Lian Qiao stood by the roadside, holding Baozhu in her arms and craning her neck to look into the distance. Her cousin had gone to buy soy sauce but hadn’t returned for a long time.
It was almost noon, and the dishes still hadn’t been cooked. Baozhu was getting fussy and would cry as soon as she was put down. Lian Qiao was starting to feel anxious.
Niu Aixiang was out looking for her son, who had gone out to play, to bring him back for lunch. When she saw Lian Qiao, she snorted coldly, her face wearing a look of someone eager to watch a show.
Lian Qiao shot her a sidelong glance. A few days without being put in her place, and she was already getting cocky again.
“Who are you trying to fool here, acting like some innocent maiden? Pah!”
Lian Qiao sneered at her, which made Niu Aixiang feel a pang of guilt, though she still tried to sound tough. “What are you looking at?”
“Feeling restless again? If you love gossiping so much, why don’t we go to the political affairs office and have a chat?”
Niu Aixiang’s breath hitched, her face flushing red. “Don’t you get too arrogant! Everyone in the compound knows about your little affairs!”
“Oh? Tell me, what do they know?”
Niu Aixiang knew all too well how difficult Lian Qiao could be. She didn’t want to be the one to provoke her.
“I just heard them gossiping in a group, right at the entrance of the activity room. Sister-in-law Zhang and the others were all there, talking about it like it was the real deal. I was just repeating what I heard…”
Lian Qiao gently patted the child in her arms and spotted the couple returning home in the distance.
“You believe whatever others say? You’re quick to pick up on other people’s nonsense, aren’t you? Quite the expert at parroting others.”
Niu Aixiang didn’t understand the last four words, but she guessed they weren’t anything good. “Just keep strutting around! There’ll be a time when you’ll be crying!”
Her threat lacked conviction, and she quickly led her child back into her own house.
Lian Qiao immediately noticed Yang Chunmei’s puffy eyes and handed the child over to her.
“Sister, you go ahead and eat. I need to talk to Chen Lang about something.”
Yang Chunmei forced a smile. “Didn’t he always come to you before? What do you need to talk to him about?”
Lian Qiao smiled. “To discuss the wedding. Don’t wait for me to eat.”
Yang Chunmei stared blankly as Lian Qiao walked away. Li Guozheng put his arm around her shoulders and led her inside. “Let’s go in first. She’s going to see the battalion commander. I doubt she’ll hear any gossip—they wouldn’t dare talk in front of the person involved, would they?”
For some reason, Yang Chunmei felt uneasy. Normally, Lian Qiao would tell her everything.
Discussing the wedding?
The excuse came easily to her lips. Lian Qiao strode purposefully toward the compound’s activity room.
The weather was hot, and the women who stayed at home liked to gather in the compound’s activity room.
It was spacious, shaded, and had several ping-pong tables with benches all around. Many women enjoyed gathering there to knit sweaters, stitch shoe soles, and gossip.
As Lian Qiao entered the activity room, she saw a group of women huddled together, talking animatedly.
Those who couldn’t squeeze into the middle stood to the side, knitting sweaters while laughing uproariously along with the others.
“Is it true? He seems like such a decent man.”
“I heard it with my own ears! Battalion Commander Chen’s sister was furious! She said her brother was completely bewitched by that vixen Lian Qiao! That woman had a bad reputation back in her hometown—she cheated on her husband, and that’s why they divorced!” Zhang Daju spoke vividly, waving her knitting needles around.
“What kind of woman couldn’t Battalion Commander Chen find? Why settle for someone like her?”
“I heard it was Li Guozheng—he sent her to the battalion commander’s bed to climb the ranks himself! How shameless!”
“The whole family is so scheming. What will become of the compound if they stay?”
“In my opinion, was Chen Lang drugged? I’ve seen many officers go back to their hometowns and get into this kind of trouble, then end up getting married in a muddled way, marrying some village girl.”
