An Accidental Military Marriage

Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Taking the Blame

"Auntie, where’s your bitter melon tea? Brew me a cup, I need to cool down!"

Seeing Qiao Wenjing storm in, Qiao Shufen teased, "What’s wrong? Did you go get yourself worked up over Camp Commander Lu again?"

Qiao Wenjing was always eagerly trying to curry favor with Lu Cheng, only to be rejected every time, and would come back sulking.

"I didn’t go looking for him, but he definitely made me mad! He’s perfect in every way, except he’s completely blind! Auntie, you have no idea how horrible that woman he married is..."

Although she had promised Jiang Qing she would keep it a secret, Qiao Wenjing simply had to get it off her chest.

Besides, Qiao Shufen was her own aunt, not a stranger, so it didn’t count as spreading it around.

Qiao Wenjing told Qiao Shufen the whole story, just as she’d heard it—about how Jiang Moli was vain and materialistic, and had made her stepsister marry in her place.

Qiao Shufen had heard nasty rumors about Jiang Moli before but had never paid them much attention.

After all, she’d never met the woman, so she just treated it as a bit of amusing gossip.

But now, learning that Jiang Moli had not only broken off the engagement unilaterally to chase a better prospect but had also forced her stepsister to marry in her stead, she thought the girl was simply vicious and selfish.

*[Disdain Value +1. 10,000 yuan credited.]*

"Auntie, don’t you dare spread this around. If people find out Lu Cheng ’stole’ his subordinate’s childhood fiancée, it’ll be bad for his reputation."

Qiao Shufen agreed readily enough.

But the very next day, while visiting a friend, she couldn’t resist telling the story for a bit of fun.

After finishing, she didn’t forget to add a reminder, "I’m only telling you this because I trust you. Don’t you go spreading it around."

"Don’t worry, you know you can trust me, right? But seriously, that Jiang girl is a real piece of work."

*[Disdain Value +1. 10,000 yuan credited.]*

...

Qiao Wenjing quickly arranged a job for Jiang Qing.

She would be a substitute teacher at the new school being set up on the base.

Although the stipend was only 11.5 yuan a month, having a job meant Jiang Qing could get special permission to stay on the base as a military spouse.

Zhang Jia Ming’s rank wasn’t high enough to apply for family housing, so Jiang Qing could only live in the new school’s collective dormitory for the time being.

Jiang Qing was very satisfied with this outcome.

Based on the trajectory of her past life, Zhang Jia Ming would earn a military commendation and receive a special promotion to platoon leader in two months at most.

Menghai was considered a remote and hardship post, where anyone ranked platoon leader or higher could apply to have their family join them and be assigned housing.

...

The new school was being established to solve the issue of schooling for the children of military personnel, and it was still in the preparatory stages.

Including Jiang Qing, there were only three teachers so far.

Of the other two, one was a military spouse who lived in the base’s family housing area.

The other was a local villager who lived in their own home.

Therefore, Jiang Qing was currently the only one living in the collective dormitory.

After cleaning the dormitory from top to bottom, she happily headed out to the town to buy daily necessities.

She hadn’t gone far when she ran into two female soldiers.

"Hello."

Unlike the cold and arrogant demeanor she’d had in Plum Valley, Jiang Qing offered a smiling greeting.

’After all, I’ll be living here from now on. It can’t hurt to build some connections.’

One of the female soldiers recognized her. "Hey, you’re the older sister of Camp Commander Lu’s wife, aren’t you?"

Jiang Qing smiled and nodded. "I am. My name is Jiang Qing, and I’m a teacher at the new base school."

No matter the era, the teaching profession was always a respectable one.

The female soldier wasn’t interested in her job; instead, she eagerly started asking for gossip about Jiang Moli:

"I heard your stepsister is vain and materialistic, that she already had a childhood fiancé but still went after a commander, and even made you, her stepsister, marry in her place. Is any of that true?"

