She accidentally flirted with the villain and was fiercely criticized as the regent for forcibly mar

Hearing that there were living people inside, everyone gathered around.

The torches that were providing illumination moved closer, illuminating the scene inside clearly.

There was only one woman on the bed, wearing only an undergarment that was torn!

The onlooker, Mrs. A, frowned and muttered, "Would someone sleep in their clothes like that? They look like they were torn, not burned!"

The second woman watching also found it strange: "Indeed! No wonder the old woman was so startled; she must have thought she was doing something shameful!"

The woman didn't argue. Instead, she forcefully snatched back the blanket and wrapped herself completely inside. Her messy hair covered her eyes, making it impossible to tell who she was. She kept her head down, not daring to look at anyone, afraid of revealing her panic or her murderous intent to certain people.

He stammered and made up an excuse, saying, "I saw flames here and came to rescue people, but I never expected to get trapped in the fire and almost lose my life!"

She got out of bed.

Wrapped in a blanket, he walked straight out of the crowd.

"I... I look really disheveled right now, I need to change!"

Those unaware of the truth immediately made way for her and praised her for her kindness.

Wan Yi pointed under the bed and shouted, "There's someone under the bed!"

"No!" the woman instinctively denied. "Don't look!"

Her fear was so acute, it was filled with guilt.

Upon hearing this, everyone secretly wondered: Could there be some interesting show going on?

Xiao Che ordered, "Drag them out!"

The old woman grabbed people from inside.

The people inside refused to come out and kept shrinking back.

"The fire is out, young lady, don't be afraid, come out!"

The people inside didn't come out, nor did they make a sound.

The woman, wrapped in a quilt, said, "The girl's clothes have been burned. You should all turn away! Let us go back and put our clothes on first!"

Everyone agreed.

They all turned around and kindly made way for each other.

The person under the bed carefully checked around to make sure everyone had turned around, then reached out, pulled a sheet off the bed, crawled under it, wrapped himself tightly in it, and rushed towards the cleared path.

But someone stuck out their foot.

Because of the great force, the man was thrown forward, knocking the woman who was about to leave the crowd down to the ground.

Those who couldn't avoid it were also knocked down.

The crowd erupted into chaos.

Some people exclaimed in surprise, some dodged, and some rushed to help the fallen person.

"what!"

"Why is it a man?!"

"Isn't that a tent for the women?"

……

The person helping the other accidentally pulled on the bed sheet and discovered that it revealed a man's face. They were so frightened that they backed away!

The woman, whose chin was fractured, endured the excruciating pain and struggled to her feet, trying to escape.

But he was pinned to the ground from behind, his fractured chin hitting the ground again, the pain making his vision go black, and his strength was drained by the excruciating pain. He could only lie on the ground covered in cold sweat, his eyes filled with despair.

Chu Jin, who was guarding the perimeter, saw this and a cold smile curled at the corner of her lips.

Jiang Ruining hadn't seen anything yet; Xiao Che had completely blocked her view.

I tried to pry his hand away, but he was so strong that I couldn't budge it at all.

Xiao Che said succinctly: "It's dirty, I won't look."

"Oh! I won't look." Jiang Ruining, feeling mischievous, stood on tiptoe and kissed his palm.

With a soft, gentle touch, Xiao Che felt as if she had transformed into a playful little fish, swaying her beautiful tail fins, teasing and playing with his heart, creating ripples upon ripples.

He lowered his arms, encircled her in his embrace, held her hand, and intertwined their fingers.

The cloak concealed it, and no one saw it.

Xie Qinghe could hardly contain her excitement: "Oh my! What's going on? Isn't Lingyi staying with Sister Liu tonight? Where did this man come from?"

She could pronounce Zheng Lingyi's name repeatedly.

It led everyone to start "daydreaming".

But before anyone could even react with surprise, they heard a cheerful shout.

"What nonsense are you spouting? My cousin and I are staying at my cousin's place, along with two other young ladies who can testify to our situation. What are you trying to do by spreading these rumors and pinning such dirty secrets on us?!"

In the brief moment between these words, Zheng Lingyi had already reached the front of the group, staring coldly at Xie Qinghe.

The girl Liu who came with her gave Xie Qinghe a disdainful look: "We've been watching from the outside for a while, it's really strange. There shouldn't be anyone in our tent tonight, so how did a fire break out? And how did an extra woman with disheveled clothes end up here?"

"If that veiled woman hadn't managed to escape, you would have framed me, or said that Sister Lingyi was having an affair, right?"

Wan Yi raised her index finger and waved it in front of her: "Sister Liu, you're mistaken!"

"The person Xie Qinghe is trying to frame is never you, but your sister Lingyi! Your sister Lingyi is now the Xie family's betrothed. If she does anything disgraceful, the Xie family has the right to drown her in the pond to preserve the family's reputation!"

"If Xie Lanheng is merely exiled, then the Xie family will say, 'We don't mind your filth; you should be our Xie family's daughter-in-law,' clinging to the marriage and preventing your sister Lingyi from ever having a new beginning!"

"If Xie Lanheng can't live, or doesn't live well, they won't let you, Sister Lingyi, live well either!"

"Do I even need to guess what she's up to?"

Miss Liu was stunned: "If my son can't live or doesn't live well, does that mean I have to ruin my future daughter-in-law? What about all the love and care I showed her before?"

Wan Yi succinctly summarized: "It's all an act!"

Everyone: "..."

Madam A said, "The Xie family is capable of doing something like this. After all, they publicly declared before that they would make Zheng Lingyi's life miserable!"

Xie Qinghe hadn't expected these people to guess their purpose so easily, but how could she admit it? Her voice trembled with panic and resentment: "You're talking nonsense! What right do you have to slander me and the Xie family like this!"

Wan Yi raised her voice and approached her, saying, "Whether it's slander or not, an investigation will tell! If it wasn't the Xie family, I'll kowtow and apologize to you. If it was you, what do you plan to do?"

check?

Xie Qinghe felt guilty and, under pressure, kept backing away, avoiding Wan Yi's gaze: "Whoever did it is responsible. I don't know anything. You can rest and pin the blame on me!"

Wan Yi scoffed, "So guilty, yet you dare say it has nothing to do with you!"

Xie Qinghe clenched her fists, trying her best to appear righteous, but Madam B's question drew everyone's attention.

"Strange, this woman's feet don't look like a young girl's at all, and her hands aren't as delicate as a young girl's!"

Following Mrs. B's words, everyone else's gaze fell on the woman's feet, which couldn't be wrapped in the quilt, and then on her hands, which were clutching the thin quilt.

Take a closer look.

Sure enough, her skin was noticeably less delicate and pink than the little girl's!

"In the tents where the young girls should be staying, there are no young girls, but instead a middle-aged woman and a man of unknown origin... Xie Qinghe insists that Lingyi is staying inside, this is truly baffling!"

Jiang Ruining pointed to the torch: "Make sure the face under the blanket is visible!"