“Auntie, Sister-in-law, I’m afraid I can’t help you. It’s not that I don’t want to lend them to you—I simply don’t have them anymore.”
“Were those things taken by your aunt too?” her aunt blurted out immediately.
Jiang Li nodded.
“Auntie said she was worried you and Sister-in-law would come to borrow them. She said that once you borrowed things, you never returned them, so she was going to keep everything for me.”
“Bullshit!” her aunt cursed just like her husband. “She’s the one who borrows money and never pays it back! She’s obviously trying to keep your belongings for herself.”
Jiang Jin’an stopped his wife.
“Qingling, after we catch them tomorrow, we’ll get all of Lili’s things back. We’ll demand them right in front of the Public Security officers. With Lili herself testifying, Jiang Jinxiu won’t dare refuse.”
He had no intention of confronting Jiang Jinxiu privately. Nor did he want her becoming suspicious beforehand and taking precautions, or he might lose his chance to catch her in the act.
Once Jiang Jin’an spoke, Zhao Qingling said no more.
He looked around the house once again. There was nothing else worth taking.
“Lili, we’ll head home now. Get some good rest tomorrow. And remember—don’t let anything slip. Your aunt absolutely must not find out about our plan.”
“I definitely won’t tell her.”
“Good. Then we’re leaving.”
As he and Zhao Qingling prepared to leave, Jiang Li’s cousin-in-law, Liu Xiaolei, eagerly stepped forward.
“Cousin, do you still have any lipstick and eyebrow pencils? Could you let me have a few?”
Jiang Li was speechless.
This family really won’t stop until they’ve squeezed me dry.
They want to strip my house bare.
A few lipsticks and eyebrow pencils? It’s not like I run a cosmetics shop.
“Xiaolei, because Auntie took all my money and belongings, I haven’t even had lipstick or eyebrow pencils to use lately, and I don’t have money to buy any. I was actually going to ask if you had any extras I could borrow.”
Liu Xiaolei’s face instantly darkened.
Unlike Jiang Jin’an and Zhao Qingling, she lacked any ability to hide her emotions. The moment she realized she wasn’t getting what she wanted, her displeasure was written all over her face.
“So you’re the pampered daughter of a capitalist family? You’re such an idiot. You gave everything away and now you’ve got nothing left. Serves you right.”
Zhao Qingling hurriedly covered her mouth while Jiang Jin’an glared fiercely at her.
Turning back to Jiang Li with an awkward smile, Zhao Qingling said,
“Lili, she’s still young and doesn’t know any better. Please don’t take it personally. She didn’t mean anything by it.”
Jiang Li naturally wasn’t about to argue with a foolish girl.
She would simply send her to the countryside when the time came.
It wasn’t that she was deliberately targeting Liu Xiaolei.
Her uncle and aunt were going to be sent down to the countryside anyway.
Liu Xiaolei could accompany them.
“Auntie, why would I argue with a child?”
“Who are you calling a child? You’re the child!”
Liu Xiaolei immediately snapped back.
Damn Jiang Li.
Her in-laws were only flattering Jiang Li because they wanted to use her, yet she actually thought they were taking her side.
Jiang Li’s cousin, Jiang Zhenjiang, even raised his fist.
“Say one more word about Xiaolei and see what happens!”
Jiang Li merely glanced at him.
Just like Liu Xiaolei, he had none of Jiang Jin’an’s or Zhao Qingling’s acting skills.
No matter.
He could join them in the countryside too.
Jiang Jin’an quickly grabbed his son’s fist and scolded him,
“She’s your cousin! Mind your manners!”
There was no point in staying any longer.
Besides, he was worried that if his son and daughter-in-law ended up quarreling with Jiang Li, it might actually drive her back toward Jiang Jinxiu.
He immediately ushered his wife, son, and daughter-in-law out while apologizing to Jiang Li.
“Lili, please don’t hold it against them. Your uncle will always stand by your side. I’ll discipline them properly once we get home.”
“All right, Uncle.”
Jiang Jin’an left with his entire family.
