A delicate beauty takes a place in a marriage, while a cold, rough man seduces her every night.

Qingyan is an honest and upright person; she has never suffered such slander.

Her eyes immediately reddened as she retorted sharply, "I didn't! Chen Xiaomeng, do you have a conscience? Stop making baseless accusations!"

Chen Xiaomeng grew up in the village and had seen a lot of gossip, but she was better at arguing than Chen Xiaomeng, and her voice was louder.

"How did I slander you? Your aunt saw it all with her own eyes. Qingyan, you asked Runsheng to pay for your things and even made sure to have him take you home after dark."

Runsheng has always treated you like his own sister because of me, but you're always scheming to seduce him. Did I say something wrong?

Now that you see our family's life getting better and better, you're insanely jealous and wish you could snatch Runsheng away from me!

"Taking advantage of her looks, she seduces men everywhere. Not only did she try to seduce Runsheng, but she also messed around with other men! She used the guise of home visits to sneak into students' homes and sleep around with their fathers. Don't think I don't know; the eyes of the people are discerning!"

"The reason you failed the public school teacher recruitment exam a while ago is because of your poor conduct and moral depravity. The Education Bureau simply invalidated your scores! Everyone can go to the Education Bureau and ask to find out the truth. See if I'm just making things up!"

Her words were forceful and resolute, and she even cited a public institution like the Education Bureau, making them particularly convincing.

Someone in the crowd immediately chimed in, confirming: "Xiaomeng is right. My child's cousin teaches at Guangming Elementary School. She was talking about it last night, saying that Teacher Qiao failed the exam this time."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Qingyan with increasing disdain.

Some people said, "I thought Qingyan was innocent and kind, but I didn't expect her to be like this in private. You really can't judge a book by its cover."

"Runsheng used to be her fiancé, and now he's doing so well. How can she not be envious of her sister?"

"She's having an affair with a student's parent. How can she be a teacher? No wonder the education bureau wants to cancel her grades."

Each harsh word was like a fine needle, piercing Qingyan's heart.

This blatant humiliation was far more unbearable for her, a woman who always cherished her reputation and was well-educated and reasonable, than physical pain.

When it comes to distorting the truth and framing others, Chen Xiaomeng has been a master of it since childhood.

A reasonable person can never win an argument against a scoundrel who is unreasonable, unruly, and spreads rumors.

Qingyan's face flushed with anger. She could roughly guess that Chen Xiaomeng was behind her failure to secure a place in the public school.

Seeing the adults attacking her sister-in-law and many people pointing and whispering around them, Duoduo felt a sudden sense of panic.

Her face was pale, but she still forced herself to stand up and shouted at the top of her lungs, "You're not allowed to bully my sister-in-law!"

Qingyan took her small hand and whispered, "Don't be afraid, it's alright."

Her lips trembled slightly as she retorted coldly:

"Chen Xiaomeng, you spew filth and slander, you'll get your comeuppance sooner or later! How dare you accuse me? Who was it that seduced her own sister's fiancé back then, the two of them caught red-handed hiding in a haystack? Who in the surrounding villages hasn't heard of that shameful affair? When it comes to moral depravity, who can compare to you?"

"It's one thing for you to frame me out of thin air, but you even dare to fabricate and slander my husband."

"People tend to be obsessed with what they lack most. You're always talking about men's issues; is it because your own husband isn't up to par that you're so sensitive and concerned about this kind of thing?"

These words precisely hit Chen Xiaomeng's most sensitive sore spot.

Her pupils contracted sharply, as if she had been stabbed, and cold poison seemed about to seep from the depths of her eyes.

"You—" she said angrily, raising her hand to slap Qingyan.

"That's enough!"

Jiang Runsheng shouted sharply and raised his hand to stop her.

"Have you made enough of a scene? Do you think my job at the credit union is too comfortable, and you're only satisfied when you've ruined my reputation and knocked me down?"

He had never seen such a stupid woman. She was foolish and narrow-minded, with a heart smaller than a grain of sand, and all she did was stir up trouble and create conflict.

He felt utterly humiliated.

"Let me tell you, all my interactions with Qingyan were completely innocent. She's not like you; she'd rather stay away from me."

"Since everyone is here today, I might as well explain the whole story. A few months ago, I went to the health center for a check-up and happened to run into Qingyan helping a student from a poor family. The child's grandmother was seriously ill and hospitalized, and Qingyan didn't have enough money on her to cover the medical expenses, so I stepped in to help pay for it."

