Chapter 36

No one expected that the new wife of Pei Ji’an would be so beautiful. Every woman present felt overshadowed by her, including the young girls who came to see her today, who faded into the background.

After the initial shock, the expressions of the women in the living room varied. Some looked displeased, some stared curiously at Lu Nong, while others appeared tense and alert. A few wore ambiguous expressions.

Lu Nong quietly observed the faces around her and realized that today’s friendly tea gathering plan was unlikely to succeed.

Sister Qin stood tall, clearly pleased with the scene that had left everyone stunned. She led Lu Nong into the living room and said to the host, Sister Zheng: “Sister Zheng, we are not too late, are we?”

“Not at all! Please, sit down,” Sister Zheng replied warmly.

Sister Zheng had a friendly demeanor with shoulder-length hair and a black headband. In her forties, she was neatly dressed and smiled as she pulled Lu Nong over, saying, “You must be Xiao Lu, right? I’ve heard about you from Qin Qing. She said you are quite stunning, and it’s true. You really are a beauty!”

Lu Nong smiled and said, “You’re too kind. This is homemade egg cake from my family. I brought it for you to try.”

The egg cake was made specifically for Gu Huai by Aunt Wu. Before leaving, Lu Nong thought it would be inappropriate to show up empty-handed, and bringing drinks seemed too formal, so she asked her godmother for some egg cake.

At that time, egg cake was a delightful treat. It contained sugar, oil, and eggs, making it both flavorful and enjoyable. It was a favorite among people of all ages, usually bought during the New Year for the elderly and children. Giving it as a gift was a nice gesture that wasn’t too extravagant or too casual.

“Oh, thank you so much, Xiao Lu! You brought such a precious gift!” Sister Zheng exclaimed, genuinely pleased with the egg cake. “Old Ye loves this stuff. It’s fragrant and easy to eat. The problem is, no one in our family knows how to make it. We always have to rush to the supply and marketing cooperative to get it, and it’s hard to find.”

Sister Zheng’s expression softened even more towards Lu Nong, and she personally led her to the sofa, introducing her to everyone present.

“You guys are all young people who came early, so I’m sure you’ll have a lot to talk about. This is Li Lingyi, the wife of Chief of Staff Jiang, and she’s the sweetest person among us. This is Wang Hongmian, the wife of Deputy Commander Shen. Comrade Wang is a highly educated person, as you can tell by her demeanor and speech.

This is Ruan Yufang, the wife of Minister Ye. Xiao Ruan is known for her lovely singing voice with the city’s song and dance troupe. And last but not least, this is Pan Xiaojuan, my son Xiangfei’s girlfriend. Please be kind to her.”

Sister Zheng then pointed to Lu Nong and said to the others, “This is Lu Nong, the wife of our military’s most handsome officer, Chief of Staff Pei. Wow, the two of them together really are a match made in heaven.”

“I would like to welcome Comrade Lu Nong to our family of military wives on behalf of everyone here.”

As Sister Zheng finished speaking, Pan Xiaojuan immediately relaxed her expression. She had been the first to look alarmed when she saw Lu Nong. Being young, she couldn’t hide her feelings. Sister Zheng subtly frowned and shook her head inwardly.

However, comparisons often lead to insecurity. While Pan Xiaojuan had only shown a hint of discontent, Ruan Yufang’s face had clearly shown disdain and mockery after Sister Zheng’s praise of “a match made in heaven.”

Lu Nong had done some research beforehand and knew that Ruan Yufang was the mother of Ye Huihui, as mentioned by Pei Zheng, and one of Shen Yimei’s closest friends. Understanding her background, Lu Nong was not surprised by Ruan Yufang’s attitude. Even Pei Mingxia treated her like that, so it was not surprising that Ruan Yufang behaved like this..

Lu Nong felt playful and began categorizing everyone like a game. Ruan Yufang’s classification would be: evil and hostile.

Except for Ruan Yufang, everyone else had friendly expressions. Li Lingyi, Chief of Staff Jiang’s wife, was friendly among the rest of the people and gave Lu Nong a kind and soft smile. She was not at home when Lu Nong went to deliver the bowl cake last time, so the two of them met more than ten days later.