Watching their backs disappear, Jiang Li slowly curled her lips into a smile.
What a heartless family.
Not a single one of you will escape.
In truth, her parents had been arrested this time because they had once studied overseas.
Only family members had known about that past.
Had no one reported it, the Revolutionary Committee would never have found out.
And the people most capable of betraying you…
Were often your own relatives.
Once Jiang Jin’an’s family finally left, the house became peaceful again.
Jiang Li locked the front door and returned inside.
She packed the remaining clothes from the wardrobe, along with every cosmetic and piece of jewelry from her dressing table, into her pocket space.
Then she went to the room where her grandfather had once lived.
Opening one of the drawers, she found a set of gold acupuncture needles and two sets of silver ones.
Her grandfather’s greatest medical skill had been acupuncture, and these three sets of needles had been among his most treasured possessions.
The room itself was essentially a small dispensary.
On the table and inside the cabinets sat a mortar and pestle, medicine grinder, herb sieve, pulse-diagnosis tools, and other traditional medical instruments.
She stored all of them in her pocket space as well.
From now on, she would inherit her grandfather’s medical legacy.
After an exhausting day, Jiang Li returned to her bedroom and immediately entered her pocket space.
She walked into the bathroom, an exact replica of the one outside, filled the bathtub with hot water, removed her clothes, and slipped into it.
A few minutes later, the clear bathwater slowly began turning cloudy.
After more than ten minutes, it had become almost black with impurities.
All of that had been expelled from her own body.
Normally, no amount of bathing would cleanse so many toxins.
It had to be the effect of the spiritual spring water.
At the same time, she felt her body becoming lighter and more refreshed than ever.
That night, deep within a towering forest, Lu Yuanshan had just led his men in capturing two enemy spies attempting to flee across the border.
The operation had achieved another small victory.
Once they caught the remaining spies, their mission would be complete and they could finally return to camp.
After hours of relentless pursuit, everyone was exhausted.
The soldiers lay on the forest floor covered with fallen leaves, resting.
Some had already fallen asleep.
Lu Yuanshan, however, wasn’t sleepy.
Resting both hands behind his head, he gazed through the dense canopy at the tiny stars scattered across the deep blue night sky.
Perhaps because the tension that had gripped him for so many days had finally eased, his thoughts unexpectedly drifted to his little wife, whom he had married only a month earlier.
He wondered how she had been during the month he had been away.
Remembering how desperately she had insisted on divorcing him, a dull ache spread through his heart.
He had told her he’d already submitted the divorce papers.
In truth…
The papers were still in his possession.
He simply couldn’t bear to hand them in.
If, after some time, she stopped bringing up divorce…
Then perhaps they could continue living together.
Thinking back on their brief time together, they had only known each other for a few days before marrying, and only a few more before he had to leave.
He still vividly remembered their wedding night.
She had hidden beneath the blankets, nervous as a frightened little rabbit, too shy to consummate the marriage with the “big bad wolf.”
That night they had slept separately.
He hadn’t forced her.
He hadn’t touched her at all.
On the second night, however, he finally held his soft, delicate little wife in his arms and tasted the sweet lips he had longed for.
By the third night, she had finally climbed into his bed.
Holding her close, his large hands resting on her slender waist, he gently coaxed her until they finally consummated their marriage as husband and wife.
That was also the night he truly experienced the joy of being a husband.
He had barely begun to savor that happiness before military orders arrived, summoning him back for duty.
Just as he’d gotten a taste of married life…
He had been forced to leave her again.
He absentmindedly rubbed his face.
Only then did he notice how rough the calluses on his palms had become.
Those same coarse, callused hands had caressed his wife’s porcelain-soft skin that night.
Perhaps his rough hands had hurt her.
Or perhaps it had been something else.
Whatever the reason, she had cried for a long time.
He sighed.
If we don’t end up divorcing…
I’ll be much gentler in the future.
I must never make my wife cry from pain again.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small notebook.
His little wife had been the daughter of a wealthy capitalist family, someone who appreciated romance.
