An Accidental Military Marriage

An Hui was so furious with the drunken Jiang Moli that she was trembling. She wished she could just grab a stick and knock her unconscious.

But that was just a thought; she couldn’t actually do it.

Countless eyes in the compound were watching. If she actually dared to hit Jiang Moli with a stick, rumors would surely spread that she was a wicked mother-in-law who abused her new daughter-in-law.

Swallowing her anger, she patiently tried to coax Jiang Moli. "Xiao Jiang, let’s go home now. Be a good girl."

"I don’t want to!"

Jiang Moli staggered away from An Hui’s grasp. She tilted her head, her cheeks flushed as red as ripe apples from the alcohol. Her almond-shaped eyes were moist, and her soft voice quivered with a sense of grievance.

"Mom, you used to call me Lili. Don’t you love me anymore? You have to say, ’Princess Lili, please come home.’"

An Hui took a deep breath. "Alright. Princess Lili, please come home."

"Give me a piggyback ride!"

"Whee, here I come!"

Before An Hui could react, Jiang Moli leaped onto her back like a little monkey.

An Hui was nearly sixty. The sudden weight of a ninety-pound girl landing on her old frame nearly threw her back out.

Ma Hongmei grabbed Jiang Moli’s hands, trying to pull her off, but Jiang Moli refused to let go, clinging to An Hui’s back like a piece of taffy.

Left with no choice, An Hui had to carry Jiang Moli all the way home on her back, her legs trembling the entire time.

The moment she was placed on the bed, Jiang Moli burrowed under the covers and passed out. Her face, now serene and angelic, made her look like a completely different person from the drunken maniac moments before.

An Hui was drenched in sweat, her calves cramping. Ma Hongmei had to help her to the living room.

"Sister-in-law, are you alright?" Ma Hongmei asked with great concern.

An Hui clutched her lower back, her face contorted in pain. "I think I pulled something in my back. Go get Lu’s medicinal liniment and rub some on for me."

"Right away!"

Ma Hongmei quickly found the liniment, poured some into her palm, and rubbed her hands together to warm it before massaging An Hui’s lower back.

As she massaged, she complained, "That Xiao Jiang is really something else. Getting completely wasted on her own wedding day and hurting your back, Sister-in-law."

When An Hui didn’t respond, Ma Hongmei quickly added, "Is it that bad? Maybe we should go to the hospital?"

An Hui waved a weak hand. "I’m just wondering if this is my karma. Our third son refused to get married, and I nagged him day in and day out. Well, serves me right. He finally gets married and brings home a little empress for me to serve. I really brought this on myself."

Ma Hongmei quickly tried to console her. "Don’t say that, Sister-in-law. Xiao Cheng is old enough that he should have been married and settled down long ago. It’s his fault, too. There were so many good girls, but he just had to pick someone like her. Sister-in-law, are you feeling any better?"

"A little better."

Seeing that An Hui was out of immediate danger, Ma Hongmei put the liniment away, glanced at the wall clock, and said,

"The reception probably isn’t over yet. Sister-in-law, why don’t you head back to the restaurant? I can take care of things here at home."

Ma Hongmei hadn’t gone to the wedding reception today; she had stayed home instead.

Jiang Moli’s dowry, cash gifts from relatives, and all sorts of other expensive presents were piled up all over the house. It wouldn’t be safe to leave them unattended.

Ordinarily, An Hui would have rushed right back to the reception, determined not to seem impolite or improper.

But today, Jiang Moli had made her lose all face. Going back would just make her a laughingstock. She was better off staying home to rest.

"Forget it, I’m not going back. Lu will handle things. Oh, Hongmei... I am never going through getting a daughter-in-law ever again."

Ma Hongmei chuckled. "You have three sons and three daughters-in-law. They’re all accounted for now. Sister-in-law, even if you wanted another one, you’d have to wait for your grandsons to get married."

An Hui just snorted.

’With a rebellious son and daughter-in-law like these,’ she thought, ’I’ll be lucky if I even live long enough to see my grandchildren get married, let alone attend their tea ceremony.’

...

After the reception ended, Lu Deyao asked his eldest and second sons’ families and a few other relatives to help clean up. He headed home first, since the Jiang family was scheduled to pay a formal visit later that evening.

