Chapter 31: These Two Together—Will the Courtyard Ever Have Peace Again?

Lu Sinian really brought Ye Sanqiu to report Wang Xiaoyun—straight to the office of Commissar Wang, the husband of Niu Ailing.

“Sinian? Why are you here? Is something wrong?” Commissar Wang, upon seeing Lu Sinian suddenly appear at his office door, had a bad feeling.

Lu Sinian’s reputation as a little troublemaker in the courtyard wasn’t for nothing.

But today, Lu Sinian’s usual playful grin was gone. With a serious expression, he declared, “I’ve brought my fiancée to report Comrade Wang Xiaoyun. She’s slandered my fiancée, and we suspect she’s an agent sent by the enemy to sabotage military-civil relations. We hope the leadership will investigate thoroughly and clear my fiancée’s name.”

One “my fiancée” here, another “my fiancée” there—it completely confused Commissar Wang.

His typically stoic face, unfazed by even the most stressful situations, now showed three simultaneous emotions: shock, confusion, and disbelief.

Did he mishear? The Lu family’s troublemaker just said “fiancée”? Whose fiancée? His?

Wait—where did he get a fiancée from?

And Old Commander Lu hadn’t mentioned anything about this?

In a family like the Lu’s, marriages were definitely something the elders would handle.

He didn’t think Lu Sinian would go behind Old Commander Lu’s back and decide something as important as marriage on his own.

Sure, the kid was mischievous, but he still respected his grandfather. There’s no way he’d make such a huge decision without consulting him.

This had to be another one of his stunts, likely to spite “that woman” back home.

Thinking of the accusation against Comrade Wang Xiaoyun, Commissar Wang became even more convinced this was just Sinian venting.

He knew Wang Xiaoyun—that was the name of the woman who had married into the Lu family.

The entire military district knew that the brat and his stepmother didn’t get along.

As the Lu family’s neighbor, Commissar Wang knew this better than most.

Honestly, he wasn’t even surprised that Lu Sinian was here to report his stepmother.

The only surprising thing was that he’d come to him.

Now, Commissar Wang had a headache.

Resolving family disputes was something for the courtyard women’s committee, not him.

But now that they were here, he couldn’t exactly just send them away.

So he played along and asked, “Where did you get a fiancée?”

Lu Sinian, with a proud expression, replied, “My mom arranged it for me!”

The moment the word “mom” came out of Lu Sinian’s mouth, Commissar Wang’s heart sank. His voice rose a few decibels as he exclaimed, “What? Your mom arranged this marriage?”

Of course, Commissar Wang knew exactly who Lu Sinian meant by “mom.”

When Lu Sinian mentioned his mom, Commissar Wang immediately realized this wasn’t one of the boy’s usual antics.

No matter how troublesome Lu Sinian could be, he would never drag his biological mother into his games.

Unlike Commissar Wang’s shock, Lu Sinian seemed utterly calm. He gave the commissar, who was gaping like a fish out of water, a sidelong glance, and said with a faint smile, “My mom arranged this engagement when I was two. Now, my fiancée has come looking for me.”

Commissar Wang: “…”

This was definitely not what he had expected!

“Where is your fiancée?” Commissar Wang tried to steady himself.

He was a dignified commissar of a military district. What storms hadn’t he weathered? Was he really going to be thrown off by the sudden appearance of a fiancée?

It’s just a fiancée, not a wife. What’s there to be afraid of?

Besides, if the sky falls, Old Commander Lu will handle it!

Ye Sanqiu had been standing behind Lu Sinian this whole time, out of Commissar Wang’s view.

Now, hearing her cue, she stepped out from behind Lu Sinian and quickly walked over to Commissar Wang. Grabbing his arm, she launched straight into her appeal.

“Leader, please seek justice for me! My family has been poor farmers for eight generations. We have a clean and honest lineage. My grandfather was even a war hero! As the descendant of a war hero, I’ve just arrived in the city and have already been slandered.

Where I come from, slandering the family of a war hero is a serious offense that warrants an investigation.

I don’t know much about city rules, but I believe city folks have even greater awareness than us country folks.

Surely, slandering a war hero’s family will be dealt with even more severely here.

Please, leader, I beg you to clear my name!”

After speaking, Ye Sanqiu let go of Commissar Wang’s arm and gave him a deep ninety-degree bow.

Her sincerity was as clear as day!

Commissar Wang was dumbfounded.

Wait, why was she suddenly bowing to him?

