“Sister Ali, you and your husband have such a good relationship. I wonder who could be so malicious, spreading such nonsense. They really deserve a good lesson!” Little Zhou, the round-faced nurse, said, her voice filled with righteous indignation mixed with involuntary admiration and confusion.
How could the stories spread among so many hospital colleagues about Jiang Lizhu’s military marriage from last year be so vile? They said her husband was old, ugly, and even divorced? Utter nonsense!
Little Zhou’s gaze then fell upon Jiang Lizhu’s flawless, porcelain-white, and enchantingly beautiful face. A thought struck her: it was most likely… jealousy. From past to present, Jiang Lizhu’s beauty had been uniquely outstanding in both the hospital and the family compound.
She had also seen Xiao Jinzhu, the future daughter-in-law of the Vice President Lin’s family, the one so many colleagues envied and were jealous of. Xiao Jinzhu was a delicate beauty, true, but she couldn’t compare to Jiang Lizhu at all.
However, there was one thing Little Zhou still couldn’t figure out. Not to mention that most of the female colleagues in the hospital disliked Jiang Lizhu, but even the male colleagues rarely had a good word to say about her.
“Thank you for guiding us. Is the work manageable for you?” Jiang Lizhu recognized this young nurse. It was Little Zhou, Head Nurse Liu’s niece, who had taken over her former position as a full nurse.
Jiang Lizhu could tell that Nurse Little Zhou seemed to have many questions for her. But she and Nurse Zhou weren’t particularly close, and she had no interest in satisfying her curiosity.
“It’s not so bad as long as I don’t have to work the night shift. And with my aunt here, everyone is quite considerate to me. Thank you for asking,” Little Zhou said, smiling and nodding. She was genuinely grateful to Jiang Lizhu. If Jiang Lizhu hadn’t approached her aunt, giving her the chance to “steal a march,” she would still be worrying like many of her classmates.
This year’s policies regarding sending youth to the countryside had become much stricter. Educated youth who couldn’t find work and weren’t married had to sign up. Evading registration or failing to comply after signing up would, if investigated, affect the jobs of their parents and family members.
Moreover, there were many intern nurses in the hospital who hadn’t had the chance to become permanent staff. They had no idea how much they envied Little Zhou’s family background.
Talking as they walked, they went up two more floors to the fifth-floor administrative area, the Dean’s office. Dean Qin was waiting for them at the door.
That morning, not long after Jiang Lizhu and Gu Mingyan had arrived at the pediatric clinic with their son, Dean Qin’s office had received news. He had specifically arranged for Head Nurse Liu’s niece, Little Zhou, to wait outside, ready to invite Jiang Lizhu and Gu Mingyan to his office after they finished their business.
Shortly after they entered the office, Dean Qin, on behalf of the hospital, solemnly expressed their apologies to Jiang Lizhu and Gu Mingyan. The hospital had failed to detect and promptly address the rumors in a timely manner, causing damage to their reputations.
“The hospital will deal with the relevant personnel according to the facts and will not be lenient,” Dean Qin assured Jiang Lizhu and Gu Mingyan. Apart from the police investigation results, the hospital was also conducting its own internal inquiry and carrying out comprehensive ideological education.
This wasn’t just because Jiang Lizhu and Gu Mingyan had reported it to the police, but also a form of self-preservation in this particular era, an immediate reaction to protect themselves. This type of serious ideological error was dangerous and could be fatal in this era with its special atmosphere. Dean Qin and the others were still walking on eggshells, afraid of making any misstep.
Yet, unexpectedly, under what they believed was their strict control over the hospital and family compound, rumors had been spread about Jiang Lizhu, a military spouse, for over a year.
Dean Qin had personally received a call from the head of the Su City General Police Station yesterday, and this morning he had received an inquiry from Gu Mingyan’s military unit. Under such multiple pressure, they had to deal with it strictly and seriously.
