An Accidental Military Marriage

Jiang Qing was just entering the courtyard when she saw Lu Cheng coming out of the house.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she could barely stop herself from asking if he had broken off the engagement.

Lu Cheng didn’t even glance at her. Instead, he spoke politely to Jiang Dahai, "Uncle Jiang, let’s step outside for a word."

"Ah, alright."

Jiang Dahai had a smile plastered on his face, but inside, he was worried sick.

’My son-in-law just finished speaking with my daughter alone, and now he’s pulling me aside. Is he really going to break off the engagement?’

...

Once her father and his son-in-law were outside the courtyard, Jiang Qing immediately went to Li Hongying. "Mom, did the Lu Family call off the engagement?"

"Oh, look at you. So concerned about me?"

Jiang Qing looked at Jiang Moli, who had emerged from the house at some point and was now leaning against the doorframe. Unfazed, Jiang Qing said, "I just heard people talking on my way back."

"You believe whatever people say? If someone told you shit smelled sweet, would you take a lick to find out?"

Worried the two sisters would start fighting again, Li Hongying quickly played the peacemaker:

"Moli, don’t be angry. Xiao Qing is just worried about you."

As she spoke, she pushed Jiang Qing toward the kitchen. "Go heat up breakfast. Moli just woke up after fainting. She needs to eat something to get her strength back."

’It had been like this ever since she was a child. Whenever she and Jiang Moli argued, Li Hongying would always take that stepdaughter’s side.’

’She was so sick of it!’

After snapping "I’m busy," Jiang Qing turned on her heel and stormed back into her room.

Unable to order her daughter around, Li Hongying had no choice but to do it herself.

Before long, she placed steaming-hot rice porridge and corn cakes in front of Jiang Moli.

"Moli, Xiao Lu wasn’t angry, was he?"

Li Hongying asked cautiously.

She had some affection and concern for her stepdaughter, Jiang Moli, but she was more worried that her own daughter would get dragged into the mess.

’With Jiang Moli’s bratty, unreasonable temper, if she really did break up with Lu Cheng, she would definitely try to sabotage her own daughter’s engagement to Zhang Jia Ming.’

"Don’t worry, we didn’t call off the engagement!"

Jiang Moli deliberately raised her voice.

Sure enough, Jiang Qing, who was in the other room, heard this and couldn’t resist furiously punching her pillow.

’He still didn’t call off the engagement?!’

’That guy Lu... could Jiang Moli have put some kind of spell on him?’

Outside, Li Hongying let out a long sigh of relief. "That’s good, that’s good. Moli, take your time and eat. When you’re done, I’ll go with you to buy some hair clips, how about that?"

Jiang Moli knew Li Hongying was just thinking about shopping for Jiang Qing’s dowry, but she didn’t call her out on it.

Li Hongying was a timid but kind and decent stepmother. As long as you didn’t provoke her, she wouldn’t go out of her way to make things difficult.

...

"Uncle Jiang, I must apologize to you."

Looking at Lu Cheng’s serious expression, Jiang Dahai’s heart suddenly sank.

"Xiao Lu, my Moli is a bit spoiled, I know. Her mother passed away when she was young, and I failed in my duty as a father to raise her right. I hope you’ll be patient with her. If you really feel you can’t make it work with Moli, that’s alright... just make sure you bring her back home to us properly."

Jiang Dahai knew he couldn’t avoid this forever, so he decided to be upfront with Lu Cheng.

’Even if Lu Cheng wants to call off the engagement, it has to wait until this ’send-down’ movement is over.’

’As long as his daughter doesn’t have to go to the countryside, a divorce is fine. If it comes to it, he’ll just support her for the rest of his life.’

"Moli is wonderful. I like her very much. It’s I who have failed to fulfill my duty as her future husband. When I asked for her hand, I promised you I would do everything in my power to protect her. I failed. I didn’t handle things properly beforehand, and that’s why she’s been wronged. I take full responsibility."

Jiang Dahai was completely stunned.

’He had to wonder if his daughter had fed his son-in-law some kind of love potion.’

’His daughter had caused such a huge mess that even he, her own father, felt humiliated.’

’Yet, not only was his son-in-law not angry, he was taking all the blame on himself.’

"Uncle Jiang, rest assured. I will go negotiate with the Educated Youth Office. I guarantee they won’t trouble you and Moli again."

