An Accidental Military Marriage

Li Hongying wiped away her tears as she spoke. "Moli, I know I have no right to ask this of you. Xiao Qing has done many things to wrong you, but she doesn’t deserve to end up like this. For the sake of you two being sisters, please, help her."

Jiang Moli asked curiously, "Aunt Hongying, how exactly do you want me to help her?"

Li Hongying said hurriedly, "Talk to the Zhang Family. Tell them not to lock Xiao Qing up. She’s a human being, how can they restrain her with a dog chain? How is Xiao Qing supposed to face anyone in the future?"

Jiang Moli found this amusing. "First of all, the Zhang Family isn’t necessarily going to listen to an outsider like me. Secondly, what if Jiang Qing runs away again and they come demanding her from me? What am I supposed to do then?"

"She won’t. I... I’ll have a serious talk with Xiao Qing."

Li Hongying’s voice faltered. It was clear she had no confidence herself that her daughter wouldn’t try to escape again.

"Aunt Hongying, you could ask the production brigade or the commune to help resolve this. If that doesn’t work, there’s always the Women’s Federation and the police. What they say will certainly carry more weight than anything I could say."

It wasn’t that Li Hongying didn’t know she could seek help from the commune and the Women’s Federation; she had her own reservations.

Her daughter’s life with her in-laws was already so difficult. If she made a scene and caused the Zhang Family to lose face, wouldn’t they make life even more unbearable for her daughter?

Furthermore, she had to consider her son-in-law. She couldn’t let this incident affect his future prospects.

"Moli, this is our family’s business. It’s best if we handle it ourselves, behind closed doors. There’s no need to air our dirty laundry and let outsiders laugh at us, right?"

Jiang Moli gave a wry smile. "You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Reputation or reality, you have to choose one. Otherwise, you should probably just ask Jiang Qing. She’s always been so clever and opinionated; I’m sure she can figure out a way to free herself."

After returning to the Lu family home, she gossiped for a while with Lu Deyao and An Hui before washing up and heading to bed.

Perhaps because she’d napped too long that afternoon, Jiang Moli found herself growing more and more awake the longer she lay in bed.

She summoned her system. "What’s my current mission progress?"

『Mission Progress: 6,766/10,000. Host’s Personal Account Balance: 67,660,000.』

Jiang Moli shot upright in bed.

She had a habit: whenever she got excited, she couldn’t lie still. Her heart would start to pound, and she felt an urge to find something to do.

She glanced at the empty space on the bed beside her, sighed, and lay back down.

"System, how about we have a little chat?"

『What would the host like to talk about?』

"Hypothetically—and I’m just saying, hypothetically—what would happen if I didn’t return to my original world after completing the mission?"

『The consequence would be that you would have to stay here.』

"What about my 100 million in prize money? You wouldn’t stiff me on that, would you?"

『No. However, to prevent economic collapse, the host’s prize money would be converted according to the commodity prices of the current world.』

"And how much would that be?"

『100,000.』

"How much?! One hundred million turns into one hundred thousand? That’s highway robbery!"

『The amount is comprehensively calculated based on per capita income and wealth distribution ratios. This is the only way to ensure the host’s existence doesn’t destabilize the local monetary system. So, Host, are you planning to stay?』

"Just making small talk. What would happen if I don’t complete the mission within a year?"

『You would be obliterated. You would cease to exist.』

Jiang Moli said, "You should apologize. You just scared me."

『Heh. Host, as your partner, I feel it’s necessary to remind you again: men will only slow down the rate at which you earn Disdain Value. Once you complete your mission and return to your original world, you can have as many men as you want.』

"System, you don’t understand love. With men, it’s about quality, not quantity."

『What’s so great about him?』

"He’s good in bed."

『...』

...

In the morning, Jiang Moli opened her bedroom door and immediately heard voices in the living room.

She peeked out curiously and saw Wu Miaoyun, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

Wu Miaoyun was excitedly telling An Hui something, but her voice faltered the moment she saw Jiang Moli.

Jiang Moli approached with a wide smile. "Hi, Aunt Wu, long time no see! What are you and Mom chatting about that’s so exciting? I want to hear, too."

An Hui gave Jiang Moli a look. "Why are you up so early?"

