Chapter 40

“What’s this kid saying? What mom told him to call Zhan Xinyue ‘Mom’?”

“I’m getting more and more confused.”

“The kid is just talking nonsense. I don’t understand what he means either.”

Everyone was baffled, not understanding how there could be two mothers.

“Take your time. Who’s the first mom? Who told you to call me ‘Mom’?”

Zhan Xinyue knew what was going on and started to gently guide Li Shenxing to reveal their family secret.

“It’s Mom.” Li Shenxing said between sobs.

He might as well have said nothing. The crowd was even more confused.

“What’s this Mom’s name?” Zhan Xinyue continued to ask.

“She’s called…” At home, Li Jian often called her “Ruyuan.” Li Shenxing knew his mother’s name.

He was about to say it, but Li Jinyan covered his mouth and shouted, “Brother, don’t talk nonsense. There are no monsters, they won’t eat you.”

Zhan Xinyue pulled Li Jinyan away, her face darkening. “Little liars will have their mouths and teeth rot, and they won’t be able to eat anything.”

Three-year-old children are more afraid of not having food to eat than being eaten. He immediately said, “Mom is called Ruyuan. Dad calls her Ruyuan.”

Zhan Xinyue asked again, “Isn’t Liu Ruyuan your aunt?”

“Dad and Mom said we can only call her ‘Mom’ at home, but we have to call her ‘Aunt’ outside. Mom told me and my brother to trick you into going home today. She said you can earn work points for the family and buy us candy. I told the truth. I don’t want my mouth to rot.” Li Shenxing blurted out everything he knew.

Last night, when Zhan Hongyan was arrested, Li Jian was also in the crowd. He knew that he couldn’t marry Zhan Hongyan, but he was an outsider and had two sons. No girl would be willing to marry him.

If he married a widow or a divorced woman, Li Jian wouldn’t want to. Besides, a woman who had already been married once was more cunning than a young girl. If he brought her home, they would live under the same roof, and she would inevitably discover his true relationship with Liu Ruyuan.

Therefore, as soon as Li Jian got home, he discussed with Liu Ruyuan that they had to marry Zhan Xinyue. She was diligent, had already broken off ties with the Zhan family, and had no one to rely on. Most importantly, in their eyes, Zhan Xinyue was a person who did a lot but said little.

Such a person was easy to control!

Li Jian and Liu Ruyuan agreed to use their children. They would have them call Zhan Xinyue “Mom” in public, making everyone think that Zhan Xinyue and Li Jian had already had contact.

Li Jian thought that Zhan Xinyue was not talkative. Even if his son called her “Mom,” she would probably just be embarrassed and wouldn’t know how to defend herself. Then, he would have his son bring Zhan Xinyue home, and he would have his way with her. Even if Sheng Tunan came back, he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

Could a regiment commander really want a woman who had been touched by another man?

At first, Liu Ruyuan didn’t want Li Jian to have anything to do with Zhan Xinyue. But now there was no other way. They needed a diligent woman in the family. And Li Jian repeatedly assured her that even if he slept with Zhan Xinyue, he would only ever love Liu Ruyuan.

After much deliberation, Liu Ruyuan finally agreed. Li Jian didn’t show any joy on the surface and just said that they were forced to do this. But in his heart, he was overjoyed. He imagined himself having his cake and eating it too.

He had even planned it out. He would spend the odd-numbered days with Zhan Xinyue and the even-numbered days with Liu Ruyuan.

After all, there would be a 31st of the month every other month, so he could spend an extra night with Zhan Xinyue.

He loved Liu Ruyuan in his heart, but his body still preferred the young and beautiful Zhan Xinyue.

However, Li Jian’s calculations were flawed. He treated Zhan Xinyue like a tool, as if she could really be swayed by two children.

The situation was that Zhan Xinyue wasn’t tricked into going home. Instead, she exposed the Li family’s secret in public. He had bitten off more than he could chew.

The crowd was shocked. Someone asked in bewilderment, “Isn’t Liu Ruyuan Li Jian’s sister? Can siblings have children now?”

“Ah, this is incest!”

“No, that’s not true.” Liu Ruyuan rushed out from behind the tree, shouting, “Don’t listen to the children’s nonsense. I’m not their mother.”

She wasn’t very healthy. She ran a few steps and was out of breath. She stopped and rested for a while before continuing, “How can you believe the words of a few-year-old child? They’re just children talking nonsense. How could I be their mother?”

Li Jian emerged from somewhere and explained, “The children lost their mother when they were young. My sister raised them. They’re too young to distinguish between ‘Mom’ and ‘Aunt.’ That’s why they’re saying such things.”

Li Jian was tall and had thick eyebrows and big eyes, a typical rough northern man. He looked fierce when he was cold, but now his expression was sincere and his words were earnest. He stood there, a tall figure, exuding a sense of pressure. Everyone fell silent. They also thought that since the liberation, it was impossible for siblings to have children.

Even before liberation, most marriages were between cousins, not siblings.

Moreover, it was mentioned at the meeting earlier that marriages between relatives could result in deformed or intellectually disabled children. Jinyan and Shenxing both looked intelligent. They definitely weren’t born from incest.

Thinking about it this way, everyone thought that the children were just talking nonsense and prepared to go home for dinner and work.

Li Jian, holding the two children, wanted to try again. He said to Zhan Xinyue, “Comrade Xinyue, when you and Zhan Hongyan were going to exchange brides, I disagreed. I’ve always wanted to marry you. You’re the one I’m engaged to. Now that Zhan Hongyan is gone, let’s go back to the original plan. You should still marry me.”

Zhan Xinyue rolled her eyes. “Don’t you have a mirror at home, or do you lack self-awareness? You’re not as good as my brother Sheng in any way. How dare you marry me?”

Before Li Jian could speak, Liu Ruyuan couldn’t take it anymore. She frowned and said angrily, “Zhan Xinyue, how can you say that about Li Jian? You were engaged to him. You’re the one who wants to marry a high-ranking official and climb the social ladder. How dare you say that about him? I’m going to the army to ask if becoming a regiment commander means you can openly snatch away the fiancée someone has already promised to marry?”