Xia Zhi pushed Lu Beiting toward the Gu family and stared at Zhang Xiao. “Auntie Zhang, you promised yesterday to return the money you owe me. Is it ready?”  

Zhang Xiao felt a pang of fear at the sight of Lu Beiting, while Gu Chonglin shot her an annoyed glare—What’s there to be scared of?

But the next second, he hunched over with an ingratiating smile and hurried forward.  

“Battalion Commander Lu, you’ve been fooled by this little girl, Xia Zhi. The truth isn’t at all what she told you!”  

Lu Beiting raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Then what is the truth?”  

Gu Chonglin’s eyes flashed with a hint of triumph.  

Then, with a pained expression, he said, “Battalion Commander Lu, since you’re always in the military, you probably don’t know much about what goes on in our compound.  

This Xia Zhi—her character is rotten. Ever since she got engaged to Yunshen, she’s had sticky fingers.  

We had no choice but to make her work to pay it off. If you don’t believe me, just ask everyone here!”  

As he spoke, Gu Chonglin winked subtly at the people nearby.  

“Ah, that’s right, Battalion Commander Lu. Xia Zhi is an orphan with no parents, and her morals are terrible. If it weren’t for the fact that she’s the child of a martyr, we would’ve reported her to the higher-ups long ago.”  

“Battalion Commander Lu, yesterday, we thought since we all live in the same compound, there was no need to make things ugly, so we didn’t say anything.  

Who knew Xia Zhi would take advantage of being the underdog to push her luck?”  

“We even pitied her and often helped her out. Who’d have thought this little brat would be so greedy, trying to extort even more? Truly an ungrateful wretch!”  

These seasoned schemers lied without batting an eye, their words painting Xia Zhi as a heartless, thankless villain.  

The Gu family’s matriarch, Liu Guifang, hobbled forward on her cane, tears streaming down her face as she wailed.  

“Battalion Commander Lu, Xia Zhi is cruel! When I caught her stealing money, she pushed me to the ground to cover it up.  

At my age, you know I can’t take a fall. I had to go to the military hospital for treatment. If you don’t believe me, you can check the records!”  

…  

Chen Xiuping’s eyes lit up at the sight. Overnight, everyone had become so united.  

If things kept going like this, who would still believe Xia Zhi?  

“Battalion Commander Lu, we admit we were wrong about the incident with Liping, and we sincerely apologize. You’re an upright man—you shouldn’t let Xia Zhi lead you around by the nose.”  

Xia Zhi listened to their accusations, feeling less anger than icy disappointment.  

The original host of this body had been an orphan, living cautiously in the compound. Hadn’t every single person here benefited from her kindness at some point?  

And now, over a few eggs, they were turning on her? Had all her efforts over the years meant nothing compared to a handful of eggs?  

Xia Zhi steeled herself and let out a cold laugh, then began listing grievances, starting with the first woman who had spoken up.  

“Auntie Zhang Min, how can you say that? Last year, when your family was harvesting potatoes, everyone in the compound was busy.  

Wasn’t it me who helped you? Three whole days of work! And those bug-eaten, rotten vegetables—weren’t you the one who insisted I take them to sell in town because you didn’t want to lose money?  

And that’s not even all of it! Tell me—when I helped you, did I take anything from you? Did I even eat a single meal at your place?  

How heartless can you be? Aren’t you afraid of divine retribution?”  

Zhang Min’s face flushed with shame, but she still muttered weakly, “I—I never asked you to help. Besides, it’s not like I didn’t give you anything in return.”  

Xia Zhi scoffed and raised her voice. “Oh! So the moldy, spoiled scraps you tossed my way count as payment?  

Then how about I ‘repay’ you with the same kindness someday!”  

Her booming voice stunned the crowd, and even people from the neighboring compound came out to see what was happening.  

A few others, realizing things were getting out of hand, tried to slink back into their homes.  

But Xia Zhi spotted them immediately and called out sharply, “Hey, hey, hey! Isn’t that Wang Chunhua, the one who almost miscarried a few years ago?  

Oh my, who’s the real ungrateful one here? Back then, when you were bleeding and your husband wasn’t around, when your mother-in-law refused to lift a finger—wasn’t it me who carried you to the hospital?  

WASN’T IT?!”  

Her furious shout echoed through the courtyard, her face flushed with rage.

It was the dead of winter, with thick snow covering the ground. The original host had carried her on her back without stopping, trudging step by step through the snow to get her to the hospital.  

She had nearly lost half her life doing it, and now this woman had the nerve to call her ungrateful? How shameless could she be!  

Wang Chunhua trembled in fear, her legs giving out as she collapsed to the ground, tears glistening in her eyes.  

“The hospital has records. Should I go dig them up? I, Xia Zhi, refuse to take the blame for your lies today!”  

The guilty parties paled, their legs shaking uncontrollably.  

“N-no need! I was wrong, Xia Zhi! I admit it!”  

Wang Chunhua sobbed, clutching at Xia Zhi’s leg. But her child was still young and needed proper nutrition—she had no other choice.  

Xia Zhi turned her icy gaze to Liu Guifang. That venomous old hag was the worst of them all. There was never anything wrong with her, yet she constantly complained about aches and pains, inventing excuses to torment the original host.  

She had always insisted that since Xia Zhi was engaged to the Gu family, she had to “act like a proper future daughter-in-law.”  

For some reason, Liu Guifang actually flinched under Xia Zhi’s glare.  

“I stole from your family? What money do you even have that’s worth stealing?”  

“Xia Zhi! How dare you disrespect your elders like this?!” Gu Chonglin had doubted his wife’s account yesterday, but now he saw it for himself—Xia Zhi had truly lost her mind.  

“You all say I have no parents, no upbringing, right? Oh, so you do remember I’m an orphan? A bunch of shameless old folks ganging up to bully a young girl!”  

“Search your consciences—have you really never taken advantage of me all these years?”  

Their evasive eyes spoke volumes.  

Xia Zhi scoffed. The original host had worked harder than any man—she had the lungs for this!  

People from the neighboring compound pointed and whispered.  

“How can they act like this? Ganging up on a girl just because she has no family? Disgusting.”  

“I’d be too ashamed to even say such things.”  

The crowd in the courtyard wished they could vanish into the ground.  

Zhang Xiao panicked. “Battalion Commander Lu, Xia Zhi, let’s talk inside, alright? We can discuss this properly indoors—”  

Xia Zhi crossed her arms and jerked away, nearly sending Zhang Xiao stumbling.  

“I’m not the one who should be embarrassed—why are you scared?”  

Too late for shame now. Where was this conscience earlier?  

Zhang Yi watched Xia Zhi’s ferocity, unsure whether to feel relief or concern for his battalion commander.  

This level of combativeness… even the battalion commander wouldn’t stand a chance.

Lu Beiting was also stunned. In his twenty-four years of life, he had never witnessed anything like this.  

But then again, if she weren’t this fierce, she’d be the one getting bullied. There was nothing wrong with that.  

Gu Yunshen had been reading at home, but Xia Zhi’s furious shouting made it impossible to focus.  

He stood up, pushed the door open, and strode out.  

“Enough, Xia Zhi! The only reason you’re making such a scene is because you know I love Liping, and you can’t accept it.”  

“Stop this ridiculous tantrum. Fine—I’ll marry you. Happy now?”  

His face twisted as if the words themselves were an unbearable humiliation.