To prevent Old Man Gu from favoring Gu Jianing, Wen Zhuqing handed the paper to the village secretary.

“What’s written on this paper is exactly what I just said. You can compare it with Gu Jianing’s handwriting, and you’ll know the truth.”

Bao Shanyan frowned as she looked at the note, wondering whether she should snatch it away. If her and Gu Jianing’s plan were exposed, she wouldn’t be able to escape unscathed either.

But she dismissed the thought almost immediately.

This was Gu Jianing’s mess. She had warned Gu Jianing before not to leave any evidence.

If Wen Zhuqing still managed to catch them, then it was Gu Jianing’s own stupidity.

Moreover, even if Gu Jianing were exposed, Bao Shanyan could still deny any involvement in the plan.

However…

Bao Shanyan glanced at Gu Jianing and noticed how calm she looked. She wondered if there was something more to this. Gu Jianing had been foolish before, but ever since she was rescued from jumping into the river, she seemed to have become smarter.

Perhaps…

Like Bao Shanyan, everyone’s eyes were fixed on the paper that the village secretary had taken.

Old Man Gu also muttered to himself. Wen Zhuqing spoke so confidently—could it really be his daughter’s handwriting?

As her father, he knew that his daughter had genuinely liked Wen Zhuqing before.

To be honest, even the village secretary, who was being watched by everyone, felt a bit nervous.

Nevertheless, he slowly unfolded the paper.

The moment he opened it, the village secretary’s expression changed.

His expression was hard to describe—somewhat strange and difficult to understand.

Old Man Gu, who was standing beside him, leaned over to take a look. What he saw made his expression turn just as peculiar as the village secretary’s.

“Village Secretary, does what’s written on the paper match what Wen Zhuqing said?”

“Is that Gu Jianing’s handwriting?”

“Village Secretary, you can’t shield her just because Gu Jianing is your relative, right?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The educated youths began to clamor.

The village secretary’s face darkened as he looked at these noisy educated youths.

Before, they had all complained about being tired and overworked. But now, their voices were loud and clear, proving that they were in good health.

That meant they could be assigned more work in the future.

After all, they had claimed to be here to support rural construction. How could they not be given more opportunities to contribute?

The village secretary snorted coldly, unfolded the paper, and handed it to Wen Zhuqing. “Comrade Wen, are you trying to fool me just because I’m old? There’s nothing written on this paper.”

“Everyone, take a look. There’s nothing on this paper.”

The educated youths immediately looked over. Indeed, both sides of the paper were blank—not a single word was written.

At this moment, the most disbelieving person was Wen Zhuqing himself. For the first time, he showed a hint of panic.

He took the paper and examined it repeatedly, from afar and up close. But no matter how he looked at it, there wasn’t a single word—not even a trace of ink.

“How is this possible? How can this be?”

For a moment, Wen Zhuqing wondered if receiving the note yesterday had been a hallucination.

Yesterday, when he opened the note, it was filled with words, clearly in Gu Jianing’s handwriting. How could those words have disappeared now?

What was going on?

Wait, if the note was problematic, what about the drugged handkerchief that had been used to cover his mouth?

Wen Zhuqing handed the handkerchief, which belonged to Bao Shanyan, to Old Zhang, who had just arrived.

“Uncle Zhang, could you please check this handkerchief? There must still be traces of the drug on it, right?”

Bao Shanyan raised an eyebrow. After using the handkerchief to cover Wen Zhuqing’s mouth, she had thrown it on the ground. She hadn’t expected Wen Zhuqing to pick it up.

It had to be said that even in such a situation, where he had been schemed against and lost his innocence, Wen Zhuqing remained terrifyingly rational, still thinking of using the handkerchief as evidence.

However, Bao Shanyan wasn’t worried at all.

Especially after the note, which might have contained Gu Jianing’s handwriting, turned out to be blank.

She knew it must have been Gu Jianing’s doing.

Therefore, Gu Jianing wouldn’t have left any evidence on the handkerchief either.

And indeed, that was the case.

Old Zhang took the handkerchief, examined it closely, and even sniffed it. Then he said, “Wen Zhiqing, I’m sorry, but I don’t see or smell any traces of drugs on this handkerchief.”

“You can all take a look and smell it yourselves.”

The people around also took the handkerchief.

At a glance, it was just a clean handkerchief with no other marks. When they smelled it, there was no unusual odor.

When the handkerchief returned to Wen Zhuqing’s hands, he looked at the perfectly clean, unblemished piece of cloth and knew that his defense had failed. His so-called evidence simply didn’t exist.

His shoulders slumped as if he had lost all his strength in an instant.

Bao Shanyan’s eyes lit up, and she gave her mother a meaningful look.

Bao Yingzi immediately understood. She put her hands on her hips and unleashed her full aura. “Everyone has seen it. Wen Zhiqing accused Gu Jianing and my daughter of scheming against him, but he can’t produce any evidence. We can’t just take his word for it, can we?”

“I don’t care, Wen Zhiqing. I want an answer from you now.”

“Are you going to marry into our Bao family, or should I call the police and report you to the commune for being a hooligan? You decide.”

At this, the educated youths fell silent.

After all, Wen Zhuqing had indeed taken advantage of Bao Shanyan, and he had been caught red-handed. Without any evidence, he could only blame his own bad luck.

Wen Zhuqing hung his head low, his hand clutching the handkerchief tightly. After a long while, he finally squeezed out three words through gritted teeth, “I’ll marry in.”

Bao Yingzi was satisfied, and Bao Shanyan was delighted.

“That’s more like it. I think three days from now is a good day. Let’s set the date for three days later.”

“Everyone, make sure to come and join us for the banquet to celebrate my daughter Yanzi and my son-in-law Wen’s wedding!”

As Bao Shanyan happily invited everyone to the banquet, no one noticed Wen Zhuqing’s bloodshot eyes beneath his lowered head.

Today was the most humiliating day of Wen Zhuqing’s life.

He had chosen to compromise for now, but he wouldn’t compromise forever. When the time came, he would make them pay for everything.

The villagers, seeing that the drama was over, began to disperse.

Gu Jianing also wanted to leave with Sheng Zexi, but unexpectedly, Wen Zhuqing quickly stepped in front of her.

His bloodshot eyes stared intently at her. “Gu Jianing, tell me, how did you do it? The note, the handkerchief—how did you manage it?”

Gu Jianing was startled by Wen Zhuqing’s sudden approach and his bloodshot eyes. Sheng Zexi quickly pulled her behind him, shielding her from Wen Zhuqing.

Standing at over 1.9 meters tall, Sheng Zexi towered over the 1.8-meter-tall Wen Zhuqing. He looked down at him with narrowed eyes, his gaze filled with danger. “Wen Zhiqing, what do you think you’re doing to my wife?”