An Accidental Military Marriage

"Today."

Aside from Jiang Peng, no one in the Jiang family believed a word Jiang Moli said.

Even Zhou Xiaoqing from next door couldn’t help but come out with her rice bowl to mock her. "Jiang Moli, you must be desperate to get married. Then again, you hit the jackpot with such a good man. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance, so you’ve got to hold on tight, right?"

Although Jiang Dahai was also annoyed with his daughter’s flightiness, he didn’t appreciate Zhou Xiaoqing ridiculing her like this.

"Xiao Qing, why don’t you go back inside and eat? Your food will get cold."

Zhou Xiaoqing wasn’t oblivious to Uncle Jiang’s attempt to shoo her away, but she was thick-skinned. "Uncle Jiang, your family has two happy occasions at once. Let me bask in some of the good fortune, too."

With that, she swung her leg over the bench and sat down next to Jiang Qing.

Zhou Xiaoqing didn’t normally dare to provoke Jiang Moli; after all, she wasn’t someone you wanted to cross.

But Jiang Moli marrying a military officer had really gotten under her skin.

"What’s that old saying? ’What’s meant to be yours will be, and what’s not, you can’t keep.’ You shouldn’t celebrate too early. He’s a respectable officer, young and promising. Once he sees a certain someone’s true colors, he’ll probably have regrets, don’t you think, Jiang Qing?"

Though Jiang Qing agreed with Zhou Xiaoqing, her face remained impassive.

In her opinion, wearing your heart on your sleeve was a foolish and fruitless endeavor.

But Jiang Moli wasn’t the type to take an insult lying down. "Zhou Xiaoqing, has anyone ever told you?"

"What?"

"That look of jealousy on your face is truly hideous."

Zhou Xiaoqing’s expression froze for a second before she flew into a rage. "Ha! Me, jealous of you? What’s there to be jealous of? I have a secure job with the government—I’ll never have to worry about food or money. What do you have? Huh? What do you have?"

"My face, for one. I’m better-looking than you. And even without a job, I don’t have to worry about a thing."

"Jiang Moli, have some shame! You’re so brazen about being a lazy freeloader. It’s people like you who corrupt public decency! I say you should be sent to the countryside for re-education through labor!"

"Then you’re going to be disappointed. I’m a married woman now. They could try to send people to the countryside a thousand times, and it would never be my turn."

With that, Jiang Moli played her trump card.

"What is that?"

In the dim light, Jiang Dahai couldn’t quite make out the words on the red booklet’s cover.

When he picked it up and took a look, he froze for two seconds before his mouth split into a wide grin.

"HA HA, HAHAHA!"

"Dahai, what are you so happy about?" Li Hongying asked, puzzled.

Jiang Dahai handed her the marriage certificate.

Li Hongying may not have been educated, but she could still recognize the words for "marriage certificate" and her daughter’s name, Jiang Moli.

"Oh my, Moli, you and Lu Cheng already got your certificate?"

In disbelief, Zhou Xiaoqing snatched the marriage certificate out of Li Hongying’s hands.

When she saw the names Jiang Moli and Lu Cheng written on the document, she was completely dumbfounded.

"Impossible! This marriage certificate has to be fake!"

"Did you eat so much that it addled your brain? Why would I need to fake a certificate to trick people?" Jiang Moli retorted mercilessly.

Jiang Qing’s gaze shifted from the names on the marriage certificate, to the date, and then back to Jiang Moli’s delicate and vivacious face.

An imperceptible shadow of gloom passed through her eyes.

’She hadn’t expected Jiang Moli to move so quickly.’

’The issue date on the certificate is today. No wonder Jiang Moli risked losing her job to run out. So it was to get the certificate with Lu Cheng.’

’But that can’t be right.’

’An officer of Lu Cheng’s rank has to submit a marriage application for approval from his superiors before he can legally register.’

’Could it be that Jiang Moli couldn’t wait and pestered Lu Cheng into getting the certificate first?’

’If that’s what happened, Lu Cheng would face disciplinary action at the very least, and at worst, he could be discharged from the military!’

Jiang Qing sneered inwardly.

’She knew it. With Jiang Moli’s talent for causing trouble, it was only a matter of time before Lu Cheng got dragged down, demoted, or even lost his position entirely.’

This occurred to Jiang Dahai as well. "Moli, did Lu Cheng file a marriage application?"

"Huh? You have to file an application to get married?"