"Should I go back to my room for another nap, then?" Jiang Moli replied.

An Hui shot her a glare. "Since you’re up, go get washed. I left breakfast for you in the pot."

"Alright then. You two carry on."

Only after watching Jiang Moli enter the washroom did Wu Miaoyun look away and resume telling An Hui about her daughter’s engagement.

By the time Jiang Moli finished washing up, changed her clothes, and came out, An Hui had already set her breakfast on the table.

A golden cornbread bun, a boiled egg, a bowl of thin rice porridge, and a side of pickled vegetables in chili oil.

"Mom, I’m so lucky to have you."

An Hui’s lips curved into a small smile at her words. "Alright, alright. Hurry up and eat."

"You got it."

Jiang Moli sat down and began to eat. "Hey, where’d Aunt Wu go? She left already? She can’t still be holding a grudge about me breaking her rice bowl, can she? Mom, you should have a talk with her another day. Tell her being so short-tempered is bad for her health, especially for women her age. It doesn’t just give you wrinkles, it can also lead to things like mammary gland hyperplasia..."

An Hui’s temples throbbed as she listened.

’This daughter-in-law of mine... that mouth of hers could be honey-sweet one moment and deadly poisonous the next.’

When Jiang Moli finally stopped her chattering, An Hui told her, "If you just kept your opinions to yourself around Aunt Wu, she’d probably be a lot less angry."

Jiang Moli blinked. "As the old saying goes, ’better you than me.’ I’d rather provoke an outsider than provoke you and Dad here at home, right?"

An Hui: "..."

’My, what a filial daughter-in-law.’

"Your Aunt Wu came over to discuss Chen Xue’s wedding. It’s been set for National Day."

Today was September 21st, which meant National Day was only ten days away.

"That’s so soon! Chen Xue didn’t even have a prospective partner before I left, did she?"

An Hui teased her, "It’s not as fast as our third son. He met you just once and came home raising hell, insisting he had to marry you."

’That was true.’

’In this era of arranged marriages, marrying after a single meeting was nothing. Plenty of people got married without ever laying eyes on each other.’

"The man’s parents are very pleased with Chen Xue and want to hold the wedding as soon as possible. Your Aunt Wu is delighted. Chen Xue is two years older than you; she’ll be twenty-three after the New Year. If she doesn’t get married soon, she’ll be considered a spinster."

"What about the man himself? Is he happy with the match?"

An Hui shook her head. "He’s in the military, too. He was on a mission, so he couldn’t make it to the matchmaking meeting yesterday; his parents came instead. They’ve seen his photo, though, and he’s quite a handsome man."

...

Li Hongying opened a lunch box and handed the crucian carp soup she had made at home to Jiang Qing.

"Drink this while it’s still warm. You need the nutrients."

Jiang Qing took the lunch box but found the fishy smell inexplicably overwhelming. It made her feel nauseous.

She handed the soup back to Li Hongying in disgust. "Didn’t you clean this fish? It stinks."

Li Hongying sniffed it, puzzled. "It doesn’t smell fishy to me. I even pan-fried it and added ginger and peppercorns specifically to get rid of the smell. Your reaction is a bit extreme; you can’t handle even a hint of fishiness?"

Jiang Qing stared at Li Hongying in disbelief. "What do you mean, ’my reaction’?"

"It’s like this when you’re pregnant. I couldn’t stand the smell of fish when I was carrying you, either. I’ll make you bone broth next time."

Jiang Qing froze.

It was true she’d been feeling nauseous, with a tightness in her chest for the past few days, but she had assumed it was just depression from being locked up by the Zhang Family.

’Could I really be pregnant?’

"Moli is back. I told her what’s happened to you, hoping she would help persuade your parents-in-law. Xiao Lu is Jia Ming’s commanding officer, so they ought to listen to Moli. But she told me to go to the commune and the Women’s Federation."

Jiang Qing’s eyes reddened with rage. "It’s all her fault I’m in this mess! Why would she ever help me?!"

Li Hongying couldn’t stop the tears from falling. "Oh, Xiao Qing, how are you going to get through the days ahead?"

Jiang Qing watched her mother cry. After a long moment, she said suddenly, "Mom, I want a divorce."