Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Punishing One to Warn a Hundred

"Yeah, I'll just wait at home!" Lin Nannan said before hanging up the phone.

She turned around and saw the women looking at each other nervously, their faces pale. Grinning, she poured gasoline on the fire: "Someone from there will arrive soon—maybe they’ll really arrest Lu Hang!"

"If they don’t take my brother, they’ll take you!" Lu Yuan, still inexperienced, wasn’t as ruthless as Lin Nannan but loved seeing them panic, feeling damn good about it.

He Ye, now flustered, let out a strained laugh. "A Yuan, you know what kind of person I am, don’t you? I was just joking—how could you take it seriously?"

"Joking?!" Lu Yuan screamed in rage. "My brother got hurt defending our country! He’s already suffered enough, and you still want to push him over the edge? What are you trying to do—destroy our family?"

She might have stayed out of other matters, but this was something she couldn’t tolerate. Even if it meant facing gossip, she’d fight these people to the end.

Seeing her sister-in-law on the verge of tears, Lin Nannan patted her head gently. "Don’t cry. Right and wrong will be made clear."

"But my brother’s already like this, and they still talk nonsense. It’s just too much!" The young girl buried her face in Lin Nannan’s shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.

Lin Nannan’s gaze turned icy as she glared at He Ye and the others, mentally noting another grievance for making Lu Yuan cry.

"Village Chief," He Ye, afraid of what might happen if Lin Nannan lost her temper, turned to Lu Ding. "We were just chatting idly—it’s not that serious! They’re blowing things out of proportion. If the army really comes, won’t it embarrass our whole village? Hurry and call them back—tell them not to come!"

Lu Ding, a member of the Lu family himself—descended from the same ancestors as Lu Hang’s line—had always admired Lu Hang, the village’s most accomplished and promising young man, who had brought pride to their community. He wouldn’t stand for anyone bullying him.

Before, as a man, he hadn’t wanted to argue with these women. But now, he found Lin Nannan’s approach satisfying and had no reason not to support it.

"You think I’m some kind of authority? That they’ll listen to whatever I say?" Lu Ding scoffed.

He Ye bit back a reply, realizing Lu Ding was siding with Lin Nannan—after all, he was part of the Lu family.

"Village Chief, let me be blunt. You know what Lin Nannan’s like—no one stirs up trouble like her. If the army really comes, you’ll have a mess on your hands!" She snapped before marching off.

She planned to send her daughter to Lu Hang first—no matter what, she had to smooth things over. Given Lin Nannan’s bad reputation, pinning the blame on her would be easy.

Lu Yuan, still inexperienced, thought He Ye’s hurried departure was out of fear, completely unaware of her malicious intent.

Lin Nannan, however, knew He Ye wasn’t giving up just yet when she saw her leave in a rush after her warning.

But whatever tricks she had up her sleeve, Lin Nannan wasn’t afraid.

In fact, she was curious to see what He Ye would do next. With a clear conscience, she’d wait and watch.

...

In a village, nothing stayed secret for long. Soon, word spread—though somehow, the story warped into Lin Nannan being the troublemaker who had offended He Ye and even dragged Lu Hang’s old unit into it...

Friends of the Lu family rushed to the fields to find Lu Fang and the others, hastily explaining, "Get home now! If Lin Nannan really causes trouble, you’ll have a mess on your hands!"