Chapter 44.3

As Lu Yang had suspected, Lu Yan was sentenced to ten years. Lu Yang was also implicated. Although he wasn’t dismissed, he was demoted by three ranks to become a company commander. It was said that this was thanks to his higher-ups fighting for him.

Otherwise, Lu Yang would have had to return home and face the consequences himself.

What surprised Ruan Mingfu the most was that Xie Yanzhao received a warning.

It turned out that none of the three people involved in the fight escaped punishment.

In the military hospital, Father Lu was still hospitalized. His face was pale, and he sighed with relief upon hearing the news.

“This is already the best outcome.”

If it hadn’t been for the timely medical intervention, Father Lu might have passed away. Even though he was saved, he still needed to rest for half a month.

In contrast, Li Yuxiang was devastated by the news.

“Lu Yan…” Tears streamed down her face as she pleaded with Lu Yang, “Lu Yang, please save Lu Yan. He’s still young. How can he serve ten years in prison?”

“Pah—”

Father Lu grabbed a cup from the table and threw it at Li Yuxiang’s feet. The scalding hot water splashed out, causing Li Yuxiang to jump up.

“Enough!” Father Lu glared at Li Yuxiang. “How long do you plan to ruin Lu Yang’s life?”

Li Yuxiang was terrified.

Her face was marked with bruises, looking pitifully disheveled.

“If you still want to live a peaceful life, just be quiet.” After this incident, Father Lu’s patience with Li Yuxiang had run out. “If you don’t want to continue living together, let’s get a divorce.”

“Dad!”

Although Li Yuxiang was biased towards Lu Yan, she was still his biological mother. Lu Yang couldn’t bear to see them divorce.

Li Yuxiang was successfully frightened.

At her age, who would she marry after a divorce? Moreover, she had no place to return to with her family.

Furthermore, despite Lu Yan’s troubles, Father Lu’s job was unaffected.

After returning home, she would still be the well-regarded manager’s wife.

Father Lu glanced at her before turning to Lu Yang.

“You don’t need to worry about family matters. Even though you’ve been demoted to a company commander, you’re still an officer. There will be opportunities to rise again.” He sighed.

“Treat this as a trial and don’t let it affect you.”

Lu Yang was the most promising member of the Lu family, and Father Lu naturally wanted to help him. “Life is still long, we can afford to lose a little.”

Lu Yang’s eyes glistened with gratitude. “I understand.”

“Your mother and I will go back the day after tomorrow, you should work hard.” If it weren’t for his health, Father Lu would have wanted to leave right away, so that Li Yuxiang wouldn’t get into trouble again. “By the way, what’s going on with the Ruan family?”

Li Yuxiang opened her mouth to speak but didn’t know what to say.

Seeing that Father Lu was determined to leave, Lu Yang didn’t try to persuade him any further.

“According to my investigation, someone complained to Ruan Mingfu, saying that you were spreading rumors that she was a pimp…”

The accusations were too harsh for Lu Yang to express comfortably.

“Nonsense!”

Li Yuxiang jumped up as if her tail had been stepped on upon hearing this.

“I haven’t spread any rumors,” she insisted, becoming more indignant as both men looked at her. “I’ve been extremely busy recently, constantly working with my sister-in-law at the factory, like a spinning top. How could I have time to spread such gossip?”

Having shared a bed for over twenty years, Father Lu could easily tell whether Li Yuxiang was lying.

“It wasn’t your mother,” Father Lu said.

“I know,” Lu Yang said, looking at his father, “It was Zhu Jing.”

Zhu Jing was Lu Yan’s new wife.

Due to the urgency of the situation, Zhu Jing had stayed behind to look after the house.

Li Yuxiang exploded in anger!

“What does she want to do?” Li Yuxiang, no longer crying, began to fume, “Is she trying to ruin us… no, she has already ruined us.”

Thinking about Lu Yan, Li Yuxiang felt even more distressed.

“A deadly star, a damned deadly star!”

Realizing the situation, Li Yuxiang became even angrier.

It seemed like retribution—while the wife spread rumors about Ruan Mingfu, the husband was sent to prison.

It was a case of tit-for-tat.

Because of Zhu Jing’s malice, such serious consequences had occurred. Li Yuxiang was seething with resentment. She had never liked this daughter-in-law anyway and couldn’t wait to deal with Zhu Jing when she returned.

