Huo Zhanting had no idea any of this had happened.
“Wife, I absolutely have never had any improper relations with women, nor have I ever done anything that might give a female comrade the wrong idea. I devote myself wholeheartedly to serving the country and the Party. Please believe me!”
Huo Zhanting’s expression was solemn, and his stiff explanation sounded almost like he was reciting a pledge to join the Party.
Jiang Yan found it amusing, but managed to hold back her laughter.
“I don’t not believe you. I just want you to understand that the disaster Xiaojin and Xiaoxi suffered was all because of your bad romantic luck!”
Huo Zhanting felt rather innocent. He genuinely had no idea what had happened, but he humbly accepted his wife’s criticism.
“I was wrong. I let Xiaojin and Xiaoxi down. I’ll reflect deeply and write a self-criticism!”
Jiang Yan: He answers everything so seriously and by the book. Are all the soldiers of this era this adorable?
Huo Zhanting really did mean it when he said he would reflect.
After Jiang Yan and the children left, he immediately began writing his self-criticism.
That afternoon, despite Lin Weiwei’s attempts to stop him, he discharged himself from the hospital early and went to Madam Zhao’s house to find Zhao Dahu.
In a situation like this, he couldn’t directly confront Zhao Xiaomei. Otherwise, even if he had the moral high ground, he’d end up looking unreasonable and only get himself into trouble.
“Care for a spar?” Huo Zhanting went straight to Zhao Dahu.
Zhao Dahu’s eyes widened.
You mean you want to beat me up!
He certainly didn’t want to get beaten. But just as he was about to refuse, Huo Zhanting’s fist came flying at him.
Even injured, Huo Zhanting’s combat ability completely overwhelmed Zhao Dahu. Every punch landed without mercy.
Zhao Dahu felt like he was being beaten to a pulp.
But why had the regiment commander suddenly come over to brutalize him?
Hearing the commotion, Madam Zhao came running out. When she saw her son being beaten, she cried out in anguish, but didn’t dare step forward to stop it.
Huo Zhanting looked terrifying like this.
She was scared.
Only after Huo Zhanting finished and released Zhao Dahu did Madam Zhao rush over to comfort her son.
Seeing her son with a swollen, bruised face and injuries all over his body, Madam Zhao’s heart broke.
“My poor boy! You’ve been beaten so badly! My poor boy… sob, sob… What kind of justice is this? The regiment commander came to our house for no reason and beat my son! Is there any law left in this world? Sob…”
“Shut up!” Huo Zhanting roared coldly.
Madam Zhao’s wailing stopped abruptly.
Her mouth hung open, and she didn’t even dare to cry anymore.
With her son’s swollen and bruised face, her expression looked especially comical.
“Are you going to send Zhao Xiaomei away yourselves, or do I have someone drive her out of the compound?” Huo Zhanting said to Zhao Dahu.
Zhao Dahu had absolutely no idea what his parents and cousin had done.
He even asked stupidly, “What did Xiaomei do? Why does she have to be driven away?”
“She spread rumors everywhere that I was going to marry her, trying to destroy my marriage and family. She also tricked my two sons into going into the mountains, nearly getting them killed by a wild boar. You tell me—why shouldn’t I drive her away?”
Madam Zhao had brought her niece Zhao Xiaomei here in the first place because she wanted her to marry Huo Zhanting and continue taking advantage of him.
But now that Zhao Xiaomei couldn’t marry Huo Zhanting, she had no more value to her!
“You ungrateful little wench, Zhao Xiaomei! I’ll beat you to death!” Madam Zhao cursed as she stormed into the house, grabbed Zhao Xiaomei by the hair, and dragged her outside.
“Ah! Aunt, I was wrong! I’ll never do it again! Aunt, please don’t hit me!” Zhao Xiaomei screamed, begging for mercy.
Madam Zhao showed no mercy at all. She hit her brutally, as though she genuinely intended to beat Zhao Xiaomei to death.
Zhao Xiaomei screamed in agony. Her already swollen and bruised face became even more swollen.
Zhao Dahu didn’t stop his mother.
This beating was something Zhao Xiaomei deserved.
“Regiment Commander, I’m sorry. I’ll send her away,” Zhao Dahu promised Huo Zhanting guiltily.
Huo Zhanting nodded and turned to leave.
When he got home, Huo Zhanting handed Jiang Yan the self-criticism he’d written.
“Wife, here’s my self-criticism. Please give me your instructions!”
“And I went and beat up Zhao Dahu. He agreed to send Zhao Xiaomei away!”
Jiang Yan looked at Huo Zhanting, then at the self-criticism.
She didn’t say anything, but that evening she prepared an especially lavish and delicious dinner.
Clearly, she was extremely pleased with Huo Zhanting’s performance!
Huo Zhanting ate happily.
