Shen Qingwan saw that their attitude was fairly reasonable, so she did not stop them.

After all, the village had not yet dug a well, so they had no choice but to fetch water from here.

If they walked another ten miles in the direction of Lijia Village, there was a river, but it was too far for them.

Traveling back and forth just to fetch water would be very inconvenient.

“Zhang Qiao’er! Everyone uses the water from Mingyue Lake for cooking. How can you wash your stinky socks here?”

Hearing the commotion, Shen Qingwan looked over and saw Lu Dachuan’s wife, Yang Daxing, carrying a bucket while angrily yelling at Zhang Qiao’er.

Zhang Qiao’er was squatting by the lakeside, scrubbing her socks with a pile of laundry beside her.

The villagers usually fetched water and did their washing on the shore, making sure the used water was discarded elsewhere to avoid contaminating the lake.

Lately, people had even stopped bathing in the lake.

Instead, they would fetch water and wash themselves discreetly on the shore.

But Zhang Qiao’er? She was directly washing her stinky socks in the lake.

Even though the lake was large, it was still a body of stagnant water.

If she washed her socks in it, how could they continue using the water for cooking?

“What does it have to do with you if I wash my socks here? This lake isn’t your private property. You think you can use it, but I can’t?” Zhang Qiao’er sneered. “Not only am I washing my socks, but I also washed my feet here last night! If you have a problem, don’t use this water for cooking anymore. Otherwise, you’ll all just be drinking my foot-washing water!”

Zhang Qiao’er had always been sharp-tongued and refused to lose an argument.

Hearing that Zhang Qiao’er had washed her feet in the lake the previous night, Yang Daxing’s face turned livid. Just yesterday, they had cooked their meals using this very water.

Not only her family but the entire village had done the same.

“You filthy wretch! That’s disgusting! I’m going to tear your mouth off!” Yang Daxing, hot-tempered as she was, raised her hand to hit Zhang Qiao’er.

Zhang Qiao’er panicked and started screaming, drawing a crowd.

Yang Daxing was a strong woman, and Zhang Qiao’er was standing near the edge of the lake.

With a push, Zhang Qiao’er lost her balance and fell into the water with a loud splash.

“Ah! Help… save me!” Zhang Qiao’er flailed helplessly—she couldn’t swim.

The other villagers rushed over, but most of the men were busy clearing land in the fields, and few women knew how to swim.

The elderly, even if they wanted to help, feared they would run out of strength and drown themselves in the process.

Finally, the village chief arrived with a wooden pole and managed to pull Zhang Qiao’er out of the water.

Seeing Zhang Qiao’er pale and barely conscious, Yang Daxing was startled.

If Zhang Qiao’er drowned, she wouldn’t be able to explain herself.

“Village Chief! You have to stand up for me!” Zhang Qiao’er sobbed uncontrollably. “Yang Daxing tried to kill me!”

Yang Daxing, however, stomped her foot angrily. “Zhang Qiao’er, you brought this on yourself! Chief, you don’t know what this wretched girl did. The entire village has been using Mingyue Lake’s water for cooking, but Zhang Qiao’er washed her feet in it last night! And just now, she was washing her socks in it! That’s why I scolded her. But instead of admitting her mistake, she acted all high and mighty! I got angry, so I pushed her a little.”

“What? She washed her feet in the lake?!”

“We cooked with that water last night!”

“Ugh! That’s disgusting! Does that mean the entire village drank her foot-washing water?”

“Zhang Qiao’er! How could you pollute our water source? No wonder Daxing hit you—you deserved it!”

The villagers started pointing fingers at Zhang Qiao’er, their faces filled with disgust.

Some even spat on the ground, wishing they could drown her in their collective scorn.

Zhang Qiao’er never expected that washing her feet and socks would turn her into a public enemy.

To her, it was just a big lake—how could washing her feet in it be such a crime?

The village chief’s face darkened.

He realized that part of the blame was on him for not setting clear rules in advance.

“Zhang Qiao’er, do you realize your mistake?” he asked in a stern voice.

Zhang Qiao’er, already flustered and weakened from nearly drowning, suddenly fainted before she could respond.

“Huh? She passed out?”

“I can check on her,” said Wang Guilan, the wife of Yang Zhiming. “I used to be a midwife and know a bit about medicine.”

The village chief quickly let her take a look.

Wang Guilan placed three fingers on Zhang Qiao’er’s wrist to feel her pulse.

A moment later, she hesitated, unsure of how to speak.

The village chief grew anxious. “What’s wrong? Is she alright?”

“She’s fine, but…”

Wang Guilan knew Zhang Qiao’er was still unmarried because she wore a maiden’s hairpin.

However, the results of her examination made it difficult to speak.

“Come on, just say it already!” Yang Daxing urged impatiently.

Wang Guilan sighed and announced, “She is two months pregnant. The reason she fainted is due to shock from falling into the water, combined with her pregnancy. She just needs rest and will be fine.”

The moment she finished speaking, Zhang Qiao’er stirred and woke up.

She was confused at first, but as she noticed the crowd staring at her with mixed expressions of disgust, mockery, and pity, she felt uneasy.

“What’s going on? Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“That child must belong to those bandits, right?” someone muttered. “Two months… That lines up exactly with the day we first fled from the raiders.”

“No wonder Zhang Qiao’er looks a little plumper these days. Turns out she’s pregnant.”

Boom! Zhang Qiao’er felt her world shatter.

Their voices faded into a dull hum as their words echoed in her mind. Pregnant?

She was pregnant?

And they thought the baby belonged to the bandits?

No! It couldn’t be!

She shook her head frantically, her face filled with panic. “No! You’re lying! I’m not pregnant! Shen Qingwan, is this your doing? Did you spread these lies about me?!”

Shen Qingwan: “…”

What? Why was she getting dragged into this?

She was just a bystander! She hadn’t even said a single word from start to finish!

“Zhang Qiao’er, if you’re going to accuse someone, at least get your facts straight,” Shen Qingwan said coldly. “I had nothing to do with this. And that baby? I certainly didn’t make you pregnant.”

Zhang Qiao’er, looking at the sneer on Shen Qingwan’s face, felt humiliated.

She was sure Shen Qingwan was laughing at her, looking down on her!

“You think you’re so pure and innocent?” Zhang Qiao’er suddenly snapped.

Her expression twisted with resentment. “Fine! I admit it! I was tainted by those bandits! But you? You were kidnapped by bandits too! Who knows what happened to you? You might have been defiled by them as well! Otherwise, how could you have come back alive? You probably served them well, didn’t you? That’s the only reason they let you go!”

Shen Qingwan: “…”

Was Zhang Qiao’er insane?! How did this suddenly turn into an attack on her?!