With the truth revealed,

Father Lu’s expression was equally grim.

“Enough of the arguing,” Father Lu said, turning to Lu Yang, “Stay focused on your duties in the army and avoid provoking the Ruan family.”

Lu Yang smiled wryly.

He wished he could avoid those two entirely. “Understood.”

“Prepare two train tickets for the day after tomorrow.”

“I want a sleeper berth.”

Li Yuxiang, now preoccupied with dealing with Zhu Jing, was not opposed to returning home.

…

With the troublesome Lu family gone, Ruan Mingfu felt as if the sky was clearer, the grass greener, and even the weeds seemed cuter.

“Sister-in-law, how can a person be so shameless?” Hu Wanning frowned.

With the work and promotions involved, it was as if they were being given a second chance, yet these people were so quick to abandon it.

Hu Wanning gritted her teeth, “They should have been made to pay more. A thousand yuan is too cheap for them.”

In her opinion, at least ten thousand!

Gu Yilin also said the same thing.

“It’s all over now,” Ruan Mingfu continued, “My parents don’t care about their little bit of gratitude.”

The Lu couple’s mindset was fairly predictable.

Given the magnitude of their favor, if they couldn’t repay it in this lifetime, they’d just pretend it never happened. If they wanted to repay it, they’d do so in the next life.

Hu Wanning grew increasingly fond of Ruan Mingfu.

Not only was she beautiful, but she was also open-minded. If Hu Wanning were in Ruan Mingfu’s position, she wouldn’t be able to remain so serene.

“It’s all over now.”

Ruan Mingfu had a clear understanding of this point.

Life is too short.

There was no need to waste time on meaningless matters.

“By the way, sister-in-law, I heard that there’s land allocation in the family compound?”

“You’re just finding out now?” Hu Wanning looked at Ruan Mingfu in surprise. “Didn’t anyone tell you about the land distribution when the houses were allocated?”

Ruan Mingfu shook her head. “Old Xie handled all the housing matters. I didn’t know.”

It wasn’t until yesterday, when a sister-in-law saw her planting vegetables in the yard and asked curiously, that she learned the family compound had land that could be allocated.

“The land is in the last section of the family compound,” Hu Wanning explained. “In the yard, you can only grow simple, easy-to-grow vegetables. Things that need more fertilizer should be planted over there. The smell won’t be a problem since it’s far from the house.”

In the yard, you can only water the plants; using fertilizer would be unbearable.

“I also forgot to mention it earlier. I had intended to remind you,” Hu Wanning patted her head. “Ever since I had that stinky little kid, I’ve been forgetting things more often.”

Ruan Mingfu understood.

This must be what they mean by “pregnancy brain” in later times.

“Sister-in-law, when do you and Old Xie plan to have a baby?” Hu Wanning asked. “Sister Lin has a point—better to have a baby sooner rather than later. Since you’re still young, it’s best to have the baby now while you can recover quickly.”

This would prevent a chaotic situation later.

“I can also help you with the postpartum period.”

Hu Wanning said this out of goodwill.

“Let’s just go with the flow.”

Ruan Mingfu thought having a baby sooner would be better.

She would be taking the college entrance exam in two years, so she couldn’t be pregnant then. Besides, she and Xie Yanzhao had never used contraception.

“You should be clear about this.”

Hu Wanning was also concerned that her advice might be annoying, so she left it at that.

“Speaking of which,” Hu Wanning linked arms with Ruan Mingfu, “You want to get the land, right? I’ll take you there.”

“Sure.”

The piece of land, though not large, was still land. Even if Ruan Mingfu didn’t know how to farm, she had Xie Yanzhao.

If needed, she could also ask Hu Wanning.

The land wouldn’t be left unused.

As the two walked together, they overheard Ruan Mingfu’s name while passing by a big tree. They stopped to listen carefully to what was being said.

“… Oh, you don’t know, that Ruan Mingfu is so shameless, I can smell her from far away.”

The moment the words were spoken, several people laughed heartily, like hens laying eggs.

“Indeed, I heard that Commander Xie bought a refrigerator just to marry her.”

As soon as this was mentioned, another military wife showed a disdainful expression.

“What era are you living in?” She gave a dismissive glance to the woman who had spoken earlier. “Not only that, but I also heard the house was renovated very nicely, with wooden flooring.”

“Wow… How much did that cost?”

“Cost? Do you think she’s short of money?”

