"Why?"

Gray's eyes were laced cold and filled with anger as he watched her warily. Ashley naturally detected the suspicion in his gaze, and she couldn't blame him, after all, the original owner's behavior had been far from commendable.

If she wanted to, she could have pushed all the blame onto Gray, something that the original owner would likely have done, However, to successfully get through the ordeal tonight, Ashley quickly explained the situation.

"Today’s incident wasn't my doing; I was framed. The one who drugged us is Morgan, your future wife. She despises you for being lame and doesn't want to marry you anymore. That's why she did something like this!”

"You've heard the footsteps too, right? They will be here soon. If you don’t want your reputation ruined, let me do the talking! I’m also a maiden, I need to marry someone in the future, and I need to prove my innocence even more than you do!"

Ashley had tried her best to Improve the original owner's image. In reality, the original owner had not been framed; she had volunteered for this, all for a small bag of brown sugar to court the educated youth she had taken a liking to recently.

Who would have thought that Morgan was so ruthless, even drugging the original owner? All Ashley could say was that the original owner deserved it.

After hearing this, Gray's expression wavered slightly.

He looked at Ashley again, as if considering whether he could trust her words.

Seeing that the fire had crossed over the hill and was about to reach them, Ashley, tired of arguing back and forth with Gray, hugged him from behind by the armpits, and dragged him to the giant rock beside them. Just after dragging him over, Morgan's sharp voice pierced the tonight, carrying a clear note of urgency.

"This is the place, this is exactly where I heard those sounds!"

Everyone present seemed to stop a few meters away.

After speaking, Morgan shouted toward the back of the stone, "Everyone, can you see? There are footprints next to the stone! Gray and Ashley must be here!"

"Raven Scott, come with me."

Morgan led a woman forward. Six steps left... five steps...

As she got closer to the stone, a light shone in her eyes, as if she'd already won.

But just as she was about to touch the stone, intending to pull Ashley out, a huge figure suddenly sprang out from behind like an arrow.

"Morgan, you're finally here to pick me up!"

"Ah—!!" Mrs Raven was frightened, stepped on a rock, lost her balance, and slid backwards, bumping straight into Morgan.

With a "bang", both of them fell on the ground, raising a cloud of choking dust.

Mrs Raven landed on top of Morgan, making her wince in pain.

Just when she was about to get up and speak, Ashley preemptively said, "Morgan, you told me to wait for you here, why did it take you so long to come?"

Looking over at the villagers behind her, she continued, "Why did you bring so many people? What happened?

Mrs Raven also got up from the ground and asked Ashley, " Morgan told us that you and Gray were secretly meeting in this small grove late at night. Is it true?"

"Of course it's a lie!"

Ashley revealed an incredulous look, staring in astonishment at Morgan who was dusting her clothes, "Morgan, how could you slander me and Comrade Gray like this!"

"Where did I slander you!" Morgan coughed twice, clearing the dust from her throat before continuing, "I clearly heard the noises you and Gray were making over here. If nothing happened between you two, then how do you explain you both being out here together late at night!"

That's all thanks to your wicked plot!

Ashley shot her a glance. Since Morgan dared to bring so many people to catch her in the act, aiming to disgrace her, she should not blame her for being ruthless!

With that thought, her expression turned grim. Rolling up her sleeves, she raised her hand and slapped Morgan across the face.

With a crisp and resonant "slap", Morgan was stunned.

Taking advantage of her shock, Ashley seized Morgan's hair and unceremoniously smacked her face back and forth. Only after dozens of slaps did she finally stop.

Upon finishing, she dismissively let go of Morgan who fell to the ground, depleted.

Clutching at her red, swollen face, Morgan quickly came back to her senses and shrieked venomously at Ashley, "You wench, you dare hit me!"

Ashley pointed at her nose and yelled back, "You are the wench, what's wrong with hitting you? You had it coming!"

"What sort of cousin are you, indiscriminately accusing your own cousin of infidelity, with no regard for a girl's respect! I wish I could kill you here and now!"

Her gaze was filled with fury, an intimidating aura radiating from her in every direction, and it seemed to have sucked the air from the entire mountain.

Both Morgan and the surrounding villagers were taken aback. "Has Ashley gone mad?, Before, she was fierce, but she wasn't as scary as she is today.

After scolding Morgan, Ashley's eyes immediately filled with tears, and she said to all the villagers, "Everyone, you've all seen it! I had no choice but to hit my cousin!"

"After all, I'm a girl, how could I not care about my reputation? She's obviously trying to smear me!"

People sympathize with those who are weaker. Even if the weaker ones weigh 250 kilograms and have just slapped someone dozens of times. As Ashley cries, Mrs Raven on the side immediately softened a little.

She said to Ashley, "tell us what happened tonight, so we can all help you to judge!"

Ashley spoke immediately, saying, "It was Morgan who asked me to wait for her in the wild!"

"She looks down on Gray now because he is disabled, and she doesn't want to marry him, but she can't bear to part with that hundred dollars' worth of dowry."

"I told her this was wrong, and she got angry at me, so she threw me here and made me wait until late at night, and only then was she willing to let me go home!"

Mrs Raven suddenly realized, "So it was Morgan's doing!"

"She had you wait here for her, and tricked Comrade Gray into coming over. When the time was just right, she would come and catch you in the act, so she could both break off the marriage and get that dowry money.!"

Brilliant!

Ashley looked at Mrs Raven, almost moved to tears by her cleverness."

The rest of the villagers also came to their senses, realizing that they had been manipulated by Morgan.

Although they had this big commotion to watch, nobody liked being used.

Coupled with the fact that Ashley had just emerged from behind a rock, and her expectant tone when she heard the noise, it did not seem like she was here to cheat Morgan.

Her clothes were all intact, clearly showing that she had done nothing inappropriate.

"Morgan has such a wicked heart, for money, she even didn’t care about Ashley's reputation..."

"Gray is a decent comrade, he wouldn’t do such a thing in the wild and tarnish a woman's reputation!"

"Indeed, besides, his leg is in bad shape, it's impossible for him to do such things in the wild."

Ashley was quietly listening on the side, wiping her own tears. At the beginning, she held back her tears, but when she heard the final statement that Gray was incapable, she could no longer hide her feelings.

Not only can Gray perform well in the wild, but he is also quite capable...

Not far away, Morgan, who had been beaten to the ground by Ashley, heard these words, her expression shifted abruptly, and her face turned as white as a sheet.

She had calculated everything, but did not expect that this fat woman, Ashley, would bite her back at the critical moment!