It was hard to imagine that such a sweet personality belonged to Jiang Yu’s mother, who had a lot of hidden thoughts.

Pei Zheng had a decent sense of judgment. He had previously introduced Jiang Yu’s mother and Sister Qin as suitable friends for Lu Nong. Therefore, Li Lingyi’s classification was: kind ally.

The last person, Wang Hongmian, was the hardest to classify.

By status, Wang Hongmian was Shen Yimei’s sister-in-law, which should make her an opponent. However, Lu Nong sensed no significant animosity from her.

Interestingly, Wang Hongmian was not sitting with Ruan Yufang but was instead friendly with Li Lingyi. When Ruan Yufang showed her impolite attitude towards Lu Nong, Wang Hongmian’s subtle reaction was a slight frown, showing her disapproval.

However, this did not mean Wang Hongmian was friendly. Her attitude was arrogant, and her gaze toward Lu Nong resembled how people regarded a decorative vase. In simpler terms, she saw Lu Nong as a beautiful but uneducated woman who got ahead by relying solely on her looks.

Lu Nong: “…..” I’m a university graduate! Can’t she see the knowledge and grace I possess?”

In reality, Lu Nong was not devoid of charm. Her beauty gave her an ethereal presence. The issue lay with Wang Hongmian, who had always considered herself superior and seldom admired anyone genuinely. Additionally, Lu Nong was brought in by Sister Qin, whom Wang Hongmian looked down upon.

Just like Sister Qin looked down on Wang Hongmian and thought she was hypocritical, Wang Hongmian also looked down on Sister Qin. She thought Sister Qin was vulgar and uncultured. Lu Nong and Sister Qin had a close relationship, which naturally gave Wang Hongmian a bit of a stereotype. She thought that since Lu Nong could get along well with Sister Qin, she must be equally uncultured and relied on her face to defeat her sister-in-law and get to the top.

After mentally categorizing everyone, Lu Nong classified Wang Hongmian as: proud and neutral.

As for Sister Qin, she was undoubtedly a pure ally, while Sister Zheng was a friendly neutral. Pan Xiaojuan was simply neutral.

Just as Lu Nong finished assessing everyone’s affiliations, Ruan Yufang stirred the pot, saying sarcastically, “It seems that people still need to have a good-looking face. Otherwise, how can you get ahead overnight and hook up with someone you could never get in your whole life?”

Ruan Yufang’s blunt comment left everyone else in an awkward position, especially Sister Zheng, who felt a surge of frustration. She knew Ruan Yufang was close to Shen Yimei and couldn’t stand Lu Nong marrying into the Pei family. Ruan Yufang could criticize Lu Nong privately, but she insisted on creating discomfort in front of everyone, making it an embarrassing moment for all.

Sister Zheng’s face darkened as she looked at Ruan Yufang with displeasure.

Since she could organize the tea party, it showed that everyone respected and recognized her. This recognition stemmed from either Sister Zheng’s husband’s position or her own age and personality. In any case, she held a certain authority among the military wives.

However, Ruan Yufang was not one to be intimidated. She didn’t fear Sister Zheng at all. Her own husband’s military rank was not lower than Sister Zheng’s husband’s, so why should she be afraid?

What was wrong with her disliking Lu Nong? That little vixen must have used some underhanded means to hook up with Pei Ji’an to marry into the Pei family. A stepmother was still a stepmother. Ruan Yufang was angry when she thought of the day when Huihui came home crying and complained.

That little vixen, Lu Nong, bullied Pei Zheng the moment she stepped in. When her daughter saw this, she went to ask Mingxia to stand up for Pei Zheng, but nothing happened to her family. Their anger was directed at Huihui. Poor Huihui cried at home for three days. On the third day, she had a high fever and almost fainted. Pei Zheng didn’t even come to see her.

