Given a second chance at life, Jiang Yuan decided to cast aside pride and pretense entirely.
She feigned not to understand the hints, washed her hands deliberately in the kitchen, and then marched boldly to the table and sat down uninvited. At her presumption, Aunt Liu’s eyes bulged with outrage.
“Division Commander Lu has stated clearly: no one in this household shall eat without working!”
Jiang Yuan pretended not to hear. She sat bolt upright, arms neatly at her sides like an obedient schoolchild, staring straight at the dishes and swallowing hard with every mouthful of saliva. Aunt Liu fumed and opened her mouth to rebuke her — only to be stopped by the ever-virtuous Song Yuhua.
“Aunt Liu — enough. A guest is a guest. Do not haggle over it.”
Aunt Liu slapped her thigh in exasperation. “Comrade Song — you are too kind, far too soft-hearted! She does not come to learn how to be a worthy daughter-in-law. She has come to be worshipped like an ancestor!”
Lu Ze stepped in behind his father just in time to hear those words. “Mother? What is it? What ancestor?”
Jiang Yuan turned her head toward him, letting out a perfectly casual “Oh!” and explained with a straight face:
“Your mother says I am an honoured guest — and that to let me go hungry would be a failure of hospitality on her part. She would not suffer me to help prepare the meal, yet the moment the food was set, she seated me here and would not let me rise. Look — she even placed the chopsticks and bowl in my own hands, insisting I begin first without waiting for anyone else. I told her it showed no breeding to eat before the household head returned — and so I firmly refused. Whereupon your mother grew quite cross, and said that an honoured guest was practically one of the family — an ancestor to be fed and cared for, not starved!”
It was a tale spun entirely out of thin air.
“That is utter nonsense! You were just now clearly —!” Aunt Liu began.
Before she could finish, Song Yuhua elbowed her sharply in the ribs. Aunt Liu clamped her mouth shut instantly. To deny Jiang Yuan’s version openly before Lu Qinian would only make matters worse. Humiliating though it was — they had no choice but to swallow it.
Lu Ze had not expected events to take such a turn. Odd it might be — yet it was far better than open strife. He spoke readily.
“Mother, how can she be merely a guest? She is to be one of us. There is no need for special treatment.”
All that time standing useless at the railway station, Jiang Yuan reflected privately, and not a single thing learned.
She glanced toward Lu Qinian. His expression was dark and forbidding. The look he cast upon Lu Ze seemed light and casual — yet beneath it lay cold, steel-like glint. Lu Ze might be hopeless at everything else, but he knew his father’s moods. He sensed displeasure, yet could not for the life of him imagine what he had done wrong. He turned helplessly toward Song Yuhua, seeking guidance.
Song Yuhua’s heart burned with rage toward Jiang Yuan. She did not notice her son’s plea at all. She merely offered a stiff, awkward smile. “Very well. No special treatment henceforward.”
Aunt Liu might be Song Yuhua’s faithful hound — yet her cooking was beyond reproach. Braised pork was tender and rich, sweet and savoury, melting in the mouth without a trace of grease. Steamed fish was sweet, delicate, and entirely free of fishy odour. Even plain stir-fried greens carried a savoury richness almost like meat. Jiang Yuan ate bowl after bowl until she could barely stand, bracing herself as she rose from the table.
And most satisfying of all — no sooner had the meal ended than Lu Qinian summoned Lu Ze to the study and gave him a thorough dressing-down. What exactly was said Jiang Yuan could not hear — yet it must have been severe. Lu Ze emerged with ears and eyes red, face flushed and pale all at once, and hurried straight back to the barracks.
Months earlier, when Lu Ze had announced his intention to marry a country girl, Song Yuhua had felt uneasy. She had asked Lu Qinian to make inquiries. The task had fallen to Xu Qianjin — a thorough investigation, little more than a few months old, complete and detailed enough to pass for a full political vetting. That was why the marriage application had been approved so swiftly by his superiors.
Armed with the marriage certificate, Xu Qianjin made his way toward Lu Qinian’s office — only to run into He Weidong, Commander of the Second Battalion, looking thoroughly wretched.
“Old Xu — has our Division Commander been struck by some blow lately? Suddenly he orders us to overhaul the quality of our officers. His exact words were:
‘The most important quality in an officer is character and competence — comprising not merely combat ability and military skill, but the capacity to observe, analyse, and resolve problems. You have one month to train. At the end of it, I shall inspect every man personally. Those who fail — shall go home and till the soil.’”
“That sounds very much like something Old Lu would say,” Xu Qianjin nodded gravely.
“You cannot blame us battalion commanders for feeling as though war has been declared,” He Weidong groaned. “Our Commander means every word he says, and shows no mercy. Yet those standards he demands — they cannot be forged in a mere month or two. Commander Hu and I have drilled our men from dawn till dark, drawing up plans by candlelight, staging mock exercises at first light. The Second Battalion was craftier — they dispatched their officers to the railway station, where unrest and trouble are most frequent. Even so — our Commander remains displeased. He has just called us in and reprimanded us all roundly.”
He Weidong looked close to tears. “A few short days — what possible difference can it make?”
“This is about raising the standard of the entire officer corps,” Xu Qianjin said placidly. “Strictness is only right and proper. Do not look so woebegone.”
It sounded remarkably less like comfort and more like undisguised relish. He Weidong huffed, glared, and stormed off.
Xu Qianjin clicked his tongue. “That man’s resilience — truly it leaves much to be desired.”
Lu Qinian had just reprimanded others — surely he would not turn upon him as well? Xu Qianjin steeled himself, entered the office, pulled out a chair, and sat opposite him.
“The marriage certificate is ready. Here.”
Lu Qinian did not even glance at it. He took it casually and dropped it into a drawer. “Thank you.”
“No thanks needed — we are beyond such formalities,” Xu Qianjin said. After a pause he could not help asking: “What is truly going on here? If my memory serves me — this Comrade Jiang Yuan is Lu Ze’s intended bride, is she not?”
“And so what if she is?” Lu Qinian arched an eyebrow.
“…” Xu Qianjin fell silent. He understood at once why He Weidong had looked close to weeping. That tone — that unyielding, suffocating pressure — was truly terrifying.
Lu Qinian did not press the point. Instead he said: “Are you certain your investigation into Jiang Yuan was thorough and complete?”
Again that weighty, unanswerable question. Xu Qianjin broke into a cold sweat. He would sooner face the previous question.
“In what respect, Commander?”
Lu Qinian looked down thoughtfully. “When a woman carries a child — how long before it becomes visible?”
“…?” Xu Qianjin wondered if his ears were playing tricks. He answered nonetheless: “It varies widely. My wife suffered severe morning sickness with our first — and showed no sign until her fifth month. With our second — she ate heartily and felt well, and her belly began to show before the fourth month.”
Jiang Yuan always wore loose clothing. Yet her wrists and neck — exposed, slender, delicate… Lu Qinian’s throat felt dry. He lifted his cup and drank deeply. He had never seen her fall ill — yet she ate heartily, that much was certain.
“Investigate Jiang Yuan once more,” Lu Qinian commanded. “Every detail, every aspect — leave nothing unexamined. Pay particular attention… to whether she is carrying a child.”
Xu Qianjin’s eyes nearly bulged from his head in shock.
What manner of thing is this? Marry her knowing she carries another’s child? Could it be Lu Ze’s own? If it is Lu Ze’s — then what…? If it is not Lu Ze’s — then he is taking in another man’s child…
A thousand questions warred in his mind. Yet he dared not voice a single one. He nodded slowly. “Very well. It shall be done.”