Hearing Jiang Moli’s question, Zhou Xiaoqing almost burst out laughing.

"Jiang Moli, you’re a real idiot. You don’t even know that military personnel have to file a marriage application? You’re done for!"

Jiang Dahai glared, his temper flaring. "You and Lu Cheng got the certificate without filing an application?"

Jiang Moli hadn’t asked Lu Cheng about the marriage application, but she felt he wasn’t the type to make such a basic mistake.

"Whether we get it now or later, we still have to get it, right? What’s the difference?"

"You... Ugh, I can’t even be bothered to argue with you!"

Jiang Dahai’s initial joy evaporated, replaced by deep worry.

He was worried Lu Cheng would be disciplined for getting married without authorization, but even more, he worried Lu Cheng would end up blaming Jiang Moli.

...

Lu Cheng was so busy setting up their new room that he didn’t even have time to eat dinner.

He moved out the old desk and wardrobe, replacing them with a new vanity and a large four-door armoire.

"Mom, what do you think of this new bed? Moli picked it out."

Hearing the pride in Lu Cheng’s voice, An Hui snapped, "Why don’t you just replace everything in the house while you’re at it?"

"There’s no need. Moli doesn’t want to live with you guys anyway. As soon as the military family housing is assigned, she’ll move out."

An Hui was livid.

She already had a poor impression of her daughter-in-law, Jiang Moli, and now she found her completely intolerable.

’She hasn’t even officially joined the family and she’s already looking down on her in-laws?’

"Look at all this stuff you bought! The cabinet, the washbasin, the thermos—is there anything here we don’t already have? Did you really need to buy new ones? You have no sense of frugality. I really don’t know what’s wrong with your judgment, to go and pick such a spendthrift for a wife."

"Isn’t the money I earn meant for my wife and kids? What am I supposed to save it for? I might as well just donate it all to the state. At least I’d get a medal for it."

"The way she throws money around like it’s water? Is your small salary even enough for her to burn through?"

"Aren’t you and Dad still around? You’re so frugal you can’t bear to spend the money Dad earns. I found you a daughter-in-law to help you spend it. How great is that?"

An Hui was so angry she nearly fell over backward.

She stomped back to the living room, fuming. Seeing Lu Deyao sitting there, leisurely eating his dinner, only fueled her rage. "Eat, eat, eat! All you ever do is eat! What else are you good for?"

Lu Deyao, long accustomed to his wife’s fiery temper, asked, "What is it now?"

"It’s that wonderful son you raised! He has the same rotten personality as you! He only knows how to make me angry!"

「Upstairs at Mr. Liu’s apartment.」

Wei Xiuqin exchanged a look with her husband and whispered, "Listen. They’re at it again downstairs."

Liu ZhenGuo teased his wife, "That girl the Lu family’s third son has taken a fancy to is a real handful. Just you wait, there’s going to be a lot more commotion from them in the future."

Hearing her husband’s words, Wei Xiuqin couldn’t help but develop a dislike for the Jiang Moli she had yet to even meet.

The woman hadn’t even married into the family yet, and she had already caused several fights between the in-laws.

[Disgust Value +2.]

Upon hearing that his wife was upset with their youngest son, Lu Deyao immediately bellowed for Lu Cheng.

"You little rascal, look how angry you’ve made your mother."

Looking at An Hui’s furious expression, Lu Cheng suddenly recalled what Jiang Moli had said—that if mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts arose, they should just have it out. He couldn’t stop a laugh from escaping.

Lu Deyao aimed a kick at him. "You’re still laughing? You looking for a beating!?"

Lu Cheng’s expression turned serious. "Mom, Moli has her little faults, but I have plenty of my own. She was raised as a pampered daughter in her family, and I’m the son you painstakingly raised to be successful. When it comes to being someone’s child, we’re equals."

"I fell for her and wanted to marry her. She’s happy to marry me and start a new family. From now on, we’ll live our own life. As the mother-in-law, all you need to do is relax and wait to dote on your grandchildren. Wouldn’t it be better to worry less about our trivial affairs?"

Lu Deyao shot him a glare before turning to placate An Hui. "The little punk is infuriating, but he has a point. He’s willing to get married and settle down, so our mission is complete. If his home is filled with chaos and mayhem in the future, that’s just his karma. It’ll have nothing to do with us."

’My own father,’ Lu Cheng thought, ’and you can’t even wish me well?’