In the novel her cousin wrote, which was meant to drag her through the mud, Leng Yuan hadn't been the least bit tempted when the original host tried to seduce him. Instead, he had shoved her away in disgust.
He would rather freeze overnight in the bone-chilling Qiushui River than lay a finger on the original host.
The novel had completely painted Leng Yuan as a paragon of virtue, a modern-day Liu Xia Hui who could hold a woman in his lap without being moved. No matter how beautiful Gu Jiaojiao was, the man wouldn't even spare her a second glance.
The original host was utterly humiliated by the incident and cried all night, feeling deeply wronged.
The plot that followed was identical to the current situation. The next day at noon, while everyone was around, Li Hongmei led a group of educated youth to surround the house and block the door.
The original host was trapped inside Leng Yuan's house.
Li Hongmei had already been dropping heavy hints that Leng Yuan and Gu Jiaojiao had spent the entire night together. Nothing more needed to be said. With an unmarried man and woman alone, everyone could easily imagine the rest.
Back then, the original host had still considered Li Hongmei a dear friend, believing that Li Hongmei was saying all this to stand up for her.
Furthermore, the original host was terrified and guilt-ridden, afraid people would find out she had drugged Leng Yuan. So, she went along with Li Hongmei's narrative and completely slandered him.
Back then, Leng Yuan had spent the night in the icy river. Despite his strong constitution, he had fallen ill and gone to a friend's house that morning, where he came down with a fever. Because he was sick for several days and couldn't clear his name in time, his reputation was completely destroyed by the original host.
The current events were now at the part of the story where Li Hongmei came to block the door.
At that moment, Li Hongmei wore a panicked expression, but a closer look revealed a faint glint of excitement in the depths of her eyes.
'I'm about to catch them in the act! Gu Jiaojiao's reputation will be ruined! How can I not be excited?'
Li Hongmei pounded on the iron gate of Leng Yuan's house, the noise echoing loudly, but there was no sound from within.
It was high noon, and most people were resting at home. Since no one had seen Leng Yuan leave, many began to suspect he must have done something shameful and was now too scared to show his face.
Li Hongmei seized the opportunity to add fuel to the fire.
"Brother Li, Leng Yuan must be feeling guilty! He's probably not letting Jiaojiao out. Let's just kick the door in!"
Li Fenggu hesitated, but it was true that Gu Jiaojiao hadn't come home all night. And some villagers had definitely seen her go to Leng Yuan's house.
"Brother Li, don't hesitate! Jiaojiao is definitely in there."
As Li Hongmei urged him on anxiously from the side, Li Fenggu, also fearing that something had genuinely happened to Gu Jiaojiao, prepared to kick the door in.
Li Fenggu was one of the first educated youth to arrive at Qingshan Team, having been there for nine years. He was the most respected among his peers and was usually the one who dealt with the village authorities. Therefore, it was only natural that Li Hongmei had gone to him with such a serious matter—Gu Jiaojiao not returning all night and then missing work in the morning.
Just as Li Fenggu was about to kick in the door, a clear voice rang out.
"Hong Mei, what are you all doing?"
Li Hongmei froze. She turned her head toward the source of the voice and saw Gu Jiaojiao standing a short distance away, looking lovely in a white blouse and a floral skirt. For a moment, she was too stunned to react.
Gu Jiaojiao, however, flashed a charming smile. She walked confidently and elegantly up to Li Hongmei, her voice as gentle as a spring breeze. "Hong Mei, what's going on? Why is everyone standing around instead of heading to work?"
By now, it was already time for work to start.
The moment Gu Jiaojiao finished speaking, the team leader's angry voice boomed from the distance.
"What are you all doing? Why is everyone crowded around here instead of working?"
The crowd quickly parted to let the team leader through. A helpful villager quickly explained the situation to him, the gist of it being that Leng Yuan had done something improper to Gu Jiaojiao.
Li Hongmei chimed in excitedly, "Team Leader, Mr. Leng is being such a bully! You have to stand up for us!"
The team leader had been heading to the fields, already furious that half the village hadn't shown up for work. After hearing the villager's explanation, his expression had darkened. Now, with Li Hongmei piping up, he completely lost his temper.
"Are you done talking?"
"Leng Yuan and Gu Jiaojiao are already legally married! What a husband and wife do is their own business. What's it got to do with you?"
Li Hongmei: "..."
The furious expression was still frozen on her face!