Chapter 26 : A Difficult Mother-in-Law?  

Shen Zheng opened the car door and said softly, “Wait for me.”  

Fang Xiaoluo remained seated as Shen Zheng got out, walked around, and opened the door on her side.  

As soon as the door opened, someone handed over a red envelope, which Fang Xiaoluo accepted smoothly.  

The crowd outside began to cheer, “Carry her! Carry her!”  

Shen Zheng extended his hand. “Let me carry you.”  

Fang Xiaoluo didn’t hesitate and cooperated gracefully.  

Shen Zheng scooped her up, triggering a wave of cheers and applause.  

Someone shouted, “The bride is gorgeous!”  

“Captain Shen has married a goddess!”  

“She looks like she walked straight out of a movie!”  

“No, she’s even more beautiful than in the movies!”  

“Congratulations, Captain Shen! Best wishes!”  

With Fang Xiaoluo in his arms, Shen Zheng carried her inside. Behind them, soldiers took turns bringing in the items Fang Xiaoluo had brought from her family.  

This included not only what Shen Zheng had previously sent but also part of the furniture gifted by Wei Yan.  

Not all the furniture was brought over, Shen Zheng had already prepared plenty of new furniture on his end. Fang Xiaoluo only brought a writing desk and a dressing table, leaving the rest for her family to use.  

The residents of the military compound didn’t know most of the items were provided by Shen Zheng. Watching the steady stream of belongings being carried into the Shen household, many began to whisper among themselves.  

“That’s quite a dowry!”  

“Indeed. You don’t see this much dowry very often.”  

“Even bringing such fine furniture along!”  

“How much must all that have cost?”  

“The bride is clearly cherished by her family.”  

Amid the crowd, Liu Qianru, from the arts troupe, overheard the discussions and interjected, “I heard the bride’s family isn’t well off. Where would they get such a lavish dowry?”  

Someone nearby replied, “We wouldn’t know. Rumor has it she was originally raised in the city but was swapped at birth. Maybe her foster parents provided these things?”  

Liu Qianru clenched the hem of her clothes. “Impossible.”  

Her certainty caught the others’ attention.  

“How do you know so much?” asked Sun Qiaoling, another soldier in the arts troupe. “Didn’t you say you didn’t like Captain Shen?”  

Everyone knew that Shen Zheng was originally introduced to Liu Qianru.  

The brigade had thought they were a good match because the two had crossed paths several times, and even the brigade commander believed Shen Zheng hadn’t avoided her deliberately, which hinted that he might have a favorable opinion of her.  

However, at the end of last month, when Shen Zheng agreed to consider matchmaking, the arts troupe leaders approached Liu Qianru, only for her to claim she didn’t like Shen Zheng and wouldn’t participate in matchmaking, preferring to focus on her dancing career.  

But now, the woman who allegedly didn’t like Shen Zheng seemed unusually well-informed about him.  

A flicker of emotion crossed Liu Qianru’s eyes, and she hurriedly tried to explain. “I… I just heard from someone that the bride’s foster parents cut ties with her after she left. So, those things couldn’t have been provided by her city parents.”

Sun Qiaoling nodded knowingly. “No wonder. I thought maybe you’d regret it after seeing Captain Shen put on such a grand display for the wedding.”

Liu Qianru turned her face away without saying a word.  

She ‘did’ regret it.  

Just a few days ago, she had a strange dream.  

In the dream, she realized she was living inside a book, and the protagonists of the story were Shen Zheng and Fang Xiaoluo.  

She had liked Shen Zheng too and had dreamed of becoming his wife, the captain’s wife. But last month, Shen Zheng had brought back three children, all adopted into his name.  

She didn’t want to step into a marriage where she’d immediately become a stepmother, so when the leaders of the cultural troupe proposed the match, she refused without even giving it a second thought.  

The details in the dream were vague, but she knew that her refusal had led Shen Zheng to end up with Fang Xiaoluo from Honghe Village.  

Shen Zheng and Fang Xiaoluo had a wonderful relationship. The three adopted children grew up to be extraordinary individuals, and they treated Fang Xiaoluo, their stepmother, with immense respect and love.  

When she woke up from the dream and went looking for Shen Zheng, she found out that he and Fang Xiaoluo had already registered their marriage.  

She was one step too late.  

If she had dreamed it earlier and realized Shen Zheng was the male protagonist, she would have agreed to the match without hesitation. Then today, it would have been her marrying Shen Zheng.  

The three children grew up to be brilliant and filial, excelling in their respective fields. Yet no matter how high they climbed, they always spoke of their gratitude to Fang Xiaoluo, treating her better than even a biological mother.  

So what was so bad about being a stepmother?  

Now, Shen Zheng was putting on such a grand show to marry Fang Xiaoluo, making countless people envious. And the bride, Fang Xiaoluo, was even more beautiful than she had been in the dream.  

Liu Qianru clenched her fists. It didn’t matter.  

There had been moments, like the time during a performance when she almost twisted her ankle after stepping offstage, and Shen Zheng had caught her.  

Or last autumn, during heavy rains, when they were helping villagers harvest corn, and she fell into a mud pit. It was Shen Zheng who rescued her. He had even carried her!  

After she was discharged from the hospital, she made chicken soup and brought it to him. She’d personally seen the empty container being brought out of the headquarters. Shen Zheng must have liked the soup she made.  

Everyone said Shen Zheng wasn’t interested in women, but given these moments, who could believe he didn’t care about her?  

This was the new era, after all. Marriage didn’t mean you couldn’t get divorced.  

Fang Xiaoluo had just entered the house. How much could she mean to Shen Zheng? They couldn’t possibly have the connection she had with him. She still had a chance.  

As Shen Zheng carried Fang Xiaoluo into the house, his mother, Zheng Lanhua, entered with the three children in tow.  

Zheng Lanhua sat at the table, while the three children stood by her side.  

Shen Zheng gently set Fang Xiaoluo down. She took a red flower, walked over, and pinned it onto Zheng Lanhua’s hair.  

Then, someone brought over a cup of tea. Fang Xiaoluo took it and handed it to Zheng Lanhua. “Mom, have some tea.”  

Zheng Lanhua scrutinized Fang Xiaoluo from head to toe, not moving for a long while.  

The atmosphere grew tense and unusually quiet.  

Just as Shen Zheng began to feel nervous, his mother finally let out a sound of acknowledgment and took the tea, sipping it.  

Immediately, two red envelopes were handed to Fang Xiaoluo.  

While the formalities had gone smoothly and all the red envelopes had been given, Fang Xiaoluo was clearly dissatisfied with Zheng Lanhua’s scrutinizing gaze.  

She raised an eyebrow. Could it be that Shen Zheng’s mother wasn’t an easy person to get along with?