“At least that’s a proper girl! Better than a loose woman!” Zhang Daju said indignantly.
The others followed with snickers.
“Were you just talking about me?”
Lian Qiao stood at the doorway, her gaze sweeping over the crowd.
The laughter that had just filled the air abruptly stopped, as if everyone’s throats had been suddenly choked.
Pairs of eyes fixed on her in unison—some guilty, some evasive, some curious, but most were maliciously watching for drama.
Those who loved to gather here were the biggest gossips in the military family compound.
The ringleader was Zhang Daju.
Relying on her husband being a battalion commander, she spent her days either criticizing this person or gossiping about that one.
No one wanted to be close friends with her, but no one dared to offend her either.
Zhang Daju felt a flicker of panic, but quickly composed herself.
“Who said anything about you? We were just chatting casually.”
“Just chatting casually?” Lian Qiao casually picked up the shovel leaning against the wall, weighed it in her hand, and took two steps forward. “Chatting about how my brother-in-law sent me to the battalion commander’s bed for a promotion? Chatting about me being a loose woman?”
Everyone’s expressions changed. Those nearby quickly stood up, retreating behind Zhang Daju, their eyes fixed on the shovel in her hand.
Someone stepped forward to smooth things over: “Little sister, it’s all a misunderstanding, you must have misheard…”
Lian Qiao sneered: “You’re damaging the reputation of military personnel, disrupting order among military families, spreading rumors about my improper conduct—this isn’t just idle gossip anymore, it’s slandering a military marriage!”
This politically charged statement made everyone’s expressions change again. This matter could be big or small.
Eager to distance themselves, some quickly stepped aside. “Qiao’er, I was just listening here, I didn’t say anything! It was all Zhang Daju, it was her, she’s the one spreading rumors and causing trouble!”
Once one person started, a second and third followed.
Those afraid of getting involved quickly distanced themselves from Zhang Daju, trying to prove their innocence.
Seeing the situation turning against her, Zhang Daju didn’t dare to stay stubborn and defiant anymore.
“Lian Qiao, we all live in the same compound, we see each other all the time! It was Chen Li who said it, I just heard it from her, really!”
Lian Qiao gripped the shovel and stepped closer. Zhang Daju, terrified, tried to hide among the crowd, but wherever she went, the group scattered like a boiling pot.
As if avoiding a plague.
Zhang Daju’s voice trembled as she shouted, “You, don’t come any closer! Killing someone means paying with your life! Hitting someone, hitting someone is against the law!”
Lian Qiao slammed the shovel hard against the ground twice. “I have nothing to lose! My reputation is already ruined, there’s no point in living anymore. If I die, so be it!”
Zhang Daju was truly scared half to death, tears and snot streaming down her face, hoping those sisters who loved drama would save her.
But those women didn’t even look at her, standing neatly in a row, afraid of getting involved and implicating their own families.
“If you die, your sister and brother-in-law will have to pay with their lives too!” Zhang Daju’s voice shook, trying to appeal to any shred of humanity left in Lian Qiao.
“Achoo—”
Yang Chunmei sneezed, the feeling of unease growing heavier.
“Caught a chill? Even if it’s hot at night, you still need to cover your stomach.” Li Guozheng sounded worried.
Yang Chunmei stood up. “No, I need to go check.”
“Go where?”
“To meet her on the road. You watch the child first.”
Li Guozheng felt it wasn’t a big deal and didn’t understand why she was so flustered, so he just let her go.
Yang Chunmei walked in the direction Lian Qiao had just gone. As soon as she reached the main road, she saw several women hurriedly walking back.
At the sight of her face, the women dodged and avoided her as if she were a plague.
Yang Chunmei touched her face—she had looked in the mirror before leaving home, and the swelling around her eyes had already gone down.
“Chunmei, hurry to the activity room and check on your sister,” Sister-in-law Qiao in the crowd kindly reminded her.
Yang Chunmei’s heart sank. Without asking anything else, she started running.