Chapter 21

You’ll Regret This

Seeing Zhang Xiaofeng nearly faint from anger, the crowd murmured in sympathy. Those who had meddled in the matter were filled with regret, their hatred for He Ye burning hotter.

This disaster had been started by her, yet now she was hiding. Who could possibly accept that?

Thus, Han Yan became the target.

"Han Yan, where’s your mother? She spouted nonsense and got us into trouble, then hid away—is she playing us for fools?"

"Yeah, get your mother out here!"

The shouts volleyed, leaving Han Yan regretful but too scared to fight back.

"I don’t know where my mother is…" she said timidly.

"You don’t know? Then why did you come here to stir up trouble and drive a wedge between A Hang and his wife?" Lu Yuan shot back. They had heard everything clearly and wouldn’t be fooled.

Watching Han Yan’s eyes redden under the verbal assault, Lu Yuan felt a rush of triumph. She gritted her teeth and said to Lin Nannan, "I thought she was something special!"

"She’s not special—just a damn fool!" Lin Nannan reassured Lu Yuan, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.

Han Yan had dared to show her face only because she was familiar with the Lu family, knew they were kind-hearted, and assumed the original wife was foolish enough to take the blame.

What she didn’t realize was that once this blew up, no one could escape responsibility—especially since Lu Hang had been injured in the line of duty. Slandering him was absolutely unacceptable.

The Lu family stayed out of it, letting the accusers turn on each other. No matter how pitiful Han Yan appeared, they remained indifferent.

Despite the uproar, He Ye never showed up, as if the whole affair had nothing to do with her. She ignored Han Yan’s plight, pretending she didn’t exist.

Perhaps due to urgency, while the commotion continued in the Lu family’s courtyard, a car arrived at the village entrance. The passengers stepped out and were led straight to the Lu residence by the village children…

Just as Lin Nannan had predicted, the military had sent people. Given the suddenness of the situation, it wasn’t anyone familiar to Lu Hang but local officials. Upon arrival, they chewed out those spreading rumors and took He Ye away.

Everyone looked at each other, shocked, never expecting things to turn out this way.

Village gossip ran wild, and conflicts over loose tongues had happened before—but someone being taken away was a first. A chill ran through the crowd, and their gazes toward Lin Nannan shifted.

Some might have thought Lin Nannan was overreacting, but she had no regrets.

"You can call me stupid, mock me for being foolish—but if anyone dares to slander Lu Hang or tarnish his reputation, don’t blame me for being ruthless!" Lin Nannan scanned the crowd, driving her point home.

Damn right! "That’s right! From now on, I don’t want to hear any baseless rumors about A Hang in this village. If anyone dares to gossip and I catch wind of it, they’ll face the consequences!" Zhang Xiaofeng jumped in to make her stance clear.

As everyone stood frozen, Lu Ding returned after seeing off the officials. He said to Lu Fang, "They mentioned that due to the urgency of the situation, they had to send local officials first. In a few days, someone from the military will come. Be prepared to receive them."

Lu Fang lit up and nodded.

The town officials taking He Ye away had drawn a line in the sand. Now, with the military coming to show support for his son, Lu Fang was overwhelmed.

He had heard some of the village rumors. Though the family had been furious and aggrieved, they kept it from A Hang, afraid it would upset him.

They had prayed it’d die down, but instead, it worsened—every kind of slander was thrown at A Hang. They had been angry but powerless, never expecting Lin Nannan to flip the script with such a perfect knockout punch, finally releasing their smoldering anger.