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

Zheng Lingyi's frail body trembled in the night wind, feeling that more than a decade of sincere treatment had become a joke.

Heartbroken and disappointed.

She wanted to speak.

Madam Zheng calmly stopped her and whispered a reminder: "All you need to do is shed tears, be hysterical, or scold. It will only give them an opportunity to accuse you of being arrogant and push all the blame onto you."

Zheng Lingyi nodded.

She leaned against her friend's shoulder and sobbed softly; the suppressed emotion in her voice was heartbreaking to hear.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Madam Zheng walked step by step toward Madam Xie, her childhood friend.

He had someone help Madam Xie up, then looked her in the eye, his expression filled with deep disappointment: "Lingyi fell ill because she was worried about Xie Lanheng. My husband and I went everywhere begging for help to get Xie Lanheng out of your Xie family, and this is how you repay us!"

He took a deep breath, as if he had finally made up his mind.

"Our forty-year relationship ends today! After returning to the capital, I will have the betrothal gifts sent back, and the marriage between our two families will be called off!"

Should we just give up?

Do not!

impossible!

How could Madam Xie agree!

Now that things have come to this, she has completely lost face, and the Xie family has become a laughing stock. How could she let others have an easy time?

She feigned innocence and anxiety, her exaggerated expressions straining her fractured jaw, her face contorting in pain: "Su Yue! I was framed! Someone couldn't stand seeing our two families on good terms, couldn't stand seeing Lingyi so pampered, so they deliberately plotted against us, causing us to break apart!"

"You mustn't fall for some people's tricks!"

Who is she referring to?

Madam Zheng understood.

Everyone can understand it!

"Shut up!" Zheng Lingyi couldn't stand others slandering Jiang Ruining and angrily rebuked, "Ningning may have had a hard childhood, but I know better than anyone how good she was to me! She's pampered and loved!"

"She's my best friend, I love her, she knows that, and she loves me too. She would never hurt me!"

Her determination warmed Jiang Ruining's heart.

No wonder that before the original owner awakened, such a wicked person would risk his last chance to live to scheme against Rong An and avenge Zheng Lingyi.

Because the original owner knew that Zheng Lingyi was the person who loved her the most in the world!

Wan Yi spat, "Your scheming and framing have been exposed on the spot, yet Madam Xie shows no remorse and still has the nerve to sow discord here. How shameless! All my help was for nothing!"

Seeing that Madam Zheng remained unmoved and that no one else suspected Jiang Ruining, Madam Xie felt a metallic taste in her throat and gripped the thin blanket wrapped around her so tightly that it made a gurgling sound.

Despite suppressing his hatred and embarrassment, he still wanted to continue to sow discord.

She knew Su Yue well and was confident she could sow discord between them!

But Xie Qinghe had lost her temper. She rushed up to Zheng Lingyi and hysterically roared, "If Jiang Ruining and you really had such a good relationship, would she just stand by and watch your fiancé go to jail and do nothing?"

"If your Zheng family were truly so kind, you would have already kowtowed to the Regent for my brother! But you didn't. You probably wish my brother were dead so you could find a son-in-law from a higher-ranking family!"

"You're heartless and ungrateful! You're deliberately scheming against us to break off the engagement, and you have the nerve to say such nice things!"

Madam Zheng pulled her daughter behind her: "Just because we didn't get Xie Lanheng out immediately, does that mean your Xie family can slander and frame us at will?!"

The Regent suddenly spoke up: "The Xie family dares to spy on me?"

The chilling question made Xie Qinghe, who was already emotionally distraught, instinctively tremble. She vehemently denied it, saying, "No!"

The Regent's indifferent tone carried a subtle barb: "Since you weren't monitoring me, how can you be so sure that the Duke of Zheng didn't repeatedly kneel and beg me for Xie Lanheng and the Xie family?"

The Duke of Zheng was surprised.

Ever since she learned of Xie Lanheng's exploitation of his daughter and his scheming against his son, she had no intention of saving him. Going to the Regent to plead for him was nothing more than a pretense, a mere formality.

And again and again?

How come he doesn't remember?

But since the Regent said that, he must be helping the Zheng family out of respect for the County Princess, and he wouldn't be foolish enough to expose him.

He sighed in disappointment, "So be it! Since the Xie family insists on thinking so badly of us and shows no gratitude for our help, there's nothing we can do. From now on... the Zheng family will no longer concern itself with the Xie family's affairs!"

The onlookers believed the Zheng family more, after all, they had seen the Zheng couple going in and out to beg for help for the past ten days or so!

They all comforted them, saying, "Lingyi escaped a scheme, and you've all seen the ugly face of this family! It's a blessing in disguise!"

"Impossible! You didn't! You clearly didn't do anything!" Xie Qinghe watched as the Zheng family was comforted, while she was being scorned and accused. The hatred and malice in her eyes almost solidified into a sharp substance: "If you really went to beg, why didn't the Regent release my brother!"

Xiao Che sneered: "Whether I save people or not depends on who kneels down."

Duke Zheng, playing along, sighed and said, "How could I possibly have such great influence before the Prince!"

Everyone knows that the Zheng family had been trying their best to remain neutral because the Crown Prince of Zheng was almost accused of accidentally killing auspicious omens, and was saved by Princess Funing, which is why they sided with the Regent.

No fault, but no merit either.

And since the regent was not a great philanthropist, no one was surprised that he didn't give the Duke of Zheng any face.

Xie Qinghe refused to believe it and insisted, "Excuses! They're all excuses! It's because your Zheng family didn't do enough to save my brother, it's because you look down on the Xie family, so you broke off the engagement and set this up to harm us!"

She then pointed the finger at Jiang Ruining.

"You keep saying you're closest to Zheng Lingyi, so why haven't you done anything? Didn't you secretly conspire with the Zheng family to prevent my brother from being saved? And those who criticize the Xie family for not taking the initiative to annul the engagement, weren't they all arranged by you?!"

Jiang Ruining neither admitted nor denied it.

The idiot isn't completely stupid yet!

Instead of answering her question, he countered with, "Has any noble person said they would immediately behead Xie Lanheng or exile him?"

"Of course there is!" Xie Qinghe shouted, "The Empress Dowager said that if there is no evidence to prove his innocence before returning to the capital, she will be killed!"

"Outrageous!" someone in the crowd shouted sternly, "How dare you slander the Empress Dowager!"

"The Empress Dowager only said that he killed a member of the royal family who held an official position, which is a capital offense. If there is no evidence to prove his innocence, he will have to pay the price. She never said that he would be killed upon returning to the capital!"

"The Empress Dowager always acts according to the law. How dare you slander her like this? Are you plotting a rebellion?!"

Xie Qinghe's heart skipped a beat, but she stubbornly refused to budge: "The Empress Dowager clearly said so!"

The person who had been shouting stepped out from the crowd and walked straight up to Xie Qinghe: "Then you'd better explain yourself clearly. In what context did the Empress Dowager say this? Who else was there at the time? Who can testify that the Empress Dowager said it?"

"If you can't answer, you're deliberately slandering the Empress Dowager, a crime deserving of death!"

Xie Qinghe's mouth was wide open, but her mind was completely blank, and she couldn't utter a single word!

When?

She... doesn't know!

She clearly remembered someone emphasizing to her countless times that the Empress Dowager would kill her second brother once she returned to the capital!

But I can't remember the scene at all!

She panicked. Accusing the Empress Dowager would mean certain death, or at least a beating if investigated: "I'm not lying! It was the Empress Dowager who said it! Everyone knows!"