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

Jiang Ruining felt a tickle in her mouth and really wanted to spit on her!

How can there be such an annoying person!

Chen Anran sneered repeatedly and suddenly opened the wardrobe door.

The silky, soft, snow-white undergarment slid down to the ground like water.

Those few emerald green bamboo leaves were so bright they were almost blinding.

"What else do you have to say!"

Cui Jingwei exclaimed in disbelief, "How could this be! Ningning, is there some misunderstanding? Is someone deliberately framing you? Is it Chu Jin?"

Jiang Ruining's hands were itching to slap her!

They wanted to frame her, and even wanted to use her to frame Chu Jin. They were really wicked!

With a cold expression, he stepped forward and picked up his undergarment: "It's just a piece of clothing, what does it prove!"

Chen Anran snatched the garment, pointing to the bamboo leaf pattern on the sleeve and shrilly, "If you didn't let a man stay overnight, how could there be men's underwear in your room?"

Jiang Ruining rolled her eyes.

"Who told you these are men's clothes?"

"The facts are right in front of you; there's no point in you trying to argue!"

The dramatic fall from grace for Chen Anran, from being the glamorous daughter of a great general who was fawned over by everyone to needing to curry favor with others just to remain in her old social circle, filled her with jealousy and anger, yet she could only put on a smiling face.

Now that her jealousy had found an outlet, how could she let go of the opportunity to ruthlessly trample on the other party?

"Stealing other people's poems is one thing, but stealing people's work is another! No wonder Madam Jiang despises you; you're just an ignorant... Ah!"

Snapped!

Jiang Ruining raised her hand and slapped him across the face, making him stagger.

I won't tolerate her in the slightest, nor will I stand to listen to her spewing nonsense: "If you dare utter another unpleasant word, I will tear your mouth apart!"

Chen Anran's face was numb from being slapped.

His eyes were bloodshot with hatred, and he gritted his teeth, ready to slap her back twice as hard.

The two noble ladies beside Cui Jingwei had a malice in their eyes. They pretended to persuade her, but in reality, they restrained Jiang Ruining, making her unable to move or escape, and allowing Chen Anran to beat and scratch her.

But before they could even touch Jiang Ruining, they were forced back by a flash of cold light.

A sharp dagger had appeared in Jiang Ruining's hand without her noticing: "Do you really think I'm a fool, that I don't know what you're trying to do with your hands reaching up here?"

The two noble ladies wore expressions of grievance, as if they had been wronged: "You've really misunderstood us! Although it's wrong of Miss Chen to meddle, these things falling out of here..."

"If word gets out about this, who knows what people will say about you! We're only trying to break you up to prevent things from escalating. Please beg her; for the sake of our friendship, maybe Miss Chen will pretend she didn't see anything!"

Jiang Ruining grabbed the undergarment by the shoulders and held it up against Cui Jingwei. The length was just right, and the shoulders were even a bit narrower. "Who have you ever seen a man's clothes this small?"

All eyes were on that undergarment.

Only after she said that did I realize that this small-sized garment, with a peony embroidered in cherry-colored silk thread, could not possibly be a man's clothing.

"But you never said you liked bamboo!" Cui Jingwei blurted out.

Jiang Ruining shrugged: "Shao Yunting likes it!"

Everyone looked at each other.

Indeed it is!

"Then why were you hiding inside and lying to us that you had a cold?"

Jiang Ruining said matter-of-factly, "I was just about to burn some unwanted things, who knew you would come over without warning?"

"I just told Shao Yunting that I didn't like him anymore, and then some heartless gossips found out that I still have his portrait hanging in my room, as well as an inner garment embroidered with peonies and bamboo. Who knows what they'll say about me? Don't I have any dignity?"

Someone finally saw clearly that the portrait hanging in the room depicted the Duke of Shao!

On the right side of the screen, a small fold reveals a brazier half-burnt with ashes inside. Inside are torn scrolls that haven't completely burned. You can see a sleeve drawn on the scraps, and the sleeve has a bamboo leaf pattern on it!

A flicker of suspicion and disdain crossed Cui Jingwei's gentle eyes: "You don't like Duke Shao anymore?"

Jiang Ruining, hands on hips, said arrogantly, "If I can't warm someone up, I have to! I find Young Master Cui more pleasing to the eye now!"

Everyone: "..."

Cui Jingwei frowned.

Having witnessed her shameless persistence in pursuing Duke Shao, what would happen if she actually gave birth to his own brother?

Jiang Ruining felt a sense of satisfaction seeing her annoyed but unable to retaliate.

Then, with a nonchalant wave of his hand, he made a gesture.

Jin Yu and Yun Mi got to work, removing the screen and opening all the cabinets, big and small, and even the drawers.

"I know you still have doubts. Since you've already found the portrait and clothes, I have nothing left to hide. Search me all you want! If I had really hidden someone here, there would definitely be some clues that I didn't have time to cover up, right?"

Everyone's eyes had been searching every nook and cranny of the net, but after being inside for so long, they really hadn't found anything. And seeing that she didn't seem afraid of being searched at all, they were even less likely to search her!

It was all just baseless speculation, that's why they're targeting that idiot Chen Anran to make a scene. If word gets out that they searched her house, people will definitely gossip about it, and it will damage their reputation.

So no one moved; they all looked at Cui Jingwei.

Cui Jingwei cherishes her reputation and naturally wouldn't want to be the bad guy.

"Of course we believe you! It's all because of Miss Chen; she believes everything she hears, and we can't stop her."

Jiang Ruining questioned, "Why would someone spread rumors that I'm hiding a man in my house for no reason? Could it be that someone is doing this on purpose, plotting something?"

Cui Jingwei frowned, vaguely sensing that something was wrong.

He glanced discreetly out the window. Why hadn't the patrol team come in yet?

But he said it nicely: "It seems someone is deliberately spreading rumors about you!"

"No mistake! Why not cater to everyone else's needs, and only cater to yours?"

Chen Anran arrived with great fanfare, confident she would catch the culprit red-handed and deliver a crushing blow to the Regent's side. Now, having caught nothing, she was furious: "So what if there's nothing in your room? Who knows if you got wind of it beforehand and hid them!"

Jiang Ruining disliked this person very much, and her hands were itching to touch him.

Cui Jingwei has the Empress Dowager and Grand Tutor Cui behind her, so she can't be easily attacked. This... might as well attack her!

Snapped!

Another slap landed across his face.

"Who do you think you are! You dare to throw dirty water on me without any evidence! Let me tell you, this isn't over! Even if it were the Heavenly King himself, let alone Grand Tutor Cui, you wouldn't escape unscathed!"

He took a small paper packet out of his sleeve.

It was left on the table.

"Someone come here!"

"Give it to Miss Chen, force it down her throat!"

Chen Anran looked at the paper package and her heart skipped a beat.

Then, remembering that she had the Cui family's protection, she felt fearless and raised her chin high: "I'm an official's wife, you dare touch me!"