“Exactly, after taking a thousand yuan from someone, she must have plenty of money.”

“After all, she’s a capitalist’s young lady. She knows how to enjoy life…”

Hu Wanning’s brows furrowed tightly upon hearing this. She was about to rush out and argue with these people but was pulled back by Ruan Mingfu.

Ruan Mingfu shook her head and whispered, “It’s fine. Let’s listen a bit more.”

The conversation continued:

“Tell me, how did I not see what a gem Commander Xie was back then?”

He was wealthy and generous. So what if he was a bit fierce? Nowadays, who has a perfect partner? Besides, even though Xie Yanzhao was fierce, he wasn’t ugly.

If she had acted quickly, she would be the commander’s wife now!

“Isn’t it… Why does Commander Xie’s reputation in the army seem so poor?”

“Who knows? I heard it was the people from the art troupe who spread these rumors.”

This military wife spoke with a look of disdain when mentioning the art troupe.

“You’re dreaming,” another military wife spoke up. “Before getting married, the army had already arranged matches for Commander Xie. He turned down every single one.”

“He turned down every single one? Even those glamorous ladies from the art troupe?”

The military wife lifted her chin.

If Xie Yanzhao had been interested in these people, there would have been no place for Ruan Mingfu.

“Commander Xie’s standards are really high…”

“High, indeed, but his choice of people isn’t great.”

Hearing this, Ruan Mingfu furrowed her brows.

She recognized the voice as the one that had been slandering her.

“Oh? What’s the story?”

“Ah! You don’t know, but I live next door to her, so I know best. She treats Commander Xie like a servant, making him run around in circles. She doesn’t do any chores at home, and even insists that Commander Xie cook before she’ll eat.”

The military wives exclaimed in shock.

Ruan Mingfu: “…”

She suspected this person had been spying on her home. Otherwise, how could they know so much detail?

“Tell me, is this reasonable?”

“Men shouldn’t be cooking. What’s the point of marrying if you’re going to make your husband do everything?”

“That’s right. If my son brings home such a lazy wife who doesn’t do anything and makes my son run around, I’d definitely kick her out.”

One military wife thought: … Damn!

She regretted it even more.

Without a mother-in-law, the family is controlled by the new wife once she marries in.

She couldn’t even imagine how carefree she would be without a mother-in-law.

“Can’t cook, can’t do laundry. It must be Commander Xie doing it all.”

Li Xiaoyue’s mother-in-law nodded.

“Pah! How shameless of her to let a man do the laundry.”

“Commander Xie is so pitiful, married to a wife who’s like not having one at all…”

“That’s right,” Li Xiaoyue’s mother-in-law concluded. “I don’t think this couple will last. Who can tolerate a lazy wife?”

“Exactly. I couldn’t stand it either.”

“I also think these two will separate sooner or later…”

Ruan Mingfu: “…”

All these chores were actually taken on by Xie Yanzhao. Although… she didn’t know how to do them either.

But why did these people speak so ill of her?

How infuriating!

Ruan Mingfu wanted to get angry but noticed Hu Wanning struggling to contain her laughter. She widened her eyes. “… Sister-in-law, how come you’re laughing at me too!”

Seeing that Ruan Mingfu was about to lose her temper, Hu Wanning pulled her aside.

“Sister-in-law, does Commander Xie really do the laundry?”

Ruan Mingfu didn’t answer directly but extended her hand.

“The clothes are too heavy for me to handle, and besides… he’s willing to do it. I didn’t force him.”

Hu Wanning’s gaze fell on Ruan Mingfu’s hand.

Still, Ruan Mingfu was beautiful in every way. Her hands were fair and tender, with long fingers and a balanced, delicate appearance, like freshly peeled white bamboo shoots.

Hu Wanning was captivated.

She thought, if she were Xie Yanzhao, she wouldn’t have the heart to see such a perfect pair of hands being ruined.

“… Hahaha, guess what Commander Xie saw in her?”

“What else? Probably just her looks and skills in bed.”

“I heard she has a lover in the countryside?”

“Oh my god, is that true? Does Commander Xie know?”

Seeing how brazen these people were, Ruan Mingfu’s eyes flashed with anger.

She walked straight over, “I heard that the sisters-in-law have some opinions about me, so I came here specially to ask for your advice.”

The sisters-in-law who was caught gossiping: “…”

Hu Wanning, who tried to intervene but failed: “…”