As she spoke, she winked, and everyone around her exchanged knowing smiles.
But not everyone thought that way.
After all, the young woman had traveled thousands of miles to this unfamiliar place to follow her husband. If she had nowhere else to stay and lived at her in-laws’ home for a few days, that hardly meant anything. Besides, Lu Yunshan’s parents were both there. With elders keeping an eye on things, what could the young couple possibly do?
Sister-in-law Chen really had no restraint when it came to gossiping.
An older woman spreading rumors about a young girl was truly disgraceful. But even more people enjoyed listening to this sort of gossip, so they couldn’t be bothered to argue with them.
After all, it wasn’t their own family’s business.
At Sister-in-law Wang’s house, Brother Wang still hadn’t returned, and during this time, Sister-in-law Wang and Shen Qingqing had become as close as sisters.
That afternoon, Sister-in-law Wang hurried home carrying a small basket over her arm. The moment she stepped through the door, she called out,
“Xiao Shen, come out quickly! Something big happened!”
“What happened, Sister-in-law? Why are you in such a hurry?”
Shen Qingqing casually wiped the water from her hands as she came out of the kitchen.
During this period, she had practically taken care of all the housework herself. Although Sister-in-law Wang repeatedly told her not to bother, Shen Qingqing was staying in someone else’s home, and sitting around doing nothing simply wasn’t her style.
Sister-in-law Wang rarely looked this anxious. She grabbed Shen Qingqing and hurriedly asked,
“Xiao Shen, is your younger sister already staying at the Lu family’s house?”
Shen Qingqing froze slightly.
Shen Jiaojiao?
Ever since the two of them had parted at the dock a few days ago, they hadn’t seen each other again. She had only heard a few words from Zhou Yuanzheng saying that Lu Yunshan had picked her up.
These past few days, Shen Qingqing had practically forgotten all about Shen Jiaojiao.
Seeing her standing there blankly, Sister-in-law Wang asked anxiously, “That girl is your younger sister, right? I heard someone mention her. I think her surname is Shen.”
Shen Qingqing came back to herself.
“Is she at Lu Yunshan’s house? If so, then yes, she’s my younger sister.”
“Oh my, look at what happened,” Sister-in-law Wang slapped her thigh. “Do you know what I heard outside today? The whole island is talking about it. They said… they said…”
The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she suddenly felt embarrassed.
She was talking badly about someone’s younger sister right in front of her elder sister. Was that really appropriate?
Shen Qingqing, however, didn’t mind.
“Sister-in-law, what exactly happened? Just tell me. Don’t worry about me.”
Sister-in-law Wang hesitated a few times before carefully studying her reaction. Seeing that Shen Qingqing genuinely didn’t seem angry, she finally cursed indignantly,
“All those loose-lipped women outside are saying your younger sister moved into the Lu family before she was even married. They’re saying she’s improper. Those women have mouths looser than their waistbands! How did a perfectly respectable young woman become ‘improper’ just because of them?”
Sister-in-law Wang was furious.
Although it was indeed inappropriate for an unmarried young woman to move into a man’s home under normal circumstances, this situation was special. The Shen girl was completely unfamiliar with the place. Staying at her future husband’s home for a few days hardly justified calling her improper!
“Ah!” Sister-in-law Wang sighed.
When Shen Qingqing remained silent for a while, she assumed she didn’t know about the matter and hurriedly asked,
“Qingqing, could it be that you didn’t know about this? Think about it—what kind of situation is this? A girl’s reputation is extremely important.”
Shen Qingqing came back to herself and explained,
“It should have been arranged by Lu Yunshan. Perhaps he simply didn’t think of that.”
Shen Qingqing felt somewhat troubled.
Since Shen Jiaojiao was being gossiped about by people in this life, that meant that in her previous life, she must have been subjected to plenty of gossip as well.
It was just Shen Jiaojiao’s turn this time.
She didn’t believe Lu Yunshan hadn’t thought of this. And surely his parents couldn’t have failed to think of it either?
Perhaps they hadn’t overlooked it at all.
They simply didn’t care.
In her previous life, Shen Qingqing had already experienced firsthand how much Lu Yunshan’s parents doted on their son. In their eyes, a daughter-in-law was nothing more than a tool for carrying on the family line.
Shen Qingqing smiled reassuringly.
