Hearing the conversation between the two sisters, Aunt Li was at a loss. How could buying medicine seem like such a serious matter? She looked at Xia Anran uneasily, afraid of saying something wrong.

Xia Anran smiled and reassured her, “Just tell the truth, don’t worry about anything.”

Huo Zhenting also spoke, giving Aunt Li a sense of reassurance, “Xiao Li, just speak honestly, no need to be concerned.”

Having reached his current position, Huo Zhenting had encountered countless people. Nothing could escape his sharp eyes. From Ye Lingling’s eagerness to make Xia Anran admit fault while preventing Aunt Li from explaining, he could already tell that the matter wouldn’t hold up under scrutiny.

Huo Zhenting cast a serious look at Ye Lingling. His sharp, penetrating gaze, as if seeing through everything, made her scalp tingle. She initially wanted to stop Aunt Li, but now she was too frightened to do so.

Since even the Commander had spoken, Aunt Li quickly stated the truth: “Miss Xia had diarrhea and asked Lingling to buy her anti-diarrheal medicine.”

Xia Anran looked at Ye Lingling mockingly, “Did you hear that? This ‘medicine’ is not the ‘medicine’ you implied. Stop misleading everyone.”

Ye Lingling had an exceptionally strong mentality. Even now, she maintained a grief-stricken expression and shouted at Xia Anran, “That’s only because you realized Aunt Li overheard you, so you deliberately said that! Anran, you’ve set this up from the start to frame me just to clear your name! I… I truly have no way to prove my innocence now!”

After speaking, Ye Lingling started crying, looking utterly heartbroken, as if she had been deeply wronged.

Xia Anran had to admit Ye Lingling’s acting skills were quite something. Look at her—crying so sorrowfully, filled with pain, sadness, disappointment, and accusation, all in perfect layers. Xia Anran chuckled lightly, “Cousin, crying doesn’t make you right, and shouting louder doesn’t make something true. Facts speak louder than words. That day, after I drank the malted milk you made for me, I started having diarrhea. You said you’d buy me anti-diarrheal medicine, yet I was already severely dehydrated before you came back…”

Before she could finish, Liang Meijuan walked in from outside and said, “I know about this. That day, Xiao Li called me, saying Anran had diarrhea and was already dehydrated. I rushed back to give her anti-diarrheal medicine and administered glucose and anti-inflammatory injections.”

Ye Lingling’s face changed instantly. She never expected Liang Meijuan to return at this critical moment and even testify for Xia Anran.

Liang Meijuan frowned at Ye Lingling. Ever since she saw her snatching Xia Anran’s bracelet at the hospital and then lying that she only did it to prevent Xiao Li from stealing, she had lost all good impressions of her.

In her opinion, even if the drugging of Ruiyang was indeed Xia Anran’s doing, the idea must have come from Ye Lingling.

Not to mention, Xia Anran’s diarrhea was real—it was so severe that she was dehydrated. If Liang Meijuan hadn’t rushed back that day, Xia Anran might have been in life-threatening danger!

Aunt Li, hearing Liang Meijuan’s words, nodded repeatedly, “That’s right! Miss Xia was in a terrible state back then, completely drenched in sweat as if she had been pulled out of the water. I was so scared that I immediately called Dr. Liang!”

Xia Anran turned to Aunt Li and asked, “Aunt Li, how long did my cousin take to return?”

Aunt Li replied, “More than three hours.”

Xia Anran nodded and then looked at Ye Lingling, questioning, “Our family quarters are not far from the military clinic. Even if you walked slowly, you’d be back in half an hour. Yet you were gone for over three hours—how considerate of you.”

Ye Lingling’s face turned deathly pale. She tried to stay calm and replied, “Wasn’t that because I was helping you buy the aphrodisiac? That’s why I took longer to return.”

‘That explanation actually makes sense. After all, you were the one who asked me to buy the aphrodisiac, so of course, I couldn’t come back too quickly.’