He, on the other hand, was nothing more than a rough country man.
The things she loved had never interested him.
She had once said they had nothing in common, no shared interests, and probably could never build real affection.
That was why she wanted a divorce.
So he had begun thinking…
If he could become more romantic…
If they had something to talk about…
Perhaps they could slowly fall in love after all.
He had already been studying whenever he found spare moments.
The little notebook was filled with classical Chinese poems.
Originally, he had wanted to learn Western love poems, believing they were even more romantic.
Unfortunately, military regulations forbade that, so he had settled for ancient Chinese poetry instead.
Over the past month, he’d already memorized several.
When he returned to Beijing and saw his little wife again, he planned to recite them to her.
He chuckled to himself.
Hopefully…
She would like them.
Hopefully…
She would stay married to him.
Then there was the wedding photograph they had never managed to take.
On their wedding day, inside the photography studio, he simply couldn’t manage the expressions and poses she wanted.
She’d grown frustrated and walked away.
She probably thought he was hopelessly clumsy—even simple poses were beyond him.
But the truth was…
He had simply been too nervous.
It was the first time he’d ever sat so close to her.
She was fair-skinned, beautiful, refined, elegant—the very image of a wealthy young lady.
He was just a rough country fellow.
Had her family not been on the verge of being sent away, someone like him could never have been lucky enough to marry her.
Sitting beside her that day, he hadn’t known where to put his hands or feet.
He couldn’t even control his facial expressions.
She must have looked down on him.
But next time they met…
He certainly wouldn’t be so nervous.
After all…
They had already shared the closest intimacy a husband and wife could.
Surely sitting together for a photograph would be nothing by comparison.
This time, when he returned, he’d make up for that missed wedding portrait.
He wouldn’t let her carry that regret forever.
Resting his chin in one hand, he lost himself in those happy daydreams.
Without realizing it, he smiled.
Suddenly, a voice sounded beside him.
“Brother Lu, you’re grinning so happily. Missing your wife, aren’t you?”
It was Li Yuandong, one of the men lying beside him.
Since they were on a covert mission, they avoided using military ranks to protect their identities.
Besides, they were close friends.
Calling each other “Brother” felt more natural.
Lu Yuanshan blinked in surprise.
“Was I smiling?”
“You were. We all heard you laughing. You seriously didn’t notice?”
“Yeah, I heard it too,” Xiao Mao added from the other side.
Lu Yuanshan smiled openly and admitted it without embarrassment.
“That’s right. I was thinking about your sister-in-law.”
Seeing him in such a good mood, Xiao Mao hurriedly asked,
“Brother Lu, your wife must be very beautiful, right?”
He had asked the same question back when Lu Yuanshan applied for family housing after getting married.
At the time, Lu Yuanshan had ignored him.
And this time…
He ignored him again.
In the darkness, he simply shot Xiao Mao a glance and replied,
“What’s it got to do with you?”
Xiao Mao pouted.
“Brother Lu, you’re so stingy. You won’t even tell us whether Sister-in-law is pretty.”
Since Lu Yuanshan refused to answer, Xiao Mao assumed his wife probably wasn’t attractive.
Maybe she was even quite plain.
After all, everyone knew Brother Lu supposedly had fertility problems.
Surely beautiful women wouldn’t willingly marry someone like that.
“Xiao Mao,” Li Yuandong called out, signaling him to stop asking.
He shared the same assumption.
Brother Lu probably didn’t want to talk about it because his wife wasn’t pretty.
Continuing to ask would only make things awkward.
Silence soon settled over the forest again.
The others lay there imagining that Lu Yuanshan had married an unattractive wife.
Only Lu Yuanshan himself knew the truth.
His wife was breathtakingly beautiful.
So delicate.
So lovely.
She was like a fairy he feared would melt if held too tightly or shatter if handled too roughly.
Every inch of her skin.
Every strand of her hair.
Perfect.
Thinking of his precious little wife and imagining the happy life they’d have once she came to join him at his military posting, Lu Yuanshan slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.