An Accidental Military Marriage

Lu Tingting was staring daggers at her, and it was hard for Jiang Moli not to notice.

But she didn’t care.

’Let her stare. It’s not like I’ll waste away.’

She ate with gusto, taking a bite of food, then a gulp of Arctic Ocean soda.

After all, it was the Dragon Boat Festival, so the spread was much more lavish than usual. Besides a large platter of salted duck eggs cut in half, there were also braised spareribs and carp.

Ma Hongmei had picked a few new peppers to replace the ones Lu Haoyu and Lu Chaoyang had ruined. She used them to stir-fry a plate of tiger-skin green peppers.

The peppers were seared until their skins were lightly charred and served with a sauce made from minced garlic and fragrant vinegar, looking quite appetizing.

Jiang Moli picked one up with her chopsticks. The moment she took a bite, her eyes went red.

Ma Hongmei’s sharp eyes caught her strange reaction. "Xiao Jiang, what’s wrong? Did it go down the wrong pipe? Quick, drink some water..."

Everyone at the table turned to look at Jiang Moli.

Lu Tingting gloated, mouthing words at her: *Serves you right! Choke to death!*

Jiang Moli blinked her watery, almond-shaped eyes at the other girl, then turned to her aunt-in-law with a tearful, moved expression. "Auntie, your tiger-skin green peppers are so good they made me cry! They’re savory, sweet, and even have a hint of milk."

’Milky tiger-skin green peppers?’

’I’ve got to try that.’

Dubiously, Lu Tingting extended her chopsticks and picked up a particularly large and thick one.

"BLECH! So spicy!"

The instant Lu Tingting spat out the pepper, Jiang Moli grabbed the Arctic Ocean soda in front of her and chugged it down.

’Delicious, my ass! It was so spicy I was crying for real, okay?’

Only then did everyone at the table realize that Jiang Moli had been deliberately messing with them.

’No wonder. How could a pepper possibly taste like milk?’

No one was more furious than Lu Tingting. It was bad enough that the pepper made her cry, but she had also fallen right into Jiang Moli’s trap.

She was so angry her eyes were even redder than Jiang Moli’s. "Grandma, look how vicious she is! She gets herself into trouble and has to drag someone else down with her!"

Jiang Moli replied, "Niece, you can’t put it that way. I was just using myself as an example to teach you a lesson. Let’s call it ’The World is a Treacherous Place, and People Are Not What They Seem.’ It’s a warning not to so easily believe anyone’s sweet talk. Besides, don’t you have any common sense? Believing a pepper tastes like milk is like believing I’m the Jade Emperor."

Although Jiang Moli was obviously twisting logic, when they thought about it, she did have a small point.

The only one who felt truly wronged was Lu Tingting. She glared at Jiang Moli with eyes that looked like they could shoot fire and cremate her on the spot.

...

「Under the old camphor tree across from the Military District Courtyard.」

"Zhou Xiaoqing, you’ve really screwed me over! Don’t you ever come looking for me again!"

After giving Zhou Xiaoqing a piece of her mind, Chen Xue stormed off in a huff.

Once she was far enough away, Jiang Qing, who had been hiding around the corner, walked over to Zhou Xiaoqing. "What did Chen Xue say to you?"

Zhou Xiaoqing said glumly, "Not a damn thing happened to Jiang Moli’s father-in-law. Instead, Chen Xue’s father was the one who got a disciplinary warning."

Jiang Qing was stunned. "How could that be?"

Seeing a flash of guilt on Zhou Xiaoqing’s face, Jiang Qing’s heart sank.

Like mother, like daughter. Just as Wang Lianhua would embellish stories to slander Jiang Moli, Zhou Xiaoqing had done the same, spinning a web of exaggerated rumors for Chen Xue and convincing her that Jiang Moli had really taken a lot of money from her relatives.

Jiang Qing’s original goal was just to make the Lu Family despise Jiang Moli.

All she had needed to do was leak the information about Jiang Moli arranging jobs for relatives to the ears of the Military District Courtyard and the Lu Family.

There was absolutely no need to overdo it.

She was furious. "Zhou Xiaoqing, do you have a brain? Jiang Moli’s father-in-law is a high-ranking official! If they investigate these baseless things you’ve fabricated, we’ll both be charged with the crime of slandering an official!"

Zhou Xiaoqing was not happy about this.