Employees involved in serious rumor-mongering were suspended, transferred to other posts, or had their wages reduced. It was indeed a fair and serious handling.
“This is compensation from the hospital for you. We hope you will accept it,” Dean Qin said. He didn’t want to have a falling out with Jiang Lizhu and Gu Mingyan, especially Gu Mingyan, who, despite his youth, was already a deputy regiment-level officer with a brilliant record of military exploits, suggesting a future with limitless potential.
Jiang Lizhu carefully read through the contents of the hospital announcement document that was about to be released. Only then did she reach out and take the envelope Dean Qin offered, curiously opening it for a look.
Jiang Lizhu didn’t keep it. Instead, she handed the envelope back to Dean Qin, just as it was, and smiled slightly. “Dean Qin, I would like to donate this money, in my own name, to the hospital’s pediatric critical care program. I hope you can help facilitate the transfer.”
“This is five hundred yuan… Alright. On behalf of the hospital’s pediatric department, I thank you. The hospital will put out a special notice of gratitude soon, and this money will be spent where it’s needed,” Dean Qin’s eyes widened slightly. He couldn’t help but take a serious measure of Jiang Lizhu, as if he were truly seeing her for the first time at this moment.
The envelope contained the five hundred yuan that the hospital leadership had decided upon after a three-hour meeting late into the night as compensation for Jiang Lizhu. Adding a bit more would be enough to buy another formal job.
Yet Jiang Lizhu had donated the entire sum back without batting an eye. Compared to Jiang Lizhu’s broad perspective, their arguments during the meeting seemed utterly petty, revealing such a hideous and ugly side.
“I trust the hospital, and I trust you,” Jiang Lizhu said, satisfied with Dean Qin’s response.
Jiang Lizhu was exceptionally calm. Neither she nor Gu Mingyan was short on money. There was no need to accept such an obviously excessive amount of compensation, which could leave her open to criticism or future trouble.
But refusing it outright wasn’t necessary either. By donating it instead, she not only foiled the schemes of those with ulterior motives but also earned herself a good reputation without spending a penny.
Jiang Lizhu chatted casually with Dean Qin for a few more moments before she and Gu Mingyan took their leave.
“Ali, let us walk you out,” Head Nurse Liu and Little Zhou were waiting in the corridor outside the office. Seeing Jiang Lizhu and Gu Mingyan emerge, they both stepped forward.
“Aunt Liu, this is my husband, Gu Mingyan. Mingyan, Aunt Liu was always the one who looked out for me the most back then,” Jiang Lizhu said with a slight smile, introducing Gu Mingyan and Head Nurse Liu to each other.
“Hello, Aunt Liu. Thank you for taking care of Lizhu,” Gu Mingyan nodded slightly, greeting Head Nurse Liu.
“You child, why were you so tight-lipped?” Head Nurse Liu couldn’t help but chide Jiang Lizhu. With the kind of influence Gu Mingyan represented, if Jiang Lizhu had brought him up earlier, none of these gossipy troubles would have happened.
“I didn’t realize people were saying such things about me behind my back, and no one ever told me about these rumors,” Jiang Lizhu defended herself. The original owner had her own private reasons for not mentioning Gu Mingyan, but that was no justification for others to spread rumors about her like that behind her back.
Head Nurse Liu sighed deeply. Those gossips would never say such things to Jiang Lizhu’s face, except for that oaf Lin Mujia!
Due to her childhood experiences and the subsequent changes in her family, Jiang Lizhu had always kept to herself in the hospital and the family compound. Head Nurse Liu had some acquaintance with Ruan Yumin and would occasionally look out for Jiang Lizhu at work, but their relationship wasn’t particularly deep.
As a result, the gossip grew more and more outrageous, all while Jiang Lizhu remained completely unaware, until Lin Mujia brought it right to her doorstep.
Chatting as they walked, they went downstairs together to the pharmacy, picked up the medicine, and paid. Only then did Head Nurse Liu take Little Zhou back to her post.
