Chen Zi'an originally intended to handle the matter himself, but Su Manxiu insisted that it was a war between women.
She couldn't rely on others to stand tall her entire life; she had to stand up and defend her own rights and status.
Although Chen Zi'an was worried about Su Manxiu, who was less than a month postpartum, he felt that what Su Manxiu said made a lot of sense.
Su Manxiu's personality was naturally gentle and soft; it was good for her to stand up for herself.
Chen Zi'an, after ensuring Su Manxiu was wrapped up tightly, agreed to let her face the challenge personally.
"You're talking nonsense..." Xiang Hong could only manage three words after a long pause.
For some reason, Xiang Hong felt timid at that moment.
Su Manxiu's complexion was beautiful and fair, showing no trace of her former appearance as a country woman.
Her rosy cheeks were as vibrant as peaches and plums, making Xiang Hong feel inferior!
How could a divorced woman, a woman over thirty, be so beautiful?
Xiang Hong gritted her teeth in hatred.
The golden sunset bathed Su Manxiu's face. She was so sacred and pure, like a fairy from heaven, making it impossible to look directly at her.
Facing such a person with such a powerful aura, Xiang Hong felt fear from the bottom of her heart.
She couldn't even speak a coherent sentence.
"I'm talking nonsense? Do you want me to state the specific time and details? Xiang Hong, you have no shame, so you think everyone else has no shame?"
Su Manxiu said with a cold smile. When her beautiful eyes looked at Xiang Hong, there was no warmth at all, only a chilling coldness that was frightening.
She had reason to believe that the Xiang Hong before her would not be the last woman to barge in and provoke her.
After all, Chen Zi'an was an outstanding man, and a handsome man with social status; how many women would flock to him?
If she didn't deter the woman in front of her, her future days would not be easy.
The potential influx of women might completely overwhelm her.
Xiang Hong was so ashamed that she wanted to disappear.
But soon, she realized that things were not developing correctly.
She couldn't just sit there and wait for death. If she was left with a reputation for coveting another man's husband, her life would truly be ruined!
The Xiang family was also a respectable family in the county. If such a reputation spread and implicated the Xiang family, even the elders in her family would not spare her.
"Su Manxiu, Minister Chen was about to get engaged to me, but because you shamelessly seduced him, we didn't get married!"
Xiang Hong's hysterical辩解 (biànjiě - excuse/explain) was so forceful that her voice sounded somewhat broken.
"Is that really the case? If you were truly Chen Zi'an's fiancée, then you could absolutely hold him accountable, even demand that he take responsibility. Are you sure you want to confront Chen Zi'an directly?"
This woman was truly stubborn. Even at this point, she was still stubbornly making excuses.
Xiang Hong was afraid. How could she dare to confront Chen Zi'an?
Her feelings for Chen Zi'an were purely one-sided. That was all.
Chen Zi'an avoided her as much as possible; how could they be engaged?
The engagement was just something she made up to trick Su Manxiu.
Who told her that Chen Zi'an wasn't home?
A country woman could be easily deceived with a few words.
"Of course it's true. I was about to get engaged to Chen Zi'an. If you hadn't interfered, Chen Zi'an and I would be living very happily together."
"It's all your fault, you vixen! You seduced him first, you were the one who made the move, and he couldn't resist, so he had a relationship with you, and became soiled. That's why he had to marry you, right?"
"Tell me, am I right?" Xiang Hong screamed frantically.
As if shouting louder would make it true.
"Are you determined to confront Chen Zi'an?" Su Manxiu still only had one sentence.
Unlike Xiang Hong's hysteria, Su Manxiu calmly uttered these words.
"Does this kind of thing require confrontation? It's the truth."
With repeated emphasis, even Xiang Hong felt that it was true. Not to mention Su Xiaoqin and the other neighbors who were watching.
Outside the door, some people had already started whispering, wondering if Chen Zi'an really had a fiancée.
Su Xiaoqin even put on a peacemaking demeanor and said, "This should have been Sister Xiang Hong's marriage. What you're doing is immoral."
Su Manxiu did not recognize the girl in front of her as her relative, so she was merely surprised by Su Xiaoqin's words.
"What do you mean it should have been her marriage? If the two families truly had an engagement, produce the evidence!" Su Manxiu said directly.
After building up her resolve, Xiang Hong spoke again.