Jiang Qing’s heart skipped a beat, but she quickly denied it. "That’s not what happened. My stepsister only started seeing Camp Commander Lu after she broke off her engagement."

After she was out of earshot, the two female soldiers started whispering to each other:

"She said that’s not what happened."

"You believe her? Camp Commander Lu is her husband’s superior officer. She wouldn’t dare say a bad word about him unless her husband doesn’t want to make it in the First Battalion anymore."

"That’s true. She’s so pitiful, having to deal with such a vicious stepsister."

*[Disdain Value +2. 20,000 yuan credited.]*

Jiang Qing glanced back at the two conversing female soldiers, her expression turning ugly.

Although she wished nothing more than for Jiang Moli’s reputation to be utterly destroyed, for her to become a pariah everyone despised...

...she wasn’t as stupid as Zhou Xiaoqing. She wouldn’t dare frame a military officer.

Besides, her husband still needed Lu Cheng’s patronage for his career. She’d have to be crazy to offend Lu Cheng.

The only reason she had fabricated the "substitute bride" lie to Qiao Wenjing was purely to curry favor with her, to win her sympathy and pity so that Qiao Wenjing would help her stay.

That was why she had warned Qiao Wenjing over and over again not to repeat what she’d said. She never expected Qiao Wenjing to actually go and spread it.

Being able to stay on the base with the army should have been a joyous occasion worth celebrating. But now, Jiang Qing’s heart was filled with nothing but regret, worry, and resentment toward Qiao Wenjing.

’That big mouth of hers, how could she not keep it shut!’

She was absolutely furious.

But Jiang Qing didn’t just sit back and wait for disaster.

She ran to the barracks area to find Zhang Jia Ming and told him about running into the two female soldiers who were digging for gossip:

"I don’t know who’s spreading these vicious rumors and stirring up trouble, but you need to go talk to Camp Commander Lu right away. Tell him to figure out a way to minimize the impact."

The only solution Jiang Qing could think of was to take the initiative and report it to Lu Cheng, thereby clearing herself of suspicion.

It was a risky move, but not one without a chance of success.

After all, she didn’t have any better ideas.

She could only hope that fate would be on her side and help her one more time.

Lu Cheng didn’t suspect that Jiang Qing had orchestrated the whole thing herself, but it wasn’t because he was gullible or thoughtless.

As soon as Qiao Wenjing had run to him to gossip about Jiang Moli, he had secretly investigated who was spreading his private family matters around the base.

The investigation led him to Lu Tingting, his own niece.

While Jiang Qing also had a loose tongue, she only gossiped in front of Zhang Jia Ming, which could be considered private talk between a husband and wife and was thus understandable.

Therefore, when he learned that rumors about Jiang Moli were circulating on the base again, his first thought was of Lu Tingting.

After all, this niece of his had been spoiled and willful since childhood, and she was a repeat offender.

"Tingting, answer the phone! It’s your Third Uncle. He says he has something to ask you."

Hearing that Lu Cheng was calling for her, Lu Tingting’s heart trembled.

In all the years since he’d joined the army, her Third Uncle had never once called her on his own initiative.

"Third Uncle, what’s this about?"

Lu Cheng’s perception was incredibly sharp; Lu Tingting’s panic and guilt were as obvious to him as a three-year-old’s.

"Have you been spreading nasty rumors about your Third Aunt on my base..."

The thread of Lu Tingting’s tightly wound nerves snapped. Before Lu Cheng could even finish his question, she couldn’t stop herself from blurting out a defense:

"She’s the one who bullies me! Every time she bullies me, Grandma and Grandpa always take her side! What kind of love potion has she fed all of you that you all protect her?!"

"So you admit it. That’s all I need. At least you have the guts to own up to what you’ve done."

With that, Lu Cheng hung up the phone.

He had only made the call to confirm whether his niece was the one spreading the rumors.

Lu Tingting would never have dreamed that someone else was doing the exact same thing she was—spreading malicious rumors about Jiang Moli on the base—and that she had just unwittingly taken the blame for Jiang Qing.

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