Su Wantang didn’t turn around.
She walked to stand in front of Su Wanrou and stopped.
Moonlight poured down from above, casting two long shadows on the ground—one curled up and trembling, the other standing straight and firm.
The few villagers who had not yet left stopped in their tracks and turned back.
There was more drama to watch.
The Su sisters had always been known as opposites: the elder sister gentle and graceful, the younger timid and meek. But tonight, first the elder sister’s public attempt to force a marriage had been exposed, and now the younger sister was stepping forward…
“Sis,” Su Wantang said softly, her voice light but clear enough for everyone to hear. “Can I see that diagnosis?”
Su Wanrou’s head snapped up.
Under the moonlight, her eyes were swollen and red, but a flash of panic flickered deep within them. Instinctively, she pulled the diagnosis closer to her chest.
“W-why do you want to see it? Wantang, this has nothing to do with you…”
“Let me see it.”
Su Wantang held out her hand.
Her calm tone surprised even herself.
“Since Comrade Lu refuses to acknowledge it, then we need to find out the truth—whether you’re actually pregnant or not.”
“What does my pregnancy have to do with you?!” Su Wanrou’s voice became shrill. “Su Wantang, stop pretending! You want to see me humiliated, don’t you? You want Comrade Lu to misunderstand me, don’t you?”
Her words came out fast and frantic, full of obvious panic.
Su Wantang didn’t respond.
She simply looked at her.
Their eyes met.
For the first time, Su Wanrou saw something unfamiliar in her younger sister’s gaze.
No more timidity.
No more avoidance.
Instead, there was a quiet, unwavering scrutiny.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Her grip on the diagnosis tightened.
“Sis,” Su Wantang suddenly said, crouching down so they were eye level. “If you’re really pregnant, then the child belongs to Comrade Lu, right?”
“Of course!” Su Wanrou blurted out.
Then she realized her mistake.
“I mean… if… if it really is his…”
“But Comrade Lu says it isn’t.”
Su Wantang interrupted her, still speaking softly.
“He said the person he touched had a red mole on the side of her neck. You don’t.”
Su Wanrou’s face turned pale.
“So there are only two possibilities,” Su Wantang continued.
Her reasoning was so clear that it frightened even herself.
“First, Comrade Lu is lying. He was with you but doesn’t want to take responsibility.”
She paused.
Watching hope suddenly flare in Su Wanrou’s eyes, she calmly stated the second possibility.
“Second, you were never pregnant at all. This diagnosis is fake.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The villagers who remained gasped.
The accusation was incredibly bold.
Su Wanrou shot to her feet, nearly jabbing a finger into Su Wantang’s face.
“Su Wantang! What nonsense are you talking about?! Why would I joke about my own reputation? Midwife Wang wrote this diagnosis herself! It has her thumbprint on it! You—”
“Then let’s invite Midwife Wang here.”
Su Wantang stood up as well, raising her voice slightly.
“Let her examine you again, right here in front of everyone.”
“You!”
Su Wanrou trembled with rage.
But the panic in her eyes became even more obvious.
Of course she didn’t dare call Midwife Wang.
The diagnosis had been bought.
She had bribed the old midwife with five yuan.
Greedy for money and convinced by Su Wanrou’s confidence that she would successfully marry Lu Zhanye, Midwife Wang had agreed to help.
But if they confronted her publicly…
“What? Are you afraid?”
Su Wantang stepped forward.
The distance between them vanished.
In the moonlight, she could see her own pale reflection in her sister’s pupils.
And she could see the growing terror there.
“I’m not afraid!” Su Wanrou shrieked.
Fresh tears spilled from her eyes.
This time they were real—born from panic.
“It’s just… it’s too late! Midwife Wang is old. She’s already asleep! We can’t disturb an elderly woman like this!”
It sounded perfectly reasonable.
But Su Wantang didn’t back down.
[Target Character “Su Wanrou” detected experiencing extreme emotional instability. Conditions met for use of “Truth Talisman.”]
[Use item “Truth Talisman” now? Duration: 30 minutes.]
The system prompt sounded in her mind.
Su Wantang’s heart raced.
A Truth Talisman…
Could it really make Su Wanrou tell the truth in front of everyone?
Gritting her teeth, she answered silently:
“Use it.”
[Item successfully activated. Target “Su Wanrou” will be unable to lie for the next 30 minutes.]
An invisible ripple of energy spread outward.
Suddenly, Su Wanrou felt her throat tighten, as if something were lodged inside it.
She tried to continue making excuses.
She wanted to say, “We can ask Midwife Wang tomorrow.”
But when the words left her mouth, they became:
“I… I can’t call Midwife Wang… she’ll tell everyone…”
The moment the words fell, even she froze.
The courtyard erupted.
“Tell everyone what?”
“Wanrou, what do you mean?”
“Is the diagnosis really fake?”
The villagers crowded closer, questioning her from all sides.
Su Wanrou’s face turned ghostly white.
She tried to cover her mouth.
But her body no longer obeyed her.
Her lips parted, and another uncontrollable confession spilled out.
“I gave Midwife Wang five yuan… to write the diagnosis…”
Silence.
Complete silence.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Everyone stared at Su Wanrou in disbelief.
This woman, always praised as gentle, virtuous, and proper…
Had really forged a diagnosis.
Had really faked a pregnancy to force a marriage.
“No… no…” Su Wanrou shook her head desperately.
Tears streamed down her face.
“I didn’t mean to say that… I don’t know what’s happening… I…”
She tried to explain.
Tried to insist those words weren’t what she intended to say.
But the more she spoke, the worse it became.
And Su Wantang simply stood there, quietly watching her.
In the moonlight, the two sisters formed a striking image.
One standing.
One sitting.
Their shadows stretched long across the ground.
One was crying uncontrollably, disheveled and broken.
The other stood calm and composed, her gaze clear.
The contrast was impossible to ignore.
“Sis,” Su Wantang said softly.
“Stop.”
Just three words.
But they struck like the final hammer blow, shattering every last piece of Su Wanrou’s facade.
She collapsed onto the ground.
Covering her face, she burst into loud sobs.
This time there was no calculation in her tears.
No pretense.
Only complete despair and collapse.
“Why… why are you doing this to me…”
She cried out hoarsely.
“Su Wantang… what did I ever do to deserve this…? In my previous life, you stole Zhao Jianguo from me… and in this life… in this life you’re going to steal Lu Zhanye too?”
Previous life.
The phrase had come from her lips a second time.
The surrounding villagers exchanged confused looks.
None of them understood what she was talking about.
Only Su Wantang understood.
She understood the hatred buried deep within those words.
And the fear.
Suddenly, she felt a profound sadness.
“Sis.”
She crouched down so they were face to face.
“I never wanted to steal anyone from you. And Comrade Lu isn’t an object. He isn’t something that can be stolen.”
Su Wanrou raised tear-filled eyes and stared at her.
“Then what about you?”
Her gaze was fierce.
“Can you honestly say you never did?”