Xia Anran pointed at Huo Ruiyang and said to Ye Lingling:

“You wanted to wait until he drank the aphrodisiac and went into heat, then show up so he couldn’t control himself and would end up sleeping with you. Then, you’d cry and accuse him of assaulting you, forcing him to take responsibility.”

“Into heat…?”

“……”

Huo Zhenting raised a hand to cover his forehead, feeling utterly embarrassed. This little girl, does she have no filter?

“……”

Liang Meijuan looked shocked—was this something a young lady should be saying?

“……”

Huo Ruiyang clenched his molars, his gaze turning icy as he stared at Xia Anran.

In heat? Is he in heat? What, is he an animal or something?

Xia Anran felt the murderous glare from Huo Ruiyang, so she quickly flashed an apologetic smile and corrected herself:

“Sorry, I misspoke. I should have said the drug’s effect kicked in, not… that.”

Huo Ruiyang’s face darkened even more as he glared at her. Though she was apologizing, her eyes clearly said, I did that on purpose!

However, since he had heard Xia Anran say earlier that she wanted to break off the engagement, he decided to let this minor issue slide.

He frowned, recalling that day. He remembered that after the drug took effect, Ye Lingling, instead of caring for Xia Anran—who was under the same influence—insisted on looking after him. She even seemed to have a key to his room.

Later, she had been desperate to destroy the evidence, trying to pour out the tea. A series of suspicious actions made Huo Ruiyang choose to believe Xia Anran’s words.

Realizing he had almost fallen into this despicable woman’s trap, Huo Ruiyang’s face turned stormy. His gaze, sharp as a blade and cold as ice, locked onto Ye Lingling.

Ye Lingling was so terrified by his look that her entire body went numb. In a panic, she shouted at Xia Anran:

“You’re lying! You’re framing me!”

Her voice was shrill and piercing, filled with guilt and desperation from being exposed.

Huo Zhenting frowned, his expression growing colder. Liang Meijuan also looked at Ye Lingling with suspicion. Is she throwing a tantrum because she got caught?

Ignoring Ye Lingling, Xia Anran continued:

“All these years, you’ve pretended to be nice to me while secretly hating me. You envy that my parents and brother adore me. You envy that I’m prettier than you. You envy that my father arranged my engagement to…”

She pointed at Huo Ruiyang, intending to say ‘this handsome and heroic fiancé,’ but after seeing his cold face, she changed her words:

“You envy that my father arranged this marriage for me. In fact, you didn’t just start scheming five days ago—you began planning even before we arrived in Bincheng.

“From the moment we boarded the train to Bincheng, you told me not to act too capable when we got to the Huo family. You said if I seemed too competent, all the household chores would fall on me. You told me to throw tantrums when necessary so that the Huo family would see that I was raised in luxury and take me seriously.

“You told me to act superior to Aunt Li and Xiao Wu, to scold them and give them a hard time so they’d fear me. You insisted I wear makeup and dress in bright colors to outshine city girls. While I followed your advice, you acted gentle, capable, and approachable, making me look completely inferior while crafting your own perfect image.

“You knew I was anxious about this engagement, yet you constantly filled my head with schemes. One day, you’d tell me some woman was trying to seduce Huo Ruiyang. The next day, you’d say another girl was talking to him, convincing me that I had to chase them all away. You made me paranoid, picking fights all over the courtyard.

“A few days ago, you even told me to go cause a scene at the military base, saying that if everyone knew I was Huo Ruiyang’s fiancée, he’d have to marry me immediately…”

As Xia Anran spoke, Ye Lingling’s face grew more panicked. Realizing she couldn’t let Xia Anran continue, she interrupted loudly:

“No! I didn’t! You made all this up! Why are you trying to harm me?”

Compared to her flustered outburst, Xia Anran remained calm and composed, ignoring her screams as she continued:

“This was all part of your plan. After I caused a scene and made everyone aware of how desperate I was to keep this engagement, the idea that I drugged him would naturally make sense. But you weren’t just after my engagement—you wanted to take everything from me, to ruin my reputation completely.”

Huo Ruiyang looked at Xia Anran. Just now, she had pointed at him as if she were about to say something… but then she changed direction. What had she meant to say?

Huo Zhenting’s gaze toward Ye Lingling turned terrifyingly cold. Such deep scheming, such malice… The Xia family had truly raised a venomous wolf in their midst.

Liang Meijuan, who had already seen Ye Lingling’s two-faced nature back at the hospital, now heard Xia Anran’s words and no longer held any doubt. Her look of suspicion turned to certainty.

No matter what, the Xia family had raised Ye Lingling and even asked Old Huo to find her a good match. And this was how she repaid their kindness—with betrayal?

She made a mental note to talk to Old Huo later. A woman of such poor character must not be introduced to anyone—that would only be ruining another life.

Seeing that both Huo Zhenting and Liang Meijuan now believed Xia Anran, Ye Lingling refused to sit still and await her downfall. Suddenly, she covered her face and started crying, putting on an act of being deeply wronged and helpless:

“Anran, I know you’re scared and want to push the blame onto me. Ever since we were kids, you’ve always made me take the fall for your mistakes. But this time, it’s too serious—I can’t take the blame for you. Please, stop framing me.”

Xia Anran’s expression was proud and disdainful as she looked at Ye Lingling with contempt.

“At home, my parents and four older brothers spoil me unconditionally. Even if I tore a hole in the sky, no one would blame me. Why would I need a pathetic little freeloader like you to take the fall for me?”

Her words stabbed Ye Lingling like knives, making her eyes burn with a crazed hatred. She wanted to rip Xia Anran’s mouth apart.

Yes, the Xia family had raised her, but from childhood, Xia Anran had always been their treasured princess. She could do whatever she wanted and act spoiled with impunity.

Meanwhile, Ye Lingling, knowing she was just a dependent, had to work tirelessly to please them. She had to act sensible, obedient, and considerate, flattering Xia Anran just to earn a few words of praise from her aunt.

She hated Xia Anran. She hated the entire Xia family.

She wanted to take everything from Xia Anran, to see her abandoned and ruined for life.

She wanted the Xia family to lose all standing in their village. She wanted her aunt’s proud husband to be forced to bow his head in disgrace.

In her past life, she had succeeded. Because of Xia Anran’s broken engagement, her uncle and aunt had died of anger. The Xia family’s reputation was utterly destroyed.

Her four older brothers cast Xia Anran aside, turning her from their pampered princess into a despised, abandoned woman.

After that, every man Xia Anran married had been hand-picked by Ye Lingling. She had even paid a thousand yuan to one of them, instructing him to torment Xia Anran to death. Later, she forced her into prostitution, ensuring she would spend her entire life sinking in filth and despair.

In this life, she had seized the upper hand. She had planned everything meticulously. Xia Anran should have suffered ten times worse than before, and she herself should have successfully married Huo Ruiyang—the man she had loved for two lifetimes.

So where had things gone wrong?

How had this idiot suddenly become so sharp, exposing her entire plan without missing a single detail?

Fear crept into Ye Lingling’s heart as she stared at Xia Anran, who stood there like a proud princess—radiant, dazzling, and impossibly clever.

This was definitely not the foolish girl she had grown up with.

Meanwhile, Huo Zhenting whispered something to Liang Meijuan. She shot Ye Lingling a glance, then left the room.

Ye Lingling’s heart pounded. What was Liang Meijuan going to do? Her instincts screamed that it had something to do with her.

Then, a terrifying realization struck her.

Her face instantly turned deathly pale.