Seeing her husband rendered speechless by the rebuttal, Liu Yuelan immediately jumped in to defend him.

Su Qingzhi suddenly stepped forward, her imposing aura almost touching Liu Yuelan's nose with her finger.

"Whether I'm a lesbian or not has nothing to do with reasoning. You're spreading rumors and distorting the truth, and I'm standing up to tell the truth, so I'm breaking the rules? Then tell me, who gave you the right to break into someone else's home without permission? Who allowed you to point fingers and distort the truth here?"

"Oh? The boss said women hold up half the sky. Do you not believe the leader? Or do you secretly think women are born to be silent, obedient decorations, and not allowed to have any voice of their own?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuelan immediately panicked.

She hurriedly grabbed Fang Youming's arm, her voice filled with urgency and grievance.

"Su Qingzhi, don't talk nonsense! I really didn't mean it that way. Don't wrong me!"

Su Qingzhi chuckled softly.

"So what exactly do you mean? You followed me all the way from Jiangcheng to Guanshigou, from Li Hong's wife to the wife of Deputy Factory Director Fang. What did you rely on? Wasn't it just being sweet-talking and playing the victim?"

"Do you think that all women should learn from you to shut up, bow their heads, and only know how to please and obey, selling their dignity in exchange for some benefits?"

Liu Yuelan's face turned deathly pale in an instant, her eyes quickly reddened, and she screamed as she lunged forward.

"Su Qingzhi, you're talking nonsense! It's clearly you who have an improper relationship with Li Hong, secretly flirting with him, and now you're trying to frame me? I'll tear your mouth apart today! So you can stop talking nonsense!"

Before she could even get close, Su Qingzhi had already grabbed the smelly sock that had just been stuffed into her mouth from the side of the kang (heated brick bed), flicked her wrist, and slapped it hard across her face.

The pungent, sour smell instantly filled the air, making people nauseous.

"Tear my mouth apart?"

Su Qingzhi sneered, her tone extremely contemptuous.

"With you? Or with your stinky mouth that was just stuffed with a smelly sock and still reeks of rottenness?"

"Liu Yuelan, do you think no one knows about your little tricks? Actually, if you just ask anyone to investigate, all your dirty secrets will be laid bare. Do you really think you can use a few lies to throw all the mud at me?"

"Enough!"

Fang Youming suddenly stood up, his face ashen, and shouted angrily.

"Comrade Su Qingzhi, don't change the subject! We're discussing what happened on the scene, a personal matter, not for you to use this as an excuse to launch personal attacks! Doing this will only make people more suspicious, wondering if you're guilty or if you're hiding something."

His voice was loud and clear, trying to command the situation, but his eyes involuntarily darted away.

He had already sensed from Liu Yuelan's intense reaction that what Su Qingzhi had said was probably not unfounded.

But once this scar is exposed, his face, status, and reputation will be ruined.

Therefore, he absolutely cannot admit it.

Su Qingzhi looked at him coldly.

"What? Is Deputy Factory Director Fang scared? What are you so nervous about? A person should be responsible for their actions. Since you were willing to marry your wife in the first place, shouldn't you have been prepared for what she had to do? Are you now disgusted with her and afraid to acknowledge her because of her past?"

"Or are you only allowed to move on yourself, but not allowed others to bring it up? Is that fair?"

Shen Zhiyu stood to the side, his eyes narrowing slightly.

It turns out she has this side to her: sharp, clear-headed, and unafraid of authority.

"You! You're spouting nonsense!"

Forced into a corner by Su Qingzhi's words, Liu Yuelan's face turned from white to green, and her finger trembled as she pointed at Su Qingzhi.

"You...you're just getting revenge on me! You're jealous that I'm doing well! That's why you made up these stories to ruin me! I don't believe you! Nobody believes you!"

"I'm making baseless accusations?"

Su Qingzhi raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Then tell me, did the Li family give the bride price according to the rules? Did you stay at the Li family's house for several days? Were you caught red-handed by your mother and Zhu Xiuqin sleeping on the same kang (heated brick bed) with Li Hong?"

This series of questions, like heavy hammer blows, struck Liu Yuelan's heart one after another.

Her expression changed drastically, and she turned sharply to look at Fang Youming, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes.

"Youming, I...you...you mustn't listen to Su Qingzhi's nonsense! She's framing me! I didn't do anything like that!"

Upon hearing this, Su Qingzhi not only did not get angry, but smiled even more brightly.

She turned around gracefully, took Shen Zhiyu's arm, and leaned against his strong embrace.

“I understand Liu Yuelan quite well. After all, she and Li Hong were husband and wife for a day, and their bond is as strong as a hundred days. It’s understandable that she would be so anxious to find out the whereabouts of Zhu Xiuqin and her child so early in the morning. After all, how could she not ask when she is so worried?”

Liu Yuelan's pupils suddenly contracted.

She instinctively reached out, wanting to grab Fang Youming's arm, but her fingertips froze in mid-air.

Where was the tenderness and consideration that Fang Youming used to have in his eyes?

All that remained was a burning rage of anger at being deceived and fooled.

"Youming, believe me! I really didn't do that kind of thing!"

Liu Yuelan's voice trembled.

"Su Qingzhi is talking nonsense! It must be that Zhu Xiuqin and her son have disappeared, and she took the opportunity to fabricate stories about me and smear me! You can't believe her!"

Fang Youming took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger surging in his chest.

"Comrade Su Qingzhi, I will not easily believe what you say without evidence. I only look at the facts."

“There is blood in the room, and two people are injured on the kang (a heated brick bed), but they are missing. The most important thing now is to find out what happened, not to make unfounded accusations.”

Deputy Regiment Commander Ma, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.

“Xiao Fang is right. Xiao Shen, stop beating around the bush and bringing up trivial family matters. The most important thing now is to clarify why you are here and how they were injured. As for Xiao Fang’s family’s private affairs, let the couple handle them privately later.”

Commander Zhang smiled slightly and waved his hand.

“Old Ma, young people always have their own tempers. We can’t just judge someone by appearances. Besides, don’t you know Xiao Shen? He’s usually a quiet type, taking forever to say something. If it weren’t for Xiao Qiao standing up for him, would he be standing here silently listening to others wrongly accuse him?”

After speaking, he turned his head, his gaze falling on Shen Zhiyu's face, and his tone turned serious.

"Xiao Shen, don't be afraid. Tell me what happened today. Explain it clearly from the beginning."

Shen Zhiyu nodded, his expression calm, and began to speak slowly.

It turns out that there has been a lot of gossip about Su Qingzhi in the village lately.

He and Xiao Qiao were so upset by what they heard that they tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.

Early this morning, they decided to set off to find Zhu Xiuqin and ask her directly for clarification.

When they arrived at the door, they found it open and there was a strong smell of blood inside.

The two rushed in to check and found that Liu Chunhe and Shen Cunpu were both injured.

The tables and chairs inside the room were overturned, and there were several scratches on the wall, as if they had been grazed by a knife.

Shen Zhiyu immediately took out the medicine he carried with him and treated their wounds first.