The village chief immediately ordered people to tie up Xu Xiuyun and lock her away, stationing several people to guard her.
Typically, when someone in the village did wrong, the village chief would mediate, trying to keep the matter from spreading outside to avoid damaging the village’s reputation. But this time, it involved nearly killing a battalion commander. This was serious. It also involved writing an anonymous letter to trick Battalion Commander Fang into returning to the village. The village chief didn’t dare make a rash decision. Hearing Xu Ziyan wanted to call the police, he immediately sent someone to report it.
Xu Xiuyun was dumbfounded. How had things escalated so badly? Before she could even react or say anything, she was directly convicted. She cried and begged, feeling panicked and helpless for the first time, but it was completely useless.
The Xu family hurried over. The Xu old man angrily confronted Xu Ziyan. “Isn’t Fang Lihai fine? It was a misunderstanding. Why call the police? We’re all from the same Xu family tree, sisters from one household. Where does this leave the Xu family’s face?”
Xu Ziyan retorted, “If everyone thought like you, what would we need the police for? Wouldn’t the world be in chaos? Why don’t you reflect on how you raised your granddaughter? You raised such a scourge who nearly killed my family. I think you’d better change your ways, or you’ll risk ruining all the younger generation.”
The Third Branch of the Xu family looked at the Eldest Branch differently now. Xu Xiuyun was from the Eldest Branch. How rotten must the Eldest Branch couple be in private to raise a daughter like this? If their own family thought this, outsiders’ opinions were even worse. The villagers present looked at the Eldest Branch of the Xu family as if they were villains, infuriating them until their faces turned ashen.
The Xu old woman pointed at Xu Ziyan’s nose. “Don’t forget you’re our granddaughter too. Saying we ruined our granddaughter means you’re insulting yourself as well. Oh, so we’re not good people, only you are? Do you think anyone here believes that? If you say we’re vicious, then you’re no good either.”
Fang Lihai frowned and stepped in front of Xu Ziyan, wanting to shield her. Before he could speak, Xu Ziyan nudged him aside. Planting her hands on her hips, she shouted at the old woman, “How can you be so shameless, trying to gild your own reputation? You taught me? When did you ever teach me anything? You used to call me a wild child every day, said I was born with a bad temper, a debt collector. You’d tell others I wasn’t like a child of your family.
What, now I’m your handiwork? Trying to drag me down with you? Your whole family is either stupid or wicked. Before, I endured everything for the sake of family ties. Even when you drove our Second Branch out of the house, I didn’t say a word against you. But today, a man’s life was at stake, and you still shield the culprit? What are you trying to do? Do you have any humanity left?
To put it gravely, by shielding Xu Xiuyun who attempted to murder a national army officer, who put you up to it? What’s your political background?”
The Xu family gasped, their faces instantly paling. The Third Branch people quickly waved their hands. “You can’t say that! We’re clean, three generations of poor farmers, no questionable background, politically sound. We had no part in this. It’s all Xu Xiuyun’s own doing.”
The Third Branch pulled the old man and old woman aside. “Just shut up, will you? Do you want to drag the whole family down? That’s a death sentence!”
The two elders didn’t dare make a sound. Even the other villagers didn’t dare discuss it loudly anymore. They hadn’t considered that possibility. Saying Xu Xiuyun tried to kill Fang Lihai over a petty argument was too far-fetched. But what if Xu Xiuyun had been recruited by enemy spies? Helping spies harm an officer made more sense.
Even the four public security officers who had just arrived found this line of reasoning plausible. After greeting Fang Lihai, they began investigating the incident and then took away Xu Xiuyun and all members of the Xu family.
The Xu family cried out their innocence. The Xu old man was so frightened he dropped his tobacco pipe rod. An officer said sternly, “If the investigation clears you, you’ll be back soon. No need to make a fuss. The situation is special and requires careful verification. We hope for your full cooperation.”
After the officers took everyone away, the villagers whispered among themselves, starting to wonder if they had ever offended Xu Xiuyun. If a wild boar charged at them next time, they weren’t as formidable as Fang Lihai, who only got knocked out.
Xu Ziyan’s family returned to the Fang household. Fang Lihai fell silent at the sight of the towering courtyard wall. What was it meant to keep out? He’d never seen a wall that high in his life.
As soon as the main gate was shut, Xu Ziyan frowned at Fang Lihai. “Didn’t I tell you not to go? How did you still get hurt?”
Fang Lihai thought to himself that he was just following the plot for her, but out loud he explained, “The boar was trying to get into the village. If I hadn’t stopped it, it might have hurt someone, especially a child. But I had a plan, don’t worry.”
He thought that although this was his first meeting with the new Xu Ziyan, she was kind-hearted and genuinely concerned for his safety, which was truly rare.
Then he heard Xu Ziyan’s regretful inner thoughts, ‘Ah, if I’d known he was this capable, why did I bother fetching the village chief? I missed the thrilling moment of the man-versus-boar battle. Fang Lihai fought a wild boar bare-handed. It must have been quite a sight.’
Fang Lihai was taken aback. So she was only sorry she missed the fight?
Fang Lihai’s parents were already accustomed to Xu Ziyan’s personality. They smoothed things over. “What matters is you’re safe. Just don’t do it again. Come on, come inside and rest. We’ll kill a chicken today to settle your nerves and nourish your body.”
Xu Ziyan, having biked to the city, was indeed tired. She nodded and led Fang Lihai to their room.
Fang Lihai stood awkwardly in the distinctly feminine room. Seeing the desk piled high with textbooks and workbooks, he asked in surprise, “You’re studying? Why suddenly think of this?”
