Chapter 19 Framed

“How do you expect me to stay calm? Give Da Bai back to me!” Liao Meimei’s eyes turned red. She had been waiting anxiously at home for a call from her mother, only to be told she should give up. How could she accept that? She loved Lan Xubai—she had been waiting all these years for him to come marry her.

But just recently, her parents told her not to keep waiting, that she might never end up with Da Bai. She couldn’t accept it—absolutely couldn’t.

“If you hadn’t forced him to marry you, I would be his wife by now!”

“Do you really think the Lan family would accept a woman like you who used underhanded tactics? Dream on!”

Lian Nanshu forcefully shook Liao Meimei’s hands off.

“Miss Liao, I’m Lan Xubai’s wife. If he wanted to, we could divorce—but it’s not your place to interfere. And don’t forget why he married me in the first place. If I remember correctly, you were the one who broke up with him first and admitted you had feelings for someone else.”

“You broke his heart while he was serving in the countryside. Don’t pretend you don’t know what you did. Even if you don’t remember, Lan Xubai does. My husband knows, and so do I.”

Lian Nanshu’s few calm words immediately made Liao Meimei’s expression falter, her guilty conscience showing—she didn’t dare look Nanshu in the eyes.

Nanshu didn’t want to argue anymore. Even if she had made mistakes, they had already moved past them.

“Even if someone owes a debt in this, it’s me who owes Xubai, and I’ll repay him in my own way. But Miss Liao, please recognize your position—I am his wife. We are in a military marriage, which is legally protected. Even if we take a step back—if Xubai wanted a divorce, I’d accept it without complaint. But I’m sorry to disappoint you—he doesn’t want that.”

Since things had reached this point, it was better to make everything clear so there would be no more trouble in the future.

“No… that’s impossible…” Liao Meimei couldn’t accept the truth. She staggered back several steps, her tear-streaked face full of sorrow and grievance. Her expression easily evoked pity.

No wonder she was the female lead in the original novel—delicate and lovely, and when she cried, she stirred up a protective instinct in people.

After letting it all out, Lian Nanshu suddenly remembered: the original story had mentioned that Liao Meimei had a heart condition—she shouldn’t be agitated.

Unbeknownst to them, two girls in the distance had seen everything.

Lan Luobai and a few of her classmates had come out to explore the area since they had no classes today.

From afar, they spotted her sister-in-law talking with someone.

“Luobai, what are you staring at? Isn’t that your sister-in-law from yesterday?” asked her classmate Luo Zizhan, noticing Lan Luobai hiding behind a tree and stopping them from going over to say hi.

“Don’t rush—let’s just watch for now.” Lan Luobai had recognized the familiar figure: it was Liao Meimei, clearly here to stir up trouble.

Her classmates obediently hid behind the tree to observe.

Lian Nanshu knew there was nothing more to say to Liao Meimei. She was about to leave anyway to follow Lan Xubai on his military posting, so they’d rarely, if ever, see each other again.

“Miss Liao, I’ve said all I need to.”

“Wait!” Liao Meimei called out just as Nanshu turned to leave. She stepped closer, tears falling freely down her cheeks.

Lian Nanshu remained alert, cautiously stepping back.

But Liao Meimei smiled eerily. “Da Bai will definitely divorce you. And even if he doesn’t—I’ll make sure you never live happily with him.”

Then she suddenly grabbed Lian Nanshu’s left hand.

Lian Nanshu looked at her in confusion. She had finished saying all her provocative words—what now?

Just then, Liao Meimei’s eyes flashed with something sinister. She gave Nanshu’s hand a push and threw herself backward—falling hard and rolling into the lotus-filled lake.

“Help! Somebody help!”

Lian Nanshu hadn’t even processed what just happened.

Meanwhile, Lan Xubai had gone out to buy meat and vegetables for dinner, intending to reward his hardworking wife with a good meal.

But just as he returned, Xu Li was waiting for him at the door with alarming news—something had happened at the hospital.

By the time Lan Xubai arrived, his family was already there, along with Lian Nanshu.

The Liao couple had rushed over as soon as they heard their daughter had fallen into the water.

“What happened?” Lan Xubai asked, noticing the heavy expressions on everyone’s faces.

The moment Lian Nanshu saw him, she walked quickly to his side. Her heart, which had been in turmoil, finally began to calm.

Liao’s father looked furious, struggling to contain his anger.

Lan Xubai’s father, Lan Xiongan, glanced at his son, who had just arrived.

Lan Xubai took Lian Nanshu’s hand, silently telling her not to be afraid.

Feeling the warmth of his palm, Nanshu indeed felt a lot more at ease.

But thinking about how Liao Meimei had used her own life to frame her, she grew even more anxious.