’It was one thing for Chen Xue to yell at her; she was the daughter of a high-ranking official, after all.’

’But you, Jiang Qing? You don’t have a job, you married into the countryside, and now you’re just a country bumpkin. You’re worse off than I am, so what gives you the right to order me around?’

She immediately shot back at Jiang Qing, "You’re the one who came to me, wanting to team up against Jiang Moli. If there’s really an investigation, do you think you can claim you had nothing to do with it?"

’If I start fighting with Zhou Xiaoqing now, we’ll all go down together.’

It took a great deal of coaxing, but Jiang Qing finally managed to calm Zhou Xiaoqing down by promising to introduce her to a soldier.

When she returned to the Jiang family home, Li Hongying had already packed her bags.

Knowing she had no reason to stay any longer, Jiang Qing could only sling her bundle over her shoulder and head back to her in-laws’.

While waiting for her ride at the station, she opened the bundle to take a look.

Besides some of her personal belongings, Li Hongying had also packed some zongzi and century eggs for her, along with two pale green salted duck eggs.

There were six zongzi and six century eggs, just enough for one for each member of the Zhang Family.

The two extra salted duck eggs were clearly a special treat meant just for her.

Although she claimed to be doing well with the Zhang Family, a mother could always tell whether that was true or not.

Even though she knew the salted duck eggs were ones Jiang Moli had brought home, she couldn’t bring herself to throw them away. She ate both of them.

She seethed with hatred as she ate.

She hated how unfair the heavens were, allowing a vicious woman like Jiang Moli to marry into the Military District Courtyard, live in a big house, and enjoy a good life.

She also hated how Jiang Moli got away with her wicked deeds again and again, always managing to turn disaster into triumph.

She was like an unkillable cockroach, so resilient it was infuriating.

...

Meng Wei placed the freshly made coffee in front of Lu Tingting and her two friends.

"Tingting, don’t be angry. Try this coffee. A friend brought it back from Shanghai. It’s imported."

At her words, Wu Meixia and Song Ke both picked up their cups to take a sip.

But Lu Tingting was in no mood. She was still fuming. Forget coffee, she wouldn’t have an appetite even if it were the nectar of the gods.

Seeing her state, Meng Wei subtly began to probe. "Jiang Moli has caused so much trouble lately, and she nearly dragged your grandfather down with her. Doesn’t your grandmother ever step in?"

Lu Tingting slammed her hand on the table, looking at Meng Wei as if she had found a kindred spirit.

"Exactly! It’s one thing for her to stir up trouble all day, but she also bullies me and my brother. My grandparents haven’t said a single harsh word to her. I have no idea what kind of magic potion she’s fed them!"

Meng Wei lowered her head to sip her coffee, hiding her disappointment.

Although her family was busy arranging blind dates for her, she still held out hope for Lu Cheng.

She fantasized that one day Lu Cheng would come to his senses, kick Jiang Moli to the curb, and come back to her.

She would be willing, even if it meant being his second wife.

"Has there been any word from your third uncle?"

"Yes."

Hearing Lu Tingting’s blunt reply, Meng Wei looked up in surprise.

She had only asked about Lu Cheng casually, not really expecting anything.

She knew Lu Cheng. He had never been the sentimental type, and it was normal for him to go three or even five months without contacting his family.

This time, he had been gone for less than half a month, yet he had already sent word home.

Despite her anger at Lu Cheng’s rejection, the mere mention of his name inevitably sparked a sense of sweet anticipation in her heart.

"How is your third uncle?"

"Who knows!"

"But didn’t you say he sent a message? What did it say?"

Lu Tingting said sullenly, "I don’t want to talk about it!"

She hadn’t seen the telegram herself, but she had heard about its contents from her younger siblings, and it had thoroughly disgusted her.

"Did your third uncle scold you?"

Lu Tingting wasn’t one to keep things bottled up, and under Meng Wei’s persistent questioning, she quickly revealed the contents of the telegram.

After spilling the beans, she started complaining to Wu Meixia and Song Ke. "Even my mom says my third uncle looks as ascetic as a monk, but in private, he’s so sappy! And that ’All is well, no need to worry’... UGH, I could puke!"

Meng Wei downed the entire cup of coffee in one gulp, but it did nothing to suppress the sour pang of jealousy in her heart.

She had never considered Jiang Moli a real rival before, but now, she was changing her mind.