Before Xia Anran could refute, Huo Ruiyang, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke and asked Aunt Li—

“Aunt Li, what color clothes was Ye Lingling wearing when she went out?”

Xia Anran looked at Huo Ruiyang in disbelief: Is he actually helping me?

But what does this have to do with clothes?

Could it be…?

Xia Anran’s eyes lit up. So that’s it!

Hearing Huo Ruiyang’s question, Aunt Li pointed to the clothes Ye Lingling was wearing and said:

“This exact outfit.”

Ye Lingling was dressed in a white blouse with small blue floral prints, black pants, and black slip-on shoes. Aside from the shoes, both the top and pants were different from the description given by the veterinarian.

Her wardrobe mostly consisted of plain-colored clothing, unlike Xia Anran, who favored bright reds and greens. Ye Lingling had deliberately crafted a quiet and simple image for herself—while making Xia Anran appear garish in contrast.

Huo Ruiyang fixed his cold gaze on Ye Lingling and said in a stern voice:

“You wore Xia Anran’s clothes to meet the veterinarian, calculating that if things went wrong, you could frame her.”

His firm conclusion hit Ye Lingling like a bolt of lightning. She was caught off guard and shook her head in panic.

She hadn’t expected Huo Ruiyang to focus on the clothing, much less that he would deduce that she had deliberately dressed like Xia Anran to shift the blame onto her if things were uncovered later.

She had thought her plan was airtight—who would have guessed it would become her downfall?

In a flustered attempt to deny it, she stammered:

“No, it’s not what you think!”

Xia Anran raised an eyebrow, casting a surprised glance at Huo Ruiyang. Seems like he does have some brains.

Huo Ruiyang, his face cold and unreadable, withdrew his gaze. Xia Anran shrugged—she had been about to thank him, but with how arrogant he was, he probably wouldn’t care to hear it.

She turned back to Ye Lingling, her voice as cold as ice:

“Cousin, you started plotting against me five days in advance, even going so far as to dress like me to buy the drug. You really went all out.”

Huo Zhenting’s expression was dark and severe as he glared at Ye Lingling.

“Lingling, you’ve gone too far.”

Realizing her scheme had been exposed, Ye Lingling abandoned all pretense and shamelessly began wailing. She cried out to Xia Anran:

“I did it for you! You begged me in tears, saying that Brother Huo refused to marry you and that you wanted to force him into it. You pleaded with me to help you find a way! That’s why I took the risk and bought the drug for you. Now that things have gone wrong, how can you push all the blame onto me?”

Liang Meijuan couldn’t hold back anymore and interjected:

“Lingling, you’re still lying. Even if what you’re saying were true, drugging only Ruiyang would have been enough. Anran had no reason to drug herself too. That kind of thing is harmful to the body—if she wasn’t treated in time, it could have been dangerous!”

Ye Lingling let out a bitter laugh.

“Aunt Liang, Anran was doing it for the first time. She was scared. Drinking the drug helped her go through with it.”

This explanation sounded plausible. A young, unmarried girl, despite making up her mind to climb into someone’s bed, might still be afraid—taking the drug would erase her hesitation.

Liang Meijuan glanced at Xia Anran but said no more.

Xia Anran’s face was cold as she questioned Ye Lingling:

“Cousin, stop pretending it was for my sake. That night, you drugged me with a sleeping pill. After drinking the milk you gave me, I fell into a deep sleep. Later, I woke up thirsty and went downstairs to get water—only to drink the tea you had laced with the drug, ruining your plan.”

Ye Lingling’s face changed drastically. She raised her voice, her panic barely concealed:

“What sleeping pill? What plan? You’re trying to frame me! What benefit would I even get from this?”

Xia Anran laughed.

Her laughter sent a chill down Ye Lingling’s spine.

Ye Lingling shouted at her in alarm:

“What are you laughing at?!”