In a life-or-death emergency, no acquaintance would stand idly by. She stayed by the elderly person's bedside for an entire day. My brother-in-law works at the township health center; you can verify this with him. How could such a kind and compassionate girl have any ethical issues as a teacher?

"That day, after we finished our work, it was completely dark. Qingyan didn't ride her bike. The journey from the township back to the village was long. I am her brother-in-law by seniority and can be considered an elder brother by age. It was only my duty to give her a ride along the way."

At first, she didn't want to trouble me, but I insisted on giving her a ride. We were open and aboveboard, without any sneaking around, and we took main roads all the way, even running into several acquaintances from our hometown along the way.

"To put it another way, even if it wasn't Qingyan in the village back then..." He glanced at the women present, "if it were Sister De, Grandma Wang, or Sister Shuqing, any one of you villagers would have offered me a ride. Is there a problem with that?"

The women whose names were mentioned exchanged glances and all felt that what Jiang Runsheng said made sense.

Grandma Wang, carrying a hoe, immediately spoke up to advise, "Xiaomeng, you're just too sensitive. Don't always nitpick over trivial matters. We've known Runsheng since he was little, and Qingyan is an honest and upright child. You must have misunderstood them."

"Runsheng..." Chen Xiaomeng saw her husband was determined to defend Qingyan and wanted to say a few more words, but Jiang Runsheng interrupted her sharply: "Get back to the car immediately!"

Chen Xiaomeng turned to look at her aunt Qiao Liping in the back seat, her eyes filled with resentment.

All these troubles and rumors surrounding her today are just things that Qiao Liping spread through gossip.

Qiao Liping lowered her voice and advised, "Xiaomeng, get in the car first, don't cause trouble outside."

Chen Xiaomeng stomped her foot angrily, then sat in the passenger seat, slamming the door shut with a loud bang.

Filled with remorse, Jiang Runsheng stepped forward to apologize to Qingyan: "Qingyan, I'm so sorry, this whole mess is my fault..."

"Don't come any closer." Qingyan pushed her bicycle back half a step, deliberately creating distance. "Let me give you a piece of advice: keep your distance from all women in the future, otherwise anyone could be unjustly slandered by your wife and unfairly branded. Anyone who associates with you will be unlucky!"

After saying that, she turned her head and glanced at Duoduo, who was trembling and pale in the back seat.

Duoduo has always been afraid of scenes of conflict and watching, and she feels uneasy every time she encounters such a dispute.

Considering the girl's feelings, Qingyan was unwilling to pester her any further. Suppressing her anger, she got on her bicycle and left.

Jiang Runsheng stood there, staring blankly at her slender figure as she walked away, scratching his hair in frustration and irritation.

Why is it that whenever Chen Xiaomeng is around, she always manages to ruin a perfectly good thing into something awkward and embarrassing?

This woman is a troublemaker, a real shrew.

The villagers who had come to watch the spectacle, seeing that there was no further development and nothing new to see, dispersed in twos and threes, discussing the matter with dissatisfaction.

The gray Santana slid along the dirt road, heading towards Shidianzi Village.

The atmosphere in the car was oppressive the whole way. Jiang Runsheng gripped the steering wheel, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Seeing this, Qiao Liping in the back seat quickly smiled and tried to smooth things over: "Runsheng, don't blame Xiaomeng. She cares about you too much, that's why she's overthinking things."

He then turned to comfort Chen Xiaomeng: "Xiaomeng, it was a misunderstanding between us. Look how awkward this is. Runsheng treats you so well, how could he possibly mess around with other women..."

Chen Xiaomeng glanced sideways at Jiang Runsheng's gloomy profile, knowing that he had just been promoted and bought a car, and that she absolutely could not completely anger him right now.

He immediately turned his attention to Qiao Liping, and retorted angrily:

"You've said everything, human and ghost stories! Didn't you tell me you saw them together in the dark?"

"Xiaomeng, why do you say that? Isn't Auntie the same—"

Before he could finish speaking, the car suddenly braked and stopped halfway down the road.

Jiang Runsheng coldly uttered two words: "Get out of the car."

Qiao Liping and her mother-in-law were stunned. They exchanged a glance, their faces showing embarrassment: "What?"

Jiang Runsheng showed no mercy, his tone cold and hard: "I'm telling you, get off the bus now, immediately."

The gray sedan sped away, leaving Qiao Liping and her mother-in-law stranded on the road.

After the car drove away, Qiao Liping spat angrily in the direction it had gone:

"What the hell! You think you're so great just because you're a lowly loan officer? You really think you're someone important!"

"Neither of them is any good. Once my son's loan is approved, let's see who's still sucking up to you!"