“Being a deputy battalion commander who has served for years, yet you’re so weak you can’t even beat me. I seriously suspect your promotion came from stealing someone else’s military achievements!”
Another kick landed on Song Mingyuan. Wen Xi’s eyes were full of undisguised mockery and disdain.
These words were like a ladle of water thrown into a pot of boiling oil. They instantly stirred the crowd. Dozens of suspicious gazes turned toward Song Mingyuan, and the murmurs gradually grew louder.
Exactly!
If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, who would believe that a deputy battalion commander could be beaten so badly by a woman that he could only curl up and dodge?
“I’m starting to think that makes some sense. No matter how fat she is, she’s still a woman. A dignified deputy battalion commander unable to beat a woman… that really doesn’t add up.”
“Could his military achievements really be fake? Did he rise in rank by stealing someone else’s credit?”
“The army is supposed to be the most fair and just place. How could such a shameless thing like stealing merit be allowed?”
“That’s not impossible. Don’t forget his father-in-law is a leader. With connections, everything is easier. Maybe he just relied on family influence to climb up.”
Everyone began discussing heatedly. Thinking that Song Mingyuan might have stolen their own sons’ or husbands’ achievements, their gazes toward him grew increasingly hostile, and their words even less restrained.
After all, being pinned down and beaten by a woman was already the strongest “evidence.”
The discussion surged like a tide. Song Mingyuan’s face turned livid, his eyes bloodshot, as if two flames were burning inside them. The veins on his neck bulged, and his chest felt like a bomb with its fuse lit.
He should never have let that damned woman stay in his house. She should have been sent down to the countryside!
“Wen Xi, you’re spouting nonsense! My promotion came from risking my life on missions! I’ve never stolen anyone’s military merit—you’re just a crazy woman with a broken mind!”
His gaze turned vicious, hatred like poisoned needles stabbing at Wen Xi. If looks could kill, he would have torn her to pieces.
Fortunately, the one-sided beating did not last long. The political commissar, Cao Tuqiang, rushed over after hearing the news.
When he saw Song Mingyuan lying on the ground unable to fight back, his mouth twitched, his expression hard to describe.
At this moment, Song Mingyuan had no trace of a soldier’s dignity left. He had dark circles under his eyes, palm prints on his face, footprints all over his body, and not a single clean spot on his clothes.
After being beaten and accused by Wen Xi, and now also suspected by the crowd of faking military merit, his face was dark enough to drip water. He clenched his fists and stood aside, lowering his gaze and not daring to look at the commissar.
“Song Mingyuan, look at yourself! You’ve completely disgraced the military!” Commissar Cao pointed at him, scolding him in disappointment.
“What is going on? Can’t you talk things out properly? Must you fight at the military compound entrance? And all of you—what are you doing gathered here?”
“Do you think the entrance of a military base is a marketplace? So noisy—what kind of behavior is this! Look where the sun is already hanging in the sky. The men are about to get off work—have you all finished cooking dinner at home?”
From a few words over the phone, Commissar Cao had already learned that Song Mingyuan had brought back yet another rural wife. He didn’t yet know the full situation, but that didn’t stop him from starting his reprimand.
No one wanted to leave halfway through the excitement. More importantly, since Song Mingyuan was now suspected of stealing military merit—and it might involve their own families—no one moved.
So even though the commissar was scolding them fiercely, not a single person left.
During the scolding, Wen Xi quietly rubbed her eyes red and began crying with grievance.
“Leader, I am Song Mingyuan’s wife from his hometown. My name is Wen Xi. I originally came here to join him, but I discovered I was deceived—he already has another wife in the military.”
Covering her face, she sobbed softly.
“Leader, Song Mingyuan and his family are all liars. For three years—three full years—I worked myself to exhaustion in their home, taking care of the whole family under the title of his wife, living days of hard labor and barely enough food to survive.”
“He, on the other hand, was in the army living comfortably with another woman, leaving all filial duties to me that should have been his responsibility.”
“Wen Xi, are you making things up without even drafting a script?” Song Mingyuan finally found a chance to strike back.
“Look at your body—you say you were starving for three days at a time? Who would believe that? If my family had starved you for three years, you would’ve been a skeleton by now!”
“You’re the liar! You’re not my wife at all—you’re just my parents’ adopted goddaughter!”
Seeing Wen Xi’s nearly two-hundred-pound body, Song Mingyuan felt he had found his strongest argument.
With that physique, how could she possibly be someone who worked hard and barely ate?
No household would allow a daughter-in-law to live like a pampered elder doing nothing all day.
He had only ever seen daughters-in-law working like oxen and horses, doing all the labor.
As long as he insisted she was lying—and mentioned her background—she would be forced to leave in disgrace.
The more he thought about it, the more certain he became that he was the real victim.
“Deputy Battalion Commander Song does have a point. With food shortages nowadays, someone with that amount of flesh doesn’t look like they’ve been starving.”
“That’s true. If she really worked like that at home, how could she still be so fat?”
The crowd began to waver again, suspicion returning to Wen Xi.
Seeing people support him, Song Mingyuan became even more convinced of his own judgment.
Just as he was about to solidify his claim, Wen Xi’s anger flared again. She stepped forward and slapped him hard—another thunderous crack echoed.
“Song Mingyuan! My identity in your family is known to everyone in the village. Don’t think you can twist the truth with a single sentence and cover up your fraudulent marriage!”
“And don’t use my body as evidence—you think I’m fat for no reason? I suspect the mastermind behind all this is you!”
Blood trickled from the corner of Song Mingyuan’s mouth. He had already been unable to fight back earlier, and now with the commissar present, he dared not retaliate no matter how humiliated he felt.
He could only stand there unwillingly, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
After finishing her accusation, Wen Xi shook her slightly numb hand and looked firmly at Commissar Cao.
“Leader, I hereby report Song Mingyuan for fraudulent marriage. He is morally corrupt, disregards national law, and is openly maintaining two wives.”
“I also suspect him of falsifying military achievements, and even of secretly poisoning me, causing my weight to increase drastically in a short period of time.”
Among the crowd, some who already disliked Song Mingyuan also spoke up.
“Commissar Cao, a deputy battalion commander being beaten by a woman and only dodging is suspicious in itself. We also think this comrade has a point.”
“If he really stole someone else’s military merit, this must be investigated. Otherwise it’s unfair to other soldiers and will damage trust in the army’s integrity!”
Song Mingyuan trembled all over in anger. After taking a few deep breaths to suppress his rage, he loudly retorted:
“All my military achievements are earned through real missions! I didn’t fight back because a soldier’s fists must never be raised against the people!”
With this righteous declaration, he painted himself as a noble and principled soldier who refuses to harm civilians.