After taking a few seconds to process, Commissar Wang finally reacted—and then burst into laughter.

This little girl was something else.

The first time meeting him, she didn’t even introduce herself. She just grabbed his arm and launched into an impassioned tirade, throwing around the legacy of a war hero and making pointed comparisons between the countryside and the city.

If he didn’t give her a satisfactory response, would she start criticizing even his leadership?

This little girl wasn’t just young—she was bold!

Commissar Wang studied her carefully. The more he looked, the more familiar she seemed. It felt like he’d seen her somewhere before, but he just couldn’t place her.

With a calm expression, he asked, “You say you’re a descendant of a war hero. Do you have any proof?”

Ye Sanqiu pulled an introduction letter out of her bag and placed it on the desk in front of him. “This is a letter from our brigade leader. You can send someone to verify it!”

She wasn’t lying—her grandfather really was a war hero, something everyone in the village knew. During holidays, even the commune’s leaders would visit her family to pay their respects.

Her background was clean, and she wasn’t afraid of any investigation.

Next, she pulled out her marriage certificate and placed it alongside the letter.

“This is the marriage certificate for me and Comrade Lu Sinian. You can also verify its authenticity.”

Commissar Wang picked up the introduction letter first. It had the brigade’s official seal and couldn’t be faked.

In those days, no one would dare use a forged introduction letter.

Then he picked up the marriage certificate and examined it for a long time.

After a while, he set it down.

The marriage certificate was genuine.

He had been comrades-in-arms with Ruan Xue in the past and recognized her handwriting. The certificate was written by Ruan Xue herself.

But he couldn’t understand why Ruan Xue would arrange a marriage for her son with a girl from the countryside.

Did Old Commander Lu know about this?

And the other witness, Huang Huijuan—if he guessed correctly, that must be the girl’s mother.

How did Huang Huijuan and Ruan Xue even know each other?

Still, considering Ruan Xue’s character, he decided to drop the questions forming in his mind.

But now, he had another headache.

Dealing with the Lu family’s troublemaker was already exhausting.

Now there was an even craftier little girl in the mix.

If these two really got married in the future, wouldn’t they flip the entire courtyard upside down?

Old Commander Lu had been gone for less than a week, and Commissar Wang was already starting to miss him.

But recalling Old Commander Lu’s instructions before he left, Commissar Wang had no choice but to push forward.

He asked the necessary question: “You’re saying Comrade Wang Xiaoyun slandered you? How exactly did she do that?”

Ye Sanqiu recounted the events from beginning to end, without embellishment.

After hearing everything, Commissar Wang was speechless.

Slander, my foot!

“If you don’t believe me, Leader, you can call others to verify. There were several aunties present at the time. One kind-hearted auntie was named Niu Ailing, another was Zhao Xiaofeng. I don’t know the names of the others, but Comrade Lu Sinian should know!”

Lu Sinian chimed in from the side, “Comrades Zhang Fangfang, Li Xiuli, and Wang Er’ya!”

Commissar Wang: “…”

Of course his wife was among the spectators.

He could only hope she hadn’t been fanning the flames.

He now had a clear picture of the situation. Accusing Comrade Wang Xiaoyun of slandering the descendant of a war hero was an overstatement at best—her actions were more suspicion than slander.

But he could tell this little girl wasn’t one to let things slide.

And with Lu Sinian standing beside her, things weren’t going to be simple.

Commissar Wang pinched the bridge of his nose, his headache worsening.

“Comrade Wang Xiaoyun’s background has already been investigated by the organization. There’s no problem with her identity. As for her doubts about your identity, I will…”

Ye Sanqiu interrupted, correcting him, “It wasn’t doubt—it was slander!”

Suspicion and slander were entirely different matters.

She wasn’t about to let them brush her off just because she came from the countryside!

Commissar Wang: “…”

Facing the two indignant young people glaring at him, Commissar Wang had no words to argue. He conceded, “You’re right—it was slander. We’ll verify the situation with Comrade Wang Xiaoyun and get back to you once the facts are clear.”

Seeing that she had achieved her goal, Ye Sanqiu relented. “Thank you, Leader, for your efforts.”

She didn’t actually plan to take down Wang Xiaoyun. She just wanted to give her a warning. By using Wang Xiaoyun as an example, she could show the rest of the courtyard that Ye Sanqiu was not someone to be trifled with.

Anyone who wanted to mess with her in the future had better think twice.

And, of course, she wanted to stand up for Lu Sinian.

Her people could only be bullied by her, no one else!