"Su Manxiu, if you have any sense of shame, you'll leave Chen Zi'an voluntarily. You're not worthy of that man. Don't covet what doesn't belong to you!"
Su Xiaotian was stunned. What was going on?
Was this Xiang Hong so self-righteous?
Putting aside whether there was an engagement before, even if there was, the man now had a legal wife.
How could she say such shameless words?
"I'm not worthy? Are you worthy?"
Su Manxiu retorted. Before Xiang Hong could reply, she chuckled and spoke again.
"Heh, whether I'm worthy of this man or not, I must remind you, this man is my husband!"
Su Manxiu's words left Xiang Hong flustered once again.
"Of course, if you can produce evidence of your engagement to Chen Zi'an, I will leave immediately and won't delay for a single minute. I, Su Manxiu, am not a woman who is so shameless as to covet another woman's husband."
Xiang Hong understood that Su Manxiu was implying something about her, but at this moment, she couldn't admit it!
She just wanted to get back the man she liked, not covet another woman's husband.
She was the woman who appeared in Chen Zi'an's life first, and therefore, she should rightfully possess Chen Zi'an.
"Do you have it?" Su Manxiu pressed.
"I..."
Xiang Hong hesitated for a moment.
"Of course I do." She suddenly remembered something and took out a pen from her pocket: "Do you see this pen? Minister Chen gave it to me. It's a testament to our feelings and engagement!"
The onlookers who had secretly gathered outside saw that Xiang Hong had indeed produced a token of affection, and their gazes towards Su Manxiu became even more critical.
Some even said, "Before, Su Manxiu seemed so gentle and demure, I didn't expect her to be like this."
"This young lady is truly pitiful. She was about to get engaged, and her husband was snatched away."
"I heard Su Manxiu is a divorced woman. Who knows if she divorced her previous husband after getting involved with Chen Zi'an."
Grandma Su trembled with anger as she listened to these words. What were these people's eyes for?
Clearly, this young girl was shameless, yet her daughter was being blamed.
Chen Zi'an seemed sensible before; why was he hiding today?
Could it be that there was something wrong between him and this girl named Xiang Hong?
Why was her daughter so ill-fated? Her previous husband, Wang Gouzi, was a dog, and now this one, who seemed decent, was also a dog?
"Are you sure Chen Zi'an gave this to you?" Su Manxiu didn't believe it. A pen, what could it prove?
A wife must believe in her own husband and absolutely not give the enemy an opportunity.
"Of, of course it's true. If you don't believe me, then let Chen Zi'an come out and confront me!" Xiang Hong said boldly.
The reason she dared to say this was that she already knew Chen Zi'an was not at home. However, under the circumstances of today, as long as Chen Zi'an didn't show up, Su Manxiu was destined to be at a disadvantage.
At this moment, Xiang Hong no longer cared about offending Chen Zi'an; she just wanted to get rid of the reputation of coveting another woman's husband.
Su Manxiu fell silent.
After a while, she didn't say a word.
Her silence led many to believe that Su Manxiu dared not let Chen Zi'an come out for a confrontation.
The discussions outside grew louder, with some openly supporting Xiang Hong.
Several people even said that such a dog of a man was not worthy of Xiang Hong.
An elder aunt even said that she had a nephew who could be introduced to Xiang Hong.
Xiang Hong heard all these words clearly, but her expression became increasingly displeased.
What nephew? Could he compare to Chen Zi'an's excellence?
Chen Zi'an, in terms of ability, appearance, and status, was the most outstanding in the county. Ten other men, bound together, couldn't compare to one Chen Zi'an.
Men who couldn't compare to Chen Zi'an were useless; she didn't want such men!
Xiang Hong knew Chen Zi'an wasn't home, and at this moment, her gaze towards Su Manxiu was filled with provocation.
Her look clearly conveyed: If you have the ability, then make Chen Zi'an come out and confront me!
With just this pen, as long as Chen Zi'an himself didn't appear, if she said it was a love token, then it was a love token.
"Chen Zi'an, get your ass out here!" Su Manxiu rolled her eyes and then suddenly shouted into the house with full force.
This shout stunned everyone.
The neighbors knew that the young wife living in this courtyard was gentle and never spoke loudly.
But this shout today, like a lioness's roar, was truly terrifying!
Grandma Su's mouth was agape, almost unable to close.
