of Red Blade Science Academy’s use of substantial technological capability to innovate and upgrade the product after "discovering" the issues with the first edition of invisible paint.

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