Ruan Yufang couldn’t confront Pei Ji’an or Pei Zheng about Huihui’s grievances. The Pei family was too influential. Besides, her daughter still had feelings for Pei Zheng, so there was no need to ruin their relationship. She also couldn’t confront Pei Mingxia or Shen Yimei, as they were “old friends,” and she didn’t want to sever ties.

After thinking it over, Ruan Yufang decided to focus on the source of the problem: Pei Zheng’s stepmother, Lu Nong.

Pei Zheng was such a fool. Clearly bullied by his stepmother, he would open his heart to her as soon as she sweet-talked him, forgetting his real mother. What a joke! There’s no such thing as a stepmother who genuinely cares for her stepson.

Today, she would make sure that Lu Nong would be too embarrassed to show her face in the future!

Lu Nong perked up, sensing the brewing conflict. As expected, they are the evil enemy. They are causing trouble so soon after we met.

Before Lu Nong could speak, Sister Qin jumped in to defend her. “Ruan Yufang, can’t you speak properly? If you can’t, then shut up. No one takes you for a mute.”

“Oh? When did I ever say I couldn’t speak? What I said was true. Why don’t you tell me otherwise?” Ruan Yufang rolled her eyes. Compared to Lu Nong, this Qin Qing was just a no-good, uncultured woman. It was no wonder she was able to tolerate her.

The others remained silent. During this time, a few more people arrived at Sister Zheng’s house. However, upon seeing the brewing argument inside, they didn’t dare greet Sister Zheng and just stood by to watch the commotion.

Some were too timid to speak, while Sister Zheng was so furious she couldn’t find the words. She wanted to assess her future daughter-in-law’s handling of the situation, so she turned her gaze to Pan Xiaojun, who was the most frightened of the group.

Lu Nong patted Sister Qin’s hand, seemingly sincere in answering Ruan Yufang’s earlier question. With a sincere expression, she said to Ruan Yufang, “Sister Ruan, you’re absolutely right. Having a pretty face does indeed have its advantages. Otherwise, how could you have married Minister Ye?”

As soon as Ruan Yufang heard this, she immediately retorted, “You’re talking nonsense! My marriage with Minister Ye was a serious romance. Who do you think you are, comparing yourself to me?”

As expected, Pei Mingxia was a good sister; they both enjoyed attacking others based on their background. Lu Nong nodded, “Oh… Sister Ruan is right again. What I said was nonsense. Yes, you don’t have a pretty face. I just wonder if Minister Ye married you because you lack one.”

“……”

The people present were silently murmuring, “Lack a pretty face? Why does that sound increasingly like an insult?”

Ruan Yufang was nearly infuriated by Lu Nong’s twisted logic and didn’t even know where to begin to refute her. “When did I say I don’t have a pretty face? I said you used your looks to seduce men! Minister Ye certainly didn’t marry me for my looks, he saw my inner beauty!”

“……”

Upon hearing that last line, the onlookers almost choked. With that shrew-like demeanor, she talked about inner beauty… Everyone couldn’t help but question Minister Ye’s eyesight. Was he blind?

“Then do you have a pretty face or not?” Lu Nong shifted the focus back to Ruan Yufang, one of the key aspects of arguing: digging a trap for the opponent to fall into. You ask, and I purposely refuse to answer, making it hard for you to respond.

Ruan Yufang choked. She wasn’t as thick-skinned as Lu Nong. Saying whether or not she had a pretty face in front of so many people would either lead her to admit she wasn’t pretty or imply she was shy about it. She gritted her teeth and said, “Of course I do.”

“Well, I see now. It seems one still needs to have a pretty face. Otherwise, how could one soar to success and catch the attention of someone they could never reach in a lifetime?”

Lu Nong clapped her hands, cleverly throwing the boomerang back.

The crowd: “……”

Ruan Yufang: “……”

Lu Nong leisurely continued, “Honestly, there’s nothing wrong with being valued for your looks. Truth be told, my husband, Old Pei thought I looked good and married me. I married him because I thought he looked good too. Otherwise, how mismatched would a couple be if one was beautiful and the other was ugly? Don’t you think, Sister Ruan?”

