Although Chen Qilan was chatting with his comrades, the corner of his eye was constantly watching Qin Shuyao.
When he saw several local women surrounding her, and some of their expressions were less than friendly, he forcibly cut off his comrades and walked straight over.
“Seventh Brother, you’re pathetic! You can’t stand being apart from your wife for just five minutes?” Chen Qilan ignored the nonsense spewing from his comrades. He cut directly into the crowd and, with an assertive posture, pulled the outnumbered Qin Shuyao into his embrace.
The women who had been aggressively championing Geng Sa instantly quieted down. Even the aggressive woman who had been speaking in broken Mandarin now wore a smile.
“Commander Chen is back visiting family, and it’s only been a few days!” Chen Qilan didn’t know what they had been talking about, but he acutely smelled the gunpowder in the air.
“Oh, I forgot to introduce everyone. This is my wife, Qin Shuyao!” He looked around and said with a smile, “Yaoyao, these are all local villagers. You’ll naturally get to know them once you’ve been here longer!”
Qin Shuyao wore a polite smile, pretending nothing had happened. “Hello, Aunties. Please look after me in the future!”
Chen Qilan took the opportunity to back Qin Shuyao up. “My wife is new here and unfamiliar with the place, so I’ll rely on all of you aunties and sisters-in-law. If she accidentally offends anyone, don’t scare her—just come straight to me!” The implication was clear: Don’t bully my wife; if you have a problem, take it up with me!
An awkward silence fell over the scene.
“Oh, Qilan!” Suddenly, a woman’s voice, laced with surprise, came from behind them. The women who had been holding their tongues instantly grew excited.
Qin Shuyao turned to look. She saw a young woman dressed in red, wearing a Red Flower on her head, standing on the steps, her arm linked with a man in an ill-fitting suit. The joy in the woman’s eyes froze the moment she saw Qin Shuyao in Chen Qilan’s embrace. Her smile stiffened on her face, as if she had been pressure-pointed.
“Geng Sa, did you and Commander Chen plan this? Why are you even getting married on the same day!” The woman who had been sowing discord earlier deliberately stirred up trouble. “People who know the situation know you’re marrying different people, but those who don’t might think you two…” She stopped halfway, pretending she had spoken out of turn, and theatrically slapped her own mouth. “Oh dear, look at my mouth, I really don’t know how to talk. Please don’t be angry!”
Qin Shuyao kept telling herself that since she was new here, there was no need to make enemies. But the woman kept staring at her with provocative eyes, practically daring her to bite back.
Chen Qilan leaned into her ear and whispered, deliberately fanning the flames. “You’re not even going to get angry about this?”
Qin Shuyao gritted her teeth. “What good would getting angry do? I’ll just bear with it.”
“If you’re angry, then fight back! If the sky falls, I’m tall enough to hold it up for you!”
“King Goujian endured hardship, sleeping on brushwood and tasting bile (and feces, historically) to restore his kingdom. You don’t have a throne to inherit, so why endure humiliation and eat shit?”
Chen Qilan’s words seemed to snap a cord deep inside Qin Shuyao. She vaguely remembered a saying from her previous life: *Enduring for a moment leads to breast hyperplasia; taking a step back results in ovarian cysts!*
Qin Shuyao smiled sweetly and said, “People speak human language, but dogs can only bark. Auntie, what were you thinking? Why insist on mimicking a dog when you could be a decent person?”
“You also know that no ivory comes out of a dog’s mouth, right? Luckily, my man and the bride are magnanimous enough not to bother with you. If you had said that at someone else’s wedding today, it wouldn’t be excessive to slap your face swollen!”
With a cold laugh, Qin Shuyao said arrogantly, “Here’s a tip to save your life: Read more books and newspapers, speak less gossip, and sleep more.”
Qin Shuyao had cursed without using vulgar words, yet she had thoroughly humiliated the malicious woman. The woman pointed at Qin Shuyao, sputtering “You…” several times before slinking away in embarrassment amid the crowd’s laughter.
The few soldiers watching the commotion gathered around Chen Qilan, smiling as they nudged his shoulder. “Not bad! Your wife’s got a sharp tongue!” Chen Qilan grinned, looking smug. His comrade said gleefully, “Don’t look so happy now. Just wait, you won’t be smiling for long. With your wife’s fiery spirit, you’re going to have your hands full!”
Meanwhile, the bride, Geng Sa, walked over, holding the groom’s arm. “Commander Chen, that’s not very nice of you. Something as big as a wedding, and you didn’t even give us a heads-up!” Geng Sa pulled on her husband’s arm. “Jinliang, this is Commander Chen Qilan. Commander Chen, this is my husband, Gao Jinliang!”
Chen Qilan nodded slightly, his voice indifferent. “Hello, I am Chen Qilan.” He extended his hand to greet Gao Jinliang, but the other man acted as if he didn’t see it, leaving Chen Qilan’s hand hanging in the air.
Qin Shuyao quietly reached out her hand, and Chen Qilan naturally interlaced his fingers with hers. Geng Sa’s expression was awkward, but she quickly covered it with a smile. “Commander Chen, aren’t you going to introduce your wife? She’s truly beautiful!”
Qin Shuyao tried to pull her hand away from Chen Qilan’s grip, but he held it tightly. “My wife, Qin Shuyao!” Unable to move, Qin Shuyao could only lean against Chen Qilan and greet Geng Sa. “Hello!”
Geng Sa’s gaze involuntarily fixed on their intertwined fingers before she managed to force out a smile. “The banquet is about to start. Why don’t you join us for a wedding toast?” Chen Qilan declined, citing his wife’s exhaustion from the long journey.
In front of everyone, they maintained the affectionate gesture of tightly clasped hands. They moved through the crowd and turned a corner, finally leaving the noise behind them.
Once certain they were alone, Qin Shuyao struggled to pull her hand free from Chen Qilan’s. “There’s no one here. You don’t need to act anymore!” Qin Shuyao said coldly. “I have to say, Commander Chen, your acting skills are superb—you remain composed even when Mount Tai collapses before you. Truly admirable!”
“Acting? What’s that supposed to mean?” Chen Qilan wasn’t stupid; he could tell Qin Shuyao was angry. “What happened? Did those women gossip in front of you? What did they say?”
Qin Shuyao scoffed. “Heh, instead of worrying about what they said, Commander Chen should ask himself what he has done!” Her mind was filled with the rumor: “Commander Chen and Geng Sa were involved, and they even had a child together.”
Was Chen Qilan marrying her out of spite and deliberately showing off on Geng Sa’s wedding day just because Geng Sa’s mother disagreed with her marrying a soldier?
On the surface, it looked like revenge, but in reality, he still couldn’t let her go! If he couldn’t let Geng Sa go, he could have just kept waiting. Sincerity can move mountains.
If he had been truly sincere, why would he worry about not marrying the woman he loved? She had left her home to follow him to this strange place, only to be innocently dragged into his emotional entanglement with Geng Sa! Disgusting! Truly sickening!
Chen Qilan wanted to say more, but Qin Shuyao interrupted him with a cold expression. “Where is your house? I’m tired and want to rest!” The resistance and disgust in her expression made Chen Qilan feel a little panicked. But seeing Qin Shuyao’s pale face, he still pulled out a key, walked to the end of the alley, and stopped in front of a courtyard gate marked by an old locust tree.
He opened the heavy iron lock. As the wooden door creaked open, a small courtyard scattered with fallen blossoms appeared before Qin Shuyao. Chen Qilan handed her a key and said, “Here! From now on, this is your and my home!”