Chapter 10

Everyone’s eyes turned to Zhou Mingyue.

Zhou Mingyue bit her lip, feeling both angry and fearful, but she forced herself to remain calm. Looking at Zhou Mingli, she said, “Sister, how… how could you push this onto me? I know you want to escape punishment, and I wish I could take the blame for you. But I didn’t do it, so I… I can’t take responsibility for this.”

As she spoke, she suddenly choked up, looking extremely upset and aggrieved. Zhou Mingyue had a soft, delicate appearance, and when she cried, she seemed especially pure and pitiable. This immediately stirred the crowd’s sympathy.

One of the men in the group, who clearly admired Zhou Mingyue, glared at Zhou Mingli and said, “Zhou Mingli, you’ve gone too far! You’ve committed all sorts of bad deeds, and now you’re trying to pin the blame on your sister? I’ve never seen such a wicked older sister. Mingyue is so unlucky to have a sister like you!”

“Exactly! To even harm your own sister, Zhou Mingli must have been born heartless!” someone else sneered.

Zhou Mingli’s mother, Qi Huifang, also glared angrily at her, jabbing her finger at her daughter’s forehead. “What nonsense are you spouting? Are you out of your mind? Trying to drag your sister down with you? I’m not standing up for you anymore! You made this mess—you clean it up!”

Qi Huifang had already decided that her eldest daughter’s reputation was ruined and her life destroyed. But her younger daughter, Zhou Mingyue, was different. Smart and beautiful, Mingyue had a bright future ahead. Even if she had played a small part in today’s fiasco, she couldn’t be implicated. All blame had to be placed on Mingli.

Zhou Mingli stared at Qi Huifang in shock, her eyes filled with disappointment and sadness. She had always known that her mother favored Mingyue, but she hadn’t expected her mother to side with her younger sister so unequivocally without even asking for the truth. Now, her mother wanted her to take the fall for Mingyue!

Clenching her fists, Zhou Mingli’s face filled with rage as she shouted, “I’m not lying! This was all Mingyue’s doing! She has a close relationship with Chunyu—only she could…”

Before she could finish, Qi Huifang slapped her hard across the face.

“Shut up! If you dare speak another word of nonsense, get out of the Zhou family!” Qi Huifang snapped harshly.

Zhou Mingli stared in disbelief, realizing that her mother was truly ruthless in defending Mingyue.

At that moment, Chunyu suddenly spoke up: “It was Mingli who told me to do it. She wanted to frame Sister Lan Yun’er, so she told me to say in front of everyone that I saw Lan Yun’er enter the team leader’s house. I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have helped Mingli. I was wrong.”

Lowering her head, Chunyu looked genuinely remorseful.

Zhou Mingli gawked at Chunyu in disbelief. “Chunyu, you’re lying! I never—”

“Tsk tsk, just stop trying to defend yourself!” scoffed the man who had sided with Zhou Mingyue earlier. “Even Chunyu has confessed—just admit it already!”

“Mingli, what you’ve done is unacceptable. Stirring up trouble between Huo Laosi and his wife, framing Lan Yun’er, and now trying to implicate your sister—aren’t you afraid of breaking your sister’s heart?” another woman who was close to Zhou Mingyue chimed in.

Zhou Mingyue lowered her head, still sobbing, but her downcast eyes betrayed a cold, calculating glint.

Fortunately, Chunyu had been sensible enough to shift all the blame onto Zhou Mingli. Now, no matter what, Zhou Mingli wouldn’t be able to clear her name.

Watching Zhou Mingyue weep pitifully, Lan Yun’er smirked. Zhou Mingyue really knew how to play her cards, fooling Chunyu into doing her bidding and even standing by her at this critical moment.

But… with Lan Yun’er here, Zhou Mingyue wouldn’t escape unscathed.

Fuming with grievance and anger, Zhou Mingli shouted hysterically, “I won’t admit it! I didn’t do this! I absolutely won’t take the blame for Zhou Mingyue!”

Glaring at Zhou Mingyue, she raised four fingers and declared, “I swear! I can swear to the heavens that I had nothing to do with this!”

The crowd instinctively took a step back, convinced she was lying and fearing another thunderbolt might strike her down.

But two minutes passed, and the sky remained quiet. Everyone glanced at the clear blue sky in confusion. Could Zhou Mingli actually be telling the truth?

Zhou Mingyue frowned slightly, stealing a glance at Zhou Mingli and considering her next move. But before she could act, Lan Yun’er spoke up.

“Chunyu,” Lan Yun’er said with a smile, “earlier, you said Mingli told you to do this, right? Are you sure that’s the truth? Because if you’re lying, the heavens might punish you, you know.”

Chunyu clenched her fists. Deep down, she was terrified when she lied earlier. But her loyalty to Mingyue made her persist.

Hearing Lan Yun’er’s words now, fear welled up again. Still, she glanced at Mingyue’s meaningful look and bit her lip before responding firmly, “Yes, it was Mingli who told me. Mingli said—”

Boom!

A loud thunderclap interrupted Chunyu’s words, startling her so much she let out a scream.

The crowd, too, flinched at the sudden sound. But after recovering, they exchanged knowing glances, their gazes filled with suspicion as they looked between Chunyu and Zhou Mingyue.

Had Chunyu just been caught lying by divine intervention? Did this mean Zhou Mingyue had really orchestrated everything?

Lan Yun’er chuckled softly. It seemed even the heavens were on her side today, striking down twice to prove her innocence.

Zhou Mingyue’s expression darkened as she looked up at the sky, her eyes glinting with malice. Coming from the 21st century, she only believed in science.

She was convinced the thunder was just a coincidence—not divine punishment for Chunyu’s lies.

But while she was rational, the villagers were deeply superstitious. Their meaningful glances made it clear what they believed: Zhou Mingyue had orchestrated everything and tried to harm Lan Yun’er.

Zhou Mingli, initially frightened by the thunder, now felt a surge of joy.

“Did you hear that?” she exclaimed. “Another thunderclap! That means Chunyu lied—it means Chunyu was covering for Zhou Mingyue!”

Turning to Chunyu, Zhou Mingli shouted, “Chunyu, admit the truth! Tell us who really put you up to this!”

Terrified and shaking, Chunyu held her head in her hands, her voice trembling as she cried, “It—it was Mingyue! It was Mingyue! Please don’t let the lightning strike me again!”

In the end, she was still a young girl, and the thunder had frightened her so badly that her nerves snapped.

“So it really was Zhou Mingyue? What was she after? Why would she make Chunyu do this?” Chen Dasao exclaimed in surprise, glancing at Zhou Mingyue in confusion.

“Could it be that she likes Huo Laosi too? Could she be just like her sister, trying to break up Huo Laosi and Lan Yun’er?” someone speculated aloud.