Having worked at the hospital for many years, Head Nurse Liu had a wide network and was well-informed. Jiang Lizhu easily learned from her about the details of the previous day’s hospital leadership meeting.
Sure enough, the main force pushing the hospital to offer such a large compensation was Vice President Lin. Three hundred of the five hundred yuan came from his personal pocket.
His motive wasn’t hard to guess. He hoped that by accepting the money, Jiang Lizhu would agree to a private settlement with his son, who was still detained at the police station, and in turn, turn the tables on Jiang Lizhu.
By accepting such a large sum, the act of Jiang Lizhu and Gu Mingyan reporting the defamation to the police would seem less justified. Amidst her already difficult-to-repair reputation, Jiang Lizhu would gain another label: greedy and money-grubbing. With a little more manipulation, her officer husband, Gu Mingyan, could also be affected.
“Has their family been… targeting you like this all along?” Gu Mingyan, who had been silently listening, frowned deeply. He was disgusted by the Lin family’s malicious intentions and inwardly marveled at Jiang Lizhu’s sharpness and decisiveness.
In that short moment, Jiang Lizhu had seen through the scheme and delivered a beautiful counterattack. If he had been the one handling it, he couldn’t have done better than her.
Jiang Lizhu pondered for a moment, then shook her head slightly. “Apart from Head Nurse Liu, I don’t have much connection with my other former colleagues. I’ve hardly had any contact with the Lin family before either.”
“To them, I’m just invisible. It’s not really targeting. But Xiao Jinzhu has always been very good at making me feel disgusted.” To be precise, she had disgusted the original owner, always stirring things up in subtle ways, easily bringing her and the original owner back to the center of everyone’s gossip just as the rumors were dying down.
Jiang Lizhu was not one to have a good temper. Regardless of whether Xiao Jinzhu was involved in the Lin family’s scheming, Jiang Lizhu was adding it to her account against her.
Seeing Gu Mingyan’s brow furrow deeper and deeper, Jiang Lizhu smiled slightly. She reached up and looped her arm through his, playfully squeezing it. “Don’t worry. That was before. It won’t happen now.”
After all, she was the quintessential “vicious, bad woman” as acknowledged by Lin Mojia, the male lead of a book. She was the one who made others uncomfortable; she would never let anyone disgust her again.
Jiang Lizhu tilted her head, leaning it against Gu Mingyan’s arm. Looking up, she gazed at him pleadingly. “I’m hungry.”
“Then let’s drop it and go eat,” Gu Mingyan said, immediately ending the conversation, remembering Dr. Wang’s instruction that Jiang Lizhu shouldn’t go hungry.
After walking a few more steps, Gu Mingyan glanced around. Not seeing anyone with red armbands, he consciously lowered his arm a bit, allowing Jiang Lizhu to continue holding onto it as they walked.
“We’re holding the baby, and we’re legally married. No need to worry,” Jiang Lizhu said, glancing at Gu Mingyan, her posture becoming even more relaxed and comfortable as she held his arm.
Mainly, she was tired from going up and down the stairs and needed Gu Mingyan to lean on.
Gu Mingyan wisely chose not to argue with Jiang Lizhu about this.
Just as they were about to reach the East Street State-Run Restaurant, Jiang Lizhu caught a whiff of meat. She let go of Gu Mingyan’s arm and quickened her pace to the counter to order.
After lunch, Gu Mingyan first escorted Jiang Lizhu and the baby home for their afternoon nap. Then he went out alone to the Su City Police Headquarters to meet a comrade and learn more about Xiao Jinzhu and the Lin family’s situation.
“It’s very difficult to pursue the original culprit who switched the babies back then between your wife and Xiao Jinzhu. Without solid witnesses or physical evidence, and only your wife’s testimony, we can’t go after that family.”
Xiong Dongjun, following Gu Mingyan’s request, retrieved the case file from when a 14-year-old Jiang Lizhu reported to the police to claim her birth family.