It remained silent until the surgery was over and the patient was wheeled out of the operating room.

“Doctor, how’s my daughter?” Liao Si leaned forward, clutching the side of the stretcher, looking at his unconscious daughter with desperation, then anxiously turned to the doctor.

The doctor removed his mask and glanced at Liao Si. “The patient is stable for now. She’ll need to stay for observation for a few days.”

“Thank you, doctor!” Liao Si gripped the doctor’s hand and thanked him repeatedly.

“But—” the doctor continued, “the patient was in a weakened state. When she fell in, something punctured her abdomen, causing an infection. The injury affected her uterus. Given the limitations of our domestic medical capabilities, future pregnancy will be very difficult.”

The doctor’s words made Liao Si go pale as he turned to look at his wife.

They didn’t say anything.

Liao Meimei’s mother, Liu Yuanxiao, frowned with worry but remained calm.

Back at the ward, Lian Nanshu and Lan Xubai waited at the door.

Lan Xiongan entered to check on the situation. “The child… she should be mostly out of danger now, right?”

Liao Si glared fiercely at Lan Xiong’an, his eyes turning red as he stepped out of the hospital room.

When Lian Nanshu saw the expression in Liao Si’s eyes, he knew it wasn’t going to end well.

“What exactly happened?” he asked, his voice tightly suppressing the anger boiling inside him.

“She was the one who pushed Miss Liao into the water. I saw it clearly with my own eyes!”

Before Lian Nanshu could even respond, a male student nearby suddenly spoke up, throwing the blame onto her.

Lan Xubai immediately objected, “Don’t you go around making baseless accusations!”

As soon as he spoke, the boy shrank back in fear, taking a few steps away. “I… I’m just telling the truth!” Despite his fear, he still continued.

Liao Si had already decided it had something to do with Lian Nanshu, but he never expected that she would risk her own future for Lan Xubai.

Smack!

Before Lian Nanshu could even react, she was slapped across the face.

“Nanshu…?” Lan Xubai quickly stepped forward with a heartbroken expression and shielded her behind him.

Hearing the commotion, Liu Yuanxiao came out and saw her husband had hit a young girl.

“You already got what you wanted—why are you still not satisfied?” Liao Si demanded emotionally, his eyes brimming with uncontrollable tears.

He bent forward slightly—years of worrying about his daughter’s future had already turned his hair gray.

“She’s my only daughter. Meimei has a heart condition. Do you really want her dead?”

Liao Si’s voice was still trying to stay calm, but the rage and grief had flushed his face red and blue.

Lian Nanshu was struck, and the pain made her eyes well up. Covering the side of her face that had been hit, she began to tremble.

Lan Xubai immediately defended his wife, “Uncle Liao, Nanshu isn’t that kind of person. Please don’t jump to conclusions based on a single accusation.”

He had always respected his elders, but now that his wife had been hit—no matter who it was—he couldn’t just let it go.

“Xiao Li is my driver. He accompanied her to school today. He saw the whole thing when Meimei fell into the water,” Liao Si said, his voice cracking and no longer able to hold back.

Sensing things were getting out of control, Lan Xiong’an quickly stepped in, “Brother Liao, if there’s something going on, let’s sit down and talk about it. This is a hospital—we can’t disturb others. Xiao Mei is still unconscious, we must not affect her rest! Besides, it’s not certain that this child pushed her. We can’t just blame someone based on a one-sided story.”

“One-sided story? Call the police then! Let the authorities deal with this!” Liao Si was so furious he didn’t care about decorum anymore. He turned to Lan Xubai and said, “Dabai, for the sake of our families’ long-standing relationship, you’d better divorce her soon. Don’t let this ruin your future. A public school teacher who does something like this deserves to sit in jail and reflect on her actions.”

“The one who should go to jail is the person who lies—who’s twisted in the heart. It was Liao Meimei who grabbed my arm, there was a bit of shoving, and she lost her balance on her own! Call the police? Go ahead! I’ve done nothing wrong—I’m not afraid!”

Even though Lian Nanshu was in pain and her face was streaked with tears, she stood her ground. She wasn’t going to back down when it came to defending herself.

“You’re someone in a position of power, yet without knowing the full truth, you hit someone—if anyone deserves prison, it’s you and your daughter!”

“You—!”

Lan Xubai stood protectively in front of Lian Nanshu, his expression serious as he looked directly at Liao Si and said, “Uncle Liao, I understand how you feel right now. But if you insist on calling the police, that is your right. If things didn’t happen the way you think they did, once Miss Liao wakes up, she’ll be the one going to jail.”

Just as he finished speaking, Liu Yuanxiao became flustered and stepped forward to say something to Lan Xubai, but Liao Si quickly pulled her back.