This visit was supposed to happen before the wedding, but with the marriage arranged so hastily and the wedding date so soon after, it had been postponed until today.

Around 3 p.m., Jiang Dahai arrived, leading his older brother, sister-in-law, and relatives from the Ruan Family’s side of the family.

"We’ve come for the visit. I hope we’re not intruding," Jiang Dahai said to his new in-laws.

"Welcome, welcome! Please, come in."

Jiang Dahai exchanged pleasantries with An Hui and Lu Deyao, while the crowd of relatives behind him were dazzled by the impressive and stately Lu Family home.

"Wow, just look at this courtyard! And the house! So grand! You can tell right away this is a prominent family!"

"Of course! He’s a ranking official, you know. He’s got guards assigned to him and even a car. How could an ordinary family compare?"

"Tsk, tsk. That girl, Moli, has really flown up the branch and become a phoenix!"

"Hey, where’s Moli? Why haven’t we seen her?"

In truth, Jiang Dahai had noticed his daughter’s absence the moment he walked in, but he hadn’t dared to ask.

Knowing his daughter’s rotten personality, her being quiet meant one of two things: she was either sleeping or stirring up trouble.

"Xiao Jiang had a bit too much to drink at lunch, so she’s resting in her room right now."

Jiang Dahai was a little puzzled to hear that Jiang Moli had been drinking. His daughter might be a glutton and lazy, but she never touched alcohol.

"My apologies, this must be embarrassing for you both," he said to An Hui and Lu Deyao. "That child is so thoughtless, sleeping on her own wedding day. I’ll go wake her up."

"No, don’t. Let Xiao Jiang sleep," An Hui said, stopping him instinctively.

The sudden movement tugged at her lower back, making her gasp in pain.

Lu Deyao quickly steadied her. "Is your back hurting again?"

Hearing this, Jiang Dahai chimed in with concern, "Oh, your back is bothering you? You should go lie down in your room and rest."

Ma Hongmei had been biting her tongue, but she couldn’t hold back any longer after hearing Jiang Dahai’s comment. "Xiao Jiang drank too much at lunch and threw a tantrum, insisting that Sister-in-law give her a piggyback ride home. That’s how she ended up spraining her back."

At these words, the entire room of relatives fell silent, dumbfounded.

The new daughter-in-law made her mother-in-law carry her home?

’Does that mean she plans to walk all over her mother-in-law from now on?’

Jiang Dahai’s face turned beet red. He wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

He knew his daughter was a troublemaker, but he never expected this. She had injured her mother-in-law’s back on the very first day of her marriage.

Lu Deyao already knew his wife had hurt her back; the strong smell of medicinal liniment hanging in the air was impossible to miss.

But he hadn’t realized this was the reason why.

If Jiang Moli were his own son, he would have beaten his backside black and blue.

But Jiang Moli was his daughter-in-law. He couldn’t lay a hand on her. He’d just have to settle the score with Lu Cheng.

"It’s alright. Xiao Jiang didn’t do it on purpose. It’s just a minor sprain. It’ll heal with some rest."

Although An Hui said as much, Jiang Dahai wasn’t shameless enough to let her entertain his entire family while she was injured. After offering a mountain of apologies on his daughter’s behalf, he and his relatives departed in disgrace.

After they left, Lu Deyao quickly helped his wife back to their room to rest.

"Does it still hurt? Should we go to the hospital?"

An Hui shook her head. "No, it’s not necessary. I just tweaked it a little. Lying down for a while should do the trick."

Seeing her in such discomfort, Lu Deyao’s heart ached for her, which only fueled his anger.

"That damn third son of ours," Lu Deyao fumed. "When he gets back, I’m going to give him a thrashing! What kind of a woman did he bring home? She does nothing but cause trouble all day!"

Leaning against the headboard, An Hui looked at him. "Have you already forgotten what you said? You said finding a daughter-in-law like her might not be a bad thing, that it would teach our third son a lesson. Well, look how that turned out. Our third son is perfectly fine, and I’m the one who’s half dead."

Lu Deyao looked sheepish. "Well... how about we just send her back tomorrow, then? No point in keeping her here just to make you angry."

An Hui fell silent.