Auntie Zhao spoke first, “Little Su, didn’t they say your parents both passed away, and Deputy Battalion Commander Qin’s family took pity on you and adopted you, which is how the engagement came about?”
“How come what you’re saying is different from what Deputy Battalion Commander Qin said?”
A flicker of mockery passed through Su Nanzhi’s eyes, but on the surface she looked aggrieved. “Maybe I misremembered. What Brother Qin said is right.”
Sister-in-law Wang frowned. “How could you misremember something this important! Don’t make excuses for Deputy Battalion Commander Qin. You should have the leaders uphold justice for you. Don’t be afraid—I’ll go with you.”
With that, several of the righteous aunties and sisters-in-law immediately voiced their support.
Having spent a long time around the military, the Suijun family members had absorbed the army’s spirit of helping the weak.
At this moment, Qin Lie wasn’t much better than scum in their eyes, and Su Nanzhi was a poor, bullied civilian.
Su Nanzhi seemed to want to say something but held back. She had actually just been using these aunties and sisters-in-law to stir up resentment against Qin Lie, but now facing their enthusiasm, the words she had prepared felt hard to say.
Going to the leaders was out of the question, of course—after all, this didn’t constitute a serious conduct issue. Qin Lie would at most receive a few words of criticism.
But that wasn’t enough.
Just then, Auntie Zhao’s shrill voice rang out.
She looked disapproving. “Deputy Battalion Commander Qin is young and already a battalion commander. With Little Su’s looks, where would she ever find such a good match?”
“If I were Deputy Battalion Commander Qin, I’d pick Zhao Xue too. Look at that figure on her…”
“If I didn’t have a daughter, I’d definitely want Deputy Battalion Commander Qin as my son-in-law.”
The military wives fell silent as they looked at Su Nanzhi. What Auntie Zhao said was harsh, but it made a lot of sense.
Half of Su Nanzhi’s head was wrapped in gauze, her skin dull and sallow. Because she was so thin, her large eyes looked somewhat startling, and her lips were chapped from dryness. At barely five feet tall, she looked like a gust of wind could blow her over.
There was even a bluish tint to her philtrum, giving her a comically eerie appearance.
She wore patched clothes—thankfully still neat, or she might have been mistaken for a beggar fleeing famine.
Wasn’t it just as Auntie Zhao said? Su Nanzhi finding Deputy Battalion Commander Qin as her fiancé could only be credited to her ancestors’ accumulated virtue.
Su Nanzhi had already mentally prepared herself for everyone’s reaction, yet she still couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Hadn’t she thought the same as these military wives in her previous life? That she, a lone orphan, had married above her station by landing a military officer like Qin Lie.
But later, after she had seen a wider world, she realized that it was her own inferiority complex that didn’t measure up to Qin Lie.
And Qin Lie had exploited that inferiority complex to drain every last drop of her blood and marrow.
In this life, she wouldn’t let inferiority become the shackle that trapped her. She would make the exploiter from her past life reap what he had sown.
Thinking this in her heart, Su Nanzhi nevertheless nodded in agreement.
“Yes, I’m just a country girl who didn’t even finish middle school—how could I possibly match Brother Qin? If he’s willing to marry me, I’ll be more than content.”
Seeing the sympathetic looks everyone was giving her, Su Nanzhi straightened her washboard-flat little frame.
“Besides, in our village, which successful man doesn’t fool around outside? As long as I’m Brother Qin’s wife, that’s all that matters.”
Hearing Su Nanzhi’s words, the crowd stopped trying to persuade her, and some even felt Auntie Zhao had a point.
Su Nanzhi had indeed married above her station with Deputy Battalion Commander Qin.
As for the rest, only two thoughts remained in everyone’s minds.
Qin Lie was truly a piece of garbage.
Su Nanzhi was truly pitiful.
Though most people only felt disgust toward Qin Lie.
Su Nanzhi wasn’t afraid of these military wives speculating—she was afraid they wouldn’t speculate enough.
As Qin Lie’s fiancée, wasn’t she supposed to show everyone her “virtue”?
After all, in her previous life, for the sake of Qin Lie’s future advancement, even when she saw through the affair between Qin Lie and Zhao Xue, she could only swallow her teeth along with her blood, and in the end, she still earned a reputation for being petty and jealous.
This life, she’d be virtuous—the better to highlight Qin Lie’s “noble character.”
“Su Nanzhi, what nonsense are you spouting out here again?”
Qin Lie’s face darkened the moment he saw Su Nanzhi gathered with a group of aunties and sisters-in-law, and he immediately barked at her.
Su Nanzhi, who had caught sight of Qin Lie returning from afar, looked as if she’d been startled, her whole body trembling.
“I… I didn’t say anything.”
Seeing this, a satisfied expression appeared on Qin Lie’s face. It seemed that ignoring Su Nanzhi for the past few days had been somewhat effective.
Now she knew he, Qin Lie, was the head of the household.
Zhao Xue, standing behind Qin Lie, watched Su Nanzhi cower like that and felt that her suggestion to have Qin Lie ignore her for a while had worked. A flash of smugness immediately crossed her eyes.
Qin Lie’s allowance and Su Nanzhi’s jade pendant would soon be back in her hands.
Thinking of this, her tone became several degrees softer than usual.
“Brother Qin, don’t let that temper of yours scare Little Su.”
“Little Su just came from the countryside. She’s probably used to country folk idling away their time gossiping about trivial matters.”
“Once she’s lived in Jiashu Yuan for a while, her thinking will improve too.”
Su Nanzhi couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Zhao Xue thought of herself as a city girl and a high school student, always looking down on her as a mere country bumpkin.
In her previous life, when she was young, she hadn’t noticed Zhao Xue’s arrogance. By the time she grew older, Zhao Xue’s skill at putting on airs had only deepened.
But in this life, she wasn’t going to put up with it.
“Sister Zhao, are you saying that us country folk are backward in our thinking? That’s inciting class conflict.”
The people around them immediately began whispering among themselves, and Zhao Xue’s face turned deathly pale. In this era, if someone were branded a reactionary, they’d be lucky to escape with their life, let alone their skin intact.
Qin Lie, whose mood had just improved thanks to Zhao Xue’s gentle and demure demeanor, felt a nerve twitch in his face at Su Nanzhi’s words.
“Su Nanzhi, shut up.”
“If you keep gossiping with trashy people, you can pack your bags and go back to your hometown.”
Hearing themselves called “trashy people,” the aunties and older women who already disliked Qin Lie immediately took offense.
“Deputy Battalion Commander Qin, who exactly are you calling trashy?”
“Back when I was fighting my way to being undefeated across the whole village, you weren’t even born yet, boy.”
“You’ve got your own mess to clean up, and you dare lecture us?”
“No wonder you’ve hooked up with that fox spirit Zhao Xue.”
…
Chaos erupted instantly. Zhao Xue, being called a fox spirit left and right, let out a shriek and started brawling with the sharp-tongued older woman. The other aunties, pretending to break up the fight, took the opportunity to pinch and hit Zhao Xue as well.
Don’t think they hadn’t noticed Zhao Xue looking down on them earlier.
Seeing this, Qin Lie went to intervene, only to become a punching bag for the aunties to vent their anger on.
As for Su Nanzhi, one hand covered her mouth while the other slapped her thigh, wailing loudly with no actual tears.
“Stop fighting!”
Don’t use your hands—use your feet!
Hit the important spots. Hit more.
Because she was so “overwrought with emotion,” Su Nanzhi stepped on a stone and fell straight backward.