Everyone knew that Minister Ye was a bit unattractive.

Ruan Yufang: “……”

The crowd: “……” So, why did a beautiful woman like Ruan Yufang marry an unattractive Minister Ye?

Connecting the dots with Ruan Yufang’s statement that Minister Ye valued her inner beauty… Well, that solved the mystery. It seemed both of these couples had poor taste in partners.

Sister Qin chimed in sharply, “That’s not right. Ruan Yufang, didn’t you marry Minister Ye because of your face? I remember that Minister Ye had a first wife in the countryside, didn’t you force him to divorce that wife? Everyone in the compound knows about your little scandal.”

Although Ruan Yufang was known as one of the three beauties alongside Pei Mingxia and Shen Yimei, her background was slightly different. She was the daughter of a distant relative from the Shen family, and she had stayed at the Shen family when she was young.

When she reached marriageable age, many of her peers took a fancy to her, but few really wanted to marry her. Ruan Yufang was unwilling to marry someone worse than Pei Mingxia and Shen Yimei, so she gritted her teeth and chose Minister Ye, who was much older than her.

Ruan Yufang used various tricks and tactics to secure Minister Ye.

Forcing someone to divorce was not a decent thing, and she usually kept her mouth shut about it. Moreover, more than ten years had passed, and Ruan Yufang had never expected that Sister Qin, who had been her neighbor for only a few years, would know about this old scandal.

What terrified Ruan Yufang even more was Sister Qin’s remark: “Who in the courtyard doesn’t know about your little scandals?” What did that mean? Who else knew? Who had spread the rumors?

Ruan Yufang turned her gaze toward Wang Hongmian.

After Sister Qin’s enlightening comments, those who knew the story remembered the past, while those who didn’t were now intrigued, leading to a shift in how everyone viewed Ruan Yufang. Their gazes toward her changed almost instantly.

“Wang Hongmian! Did you spread rumors about me?” The hatred in Ruan Yufang’s eyes was so intense it seemed it might ooze out like poison. After all these years of maintaining her reputation, everything would be ruined after today.

Wang Hongmian frowned. She had always looked down on Ruan Yufang. In the past, relying on her decent looks while living in the Shen family, she had constantly tried to cozy up to to her husband. Fortunately, Old Shen was perceptive enough to notice something was off and had her in-laws intervene to send Ruan Yufang off to her new family.

She never expected that after all this time, they would end up as neighbors. What terrible luck it was, especially with someone as brainless as her sister-in-law.

Wang Hongmian was annoyed with Ruan Yufang, but she wasn’t afraid of her. Impatiently, she replied, “I didn’t spread any rumors about you, Ruan Yufang. If you want to keep secrets, you should avoid doing shady things. Rather than hoping to hide your actions from everyone for a lifetime, you’d better keep a low profile. Otherwise, if you fall one day, you might not even understand why it happened.”

“As for how the gossip got out, you probably don’t know yet. Old Ye’s daughter from the countryside was accepted into Beijing University last year. This girl is now dating a boy from the Hu family in the compound. A few days ago, she came to meet the parents. When they talked about family, she didn’t hide anything, and all your little scandals were laid bare.”

Wang Hongmian’s earlier remarks stung, causing Ruan Yufang to grit her teeth in fury, her eyes filled with the desire to leap at Wang Hongmian and tear off a piece of her flesh. But the latter part of Wang Hongmian’s words made Ruan Yufang’s face drain of color. Old Ye’s daughter from the countryside came to Beijing? When?

Ruan Yufang disregarded any further trouble with Wang Hongmian or Lu Nong, pushing through the onlookers as she raced home. She needed to call Old Ye to ask if his daughter from his previous marriage had come looking for him for money or other things.

After Ruan Yufang left, the crowd was still buzzing with excitement; even Lu Nong was taken aback by this unexpected turn of events.

Before Lu Nong could recover, a woman in her thirties approached, covering her mouth in shock, and said to Lu Nong, “Good sister, you’ve truly brought honor to us stepmothers.”

Lu Nong: “…” Who are you?