An Accidental Military Marriage

"Disdain Value +3. 30,000 yuan credited."

"Disdain Value +5. 50,000 yuan credited."

"Disdain Value +7. 70,000 yuan credited."

Hearing the notifications of her Disdain Value skyrocketing, Jiang Moli summoned the system. "Are you bugging out?"

Hated by All: "No. The mission is progressing normally."

Jiang Moli was a little puzzled. She hadn’t done anything today, not even left the house.

Little did Jiang Moli know that Jiang Qing, Zhou Xiaoqing, and Chen Xue had teamed up to set a trap, ready to bring her down.

...

At this time of day, the men were all at their work units. It was the female comrades who went to the government nursery to pick up the children.

And women’s ability to spread gossip was devastatingly efficient.

"Have you heard? The Lu family’s new, young daughter-in-law is selling jobs from her maiden family. All of their relatives are showing up at her door with sacks of money."

"My god, she’s got some nerve! Isn’t she afraid her father-in-law will be investigated by the organization?"

"Vice Lu has been honest and upright his whole life. He’s about to retire, and now he’s being dragged down by a troublemaker like her. What a misfortune for the family!"

RRRING—

Hearing the phone ring, Lu Deyao picked it up. A dignified and steady voice came from the other end—his superior.

"Come to my office."

"Yes, sir."

After hanging up, Lu Deyao’s heart began to pound.

As a long-time subordinate of this leader, he keenly detected the displeasure in his voice, and it was clearly directed at him.

’I haven’t done anything wrong recently.’

"Old Chief, you called me over specifically. Are there some important instructions for me?"

Wu Lifeng gestured for Lu Deyao to close the office door. Only then did he speak, a humorless smile on his face. "I called you for a private matter. I hear you’re well-connected. I have a few kids from some distant relatives who are unemployed, and I was hoping you could arrange something for them."

Lu Deyao was a savvy old fox himself; he knew his boss would never say something like this without a reason.

But his expression was one of pure disbelief. "Sir, are you pulling my leg? Job assignments are handled by the Labor Bureau; I’m not in charge of that. Besides, job placements are scarcer than pork these days. Where would I even get one for you? You’re asking the impossible!"

Wu Lifeng leaned back, resting his hands on the chair’s armrests, his presence imposing without any show of anger. "Mr. Lu, what I’ve been hearing doesn’t quite match what you’re telling me."

"So that’s why you called me over! Someone’s filed a complaint against me!"

Seeing Lu Deyao’s paranoid, "the world is out to get me" look, Wu Lifeng rapped his knuckles sharply on the desk.

"Don’t be so quick to accuse people. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. I’m not so senile that I can’t tell right from wrong."

"Fine, then. Tell me. What are they saying about me out there?"

...

"Nonsense! Who the hell is spewing this bullshit? You tell them to come here, and I’ll confront them face to face!"

On the surface, Lu Deyao was as steady as a rock, but inside, he was panicking.

’The third son’s wife really is a money-lover. She might have actually seen the money and lost her head, doing something stupid.’

’It’s over. Is my reputation really going to be ruined in my final years?’

Wu Lifeng gave him a cold look. "An upright man needn’t fear a crooked shadow. If you didn’t do it, no one can falsely accuse you."

"I didn’t do it! I, Lu Deyao, am not so shortsighted! To throw away my backbone for a few measly bucks?"

Lu Deyao’s face was red and his neck was thick with rage, looking ready for a fight. "Sir, I’m putting it on the line today! Whoever it is, tell them to bring out the evidence! Otherwise, this is slander! This is an organized and premeditated persecution of a state cadre!!"

"You have to see that justice is done for me! If you won’t, I’ll take it higher, all the way to the Central Committee!!"

Wu Lifeng pointed at him, a look of disdain on his face. "Look at you. You’re almost sixty, yet you still get all hot-headed the moment something happens."

"How can I not be? Someone’s trying to sling mud at me! Son of a bitch, I’m not gonna just swallow this!"

Outside the commander’s office, a dozen or so mid-to-high-level cadres, led by Xu Chengping from the Political Department, were pressing their ears to the crack in the door, eavesdropping.

As they listened, they whispered amongst themselves, "They’re fighting, they’re fighting!"

"Saddled with such a troublesome daughter-in-law, old Lu is really in for it now!"

"Disdain Value +7. 70,000 yuan credited."

Although Wu Lifeng didn’t tell Lu Deyao who had filed the report, he did offer him comfort and affirmation.

He still had one hundred percent trust in his old subordinate.

The only reason he had called Lu Deyao to his office was to tell him to get his troublesome young daughter-in-law under control.

For high-ranking cadres like them, establishing a good family culture was of the utmost importance.

Cultivate the self, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world. If you can’t even manage your own family, how can you possibly do your job well?

...

「The Lu Residence.」

Wu Miaoyun brought her daughter, Chen Xue, to An Hui’s home to apologize. "...Look at you. How many times have I told you not to be so rash? You go around shouting without even getting the facts straight, causing nothing but trouble for your Aunt An and Uncle Lu."

"Aunt An, I’m sorry."

Chen Xue stood behind Wu Miaoyun, mumbling an apology, but her eyes kept drifting toward Jiang Moli on the sofa.

Anyone else who had been exposed for doing something like this would have been a nervous wreck, utterly unable to sit still.

’But Jiang Moli is acting like nothing happened, even calmly eating snacks. She’s so thick-skinned.’

At the same time, she felt a secret sense of schadenfreude.

’Lu Cheng is tall, handsome, extraordinarily capable, and comes from a good family. He’s the most outstanding and exceptional one among all the children of high-ranking cadres in the entire compound. Everyone wanted to marry him.’

’And yet, he was snatched up by a good-for-nothing idiot like Jiang Moli, who has nothing but a pretty face.’

’It wasn’t just her; none of the unmarried young women in the compound were happy about it.’

’But now, Jiang Moli has brought this huge disaster upon herself. She hasn’t even consummated her marriage with Lu Cheng yet. Maybe the Lu family will just kick her out.’

An Hui was furious and alarmed, but her face remained as calm as a placid lake. "Those are all baseless rumors. My husband isn’t that kind of person, and Xiao Jiang wouldn’t do something like that either."

Wu Miaoyun believed in Lu Deyao’s character.

But as for whether Jiang Moli was capable of such a thing... that was a different question entirely.

Wu Miaoyun looked at Jiang Moli, her smile not reaching her eyes. "Xiao Jiang, you should say something, too. Don’t just sit there in silence. If you really did this, just admit it now. Before it turns into a huge mistake, we can all think of a way to help you fix it."

Jiang Moli clicked her tongue and tossed away a peach pit. "My words can be harsh," she said, "but some people just don’t deserve to hear nice things."

"I’m not your father, and I’m not your mother, so why are you always so concerned with my business? If you’ve got nothing better to do, you can go to the public restroom and lick every last cesspit clean!"

Her face dark, Wu Miaoyun took her daughter and left the Lu residence.

An Hui returned after seeing the mother and daughter out. Looking at Jiang Moli, who was still lounging leisurely on the sofa, she felt a vein begin to throb in her forehead.

"Xiao Jiang, tell me the truth. Did you or did you not do those things?"

Before Jiang Moli could answer, the front door was thrown open with a CLANG, and Lu Deyao stormed in, his face dark.