The next day, Su Qing noticed all the older women in the village secretly glancing her way. This left Su Qing feeling rather baffled, unable to understand why the looks they gave her were so strange.

But soon, Su Qing found out what was going on.

"Su Qing." Not long after starting work, Aunt Cuihua sidled up to Su Qing’s side. While helping her husk corn, she asked in a low voice, "When did you get involved with that Er Lai fellow?"

"Who?" Su Qing asked, taken aback.

"Er Lai," Aunt Cuihua said quickly. "Zhang Erlai, from the Zhang family."

Aunt Cuihua didn’t have a high opinion of Zhang Erlai. Not only did he never show up for work, but you could rarely even catch a glimpse of him on a normal day. The man never did a lick of proper work—he was basically Lihua Village’s local hooligan.

"Me and that Zhang Erlai?"

"That’s right. It’s all over the village today. They’re saying you and Er Lai have taken a liking to each other. When did this happen?" Aunt Cuihua was burning with curiosity.

"That’s impossible," Su Qing said. "I barely even know him."

"That’s what I thought!" Hearing this, Aunt Cuihua said indignantly, "No one ever said a word about you and Zhang Erlai before. Now, just a few days after you separated from your family, these rumors start spreading. Er Lai Niang must have had a hand in this."

Aunt Cuihua was a master of the gossip world. The moment she heard what Su Qing said, she immediately understood. ’Someone’s starting rumors about Su Qing. And there’s no question about the source—it has to be Er Lai Niang. Hmph, she must be after the money Su Qing got from leaving her family. She wants to tie Zhang Erlai and Su Qing together with rumors first, then force Su Qing to marry him.’

’This kind of thing has happened before. There was that young intellectual from the village over, who had rumors spread about her and a local lazybones. Then the lazybones pestered her a few times where people could see, and in the end, she caved to the pressure and had to marry him.’

’If Zhang Erlai listens to his mother and starts pestering Su Qing a few times, she won’t be able to explain her way out of it, no matter what she says. If she can’t handle the pressure, she’ll definitely be forced to marry him.’

’Hmph. That Er Lai Niang has it all figured out.’

"Yesterday, I ran into Er Lai’s mother. She said some vague things to me, like I should visit her house when I’m free, and if I need any work done, I should ask Zhang Erlai to do it." Su Qing didn’t bother covering for Er Lai Niang and told Aunt Cuihua exactly what had happened.

"Hmph, you can’t just let this go!" Aunt Cuihua was furious. "She’s got her sights set on you! Su Qing, listen to me, you have to clear this up immediately. Otherwise... you remember what happened to that young intellectual from the next village, don’t you? If her family decides to play dirty and conspires with your grandmother, you’ll be the one who suffers."

Su Qing pursed her lips. "My marriage is my own decision. I absolutely will not let the Old Su Family interfere again. They can forget about scheming against me."

"Exactly," Aunt Cuihua said. "You can’t wait. You have to set the record straight immediately, or the rumors will only get worse."

"Mm, I know, Aunt Cuihua. Don’t worry," Su Qing said with a nod.

"Aunt Zhang." At noon, as work let out for the day, Su Qing took advantage of the crowd and cornered Er Lai Niang by the cornfield.

"Oh, Su Qing." Er Lai Niang had heard the rumors about her son and Su Qing that very morning and was absolutely delighted. She was especially pleased with how thoroughly Aunt Zhuang had spread the news. ’I have it all planned out,’ she thought. ’Young girls are so thin-skinned. Even if someone asks her about it to her face, she’ll just blush and be too embarrassed to say anything. An expression like that is bound to make people half-believe the rumors, right?’

’Then, when Er Lai gets back, I’ll find some excuse for him to interact with Su Qing. Once people see them together a few times, their relationship will be as good as confirmed. And once that happens, it won’t matter whether they’re willing or not. The pressure from all the village talk will be enough to force them to get married.’

’Besides, I’m a kind-hearted mother. I can’t bear to see a good girl like Su Qing have her reputation ruined because of my son. For her reputation’s sake, I simply *must* have my son marry her.’

Er Lai Niang was lost in her beautiful fantasy. Although she found the scar on Su Qing’s left cheek ugly, the thought of the money in Su Qing’s hands made her heart burn with greed, and the smile on her face grew even wider.

"Aunt Zhang, you’re the one who had people spread those rumors about me and your son, Zhang Erlai, aren’t you?" Su Qing had no intention of beating around the bush with Er Lai Niang, so she cut straight to the chase. Her voice was loud, easily loud enough for everyone around them to hear.

Hearing Su Qing’s words, the crowd was no longer in a hurry to get home. The rumors about her and Zhang Erlai had been the talk of the village that morning, and many people believed that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. They were convinced something must be going on between the two.

Er Lai Niang hadn’t expected Su Qing to be so blunt. She quickly forced a smile and said, "Oh, Su Qing, I don’t know anything about what’s between you and my Er Lai. That’s a matter for you young people."

Meanwhile, Tian Aixiang and Su Tao were also in the crowd of onlookers. Because of the previous blowup where Su Qing had separated from the Old Su Family, on top of the fact that Su Tao had been caught in bed with Shitou and still wasn’t married off, the people of Lihua Village looked down on the Old Su Family. Most villagers avoided them during work, and only a few who had always been on good terms with them would even bother to speak to them.

This situation left the members of the Old Su Family simmering with resentment, especially Tian Aixiang and Su Tao.

When they heard the rumors about Su Qing and Zhang Erlai that morning, both of them felt a deep sense of vindication. ’Su Tao’s reputation is ruined, so why should Su Qing get to keep hers?’ Now, before they could even come up with a good plan, Su Qing had gone and destroyed her own reputation.

Now, seeing Su Qing confront Er Lai Niang, Tian Aixiang couldn’t resist chiming in. "Well now, Erya, no wonder you refused to let your grandma find a match for you. Turns out you already have someone! And here you were, slandering your grandma, claiming she wanted to sell you to a fool. How could you be so cruel? So the real reason you kicked up a fuss to leave the family was to control your own marriage without her interference. Honestly, you should have just said so in the first place."

As Tian Aixiang spoke, the corners of her mouth lifted into a smirk. ’Today, I’m going to help Er Lai Niang make this official,’ she thought. ’Hmph, it’s not like Er Lai Niang is some saint. She probably has a whole bag of tricks for tormenting her daughters-in-law. I can’t wait to see what that wretched girl Su Qing will be reduced to once Er Lai Niang gets her hands on her.’

Hearing Tian Aixiang’s words, Su Qing let out a cold laugh. "Third Aunt, it’s only been a few days, and your talent for twisting the truth has really grown. You know perfectly well in your own hearts whether you were trying to sell me off. But I have to admit, I’m impressed. To ruin my reputation, you’re willing to drag your own daughter’s name through the mud again. Have you forgotten? Su Tao was the one caught in bed with that fool. So, why hasn’t she rushed to get married yet?"