Was this her daughter? When did her daughter become so fierce?
However, this was excellent; it had her youthful spirit!
Su Xiaotian quietly gave Su Manxiu a thumbs-up.
Xiang Hong, at the center of the incident, looked at Su Manxiu in a daze.
Was this woman crazy? Just shouting loudly could summon Chen Zi'an?
Don't dream. She had inquired clearly; Chen Zi'an was on a business trip out of town. No matter how loud she shouted, it wouldn't reach him.
"Su Manxiu, are you shouting so loudly because you're guilty?"
"No matter how loud you shout, Chen Zi'an won't dare to show up and confront me!"
Even though she knew Chen Zi'an was on a business trip, Xiang Hong still intended to solidify the idea that Chen Zi'an dared not show up.
But at this moment, she heard a man's stern voice.
"I dare not confront you? Why wouldn't I dare to confront you?"
It was Chen Zi'an.
The surrounding neighbors also recognized Chen Zi'an's voice.
They were astonished. Chen Zi'an had actually come out to confront her?
Before Chen Zi'an appeared, the neighbors thought he might truly be afraid.
But with Chen Zi'an's appearance, they felt that perhaps things were not so simple.
"You..."
Xiang Hong's face immediately turned extremely pale.
No, Chen Zi'an shouldn't have been on a business trip out of town? How could he walk out of the house at this time?
She looked at Su Xiaoqin. It was Su Xiaoqin, that bitch, who said Chen Zi'an wasn't here.
Oh, how could she forget? Su Xiaoqin was Su Manxiu's relative. Perhaps Su Xiaoqin, that bitch, was helping Su Manxiu.
Enraged, Xiang Hong slapped Su Xiaoqin.
Even though Su Xiaoqin's complexion was dark and not very fair, a clear red mark was visible on her face.
This showed how hard Xiang Hong had hit her.
"It's all your fault! What did you tell me?" Xiang Hong asked sternly.
Everyone was stunned by Xiang Hong's sudden slap. What was going on?
Why did she suddenly hit the person she brought with her? What did this young girl do to deserve being hit?
"Sister Xiang Hong, I..." Su Xiaoqin, covering her stinging cheek, looked at Xiang Hong in shock.
Since arriving in the county town, Xiang Hong had treated her quite well. Although she occasionally scolded her, this was the first time she had hit her.
It's all Su Xiaotian and Su Manxiu's fault. It's all their fault.
It had to be said that Su Xiaoqin's logic was truly bizarre. Clearly, Xiang Hong had hit her, but she didn't dare to blame Xiang Hong, so she transferred all her resentment to Su Xiaotian and Su Manxiu.
"What do you mean 'I'? How did you keep an eye on things for me? Why is he at home?" Xiang Hong's eyes were red, as if she intended to devour Su Xiaoqin.
Su Xiaoqin felt wronged. She said that Chen Zi'an seemed to be away recently. It was Xiang Hong herself who had someone inquire and was told Chen Zi'an was on a business trip. Why was she being blamed now?
"Sister Xiang Hong, I didn't..." she said timidly.
"What do you mean 'I'? What else do you have to say? You're clearly in cahoots with them. You're all from the Su family, birds of a feather!"
"You and she are birds of a feather. I'm not familiar with her!" Su Xiaotian suddenly said in a childish voice.
Although Su Xiaoqin didn't want to acknowledge the people from the old Su family, she was surprised when Su Xiaotian said she wasn't familiar with her.
When did this dead girl become like this?
They were cousins and had grown up together; how could they not be familiar?
"Not familiar? Who are you trying to fool? Do you think I really don't know anything?" Xiang Hong glared fiercely at Su Xiaotian, then at Su Manxiu.
"Xiang Hong, I will talk to your father about this matter. You and your Xiang family must give me an explanation for damaging my wife's and my reputation!" Chen Zi'an's voice was not loud, but to Xiang Hong, it sounded terrifying!
Her family had always told her what kind of man Chen Zi'an was, even warning her not to provoke him, as the Xiang family couldn't bear his wrath.
However, she had come here impulsively today!
What should she do now?
Xiang Hong was terrified and began to tremble. She didn't know what kind of fury she would face.
If her father found out about this, he would definitely not spare her!
"Minister Chen, this was originally..." Xiang Hong tried to argue, but was interrupted by Chen Zi'an's cold voice.