Bai Xue's intention was exactly that, to prevent An Hao from marrying anyone else, so she would obediently marry the village chief's son.
An Shuchao had always stood by her side, but she hadn't expected him to turn against her today, standing instead with An Hao.
"You! What do you mean by this? Old An, are you saying I'm a wicked stepmother? Fine! Whatever I do is wrong! I've given you my heart and soul, and look what I get in return. What's the point of me living! I might as well hang myself and be done with it! Save you all from thinking I'm the bad guy!"
Bai Xue got up, took a few quick steps to the wall, reached for the rope hanging there, and pretended to go hang herself.
"Xue! What are you frightening everyone for! Making a scene! It's total nonsense!" An Shuchao rushed over to snatch the rope from Bai Xue.
An Hao, listening inside the house, felt a chill in her heart.
Bai Xue really was relentless in setting her up, seizing every opportunity to cause her trouble!
"An Hao, did you really sneak off into the woods with someone?" An Ping asked, frowning and tugging at An Hao's sleeve.
"Me sneak into the woods with Wang the idiot? Do you believe that?"
"If you didn't, why don't you go out and clear your name? Letting people slander you!" An Ping could no longer contain his impatience.
"An Ping, it's good that you understand." Even though she had been cursed at for a while, seeing her brother An Ping so worried for her was worth it.
"You better go out there and explain yourself!"
An Hao nodded and with a loud bang pushed open the door, "Enough! Everyone stop arguing!"
Seeing An Hao come out, every eye in the courtyard turned to her, eager to hear what she would say.
She walked over to Bai Xue with a composed face, glared at her coldly, and snatched the rope away, "You don't need to die! No one is forcing you to die! I'll die! Once I'm gone, everyone can be at peace!"
Having said that, she grabbed the rope and walked out.
"Eh, do you believe what Yang Yonghua said?" the widow Zhang from the west end of the village munched on sunflower seeds, watching with relish. She turned and asked the person next to her.
"Who can say for sure?"
Widow Zhang wore a mischievous smile, "I bet it's true. Yang Yonghua is the 'news agency' of our village. If she says An Hao sneaked into the woods with Wang the idiot, it's very likely she did. Besides, her mother Bai Xue even admitted it, so it must be very close to the truth."
"How is that possible? An Hao and the idiot? Just thinking about it seems impossible!"
"Money! Isn't it all for money? How poor has the An Family become? When people are desperate, is there anything they wouldn't do?"
The onlookers, who were originally just watching for entertainment, began to murmur among themselves, and with what widow Zhang said, they all started thinking there might be some truth to it.
"Makes sense. The An Family has really lost face this time, birthing such a daughter is truly the family's misfortune."
"Indeed, we'll see if she'll still want to get married now."
These villagers really loved watching the excitement and didn't mind making things worse; their muttering reached An Hao's ears clearly. Bai Xue, hearing everyone believed it, suddenly burst into tears, "I'm so ashamed! I've lost all face. How can I even hold my head up in this village anymore! I can't live like this anymore!"
"Shut your mouth, all of you shut your mouth!" An Shuchao was so angry he nearly passed out; he was not articulate, and his anger did not translate into powerful words.
Yang Yonghua looked at everything that was unfolding in front of her, feeling more and more smug, "Folks, just look at the shameful thing the An Family's girl has done. It's absolutely humiliating! If it were me, I couldn't live with it! Better to die than to live and lose face in this world!"
Inside the house, watching An Hao shaking with anger, An Ping's eyes revealed intense pain and despair. His fists clenched with a crackle, and finally, he couldn't bear it any longer and with a crash, he kicked the door open.