The plan set, the three of them immediately split up to carry it out.
Zhou Huai’an contacted his old subordinates—the veterans who had once managed affairs at the hall, docks, and shops—using methods only they could understand, passing warnings to ensure everyone stayed low-profile and kept their heads down.
Zhou Huaiquan went straight to the bank to withdraw cash.
The “gesture of sincerity” they decided to offer was all the current deposits in the bank—the cleanest, easiest-to-verify liquid assets.
Fortunately, people who had survived in chaotic times were used to hiding the real valuables—the little golden dried fish—in secret places only they knew about.
Even after handing over most of the visible assets, they wouldn’t starve.
It just meant the two old men, accustomed to a comfortable life, would have to tighten their belts and live a frugal, plain existence for a while.
As for Ruan An’an, she still had a hard battle ahead.
She was going to the military district compound to make the Xu mother and son, as well as Su Qingyue, taste what it meant to be trapped in their own schemes and ruined utterly.
An hour later, Ruan An’an, a few meters from the military compound, secretly added a pair of wool pants and thick wool knee pads.
She pulled out half of a treasured onion from her space and sniffed it.
The pungent smell hit her nose, and tears immediately welled up.
Carefully, she put the onion away. “Hiss… good stuff. A prop, a seasoning, and medicinal too—can’t waste even a bit.”
In these times, wasting food—even half an onion—was a sin.
Tearful eyes ready, she held the carefully “aged” marriage certificate with both hands, swaying with every step like a frail willow in the wind, and approached the imposing gate of the First Military District in Haishi.
Her pale face was like paper, lips chapped, exuding a fragile desperation that made anyone’s heart ache.
With every step, large tears fell onto the cold ground with soft plop sounds.
A young soldier guarding the gate looked at this lost, beautiful girl, voice soft and hesitant: “Comrade! You… you are looking for someone?”
Ruan An’an turned to him in confusion, a burning tear sliding down.
Her lips quivered, voice small and trembling with sobs: “I… I want to find a place where I can… seek justice…”
Before she finished, exhausted, she collapsed with a thud, kneeling heavily at the very center of the military gate.
Hands raised high, she held the marriage certificate above her head, voice weak but piercing, all-or-nothing:
“Please… I beg the military leadership… to give this poor soul… justice—!”
Her words, full of tears, hit the ground as if echoing.
Humiliation, despair, unwillingness, and a thread of stubborn resolve intertwined on her face.
She looked as if even a light touch could shatter her completely.
“Oh no! This won’t do! Get up! Get up, comrade!”
The young soldier blushed with panic—he was only eighteen or nineteen, never seen anything like this.
He reached out to help, then quickly withdrew—men and women are different, touching a girl could cause trouble!
“Let’s talk properly, standing up! Why kneel like this?”
The onion’s sting still lingered, and Ruan An’an’s tears flowed like a flood: “My… my fiancé… he’s a martyr for the country! But his cruel stepmother, before his body was cold, forced me to marry his useless little brother! And… she took all the family wealth my parents left me… They’re trying to drive me to death!”
Her sobs choked her, shoulders shaking like leaves in autumn wind.
“What?!” The soldier’s eyes nearly popped out, blood boiling. “The widow of a martyr, treated like this?! Do they still have law?!”
Furious, he shouted, “Get up! I’ll report this! The superiors will handle it!”
“I won’t get up!” Ruan An’an shook her head violently, tears spilling. “I’ll kneel! Let my short-lived fiancé watch from above! See how his wicked stepmother tortured his bride before marriage! See how the Xu family… is destroying heirs!”
“Stepmother?! Destroying heirs?!” The soldier felt like he’d been struck by lightning, his worldview twisted and stomped on.
The martyr’s fiancée, persecuted by her future in-laws to the point of desperation, kneeling at the military compound—
What immense grievance! What absolute despair!
He dared not delay and yelled to his comrades: “Watch her! I’m going to report this!”
He turned and sprinted inside, shoes almost slipping off.
Ruan An’an watched his fleeing back, lips curling into a faint smile.
“Done.”
Her mental scale had firmly fallen.
Years of palace-strategy experience told her: when petitioning, rely 30% on reason, 70% on performance.
People despise seeing the weak bullied.
Moreover, Xu Yancheng was a genuine combat hero!
His fiancée being persecuted like this was an affront to the honor of the entire military district!
Within ten minutes, the young soldier returned, breathless, attitude almost fearful and reverent: “Comrade! Please rise! The political commissar wants to see you! He said he’ll make sure justice is done!”
Only then did Ruan An’an “weakly,” trembling, support herself on her knees and limped forward step by step, following the soldier inside.
The wool knee pads from her space were perfect—soft, warm, and comfortable even kneeling.
She was received by the military district’s political commissar, ***—a standard square-faced figure, commanding without anger.
He carefully checked Xu Yancheng’s identity information and listened as Ruan An’an tearfully recounted everything, her story full of details:
How Xu’s mother schemed and forced the marriage for money; how Su Qingyue pretended to be kind while colluding with the Xu family; how Xu Yanli behaved arrogantly, mocking her, thinking she still loved him; and how she, alone, sought justice and escape…
***’s face darkened with each detail.
When he heard that Xu’s mother had secretly taken the martyr’s fiancée’s inheritance as dowry and forced her to marry the younger brother, he slammed his fist onto the table!
The enamel teacup lid jumped, tea splashed.
“Bastards! Completely lawless!” ***’s roar made the window frames vibrate. “This defiles the honor of revolutionary soldiers! It undermines socialism! It’s utterly reactionary!”
“Commissar Li…”
Ruan An’an flinched like a frightened rabbit, voice weak: “I… I just want to ask… in my situation… can I completely cut ties with the Xu family? The inheritance… the dowry… I don’t want it! I have a job—I’m a Chinese teacher at Haishi No. 2 Middle School, currently on winter break, here’s my work ID… I can support myself…”
She handed over her ID, trembling, as if it were her only lifeline. “I just beg… don’t let these rotten matters tarnish my fiancé… his posthumous reputation…”
Her sobs punctuated her words.
Seeing her utterly persecuted yet still protecting the martyr’s honor, ***’s sense of justice ignited fully.
“Comrade Ruan An’an! Rest assured! The organization will never let heroes bleed and cry, nor let their family suffer such indignity!”
He said firmly, “They are shameless! Illegally meddling! Destroying military marriages! Your inheritance, your dowry—none of it can be taken! They must return it in full, and they must pay a price!”