Su Qing’s words made Tian Aixiang pause. She was instantly annoyed at herself for her big mouth—why did she have to bring up that fool? She couldn’t help but glance at Su Tao.

Tian Aixiang had been kicking Su Qing while she was down, and Su Tao had been smirking on the sidelines, enjoying the show. But when Tian Aixiang mentioned "that fool," a jolt went through her.

Su Tao instinctively clutched her chest, where two scratches from Shitou still hadn’t fully healed. They still hurt a little.

The terror she felt when she first woke up that morning surged back, and her face instantly paled.

At that moment, seeing Tian Aixiang and the surrounding villagers all looking at her, some with unconcealed contempt in their eyes, Su Tao’s pale face flushed crimson, so red it looked like it might bleed. She burst into tears and shouted at Su Qing, "I hate you."

Then she pushed through the crowd and ran off.

"Hey, Taotao," Tian Aixiang said, stomping her foot in frustration. Unable to bear the stares of the people around her, she also pushed through the crowd and fled.

Su Qing snorted inwardly. ’It makes no difference to me whether Su Tao hates me or not. If she dares to raise her claws at me, I’ll have no problem cutting them right off.’

Su Qing turned to Er La Niang, the chill in her eyes making the older woman shudder. ’How could this pathetic, cowardly little thing suddenly have such a powerful gaze after leaving the family?’ she wondered. ’Paired with the scar on her left cheek, it sends a shiver of cold dread right to my core.’

"Aunt Zhang, I’ve barely even met your Zhang Erlai, let alone have any interest in him or want a relationship. Today, in front of everyone, I’ll say this clearly: there is absolutely nothing between me and Zhang Erlai," Su Qing said loudly. "However this rumor got started, I expect you, Aunt Zhang, to be the one to end it."

Er La Niang wanted to argue, to say she had nothing to do with it.

Before Er La Niang could speak, Su Qing continued, "Aunt Zhang, I know exactly what you’re thinking. You’re just after the five hundred yuan I have. I refuse to believe, with this huge scar on my left cheek, that you genuinely want your son to marry a hideous freak."

With her scheme exposed in public by Su Qing, Er La Niang’s face flushed red and then turned pale. She was furious that Su Qing had shamed her in front of so many villagers, leaving a knot of anger stuck in her chest, making it hard to breathe.

Aunt Cuihua and Aunt Tao were now firmly on Su Qing’s side. They immediately chimed in loudly, "Er Lai’s mom, we can hear your scheming from a mile away! You’d better give up on your little plots. We’re not going to stand by and watch you take advantage of this girl, Su Qing."

Er La Niang put her hands on her hips and shot back at Aunt Cuihua and Aunt Tao, "What’s it to you? Don’t you have anything better to do than stick your noses in other people’s business?"

Aunt Cuihua and the others pursed their lips. "What, you wish this girl Su Qing had no one to protect her so you could do whatever you want? Well, we’re telling you, no way! Stop coveting her money. It has nothing to do with you."

Er La Niang was so angry she was hopping mad. "I don’t believe for a second you aren’t coveting it too!"

"Oh, so you admit it," Aunt Tao said. "We might be envious, but we’re not shameless like you, coveting things that aren’t ours."

Su Qing couldn’t let the aunts fight her battles for her. She picked up where Aunt Tao left off and said to Er La Niang, "Aunt Zhang, let me make things crystal clear for you today. You can give up on getting my money. Since I dared to leave the family and live on my own, I’ve prepared myself. I will never compromise again. I compromised more than enough back with the Old Su Family, and it nearly drove me to a dead end. So from now on, if anyone dares to bully me, I will fight to our mutual destruction before I let them get away with it."

Su Qing spoke with such overwhelming force that not only Er La Niang felt it, but the surrounding crowd did as well, to varying degrees.

The crowd was left speechless, marveling at the power of Su Qing’s words. They knew she was making her stance clear. Instantly, those who had harbored similar ideas to Er La Niang quietly tucked them away. They didn’t want to end up like her—failing in their scheme and getting cursed out in public. What an utter humiliation!

Come to think of it, Su Qing really had changed after leaving her family. But then they remembered her life with the Old Su Family, and it became a bit more understandable. After all, anyone pushed to the brink of survival would have their personality change drastically.

Quite naturally, the crowd automatically found an excuse for the change in Su Qing’s temperament.

This was exactly the result Su Qing wanted. ’I need the people of Lihua Village to gradually witness my transformation,’ she thought. ’That way, whatever I do in the future won’t seem so abrupt.’

’Although Er La Niang tried to plot against me today, she inadvertently gave me a stepping stone.’

After saying her piece, Su Qing put on a somewhat wronged expression and said to the surrounding villagers, "Uncles, Aunts, I’m sorry to have taken up your time before lunch. I just wanted to clear things up today to avoid any future misunderstandings. After all, as a young, innocent girl, I can’t bear this kind of talk."

"Don’t worry, we definitely won’t listen to any more of these messy rumors," someone in the crowd declared immediately.

Su Qing nodded gratefully. "Thank you, everyone. It’s getting late. Uncles and Aunts, you should all head home. I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time."

The crowd quickly said it was no problem and dispersed one by one. Aunt Cuihua and the others didn’t leave, staying by Su Qing’s side.

Today, Er La Niang’s pride had been utterly trampled into the dirt by Su Qing. Seething with hatred, she stared venomously at Su Qing. "Fine. Fine! FINE! I’d like to see what kind of magnificent husband a hideous freak like you can find in the future."

Aunt Cuihua snorted. "That’s none of your concern."

Er La Niang shot another glare at Su Qing and Aunt Cuihua’s group, then turned and stomped away.

Once she had turned down a small path, Lu Chunhua scurried over to her. "Aiyo, you were too hasty. That little slut Su Qing is no good either, humiliating you in front of everyone like that."

Er La Niang was still fuming. Hearing Lu Chunhua’s words, she snapped, "Now you come running over to play the good guy? Where the hell were you just now? Don’t take me for a fool."

With that, she turned and stormed off.

Lu Chunhua pursed her lips and spat at Er La Niang’s retreating back. ’I’m not an idiot. Was I supposed to stand there with her and become a public target?’

’That Er La Niang has to be the stupidest person alive. She can’t even set someone up properly. I thought I’d get to see Su Qing make a fool of herself, but instead, she let that girl establish her dominance.’

’Ptooey! How can anyone be so stupid?’