Chapter 9

The thunder startled everyone.

Someone looked toward the sky outside and exclaimed, “It’s thundering! In such clear skies, how could it thunder suddenly? This…” Before the person could finish speaking, another clap of thunder struck. This time it was louder and even more terrifying, like a giant boulder rolling through the heavens.

Chen Dajie shuddered and turned around, glaring at Zhou Mingli. “You’re lying! You must be lying! That’s why these two thunderclaps came—because you lied! Even the heavens can’t tolerate it. Watch out; you might get struck by lightning!”

Someone quickly shuffled a few steps back, saying, “Everyone, move away from her. Be careful not to get hit when the lightning strikes her!”

Reminded of this, the crowd hurriedly stepped back, creating more distance between themselves and Zhou Mingli.

Zhou Mingli stood there, dumbfounded and unable to process what was happening.

How… How could this be? How could thunder strike right after she spoke? Could it really be that even the heavens were angry at her?

Qi Huifang was also stunned, standing frozen for a moment before recovering and saying, “It must be a coincidence. This has to be a coincidence. If Lan Yun’er had said a few more words just now, then the thunder would’ve come after her instead. My Mingli is so kind-hearted; I refuse to believe she’d do anything bad. There’s no way the heavens would punish her!”

Her words sounded feeble and unconvincing, even to herself.

The people around them all sneered at her. At a time like this, she was still trying to argue—how shameless could she be?

Lan Yun’er lazily curled her lips into a smile. She hadn’t expected even the heavens to side with her. It seemed justice was truly on her side.

Fan Tiezhu’s face had turned completely dark, his gaze piercing as he glared at Qi Huifang. He shouted angrily, “Do I have to go and call the police?! Let them investigate this matter thoroughly?!”

The mention of calling the police made Qi Huifang and Zhou Mingli’s faces pale.

Rumor had it that the police were highly capable, and if they got involved, it wouldn’t take long to uncover the truth—that Zhou Mingli not only stole but also tried to frame someone else. Such actions would only add to her crimes.

If the police were to take Mingli away, her reputation would be utterly ruined, and she’d end up in jail.

A woman with a criminal record—who would dare marry her in the future? Zhou Mingli’s life would be completely destroyed.

Panicked, Zhou Mingli quickly cried out, “No, don’t call the police!”

Qi Huifang forced a strained smile, her voice flustered. “There’s no need to call the police, right? This is just a village matter. Why bother the police? Making them come all the way here… It’s so troublesome for them…”

“I wouldn’t want to either, but some people just refuse to admit to their wrongdoings. If that’s the case, we have no choice but to involve the police to resolve this!” Fan Tiezhu’s voice was icy, his gaze toward Qi Huifang and Zhou Mingli even darker.

Zhou Mingli lowered her head and began to sob. She didn’t want the police to investigate. She didn’t want to be arrested and go to jail. But she also didn’t want to admit in front of everyone that she had stolen something. It was too humiliating.

Qi Huifang remained silent, not knowing what to say. At this point, it seemed like the more she spoke, the worse it would get.

Yao Guizhi, red-faced with anger, sneered at Qi Huifang. “Didn’t you just say that my Yun’er was a curse, a scourge? But from what I see, it’s your Zhou Mingli who’s the real curse and scourge!”

Her anger was palpable. Her good daughter-in-law had been manipulated into such a state by Zhou Mingli!

The surrounding crowd nodded in agreement. Zhou Mingli truly was a troublemaker. Why would she try to ruin someone else’s marriage? As the saying goes, “Better to destroy a temple than break up a marriage.” Breaking up a couple was truly despicable.

Zhong Cuitao looked at Zhou Mingli curiously and asked, “Why would Mingli try to convince Xiaoyun to divorce Jinchen? Why break them up?”

Zhou Mingli’s breathing quickened, a wave of fear surging in her heart.

Someone in the crowd responded, “Probably because Zhou Mingli likes Huo Jinchen. I’ve seen her secretly watching him several times.”

What? Secretly watching him?

An unmarried woman secretly watching a man—this clearly suggested she had feelings for him.

Zhou Mingli’s face turned pale, and she quickly tried to defend herself. “That’s nonsense! I didn’t! I don’t like Huo Jinchen! I…”

“Did you see it? I did! I saw it too! Zhou Mingli’s gaze at Huo Jinchen was so soft, so tender—I couldn’t imitate it even if I tried!” someone in the crowd chimed in.

With those words, everyone immediately understood. No wonder Zhou Mingli wanted to break up Lan Yun’er and Huo Jinchen. It turned out she had feelings for him herself.

Someone turned to Qi Huifang and said, “Aunt Qi, your Zhou Mingli is too shameless. Liking a married man is bad enough, but trying to break them up? Such a person will get her comeuppance one day.”

Qi Huifang felt her mind buzzing, her whole-body stiff as a board.

An unmarried woman liking a married man, and even doing all sorts of despicable things to break them up—for Mingli, even if she avoided jail, who would dare marry her in the future?

Mingli’s life was ruined.

Zhou Mingli cried softly. She wanted to defend herself, but the mocking gazes around her made her feel that no matter what she said, it would be useless.

Lan Yun’er smiled faintly. It seemed Zhou Mingli wasn’t as clever as Zhou Mingyue. To think she’d be caught secretly watching Huo Jinchen—how careless.

She turned her gaze toward Zhou Mingyue, who also turned to look at her at the same time.

Their eyes met, sparks flying.

Lan Yun’er raised an eyebrow and gave Zhou Mingyue a slight smile. Today’s events involved Zhou Mingyue as well. How could she let her off the hook?

Zhou Mingyue frowned slightly, a sense of unease rising in her heart.

She glanced at Bian Chunyu, suddenly understanding Lan Yun’er’s intentions.

She wanted to signal Bian Chunyu to leave quickly, but Bian Chunyu was fixated on Zhou Mingli and didn’t notice her at all.

Her signaling was futile.

Just as she was about to walk toward Bian Chunyu, Lan Yun’er’s voice rang out.

“I think I’ve figured out what happened today. Mingli, you and Bian Chunyu planned this together, didn’t you? You stole something, then called the whole village over. Once everyone was here, Bian Chunyu would tell them she saw me go into the team leader’s house. Naturally, everyone would think I was the thief. Mingli, your mind is so devious. I knew you were clever, but I didn’t expect you to be this calculating.”

Her words caused everyone to look at Zhou Mingli with even more disdain, mixed with a bit of fear.

A rural girl with such a meticulous and malicious mind—it was terrifying, like a venomous snake.

Zhou Mingli froze.

Today’s incident had nothing to do with Bian Chunyu, but she didn’t want to take the blame for someone else’s actions. Her reputation was already bad enough—she didn’t want it to get worse.

She glared at Lan Yun’er and quickly said, “I didn’t collude with her! I didn’t! Those things she said were someone else’s instructions!”

Zhou Mingyue’s heart skipped a beat, her fingers tightening as her body involuntarily trembled.

Lan Yun’er asked, “Who instructed you?”

Without thinking, Zhou Mingli pointed directly at Zhou Mingyue. “It was Mingyue. It must have been Mingyue!”