Having made his solemn promise, Lu Cheng turned and strode away.

...

"Dad, what did Brother-in-law say to you?"

Jiang Dahai came back to his senses, looked at his son beside him, and after a long moment, said, "Xiao Peng, take a trip back to our hometown."

"Go back for what?"

"Go back and tell your eldest uncle and the others the news. Invite them to the city on the 20th for your sister’s wedding banquet. And while you’re there, go visit the graves of your great-grandfather, great-grandmother, and all your great-uncles. Check on all of them."

Jiang Peng was completely baffled. "Check what? To see if weeds are growing?"

"See if there’s any green smoke rising from their graves."

"..."

’If the ancestral graves weren’t spewing green smoke, how could a daughter with such a rotten personality have possibly lucked into a treasure like Lu Cheng!?’

’It’s just unbelievable!’

...

The director of the Educated Youth Office was surnamed Zhong, his full name being Zhong Changguo.

Under the pretext of delivering a wedding invitation, Lu Cheng personally sought out Zhong Changguo to apologize on Jiang Moli’s behalf and ask him to go easy on her.

Lu Cheng held a higher administrative rank than Zhong Changguo, yet he had taken the initiative to humble himself and show goodwill. Naturally, Zhong Changguo wasn’t going to be difficult.

Leaving the Educated Youth Office, Lu Cheng rushed straight to the Guanghua Restaurant.

He had invited his eldest sister-in-law, Fan Wenfang, as well as An Hui, to the Guanghua Restaurant for a lunch to sample dishes for the wedding.

When he arrived, the table was already laden with dishes, but no one had started eating. They were clearly waiting for him.

"What took you so long? The food’s getting cold."

Seeing he was late, An Hui couldn’t help but complain.

"I had to take care of some things. I was delayed."

"Well, when you’re getting married, there’s always a lot to do. It’s understandable. Xiao Cheng, hurry and sit down," Wu Miaoyun said with a smile, smoothing things over.

Wu Miaoyun was a friend invited by An Hui.

Besides Wu Miaoyun, Wu Lan and Qiao Jing were also at the table. They all lived in the same family compound and were on very good terms with An Hui.

With Lu Cheng and his two sisters-in-law, there were a total of six people at the table.

The menu had been decided by Lu Cheng and Jiang Moli together. It consisted of the same dishes from their engagement banquet, but Lu Cheng had added a few of the restaurant’s high-end signature dishes.

Everyone was quite satisfied with the taste of the food, but Wu Miaoyun, Wu Lan, and Qiao Jing were clearly more curious about Jiang Moli’s origins than the menu.

Lu Cheng was considered a long-standing problem case in the family compound when it came to marriage, an issue that had caused An Hui no end of grief.

In truth, it wasn’t just them; everyone in the entire military family compound was curious.

Just what kind of exceptional woman could make someone like Lu Cheng so eager to marry her?

When the topic turned to his bride-to-be, Lu Cheng couldn’t hide his delight. "My Moli is beautiful, smart, and kind-hearted. She’s considerate of others... she’s perfect in every way. Couldn’t be better."

An Hui had to summon every ounce of her self-control to keep from snapping at her son, ’Are your eyes plastered shut with shit?’

Even Fan Wenfang was starting to have her doubts.

’The Jiang Moli her brother-in-law was describing and the Jiang Moli her daughter talked about weren’t just a little different—they were polar opposites.’

Wu Miaoyun, Wu Lan, and Qiao Jing didn’t know Jiang Moli, nor were they familiar with her background.

Hearing Lu Cheng praise Jiang Moli to the skies, they believed every word.

’With how picky Lu Cheng was, he wouldn’t have given her a second glance if she wasn’t a truly outstanding young woman.’

As they ate and chatted, Qiao Jing suddenly brought up the amusing anecdote about Jiang Moli being publicly shamed by the Educated Youth Office.

Of course, she had no idea that the main character of this "public shaming" was the very same "perfect" bride-to-be Lu Cheng had just been describing.

"I heard from the waiters here that she’s the number one lazybones from the Machinery Factory’s residential area. Spends all day eating, lazing around, and getting into trouble. She was even bold enough to pick a fight with the Educated Youth Office. She pissed them off so badly they dragged her out to be publicly shamed. And someone like that still managed to land a military officer! I wonder which poor family is so unlucky to get stuck with such a magnet for trouble."