Few people looked at schoolbooks after graduation, especially since the college entrance exams were suspended. What was the point of studying more? In the village, it was even more useless than learning to farm by watching the weather.
Xu Ziyan said offhandedly, “Of course, it’s to tutor your two sons. They start school in the fall, one in first grade, one in kindergarten. Don’t I need to learn it myself first to help them? Besides, if I follow you to the army base later, with a good education, I might even become a teacher in the military district.”
Fang Lihai nearly choked on his saliva. Tutor the children? Follow him to the base? What was all this? Was the new Xu Ziyan planning this far ahead? Did she intend to build a proper life?
Xu Ziyan picked up a book and shoved it into his hands. “You should study too. Being a soldier isn’t just about fighting, right? Don’t you need to learn things like military strategy? If there’s a chance for promotion, it’ll surely go to someone educated and knowledgeable. If they send you for advanced training, you’d need to be studious material.
So, after reaching the rank of battalion commander, you should start studying properly. Look through the books. Ask me if you don’t understand. I’m going to lie down for a bit.”
System 001 exclaimed excitedly, ‘Host, claim him! He’s your rightful husband, and he’s so good. Waste not, want not.’
Xu Ziyan was speechless. ‘Whether to claim him or not isn’t the point. The important thing is the college entrance exams will resume this fall. If he studies, maybe he can climb even higher. Then I can be an official’s wife someday, understand?’
Fang Lihai’s grip on the book tightened instantly. The exams would resume? How was that possible? But today, a wild boar did charge him, and it was indeed Xu Xiuyun’s doing. Xu Ziyan’s inner thoughts had been accurate so far. Could the exams really resume soon?
Then perhaps he could brush up on his textbook knowledge. He had no connections in the army. Reaching battalion commander this young was already quite an achievement, and further promotion would be tough. If there was such an opportunity, he certainly couldn’t miss it.
In the afternoon, Xu Father and Xu Mother returned from selling their goods. Hearing about the wild boar incident scared them terribly. They repeatedly asked Fang Lihai if he felt unwell anywhere and insisted on taking him to the hospital. Fang Lihai had to talk them out of it.
They thought with dread, what if Fang Lihai had died? Their daughter would have been a widow. The couple hadn’t consummated the marriage on their wedding night. If the man died, they could imagine how vicious the gossip would be. Thankfully, he was fine.
But Xu Xiuyun, who had caused all this, was utterly despicable. They used to think she was kind-hearted. They had been completely mistaken. The dog that bites doesn’t bark. Xu Xiuyun was truly capable of anything. They apologized to Xu Ziyan again. They felt that since Xu Xiuyun was so wicked, she must have made Xu Ziyan suffer many grievances in secret. In any case, apologizing was the right thing to do.
During this period, going to the city every day to sell goods, having to muster the courage to hawk their wares, and dealing with all sorts of people had greatly changed their personalities. At the very least, they had learned to think, and they no longer spoke in a timid, obsequious manner.
Watching their transformation, Fang Lihai finally understood why his parents’ letters said they had misunderstood Xu Ziyan before. It seemed the new Xu Ziyan’s image rehabilitation was very successful. However, one thing puzzled him: why couldn’t Xu Ziyan’s own parents hear the inner thoughts?
After dinner, Fang Lihai went to his parents’ room to chat, calling Fang Nan and Fang Bei in as well. The family reunion surely meant they had much to talk about. Xu Ziyan naturally didn’t join them. She returned to her room to write the next section of her novel.
Although she had just mailed the first manuscript, she was confident it would be accepted. The subsequent installments needed to be ready. Otherwise, if it really got serialized and she couldn’t supply the chapters, it would be troublesome.
Xu Ziyan wrote with intense concentration, quickly immersing herself in the work. She didn’t know that next door, Fang Lihai and his family were exchanging “intelligence,” quietly recounting all the inner thoughts they had heard and the events that had transpired.
Fang Lihai summed up all the informational details and boldly deduced the conclusion, instructing his family to cooperate fully with the plot to avoid the tragic ending.
Just as they finished speaking, they heard a commotion next door. Song Dongbo had returned. Exhausted from a day’s work, he had earned some money and specially bought a strip of meat for a better meal. A neighbor brought his child back, informing him that Xu Xiuyun had been taken to the police station.
The child burst into tears upon seeing him, sobbing, “Stepmother… she killed someone. She’s a murderer… I don’t want a murderer for a stepmother! I don’t want this stepmother…”
Song Dongbo reflexively said, “How is this related to the neighbors again?”
The helpful neighbor rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you ask your wife why she’s always fixated on them? What was she doing writing letters to Battalion Commander Fang for fun? And writing with her left hand? She knew it was shameful too, didn’t she? If Xu Ziyan hadn’t been clever, she would have gotten away with it.”
Song Dongbo wanted to go to the police station, but the child kept crying, face flushed red, clinging to him, terrified. Song Dongbo valued his child above all. Seeing this, he quickly promised not to go anywhere and stayed home to comfort and accompany the child.
Xu Xiuyun, who had never been inside a police station before, was panicked and scared, waiting for Song Dongbo to rescue her. She waited and waited, but no one came. In the end, all she got was interrogation. Different questions came at her in succession. Xu Xiuyun had many secrets she didn’t want to reveal, which only made her seem more suspicious.
She wasn’t allowed to sleep all night, answering questions incessantly, her story becoming more and more confused. Finally, she broke down, collapsing onto the table with loud sobs. “I admit it! I wrote the letter to trick Battalion Commander Fang into coming back. I was just jealous that Xu Ziyan could marry an officer. I wanted to cause trouble for them.”