Before getting married, he spent most of his time away on missions. Even when he occasionally came home, he’d simply grab whatever food he could from the mess hall.
For the first time, he actually found himself looking forward to meals.
For the first time, he thought having a wife wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
But as soon as his injuries healed, Huo Zhanting hurried back to his post.
The enemy agent from last time had provided quite a few important leads, and he had to go on another mission!
He’d only just begun to experience the benefits of having a wife.
For the first time, Huo Zhanting actually found himself reluctant to leave home.
In the past, he’d practically wanted to weld himself to his post.
But in the end, he still left.
His family needed him, but his country needed him even more!
Jiang Yan saw Huo Zhanting off and let out a long breath of relief.
Finally, he was gone!
While Huo Zhanting had been home, she hadn’t gone into the mountains to hunt. She’d simply been eating through her supplies day after day, and it had been making her increasingly anxious.
The moment Huo Zhanting left, Jiang Yan couldn’t wait to get back to her business of hunting wild boars and selling them off.
That night, after the two little ones had fallen asleep, Jiang Yan slipped into the mountains under cover of darkness.
But just after she entered the mountains, a furtive figure slipped into Jiang Yan’s house.
It was Zhao Xiaomei.
She hadn’t been sent away!
Heh. How could she possibly accept being sent away?
She had finally escaped from that impoverished backwater and made it to the big city. There was no endless farm work here, no constant beatings and scolding, and no fear of being sold to some old bachelor in exchange for a bride price for her younger brother!
No!
She would rather die than go back!
Zhao Xiaomei knew that Zhao Dahu was most afraid of their mother, Madam Zhao. She also knew exactly where Madam Zhao was vulnerable.
“Aunt, I have a way to drive Jiang Yan away. As long as you let me stay, I can get her kicked out of the compound!”
Madam Zhao also hated Jiang Yan and wished she could kill her, but when she remembered her son’s warning, she said, “Xiaomei, you’d better go home!”
Madam Zhao coldly rejected Zhao Xiaomei’s proposal.
Zhao Xiaomei burst into tears and grabbed Madam Zhao desperately.
“Aunt, you know what my family is like. If I go back, do you think I’ll even survive?”
“Aunt, believe me. I can definitely make Huo Zhanting divorce Jiang Yan. I can definitely marry Huo Zhanting. When that happens, I’ll give you all of Huo Zhanting’s salary!”
“You’re serious?”
Madam Zhao knew that a regiment commander’s salary was quite high. If all of it went to her…
“Of course! And those two burdens, too. I’ll make them come serve Jinbao. You can beat them, order them around, do whatever you want!”
Desperate to stay, Zhao Xiaomei kept painting a beautiful picture for Madam Zhao.
Faced with such temptation, Madam Zhao’s resolve finally crumbled.
She brought out all the authority she had as the elder of the family and managed to pressure Zhao Dahu into backing down.
Zhao Xiaomei also dropped to her knees in front of Zhao Dahu with a thud.
“Cousin, I know I was wrong. Please don’t send me back!”
As she confessed her supposed remorse, she repeatedly slapped herself across the face.
“I shouldn’t have joked around with Xiaojin and Xiaoxi and caused them to go into the mountains and encounter a wild boar. I shouldn’t have been jealous of Jiang Yan… Cousin, I really know I was wrong. Please don’t send me back. If I go home, my father will sell me to an old bachelor!”
Zhao Dahu knew that his second uncle favored sons over daughters.
For the sake of Zhao Xiaohu, he really was capable of selling his own daughter.
In the end, Zhao Dahu couldn’t bring himself to be completely heartless.
“From now on, you’re not allowed to appear in front of the Huo family again. And you’re never to hurt Xiaojin or Xiaoxi again!”
Zhao Xiaomei knew that her cousin had agreed to let her stay.
She immediately began kowtowing to him.
“Thank you, Cousin! Thank you, Cousin! Thank you…”
Zhao Dahu ignored Zhao Xiaomei.
Since the matter hadn’t been resolved properly, he planned to find Huo Zhanting and confess everything.
But when he finally worked up the courage to look for Huo Zhanting, he happened to arrive just as Huo Zhanting had been sent out on another mission.
He figured it would be fine to wait until the regiment commander returned before telling him.
Little did he know that Zhao Xiaomei had been secretly plotting to frame Jiang Yan all along.
She knew Huo Zhanting had gone on a mission, and that very night she eagerly slipped into Jiang Yan’s home.
Luck was on her side.
By the time she arrived at Huo Zhanting’s house, Jiang Yan had already gone into the mountains to hunt wild boars. Only Xiaojin and Xiaoxi were at home, sleeping soundly in their bedroom.
Zhao Xiaomei quietly placed the venomous snake she’d prepared beforehand into the two children’s bedroom.
“Don’t blame me, okay? If you have to blame someone, blame yourselves for having such an annoying stepmother!”