“My sister is grown up now, so I can’t control her. Besides, if the man’s family agreed to it, then it probably isn’t a big deal. Let people outside say whatever they want.”
“We can’t exactly stop other people’s mouths, can we?”
Sister-in-law Wang’s face was full of worry.
“That is true. But Qingqing, you should still find an opportunity to ask your sister about it. Don’t let someone sell her off while she’s still counting the money. The Lu family really isn’t handling this properly.”
Knowing that Sister-in-law Wang was simply warm-hearted, Shen Qingqing nodded.
“Don’t worry. I’ll ask her tomorrow and remind her to be careful.”
“Ah, good.”
Although she had agreed to Sister-in-law Wang’s suggestion, Shen Qingqing certainly wasn’t foolish enough to actually run over to the Lu family.
She was afraid Shen Jiaojiao would bite the hand that was trying to help her, accusing her of meddling in her business instead.
Speaking of this, there weren’t many days left until the wedding date from her previous life.
If she remembered correctly, Zhou Yuanzheng had been called away on an emergency mission on their wedding night. He had participated in an urgent operation and ultimately died in that battle.
Later, she heard that enemy agents had secretly infiltrated China’s territorial waters that night. They were discovered by a patrol vessel at sea, making the mission extremely urgent.
But precisely because the mission had been so sudden, their unit hadn’t had enough time to prepare. They lacked sufficient ammunition and firearms, while the enemy had clearly come fully prepared, with plenty of ammunition.
As a result, their side was at a disadvantage when the battle began.
Although they eventually drove the enemy out of China’s territorial waters, the entire group—including Zhou Yuanzheng—was killed.
She had heard that the enemy had used a large number of bombs. The people aboard that vessel had been blown to pieces, and they couldn’t even recover complete remains. Their bodies sank into the depths of the sea.
There had been more than a hundred people.
They were the soldiers stationed along China’s borders, the elite of the military.
More importantly, they were someone’s sons and daughters, someone’s husbands, and, in some cases, fathers. Some of the men had children who had only just been born when they died. Others hadn’t even reached the age of twenty.
Shen Qingqing’s expression grew solemn.
Since she had been given a chance to be reborn, she wanted to do her part to prevent this tragedy.
But how?
Shen Qingqing was frustrated.
This matter was far too serious. She couldn’t exactly walk up to Zhou Yuanzheng and tell him outright that she had been reborn and that he needed to prepare in advance because enemies would invade on their wedding day.
If she did that, she would probably be arrested as a lunatic before the enemy even arrived.
Thinking about those soldiers who had sacrificed their lives to protect them, Shen Qingqing felt a heavy weight in her heart.
But now she had a chance.
Perhaps she could change everything and prevent the tragedy from happening.
So, no matter what price she had to pay, she had to try.
She had two options in mind.
Either get married earlier, or postpone the wedding.
But she leaned more toward postponing the wedding.
That way, the soldiers would have more time to prepare and wouldn’t be hastily dispatched on a mission on the very day of the wedding.
Besides, she had to think of a way to secretly warn Zhou Yuanzheng somehow.
About seven or eight days later, the authorities approved Zhou Yuanzheng and Lu Yunshan’s marriage reports.
Just like in her previous life, their wedding dates had been set for the same time.
But this time, Shen Qingqing wasn’t willing to let it happen.
Coincidentally, Zhou Yuanzheng came to visit her that day, intending to discuss their wedding plans.
Sister-in-law Wang opened the door and immediately saw Zhou Yuanzheng holding a bag of fruit.
She happily called toward the room,
“Qingqing, come out quickly! Deputy Regiment Commander Zhou is here.”
Zhou Yuanzheng handed the fruit to Sister-in-law Wang.
“Sister-in-law, these are some apples for you. Nothing special, so I hope you don’t mind.”
Sister-in-law Wang accepted the fruit and began teasing the two of them.
“Why bring anything when you’re coming to my house? No need to be so polite with your sister-in-law. Oh, I know! These are for Xiao Shen, right? Hahaha, looks like I’m just benefiting from Xiao Shen’s good fortune.”
Although Zhou Yuanzheng didn’t say anything outwardly, the tips of his ears quietly turned red.
And at that exact moment, he happened to meet the gaze of Shen Qingqing, who had just stepped out from the inner room.